Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week for our mini missions we are going to visit little nooks and crannies around the house which may have, up until now, remained untouched by human hand or the vacuum cleaner for that matter during our decluttering efforts. I will list seven places I have thought of below but if you have already taken care of these areas or you don’t have them in your home make some up for yourself. Don’t just declutter these areas give them a clean up as well.

Monday – The bottom of your linen closet.

Tuesday – A corner of your garage or basement.

Wednesday – The cupboard under the stairs.

Thursday – Under your bed or any other bed in the house.

Friday – The cupboard/space under your laundry or kitchen sink.

Saturday – The top shelf of the pantry.

Sunday – A blanket box, shoe box, toy box or tool box.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

This old transistor radio has been keep for emergencies for a long as I remember, so long in fact that it has died of old age.

Transistor Radio

My Gratitude List

• Something that inspired me to go above and beyond ~ My annual house inspection, there is never any fear of not passing with flying colours but it is good motivation to give attention to every area of my home. My house is pristine right now and it feels good.
• Something Awesome ~ Chilli, cinnamon hot chocolate.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Sleeping in, I have had some interupted nights the last couple of days so it was nice to make up for it by sleeping in until 9am on Sunday.
• Something that was fun ~ Riding on the back of a motorbike for the first time in nineteen years.
• Something I found satisfying ~ Getting the ironing out of the way so I don’t have to do it later in the week.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

Last Tuesday’s post inspired the idea behind this weeks mini missions which isn’t really a set of mini missions at all. Let me explain… This week we are going to tackle one declutter mission by breaking it down into seven small steps. Now the catch is ~ I want you to choose a mission that you have been avoiding because you think it is a bothersome task you don’t wish to deal with. Chances are it isn’t as big as your mind has convinced you it is. Be brave my precious declutterers and remember even if you don’t get the task completed you will have a least made it smaller and more manageable.

Monday – Choose the area you wish to work on (Or don’t wish to work on as the case may be). It may be a room, a cupboard a category like craft supplies or even just one single item that requires some effort to deal with like Cindy’s tent. Decide on your plan of attack ~ Take some time to consider the steps involved in tackling this task. Make a list in sequential order if that helps.

Tuesday – Start with step one. Each steps will be different for everyone because no doubt we will all be working on something different. Try to keep each step to a minimum so as not to get overwhelmed. It may be setting up the item/s, like Cindy and the tent, so you can determine the best method of disposal. It maybe dragging the item out of the basement or, like my trophy declutter, making a few phone calls to check on whether you can recycle this item in some way. Or it may be, in the case of clearing out a closet, pulling out the obvious items that you don’t want in order to make room to better tackle the rest of the task.

Wednesday – Naturally we go on to step two today, this might be ~Cleaning up the item/s, picking out a few more things from the closet and dividing them into keep, donate and sell piles, taking photos of the item/s for keepsake purposes or to list it/them on Freecycle or eBay….

Thursday – Now for step three on your list ~ remember this is a task unique to you so the steps are what is logical for your situation.

Friday – Hopefully by now you can see the light at the end of the tunnel or for some you may already be finished the task and wondering what all the fuss about.

Saturday – Today’s step may be cleaning up or rearranging the area that you have decluttered.

Sunday – The final task will be expelling the item all together which may be a little difficult to do on a Sunday so maybe it will have to wait for an appropriate day. The main thing is the task is complete and it is only a matter of disposal.

My trophy task, although stagnating, was only one step in an even bigger task of clearing out the large display cabinet that we want to get rid of. Getting the trophies sorted has catapulted us into clearing out the rest of the cabinet and now we are finally ready to get rid of that as well. So don’t be discouraged by the big picture just complete one small mission at a time and before you know it you will have achieved great things.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

No matter how big or small, clutter is clutter and every little bit you get rid of is one small step to the intoxicating freedom of a decluttered home.

Some little bits of clutter from my jewelry box

My Gratitude List

• Something that made me laugh ~ Anthony Bourdain’s interview at the Sydney Writers Festival on Saturday.
• Something Awesome ~ When things turn out to be easier than you expected.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Some unexpected good advice.
• Something that made me happy ~ Achieving more than I expected in the way of outside work yesterday.
• Something I found fascinating ~ How good advice sometimes comes along just when you need it even though you weren’t even looking for it.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering

This week for our mini missions we are going to concentrate on removing some old, shabby, broken, beyond repair, neglected and maybe even old faithful but worn out items from our homes. Now that you know what we are looking for I will give you a list of where to look and the rest is up to you. Find one item in all of these places and retire it from service.

Monday – I know I still have a couple of shabby items in my wardrobe (closet) that fall into the shabby category so we will start there.

Tuesday – The yard is a place where all manner of half rotted things can be found. Old tools, well chewed balls the dog has been playing with, broken pots, sun umbrellas that have seen too much sun. You get the idea now see what you can find out there.

Wednesday – The kids toy box. Now if you can’t find something broken in there then you just aren’t trying.

Thursday – Be courageous ladies and scout the garage for something that has seen better days. I know some may have to get their husbands permission to remove anything from there but be a devil and give it a try. You never know your luck.

Friday – The kitchen is often a hive of well worn objets that have been faithful helpers and for that reason alone sometimes we hang on to them for longer than necessary. It is time to let go of one of these items.

Saturday – The linen closet can also be home to a few shabby objects like sheets with the odd hole here and there, towels with frayed edges or old pillows that you wouldn’t want your guests to see with out a pillowcase (sham) on. If it seems like a waste to through these items away you may be able to donate those towels and pillows to the local animal shelter.

Sunday – The basement. I have never had one of these so I can only imagine what one keeps in one of these dungeons. From what I hear there are often all sorts of scary things down there so it shouldn’t be too hard to find some sort of once loved now neglected item down there.

Today’s Declutter Item

A little more space freed up in the bookcase. Sometimes books become trophies rather than likely sources of future entertainment or information.

More books decluttered

My Gratitude List

• Something that makes me laugh ~ When all is quiet in the house and then I hear my children laughing together. They may be 1000km appart but in that moment they sound like they are in the room together.
• Something Awesome ~ Going upstairs after your morning coffee to find the bed has been made.
• Something to be grateful for ~ The I never took up smoking. Not only is it bad for you but it is soooo expensive.
• Something that makes me happy ~ Harmony in the home.
• Something I find fascinating ~ The way two people can hear the same thing but read something different into it.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

Inspired by a comment from Lynn last week today’s mini mission will focus on items that can perish when left unused to a long time. Believe me I know this happens because I have experienced it more than once. You may be surprised at the things that this can happen to. If you are interested I wrote a post about it back on Day 146 called Perish the thought. If you have an overabundance of these items or if they don’t get used anymore it is best to reduce and/or pass them on now while they are still functioning because there is a chance they will be useless to anyone if left to linger too long. Now lets get started.

Monday – The first place we are going to look is the office area or whichever space you keep your stationary in. Items you’ll find there that could perish are pens, rubber bands, glue, batteries and stickers like address labels. There are possibly more items than this but that list ought to keep you busy enough.

Tuesday – The sewing kit is another place that might house these items as Lynn found out with her 42 year old hemming tape. Elastic is another item in the sewing kit that will likely be the first to perish. Even cotton can rot if left too long.

Wednesday – Sports equipment can have elements of materials that also do not last, rendering the item unusable. The rubber in the band on swimming goggles and bat handles will perish over time, you can often buy replacements for these but lets face it if they have perished from lack of use, not overuse, then it may be time to pass them on. The foam lining on ski masks can also perish (I have experienced this), sports balls crack and leaks develop and what about trampoline mats.

Thursday – I know from experience that electrical appliances can be victims to this problem. I have lost a Kenwood mixer, a toasted sandwich maker, a vacuum cleaner, a toaster and a hand blender because they went into storage for too long when I went to live in the USA for two years that ended up being seven and a half. Had we known we would be gone so long we would have sold them before we left. Belts and seals in things like dryers and fridges lose their flexibility over time if unused.

Friday – Now if you are lucky and don’t have an accident prone person in your home there are bound to be items lying unused but necessary (in case of emergency) in your first-aid kit that are probably out of date. Best to check this area at least every three months. You may not achieve any real decluttering here because the items will need to be replaced but this is one of those areas that needs constant updating.

Saturday – Another place that you will find items with elastic that will perish is your underwear drawer. For some reason textiles that are made to stretch perish faster when not being used than they do if they are.  So if you have more underwear than you really need make sure you either declutter the excess or rotate all items on a regular basis so this problem won’t occur.

Sunday – I almost forgot the most obvious place for perishables, the kitchen. Check out your fridge, freezer and pantry for items that a past their used by date. If you have spices that you only use very little of considered sharing some of the excess with friends, family and neighbours. I ground some of my special curry blend yesterday to give to my neighbour who share his garden produce with me.

An extra little tip ~  If you live in a tropical climate mould and mildew can be the ruination of things like camera lenses and leather goods if not properly stored. The leather goods can often be salvaged but my husband lost all his camera lenses to mildew because it actually eats into the glass surface leaving permanent scars. Google ~ moisture adsorbing products to find solutions to this problem

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

This hot water bottle hasn’t been used for a very long time. I purchased two at the same time many years ago. One perished but this one didn’t, I am not sure why, but I feel it best to let this one go now before it meets the same fate as the other.

Unused hot water bottle

My Gratitude List

• Something that makes me laugh ~ Remembering life’s funny moments. Once when we were kids we gave our dog a caramel tart and it stuck to the roof of his mouth. It was the funniest thing watching him trying to lick it off.
• Something Awesome ~ Falling asleep almost the minute your head hits the pillow.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Always having food to put on the table.
• Something that makes me happy ~ Walking by the lake on a sunny Autumn afternoon.
• Something I find fascinating ~ How with some dog breeds you can really tell the boys from the girls without looking underneath. Some male dogs are so butch looking. Rhodesian Ridgebacks for one.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Today is ANZAC day, the anniversary of the landing of troops from Australia and New Zealand on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey, in World War I on April 25, 1915.  ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Before we begin today I would like to ask you to devote one minute of silence in respect of the members of the Australian and New Zealand military who have served and died in in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations throughout our history.

For this week’s mini missions I am going to encourage you to declutter some of those items you have been clinging on to for toooooooo long. You know the items I am talking about here, things you just haven’t been able to press the reject button on even though they have been in your radar for a while. There is always something holding you back, some lame reason for hanging on, none of which are because you love the item and want to keep it. The reasons you still have these items will become apparent as you start to work through the list for the week but lets face it, you already know the reasons you just haven’t done anything about it. Yet!

Monday – One I might need it some day item. (If it makes you feel better find someone you know nearby who will take this item off you, then if you do need it you can borrow it back.)

Tuesday – One clothing item that you keep telling yourself…

• will fit you one day.
• will be great for the right occasion (that occasion hasn’t arisen for two years what makes you think it is going to).
• is too good to give away and besides it cost a lot (even though it went out of date years ago).
• I love it and I am sure it will come back into fashion soon.
• etc etc etc

Wednesday – Either repair or arrange a repair  on a brocken item you have been keeping because you intend to use it again . If it isn’t important to enough for you to fix quickly then perhaps you don’t need it as much as you think you do. If that is the case then just declutter it. Right now it is just wasting space and tormenting you.

Thursday – One expensive item you keep clinging to because you paid good money for it. (it will never realise its value if it never gets used. Learn from your mistake and move on. Sell it if it makes you feel somewhat better about the waste.

Friday – One item that you keep trying to use up but never seem to get anywhere with. I recently decluttered a bunch of scrap paper that I have been trying to use up for years and have hardly made a dent in it. I am going to donate it to the local school this week now that they are back from vacation.

Saturday -One sentimental item.

Sunday – If you have grown up children, choose a childhood item you have saved for them and ask them if they want it. Chances are you are saving a whole lot of stuff for people who just don’t care. If they do want it, give it to them and get it our of your house. If they don’t want it then you are free to do what you like with it.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

All of these cell phones have seen better days. I have taken them to the recycling box at my local Office Works store.

My Gratitude List

• Something that made be laugh ~ My husband likes to spew forth what he tries to make sound like true and interesting facts but is really just pulling our legs. It makes me laugh to think that he keeps trying even though we never believe him. In fact we wouldn’t believe him if is was true anymore just because of his reputation.
• Something Awesome ~ Free herbs from my neighbours garden. I save so much money and he loves to share.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Dinner in the oven, a glass of wine in my hand and peace reigning in the house.
• Something that made me happy ~ Watching all the people enjoying an afternoon stroll along the breakwater at Bobby’s Beach.
• Something I found fascinating ~ Passionfruit flowers ~ how can there not be a higher being orchestrating life when there are things as amazing as this to be found in nature.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering

Monday again and how is everyone today. I hope you are all feeling refreshed after a relaxing weekend and looking forward to some mini missions to get your week started. This week we are going to do some personal decluttering. We are going to embark on a mission to rid ourself of seven items that belong to us personally but wish they didn’t. I think I can come up with something for each one of these categories and am going to give myself permission to part with them all guilt free. I give you permission to do the same. I am the sort of person who likes to use things to the end no matter what but there are a few things around my home that I am just sick and tired of them being there. So this week I am going to rid myself of them once and for all. I will do my best to do that responsibly but if that is not possible I am going to be outrageous and do it anyway. The list is simple and concise so have at it.

• Monday - A toiletry product that even though you have tried to persevere and use up it just isn’t disappearing quick enough.
• Tuesday – A piece of jewellery that you no longer wear or is broken and you don’t love it enough to have it fixed.
• Wednesday – An item of clothing (not underwear) that not longer fits, isn’t being worn, is tattered or you came to the realisation looks bad on you. (We probably all have one of these)
• Thursday – A pair of shoes that you no longer wear, feel uncomfortable or are really old and shabby.
• Friday – A gift item that you never really wanted but have kept out of obligation.
• Saturday – An item of make-up that has been around too long or you never use.
• Sunday – And last but not least that tattered pair of panties or that old bra you keep just in case even though it is no longer supportive and certainly not attractive.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Today’s Declutter Item

In keeping with today’s mini mission I have chosen this jar of hand butter to declutter. It has been around for so long it no longer smell its best so I have put it in the trash. the jar was not recyclable either. That is one mini mission taken care of for the week. How did you go today?

Hand butter that been around too long

My Gratitude List

• Something that made be laugh ~ The kookaburras laughing on the light pole outside my house.
• Something Awesome ~ The tiny little fingers on babies.
• Something to be grateful for ~ Being happy with what I have and only wanting less.
• Something that made me happy ~ Having a nice weekend away with my hubby.
• Something I found fascinating ~ The tiny yellow antennas on a dead insect I found.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow.

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

For this week’s mini missions we are going to concentrait on the obvious clutter collection points in our homes. These are areas that seem to attract clutter like iron filings to a magnet. I bet there are several running through your mind as you read these words. We aren’t going to clear one or two things from these areas, the idea is to recognise these areas for what they are, tidy them up completely and vow to try to keep them tidy in the future. The clutter you will find is not likely be the “get rid of” type just a lot of junk and stuff in the wrong place,visual clutter if you like. This areas will be a lot tidier So let’s get started.

Monday – I just cleaned this area out so it is fresh in my mind, the dreaded handbag. My biggest problem with my handbag was receipts. I have now put a paper clip in my bag to keep them tidily together so that when I get home after being out shopping I can round them all up quickly and deal with them in what ever way is necessary. What amazes me is how many I seem to generate even though I don’t buy clutter. They are most from grocery shopping and dining out (I do love my food).

Tuesday – Another obvious clutter magnet is the junk drawer. We have visited this area several times already since I began blogging about decluttering. Most of you should be able to have today off because back on Monday Feb 7 I had hoped to have convinced you to eliminate your junk drawer altogether. For the new readers and those of you that didn’t heed my suggestion last time I repeat those instructions here. “Why do we need a junk drawer anyway?”. Surely all the things we put in there have a home elsewhere but we are just to lazy to put them away properly. Maybe once it is emptied we should remover the drawer for a week and attempt to learn to live without it.

Wednesday – Today’s area is as Cindy dubbed it The Black Hole. This is that area in your home where you dump things when you walk in the door and or need dealing with but not right now. Hall tables, kitchen benches, dining tables seem to often fall into this category. Read Cindy’s post that I linked to above, determine your black hole, deal with what is lingering there and try to come up with a better or organised system so the black home can be eliminated once and for all.

Thursday – This one may be more than a mini mission but that would depend entirely on how out of control you allow this area to become. The area for today is the desk top.

Friday – The car is today’s area of clutter caos especially if you have little children. Things that can be found collecting here are ~ parking tickets, half eaten cookies, toys, candy wrappers, spare change, sports equipment, shoes, sunglasses, hats, shopping bags and much much more!!! My advice is to go to the car pull everything out whether it belongs there or not, sort through it, replace neatly what does belong and rehouse or trash everything that doesn’t.

Saturday – Coffee table drawers can also be an attracter of all sorts of interesting bits and bobs, pens, hair ties, old magazine, dead batteries, DS games etc. If you don’t have a coffee table maybe you have a small table beside you sofa that serves the same purpose.

Sunday – Pick an area of your choosing, one that may be unique to your own clutter habits maybe it is the back veranda, the pet toy box, the kids school bags or the like and give that area a good clean out.

Good luck and happy decluttering

 

Today's Declutter Item

Today’s Declutter Item

And the baseball clutter just keeps appearing out of the woodwork and I keep finding it new homes via Freecycle. This bobble head was happily collected by a lovely lady named Jane and I am sure her grandson’s will love it.

Things that made me happy, made me laugh, made me feel grateful, fascinated me or I thought were just plain awesome.

• A sunny day on Saturday ~ it had been a while coming.
• The day after cleaning day ~ When I can sit back catch up with my computer work and enjoy being surrounded by a clean and tidy home.
• Getting around to doing one of those long awaited decluttering tasks ~ Once these tasks are dealt with I wonder why I procrastinated so long about it in the first place.
• Getting around to doing my mountain of ironing. ~ I had been ignoring that task for some time.
• How plants still manage to grow in my garden regardless of the neglect they received. ~ Unfortunately they aren’t all plants that I want growing there.