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 weeks missions reflect the kinds of thing that I have decluttered in the last week. Lets see if you can find some similar items to declutter.

Monday – Declutter a small piece of furniture or a storage container. I decluttered two bedside tables that had been storing DVDs.

Tuesday – Declutter some digital media, CDs, DVDs, CDRoms, old VHS tapes… . Due to the bedside table declutter some DVDs also were decluttered.

Wednesday – Declutter and item of clothing. I decluttered a dress, not because I wanted to it simply worn out. Split down the back worn out and not worth repairing because the fabric had worn so thin.

Thursday – Declutter an item of jewellery. I decluttered a necklace that I had put aside to deconstruct for craft purposes but never have.

Friday – Declutter a kitchen utensil or two. I decluttered two utensil holders that had served me well in the past. I’d kept them in the back of a cupboard for a while “just in case” but am now satisfied that I have no further need for them.

Saturday – Declutter a couple of toys. I let go of two largish plastic animals, once again kept for craft purposes. Due to the reshuffle that inspired the decluttering of the bedside tables some things had to be fitted in elsewhere. The obvious choice to look and use was my craft storage area, so some things had to go.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Go digital for as many paper items as you can ~ Bills, reading material, recipes, communication…

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.

When beginning this post I didn’t have a theme so I thought I would just begin making up random missions. However the very first mission yielded me a theme so I ran with it in the hope I could come up with six missions to match. As it turned out this was an easy set of missions to come up with. Good luck finding your examples of these and happy decluttering.

Monday – Declutter, by recycling, some old magazines that you no longer reference. I don’t have this problem because I find magazines to be a complete waste of money these days. You can read about that in a later post this week.

Tuesday – Declutter, by recycling,  some glass bottles or jars that you thought might come in useful some day. I found several of these building up in one of my upper kitchen cupboards last week.

Wednesday – Declutter, by recycling, some old plastic containers you kept aside for storage but find they are building up over time and you now have too many. This used to be a mission I carried out on a regular basis but I don’t seem to buy as much takeout anymore so the containers get used until the wear out.

Thursday – Declutter, by recycling, packaging materials that you haven’t got around to using for a long time. My hubby took care of this mission last weekend.

Friday – Declutter, by recycling old plastic plant pots. I recycled a few of these last week.

Saturday – Declutter, by recycling, old papers from your filing system or keepsake box that no longer need to be kept. Be ruthless about this because paper is one of the most insidious kinds of clutter that can be a pain to deal with if you don’t stay on top of the task by eliminating on a regular basis.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

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 some out of sight our of mind items have been decluttered from my home. Actually in my case they were out of sight but there isn’t much I own that is out of mind, but you get the idea. My husband reassessed our storage cage in the garage and threw out lots of boxes. On my quest to answer Moni’s question about how many vases do we all own, I found some utensil stands I am sure now that I will never use again, and more empty jars than I realised I had, up in the deepest depth of the highest kitchen cupboard. So what do you have lurking in those out of the way places that you rarely look in? This week’s mini mission will help you find out.

Monday – Declutter an item lurking in your attic, basement or garage space.

Tuesday – Check if there is something in your keepsake box that you are willing to let go of.

Wednesday – Declutter something hiding, and rarely if ever used, in the back of a kitchen cupboard.

Thursday – Declutter something other than clothing on the floor or high shelf your closet.

Friday – If you have stuff stored under beds in your home take a look and see if you can find something there to declutter.

Saturday – Find something to declutter in your laundry or linen cupboard.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Learn some simple mending techniques so you can get the most our of your clothing.

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.

If you only took a stocktake of everything in your home that is only there out of convenience rather than necessity you would shocked. And if only you could convince yourself as to how inconvenient, and sometimes costly, those convenience items really are then you would probably be able to find a lot more stuff in your homes to declutter. I am going to be keeping and eye out for such conveniences in my home this week. And today’s mini mission will drawer your attention as to what some of those items may be in yours. So, happy decluttering.

Monday – Declutter a small single use gadget in your kitchen. Really consider how much time it saves you, on what sort of frequency and whether the time saved is then wasted on the awkwardness to clean the item or in finding it among the plethora of other equally not-so-convenient items.

Tuesday – Declutter or start a use-it-up challenge on consumable items that you have multiples of. Toiletries and cleaners are always a good example of this. Because they generally last a while so there is no need to have a replacement on hand until these items are in imminent likelihood of running out. Anything beyond that is a waste of space in your cupboards.

Wednesday – Declutter or start a use it up challenge on gift wrapping items. Usually one needs to leave the home to acquire a gift so why not acquire a gift bag at the same time in future. There is really no need to keep a large assortment of these items in your home.

Thursday – Declutter some excess crockery items. If you have layers of crockery that you never get to the bottom of then you have more than you need. Toppling layers of plates, variations of items that perform the same task, rows of coffee mugs that you never get to the back of… . Yes it is convenient to have lots so you don’t have to clean them too often but that just makes for a cluttered, messy and unhygienic kitchen.

Friday – Start a use it up challenge on a throw away convenience item that is not so environmentally friendly, and vow not to replace it. Paper towel, cling wrap, any sort of wet wipes, bottled water…

Saturday – Declutter a number of small items that you have dispersed throughout your home to save the small effort of walking from one room to another. Multiple trash cans, pens, notebooks, nail files, hand lotion, reading glasses, hair ties, charging cables…

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

There are many convenience items that are less than environmentally friendly yet are quite easy to live without. Cling wrap, paper towel, wet wipes, throw away shopping bags. Consider learning to live without them. Remember REFUSE, reuse, reduce, recycle.

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 we are going to go from one room in the house to another to find random things to declutter. Each day will be a different room. If you haven’t got that room substitute it with another area of your home that isn’t already on the list of mini missions.

Monday – Declutter an item from the living room of your home.

Tuesday - Declutter an item from a bedroom of your home.

Wednesday - Declutter an item from a bathroom of your home.

Thursday - Declutter an item from the kitchen of your home.

Friday - Declutter an item from the garage, attic or basement space of your home.

Saturday - Declutter an item from the laundry of your home.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Experiment to see how little washing detergent/powder your washing machine really needs to get a load of washing clean. It is usually much less than the manufacturers suggestion. Just reduce it a little at a time. So long as the loads are cleaning then you need no more.

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.

Well the “Silly Season” is over again but the aftereffects may still linger. I am glad to say that my Christmas wish of few gifts was adhered too so there is little evidence in my home that it ever happened, except of course the warm and fuzzy feeling of having spend time with those I love. I did cheat a little by not being home so all the celebrations happened elsewhere. So how is your home shaping up? Here are some mini missions to help get it back into shape.

Monday – Declutter any Christmas decorations you don’t like so much as you pack them away.

Tuesday – Work on using up all the leftover food of the holiday season. Condiments, spices, frozen leftovers etc. Oh and of course wine and beer. 😉

Wednesday –  Declutter an item that you may have received a replacement for as a gift.

Thursday – If you received some nice new toiletries as a gift start using up the already started items before beginning on the new gifted items.

Friday – Declutter something else in the area where you store your holiday season decorations.

Saturday – Declutter kitschy Christmas items like hand towels, oven mitts, socks etc. This mission is simply for my own amusement. I used to have all of these things and haven’t missed any of them.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Take your own shopping bag when doing any shopping. I must have saved hundreds of bags grocery shopping alone over the last seven years. And then there is a much smaller number saved by using my own bags for any other shopping I do.  To get myself into the habit of taking my own bag I forced myself to carry my shopping to the car without a bag when I forgot to bring my own. That little juggling act soon cured my forgetfulness.

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.

There is never a better time than now to declutter a few things around your home. No matter how much you have the gift giving and receiving under control there is still likely to be something coming it. So why not make room for it before it arrives. All the holdiay season is the best time to declutter excess decorations since you have them out anyway. So lets get to some holiday season decluttering.

Monday – Decluttering something you received as a gift last holiday season that you don’t care for.

Tuesday – Declutter those less loved decorations.

Wednesday – Declutter some bits and pieces from the guest room in your home.

Thursday – Declutter any old baking spices from you pantry that have been there prior to last Christmas. They must be less than their best by now.

Friday – Declutter any lingering food stuffs from your fridge as you will need the space in there at this time of year.

Saturday - Get the kids to choose a few old toys they could donate to children in need. This is a good practice to involve them in, especially at this time of year.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

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.

The focus of this weeks missions is activities. Much of our clutter is about activities after all ~ stuff we buy to do things with. Sometimes we over cater to a new activity, sometimes we purchase items to simplify a task and some stuff is purely for entertainment. Either way it builds up over time. So lets see you what can find among the following activity related clutter that you no longer use.

Monday – Declutter something that you bought to read and are unlikely to ever read again.

Tuesday – Declutter a utensil/tool you brought but haven’t found that useful.

Wednesday – Declutter a hobby related item.

Thursday – Declutter a sports related item.

Friday – Declutter something you acquired for entertainment.

Saturday – Declutter something related to sleep.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Use less of things, like toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, cleaning products. You might be surprised to find that less does just as good a job but is also less expensive and less harm to the environment.

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 our mini mission reflect what I personally decluttered last week. You may wonder how I continue to find things to declutter but I do. I have felt particularly in a decluttering mood since returning from vacation and stuff is either being used up or sent out the door everyday lately. Lets see if you can find some stuff too, inspired by this weeks mini missions.

Monday – Declutter I item of clothing you don’t love or maybe don’t even feel comfortable in. I decluttered a pair of jeans that although fit my bottom are too wide at the waste. A belt is a solution but I don’t want to have to wear one so out they go. I might buy another secondhand pair to replace them but not until next winter.

Tuesday – Declutter something you have knowingly passed over during previous decluttering mission that you still haven’t utilised. I decluttered some cardboard boxes that I saved for mailing but haven’t been used.

Wednesday – Declutter something that exists in multiples that you have noticed are starting to mount up again. Pens, rubber bands, paperclips, twist ties. I decluttered some rubber bands that come wrapped around asparagus. I rarely have use for rubber band so I took them to the thrift shop where we find them much more useful for bundling up sales items.

Thursday – Declutter and outdoor item. Perhaps an old potted plant that has seen better days. I have one that, although repotted and fertilised hasn’t sprouted a single leaf in the last twelve months. In fact is hasn’t shown any sign of growth in years. I might plant it in the garden downstairs and reuse the pot to up plant one of my other more thriving plants.

Friday – Declutter something from the passing season that wasn’t used or is past its usefulness. I decluttered a microfibre feather throw rug. Seeing the sun shine through it while it was drying on my balcony illuminated that fact that there wasn’t much feather left in it.

Saturday – Declutter something you have been procrastinating about. I have kept some black wooden beads among my craft supplies for quite a while now. I eye them off occasionally but hold on to them. Well I am over them wasting space in my craft drawers so this time they are out of here. Alternately I have been having a fun time using the mizuhiki paper cord that I bought while in Japan recently. See photo below. The white cardstock, envelopes and patterned paper was also bought while on vacation. And the gold stripes are a bit of a use-it-up paper effort that has been hanging around for years.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Don’t accept free items just because they are free. I happened upon a charity run today while taking my morning walk. Everyone on the run had a printed t-shirt with the sponsoring companies names on. I also noticed runners, who had completed the race, holding goody bags. No doubt with some edible items in but probably also some plastic promotional nicknack rubbish.  That equals hundreds of items that I dare say would end up in the trash, at the thrift shop in a month or two, or cluttering up someones home for the next few years, used once or twice but then discarded. Such a waste of resources.

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.

Regardless of how much of an expert one things they have become at keeping the clutter at bay there are always things that build up when you aren’t looking. Little things mostly but it is clutter nonetheless and as we all know so much of our clutter is made up of little bits and pieces. These things also build up while you are in full swing trying to get rid of the bulk of your clutter. Therefore it is best to keep a close eye on the little devils. So this week we will find some of them to declutter.

Monday – Declutter receipts you have kept for warranty or return purposes that are now past their return by date.

Tuesday – Declutter small clothing items that you kept just in case when you last purchased new ones. ~ Underwear, socks, t-shirts etc.

Wednesday – Declutter items you have kept for reuse that are building up. Plastic bags, jars, boxes…

Thursday – Check for items in your pantry or refrigerator that built up but need using up.

Friday - For the book lovers ~ Keep your collection in check by decluttering a couple of less loved books.

Saturday – Identify your own unique build-up situation and unclutter some of it. Mine is craft and I’m working on it constantly.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

As your light globes fail throughout your home replace them with LEDs. They are more expensive to purchase but they will pay for themselves in spades and don’t have the toxic chemicals of mini florescent globes.

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