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 concentrate our mini missions on things we have multiples of. Particularly things we have more of than we really need. I have three sets of tongs in my kitchen but even though that sounds a lot quite often there are two in the dishwasher and one in use so that isn’t too many for me. However you may have noticed I have decluttered bowls on more than one occasion recently, now that is something I had too many of and probably still do. Do you have too many of any of the categories below? If so now is the time to weed out a few.
Monday – Souvenirs ~ Travel, vacation, sport, events…
Tuesday – Glass items ~ Vases, plates, bowls, drinking glasses…
Wednesday – Stationery items ~ Folders, papers, pens, clips, staplers…
Thursday – Accessories ~ Belts, bags, scarves, hats, hair adornments…
Friday – Publications ~ Novels, magazines, cookbooks, newspapers, non-fiction books…
Saturday – Gadgets ~ Kitchen gadgets, grooming gadgets, garage gadgets, electronics…
Sunday – Digital media ~ Cd’s, DVD’s, computer games, downloads…
Good luck and happy decluttering
Today’s Declutter Item
These cuff links are just not being used so out they go.
Cuff Links
Something I Am Grateful For Today
I stumbled upon this TED talk and I thought it was so amazing I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!
oh what a beautiful TED Talk. thanks for sharing.
I will keep you updated on the mini missions this week. there is a lot coming to mind, when I think about it, but I need to get work done, so I will do that tomorrow!
have a great week everyone!
I am glad you liked the video. I was very pleased I stumbled upon it, it made my day.
You have a good week too Lena.
Colleen, A very special thank you for sharing that TED with us. Jill’s story and presentation and life work are nothing short of amazing.
As for the mini-missions, thanks for those, too! Yesterday I FINALLY got caught up on mini-missions from two weeks past. Ahhh, what a relief and now to begin fresh this week!
🙂
If I hadn’t spent two and a half weeks at the brain injury clinic visiting my son I could be convinced that having a stroke could be a good experience after watching that video. Unfortunately her wonderful recovery isn’t always the outcome. But what a fabulous attitude she has to what must have been a very trying yet educating period of her life.
Good luck with the mini mission Annabelle.
haha, yeah, at that moment where she said “How cool, I can see my stroke inside out” I thought too, well this can only be fascinating and interesting if you are a brain specialist and know how to categorize all of these experiences you are having. Me? I would go back to lala-land the moment I would realize I cant read anymore and never return. what a massive recovery indeed.
I am not sure who wrote this, but it sums up the “clutter & stuff” in our lives:
“Another way to resist acquiring stuff is to think of the overall cost of owning it. The purchase price is just the beginning. You’re going to have to think about that “thing” for years-perhaps the rest of your life. Everything you own takes energy away from you. Some give more than they take. Those are the only things worth having.”
Thank you for sharing these wonderful words Kimberly!
They aren’t my words but I have said the same thing over and over again in other ways. Try adding up the cost were the item to pay rent for the space it is wasting in your house too. This goes especially for those who keep buying bigger home to fit all their stuff in. And don’t even get me started on storage units.
I love your site. Right now after a week or so of decluttering standstill I am back on the wagon. Your blog consistently keeps me focussed but this week whilst I am on holiday from work I am going to do MAXI MISSIONS… I am half way through a pack of ten black garbage sacks after one day….how exciting…even after a year of decluttering there’s always so much to do. Have a top day !!
Hi Tasmanian Minimalist,
it’s been a while since we heard from you last, welcome back. How exciting five garbage bags full of stuff heading out the door. Go you!!
ugh. Mondays mini mission. Key chains from every place I’ve ever been and some that other people got for me. We just had a garage sale and I bagged up several and sold each bag for 2.00, most of them sold. Also any place that had a Hard Rock Cafe, I just had to have a T-shirt (what was I thinking). I clean houses for a living and I now wear the shirts to clean in. Pretty expensive work shirts. Now when we go somewhere I take a few pictures and look for weird shells and that’s it. Thanks for all the advice, my house is looking pretty good and so easy to keep clean. Who knew this journey could be so much fun.
Good for you Colleen, please let me say I told you so. Although I think it is more fun and satisfying when I say that to my kids.
I have friends who go to Hard Rock Cafes wherever they go and they buy the T-shirts too. It took two years of decluttering before my husband finally let go of his old band t-shirts so I am glad he doesn’t collect Hard Rock ones as well.
She was certainly very interesting Colleen and her message ties in beautifully with your “something I am grateful for today “.Once you stop and consciously think about ” something to be grateful for today” it focuses you on the present, and speaking from my own experience it can mean moving from a state of restlessness to a much calmer and peaceful state of mind.It reminds me of another saying “I have everything I need in abundance” which refers to our inner selves but resonates with our decluttering selves as well !
well said. and so true. I need to focus on this mantra, because everytime I remind myself of gratefulness, I realize that I actually like what I am doing, and the pressure of “I need to do” chages to “I love to do”.
Well said Jez.
What you said makes me think ~ When people have homes full of stuff there is always something on there “I want” list but when people declutter (properly) they think the little they are left with is more than enough. What a complete change in thinking and how liberating.
yes. its so liberating. I reflect on my desires and wishes on a totally new level. like this first impulse of “I want to have that” is now followed immediatly by “do I really? Lena, just picture you owning this thing, where would you put it, would you use it, would you love it? does it fit?” and pop! – the impulsive bubble is gone, and I can admire this item from far away, knowing that those bubbles are just the left-overs of a consumerist socialization…
Good for you Lena.
…and would I still love it twelve months from now? I know just what you mean Lena. We are surrounded and bombarded by things and by shops everywhere and advertising and so much of it may be beautiful and well designed and innovative and clever etc etc etc BUT we don’t need to buy it and own it and bring it home .All those beautiful things out there can still be admired – they just dont need to come home with us and certainly not the first time we see them.But its taken me a long time to learn that!(and yet seems so obvious now).
yes Jez. thats it, its so so so obvious, and I am sometimes shocked to see that other people dont even think about it, but I didnt see it a year ago either. I called it “my own form of emancipation” the other day.
I think it will be Tuesday & Sunday missions all week here! I have loads of both but none of the others.
I am making some progress though!
Good for you Karen, just do Tuesday and Sunday over and over again. So long as something overabundant is heading out the door who cares what category it fits into. The “out of here” category is the only one that matters anyway.
I didn’t read Monday’s mission so also went to find a souvenir – had found a pair of children’s castanets in a drawer, so thought yep that can be my souvenir, and then I re-read it and sports stuff was included. It probably meant sports souvenirs and didn’t mean sports gear but because its Queens Birthday holiday here, so had taken advantage of the day at home to make serious headway into listing 5 outgrown snowboards, 8 pairs of snow boots, 2 snow board bags and some snow gear.
Haven’t watched the TED video yet as daughter has had the computer all day completing an assignment, but look forward to doing later.
Get rid of the snow gear Moni, that will make a huge dent in your clutter. A much bigger on the a little pair of castanets.
I am a little amused though that you have 5 outgrown snowboards, 8 pair of snow boots, 2 snow board bags and some snow gear but you have to share the computer with your daughter. Computers are something that is in abundance at our house but only one of them is likely to be decluttered anytime soon. We have two desk top computers, 2 laptops and 2 iPads and only three people to share them between. The second laptop is the one earmarked for decluttering. Clearly anti-consumerism only goes so far in our house it seems. Oh the shame.
Hi Colleen – yes that is an amusing comparison. We do have an apple laptop as well but the kids have dibs on that. There was another laptop windows based but it died and went to the lovely guy on freecycle who recycles the parts.
As only two of my kids actually actively do their homework, we just leave it at that. Hubby and I both have computers at our work, though I am getting closer to having an iPad thru a loyalty points scheme. Somehow I doubt I’ll get to use it much though……
Don’t tell them you have the iPad they need never know. Just hide away in your room so they don’t know you have it. Hee Hee!
Tomorrow, my rental at the flea market store is ending.
The funny thing is that just this weekend when I was dreading to bring all this stuff home again, I was able to find buyers for some of the more expensive books online as well as someone interested in the clarinet reeds and was able to give away two of the plates and some other books I was trying to sell to friends. So today, I’ll be collecting all these items at the store that I found other recipients for and will get the whole lot tomorrow. Most or even all of it will go straight to the thrift store though.
Oh my, English is confusing, not having cases and anything. Sentence order is just too important. 😉
Of course, I was trying to sell those plates and books at the store, which wasn’t successful, so I gave them to friends for free.
That is what I read so don’t be too troubled about your English you are doing well.
I bet you will be glad to have it all off your hands one way or the other. Well done my friend.
sanna, good for you. would you tell me how much you made on how many items? I am collecting all sorts of stuff already. 🙂 and will go there end of june!
Hi, Lena!
I made about 80€ until today, as I had to pay 32 for the rent, that is a plus of roundabout 50€.
I only took about 53,60 of those 80€ home so far and will get the rest tomorrow, so I can only tell you about those 53,60 so far:
I sold
23 books (ranging from 1€ to 3,50€)
2 slightly used eyeshadows (0,20€ each)
1 slightly used facial powder (0,20€)
2 CDs (ranging from 0,50 to 1€)
2 spools of black thread (0,30 each)
1 drinking glass (1€)
1 pack of index cards (1€)
1 portable CD player sans charger and headphones (2,50€ – rather cheap, I know, but would have thrown it away anyway)
As far as I can see in the shelf itself, the remaining 25€ or so are sales of more books, a few T-shirts (a little faded, 0,50€) and skirts (about 2€ each or so) , 2 erasers (0,50€) and 2 more eye shadows (0,20€).
I filled one shelf entirely with books though (probably about 150), so it is no surprise that they make my main sales.
My craft supplies didn’t sell well, neither did my mis-matched table ware.
oh wow, thanks for sharing that. its nice!! books are probably good items to sell. especially if you have 150(!). I didnt know that people were buying old eyeshadow. incredible. maybe I even can sell that glitter eyeliner 😉 otherwise I have to wait for carneval next year.
I sold today the charger and datacable that belonged to my stolen smartphone via ebay ads… For more than 10 Euros. In around 4 months I made around 150 Euros with selling on amazon and lokal ebay. I am really impressed what people are ripping off your hands. I will so keep doing that. maybe one day I will “jump over my shadow” and try auctions on ebay. but all of this fees and paypal and whatnot is keeping me away from it. the shelf seems just so much easier.
anyway. my mini mission for saturday is covered today 🙂
I was amazed, too. I can’t even donate the eyeshadow here, because the thrift shop won’t take it, so I didn’t even think of it until I saw someone else in that store offered make-up items as well (though for a quite higher price – about half of the price in the drug store) – I didn’t think people would buy it and priced it low – obviously low enough, as all of my make-up items sold. 🙂
fantastic! I am so going to try that… 😉
Today I start my (early) maternity leave so now I have tons of time to sort things. Got rid of some stuff last week at a carbootsale and another carboot is coming up on the 16th. lets hope for good weather to boost the sales!
As for the mini missions: I’ll have dig into the depths of the cupboards, but I’m sure I’ll find some things to match the categories…..
Have fun with your maternity leave, it is nice to be well prepared. And good luck with the upcoming car boot sale. There was a huge car boot sale here in Newcastle last Sunday, I was going to go check it out just to marvel at the sheer quantity of stuff people are getting rid of but it rained and I wasn’t that keen that I wanted to get wet for the experience. Good luck with the mini mission search too.
Love things that declutter themselves… today, it was a glass that has a huge crack in it. Add that to a few glass bottles I was keeping for reusing (but never used because they were too tall), and I think I made my mini-mission for Tuesday!
Well done Lynn!
I hit just about every item on your list this week! I have been going through doing some spring/summer cleaning and paring down to the essentials that my family and I need. So far I’ve gotten rid of/donated 193 things! I did this project last year and I always feel so much lighter when I finish. I wanted to share it with everyone here http://minimalistwith3kids.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much for your website. I truly enjoy it!
-Angie
Hi Angie Kay,
I look forward to the year where I only have 193 things to declutter and I don’t even have growing kids. Either I had a lot more than you to begin with or my idea of paring down is a little more extreme than yours. I hope it is the latter or perhaps I should give up the declutter blogging gig. 😉 I am glad you are enjoying my blog, thanks Angie.