365 Less Things

Reducing our stuff one day at a time.

Mini Mission Monday ~ Function

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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.

Every piece of clutter we own has a function or at least used to before we stopped using them. This week’s mini missions are centred around the intended use of an object. I’ll name the function and you can use your imagination to choose something to declutter that suits that category. Have fun and happy decluttering.

Monday – Declutter something intended for entertainment.

Tuesday - Declutter something used for food preparation.

Wednesday - Declutter something used as an adornment.

Thursday - Declutter something intended for pampering.

Friday - Declutter something used for cleaning.

Saturday - Declutter something used for nourishing.

Sunday - Declutter something used as a covering.

Today’s Declutter Item

I had kept these trains in the top of my son’s closet because they were one of his favourite toys when he was little. He asked me a little while back, “Why haven’t you gotten rid of those Thomas toys yet? I don’t want them.” That was all it took to convince me to let them go. He was glad to have the money from their sale.

Thomas the Tank Engine Train Set

Eco Tip for the Day

Eliminate the need for your second fridge. Often used only to keep beer and fizzy drinks cold, second fridges are such a waste of energy.

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

Comments

  2. Colleen – for some reason it surprises me that you still have stuff in your house to declutter!

    Have to put my thinking cap on for this week’s mini missions. Should be interesting to hear of some of the interpretations.

    For some reason over the weekend everyone decided to clear out their wardrobes and drawers, so I’m sorting through all of that.

    • Hi Moni, it seems like your whole family is on side with the decluttering. Well done you being such a good influence.

      I am surprised that I keep finding things too but they just keep coming. I know there are plenty more hiding in little nooks and crannies.

  3. Some great ways to think of things these mini missions.

    You all will love this. First, my Mom said to me yesterday, “When you get done at S’s house we need to do our house from top to bottom.” Be still my heart!!!! Second, S’s husband, D, came up to me at church to thank me for coming over to help S. I said we planned to do the entire house so we’d be getting to his office at some point. He said, “Yeh! It’s a big mess. I need to start figuring out if I really need any of that junk.” I’m sure S will faint when I tell her tomorrow. I didn’t get a chance today.

    • Deb J – that is awesome news. Am glad D is pleased with the progress. And your mum! What a hoot!
      You must be making inroads if D has noticed – and it must be nice coming home to a happier wife.

      I think I’m going to have to find my own hoarder after I have finished my house!

      • Moni, I’m really having a blast with this even though it’s upping my pain & exhaustion levels. It’s just so much more satisfying to help someone like this.

    • Woohoo!!! Well done Deb J. You have completely converted your mom, worked wonders with your friend and now your influence is even being appreciated by her husband. He didn’t even bat an eyelid at your threat of rifling through his office. My goodness girl you are a champion.

      • Great job Deb J! It sounds like not only are you a great influence but you’re also having a lot of fun!

      • I was so shocked when D said what he did. I have been praying for both of them and shouldn’t have been shocked but was. I think it is wonderful to see how God works.

  4. Love the eco tip. Last year I suggested to my husband that we get rid of our extra refrigerator/freezer that’s in the garage, but he wouldn’t go for it. We do unplug it for a few months each year when it’s empty. Maybe I’ll try again next year. I did declutter two old bed pillows. A local animal rescue group will reuse them as dog beds.

  5. If you all don’t mind me asking……how often do you clean your ovens? I did mine yesterday, I don’t enjoy it and put it off as much as possible. I have a friend who does hers every month and I’m not sure if she is super effecient or I am super-sloth? She reckons it isn’t such a major job if she does it regularly.
    Does anyone know anything effective for cleaning oven racks etc that isn’t caustic?
    I also use those steel wool with lemon soap scrubbers, my mum swore by those for shifting the baked on splatters.

    • Hi Moni, I clean houses for a living so I hate cleaning my own oven. When I do, I put the racks into a garbage bag and spray it with whatever oven cleaner I have and put them outside (sometimes overnight if they are really bad) and than I just hose them off and most stuff just comes right off. If you didn’t want to use regular oven cleaner I have heard vinegar works also but I have not tried it. good luck

    • I tend to leave mine until it gets pretty bad, I’m afraid, because I struggle with the fumes that the self-cleaning program gives off. When I finally set it to clean, it has to be at a time of year when I can leave the windows open for a couple of hours. I read a tip about cleaning the racks which is to put them in the bathtub with very hot water and laundry detergent and let them soak overnight. I am going to try this next time .

    • My granny cleans (i.e. wipes) her oven every time she used it. It really doesn’t need a thorough cleaning ever that way, as the dirt doesn’t burn in.
      However, though I admire that I clean mine about twice a year (oops!) I find that lemons work wonder. If you put lemon juice or water and remainders of lemons (peels, half lemons etc.) in the bottom of the oven and heat it a little (about 70 degrees or so, just as much that it begins steaming) for a little while and let it cool again, you can wipe out most of it without having to scrub too much.
      The steam fills the whole oven with the lemon acid, so the burnt in fat loosens.
      However, be careful with opening the oven when it’s still hot. Though it’s probably not as bad as conventional cleaners, the combination of hot lemony-fatty steam isn’t that nice either. 🙂

    • Just put clean oven in my search bar to the right and you will probably find numerous references about how I hate cleaning ovens. Or at least this oven because it is a right B***H. I use Easy Off oven cleaner. I don’t like that it is probably bad for the environment but my oven gets dirty so easily and quickly and is so difficult to clean due to it being badly designed. The longer I leave it the worse it is to clean so I clean it every few months and no longer.

      • Colleen – I asked another friend how often she cleaned her oven and without missing a beat she said “3 months after the smoke detector starts going off every time I use the oven”.

    • We tend to clean up major spills whenever they happen and the oven gets cool. Then we use the self-cleaning program a couple times a year to get any other stuff. It makes it pretty easy.

    • I’ve read the ammonia works great for cleaning oven as well as vinegar and baking powder. I don’t believe you can use ammonia and vinegar as the same time due to chemical reaction. Also, you may be able to find non-toxic solutions on the Internet.

  6. I had a terrible time decluttering my sons’ Thomas trains after they were loooong done with them. They were one of MY favorite toys from their childhood. I finally got over myself and was able to give them away when I remembered that another child out there could be enjoying them instead of letting them sit. I know what 30 year old toys are like as my in-laws saved old toys from husband’s youth and they really are quite grubby!