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.
We’ve done it before and now we are doing it again. What is our clutter made up of and can you find an item for each day this week that is made from a different material. I bet you can. I look forward to comments about how clever you have been and extra points for thinking outside the box.
Monday – Declutter something made from plastic.
Tuesday – Declutter something made from wood.
Wednesday – Declutter something made from paper.
Thursday – Declutter something made from fibre.
Friday – Declutter something made from glass
Saturday – Declutter something made from metal.
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.
Colleen, even though I am close to 100% decluttered I still enjoy your posts. They keep me on my toes. I actually added again to my “stuff.” I have a problem holding things for very long and trying to cut veggies and fruit. I also have the problem of the small of things like onions, peppers, etc staying on my hands for a long time even though I have tried every idea out there to de-smell my hands. So I bought a cheap but effective tool called a Super Slicer. My hands thank me. Grin. Thankfully I have so much extra space it was not hard to find a place for it. I also bought a “spiralizer” to make veggie noodles with. I can’t eat lettuce but I love salads. With this I can make “noodles” out of zucchini and make a really good salad. It’s great with marinara sauce or alfredo sauce too.
Hi Deb, sadly my posts, aside from the mini mission ones, are few and far between these days as I seem to fill my time with so many other things. I am certainly continuing to declutter though. It was one thing to reduce our stuff to fit into this a two bedroom apartment but now that we are here I would like there to be less stuff because it seems to fill every nook and cranny again. Not that the stuff has increased it is just the the storage space has decreased. I think I am about due to do a bigger craft supplies clear out. After three years of making and selling cards there still seems to be so much stuff even though I know there is so much less than I started with. I am still always rationalising other stuff as well.
As for your cutter gadget, as far as I am concerned having reduced dexterity is a very good reason for buying such a gadget. Probably one of only two reasons to buy them. I’ll be interested in how much use you get out of the spiralizer. My daughter-in-law has one and although she went crazy with it for a while I haven’t heard mention of any recipes she has used it on of late. I’ll have to ask her whether she still uses it.
Hi Deb J and Colleen! To Deb, I wanted to mention that you can buy a stainless steel “soap bar”, meaning it is in that shape. After you have been into onions and things, you wash your hands with the bar and the smell mysteriously disappears. I usually add a little regular soap to make the SS one slide around easily on my hands. It truly works and was well worth the $3 I paid for it!!!
Colleen, I think I have once again done all the weeks categories in one swoop. Today, I have finally boxed up the final yard sale things from the garage. I am taking a load to a thrift tomorrow that includes a primitive wood box with 3 shelves, a wooden chair, and two wood folding porch tables, a bag of aluminum housewares items. I’m donating some antique books and they are in a fiber tote bag.
In other boxes, waiting for my friend with the charity to arrive (looks like it will be Nov now) , is glassware, pottery, etc. I guess the plastic would be the Chi Machine I’m donating. It is mostly plastic. Looking so forward to it all being gone!!
I always look forward to your mini missions! No one could complain that you don’t write a lot of articles anymore, you have done so many in the past. I would do a post on my favorite homemade cleaning supplies (after trying different ones over the years) if you think there would be an interest in that. Certainly saves a lot of money, and having less cleaners is certainly simplifying.
Brenda, I agree that Colleen has written so many good posts that her writing fewer is no problem. It is good just to go into the archivea occasionally. As for the “soap bar” it didn’t work for me. Would you believe it?! I think it is because of my Multiple Chemical sensativity and how sensative my skin is. It is like it is much more absorbent than average.
I would be interested in that so you can write a post and send it to me if you like thanks Brenda
And thank you Deb and Brenda for your kind words. I feel a little slack at times but as Deb says there are plenty of articles in the Archives. Although the way things have been going of late I could be writing from current decluttering experience. I finally Freecycled a synthesiser Keyboard that has been hanging around my homes for the last 9 years. I hoped that I would finding a electronics tinkerer that would have a go at fixing it for my son. I think he long ago stopped caring anyway so I gave it away on Freecycle to a electronics student who is also a musician. I hope he managed to fix it and have some fun. I have also become a sock knitting fiend after starting on it during my vacation in Berlin. I have now found an on going outlet for the leftover yarn.
It is hard to fit things into a small place sometimes. I am thankful I was able to have some storage shelves built into two closets along with the two 3-drawer cubes. It gave me a lot of storage instead of 3 clothes closets. I think craft supplies automatically propogate no matter what you do. They seem to just reproduce on their own. Grin. I love the spiral thing. Just having it for making salad and for sauces is worth it since I can’t have pastas.
Like Deb J I enjoy the blog with all its creative ideas and all the comments to keep me ever vigilant. For me it’s a daily struggle trying to keep well intentioned folks from giving me things they think I “need”. Lol
Mon-plastic
5 plastic glasses to thrift shop
Lenses covers for lights to a hot tub I gave away 5+ years ago
Tuesday-wood
Since it’s found in nature going to use a marble (also found in nature), cutting board. I just learned that these marble boards aren’t cutting boards, since they ruin your knives. They are used to make pastry, which I don’t make.
Wednesday- paper
recycled some old manuals for things I no longer own, i.e. old tv, vcr etc
Thursday-fiber
4 coasters that I never use
Friday- glass
Can’t think of anything yet
Saturday- metal
14 k bracket to thrift shop, after checking with granddaughter if she wants to sell it to a gold buyer. Already checked to see if she wanted it to wear & she didn’t. Just thought about the possibility of selling it for gold.
I am in the midst of the first stage of our bathroom and ensuite renovation. I am wary that there are only two months left in year, so am trying to keep plans and projects bite-sized.
Im hoping by the end of the week, order will be restored. All our bathroom stuff was put in boxes and I am only putting back things as we need them.
I will report back later in the week.
Monday – plastic
Not one but Four plastic project boxes. All empty and off to new homes tonight. My crafty friends will fight over these LOL
Tuesday – wood
A lovely carved antique wood trinket box that was a gift ages ago, never used by me.
Wednesday – paper
A jigsaw puzzle, going tomorrow to a friend who loves them.
Thursday – fibre
A sewing machine wheeled tapestry-look bag, excess to my needs Donated to my son to transport bits and pieces to sell at a collectors fair. With instructions not to return it, but to drop it off at the op shop if he doesn’t need it again.
Friday – glass
I don’t think I have anything, but will look harder. I may have some unloved hair product in a glass bottle somewhere.
Saturday – metal
A plastic coated metal hanger thing for ties/belts. I don’t even know why I have this!
Hi Colleen,
I think I did Monday & Wednesday! Yesterday I shredded a bunch of papers, then composted them. I also went through some toiletries my daughter stashed on our back porch (because there are extreme temperatures there, things degrade). I poured out several body wash type things on top of the shredded papers, then recycled the plastic containers. Got rid of an Emu oil (& its container) that I liked but it didn’t look and smell so good anymore 🙂 I also went through my 401K paperwork the other day and reduced it a bit 🙂