Welcome to the first of our 52 Organizing Missions.
In some ways this is a challenging one – but you’ll feel so wonderful, liberated and light when it’s done I think it’s worth diving in the deep end right away.
And remember – it is only 30 minutes.
Ready?
Get Organized Mission #1: Fill a Hu-u-uge Trash Bag
Step 1
Get a giant trash bag. (If you don’t have one find 20 small ones, or ask a neighbor, or go to the shops, or use boxes, or pile things up on a rug until you get to the shops tomorrow. There are no excuses!)
Step 2
Set a kitchen timer (or your clock radio or iPhone alarm, etc) for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Start filling the bag and continue doing so as you move through your house, until either the timer goes off or your bag is full.
Throw into the bag anything you don’t use, don’t like, that has negative associations, is broken or tatty, or is no longer your style. See below for room-by-room examples.
Step 4
Take it straight out to the trash or even the tip if you’re so motivated. Just be sure to remove the temptation to look in the bag or to rescue released items.
Dos & Don’ts
- Don’t try to organize rooms, cupboards or drawers at this stage.
This mission is about getting rid of stuff so do keep an out-it-goes mindset. - We’ll have another organizing mission for charity items, so don’t get bogged down with that now. I don’t suggest giving lame stuff to charity – decent, usable stuff: yes; crapola: no.
So do feel fine about ditching all the dross. - I want you to move fast – so don’t overthink it.
If your gut feel is to release something from your life, then do toss it into the bag.
Examples of Items For Your Bag:
Living Room
- Old magazines
- Tatty rugs and cushions
- Old/no-longer-used videotapes, DVDs, CDs
- Unloved ornaments, gifts, vases, etc
- Dead plants
Study
- School/college notes and texts (unless you just graduated they’re probably out of date)
- Old paperwork, bills, mail (keep if needed for taxes or reference; shred if sensitive or confidential)
- Excess stationery you won’t use this decade
- Knickknacks that provide no meaning, beauty or inspiration
- Reading piles you know you’ll never get to
Bedroom
- Tatty dressing gowns, slippers, and anything you’d be embarrassed to answer the door in
- Tatty bed linen
- Ancient pillows harboring various non-human life forms
- Anything on bedside tables that detract from a comforting bedtime sanctuary
- Anything in your closet you hate (we’ll tackle closets in detail in another organizing mission)
Kitchen/Dining
- Chipped or stained crockery
- Rusty or mismatched cutlery
- Expired food and condiments in the pantry or fridge
- Cookware, plungers, teapots, gadgets, utensils or sundry infomercial purchases not used in the past 12 months
- Cookbooks and recipes not used in the past 12 months
Bathroom
- Tatty towels, bathmats, etc
- Expired or old toiletries, hairbrushes, combs, etc
- Empty or mildewed bottles
- Yucky bathroom accessories – eg rusty shower caddies
- Unloved bathroom ornaments
Kids’ Stuff
- Tatty, no-longer-used toys
- Outgrown clothes
- Torn posters
- Outgrown CDs, DVDs etc
- Outgrown back-packs, drink bottles, etc
Extended Organizing Mission Options
- If you run out of time or your bag fills up and you want to keep going, then do. Put on some music and have fun with it. But your basic mission is only to fill one large bag or keep going for 30 minutes.
- If other household members want to participate give them their own bag and encourage them to let go of stuff.
- If you want to tackle extra, unneeded items that are in good condition, do a second run with a charity bag. (I guarantee you’ll still have plenty to do when we get to our charity-bag organizing mission.)
Ready, Set, Go!
Remember – move quickly, act fast, don’t overthink.
Before You Go – Check In
Have you completed this week’s Get Organized Mission?
You’re now accountable to your organizing mission-mates – so please add a comment to let us know you’ve completed your assignment and you’re keeping your commitment.
(Click ‘Comment’ at the very top of this post or scroll down to the bottom. Depending on how you’re viewing this post, one of those options will be available for you.)
And see you back here next week. 🙂
Update
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Click here to sign up for 52 Organizing Missions.
Image by Material Boy
@Jenny: I love this! You kept what mattered and let the rest go. There will ALWAYS be interesting stuff to read, but space and mental clarity are so very precious. M 🙂
Mission one completed. Tackled a cupboard that contains files of newspaper clippings “to be read” (ALL went in the bin bag unread), research notes relating to either completed or abandoned projects (dumped) and precious clippings relating to things I have achieved and congratulations cards from friends and colleagues – KEPT. So I got through half of this cupboard in 30 minutes and got rid of a whole bin bag of useless paper. Brilliant.
OK, I am just starting this and I am excited about it. I am starting this year out with a ‘simplify MY LIFE attitude’… LESS STUFF! we have a great kids used store here, so I’m making an appointment to bring stuff in. If the appointment is SET, I’ll HAVE to get it all done before that date on the calendar! Kids stuff is hard to throw for me, I can make money off of it!
YES, I am making my goal two 30 minute slots and 2 garbage bags! I’ve got tooooo much CRAP!
Mission 1 complete! Many items purged esp. school papers for the last year that are just piling up.
I think with the time limit, it makes you move so much more quickly.
Done! Dadda
Mission completed. Amazing how much junk is laying around. 3 garbage bags full. I think if we all did this once a month then the trash wouldn’t accumulate.
Mission 1 completed!
I just finished this task. Wanted to do more but had to stop because I was going out! Might re-do it later on 🙂
Threw out 6 bags of garbage! Mission #1 accomplished.
threw out heaps and could keep going except the bin is almost full and it only went out last night. This could become a weekly challenge for a while. Ready for challenge no.2
Did this twice yesterday when I first signed up and have done it again today….could probably do it once a day every day
Wow, that felt good. But just the tip of the iceberg….this is an EXCELLENT first mission! Thank you!!!!
oK, i THRU 3 BAGS OUT IN 30 MINUTES.. BUT IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE I DID MUCH
DID SOME BEFORE PICTURES OF MY DINING ROOM TABLE. IT IS CLEAN NOW
AND SO ARE ALL THE LIVING ROOM TABLES.
WORKING HARD……….
I did it again, I did not acually time my self this time, i have a bad cold so just did bits and pieces here and there and collected 3 rubbish bags full and that mainy consists of old sheets and tablecoths that i can no longer use (dont have the single beds anymore). the tablecloths were engagement and wedding presents that I have probably only used once and after washing them it took hours to iron them a really difficult cotton fabric,by the way i have been married now for 26 years. I will takle this challenge again in a couple of days.
I did it. Two 30 min sessions and I have 3 bags of trash and a ton of magazines to recycle. I’ve still got a couple of rooms in the house that could do with a quick sweep but I should get those done today and be able to move on to mission 2. It was actually easy, getting started is the hard part. It then becomes quite addictive, I now find myself wandering around looking for more stuff to get rid of!
I did it. I can not belive some of the totally stupid things i have held on to,well now they are gone and so much easier to do than i expected. I am going to stick to the 30 minute plan but repeat it every couple of days untill i get rid of all the stupid things i have collected and then move on to the stuff that i can donate.
WHEW! That was fun. And way easier than I thought… maybe I can skip a bit ahead to the next mission …
I did it. Mission #1 completed!!!
Managed several extra bags for the trash pickup. Lots more to go. Just a little bit at a time.
FLO
Mission accomplie!