by CS Team
Reclaim your space, your day and your life!
Do you have clutter and chaos in your life? Download our TOP TEN Tips for the Year. Marla will be taking a deeper look at them at the home show and will be speaking each day, so mark your calendars and come! If you can’t join us stay tuned throughout the month as we share the tips with you. We want to support you in reclaiming your space, your day and your life.
Extra TIP& GIFT: Have a one-page master map for your year that inspires, empowers and supports you. Here is the form that we use with our clients. It’s our gift to you! If you would like a personal session with Marla to expand on this, click here.
Marla Dee is speaking again at the Salt Lake Home Show.
Friday January 8th @ 4 p.m.
Saturday January 9th @ 11 a.m.
Sunday January 10th @ 12 p.m.
Visit our table next to the Design Stage to enter our drawing and receive special offers!
You can save $2 per person by purchasing tickets online.
Show Information: Friday, Jan. 8th @ 2:00 p.m. through Sunday, Jan. 10th @ 6:00 p.m.
South Towne Expo Center
9575 S. State Street
Sandy, Utah 84070
Go here for additional information and directions.
by CS Team
Let the closing of your year be like the setting of the sun!
How will you close your year? Will you stay busy, distracted and unconscious? Or will you choose this precious time to slow down, to reflect, to soften and to heal? Let the closing of your year be like the setting of the sun. It is a time to slowly surrender into the nighttime energy of stillness.
Get our GIFT to you here – the simple guide to close your year
Each day, each year and even a life follow a cycle set by nature. This cycle contains an opening, working and closing. The opening is the natural time to awaken and get present. The working piece is about engaging and movement. Last, the closing time is to slow down and reflect.
Our nature guide for this cycle is the sun, our source. Each day the sun shows the way to align with our natural rhythm by rising, shining and setting. And isn’t it sweetly perfect that our bodies are attuned to follow the sun’s lead?
The rising sun slowly works her way over the horizon, taking her time to lighten the night sky. The invitation to your body is to slowly wake up by opening your eyes, stretching and changing from soft nighttime clothing to daytime.
The shining sun offers warmth and light. She gives you the energy to move into action and creation. This is the time to engage with the changes presented by life.
After a full day the sun sets and surrenders back to the earth and darkness. When the outside world gets dark it is time to stop! You know how your body feels at the end of the day. Just imagine sitting by a fire, in your most comfortable chair, and letting your whole body and being relax. You slowly close your eyes and your mind drifts through the day. You let your body be the setting sun.
To deepen this gift, set aside a day to let yourself wander back through the year and reflect on the following:
- What did I accomplish?
- What were my disappointments?
- How did I heal?
- What did I learn?
- How did I grow?
- Who have I become?
Then take your insights and create a simple theme for the next year. It can be a word, a phrase or a picture that inspires you to create what you long for next.
Such as… I open and close each day with sacred stillness.
We will be here to support and witness you,
Marla, Kate & Team
The article “Life Matters: Closing Your Year with Presence” first appeared in the Catalyst Magazine.
by CS Team
Magic happens when you choose presence over presents!
We want to celebrate this Christmas by sharing our family stories…
Marla’s Story
The older I get (I am now 55) the more I am drawn back to my childhood Christmas. Just imagine 10 kids – the noise, the chaos, the hugs, and yes – the presents! But with ten children, there wasn’t much money, time or energy. So we got creative about sharing experiences rather than stuff.
My daughter Jessica & her sweet kitty Izzy! We are honoring their sacred connection right now as Izzy’s life came to a close on 12/16. We love and miss her.
My parents led the way. My mom kept her eyes and heart open all year long for precious little things to give her children. I was always amazed at the treasures she found. It was her “knowing” of each of us that felt magical. My dad often made gifts for us – like the super cool hobby horse that my son played with and I just passed on to my sweet nephew. My parents showed us how to celebrate simply and deeply. It was all we knew and it felt rich! Here are some fun memories that still live in me today –
- My favorite memory was coloring together. We could do it for hours. My daughter Jessica and I just spent an evening coloring by candle light!
- Then there was singing around the piano and caroling for friends. Music was the glue that kept us connected.
- I will never forget sledding for hours until we were frozen and then warming up with yummy hot chocolate.
- Our favorite part of gifts was getting creative with the wrapping. We would spend hours joyfully with paper, ribbons, bows and other things.
- We turned big refrigerator boxes (that my dad dragged home) to little elf homes that we could sleep in to catch Santa Claus. We always stayed up as late as we could but never caught him.
So this year I feel like I have gone full circle. I care most about getting precious time with my family. This is my first Christmas without my kids in my home. And we lost my daughter’s two kitties last week that she had grown up with. So my heart is heavy and also sweetly full. I am now with my wonderful man, our dog and kitty. My son David, daughter Jessica, daughter-in-law Isabel and family will come visit us on Christmas Day to play games, sing songs, color, and just be together.
We are not doing stuff. We are taking in the very sweetest of all gifts – each other.
Kate’s Story
In Clutter Clear Out Celebration I shared that my little family has spent the last 2+ years clearing our possessions and ultimately becoming minimalists. This way of living with less stuff has given us more time, energy and money to experience day-to-day life in ways we had not even imagined possible.
My 12-year-old son, Trace, is one of the most kind, patient and compassionate people I know. Here he is with his 3-year-old cousin.
This has also shifted the way we approach Christmas. Last year we decided that instead of GETTING we wanted to focus on DOING. We would continue to set aside our monthly “Christmas Savings”, but if something came up that we wanted to experience, like meeting friends at Disneyland or in San Diego; doing extra fun things when loved ones visit; or going out on an extra family date night, we would spend some of our Christmas Savings to do them. Throughout 2015 that is exactly what we have done and it has been awesome!
As we neared this holiday season we talked about taking the “Doing” to a deeper level, “Serving”. This lead my son to serving Thanksgiving Dinner to people in need with the Youth Group he belongs to. During the evening he had a personal and powerful interaction with a woman in which he felt a deep sympathy for her scenario and a strong gratitude for his own. He came home and told me that he was planning on donating half of all of the money he received for his December birthday and Christmas. My heart burst with pride for his kindness and selflessness.
In addition we decided that we would spend half (give or take) of our remaining Christmas Savings on a family struggling to make ends meet. As we purchased things they NEED, like towels, sheets, a first aid kit, we all felt most grateful for all that we have and for all that we can do for others.
Although it is still a daily practice, we are deeply in love with simple living and are ecstatic to see what we get to DO and how we get to SERVE in 2016.
Our wish for you is a simple & sweet holiday!
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Containers make everything better!
Where are our container-lovin’ peeps? You all know how much we love The Container Store for all of their savvy solutions, but do you feel the same? Perhaps these holiday gift wrap storage options will sway you. We were in The Container Store just the other day and were checking out the options…pretty great stuff right here!
We chose 3 different options at 3 different price points. No surprise that they have something for everyone and every budget!
This handy-dandy organizer has pockets for greeting cards, ribbon, bows, wrapping paper, bags, supplies and accessories. Smartly-designed pouches make retrieving supplies super simple. Rolled paper is held upright by velcro straps to keep it from being crushed when it is hanging, but easily release in order to fold the bag in half.
This nifty a-frame stand holds up to 12 rolls of wrap plus ribbons, bows, gift bags, accessories and supplies. It is light-weight which makes it nice and mobile. A hook at the top makes storing it in a closet a cinch.
The primo in gift-wrapping solutions, this cart can hold wrapping paper, bags, tissue, ribbon, supplies and more. It includes 3 small drawers and 2 large drawers and has a Melamine top. The fine mesh weave prevents small items from falling through. (more…)
