by CS Team
Only YOU can say what matters most in your life!
December can be a time to slow down (rather than speed up). As the sun sets earlier we now have long evenings to sit, read, write and share with loved ones. Before technology came, we sat around a roaring fire or the big, wood dining room table and we talked. Wouldn’t it be sweet to give yourself this softer way of being?
So before you get too busy with the holidays and start bringing more stuff in, we invite you to take an honest, deep look at your life. By simply getting still and reflecting back over the year, we can open to what matters most!
We invite you to set aside an evening or a morning to ask and answer the following queries. Then share with your loved ones and ask what matters to them.
What means the most to me right now…
- in relationship with myself?
- in my intimate relationship?
- in my family?
- in my home?
- In my friendships?
- in my work or creations?
- in the next steps of my path?
** Get a printable version here.
Joyfully surrendering to the slowdown,
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Simple ways to give thanks each & every day.
Gratitude is one of the most powerful tools for creating peace and happiness in our lives. It can can also support us on the days we feel low and in moving through tough times. So why is it so easy to forget and get caught up in the struggles or busyness of life? We have found that making gratitude a daily practice keeps it happening easily.
Make gratitude a daily practice
Here are 3 simple ways you can create a joyful ritual of celebrating all that you have each and every day. Whatever way you choose, commit to 21 days to create the new habit. You can choose one or mix them up!
1 – Get the Attitude for Gratitude APP
On-the-go with you at all time- Set daily reminders
- Many of them give you an inspirational tidbit after each entry
2 – Write it down
- Keep a little gratitude notebook, journal or use your planner. You can even use 3×5 cards or post-it notes.
- The easiest practice is to start or end your day writing down 3 things you are grateful for. Let them come to you easily and you might get surprised.
(more…)
by CS Team
Love lists? Dread lists? Try this cool tool!!
We are on fire about Wunderlist and we just have to share it!! We have known about it for some time, dabbled with it a bitand then got totally hooked. Because it is available across most devices, we always have our lists with us. We are able to MAP easily. We can share lists with other people through the app or by emailing them. We can also print and carry them around when needed.
A feature that we have just begun to use, but are very excited about is Emailing to Wunderlist. You simply forward the email to Wunderlist and it becomes a To Do. The subject is the Task Name and the body of the email gets put into the Notes. Even attachments are included on the To Do. Seriously? Thank you Wunderlist for giving us a way to clean out our inboxes!!
We are now running our whole business and our personal lives using this cool tool. We loves that it reminds us what to do and when to do it, having one place to dump everything that we need to remember, and knowing can access it everywhere we go.
You can have lists for…
- Places to visit
- Personal To Do’s
- Work To Do’s
- Personal Projects
- Work Projects
- Books to read
- Groceries – with sub categories for each store she shops at.
Check out Wunderlist on iTunes and Google Play. Go to the Wunderlist Website to download for other devices.
Wunderlist helps millions of people around the world capture their ideas, things to do and places to see. Whether you’re sharing a grocery list with a loved one, working on a project, or planning a vacation, Wunderlist makes it easy to share your lists and collaborate with everyone in your life. Wunderlist instantly syncs between your phone, tablet and computer, so you can access your lists from anywhere. Take a look at the possibilities in the picture below! All of this possible in the FREE version, but they do offer a PAID version with even more options.
We hope you embrace this fun and simple way to manage your lists! Let us know what you think.
Marla
Creators of the Clear & SIMPLE Way to get & stay organized!
by CS Team
We are FREE of stuff that was dragging us down and keeping us stuck!
We are deeply honored, humbled and inspired by everyone who joined our 30 Day Clutter Clear Out this year. Wow. Thank you for showing up, taking action and sharing your wonderful stories with us! We now want to share a little with you about how our lives were changed.
Marla’s story
Where does all the stuff come from? How does it keep piling up? Why do I still have that? These were some of my questions as I wandered around my home each day looking for something to release. What surprised me was that I found old stuff in every room. I couldn’t believe it. I have been practicing living simply for years now.
Yet, I still found stuff! Stuff that was homeless, stuff from years ago still taking up space, stuff I had forgotten. It was little things and big things. It was singular things that held deep meaning. The most loaded items for me were the ones that tied into my kid’s childhood. I have been an empty nester for only 7 months now. After 30 years of creating a home for my children and caring for their things, I am on my own. My daily life is different without my kids and their stuff. It is not simple or easy to trust this change. It is a daily journey. The 30 day group has been a big gift to me. I don’t want to do this alone. Hearing others share about going through their drawers, magazines, emails and kids stuff was the strength I needed to go through mine.
Here was
a story of mine from day 3. These awesome Pooh ABC foam puzzle pieces are from Jessica’s 1st birthday. She is now 20. My grandson used them but he just turned 10. Both my kids say let them go. Seems like it would be easy but I have such resistance. I realize they came from a special friend that I miss. Also, I want to make sure they go to someone who will really enjoy them.
I get to trust the Universe here. I get to practice what I preach.
To close, I am compelled to share that I saved the toughest stuff for the end – the digital and calendar clutter. I am now seeing the light at the end of my email nightmare tunnel. Kate is teaching me how to use Wunderlist to handle all my to do’s and keep them organized in one place. And I have released giving time and energy to work that doesn’t serve my soul’s purpose. More coming on these insights…
Kate’s story
Since relocating to Los Angeles in June of 2013, my little family and I have been radically shifting our lives and home. What started as just wanting to greatly simplify turned into minimalism. For us that means having only things that we use and/or support us in living truly soul-inspired lives. We’ve discovered that we want to spend as much time as possible playing, loving, learning and adventuring…and we now know it is possible with less stuff taking up time, energy and money.
Through about 25 layers we have released somewhere around 75% of what we moved with. Our drawers, closets and cupboards are organized and everything has a home. Sure our day-to-day activities bring the stuff out and we end up with piles of things that sit, often longer than I would like (I even sometimes let the kitchen stay messy and play games instead of cleaning), but homeostasis is easily reinstated. It is the most liberating experience of my life. (more…)
by CS Team
We are totally serious. Which is it for you?
The easiest and cheapest closet transformation is having the same hangers – at least the same color!! Yet, we work with hundreds of clients (some of which have very expensive closets and clothes) who have the hanger hell scenario. We see all different colors and types hanging from the rods and the client wonders why their closet feels so disorganized.
TIP – Your brain goes to color FIRST
Maybe you’ve never thought about it or consciously noticed how disheveled you feel as a result of mismatched hangers. The reality is that your brain goes to color first and then type. So if your clothes are on hangers of many different colors it is even harder to make a clear choice.
Or you can experience the sense of peace and order every time you look in your closet. Having consistent hangers makes it easier than ever to make your clothing choice!
By now you all know we love The Container Store! Have you seen their incredible hanger selection?? Why not go to one store and choose a hanger you really love?! Seriously, they have entire walls filled with
- every type
- every color
- every size
- and for every age.
One favorite of our clients is the Huggable Suit Hanger.
You better believe that we are in Hanger Heaven in our personal closets. Marla loves the white wood while Kate’s prefers the purple plastic.
Creating peace & clarity one closet at a time,
Marla, Kate & Team
Full Disclosure: This post contains “affiliate links”. If you click an affiliate link and purchase something, the company gives us a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. This supports us in providing the FREE content and support we offer regularly.
We carefully look at the products, services and people we recommend and always offer our honest opinion. We never, ever endorse a product or service that we would not purchase ourselves. No exceptions. In fact, most of the items/services we suggest we currently use ourselves.
