clutter clearing - Clear & Simple

Clutter Clear Your Office

A clutter free office helps you focus on your work.

Clutter is delayed decisions

and holding onto the past.

Marla Dee

If you were standing at the doorway of your office with the person you admire most, would you be excited or ashamed? We certainly understand if your work space has become cluttered, disorganized and draining. This is what happens when your work expects more than you can give. You might be spending more time in your work space than at relaxing home. You might even be working from home! We wish more companies would give their employees, and more entrepreneurs would give themselves, at least one day each year just for clutter clearing and organizing.

If you are ready for an office that supports you rather than stressing you, we are here to help. You can start with just your desktop, supply area, or your paper.

Here are three great small projects that can be done in less than an hour. This will get you started and keep you from getting lost in the details. Keep in mind we will take you through SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT.© for the whole room next. Choose one of the following ideas, schedule the time, turn on music and dive in. Have boxes and bags on hand for what goes elsewhere, donations, trash, and goes to other areas or to other people.

01 DO THE DRAWERS

Get ready to have fun! Open your drawers and pull everything out. You can start with the desk catch-all junk drawer or the drawer you dump all your personal stuff in. These tend to be the worst.

After dumping out the contents, sort into general categories such as pens, paper clips, etc. This way you can see how much you really have. Then get rid of the excess or stuff that doesn’t belong there or that you have never used! Honestly, how many pens do you really need? Now, put the drawer back together. Tip – use containers inside the drawer to make organizing and use easier.

02 CLEAR THE DESKTOP OR YOUR WORK SURFACE

It’s amazing how much stuff lands on the top of your desk making it impossible to work there! It’s time to clear the deck so you can be productive.

Look at what you’re storing on your desktop. The only things that belong here are the active papers you are working on now, active tools, and your computer. If there are papers related to projects, or papers that need to be filed, move to the file drawer area. Supplies you don’t use daily can be moved to a drawer. When you’re done, place one item such as a plant, photo, or inspiration on top.

03 CLEAR THE FLOOR

Start at the entry to your office/work area and work your way around the whole area staying focused on the floor. You might be surprised how much has landed here that doesn’t belong or that is now past-time stuff (last year’s financials).

Pick up, bag or box all the stuff that you know needs to leave and get it out of the room! Don’t worry about the other stuff, it comes later. Then grab the broom or vacuum and clear away the old dust and grime. Return to the entry, look around and take in the difference. Just clearing the floor of old items can open space for new to come in.

Done? Take a deep breath. Notice how different your office feels? Now, celebrate what you’ve done. Find more help below!

Download the FREE Office Steps Guide.

Your Guide Marla Dee.

I love teaching the Clear & Simple Way to live free of clutter and get organized at last.

Clutter Clear Your Travel

by Marla Dee

Time to clear your travel bags!

He who would travel happily

must travel light.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Many of us long to travel. We want the adventure, the freedom and the escape from our everyday lives. Travel can spark new ideas and connect us with different cultures. But, traveling can be stressful if our stuff and our time is not organized. We want to help you get organized so you love your travels large and small.

Where to start is often the dilemma that keeps us stuck and suffering. Let’s start with clutter clearing some of the small stuff. It’s surprising how the little things can drive us crazy on the trip but we forget all about them when we return. Here are three simple options that can be done in an hour or two. This will get you started and keep you from getting lost in the details. Keep in mind we will take you through SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT.© for your trip, your luggage and road trips next. Choose one of the following ideas, schedule the time, turn on music and dive in. Have boxes and bags on hand for what is leaving.

CLUTTER CLEAR THE TOILETRIES

Ready for fun? Open all your luggage and pull out the small stuff you have stashed away for future travels. It can be hysterical to see how much you have! Do a quick sort so you can see how many shampoos you actually have 🙂 Be honest about how much you need and toss the rest. It’s ok to even throw some in the trash. We promise no one will suffer.

LET GO OF THE OLD LUGGAGE

How many pieces of luggage, backpacks, purses, etc. do you have? How many do you actually use? Why are you holding onto the old pieces that are only gathering up dust? It’s time to let go of the old bags! Haul them out and take an honest look. Keep the bags you love and use. Let go of the others, even if they are in good shape and especially if they are falling apart.

HANGING ONTO OLD MAPS?

Do you have maps stuffed into file folders, in your car and other areas of your home? Maybe you brought a map home from each one of your travels and now you have a collection. Collect all the maps. How many do you have? Take your time looking through them. You might relive some adventures from your travels. Keep the ones you know you will use in the future and let go of the others. Good Job!

When you are done, take some deep breaths and take in how different you feel. Are you lighter? Are you wanting to take a new trip now?

FIND MORE TRAVEL FUN HERE

Clear & Simple, SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT., Marla Dee, Kate Fehr, Organize Your Travel, Organize Your Travel, Container Store, elfa,

Download your Travel Guide.

Your Guide Marla Dee.

I love teaching the Clear & Simple Way to live free of clutter and get organized at last.

Clutter Clear Your Garage

by Marla Dee

Here are 3 simple ways that can be done in under an hour!

Does your garage function how you most want and need?

Is your garage dumping ground for all the things you don’t know what to do with?

What would your ideal garage space look and feel like?

Marla Dee

Can you park your car in your garage? Or is it full of moving boxes that were never unpacked, yard tools and equipment, piles of stuff you planned on selling in a garage sale, flat sports balls and other old toys, bags of clothes that no longer fit anyone, outdoor gear you don’t have time to use, broken household items that you keep asking your partner to fix, and leftovers from home remodeling projects. The list goes on and on. The garage is the “quick in the moment” dumping ground for stuff going in and out of the house. It is scary how fast the clutter builds up and sad how long it stays. We will start the transformation with some clutter clearing.

Clutter clearing can be simpler by starting small. Take a look at the following three options that can be done in less than an hour. This will get you started and keep you from getting lost in the details. Keep in mind we will take you through SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT.© for the whole garage next. Choose one of the following ideas, schedule the time, turn on music and dive in. Have boxes and bags on hand for what goes elsewhere, donations, trash, and goes to someone else.

01 – HOUR OF POWER

Get together your family team and turn this into a game! Set the timer for an hour, give everyonetrash bags and donation boxes. The idea is to go after the obvious trash and the we are ready to get rid of this stuff. Don’t get lost in a deep sort right now. You might be surprised how much garbage has built up. When the hour is up, reward the winner and congratulate each other.

02 – CLEAR & SWEEP THE FLOOR

The garage tends to get dirty and grungy!. It is amazing how fabulous it feels just to clear and clean the floor. You don’t have to take long or get lost in dealing with stuff. Let it be good enough to just clear away the big areas of the easy stuff, sweep and possibly hose off the floor. You might feel so good that you want to do another small project.

03 – DONATE THE DONATIONS

This can be another easy and surprising way to clear clutter. The garage is a popular place for all the bags and boxes of donations that left the house but piled up here. Sometimes there are years worth just taking up valuable space. Why not schedule an afternoon, gather all the boxes and take them to your favorite donation place. Or you can call and arrange for a pickup.*

When you are done, take some deep breaths and take in how different your garage feels. Celebrate what you have done. It can be fun to take pictures of all the stuff leaving. *Keep in mind that some companies will pick up your donations if you can schedule it ahead of time.

FIND MORE GARAGE FUN HERE

Clear & Simple, SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT., Marla Dee, Kate Fehr, Organize Your Garage, Organize Your Car

Clear & Simple, SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT., Marla Dee, Kate Fehr, Organize Your Garage

Your Guides, Marla Dee and Kate Fehr.

We love teaching The Clear & Simple Way© to get organized, so you know where to start, what to do, and how to keep it up!

Clutter Clear Your Kitchen

by Marla Dee

Here are 3 simple ways that can be done in under an hour!

What is hiding inside your kitchen drawers?

Has your kitchen counter become a dumping ground?.

How many years of old, expired foods are hanging out in your pantry?

Marla Dee

The kitchen is the heart of the home. Yet, sadly it has become the dumping ground for paper piles and homeless stuff. And so often there isn’t room on the counter to cook or room on the table to eat. We want your kitchen to be a happy place for family and friends to gather daily.

We will start the transformation with some clutter clearing. Here are three simple options that can be done in an hour or two. This will get you started and keep you from getting lost in the details. Keep in mind we will take you through SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT.© for the kitchen and pantry next. Choose one of the following ideas, schedule the time, turn on music and dive in. Have boxes and bags on hand for what is leaving.

DO THE DRAWERS

This can be fun! Open your drawers and pull out all the obvious clutter. You can start with the kitchen catch all junk drawer or the cooking utensils drawer. These tend to be the worse. Dump the contents out and enjoy getting rid of the stuff you know you don’t need or that doesn’t belong there. You might be surprised at how many items you never use. Then have fun putting the drawer back together and organized. Tip: You can go the extra mile by getting the right containers in the drawers! Get the ones you need and deserve.

CLEAR THE COUNTER

It is amazing how much stuff lands on the kitchen counter that doesn’t belong there – papers, books, toys, tools and more. Take this time to move the stuff back to where it belongs. Now look at the things you are storing on the counter. Is there anything you don’t use very often that could be placed in a cupboard or drawer? When you are done, we suggest placing a plant, flowers or fresh fruit on the countertop to add the look and feel you desire. This will also help prevent the clutter from coming back.

EXPUNGE THE EXPIRED

This is another surprising area to clear. You can make it fun by involving your children. Set your timer and do one category of food at a time. For example, we like starting with the canned goods, or the cereal, or baking items. Pull everything from each category off the shelf, sort, check dates and toss the expired food. You get the idea. Then enjoy putting the good food back in place. This is another area where getting the right shelving and containers can make a difference.

When you are done, take some deep breaths and take in how different your kitchen feels. Celebrate what you have done. It can be fun to take pictures of all the stuff leaving. *Keep in mind that many food banks will take food up to a year past the expired date.

FIND MORE KITCHEN FUN HERE

Your Guide Marla Dee.

I love teaching the Clear & Simple Way to live free of clutter and get organized at last.