by CS Team
One PROJECT at a time…
Constantly telling yourself “I have to get through with this clutter and get organized” is stressful. Here are TWO SIMPLE TIPS that could empower you to get the projects done!
ONE – Choose only one project per season
– For each season, choose one clutter clearing or organizing project and just do that one. There is a different energy for each of the seasons and aligning with that helps tremendously. When you are finished, your only job is to enjoy the rest of the season by creating something new, spending time with loved ones, taking a class or just taking in the extra space to breathe.
Here are some examples:
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by CS Team
Harness the last of the spring energy before summer hits!
You know how contagious spring energy can be. It hits your body and you feel compelled to start clearing your space, go buy cool containers and somehow bring your space to life. You want to mirror what is happening outside and bring it inside. We believe that each season has it’s own energy and tapping into that makes organizing easier.
To help you really enjoy this Spring, we are sharing our top ten organizing tips throughout the month. Read our Pretty & Practical Tips, our Simple Spring Organizing Rituals, and get a printable version of all of our TOP TEN TIPS for Spring.
This week is about the Personal Touch:
2. You get to choose what stays and what goes!
This is your space, this is your life, this is your choice, and your responsibility. There is a gift if you claim your personal power and make your space what you really want. Start with one room and ask – how do you want it to look, feel and function? Take out everything that doesn’t align with YOU! Then have fun making changes like adding color, or a new plant, a sweet bookshelf, or soft rug. Create a room that you love being in!
The challenge here is that only YOU can make the decisions about your stuff. Don’t leave clutter clearing your home for your children, your friends or strangers to deal with. Get honest and ask the tough question – if you were gone from this life tomorrow, what would you be leaving behind for your loved ones? Start with one room again and bring it into alignment with your present time life.
Download our FREE eBook – The ART of Letting Go for help. ART stands for Acceptance, Release & Trust. This sweet book by Marla Dee also lists our favorite resources and experts to help you let go.
7. Refresh Your Clothes Closet
Spring is the best season for clearing out the clothes closet. Here are two personal tips for this personal area that gets a lot of use. First, we suggest getting real by trying EVERYTHING on your body and asking, “Is this me?” Be prepared to laugh and cry. Make it a party and do this with a friend. You will actually be able to release the clothes much easier than if you just look at them on the hanger. A great resource for radically simplifying your wardrobe is Project 333 by Courtney Carver.
Second, choose hanger heaven rather than hanger hell by simply getting the same color and material. This is the easiest and cheapest closet transformation. Choose one color and get the different types you need in that color. The body and brain go to color first. You will be amazed at the difference.
Get a printable version of all of Our TOP TEN TIPS for Spring.
We would love to hear your stories. Please share this with anyone in your life that would enjoy and benefit.
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Want to take the STRESS out of packing? Wouldn’t it feel great to be all ready the day it is time to leave?
Get Ruth Hadlock’s 4 simple, yet powerful Tips for Travel. We are here to tell you they work!! Ruth is the owner of Streamlined Space and has a gift for making everything SIMPLER! Use these travel tips and ENJOY!
Watch the VIDEO below along with reading the TIPS!
My clients tell me they spend the day before their vacation running around in circle, frantically trying to pack for their trip! How can you make this process stress-free? Here are 4 suggestions.
- Create a packing list. This sounds so remedial, but do you actually do it? It’s easy nowadays to keep a checklist in an app on your phone. It’s not that I’m trying to convince you to pack lighter; I’m simply encouraging people to pack the appropriate items for the trip you will be experiencing!
- Staging. As with so many organizing projects, you need a place to lay out all your clothes and items. Do this at least 48 hours in advance. I’ve found that my clients pack too little or too much or not the right items because they do it last minute without thinking clearly.
- Pack Correctly. Pack shoes against the edges of the suitcase. Roll your clothes rightly, placing larger, bulkier items at the bottom and ending with smaller, lighter ones. Put your toiletry kit and accessories on top. This way, you won’t have to sit on your suitcase anymore to be able to zip it! if you have dress clothes you don’t want wrinkled, lay them a the bottom of the suitcase, with the ends hanging out over the suitcase edge. Then fill the space with your rolled items and carefully fold the dress clothes ends on top. You can even use dry-cleaning bags to decrease wrinkles. Because the bag is slippery, creases won’t set in as much.
- Get the right luggage and accessories. Here are some of my favorite items, in no particular order:
Compression Bag | Bag Bungee | Toiletry Kit
VIEWER HOMEWORK: On your next upcoming trip, commit to using a packing list and staging your items ahead of time. You can view my favorite items on the Resource Page of my website streamlinedspace.com.
Ruth is a Clear & SIMPLE Certified Organizer™ (CSCO). Read about our 3-tiered training program.
We are all having adventures this summer and embracing tips that make traveling simpler. Let us know if these helped and what you are up to.
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Fall is the time to let go of what is dead, dying or done!
Tip 2. Follow the wisdom of mother nature. Every Fall she releases the dead, dying and old stuff back to the earth to be recycled and used differently. We can do the same. Commit to taking the month of October to clear the clutter that has built up over the busy summer (or maybe even many years). Trust that by letting it go you will create open space for new things to come in.
To get help with this and make it easy – check out our C&S 30-Day Clutter Clear Out and get started. The idea is to let go of ONE thing each day for 30 days. You will experience a break through, we promise.
Get the rest of our top tips from Marla this weekend at the Home Show in Salt Lake!
If you cannot make it to the Home Show you can purchase our TOP TEN TIPS for Home & Holidays, 20 super supportive tips in one sweet little eBook for only $10.
Friday, October 9th: 3 pm
Saturday, October 10th: 2 pm
Sunday, October 11th: 12 pm, 2 pm**
**Special presentation Clutter Clearing Made Simple!
Visit our Booth #239b near the Design Stage to enter our drawing and receive special offers!
Click below to purchase discount tickets! Use promo code: CLEAR
Show Information:
Friday October 9th @ 2:00 p.m. through Sunday October 11th @ 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
Yes, you can have fun with your kids and their school papers using this 3 STEP SYSTEM! The school year is over and now it is time for summer fun! But what to do with the huge pile up of art, reports, awards and all those papers that came home throughout the year. Here...
by Marla Dee
Everything is more FUN done with a friend – even organizing!
Let’s face it – most things are more fun when done with a friend – shopping, movies, dining, hiking, travel, and hobbies. What is it about organizing that makes us think we have to suffer? We have to force ourselves to get it done. It is always on the list but typically the last thing we want to do on the weekend, right? There seems to be shame around letting our friends see our chaos. And yet inviting someone to help is the solution!
This is one of the powerful secrets to make organizing FUN! Invite a friend to do it with you. Let go of the fear and shame of your friends seeing the chaos and open up to a powerful experience. As a professional organizer for 15 years I have seen hundreds of people be set free when they let themselves receive help from an organizer, a friend or family member. The important elements are:
- Pick someone safe who won’t judge you.
- Do the project in small pieces of 2-3 hours
- Make it fun by playing music or having snacks
- Try taking turns and helping each other
- Choose someone that supports you making a change
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by Marla Dee
Travel goods make travel easy!
You know that organizers can be obsessed with containers and bags. But when it comes to travel, having the right containers makes a huge difference. I want to share some of my favorite items and places to shop for the best selection of travel bags and more.
Note – Make sure to check out The Container Store’s short tips & videos for ideas to help you stay organized for travel.
1 – The Perfect Bag makes all the difference. You will need your roll on case but back packs are becoming very popular now for shorter travel. Check out this blog on Travel & Leisure for the best checked luggage.
I really like the Eagle Creek luggage. It is equipped with the 4 wheels for easy moving and great compartments and extra features. Eagle Creek has been around for a long time. The quality and warranty are excellent.
I’ve also come across a new line of luggage called Biaggi. Biaggi has travel bags that have zippers to enlarge or condense the size and can easily pack up into a small cube for storage. You can find both brands at The Container Store.
And, of course, there are the classic bags which cost more but they are fabulous! Since, I am traveling a lot more these days, I just updated my bags to a gorgeous Tumi set. I also recommend Briggs & Riley for high quality.
2 – Create your body care set with all your body essentials. By having these all ready to go, you will save time and have less stress both before and on your trip. Then, take 3 minutes when you get home to refill the containers so you are ready for the next trip.
Here is a link to the page full of containers. Clear & Simple’s favorite are the GoToobs.
3 – Another of my all-time favorites is the Eagle Creek Pack-it Folders. These cubes make it easy to pack your items, keep everything neatly together. Then I love how easy it is to lay them out (in a drawer or on a shelf) wherever I am staying so I have easy access.
4 – Don’t forget about your technology! You spent money on your tech stuff so you want to protect it. You also want easy access. You can find some great options here. A couple of my favorites are:
I hope these items and tips help you have a fun-filled and easy summer of travel! Stay tuned for a blog & video coming up where I will be showing all my travel gear.
Marla Dee – your guide to an organized and simpler life.
www.clearsimple.com/marladee
by Marla Dee
We take trips for family, for work, for community service. Isn’t it time to claim a trip just for you?
What if you could take any trip you wanted this summer? Where would you go? What would you do? Would you be with your intimate partner, with your kids, with a best friend? How about taking time with the most important person of all – how about a trip just to be with yourself?
In asking this question, I realized that I hadn’t taken my much needed solo retreat in years! Yikes, I used to do this every year. I would take 3-5 days away from my world of responsibilities and explore what was happening inside myself. I remember my first trip to see the Redwoods, when I found the red rock wonders of Capital Reef, and my many journeys to my homeland of Montana. This sacred time would always –
- Clear my body and my brain of the clutter
- Light a creative fire igniting new ideas
- Restore my being and bring me back to life
- Remind me how precious just being alive is
- Reconnect me with nature which is my source
So what happened? (more…)
by CS Team
Our Top Ten Tips, Tools, & Truths for a Happy Spring. Bring the sweet energy of spring into your space! Ritual is a great way to anchor your intentions. It helps you to massage and soften and release tough holding patterns and bring to conscious reality the longs of...
by CS Team
You’ve picked the organizing project to do, you have set aside the time and now the overwhelm hits. You look around at all the stuff and feel paralyzed about where to start…We are here to help! Read and watch below as Ruth Hadlock brings the power of SORTING FIRST to life!!
Click to watch Ruth on TV
We just love when other people share in their own words the steps of The Clear & SIMPLE Systems™. It affirms to us how simple and supportive they truly are. Ruth Hadlock of Streamlined Space, who is also a Clear & SIMPLE Certified Organizer™, explains the power of a simple SORT.
PARALYZED! My clients tell me it’s often overwhelming when they decide they are going to finally organize a junk room/craft room/etc. They are inspired and ready for action but as soon as they walk into that room and look around at all the clutter they are paralyzed – they don’t know where to start and what to do! I’m a certified organizer in the Clear & Simple method, a step by step system called S.T.A.C.K.S. © that takes you through the entire organizing process. The first step is SORT. I have seen over and over again that by sorting first all the other steps are easier; they actually build on each other.
So we start with setting up for the SORT. Put together 15-20 bankers boxes. You can buy them at Office Depot or Costco [or best price at Wal-mart]. These are great because once you’re done with this project, you fold up the bankers boxes until you’re ready to use them for your next organizing project. [read Clear & SIMPLE’s blog post on bankers boxes to get more]
The goal of SORT is to put like with like according to categories. As you pick up an item, ask “What is it?” and put it in a bankers box with a post it note label. For example, if you were sorting your office, you might have books, office supplies, filing supplies, projects, etc. If you don’t have a box already with that category, then make a new one.
The benefit of using boxes is you can freeze the process in time. How many of you have tried to organize an area, run out of time, friends are coming over, so you shove it into a closet and shut the door essentially wrecking any organization you just tried to implement!? This way, when you run out of time, simply stack the boxes against a wall and when you have time another day, you can easily pick up where you left off.
The key is to focus only on sorting. You’re not jumping ahead to “Am I going to keep it? ” Where will I put it?” “Does it need a container?”. Those are later steps. Just sort until the room is completely categorized.
Does this take time? YES! But how long has this room of yours been the way it looks now? I promise this method pays off if you follow the system. You will feel the progress!
VIEWER HOMEWORK: Choose a room in your house to sort. Download the Clear & SIMPLE Systems Card for free. Next time, I’ll share the 2nd step “Toss” with you.
Marla, Kate & Team
Would you like to become a professional organizer? Check out our in-depth, 3-tiered training program.
