by CS Team
Our systems make organizing simple!
The Clear & SIMPLE Systems © are a unique approach to organizing. They offer a simple, grounded, step-by-step process that will educate, empower and excite you to take on the “stuff” in ALL areas of your life…home, office, paper, time and even your interior spaces…mind, body, soul.
Below is a outline of our systems. We invite you to read through them, really take them in and then give them a go in your space(s). Click here for a beautiful, downloadable and printable copy…and feel free to share with everyone! If you would like additional support take a look through Our Shop or Connect With Us to get help from an organizer.
• SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. © The Foundation System for any organizing project.
SEE IT. || Take a look at where you are at.
Write the story your clutter tells.
Draw the story.
Take pictures.
Answer questions:
What’s working?
What’s not working?
Where are you stuck and why?
What do you want most to accomplish?
MAP IT. || “Make A Plan” for where you wan to go.
Do a mind map.
Make a list or create a chart.
Draw a picture or create a collage.
Write a description of your top three priorities.
Write your vision of what you really want.
DO IT. || Take the action steps to get there using our sub-system S.T.A.C.K.S. ©
• S.T.A.C.K.S. © The Action System to getting it done, asking just one question and taking one action at a time.
SORT || What is it? – Sort into piles of like with like.
TOSS || Do I need it or want it? – Put in the keep of discard pile.
ASSIGN A HOME || Where does it go? – Identify how/where you use it and create zones accordingly.
CONTAIN || What does it go in? – Measure the “stuff” and the storage area BEFORE buying containers.
KEEP IT UP || How do I maintain it? – Create a simple plan for how you will maintain the area.
SIMPLIFY || Decide whether any new items pass the test.
• The ART of Letting Go || Acceptance, Release and Trust. Are you ready to let go?
“This treasure of a book will give you inspiration and steps to clear the clutter that is dragging you down and keeping you stuck.” – Marla Dee
Download a FREE copy and feel free to share with anyone you think would benefit!
Our passion is supporting people on clearing out all of that “stuff” that keeps them stuck in order to live the life they most desire. It takes time, energy and the tools to accomplish. We get that. That’s why we do what we do and practice it in our own lives.
We’re here for you!
Marla, Kate & Team
SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. © and S.T.A.C.K.S. © are property of Clear & Simple, LLC. All Rights Reserved
by CS Team
All you need is a little system that offers BIG support!
Do you have a project that has been waiting for you, stressing you or just bugging you to get it done? We have found that most people do not enjoy even thinking about the projects that need to get done, much less taking action. We understand why. First of all, there is always too much to do in a day and too little time. Then you add the overwhelm from all of the stuff in all the areas. Lastly, most people just don’t know where to start, how to get through the project and then how to keep it up. It’s a lot to handle!
We love teaching people how! This is why SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. © is such a powerful system. It walks us through each of the steps from start to finish – teaching the organizing skill – and cuts down on the time and energy it takes to get it done.
So why not find out for yourself why the Clear & SIMPLE Way is different. Set aside 30 minutes to get started and go through the following steps. We promise you’ll find joy, clarity, and freedom! Who knows, you might even get one project done and want to dive into another one.
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SEE IT: Take a Look at where you have been up till now
- Turn on some music that makes you happy.
- Brain Dump a BIG list of all the projects hanging out in your head that you think you “should” be doing. Just get it all out and down on paper.
- Choose ONE project that would have personal meaning for this Season – maybe your closet, your garage, your computer, your pictures, or your bedroom. You get to choose!
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MAP IT: Make a Plan for where you want to go
- Do a Mind Map for the project and have FUN creating it! kate put in link with example
- Write a vision for the project – how do you want it to look, feel and function?
- Make a list of the basic steps needed. Remember you can always start with a general list.
DO IT: Take the Action Steps that create the change
- Get an accountability partner or support person that you have fun with and that you trust.
- Put the actions from your MAP list on the calendar.
- Set up a reward for getting the project done.
Download our Systems Card to guide you even deeper through this process.
Get pumped and check that project off your list! We’d love to hear how you feel on the other side…
Getting things done together,
Marla, Kate & Team
SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. © and S.T.A.C.K.S. © are property of Clear & Simple, LLC. All Rights Reserved
by CS Team
Choose now what you WANT your summer to be!
When summer comes around, don’t you just want to have fun? The kid in us comes out and the playful, nostalgic energy of summer seeps into our spaces and bodies every chance it gets. Then the thoughts “Let’s take a road trip – or head up in the mountains to camp- or spend a week lounging on the beach” creep in.
As wonderful as this feels on one hand, it can be frustrating on the other because we still have responsibilities and commitments. Darn it! You will find us saying again and again, this is YOUR life and you get to decide what it looks like. Trust us, we know this is easier said than done and takes practice.
That is why we encourage you and your loved ones to take 30 minutes to travel through SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. © and create your Best Summer Ever!
SEE IT: Have everyone share one favorite memory from a past summer and what made it so great. Was it nature, the activity, a special place or just being together?
MAP IT: Have everyone choose one thing they would most want for this summer. Create a MAP (make a plan) of some kind to bring the intention into reality. You can simply write it on the calendar, draw or print a picture of the place/event, collage or get creative in any number of ways.
DO IT: Our TIP for making the DO IT step simpler is to pick one special play event, one project and one creation for each month of the summer. Choose now and then let yourself enjoy the juicy fruits of your planning.
We may not be able to blow off life as we know it just to play every summer, but we can consciously call in energy, activities and interactions that fill us up and bring us joy.
Trust us, we’re over practicing this ourselves. We’d love to hear how you make summer time special…?
Pretending we’re 10 again,
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Letting go is never easy, but it can be easier. Read our 3 simple steps below…
As professional organizers we regularly witness the immense pain, struggle and hopelessness that comes from having too much stuff and not knowing what to do with it. As human beings we’ve also experienced these emotions ourselves. As a society we’ve learned to value things “because they belonged to grandma”, “they’ll be worth something one day”, “because we might need them in the future”, and so on.
Our beliefs are now shifting because we are overwhelmed with too much stuff. We no longer believe that anything is worth keeping if it causes us stress, depletes our energy or keeps us from living a good life. We deserve to wake up each day free of stress, smile with a grateful heart for the day ahead, a day filled with what matters most.
To get to this point takes practice and shedding layers upon layers; choosing into gratitude; releasing possessions, commitments and energy that no longer serve us; deciding that we really are the masters of our lives and our destinies.
If you are ready to begin this process, we invite you to read The ART of Letting Go by our own Marla Dee.
“This treasure of an ebook will give you inspiration and steps to clear the clutter that is dragging you down and keeping you stuck.” – Marla Dee
Excerpt:
Let’s explore the ART of Letting Go
Because the nature of clutter is heavy and dense, I wanted to simplify the process into three meaningful steps. I want you to hear that there are three stages we go through over and over again. Acknowledging that these three steps are the natural way will make the letting go easier. We will use the word ART to guide you through:
~ Acceptance ~ Release ~ Trust
ACCEPTANCE
All of our clutter tells a story and everyone has their own form of it in some area of their life. Accepting this fact is the beginning. Accepting that your environment is simply a reflection of your life up until now, a reflection of what has happened to you and what is going on inside you is vital. There does not need to be shame or blame in looking at this picture. That would only keep you in the role of a victim. In order to step into the power of change and growth you must be willing to open your eyes and look at it.
There is no purpose or healthy payoff in focusing on the clutter itself, on staying locked up in guilt – not for you or for others. However, there is great power in becoming accountable for the fact that you are the creator of your life and of your environment. Your old things, your old patterns, your old relationships reflect who you have been and what you have built or what you have avoided – it is YOUR PAST!
Download your FREE copy now to continue reading.
“I honor your willingness to reach out and seek help so you can let go of the clutter at last. As a Professional Organizer for many years, I have witnessed tremendous courage from my clients in their willingness to get real with the story their clutter tells; to let go of the past and welcome a new change. Letting go is never easy, but it can be made easier.” – Marla Dee
Your life is waiting for you,
Marla, Kate and Team
by CS Team
What’s all this talk about minimalism?!
Minimalism is a very personal thing. At it’s core it means mindfully choosing to live simply with less possessions in order to have more time, more financial freedom, more health, more fun, more of whatever you want your life to truly be about.
We’ve been what we call “aspiring simplists” for quite some time now, but a few months ago we became “aspiring minimalists” after having the privilege of hearing a couple of minimalists speak at the NAPO Conference. Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus, aka The Minimalists, shared with us their journey from six-figure salaries, 50+ hour work weeks, big houses full of possessions, fancy and pricey cars, failing relationships to a lives of minimalism. We grabbed and gobbled up their book Everything That Remains and it has become our main resource.
Check out a recent post from them…
“There isn’t an invisible committee of maniacal minimalists somewhere conspiring to force everybody to get rid of their material possessions.
Like your stuff? Keep it!
Find value in that wardrobe teeming with unworn clothes?
That closet brimming with mismatched bath towels
That basement abound with un-played-with toys?
That garage stuffed with collections of trinkets?
That shelf overrun by dusty DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes?
Great! Hold tighter if you feel so inclined. Permission granted.
You have permission to keep anything that adds value to your life.
And you have permission to keep anything that doesn’t.
But you also have permission to let go.
You have permission to clear the clutter.
You have permission to remove the excess—the clothes you don’t wear, the junk you don’t use, the things you hold on to just in case—and focus on what’s truly important to you: health, relationships, passions.
Either way—you have permission.
Of course, you don’t need anyone else’s permission—only your own.”
We couldn’t agree more about permission. This is your life and we want to encourage you in living it the way your HEART most desires. Getting support from different places is very helpful. We’re not meant to do this life on our own. We hope you find valuable guidance and wisdom from these fantastic men.
For those of you living in or near to Salt Lake, we’d like you to invite you to join Marla at a FREE event that Joshua is hosting, called The WordTasting Tour. Some very special people will be sharing about minimalism, travel and more. Another one of our favorite minimalists, and Salt Lake local, Courtney Carver of Be More With Less, will be joining. Get your FREE Tickets.
Big love and support to you!
Marla, Kate and Team
