SPRING is here! Time to weed out your cluttered closet and create a happy one!
Spring is the best season for clearing out the clothes closet. And yet the project can also feel overwhelming. Enjoy our juicy tips for transforming your closet so you get excited every morning.
Pull EVERYTHING out to clear out. It just doesn’t work to go through this while leaving the stuff in it’s old place.
Tip for the brave – Try EVERYTHING on your body and ask, “Is this really me, and is this me now?” Be prepared to laugh and cry. Do this with a friend. You might find it impossible to put the item back that no longer works.
SORT first so you can see what you have. This makes all the other steps easier.
TOSS comes next and you will want to be honest with yourself. Do you love it, wear it often, and/or need it?
ASSIGN strong zones for all the different types of stuff including shoes, purses, hats, etc.
CONTAIN – Get consistent hangers in all the same color and type. This makes it easy for your brain and body to focus on the clothes rather than be distracted by the hangers. You will also want to contain all the little stuff on the shelves rather than having it loose.
KEEP IT UP by putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket and putting shoes where they belong at the end of the day.
SIMPLIFY your clothes closet by aligning with your body and wardrobe type. We love the powerful system called Dressing Your Truth.
Clearing & organizing are easier when we align with nature. Mother earth is masterful at letting go of old & dying materials to make way for new growth. So, we often need to clean out the garden patch before we plant new life. As we say hello to spring, take 5 minutes to pause and ask –
“What is one habit I am holding onto that is keeping me stuck or cluttering my space?”
From Marla – “I am releasing the pattern of going to the computer in the morning before I do my meditation and journaling. When I go to the computer first, it throws off my whole day. When I take my quiet, grounding sacred time first – my whole day flows. What are you ready to release?”
From a client – “Right now I am letting go of trying to do everything myself. Forcing the ‘I can do it ALL’ mentality has really taken a toll on me energetically, emotionally and physically. I’m practicing delegating some things to free me up. Then I can do what I most want. What is one thing you could hire out or ask someone to help with?”
Here are examples of old habits that can outlive their usefulness:
Keeping all the emails in my inbox rather than setting up simple subfolders such as read, action and pending.
Doing my meals and grocery shopping on the fly rather than weekly planning.
Going to bed too late – forcing myself to stay up. Or sleeping in too late and skipping my morning time.
Plopping all the incoming mail and paper on the kitchen counter (rather than an incoming container).
Walking by piles of stuff day after day rather than a weekly restore to put everything in it’s home.
Once you get clear on what you are ready to release, you can ask what new habit you want to bring in. What would feel good and supportive for you life now?
*Please note that we recommend implementing this system and starting in present time. Once you are familiar with it and have every step in place, then go to the piles, filing drawers, etc. to clear out and clean up. Paper is its own beast and is very overwhelming. If you desire the help of an organizer, please contact us.
iRAFT begins with INCOMING:
As we mentioned above, the information is coming from many places; the mail box is only one. Think about how much easier it is to start into your email because it is in your INBOX. So for the paper, choose a container that will hold a week’s worth of incoming paper and put everything there! This includes mail, flyers, notes, etc… You also need a place for thoughts, conversations and such to land. You might use an app on your smart phone, Evernote or a small spiral notebook.
Then once a week (or more often if needed) you will take all the incoming and sort it into four piles. You simply ask do I need to Read, take an Action, File or Toss. Then take the paper (or move the emails) into the each container or folder.
READ:
Choose a cool container for your reading that is staying at your desk, your reading chair and for on-the-go.
ACTION:
Every home and office needs an action container for those papers that need your attention such as bills to pay, errands to run and items to discuss with someone else. We suggest making your container vertical so that it is easy to find what you need and leave the other items organized. It is also nice to have it portable so it can move around your space.
FILE:
We often ask our clients to describe how they feel about FILING. We hear words like yuck, overwhelming, impossible, always behind, drawers are full. And there is a constant theme of not know what to keep or for how long. So start with setting up a “to file” container and then schedule time once a week or once a month to file, depending on your volume. If you really hate filing then get someone else to do it.
TOSS:
By sorting once a week into RAFT, your tossing of the paper is now easy. Have fun noticing how much of that paper pain is really toss papers. Of course you can still throw away junk mail and such before it even lands in your space.
To summarize the SYSTEM:
Daily – plop all the incoming paper and information into the container.
Weekly – take 5 minutes to sort into 4 piles – Read, Action, File, Toss. Then take each pile to it’s proper container.
Weekly – set your TimeTimer for 30 minutes and do the action papers that need to get done that week.
Monthly – take your To File pile and file into your FreedomFiler system.
The holiday season is in full swing and as much as we wish that everyone could move through this time joyfully and easily, we know it can also be challenging. We are here to help simplify this time with practical & meaningful tips. See below for our GIFT to you – all our top tips for home & holidays!!
Tip for your home: Simplify.
Start SMALL. Choose an easier project like your purse, junk drawer or top of the dresser to begin.
Pick ONE. Choose one tip, one home area or one project for each season of the year and let this be enough. Then enjoy your life and loved ones the rest of the time rather than stressing about the stuff.
Tip for your holidays: Make your own traditions.
It’s your life and your choice. Create your own meaningful traditions based on your family’s current values and desires, not just what has “always been done.” Why not set aside an evening in front of the christmas tree – go around and ask each person in the family what would mean the most to them? Then consciously choose and deepen your traditions.
Here are a few ideas from our lives –
Special one-on-one time
a sledding or skating outing
reading a chosen story before bed
giving to a family in need
a game night each week
choosing a theme for the year
making ornaments, cookies or candy
caroling with loved ones
Wishing you a magical and soulful holiday season – Marla, Kate & Team
Get all of our TOP TEN TIPS for Home & Holidaysin this eBook. This is our GIFT to you during the holidays! Feel free to share this with others in your life.
Visit Our Shop where all of our downloadable are 50% off for the month of December!
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.
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 a 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.
