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.
by CS Team
Summer can be a time to slow down rather than speed up!
Summer is a sweet time. We often feel the tug to be a kid again on summer vacation, free from life’s responsibilities. And yet the summer can get crazy and even busier than the rest of the year. So how do we slow down and take in the sweetness of this summer?
Renee is a constant source of inspiration for us. Her blog below offers simple truth on how to slow down and love your summer, whatever stage of life you are.
One of my touchstones for gauging how fast–or slow–I’m living, is noticing if I have a vase of fresh herbs and flowers on my desk. When I’m living the life I desire, I create the time to meander in my garden and pick colorful, fragrant flowers and plants to enjoy in my office.
What’s your touchstone that lets you know you’re moving at a speed that feels just right for you? A signal that tells you you’re living joyfully and in alignment with what matters most?
For the last 16 years I’ve been self-employed. And it took me more than half of that time to figure out that I get to choose the speed at which I live, work and play.
When I finally “got this,” I realized … summer is an especially sacred time for me. It’s a time when I crave–and need–to slow way down. To embrace expanses of unscheduled time, to enjoy spontaneity, adventure, more time in nature and less time online. As delicious to me as homemade peach ice cream–I lap up spaciousness and big open creative windows where I get to sit with ideas, meditate on my life purpose and personal hopes and visions, integrate all I’ve learned from the past six months, explore new ways of being and reconnect with soulful friends for long hikes and late night swims in spring-fed waters. Summer is when I re-calibrate and am reminded of who I am and what I love.
Continue reading on her blog…
This is the 3rd year that we are really practicing slowing down during the summer. We hope you find the joy and peace in doing so yourself. – Marla, Kate & Team
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
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 your heart. Stephanie Bennett Vogt
To help you really enjoy this Spring, we are sharing our top ten organizing tips throughout the month. Get a printable version of all of our TOP TEN TIPS for Spring.
This week is about simple rituals to embrace spring:
*Guest Message – The One Minute Clearing Exercise from Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
Try this unbelievably simple, yet profound practice of only one minute a day for seven days. You will have a shift in your space and in your being. Click here for the video and feel spring energy move into your own body.
Clear & SIMPLE’s Tips on ritual…
1. Invite fresh, clean energy into your space.
On a warm, sunny day, open up your windows and doors, turn on some music and let the freshness of spring flow through your space. This helps move the stagnant winter energy to rejuvenate all the moving molecules. Then let yourself enjoy the new energy and what you are inspired to do throughout the day.
8. Dig in the dirt – or simply plant one pot.
Ahh, the yummy feeling of dirt in your hands – dry, rough, wet, packed, smooth – so many sensations just waiting for you. Spring is the time to let your inner child go outside, get your hands dirty and connect with the earth. For those of you that love gardening, you know how healing this time is. Give yourself permission to put earth time first and love every minute.
If gardening isn’t really your thing or you don’t have the time, just pick out one cool pot, find an already created flower arrangement and plop it in. Place it on your porch, where you can enjoy the beauty every day when you arrive home.
Remember that SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. © work for projects like planning a garden.
Get a printable version of all of Our TOP TEN TIPS for Spring.
Remember Spring is about new life – so open up to the sweetness of a new day. We would love to hear from you anytime. Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
The Energy of Spring is contagious!
New life and fresh ideas abound. The urge to create has been building all winter long. Sadly, it can also be overwhelming because of all the fun choices. Just imagine taking a trip down to the local gardens and gazing at the abundance of flowers. Where do you start?
To help you really enjoy this Spring, we are sharing our top ten organizing tips throughout the month. Get a printable version of all of our TOP TEN TIPS for Spring.
This week is about the Practical & Pretty:
3. Keep it simple by choosing one project for the season.
It can be overwhelming to think about all the clutter clearing and organizing projects in your home, which can block you from ever starting. So begin with choosing just ONE project for each season and over time your space will be transformed. Also, each season has it’s own feel.
Spring is the perfect time to transform your closet, garage or craft area.
Remember to write a vision of what you want to create before you dive in (the MAP IT Step).
6. Get inspired and bring in new life with bright colors.
How often have you caught your breath at the sight of a flowerbed in full bloom? Just like the blossoming flowers, bright containers make us happy. Our brain and bodies react to color first. So make your space or project one you will love to spend time in with bright, fun colors!
To find containers for all areas of your home in gorgeous colors, we love & recommend
The Container Store!!
Share your stories and photos on social media, #TheCSWay. We LOVE hearing from you!
Marla, Kate & Team
