by CS Team
The best gifts are sometimes the simplest!
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 will be a challenge. 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: Restore Time.
Give yourself the GIFT of a simple restore for your space. Take just 5-10 minutes each day and 30 at the end of the week. Set a timer and go around gathering the homeless items that have been dropped on the tables, chairs and floor. Then take them to their proper homes. Yes, we know you get busy but we want your space to feel good and support you. Even the youngest can put their toys away. You can always put on Christmas music and make it FUN!
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 –
- a sledding day
- reading before bed
- giving to a needy family
- a game night each week
- a theme for the year
- making home made ornaments
- caroling with a group of loved ones
Wishing you a magical and soulful holiday season,
Marla, Kate & Team
Get all of our TOP TEN TIPS for Home & Holidays in this eBook.
This is our GIFT
to you during the holidays!
Feel free to share this with others in your life.
by CS Team
Love lists? Dread lists? Try this cool tool!!
We are on fire about Wunderlist and we just have to share it!! We have known about it for some time, dabbled with it a bitand then got totally hooked. Because it is available across most devices, we always have our lists with us. We are able to MAP easily. We can share lists with other people through the app or by emailing them. We can also print and carry them around when needed.
A feature that we have just begun to use, but are very excited about is Emailing to Wunderlist. You simply forward the email to Wunderlist and it becomes a To Do. The subject is the Task Name and the body of the email gets put into the Notes. Even attachments are included on the To Do. Seriously? Thank you Wunderlist for giving us a way to clean out our inboxes!!
We are now running our whole business and our personal lives using this cool tool. We loves that it reminds us what to do and when to do it, having one place to dump everything that we need to remember, and knowing can access it everywhere we go.
You can have lists for…
- Places to visit
- Personal To Do’s
- Work To Do’s
- Personal Projects
- Work Projects
- Books to read
- Groceries – with sub categories for each store she shops at.
Check out Wunderlist on iTunes and Google Play. Go to the Wunderlist Website to download for other devices.
Wunderlist helps millions of people around the world capture their ideas, things to do and places to see. Whether you’re sharing a grocery list with a loved one, working on a project, or planning a vacation, Wunderlist makes it easy to share your lists and collaborate with everyone in your life. Wunderlist instantly syncs between your phone, tablet and computer, so you can access your lists from anywhere. Take a look at the possibilities in the picture below! All of this possible in the FREE version, but they do offer a PAID version with even more options.
We hope you embrace this fun and simple way to manage your lists! Let us know what you think.
Marla
Creators of the Clear & SIMPLE Way to get & stay organized!
by CS Team
We are FREE of stuff that was dragging us down and keeping us stuck!
We are deeply honored, humbled and inspired by everyone who joined our 30 Day Clutter Clear Out this year. Wow. Thank you for showing up, taking action and sharing your wonderful stories with us! We now want to share a little with you about how our lives were changed.
Marla’s story
Where does all the stuff come from? How does it keep piling up? Why do I still have that? These were some of my questions as I wandered around my home each day looking for something to release. What surprised me was that I found old stuff in every room. I couldn’t believe it. I have been practicing living simply for years now.
Yet, I still found stuff! Stuff that was homeless, stuff from years ago still taking up space, stuff I had forgotten. It was little things and big things. It was singular things that held deep meaning. The most loaded items for me were the ones that tied into my kid’s childhood. I have been an empty nester for only 7 months now. After 30 years of creating a home for my children and caring for their things, I am on my own. My daily life is different without my kids and their stuff. It is not simple or easy to trust this change. It is a daily journey. The 30 day group has been a big gift to me. I don’t want to do this alone. Hearing others share about going through their drawers, magazines, emails and kids stuff was the strength I needed to go through mine.
Here was
a story of mine from day 3. These awesome Pooh ABC foam puzzle pieces are from Jessica’s 1st birthday. She is now 20. My grandson used them but he just turned 10. Both my kids say let them go. Seems like it would be easy but I have such resistance. I realize they came from a special friend that I miss. Also, I want to make sure they go to someone who will really enjoy them.
I get to trust the Universe here. I get to practice what I preach.
To close, I am compelled to share that I saved the toughest stuff for the end – the digital and calendar clutter. I am now seeing the light at the end of my email nightmare tunnel. Kate is teaching me how to use Wunderlist to handle all my to do’s and keep them organized in one place. And I have released giving time and energy to work that doesn’t serve my soul’s purpose. More coming on these insights…
Kate’s story
Since relocating to Los Angeles in June of 2013, my little family and I have been radically shifting our lives and home. What started as just wanting to greatly simplify turned into minimalism. For us that means having only things that we use and/or support us in living truly soul-inspired lives. We’ve discovered that we want to spend as much time as possible playing, loving, learning and adventuring…and we now know it is possible with less stuff taking up time, energy and money.
Through about 25 layers we have released somewhere around 75% of what we moved with. Our drawers, closets and cupboards are organized and everything has a home. Sure our day-to-day activities bring the stuff out and we end up with piles of things that sit, often longer than I would like (I even sometimes let the kitchen stay messy and play games instead of cleaning), but homeostasis is easily reinstated. It is the most liberating experience of my life. (more…)
by CS Team
Join us in tackling closet clutter!
We’ve all been there…it’s time to get dressed for the day and we dread going to our closet. Perhaps it is stuffed full of clothes most of which don’t fit any more. Maybe it fits, but just doesn’t feel good. Maybe you have just had it for too long. It’s true that we only wear 20% of our clothes. The other 80% are just creating clutter and chaos in the day.
So our question is – how long has it been since you gave your closet a serious clean-out? We know it can feel overwhelming to tackle all those clothes. Would you like it to be simpler? Would you like the clothes that remain to be the ones you LOVE to wear so you love how you feel?
We want to share two EXPERTS & SYSTEMS that can help you transform your closet. We know you will find guidance to create what you have longing for in your space and with yourself.
Project 333 was created by Courtney Carver and is based on dressing with just 33 items or less for 3 months at a time. Wow! Even if you don’t make it to her level, she will inspire you to really clear out and she makes it FUN!
And check out her amazing micro course that will step you through the process. It even has a playlist to bring in the FUN!! Get it here.
“I did this and LOVED it! It changed my life! – Marla
Dressing Your Truth designed by Carol Tuttle is based on Four Types of Beauty and helps men & women find their type. Carol’s system goes deep, way beyond the surface of what you wear. Once determined there is a set of guidelines for each type that insure you will look and feel truly likely yourself.
By the way – Marla is a TYPE 4 and KATE is a TYPE 2!
“Dressing Your Truth is right on! I absolutely loved reading about the different types and finally finding support that feels in alignment with who I really am!” – Kate
Get the book or check out the online course.
Please comment and let us know what you choose to do!
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Is your stuff adding to your life – or draining your life?
We were recently inspired and changed by a thought provoking man and his message. James Wallman, author of Stuffocation, is revealing our relationship (as a human community) with our stuff and how it is changing. His message is much deeper than just letting go of stuff. We agree with him that releasing is just the beginning.
As a global society we have more stuff than ever. Our homes are busting at the seams even after putting many of our “precious belongings” in storage. According to the Self Storage Association, the self storage industry generated over $25 BILLION DOLLARS in revenue in 2014 and continues to grow. What?!?! We are spending mass amounts of money to store things we will most likely never use, let alone see! Just think of the experiences we could have with all of that money.
We love having things, but we realize they don’t really provide the profound connection, meaning and value that we all crave. Experiences like spending time with loved ones and exploring our world are what deepen our true enjoyment of life. The experience and the memory it creates are what we really crave.
Everything takes time, energy and money – not only to buy, but to maintain. (Tweet this) We get to choose where we want our resources to go. Will it be taking care of stuff or having experiences? The choice is yours!
We’d like to invite you to listen to James’ conversation about “Stuffocation” with Doug Fabrizio on Radio West.
Breathing through this together,
Marla, Kate & Team
