by CS Team
How long has it been since you’ve spent time just sitting & sharing?
December can be a time to slow down (rather than speed up). Waking up sipping a cup of tea and talking quietly is a precious gift. Or, since the sun sets earlier, we now have long evenings to sit, read, write and share with each other. Before technology came, we sat around a roaring fire or the big, wood dining room table and we talked. Wouldn’t it be sweet to give yourself this softer way of being?
So before you get too busy with the holidays and start bringing more stuff in, we invite you to take an honest, deep look at your life. By simply getting still and going inward, we can open to what truly has meaning to us!
We invite you to set aside a morning or an evening to ask and answer the following queries. Then share with your loved ones and ask them to share.
From Marla – I just did this with my wonderful partner and was truly surprised and delighted at what he had to say. I felt our love deepen in those moments.
What means the most to me right now…
- in relationship with myself?
- in my intimate relationship?
- in my family?
- in my home?
- In my friendships?
- in my work or creations?
- in the next steps of my path?
** Get a printable version here.
Joyfully surrendering to the slowdown,
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Simple ways to give thanks each & every day.
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.
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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
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
