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Organize Your Year

Organizing your year begins with organizing yourself!

Your life matters in this world – your gifts, your choices, your message, your love, your thoughts, your feelings, your struggles and your growth. You are worth spending time with. So before you dive into the actions of your year and day, take the time to get clear on what matters most to you!

Marla Dee

See it. Map it. Do it. is the 3 step organizing system that works for all the areas of your space and life. Let’s apply it to your year.

Learn how here

SEE IT – Take a look at where you’ve been. You begin with acknowledging and learning from your past. Answer one or more of the following questions as they relate to last year.

  • What worked? What did you accomplish?
  • What can you celebrate?
  • What didn’t work? What dissapointed you?
  • What did you learn about yourself, life and others?

MAP IT – Next it’s time to make a written plan for where you want to go. If you were taking a road trip, you would have a general idea of your destination and the stops along the way. Mapping out your year is similiar. Just get the big pieces in place.

  • Choose one word for the year. Make it visual so you see it often and get reminded of your focus.
  • Choose your three core values for this year. You can deepen this by adding a sentence of what meaning they have for you.
  • Write down your five most important roles. Most of us have many roles and it is vital to know which ones matter most when you are making decisions each day.
  • Write the most important goal, creation or change for each role.
  • Choose a tool to write all this down you can review it often. Choose one that works for your personality, It can be paper or digital. Get creative with this so you love it.
  • Get  your  ONE PAGE MASTER MAP FORM here.

DO IT – Take the steps to get there. Now that you have your map and tool for the year, it’s time for action. Here is the system to bring your goals into your daily life, to break down the big changes to smaller steps.

  • For each month – Take 30 minutes and begin with reviewing last month. What got done, what didn’t and why? Then look at your year map and write down the 3 most important actions for this month. Use your tool to make sure you see these easily for your weekly planning.
  • For the week – Take 30 minutes, look at your month and write down the 3 most important actions for the week. Use your tool to make sure you see these often. I strongly suggest a weekly accountability partner!
  • For each day – Take time every morning with yourself, time to center and listen to what is going on inside you! Choose ways to do this that are meaningful and attractive to you. Then write down the 3 most important actions for the day. Lastly, close your day with celebrating your day and yourself.
Organize Your Year See it. Map it. Do it. Clear & Simple Steps

Getting clear on your year and what you most want!

When you are surrounded with clutter, it can be tempting to dive into the piles or stay distracted by the chaos. It can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to start making changes. The best place to start is with yourself. Only you can decide what is most important in your life. So, before you dive into the actions of this year, take the time to get clear on where you’ve been, discover who you are now and where you want to go. Take this time for yourself and use SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT.© to create what you are longing for.

This eBook will guide you through using SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT.© to get clear on your goals and support for the year. You will create two powerful master maps and get a system for bringing the goals into your daily life.

Getting your own PDF copy today for $20!

Your Guide, Marla Dee.

I love teaching the Clear & Simple Way to live free of clutter and get organized at last.

Letting Go of Your Old Self

Let go of the old you to make room for the new you!

It takes slowing down to spend time with yourself 

It takes humility to be honest with yourself 

It takes courage to let go of what’s blocking you 

It takes trust to let a new you emerge

Marla Dee

This new year can be a new journey of adventure and growth for you. It is time to become the person you are ready to be, the person you have been building up to for years.

In order for the new to come into being, you must start with releasing the old stuff, your old self. It is impossible to bring in new when the container is already full. Nature insists that we clear space first. Before your dive into what you want this year, it is essential to let go of what is now past time.

Letting go takes presence, courage and support. Get real with yourself. Why hold on when the new you is ready to emerge. Are you willing to take time with yourself? Grab a favorite pen and notebook. By reflecting on the queries below you will receive the insight that is waiting.

What am I holding onto?

Where have I been stuck? 

What is causing me pain? 

What needs to change?

What am I ready to let go of? 

  • Pattern
  • Habit
  • Belief
  • Place
  • Role
  • Commitment
  • Person or group
  • Old way of being

Do you need support to let go? If so, what kind? Now give yourself permission to have it.

Once you have done this, take time with your body, your heart and your head to release the old self. Breathe, feel, walk, run, or whatever your body wants. On the other end of this release is freedom.

Lastly, close down this time with yourself by fully taking in this new freedom. Open your body, mind and heart. Feel the open space and let the new come in. Now you are ready to start exploring what you want next.

Join us for a whole month of organizing your new self for this new year.

Your Guide Marla Dee. I love teaching the Clear & Simple Way to live free of clutter and get organized at last.

Tools for Easy Travel: Bags & More

Travel goods make travel easy!

You know that organizers can be obsessed with containers and bags.  But when it comes to travel, having the right containers makes a huge difference.  I want to share some of my favorite items and places to shop for the best selection of travel bags and more.

Note – Make sure to check out The Container Store’s short tips & videos for ideas to help you stay organized for travel.

1 – The Perfect Bag makes all the difference. You will need your roll on case but back packs are becoming very popular now for shorter travel. Check out this blog on Travel & Leisure for the best checked luggage.

I really like the Eagle Creek luggage. It is equipped with the 4 wheels for easy moving and great compartments and extra features. Eagle Creek has been around for a long time. The quality and warranty are excellent.

I’ve also come across a new line of luggage called Biaggi. Biaggi has travel bags that have zippers to enlarge or condense the size and can easily pack up into a small cube for storage.  You can find both brands at The Container Store.

 

And, of course, there are the classic bags which cost more but they are fabulous! Since, I am traveling a lot more these days, I just updated my bags to a gorgeous Tumi set. I also recommend Briggs & Riley for high quality.

2 – Create your body care set with all your body essentials. By having these all ready to go, you will save time and have less stress both before and on your trip. Then, take 3 minutes when you get home to refill the containers so you are ready for the next trip.

Here is a link to the page full of containers.  Clear & Simple’s favorite are the GoToobs.

3 – Another of my all-time favorites is the Eagle Creek Pack-it Folders. These cubes make it easy to pack your items, keep everything neatly together. Then I love how easy it is to lay them out (in a drawer or on a shelf) wherever I am staying so I have easy access.

4 – Don’t forget about your technology!  You spent money on your tech stuff so you want to protect it. You also want easy access. You can find some great options here.  A couple of my favorites are:

I hope these items and tips help you have a fun-filled and easy summer of travel! Stay tuned for a blog & video coming up where I will be showing all my travel gear.
Marla Dee – your guide to an organized and simpler life.

www.clearsimple.com/marladee 

A Sweet Summer

My entire adult life I have fantasized about having a summer off. I have dreamed of open time to play, to be in nature, to be a kid again. This year my dream is coming true. At the age of 58, I have lots of open space on my calendar. And I know how fast the summer will fly by. So I am taking today to go through the See It and Map It steps for my summer. I invite you to do the same.

Marla Dee


I recently read the blog The single most important thing you can do to simplify your summer  and I was deeply inspired to get clear on what I wanted most. Here is a short excerpt:

What did you long for most from your childhood summers?

For me, it was freedom. Delicious freedom from predictable schooldays. Freedom to lay in the sun, devour ice cream, and float for hours in a turquoise pool.

My summer longings have not changed much. A sun-drenched break from the routine sounds too good to be true, honestly. As a working mom, however, I know poolside paradise will elude me. Instead, the season will welcome busyness. 

From where I sit, summer’s two major opponents are sky-high expectations and the pressure to “do it all.” Corporate socials and family get-togethers. Planning a picture-perfect getaway or entertaining kids from dawn ‘til dusk (and then some). Then there’s laundry and groceries and shouts of “who left the screen door open again?!”

The tension is palpable. Often times, our knee-jerk reaction is to purely survive. Sanity, money, rest—these are common sacrifices on the altar called Summer.

But believe it or not, a simpler more satisfying summer is within reach, regardless of our individual situations. The pursuit is straightforward and anyone can start today.

It boils down to pausing before the chaos and tuning into your desires.

Time for the SEE IT. MAP IT. & DO IT. Steps!

 

SEE IT:

 

If you could choose a word or theme for this summer, what would it be? My summer theme is Summer Sabbatical.

 

MAP IT:

 

Sit down with your loved ones and ask what do you most want to do for –

 

  • fun & play
  • travel & exploration
  • project time
  • relaxation & healing

 

My choice for fun is 2 motorcycle trips with my man Bob, for travel I am taking a road trip to my home town of Bozeman Montana for my 40 year high school reunion, for projects I am creating a family picture wall in our new home, and for relaxation I am sitting on our deck in the evenings to wind down and breathe in the sweet country air.

 

DO IT:

 

Now take your map it list and put those things on the calendar. Make them happen by putting them first. 

Get more on the Clear & SIMPLE Systems here
Get our Top 10 Tips for Summer here

 

Your Guide Marla Dee. I love teaching the Clear & Simple Way to live free of clutter and get organized at last.

Declutter HOW?

Do you have clutter in your space and chaos in your day? On the fun YouTube show That’s so true Lynn and her guest star Marla Dee give you straight forward advice on how to start organizing your home and life. Marla will help you know where to start and how to get it done. Learn about her simple system of STACKS. Marla has been an organizer for 20 years and she knows the pain. Watch the segment and get inspired to cut the clutter and live in a well organized space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_-vRLlS8g
Marla & Lynn having FUN talking about clutter and organizing

If clutter clearing was easy, the clutter wouldn’t be there. If organizing was easy, the chaos wouldn’t be there. Since only 10% of the human population is born with the organizing gene, most of us need help learning HOW! After watching the video above, check out the page below for more depth on the STACKS system.

https://www.clearsimple.com/systems

Please share your stories of using STACKS with me – Marla Dee