SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. - Clear & Simple

iRAFT Your Paper

Are you drowning in a sea of paper pain?

Did you know you can handle all of your incoming paper in less than an hour a week?! We know paper comes at you from all directions and you think it’s impossible to ever manage it all. Behold… iRAFT©! We have created a system that simplifies all your interactions with the paper & information.

Marla Dee & Kate Fehr

EVERY piece of paper and information that comes into your life can be handled using the iRAFT© steps beginning with Incoming, where it lands into your life and space.

Incoming – every paper item that comes into your life
Read – magazines, articles, letters, cards
Act – requires you do something (make a call, pay a bill…)
File – file it quickly and be able to retrieve it easily
Toss – shred or recycle

*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 connect with us.

Get iRAFT© For Your Paper in our free Paper Guide

INCOMING: In the same way that incoming emails land in the inbox, it is vital to create a container and spot for mail, thoughts, and information. The key elements when establishing a place for incoming communications are:

The location of the container needs to be close to the place of entry.
The container size needs to take into account the volume of information coming in.
The container should ideally be vertical with a large, open entry. If you use a horizontal container, select one that is open and comes with a lid.
The design of the container is important. Match the environment & personality of the user.
Process weekly into R.A.F.T.© – READ | ACTION | FILE | TOSS

READ: Choose a container for fast reading on the go, like a mesh folder in your briefcase, and a larger container/location for reading while you are sitting, both for personal and work. Keep the following in mind:

The right size of container is critical.
Location of the container is key. Put it where you will do the reading.
There is a difference between “quiet” and “active” reading.
There needs to be a system for when the reading happens.

ACTION: Everyone needs an action system for the communications that require action. Please keep the following guidelines in mind:

It is imperative to have a container for papers that need immediate attention, action, and decision.
The container for your action file should be visual, vertical, and easy to sort into and work out of.
Coupled with the container needs to be a system to address how often you will take action weekly.
Refer to the action system section below for details on these areas.

FILE: In this container place items that are ready to be filed as reference, storage or archive.

TOSS: It is so helpful to have recycle, shred and trash bins close to your processing area.

Download your FREE Paper Guide

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Check out the entire iRAFT© System here.

Your Guides, Marla Dee and Kate Fehr

We love teaching The Clear & Simple Way© to live free of clutter and get organized at last.

Organize Your Clothes Closet

by Marla Dee

Is your closet happy or heavy?

Start your day out right with an organized and beautiful closet. Let your closet support you rather than stress you. Fill your closet with the items you wear and love.

Marla Dee

SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT.© is the 3-step organizing formula that works for all the areas of your space and life. Let’s use it to transform your clothes closet.

Get Your FREE Bedroom Guide

SEE IT – Take a look at where you’re at. Does your closet make it easy to get dressed or stressful? Take some time to explore:

What’s working? What clothes do you love?
Is it easy to find what you want and need?
What do you like about the look and function?
What’s not working? What drives you crazy?
Is the floor covered? If so, what kind of stuff is there?
Are there things you never wear? How many sizes?
Are the clothes smashed tight or is there breathing space?

MAP IT – Make a plan for what you want each morning when it’s time to get dressed. Be honest and also let yourself dream. You deserve a closet you love.

How do you want your closet to look, feel and function?
Create an online board of images that inspire you.
Would it help to get a color/style consultation?
On a scale from 1-100, what % of clothes do you want to release?
Do you need a closet remodel to make it work?
Transformation Tip-Choose one color for all hangers. What is your color choice?

DO IT – Take the steps to make it happen. Look at your calendar and et up time for the transformation! We suggest claiming a full weekend.

Get help from a trusted, safe friend or a professional organizer.
Make sure you do each type of item separately. For example, do the clothing, then the accessories, followed by jewelry.
Now haul everything out of the closet and go through each step of S.T.A.C.K.S.© for each category. By taking one step at a time the project will be easier and you will save money.
If you are really brave, try on everything you have been holding onto.
Celebrate your transformation by dressing up and going out on the town.
Lastly, make sure to notice how much easier each morning has become.

Get Your FREE Bedroom Guide

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Your Guide, Marla Dee.

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

Organize Your Bedroom

by Marla Dee

Is your bedroom a peaceful sanctuary or a cluttered disaster?

A client story…

We stand side by side in the doorway to her bedroom, looking at the clutter that has taken over the bed, floor, and all horizontal surfaces. She can’t even sleep in this room anymore. As she starts to tell her story, I feel her sadness and shame.

Using the See it. step, I ask my client how things got like this? What happened? Well, her life is a busy one. Between raising 4 girls, work that she loves, and many interests, there isn’t time for her own stuff. Her bedroom, like so many of my clients, became a dumping ground for homeless and undone items. It’s the one room in her home where she doesn’t have to hold it all together. It’s only now that her girls are grown and gone that she can take time for herself.

As we move into the Map it. step, she gets to share about her vision for this bedroom. She’s been dreaming about it for years and has gathered lots of pictures. She wants a sanctuary. What a joy to witness her and put the plan on paper.

Now she is excited and ready to dive into the stuff and make choices that support her vision. Following STACKS (Do It.) one step at a time makes going through all her things possible. We start with the floor, move onto the bed and side tables, and end with her dresser and closet, completely transforming the space into her dream room.

She looks at me with tears in her eyes and exclaims, “I did it!”

SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT.© is the 3-step organizing formula that works for all the areas of your space and life. Let’s use it to transform your bedroom.

SEE IT – Take a look at where you’re at. Have each person answer the questions below for the whole bedroom (we will do the clothes closet later). When you are done, take time to share with each other.

What’s working? You can be specific or general.
What do you love about the look, feel and function?
Are there things you know you want to change?
What’s not working? What don’t you like?
Are there things in your bedroom that don’t belong there?
Are you doing things other than rest and intimacy in your bedroom?

MAP IT – Make a written plan for what you want. Go after what you really desire as this is the most important room in your home.

How do you want your bedroom to look, feel and function? Have FUN!
Create an online board of images that inspire you. Go for it!
Create a mind map showing all the elements you most want.
Is there a theme for your room such as beach house?
What colors and textures would make you happy?
What do you want to add to your bedroom, like a reading chair?

DO IT – Take the steps to make it happen. Look on your calendar and set up time for the transformation. Try playing music and make this joyful.

Choose which area you want to start with. We suggest starting small and building up from there. For example, you could do the bed and side tables, then go to the dresser and rest of the room.
Go through the S.T.A.C.K.S.© Steps for the project (Sort, Toss, Assign, Contain, Keep it up, Simplify). By following STACKS the process you will save time, energy and money.
Once you complete each area, take time to celebrate. Why not have a date night in your new bedroom! We promise you will sleep better and wake up happier.

Organize Your Year

by Marla Dee

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.

A Sweet Summer

by Marla Dee

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.