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Travel Tip – There’s an App for that!

Traveling is FUN, but planning & packing can be stressful. Apps can make it easy.

From Marla – I love to travel but have always put off the planning and packing till the last minute. Of course this just adds to my stress and my belief that I can’t make traveling simple. Well I am happy to share that all aspects of traveling have changed for me and now I get excited when it is time to plan a new trip. I give the credit to the apps below. Planning my first fun trip of the summer has been a blast and quite simple. Instead of being in stress mode, I had fun preparing to visit my dear friend Michelle in CA where we will have 5 days to talk, create, walk, explore, laugh & cry.

I want to thank my business collaborator Kate Fehr for teaching me about these apps and strongly encourage you to check them out and use them on your next trip. 

From Kate – For me, the biggest stress around traveling used to be the giant list I would create of all of the projects that just “had” to get done before I left town. THEN I would start thinking about planning and packing for the actual trip. With next to no time left, I would pack way more than I really needed, or even wanted. Now when I plan a trip, I get my itinerary and any related travel information into TripIt. Then I go to Wunderlist and create my plan, from what I want to get done before I leave (like making sure my home is clean) to what I want to take with me. Simple, brilliant, and oh so freeing!

1. TripIt  When we first heard about TripIt two years ago, we were ecstatic…but could it really make things that much easier?! We found out it helps more than we imagined. After you book a trip, you simply forward the confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and the system builds an itinerary for you. If you make changes, simply forward that confirmation email and TripIt updates the plan for you. Once the itinerary is built, you can go in and add, change, and/or delete things. If you prefer to not send your emails, you can input the itinerary yourself or sign up for the Pro Plan where the app will update things automatically. For more details read our earlier blog here.

2. Wunderlist Wunderlist is a life changing app – you can use it for all the lists in your life. We are now running our whole business and our personal lives using this cool tool. Marla loves that it reminds her what to do and when to do it!! Kate loves having one place to dump everything from her brain, then knowing she can access it everywhere she goes. Get more details here.

3. LastPass – When Kate talks about digital organizing, the very first thing she discusses is a password keeper. She has found that one of the number one stressors around our digital lives is trying to remember and/or track all of the passwords our lives require. We love LastPass not only because you can store passwords, but you can also save banking and credit card information and digital records like insurance cards, membership cards and misc. notes. Their app is available on most devices and can be accessed offline. All of that information can sure come in handy while on a vacation, especially if you lose a credit card!

We hope you have a fabulous summer filled with travel of all kinds. We would love to hear about your adventures.

Marla, Kate & Team

Tip #5. Donate in alignment with your values.

Donating your stuff, your time and resources to a cause you care about is FREEING.

Why would we fill up our cars with our client’s donations? Because letting go of our stuff and deciding where to donate our resources are loaded decisions. We want to make it easier. We have seen over and over again that when our clients choose an agency or cause they really care about the letting go is easier.

We define clutter as delayed decisions and holding onto the past.

We are asking you to help your family and loved ones find a place to donate and a cause to contribute to. Please see the list below for ideas on places you can support.

We are sharing our chosen cause below and would appreciate your help.

 The Utah Professional Organizers are donating 200+ hours of our time and skill.

The Utah Professional Organizers are excited to help The Road Home organize supplies, donations, and storage closets at Palmer court. This wonderful organization helps find permanent housing for homeless individuals and families in our community. We need donations to make this project a success!  Everything helps.

We have found through the years that donating stuff, time and money to a cause you care about makes a big difference. We would greatly appreciate your help in this transformation.

Please go here to make a monetary donation. Or if you want more information about the Utah Professional Organizers go here.

Clear & SIMPLE, Utah Professional Organizers, 2017 GO Event

Here are some additional links for national agencies that will make it easy for you to let go of the stuff that is keeping you stuck!

 

Please share your own stories with us! Marla, Kate & Team

“Memories live longer than things”

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.

Clear & SIMPLE, James Wallman

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.

Clear & SIMPLE, Radio West

Breathing through this together,

Marla, Kate & Team

Travel the Clear & SIMPLE Way!

Want to travel simply, but still feel prepared?

After Marla and Kate experienced their first international trip ever and were overwhelmed with too much stuff they wrote about Traveling with Less. Since then they’ve research and practiced even more to get this business of traveling lightly conquered. And wouldn’t you know it, they usually end up having all they need.

Here are their Top 3 Tips…

1. Spend the time & money to complete a toiletry kit that is carry-on approved.

Clear & SIMPLE, Toiletry Kit

Kate’s Toiletry Kit

2. Plan out clothing options that are easy to mix-n-match. Less pieces, more combinations.

3. Let go of the “just in case” items.  This extra 10% is what makes it too much.

We are constantly trying new things out and looking for better solutions. We would love to hear what you’ve learned or come up with to make your trips simple and joyful. Please share with us!

How about a meet-up across the globe?!

Marla, Kate & Team

Clear & SIMPLE partners with The Container Store!

The ultimate organizing systems partner with the ultimate organizing solutions!

The Container Store now makes house calls and Clear & Simple is the medical team! It is with the most profound honor, gratitude and excitement that we announce our new relationship with The Container Store in their program Contained Home.

The Container Store is a brilliant company and recognizes that customers come in their store seeking solutions for their chaos but just getting containers is NOT enough.  And they get overwhelmed trying to figure it all out. They need help. They often need a professional organizer to see their space and take them through STACKS – Sort, Toss, Assign, Contain, Keep it up and Simplify.

The Clear & SIMPLE Team in Utah is thrilled to offer this help to the customers of The Container Store. If you have an area that needs special attention, the elfa system or fun ideas, please reach out to us 801-463-9090 | info@clearsimple.com

Our TIP for today is get help!  Ask a friend, a buddy or an organizer to come support you through all the decisions. You don’t have to do it alone.

Note – The Contained Home Program will be in all The Container Stores by the end of this year!  Check out the program and locations here Contained Home.

elfa laundry roomContained Home Cover