*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 contact us.
iRAFT begins with INCOMING:
As we mentioned above, the information is coming from many places; the mail box is only one. Think about how much easier it is to start into your email because it is in your INBOX. So for the paper, choose a container that will hold a week’s worth of incoming paper and put everything there! This includes mail, flyers, notes, etc… You also need a place for thoughts, conversations and such to land. You might use an app on your smart phone, Evernote or a small spiral notebook.
Then once a week (or more often if needed) you will take all the incoming and sort it into four piles. You simply ask do I need to Read, take an Action, File or Toss. Then take the paper (or move the emails) into the each container or folder.
READ:
Choose a cool container for your reading that is staying at your desk, your reading chair and for on-the-go.
ACTION:
Every home and office needs an action container for those papers that need your attention such as bills to pay, errands to run and items to discuss with someone else. We suggest making your container vertical so that it is easy to find what you need and leave the other items organized. It is also nice to have it portable so it can move around your space.
FILE:
We often ask our clients to describe how they feel about FILING. We hear words like yuck, overwhelming, impossible, always behind, drawers are full. And there is a constant theme of not know what to keep or for how long. So start with setting up a “to file” container and then schedule time once a week or once a month to file, depending on your volume. If you really hate filing then get someone else to do it.
TOSS:
By sorting once a week into RAFT, your tossing of the paper is now easy. Have fun noticing how much of that paper pain is really toss papers. Of course you can still throw away junk mail and such before it even lands in your space.
To summarize the SYSTEM:
Daily – plop all the incoming paper and information into the container.
Weekly – take 5 minutes to sort into 4 piles – Read, Action, File, Toss. Then take each pile to it’s proper container.
Weekly – set your TimeTimer for 30 minutes and do the action papers that need to get done that week.
Monthly – take your To File pile and file into your FreedomFiler system.
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 can also be challenging. 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: Simplify.
Start SMALL. Choose an easier project like your purse, junk drawer or top of the dresser to begin.
Pick ONE. Choose one tip, one home area or one project for each season of the year and let this be enough. Then enjoy your life and loved ones the rest of the time rather than stressing about the stuff.
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 –
Special one-on-one time
a sledding or skating outing
reading a chosen story before bed
giving to a family in need
a game night each week
choosing a theme for the year
making ornaments, cookies or candy
caroling with loved ones
Wishing you a magical and soulful holiday season – Marla, Kate & Team
Get all of our TOP TEN TIPS for Home & Holidaysin this eBook. This is our GIFT to you during the holidays! Feel free to share this with others in your life.
Visit Our Shop where all of our downloadable are 50% off for the month of December!
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.
Want to take the STRESS out of packing? Wouldn’t it feel great to be all ready the day it is time to leave?
Get Ruth Hadlock’s 4 simple, yet powerful Tips for Travel. We are here to tell you they work!! Ruth is the owner of Streamlined Space and has a gift for making everything SIMPLER! Use these travel tips and ENJOY!
Watch the VIDEO below along with reading the TIPS!
My clients tell me they spend the day before their vacation running around in circle, frantically trying to pack for their trip! How can you make this process stress-free? Here are 4 suggestions.
Create a packing list. This sounds so remedial, but do you actually do it? It’s easy nowadays to keep a checklist in an app on your phone. It’s not that I’m trying to convince you to pack lighter; I’m simply encouraging people to pack the appropriate items for the trip you will be experiencing!
Staging. As with so many organizing projects, you need a place to lay out all your clothes and items. Do this at least 48 hours in advance. I’ve found that my clients pack too little or too much or not the right items because they do it last minute without thinking clearly.
Pack Correctly. Pack shoes against the edges of the suitcase. Roll your clothes rightly, placing larger, bulkier items at the bottom and ending with smaller, lighter ones. Put your toiletry kit and accessories on top. This way, you won’t have to sit on your suitcase anymore to be able to zip it! if you have dress clothes you don’t want wrinkled, lay them a the bottom of the suitcase, with the ends hanging out over the suitcase edge. Then fill the space with your rolled items and carefully fold the dress clothes ends on top. You can even use dry-cleaning bags to decrease wrinkles. Because the bag is slippery, creases won’t set in as much.
Get the right luggage and accessories. Here are some of my favorite items, in no particular order:
Compression Bag | Bag Bungee | Toiletry Kit
VIEWER HOMEWORK: On your next upcoming trip, commit to using a packing list and staging your items ahead of time. You can view my favorite items on the Resource Page of my website streamlinedspace.com.
It’s time to go on vacation, yay! And then you are flooded with overwhelm. The vital details for the trip are scattered everywhere! The confirmations are in your email. The schedule of events is on your calendar. Notifications of flight delays come to you by text, if at all. Reminder to check-in for flights is sent to your email. When someone needs a copy of your flight info or itinerary, you have to go searching to find it in order to forward it. And so on…
When we first heard about TripIt, 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.
Our favorite things are…
Being able to check in and check flight status in.
It syncs to our phone calendars.
Once you’ve entered places you are staying, maps are attached for easy navigating.
Being able to use the app along with logging in online.
For more information and to download it for your mobile device go HERE. Happy traveling!
