by kathilipp | Dec 19, 2018 | Clutter Free |
Do you long for a clutter free life – but your best efforts are derailed by the grind of the day to day?
You poured blood, sweat – and yes, tears – into whipping your home into shape. Your space feels inviting again. Calm. Peaceful. Uncluttered.
For a moment, you realize this is how you are meant to live. You and your family deserve a space that serves you. That welcomes you, comforts you, and literally provides the space you need to live out your very best life.
But the moment is just that – a moment.
Because in the next moment, someone walks through the door and lays down their things in the entryway. After flinging their coat over the living room chair, they unceremoniously plop a large pile of mail on your freshly cleaned counter.
The next day, you rush out of the house to meet a deadline, regretfully leaving a trail of misplaced things in your wake. I’ll get to that as soon as I get home, you think. Except when you get home, you’re just too tired from the day.
And so it continues. Clutter begins slowly but surely taking over your space. And your once peaceful home now looks crowded. Simply walking into a room feels defeating. You know how much effort it’s going to take to wrangle it back into shape. And you just don’t have the time. Or the energy.
But what if it didn’t have to come to this? What if there were a solution that made staying on top of clutter less daunting?
Introducing Clutter Free for Life – your daily plan to kick clutter to the curb and keep it out once and for all.
Around here, we know clearing clutter is never one and done. It requires a consistent daily plan because clutter is always fighting to make its way back into your home. This is why Clutter Free Academy is launching a new program – Clutter Free for Life.
Clutter Free for Life is not just a program. It’s a new way of life. We have a team ready and willing to teach you daily practices, so you can have a clutter-free home and clutter-free life. We will hold your hand and roll up our sleeves to walk through this Clutter Free life with you. No matter what your house looks like right now or how busy you are, we have the practical steps to get you to where you want to be.
This is the closest you can get to having Kathi move in with you. Clutter Free for Life provides resources and a practical action plan for how to systematically declutter your home through small daily habits.
If you’re ready to be Clutter Free for Life, this program is for you. Every month, you’ll get a daily action plan that maps out the daily and weekly habits you need to master to keep clutter at bay. You’ll also get a journal to help you track your progress and set your personal Clutter Free goals. In our private members-only Facebook group, you’ll get day-to-day support to keep you on pace. You’ll also get monthly group coaching calls with Kathi, early access to all Clutter Free Academy offers and access to our Clutter Free Academy team to support you along the way.
Find out more at https://www.kathilipp.com/clutter-free-for-life/.
It’s time to kick clutter to the curb once and for all.
by kathilipp | Dec 18, 2018 | Clutter Free, Podcast |
On today’s episode, Kathi welcomes back Tonya Kubo to share the biggest Clutter Free announcement we’ve ever had. They introduce the Clutter Free for Life subscription group.
On today’s encouraging show you’ll learn:
- What to do if you need help with the day to day clutter.
- How this program can help you implement the daily practices required to keep clutter free for life.
- Why clutter is never a one and done.
When you sign up for Clutter Free for Life you’ll receive STRUCTURE to help you live clutter free along with:
- A Binder Cover
- Letter from Kathi
- Feature Teaching
- Monthly Decluttering Plan
- 1st of the month Planning Sheet
- Last of the Month Celebration Sheet
*PLUS support and accountability through a private Facebook group.
Clutter Free for Life starts on January 1, 2019
As a special offer for those in the Clutter Free Academy community you can sign up for the monthly subscription for $18.99 or pay $149 for the whole year.
AND if you subscribe before January 1st you’ll get the special intro price of $79! You’ll also receive:
- Free e-course Kick-Start to Clutter Free
- Clutter Free Bible Study with downloadable book
- And the first 100 subscribers will get a free signed copy of Kathi’s book Overwhelmed.
Thanks for Listening!
To share your thoughts:
• Leave a note in the comment section below.
• Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.
To help out the show:
• Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
• Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe now.
Tonya Kubo is the illustrious, fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter-Free Academy Facebook group.A speaker and writer, Tonya makes her home in the heart of California with her husband, Brian, their two spirited daughters and one very tolerant cat. Visit her at www.GreatMoms.org.
by Guest Blogger | Dec 11, 2018 | Clutter Free |
This week, I will be rummaging through containers of more ornaments and decorations than I will or should use. Every year I tell myself I need to sort through our ornaments, and every year I am too overwhelmed with the process. There are so many pieces to sort through. I am in too much of a hurry at the beginning of the season and too tired at the end.
There are many reasons I am hesitant to let go, and there are many reasons why I want to. I fear I will need them someday and won’t have them. What if my kids want them when they have their own place? At the same time, I know I don’t want all of my mom’s decorations. Isn’t it likely that my kids would feel the same about mine? Maybe I would do them a favor to cut the clutter now, so they don’t have to do it later.
With some, I feel guilty. A special person gave it to me and I believe that if I get rid of it, I am throwing away the value that was placed on it.The memory of that moment when I received it is likely more valuable than the item. Wouldn’t it be more meaningful to take a photo and tell the story? I bet I could make a photo book of all the ornaments that fit in this category to put out on the coffee table at Christmastime to create a different type of tradition.
Then there is shame. The ornament that my grandma gave to me for my first Christmas has stayed in the tissue paper for decades. I worry that her heart would break to know I didn’t keep it forever. But then I remember that the ornament is not my grandma. Letting it go to bless someone else is a way of extending both my love for her and the love she had for me. The memory means more than the piece.
Though I know fear, guilt and shame are lies Clutter likes to tell to keep its hold on me, I need practical steps to fight back. This year, I’m not letting the lies overwhelm me to the point of paralysis. This year, I’m taking a different approach. I have created a three-step plan to make this Christmas Clutter-Free:
1.Inventory — Taking stock of my ornaments that have a memory versus the white elephant gift or the bazaar find that is, well, rather bizarre. Christmas ornaments should revive stories, traveling experiences or priceless moments. If they do not have a purpose in my past maybe they need to be history.
2. Collection Reflection –I have two different collection series. Displaying the collections in sets will help me see just how many items I have. By placing pieces in different areas throughout my house I not only lose track of just how many I have, but it also makes clean up more chaotic. If I can’t fit them into a designated space, maybe it’s time I stop adding pieces.
3.Send It Off — Taking whatever doesn’t make the cut to a donation center now, instead of later, shortens my decorating time and makes clean-up less chaotic. I might even ask a friend to join me in the 3 steps, when we take our boxed up clutter to the center we can have a celebratory Peppermint Latte.
Need Other Ideas?
Our Clutter Free Academy Facebook group is filled with tips and tricks for the holidays. Sandy suggests sorting ornaments into categories (own childhood handmade, kids’ handmade ornaments, personalized ornaments, etc.) to determine how much they truly mean. She also advocates decluttering ornaments now so that others who need decorations this year can find them in time. Robin says if it’s still in the box after the decorating is done, it needs to go out. If it’s not in the plan to use this year, it probably won’t be used next year.
What about you? Do you think these steps would work for you or do you have a tried-and-true plan of your own?
by kathilipp | Dec 4, 2018 | Clutter Free, Finances, Podcast |
On today’s episode, Kathi chats with Deborah Smith Pegues, author of The One-Minute Money Mentor for Women. Kathi and Deborah discuss the importance of women being financially literate. And Deborah shares practical tips for women who might feel overwhelmed by money issues.
On today’s informative show you’ll learn:
- Why people who struggle with clutter often also struggle with money
- What to do if you’ve been ignoring money and find yourself in a tough place
- Deborah’s biggest money tip for the Christmas holiday
Enter to Win!
Grand prize- Win $50 in cash to go towards an outstanding bill, plus Deborah’s book The One-Minute Money Mentor for Women!
Plus, FIVE lucky runner-ups will win a copy of The One-Minute Money Mentor for Women!
Enter by answering in the comments:
“Share your best tip for getting out of debt?”
*US residents only
Buy the book here.
Thanks for Listening!
To share your thoughts:
• Leave a note in the comment section below.
• Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.
To help out the show:
• Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
• Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe now.
Deborah Smith Pegues is a certified public accountant, behavioral consultant, TV host, and global speaker with an MBA in finance. She has written seventeen transformational books, including the bestselling 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue (over one million sold worldwide) and Emergency Prayers. She and her husband, Darnell, have been married nearly 40 years. Learn more.
by kathilipp | Dec 3, 2018 | Christmas, Clutter Free, Gifting, tips and ideas |
Tell me if this sounds familiar, friends. Your family members make the lists of all the things they simply MUST have for Christmas. Each list alone might actually be pretty do-able, but as you shop for those must-have items you also pick up a few dozen “Oh, they’d like this” type of things.
Or, their list is all big-ticket items and they’ll only end up with one or two things under the tree. That doesn’t feel very Christmas-y, so you pick up a few more items – just some little things, really.
Or you get the under-the-tree stuff done and then are left with stockings to fill with…what? Hmm. Maybe I’ll just head to the dollar store and find a cute trinket or two or eight…
Any of that sound familiar?
I’ve had years when each of those have felt true. In my desire to make the holidays special I bought items for those I love to round out the Christmas gifts or to fill the stockings. Then, after Christmas I realized that what I had done was stuck a bow on clutter and brought it into my home. The aftermath of Christmas can be an avalanche of clutter on top of what you are already trying to purge. Enough of that nonsense. I’d like to avoid that this year. No clutter with bows, thank-you-very-much. Who’s with me?
Here’s my plan to prep my home for Christmas and to bring home less clutter, and more joy.
First Declutter
Mildred, a member of our Clutter Free Academy Facebook group, posted a picture of an empty laundry basket in front of a Christmas tree. Above it was their Elf on a Shelf and a sign that said, “You’ve got to Give to Get! Please fill up the basket with toys you no longer play with and I will take them to the North Pole for other kids.” What a brilliant idea!
There are so many things our children no longer love or play with. So many things our teens no longer use or wear. So many things that are taking up space in our closets and desks. What if we took an evening as a family to get the ball rolling to purge and donate before the gifts start flowing in? Let’s put our items in the laundry basket first and show the kids how it’s done!
Buy Stuff You’ll Use – Literally
When we polled the Clutter Free group for some clutter free gift ideas the number one answer to come in wasn’t the same thing, but the same kinds of things—consumables. These are things we can enjoy, while using up.
- Bath fun: fizzies, crayons, bubbles, shower gel in favorite scents
- Cologne or body spray (especially for those “fragrant” teens)
- Make-up and nail polish
- Favorite candy and treats that you don’t purchase often
- Spice rubs and entertaining food sets
- Special flavors of coffee, tea, or cocoa
What if we filled those stockings with things that wouldn’t be around in a month? Some of the sweetest gifts are those we use up and remember fondly rather than having to dust or trip over all the time. This mindset works well for those we are buying for outside our home as well. Give the blessing of clutter free gifts!
Let’s Do Something Fun
Experiences were the second most popular recommendation for clutter free gifts. When grandmas and grandpas ask for family gift ideas, we can share places we’d love to go and things we’d love to do instead of stuff we’d like to have. Here’s a few ideas:
- Memberships for the zoo or a museum
- Season passes to the amusement park, local pool, or state park
- Trip to a local attraction, escape room, or some fun thing you’ve wanted to try
- Gift card for dinner out together, coffee dates with mom or dad, or other special treats
- Pampering gift cards for mani/pedis, massages
There are all kinds of things we could do together that would be more meaningful than another video game or a piece of clothing that will wear out. Asking for experiences can be a brilliant idea. One year a friend of mine asked her mom to give her family an evening at a local escape room from a Groupon deal. She got a money-saving deal and they had so much fun together. It was a clutter free win-win.
Think Outside Boxes
When it comes to Christmas giving, we love to give gifts that are meaningful. I think we need to reframe what a meaningful gift is – sometimes it doesn’t need to be something our loved one keeps forever. Simple and small can be special. Pampering is something we can enjoy to recharge and when the massage is over we aren’t burdened with clutter. Family experiences provide memories we can treasure in our hearts and require no dusting or storage.
This Christmas, just say no to more clutter and yes to gifts that we can consume to bring joy. Merry Christmas, indeed. (Kids, in case you are reading this – I will take a massage.)
Kathi Lipp is the author of 16 books including Overwhelmed, Clutter Free, The Get Yourself Organized Project, The Husband Project, and Happy Habits for Every Couple. She is the host of Clutter Free Academy the Podcast! with Kathi Lipp and speaks at conferences across the US. Kathi is also the creator of Communicator Academy and Leverage: The Speaker Conference, both designed to help writers and speakers become the communicator God has created them to be.
by kathilipp | Nov 27, 2018 | Clutter Free, Podcast |
On today’s episode, Kathi welcomes friend and author Arlene Pellicane to talk about her new book; Parents Rising: 8 Strategies for Raising Kids who Love God, Respect Authority, and Value What’s Right. Kathi and Arlene discuss the challenges of raising kids to respect authority and Arlene shares tips for parents who want to raise children to love the Lord and have a healthy respect for authority.
On today’s encouraging show you’ll learn:
- The importance of parents having the right mindset to raise respectful kids
- Why respect in marriage is so essential in raising respectful kids
- How chores offer a valuable opportunity to teach our kids responsibility
Bonus Free download of Arlene’s Parents Rising Manifesto
Enter to Win!
Enter to win a copy of Arlene’s book!
Two lucky winners will win a copy of Parents Rising: 8 Strategies for Raising Kids who Love God, Respect Authority, and Value What’s Right
Enter by answering in the comments:
“What is your biggest authority challenge OR biggest authority win?”
*US residents only
Or buy the book here
Thanks for Listening!
To share your thoughts:
• Leave a note in the comment section below.
• Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.
To help out the show:
• Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
• Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe now.
Special thanks to our sponsor DaySpring.com
This episode was sponsored by DaySpring.com where you can find the beautiful new (in)courage Devotional Bible featuring devotions from over 100 of our favorite writer friends, including our very own Michele Cushatt, Kathi’s co-host of Communicator Academy Podcast. Find out more here
Arlene Pellicane is a speaker and author of several books including Parents Rising, 31 Days to a Happy Husband and Calm, Cool, and Connected: 5 Digital Habits for a More Balanced Life. She has been a featured guest on programs like the Today Show, Fox & Friends, Focus on the Family, and FamilyLife Today. Learn More.
