by Clutter Free Academy Team | Jan 7, 2019 | Clutter Free, Giveaways, Organizing |
I know that I’m one of the lucky ones. (And when I say lucky, I mean fortunate.)
I have a career I love, one with purpose and meaning and serves God in a way I was created for, people I love working with, and enough income to not stay up late at night worrying about how we are going to pay the bills (most nights, that is).
But let’s be clear… my life was not always this way.
I spent most of my twenties and thirties living paycheck to paycheck, in a job that had no potential, loving some of my coworkers but barely tolerating some of the people I worked with.
Some of that was just finding my place in the world – it’s what a lot of 20 and some 30-year-olds do. But part of it was not really believing I could be successful in what I wanted to do in my life. It was easier (and safer) to just do the day to day and survive instead of having a hope for a better, more successful future.
When did things finally begin to turn around for me? Was it a job promotion or a new opportunity?
No – it was a planner.
It was a simple, paper planner that, for the first time, I actually used to plan what I was going to accomplish instead of using it like a calendar.
I started to write down my dreams and started turning those into goals.
And this is what I’ve noticed with every successful woman I’ve ever worked with:
Most of them have great teams of people.
Most of them get up early to attack their day.
Most of them have supportive family and friends to encourage them.
But all of them take time away from their crazy, busy, jam-packed days to pull back and plan for what they want.
How to Pull Back and Plan
I call it Pull Back Planning because I have to be intentional about pulling back from my regular life and setting that time aside to plan for my day, my week, my month, my year, and yes, my whole life.
Each day, before I end work, I take a look at what is coming tomorrow to see what I need to plan for, pray for and do. I apply the same principle to my week, month and year.
I love what Dave Ramsey says about budgets: “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” It’s the same with a planner – a planner will help you tell your time where it goes instead of wondering where it went.
Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) says:
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”
I love that verse. But we have to know what we are planning to do in order to pray about it and commit it to God.
I want to give my readers the opportunity to try this out.
My favorite planner this year is Valorie Burton’s The Successful Woman Planner. I love the motivating, clarifying quotes placed throughout the week-at-a-glance page layout, and that Valorie (one of the most successful women I know) has shared her wisdom throughout those pages. It is my go-to planner for 2019. 
In order to be entered to win a copy of Valorie’s planner and a $50 gift card to Office Max, simply comment below and tell us the next step to success you want to take.
Offer open to US residents only.
Deadline to enter: January 30, 2019.
A bestselling author and Certified Personal and Executive Coach who has served clients in over 40 states and eight countries, Valorie Burton has written nine books on personal development, including Successful Women Think Differently and Happy Women Live Better. She is the founder of The CaPP Institute, providing tools and training that build resilience, well-being, and productivity for life and work.
She has been a regular contributor on CNN, HLN, and the Today show, where she gives practical career and life advice. She has also been featured in and on The Dr. Oz Show, NPR, Oprah Radio, Ebony, Essence, “O” The Oprah Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, LA Times, and hundreds of others. Valorie’s corporate clientele includes multi-million dollar businesses such as Accenture, Black Entertainment Television (BET), Deloitte, General Mills, McDonalds Corp., and many more.
Join 25,000 subscribers to her weekly e-newsletter at www.valorieburton.com and visit her company site at www.cappinstitute.com.
www.valorieburton.com
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 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?
C
