Today I’m speaking with Marcia Ramsland, well known as The Leading Online Organizing Coach, a Business Productivity Expert, and author of the Simplify Your Life: Get Organized and Stay that Way book series, which has sold over 100,000 copies. Marcia is a nationally recognized media guest appearing in Woman’s Day and Real Simple magazines, Martha Stewart radio, and the Wall Street Journal.

In the episode you’ll hear: 

• Marcia’s brilliant 7-step framework to getting organized (and staying that way) at home and at the office.
• The top two areas she feels are the most important to get organized, so your life works better.
• How you can get 60 hours of extra sleep each year, with this one simple trick.
• Her easy and stress-free tips for getting your mail, papers and files under control.
• How to handle major transitions and keep it all together, when it seems like it’s all falling apart.

If you’re inspired by this episode, I’d love to hear your biggest Aha! moments. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your social media and tag me, @christieturley!

LINKS:

Marcia’s 168 Hour Time Tracker featured in Better Homes & Gardens Article www.OrganizingPro.com/Christie 

Marcia’s 10 Time Tips to Simplify Your Day www.OrganizingPro.com/Christie 

Marcia’s Website, Instagram, Facebook & Twitter

Transcript:

Christie:
I welcome my guest Marcia Ramsland. She is the leading Online organization coach for a business and life success and the best selling author of the Simplify your life book series with over a hundred thousand copies sold Marcia is the real deal. She is a nationally recognized and has appeared in women’s Day. Real Simple magazines, Martha Stewart radio. If that doesn’t say something right there, she knows her organization and the Wall Street Journal, and she’s a sought after Organizing Coach Online trainer and international speaker.

Christie:
So please join me in welcoming Marsha. All right. Welcome Marcia. It’s so good to hear from you.

Marcia:
So o great to be here, Christie, and I’m so excited to talk to the audience today. We are going to get people organized with tips that they can do right away. Okay.

Christie:
I love it. It’s like one of those things that we tend to only think about once a year, when it’s new years, you know, how can I be more Organized, right when we’re sending our resolutions. But gosh, you know, being Organized is something that can serve you all the year round and make your life so much easier. So go ahead.

Marcia:
It’s amazing that at the top of the year, the top two goals are to lose weight and to get organized. And did you know, I have been doing this for over three decades and when people get Organized to start to lose weight and it’s like, well, what’s the connection there? Well, it’s when you clear up your space and your get your habits in order, and then you kind of look at yourself and go, wow, I could make some changes here. I know how to make life changes now. And so put Organizing first and then you will lose weight. I promise you,

Christie:
Oh my gosh. That is so cool. I’ve never realized that, but that’s a really good, I love that. So tell everybody how you got started in what you’re doing and a little bit about what you do.

Marcia:
I never thought I’d be doing this, but I remember the day exactly. When my changed, I were standing in my kitchen. I had three children of my own six for an a baby. And I was looking around the kitchen. My husband was going to be home in 10 minutes. I kindergartner was slowly up in the dishwasher to help me. And then my four year old was coloring off the page onto the countertop, like, Oh no, another mesh. My six month old was crawling at my feet. I’m like when Willie sleep through the night. And so in my intelligent way, I started this spaghetti sauce faster and faster as if that was gonna help clean the kitchen. As I saw a laundry piles, mail piles, everything in all the days before he had just been frustrated.

Marcia:
And I said, someone’s got to get organized. And my kid’s frozen. They looked at me and I said, are the ages of every one in this room? I guess it would be me. So at that point, I started to read everything written on Organizing and no offense that was written for a left-brain men who sat in a desk and says, all you have to do is make a list, stick with that top item, check it off and go to the next one. I thought, if we could find the list as women, we can even do it in our lives have changed so much. There’s not enough paper to write a list. And so that began my quest to get organized and I read, but that didn’t really help back in that day.

Marcia:
That word wasn’t even there. And so Organizing came after 1985, you know, before that people didn’t have a lot of stuff, they didn’t have a lot of things going on. And that’s why people with their moms say, Oh, why are you so busy? Why can’t you get things done? And it’s because of the generations have changed. So first I conquered cleaning up the kitchen at night. It used to take me from six o’clock to 10 o’clock at night. And I’m like, my life is worth more than cleaning up the kitchen. I got it down to 30 minutes is down to 10 minutes. Now I teach all my people and they go, I have a whole evening frame now.

Marcia:
And from there, it went to the laundry from there, went to paperwork and then I started speaking and people started to call me and say, could you come to our business? Could you do this? So I’ve done first national bank, I’ve done the U S Navy. I’ve done all kinds of businesses. And they are just principles that if you learn them and you learn how to make it, that life changes, you can do this. So remember Organizing is never the goal. It’s a tool to live your life better.

Christie:
You know what, and when I learned from what you just said, two, if the military needs Organizing, so do you, because he kind of think the military is pretty Organized. Right? Pretty interesting. Well, that’s great. So, you know, let’s talk a little bit about your three M’s. I love this. Let’s let’s dive into that.

Marcia:
Okay. I love to give people whether in my classes are my, the three, M’s what I provide as the motivation. And then I provide the momentum and then mastery. And when they’ve gotten to mastery and that doesn’t sound like perfection, it is not perfection. It’s just that they can function on their own and the new way, because we’re all in habits. We keep going the same way. So the first step is my motivation. It could either be company coming, your mother-in-law’s coming in and you go, I’ve got to clean up the house, or it could be someone is coming to buy your business or a potential client to your office. And you go, I’ve got to clean this up, you know, they’re, that is a motivation, the deadline or the other motivation.

Marcia:
It could be just internal. I had one client who said, you know, I just can’t stand it anymore. I need to invest in myself. And I thought that was so good. She had been a teacher for 22 years and she just wasn’t balancing her, her work and her personal life. And we did time management and she’s like, I felt important enough to invest in my own development. So that was the motivation. Can you think of any other motivations? I think of it.

Christie:
That’s a good list right there. Yeah.

Marcia:
Then the momentum, what I love to do in my classes that are Online and people send me pictures, we have private Facebook groups and whatever the topic of the week, they send pictures. This is my office. This is my paperwork. This is my closet. And then I coach them through it and they have to come back the next week with an after. So with that momentum of, okay, I’m accountable, the group’s waiting for my after picture. I have to do this. It just gets going, the momentum gets going. And then you get beyond that and say, well, that’s how good my space as an order, but what about my life?

Marcia:
How can I get more business? How can I get the bottom line going? How can I even find a job? How can I just spend my time better? Because that way of free time. So I love to do motivation, momentum, and mastery, and people know I did it. You know, I made these changes. You know what the fun thing has crispy. Then spouses get on board because they see your changing and they get on board and they’re like, Oh, maybe I could clean up my sock drawer. I mean something a little, but it’s like, that’s huge for a spouse at times. Totally.

Marcia:
They start getting organized. And then the couple relationship improves. The family relationship singles find that there are more attractive. They are more outgoing and all around. It helps personal relationships and a great way.

Christie:
Yeah. And if you’re a business owner to confidence has everything. So if you feel more empowered at home because you’ve taken control of a situation, you’ve been able to organize, you’re going to be so much more powerful as well. When your you’re in the office, when you are talking to clients.

Marcia:
Yes, it was very much so, so I usually work on two tracks. One is either the personal development track, where they are changing, how they live in, how their home is and their home office, their computer, or the other track is a business track. And that’s for an entrepreneur, someone working in business and they feel like, okay, I know I could do better. How can I do better? So I used to be on the day of people would ask, the consultants would say, I can come and follow U for 16 hours a day. And I’ll tell you where you’re losing time. Well, I don’t do a pet because I have a time tracker.

Marcia:
And I was interviewed at women’s day magazine. And I had The, I said, this is a really tough if you want to time make-over and they said, we could do it. So the writer did a time tracker, 160 16 hour chart for a whole week and said, and I said, what are you not getting done? Make a list as well. She said, my schedule is airtight. No problem. I’m going to pass it with flying colors. While the article is really hysterical. She said, I lost the time tracker again. I had paid $94 in late fees and didn’t have a dinner on the table. And my, I was late for a deadline for work.

Marcia:
And so she said, okay, tell me what to do. So we did that. And at the end, I said, ask your editor. We can put a blank time tracker on the article in women’s Day magazine and that people could download it. Well, it was a two page wonderful article, but it was on page 140. I mean, whoever gets to that page, do you know, people did, and we had 1500 downloads. And what that tells me is women, what time, you know, we were all out of it. And so if that makes such a big difference when you can manage your time. Well, and its not just, Oh, I plan this, this and this.

Marcia:
And I got 30 things done today. No there’s not managing time. Well is when you have a pace over your week, do you feel like, okay, I know what I do on Mondays, Tuesday on a Wednesday in my business, I know financial data and I know what I’m getting things done. So managing time is one of those first keys. And when women can do that, it’s amazing what can happen.

Christie:
Yeah. I love that. Yeah. I mean, and women, especially, they juggle so many hats and that’s not to take away from men, but you know, they’re there, if they’re running the business and they’re taking care of kids and you know, it’s, so I do hope that we can get that time tracker in our show notes. So yeah, that would be a really great thing to do to give people well, awesome. So, okay. Let’s say, I mean, let’s say I want to get started getting organized. Where do I even begin?

Marcia:
Okay. All right. I have a, a specific, a seven step program called fresh start and that gives people a fresh start. And I like to start with your home because that is where you live in. It’s amazing how many Business people can look so polished and great at work. And when you get on Online, you look great, but nobody sees what’s your bedrooms. Like what are your closets like, Andy? You know, the Lord forbid you had to look into the garage or something like that. So I’ll get your space Organized. There are something about breathing room in your life. You just breathe and your mental clutter goes away and you wake up and instead of looking at a cluttered bedroom, you feel like, Oh, I can do this.

Marcia:
You open your closet and you just have things you love to wear everyday. And the rest is all cleared out. So where do you start? I know Marie Kondo starts with close and actually I started the year she was born. So I’ve been at this a little bit of a little more refined.

Christie:
Yeah, there you go. Marie went up yet, but I love it.

Marcia:
Then she starts with close and I find that a little bit emotionally connected in a hard to do I start with the kitchen because seriously, if you have a Crock-Pot or anything old appliance, you’re like, no, I don’t need this anymore. It’s not hard to get rid of it. And so when you go through your drawers, that’s where would you start to go through all the dishes and get rid of all of the odd chips things, all of the little plastic steps of your kids have grown up and just get a simple, nice things, as you know, and you’re go through every, once you go through the refrigerator of top to bottom and say, Oh, I don’t even eat the same anymore.

Marcia:
Let’s get rid of it. Go through the pantry. When you go from left or right through all of your drawers, you cleaned off the counter tops, just the back one. Third has things on it that you like and use. And then the cabinets you opened, nothing falls out. Its just beautiful things. As you can make it look like Pinterest and it looks great. Then you feel like that wasn’t so hard and it didn’t cross you emotionally. But then the next step is to go to your closet and looking at every item that’s hanging first, the hanging clothes, the second, the floor and third, the shelves and do a little bit each day like 10 minutes you go, okay, well I’m getting dressed in the morning.

Marcia:
Let’s put all of the white blouses together. Short-sleeve to lunch leave then Ooh, I have, you know, five turtlenecks and I don’t even wear him, put him a donation bag right in the closet. Then you go through the blouses. You need to say, Oh that was what I used to do it at work. That’s what I used to do. When I did work, you know, whatever your stage of life, your closet should reflect it now. And then you go through the floor and boy, when you pull all that stuff out and go through it back home at WashU at whatever your floor is made out of, you find that a lot of clutter bags and all kinds of things, shopping Christmas gifts take ’em out and you may not know.

Marcia:
But the average person in America has 13 pairs of shoes. And in the world is one pair. So like my one friend went through her shoes and she said, I gave away 22 pairs of shoes that hurt you. But I never ask my clients. And then after you do that, your first year kitchen, second year class, and then you do in your bedroom the night, stand, everything, you look at it. When you wake up, it should be things that you wake up and you see this great picture on the wall. When you wake up in the morning, you feel like I can do this.

Marcia:
There’s a landscape, an ocean. I haven’t had this picture behind me here. So my clients will feel relaxed when they talk to me. And then after that you go to the common areas of the house. So you’re going to go to the family room and say, all right, whose stuff is, this is, it goes to their room. We do not live like this. The coffee tables got to be clean. The couch has gotta be clean and the floor for sure. So if you have people imposing on your space, you want to say, this is a common area. You may not keep your things here. And then that way it gets pushed away to their room. If they want to keep it, they can.

Marcia:
So that probably takes people about a week on each one, kitchen closet, bedroom, common area, and like the family room. And then certainly open the front door, open the garage door and whatever you see when you walk in your house, that line of sight, that’s what we cleared next. And pretty soon you feel like this is getting to look like a model home. I kind of like this. This is a good space. And then from there we move up to the paperwork because that’s a harder level. But if he can throw out a Crock-Pot of, or donate it of 14 inches, then you can go to 14 inches of paper after that.

Marcia:
That’s a different Step. Yeah. That’s great. Well, I know especially entrepreneurs have a lot of papers. So do you have any quick tips that we could do that we could use with, with paper? Yes we do. My and my tip is look around in entrepreneur home office, whatever it is or just your laptop on the kitchen table or dining room table. Look around right now, get post-it notes and put a number on it. So you put it on the oldest pile first that’s number one, the oldest pile. Then the second oldest pile, then the third oldest pile and a number of them all the way up.

Marcia:
I’ve done offices where we have had 13 piles to go through seriously and others. It can be two piles, but people might be feeling like they’re not paying their bills. They’re not sending out invoices. They’re not getting medical insurance, then all kinds of things. So the number of piles doesn’t matter, it’s what’s in them. So once you number those, take the oldest one, we call that number one, bring it to your clear net, clear everything off the desk and put it on one side, turn it upside down and stand there and go, do I need this really?

Marcia:
And you’re going to drop it right in a recycle bin or have a separate box for shred. And then what you do is you get a rhythm and to get a rhythm. And pretty soon you’re like, Oh, this is just old stuff. And you just, it goes fast and you start with the old things, because that way you get a rhythm and you go, why am I keeping all of these receipts? They have nothing. They’re from the grocery store in office. They don’t need them. And so you become more discerning. And then by the time you get to the current work, you’re able to make a to-do list with an a, B, C category a is I gotta do this right away.

Marcia:
Because as you know, I should do that. And then the C category, you know, sometimes I really should follow up with these people and that would be your C category. So if people do that, they get through it. And what it does when you go through your office and paperwork, a big purge, you go never again, you know, not going to keep this, I’m going to create files. I’m going to think about three ring notebooks and everything’s going to have a place just like my shoes in my closet.

Christie:
I love it. But it’s so amazing. Yeah. Papers can be really overwhelming. It’s very overwhelming. So those are great tips. Mmm. Okay. So the seven steps. So let’s continue down the path like let’s and I don’t know if we’ll get to all seven, but let’s what’s the next one.

Marcia:
Okay. So the first three are in your home. That is, as we mentioned that your kitchen, the second one is your bedroom and your closets. The third one has a family or is the fourth area is your mail and incoming papers every day. And I have a five file folder system that clears up the mail pile. The mail pile makes me feel guilty. You walk in the kitchen and it talks to you that says, you’re guilty. You’re behind you. You’re like, no, I’m not. Why am I talking to a paper pile of my subconscious? And then a company comes in and Oh, you just feel like a, some of my clients dash in a, in a bag.

Marcia:
And I found begs and pantries of paperwork. And I’m like, please, but the year on it at least, or the month, and then we’ll be able to do it. So paper incoming paper, and you need one spot for it. And this is five file folder system I recommend is that you get a portable file. I have a picture on my website. You can just go to the blogs and the whole article on the five file folders over there. The first one is events. So you can label it calendar instead of events, calendar items. And that’s a file folder. It will sit there. And instead of putting things in a magnet on your refrigerator, you put it in events and you’ve marked it in your digital phone, what the event is.

Marcia:
But if it’s a concert, you want to pull out directions, you go, I didn’t type the address in my phone. What is that? Then you do it. And it’s right there when you need it. The second one is to do, and this takes care of a lot of papers that set out on a countertop or a desk, but you can’t put it in the to-do file unless you write it on a list of a paper list that sits right on the counter. Okay? So it won’t get lost in a client because you’ve written it on that master list of a, B, C categories. You can type this up master list to put the date.

Marcia:
You’ll probably have more things on there the first day then you can do in the first day, but over three days Yoker and to get it done. And then the third one is you’re going to put up to pay. So instead of writing bills, some, you know, we still get bills to pay or even the newspaper guy will give you an invoice. You know, when you have to, Oh, I should pay him. Why do I need to do this Online? Well, they, they don’t do that. So you want to have a one for the bills, but market to a page. So it’s forward action. If you market bills, then you’ll put, once you paid in their, and then they’ll get all confused. The newest one goes on the front, the fourth one is holding.

Marcia:
So it’s like, I might get rid of this, but I might want to see it. So I just put it in there. And every Friday you go through it and you go, I don’t think I’ll do this. Or you go, yes, I want to do that. You will just know it’s in there instead of on your refrigerator, nothing on their fridgerator, please. And then it could be in the holding file. The last one is your name. So type your name on that file folder. And then it will, you can put in there. Thank you. Now that can put a picture. You can put all kinds of odd things that have made mean to you and you put him there and then you can add a file folder for each person and your family after that.

Marcia:
But you’ll have to be the one to make sure that the people go through it with you like kids. Do you have to go through every night spouse. You probably want to make sure on Saturday and Sunday, you can go through it. Now, when I say this portable file, it’s something that matches your kitchen. So for instance, I stood in office Depot. I counted 24 different types. You can get a rod iron, you can get a silver mesh, you can get wood, you can get what you can get loose site. And then you go online and you get colored file folders. You can get a solid color or you can get that group of ones. And you’ve just had a decorating statement by this portable fire.

Marcia:
Now people say, well, that won’t hold on. My papers is like, no, this is only for everyday paperwork. And then everything else goes where you file, which most households need to file drawers. The deep 25 inch file drawers to hold what they need of car insurance, household, all of those items. So you get that system going. That portable file is probably in your kitchen and just keeps you going for the daily mail and then things that are longer term go out and to the other areas or write in to recycle. So that as week four of their steps, that is a seven step session.

Marcia:
And then week five would be your desk and going through your office at your desk. I love that you have a question on it.

Christie:
I love it. Keep going. You’re on a roll. So this is great. I mean, taken notes here.

Marcia:
Okay. So dashed area, it’s really interesting. Usually people have too much that visually surrounding them as they look like you and I are looking at something at right now. And in front of me, I have a bulletin board with is not well, some board. So whiteboard with the planning board and then off to the side, I have a 12 month calendar with the launches that I will do for my classes and coaching. Someone else may have pictures of their kids and their grandkids and their dog, you know, whatever, but you want to have it neat and uncluttered in front of you because whatever you keep seeing, you will keep focusing on making that happen.

Marcia:
Then if you have a desk you want supplies and basically a maid seven pens for two years to get rid of the rest of the drawer clutter, then whatever you use, do you wanna think of a bullseye? Okay. So think of your chair as a bullseye, everything you need daily, you can reach with a sweep of your arm, okay? You don’t have to reach anymore beyond that. Whether it’s a stapler, whether it’s stamps, whether it’s letter, blokes, those kinds of things, a calculator, and then everything you use once a week, you would reach for, she kind of get up and reach for it. And everything that we use once a month, you have to get up and walk two, a closet, or cross the room for it in your home office or your office.

Marcia:
Does that make sense?

Christie:
A total sense? Like, I can identify a few objects already that I can get rid of on my desk and move it somewhere else. That’s great.

Marcia:
Okay, good. And then in the drawers that come in a desk, when people make one mistake and that’s to think that is just referenced and it’s like, no, that is your current work. Because when you work in a home office, you’re going to, or an office, your to do’s are not the items on your desk. The, to do’s you have on your computer, you have it. Or you have it in a paper planner and you have prioritized the three to five things you need to do today. And you accomplish those as soon as you can in the morning. There’s the rest of the day is interruptions and people texting, asking all kinds of things.

Marcia:
So you want to guard the PR the personal power hour. That is the first hour of the day that you are at your desk. And so for instance, as I train clients and business people to do this, my own situation, I’ll get up at six or six 30. I’ll have like 45 minutes of quiet and I can put the dishes that were drying and the same as last night, a way to get a cup of hot coffee. And, you know, I personally read my Bible and I meditate and I plan the day I get out of my planner. I plan the Day and then come seven o’clock to nine o’clock.

Marcia:
That is when I produce, I mean, that’s when I’m writing blogs, I’m writing classes, I’m planning for Client. And then at nine o’clock I’ll have breakfast. And by nine 30 or 10, then I see people. So if a doctor’s appointment, they say, Oh, we can see you at eight o’clock. I said, Oh, I’m sorry. I’m committed. Anytime after 10 works as so, no at your desk is not just about the workspace and setting it up to be a productive, but how do you manage your time? And if you can just block out, put it on your calendar, you are not available for the first hour. That’s when you get your momentum, get to bed the night before on time.

Marcia:
So you can get up and you just get that done and knocked out and you feel like today’s gonna be a good day. I’ve got the hard stuff done first. So that’s week five is setting up the space and setting up what your planning system is. And believe it or not Christie and people, the pendulum has swung in before it was everybody had post-it notes. Everywhere you go. Oh, that’s so old. Now, now everybody is trying to do it on their phone. And they’re like, yeah, but I’m still trying to remember too much. And I’m not getting it done. Pendulum swung back that people are using a combination of their phone and a paper planner, because that way you can plan each day.

Marcia:
And that’s a verdict called the morning til night and horizontal is a Monday through Sunday. So you’re really Monday through Friday. You want to get your work done, whether you work at home or whether you’ve worked, worked out of the home and then Saturday, Sunday, no laundry, no air. And you just enjoy your family and get away from the computer and do a whole project that we’ll make your life easier to clean out your closet and say, okay, stand by Saturday noon. What did they do the rest of the day? And then you’ll have a good day.

Christie:
Yeah. I love that. Yeah, I can. I can definitely tell the difference, like right after I, I cleaned a closet or something like that, you know, it, it makes a huge deal.

Marcia:
And did you know when you clean your closet? If you say five minutes in the morning, dressing and clean up at night, hanging everything up for five minutes there, and you can get ready for bed five minutes faster. Cause your closets are organized at 10 minutes’. You save a day. That is 60 hours a year of extra sleep.

Christie:
I love it. Couldn’t we all use more sleeps 60 hours a week. That’s amazing. It really adds up. Right?

Marcia:
You get that. If people are amazed, you, you know, they were like, Oh, I don’t have to clean my closet. Nobody sees that. I say, you’re going to get five extra hours of sleep a month. And you will be a, Get 60 a year. You’re going to look younger. Your skin’s going to look better. And people come back and say, I had no idea. I pack for a trip. It was like a fraction of the time because my closet was Organized. I got rid of clothes. I don’t wear, I get rid of shoes. They don’t wear. And the Christmas gifts that were stuffed in the closet, you’re no longer there. So I have a saying in my motto is the faster, the pace of your life. The more Organized you need to be.

Marcia:
Yeah. So its not just about, should I make my bed today is like, of course every day, the rest of your life make your bed and make your day because it only takes a minute and a half. You come back, it’s ready and you feel like it’s a hotel. Cause it’s all married and ready for you at night.

Christie:
I love that. And that’s a writer. Downer. Can you repeat that?

Marcia:
The faster, the patient of your life, the more organized you need to be and make your bed and make your day. It just really love it. It’s so good. Thank you. All right. What else do we have? Okay. So then we get to week six in my seven levels of system and the fresh start class. And we do that fresh start class either one-on-one or when I offer it usually three different times a year and then you’re with a group of people and they’re seeing your stuff. So there’s a lot of people like to do with the one on one. So nobody else is in there. So a week six, we go into your project.

Marcia:
What is it? You would die. If anybody open your garage, your basement, what is it that is holding you back that you go, yeah, I should do that, but I don’t have the time. So then in that way to learn how to break down bigger projects. So if its, and I’ll just pick the garage because usually people are like, nobody sees that. Why do that? Well, your neighbor’s are seeing it every day. They’re making a judgment about it. So I have a system, let’s say the garage, it’s similar for the basement. And there were four walls and believe it or not in a garage, you think, Oh, there are only three.

Marcia:
Now the floor is Florida is number one, two. So you’re going to be clear the floor to this side. Then the focal point wall in the garage is straight ahead. And that’s where you want to get rid of the clutter, make it look better and say, do we really need that? All of the refrigerator? Why are the recycle bins? Not by the door where we walk out, why are they way out? And do I have to walk out practically out of the garage? And then on each side of the garage, I call it the guy wall in the gallery Wall. And if your single, you still need a guy while the guy Wall is the tool’s the yard work, all of the stuff that has to do with outside the house or fixing the house, the gal Wall is everything inside the house.

Marcia:
So that could be Christmas decorations. It could be, you know, extra suitcases, whatever it is. And when you divide your system up like that, it’s easy to do same thing in a basement. You’re going to be, when you walk down the stairs, you’re going to say, what do you see first? But that’s what do you go through? What it is hiding over. There you go there. And if you know, fingers are pointing, I often Organized couple’s fingers are pointing well, if he did this while she needed to do this, that and forth. So we just divide the stuff basement first of his stuff, and then another project might be going through files.

Marcia:
Okay. So maybe it’s like, I’ve got a four day for a file cabinet. Who knows when that stuff was put there, I should clean it out. I also find that people move in to office spaces from other people have worked there and then they just move in on top of that, that desk, in that system. And then when they’re the second or third person, they just keep starting a new filing system and their getting up and walking further away to their files because of the, the old person. So to speak. The prior person stuff is sitting right in the desk. So we take the time to move that out and to move their stuff in and say, what papers do you accumulate the most?

Marcia:
What do we need to do? And let’s decide whether file folders or whether it’s a three ring notebook would work. Usually file folders are faster because you don’t have to take the time to punch the holes and open up a finder and put it in the things you referenced you can do in a three door file of a three ring notebook. So that is week six, a personal choice. What’s holding you back. Once you get through that, it feels like, wow, I climb my Mount Everest next. You can do it. Yeah.

Christie:
I love that. Yeah. You can do anything when you can face that project. You’ve been fearing right

Marcia:
Then in week seven. I, I really felt when I wrote my book, Simplify or Life, get organized and Stay in that way. And, and then the sequel Simplify your time as a 30 day time, make-over Simplify your space as a room by room through your house. Then the three of us have sold over a hundred thousand copies. So that was pretty impressive. I had I’d say so. I never thought from Organizing my kitchen with my three little kids, you know, three decades ago, it would go to that way. But women’s day has picked up all my tips, real simple magazine and what I was on Martha Stewart radio, they call me Martha and we’re like, Oh, I’m so honored that Martha

Christie:
Stewart show called you a Martha Stewart of Organizing.

Marcia:
Yes. So Marcia it is. But if you call me Martha, that’s okay, I’ll answer it. And then the referral. So it just, it’s been a joy to be able to help people. And I love to do it because I know the pain and I know the process of, because I work through it myself. I wouldn’t say I was totally disorganized, but I was disorganized enough. I had to create systems. And now I know from all of the clients I’ve done in audiences, it’s just a process.

Marcia:
And I have a gift that a strength finders actually coached me. And they said, you have a gift that other people don’t have. You have the gift of a natural gift of strategy and focus. And those cannot necessarily be learned, but I can teach other people the strategies on their things. And then they carry them on in their life. And so it it’s, I feel honored. I do.

Christie:
Awesome. Did you know that’s so interesting. You said that that’s my top two strengths from StrengthsFinder as well. And it is rare. It really is rare. And the foot, what I learned from StrengthsFinder to is focused is a magnifier of any of your other top five and the other one that’s like that is maximizer. It’s a magnifier of other gifts. So that was so interesting. I’m the Martha of marketing. Maybe I’ll just do it that now in the Christie. So anyway, what is your seventh year?

Marcia:
OK. The seventh one is how do you handle transitions and what you put together when everything falls apart? So let’s say, you know, a client leaves, you have to move across country who get sick and they go in the hospital or somebody else does when you become a care giver, you moved to a new house. Those transitions are something that’s very important to know how to handle otherwise you’ll feel because you’ve gotten Organized. You feel like everything’s should be in this place and you get a little cranky when other people mess up your system. Now we don’t do that. And I teach perfectionist to recover and go back to the 85%.

Marcia:
Perfect. And just back down from that goal,

Christie:
So important because perfect is just unattainable, right? I mean, you can, you can be perfect in the sense that your whole and your, your complete, But perfection is unhealthy.

Marcia:
Yeah, it is that. I always say, we’re looking for progress, not perfection. You’re striving for perfection and one area and something else is down at 20%. Stop bring everything up to a equal levels so that you’re, you’re doing well. And in a business or a couple relationship, I always say rise to the level of the most organized person. Don’t pull them down, ask them how they do it and learn how to do it and learn from them. Because on top of the Organizing mountain, it’s easy. You get a clear view of life.

Marcia:
You have free time. So it’s good. So anyway, getting back to the seventh week on transitions in transitions, we let’s say we’re moving and you, you go, okay. I used to live in this house, I’m moving to a new house. And I was in this office. I’m moving to a new office. I’ll leave on Friday. I’ll start on Monday. It’s not that simple. It has to be, there’s an in-between time there. So like when people start with a new plan, when are they say, well, I bought it right now. Last week is just not working. And it was like a software as a paper planner.

Marcia:
It takes two months to really get it in gear and use it. So that was, there were three parts of transitions at the beginning where, you know, I am transitioning. The second part is the part we forget about it. That’s the middle. And sometimes it’s a little messy. And do you have to give yourself time, whatever it is, new software, that would be about a month. And we want it like Monday, two days they bought it. It, it should work or it doesn’t work. It’s, you know, so it’s not Amazon. You have to give yourself time to learn something new.

Marcia:
You have to give yourself time to saddle in a new house. And then from there, the third part is the end of the transition and the beginning of the new chapter. So the messy middle can take anywhere from a month. Maybe it’s a lot of it. So maybe it’s a divorce, maybe whatever it is, it could take two years and then you’re ready to move forward. But it just goes on. Mmm. You just have to know it will take time. No, that makes me smile because I’m thinking of a client who wanted to host a Christmas party and there was a leak on her kitchen for me. And it, it’s basically really a remodel when your water leaks and our kitchen floor.

Marcia:
And before the holiday, it’s like, no, You, you just can’t host like a Christmas party with 75 people or however many. So she was just all frustrated. And I said, you don’t have to keep up what you did before. You’re just setting aside. What you’re needed to do is find somebody else that can host it and you can on the show and help her. But I do it remodels take time. That would be a transition. Mmm. And the other things that are, you mentioned, so now it just takes time. And when you come out of their transition, you will be a different person because you’ve learned how to deal with contractors.

Marcia:
You’ve learned how to deal with caregivers. You have learned software, whatever the transition is, and you’re going to be on a higher plane. Your business will be a bit, or your home will be better and you will be a stronger, different person. You will feel better about yourself. So those are the seven steps of the seven weeks to a new Organized you in a fresh start. And it is life changing. We’ve had at least. So let me just think here we have had 60 groups. They actually did it in church groups where they showed my video, that half hour video. Now, every recorded them. You can, you get them?

Marcia:
When you see the course, you get to see all seven steps in my house. So people are like, Ooh, let’s see. You know, then the, so 60 groups have done it in 22 States, a thousand women have been through the program.

Christie:
That’s amazing. That was a great, well, you know, I want it, I want to know, like, what’s your funniest story or most embarrassing story or interesting story about a client. Can you think of like, like maybe a biggest success story?

Marcia:
Okay. All right. Let’s see.

Christie:
What was it? A divorced man when

Marcia:
They get up on stage and which I used to do 57 hours a year. That’s a lot in a year. I intentionally forgot peoples’ names. So, because I’d never wanted to get on stage and said, Oh, this, Oh, I, you know, because the audience might know them. So I will just do it for one client, one client, but I’m working with her now. She was, she, she said, I need to get my house organized and like, okay, send me pictures. And I said, what did you do? You’ve raised your four kids now. And they are getting married.

Marcia:
What did you do while you were raised in the kitchen? She said, I homeschooled him. And I was a Talbot’s associate. So she worked at Talbot’s the store. So you’re like, okay. She is, she’s got a sense of style. He was probably in a Organized lifestyle and it’ll look good. And so she sent me pictures of her home and I’m like, Oh, it looks good to me. She said, Oh no, you haven’t seen the cabinets and drawers. And I will never show you my basement. And I’m like, I’ve seen everything. It’s okay, go ahead. So we start in the kitchen and we saw that the drawers, that, that things were messed up in it. I always say it politely, they weren’t junk doors, but they were, you know, things were mixed up in them, but they were sort of like junk doors.

Marcia:
The cabinets were sorta like that. There just wasn’t an order. I have a class called a Organizing with containers and I have a friend that is an expert on how do you choose the right containers? How do you make your pantry look like Pinterest? How do you put those bamboo dividers in your kitchen drawer for your silverware instead of just going and buying one? How do you do all of them? So they looked great. So we started their, that was good. Then when we went to the master bedroom and found that she had a homeschooling stuff in there, and I’m like, why is this in your restful master bedroom? And well, the kids were coming home. So it needed to be put somewhere.

Marcia:
So it was put there and I’m like, no, it needs to come out of there. So we, then she showed me the closet and it was sort of like a cyclone hit it. And I thought this person worked at Talbots. Hmm. So it started to have her go through it when she saw what it could look like from the, because I always used it before and after pictures in all my teaching that way, when women, men, C, this is what it could like, this is what it was before. This is what it is. Now they go, Oh, okay. I can do that. And I teach them how to do it. So then that became, the floor was clear. The floor was in there before they were prom dresses hanging in there.

Marcia:
Nobody went to prom for the last many years. And so I got those put away and then moved on and we’ve been going through the house and it has taken quite a while. It did not happen in the seven weeks. It took more months than that. But now those kids are getting married and they’re going to be coming home. And when the girlfriend’s coming, she and I had just scrambled to do the guest room. And then I’m like, no, you’re not moving it to the empty bedroom of one of the other kids. And so instead of just shuffling all of it, she’s actually going through it. And she’s like, I, I need to get this done this year.

Marcia:
And I’m like, OK. But then she would show more and more. So now we’re in a longer time period, but the deadlines are, they’re the holidays. Tha the children are coming with the dates with the fiances and it’s like, we’re going to do this. We’re not going to move it to other bedrooms. And she is just going to take off. She was probably gonna run Talbots after this, you know, ’cause when you get your home space Organized, it includes a lot of paperwork. And I always say, if you can manage your home and for moms with businesses, I say, if you can manage you when your kids are in preschool up till when they go to school, if you can manage your home and you can manage a kid, you can manage any company because that’s the hardest time in a woman’s life.

Marcia:
And I have seen it as they work with moms like you are with

Christie:
That’s a little ones. Yeah. I’m there. I mean, I have a, almost four year old and it’s almost two year old and I’m there,

Marcia:
There was this never end being a laundry kitchen and kids’ toys. And when you can get on top of that, you go watch out bill Gates. I’m coming up with him.

Christie:
I actually, like, I found my business for 15 years, but its like the last three and a half. It’s like, it’s been a lot more, you know, it’s like my business could be a lot bigger now. So

Marcia:
Talk about success stories. You, you can look on the website and look at a fresh start. You’re going to see every week before and after pictures and on my social media as well, people look at it and go, did Marcia go do this? And I’m like, no, I don’t go in and do it anymore. I Coach people to do it. And that’s just so true. Christie. One lady said before, when I had a professional organizer, my space changed. They came in and changed it. But when I coached with You, she said, not only did my space change. She said, but I changed. I said, that’s my goal of changing of coaching is to change the person so they can have the tools and they move forward.

Marcia:
And we both know the time that to release them. And I say, this is graduation week. You’re done. You’ve got it. You can, you can do anything now because you have mastered that level of getting organized. And now you have the tools to move forward to anything you want in life.

Christie:
I love it. Yeah. That mastery is important. It’s important to feel empowered. And it’s great when you can, you can do it yourself and you can feel like you can actually maintain it. Yes. Yes. So what is your website? And then after you give us that, could you leave us with some final inspiration?

Marcia:
Yes. Yes I am at Organizing pro.com Organizing product com. That’s all you have to look for. And on there you will find things on the free page. I put a 10 tips to save time and increase your bottom line. So if you’re a business person, you’ll want to get that right away. And if you are looking for self-improvement, there were a 10 tips to improve your daily life and get that. Both of them are one page printed, post it. Okay. You can put it in your refrigerator or your bathroom mirror and ah, just start checking them off as you get ’em done and say, I got that. I got that.

Marcia:
Okay, there we go. And on the website it will tell you what the current classes are. And certainly on the contact page, contact me for one-on-one coaching and nobody will see your pictures and we will make you a dramatic, amazing success.

Christie:
So it sounds, and the time tracker is that on the free page two is going to get a link.

Marcia:
Yes it is. I can read the article. It will make you talk below that. You’ll say, what was that person thinking and go, Oh yeah, I feel that. Yeah, that’s me now I can do it correctly. So there you go. So it’s all colored and everything. I love colored time trackers. That’s great. So to leave you with inspiration, I would say, start with what’s bothering you the most. Okay. If you’re a perfectionist, don’t go back to where you’re almost perfect. Go back to what would be embarrassing. If somebody saw what would increase your bottom line for your business, change the habits clear your desk.

Marcia:
I would say if you had two places, clear your closet, clear your desk, it’s amazing, but we’ll do it because it will clear your mind. And when you have uncluttered space, you will think clear and my final quote, the faster the patient of your life, the more Organized you’ll need to be. You can do it. I know you can do it. That’s what I always had my people at the end of the class, I could say, here’s the question. We know the answer. They’re my four favorite word. Can you promise to make your bed every day going forward or whatever the question is and they go, Oh, I can do that. And I’m on it. So I can do that on my four favorite words.

Marcia:
And we added I’m on it because one man answered his wife. When she said, could you remove the tape, this small table to the basement? And he said, yeah, I can. And they kept watching a football game. She said, no. And that’s when we added what my virtual assistant says. When I give her a task, she says, I’m on it. I was like, yes, you just feel like, okay, I got help. It’s going to get that. I can do it. And it was