The Life Changing Magic of Creating Your 2024 Vision the KonMari® Inspired Way with Mrg Simon #082

Welcome to our vibrant journey of intentional living! I'm Caroline Thor, joined by fellow KonMari Consultant Mrg Simon, and together, we're diving into the power of setting goals for the upcoming year using the KonMari method. Join us as we unravel the magic of decluttering and setting intentions, sharing personal stories that highlight the transformative impact this practice can have on our lives.

We'll explore the art of envisioning your goals, discussing how this isn't just wishful thinking but a powerful tool for creating a life filled with joy and purpose. Let's delve into 'My Intentional Year: Organizing My Life for Joy and Meaning,' a planner designed by Mrg to infuse creativity into your strategies, ensuring your living space embodies your passions.

As we approach the end of the year, Mrg and I are excited to unwrap the process of setting a purposeful theme for 2024. We'll share insights on reflection and the thrill of planning ahead, inviting our audience to contribute their personal themes and journey alongside us. Let's embrace an intentionally organized 2024, supporting each other's triumphs along the way! Share your themes with us, and let's build a vibrant network cheering for each other's successes!"

Links from this episode:
My Intentional Year (my-intentional-year.com)

www.My-Intentional-Year.com/Purchase

DESIGNED 2 STICK - Designed 2 Stick Home Page

Coaching classes for those who buy the book: send an email to hello@my-intentional-year.com with your name and email address so Mrg can get you the information for the January 2, 2024 Zoom class.

Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:
Join my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | Facebook
Visit my website www.caroline-thor.com
Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor
Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer
Join my online membership Clutter Free Collective

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:27

Hi there, I'm Caroline Thor, professional organizer, konmari consultant, teacher and mum of three. I started off my life as a mum feeling overwhelmed, disorganized and desperately trying to carve out some time for me amongst the nappies, chaos and clutter. One day, one small book called the Life Changing Magic of Tidying changed everything and I began to learn strategies for making everyday life easier. Today, I have the systems in place that means life can throw almost anything at me, and I want to share them with you. If you're an overwhelmed mum struggling to keep it together, then this is the podcast for you. Grab a coffee and settle in for a quick chat with someone who gets your reality.

Speaker 1: 1:23

Hello and welcome to the final episode of Living Clutter Free Forever podcast for 2023. I cannot believe we're already just before the new year. It feels like yesterday that I was making a podcast and welcoming everyone into 2023. So here we are, and I don't know about you, but I find these few days between Christmas and New Year really strange. So I hope this episode will give you some things to think about and inspire you and motivate you to set yourself some goals for 2024 that are going to serve you well in all areas of your life, but especially in your decluttering and organising journey.

Speaker 1: 2:07

Today you'll hear a conversation I recorded a few weeks ago with Merg Simon. Merg is a Konmari consultant based in the US and she works very specifically with her clients on setting goals and thinking ahead to how they can maintain their Konmari journey going forward. So I think you will find some great tips and advice in this conversation and I will come back on at the end and I'd like to know what you think. Enjoy, hello, merg, welcome. Thank you for joining me today. Well, thank you, caroline. I'm happy to be here. I just think it's so fun that through my podcast, I get to connect with people all over the world, but I especially love connecting with other Konmari consultants. It's just so fun.

Speaker 2: 2:54

I agree.

Speaker 1: 2:55

There's something about the fellowship of Konmari that is very special it is and I think probably people don't realise how very well connected we all are with each other, wherever we are in the world. The Konmari group makes sure of that, and that's how you and I connected in the first place, because I think I'd actually asked in the group if there was anyone that would like to come on my podcast and you were like, yeah, I'd be up for that. So it's fantastic that after all this time because that was before the summer, almost that we've got round to recording this. So thank you, thank you for making the time. I so so appreciate it. So tell everyone a little bit about yourself.

Speaker 2: 3:33

Well, I'm trained as a lawyer. I did that for 30 years and then, for my second career, I decided to become a professional organizer, and I've been doing that ever since. I come from a small state in the middle of the US called South Dakota and I'm now living in a very large state, texas. So I've recently relocated. So I'm in the process of rebuilding my client base and in the meantime, while I've been doing that, I decided to write a book. So I've had that project keeping me busy all summer long.

Speaker 1: 4:18

So hang on moving, which is very, very stressful at the best times, rebuilding your business in a new place and writing a book all at the same time. Some sort of superwoman.

Speaker 2: 4:34

Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that.

Speaker 1: 4:38

I'm really interested to ask you actually, because obviously you've moved relatively recently did you find, having already comarried your home, that the move was much easier? I'm sure you still found some things that perhaps you thought actually we've not used. That I don't need to take that with me, but do you think the comarie method had helped you when it came to moving?

Speaker 2: 5:04

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. You know I had to have fairly specific calculations for our movers on exactly how much our home goods were going to amount to, so I needed to do an inventory of everything and I really didn't have that much that I wasn't either in love with or that was serving me well, so it came in very handy. There were a few things here and there, but those were easy enough to let go of and re-home, so it worked out really well, fantastic.

Speaker 1: 5:50

I bet the moving company were like. We've never seen anyone so organized.

Speaker 2: 5:58

Well, there was that, and as we were preparing to sell our home, that was always. One of the benefits of our house is that has a lot of storage and it was well organized.

Speaker 1: 6:11

Brilliant. So when people come to view the home they're like yeah, this is the home for me. It looks amazing. So many people are having to get an organizer in in order to get their home sale ready and yours already was. So that's brilliant. Oh dear, that's very funny. Sorry, I've gone off on a tangent, as I tend to, but I just think it's fascinating when people have had experiences like moving, to hear how that was for them and how the comarie method has helped with that. So, and good luck building your business up in a new place. I'm sure it won't take long before you can build your client base back up again, but these things always take a little bit of time. I have to ask you your name is so unusual Murg, I love it. I remember saying to you am I really pronouncing that correctly? Because it just didn't seem right. Very, very unusual to have a name with no vowels in it. Can you just tell us where your name comes from?

Speaker 2: 7:09

Certainly I'm happy to. When I was in middle school, in about eighth grade, I had a coach who used to give the whole team assignments and each person he just listed by their initials, the three initials in their name. He realized after he did that he just started vocalizing all three of my initials together, mrg, and came up with Merg. It stuck. It stuck through high school and college and law school. When I got married I just changed my name.

Speaker 1: 7:56

I love this story. I think it's absolutely brilliant. It's so great. I love it. I think names are fascinating. My grandmother I always knew her as Wendy, but it turns out that wasn't her name at all. She was actually called Evelyn, but everyone had always called her Wendy and I never did really find out why. I think name stories are fascinating. I think that says a lot about you as well, because we all move through different phases of our lives. When you go to law school, for example, it's a fresh start. You have the possibility of introducing yourself by something else or by your correct name, but you chose to use Merg, with everybody there as well. I think that's just fantastic. I love that you officially changed it. I think that's so cool. Well, thank you.

Speaker 2: 8:45

At the time I thought it would be a lot shorter than to write my name on a check blank, than it would be if I kept my maiden name and just added on my husband's name. Little did I know that check blanks would not be a big deal in the future.

Speaker 1: 9:05

Well, anyway, it's just a very cool story. I love it. I absolutely love it.

Speaker 1: 9:13

So we're getting towards the end of 2023. For me, it's certainly been a very interesting year and I have learned a lot this year, but one of the big parts well, the main part when you're starting the Konmari process is to visualize your ideal lifestyle, and I always think it's something that we need to regularly be doing. So, for example, you've recently moved and you're starting with your new client base and building your business, and potentially, that means that your ideal lifestyle is going to shift a bit, just as mine has this year. My ideal lifestyle from two, three years ago is very, very different this year because of things that have been going on for us at home, and I think it's really good, as you approach the end of a year, start of a new year, to be rethinking about visualizing your ideal lifestyle, just to see if anything shifted and changed, because that might mean that something in your home needs to shift and change in order to support your ideal lifestyle. So how do you go about thinking about visualizing your ideal lifestyle? What tips would you give people?

Speaker 2: 10:31

Well, when it comes to the vision, you and I know that there are six rules of tidying, and rule number two is imagine your ideal lifestyle. I think a lot of people go through that real quickly and don't spend enough time dwelling on that. But visualizing your ideal lifestyle is really critical to get your motivation right when you're trying to discern whether something brings you joy or not. If you aren't clear on your vision, your energy can get very low and you'll have a difficult time making decisions. So it's important to look at your home for the lifestyle that you want to lead, but also to look beyond the home.

Speaker 2: 11:34

It's not just your physical belongings that are within the four corners of your house. Because you live a full life, you're stuck inside those four walls. So it's important to include your work environment, the activities that you and your family enjoy, vacations, things like that All need to be brought within the whole idea of what your vision is for your year, and once you do that, then everything builds on that in the category process. So once you've got your vision straight, then it's like you are ready to go to the races.

Speaker 1: 12:34

Yeah, I totally agree. My online course that I've now launched twice the first module, so the whole of the first week is just working through visualising your ideal lifestyle, and I think when people first saw that they were thinking I don't really think I need to do this, we could skip this bit and start properly next week when we get on to clothes and I kept nagging them about it I was like, no, I want this done. I need you really need to see it, because then clothes is going to be so much easier, everything's going to be so much easier, and I can give a really clear example when I was doing our tidy festival, one thing that is really important for me as part of my ideal lifestyle is that cleaning should take as little time as possible, because I would rather be out doing other things. So when I was then reorganising, having joy checked everything and was putting everything in its final resting place, so to speak, it was really important to me that the whole home was going to be super quick and easy to clean. So I didn't want things out on the surfaces, I didn't want things standing around on the floors. I wanted to just be able to quickly get it done so that I could go out and walk the dog for at least a good hour every day and not have to spend that time cleaning.

Speaker 1: 13:58

That was a massive priority for me, because for me, my ideal lifestyle is being out walking the dog, not spending my day cleaning. So I think people don't really think about how their ideal lifestyle is actually going to shape, how their home needs to be in order to serve their ideal lifestyle. And I think you're totally right If you miss that bit at the start, it just slows the whole process down. It actually means the whole process is not going to work properly because you don't know what your final destination is. You don't know what you're aiming for at the end of it.

Speaker 2: 14:34

Exactly. I couldn't agree more. And your example of knowing that you want to spend as little amount of time as possible cleaning and the considerations that go into that, that builds around absolutely every aspect of the Kamari process. So having that clear upfront is just vital.

Speaker 1: 15:05

Yeah, and it could be. You're somebody who really would love to be able to do some yoga practice every day and don't want to have to get a mat out from somewhere and roll it out. For you, it's really important that the mat is permanently rolled out somewhere so you can just get on with your yoga practice and nothing is going to get in the way of that. Or maybe you're someone that loves to paint and you want to have a corner set up with your easel so that you can just paint when you want to. You don't have to get it all out and put it away again. And I would imagine for you with writing your book, it was important for you that you had a space where you could sit down and work on your book without needing to move everything else out of the way first, so that you could just get on with it.

Speaker 1: 15:49

Now. I love the name of your book. I think it's just beautiful my intentional year, organizing my life for joy and meaning. So this is a planner that you have written. Would you like to tell us a little bit about it and how this can help us think ahead to the new year and our planning? Oh, certainly I'd be happy to.

Speaker 2: 16:13

The planner came about really as an inspiration from my clients, as I wanted to create a tool for them to support them in their Konmari journey after we were done doing a whole house tidying session or an office tidying session. I wanted to be able to support them, and so the planner is organized both as a strategic planning tool and as a daily minder. It begins with the vision, and I spend a little bit of time talking about the vision. I've had articles about the vision, how to get clear on your vision and then developing a theme for the year, which to me, is just the fun part.

Speaker 1: 17:15

Yeah, that sounds great.

Speaker 2: 17:17

I like to have a theme. My theme for this year was adventure awaits. Oh, is that because you were?

Speaker 1: 17:26

moving.

Speaker 2: 17:27

Yes, and because I was moving to a totally different climate, totally different subculture within the US. So it has been an adventure.

Speaker 1: 17:41

Yeah, I would imagine, because I mean, America is so vast it's just hard for me to get my head around. But I would imagine it's relatively similar for you doing that move as it was for me moving from the UK to Germany. Apart from the only differences you've kept the language the same.

Speaker 2: 18:01

Yes, you know, for me it's about a 900 mile move. Yeah, I've only done one move longer than that and that was a 1600 mile move. Whoa, yeah, that's a lot. So I knew it was going to be a big move. So that was great for my theme and it's carried through even after we've gotten here, learning new things, embracing different activities that they have. And so to me, the theme of your year is kind of the through line. That brings a smile to your face, yeah, when you think of it, because you should think of your year with a positive outlook. That helps you do that.

Speaker 2: 18:58

Then, after that, then we go into goals, goal setting both in a personal way, for your family, for your profession or your work and any other areas of your life, because in America we're taught at work that we have strategic goals to follow and to work towards for each quarter or each year, but we don't tend to think of that in the context of our home life.

Speaker 2: 19:35

Yeah, I have just as many, if not more, goals that apply to my personal life, to my home life, to our family's life, as I do at work. We set everything up in the beginning of the year with that, because that is a big thing to do. I am having online classes about that. There's a place in the book on I think it's page Roman numeral six where it explains how you can sign up for the private Facebook group where we'll do some Facebook lives on how to establish your vision, how to establish your goals, because getting those right upfront is so important. Not that they can't be changed, they can, and that's important too, Because we don't want to stick with goals that don't service if something changes in the middle of the year.

Speaker 2: 20:46

Yeah, beyond, that Planner is on a monthly basis and also includes reflections for gratitude articles each month, and it also is illustrated. I've illustrated the whole thing so that if you want to treat this as an adult coloring book and get a little relaxation in when you're planning your week or your month, you sure have that opportunity.

Speaker 1: 21:23

Yeah, so it's a cross between a Planner and a bullet journal and a coloring book. It's very creative and hands-on and it will develop with people, so everyone's is going to be unique because they're going to put their own stamp on it Exactly.

Speaker 2: 21:40

Exactly. That's really beautiful.

Speaker 1: 21:42

Yeah, I'm a big goal setter, so I have three goals every day that I set myself, two of them for my business and one of them personal. So one of my goals for today was to record a podcast episode with Merg Simon. Look at that, I've managed to hit my goal. But another goal for today was to do a very long walk with the dog and a bit of exercise, and then I can tick that off when I've done it.

Speaker 1: 22:14

I'm someone that if I don't have things written down and highlighted as a goal, then it doesn't happen. So I think, having that planned out for the year in one place, that you can then follow through each month and say, ok, what goal do I want to work on now and what am I pulling into this month and what can I try and achieve from this goal? Because I think very often what people forget and I see clients do this all the time when we're working on their homes they think, oh, I need to do kimono. And then they become overwhelmed and rather than saying, ok, we're going to do cleaning things, we're going to do CDs, we're going to do children's toys, breaking it down into smaller categories and then breaking that down into even smaller goals so that you can actually work on it and get it finished without becoming overwhelmed. And eventually you'll get there if you go through all the steps, and so your planner is setting people up for their year to be able to do this, which is just wonderful.

Speaker 2: 23:19

Well, thank you. It really is designed to support people on their journey and it's got monthly calendars and it's got weekly calendars so that you can write down your three goals every day, write out your schedule for the day on each of those days, so it's very flexible in that way. I've been doing this for a number of years and I've been making my own planner every year and the more I do the intentional planning, the more intentional I get. I'm better able to prioritize my mental and emotional wellness and choose what brings me joy and control my calendar. So I'm not saying yes to everything, because when I say yes to something, I'm saying no to something else and really just regain control of my day.

Speaker 2: 24:30

Yeah, so you know, for my clients who have started out at their wits end, overwhelmed by so much stuff, you know I don't want them to be overwhelmed looking at this book. It's just one step at a time and you know, if you have a couple of busy weeks and you don't get to your planner, that's fine. Just pick it up right where you are and move forward with that. Your goals haven't changed. You're still in good shape to make positive changes in your life that support your lifestyle, because this is really about extending the Konmari philosophy of the tidy home to your entire life. Yeah, to have a tidy life.

Speaker 1: 25:27

And I love what you said right at the start, which is this is to support your clients once they have finished the tidy festival.

Speaker 1: 25:36

Because there's one thing that annoys me more than anything else on a lot of these organizing programs that you watch on television or things that you see on Instagram, where people will go in and they will help someone to organize and get their home all sorted, and then walk out the door and I'm sitting there thinking, well, yeah, great, what happens next?

Speaker 1: 26:03

Because there has to be some sort of maintenance to support people moving forward, because we've got to help them develop habits that mean they can maintain what we have helped them create and help them organize, because it doesn't just maintain itself just because you've done a tidy festival, and I love that this planner is sort of bringing all that together and giving them that support because they can make that part of their goals. I'm going to look in that draw that everyone just dumps the stuff in. Once a month I'm gonna check what's been dropped in there and put it back where it should be so that the draw stays tidy. Or every season, I'm going to go through my closet and I'm gonna see what I haven't worn this season and decide if I maybe do need to now let that go with gratitude, because perhaps it didn't spark as much joy as I thought. And this can all become part of the planning process, part of the goals for the year, in order to maintain what they've already done with us, which is wonderful.

Speaker 2: 27:09

Thank you. Yes, I agree, that's totally how I intended it, exactly how I envision it. I don't want to just walk away from my clients and leave them with a tidy house but no tools to maintain, yeah, that tidiness along the way. But as a consultant, the planner can also help coach you through how to work with your clients on these issues.

Speaker 1: 27:45

Yeah, no, that's fantastic. So, as we're coming towards the end of the year and everyone needs something to organize 2024, where can people go to find your planner? Where can we get it, meg, it's available online.

Speaker 2: 28:00

I have a website just for my book. It's called my-intentional-yearcom, and if you go to my-intentional-yearcom, you'll find all the purchase options that are available. You can buy it from my website, in which case you'll get a signed copy with a little note in it from me, or you can buy it from Amazon or Barnes Noble and here in the States there are a few bookstores that carry it, so that if you want to shop local and support small businesses in your community, you've got the opportunity to buy from them too.

Speaker 1: 28:50

Wonderful. Well, I will put that link in the show notes so that people can go there and click on it and go straight there so they don't have to remember the name. So if you're listening to this episode, don't forget, go to the show notes and you can look. I'm interested. Do you already have your theme for 2024? I don't yet.

Speaker 2: 29:10

I'm still you know, as we record this, it's the end of November and I'm still looking back on my year, going through and seeing what my accomplishments have been, what goals I didn't meet and why I didn't meet them, so that I can think about what I'm going to do for the next year. And so in December is usually when I set my vision and my theme for the year. So it'll be happening in the next couple of weeks.

Speaker 1: 29:56

I will be. I will have to get in touch with you and find out, because I will be intrigued to know what your theme is going to be, and I love this idea. I think I'm going to take this idea on for 2024. I am part of a business membership and there they encourage you to have a word of the year, but I actually think a theme of the year embraces a little more and I think that's quite exciting. So I will let you know when I have a theme Murg and you can let me know yours, and then I have an accountability partner for my theme.

Speaker 2: 30:36

That would be great. I'd enjoy that, caroline.

Speaker 1: 30:40

And I think maybe people should send me a DM on Instagram having listened to this and perhaps they could have a think what their theme for the year would be. I would love to hear from anybody in the DMs what your theme is going to be for 2024. And then I can let Murg know that we've inspired some of you to be creating themes for the year as well. That would be really fun. And then you can get hold of Murg's planner and put your theme front and center in there and use that as your main goal to drive 2024 for you. That would be really fun. Murg, it's been an absolute joy talking to you today. Thank you so much for making the time, and I think your planner is wonderful. I wish you every success with it.

Speaker 2: 31:29

Well, thank you, Caroline. I really appreciate the support and it's always fun talking with another Konmari consultant.

Speaker 1: 31:38

Thank you for your time and all the best for 2024.

Speaker 2: 31:43

Thank you so much, you're welcome.

Speaker 1: 31:53

So I really hope you enjoyed that chat between Murg and I. I've been in touch with her since we recorded and she has said I can share with you that her theme for 2024 at the moment is plan to be live and learn, although she said that she might change or tweak it a little bit before January the 1st. But at the moment it's looking like live and learn, and I have given this a lot of thought and I've decided that my theme for 2024 is going to be intentional. I would like to be more intentional about everything, whether that's stuff to do with my health, whether it's things to do with my business or whether it's things to do with my family. So intentional is my theme for 2024.

Speaker 1: 32:42

I would love to see you in my DMs on Instagram at carrowthor. Come and tell me what your theme for 2024 is going to be and let's see if we can keep each other accountable as the year goes on. So the next time you hear from me we will be in 2024 and I've got an amazing guest for my first episode of the new year. So until then, I look forward to guiding you on your journey to find your clutter free ever after.