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SLT 009: Our Edit & Forget It Challenge and The Power of Saying No

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Our Edit & Forget It Challenge and The Power of Saying No

Happy New Year!

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

Special Announcement: Especially for listeners in and around San Antonio/Austin, TX

Our friend and colleague Karen Meade of Let’s Get Organizing will be hosting her annual Organize and Energize workshop. It’s on Saturday, January 19th, 2013 from 9:30 Am to 12:30 PM at TriPoint on North St Mary’s, in San Antonio, Texas. There’s a great lineup of speakers talking about organization, meal planning, health and fitness and Dan will be there talking about tech. For more information check out LetsGetOrganizing.com or Facebook.com/LetsGetOrganizing. Hope to see you there!

Main Topics  

Dan’s Topic: Introducing the Edit & Forget It Challenge! 2013 Fewer Things in 2013 

We’re kicking things up a notch right off the bat this year and really stretch our commitment to simplifying our lives. We’re challenging ourselves with what we call Edit & Forget It, 2013 Fewer Things in 2013. We’d love it if you’d consider joining us!

  • We know this is a lofty goal and certainly won’t be for everyone
  • Our true focus is eliminating many things we truly don’t need any longer and reach a point where we have what we need, appreciate it, and be able to enjoy some margin in our lives
  • We don’t really have “clutter” in our home since Vanessa is a Professional Organizer, so eliminating 2013 things will be a real challenge!

It’s good to have an accountability buddy when challenging yourself…and all of you that listen to the show will be our accountability buddies to keep us on track!

  • We’d like to be your accountability buddies, too!
  • If you’d like to join us for the challenge, just sign up on our Edit & Forget It List. Here’s a direct link to that list on SimpleLifeTogether.com.
  • Those who sign up will will get emails from us from time to time as a little bit of encouragement along the way
  • No, you won’t get a trophy at the end of the Challenge, but in the end you’ll probably have a place to put one if you did!

Some Background:

  • We were amazed when we heard it quoted in a presentation that the average American home has around 300K things in it!
  • In raw numbers, 2013 things is just under 1% of that! That doesn’t sound like much of a challenge does it?
  • Truth be told, we think that figure counts each and every item
    • So if you had a 250 piece Lego set it counts as 250 pieces
    • That doesn’t seem too realistic to us and kinda makes getting rid of 2013 things no challenge whatsoever
    • So we established some simple guidelines for ourselves
  • To eliminate 2013 things from our home in 2013 the numbers work out, rounded up, anyways, like this:
    • About 6 things per day
    • About 40 things per week
    • About 170 per month
  • We’re also including going paperless because that is a great way to eliminate paper clutter from your home.
    • So, you may want to re-listen to Episode 6 and our interview with Brooks Duncan of DocumentSnap.
    • We’ll put some links in the show notes for the scanner we use and the one Brooks recommends.

Edit & Forget It Guidelines: Note: We may have to come up with some additional guidelines for ourselves along the way based on any new discoveries or unanswered questions we run into. But we’re starting with these:

  • Things that normally go together or that you originally purchased together count as one, e.g. a pair of shoes counts as one (not 2), a deck of cards counts as one (not 52) a puzzle counts as one (not 150).
  • Donated packaged food counts, thrown out food does not.
  • Scanned documents count as one original if disposed of. A document is a document whether it is a single page by itself or a ten page document. Each scanned document counts as one item.
  • Things that we don’t ordinarily keep in our home (like junk mail, catalogs, etc) don’t count for us as we recycle those immediately upon receipt.
    • If you typically keep them in your home, then you should count them!
  • We made some spreadsheets and we’re going to track our progress along the way. We’re tracking:
    • What we sell (and logging the actual sale amount)
    • What we donate (and logging the market value)
    • What we give away
    • What we discard
    • And what we digitize!
  • So, these are our guidelines. We’d love it if you’d join us! Feel free to use our guidelines “as is” or adapt them for your needs.
  • That covers the Challenge itself, but besides the additional margin it brings us we also hope it helps us refine our process of simplifying so we can make it sustainable and repeatable and be able to pass it on to folks like you! So, we’re hoping it reveals some inspiration for future shows.

So again, if you’d like to join us, just click on the Edit & Forget It box on the left side of website or follow this direct link: Edit & Forget It Signup

  • I’ve made some no-frills Google Docs spreadsheets that you can use if you’d like to track your items and I’ll email you those links after you sign up.

That’s it…Edit & Forget it! 2013 Fewer Things in 2013!

Vanessa’s Topic: The Power of Saying No

Our “Edit and Forget It. Challenge” is a perfect lead in to the Power of Saying No…we’re essentially going to be saying “no” to allowing things and clutter to dominate our lives.

The Power of Saying No will be helpful with your New Year’s Resolutions. I talked last week about how to make your resolutions a success and I think this topic piggy-backs on that….it’s simply another tool to help you along the way in accomplishing your goals and sticking to your priorities.

So….why is it so hard to say NO? It seems as we get older, we somehow adopt this notion that we have to say YES to everything and everyone. Why is that? Maybe we fear being politically incorrect or being labeled a non-team player. Maybe we don’t like to disappoint. Maybe we feel guilty or obligated to help others. Maybe we seek constant approval from co-workers, friends, family and even strangers. Maybe we’re afraid of “perceived” outcomes….getting fired, losing friends, upsetting someone, or missing out on a great opportunity. Or perhaps we feel that in order to attain the status of SUPERMAN, SUPERHUMAN or SUPERMOM we have to say YES to everything and everyone.

Well, I challenge you to think a little differently about this. NO is a little, two-letter, one-syllable word that all by itself can be a complete sentence. It’s a pretty powerful word…and at times, even more powerful than the word YES.

Saying NO can have a profound impact on your life.

Here are some benefits of learning to say NO at the right times in your life:

  • It allows you to be honest with yourself and with others. When you say YES to do something or merely agree with what someone said, even when its contradictory to how you feel, you are in a sense lying to that person and to yourself.
  • It helps you keep your priorities in check. If your priority is spending time with family…don’t volunteer for something that takes time away from them. If your priority is saving money…don’t spend it needlessly on consumer products. If your priority is losing weight…don’t give in to that greasy burger and fries.
  • It let’s people know you’re in charge of your time…and no one else.
  • It can be very empowering. You’re doing what you want and not being controlled by other peoples’ agendas. If you let people interrupt or you take on tasks practically every time someone asks you to…then folks will think its ok do do that to you all the time!
  • It prevents you from having feelings of resentment caused by doing things you’d rather not be doing.
  • It keeps you from doing or saying things you’ll regret. Peer pressure comes to mind here…
  • It helps you avoid needless stress and procrastination. When you say YES to do something you really don’t want to do, you end up pushing it off and avoiding it until you absolutely have to do it, causing you unnecessary stress and anxiety.
  • It helps you earn self-respect and respect from others. By saying no, you’re respecting your time, your priorities and your life. Folks are drawn to confidence and when you are confident about saying no…people will inevitable respect that.

Now, I know you can’t say NO to everything and everyone and I’m certainly not suggesting you be a jerk about it. There is the notion of “tact.” You still need to be tactful and respectful when saying no. I also suggest you start to change your mindset about saying NO and start to view it in a more positive light.

So, here are a few tips and ideas to think about to help make saying NO a little bit easier:

  • Stop worrying about other people’s feelings as your first priority. Sure, you should be aware and sensitive to feelings…but don’t allow their feelings to trump your priorities if your priorities are that important.
  • A big area to start saying NO is in extended family and friend obligations (not your spouse and kids). Although acquaintances, family and friends are wonderful and you may love helping them, sometimes they can be the biggest culprit to taking advantage of your time.
  • Another area can start saying no to is over-volunteering. You don’t have to be the homeroom mom, den mother, PTA member, HOA member all at once!
  • Re-frame your words. Instead of saying, “I’ll get back to you” or “I can’t” say, “Let me think about it”, “That doesn’t fit into my schedule”, “I won’t” or “I’ve decided not to.”
  • Be cognizant of your response and body language. Look the person in the eye, be brief in your response, use eye contact, have a calm yet firm voice, don’t use closed-off body language (hands on hips, crossed arms, rolling your eyes), don’t invade their personal space and don’t use inappropriate facial expressions (serious but not angry).

There. Not too difficult, huh? Ok, it’s a lot easier said than done but with a little practice you’ll feel a lot more comfortable with the idea of saying NO. Again, you don’t have to say NO to everything, but I’d highly consider saying it a little more often, especially if you’re feeling overextended and stressed out.

So, give it a try yourself and see just how empowering it can be. I bet you’ll start to feel a little less stressed and finally in control of your time…your priorities…and your life.

The “Thing” Segment:

Dan:  Begin with Changing Yourself

As I was reading through my daily blog feeds I came across this simple post from Dan Miller at 48Days.com. Dan’s post sparked my memory of my short time in the UK and also gave me some inspiration as I had the Edit & Forget It Challenge on my mind when I read his post. So, Dan wrote:

When we talk about change, here’s a good starting point: This is an inscription on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop that reads:

“When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world.

As I grew older and wiser I discovered the world would not change –

So I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country, but it too seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me,

But alas, they would have none of it.

And now I realize as I lie on my deathbed, if I had only changed myself first,

Then by example I might have changed my family,

From their inspiration and encouragement I would then have been able to better my country,

And who knows, I might have even changed the world.”

I think that can hit home with many of us. So, while we can talk about how we’re frustrated with the consumer-focused society we all live in, working on our simple life together and starting the change with ourselves is probably a lot more productive and impactful.

        Vanessa: I LOVE Google Calendars!

Just yesterday I was on the phone with a colleague of mine…we do a lot of work projects together from managing big residential moves to small business organizing. Anyhoos…she’s in Portland on vacation, I’m here in San Antonio and we’re working with a client that’s moving from Kansas City to San Antonio…and we’ll be responsible for unpacking and getting the client’s family set up in an 11,000sq ft home!

Well, I love my google calendar because as I was talking to my colleague I was able to look at the calendar she and I share as well as my husbands calendar, my kids’ calendars, and my personal calendar to make sure there weren’t any conflicts. It was beautiful! I love having multiple calendars that I can share and that automatically sync to my iPhone and iPad. Yay!

Feedback:

We received a very nice comment on the website from Farnoosh Brock from ProlificLiving.com. Farnoosh wrote: You guys, I am just blown away by what you are doing here. The content is TOP NOTCH, bar none! I love it. I have just started listening to your podcast and love the both of you and how you interact. Keep it up and I’ll be sure to review it on iTunes. Wishing you both a very happy new year.

Well thanks Farnoosh and Happy New Year to you too! Folks, you should check out Farnoosh’s site over at ProlificLiving.com…she has tons of great info and her Daily Interaction Podcast is fantastic, too. You’ll be glad you did!

Closing Thoughts:

Once again, Happy 2013 and we hope this year is a great year for simplifying your life. If you haven’t started yet or have just been thinking about it, now is a great time to start. We’re blessed to be able to share some ideas and some of our experiences as we journey toward a simpler life in the modern world and we’d like to hear some of your experiences, too.

It sure would help if you you took just 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes. The more positive reviews we get, the higher the show is in the listings and that’s how people find us.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

  • In iTunes just search for Simple Life Together…
  • Click on the green “Simple Life Together” picture…
  • Scroll down to Customer Reviews where you’ll see “Write a Review”
  • Click on”Write a Review”
  • Write your review…
  • Click “Submit”! It’s as easy as that and it really helps to get the word out about the the show.  Thanks for doing that.  

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

Connect with us on Twitter, I’m @DanielHayes and Vanessa is @GetSimplifized. You can find links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles on the left side of the home page.

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

So, here are other links we mentioned in the show:

Karen Meade of LetsGetOrganizing

Dan Miller’s Post

Farnoosh Brock at Prolific Living

Brooks Duncan at DocumentSnap

GetSimplifized Links:

The Power of Saying No

Google Calendars

Other Google Programs

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

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SLT 008: Things To Eliminate in the Coming Year and Tips for Successful Resolutions

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Things To Eliminate in the Coming Year and Tips for Successful Resolutions

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

Main Topics  

Dan’s Topic: Some Things to Eliminate in the Coming Year

I’m not a big “New Year’s Resolutions” guy, so in keeping with the Exupery quotation I’ve discussed in previous shows and use to guide me on our simplicity journey, I thought I’d give resolutions a little twist. If you recall, Exupery said, “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but nothing left to take away.” So let’s resolve to remove some things that add no positive value in our lives. Only you know what applies to you and what’s right for you, but here are some suggestions for consideration…

Stop wasting opportunities:

  • Opportunities to grow are all around us
    • Grow by Learning…Education is a great way to invest in yourself
      • Take a class (online or in the real world)…lots of places offer Adult Education classes
      • Or teach yourself! Check your local library to see if they have how-to or self help books
    • Other Great Resources:
      • Also check http://www.khanacademy.org for classes
      • I watch CreativeLIVE.com for free courses given live by experts. After the live class is over the classes are available for purchase.
      • Screencastsonline.com has great tutorials for Mac and iOS-based platforms. Run by Don McAllister
      • Lynda.com has all sorts of courses, from business, photography, videography…the gamut of software for Mac, PC and others (you can also get 7 days free unlimited access here)
      • Izzyvideo.com for video tutorials
      • If you’re a podcaster, Cliff Ravenscraft’s classes are great! Find them at PodcastAnswerman.com and use discount code SIMPLE for up to $500 savings on Podcasting A to Z!
    • I have or had paid memberships in all of these and see them as an investment in me and our businesses
    • Grow by Experiences such as
      • Volunteering
      • Getting active in your children’s school or after school activities
      • Mentor someone in your chosen profession or a student studying for your profession
      • If you belong to a church, see if your church needs help with something you’re skilled at

 Stop letting what you already have go unused:

  • The first thing that comes to mind is Experience and Expertise and that ties in with the opportunities to grow we just mentioned
  • Look around and see if you are using technology to your advantage
  • If you’re not sure how to use some of your tech, there are tons of free How-To tutorials on YouTube to help out.

Stop “holding on”…some stuff is just not necessary any more:

  • If you have unnecessary “stuff” you can donate it, sell it, give it away to a friend or post it on freecycle.org (complete listing for all countries where Freecycle operates at SimpleLifeTogether.com/freecycle
  • But there’s probably more than “stuff” you need to get rid of…
    • Bad habits
    • Same old routines- If they’re not working for you it’s time to let them go
    • Work situation: If you’re ready for a change than check out Dan Miller’s 48 Days Podcast

Stop Letting Others Dictate How You Use Your Time:

  • DVR your shows or “cut the cord” and watch online on sites like iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, in the US.
    • Outside the US, just Google TV Steaming sites to find those available in your area, such as the BBC’s iPlayer.
    • Don’t forget to check your local network sites to see what streams they offer, too.
  • Another way to control your own time is to:
    • Choose Podcasts over radio. Podcasts allow for time shifting your favorite content. You can listen to podcasts as your walk, run, work, commute, travel, do chores…whenever you want?
    • Break free of the 10 to 20 minutes per hour devoted to advertising on commercial broadcasting stations.
    • iTunes University has free college-level classes, tying into the education suggestion mention earlier.
    • Podcasts are free and loaded with motivating, encouraging and informative content
  • Remember, each and every one of us have 24 hours in our day, 168 hrs in our week. Every minute is precious…make a concerted effort to control more of your time.

Stop Living in the Past

  • Past failures..we’ve all had them
  • Riding on the coattails of past successes…”resting on your laurels”
  • Don’t keep focusing on “roads not taken”…respect your choices and if you made bad choices or mistakes, then work to rectify them, but you can’t undo your past
  • Don’t let past inaction hold you back or wallow in regret for all the “coulda, woulda, shouldas”…we’ve all been guilty of that so just suck it up and press on!

The next one is: Stop Undervaluing Yourself

  • You have skills, experiences and a lot to offer…you just need to start
  • Take action!
  • Stop making excuses
  • Produce rather than consume…that’s what my recent Facebook Fast was all about and it was during that fast that this podcast was produced. So, strive to be more of a producer and less of a consumer.

And Finally…Stop Letting Drama Have a Stage in Your Life

  • Rumors and gossip are like a cancer…cut them out of your life
  • Bad relationships don’t get better by themselves
  • Don’t be held back by opinions others have of you and…
  • Don’t rush to judgement of other people
  • So how do you cut drama out of your life? I came up with a acronym you can use…
    • Just DEAL with it! DEAL stands for Don’t place blame, Elevate yourself above the situation, Allow for apologies, amends or Agree to disagree, Let it go!

Vanessa’s Topic: Tips for Successful Resolutions

Well, with the New Year quickly approaching, many of you (including me) are probably thinking about things that you would like to improve on…habits you’d like to quit…or good habits you’d like to start! So…of course I thought it would be fitting to share some tips on how to make your resolutions a success. Keep in mind you can use them any time of the year and for practically any type of goal or project you are working on.

Pick only 1 – 2 resolutions.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably got a few things you’d like to improve upon, but don’t tackle everything all at once! Pick the things that are nagging or affecting your life the most.

Be realistic about your resolution or goal.

For example…having more money may be a goal of yours.  Winning the lottery vs. saving a little money each month are two very different ways to have more money.  The later idea is probably a little bit more realistic.  Or take your fitness goals…running a marathon and  tackling a 5 or 10K are distinctly different goals.  If you’ve been running for years then a marathon may be reasonable and attainable.  But if you’re new to running or haven’t run in years…then a marathon is probably not a good idea…and maybe a little bit dangerous.  Or you want to lose 40 lbs in a month…probably not realistic…nor is it a good idea. So try to be realistic.

Be specific about your goal.  

Choose “I want to lose 20 lbs in 6 months”  vs. “I want to lose weight” or…“I want to organize one room per month” vs. “I want to organize my entire house”.  The more specific you are the better chance you have at accomplishing your goal.

Tackle your goals in small chunks.  

Break your goals down into small, manageable chunks.  Lets say for example you want to save enough money for a family vacation.  Maybe that’ll cost $2000.  Well, maybe you could divide that amount by the time you have before you go on the trip (lets say…9 months).  Which comes out to $222/month.  From there you can figure out ways to cut spending month by month rather than all in one shot.  

  • Maybe you want to quit eating fast food.  Maybe you can start the first month with eating fast food only 3-5 times/week…then only 3-5 times per month…then only 1-2 times per month.
  • Or maybe you’re working on an organizing project…let’s say the kitchen.  Try to just tackle one drawer or cabinet per day with the goal of getting it done in a month.  Then you can work on the next room in the house.
  • It’s so much easier when you tackle a goal a little bit at a time.

Tell folks about your goals.  

There is something to be said about positive peer pressure. Tell those you trust and who you know will help you stay on track.  I’m amazed at how much that will motivate me.  I’ve posted things on Facebook about training for a marathon or starting a juice fast…and I’ve been amazed at how some people will track or ask me about my progress.  They’re actually interested in my success….or maybe they’re interested in my success so that they feel motivated to do the same thing?  Whatever the case, positive peer pressure can be a motivator.

Get a buddy who can work with you who’s  trying to achieve the same goal.  

Get a fitness buddy, organizing partner, or quitting buddy to help you with your goals.  It’s a lot easier to turn off your 4 am alarm to go to the gym when it’s just you.  But if you know you’re supposed to meet your workout buddy…it’s a little bit harder to not show up…you don’t want to face the disappointment. Funny thing is, the journey to achieving your goal is usually a lot more fun when you’re working on it together!

Use your calendar to help you stay accountable.  I recommend this to my clients all the time.  If you want to work on a project or to develop a new habit first break it down into steps and then put it on your calendar.  For example:

  • You want to run 3 times a week…well, plug it in on your calendar.
  • Maybe you want to have more date nights…plug in the dates you would like to go out so you can start planning ahead.
  • Use your calendar to track your progress and review your goals.  You could set up a recurring appointment for the 1st of each month to evaluate how much weight you’ve lost, money you’ve saved, how many drawers or cabinets you organized, how many times you were able to go out, how many miles you ran, etc.

Write down your goals and keep a log.  

Monitor your fitness, organizing, quitting, or financial goals by simply writing them down and then tracking them.  I do this for my fitness.  I have a separate workout calendar on my google calendar that lists my workouts for each week.  Then I have a separate calendar that I keep where I track what I actually did.  Sometimes I finished it….sometimes I didn’t.  But is was great to see the record of what I’ve done.  I’ve also done this with my marathon training.  I printed out my training schedule and then I would write down the mileage I completed for each day I ran and then I would add up the mileage for the week.  We also have Withings wifi scale that keeps track of our weight, body fat and BMI numbers.  Now I keep track of my fitness by using a couple of apps.  More on that in a second….

Expect setbacks…but don’t get discouraged.  Jump back on the wagon!!!

Use apps to help maintain your goals.  I pulled these from Mashable.com:

  • My Fitness Pal calorie counter
  • Fitness Buddy (virtual personal trainer) I also heard about this by a fellow podcaster…John Buekenas from Let’s Reverse Obesity
  • Livestrong MyQuit Coach (to help quit smoking)
  • Astrid (manage your to-do lists and set up reminders)
  • Mint.com (to help manage your personal finances and spending)

Reward yourself.

I’ve got a client who’s goal is to organize her office.  Once it’s organized she’s going to get herself a new iMac.  She already has the money set aside, but she made a promise not to spend it until she’s organized that office! Now that’s a great way to reward yourself for accomplishing a goal!

The “Thing” Segment:

Dan:  Clipboard managers that remember your history for cutting and pasting as you work

  • For Mac: Flycut
  • For PC:  
    • Spartan Lite Multi Clipboard Link
    • M8 Free Multi Clipboard Link
    • 3D Clipboard Link

        Vanessa: Using “Canned Statements” in Gmail

  • Saves lots of time by letting you store text, images, etc, that you use repeatedly in emails
    • Can consist of a single word, phrase, or multiple pages and even include images!
    • Note: Available in Gmail, but you may have to activate it in the “labs” function of your settings

Closing Thoughts:

Thanks to you, Simple Life Together has listeners in 47 countries and is now in the iTunes New and Notable listings in all three of our categories in iTunes: Society and Culture, Personal Journals, and even in the Technology category. But it sure would help if you you took just 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes. The more positive reviews we get, the higher the show is in the listings and that’s how people find us.

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

  • In iTunes just search for Simple Life Together…
  • Click on the green “Simple Life Together” picture…
  • Scroll down to Customer Reviews where you’ll see “Write a Review”
  • Click on”Write a Review”
  • Write your review…
  • Click “Submit”! It’s as easy as that and it really helps to get the word out about the the show.  Thanks for doing that.  

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Links we mentioned in the show:

For some great online classes check out:

Other Links:

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

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SLT 007: Organizing Tips From an Unlikely Source & Life Lessons From the Playground

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Organizing Tips From An Unlikely Source & A Few Life Lessons From The Playground.

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Main Topics:  

Vanessa’s Topic: Organizing Tips From A Toddler

Vanessa realized the lessons that we have been teaching our daughter since she was a toddler are also great lessons that adults can apply to their lives when it comes to getting and staying organized.  Here are the lessons/tips that were discussed:

  • Limit the number of toys (or projects) that you are playing with or working on. 

Too many projects gets overwhelming and cause you to loose focus.  Multi-tasking isn’t all that great.  Having few toys or projects also makes for easier cleanup.

  • Clean up after yourself.

Make cleanup part of your project.  Whether you’re baking in the kitchen or working on a craft project, part of the project should include cleaning up after yourself.  Don’t let it all pile up to point where cleaning up your home is an all day affair!

  • Designate a spot for everything.

Try using the same concept that preschool or kindergarten classrooms use…create zones and homes for everything. By creating zones in your home and having “a place for everything and everything in its place,” cleanup and finding things will be a heck of a lot easier!

  • Make cleanup easy.

Using open containers to store things is a key ingredient to having kids clean up after themselves. Same thing applies to adults. It’s much easier to toss an item into a basket or bin than having to lift a lid.  Bins are great inside drawers, on shelves and in cabinets. Hooks are another great tool to use to hang up coats, backpacks, scarves, belts and purses.

  • Create rules and routines.

We’ve previously dedicated  1/2 a podcast to this very topic. Creating rules and routines helps establish expectations so that you and other family members know who, what, when and why certain tasks need to be done and how.  Knowing what is expected prevents you from wasting time, duplicating effort and trying to figure out who does what…which cuts down on bickering as well!

  • Limit the amount of stuff you own.

It’s pretty simple…the less stuff you have the less you have to clean and maintain. You can control the amount of things in your home by practicing the “one in, one out rule,” editing your possessions regularly, controlling impulsive buying habits and thinking long and hard about how making a purchase might affect the harmony in your home.

  • Reward yourself.

If our daughter wants a snack or to go outside and play, we make a deal with her.  She’ll get the treat if she cleans up first. Her motivation to clean up is all based off of that reward.  You can reward yourself too. Tackle your most important tasks…then treat yourself to a little reward like a movie, reading time or extra time running (yes…Vanessa loves to run).

Dan’s Topic: Life Lessons Learned on the Playground

Flashback to Episode 5

  • LEARNING: “Knowledge makes everything simpler.”
  • Do you capitalize on things we’ve already learned?
  • How do our kids learn life’s lessons in today’s fast-paced world?

Life Lessons Learned on the Playground.  For each, ask yourself two things:

  • Do I still use this lesson today?
  • How are today’s kids learning these lessons?

Lessons:

  • SeeSaws or Teeter Totters: Teach us balance and leverage. Use Pareto’s 80/20 Rule for leverage.
  • Swings: Teach us to take action, coordination, and how to harness & use momentum. Swings also teach us situational awareness, looking out for trouble, timing our actions.
  • Monkey Bars: Let go in order to make progress. Sometimes you have to stretch. You can’t move forward without letting go of the past and the now and reaching for tomorrow.
  • Jungle Gym: How to meet a challenge, overcome fear, and enjoy the view. Be careful of others’ fingers as they climb to the top with you.
  •  Merry Go Round: It’s fun to go fast, but not sustainable.  Getting off a merry go round is a transition. Take time to get your bearings, to stabilize.
  •  Bullies:  They’re obstacles. You learn to go over, around, under, or in some cases, right through a bully. Sometimes it’s easiest to avoid, but in most cases it’s best just to deal with challenges head-on…
  • Sandbox: It’s fun to just get in, get dirty, dig and create. Mistakes in the sandbox are cheap, so practice there.

Key take-aways:

  • When you find things out of balance, leverage your skills by focusing on that 20% of effort that Pareto highlights.
  •  Don’t forget to take action when action is necessary and learn to harness and capitalize on your momentum.
  •  Become more situationally aware by paying attention to your environment, looking for dangers as well as opportunities.
  •  Remember that sometimes you need to let go of the past and “the now” to reach where you’re meant to be. Set your goals and move forward to meet them.
  •  Enjoy the climb to whatever you consider to be the top. Define your own top and be careful not to step on fingers and toes as you reach your goals.
  •  Prepare yourself for transitions and know that sometimes Life’s merry go round can throw your bearings off a bit sometimes.
  •  Know there will be obstacles in life. But most often challenges are just opportunities in disguise.
  • Our playground life lessons served us well. Today’s kids need a good mix of “old fashioned” and “modern” Life Lessons, plus a good friend, parent, coach, teacher or mentor to tap into the teachable moments we face in life.

Final thoughts:

Life is a playground.  And the playground isn’t nearly as much fun when you’re by yourself. What makes it the most fun is enjoying the playground with others you care about and that care about you.  Sometimes it’s ok to have a little alone time out there…but for the most part, Life’s Playground is best when it’s shared. Just like your Simple Life Together.

The “Thing” Segment:

Vanessa: The One-In, One-Out Rule To Control Clutter

Dan:  How much he enjoys his Big Green Egg!

Listener Feedback:

  • Laura: Saw a pin on pinterest and followed to “…your simple life together. Enjoyed the Organizing and Having Less …Your dialog was interesting and fun to listen to. I’ve been wanting to have a house of order for some time and keep looking for encouraging guidance to do so.”
  • Derek C. Olsen from BeatnikBudget.com left us a voice message that he loves the podcast! He also shared his passion for juicing, as he heard us talking about juicing in Episode 5 (see links below for more info on juicing).

Closing Thoughts:

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes. It takes less than 2 minutes to review the show in iTunes and that’s the best way for people to find us.

  • In iTunes just search for Simple Life Together…
  • Click on the green “Simple Life Together” picture…
  • Scroll down to Customer Reviews where you’ll see “Write a Review”
  • Click on”Write a Review”
  • Write your review…
  • Click “Submit”! It’s as easy as that and it really helps to get the word out about the the show.  Thanks for doing that.  

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Links we mentioned in the show:

Laws of Simplicity and the Pareto Principle in Episode 005

Dan Mentioned his Big Green Egg (BGE). He buys BGE accessories here.

Our listener feedback talked about juicing…here are a couple of links to Dan’s posts: Juicing journey,  Juicing Day Six: A Personal Tragedy and if you’re interested in a juicing clinic that Dan participated in check out Your Chance to Learn About Juicing, Juicers, and the Benefits of Juice Fasting

Get Simplifized! Links:

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

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SLT 006: Going “Paperless” and Making the Most of a Small Living Space

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Going Paperless & Making the Most of a Small Living Space

Main Topics:  

Going Paperless: Guest Interview with Brooks Duncan from DocumentSnap

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

We had a fantastic interview with Brooks.  There’s no doubt he’s way out front as a lead expert in the field of going paperless.  Here is a list of questions we asked Brooks (you definitely should listen to the podcast because he gave some great answers and advice!):

So, Brooks…who are you and how do you make people’s lives simpler?

Is it really possible to go paperless? What about…

    • Tax paperwork (Brooks sent IRS guidance, too.  Links below.)
    • Receipts
    • Contracts
    • Other docs that people have been “married to” forever?

How do you recommend people get started with going paperless?

What does the workflow look like, or are there lots of different workflows?

Your article “We Are Our Own Worst Enemy When Going Paperless” is fantastic! Can you describe some of the challenges people face when going paperless?

What equipment do you recommend and why?

    • Mac
    • PC
    • Scanners
    • Mobile device/apps
    • Etc…

Your Paperless Document Organization Guide and it’s an amazing value…do you have other courses?

How can people sign up for your newsletter?

What is the best way for people to reach you?

Website: documentsnap.com
Twitter: @BrooksDuncan and @DocumentSnap
Facebook: facebook.com/documentsnap

Dan and Vanessa Discuss Tips for Small Home Living

  • Planning Our “Dream Home”…five years of planning
  • Taking Action…designing, saving, paying it off and then…
  • Oooops! Rethinking Our “Dream Home”…reasons for our change of plans: affordable green living, time to travel and visit family, not wanting to be slaves to possessions

Intro to Cece Reinhardt + Brenda Daugherty from the blog “On the Green Road”

    • Downsized their lives
    • Totally eco-refurb’d an Airstream remodel and lived full-time in their RV
    • Now they’re transitioning to a 500 sf house and planning a complete eco-refurb of that, too!
    • They blog about health, travel, self-sufficiency and as they say, “anything else that blows our skirts up.”

Guest Post on On The Green Road from Katie White from the blog DIY Mother: “DIY Tricks to Make the Most of a Small Living Space” (Note: We added some tips, too! Our additions to this are Italicized)

The main theme was:

  • 
Reducing your footprint doesn’t have to be uncomfortable

She also pointed out some of the advantages of living in a Small home. They are :

  • Use less land and raw materials
  • Cost less to heat and cool
  • You’ll be less tempted to fill them with things you don’t need.  Ties right into the spin off of Parkinson’s Law we talked about back in Episode 004…“Storage requirements will increase to meet storage capacity”

Kitchen Keypoints:

  • Small kitchens can be noisy, crowded little pressure-cookers, breeding hot tempers and short fuses.
  • Paint your kitchen in light, cool shades to help everyone relax, and if possible, coordinate the entire kitchen in two or three colors to avoid a busy, disorganized vibe.
  • Another simple trick to increase the visual space in your kitchen is to try open shelving instead of cupboards.
  • We have raised Euro-style cabinets off the floor so you can see under them…it adds visual depth. Also, a mix of solid frosted glass cabinet doors help, too.
  • Tall upper cabinets really max out your vertical storage space.
  • Pull-out lower drawers, versus standard cabinets are a lifesaver.
  • Forego “uni-tasker” appliances and opt for multitasking appliances.

Living Room Lessons: The easiest way to open up your living room is to get things off the floor.

  • Instead of a clunky bookshelf, try wall-mounted shelves.
  • Small house plants and lighting can also be placed on the walls or ceiling (Hanging plants are especially good for small living rooms).
  • Just like in the kitchen and bedroom, light penetration is everything.
  • Remove sofa skirts, try a translucent coffee table, and hang a nice mirror or two to really expand the visual range.
  • If you need new furniture, steer clear of round, rolled arm and back pieces—they fill up a room like nothing else.
  • Again, use multitasking furniture that doubles as storage like coffee tables and ottomans.
  • Try wall-mounted televisions and hanging lamps instead of floor or table lamps that take up a lot of room.

Bedroom Basics: The simplest visual trick to open up your bedroom is to make your baseboards visible.

  • Stilted furniture, wall-mounted shelves and light fixtures, and a skirtless bed frame can all increase the visual range in your bedroom and make it feel larger.
  • Colors such as a single accent wall painted in a bold, darker color can “stretch” your bedroom visually, especially if it’s the smaller wall.
  • Paint the other three walls in light, airy colors that complement the accent wall. The room will feel more open, and it also adds a personal, expressive touch.
  • Again, use hanging lamps or wall mounted end table lamps to free up space. We also have a platform bed that makes the room look larger.

Bottom Line in the Bathroom: Plumbing makes bathroom renovation a tricky proposition, but you can swap out a bulky vanity for a pedestal sink without too much damage to the delicate habitat of your sink fixtures.

  • Make up for the loss of your drawers with an extra set of wall shelves, or a deeper medicine cabinet.
  • To increase the light-penetration in your bathroom, swap out your shower curtain for a clear glass door (or a frosted privacy screen) to create wall-to-wall visibility. We agree with the the light penetration, but we’re advocates of no shower doors or curtains.  The water is so hard here and creates lime deposits on glass…but if your water is ok, then glass works great!
  • Textured wallpaper in a light color can also create illusory depth that makes a bathroom feel bigger; and finally,
  • To avoid a sense of clutter, limit your bathroom décor to “singles”—one piece of art, one rug, one towel per person, etc. 

Storage Suggestions: The key to using your storage space efficiently is to think in three dimensions

  • Get rid of the junk drawer, use a shoe organizer
    • Put a link to vanessa video on http://getsimplifized.com about shoe organizers.
    • Use on your pantry door for odds and ends. It’ll keep your drawers and counters clear while leaving scissors, batteries, and pens accessible. We use an over the door shoe organizer in our hallway closet.  Vanessa even did a video on it!
  • Consider a tankless gas water heater
    • Much more energy efficient, saving you money and energy.
    • Makes room for storages space for tools, home repair supplies—anything that you’d otherwise store in a shed or garage.
  • Keys to storage:
    • Only store things you really need.
    • Look for ways to exploit unused areas and vertical space.
      • We’ve found dozens of square feet of space by building cubbies in wall cavities. Consider this if you’re handy. Link to http://getsimplifized.com cubby post.
      • Use containers to max out small areas. Link to http://getsimplifized.com container post.

Thanks again to Cece + Brenda of On the Green Road for their inspiration…and to Katie White for her guest post at there, as well. Katie is a writer and handywoman from DIY Mother @ diymother.wordpress.com where she blogs with 4 other gals about DIY projects around the home.  I checked it out and it’s a great resource!  Each post is laid out in steps to follow…”easy…breezy, lemon squeezy,” as our little girl Jordan would say!

The “Thing” Segment:

Vanessa: discussed a section from Enough, by Will Davis. Basically…we have waaaaay more than enough!  Need to appreciate what we have.

Dan:  Discussed his “Facebook Fast” and the new Google+ Communities

Listener Feedback:

  • Gilbert: He loves the show and gave us great feedback! He even gave us an idea for a future podcast.  Thanks!
  • Augusto: He’s all about the idea of simplifying and having “enough.” He also sent us some free tips (link listed below) that are worth checking out.

Closing Thoughts:

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Links we mentioned in the show:

Brooks Duncan from DocumentSnap

IRS Bulletins from Brooks; Guidelines for Businesses and Guidelines for Individuals

Cece Reinhardt + Brenda Daugherty from On The Green Road

Katie White from DIY Mother Blog (BTW…love your tag line, “Not afraid to use power tools in a dress”)

Free Tips From Augusto Pinaud

Organizing  book by Peter Walsh “It’s All Too Much”

Get Simplifized! Links:

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

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SLT 005: The One Secret To Accomplishing Anything and the Laws of Simplicity

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The One Secret To Accomplishing Anything & the Laws of Simplicity

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!

Feedback:

  • We got some terrific voicemail feedback from John Bukenas from  LetsReverseObesity.com. John’s podcast Let’s Reverse Obesity is fantastic! John is doing great things chronicling his weight loss and is helping so many others along the way.
    • Thanks, John, for listening, subscribing, and taking the time to send us some feedback.
  • We also got a very, very nice comment here on Episode 004 from Marshall Ponzi. Thank you Marshall for your kind words and you’re so right…it IS amazing what we can do without. And, I think we’d agree that doing without all the extra allows us to truly appreciate what we do have all the more.
    • Marshall also has a terrific podcast over at InboundInFocus.com that gives great inbound marketing tips for business owners. If you’re a business owner you’d be well served to check out Marshalls podcast, Inbound In Focus, as well.

Main Topics:  

Vanessa’s Topic: The One Secret To Accomplishing Anything

 “I’m often asked what my secret is to being organized and how I get my clients to become more organized.”

The single most important component to becoming organized is commitment.

So why is commitment to change so difficult?

1. It’s not a priority….at least not yet.

2. Change is hard…even when you know it’s good for you.

3. It takes a lot of work…and that can be daunting and discouraging.

4. Unfortunately, often times people have to reach some sort of “breaking point.”

Vanessa highlights some of her efforts to change:

Finances

  • $24K in debt
    • Electricity and phone cut off
    • Creditors hounding her for payments.

Fitness

  • 40 lbs heavier than her current weight

Combined, the struggles led to:

  • Low self esteem
  • Depression
  • Low energy

Keys to her commitment to change:

  • Stopped playing the victim
  • Committed to a lifestyle change vs “quick fix”

Results?

  • Paid off debt in 2 years
  •  Rebuilt credit score
  • Kept the weight off
  • Better level of fitness than in high school (20 years ago! Wow! She’s OLD!)

Vanessa’s Truths:

  • Truly believes “If I can do it, so can you!”
  • One key is to be realistic about the change you want to make…and understand that it’s a process…not a quick fix.
  • Be patient, systematic and strategic…otherwise you might do something you’ll regret or resent.
  • One positive example is a blog she subscribes to, “Becoming Minimalist” by Joshua Becker.  I like the word…Becoming…because it implies that it’s a process.

So, here are some points to ponder if you are thinking about making a change in your life:

1. Change your mindset…it’s a lifestyle change not a quick fix. Just like my progress with weight loss and fitness.

2. Change doesn’t happen overnight.

3. Realize that you may get discouraged at the task ahead.  But don’t sell yourself short.  You can do it! Again, think of it as a process and break it down into bite-sized chunks. (organize one space at a time…pay off one bill at a time…try one eating lifestyle or fitness plan at a time)

4. Realize that you may “fall of the wagon” and that maintaining your lifestyle may be difficult.  Pick yourself back up, and hop back on the wagon!

5. Once you get in the groove, you’re probably going to get addicted! Ask Dan…I can be a real grouch if I’ve missed a few workouts and if my house gets too cluttered.  That’s because I’ve gotten addicted to the results and love how they make me feel.  Feeling comfortable in my clothing and in my home are incredibly elating.  You’ll feel the same once you get in the groove. These are healthy addictions in my opinion.

6. You’ll start to build confidence!  And reduce stress.  You won’t have those negative thoughts lingering around in your mind.  Instead you’ll be thinking about taking the next step…decreasing your debt further….trying a new fitness routine…shedding some more clutter…etc.

7. You’ll love the results! And the freedom you’ll experience. Creating goals and setting out to achieve them is one thing…accomplishing them is nothing short of AWESOME!

 Dan’s Topic: The Laws of Simplicity

Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda

  • John Maeda is the president of the Rhode Island School of Design, where his bio says he’s dedicated to linking design and technology.
  • Entertaining TED talk on YouTube (link below)
  • While the book covers more, Dan discussed just the ones below
  • Actually “rules” more than “laws”
  • There are some really terrific take aways

Some of the “Laws”

REDUCE – The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction

ORGANIZE – Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.

TIME – Savings in time feel like simplicity.

LEARN – Knowledge makes everything simpler.

DIFFERENCES – Simplicity and complexity need each other.

You can only appreciate “highs” if you’ve experienced “lows.”

CONTEXT – What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.

 Think of this like “margin” … room in your schedule to breathe, margins on a sheet of paper that highlight what’s within the margin, etc… Simplicity is highlighted by margin.

FAILURE – Some things can never be made simple.

Yep! Unfortunately, this one is true and we just have to accept it.

THE ONE – Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.

Much like Dan’s quotation in Episode 001 from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Dan’s Musing’s About More Simplicity “Laws”

  •  Sometimes complicated leads to simple. (Example: Apps and computer programs are very complex in the programming/designing process; yet hopefully simple for the user).
  • However, sometimes complicated leads to more complicated, as there is always a human element and relationships can easily be very complicated
  • Positivity tends to lead to simplicity. Negativity tends to lead toward complication. Much like Sir Walter Scott’s line: “Oh what tangled webs we weave, when first we practise to deceive”
  • Simple does not equate to easy.
  • Over-planning for contingencies causes complexity. Considering Murphy’s Law (“If anything can go wrong, it will”), but don’t let it stifle simplicity.

The “Thing” Segment:

Vanessa: Vanessa’s “THING”:  Vanessa discussed a client’s successes since implementing some strategies that Vanessa suggested during an organizing session. The client relayed how much more effective and easy organizing had become, how the Action File Vanessa recommended had drastically reduced their paper clutter, and how Evernote (after some “getting used to it” time) has become part of her workflow.

Dan:  Being a “tech guy,” Dan talked about how much he loves RSS feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and “pushes” out updates on blogs and podcasts so you don’t have to go searching for new episodes and “pull” them into your reader or audio device.

Dan’s RSS uses:

    • He uses Google Reader to collect content from his RSS feeds.
    • He links his Google Reader account to apps like Flipboard on the iPad
    • Going through his feeds is part of his morning routine…like reading the paper used to be back in the day

Closing Thoughts:

If you like the show, please subscribe and consider giving us a good review in iTunes

If you know someone else who might enjoy the journey too, send them a link to SimpleLifeTogether.com

There are links to our Twitter and Google Plus profiles and other contact info on the left side of the website. We’d love to hear from you !

Be sure to leave comments below, send us a voicemail from the little microphone icon on the right side of the page, or you can go “old school” and email us!  Comments, questions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions…they’re all welcome and we’d love to hear from you!

Links we mentioned in the show:

John Bukenas’ Let’s Reverse Obesity Blog and Podcast

Marshal Ponzi’s Inbound in Focus Blog and Podcast

Get Simplifized.com: Vanessa’s article, How to Create and Use an Action File.

Vanessa’s article The One Secret To Achieving Anything

Joshua Becker’s Becoming Minimalist BlogJohn Maeda’s Blog: lawsofsimplicity.com

John Maeda’s TED Talk:  John Maeda on The Simple Life

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show! Thank you!