As we bring Simple Life Together to a close, we wanted to offer a little update on where our simplicity journey has taken us over the last three years. This is Part 2 of that update. Do yourself a favor and listen to Episode 78 first

This is what will most likely be our final update episode, so if this is your first time listening in, I’d suggest you go back to around Episode 65: Strategic Simple Living to make sure this episode and Episode 78: Still Simplifying After All These Years Part 1 make sense. Of course if you want in on ALL the goodness, just start at Episode 1! It’ll be worth it, guaranteed!

Thank you all so much for listening in! It has been a great ride and I’m sure we’ve learned much more from you than you learned from us. Please…go out there enjoy your… Simple Life Together!

• Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes

The post SLT079: Part 2 of Still Simplifying After All These Years appeared first on Simple Life Together.

In this episode of Simple Life Together, we offer a little update on where our simplicity journey has taken us over the last three years. And…it has been amazing!

This is an update episode, so if this is your first time listening in, I’d suggest you go back to around Episode 65: Strategic Simple Living to make sure this episode and Episode 79: Still Simplifying After All These Years Part 2 make sense. Of course if you want in on ALL the goodness, just start at Episode 1! It’ll be worth it, guaranteed!

• Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes

The post SLT078: Still Simplifying After All These Years Part 1 appeared first on Simple Life Together.

Topic: Simple Answers to Listener Questions

Update on Vanessa’s S.I.M.P.L.E. Organizing System Course

Vanessa launched her S.I.M.P.L.E. Organizing System course to a small list of people and it went really well! That said, we’re not really happy with how the course is currently hosted on an external site.

The content is proven and system works, but we’re just not happy with any platforms we’ve tried. They’re too expensive and seem clunky. So we’re considering just making the course an “in your Inbox” course, so people don’t have to log into an outside website, remember another log in, hope the site isn’t slow, etc. People are comfortable in their Inbox. They go there every day. And it would lower the cost of the course dramatically. So I’m working hard on that, to bring Vanessa’s amazing system to more people in a simpler way.

If you want to be in the loop with Vanessa’s course, the S.I.M.P.L.E. Organizing System, you can sign up for updates at GetOrganizedSOS.com and you’ll be the first to know when things are ready to go!

Listener Questions

Simplifying The Holidays

– Tips on storing your Christmas decorations and paraphernalia…for next year

– Giving experiences instead of things

– How to keep the holidays simple

– How to be present…NOT perfect…for the holidays

– Tips on simplifying cleanup after the meal

– Creative non-material gift giving ideas

– Favorite holiday traditions

– What to tell people when they ask what gifts you’d like

– Favorite podcasts, audio books, blogs, simple living role models you find inspiring, iPhone apps as gifts

New Year’s Goals, Resolutions

– Setting  goals and resolutions for the New Year or any time

– How to stop procrastinating

– Simplicity when no one is watching or listening

What We’ve Been Up To

– Expectations vs. Reality as we transition

– Updates on our move, status of the house build, etc

– How Sunshine, our son, and his mom are dealing with our move

– Our teardrop camper, favorite trips this year, planned trips for next year

– New business ventures/challenges for moving Vanessa’s organizing business

– When we’re getting our nationally syndicated talk show on HGTV and/or Oprah (we loved this question!)

– Changes/updates to our exercising routines or smoothie making/juicing

Question:

So, we answered your questions…how about you answer one for us? What are your plans for the New Year? How do you plan on incorporating more simplicity into your life? We’d love to know!

Announcements:

Feedback:

We’ve had lots of great comments on iTunes…thank you so much! The show went a little longer than we expected, so we’ll be sure to read the comments on the next episode.

Shownotes:

You can download a PDF of our show prep, too.

Resources and Links:

• You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks!
• The Pursuit of Perfect by Tal Ben-Shahar
• Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes

Photo Credit 

The post SLT077: Simple Answers to Listener Questions appeared first on Simple Life Together.

There are so many reasons to simplify. But one very lucrative reason to simplify is to increase the sale price of your home and set the stage for a quick sale. So, let’s talk a little about simplifying to sell your home.

To do that, we’re going to share some of our experiences with doing exactly that over the last couple of months, so if you’re selling your home…or know someone else who is…or if you’re simply looking for a fresh start in your current home, maybe we can shed some light on things that worked for us. Read More…

Topic:  4 Key Points To Keep In Mind When Simplifying To Sell Your Home

Topic

We recently had a fantastic sales experience when selling our home in preparation to move to East Aurora, NY.

Our home went up for sale the evening of the 15th of May…and before our realtor was even able to put a sign up in the yard, it sold on the morning of 16May! The first 3 couples that looked at the home all put in solid offers. The first 2 for $10k over asking price! We accepted both and had a back-up offer throughout the entire closing period (yeah)! In the end, it sold for about $35K more than we had originally even hoped for!

Background

So as we mentioned in the last episode, we’re moving from the suburbs of San Antonio, Texas to the little village of East Aurora, NY, home of America’s simplicity movement back in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

Well, back in December of 2014, I was doing some backwards planning and realized that in order to build our new home on schedule, the right thing to do was sell our house in San Antonio in the Spring of 2015. So, we planned on listing at the start of the real estate season…1 May.

But in the mean time, all through Jan, Feb, March and April, I had been working out all the curriculum, scripts, testing the right platform, etc, for Vanessa’s soon to be released training product, Get Organized SOS, which is an intensive online course that teaches her proven system to organize any space. All this while prepping our house for sale. Vanessa and I planned to work on things in the background during this busy time, and launch a beta or test program in the late summer.

But while meeting with my marketing coach in April, he challenged me to launch the beta NOW. I insisted that now wasn’t the time…

Vanessa was actually in the middle of attending her week long annual professional organizers conference…

Plus we were prepping a house, listing a house, selling a house, packing to move and moving into a new place over the course of the next 6 weeks.

And, while Vanessa and I had all the material ready, we had exactly NO videos done! Plus, some of the video conferencing platforms were new to us. We needed more prep time!

No…now was not the time to launch!

But as any good coach does, he gently nudged me (actually, it felt more like my old paratrooper days as he kicked my butt out the jump door of the plane)! I called Vanessa and she said “Let’s go for it!!” No guts, no glory, right? So we launched the beta, shot the videos, and…it was awesome!

But, man, it was hectic!!! The beta lasted all of May, and all the while we were prepping our home and the World Shedquarters for sale. Our home went up for sale, sold…done!

Trouble was, now we had to find a place to live.

So Here’s How It All Went Down…

There were 4 key simplicity points that led to that great sale experience, our ability to to juggle a “crazy busy” schedule and still stay sane. And candidly, you could glean something from each one of these points even if you’re not simplifying to sell your home, but just looking for a fresh start or some positive change in your life.

So here goes!

Key Point #1: Make sure your desires are in line with your life plan, your goals are in line with your desires, and your actions are in line with your goals.

Way back in Episode 32, we talked about how the choices we make impact everything in our lives.

If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, you’ve heard about the start of our journey and you were with us through the sale of our land out in the Texas Hill Country, scrapping the idea of the big house in the middle of nowhere, etc. If you’re a new listener you can check out our About Us video and you’ll hear all about our decision to pursue a path toward more simplicity in our lives.

So since then, we’ve taken consistent action. To a large extent, we shaped our own little world and how we live our lives in it. The world loves a self-made man or woman, but I love the saying from Earl Nightingale that “We are all self-made, but only the successful will admit it.”

You know we’ve been on this journey for a couple years now, and we’ve been taking all the steps necessary to shape our world. And you can shape yours, too! You may have a lifestyle you want to live someday and by staying true to that you can achieve it. Make sure you’re living your Now in a way that supports your tomorrow.

So again, key point #1…make sure your actions are in line with your goals. Stay focused. You can do this…but you have to be consistent. It’s the little things we do every day that keep us consistent and on path toward our goals.

Alright…if you’re simplifying to sell your home, take heed. Key Point #2 is: Planning is a must!

We followed our own advice from Episode 42, The Upside of Downsizing. We also took steps to make the 1800sf  home we had, live like it was much larger.

Long before we planned to move, we made improvements to the house using what we call organization-based design. It’s our perspective of how we design simplicity and organization into our spaces. Our remodeling projects in the kitchen and bathrooms had a great return. And the World Shedquarters was apparently a hit, too! Improvements like cubbies, built in storage, the Elfa shelving system in the pantry, the new kitchen cabinets with slide outs, etc, all tied in to our organization-based design concept. And trust me…people know organized and simple when they see. They’re drawn to it. Nobody “wants” to live a cluttered life. So, show people a little calm and they’re drawn right in.

On the tech side, we used Trello as a planning tool to manage, share, and track our To Dos. Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what’s being worked on, who’s working on what, and where something is in a process. We had a “Get House Ready for Sale” board that had lists for Inside, Outside, and Done. As we finished tasks, we’d move the from the Inside or Outside board, over to the Done board. I like it because it’s very visual, as opposed to standard “list” based. I’ve been using it since. You can find out more at Trello.com. Steve Dotto has some great videos on Trello over at DottoTech.com. I’ll put a link in the shownotes.

So again, Key Point #2 is to make your plan. This will go a long way in helping to ensure you stay on track with Key Point 1, too, making sure your actions are in line with your goals.

OK…Key Point #3 is: Understand the value of margin.

Remember our definition of margin is “Uncommitted time and space in your life.” In this case, I’m referring to the ‘unused space’ portion of our definition. In the real estate world, nothing (meaning empty space and square footage) is worth a whole lot more than your “stuff” that takes up that space!

There were so many things we could have kept “just in case” but as we were going through this I kept reminding myself that “just in case” things do nothing but get in the way. When you really need something, you can find, rent, or borrow it. As a worst case scenario, yes…you may have to buy it again. So forget about the just in case stuff. It’s just getting in your way. If you need something, you’re smart and can find it when you need it. Trust yourself and your resourcefulness.

Tying in with that…our Edit & Forget It Challenge in 2013 and 2014 was key! It set the stage for truly decluttering our home and our day to day lifestyle. That said, we still got rid of well over 3000 more things in 2015 as we were simplifying to sell your home just before the move! We intend to live even more “light and lean” in our year in the apartment and in our new home in East Aurora.

We’ve just really embraced the idea of incorporating margin in our home and appreciating the openness and empty spaces in it. As we’ve decluttered our home over the past couple of years or so, we’ve really come to love the increased peacefulness that having less stuff has given us.

So again…Key Point #3 is to understand the value of margin. Free space. Both the Census Bureau and the National Assoc’n of Home builders list the number one reason for moving, as the pursuit of a better home. And one thing that consistently ranks at the top of desires for home attributes, is space. Living space and storage space. Show them the margin, they’ll show you the money. Or, give yourself some margin and gain a little more peace.

And finally…Key Point #4 for us was: Get past the mentality that you’re selling YOUR house. It’s far more about the buyers buying THEIR future home!

They need to see themselves there…the possibilities, the opportunities, and the wonderful memories they’ll make there. It’s not about you. If they walk into a messy, poorly maintained, or cluttered home, it becomes about you and how you live, and not about them. It needs to be about them!

So again…key point #4 is you’re not selling your house, they’re buying their home. It’s kind of like gift giving… If I’m looking to give you a gift, I look for a gift that you’ll want and appreciate, not necessarily one that I want to give. Same goes for selling your house.

Wrap Up:

So if you’re simplifying to sell your home, here’s a quick recap:

Key Point 1: Make sure your actions are in line with your goals
Key Point 2: Planning is a must!
Key Point 3: Understand the value of margin. Free space.
Key Point 4: You’re not selling your house, they’re buying their home.

So…there is no way we could have gotten more than our asking price, had such a great sale experience, and wrapped things up so quickly if we hadn’t simplified our lives and our home.

Vanessa was able to keep an influx of clients happy, and we were able to prep, list, and sell the house, move, and develop and launch a 3-week, multimedia and coaching product all over the course of 6 weeks! (More on Vanessa’s product in later shows).

And boy…were we ready for our road trip!!!

Question:

So, are you planning on simplifying to sell your home or do you want to make a positive change in your life? Do you think some of the key points we mentioned could help? If so, we’d love to hear about it and what tools or strategies you’re using that are helping you. Leave us a comment below!

Announcements:

Feedback:

Special thanks to Jodialgara, Suea626 , Whitephone, and Ja-Ro-El-Sha for your reviews on iTunes!

Shownotes:

You can download a PDF of our show prep, too.

Resources and Links:

• You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks!
• The Pursuit of Perfect by Tal Ben-Shahar
• Our Realtor Kim McCullough
• Supermom vs Super Mom
• Website Guide
• Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes

Photo Credit MarkMoz12

The post SLT076: Simplifying to Sell Your Home appeared first on Simple Life Together.

But when we came to a decision point, we used a different framework for evaluating our final choice…and actually choosing where we’re moving to. So, armed with all we learned from the 4 Direction Ideation Tool process, we did our final analysis through the lenses of the 4 major areas of our life: Home, Work, Community, and Self.  And yep, we’re moving! We don’t have a hard and fast timeline yet, but we actually put our money where our collective mouth is and bought a lot to build on! Read More…

Topic:  4 Critical Areas You Need to Consider When Downsizing

Background

So there are 4 critical areas you need to consider when downsizing, moving, simplifying, or making any other major change in life if you want to achieve and maintain some kind of congruence. They are Home, Work, Community, and Self.

I borrowed and tweaked some definitions for these from a course I took through Wharton taught by Stew Friedman. But the true key is that you need to define these areas for yourself. What works for you might be completely different from what works for us and that’s fine. Again, the goal is to achieve some congruity between these areas and create what Dr Friedman calls “4 Way Wins.” A 4 Way Win is an activity that has a positive impact on each of the four major areas of your life. Again, those are Home, Work, Community, and Self.

Example

Continuing on with our example of looking for the ideal place for us to live, you can listen in to the episode and hear how we looked at those 4 critical life areas and how they impacted our downsizing efforts and our simplicity journey.

So the big announcement for us is that we’re moving to East Aurora, New York. Yeah…we know…we’re the family that is actually moving TO the Buffalo, NY area! But we know exactly what we’re getting into! I’m from Buffalo and it’ll be great to get back there after 31 years away, and living all over the world. And the little village of East Aurora embodies so much of what we’re looking for in a small town community. If you listen back to Episode 65 you’ll be amazed at what we said we were looking for, and what East Aurora has to offer. All except “mild winters,” that is!

“Anyhoos” (as Vanessa would say), here’s a quick video of some of the history of East Aurora and it’s influence on simplicity. You’ll see right off why we’re attracted to it!

Four Areas

So we’ve mentioned these four major life areas. Let’s address these one at a time. If you listen in to the show, you’ll see how we used each of these to evaluate where we’re going to call home.

The first area is Home. The home, or family, can include the people (or animals) you live with, your family of origin (parents, siblings, and others), or your family of creation (spouse, partner, significant other, children, and others). We include our physical home too. For us, we want that to be an outgrowth of our relationship with those close to us, and serve as a setting for interaction with them.

The second area is Work. Now, this could be different for everyone. For most people, this is your job… what you do for a living or, if you’re between jobs, what you’re aiming to do next. If you’re in school, then consider school as part of your work domain. You can include here the wide array of things you do as part of your career.

Then we have Community. Community can mean friends, neighbors, social groups, religious institutions, charitable activities, political committees, membership in nonprofit organizations, or anything that bears on your impact on the world beyond your work and your family.

Finally, we have Self. Self includes your physical and emotional health, intellectual and personal growth, leisure, and spirituality.

Wrap Up

So that’s it! The four life areas we considered and analyzed as we downsize our life. Starting off with a strategic focus using the 4 Direction Ideation Tool was a great start, but honing in using the major life areas of Home, Work, Community, and Self really helped us to decide where we want to live.

Again, whether you’re downsizing or not, take some time to examine your life using Home, Work, Community, and Self as lenses. You might just be surprised how many “4 way wins” you’re able to achieve and help bring some real congruence to your life!

Question:

So, what decisions could you make to achieve more 4 Way Wins? Are you considering downsizing or a big move in your future? If so, we’d love to hear about it and what tools you’re using to make your decisions. Leave us a comment below!

Announcements:

Feedback:

Special thanks to Jodialgara, Klund08, SimplyClearly-Laura Spawn and SherryLCarver.com for you reviews on iTunes, and to Henriikka in France and Katie in Okinawa for your comments on SimpleLifeTogether.com!

Shownotes:

You can download a PDF of our show prep, too.

Resources and Links:

• You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks!
• Supermom vs Super Mom
• Website Guide
• Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes

Photo Credit Timothy Valentine

The post SLT075: 4 Critical Areas You Need to Consider When Downsizing appeared first on Simple Life Together.

Now, granted, there were no podcasts “back in the day” but radio was certainly the dominant form of entertainment. It was free and anyone with a radio could listen in. And if you have ever listened to our show, you know I’m an audio kind of guy.

For a long time, radio was THE new and best way to get the word out fast or to provide entertainment to the masses. When Franklin Roosevelt was Governor of New York State in 1929, he held the first of what would come to be known as his “fireside chats” to talk directly to his constituents. Later, as President, Roosevelt used the power of audio to communicate with the American people intimately and directly through some of the toughest times in our nation’s history, the Great Depression and World War Two. FDR understood the power of audio and used the latest technology to reach as many people as he could in order to get his message out.

I see podcasting much the same way. But even better.

With podcasts, almost anyone with internet access and some pretty basic tools (most of which you probably already have) can produce a podcast and have their message heard anywhere around the world. Never before in our history has mass communication like this been so easy and so democratized. What used to cost thousands or tens of thousands to do can now be done for almost nothing. Even from your mobile phone. Amazing.

Not so far removed from the golden years of radio in spirit, we are now in the golden era of podcasting. Podcasters can tap into that “power of audio to communicate intimately and directly” with people around the world. It still amazes me that our little show Simple Life Together has listeners in 154 countries (that we know of) around the world. Yet we produce our show in our backyard shed!

What’s just as amazing as being able to produce content so easily is that we get to listen to all this content for free online and on our mobile devices through podcast directories such as iTunes, Stitcher and many others. And the shows are time-shifted, meaning you can stream them or download them and listen in when it’s convenient for YOU…not just when the show airs.

Do you have a message that you want to share with the world?

If so, have you ever considered starting a podcast?  It’s really not that difficult and there are tons of free resources out there to get you started. If you’re thinking about podcasting or just want to see how Vanessa and I produce Simple Life Together, here’s a link to some slides and 5-video series that we did for a presentation for the National Association of Professional Organizers annual conference back in May of 2014. It’s pretty comprehensive and shows you how you can start your own show.

And that, my podcast loving friends, is a simple thing that blends the best of old and new. So what do you say? Ready to share with the world? We’re certainly ready to listen!

The post Simple Things: Podcasts appeared first on Simple Life Together.

One of our most popular shows was Episode 55, 7 Habits for Highly Effective Simplicity. We passed along what we feel are the top 7 habits you can develop to bring some serious simplicity into your life. That show was shared thousands of times…over 2300 times on our Pinterest page alone! Well, today we’re going to share 3 more. So let’s jump right in!  Read More…

Note: Get a copy of Supermom vs Super Mom for yourself or gift it to a Mom who needs a little “less” in her life. It’s less than $5 and will save you countless hours and effort!

Buy Supermom vs Supermom

Topic:  3 Simple Living Habits You Can Use Right Now

Habit 1: When searching for a solution, start with yourself first. Chances are, just like Dorothy with the ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz, you had the power all along.

Tap into resources you already have. Shop in your own closet, pantry, etc…

When you work to solve your own problems, you are exercising your innovation muscles!

Too often we ask someone else for an answer. At least Google it before you ask.

By looking outside yourself, automatically you established a need…a need that didn’t exist. That makes you a consumer instead of a producer and plays right into the hands of the marketing messages we’re subjected to 3-5000 times a day.

Habit 2: Often, establishing a simplicity habit involves establishing a framework that helps you deal with things in a predictable manner. Try experimenting with different frameworks to see what works for you! Here are 3 we use:

The W-I-N Framework: One I’ve been using more and more lately is the WIN framework. WIN stands for “What’s Important Now” and Vanessa first heard about it in Greg McKeown’s excellent book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

The Eisenhauer Matrix Framework: You’ve probably seen this one before, but just imagine a simple foursquare matrix. The vertical axis plots importance and the horizontal axis plots urgency. So if you picture the four squares, the top/left square is Box 1, Urgent & Important box. The top right is Box 2, Less Urgent & Important. Box 3 on the bottom/left is Less Important & Urgent. And finally, Box 4, Less Important & Less urgent, is on the bottom/right. The folks over at Eisenhauer.me did a great little video:

Isn’t that the truth! “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”

The S.I.M.P.L.E. Method of Organizing Framework: Another framework is Vanessa’s S.I.M.P.L.E. Method© of organizing which she breaks down in great detail in her book Super Mom vs Supermom: Simplicity Tips for Busy Moms Here’s an outline:

Strategize:
• What are your needs?
• How do you want your space to look, feel, and function like?

Identify:
• What’s working?
• What’s not working?
• What are your limitations of the space?
• Draw or take pictures of the space.
• Take measurements.

Make Piles:
• Clear your space one area at a time.
• Work from left to right and top to bottom.
• Sort into general categories…like with like.
• Don’t edit yet! Make the piles first to see what and how much you have.

Pare Down and Edit:
• After you make piles then tackle one pile at a time…one item at a time.
• Decide: Do I USE it? Do I LOVE it? Do I NEED it?
• If yes…KEEP it!
• If no…LET it GO!
• When you’re done editing, remove unwanted and unneeded items immediately!

Let’s Organize:
• Assign zones.
• Keep like items with like items.
• Put it where you use it.
• Put frequently used items within arms reach.
• Make sure things are easy to get to…think accessibility; open bins, simple systems, etc.
• Don’t compromise safety for organization.
• Use containers and containers within containers.
• Label, label, label!

Evaluate and Maintain:
• Establish routines.
• Develop habits.
• Set reminders.
• Don’t forget the One-In, One-Out rule.
• Repeat the  S-I-M-P-L-E Method as a means to maintain your system or to update your systems when your needs change.

You can find the whole SIMPLE process in Vanessa’s book on Amazon. Seriously, it’s less than a decent cup of coffee and you should treat yourself.

Habit 3: Lead Others To Simple Living By Leading Yourself:  The number 1 question or pain point we get from people is “How do I get (someone they care about) to embrace simplicity? They’re into simplicity and someone close to them isn’t. It may be a spouse, a parent, your kids, a friend…whoever.  Well, the real bottom line is this: you just need to lead by example. Sure, you can establish some controls with kids, but for the most part just setting the example will go a long way to influence others to adopt positive change.

Wrap Up:

So there you have it! Three more simple living habits you can use to make your life a little easier. As we enter the Holiday season of 2014 we’re faced with lots of simplicity challenges. Be good to yourself in all the right ways. That includes forgiveness if you get off path a bit.

And the new year brings lots of opportunities for new beginnings, too. If you need some extra motivation, scroll through the older episodes of the back catalog and re-listen to some of those shows.

You can find links to all our shows on one page by going to SimpleLifeTogether.com/showlist. But here are 5 that can really help you jumpstart your New Year: Episodes 51, 52, 55, 63, and 65.

Question:

So, what new simplicity habits are you willing to try? Are you ready to start tapping into your own innovation and resources? Which of the 3 frameworks we shared might work for you? And finally, what area of your life can you start simplifying that sets the example for others? We’d love to know and I’m sure others would too! Let us know what you think in the comments below. 

Announcements:

Project 333

Why not start out the new year with a challenge? If you have questions or just want to learn more about Project 333 or Courtney Carver’s Dress With Less microcourse. You can learn more about that at SimpleLifeTogether.com/dress.

Edit & Forget It Challenge

Finally, sign up for the Edit & Forget It Challenge! If you’re already on our Edit & Forget It Challenge email list, that’s great. If not, you can sign up here.

Shownotes:

You can download a PDF of our show prep, too.

Resources and Links:

• You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks!
• Supermom vs Super Mom
• Skora Minimalist Shoes
• Vibram 5 Fingers
• War of Art 
• Power of Habit 
• Essentialism
• Thrive  
• Halftime
• Checklist Manifesto
• Work The System
• Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes

The post SLT074: 3 Simple Living Habits You Can Use Right Now appeared first on Simple Life Together.

The “Rapid Wire” cashier system.

When I was a kid, I loved to sit with my grandfather as he told me of how he worked in a store back in the late 1920s and early 30s.There were no credit card machines, or even a cash register. There was a teller with a scratch pad & pencil, and a pulley system with a can on it. The teller would do the math, take the payment, put it in the can and then pull the cord to send the money to the cashier. The cashier would make change, write the receipt, and send it back to the teller. It all conjured up images in my seven year old head of the Rube Goldberg-style contraptions I used to see when I watched The Little Rascals. I loved those shows as a kid. And I loved to hear about and dream about the “old days.”

But over time I’ve learned that what I really love is a mix of old and new. I like to consider myself a forward-looking guy, and what I’ve come to appreciate over the years are hybrid solutions that blend the best of the eras. Taking something from the past and adding some modern touches doesn’t always work. Sometimes you need a complete overhaul or new invention. Anyone who remembers the huge battery packs you used to have to carry around with your “car phone” in the mid-1980s will echo the sentiment that sometimes you just need to start from scratch. But the subtle blend of old and new, that works, is what makes “classics.” And those are the simple things I love.

So, occasionally, I’m going to share some of my favorite things that, to me, blend old and new to form simple things. Sure, I love my Macbook Pro with retina display. And my iPhone. But sometimes a really nice old-school notebook with a nice new pen is a much better combination to gather my thoughts. So be on the lookout for upcoming posts that start with “Simple Things: ___________.”

In the mean time, what are some simple things you love that blend the best of old and new? Leave a comment below or tweet it to me @DanielHayes.

The post Simple Things: The Best of Old and New appeared first on Simple Life Together.

So I guess you could say that we’re simplifying Simple Life Together. We should just jump right into the dirty work and break it all down for you…  Read More…

Note: Get a copy of Supermom vs Super Mom for yourself or gift it to a Mom who needs a little “less” in her life. It’s less than $5 and will save you countless hours and effort!

Buy Supermom vs Supermom

Topic:  Simplifying Simple Life Together

It Hasn’t Been an Easy Decision to Simplify Simple Life Together!

On the last episode and up until we went to SimpleREV in Minneapolis we intended for this episode to be our last for quite a while. Here’s why:

• What started off as us documenting our journey to simplify our lives, turned into something more…something better than we expected!
• We unexpectedly built an amazing community of supporters and like-minded people in 154 countries.
• We’ve gotten and continue to receive such heart felt support from that community…especially when we shared some of our toughest challenges.
• We’ve also made some amazing friends along the way.
• We were blessed with opportunities to speak about our life and our podcast at different conferences and on different podcasts.
• We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to meet many of the people who inspired us both personally and professionally on our journey. Folks like Leo Babauta, Joshua Becker, Patrick Rohne, Mohammed Tohami, The Minimalists, Joel Zaslofsky, Dan Miller…just to name a few. Some of them have become good friends.
• Even better…we’ve gotten to meet some of our loyal listeners and supporters…how cool is that? And, we’ve helped others in the community who are just starting out and making a real impact; folks like Dave & Sheryl Balthrop, Chris & Sarah Wehkamp, JF and Cheryl Moreau, Lara Blair, and others.
• We were blown away by the amount of positive feedback about the show and how we influenced others to simplify their lives too. Feedback that brought us to tears. We never thought we could impact people the way that we did…and be impacted by them, as well.
• The podcast helped us to really focus on what was important to us…and solidified our passion for simplicity and to live more deliberate and meaningful lives

But Producing the Show Isn’t All Sunshine

Although we love sharing and teaching others, over time, the success of our podcast led to the feeling of obligation of having to produce awesome content ALL the time. And let’s face it…our lives just aren’t THAT interesting that we have some type of major topic to talk about for 40 minutes each week. Still, we started realizing that the show was shifting from documenting our journey to “having” to produce good educational content each and every week, then every two weeks. Some of which took a lot of time to either research or compile coherent thoughts.

And we started to feel the pressures of the podcast from:

• Coming up with content
• Arranging our week to fit in research, recording and editing
• Dealing with tension between the two of us...running out of content, waiting until the last minute to produce, the time obligation, defining roles and expectations, mistaken assumptions of who should do what, etc.

We get along really well and, for the most part, what you hear on the show is what you get with us. But every once in a while, working together on the show stretched things a little bit. Not too often, but definitely more so when we started feeling like we HAD to do a show as opposed to the times when we just couldn’t wait to share something. Hopefully, those tougher times were transparent on your end and you weren’t any the wiser. They weren’t often, but hey, we’re human, you know?

But that’s not all…we’ve also reached a part of journey where it made sense for us to pause the podcast a bit and shift from regularly scheduled content to “targets of opportunity-type” content…at least for now.

We’re Coming Into a Time of Refocus

The cool thing is that we’ve reached an important waypoint on this part of our journey, and now it’s time for us to refocus and work toward that end. But just like in any journey, when it comes to careers there are breaks along the way…if you’re lucky that is.

Back in our military days…during patrolling, we would occasionally take breaks on our mission called “SLLS Halts” (pronounced ‘sils’) that’s an acronym for Stop, Look, Listen, and Smell. Those halts would let you take things in and sense what was going on at that point in the operation. A time to just focus. I think we need to do that with life, too, and I feel like this SLLS halt I’ve taken has really refocused me on what I love and what I excel at. And that’s being in a leadership position with a team.

Wrap Up:

So this is what we’ve decided: Keeping in mind our original goal of the podcast and in light of our new focus in life….it’s not the end the end of Simple Life Together! As we have things to share, we will. That’s what we started out to do and that’s what we want to continue to do. Just not on a regular scheduled basis. So we’re simplifying a bit. But the sharing will continue. And I think it will be a better quality because it’s not rushed, forced, or done out of a sense of obligation…but from a point of sharing and community.

Many many thanks to you! We can’t thank the community enough for your constant support of SLT and hope you continue to support us when we do decide to pop in from time to time!

We are blown away at the community on Edit & Forget It Facebook Page and plan on keeping it going and participating as long as the group is active. We’ll pop in from time to time, but the really cool thing is that it’s really at a point where it’s a bunch of great folks that have a ton of advice and support to offer.

Question:

So does simplifying the show sound okay to you? A little less of us…a little less predictability…but still here to share our journey? We’d love to know.  Let us know what you think in the comments below. 

Announcements:

SimpleREV!

• SimpleREV was amazing!  We’ll have more about it soon, but I just have to say…it really exceeded expectations. So much so that I actually tweeted this out:

Project 333

If you have questions or just want to learn more about Project 333 or Courtney Carver’s Dress With Less microcourse. You can learn more about that at SimpleLifeTogether.com/dress.

Edit & Forget It Challenge

Finally, sign up for the Edit & Forget It Challenge! If you’re already on our Edit & Forget It Challenge email list, that’s great. If not, you can sign up here.

Shownotes:

You can download a PDF of our show prep, too.

Resources and Links:

• You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks!
• Supermom vs Super Mom
• Comprehensive list of past SLT Episodes

Photo Credit: Modified Photo From Ken Conley

The post SLT073: Simplifying Simple Life Together appeared first on Simple Life Together.

What does it really mean? Can we really achieve a balanced life? And so we got to talking about balance for a while, and thought we’d explore that a little more…. (Read more…)

Note: Get a copy of Supermom vs Super Mom for yourself or gift it to a Mom who needs a little “less” in her life. It’s less than $5 and will save you countless hours and effort!

Buy Supermom vs Supermom

Topic:  How Do You Define Work Life Balance?

It seems like the whole “balance thing” has become a buzz word. We hear about balance all the time in magazines, on television, supposed experts, life coaches, etc. Terms like work life balance, balanced diet, and even balanced budget are pretty pervasive.  But what does balance really mean in your life? We think “balanced” is different for everyone and there’s no one prescribed balanced lifestyle that works for everyone. Nor is there one way to define work life balance in a way that’s universal. So, we took a look at it from our own experience.

For us, work life balance includes myriad topics we’ve discussed on previous shows, such as:

• The right size home
• The right amount of time spent on work
• Valuing experiences vs things
• Freedom from stuff…in exchange for more free time to do what we love
• Healthier living and relationships
• Working as part of a team, focused on a larger goal…at work and/or in the community
• Essentially, we define work life balance as living a fulfilling life…that will include ups and downs but overall full of happiness, joy, etc.

As we talked about what this balance meant to us, there were some pretty specific things that were NOT included in our definition of work life balance, too. Here are some:

• We don’t think it means being on permanent vacation
• It’s not about striving to eliminate all challenges in  our life…that’s part of life! Sure, balance is easier when you don’t have challenges, but that’s not real life!
• It’s not about eliminating everything…just all the “junk”

So what gets in our way of achieving a good balance? For us, historically it’s been things like:

• Putting an overemphasis on work related tasks when it interferes in other areas of our lives
• Over obligating ourselves monetarily through too much spending
• Over obligating ourselves by accepting too many commitments that sap our time
• Consumerism always makes you feel like you’re missing something, and if you have this item, take this pill, look this way, then your life will be complete
• Overindulging in one way or another, such as with:
  • Food
  • Drink
  • Technology

Speaking of technology, that deserves a deeper look. What’s the problem with technology? It’s invading every realm of our personal space, that’s what! It’s even encroaching on the most intimate of spaces and events:

• The bathroom
• The shower
• The bedroom
• Family meals

When we overindulge in technology, it distracts our attention and focus, and affects our ability to communicate and deal. For the younger generation of teens, it’s even impacted the way they communicate. Many rely on electronic communication versus face to face communication. In some, this has hindered their ability to deal with confrontation. Technology, when abused, hinders our ability to be present…to pause, and be in the moment; to be alone in our thoughts to contemplate.  Ironically most people say they want to “give it up”, but never do.

How We Strive To Create Balance

So here are some ways we try to maintain to ensure we stay true to how we define work life balance. We:

• Review our goals
• Reward ourselves when we achieve our goals or reach milestones
• Avoid triggers and bad situations (negative relationships, inappropriate foods, shopping malls, etc)
• Establish “no-tech” days or digital fasts. I deleted the Facebook app from my iPhone about 2 weeks ago (Yay!)
• Schedule in family/fun time
• Take time for ourselves
• Focus on the present and don’t dwell on the past
• Keep moving
• Check things off your to-do lists….even if it means removing a to-do item all together
• Learn to value experiences over things

Wrap Up:

So…in the end, like most things, we define work-life balance on our own. It’s not 50/50…it’s not 80/20. It’s up to You to determine the balance that is right for you, You make a plan to achieve that balance, and hopefully, building on the habits we talked about last week, You develop the keystone habits routines, and rituals that bring about the balance that’s right for you.

Question:

So what does a balanced life look like to you? How do you find or work towards that balance in your life? We’d love to know.  Share your successes and struggles in the comments below. 

Announcements:

•          Our LAST Regular Episode:  

  • The next episode of Simple Life Together will be our last regularly scheduled episode of the show. Of course, we’ll talk a lot more about that on that episode, but we wanted to give you not only a “heads up”, but also a chance to write in via email (Dan, Vanessa), the Facebook page, and the Edit & Forget It group on Facebook and ask us any questions you think should be answered on that final show, and we’ll do our best to answer them candidly.

• SimpleREV Tickets

  • Be sure to check out the podcast Dan does with Joel Zaslofsky called All Things Simple Rev!  In the latest episode we talked about the changes quite a bit and we’re stoked! So is our friend and keynote speaker for the event, Joshua Becker from BecomingMinimalist.com, and all the other speakers as well. Of course you can listen to the latest episode at SimpleREV.com/008.
  • There have been some BIG changes to SimpleREV! As of now, the number of tickets is capped at 60, and EVERY TICKET is now essentially a VIP ticket! So make sure you lock yours in today.
  • Currently, there are only a handful of tickets left, so hurry!
  • SimpleRev is being held on Oct 3-4, 2014, in beautiful downtown Minneapolis on the University of St Thomas campus. To get your tickets at the lowest price that will ever be offered, just go to SimpleRev.com/tickets. And be sure to check out the SimpleREV podcast in iTunes, as well. Or just search iTunes for SimpleREV, all one word.

• Project 333

  • If you have questions or just want to learn more about Project 333 or Courtney Carver’s Dress With Less microcourse. You can learn more about that at SimpleLifeTogether.com/dress.

• Edit & Forget It Challenge

  • Finally, sign up for the Edit & Forget It Challenge! If you’re already on our Edit & Forget It Challenge email list, that’s great. If not, you can sign up here.

iTunes Reviews:

Thanks to all of you for thinking of us and taking the time to leave a review:

• Annareview123 (Sweden)
• Molly DeMond (United States of America)
• PhilipHMA (United States of America)
• cwp102c (United States of America)

Shownotes:

You can download a PDF of our show prep, too.

Resources and Links:

• You can help support SimpleLifeTogether.com by using our Amazon Affiliate Link for any purchases you must make. Thanks!
• Supermom vs Super Mom

Photo Credit Quinn Dombrowski

The post SLT072: How Do You Define Work Life Balance? appeared first on Simple Life Together.