His & Hers – Live Simply by Annie

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His & Hers

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It’s a wise person who reserves their bandwidth for life’s complex challenges by making Simple things Simple…

For years, I sported what could only ever have been referred to as an ugly, dumb, digital, sport-style watch. To others, it must appeared in stark contrast with the rest of my intentionally put-together look. But there was one crucial reason why I willingly downgraded the style score of my wrist: the watch produced a polite but noticeable “beep-beep” on the hour. It was loud enough that it got my attention, prompting me to pause long enough to actually look at the time.

I needed this, you see, because when working, I lose any and all sense of time. My absorption in the task at hand is true flow-state-status. I am fortunate enough that my passion for my work makes it feel to me like transporting, all-consuming play.

Work and play are far too often placed at opposite ends of the spectrum in our society. Work is arduous labor and play is the escape from responsibilities, we’re told.

But when you love your work, and when you create or participate in working environments that invite curiosity and collaboration, work and play become intertwined.

Play is the instrument needed to puzzle through the work. Having a sense of play at work relaxes us enough to notice the obvious, to feel inspired enough to come up with innovative ideas, and to feel motivated enough to see the task through.

Playing with and in our work means that we enjoy the process, rather than endure it. It means that work provides a sense of fulfillment, rather than depletion.

Playtime, in whatever form it comes for you, is crucial to your overall wellbeing. In play, your obligations and insecurities are suspended. In play, your inner self alights. It rejoices in being able to do what it most wants to do, which causes you to experience a sort of sacred bliss.

This month, prioritize play. Inject it into corners of your life that you previously thought had to be all-serious-all-the-time.

Allow yourself to inhabit the freedom of expression and spiritual frivolity of childhood, once again.

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(P.S. My best friend sufficiently shamed me out of wearing my time-alerting watch, and ever since she did I look a hell of a lot more respectable and have zero clue what time it ever is.)

“Does it spark joy?” is only the first half of the question. If you want to learn from your past decisions and make better, more balanced choices going forward, it is critical that you get to the root cause of your circumstance by asking “WHY?”

Why does or does it not spark joy? Why do I feel like I need to hang on to it? Why did I buy or accept it in the first place? Why do I own it to begin with?? Why am I nervous to let it go? Why do I feel tied to it? Why is it useful for me? Why does it delight me so much?

The answers to these questions is where all the truth lies, and uncovering that is necessary in order to resolve dynamics and mindsets, and to learn more about yourself, your needs and desires.

If you lop that part of the equation off, you risk perpetuating the clutter cycle. Without the knowledge of how and why you’ve created your circumstances, you may be destined to recreate and re-accumulate.
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#professionalorganizer #declutteryourlife #declutter #tidyingup

PSA: Keeping something because you’ve already kept it for an extended time period is not a good enough reason to keep anything.

If you’ve owned an item for decades and are still delighting in it then hurrah! You found yourself a bonafide winner that serves you well and is sustainable in its longevity to boot.

But do not for one moment feel guilty for changing your mind or seeing in a new light an item you’ve held onto for umpteen years.

The only way to live is with allowance for evolution. And who knows, by releasing an object you’ve held for years, you may create the space for something even more wonderful to enter the scene.
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#professionalorganizer #declutter #declutteryourlife #declutteryourhome

You know those people who seem to be winning at life? They’re successful in business, they have flourishing family lives, and they radiate positive energy. You just know that wherever they go and whatever they try their hand at, fortune and ease will follow.

These people don’t possess special ingredients you lack. They may even be challenged in similar ways that you are. They may have overcome adversity, or they may have had every advantage given to them.

What differentiates them is their ability to act as magnets for good.

How does a person become a magnet for all that they desire?

It’s Simple, really.

The recipe is a three parter: clearing the clutter of the past, being actively grateful for blessings we have in the present, and opening our mind to new possibilities.

Each of us is responsible for resolving the clutter of our past. We do this by recognizing–not judging–the errors of our ways in the past, asking for forgiveness when necessary (even if it’s ourselves we need to forgive), and using the lessons from our lives to move to higher psychological and spiritual ground.

We commit to taking out this trash regularly so that we’re able to move through the world unencumbered by past grievances, traumas and mistakes.

Next, we begin to actively practice gratitude. We do this not in a Hallmark, cliched way, but with true awareness for the plenty that surrounds us. We take time each day to actually feel and express thoughts of gratitude.

Finally, we allow ourselves to remain open to new ways of being. We choose loving, hopeful thoughts over fear-based ones. We remind ourselves that everything is always working out for us.

When we implement these practices into our daily lives, what naturally follows is that we, too, become magnets. We more easily actualize our desires. We flow more freely through the world. We spread joy and good energy outwards, and the same returns to us in whatever manner most serves us.
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#july #magnetism #attraction #writersofinstagram #lawofattraction

Toy manufacturers are far cleverer than you probably realize. They discovered long ago that marketing directly to children was far more effective than “gatekeeper marketing.” And now more than ever they’re using subliminal tactics to communicate to your children.

The more you know…
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#simplicityparenting #childhoodunplugged #livesimply #kidsimply

If someone has gone to the trouble of adding to the phrase “no gifts please,” to their invite, the most courteous response is to heed their request. It is only your own insecurity that tells you to ignore those words.
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#decluttering #clutterfree #nogifts #invitations #etiquette

Editing out the clutter increases your feeling of abundance. The clarity of knowing what you own and why, combined with greater access to the items you truly want and need creates a sensation of fullness. Vacuous quantity becomes refined abundance.
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#clutterfree #clutterfreeliving #homesweethome #environmentalhealth

Excess is unhealthy. In every form, in every category, excess is a clear sign of imbalance, and the balance point is always where health and well-being lies. Even activities and items that are beneficial for you to do and have become unhealthy when practiced or amassed excessively.
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#declutter #decluttering #declutteringtips #homeorganization #homeorganizer

When raising money for various causes, people are wont to imploringly remind us, “If you can’t give with your money, give with your (fill in the blank).”

Said in that context, the request for gifts in other forms can come off as cringey (like, we all know what you really want). But money is just one out of seemingly endless ways to give. And not merely to support special causes; living with a generous spirit means looking for looking for opportunities to give liberally to others on a daily basis.

Be generous with your attention by being fully present to those around you. Fully, as in phone away.

Be generous with your time by lingering to ask remaining questions.

Be generous with your awareness by being the one to notice a stranger struggling to unload their groceries, or to navigate a city street.

Be generous with your expertise by sharing your knowledge with those studying under you.

Be generous with your work by truly delivering on your promises, and then going a step beyond those.

Be generous with your heart by carefully, mindfully, being open to new relationships.

Give generously from the wealth that is your essence by showing up authentically, and inviting others to do the same.

Give generously for the sake of giving, and doing so without restraint to feel alive and filled with purpose for being here.

Be generous with yourself by not standing in the way of others giving to you. Because we are all connected in a circle of giving and receiving, and the whole operation only works when we allow both modes to flow.
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#generosity #abundance #monthlymantra #writersofinstagram

If these 5 common symptoms sound a tad bit too familiar, you may need to increase the Live Simply in your life…
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#declutter #declutteryourlife #homeorganization #homeorganizer

Don’t you worry about those MEMORIAL DAY SUPER SALES. You just keep Living your Simply.

So Simple, and so effective at warding off unnecessary purchases—check out what you own before you go to the store. Starting today, make it a rule to live by.
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#organizedhome #homeorganization #clutter #consciousconsumer

An optimally organized home requires consistent maintenance. There is no short cut and no avoiding the effort requirement. You must be living with your editing eyes turned on, which means always being on the look out for things that are no longer serving you, and for opportunities to lighten your load. You must get into the habit of putting things back where they belong. The more you integrate editing and organizing into your daily life, the easier the maintaining becomes. In that sense, in the long term, consistency becomes the short cut.
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#declutter #declutteryourlife #clutterfreeliving #homeorganization #professionalorganizer

In the words of my father, “What else you got?”

What other ways can you demonstrate to someone that they have a place in your heart and mind, rather than keeping a material item they selected for you in your home?

Take them out to lunch. Send them an encouraging message out of the blue. Listen when they talk to you. Offer to pick up groceries they may need when you’re already going. Remind them of things they told you in the past they remember, that impacted you and that have stayed with you. All of these are effective and ways of communicating you care. None of them require you to keep the tumblers they gave you.

Which number could you use more of?

Three items I fully bless having multiples of in your house:
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1. Laundry hampers. Keep one in every bedroom, in my book. But not only there; station one where dirty laundry has a tendency to pile up.

For many, that’s in the actual laundry room. For others, its on a stair landing, en route to the laundry room, a floor away.

Whenever it typically happens in your household, rather than fighting it, it might be wise to just plan for it.
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2. Waste cans. See rationale for number 1.
If you supply it, they will toss. Also, it occurs to me that so many people could benefit from a small waste can in their closet. We tend to find a not insignificant amount of trash lurking in dressing rooms…
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3. Step stools. My experience of the world is at the height of 5’2” and I travel with a stool in my work kit, so there’s that. Still, I find that most people under-utilize vertical storage space because they lack easy enough access to it. This is solved instantly by way of a non-obtrusive, fold-flat step stool. Bam.
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#homeorganization #organizedhome #organizing

The only line I distinctly remember from the the early aught’s megabit that was The O.C. was said by Cohen’s dad, whose character was, himself, quoting a line from a Steven Seagal movie, “The anticipation of death is far worse than death itself.”

Do I wish that sentiment had less of a morbid tone? For sure. But also, the gravity of bringing mortality into the equation does serve to drive the point home in a way that sticks with you. Thinking about something, even talking about it, is always bound to be more perilous than the actual doing of that thing.

In theory, we over exaggerate the possible negatives and under estimate our abilities. In actuality, we find ourselves capable of rising to the challenge.

There are cases where re-selling your belongings is the most sensible, or most sustainable means of letting go of them. But more often than not, donating your goods is a perfectly acceptable option (and is almost always the more expedient one, as well).

Too many people are living with the assumption that the latter is not a choice that’s available to them; that it would somehow be irresponsible NOT to re-sell belongings. This belief then acts as a roadblock, since most people also don’t take the time to research the value of what they own, figure out where and how to sell them, and then follow through with doing just that.

This way of thinking is also often borne out of necessity; when you have few means, selling things may be a method of survival. But there comes a point for many where employing that mindset is no longer appropriate based on their current financial picture.

So, rather than assuming you must sell something, remember you are free to do what most supports your inner peace. Ask yourself what you value and need most now, and decide your path to letting go accordingly.
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#decluttering #declutteryourlife #declutteryourhome #hoarders #professionalorganizer

Have you instituted yours yet?

If not, I recommend you do immediately, if not sooner.

Just like you need a waste bin for trash, you need a receptacle for collecting your cast offs.

Choose any spot in your house that makes sense in which to locate said bin, and use any vessel you want to, including finally putting that massive stash of retail and grocery bags to good use. What’s important is that everyone in your household knows this receptacle exists, and they are most welcome to contribute to it whenever they see fit.

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