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Posts Tagged ‘David Sedaris’

Monday’s Meditation: On Sharing The Spotlight

By Annie | November 18, 2013 | 2

Welcome

Annie Traurig was born with the ability to see order through clutter. As a child, she spent playdates organizing friends’ closets and packing their duffle bags for summer camp.

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How many does one person or family truly need???

#professionalorganizing #declutteringtips #declutteryourhome

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We tend to hold ourselves to the rules that others have laid out for us.

We think the end of the race can only be where the organizers drew the finish line. That the product is finished only when its contents are completely consumed. That the book is finished when we’ve read the whole thing.

That’s true in principle, but not always in practice.

Being a true completionist means giving ourselves the freedom to define our own processes, and, when necessary, honor those over the ones prescribed by others.

Being a completionist can mean using the bottle in its entirety, but it occasionally means ditching a half-used moisturizer when it isn’t working for you (life is too short to risk bad skin!). It may mean reading the book cover to cover, or it may mean absorbing all we care to in the first thirty pages, and then passing it along.

Sometimes our personal race spans the entire, official course. Sometimes, when we’ve pushed as hard as we can and our ankles are aching, our race ends at kilometer four out of ten.

It can be all too tempting to let ourselves off the hook when it comes to completing what we truly care about, because doing so requires hard and sustained effort. And it can be equally as tempting to hold onto things longer than we wish to because we mistakenly believe we haven’t completed them (according to someone else’s standards).

We have to learn to practice perseverance and flexibility, to combine discipline with intuition, and to be intentional, above all. Intentional with what we continue, and intentional about what we complete.

The end of the calendar year is approaching. It’s an apt moment to check in with ourselves about what we’re committed to, and how we feel about those systems, goals, and responsibilities.

What actions do we need to take in order to reach a resolution? What values do we choose to continue to uphold? What relationships, belongings, or behaviors are we ready to bring to a close?

When we act on purpose, no matter the choice, we make the end point a triumph.

When we complete, we create space for the new.

[calendar designed exclusively by @arielm_garcia ]

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Children need organized, edited spaces most of all.

Think how overwhelming the noisy world feels for you (presuming here) a fully fledged adult, and how important it is for you to have a sanctuary to retreat to. For kids, the noise level is that much louder, and the need for spaces that foster calm is even more vital.

Something to keep in mind always, and especially this time of year…

#organizedgirlscloset #pinkbedroomdecor #professionalorganizerseattle

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1st time invoking this in a caption, but it feels appropriate…

IYKYK.

#declutteryourhome #declutteryourlife #professionalorganizing

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In our comparison-rife culture, it can be tempting to focus on what we aren’t doing. The goals we aren’t working towards, the flashcards we didn’t review with the kids, the steps we didn’t take to fulfill our purposes. And it can be easy, too, to get bogged down by the urgent responsibilities of Today.

It is vital that we remind ourselves of all the times we’ve successfully navigated complex situations, or were bold enough to ask “What if?”, or materialized our visions through a series of many incremental steps. It puts us in the headspace to ponder the question, “How do I want to feel in the future?

From that perspective, the single phone call we make is what matters, not the seven hypothetical ones we could have but didn’t. The time we do make to care well for ourselves is what counts, not the fact that we could have added on a facial and a massage to boot.

As the end of the calendar year approaches, our ability to design our realities remains as potent as ever (the pressure of a count-down clock may be the motivating factor we need!).

When we get into action, we often find that actualizing our goals may be easier than we imagined.

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Our clients had concluded that the butler’s pantry WITHIN their kitchen would/ could only be for decorative effect. We said: we’ll create function out of it yet!

Designed to work in tandem with their concealed storage, this space now operates as a working pantry. Glass jars keep essentials fresh and at hand, and they uphold the aesthetic vision this space was intended to have.

Around the corner in the dining room, serveware is conveniently located tableside. Napkins, utensils, and bar accessories are organized and categorized (the last thing anyone needs is to face a cluster in the midst of playing host).

Thanks to @heidicaillierdesign for the beautiful playground she designed for our team!

#professionalorganizing #pantryorganization #kitchendesignideas

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Because editing really boils down to whether you still choose something for yourself now. Not where it came from, or how long you’ve carried it, or how much it cost, but rather: is it something you actively and purposefully choose to continue stewarding.

#professionalorganizing #declutteryourlife #declutteryourhome

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Amidst the chaos and over-stimulation of life, there is a need for escape. For quiet delights. For having less to wade through to access the good stuff. For a place to feel safe and settled.

In recent years, as the noise-level of the world has seemed to increase exponentially, I have felt people’s need for peaceful spaces grow, in tandem.

Society is in opposition to nature.

Your home is your opportunity to nurture yourself back into alignment.

Your body is your primary environment, and it’s vital that you tap into the stillness within you through meditation or movement practices. In the concentric circle of impact on your wellbeing, your home plays the next biggest role.

The items within your walls, and the manner in which they’re kept, can be the difference between feeling cared for or neglected, between clarity and contention, and between having necessary respite or never-ending noise.

Consider your front door a sacred threshold. Be intentional about what crosses it.

Your home is yours to fill only with things that uplift you, and that bring ease to your daily life. It is yours to craft into the much-needed antidote to the world beyond it. It is yours to shape into the version that most allows your highest self to emerge–and to flourish.

This month, claim your right to make small and powerful shifts in your surroundings that will render you less distracted and more present, less overstimulated and more calmed, less depleted and more nurtured.

[calendar designed exclusively by @arielm_garcia ]

#nurtureyourself #nurture #monthlymantra

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Our adored clients welcomed their baby boy into the world (and into this dreamy nursery we had the pleasure of setting up!), and we are over the moon (and stars c/o @massuccowarner) for them. 💫🌷🧸

#professionalorganizing #nurseryinspiration #newmomtips

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Our favorite systems in this kitchen:

-a cutting drawer. We institute one every chance we get. Knives + cutting boards living together in harmony.

-foil and parchment paper living in close proximity to the oven and grill, rather than being stored with the other wraps and bags (because who says they have to go together if they don’t ACTUALLY go together.😘)

-decanted spice library. Hello. Welcome.

-kid-cutlery drawer. Until they outgrow those baby spoons, they deserve a dedicated space.

-canned goods with legs (aka on turntables). Placing them up high with the ability to spin takes advantage of what might otherwise be dead space, and ensures the contents remain equally accessible.

HAPPY ORGANIZING INSPO WE HOPE XOXO

#professionalorganizing #kitchenorganization #kitchenorganizer

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Most people are in the habit of massively over-estimating how much they can realistically accomplish.

In the span of a single editing session, our average client will attempt to task themselves with a list that includes things like taking a pair of shoes in to be re-soled, sending a gift to a friend, taking a broken necklace into the jeweler, and on and on.

Part of our work is helping people to re-write their self-perceptions, oftentimes from a person who procrastinates or avoids to one who is capital c Capable.

That’s why it’s imperative that we help people narrow their responsibility list. The more selective the tasks, the more likely they are to be accomplished.
Attempt to do it all, and you’re likely to do little of significance, bolstering a negative perception of self as a result.

It’s as true about tangible items in your space as it is the intangibles of time management: excess overwhelms.

From a state of overwhelm, you’re not able to focus easily or work efficiently. The number of tasks that you’re able to follow through on dwindles rapidly as a result.

If you drown yourself in overwhelm long enough, you can start to believe your lack of follow-through is a defining characteristic. And, in time, lack of faith in your ability to reach the finish line can deter you from any attempts to begin.

What if it isn’t that you’re incapable of following through, only that you’ve been overloading yourself?
What if your weakness all along hasn’t been an ability to complete tasks, but to decipher which are worth your time and which are entirely unrealistic given your givens?

That would mean you have what it takes to finish what you start.

Be intentional about what you ask of yourself. Commit to less to achieve more.

Two things done well are worth infinitely more than twelve done shoddily, or not at all.

[Calendar designed by @arielm_garcia ]

#followthrough #timemanagementtips #todolists

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Mandatory repost. Don’t get lost out there this holiday weekend…😘

#consciousconsumer #organizedliving #overconsumption

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Tell yourself this ‘til it sticks.

YOU are worthy of excellent care. The kind of care you would have lavished on your children, or your parents, or your guests.

You are worthy of ease and joy and calm.

You are worthy of having systems in place that serve you and propel you towards being your best self.

Every space is an opportunity to communicate that messaging to your most important self.

If you think it’s just a room filled with clothes, you haven’t reached the real point yet.

#professionalorganizing #closetorganizer #organizinginspiration

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If your life is stable, you generally see the same things in the same context day after day. The sight of your coffee maker on the counter. Of that pile in the corner of your bedroom. Your walls.

When you first moved in, you noticed every detail–the scratches in the baseboards or the beauty of the tile floor. When you first bought that blouse, you paid attention to its stitching, to its certain hue. When you were young you were fascinated by the existence of your belly button and pinky toes, probably.

But as your brain began to recognize the familiar (and deemed it non-threatening), it went into energy conservation mode. It stopped noticing the details. What was once an intricate picture blurred into a hazier scene. Home. Family. Body.

When we stop perceiving nuance, we risk losing our sense of gratitude for what we have. Or we fail to recognize the shabby state of things. Or we can mistakenly believe that our lives are fixed. That our beliefs, appearances, who we surround ourselves with, and how our days are designed were cemented ages ago, and that it’s impossible to make a change.

But the picture is ever evolving. We’re never trapped. One of the greatest, albeit underutilized, tricks in the book is to harness the power of the reframe.

(Continued in comments)

[calendar designed exclusively by @arielm_garcia ]

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POV: getting your kitchen professionally organized…

#professionalorganizing #kitchenorganization #professionalorganizer

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Take a peek inside a recent Live Simply pantry organizing project…

This one was another opportunity for us to inject care, intention and joy into the systems we create. With ample breathing room, clearly defined systems, distinct zones, AND room to grow, this space will hopefully serve its owners for years to come.

#professionalorganizing #kitchenorganization #organizinginspiration

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If I had an item for every time a client professed their adoration for a belonging they never use because they’re “saving it,” or “too scared about damaging it to actually use it,” I could stock a whole store. Its shelves would be filled with the nicest versions of every sort of thing: bougie skincare, covetable fragrances, blouses and dresses (white), designer handbags, linens from the South of France, antique coupe glasses from grandparents, and on and on.

The list of things people simultaneously own and withhold from themselves is long and varied, but the common mindset is clear: “Save the good stuff for later.”

Save it for what? For whom? Or for when, exactly?

What is the point of having treasured items if we are not to enjoy them?

The notion that you should save the good stuff becomes silly when you consider that its intent is to protect you from being without in the future…by going without in the present.

Even sillier is the belief that you, in your apparently banal everyday life, are unworthy of the most excellent treatment you’re able to procure.

There is no coming Golden Day. There will be no point at which a sign appears announcing “Today is the day you’re worthy of the best, so wear the special shirt and shoes you’ve been saving!”

The time to enjoy your life is now. These, everyday, real-life days are the most glorious ones you’ll get.

I’m not recommending you serve your toddler her yogurt on your prized fine china, or wear your handstitched, white silk blouse to go paint ceramics. Common sense reigns. But deferring to the fear of damaging your belongings by way of general use reaches a point when it isn’t prudent, but self-denial.

Precious as they may be, things are just things. Their purpose is to be used as tools for your ease and delight. Your job is not to do everything within your power to preserve them, but to be present to the grandeur and luxury of your getting to be alive, delighting in the beauty around you.

We are the only ones we need to do our very best to care for as if we were meant to last for eternity.

[calendar designed exclusively by @arielm_garcia ]

#enjoyment #enjoyeverymoment❤️

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Welcome back to this client’s dream lady-pad move-in project…

#professionalorganizing #closetorganization #closetorganizer

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POV: turning chaos into culinary calm…

#professionalorganizing #kitchenorganization #kitchenorganizer

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Closet organizing projects are a perpetual favorite, for clients and for our team. Few other spaces have such a deep impact on a person’s daily life and self-image.

Styled and unpacked by @tiffanywendelstylist, these closets were a delight to add our signature Simply effect to.

#closetorganization #closetorganizer #professionalorganizing

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