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Posts Tagged ‘gift giving’

Monday’s Meditation: On The One Gift We’re All Craving

By Annie | December 9, 2013 | 2

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The Problem With Personalized Presents & Why You Should Stop Giving Them

By Annie | November 20, 2013 | 16

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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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Simplify Your World

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October was my mom’s birthday month, and if there was one quality (aside from joy) that she possessed in spades, it was grace. She didn’t try, she just was. She didn’t force or manipulate, she allowed things to ebb and flow towards and away from her without ever seeming too troubled about their direction. And that includes lost entities such as mobility, independence, and then, finally, life. Hers was a grace built on the calm confidence of someone who is secure in themselves and their values, and grounded in the present. When we’re connected to our true selves and have a clear sense of what matters most to us, we remain rooted in the face of annoying distractions and catastrophes alike. We don’t easily get knocked off our axes or swept up in drama. We aren’t prone to self-chastising or comparison. In a noisy world, our connection to ourselves helps us to remain composed, to assume the best of others, to be compassionate to ourselves, and to forgive when necessary. Instead of trying so hard, chasing, and criticizing, what if we take a page from my mom’s book and try grace on for size? What if we find out that it’s a far more effective strategy on all counts? That we feel better when we prioritize our peace and our authenticity. What would it look like to give ourselves and those around us grace this month? What if we moved one notch away from the people we think we should be to stand more firmly in who we are, and then decided to lovingly accept that version of ourselves? Wouldn’t that be freeing? [design by @ariel_marko ]
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By request, memorializing this one in the feed. An honest behind the scenes at what it takes to make a beautifully organized space! We’re often working nearly on top of each other, balancing things on surfaces like three dimensional Tetris, solving a slew of interconnected-yet-isolated spatial puzzles, and prioritizing the client experience of it all. To employ a cliched phrase: we wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙏🏻 #professionalorganizer #declutteringtips #kitchenorganization
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Peace cannot be purchased. No matter how you try to justify what you’re buying—whether it’s an item your kids “need” or a new skincare product that you rationalize will kickstart your nighttime self care routine, or the new athletic clothing you tell yourself will motivate you to exercise—the act of shopping, itself will never bring you what you’re truly seeking IF you’re using shopping as an emotional crutch. Escaping your life into the portal of online shopping (or actual stores!), may temporarily give you a dopamine surge. That will dissipate AS SOON AS you’ve checked out. Then reality will set in: whatever you’ve just ordered will actually materialize at your door. It will be your responsibility to open it, break down any packaging for it, manage any returns necessary, find a place for it if you keep it, and on and on. The shopping act is fleeting, but the results aren’t. So if shopping is your end of day wind-down activity, you must check in with yourself and ask yourself what it is you actually NEED. Is it acceptance? Is it distance from your daily stress? Is it self care? Then ask yourself: will buying this truly give me the feeling I desire in a LASTING way? What other tool can I reach for that I know would actually cultivate those feelings? I promise you that, like drinking good water is the cure for most common physical gripes (IMO), taking good breaths is a magic cure for any number of emotional ones. If nothing else, before you buy, breathe. #professionalorganizer #shoppingtherapy #declutteringtips
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If your intention is to purchase a replacement, then let it be that. When you buy a new version and then continue to use the old one you told yourself needed replacing, you’re falling into a scarcity mindset. This mindset will have you convinced it’s better to own two versions simultaneously than one, and that it’s more appealing to keep using the haggard one than to face the prospect of potentially losing the fresh one, and, in turn, the EXPERIENCE of owning/using the thing you love. Your brain does some crazy mental leaps in order to protect you from what it perceives as pain, which in this case is risking being without something you rely on. You’ve gotta talk some sense into that brain of yours, remind yourself what poor condition your old favorite is in, and tell yourself you’re worthy of the new version. Have you done this in the past or are you doing it currently?
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Happiest birthday wishes to @dreamarie.c !!!!! 🎊🎊🎊🎊 For anyone living under a seriously heavy boulder, Andréa is my right hand woman, and so much of what Live Simply is today is thanks to her. Drea is universally adored by dogs and children, which tells you all you need to know in my opinion. Those creatures have a way of recognizing true character, and her good natured, enthusiastic, and confident way easily disarms them. The shyest of both become her fast friends, following her around, requesting attention and affection. Their parents are as enamored. Clients regularly go out of their way to tell me how much they adore her. How she’s so patient and kind. How she is as professional as she is engaging. How she’s changed their lives. Same with mine, I say. Drea is my sounding board. She’s brilliant in so many ways, especially the ones I’m dumbest at. And when I blast through the walls like the Kool-Aid man with LET’S GET THIS SHIT DONE energy, she is the steady, and resourceful force that calmly and keenly keeps us on track. I am grateful for her every day, and today I relish the opportunity to celebrate her loudly. Happy, happy birthday @dreamarie.c 🎉🙌🏻🙏🏻
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August, with its straw hat and freckles, has taken its final bow for the year. In its stead enters September, which, with its return to routine for so many families, gives one that sense that life is once again standing at attention with its glasses on. The mornings are crisper, the daylight shortens, but still, the spirit of renewal is in the air. This month invites us to resume activities we’ve abandoned during the summer and to pour energy into the areas of our lives that we’ve allowed to become neglected or worn, and to recommit to our goals, our values, and our relationships. Being in a season of renewal also offers us the chance to consciously release those commitments which no longer serve us or to which we can no longer realistically devote our precious time. As we let go of those activities, relationships, or mindsets which clutter our lives, we increase our capacity to pledge ourselves with newfound vigor to that which truly matters to us. As we work to bring more energy to our priorities, we realize the impact of our positive actions. We are reinvigorated by demonstrating to ourselves that we remain steadfast in our values, behaviors, and relationships. We gain momentum through our efforts to improve. Every day of this month, we will be demonstrating our values to ourselves through our actions. Renewal is not only an occasional sport—something we do after many years. It is also what we do daily. Each morning, we have the chance to renew ourselves through Simple acts like picking up after ourselves, shopping mindfully, and choosing to act now in service to our future selves. Each new day, we have the privilege of renewing our investment in longevity, health and vitality through movement and meditation. We have the opportunity to renew our relationships through quality conversations, through our attentiveness, and through our non-judgment. Each and every moment, we are capable of renewing our peace of mind and centeredness through our breath. What you pour energy into and express gratitude for will sustain. What you neglect, whether intentionally or not, will fall away. Renew what matters to you now. [calendar design by @ariel_marko ]
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Organized from crow’s nest to basement ✅ This recently completed move-in project was another opportunity to bring freedom and clarity into a family by way of simplified structure. We edited, bin-ified and systematized, and successfully converted yet one more household from countertop knife block to in-drawer storage (it will come as no surprise that we lead Team Keep Counters Clear). #professionalorganizer #professionalorganizing #kitchenorganization
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Us on our way to help you… -conquer clutter (the physical and emotional kinds) -establish functional and beautiful organizing systems to help you better navigate your daily life -learn how to have a healthy relationship with material belongings (not just repeat what you saw being modeled growing up) -learn freedom-oriented mindsets, and shift from scarcity and anxiety to abundance and prosperity -learn to love the art of folding -become a conscious consumer -make your corner of the world the one place you can reliably go for quiet, calm and nurturance -LIVE SIMPLY #professionalorganizer #professionalorganizing #organizinginspiration
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Happiest birthday wishes to our resident Leo, @y2kira! There are so many reasons to celebrate her; maybe chief among them is her caring nature. Anyone who gets to work with her feels the depths of her care and compassion. She is a strong force of good for that reason, only her attentiveness has the lightest touch, like a little fairy. I’ve thrown too many bizarre requests her way, including driving an injured bird to the local wildlife center, finding a “cute iPhone tripod” (??), and undertaking spontaneous basically-arts-and-crafts-projects, and she meets each one with her signature sweetness, open-mindedness, and relaxed-readiness. What a special spirit. We are so lucky to have her on our team. 🎊✨
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Growing up, my family took my mom’s cue (who was able to find humor in her wretched MS) and laughed about everything. Mundane acts that were once effortless for her (like showering, getting dressed, eating, and seeing), became exhaustive endeavors requiring no less than three people to complete. It was too absurd not to also be downright hilarious at times. We laughed at her first electric wheelchair having a seatbelt, and we laughed when she started to need to be belted in. My dad made up a doctor character for the times he changed her catheter. I put on accents for her; in the evenings I hosted a cooking show while preparing her dinner, and before bed I moonlighted as a European facialist. Once, she got frustrated and yelled, “It’s not like I’m handicapped!” And we cracked up so hard we toned our abs. Together, we teased the shit out of her dumb disease. We were never attempting to deny the severity of her chronic illness. But we leaned on laughter as our coping strategy, and as our redeeming factor: if things had to be as arduous as they were, we at least deserved to find humor in the hardship. Each time we chose to laugh, we prioritized joy over despair, filling the room with a spirit of vitality that sustained us. It’s my belief –and it was my mom’s--that life is intended to be joyful. Laughter is a portal out of pain. Even if it’s a temporary respite, it’s essential. Nothing is so serious that it can’t also be the source of great humor. In fact, the things that could cause us anger, offense, or grief are often the ones we ought to be laughing about the most. This month, my wish for us all is to increase the laughter in our lives. To loosen up enough to zoom out from our ego and see through a wider perspective that considers delicious irony and pure joy. Stiffness, resentment, anger, and an extended attitude of feeling sorry for ourselves is stagnating and calcifying. Having the willingness to laugh means possessing an evergreen ticket to spiritual freedom and a refusal to succumb to negativity. Be serious when it’s appropriate. Feel what you feel. Acknowledge what’s real. And all the while, don’t let an opportunity to laugh pass you by.
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To edit papers👇🏻 1. Ask yourself when/why you would need to refer to a document. There will be a clear and obvious answer if there’s an actual need to keep the paper. Is it a tax record to keep in case of an audit? If so, is it within feasible date range? Is it a vital record? Is it a legal certificate/ binding contract you need to substantiate something? Is it an active entity you commonly need to take action on? (Current policy, mortgage, etc.) IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN OR WHY YOU’D NEED IT, YOU PROBABLY DON’T. 2. Can you access the information another way? Do you have online accounts with digital versions of the same records? Are copies of the documents held by other people? (Attorneys, doctors, etc.) The vast majority of people have somewhere between 15-50lbs worth of papers they could immediately unburden themselves of. Do you??
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We were honored to get to organize this floral and art studio for our dear client, who is absolutely going to prove true that creativity, in fact, thrives in calm. Architecture: @rippledesignstudio Contractor: @lockhartsuver Interior design: @susanmarinellointeriors
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When we talk with clients about making small changes that have significant impact, we often use the word “finesse” to describe the process that’s needed. Maybe that’s because we eventually bore of saying “optimize,” “improve,” and the colloquial “zhush.” It’s as much because the concept of finessing is apt. In my mind, finessing is the art of injecting style, refinement, and sophistication into the mundane or the complex. But, rather than achieving these ends through being overly commandeering, finessing describes both the ends and the means. It is a delicate, graceful expression of expertise that produces equally elegant and elevated results. When we act with finesse, we stay centered and objective. We leave our egos out of the equation and remain focused on the collective goal. From this headspace, we’re better able to resolve conflict, refine arrangements, and bring a sense of beauty and grace to our work, our relationships, and our spaces. Tempering our know-how with an awareness of how our behavior invites or repels others is generally the winningest strategy. The reason? When we approach a person or situation with an intent to finesse (rather than steamroll or dictate) we express a level of respect. We demonstrate our assumption that those we’re interacting with have the best intentions of their own, and have done the best they can up until now. A whole new level of growth and improvement for all involved can be accessed from this shared level ground. This month, look for the subtle but impactful opportunities to inject more style, refinement, and polish into your life and your home. Challenge yourself to bring those changes about not with an iron fist, but with the nimble and tempered nature of someone who understands the understated power of finesse. [calendar designed by @ariel_marko ] #monthlymantra #finesse
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Here’s how to get your drawer to close again when something’s stuck at the back of it. When you don’t have a reacher/grabber tool handy (who does??), the secret to unwedge an item that’s fallen out of and behind a drawer is a combination of kitchen tongs and strategic drawer operating. Removing the drawer box from the track is a last resort option, since it always entails getting gross drawer glide grease on your hands, and opens you up to the risk of not being able to easily put the drawer back into place (see: if it ain’t broke, don’t break it rule). Now there’s no excuse for leaving that fallen t shirt to loiter at the back of the dresser for the next four years… #closetorganization #closetorganizer #professionalorganizer
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The most functional kitchens have systems that cater to daily life. They consider how a family lives and operates within a space. They support activities by having a well thought out flow. They keep the essentials at hand. They repel clutter. We were delighted to get to implement systems throughout our clients’ brand new kitchen. Behaviors become habitualized so quickly, which is why we love getting to establish order from the outset. Life will continue to be busy for them with three boys running around. Opening a kitchen drawer is going to dole out a dose of sanity and calm if we have anything to say about it. #kitchenorganization #kitchenorganizer #professionalorganizing
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Life lately. The way that your primary environment makes you feel on a daily basis has a far greater impact on your wellbeing than you may realize. Neuroscientists have proven that your space—the way it’s laid out, whether or not your views to the outside are unobstructed, how cluttered it is, and so on— play a quantifiable role in people’s ability to recover from illness. When you extrapolate from that, it only makes sense that alleviating yourself of the daily burdens of battling excess stuff and enjoying, instead, beautiful order, will make you generally feel so much better. Like you can think clearly. Like you can be nurtured by your safe space. Like the things that can be Simple are. We are so grateful to do this work with our clients everyday—transporting them from places of overwhelm, disorder, and clutter to clarity, calm, and ease.✨ #professionalorganizing #professionaldeclutterer #organizinginspiration
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Accidentally on purpose recorded myself in an entirely non composed, moment of honesty. (Let’s make it a trend—I want to see yours). Mid-move-in, mouth-full, in the dark, confessing our true motivations. At the heart of all the work we do is genuine care (that verges regularly on obsession). This level of dedication is the only way we can adequately honor the investment our clients make in their wellbeing when they decide to trust us to edit and organize their environments and lives. Too many people get into business (or create a social media profile under which they call themselves experts) because they think it’ll be fun. Or a great way to make money. Or get famous. And while it can be all of those things, it’s nothing more than phoney-baloney egoism if it’s work that’s not rooted in a sense of true service. We’re here for the long haul (and the long days when needed!), and the real, needle-moving, introspection-inducing work. The band aids always fall off. Genuine care can heal. ✌🏻
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Growing up, my family’s norm was the unpredictability of chronic illness. The question of whether my mom would have a “good MS day,” (denoted by having enough energy to be showered and dressed, participate in conversation, and feed herself), or a “bad MS day,” (see: the opposite) lingered in the air each night. This made making plans more than challenging, and it made me, from the earliest age I can recall, aware that health and energy it affords aren’t guaranteed. From my perspective, health is the ultimate gift and responsibility. It is both my biggest blessing to be in good health, and it is my responsibility to do all I can to protect my physical and spiritual health. In short, I am present to, and absurdly grateful for, my vitality. The totality of our health, vitality is the physical abilities of our bodies combined with the potency of our life force. When we’re able to physically carry out our goals, we have vitality. When we feel healthy and well enough to continually look for ways to optimize our lives, we have vitality. And in those rare and fleeting moments when we manage to align our whole selves–physical, mental, and spiritual–the euphoric pulse we feel is our vitality. This month, I hope you’ll join me in giving thanks daily for whatever energy and health each of us possesses. As summer blooms, I hope we’ll do all that’s within our power to care for ourselves well: incorporate movement, consider how we nourish ourselves, drink good water, breathe clean air, spend time with people who expand our sense of time, and engage in activities that fill our energy reserves. All of this is the least we can do to celebrate being alive. [calendar designed exclusively by @ariel_marko ]
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One of the best ways to bolster the confidence you have in your abilities and your follow through is to begin completing the small acts that comprise your days. How many tasks are you leaving at 80 or 90% of the way completed, where you could fairly easily reach 100? Look for these opportunities to close activity loops by bringing as much intentionality to their beginnings as you do their end points. A side benefit is that you’ll end up being more present, which will in turn allow you to imbue the simple rituals of your daily life with more meaning. #mindpower #dailyrituals #smallwins #professionalorganizer
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Pov: you hire Live Simply professional organizers to move you into the home you’ve spent the last 2.5 years renovating because you realize it would be bananas to work so hard to create your ideal environment only to just shove your stuff in drawers, and you want instead to support your well-being by bringing the same level of intentionality to systems for managing the items and areas you use every day of your life. #professionalorganizing #seattleprofessionalorganizer #decluttering

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