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Posts Tagged ‘top posts of 2015’

Top 5 Weekend Assignments Of 2015

By Annie | December 30, 2015 | 4

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Top 5 Decluttering Posts of 2015

By Annie | December 29, 2015 | 0

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Top 10 Monday’s Meditations of 2015 (Part 2)

By Annie | December 28, 2015 | 0

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Top 5 Designer Spotlight Posts Of 2015

By Annie | December 24, 2015 | 0

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Top 5 Organizing Strategy Posts of 2015

By Annie | December 23, 2015 | 0

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Top 5 Organizing Product Posts of 2015

By Annie | December 22, 2015 | 0

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Top 10 Monday’s Meditations of 2015 (Part 1)

By Annie | December 21, 2015 | 1

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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.

ABOUT LIVE SIMPLY

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Simplify Your World

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Peak inside a Simply Move-In… . . . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #seattleprofessionalorganizer #seattlemovers #homeorganization
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I think I was the last person to actually see this dream press feature in print. My sister and I were flying together, and having a moment over it at the Hudson newsstand in SeaTac. The woman working came over, “Something wrong with magazine?” She asked. “I’m in it!” I told her. She didn’t understand, so I held the page up to my face. “Oh, it’s you!” She said. And then, because no one wants to miss being able to claim having a real life celebrity encounter (and because it’s such a beautiful, vitality supporting, authentic publication—kudos @tracyandersonmethod ) she took the magazine and started perusing the article for herself. She was not going to miss the chance to tell her friends she met…whoever the hell this lady in front of her was. She held on to it for so long I had to eventually tell her we actually did have a flight to catch and were going to need to leave with our copy. I’m so grateful to have been invited to share the crux of my life’s mission with @tracyandersonmethod audience. Do yourself a favor and read the whole issue (all of them). They are rare entities, full of thoughtful pieces about overall health and well-being, delicious recipes, and somehow not an ad to be seen. 🙏🏻
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Random tips from a recent kitchen move-in project. Which one do you or have you used and know to be true? . . . . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #professionalorganizing #kitchenorganization #kitchenorganizer
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Once upon a time, patience wasn’t a virtue, but a requirement. Nature’s slow and steady progression was the ruling faction. Nowadays, it has become increasingly easy to be impatient. We no longer have to wait for the arrival of summer, we can simply board a plane for somewhere warm. We no longer have to patiently hunt and gather for sustenance, we can simply order a meal to our doorstep. In a world that obligates us to practice patience less and less, purposefully cultivating it is key. Patience opens us up to receiving the best available, not just the first. When we’re patient, we demonstrate trust and faith in the unfolding of life. When we’re certain of where we’re headed and believe our arrival at that goal is inevitable, we can accept the length of the journey to get there. And when we’re patient, we ultimately get to the reap the fruits of our labors with more gratitude and awareness. When we’re patient with those around us, we accept others’ limitations and better accommodate their needs. We don’t expect our disabled moms or our toddlers to get ready for an outing as easily as we may. We commit to the process, help everyone get suited up and strapped in, and remember that the going is what counts, not the speed at which we do it. When we’re patient with ourselves, we invite the possibility of habituating new, positive behaviors. We don’t waste time berating ourselves for our learning curves. We tell ourselves to begin again tomorrow, if need be. Patience is our higher knowing. It’s the part of us that still connects to the flow and pace of the natural world. This month, focus on patience. Patience for buds to appear and the birds to return in spring. Patience for your package to arrive. Patience with your family—bless them. Patience with yourself. Patience with yourself. Patience with your own damn self. And every time you start to lose it and are tempted to snap or whine, practice patience. Focus on your breath. On your sense of certainty in the outcome you are designing. Whatever could rile you up, your cool, calm, collectedness is worth more. [calendar designed exclusively by @ariel_marko]
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Simply move-in day— a feat of coordination, spatial reasoning, and the best kind of chaos management. We’re obsessed with making the process as seamless as possible for our dream clients. . . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #seattlemovers #homeorganizer #homeorganization
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5 STEPs to HABIT CONSISTENCY 1. Understand WHY You resolve that you're making a change, period. But, in order to arrive at the point of decision, you must get connected to the underlying motivation. WHY does it matter? Regardless of the behavior or the reason for it, the responses are ultimately feeling ones. "When I do this, I feel good. Positive things happen. My life is better. I feel happy, content, peaceful, alive, etc." 2. Zero in on WHAT Now that you've decided to keep your space clutter-free, let’s say, or incorporate daily exercise, you must get specific. You can't just decide to eat cereal because it makes your tum-tum feel yum-yum and call that a fully-fledged plan. What kind of cereal are you going to choose at the store? Is it an organic, grain-free granola, or is it sugar in shapes? Without a specific choice/program/method/brand selected, you're bound to spend all the time you might actually be practicing the habit overwhelmed by what to do. 3. Work out HOW and WHEN You are serious about habituating a behavior only when and if you have thought through the logistics. It isn't sufficient to say, "beginning today, I'll keep my space neat." Where in your day's schedule will that fit? What other commitments will need to shift in order to carve out space for your new habit? What do you need to wear? Will you have enough time to dry your hair? Etc. 4. Loop in a WHO Most people benefit from the support of external accountability. It might be that your Tuesday housecleaners help you to be accountable by compelling you to pick things up Monday night. It might be a habit tracking app, or a therapist, or a friend–an outside entity that knows about your desire to habituate a behavior and asks you regularly about that. 5. Return to WHY When your consistency is in its infancy, you may fumble. If this happens, do not dwell in embarrassment or frustration. Instead, return to WHY, reminding yourself how incredible you feel when you manage to uphold your habit. Consistency is a symphony of single instances. The irony of a habit is that it doesn’t matter what you did yesterday or three weeks ago. It matters what you do repeatedly, which means today.
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Please note: Anything beyond the actual item you wanted to procure can qualify for the extraneous elements list, including: -FREE SAMPLES -retail packaging -branded bags, bows and ribbons -various attachments and parts that are part of manufacturer sets -et al. If you need help not falling sway to this effect, ask yourself: 1.what is the ACTUAL item I purchased here? 2.What has been included to elevate my experience of opening that item? 3.And: what has been added into the bag/box by the retailer that serves their interest more than mine? Yes, especially luxury goods come along with elements that are made to feel like more just what they are. Those brands want you to have an EXPERIENCE with opening their goods, which means they go to great lengths to convince you their bag is more than just a bag, their tissue is more than just tissue, and so on. Their means of delivery does not need to dictate what you define as important and keep-worthy. Their attempts to seduce you into purchasing more by way of introducing other samples of things they sell does not need to influence you. Eyes on the prize. Not the fluff. . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #declutter #shoppingaddiction #homeorganizer
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Attention is the intersection of time and energy, which makes it a highly precious resource. Yet so many of us (myself included!), don’t treat it as such. We act frivolously with our attention. We give and withhold it without intentionality. And then we wonder why what we desire isn’t showing up for us. Where our attention goes, energy flows. What we pay attention to is what we expand in our lives. What we neglect dissipates and devolves. Focus acts like a magnifying glass, making what we put under it appear larger. When we ignore the state of our homes, the spaces become cluttered and disordered. When we give our attention to our relationship with material belongings and our organizational systems, we create the nurturing environments we need to thrive. When we ignore our health, we sow seeds of disease and physical and mental discomfort. When we give our attention to our wellbeing–to nourishing ourselves well and committing to a movement practice–we experience vitality. When we ignore our relationships, we feel disconnected and lonely. When we’re attentive to the people who matter to us, prioritizing them through phone conversations and time spent together, we feel connected and fulfilled. Nature blooms with the attention of the sun, and we grow, create, and manifest what we desire by focusing on forces and sources that move us forward. If you’re feeling unsatisfied, discouraged, or depressed as this new year begins, I encourage you to examine where and to whom you’ve been giving your attention. Ask yourself whether you’re been directing your attention towards entities that fuel and inspire you, or to ones that have you perpetuating thoughts of comparison, inferiority, judgment and blame. Our attention is, like all aspects of being a human, limited. We don’t have infinite attention to spend in a day. We’re required to be discerning in order to create a life that’s rewarding. [Calendar designed exclusively for @livesimplybyannie by @ariel_marko]
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Live Simply has been transforming spaces for over a decade. This year, we upped the ante and committed to delving deeper than ever before with our clients, ensuring we resolve the root causes of clutter and, in the process, truly change lives. This method is about so much more than color coding and folding. We create the space for you to safely examine your habits and behaviors, to realize the ways you’ve been using material belongings as a means of distraction, to achieve faux-fulfillment, or to create the illusion of security. We empower you to choose for yourself what matters, which can mean liberating you from a lifetime of learned patterns. We design systems that streamline routines and eradicate the stresses of overwhelm and over-consumption. And we insist that you nurture yourself with the beauty of clarity and order, knowing that what you interact with on a daily basis has a direct effect on your overall experience of life. We can’t wait to work our magic for you in 2023. 💫 . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #decluttering #homeorganization #getorganized
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Those photos you see of perfectly organized EXCESSIVELY filled spaces ought to be, for most people, considered an internet mirage. They exist for the purposes of luring you in, of selling you the fantasy that excess is the state of being to aspire to, and that a shit ton of stuff is magically easy to manage if only it is color coded. If it’s just you out there, leading the orderly-home-charge bravely albeit on your own, please know that there’s nothing wrong with you if you’re unable to consistently and perfectly wrangle an official shit ton of stuff. Rather, the chips are stacked against you until you make the amount you own realistically manageable for you. Given the givens of hours in days and jobs and families and your rare escape to the pedicure chair. . . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #celebrityorganizer #homeorganization #decluttering
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You heard it here first, folks: just ask! . . . . . . . . . . . . #giftideas #giftgiving #holidaygiftguide #professionalorganizer
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I know firsthand the ways challenges great and small are responsible for important growth. Still, I’m invested in creating ease because I know that the more freed up each of us is, the more capable and contributory we are. Throughout my decade+ in business, I’ve seen firsthand how people can begin to believe that they are unworthy or incapable of having ease in their lives. Some have been struggling for so long they can’t imagine another way. Some have adopted a victim-complex that tells them life is perpetually working against them. Some desperately crave ease but need to have the ground laid out for them in order to fully believe. As a proponent and student of ease, I’ve noted the common threads that run through those that have ease in their lives. If you are one of those people, you do the following: You edit and organize so that you’re clear on what matters to you most and a task as basic as finding a sock is an experience entirely free of struggle. You design your days thoughtfully, you invest your time wisely, and you say no easily. You move your body daily so that moving through your days is easy. You express gratitude for all that you have available to you. You take action to solve problems without allowing them to fester and grow more overwhelming. You forgive where you can, you make peace with what cannot be changed, and you release the desire to rewrite the past. You accept that life is change. You participate in, rather than resist, the natural progression of life. You love yourself. Your chief aim is to aspire to be the very best, most authentic, least bullshit version of you. You know that the point of this strange experiment is to enjoy it, to laugh, to give and receive love, and to relish every ordinary moment. If you haven’t had it easy up until now, I hope you know you’re worthy of feeling like life is working in your favor and that what you desire flows to you effortlessly. I hope you know that ease is just around the bend of the struggle-path you’re grinding down. It’s your reward for effort spent, and for puzzles solved. Sweet relief is on its way to you. The hollows where pain has been are the pockets ease will fill.
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Bathroom before and after. Our client’s newly remodeled bathroom is beautiful, and we were thrilled to help them make it equally functional. Pretty and smart. It’s the bathroom bring-it-home-to-your-parents whole package. Only don’t do that, because your parents will be all, “Why did you do it like that?” And “What’s this cream for?” And, “You got rid of what!!?? You shouldn’t have done that.” . . . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #bathroomremodel #organizationideas
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I am beyond honored to get to share the story behind my life’s work in the fall/winter 2023 @tracyandersonmethod Magazine, The Clarity Issue, available for download now and on newsstands nationwide including Whole Foods, Barnes and Noble & Hudson News. This publication is truly special and a labor of love from a woman (and company) whose mission remains moving us all in a better, healthier, more enlightened, and more clarified direction. Thank you @tracyandersonmethod @stevenbeltrani for all that you do for body, mind, and soul.🙏🏻💕 P.S. Timing is a wild, universey thing. I was asked to write this piece at the end of May. It was the first time in years I’d really sat down and told my (and my mom’s) story. The opportunity to explain my arc from the chaos of chronic illness to becoming a teacher of Simplicity came just weeks before my mom would unexpectedly pass away. What strikes me most is that all I wrote remains true—she still isn’t contained in her things (people never are), and her essence shines more radiantly than ever before.💫 Anyhow, go read the magazine. It’s a bit of magic in a noisy world.
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Crossing our fingers we’ll be adopted into this family. Also, children’s clothes are infinitely more delightful than adult clothing. That’s all. 🤞🏻 . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #kidsimply #kidsclothes #closetorganization
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In the karmic equation that rules our lives, intention is the cause that ultimately creates an effect. When we consciously set an intention, we align ourselves with our authentic purpose and desire. On an unconscious and conscious level, we put forth the energy that’s required to bring about our intended outcome. Without intention, we’re like aimless waifs, living to accomodate the needs of others before ourselves. We compromise our self worth, say yes to others when what we really want to say is, “Oh, hell no!” and hatch rootless ideas without considering the impact they’ll have. Living with a lack of intention means we constantly find ourselves in scenarios we don’t really wish to be involved in, or committed to endeavors we’re not really passionate about. But when we harness the power of intention, we purposefully design our lives, contribute meaningfully, and communicate effectively. The quality of our intention, or our energy at the outset, is the key. If we’re anxious, or desperate, or seeking some shortcut, what we’ll ultimately experience are outcomes that mirror those emotions. If, for instance, we’re overly anxious to secure a business deal merely because we’re desperate for the money it will provide, the result of that arrangement will in some way produce anxiety and scarcity. If, on the other hand, we bring love, excitement, and genuine enthusiasm to a project–if we take time to consider our intention behind that project–the effect we experience is bound to be in line with our initial energy. Put Simply: What we intend, we actualize. What we put out returns to us. The easiest way to live with more intention is to begin each day by declaring yours. Before you pick up your phone, before you step your foot down on the floor, take two seconds to express your intention for the day ahead of you. “Today I intend to be patient.” You might say. Or, “Today I intend to be of ultimate service to the people around me.” Or, “Today I intend to shatter the records I set yesterday.” Channel the energy. Name your aim. Live on purpose. [calendar designed exclusively for us by @ariel_marko]
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Today would have been my mom’s birthday, if only she hadn’t gone and died this summer (Diane, you got some ‘splainin’ to do!) My mom was joy incarnate. She made people unfurl. Made you feel like you, alone, were worth her shining for. She taught me to celebrate life. Taught me to bake cookies and decorate a birthday table, and crack up at the absurdity of her vibrancy having to live with a debilitating disease. She carried the burden of MS with astonishing grace for 27 years. At some point along the way, she became my baby. She was the most precious being I was fortunate enough to learn from. To dote on. My mom was confident and deliciously dramatic. “What’s the name of that movie with the guy who goes to that place?” She would call and ask, and I would hear her eyes roll in slow motion with disappointment if I failed to produce the title. She was a classic beauty, as elegant as Audrey. She made friends with everyone. In June, she got an infection that turned out to be stage 4 colon cancer. She had days to live, they told us. She spent the next month in a hospital bed beaming at us, her face as supple and creaseless as it had ever been. She must have known, but she seemed unbothered. She was always above the limitations of the physical world, somehow. “You are the sunshine and we are your rays,” my sister and I told her. “So, let’s keep spreading joy,” she managed. On the second to last day in her body, we fed her lemon sorbet and played To Catch a Thief. She turned away from the screen she hadn’t been able to see for years to whisper her closing line, “I’m having a wonderful time.” By the next night, she had left the building. It shatters me that I will never pick up the phone and hear her voice on the other end of the line again, make her laugh, or cook for her again. But I hear her voice inside me as my own. I will do what she would have done without thinking because who she was is so deeply imprinted onto who I’ve become. I have realized now, ironically more than ever before, the extent to which I am my mother’s daughter. How lucky I was to be born to her. To grow in her light. Though she was called home, I am still the ray to her sun.
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“I wish you could have seen the shit show our kitchen was before,” our client told us, as we toured her through her Simply-ed pantry. We assured her that we had no trouble imagining its former state (camera roll is full of about 12 years worth of them), packed up our wands and headed on our way, endlessly grateful for clients who trust us to guide them from “shit show” to “dad is going to plotz over that water bottle organizer.” . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #homeorganization #homeorganizer #kitchenorganization
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Missing a couple of shelves and a mirror, but this one’s looking real pretty.😍 . . . . . . . . #professionalorganizer #closetorganization #closetgoals
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I’m going to go ahead and suggest that you need as many bags as you would use at one single time, which means one shopping trip, which means maybe as many bags as can fit in a standard shopping cart when filled, which means probably like 5. Five reusable bags. Fine, throw in the little size you like to use for lunches sometimes, and the backpack style one you like to take on hikes and you’re at 7, max. Dare you to convince me you need more. Anyhow, the real gold star goes to the person who actually manages to remember the bring the bags on the shopping trips. . . . . . . . . #declutter #declutteringmylife #professionalorganizer #declutteryourhome

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