Simple Life Together

So, if you’re anything like us you want to live the life of your dreams, right? Well the life of your dreams is different for everyone, but the one common thing is that we all need to set up some mileposts to guide us along the way. Maybe you’ve heard the saying that 'A goal without a plan is a dream'. So, maybe live the life of your dreams should really be 'Planning your life to meet your life goals!' Naw...that doesn’t sound nearly as good. But sometimes it’s better to face reality and not sugar coat things. Whatever terms you want to use...life plan, desired end state, retirement plan...they are all planning terms to living they way we want to live. Continue reading... Main Topic: We totally buy into the thinking that you can live the life of your dreams. It's really not a dream at all, but an attainable goal that needs to be planned for, and the plan needs to be flexible and well executed. The foundation of our plan is what we call our 5 Pillars. When we first started the show, and on a few episodes along the way, we talked about the 5 pillars that guide us on our journey and give us focus for our decision making. Here they are: The 5 Pillars That Guide Us Faith Family Finances Fitness Future Since nothing is set in stone and we like to keep our journey under continuous review, we often challenge ourselves and even question ourselves to make sure we’re on track. Those reviews have been pivotal to us, and make sure we keep stretching our simplicity muscles on a regular basis. That’s why we’re doing Courtney Carver’s Dress For Less and Project 333. That’s also why we like to do an occasional digital fast, and that’s exactly why we’ve changed our 5th Pillar from focusing on “Future” to focusing on “Freedom.” Having Freedom as one of our five pillars gives us the lens to view and evaluate things we let into our lives to ensure they really do make it simpler. That “thing” we purchase today will have ramifications tomorrow, so we strive to make sure it fits our long-term goals. That commitment we reluctantly make today, or make in haste, can also keep us from doing what we want down the road. Taking the time to establish your pillars and deliberately making decisions based on them can keep you on the path for your simple journey. Here's Why We Changed From 'Future' to 'Freedom': One of the best books I’ve read in the past few years, and then bought the audiobook as well, is The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco. Now, don’t be fooled by the title! It totally sounds like a cheesy “get rich quick” book, but honestly it’s anything but. I would recommend it to anyone who’s thinking about their financial future, setting up a side gig, or even just while considering how your finances affect how you want to live your life. All of this directly impacts your ability to live the life of your dreams. Essentially, MJ describes three different paths that most people follow regarding money: The first path is the “Sidewalk”, where people are basically living from paycheck to paycheck and buy lottery tickets hoping for the big payoff. That’s their actual plan. I think we all know someone who falls into this category, and heck, I’ve had bouts with this myself in the past! The second path is what he calls the “Slow Lane”, which is basically the deferred retirement model we’ve talked about on lots of past episodes: work hard for 40 years, save money in your 401k, and hopefully you have enough saved up to retire at 65 and hopefully are still healthy enough to enjoy your golden years. That’s a lot of 'hopefully'! Then there is what he calls the “Fast Lane” where you take matters into your own hands, develop the wealth you need to live the lifestyle you want. My take on MJ's main point is that you should gauge your wealth by time and w...

Let’s face reality...we all have To Do lists.  And while they seem to be never ending at times, To Do Lists can be a good thing. It kinda means we’re still alive! If you don't have any in your life, then you’re probably dead! So, knowing that we’ll always have To Dos, maybe we should have a plan for how to keep track of them and get them done!  So what's the best To Do list? Well, the best To Do lists are the ones that works for you! Whether you prefer an analog or digital solution...anywhere on the spectrum of tying a string around your finger, pencil and paper, or the latest To Do app...figure out the tool or tools that work best for you and stick with it/them. Continue reading... If you’re not sure which tools work best for you, don't worry. Just take some time to think about, research and maybe even test a few tools for yourself before committing to one...or a TON of To Do list management tools. But before you get started, there are some things you should know or consider. Main Topic: To Do Lists in Four Simple Steps We have lots of different types of To Dos: personal, professional, work, projects, etc. But no matter what type of To Do you have, there are four simple steps you have to focus on to get your tasks or To Dos done: CAPTURE them, CONTAIN them, ASSIGN a date and EXECUTE! 1. CAPTURE your To Dos. There are different ways you can do this (you may need to use several ways to capture your To Dos): Write them down. On scratch paper, a post it note or in a notebook. You can also record a voice memo.  We use Dragon Dictation and Evernote. Send an email to yourself. This is convenient when you're on the road or out and about away from the office. Or directly input your task on your To Do list if you have immediate access to it. 2. CONTAIN your To Dos. This is WHERE your To Dos are kept. One of the best things you can do to manage your To Dos is to capture them in ONE PLACE! Paper notebook: Use one you can easily carry around with you or keep in your purse/backpack to take to meetings, on errands, etc. Digital: Google Tasks or spreadsheets are an easy tool to use when it comes to editing and not having to re-write your lists when they get messy on paper. Mobile apps: There are tons! Try searching for "best To Do apps" for your mobile device and try a couple out. Note: Containing your To Dos usually requires some sort of a routine, like an end of work routine before closing up shop or a nightly routine at home where you gather all of your To Dos and put them in the proper "container." 3. ASSIGN a date and time to get them done! Before you decide on WHEN...you need to first determine category (personal, work, projects, etc) and the priority of your tasks. Note: Priorities may change….that’s why you need to have a routine of systematically reviewing your To Dos. Then plug it in on your calendar. Remember...To Dos are pointless unless you assign a date and time to get them done! 4. EXECUTE your To Dos. Putting them on the calendar doesn’t guarantee they’re going to get done but you can use control measures to get help get them done like: Use reminders like on Google Calendar where you can set up email, text and/or pop-up notifications to remind you of your To Do item. Set alarms on your computer or mobile phone for To Dos you need to get done each day. Start a nightly routine where you review your To Dos for the next day. Use post it notes (strategically placed) as an additional reminder for those To Dos you just reviewed during your nightly routine. Create and put up checklists (again...strategically placed) to help remind you of recurring To Do items. These can be posted on paper, dry erase boards,

Is it time to simplify your wardrobe? Think about it, what is it that dictates how big your wardrobe is or how many clothes you have? Is it fashion and changing trends? Is it utility? Is it the weather or the climate? Is it an expectation of society or your social circle? Is it the activities that you do that necessitate what you wear? Or is it simply the size of your container...be it an overnight bag or walk-in closet? The answer to all of these is probably YES! That’s the thing about clothes, we all wear different things for different reasons. But, sometimes it’s like cable TV...500 channels and nothing on, right? You go into your huge walk-in closet and you can’t find a thing to wear! So what’s the real problem? Is it analysis paralysis...just too many decisions? Well, let’s dive into that. Read more... Main Topic: We all have different reasons for what we wear and how big our wardrobe is. It’s a pretty personal thing and each of us is unique, but maybe it is time to simplify your wardrobe a bit? Our ancestors certainly lived with a whole lot less than we do...and there are those who choose to minimize what they keep in their clothes closets. We decided to ask ourselves some very pointed questions about what we wear and why, and some others questions to see if there was an opportunity to edit our closets and drawers to a point that feels more like "enough" and less like "too much." Question: So what things shape your current wardrobe? Vanessa: Work: professional business attire and hands-on organizing work attire. Climate: mostly warm weather clothes needed here in San Antonio, TX. Culture: cowboy, Western, relaxed. Lifestyle: fitness and travel dictate need for lightweight and versatile clothing...nothing to iron! Personality and Image: pretty tomboy look...fun yet put together...balance of attractive yet conservative clothing. Dan:  The look: going for that “guy in shorts” with a little bit of “guy in tee shirt” look (ha-ha!). Mostly comfort: work from home so commute is only 19 steps...like to stay pretty comfortable. Uniformity: think of clothes as a uniform with everything capable of mixing and matching. Weather: the San Antonio  heat really does dictate my wardrobe. Question: So what does your wardrobe look like now? Vanessa: A lot of fitness clothing. Closet: 40% work and professional attire, 40% casual and 20% travel/merino wool and coats. Few accessories: 8 purses, 6 belts, 6 scarves...but only wear or use half of each! Shoes are my weakness! I hate to admit this… but I have 40 pairs, half of which are for professional attire which I wear maybe 10% of the time if that! Dan: 8 of the same identical black short sleeve shirts, 4 identical long sleeve shirts, identical calf wool socks and SmartWool ankle sock...a lot of the same! Very few “accessories”...a few baseball caps, 3 cowboy hats and only my wedding ring for jewelry. On the “dressed up spectrum” most of what I wear is on the lounge around at home or very casual end. Only have 1 or 2 options for business attire. “Business casual” however is a little slim. Question: What would your ideal wardrobe look like? Vanessa: Nothing to iron. Everything is comfortable. Everything fits or is tailored to my shape. All clothing is attractive and flattering. Can coordinate pieces into different outfits. A variety of colors other than black and brown (can be a limitation though). No dry-cleaning. Be able to pack everything I own in 1 piece of luggage or large d...

Today… we’re going completely random on you! We have a bunch of short, unrelated topics that have been simmering for a while or just been on our minds and we figured it was time to put them out there. So we figured that maybe a few short bursts of ideas or tips might be helpful. A lot of these things we’ve been wanting to discuss but they aren’t something that would fill our usual topic segment length. But, we still wanted to get them out there. So, Vanessa suggested “Let’s do a completely random show and call it The Random Show!” Uh, OK...why not! Well, the cool thing for you is you get a bunch of random tips...all solid in their own right, but boiled down into a few simple points! It’s like a pot luck dinner! Read more... Main Topic: Dan:  It’s not the tools, it’s the work: Every once in a while I have to remind myself of a lesson I first learned long ago from my older brother, Kevin. Our big job in the Winter time growing up in the Southtowns of Buffalo NY was shoveling snow. Kevin always seemed to be getting lots more done than me! We had 2 shovels, the long push-type shovel that plows the snow and the typical square type shovel for shoveling the snow. Didn’t matter which one Kevin had, he always got more done than me. I was convinced it was the shovel and always asked him to switch. He always chuckled, but always switched with me. It didn’t make a difference. What Kevin was teaching me was that it’s not about the tools, it’s about the work. Occasionally, as a gadget guy, I have to re-learn that lesson. Once it sinks in though I realize it’s my big brother teaching me the lesson again, 40 years later and 1600 miles apart. Thanks Kev. Take Away: Next time you go to buy that new tool, that fancy new laptop, download that next app that will supposedly solves all your problems...consider whether or not you need a new tool, or just need to master something you already have. It’s natural to nest…yes, even for guys. But it can easily get out of hand and then it’s time to draw the line. Eventually, it’s time to simplify. So, over the years I’ve spent over: 2 years living in tents. I’ve lived in abandoned/bombed out buildings. About 6 months living in wooden huts. And 8 months living in a shipping container. Each time, I and everyone that I lived with in these places, went through a bit of a nesting phase. I’ve seen guys/troops: Build complete dressers and nightstand sets out of MRE boxes. Leave extra stuff home so they could fit hanging canvas shoe organizers in their bags to hang up. Fight for foot lockers. Or meticulously pack their rucksacks to the point where the seams were ready to burst. There was also a certain “hierarchy of needs” that Maslow might even find puzzling. Of course it differed by your job specialty, but the order of precedence I typically saw with my guys was this: Make sure combat gear was organized to grab and go (#1) Ruck/pack (#2) Evolve from sleeping on the ground to sleeping off ground (#3) Find a spot to hang your toiletry gear since you’ll be using that every day to wash your squishy parts or dangly bits (#4) Pogey bait, gedunk, lickey chewies (#5) Comfort/chill gear (#6) (music, cards, books, etc). Depending on how long it took you to get to your destination and the immediate tactical situation...this could go up as far up the list as #1! We’ve talked before about learning to “embrace the suck”. I think that’s a skill that everyone should be able to call on any time they deem it necessary. But like a pendulum, sometimes we overcompensate for those moments of suckage and let things get a little to...

What are your most important things? We talk a lot about getting rid of “stuff” on the show, and in our lives that’s what we’ve tried to do. We’ve gotten rid of just about 3000 things this year alone and have a couple hundred people who’ve joined in on it by accepting the Edit & Forget It Challenge.  While we have opted out of following the mass consumerism that most in our society hold dear, there are still some things we ourselves hold dear. We created a scenario: "What 5 things would you grab if your house was on fire?" and then put ourselves to the test to figure out what possessions, out of our entire home, are the most important to us. As we went through this exercise it really challenged us and realized that by spending some time thinking about your most important things...those top 5 things that you would grab out of your burning home, it greases your mental gears to: Identify the your most important things. Things that mean the most to you and why. Contemplate whether you’re giving those things the attention they deserve day to day. Identify ways to keep those things safe now and ready to carry out if necessary. Condition yourself to more easily part with things that didn’t make the list. Get you thinking about being prepared in case of an emergency. Read more... Main Topic: Your House Is On Fire, You Can Save 5 Things...What Are They? The first time Dan thought about this was over 10 years ago when a colleague of his lost all her possessions when her apartment caught fire. She was devastated when she got the news and came home to find everything gone. He's been saying for a while now that we need to sit down and talk about what we’d do in an emergency. What would we take with us if we had the opportunity? What are our most important things? In the military we use lots of different techniques to teach lessons....like Attention to Detail...a skill that could be transferred and applied to other things. We also talk about planning. To use our own corollary to Dwight Eisenhower’s quote: “Plans are worthless, planning is priceless.” It’s in going through the exercise thoughtfully that will give you the most value. The Plan isn’t as important as the ability to narrow down what’s important to you and why. That is priceless, and something we should do on a continual basis. Sure, the exercise was all about discerning those 5 things that are really important to us, but the real benefit of the exercise comes from following the natural course of things and asking some follow on questions like: Am I giving this the attention it deserves right now? What are some ways to keep this safe now and ready in case of an emergency? Am I better prepared to part with things that didn’t make the Top 5 list of your most important things? Am I better prepared for an emergency? And will I feel less stress if an emergency did occur? Conducting the Exercise: Assumptions: Obviously in a real-world situation, you and your family's safety is the first priority.  But in order to alleviate a lot of  "what if" scenarios, we thought it best to establish some basic "assumptions": You, your kids, your loved ones (including beloved pets) are safe, sound and out of the house. Following the “fire” all your basic survival needs will be met (food, shelter, etc…). You can choose 5 things that you can carry out of the house (not a couch, bed or pool table). List your Top 5 things and ask the following questions:  What is the Thing and Why? Am I giving this the attention it deserves right now?

Way back in Episode 10, we’ve talked  a little about communication and how it can make your life simpler….that is if it’s effective communication. Ineffective communication on the other hand can can make your life a lot more complicated and often leads to confusion, stress, resentment, anger and even some dangerous situations. That's why simple communication is essential at work, at home and apparently in the prison/corrections field (see clip below). But, you don't have to be in a high-stress, dangerous job to tap into all the benefits of simple communication. Matter of fact, you might be causing some stressful situations yourself. Have you ever tried to replay a conversation in your head or share it with someone else only to fumble through it because you couldn’t remember the details or what was said?  Or have you said “yes dear” or “sure”, or uh-uh” after your significant other asked you to do something but you didn’t hear a word they said because you were thumbing through your Facebook feed?  Read more... Or have you had your spouse raise an eyebrow with that “are you kidding me look...because this is the 10th time I told you”?  I'm sure you can relate. What about if you are the one that wants to be heard?  Have you ever felt like no one is really listening to you?  It seems like people are either so self-absorbed and busy with themselves, or too distracted by all the buzz going on around them  and in their head that they’ve forgotten to be present and listen. Main Topic: "What We Got Here...Is A Failure to Communicate!" How To Become A Better Listener We spend close to 50% of our time listening, but there are A LOT of barriers to effective communication. Part of the reason we have so many barriers to effective communication is because of a lack of understanding of: WHAT listening actually is… WHY it’s so important, and… HOW to become a better listener...all to make communication more simple. WHAT listening actually is: Hearing: is simply the receiving of sound. Listening: is an active process of receiving and constructing meaning from spoken and nonverbal messages and can involve 2 types of attention:  Automatic attention: which is instinctive attention...such as responding to a stimuli like a sudden sound or movement. Selective attention: where you are focused on something because it’s important or interesting to you. And this is where it gets difficult, because often times the two of these compete and conflict with one another. For example: when you are engaged in a great conversation or lecture but your attention gets diverted to the sound of the “ding” on a phone. WHY being a good listener is important: It’s how we cooperate and get things done...as humans! It’s how we build a better understanding of problems that we face as individuals or members of a team or as a family. Helps us to be more productive...and not waste time figuring things out or having to re-explain things. Helps us to have better interpersonal relationships...by showing genuine concern for those who are trying to communicate with you. Helps us gain knowledge which in turn can help us influence, persuade or negotiate with others on things that we are passionate about or believe to be really important matters. Prevents stress, anxiety, resentment and potentially dangerous situations. HOW to become a better listener: As we were doing our research, we came across a lot of great articles about barriers to commu...

It can be way too easy to just go along in life and keep your head and eyes straight forward, just plowing ahead. But when we do that we often miss out on the importance of the experience’s life offers us along the way. Wouldn’t it be great if these experiences could make our journey simpler, more enjoyable, easier...and best of all, more fulfilling? Well, that’s exactly what we want to touch on today. We want to go over some of our recent travel experiences from our summer trip to highlight 3 specific takeaways for us, and hopefully, you too! Specifically, we’d like to share some perspective in 3 areas. How: Sharing your story is important to help you & others grow The simple things in life are the most satisfying Capturing “lessons learned” sparks continuous improvement Read more... Main Topic: Hayes Family Adventures and Tapping Into Lessons Learned When we picked up our  rental camper and before we headed out, we were given specific instructions to share our stories in a journal (a journal that belonged with the rental camper). Specifically, we were not allowed to write about how awesome the camper was.  Instead, we were asked to share our adventures! As we reflected on our adventures, it got us to thinking about how humans have been telling their stories and experiences for thousands of years and it's the experiences we have...not the stuff that matters.  And it's through our experiences...where we learn life lessons. So...we wrote!  Below are some excerpts of the  journal entries we made on our 3-week camping trip along with some lessons we learned: 1. All Hooked Up And Ready To Go….Or Maybe Not On day one...our car battery died just as we hooked up the camper! Lesson: Don’t let a bad situation damper the rest of your plans. Lesson: It’s all about your attitude. 2. Menacing Mosquitos Mosquitos were vicious in Wisconsin, but we didn't let it deter our attitude. At first we were miserable, but then we just had to adapt...MORE BUG SPRAY PLEASE! Lesson: Little things can make a big impact...but yet again...it's all about your attitude! 3. Who Brought The Heat? We left Texas to get away from the heat but then found ourselves stuck in a heat wave in Western New York! The temperatures were no different than in San Antonio, but we were in a new element and still had fun! Lesson: Same type of  conditions but in a new place = different perspective. Sometimes you just need a new venue to give you a different attitude and perspective. 4. Simple Fun Tubing On The Lake Probably the best day of our entire trip! With family, enjoying the outdoors...everyone was having fun and working together from prepping the snacks and the boat...to encouraging cousins to take a jump off of a two-story dock...and teaching first-timer's how to tube behind the boat…total teamwork! Lesson: Experiences vs Things will make you happier. 5. Jellystone and “Help...We’re Surrounded by McMansion RV’s!” Jellystone was a great RV park...but it had more than we needed.  As it turned out, we hardly spent anytime enjoying all the "extra" ammenities. We had more fun just running around and hanging by the campfire telling stories. We also experienced a lot of attention!  In a sea of huge RVs we got tons more attention with our little camper.  Matter of fact, a lot of the big RVers were drawn to the simplicity of the small trailer (they looked a little envious actually ;o)

Downsizing is a word we hear a lot about these days, and I’m surprised at how often it’s talked about in the negative sense versus the positive. If you’re not familiar with the term, typically, we hear “downsizing” being used in one of two contexts: the first is as a business term, used when business are scaling down & people are getting fired or laid off. The second context is the one we're focusing on today. It's often when people are facing retirement or decide it’s time to make some lifestyle changes and "scale back" their personal econoomies. Heck, sometimes the business downsizing leads to personal downsizing! In the end we think you'll agree that downsizing can be a very positive thing. Armed with some information, downsizing tools, and a plan, you too can benefit from the "upside" of "downsizing." Read more... Main Topic: Are you missing out on the benefits of downsizing now? Why wait for retirement? How downsizing is perceived Reasons to downsize Some benefits of downsizing Planning to downsize on your own terms  Background: But before we address those 4 things, first let's look at the starting point...downsizing from what, exactly? Well, most articles about downsizing are home-size centric as opposed to stuff-centric. They focus on going from a big house, to a smaller one. Most articles end there. And home size is certainly relevant. OK, I’m going to throw some numbers at you: According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the average household size (meaning members in the home) in the United States has dropped steadily from 3.67 members in 1940,  to 2.58 in the 2010 census. The average size of new houses increased from about 1,100 sf (100 m2) through the 1940s & 1950s, to 2505 sf in 2012. That’s about 290 sf (or 27 sm) per person in 1950 That’s 970 sf (or 90 sm) per person in 2010 Everyone has to figure out for themselves what size space is right for them. I just wanted to put those numbers out there. But I think it more than just the size of the home that matters.  In Episode 4 we mentioned Parkinson’s Law, which states: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. You may recall I discussed some corollaries to Parkinson’s Law, one of which is: "Storage requirements will increase to meet storage capacity." Want that big house because you’ll enjoy the extra space? It’s not likely to last long...it’ll fill up.  Here’s why we say it’s not likely to be spacious for very long: Back in Episode 14, we talked about a study conducted by UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives of Families that focused on how much stuff is in the typical middle-class American home. They sent a team of professional archaeologists, anthropologists and other social scientists to conduct a systematic study of home life in 32 middle-class, dual-income families in Los Angeles. Four highlights of what they found: With Family #27, they found 2,260 visible possessions in the first three rooms recorded (two bedrooms and the living room),” and that didn’t include “untold numbers of items tucked into dresser drawers, boxes and cabinets or items positioned behind other items.” In another home, Family #1 they looked at a display shelf in a girl’s bedroom and found: 165 Beanie Babies, 36 Human/Animal Figurines, 22 Barbie dolls, 20 other types of dolls, 3 Porcelain dolls, 1 Troll, 1 miniature castle The average refrigerator front panel in the homes studied holds 52 objects. The most crowded refrigerator was covered with 166 different objects.

Are you losing focus? We’re in what could easily be called the Age of Distraction. Between all the media sources we’re exposed to, all the forms of Social Media, instant communication and technology at our fingertips...we’ve just become inundated with ready-made distractions to keep us from meeting our goals and threaten the very simplicity we’re trying to build in our lives. So today, we’d like to talk about some simple ways to get your focus back, and beat the distractions that keep us from focusing on what’s important to us. We’ll go over a few personal examples of distractions we face and share a couple of tools we use to help keep us on track. Read more... Main Topic Types of distractions: Internal distractions are your subconscious thoughts that get in the way.  And it may not be negative self talk (like fear and self-doubt) that gets in the way….euphoric thoughts can be just as distracting! External distractions can be a phone call, a loud noise, a FedEx delivery at your front door, or all the ads you see online and on FB! Some problems we face that lead to losing focus: We’re constantly “switched on”: Camille L. Preston owner of AIM leadership and author of Rewired explains how an overuse of technology and its lingering effects--being overwired--is damaging our brains, our bodies and our personal productivity. She talks about the dopamine effect and its correlation to our addiction to technology Smartphone addiction (aka the “Crackberry”) and instant access to email is one of the biggest distractors. Too many apps that are constantly updating and the constant search for hot new apps. Social media 24 hour news cycle "The Resistance” that Steven Pressfield’s explains in his books the War of Art and Do The Work, which prevents you from getting the important work done. Immediate (if not instant) gratification: like consuming short form information in blog posts as opposed to reading the entire article. Solutions: Taking some time to analyze “always switched on” habits. If you're always switched on...guaranteed...you'll find yourself losing focus! Taking a “digital sabbath” or unplugging time: some of your best thinking and productive moments may happen when you're unplugged. Designate times (schedule) times for things that distract, such as social media and email:  Lifehacker and many other productivity specialists recommend not checking email first thing in the morning!  There is a much much greater chance of you derailing your important project if you allow yourself to get distracted with emails and the unforeseen and unplanned tasks that are buried in them. Check your work mail only during work time and personal mail during personal time. Disable automatic download of emails.  Instead download them manually during a “pre-determined” that you've set on your calendar to check them. Turn off your internet or use an app like the  Self Control App or Rescue Time. An app that lets you block your own access to distracting websites, your mail servers, or anything else on the Internet. Just set a period of time to block and you will be unable to access those sites--even if you restart your computer or delete the application. Evaluate what apps/programs really work for you. No need to have cool new app if the ones you have are working. Our favorites are Evernote, Dropbox, Google Docs/Drive and Google maps to name a few. Plan out your day.  Even Ben Franklin had a Daily Schedule...

Be honest. If you're like us you probably have thousands of photos, digital or print photos that are totally disorganized! You have the best intentions, but you probably have no idea how to organize your photos. Welcome to our world! We were thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Cathi Nelson, Founder and President of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) to help answer one of the most asked questions here on Simple Life Together: "How do I organize my photos?" The interview was fantastic! Cathi offered up a wealth of information on how to organize your photos, both your physical and digital photos. We highly, highly recommend listening to the interview!  Before you do, here is little more information about Cathi and some of the questions we asked her on the show: Continue reading... How To Organize Your Photos: An Interview With Cathi Nelson: About Cathi Nelson: Cathi Nelson is the founder and president of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers™ (APPO), and her own photo organizing business, Photo Simplified. Cathi Nelson has been helping people organize their photos for over 17 years. Through Appo, Cathi is now teaching others to do the same. Appo provides support and education for entrepreneurs looking to build a photo organizing business, and educates the public on the need for photo organizing services. Cathi is also member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).  She was a speaker at the 2011 NAPO annual conference and the Independent Photo Imagers Annual Conference, and frequently speaks on photo organizing at libraries, continuing adult education classes, and photo organizing retreats. If you want to know how to organize your photos, you won't find better answers than from Cathi Nelson! Interview Questions: 1. Tell us a little more about who you are and how you make people's lives simpler. 2. What is the biggest challenge you see with folks and organizing their photos? (Lack of routines...taking too many pictures...not letting go or deleting bad ones…unclear idea of how you want to store and enjoy them?) 3. Organizing hard copy photos can be a daunting task.  For those with hundreds or even thousands of physical/hard copy photos, do you have a recommended process of how they can organize them? 4. How do you recommend people categorize their photos?  Chronologically or by person, place, event? 5. What are some ways and products people can use to store their printed photos and negatives? Any special considerations for storing old, fragile, sentimental, or historical photos? 6. With mobile devices, it’s so easy to take hundreds and even thousands of photos before we even think to download them. Do you have any recommended strategies for managing our mobile device photos? 7. I heard you say on one of your tutorials: “Don't let your kids grow up to be JPEGS.” Can you explain what you meant when you said this? 8. Do you have any preferred software to organize digital photos? What about creating photo books? 9. How can one alleviate their fears of losing hard copy or digital photos? 10. What types of habits or routines can people adopt to manage and keep their photos organized and prevent it from becoming a big task in the future? 11. For the do-it-yourselfers or those looking for help, what are some online resources to help people learn about organizing their photos? Additional Photo Organizing Resources and Information: Other popular services: Picasa/Google+ auto backup on iPhone Flickr Snapfish Photobucket Shutterfly There is a great comparison of these services on CNET Main things to consider: Pricing Storage capacity File types File size Bandwidth limits

Let's face it, there are some situations in life that cause us stress that we just don't need. The bad kind of stress...the kind that holds us back. Not the good type of stress, the kind that propels us forward. Two things that came to mind for us. The first was meals and how we overlook some simple meal planning techniques that lead to fueling us to take on the day ahead. Another was the "excess baggage" we carry through life. So, let's take a look at simple meal planning and paring down some excess in our lives to see where we can makes some changes, and hopefully, improvements! Read more... Vanessa’s Topic: Simple Meal Planning After Dan talked about doing a Personal Review in Episode 037 it got me thinking about doing one of my own.   As I was doing this self-reflection, I discovered a couple of things I was doing that were causing undue stress in our lives: 1) My waiting until the last minute to get dressed when we were going out or had to meet someone for dinner causing us to be a couple or so minutes late. 2) Not having our dinners very well planned out.   So, I decided to work on those two areas: being early and having a meal plan ...which is what I decided to talk about for this episode. The number one key to simple meal planning is to…well…plan! Yup...as much as I wish it was the case...that dinner isn’t going to magically make itself. Here are some ways to make meal planning a little easier: Plan 1 week of meals at a time.  That includes breakfast, lunches, dinners and after school snacks.  Yes...take the time to plan all of your meals...it will save you time and stress in the long run! Review your calendar for the week ahead to see if there are any nights where you won’t need to or be able to make dinner.   Maybe there’s too many activities and it would be better to eat out than to try and make a meal for the family.  Or maybe you can make a simple crockpot meal on those busy nights where it’s  a “self-serve” dinner. Plan for a leftover night.  Some meals are easy and cheap to make in bulk so why not make a little extra for lunch the next day? Pick 1-2 theme nights and have the same meal  every week on that night:  Mondo Burger Monday, Taco Tuesday, Nacho Ordinary Wednesday…etc. Shop only 1 – 2 times per week.  I’ve said this multiple times before, but for consistency, pick the days you want to go shopping and block that time off on your calendar. Speaking of shopping….shop only at your favorite grocery stores...1-2 max!  Don’t waste time going to different stores just to get 1-2 items or to get the best deal! Keep a grocery list in open view so that you and your family can write down items to get when they run out.  Dry erase boards, sticky pads, and magnetic notepads stuck on the fridge work great! Organize your grocery lists by Store and then by Category. For example:  Walmart List: Dairy, Meats, Produce, Canned Goods, etc.  A cool way to create multiple lists in one spot is to use Grocery Gadget Batch shopping with other errands if possible.  Let’s say you’ve got to go to the post office, then gas up the car and drop off dry cleaning.  Maybe you could finish up your errands with grocery shopping. Get into a routine of making your lunches the night before.  Please, please, please don’t stress yourself out by trying to make lunches in the morning! To piggy-back on the lunch routine, you may also want to review your meal schedule the night before too so that you are prepared ...

For years, I would tell my students that the most exciting moments in life are lived at the intersection of Preparation and Opportunity. It’s that mix of thrill, the crescendo of anticipation turning to fulfillment...when something that’s been building is finally imminent. And sometimes it lasts an instant, but typically the way I’m talking about it, it lasts longer...it’s a season or milestone in your life. And it feels awesome! While 'preparation meets opportunity' is a great tool to guide our lives and how we live them, sometimes its simple things that make the day to day more enjoyable. One area we're trying to make strides is through eating more "simple foods." Read more... Preparation Meets Opportunity and Making Food Simple Dan’s Topic: Preparation Meets Opportunity Dan's History with Afghanistan:  When I was a young man working in DC, the Soviet-Afghan War was going on.  This was the mid-1980s so the Cold War was still in full swing. I became interested in Afghanistan and its people, so I studied up on this remote place. My Afghan interest was renewed in 1997 during a briefing I attended about the status of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the devastation that was occurring. My job back then was essentially doing antiterrorism work & training.  Following 9/11, I quickly found myself leading my men as part of the initial US forces in Afghanistan, and working with the Northern Alliance.  For me it was the ultimate in Preparation meets Opportunity. I was where I was meant to be, leading men who I was meant to be with, doing what I trained mind, body, and soul to do. It was an amazing season of my life’s journey, with a feeling of fulfillment that I bet most people never have the chance to feel in their own life. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not talking about the war or conflict or glorifying any of that. I’m talking about doing what you are meant to do. Another personal example of Preparation Meets Opportunity for me was being a panelists on a Social Media board: About 3 years ago, the local chapter of professional organizers was hosting a panel on the importance of social media for small business. One of the panelists was forced to cancel and they had a hole in the panel they needed to fill. At the last minute Vanessa offered me up for slaughter!  So what the heck does a newly retired Air Force guy know about social media for small business?  In my mind, these business ladies where a whole new, but still very real, threat!  But, reading and studying about social media and technology had become a principle hobby for me for the last couple of years up until then. I devoured thousands of blog posts, articles, podcasts, and books about these subjects because it was something I was interested and wanted to do as a “side gig” some day. But when put on the spot I thought, “Not now...I’m not ready, what do I know, what qualifies me?” I just counted on all the hobby reading I’d done in the last two years and went with it.  And if the feedback I got was honest, I think I did pretty damn good on that panel! And that’s another example of Preparation Meets Opportunity. On a much different scale, but still a solid example. So recently we’ve gotten a lot of feedback, and a common theme of much of it falls along the same lines. People, like you and me, who are becoming the change they want to see, and preparing for opportunities. So here are some examples: Maria who after living a life of simplicity was inspired to start a blog called  'Minimal Author' (www.minimalauthor.com) that has been very rewarding. Dayis,

Let's face it, we all suffer from procrastination once in a while. Sooner or later we need to deal with. Ironic right? If procrastination is something you've struggled with, there are a few things you can do to help overcome it. Along the same lines, as we go through life we all pick up bad habits, get into negative routines, and generally get off track from how we want or intend to live our live. It really helps to stop once in a while, contemplate your life, and do a personal review. Read more...  Procrastination and Doing a Personal Review Vanessa’s Topic: Procrastination Dan and I just came off of a 1 month working vacation (Episode 35). It was so much fun I really didn’t want it to end, but  I was actually looking forward to getting back to work.  My transition has been a little bit tough though.  It’s not that I lack the motivation...I’m just having problems getting started. And I know I’m not the only one who struggles with procrastination.  Even the most productive of us struggle at some point or in a particular area of our lives where we tend to procrastinate. So as a firm believer that you can control your environment and that you are responsible for your choices (SLT Episode 32)...I wanted to discuss and share some reasons why I think we tend to procrastinate and perhaps share some strategies on how to overcome it.  Read more... When you can pinpoint the cause, obviously you’re better able to tackle the issue or obstacle if you will. Some causes of procrastination? Too many “new” things to tackle....new routines, new habits, new projects, new schedules. Fear…of failure or success...or not achieving perfection...or being disappointed! Unpleasantness of the task. Becoming overwhelmed with major life events. Being overextended with family, friends and work obligations. Being indecisive. Failing to prioritize what is important in our lives. Tools that might help with procrastination: Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize.  List your priorities and compare them to your goals.  If something you think is a priority but doesn’t line up with your goals...consider dumping it. Use the 4 Ds as a guide: Can I Delegate...Delay...Delete...or do I need to actually Do a task? Delegating is nice but you may have to pay to outsoursce the help.  Delay is an alternative but you’ll still have to do it.  Deleting or saying “NO” is one of my favorites! And of course you can decide to do it. Break down big projects into smaller tasks. This helps you stay focused instead of getting burned out trying to get it all done at once. If you’re having trouble deciding where to start...Just do something...anything! Sometimes that’s all it takes. Establish uninterrupted time.  Mark on your calendar when you want to work on a project and don’t let yourself get interrupted.  Turn off the TV, mute your email, don’t answer your phone, and tell the kids and family not to bother you.  It’s really that simple.  Try this at work too. Establish regular routines for your recurring tasks.  Block off time on your calendars solely dedicated to your recurring tasks like, checking email, calling family, exercising, grocery shopping mowing the lawn, etc.  This will prevent you from trying to get these things done when you should be working on another project. Visualize the finish. Instead of looking at all the work it’s going to take, get motivated by visualizing the end state (Episode 30) of a project. That can be motivating in and of itself. Do the tough stuff first.

Busy Is The New “I’m Fine”, & Back To School...Simplified! Dan's Topic: Simplicity Resources So what's your default response when someone asks you "How's it going?" I've been noticing that the most common response is…"Busy!" I've even found myself guilty of it from time to time. I'm not sure if people really are that busy, just think they're supposed to be that busy, or just perceive themselves as that busy. I'm also not sure what my reaction is supposed to be. But I have to admit, when I hear people use the automatic response to “How’s it going” is “Busy”, I’m skeptical. So, when I hear it I wonder, is it: Read more... Really a mini head-trip? Are they saying “I’m so important...people rely on me!”? Is it a defense mechanism for “Don’t give me anything else to do”? Are they justifying their poor prioritization? Is it an excuse for not taking action on things that really matter? So, I began to wonder if I was the only one this bothered and did a little searching. I found a great article on Lifehacker by Janet Choi called How to Escape the Cult of "Busy". It starts out: People who often say they're "too busy" or "crazy busy" sound like buzzing busy signals. And when you start sounding like an appliance, it makes it hard to connect with you. I couldn’t agree more. So if you’re like me and find yourself falling into the habit of replying “Busy” when someone asks “How’s it going?”,  take some time to evaluate whether you’re just making excuses for something else. If you truly have let yourself become too busy,  then find out why. Because being too busy is a problem and will stand in the way of simplifying your life. You may want to use one of my favorite tools for getting to the root of the problem. It's called "The Five Whys". Using "The Five Whys" is easy, you simply ask "why" after each reason and continue to ask that for each answer. For example: Why am I so busy? Because I go from meeting to meeting during the day and don't have time to "do my job." Why do you go from meeting to meeting? Because for some of them, I'm just expected to be there. Why are you expected to be there? I'm not too sure…it doesn't have much to do with my job. If it doesn't deal with your job, why haven't you discussed with your boss that you may have a better use of your time? Because the guy I replaced was used to go, too. Why did he go to the meetings? Because he had a personal interest in the program. When I’ve used the 5 Whys to get to the root cause of why I’m not getting work done, more often than not it comes down to one root cause...FACEBOOK! Actually, Facebook is just the tool, really it comes down to what Steven Pressfield calls “The Resistance” in his books The War of Art and Do The Work. It’s that internal force that allows you to be distracted from what’s important. It’s following the rabbit down the rabbit hole. It’s the little guy on your shoulder that...when you’re working on something really important, like solving world hunger, that little guys says...”You know, you should check Facebook!” Fellow WDSer Adam Baker from Man vs Debt has a great interview with Steven Pressfield that focuses on The Resistance if you want to learn more about it. I’ll link to that in the shownotes as well. OK, so back to the Five Whys. Now, despite the name "Five Whys", you're not limited to 5 nor do you do you have to go 5 whys deep in order to find your root cause.

Living in 50 Square Feet…Vacation Simplified! We've had a standing dream: More time with family, and way more time to enjoy the outdoors!  We've mentioned on the show that have been trying to sell our 4 acres overlooking State Natural Area in the Texas Hill Country.  Well, we sold it, and it freed us from other debts and allowed us to pursue 2 of the pillars we live by, Family and Future. So, listen in as we talk about out summer adventure, some things that made our trip awesome, and some things that you can do to help simplify your vacation time, too! Read more...  Background: Before we started podcast…last year around this time we decided to simplify our lives Commitment to simplify and live with less Reshaped our life plan and lifestyle First decided we didn't need big dream house…but then we started looking at Class A RVs to build this new life plan and lifestyle Actually had one picked out…35 ft Bounder  Classic..with 4 TVs…everything gadget and accessory you could imagine…that cost more than our current house and gets about the same miles per gallon!!!! What were we thinking?  We even started planning our new 900sq ft home around storing this monster! Decision on getting the CampInn: Forget the Class A motorhome Dan started looking around…and stumbled across the teardrop community…Dan explain Talk about the trailer Talk about trip to Austin to visit Tim and Cindy's camper Decision to buy dictated by selling the land Land sold…next day we put our order in! So…we planned our first big trip Trip forced us to simplify: 3 week road trip Most of our family in NY has downsized or didn't have room for us…and we didn't want to impose Decided to rent a Camp Inn camper Got to rent it for free! Forced us to simplify our packing because we didn't have our camper  to store stuff in…we had to pick it up in Wisconsin Things we did to simplify camping: Yeah, we bought stuff...but we're going to be doing a LOT of camping and we wanted it to be (you guessed it)...simple! (links to all these are below) Set of 4 metal plates and utensils: pizza tins…trying to keep down on waste with plastic cups and utensils Berkey…will come in handy next time Quick dry and small thin towels Crank and USB LED lanterns Toiletry squeeze bottles…great for camping and flying for TSA regulations Packed light clothing…Van: Merino Wool Clothes Dan…NMX/washing ranger panties (SOFFE shorts) Table with benches that tuck under it Self inflating Thermarest mattresses instead of a blow up mattress that doesn't hold its shape or bulky cots Aeropress Pop up trash can that can fold flat Camper pros: Well designed…we love efficient design Easy to tow…little effect on gas mileage on highway Compact…can have access in practically any campground or an off-grid location. Can fit in our garage at home Serves as a separate room/guest bedroom Can be a great Bug-out van ;o) Weather proof!  Huge/severe thunderstorms didn't put a damper on us! Kitchen galley was awesome…and acted much like a kitchen at home…it was the "hub" Keeps it's value better than many other campers/RV Able to let go of other items no longer needed for camping: sleeping bags…big tents…big air mattresses…big cots…extra coolers…separate camping stove and propane tanks No more hotel rates…. No more big packing jobs…everything will be stored in the camper.  Hook up and go! Even in remote campsites with no electrical hook ups…we didn't use up the battery. Camper cons/challenges: