Today I’m sharing with you links to our most recent podcast episodes of Simple Life Together…a podcast I co-host with my husband, Dan.  Our show has been going so strong…we’ve got listeners from around to globe learning to how they can live a simple life in the modern world.

If you’re fed up with trying to keep up with the Joneses and being slaves to your possessions then I encourage you to check us out at Simple Life Together.  Together Dan and I are changing our own lives by simplifying and focusing on our priorities….and our listeners are too!

Click on any of the episodes below to see what we’re all about…we hope you’ll join us!!!

Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and leave a review in the iTunes store! It helps others find the show!  Thanks!

SLT Episode 025: Someday Isn’t On The Calendar and An Interview With Kerry Reifel of The Simple Year

• In this episode Dan and I do a joint topic and then share an interview we had with Kerry Reifel of  The Simple Year
• Our joint topic was about how “someday” usually never happens because it’s not on the calendar.  We discuss our personal story about show we ditched the “someday” dreaming to start this podcast!

• We also talk about how successful the podcast has been and possible next steps to develop our community of listeners.

• The second half of our podcast is our awesome interview Kerry Reifel  of The Simple Year who blogged about her journey to not buy anything new for 1 year!  We talked to her on her actual 1year anniversary of her journey/blog and how it affected her  and her thoughts on our consumer society.

SLT Episode 024: Simplicity Can Be Complicated and Tackling Piles of Paper with a Smile

• Dan starts off with a thought-provoking commentary about how it seems that a good portion of society has given up or lost their way when it comes to choices they make.

• In a consumer society filled with advertisements and promises to make your life better, we’ve subscribed to these false promises…essentially voiding our decision making abilities.

• But you can make a difference by exercising your ability to make responsible choices in life that are in line with your values.

• He offers advice on things to be aware of…things to question…like the FDA and  television and internet ads.

• I talk about how to get a handle on the daily influx of papers by creating an Action File

• Paper is the number one complaint of my clients.  No wonder since we’re inundated with it on a daily basis!

• I offer tips in this episode on how to create a plan, stop the flow of incoming papers and create an Action File that will tame the papers you do keep to take action on later.

SLT Episode 023: Simplicity Traps and “There’s An App for That”

• I start off this episode with a little role reversal.  Dan usually discusses tech tips but I actually stepped in to share some of my favorite iPhone and iPad apps with our listeners.

• My iPhone is a mini command center for me that helps keep me organized.  So I share some of my favorites: 1Password, Evernote, Dropbox, Pandora, Nike+Running, Square credit card reader, Grocery Gadget, Dragon Dictation, Google Maps, Trip It, food Substitutions, Handy level and more.

• Dan talks about simplicity traps…things that promise to make your life easier but just take up too much time or space.

• He talks about things like unitaskers….items that only perform one function…like apple corers, strawberry stem pullers, tomato slicers and avocado pit removers.  There’s actuall a smaller and just as funtional of a tool…it’s called a knife! He also warns of digital unitaskers like single function apps.

• He wraps up with being cautious about productivity programs.  Some offer to make your life so much easier but just trying to do the programs step by step end up making life more complicated or you end up spending all your time managing the program instead of getting things done!

SLT Episode 022: Life’s Spam Filter and Simplicity for A Lifetime

• In this episode Dan has an amazing commentary about how simplicity is a lot like his spam folder on his email account. Simplicity acts as a filter for all the junk that enters our lives.

• He states that simplicity protects us in our everyday lives from the false promises of more, better, bigger and  limited time offers.

• Simplicity allows us to filter out much of the negative and focus on the positive….to hgive us the latitude to channel our effort, energy, finances, times and emotions on all that we’ve deemed important to us in out life plan.

• I talk about how I recently worked with a client who was handling the estate of a hoarder and how difficult it is to deal with emotionally and financially.

• I go on to talk about how these situations can help put your own life in perspective and offer some ideas on how you can deliberately live your life and potentially alleviate a lot of heartache and pain.

SLT Episode 021: Menu Bar Apps, Browser Extensions and Helping Others Edit and Organize

• In this episode Dan talks about all the many cool menu bar apps that he uses on his Mac like, Text Expander, Dropbox, Evernote, ScreenFloat, etc. that help make life a little bit easier working on his computer and can help you too.

• He also talks about browser extensions that gives your browser more functionality than just web-surfing.  He uses extensions for 1Password, Google Voice, Evernote Web Clipper, SpeedDial2, just to name a few.

• You can find many more extensions on the Chrome Web Store.

• I talk about how editing our own garage together was very similar to how I encourage clients to work together in their own homes and spaces.  I give tips on ways to make the process easier such as: respect for one another, leadership by example, starting small and having good communication.

My husband and I were recently interviewed by Mohamed Tohami of Midway Simplicity.  In the video interview, we talk about how to de-clutter  and simplify and how to work on de-cluttering with a loved one.  It’s chock full of great tips so you may want to check it out!

I also encourage you to check out the Midway Simplicity website and youtube channel for more video interviews of others who have or are trying to simplify their lives!

And of course you can check out our Simple Life Together podcast too.  We’ve gotten tons of great feedback from our listeners on how much they learn from our show and how to simplify their lives!

Thanks….and enjoy!!!!

I Really Think You’ll Like Our New Show!

I’d love for you to join my husband Dan and me for our online radio show dedicated to leading a simple life in the modern world. It’s called Simple Life Together. You can find it and subscribe for free in iTunes simply by clicking here.

Of course, you can also find it at our website at SimpleLifeTogether.com or by clicking the link to the show over on the right side of the page.

So, check out this quick video and then come back and scroll down if you’re not quite sure of the many ways you can tap in to all this podcast goodness. I’ll show you how you can subscribe and listen on lots of different platforms below.

 So…how can I listen to Simple Life Together?

There are LOTS of ways to listen to our show and tons of others, too! We LOVE podcasts, and nowadays they are super, super simple to listen to. You don’t have to be a “techie” like you did back in the day. Lots of people don’t even really know what a podcast is. Well, simply put…podcasts are like online radio shows that you get to listen to how you want, when you want, and where you want! How cool is that?!?!

Here are some great ways to listen to the show:

• You can listen right on the SimpleLifeTogether.com website! Just click the Play button at the top of each episode’s post. That’s a great way to check it out or to show someone else who might be interested. But one of the BEST ways to listen to every show is to…
• Subscribe through iTunes on your laptop or desktop. This way, you can listen while you’re working on your computer (or if you’re the techie type, mirror it to your TV sound system). But, if you like regular ol’ email reminders when new shows come out…
• You can subscribe to get email updates whenever we release a show. Just click the audio link in the email we’ll send it to you! Easy peasy!
• Some people like to listen through a feed aggregator. If you know what one of those is, then you can subscribe through our RSS feed!  Personally…I let my hubby deal with that type of stuff! My “techieness” only goes so far!
• Maybe best of all is this…you can listen on your mobile device, too! Enjoy the show during those long commutes (‘cuz you’re probably sick of hearing shock jocks and bad news, too), while working around the house, at work when the boss isn’t looking, or while you’re at the gym! Yep…you can control what you listen and when! The power of time shifting, right in your hand!

I’d Love to Listen On a Mobile Device…But I Don’t Know How!

Well, we can’t have that, can we? Here’s how you can subscribe to podcasts on your smartphone or other mobile device:

• On an iOS device such as iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch
  • If you haven’t already done so, loaded Apple’s Podcast app in the App Store
  • Launch the Apple Podcasts app
  • If you’re not already in there, navigate to the Store by tapping Store button at the top left (iPhone/iPod touch) or bottom left (iPad).
  • Hit Search button at the bottom/center of your screen and type in “Simple Life Together“. Later, you can browse through Featured or Top Charts to see popular shows. If you know what you’re looking for just hit Search and type in the title or some key words.
  • When you find a show you like, tap the title.
  • Tap on the download Arrow. This will load that show into your Library. In your library, tap on the podcast’s image  and it’ll take you to the Subscribe slider. Slide the slider to On, and choose how many episodes you’d like to download to your device.
  • To subscribe to more shows, or download more episodes, simply repeat the process.

• On a Windows Phone
  • Load the Podcast App if you don’t already have it installed
  • On Start, tap Marketplace , and then tap Podcasts. (If you don’t see this option, podcasts probably aren’t available in Marketplace in your region.)
  • To find a podcast to subscribe to, do one of the following:
  • Swipe left or right to browse through different categories.
  • Tap Search , type the name of the podcast you’re looking for, and then tap Enter .
  • Tap a podcast, flick left or right to learn more about it, and then tap Subscribe.
  • Change the download settings for the series if you’d like (you can change these later), and then tap Confirm.

• On an Android device
  • Download the podcast app of your choice from the Play Store. Each one is different but some of the top recommended ones are: BeyondPod, DoggCatcher, and PocketCast.

• On a BlackBerry device:
  • To subscribe and listen to shows on a BlackBerry, you can check out this link all about the BlackBerry Podcast App.

• You can listen to Simple Life Together on Stitcher if you have the Stitcher App loaded on any of your devices or on the web. Sometimes the sound quality on Stitcher is a bit sketchy but if you’re happy with it, then that’s all that matters.

So there you have it!  We’d love for you to join us. We have thousands of people around the world already listening to the show…and we’ve gotten some great feedback, too. So, give us a listen and let us know what you think, OK? If it helps you decide, here are a few reviews people left for us on iTunes:

I don’t know about you, but did you ever think you’d have to pack a separate bag on trips just to hold all of your electronics and gadgets? Sheesh…I mean it’s enough just traveling with electronics like your cell phones, digital readers, Mp3s, laptop, surge protectors, cameras and gaming toys…let alone all the extra batteries, power cords, memory cards and games too!  And how the heck do you tell one power cord from the next? It’s crazy!

Well, if you know what I’m talking about and have experienced the same pain as I have, well…you have to check out this video on how to travel with electronics and gadgets. I show you how to control the chaos in just three easy steps. Yup…just three simple tips that’ll keep you from tossing all those electronics, gadgets and cords in the trash!

1. Wind up all your cords. This is a must if you don’t want to spend an hour detangling them all. I suggest using the Figure 8 method of winding up the cord or using some sort of fastener like a twist tie, rubber band, or my personal favorite…a velcro strip.

2. Label all of your electronics, gadgets and components.  You’ll want to label batteries, power cords and even the electronics and gadgets themselves to know what belongs to who (this is especially helpful if you’ve got kids with the same types of phones or gaming systems).

3. Contain your gadgets.  Plastic baggies work great because you can separate different components in the different baggies and label the outside of the bags.  You can also use other small bags like toiletry bags.  Or…you can try this awesome electronics and gadget organizer called the Grid It by Cocoon.  It’s one of my favorite organizing products!  It stores your electronics and gadgets nice and neat…and securely keeps them in place.  You’ve got to see the video to see how cool it is!

Believe me, these 3 steps will make traveling with electronics so much easier! Do you have any cool tips on how to organize and travel with your electronics (besides the obvious answer of cutting back on the amount you have)?  I’d love to hear your ideas or what you think about this video.  Until next time…happy tech travels to you!

In this video I show you a few ways that you can organize your scarves.  Sure…you could just throw them all in a bin but that’s too easy.  Why not organize those pretty accessories nicely so that you can see them, appreciate them, and actually wear them since you’ll know what you have!  Seriously, there actually are better ways to organize your scarves so that they’re not all twisted and tied up in a jumbled mess in you dresser drawers!

So, I’m going to show you 4 different ways that  you can store and organize your scarves.:

1. You can use a tiered pant hanger (this works ok…but not exactly my favorite) or…

2.  Fold or roll them up and file them in a drawer or a bin (works well for bulky scarves…not so much for dainty ones) or…

3. Hang them on hooks on a wall or on the back of a door (my personal favorite)…or

4. Install a towel rod on a wall in your room or closet and hang them there (my second favorite)!

Check out the video and see how easily you can store and organize your scarves too.  And if you have a unique way of storing your scarves….PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE  share!  Yes, I’m pretty organized and every once in awhile I can be creative…but there are waaaaaaay more creative people out there than me. Don’t be shy and share your ideas!  Thanks so much!

So, want to know a super simple way to fold a bath towel so it looks great and makes it easy to pick individual towels from a stack? Well, I show you how in the video below. Folding a towel isn’t rocket science but if you want your folded towels to look like the ones in magazines you should check out the video.  You may also want to check out my video on how to organize your bathroom closet using sliders stackers and bins.  Enjoy!

In this video I’m going to show you how to organize your purse to make it easier for you to switch out purses when you want to coordinate with your outfit.  I know you can relate to how frustrating it is switching out the contents of one purse to another.  I mean, we tend to keep all kinds of stuff in our purses like jams n jellies, wallets, makeup, eyeglasses, sunglasses, tissues, notebooks, snacks, gum, umbrellas, and who knows what else!  Makes you wonder if it’s even worth going through all the effort?  Well, it can be worth it if you just simplify the process.  Here are some tips on how to make it easier:

Get all your stuff out and start categorizing them into like items:  makeup, lotions and sanitizer, gum and snacks, wallet, medicines, etc.

Toss any expired or icky looking items.  Yeah…that 5 year old bottle of lotion?  You can feel free to let that go! Oh…and that gum that is now hard as a rock?  Yes that can go too!

Contain your items.  There are lots of different purse organizers out there.  In the video I show you a simple one that I use that lets me easily move the contents from one purse to another.  You can do an internet search or go to Amazon where they have different types.  If these purse organizers seem to restrictive, you could also use a variety of toiletry and makeup pouches to hold your different categories of purse items.  That way you’ll be able to easily pull out just the pouches instead of every little item you have!

Use light colored purse organizers:  I love light colored purse interiors because it makes it so much easier to see what you have inside your purse.  But if the inside of your purse is dark, try using light or brightly colored pouches to make it easier to see and find them.

Don’t overload your purse.  Just put in your purse what you absolutely need on a regular basis.  Consider putting any other “just in case” items in your car.

So those are just a few tips to help you organize your purse.  In case you’re interested (because I get asked about it all the time) I ordered the purse from our affiliate link. Here’s a direct link to the item on Amazon: Saddleback Leather Tote (Large) in Chestnut.  Yes, I know, it’s an indulgence but I absolutely love this purse and all my other Saddleback Leather products.

So there you have it! You can see just how easy an organized purse will make your life by checking out the video below:

I read an article this morning while going through my Get Simplifized Facebook feed and I thought it was worth passing on to you. It’s an article from Apartment Therapy called :

Tips for Creating a Mindful Home.

It’s a nice, thoughtful and interesting take on how to be more mindful and peaceful at home. Sometimes we go through life mindlessly on auto pilot and end up taking things for granted like our health, our homes, our food, and our relationships.  This short article with 8 tips helps put into perspective the idea that if we simply slow down and really appreciate what we have, we can have more peace in our lives and in our homes.

After reading this article I determined I need to work on numbers 1, 4, 5 and 6. How about you? What do you think you could work on to create a more peaceful, mindful home?

In this video I give you some ideas on how you can set up your own gift wrapping station. Now, before you get started I highly recommend determining what your needs are for a gift wrapping station. Do you need a big space or a small space? Do you do a lot of gift wrapping throughout the year or just during the holidays? Do you have space or is it limited? If you have an idea of what your needs are, then you are better able to determine the amount of space and storage solutions you will need for your gift wrapping station.

Once you’ve determined your needs, then start thinking of different ways to create your gift wrapping station. I highly recommend just doing a simple Google search for “gift wrapping stations” and click on the “Images” tab to see tons of photo images. You could also go to Pinterest to get all sorts of beautiful ideas on how to create your gift wrapping station. Talk about eye candy!!!

After you’ve gotten some inspiration and have an idea of what you want your gift wrapping station to look like, organize your gift wrapping supplies by sorting them into different categories: bows, ribbon, embellishments, gift wrap, tissue paper, gift tags, cards, tape, scissors, pens, gift bags, etc. That way you’ll have a better idea of your storage needs for each category of supplies.

Now…start creating and organizing your gift wrapping station by using different containers and storage solutions.  Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

Ribbon boxes and standing paper towel rolls to store ribbon

Tension rods for spools of ribbon and wrapping paper rolls

Storage drawers embellishments and gift tags

Extra wide storage drawers or vertical hanging pockets for tissue paper and gift bags

Gift wrapping storage bags to store all of your supplies

Gift wrapping cart

Hanging gift wrapping station (this is what I use)

So, check out the video to see my gift wrapping station and some other simple products.  I hope you find some inspiration to create your own gift wrapping station.  May it bring you joy….and not frustration when it comes time to wrap all those gifts for the holidays.  Merry Christmas and Happy Wrapping!!!

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well preparing for the Holidays. I just wanted to pass on some timely info.  I LOVE listening to audio podcasts and watching video podcasts. If you’ve never listened to a podcast you’re missing out on an entire world of fantastic and free content that could entertain, educate or enlighten you. Seriously, there is no end to the subject areas covered in today’s podcasts.

So…that said, I have some pretty exciting news!  Honestly, it’s more “personally” exciting than “business” exciting.  See, I am co-hosting a new podcast with my husband Dan called the “Simple Life Together” show. In it, we discuss ways we simplify our lives together and as a family.  Of course, I hit all the organizing subjects…Dan hits many different “tech” subjects, and together we cover the many facets of simplicity. The show lasts under an hour and in it, we each bring up a main topic and discuss that. Then we each discuss one thing that effected us since the last show.  It could be an app, something we saw, an article we read…whatever. I gotta tell you, we have such a blast recording the episodes that I think we’d keep producing them even if we knew no one was listening!  But, trust me, I’m sure you’ll be able to find some great tips in each show. Oh, and I guarantee you’ll get a few laughs out of each episode, too!  Either with us, or at us!

We’ve released four episodes so far and you can find them in iTunes from your PC, Mac or iOS device, in the Blackberry podcast store, on the new Windows 8 phone with the native podcast app or iTunes. You can also listen to the episode right on the show’s website at SimpleLifeTogether.com. I’ll also be releasing some info on the blog there too that will be exclusive just for those that subscribe for updates to SimpleLifeTogether.com. Of course, it’s free and easy.

To subscribe for email updates that include blog posts, you can click this link or go to SimpleLifeTogether.com and click on the “Updates By Email” icon in the left sidebar.