One of our very favorite parts of launch week is seeing the excitement from our customers and being able to share that excitement with each and every one of you. We couldn’t be more grateful for all of your support, encouragement, and sweet posts about your Simplified Planners all over social media. Today, we wanted to take some time to share a few of these posts with you! Be sure to tag us in all of your Simplified Planner posts with the hashtag #SimplifiedPlanner so we can follow along with you!
NEW Academic Simplified Planners are Here!
HOORAY! Happy Launch Day! Our NEW 2017-18 Academic Simplified Planners are officially here! Our team has been anticipating this day for MONTHS. These Simplified Planners are a labor of love, and we couldn’t be more excited for these to make their way into their hands.
Over the years, we’ve learned that prioritizing, simplifying, and being lovingly intentional with our time gives us the opportunity to celebrate the joy that’s found IN the journey, not necessarily at the end of it. No matter what season of life you are in, we hope these Simplified Planners help you simplify, prioritize, and make time for more joy. We hope you’ll use them to carve out white space in your days and make time for the good stuff. Don’t be afraid to cross things off, scribble down to-do lists, use bright colors, and get it messy. A perfectly curated planner doesn’t equal a perfectly curated life. We hope you’ll look at your calendar with a fresh perspective of Grace, not perfection, as you make time for what matters most.
Want to see more of the interior pages and features? Visit this page for full planner photos, frequently asked questions, and a QUIZ to find out which Simplified Planner is best for you!
Simplifying 2017, Part 3: Your Routines
This part of our “Simplifying 2017” series was the part I’ve been most excited to write. I firmly believe that traditions, routines, habits, and systems make people feel safe, secure, and like they belong to something within a home. I think repetition like this makes us feel steady. And when we feel steady, we feel peaceful. My mom and dad worked a lot of these things into our family when my brother and I were growing up – particularly around household chores and holiday traditions. And these are the two areas I’ve found myself focusing on within my home. My kids thrive on structure and love to know what’s next, what’s expected, and what to look forward to. These routines don’t have to be complicated, but being consistent with them will really change the game for your efficiency and, I believe, for the ways you love your family too.
SIMPLIFYING YOUR ROUTINES
- Create simple traditions: On Sundays, we eat cinnamon rolls. I buy them by the can at the grocery store and pop them in the oven a few minutes before everyone wakes up. The smell inevitably draws Brady down the stairs. And then twins start pointing at the oven saying, “Bite! bite!” as soon as they come into the room. It’s super easy and seems somewhat insignificant but Brady KNOWS we have cinnamon rolls on Sundays. He starts talking about them on Saturday afternoon. There’s something about the fact that he knows it’s going to happen that makes him feel happy, loved, taken care of.
- Establish routines for household chores: Laundry. Do I need to say more? Gracious. Sometimes I feel like it’s going to drown me. I’ve gone through phases where I’ll wake up a few minutes early every day, pop a load in, and get it folded and put away before anyone wakes up. Those days are great. But in some seasons, that doesn’t happen. Instead, I chose Wednesdays and Sundays as our laundry tackling days. Bryan knows that once the kids go to bed, it’s folding time (I move it and get it processed through during the day and dump it on our guest room bed). Together, we watch TV and fold laundry, then put it all away. Because I know laundry will get taken care of on Wednesdays and Sundays, I don’t worry about the piling up that happens during the other days of the week.
- Decide who does what: Eight years ago, when Bryan and I were newlyweds, we took some advice from my Mom (who did this with our family of four when I was a kid) and wrote every single household chore down on post-it notes. We spread them out on a poster board and started choosing. I took the ones I knew I could accomplish (and some I even enjoyed doing) and Bryan did the same. Eight years later, he STILL takes the trash out to the street and folds the majority of the laundry and I still empty the dishwasher and plan the meals.
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Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our Simplifying 2017 series, and don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Part 4, along with lots of fun giveaways, discounts, tips and more as we head into the new year. And, if you haven’t picked up your Simplified Planner yet, now’s the time! Orders over $100 get FREE domestic shipping until January 2 (and Happy Stripe is almost sold out)! Get yours before they’re gone! AND my book, Grace, Not Perfection, is on sale on Amazon for under $10 (for a limited time)!! The e-book is just $3.99! Check it out here.
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GIVEAWAY
Today we’ve teamed up with our friends over at Minted to give away a $150 gift card (we ADORE their custom art prints!), along with a copy of The Life-Giving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson, Make it Happen by Lara Casey, Grace, Not Perfection by Emily Ley, and a monogrammed Simplified Planner bundle.
Simplifying 2017, Part 2: Your Home
When it comes to simplifying your home, I tend to take a little bit of a different approach than what you might see on Pinterest, per say. “Over-organizing” is a thing, friends. There is such a thing (brace yourselves) as too many labels, too many boxes and bins, and too much organization. Here’s why: I don’t know about you, but I actually live in my house. Actually, five of us do! And, truth be told, our schedules are a little wonky, our laundry gets a little out of hand, and we tend to reach points where we simply have too much stuff. So, “organization” for my home is flexible, imperfect, and flexible (oh, did I say that already?). I need to be able to clean up in a cinch and find things with a toddler (or two) hanging from my leg.
SIMPLIFYING YOUR HOME
- Declutter. When in doubt, the answer is goodbye: See Justin Timberlake et al explain this concept here. I really curbed my shopping habit this year when I realized how much stuff I gave / threw away. Physical clutter = mental clutter and to me, with a family and a business to manage, I need as little mental clutter as possible. This can take a while and that’s ok. Go through your home and get rid of things. Out with the old, in with the new.
- Fresh up, then give everything a home: Now that you have a clean slate to start with, look at the way your home is laid out. Is there any way you could rearrange furniture or even get rid of furniture to make your home work better for your lifestyle / family? Remember this: your home should be a place of rest. Home is where we go to rejuvenate, recharge, reconnect and rest. It should feel comfortable and fresh. That doesn’t mean you need to spend a ton of money on decorations or new furniture. It simply means that you need to make what you have work for you. Once you feel good about the way the big pieces are laid out, make sure everything has a home. Do you have random junk drawers and baskets that need to be addressed? Dump everything from these places in a laundry basket and slowly sort / put away.
- Create a command-central spot: When we moved into our new home, we had this random short wall that I wasn’t sure what to do with. I ended up putting a dry erase board calendar (monthly format) on it and setting a small table against it. It serves as the place backpacks are dropped, homework is kept, and our schedules / meal plan lives. It’s nice to know those daily-use items have a place and our family has one spot to go-to to know what’s going on.
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Don’t forget to read Part 1 of our Simplifying 2017 series, and check back all week long for Parts 3 + 4 and for lots of fun giveaways, discounts, tips and more as we head into the new year. And, if you haven’t picked up your Simplified Planner yet, now’s the time! Orders over $100 get FREE domestic shipping until January 2 (and Happy Stripe is almost sold out)! Get yours before they’re gone! AND my book, Grace, Not Perfection, is on sale on Amazon for under $10 (for a limited time)!! The e-book is just $3.99! Check it out here.
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GIVEAWAY
We’re thrilled to be teaming up with some of our very favorite brands for today’s giveaway! Enter below to win $250 towards virtual services from The Home Edit, $30 towards “How to Organize Photos” in the Nancy Ray Shop, a $250 Framebridge gift card, a monogrammed Simplified Planner bundle, and a copy of Grace, Not Perfection by Emily Ley.
Giveaway winners will be contacted on Monday, January 2nd. Open to U.S. Residents only (sorry, International friends!).