#205 - Answering Your Questions about Running an AIRBNB

answering your questions about running an airbnb

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to clear through the clutter of life to create space for what matters!

Would you give us an internet high five by leaving a rating and review on iTunes?

On this week’s episode: we answer you questions about how to set up and run an AirBnB. We also talk about the benefits we've experienced from running an AirBnB.

OUR FAVORITE AMAZON ITEM OF THE WEEK — a kid stuffed animal pouf!

MY POUF THAT I LOVE!

SHOP OUR FAVORITE THINGS LIST.

Links from this episode:

The One Delightful Amazon Link - we would love to highlight your weird and awesome items!

#204 - 10 Ways to Cultivate Friendships in Adulthood

10 Ways to Cultivate Friendships in Adulthood // One Delightful Podcast #204

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to clear through the clutter of life to create space for what matters!

Would you give us an internet high five by leaving a rating and review on iTunes?

On this week’s episode: We’re continuing a 2 part series about finding friendship in adulthood. Surprise - its hard! Today we’re getting into the good stuff - 10 ideas of ways to cultivate friendships as adults and wrap it up with a friendship edition of what do you recommend.

Mentions:

  • Bread & Wine By Shauna Niequiest

What do you recommend?

Katie + Philip: Supper club - here’s some other resources about what to do

SHOP OUR FAVORITE THINGS LIST.

Links from this episode:

The One Delightful Amazon Link - we would love to highlight your weird and awesome items!

#203 - 6 Reasons Friendships are Hard in Adulthood

6 Reasons Friendships in Adulthood are Hard // One Delightful Podcast #203

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to clear through the clutter of life to create space for what matters!

Would you give us an internet high five by leaving a rating and review on iTunes?

On this week’s episode: We’re starting a 2 part series about finding friendship in adulthood. Surprise - its hard! We’ll talk about 6 reasons why it's hard and wrap it up with what do you recommend.

MENTIONS:

  • Brene Brown

  • Call Me When You Get Home

What do you recommend?

Katie: Lauren Daigle - ‘Look Up Child’ album

Philip: the podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

SHOP OUR FAVORITE THINGS LIST.

Links from this episode:

The One Delightful Amazon Link - we would love to highlight your weird and awesome items!

#202 - Taking Risks in Life + Business: The One Delightful Creative Experiment

Taking Risks in Life + Business // One Delightful Podcast #202

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to clear through the clutter of life to create space for what matters!

Would you give us an internet high five by leaving a rating and review on iTunes?

On this week’s episode: We're letting you in on the inside track of how we're taking 1 business and making it 2 businesses. Why? Because you only get one chance at life. So why not choose to take risks on doing the things you are passionate about?

What do you recommend?

Katie: Crio Brew Cocoa Coffee // french press

Philip: The DIY Network Show: Maine Cabin Masters

SHOP OUR FAVORITE THINGS LIST.

Links from this episode:

The One Delightful Amazon Link - we would love to highlight your weird and awesome items!

#201 - Finding Out + Living for What's Most Important

finding out and living for what’s most important // One Delightful Podcast #201

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a mission to clear through the clutter of life to create space for what matters most!

Would you give us a big ‘ol internet high five and leave us a rating and review on iTunes?

On this week’s episode we welcome you to season 2 of the podcast, give an update on what’s been the haps with Katie + Philip, + begin our conversation on what it looks like to figure out and live for what’s most important in life.

What do you recommend?

Katie: the book - Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

Philip: a strict Whole30 to start the new year

MENTIONS

We would be honored if you wanted to use our Amazon Affiliate Link so we can highlight fun things you buy + support the show at the same time!

#118 - Silver & Goals

goal setting with one delightful podcast // onedelightfulshop.com

(already a subscriber? head to the printables library to download your goal guide!)

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  We would be honored if you would share it with a friend you think would like it. Send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

This holiday our shop is partnering with Route 1 ministry. For every pair of earrings we sell, we give one to a woman in our community that is in need. Shop now!

On this week's show, we are talking about GOALS - yay!

MENTIONS:

katie’s planner choice for 2019 / nomatic planner

miracle morning book

entreleadership podcast about goal planning retreat

5 shows to binge watch…

  • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (amazon prime)

  • Dirty John (Bravo)

  • Homecoming (amazon prime)

  • Restored by the Fords (HGTV)

  • Wild, Wild Country (Netflix)

Want to support our little podcast? We would be so grateful if you would leave us a review & rating…and you can support us using our amazon affiliate link & we will highlight our favorite item each week!

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#117 - How to have a guilt free Christmas

the 12 days of christmas / one delightful podcast

click here to download the 2018 one delightful holiday gift guide!

welcome to the one delightful podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  and trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  We would be honored if you would share it with a friend you think would like it. Send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

this holiday our shop is partnering with route 1 ministry. for every pair of earrings we sell, we give one to a woman in our community that is in need. shop now!

On this week's episode: Holiday Hum That Hook, a discussion about the 12 days of Christmas, and what do you recommend?

What do you recommend?

want to support our little podcast? we would be so grateful if you would leave us a review & rating…and you can support us using our amazon affiliate link & we will highlight our favorite item each week!

To attempt to take some of the ‘i ran out of time to celebrate Christmas’ guilt, we are going to try to celebrate Christmas for 12 days starting on Christmas day! It’s actually a thing and we think it just might work. Listen in to find out more!

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One Delightful Holiday Gift Guide!

one delightful podcast / what do you recommend holiday edition

Click here to download the 2018 One Delightful Holiday Gift Guide!

welcome to the one delightful podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  and trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  We would be honored if you would share it with a friend you think would like it. Send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

this holiday our shop is partnering with route 1 ministry. for every pair of earrings we sell, we give one to a woman in our community that is in need. shop now!

On today's episode, we debut the 2018 One Delightful Holiday Gift Guide - if you're racking your brain for what to buy this season - we've got suggestions for her, him, kids, and the house!

want to support our little podcast? we would be so grateful if you would leave us a review & rating…and you can support us using our amazon affiliate link & we will highlight our favorite item each week!

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#115 - How to Know When to Say 'No'

How to Know When to Say ‘No’ [One Delightful Podcast #115]

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  We would be honored if you would share it with a friend you think would like it. Send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

This holiday our shop is partnering with Route 1 ministry. For every pair of earrings we sell, we give one to a woman in our community that is in need. Shop now!

Do you find yourself saying ‘yes’ to way too many things? I know I do! Why is this? Some of it is guilt about not being a better parent/business owner/human being …. some of it is being a people pleaser …. some of it is wanting to feel valuable or needed …. and sometimes its just good old FOMO. Enough!

On this week’s show, we talk about a 3 step filter you can use with any decision to help figure out whether to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for good reasons. Listen in to find out more!

what do you recommend???

katie: removable wallpaper / katie’s post https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpu2Zsrg93q/

philip: dude perfect

Want to support our little podcast? We would be so grateful if you would leave us a review & rating…and you can support us using our amazon affiliate link & we will highlight our favorite item each week!

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#114 - 6 ways to get through the holidays without punching someone in the face

six tips to get through the holidays without punching someone in the face / one delightful podcast

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  We would be honored if you would share it with a friend you think would like it. Send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

On this week's show, a special and very Canadian announcement, we talk about 6 ways we're trying to make this holiday season great, and we end with what do you recommend.

This holiday our shop is partnering with Route 1 ministry. For every pair of earrings we sell, we give one to a woman in our community that is in need. Shop now!

what do you recommend?

Katie: Making of a murderer part one and two on Netflix

Philip: French press

HOLIDAY TIPS

  • Plan! Look at your schedule. We have a weekly meeting to look at our calendars, but this is especially true at the holidays.  // what’s a word you are centering on for the holidays? 105 - prioritizing priorities

  • Christmas Bucket List

  • Decorate for the winter not just christmas!

  • Shop early. He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice.

    • Maybe you want to make amazon lists at the year goes on to add things as you think of it.

    • The last minute guilt gift purchases are usually the worst & expensive.

    • Think about feb when you give

  • Sabbath; REST. one day!  - resource: Kendra at the Lazy Genius.

  • 12 days of Christmas!!! What if Christmas Day wasn’t the end of the celebration but just the beginning - that’s what this is all about. I always feel guilty about not feeling Christmasy enough come Christmas - and I hate how it is supposed to be done early. I think we have it wrong. https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/12daysofchristmas.shtml

Want to support our little podcast? We would be so grateful if you would leave us a review & rating…and you can support us using our amazon affiliate link & we will highlight our favorite item each week!

#113 - Let's Talk About Side Hustles

side hustles / being an entrepreneur / one delightful podcast

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  We would be honored if you would share it with a friend you think would like it. Send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

On today’s show, we check in with what’s the word, have a discussion about side-hustles: what are they and what have we learned through our many ups and downs with them, and end with a business podcast edition of what do you recommend.

Business Podcasts we recommend:

Katie: Goal Digger - Jenna Kutcher, Jennifer Allwood

Philip: How I Built This, Online Marketing Made Easy, & Start-up

Find Katie’s review of how mornings have been for her lately on instagram.

you can support us by using our amazon affiliate link…woo hoo!

let’s connect! email us: onedelightfulshop@gmail.com

#112 - Can a night owl become a joyful morning person?

can a night owl become a joyful morning person? // one delightful shop / www.onedelightfulshop.com

Support our podcast by using our affiliate link: https://onedelightfulshop.com/amazon/

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

On this week's episode, we'll talk about why mornings are hard and propose a plan to make them better, and we'll end with what do you recommend.

mentions

gretchen rubin - better than before

the miracle morning - hal elrod

what do you recommend?

  • philip: Norm MacDonald Has a Show on Netflix

  • katie: Fitbit (especially with the new updates) & katie’s favorite bands ( 1 / 2 )

Can someone who is not so good in the mornings (ever) become a morning person? Is it possible to change something that feels fundamental to your makeup like this? We sure hope so. For the next few weeks, Katie is going to try to go from morning zero to morning hero. Listen in to find out more!

Support us by using our amazon affiliate link:

let’s connect! email us: onedelightfulshop@gmail.com

#111 - 5 Ways That Simplifying has Made our Lives Better

podcast (3).png

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

On this week's episode, we check in with 'What's the Word', talk about 5 ways that simplifying is making our lives better now that we're a few months into the simplicity experiment, and end with 'What Do You Recommend?'.

mentions

These awesome leather poufs!

our printable library

&&& shop our favorite things.

what do you recommend?

let’s connect! email us: onedelightfulshop@gmail.com

Ladies and Gentlemen, life has actually gotten better since we started the simplicity experiment! Listen in to hear the top 5 ways this has been true!

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you can support us by using our amazon affiliate link - thank you so much!!

#110 - The Camper is Gone … and how we handle plans not working out

The Camper is Gone … and how we handle plans not working out [One Delightful Podcast #110]

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

on today's show: sad day - we sold the camper and so have a conversation about how to handle life when things don’t go as planned, then we end with what do you recommend.

what do you recommend? 

Philip: local restaurant chain: Serenitee

Katie: be a cool mom: leopard print vans // another cool mom shoe option

Use code PODCAST to get 10% off your next purchase in the shop!

&&& shop our favorite things.

Well, it’s a sad day today over at the Bowling household. The camper ended up being much more than we bargained for. We took it to an RV shop to have it checked out. When we told him about our restoration plans he basically laughed and said, “You need to sell this right now because you’re in way over your heads.” So, we sold the camper … and with it a little piece of our dream died.

How do you handle things not going as planned? How do you handle a vision not working out? As we walked through this process, we found out that we handle it different ways. Katie needs time to be sad and process. Philip needs to immediately create a new plan to latch on to. For both of us, failing at something leads us to want to give up. But, what does it look like for something not to work out, the future to remain uncertain, but still have hope? That’s what we talk about today.

We’d love to hear from you: how do you handle a dream not working out?

EMAIL US: onedelightfulshop@gmail.com

airbnb deets

our home / north shore of boston
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#109 - The Camper is Here ... and other ways we try to cope with transition

how we cope with transition

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

On today's show: we talk about the camper that is now in our driveway, have a conversation about how to handle times of uncertainty in life, and end with what do you recommend.

You can support the show by using this link when you shop on Amazon using this link.

what do you recommend? 

Philip: new show on Netflix: Stay Here

Katie: Shamless self promotion (but you do need to check this out): The Berkshire Top from One Delightful Shop

Well, we did it.

After a harrowing 13 hour drive (that should have only taken 9), Philip made it back with the ‘75 Airstream that is now parked on an angle in our driveway. It’s awesome, needs work, and we still don’t know 100% what we’re doing with it!

We have a lot going on in our lives: change in jobs, starting a new shop, adopting a child, trying to simplify, and really trying to figure out what’s next for us. It’s a time of uncertainly and transition. How do you handle life in a time of uncertainty and transition?

Maybe some of how we handle it comes down to the story we tell ourselves about our life. As people, we’re always trying to create narratives, or stories, out of the pieces of life that are going on around us. And that’s where we have a choice, do we take the pieces of our life to tell a story with a bad ending, that ends with failure and leads us to be full of fear and anxiety. Or, do we take the same pieces of our life to tell a story with a happy ending, that leads with things working out ok (or better!), that leads us to be full of hope for the future.

Maybe its our survival instincts, but it seems like our default position is to drift toward the ‘bad ending story’ for our lives - especially when things are uncertain. But why? Especially for me and Katie, who are people of faith who believe in a God who always is looking out for us and taking care of us, why would we automatically assume in times of uncertainty that things aren’t going to work out ok?

On today’s podcast, we talk about three things we are trying to do to live into the story of our lives that we can be hopeful about.

Use code PODCAST to get 10% off your next purchase in the shop!

&&& SHOP OUR FAVORITE THINGS.

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#108- We might have just bought a camper

we might have just bought a camper

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

on this week's show, the simplicity experiment gets real ... we bought a 1975 Airstream Argosy camper that we think might help us simplify our lives? (or might be an early mid-life crisis).  then, we end with what do you recommend.

What do you recommend? 

PhilipHow to Floss

Katie: Zenni's Glasses...Katie got this pair just for funzies. 

The Argosy: The painted Airstream. 

Check out our instagram to see what crazy thing we did this week! 

So, remember last week when we had a playful conversation about buying a camper? Well, the conversation went from a dream to reality this week as Philip is getting ready to drive down the East Coast to pick up a vintage 1975 Airstream Argosy that we’re planning on renovating and living in while we AirBnb our house.

Is this an opportunity to create space for our family to be together and live a simpler life … or are we going through an early mid-life crisis? We are about to find out, people! And you get to join us on the journey as we make ourselves simplicity guinea pigs.

 

In case you were wondering ... here she is ... the 1975 Airstream Argosy we are going to renovate.

In case you were wondering ... here she is ... the 1975 Airstream Argosy we are going to renovate.

#107 - Fall, the new New Years? (+ should we buy a camper?)

Fall, the new New Years?  (and should we buy a camper?!) [One Delightful Podcast #107]

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!  Send us a screenshot of your review (onedelightfulshop@gmail.com) to get a coupon code for 20% off your next order!

On this week's show, we check in with what's the word (including an adoption update), talk about how it went prioritizing our priorities, have a lively discussion about whether we should buy a camper to renovate, and end with what do you recommend.

Do you really put your priorities into practice?  That's a question we've been asking ourselves a lot lately.  Especially with a new fall beginning.  Fall - a fresh start ... sort of like New' Years. And a new year means lots of goal setting,  but to make real change, we think you've got to make a couple of little changes that you can actually keep throughout the year vs. a Copernican habit revolution.

We took some time to work through our 'How to prioritize your priorities' worksheet (link in the blog post), + even though it took us two and a half weeks to make time for the conversation to happen, it ended up being a really encouraging and helpful conversation.

Here's what we did:

- We brainstormed our priorities in life and then selected three that we wanted to focus on this year.  We just picked three that we felt like we really needed to work on knowing that if we tried to do everything, we'd probably accomplish nothing.  Our three?  Personal Health, Family, + Simplicity.

Next, EACH OF THESE PRIORTIES needs to an action piece - a SMALL goal - to make it part of your REAL LIFE. + each goal needed to be something that went in our calendar.  If it doesn't go in the schedule, it probably won't happen by chance.

So for us:

Personal health: We're going to continue the 'cheat day' diet eating paleo (+wine) and each going to the Y to do a high intensity work out 2x per week.

Simplicity: To continue our progress toward a decluttered life, we're going to declutter 1 small (or large) space in our house 1x per week on Sat. mornings when we are in town.

Family: We have a goal of having no tech on from 330-5pm + 7-9pm ever day and no tech at all on Sundays.  We have a weird schedule where we work hard from early morning to afternoon, have a break, and then have some evening commitments so this is what works for us.

The combo of tech + family reminded us of the idea of a 'Keystone Habit' that Charles Duhigg talks about in his great book, 'The Power of Habit'.  The basic ideas is that there are some habits, that when put into practice, have a cascading effect of other positive changes in your life.  They are powerful habits that affect lots of other things in your life.  If I wake up early in the morning, I am more likely to work out, eat a healthy breakfast, take time for reflection/time with God, and get to work early.  That one, small habit has a positive, cascading effect that helps to implement lots of other positive habits.

We think that no tech in our lives for these small periods throughout the week might be a Keystone Habit.  If I don't get on my phone/email at 3:30, I will probably be more likely to engage with my kids.  If we don't get on tech from 7-9, we'll probably take time to connect with each other that a lot of time gets punted for mindless screen activity.  That's our hypothesis anyway ... we'll see.

We'll keep you updated about how keeping these small goals goes this fall - if we keep them 75% we think that we'll have a good shot of clearing through the clutter of fall to create space for what matters!

How about you - what are your priorities for the fall?  What are some small goals you can set to get you a little further toward getting yourself and your family to the place you want them to be? We'd love to hear from you!

#106 - 10 Takeaways from 10 Years of Marriage

10 Takeaways from 10 Years of Marriage // One Delightful Podcast

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

listen on itunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!

on this week’s episode along with checking in + a segment we're calling 'marriage: nbd or omg?', we give our 10 takeaways from 10 years of marriage.

In August 2018, we will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary.  Not long at all to some, way long for others, but for us its a huge milestone that's made us want to look back over the good, bad, and ugly of the last 10 years to think about what we've learned from living life together.  If this is helpful for you, we'd love to hear why and to know your thoughts!  

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So, here we go: 10 takeaways from 10 years of marriage

  1. Be a student of your spouse.  Getting to know what makes them tick is like getting an instruction manual for an electronic gizmo that you didn't know how to use - it makes all the difference!  For us, the Enneagram (a deeper version of a personality test) has been huge to help us understand each other.  Check out Katie's Rec. this week for a couple of book suggestions that are a good introduction to how the Enneagram works.

  2. Communication is important!  We constantly default to assuming that we should be able to read each other's minds in terms of needs/wants/exceptions, but this is just NOT true.  For me (Katie), a real practical way this has worked out is by making a Pinterest board of gift ideas for Philip (who is the self-identified 'worst gift giver in the history of humanity).  
  3. Learn each other's strengths and lean into them.  Our weaknesses are generally pretty glaring and it can be easy to fixate on them.  But, its really hard to go from being super weak in an area of life (i.e. keeping stuff clean) to being a super star.  Our relationship benefits the more we accept each other in spite of our weaknesses and instead try to focus on appreciating each other's strengths.
  4. We are a product of our parents.  I know this might make some of you cringe (and us too a little ...), but the reality is that we can trace a lot of the ways that we think about time, money, kids, & relationships to how they were thought about in our families.  The more we've come to understand that (& not to think that any way but our way is wrong ...), the more we've been able to understand and appreciate each other.
  5. Prioritize each other in your schedules.  Time together (especially as jobs + kids grow) doesn't just happen.  A weekly date night, time to talk, even time to just hang out and have a cup of coffee at home have to go in the calendar so other things don't squeeze them out!
  6. Make having friends a priority, too!  Post-college, isolation as the norm becomes easier and easier as life gets busy and you get tired.  Along with that, it can feel like you're the only one feeling lonely or isolated as we're all really good at giving off the Instagram version of ourselves in public.  But - we think that feelings of isolation and overwhelm are pretty normal the older you get - and that we all have a desire for friendships beyond just our spouse that make our relationship with each other richer.  The times we've prioritized making friends and taking time for friends (even when we don't feel like it) have always been a great thing for our relationship as friends help us have fun, feel less isolated, and are great sounding boards for the issues we have with life!
  7. Money can mess you up when you're not on the same page.  (and we definitely weren't our first few years of marriage!)  One person in a relationship is usually a saver and the other a spender - that can feel like oil and water!  We've found that keeping a budget helps us with that.  For Philip (the saver) - it helps to know that there is going to be a limit on each spending category, which is helpful in giving permission for the occasional restaurant or Target splurge.  For Katie (the spender) - its helpful to feel the freedom to spend without judgment up to the agreed upon limit in the budget.
  8. Kids aren't the #1 priority in your family, your spouse is!  Kids will suck every iota of time, energy, and life out of you that you are willing to give to them (and sometimes even more than that - think dementor form Harry Potter).  For a family to work the way its supposed to, though, your relationship with your spouse has to take priority over the kids.  Plus - once the kids are out of the house, all you'll have is each other again, so its worth it to intentionally cultivate that relationship now.
  9. Marriage is more about making you the person you're meant to be than it is about making you happy.  Tim Keller, a pastor we both like to listen to, talks about this.  Marriage is hard as two different people have to figure out how to live closely together in a unified way.  That kind of proximity can bring out the best and worst in a person.  We think that part of the point of marriage is have our rough edges exposed and worked on - which isn't fun, but it makes us more into the people that we were created to be.  When we have this perspective (instead of just thinking that my spouse should exist to make me happy), it can really help - especially in the hard times.
  10. Be your spouse's #1 fan.  Your voice, whether its cheering or booing, will be the loudest and most impactful voice that your spouse hears.  And - since we see each other's flaws more than just about anyone else, it can be easy to boo more than cheer.  Choose to cheer each other on - we all need encouragement more than we need criticism.

We hope that helps you!  We would love to hear what you think and what you've learned from being married or in a relationship!!

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#105 - Prioritizing Your Priorities

Prioritizing your Priorities // One Delightful Podcast

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on iTunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!

On this week’s episode along with checking in + a segment we're calling 'Allowance High/Low', we start a conversation about prioritizing our priorities.

Another fall ... its coming ... again ...

The start of fall feels like a mini-New Years.  Starting a new calendar, starting school, work picks back up, heck, life picks back up. 

If you're anything like us, you enter a new season with good intentions.  "This fall everything is going to be different.  I'm going to get up early, make breakfast everyday, exercise consistently, be present for my kids when they get home or with my husband in the evening.  I'm going to clean.  I'm joining a book club, no, I'm starting a book club, no, I'M GOING TO WRITE A BOOK!"

But ... before the leaves start to change, the good intentions have gone out the window and the new season feels like all the ones that have come before: busyness, stress, tired, too many nights out.  Too much to do and not enough time to do it.

Why does this happen?  Why, when we want so bad for things to be different, when we want so bad for what's important to take center stage, does it feel like we just can't make change happen?  There are probably a bunch of different reasons, but in our lives there are 2 main culprits.

  1. We try to change too much at once. It's hard to go from 0-60 when it comes to making our lives more like what we want them to be like. It's like being handed a 200lb weight to carry around when you're not used to carrying anything. No wonder attempts at new habits get dropped so quickly.

  2. We spend time scheduling in what we have to do / need to do / feel obligated to do and think that the stuff that matters will happen in the in-between times if we do a good job scheduling everything else.

But, what actually ends up happening is the stuff that matters most to us (think faith, family, friends - all the big 'f's'), ends up getting squeezed out because we're either too tired from everything else or don't have the margin in our schedules for it to happen.

how we spend our days is of course, how we spend our lives - annie dillard

This fall, we invite you into our journey of trying to do it different.  This fall, we're going to 'Prioritize our Priorities'.  We are going to try to put what's most important in the schedule first to make sure that if something gets dropped, its not going to be our top-priorities.  Annie Dillard says, "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."  Here's to making our days something we can be proud of.

Here's our plan to start:

  1. In the next week, we are going to sit down and decide what our top priorities are in life (think big stuff, like the Big F's, taking care of ourselves, helping other people, etc.).

  2. For each priority, we're going to set just 1 goal for how we want to see it improve/move more to center stage this next season.

  3. We'll put each priority in the calendar - no more leaving the most important stuff in the margins.

Why just 1 goal?  Einstein (maybe) says that the definition of insanity is trying to do the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  When we try to change too much at once it has always set us up for failure - how about you?  So, we're starting small and hoping that a few small things, done consistently, will result in big changes over time.

We’re in a ton of transition in our life with work, we could get a call about a baby we could adopt any day … and we’ve traditionally been really bad at this.  So, if nothing else, we hope that looking in on our journey can be entertaining for you as we try to hack our way through this.

How does fall feel for you?  

Do you know what your priorities are?  

What if this fall you created some peace for yourself by knowing what was important and having at least one way you were going to make what’s most important a priority this next season? 

Find our worksheet on priorities to get started. 

 

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Do you prioritize your priorities? // One Delightful Podcast

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#104 - How to Declutter Anything Pt. 3 + Hum That Hook

how to declutter anything pt. 3

Welcome to the One Delightful Podcast where we are on a journey to simplify life to create space for what matters.  And trust us, if we can do it - anyone can!

Listen on iTunes by clicking here & don't forget to subscribe + leave a rating/review!

On this week’s episode along with checking in + a segment we're calling 'Hum That Hook', we conclude our conversation about how to declutter literally anything.

Did you know that there is a link between clutter in our lives and lack of focus?  THAT EXPLAINS SO MUCH TO US!

how to declutter anything

We are in a period of life that is hard:  we are both transitioning into starting a business while also trying to parent an always on the go 6 year old and a 4 year old who treats us like short order cooks.  When she's hungry, we just hear, "Cheerios, Now."  Yikes (although we do prefer that to, 'WIPE ME', which also happens).   This season of life is rough for us.  

Some of you (single, married w/out kids) are probably tired of people with kids telling you about how much harder their life is than yours ... especially when you feel like you are up to your eyeballs in the crazy already.  I (Philip) remember how that feels, being single, or being newly married, and feeling like I could barely breathe at times b/c life felt so overwhelming.  Having kids does make life more difficult (and I guess you just somehow figure out how to figure it out), but the moral is: EVERY season of life is hard and has its challenges.

But, the moral of this story is also that with so many other factors converging on us that make it hard to give the love and attention to each other and our kids that we want to give ... if clutter is making it even harder to focus then it HAS TO GO.  Seriously, if life is hard enough already and all the extraneous stuff in our life is just making it harder to focus on what matters, then it has to go!

This is why we're talking about decluttering and think its important.  We start with decluttering stuff because its the most tangible, and maybe piling up some small wins with stuff will motivate us to declutter bigger things ... like our schedule, use of technology, how much HGTV we watch (ouch ... hits too close to home). 

Decluttering:  an easy process that's not that easy.  Make sure and check out the last 2 podcasts so you don't miss any part of the conversation!  The last 2 weeks, we talked about first, getting the decluttering process started by choosing a space and emptying it out, and then second, how to sort through what you've emptied to decide what stays and what goes.  This week, we'll talk how to put the stuff back and finish up the decluttering process.  The big obstacle at this point of your decluttering journey is figuring out how to put things back in a way that is going to make life better than it was before ... not just shoving it back in a way that will result in it turning into a train wreck again within 36 hours.  

Here are a few tips:

  • Clean out the space once you have emptied it.  I never think about this but it always feels amazing when I do.

  • Begin with the end in mind (that's a little Steven Covey for you). Put the things from your 'Keep' pile back in an organized way that reflects how you'll use the things.

    • For example: Shirts in a drawer. You typically stack them one on top of another. But do you use the drawer like that? Probably not. Why not fold them in a way where you can arrange them in rows. It lets you see what you have and allows you to take shirts out and put them away in a way that helps them to stay looking nice and in order.

  • Shop your house (I got this from The Nesting Place). There is a strong urge at the end of the decluttering process to go right to Target and buy a ton of baskets and organizational stuff. Fight the urge! Is there something you already have in your house that could work for this space? This saves you money and helps you to insert your personal style back into your space.

    • But ... if you do want to give yourself a little treat at the end for a job well done, who can blame you? I got myself these awesome fake plants (finally a plant that I can't kill!).

So that's it - the end of our three week deep dive into how to declutter literally anything.  

And now, what are you waiting for?  It's time to pick a space and get started!  Living around clutter is robbing you of time, is killing your focus, + might even be causing low-level anxiety and depression in your life.  It's time to say, 'Enough!', to clutter getting in the way of things that matter in your life.

What do you recommend?

other mentions: 

 

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