This episode of our podcast is one that we’ve been really excited about for a while.  We’re very happy to have had Vanessa Hayes on this episode.  Vanessa is a professional organizer and the Chief Simplicity Office of Get Simplifized.  A former Air Force officer turned organizer, she provides hands-on professional organizing services for residential and small business clients and is dedicated to helping her clients live a life more simplified and organized.

Vanessa also co-hosts a podcast with her husband Dan, called “Simple Life Together“, a podcast dedicated to leading a simple life in the modern world.  Currently the show is listed in the “What’s Hot” list in iTunes.  They talk about all things simple from organizing to tech tips and how living a life with less can be so much more.

Vanessa is also a mommy to Mandu and Sunshine.  Vanessa starts things off with a parenting horror story – a staph infection Sunshine had when they were living in Florida.

Just a reminder that we use Google+ and it gives us a few headaches during this episode. Bear with us and the sketchy audio quality at times.

We decide it’d be best if our guest comes up with tonight’s drink and here it is:

The Truth Serum

* Cafe Patron

* Bailey’s Irish Cream

This is a 1/2 and 1/2 mix. Shake it with ice and pour.

Fabulous Finds:

Tawny – Flipboard App

Krissi – Fascination Gel Ant Farm

Beth – LED Projectables Solar System Nightlight

Vanessa – YMCA and Museum Putty

We had Vanessa on this episode to give us some practical tips on how to live a more productive and less cluttered life. She’s here to help us get simplifized!

This is a great conversation that we think will benefit everyone. We talk about:

* Routines

* Kids Keepsakes

* Filing System

* The Command Center and Launching Pad

What’s do you do to manage the large volume of papers and artwork that comes home from school and pre-school? Vanessa tells us her approach to this, which interestingly involves her kegerator.  We also talk about all of the little toys/crap that come into the house, like Happy Meal toys. Vanessa explains a way to handle this, The 1-in 1-out Rule.

To wrap things up, we look within ourselves and how we fit in with the consumer culture that we live in. We’d really like to thank Vanessa for coming on the podcast and sharing her knowledge on organization and simple life living with us and our listeners.

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