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Feng Shui for Optimal Health & Performance with Amanda Gibby Peters
Episode 109th November 2022 • The Nutrition Edit • Jeannie Oliver Wellness, LLC
00:00:00 01:20:53

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If you’re feeling run down but you can’t pinpoint why, if you moved into a new house and everything seemed to fall apart, or if everything feels stale, this episode is for you. I’ll be visiting with Amanda Gibby Peters about how the practical and metaphorical applications of Feng Shui can lead to major changes in your life.

If we don’t take charge of our environment, our environment will take charge of us. Even something as simple as keeping a vase of flowers in the house can freshen up the space and start to move the energies in a more positive direction. If there’s something we’ve been putting off because we feel like we don’t have time to deal with it, the actual cost is that it wears on you over time and makes every facet of your life harder.

Start small. Any progress is progress. If you try to tackle too many changes at once, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. The key to real change is feeling successful, so do that in tiny, incremental steps that you can keep up with. Remove resistance that’s in the way of the things you want to be doing.

Amanda Gibby Peters is the voice and visionary of Simple Shui™ — a modern-day, mission-driven, love-based practice of Feng Shui. She’s been teaching Feng Shui techniques and tips for over a decade, witnessing the breathtaking life transformations of her readers and clients. She has a background in communications (she used to work on the Hill!) and has been called the “Martha Stewart” of Feng Shui. Her superpower is making complex, ethereal ideas tangible, fun and life-changing!  Her work has been featured on Architectural Digest, My Domaine, Food52, Lonny, MindBodyGreen, Well + Good and Amazon. She was recently named one of Instagram’s “Best Feng Shui Accounts” by The Spruce for her vibrant and innovative influence on creating positive spaces. Amanda is Dallas-based with an international clientele, where she lives with her husband, twin daughters, and their rescue dog, Ruby.

Amanda will be offering exclusive packages to my clients to compliment their nutrition and lifestyle coaching work, and I also highly recommend her book Simple Shui for Every Day: 365 Ways to Feng Shui Your Life, and her latest online course, Become Your Own Feng Shui consultant.

Simple Shui | home page

Instagram: @amandagibbypeters

If you’re looking for support in reaching your health goals, schedule a free 30-minute Coffee Talk here to see if we’re a good fit to work together.

Connect with me on Instagram @joliverwellness! DM me the words “Nutrition Edit” and I’ll add you to my close friends list, where I share exclusive content. You’ll be the first to know about upcoming programs and early access to my waitlist.

Music credit: Funk’d Up by Reaktor Productions

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Transcripts

Jeannie Oliver:

Hello and welcome today my guest is Amanda Gibby Peters.

Jeannie Oliver:

Amanda is the voice and visionary of Simple Shu, a modern day, mission-driven,

Jeannie Oliver:

love-based practice of fun shui.

Jeannie Oliver:

She's been teaching Feng shui techniques and tips for over a decade, witnessing

Jeannie Oliver:

the breathtaking life transformations of her readers and clients.

Jeannie Oliver:

Her work has been featured on Architectural Digest, My Domain

Jeannie Oliver:

Food 52 Lonnie Mind Body.

Jeannie Oliver:

and good and Amazon.

Jeannie Oliver:

She was recently named one of Instagram's best fun shui accounts by the spruce

Jeannie Oliver:

for her vibrant and innovative influence on creating positive spaces.

Jeannie Oliver:

Amanda is Dallas based with an international clientele where

Jeannie Oliver:

she lives with her husband, twin daughters, and their a rescue dog.

Jeannie Oliver:

Ruby, I had so much fun talking with Amanda about how fun Al can influence

Jeannie Oliver:

your health habits, productivity, and even your food choices.

Jeannie Oliver:

She shares lots of juicy tips, and I think you're gonna love this episode.

Jeannie Oliver:

So enjoy and let's dive.

Jeannie Oliver:

Hey Amanda, I'm so excited to have you here today.

Jeannie Oliver:

Welcome.

Jeannie Oliver:

Amanda Gibby Peters: Thank you for having me.

Jeannie Oliver:

I'm excited for this conversation.

Jeannie Oliver:

Thanks for joining me today.

Jeannie Oliver:

I'm super excited about it.

Jeannie Oliver:

And there's so many questions I have for you and I know that this is gonna be a

Jeannie Oliver:

really beneficial episode for everybody.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so yeah, let's just jump in.

Jeannie Oliver:

I'd love for you to tell me a little bit about yourself and

Jeannie Oliver:

how you got into doing fun.

Jeannie Oliver:

Ate in the first place.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that's a great question.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it's a little bit of a lengthy story, so I'll shorten

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it for the sake of our time.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I actually came into fun shui as a huge skeptic.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I, had moved to a new, to us home with my husband and our, at the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

time, three year old daughters.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And a lot of stuff just started falling apart.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We were really stressed.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Things that had been problematic all of a sudden seemed to be just nine at us.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I immediately thought, Oh, it's just the move, big life

Amanda Gibby Peters:

change, that kind of stressor.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But after about six months, I was at my wits end and I grabbed a book and I just

Amanda Gibby Peters:

thought, whatever I see is my answer.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it opened to fun shui.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And when I read it, I thought, This is so silly because I've

Amanda Gibby Peters:

just moved to a new home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

How can my home be causing all of this?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I didn't understand NG Choi at all, but I took it as a challenge and I thought,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

At the time, blogs were really big.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So I was going to try functional and write about it and probably

Amanda Gibby Peters:

show everyone how it didn't work.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that was my thought when I started it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And you know what I really love about that is I am so able to see

Amanda Gibby Peters:

people where they're at when they're skeptical or they have their own

Amanda Gibby Peters:

resistance to it, or they're like, This doesn't make any sense because

Amanda Gibby Peters:

off the page a lot of times it doesn't.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But once you get into conversation with someone and you start realizing how much

Amanda Gibby Peters:

practical common sense, this really, comes from, it's a lot easier to wait in.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So what happened to me was I just started making changes that were

Amanda Gibby Peters:

within reach that made sense to me that I could stay consistent with

Amanda Gibby Peters:

cuz I didn't want to flake or not, be sort of academic in my approach and.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, it wasn't that anything changed immediately, and that's something

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that I will offer people all the time.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Shui is not transactional.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's not like you do something today and then tomorrow or

Amanda Gibby Peters:

this week, big life change.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But what I did notice is as I was making changes or being more mindful

Amanda Gibby Peters:

about what we were doing in our home, our house started feeling like a home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I was intrigued to do more.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And within, I would say a couple month period, maybe a few months, we did

Amanda Gibby Peters:

have some really big life changes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Ones that I could either just stack up as, Oh, this is a coincidence, or I

Amanda Gibby Peters:

could acknowledge something was going on.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And that's eventually where I ended up.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I was like, Okay, I don't think I wanna be so skeptical anymore.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I'm really curious what's happening here.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so I became the student and that's what got me on this path.

Jeannie Oliver:

That's really cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

Can I ask what.

Jeannie Oliver:

I mean, I know whenever we move, obviously we've got boxes,

Jeannie Oliver:

we've got things going on.

Jeannie Oliver:

We haven't necessarily found a home for everything yet.

Jeannie Oliver:

But when you were in that space, were there specific elements that

Jeannie Oliver:

you were like, Okay, like this is stressing me out, or hey, maybe just

Jeannie Oliver:

this idea of moving things around with fun shui could actually help.

Jeannie Oliver:

Was there anything like that for you that could have just figured,

Jeannie Oliver:

Amanda Gibby Peters: I think triggered you?

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

I think what it was our, like nothing felt right and I couldn't put my finger on it.

Jeannie Oliver:

so initially what I thought it was, and I think a lot of people make

Jeannie Oliver:

this mistake is I thought, Oh, my furniture's all wrong for my house.

Jeannie Oliver:

I don't have the right things.

Jeannie Oliver:

And it was a logical.

Jeannie Oliver:

Assumption because we had moved from a much smaller home.

Jeannie Oliver:

We had lived in Utah previously, so we had a small little home on the mountain

Jeannie Oliver:

and then we moved to Texas where the homes are big and the ceilings are tall.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so it looked like I had a bunch of Dollhouse furniture in my house, right?

Jeannie Oliver:

And so it did feel off like, if you came in, it wasn't pleasing to the eye.

Jeannie Oliver:

So I thought, now we gotta replace all the furniture.

Jeannie Oliver:

I was thinking it was all, physical.

Jeannie Oliver:

But as I started learning about Feng shui, I'd always been someone in

Jeannie Oliver:

touch with intention, but I didn't understand environmental energy so much.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like any more than like, oh, you might go into a room after someone's had

Jeannie Oliver:

an argument or something's happened and you consent something's off.

Jeannie Oliver:

I didn't realize that was a 24 7, 365 thing.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so in, yeah, that's a fascinating idea.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so all of a sudden I started making these connections, like, Oh, my, things

Jeannie Oliver:

are saying something about me, but not like what sort of design trends or

Jeannie Oliver:

magazines or now today's social media leads us to believe, like it really was

Jeannie Oliver:

a reflection of my interstate, and it was also the energy that we were steeping in.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so as I started to read and study and try to figure out

Jeannie Oliver:

like, untangle these knots, like what is this functionally about?

Jeannie Oliver:

I started realizing there was something else at play.

Jeannie Oliver:

And one of the most fascinating stories about my journey was the, there were

Jeannie Oliver:

a lot of aspects of functionality that felt a little too big of a leap for me,

Jeannie Oliver:

you know, because I had just graduated with my master's in communication.

Jeannie Oliver:

I was, planning on going and getting my PhD.

Jeannie Oliver:

I, you know, I like very much Proof, logic, things that made sense.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so this was like waiting out into the unknown for me.

Jeannie Oliver:

And one of the things that I came across was this concept of space

Jeannie Oliver:

clearing, clearing the energy in your home that felt really.

Jeannie Oliver:

Weird, but I was like, Okay, I'm just gonna do it right.

Jeannie Oliver:

we're trying everything, so we might as well throw this into the mix.

Jeannie Oliver:

And I did this whole ritual through our house.

Jeannie Oliver:

It was fantastic, genuinely felt really great.

Jeannie Oliver:

But it was a couple weeks later running into someone who casually mentioned, Oh,

Jeannie Oliver:

I knew the people who lived there before.

Jeannie Oliver:

How are you liking the.

Jeannie Oliver:

and I was like, We're kind of getting used to it.

Jeannie Oliver:

And then she just casually mentioned that the people who had previously

Jeannie Oliver:

been here were so unhappy.

Jeannie Oliver:

They had so many issues, you know, in their marriage with their, you know,

Jeannie Oliver:

just juggling kids and work and money.

Jeannie Oliver:

And it felt like all of a sudden, oh my gosh.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like that's exactly what we inherited when we came into the home.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so the things that were going wrong weren't necessarily us.

Jeannie Oliver:

It was the energy that we stepped in.

Jeannie Oliver:

And I explain to people, it's sort of like slipping into someone

Jeannie Oliver:

else's shoes and trying to just navigate through the world, right?

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's like a different experience.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so that's, that for me was probably one of the more profound moments.

Jeannie Oliver:

And luckily it was early on in my journey because then I started seeing, oh, this

Jeannie Oliver:

is so much more than just what we see.

Jeannie Oliver:

This is so much more than just moving our furniture around.

Jeannie Oliver:

This is the conversation people need to have in their

Jeannie Oliver:

hands.

Jeannie Oliver:

That is so cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

I love, I love hearing stories like that too, because it.

Jeannie Oliver:

It really is such a palpable energy when you walk into a space and you

Jeannie Oliver:

get that vibe one way or the other.

Jeannie Oliver:

Right?

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

And I think that that's just that sixth sense thing.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's sort of that same thing that we have innately where you can

Jeannie Oliver:

feel someone watching you or you can feel it someone's behind you.

Jeannie Oliver:

Something odd like that.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like we, it's a real sense, we just tend to write it off because it seems

Jeannie Oliver:

a little woohoo maybe, or esoteric, and we just don't really tap into that.

Jeannie Oliver:

But it doesn't mean those things are any less active or real or

Jeannie Oliver:

present just because we can't see it and it's not really obvious to us.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah, so I think that that's fascinating and I really I love it.

Jeannie Oliver:

Another episode down the road that we're gonna have is someone talking

Jeannie Oliver:

about energetics and quantum physics.

Jeannie Oliver:

And this is all very intertwined, so.

Jeannie Oliver:

It'll very much go somehow.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

Cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

So I'd love to hear about, first the ritual that you did initially

Jeannie Oliver:

that made things shift for you.

Jeannie Oliver:

And then I'd love for you to share just a little overview

Jeannie Oliver:

of, you know, what FEA is and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

how it works.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So initially there are two things, and I talk about this a lot.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

One of them a lot on social media and in all, you know, the different

Amanda Gibby Peters:

spaces and places you find me.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So the thing that I did initially when I decided, Okay, I'm gonna prove.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That functionally doesn't really work.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I started buying fresh flowers for our house because it, it

Amanda Gibby Peters:

was associated with wealth.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Money was a huge issue for us.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It seemed like we came here and even though things were supposed to be

Amanda Gibby Peters:

less expensive, somehow money was coming in, but going right back out.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so there's this idea that if you are in the presence or you, you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

sort of cultivate the consciousness of abundance, then you too will then

Amanda Gibby Peters:

attract abundance into your life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that's why I went with the fresh flowers.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Also because I could pick them up at the grocery store, so it kind of

Amanda Gibby Peters:

was like an accountability partner.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I couldn't like skirt out of it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that was the initial ritual I did.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And like most people, I.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Sort of had a grudging attitude toward it, meaning I was like, It's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

too expensive, it's not worth it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

There's no special reason to do this.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like all of the excuses we use and what I've learned over the years is the very

Amanda Gibby Peters:

thing that we want is usually the thing that we resist allowing into our lives.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So we just don't look that closely at the excuses we're using.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

God, That's so true.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I made friends with the grocery store people and just said, Tell

Amanda Gibby Peters:

me what days your fresh flowers are coming in so I can get them.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So they'll last the longest.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then I always wanted to know what was least expensive, and that was my on ramp.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that was the.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Ritual that sort of became the connective tissue.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then in terms of the space clearing you know, what I did was

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I went through our entire home and, and this is on my blog so people

Amanda Gibby Peters:

can find this, but I went through my entire home and cleansed the energy.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, there's sort of a template for doing it, loosened

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it up, then cleared it out.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I worked with a smoke bundle at the time, and then I went back through the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

space and based on the functionally map, I said intentions for us.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I said them out loud in each area of the map, sort of reprogramming

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the space, claiming it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it was r so that it was aligned with who we were and what we were

Amanda Gibby Peters:

forecasting instead of what had been sort of left behind residually.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I

Jeannie Oliver:

love that.

Jeannie Oliver:

And when we were doing that at the moment, did it feel kind of.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

or were you like, so you today it's so, it seems so ubiquitous.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like people, like, it's so funny how many people are holding a smoke bundle

Amanda Gibby Peters:

on TV and like, Oh, I've gotta clear the space, I've gotta clear the energy.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But honestly, this was like 2007.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

This was not something that you just went to the store and found, or you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

could just, you know, you've gotta think Facebook was just coming to life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Instagram didn't exist.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so it was really one of those, Yeah, like I was going to the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

mystical shops and trying to find different things to work with.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I did, I, I was way outta my comfort.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But because I went there and did it and not only had the, Okay, something

Amanda Gibby Peters:

has shifted in the space, like I can't deny that it feels differently and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

then, you know, sort of the proof of it a couple weeks later running into

Amanda Gibby Peters:

someone who just casually and randomly starts this conversation with me.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I was like, Okay, I get it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I get this now and, and it was honestly one of the things that I pushed the most

Amanda Gibby Peters:

when I first became certified because I thought, how many people are living

Amanda Gibby Peters:

with energy that they're negotiating or managing, that's not theirs, you know?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It just felt like such a powerful thing to offer people.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

This different way of looking at what they're dealing with and maybe

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it wasn't even theirs to deal with.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's so

Jeannie Oliver:

beautiful.

Jeannie Oliver:

I, something that I tell my clients frequently is identify.

Jeannie Oliver:

What is your own stuff and what is maybe your parental baggage or baggage from an X

Jeannie Oliver:

that they put on you, Something like that.

Jeannie Oliver:

And then do this visualization around, like actually like handing them back their

Jeannie Oliver:

luggage and saying, This is not my baggage to carry anymore . And you know, again,

Jeannie Oliver:

it feels silly sometimes initially, but I think that there really is so much of

Jeannie Oliver:

that in, it's very pervasive in our lives.

Jeannie Oliver:

And yeah, we don't tend to think of it in our spaces the way that we do, you

Jeannie Oliver:

know, maybe on a psychological level.

Jeannie Oliver:

Right.

Jeannie Oliver:

So yeah, that's really powerful.

Jeannie Oliver:

That's really cool.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah, well we also think a lot about

Amanda Gibby Peters:

cleaning our feed, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like following people who feel good not following people, you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

who don't make us feel as good.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We think about the, what we put in our bodies.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We think about, you know, the different products we use, but

Amanda Gibby Peters:

we don't think so much about like the quality of conversations we're

Amanda Gibby Peters:

having in our home, the media.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We're watching what we bring home with us from the world.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And this isn't absolutely, you know, I don't want people to break out into like

Amanda Gibby Peters:

this need for, you know, over cleansing, but just being mindful that just like you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

dust and vacuum or sweep and you know, clean your home, you want to energetically

Amanda Gibby Peters:

clean it too with some sort of consistency so that a lot of that everyday life

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that can start to build up is able to sort of be released and refreshed too.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah, exactly.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's just another form of detoxification and a different area of her life.

Jeannie Oliver:

You know, a lot of the work that I do surrounds.

Jeannie Oliver:

Detoxification on a physiological level.

Jeannie Oliver:

And yeah, again, not being paranoid and being terrified of all the things that are

Jeannie Oliver:

potentially bad for you out there in the world, cuz you would drive yourself crazy,

Jeannie Oliver:

but just doing what you can in your daily life to kind of mitigate your exposures.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so I think this is just another form of that, in another aspect

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of our lives.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And your home is on a.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's always in the backdrop, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So the thing I think that people, you ask me, you know, what fun shui is

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and you know, my favorite description of it, I have a couple, but you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

when you translate it, it really is just bringing yourself into alignment

Amanda Gibby Peters:

with the energy of fortune, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like Fung is win, Shu is water.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Wind represents energy, water represents fortune.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So you're, this practice is bringing yourself in alignment with the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

energy of fortune, but not fortune.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

The way that it has sort of been capitalized on, like, you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

money inheritances quick, you know, wins, that kind of stuff.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's everything that creates cultivates allows you to have and live a good life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So everything that you feel necessary, and it's different for everyone, you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

but everything that you feel necessary would fall sort of under that umbrella.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So when you start to think about your home, these four walls in a

Amanda Gibby Peters:

roof you are under its influence.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

all the time.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if you're not a little mindful about that, that can work against

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you as much as if you're deliberate about it, it can work for you.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah, absolutely.

Jeannie Oliver:

Very cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

So, when it comes to our health, obviously this is what the sun test is about,

Jeannie Oliver:

and we're talking about, you know, all aspects of our health beyond the

Jeannie Oliver:

scale, and diving into ways that we can really kind of optimize our wellbeing.

Jeannie Oliver:

So how can punctually make a difference for our health?

Jeannie Oliver:

For better or worse?

Jeannie Oliver:

Obviously it can have an influence on our stress.

Jeannie Oliver:

I know that I'm someone that's very sensitive to my surroundings, and if

Jeannie Oliver:

there is clutter that will stress me out, sometimes I won't even realize why I'm

Jeannie Oliver:

feeling edgy and I'll look around and be like, Oh, I, I really need to clean this

Jeannie Oliver:

room, or, you know, There's one room in my house right now that's kind of ending

Jeannie Oliver:

up as a catchall because we haven't had time to really purge and, and clean and

Jeannie Oliver:

organize, and I just don't go in there.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like, I just subconsciously avoid it.

Jeannie Oliver:

So we know it can, you know, feel stressful if our space isn't, in

Jeannie Oliver:

a organized state or whatever.

Jeannie Oliver:

But when it comes to our health as a whole, talk about that a little bit

Jeannie Oliver:

and how, you know, this can influence us not just on a mental health level,

Jeannie Oliver:

but physiological and, and everything.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, I mean, that's another great way to look at fun shui is your

Amanda Gibby Peters:

wellbeing is under the influence of your surroundings, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so one of my favorite exercises to take people through is to look at your

Amanda Gibby Peters:

space, go to a space that you really love.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. And it can be a room, it can be a corner, it can be a shelf,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it can be a side of the bed.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But just describe what you love about it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Think about what you really love about it, you know?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if you wanna do this and really get the win, you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

pause here and write that down.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then what I ask people to do is go to a space that you don't like.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So you know the room you just mentioned, and you can say it's a catch all.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, we're super busy.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You can sort of describe

Jeannie Oliver:

the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

way it feels, what you think of when you know, you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

pass it as you put something else in it, and sort of describe that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And the big reveal here is that when I have people do this, I'll

Amanda Gibby Peters:

have them remove the name of the space and replace it with I am.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so your home is always a reflection of you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so the great thing about this exercise is you have a.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

For what you love now, what feels good to you, sort of some

Amanda Gibby Peters:

guiding principles, if you will.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then the space that you don't love is an opportunity to tune up the quality

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of energy that you are living in.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

This is a really great way to start to practice fun, Al is to

Amanda Gibby Peters:

look at things metaphorically.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

There's a great quote or definition that I came across when I was

Amanda Gibby Peters:

brand new to fun shui and Barry Gordon, I think is the name.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

He was a, he's a physicist.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

He said, You know, fun shui is the intelligent use of environmental

Amanda Gibby Peters:

metaphor, you know, and so's

Jeannie Oliver:

say one more time.

Jeannie Oliver:

I love that fun.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Shu is the intelligent use of environmental metaphor.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So when you start to think about how you want to feel, and again, this

Amanda Gibby Peters:

gets so nuanced because everyone has different ideas, if they're being honest.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, you know, And not trying to sort of carbon copy what society tells

Amanda Gibby Peters:

us, but what is healthy for you?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

What feels good to you?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And finding ways to represent that in your space, because again,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you're steeping in this influence.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So programming your space in a way that reminds you, speaks to you, and encourages

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you to hold to those intentions.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's the way that you use it to trigger the opportunities and the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

results that you're looking for.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So when it comes to health, that's a really big way to do

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it is where are you settling?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

What are you tolerating?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it can be clutter, but it can be a lot of other things too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I say that because I think sometimes health can be, I'm so exhausted.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Okay.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Then go through your house and figure out where your house is wearing you down.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. A lot of times it's things that we've just put off that we

Amanda Gibby Peters:

think we don't have time for.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, but the actual cost is, it's wearing on us every single day.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Sapping at energy, you know?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if we just took care of it, maybe it would take a couple hours, maybe

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it would take a whole weekend, maybe it would take longer, but however much

Amanda Gibby Peters:

time it would take probably isn't, as long as it's been allowed to sort of sit

Amanda Gibby Peters:

there and a road away at your energy.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that's one thing I'm

Jeannie Oliver:

laughing because for us procrastinators, that's . Mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

. Amanda Gibby Peters: Yes, I know.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yes, I know.

Jeannie Oliver:

And you know what's interesting, procrastination.

Jeannie Oliver:

I, I have a lot of clients who do that.

Jeannie Oliver:

I think it's another form of perfectionism.

Jeannie Oliver:

Absolutely.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's like we think, Oh, I can't do this until it's going to be exactly right.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so again, we put feeling a little better.

Jeannie Oliver:

for that perfect moment to feel totally better with,

Jeannie Oliver:

which is actually bullshit if we're honest with ourselves.

Jeannie Oliver:

Right.

Jeannie Oliver:

That doesn't exist, . Yes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's the little upgrades.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's the little mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

moments.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But here's, you know, like speaking specifically about clutter, and I don't

Amanda Gibby Peters:

mean clutter just for sort of those of us who think hoarding, I mean clutter,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

anything that is not of use of need or that you love sort of just getting a pass,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a layover in your house, is that as you move things out, as you move things to

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a space where you can appreciate them, however things need to be shifted or

Amanda Gibby Peters:

sort of, you know, rearranged you open.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

A different way for energy to pattern through your life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And this is why, you know, all of the shows that have been so successful

Amanda Gibby Peters:

lately, like, you know, the home edit, Marie Condo, Queer Eye, even when the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

minimalists were out, all of these shows why people get so evangelical about it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Because when you move things, you are literally changing your life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You're changing the way you see things, you're changing the way you feel.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so by just moving things around, even if it's just a small section of

Amanda Gibby Peters:

your home, you're gonna get that win.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So I, I will tell clients, and you know, readers on the blog and the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

socials just go for a little bit, a little better is a little better.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Jeannie Oliver: Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I can, and I build momentum quickly.

Jeannie Oliver:

Exactly.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

That feeling of success.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's motivating, it's energizing.

Jeannie Oliver:

You want more of it.

Jeannie Oliver:

It creates that positive feedback loop in the brain.

Jeannie Oliver:

Right.

Jeannie Oliver:

So, Totally.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

And since I've been chatting with you and getting to know you, I have had more

Jeannie Oliver:

fresh flowers in the house and I now, I don't have them right now cause I just had

Jeannie Oliver:

to toss out my old ones who are getting funky and I cannot wait to go pick up more

Jeannie Oliver:

because it just brightened up everything and not just visually it just felt good.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

So that's

Jeannie Oliver:

Amanda Gibby Peters: where I'm starting . Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

And

Jeannie Oliver:

actually that doing small purges with things around

Jeannie Oliver:

Amanda Gibby Peters: around and That's so good.

Jeannie Oliver:

The kitchen, like opening up energy.

Jeannie Oliver:

Think about just, I mean you're, you deal with the body.

Jeannie Oliver:

Mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

. So allowing things to flow is exactly what you're trying to create through your home.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

And then what is going to invigorate.

Jeannie Oliver:

That flow, and that's what fresh flowers do, right?

Jeannie Oliver:

So we'll take supplements, we'll eat things that are high in

Jeannie Oliver:

antioxidants or you know, whatever, more fiber, like whatever it is

Jeannie Oliver:

to just sort of optimize our body.

Jeannie Oliver:

That's what you're doing in your home.

Jeannie Oliver:

You're optimizing your environment.

Jeannie Oliver:

And studies show over and over that the spaces we're in affect

Jeannie Oliver:

our brains and our bodies.

Jeannie Oliver:

And you know, we all know that our thoughts have so much control over how

Jeannie Oliver:

we feel and we get kind of stuck there.

Jeannie Oliver:

But you know, when you start thinking about that influence and then how your

Jeannie Oliver:

feelings are driving your mood, your behavior, your decisions, which are

Jeannie Oliver:

driving your outcomes, you start to go, Oh, my space kind of does matter a

Jeannie Oliver:

little bit more than you know, I think.

Jeannie Oliver:

And we need to be a lot more conscious about what we're letting

Jeannie Oliver:

in our space, Meaning, mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

, you know, I think this became really clear over Covid where.

Jeannie Oliver:

Before that people have been so focused on the aesthetic, like, I've gotta

Jeannie Oliver:

have magazine lifestyle pictures, everything's gotta look a certain

Jeannie Oliver:

way, I've gotta stay on top of trends.

Jeannie Oliver:

And while that hasn't gone away completely, Covid made a nice amount

Jeannie Oliver:

of room for comfort, real comfort to come back into the conversation.

Jeannie Oliver:

So what actually makes you feel good instead of what

Jeannie Oliver:

will make other people think?

Jeannie Oliver:

You feel good.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Big distinction.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I love it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Reality

Jeannie Oliver:

versus the highlight reel.

Jeannie Oliver:

. Amanda Gibby Peters: There you go.

Jeannie Oliver:

So speaking of

Jeannie Oliver:

that, you know, a lot of the people that I work with are pretty

Jeannie Oliver:

high power professional, mostly women.

Jeannie Oliver:

I've got some guys in there, but mostly women.

Jeannie Oliver:

And you know, when we're talking about optimizing our space, I wanna talk

Jeannie Oliver:

about some specific areas in our lives.

Jeannie Oliver:

But you know, since you mentioned kind of optimizing our space, when

Jeannie Oliver:

we're talking about optimizing.

Jeannie Oliver:

energy specifically because I think that's a huge, probably the biggest complaint

Jeannie Oliver:

that I hear from potential clients is that they wish they had more energy.

Jeannie Oliver:

They're having these energy dips throughout the day.

Jeannie Oliver:

They don't wake up feeling rested, like they're pretty spent.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

And stretched thin by the end of the day.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so how about before we move into specific areas of the home, what are

Jeannie Oliver:

your thoughts about professional space?

Jeannie Oliver:

So some people are working from home, but even if it's an office area

Jeannie Oliver:

that they're working at the house, whether it's their dining table

Jeannie Oliver:

or if it's an actual office space.

Jeannie Oliver:

Mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

, what are the biggest things that they can be aware of or think about as far as fun?

Jeannie Oliver:

Shu for productivity, energy, mental

Amanda Gibby Peters:

clarity, creativity, et cetera.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's a great question.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So I'm gonna do a quick plug here.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I'm gonna give you three answers, but I'm gonna do a quick plug.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I just released a new freebie for people who sign up for my newsletter

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and it's how to functional your office.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's like a 14 page magazine.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it has a lot of really great ideas.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

The I'm all over that first thing that I encourage people to do if possible.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I get, not all spaces allow you to do this, but is to sit in.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I'm gonna explain why, because there's, again, this

Amanda Gibby Peters:

is a common sense thing.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Command is, I want you to think sort of mafia boss mentality.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You have something solid behind your back and you can see anyone

Amanda Gibby Peters:

coming into your space, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So if you think of an executive's office, you know, you're, you're saying sort

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of the high profile people, a lot of times their offices are reset up this

Amanda Gibby Peters:

way, but a lot of people when they're at home aren't working in those spaces.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Or they've got like a desk up against a wall or they're just trying to,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you know, take whatever is available and over covid, totally fine.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We did with what we could, but here's why I think this is so important.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it has a lot more to do with how you feel than it has to

Amanda Gibby Peters:

do with looking like the boss.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

When we have our back to the door or we're not fully able to see who's coming in,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

who's approaching, what happens is our subconscious through no choice of our own,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

we're just wired this way, is on alert.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and it's like, okay, I gotta stay attuned to anything that might be

Amanda Gibby Peters:

coming outta nowhere, might be coming up behind me, might, you know, come

Amanda Gibby Peters:

around the corner and I not see it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Now again, I said at the beginning, is not transactional.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So a day, a week, a month of this is not gonna be a big deal.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But if your subconscious is hovering on high alert day after day, month

Amanda Gibby Peters:

after month, year after year, that's gonna have some inflammation, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like you are going to feel worn down.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Because really what starts to happen is you've got part of you that's paying

Amanda Gibby Peters:

attention to keep you safe, and then part of you that's trying to do work, you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

move through whatever you are focused on.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so there's like this decision fatigue that starts to happen.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

because you are trying to manage two different things.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Whereas if you're facing where you can see people coming into the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

space, you are fully engaged with.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Whatever it is you're working on, because you know, if someone comes in,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you can see it, you can handle that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You take this into the metaphorical sphere of fun shui, and what that

Amanda Gibby Peters:

really represents is being able to see opportunities so that you can take

Amanda Gibby Peters:

advantage of them as soon as they appear.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But it's also being able to see problems before you know they get past you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so there's a lot of common sense and then there's a lot

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of sort of functionally win.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I bring this up because again, I've been doing this for so long.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

This is one of those things that people like to think is optional.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And again, not all spaces cater to this, so I get that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But if it is something you can do, it makes a huge difference.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I'm thinking mostly energetically, like all of the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

opportunistic wins, fantastic.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But just how you feel day after day.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

The other thing I would say, two other things that I'd say

Amanda Gibby Peters:

are great for an office space, like just how you feel is clear.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Your desk, and it doesn't have to be every day, but when we have a lot

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of things on our desk and we don't take the time to sort of clean up and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

organize and prepare the space for us the next day, it, it tends to yield

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a lot of unnecessary drama, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it doesn't mean drama necessarily with the people

Amanda Gibby Peters:

around you, but just how you feel.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And again, think about like that drip, drip, drip, drip, everyday exposure.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, eventually it's gonna wear you down.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then the other thing, because we're all so tech, Connected.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We're just, you know, we're all getting screen burn every single day.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Having fresh plants, or at least a plant on the desk is such a fabulous

Amanda Gibby Peters:

way to increase productivity, you know, kind of help absorb some of the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

energetics coming off of the devices.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But it also lowers blood pressure.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, it's just a great thing to have a fresh plant.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

If you can't do fresh FO will work too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But having something in that space that, you know, brings in mama nature, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like, you'll hear people talk about biophilia.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, this idea that having nature in your space.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it's because when we're in sync with nature, our wellbeing thrives.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So those are three things that are pretty simple to do.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, without a lot of right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like, you don't have to, it doesn't need to be cost exhaustive, you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

other than moving some furniture around, probably not that much effort either.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Awesome.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah, I love that.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah, it's.

Jeannie Oliver:

I have an office here in the WeWork space, and it is set up like that.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like I have a wall behind me and then we all have, you know, glass doors and my

Jeannie Oliver:

clients have set across, you know, from me so that they don't feel like they're

Jeannie Oliver:

on display, but I can see whoever's coming down the hall who's coming out.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

And aside from just having an office space outside of my home so that

Jeannie Oliver:

I don't have the typical daily distractions that I do at the house

Amanda Gibby Peters:

mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, I

Jeannie Oliver:

am so much more productive when I'm here exponentially more.

Jeannie Oliver:

And my energy is always better.

Jeannie Oliver:

I'm more alert.

Jeannie Oliver:

It really does make a difference.

Jeannie Oliver:

And also I'm just, you know, I don't have stuff piling up on my desk,

Jeannie Oliver:

everything here like I would at the house.

Jeannie Oliver:

But I do need to bring in the, the fresh plant because I've been

Jeannie Oliver:

working at home so much more.

Jeannie Oliver:

Since Covid started.

Jeannie Oliver:

So I'm not here every single day, so I worry about them dying , but

Jeannie Oliver:

maybe that's something that I have that's a portable plant that I

Jeannie Oliver:

bring in with me a couple times

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a week so it doesn't die when I'm aware.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

There are a lot of plants that are super forgiving.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, like Z Z plants and snake plants.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

A lot of them are super forgiving.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

If you can just water them a little bit at the beginning, you'd be

Amanda Gibby Peters:

surprised how long you can let them go.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So there are, I think, as long as your space lets you have plans.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Fantastic.

Jeannie Oliver:

And for those of us too, I think, who are in an office regularly,

Jeannie Oliver:

there are now so many cool floral delivery programs that are really affordable that

Jeannie Oliver:

they'll bring you something, a beautiful arrangement, you know, once a week on

Jeannie Oliver:

a Monday, and then they'll take out the old one and they're reusing the pot and

Jeannie Oliver:

composting the dead flowers or whatever.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's, so I think

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that if that's something that I love that it's best.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yes, I would say to everyone, if I could nudge you to do

Amanda Gibby Peters:

one thing, that would be it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

Okay.

Jeannie Oliver:

Buy yourself the flowers, everybody.

Jeannie Oliver:

So energy levels in general.

Jeannie Oliver:

Is there anything that you wanna add when it comes to that that's specific?

Jeannie Oliver:

Cause I wanna talk about to our bedrooms and how it affects our sleep.

Jeannie Oliver:

I mean, I always tell people like, create a sanctuary in your bedroom.

Jeannie Oliver:

Mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

. But I think, you know, obviously you can give us a more detailed explanation

Jeannie Oliver:

of, you know, what does that mean?

Jeannie Oliver:

How can you create that energy in.

Jeannie Oliver:

your bedroom so that it does feel like this place of rest.

Jeannie Oliver:

You know, we always tell people, reserve your bedroom for sleep and sex only.

Jeannie Oliver:

Don't work in your bedroom, don't watch tv.

Jeannie Oliver:

Don't spend a bunch of time like sitting, you know, on your

Jeannie Oliver:

tablet or your phone in bed.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like, try to reserve those for other rooms so that the brain isn't associating

Jeannie Oliver:

the bedroom with work or anything that's gonna make you anxious or restless.

Jeannie Oliver:

So what are your thoughts for that?

Jeannie Oliver:

Because obviously sleep has a huge influence on our energy throughout

Jeannie Oliver:

the day, and we want people waking up rested, ideally, and sleeping soundly.

Jeannie Oliver:

So what are the Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

Big tips for, for

Amanda Gibby Peters:

bedrooms?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So everything you just hit on Absolutely.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like the star attraction of the bedroom needs to be the.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Not the tv, not the Peloton bike, you know, not any of that stuff.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

If you are able to have the bike somewhere else or any of

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the workout equipment, great.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I know again, over quarantine, people had very specific, you know, like everyone

Amanda Gibby Peters:

was working ho at home and so, you know, some people set up shop in the bedroom

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and that, and in those situations, or even kids who, you know, school

Amanda Gibby Peters:

from home, I say, Okay, then just at.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Work from somewhere other than your bed.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like maintain that as precious space.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Don't invite the whole world into bed with you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

All right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But in terms of like the tv, I know that that can often

Amanda Gibby Peters:

create resistance and I get it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

People love it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's a nice way to self-soothe.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

At the end of the day, it's a great thing to fall asleep to, but

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it is emanating its own energy.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so if you're someone who has trouble sleeping, it's actually disruptive.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's kind of like alcohol.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, alcohol makes you feel tired, but then it actually will wake

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you up in the middle of the night.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

The TV can be the same disruption.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so instead of like, take the TV out right now, I will encourage

Amanda Gibby Peters:

people, cover it up, see how you sleep.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

A lot of times if you have that conversion of getting a few nights

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of really good rest, you will want to move the TV yourself.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So you're right, like the EMS and that kinda stuff.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But a few other things that I would recommend that I see.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We love to have all the things by our bet.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We have all the lotions and the potions and the essential oils and the, you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

know, all the books and all that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I don't do anything like that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

All the things, I dunno what you're talking about, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I know , I know the healthy types.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I, I get it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And you know, this, this, this better version of ourselves, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And we're gonna eventually use it, but tonight I'm too tired.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But all of those things generate their own noise.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. And so it's great to do an edit like once a month.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

What am I actually using?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

What am I actually needing?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like, where can I create open space?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Something that I'll, I'll say often to my clients is luxury really

Amanda Gibby Peters:

is what you can afford to do.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I love that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

What can you let go of here to create some open space so it's less distraction,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

less noise, less interference.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I would say the same thing about what we keep in the room.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So whether it's on the dresser or if we have chairs or a couch in

Amanda Gibby Peters:

there, or even stuff under the bed.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Start being mindful about what you are letting share that space with you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then something.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That I'll say that I think en you know, interferes with good sleep and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

feeling energized is this monochromatic palette that everyone loves.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, just the really pristine white and not knocking it, it's gorgeous.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I love it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But when you understand color from the perspective of functional, specifically

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the five elements, you know, white is a little bit more of a demanding

Amanda Gibby Peters:

color and it can make it really hard to shut down the mental chatter.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So sometimes when people reach out to me and they're dealing with a lot

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of anxiety when they're having a hard time sleeping, I'm like, How can we

Amanda Gibby Peters:

bring in like a few darker colors?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Cause if you think about what dark does, it absorbs, it pulls

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you inward, it kind of quiets.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's about being reflective.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it's not about getting rid of a palette you love, it's about balancing

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it out and really playing to it in a way that caters to again, Vulnerability

Amanda Gibby Peters:

cuz that's what a bedroom is.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's like you said, sleep.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's sex and it's stillness.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Where we go to be alone with our thoughts or to meditate or to sort

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of, kind of think through something.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's what that space is designed for and that will really

Amanda Gibby Peters:

help allow you that balance.

Jeannie Oliver:

That's so cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

You know, I definitely agree with that and I see that in my own life.

Jeannie Oliver:

And especially when you talk about clearing the bedside table.

Jeannie Oliver:

That's a big one.

Jeannie Oliver:

I'm so guilty of that because I always have like six, seven books every once.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I do too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I'm, I don't want people to think I'm perfect.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I have stacks of that and I will totally be transparent when I start a new project

Amanda Gibby Peters:

or when there's something really big, like I need to show up for something.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's when I'll get really serious because I don't want

Amanda Gibby Peters:

other voices interfering with.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's a good,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it's a, it's a give and take for me too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. . Jeannie Oliver: Good to know

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Well, you know, it's funny cause we go to hotels and we travel or if we stay in

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a beautiful Airbnb, something like that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I think that one of the most relaxing things is that there isn't

Amanda Gibby Peters:

just a bunch of shit everywhere.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like, Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it's not necessarily just a lack of clutter because sometimes you go in those

Amanda Gibby Peters:

places and there are, you know, sculptures and books and all kinds of things.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But it's something about the way the space is used and it's not overly.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Taken up, you know, it's, it's kind of like graphic design is that way too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

If you have enough white space, it looks better, it feels

Amanda Gibby Peters:

better, it's easier to read.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So again, I think this is just pervasive in every area of our life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And sleep is such a huge thing.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I mean, during sleep is when our brain detoxifies, that's when we

Amanda Gibby Peters:

are actually repairing muscle fiber.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We're burning fat like we are healing.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

There's so much work that our body is actually doing during sleep.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if our energy is being siphoned off by these other things, it

Amanda Gibby Peters:

diminishes our ability to really do all those other functions optimally.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So those are awesome tips.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Thank you for that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I'm excited to especially clear off my bedside table.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We're pretty good with the other things.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like I'm just not someone that can sleep well with tv.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's too stimulating for me.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But I know a lot of people use that to, to fall asleep too, so.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Covering.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And honestly practical if,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

if people have like Fitbits or anything like that, I had

Amanda Gibby Peters:

this really cool experience years ago.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I taught at the Dallas Design District.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I, some of their you know, the designers have to get, you know, like take

Amanda Gibby Peters:

classes every year just to sort of stay, you know, cert not a certified,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

but what is the word I'm looking for?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Accredited.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so I taught about, you know, the different spots in

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the home and what it meant.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And we talked about the bedroom and I mentioned the tv.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And you know, of course, You always have some people who like us, we don't have

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a TV who are like, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then other people are never Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, a couple weeks later, this designer reached out to me and she's like, Hey,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I was at your class and I wanted to tell you, I had a client who I mentioned this

Amanda Gibby Peters:

to, so she covered her TV up and her Fitbit, every time she covers her TV

Amanda Gibby Peters:

up shows that she gets better, longer sleep than when her TV's uncovered.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I'm like, There you go.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Now see, I could sit there and say, You need to get rid of your

Amanda Gibby Peters:

tv, but why not let Fitbit do it?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So I'm always like, just try things out because if it's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

gonna work for you, you'll know.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if it's not, then move on.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's not for you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Come back to at another time.

Jeannie Oliver:

Exactly.

Jeannie Oliver:

And here's a huge plug for these trackers, you know, that we can wear.

Jeannie Oliver:

I wear an aura ring and I absolutely love it.

Jeannie Oliver:

It has completely transformed my sleep in recovery and I, it's been a great

Jeannie Oliver:

tool for me because I can see daily data on how different choices affect me and

Jeannie Oliver:

You know, just having my bed made every day or yes, you know, whatever it is,

Jeannie Oliver:

like different things that I'm doing.

Jeannie Oliver:

Obviously for me, you know, I'm tracking my exercise and my nutrition, so depending

Jeannie Oliver:

on what time I finish eating at night or if I had a glass of wine or something that

Jeannie Oliver:

day, I can see all of that data in real time, like how that's affecting my sleep.

Jeannie Oliver:

So I think that that's a really good tool, especially for interview.

Jeannie Oliver:

Any of you out there who are struggling with sleep not feeling rested,

Jeannie Oliver:

you know, struggling with energy, consider using one of these devices.

Jeannie Oliver:

I love the aura ring because you mentioned emf.

Jeannie Oliver:

You can actually turn this onto airplane mode as you sleep and it still

Jeannie Oliver:

collects all your data and you just sync it up next thing in the morning.

Jeannie Oliver:

Then you can turn it back on airplane mode all day long if you want to.

Jeannie Oliver:

You're not gonna miss anything.

Jeannie Oliver:

But it's not, again, an additional source of these electromagnetic fields

Jeannie Oliver:

that you're exposing yourself to.

Jeannie Oliver:

And, you know, one of these things doesn't emit a harmful amount of

Jeannie Oliver:

that, but we don't have a lot of data showing how much is harmful.

Jeannie Oliver:

We just know where we're getting it from all angles.

Jeannie Oliver:

Right?

Jeannie Oliver:

Our wifi, the neighbors wifi, if you live in an apartment building, like you've

Jeannie Oliver:

got all of this stuff and then your tv, the remote controls, like all of the

Jeannie Oliver:

sources cumulatively, can be problematic.

Jeannie Oliver:

And we've seen those be damaging to people.

Jeannie Oliver:

So that, I think is something to sort of be aware of and mitigate in your life.

Jeannie Oliver:

But the, the trackers are great.

Jeannie Oliver:

I think they're very, very helpful.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

So anything else you wanna say about the bedroom before we move on?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

No, but here's what I will say.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

This will actually intrigue people.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, you know, one of the things that people will reach out to

Amanda Gibby Peters:

me for is like, something is not happening for them, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Whether it's like something with their work or you know, their relationship

Amanda Gibby Peters:

or, you know, there, there seems to be a lack and I can tell you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

just by going in their bedroom if they prioritize themselves or not.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So your bedroom speaks so much to the relationships you're in,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

in general, but certainly the relationship you have with yourself.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if you're not prioritizing yourself in your bedroom, and again,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

this is not meant to be like you have to go spend a ton of money and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you have to have your dream bedroom.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It is about taking care of what you have to take care of.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But if you're not prioritizing yourself in your bedroom, then it

Amanda Gibby Peters:

tells me that you are more worried about taking care of everyone else.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. And that's how you step out into the world.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And you know, unfortunately no one's gonna come around and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

say, I wanna prioritize you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like you have to make that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, the first thing that's on your to-do list every day.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So I think a bedroom, because it bookends our days, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's how we start the day.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's what we wake up in usually, and it's where we go to sleep.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It is having that steady influence.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so by just making that statement with how you choose what gets to be a bedfellow

Amanda Gibby Peters:

in your room really has a lot more bite I think, than, you know, we probably would

Jeannie Oliver:

assume.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

Agreed.

Jeannie Oliver:

Very cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

Okay, so.

Jeannie Oliver:

The next one, let's talk about the kitchen, because this is a big one.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's another area of our home that's often very central.

Jeannie Oliver:

We spend a lot of time in there.

Jeannie Oliver:

Everyone sort of congregates in the kitchen and you know, obviously for

Jeannie Oliver:

my people, the people listening, you know, nutrition is something that we are

Jeannie Oliver:

prioritizing, we're trying to prioritize.

Jeannie Oliver:

And you know, one aspect that I'm always trying to help clients with

Jeannie Oliver:

is helping them sort of streamline food prep or have things organized

Jeannie Oliver:

in a way that makes it more fun and pleasant and easy for them to mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

set themselves up for success, right.

Jeannie Oliver:

And many of my clients are living, you know, here in the city, in Seattle,

Jeannie Oliver:

they may not have a huge kitchen space.

Jeannie Oliver:

So what are the biggest things that we can keep in mind in our kitchen?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I think kitchen is, Kitchen.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Well, from a functionary perspective, it is considered a power spot.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, we look at the front door being where you welcome energy into your life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We look at the bedroom, how you prioritize yourself, and then we look at the kitchen

Amanda Gibby Peters:

in terms of wealth and health, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So these all, all, you know, these areas all matter a lot when we're sort

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of assessing the energy of your home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So when you're talking about health and wealth in the kitchen a couple things that

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I notice, one, a lot of times we spend.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Too much of our time eating out or bringing food in, and we're never

Amanda Gibby Peters:

actually stoking the stove or the oven.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And that is considered the hearth of the home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, the stove and oven are so tied to prosperity and fesa.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And the reason for that is there was this belief that, you know, if

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you had the ability to feed many mouths, then you must be prosperous.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so because the universe saw you prosperous, it would provide you more

Amanda Gibby Peters:

opportunities to stay prosperous, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It was also that you could feed your family.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

They would be strong and healthy.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

They could go out and earn money and bring that home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so you have all of this symbolism that ties back to the kitchen.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so much of the time we don't actually use our kitchen, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We don't use the stove, we don't use the ovens.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, you know, whether it's trying to call in a partner or bring in more

Amanda Gibby Peters:

abundance, crack open those cookbooks, , , you know, get to know your kitchen.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I also think the kitchen is a sneaky place for clutter, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like we hold on to way too much, or we over accessorize.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We have all the gadgets that we think are gonna make a life so

Amanda Gibby Peters:

much easier than we never use them.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And, you know, when you think about abundance, I want you to think of, you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

know, abundance is something that a.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it's not something that you just get, because if you get

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it, you wanna hold onto it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So you've gotta have room to receive it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You've gotta be able to hold onto it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And when our kitchens are sort of suffocating from too much stuff, all

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the spices, all of the gadgets, all of the, you know, all of the things

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that we're being told we need and want and must have, we don't have

Amanda Gibby Peters:

room to actually receive what we want.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And, and something you touched on a minute ago about how we love going to the Airbnbs

Amanda Gibby Peters:

or, you know, sort of like the nice hotels and there's not a lot of clutter.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

One of the things that I've noticed over the years of doing this is

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that people really want, it's not all the things that we want.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We want more space and we want more time.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so we get into this interesting negotiating with ourselves about, well,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

if I let this go then, and we start future tripping, But what we really want is

Amanda Gibby Peters:

over here, and the very thing that stands in the way is all this stuff that we're

Amanda Gibby Peters:

clinging to, that we're insisting on.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. So I just recommend going through your space and being mindful

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of do you really use this?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Is this something that's serving you?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Do you have something that already serves this function or this purpose?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, you know, working with your stove and your oven, having sort of a, you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

know, an assessment of what's taking up space and is there room to receive?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like literally is there room, Do you have open pockets of space in your kitchen?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Because that is sort of a catcall to abundance.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then I would say the last thing is just prioritize fresh, especially when

Amanda Gibby Peters:

we're trying to be healthy, So, mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, when I will encourage people to buy flowers, they're like, Well, I

Amanda Gibby Peters:

don't even know where to put them.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Put them in the, , the kitchen screams, you know, wealth and abundance.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So what a great thing to bring in there.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I love to have fresh oranges out on the table.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

They're really symbolic and punctually.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

They speak to like, you know, the good life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But whatever fresh fruit you'll eat, you know, keep it out.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But having something that is providing you that really yang or young

Amanda Gibby Peters:

energy is going to help you start to feel more motivated, It's gonna

Amanda Gibby Peters:

help you with that follow through.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's just gonna be that little bit of lift that over time adds up.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So those are three things that I would strongly recommend for the

Jeannie Oliver:

kitchen.

Jeannie Oliver:

Awesome.

Jeannie Oliver:

I love those.

Jeannie Oliver:

I did the bowl of oranges thing.

Jeannie Oliver:

I first heard that from you and it really is, it's cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

I mean, it looks nice.

Jeannie Oliver:

You don't really think, Oh, okay, it looks nice.

Jeannie Oliver:

Again, you say it's cumulative, you know, so I think it's kind of as we

Jeannie Oliver:

chip away at these things and try different things we'll find what

Jeannie Oliver:

works best for us and what's doable.

Jeannie Oliver:

And again, it's not about perfection and doing all the things all at once.

Jeannie Oliver:

I mean, so many people that I work with are very type A and they're sort of

Jeannie Oliver:

all or nothing personalities, right?

Jeannie Oliver:

And that's something that we work really hard on as far as mindset goes to start

Jeannie Oliver:

understanding and embracing the fact that success lies in the gray area.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's never usually all or nothing.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's embracing the fact that perfectionism or perfection in general is a myth.

Jeannie Oliver:

It doesn't exist, . It's not a thing, it's not real.

Jeannie Oliver:

And that if you can approach things and just know that hey, even if I do it

Jeannie Oliver:

imperfectly, I'm making some progress.

Jeannie Oliver:

I'm growing and it's good, it's good enough, and you can build on that.

Jeannie Oliver:

And it gives you that, like you said, that motivation, right?

Jeannie Oliver:

Mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

people.

Jeannie Oliver:

I think we all believe the myth that we're like either super motivated

Jeannie Oliver:

all the time or we're just not.

Jeannie Oliver:

And there's people that must be just motivated all the time and like, no,

Jeannie Oliver:

you know, fitness, eating healthy.

Jeannie Oliver:

I mean, even as a nutrition and fitness professional, do

Jeannie Oliver:

I eat perfectly all the time?

Jeannie Oliver:

No.

Jeannie Oliver:

Am I always motivated to do it?

Jeannie Oliver:

No, but I'm way more motivated now, more consistently than I used to be.

Jeannie Oliver:

It just took time and patience and work and growth to get to the point

Jeannie Oliver:

where it's like, more often than not, I'm motivated, but I still have those

Jeannie Oliver:

days when motivation's in the tank and I need all the help that I can get.

Jeannie Oliver:

And so, you know, the kitchen is the way to do that.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like set yourself up for success, have these things that are energy boosters

Jeannie Oliver:

that make it a space that's more approachable and fun, where you're

Jeannie Oliver:

more likely to take the time to make something really healthy and good

Jeannie Oliver:

for yourself even when your energy is

Amanda Gibby Peters:

low.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Well, and I'll say this too, I think that cuz I have a lot of type A clients as

Amanda Gibby Peters:

well who are like, Tell me all the things to do and all the things is the clue.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I'll try the one because I find when we sort of tackle something like

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it's a checklist when you're talking about life transformation, that's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

something yourself up for disappointment.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Exactly.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Because it, it suggests that you don't trust one or two of

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the things to work on their own.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. So it really lets desperation into the conversation.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And for me, I'm like your co-creating with your home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

The work that I do, I want you to see your home is this living, breathing partner.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It wants you to succeed.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And the way to do that, the, the most efficient way, let me say

Amanda Gibby Peters:

to do that is make one or two.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Let the energy change you're steeping in it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Let it influence you so that you feel a little better, you're on a bit higher

Amanda Gibby Peters:

ground, and then you can come back to the list of things and see what resonates

Amanda Gibby Peters:

with you from there, because when you feel better, you're gonna see things

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a little bit differently, and so then you implement maybe another change two,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and that starts to change your space and then you benefit from it, and then

Amanda Gibby Peters:

again, a little bit more higher ground, and it just keeps going from there.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's the latter that I want people to get on because I find that when we

Amanda Gibby Peters:

do all the things, we're exhausted.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But more importantly now, we're not available to even noticing what's working

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and what's not, because we've done too much and we're not really receptive.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so there's no mud, there's no win.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

There's no win.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Trying to be like, I did it all.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I won the marathon.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. . Jeannie Oliver: Exactly.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

If you haven't read it and anyone listening, I highly recommend

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the book Tiny Habits by BJ five.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

He ends up the behavioral research lab at Stanford.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Such just a lovely, humble person.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And his audiobook is great too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

He narrates it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's really good.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But that's his whole premise is that we don't form new habits

Amanda Gibby Peters:

necessarily by repetition or time of repetition, but by feeling successful.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Or having that, that positive kind of emotional feedback when we do something.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if we can create these small enough goals, we can feel successful

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and then we can kind of build on.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so I think that this is that same concept.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, just start small, pick something that feels doable, like

Amanda Gibby Peters:

go for the low hanging fruit first.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Maybe that's buying a bag of oranges and throwing 'em in a pretty bowl.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Whatever it is.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, start small and then add on as you're able and just chip away at it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Versus trying to jump in with all fours and do everything all at once,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

which is just a recipe for failure.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's great.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Other spaces, So here's one that I'm super curious to hear your thoughts about.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, a lot of us are working out from home now since Covid.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and I, I don't live close to a gym.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I live like a full 15 minute drive, which at half an hour round trip

Amanda Gibby Peters:

for me if I'm gonna go to a gym.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that is enough of a hurdle that I won't be consistent with my workouts.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So even before Covid, we set up a little, you know, we have

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a home office slash gym, and.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's a great way for me to stay consistent because it's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

right there, I can do it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So I was really lucky to have that set up already, but I know for some people

Amanda Gibby Peters:

this is still a pretty new thing to have their workout space within their home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And sometimes, and often it is a smaller space, it's a multipurpose space.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So what are your thoughts around that?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Because obviously it's that, you know, motivation piece again, like we wanna

Amanda Gibby Peters:

feel motivated and energetic enough to get the workout in to actually do

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it, which then, hey guys, guess what?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You're more energetic when you actually exercise.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So yeah, it can be this nice snowball effect.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But what are your thoughts around home, home

Amanda Gibby Peters:

workout spaces?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, I mean, I think they're great as long as they're not in

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the bedroom, if at all possible.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Because again, it's just that, you know, it's just that influence

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of, you know, you should be doing this or you've gotta do this.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And that's not, I mean, not all of us just love working out, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like there's an effort required.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So having that out of the bedroom, if possible, best case scenario

Amanda Gibby Peters:

however you set it up, you know, it has to work for you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Everyone's spaces are so different, and you're right, a lot of times

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it's sort of relegated to the least used spot or a small spot

Amanda Gibby Peters:

where it feels the least intrusive.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, you know, as long as it's being used, you know, it's when you go into the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

workout spaces and it's got like the dry cleaning over it or you know, there, it's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

just sort of become a rack of some sort.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, Yep.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah, that then I'm like, Let's talk about this.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Why are we holding on to this?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then the other thing I would say is in terms of motivation, and this is, you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

know, kind of going a little bit more advanced into a functional conversation,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

but you know, one of the things that we work with are the five elements.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And the element would, is associated with like breaking new ground, new

Amanda Gibby Peters:

goals, new beginnings, fresh starts.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's that energy of spring.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So having.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

In the space could be really helpful, but anything that is sort of associated

Amanda Gibby Peters:

with the element would, would also work.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Well.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I have a lot of that on my blog, so I, you know, we don't need to go

Amanda Gibby Peters:

through the whole list here, but that would be a great thing to check out.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I would also say in terms of motivation, you know, because exercise is you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

know, associated with this element, even just having like your workout

Amanda Gibby Peters:

clothes sort of laid out for you, like really preparing yourself for success

Amanda Gibby Peters:

so that you follow through with that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

All of those things are really great.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You want to, again, create the invitation, create the inevitability of it, is really

Amanda Gibby Peters:

what, you know, I would say I would focus on for that space more so than

Amanda Gibby Peters:

like where it was located outside of the

Jeannie Oliver:

bedroom.

Jeannie Oliver:

. Tell me what you mean exactly by creating inevitability of it.

Jeannie Oliver:

I mean, just like link it into another behavior that morning or routine of some

Amanda Gibby Peters:

sort, or it is like when we're in the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

presence of our goal, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

When we're really committed to something and we create the least amount of

Amanda Gibby Peters:

interference, or we clear up anything that stands between us and following

Amanda Gibby Peters:

through, there's a good chance that if, because I, I do think that when

Amanda Gibby Peters:

we set an intention, there's always a flickering second or moment where

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it's like, Okay, you gotta do this.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. And it's whether we show up for the assignment or we

Amanda Gibby Peters:

give ourselves a pass, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like there's that moment.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I, I genuinely believe that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it's okay.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like a lot of people are like, Nah, I'm gonna pass.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I'm not feeling it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But if you can follow through and grab a hold of that, and then you have the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

space, once you get into it, then it just becomes like, this is who you are now.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So you wanna remove any sort of resistance.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That might be in the way.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And there's a lot of different, I mean, there's so many different

Amanda Gibby Peters:

ways that that shows up.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, like you are, you know, you don't, you don't schedule the time,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

meaning you don't plan on it or you schedule time and it doesn't work because

Amanda Gibby Peters:

other things are going on around the space, or you don't have the things

Amanda Gibby Peters:

laid out and now all of a sudden it's taking more time than you intended.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like really think through it so that the Yes is super easy to grab onto.

Jeannie Oliver:

Absolutely.

Jeannie Oliver:

And as far as just rooms go, mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

, correct me if I'm wrong, I would definitely tell someone if they've

Jeannie Oliver:

got a Peloton for example, which a lot of people do, put that maybe in your

Jeannie Oliver:

living room in front of your television.

Jeannie Oliver:

The bedroom or put it someplace where it's in a space where you're less likely

Jeannie Oliver:

to throw clothes over it and cover it up.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yes.

Jeannie Oliver:

And maybe tuck it away.

Jeannie Oliver:

If you have limited space, for example.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yes.

Jeannie Oliver:

I have started a new practice of either stretching or doing body weight

Jeannie Oliver:

exercises while I'm watching TV with my husband in the evening, because

Jeannie Oliver:

I realized I was sitting there for like two hours straight on my butt,

Jeannie Oliver:

sometimes more if it was a weekend and we were just exhausted, whatever.

Jeannie Oliver:

And I was like sitting that long.

Jeannie Oliver:

A, it affects my sleep negatively and I can see it my data.

Jeannie Oliver:

Mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

. But my joints just don't feel as good when I'm sitting for a long time.

Jeannie Oliver:

I feel like it's wasted time and I just feel better when

Jeannie Oliver:

I'm moving or doing something.

Jeannie Oliver:

And as someone who has struggled with chronic pain in the past,

Jeannie Oliver:

like sitting down and doing some stretching before going to sleep,

Jeannie Oliver:

it calms my nervous system.

Jeannie Oliver:

I have less body pain.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like everything is better , everything is better.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

So I have this little, it's not a yoga mat, but it's like

Jeannie Oliver:

a really squishy soft mat.

Jeannie Oliver:

So that cushions like my knees if I'm doing, you know,

Jeannie Oliver:

pushups or something like that.

Jeannie Oliver:

And it sits on the floor in front of our TV now.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's not always there because I don't like the look of a mat lying on my ground.

Jeannie Oliver:

Mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

. But it's, you know, something that I bring out almost every

Jeannie Oliver:

evening and I sit there and do it.

Jeannie Oliver:

And sometimes I'll just leave it out there if we're not having a company or whatever.

Jeannie Oliver:

And you know, that's a space I'm not usually in necessarily,

Jeannie Oliver:

or walking through my.

Jeannie Oliver:

Daily routine until we're kind of at the end of the evening.

Jeannie Oliver:

We're relaxing now.

Jeannie Oliver:

So it's not something that's visually bothering me if I have my

Jeannie Oliver:

mat sitting in front of the couch.

Jeannie Oliver:

But that just visual prompt of having it there, it's like, Oh, mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

, I don't need to sit here on my butt for an hour and a half.

Jeannie Oliver:

I watch the show.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like, I can actually get down the ground, do some stretching, do

Jeannie Oliver:

some, you know, I don't know, core work, leg lifts, whatever it is.

Jeannie Oliver:

Any other tips around those kinds of things that people can do?

Jeannie Oliver:

No, I

Amanda Gibby Peters:

think you, I think you're exactly right on like, having,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

having things where you are going to, I don't wanna say feel provoked.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But reminded, you know, and again, the bigger thing here is really

Amanda Gibby Peters:

making your space work for you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that's what happens is this is, you just touched on something that's so

Amanda Gibby Peters:

important is a lot of times we're like, Oh no, it can't be the living room because

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that's the more social area of our home, and we don't want people to judge us.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So we put everything in the bedroom.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And this goes back to what I was saying earlier, like when everything starts

Amanda Gibby Peters:

hiding in the bedroom, I know you're putting other people before you, but then

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you're hiring people to help you figure out how to stand out or how to be taken

Amanda Gibby Peters:

more seriously or how to prioritize you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it's like, but it has to start with you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. So make the living room work for you the way it needs to work

Amanda Gibby Peters:

for you, or whatever room it is.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And again, not everyone has the luxury of extra square footage

Amanda Gibby Peters:

to have their own exercise rooms.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it's like exactly.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Where does this make the most sense?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And, and, and the other thing too is, you know, I know that a lot of people be.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Especially if they have an extra room.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like let's say they have a guest room, this is so common, and they

Amanda Gibby Peters:

are working from the kitchen table, or they're working from their bed.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I'm like, Why are we not using the guest room, you know, for your office?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And the, you know, the excuse or the, you know, explanation is, well, because

Amanda Gibby Peters:

we have company over all right, how often, like, really do the math, How

Amanda Gibby Peters:

often are you having someone over?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Because even if it is a hundred nights a year, which is a lot, that's still 265

Amanda Gibby Peters:

nights that that space is not being used.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so here you are sacrificing that for the, the company, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so it's about understanding your space and not letting what you think society

Amanda Gibby Peters:

or design trends or even the builder of your home dictate for you, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like really making the space help you live the life that you want to live.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yes, and perfect point because everything that we're gonna

Jeannie Oliver:

talk about on this podcast, everything that I talk about in my practice is

Jeannie Oliver:

about making things work for you.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's not just jumping on the bandwagon because everybody's

Jeannie Oliver:

doing it, and well work for Susie next door, it'll work for me.

Jeannie Oliver:

If it doesn't work for me, I'm a failure.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like all of that nonsense.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's really about stepping back and going, Okay, there may be elements

Jeannie Oliver:

of different things that work for others, that might work for me too,

Jeannie Oliver:

but I'm going to filter things out and readily let go of what doesn't and then

Jeannie Oliver:

embrace the stuff that does and really personalize this whole experience.

Jeannie Oliver:

So, yeah, so things for making that point because I think it is really

Jeannie Oliver:

crucial and I think so many women especially do put everyone else's.

Jeannie Oliver:

As a higher priority than our own.

Jeannie Oliver:

And that's how we end up here.

Jeannie Oliver:

You know, we've put our job first, our team first, our kids, partners, parents,

Jeannie Oliver:

whatever it may, whoever it may be.

Jeannie Oliver:

And there are times when that's to some degree in necessity, right?

Jeannie Oliver:

Although I would argue that self care has to be in place all the time because

Jeannie Oliver:

if you fry and bring yourself out, like no one's gonna benefit in the long run.

Jeannie Oliver:

But at this point in our lives and the women we're talking with here,

Jeannie Oliver:

it's really about going, okay, my self care, my health, my wellbeing,

Jeannie Oliver:

my happiness is really a priority now.

Jeannie Oliver:

And it's enough already of putting it on the back burner and putting all

Jeannie Oliver:

these other things, or telling myself the story that all these other things

Jeannie Oliver:

are more important, when in actuality what is more important than your health.

Jeannie Oliver:

Like, nothing, nothing.

Jeannie Oliver:

So yeah, thanks for bringing that point up, because I think it's a really

Jeannie Oliver:

crucial thing to reiterate, right?

Jeannie Oliver:

And for us to just embrace and go, This is not selfish, this

Jeannie Oliver:

is actually caring for myself.

Jeannie Oliver:

Helps me to show up better in the world.

Jeannie Oliver:

It helps me to be more emotionally available for the people who I love and

Jeannie Oliver:

the things that I wanna do and accomplish.

Jeannie Oliver:

So I can make a difference in the world and, you know, live my purpose.

Jeannie Oliver:

Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

Et cetera.

Jeannie Oliver:

So, yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

There's a, when you look at the function I map, you know, and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

we haven't really gone into that but you know, you have all these different life

Amanda Gibby Peters:

areas that are represented in your home and if you apply this map to your home,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

you can sort of read where different areas of your life are represented.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But what's interesting, speaking about that, health is at the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

center of that map there.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's a tic tac toe board.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

If you think about, you know, a three by three grid, it's a tic tac toe board, and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

at the very middle is the health area.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it's interesting because you think about it, if you don't have your health,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

the quality of all those other life areas that it touches, suffers too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yep.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it is really about understanding that you have to put yourself at the top of

Amanda Gibby Peters:

your own to-do list every single day.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It has to be a choice and it has to be deliberate.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Cause people are happy to take your time.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Jeannie Oliver: Oh yeah, absolutely.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I was telling like your job, like there's no company out there that's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

gonna thank you at the end of the day for sacrificing your health for them.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's, I mean,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that's just it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Jeannie Oliver: Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So I know that we are running long here, but I have a couple more

Amanda Gibby Peters:

questions I'd love to cover Okay.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

With you if you have time.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Oh, absolutely.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Okay.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So health wise, you may know, I worked in a chronic illness clinic for years and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I worked with a lot of people with Lyme disease and complex chronic illnesses.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

When it comes to someone that's maybe struggling with that, where they're

Amanda Gibby Peters:

doing all the work, they're doing treatments, you know, they're seeing the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

right practitioners, they're working on their nutrition, but maybe there's just.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, this next level of health that they're trying to

Amanda Gibby Peters:

break through and can't seem to.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, are there any very specific functional practices that those people should focus

Amanda Gibby Peters:

on in their home when it comes to just overall healing or anything stagnant when

Amanda Gibby Peters:

it comes to, you know, It's something repeating the body's natural healing

Amanda Gibby Peters:

process.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, I mean, there are quite a few things like a lot of super specific things that

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I would probably say are best like in a, you know, one-on-one conversation

Amanda Gibby Peters:

just so that people aren't grabbing.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Sure.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, it's a grab bag.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But here's what I'll say.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

One, I would really, and this sounds disconnected, but it's not, I would

Amanda Gibby Peters:

really love up on the front door or the entry of your home because that's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

where you welcome opportunities, new perspectives, fresh energy into your life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It sounds crazy, but it, you know, the front door is like your own mouth.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, where we take in what we need, Food, water, nourishment, you know,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

oxygen, The front door is the same thing.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so I just think when you're trying to infuse yourself with something new

Amanda Gibby Peters:

or refreshed, A little bit of front door love, and again, not anything

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that feels overly done, but just like sweeping or wiping down, you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

know, the door and the, the hardware.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Having fresh flowers out there, or certainly getting rid of

Amanda Gibby Peters:

anything that's struggling, which would then be my next suggestion.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Being mindful of anything in your home that suggests struggle.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That's such an important thing.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We, again, become very tolerant of our surroundings and it's like,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

No, I'm gonna rehab these plants.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I really am, but are you?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like, I, I want to too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But there's a point where clearly you have, you know, you're

Amanda Gibby Peters:

beyond your pay grade . Yes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, in terms right now it just needs to go.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it's, you know, and it's, you can thank the plant and let it go.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But you see this like with like landscaping, like what's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

happening around the home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Everyone gets super ambitious in the spring and they plant all the things

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and then they don't wanna go out and water or deadhead or turn the soil

Amanda Gibby Peters:

or fertilize or do any of the things that's going to keep that energy,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that chi percolating in their favor.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that's another thing, you know, when you talk about stagnant

Amanda Gibby Peters:

chi, that's a really great way to wake up and energize the space.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Love that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then I'd be mindful too, of rooms where nothing ever changes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Ah, so like, you know, and this can be.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Overwhelm, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like, oh my gosh, there's so much stuff in there and one of these days I'm

Amanda Gibby Peters:

gonna have all the energy to conquer it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But it can also be the room that is so beautifully done.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, a lot of us probably went to homes like this when we were growing up

Amanda Gibby Peters:

where it's like, oh, no one goes in there.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like that's the form living room.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Or that's like the formal dining room, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Or like even our grandmother's, you know, mine like had the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

plastic covering on the furniture.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like you have to be so careful where you sat.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yes, yes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like that kind of stuff is going to suffocate she, if it's not being used.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And it can also be the beautiful room that you had the designer do that is

Amanda Gibby Peters:

like perfect, but it's kind of lost.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Its wow.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And you don't feel like you have permission to change things around

Amanda Gibby Peters:

because you paid so much money for it, or you really loved it once upon

Amanda Gibby Peters:

a time, but it's okay still, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

When we're not moving things around, nothing's.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and when it turns into like a chronic way of living that can contribute

Amanda Gibby Peters:

to chronic situations, you know, in terms of our thinking, in terms

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of how we feel and certainly in terms of experiences we're having,

Jeannie Oliver:

that's really powerful.

Jeannie Oliver:

I love that.

Jeannie Oliver:

And I think that anytime that we feel stuck, you know, whether it's chronic

Jeannie Oliver:

illness or whether it's like, Oh, I just can't seem to stay consistent

Jeannie Oliver:

with nutrition, with my workouts projects I need to complete for my

Jeannie Oliver:

business, whatever it is, I think that that's a really, really key one.

Jeannie Oliver:

That's what I'm gonna put to use for sure in my own life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah, let me say this too, just because I think this is always

Amanda Gibby Peters:

such a powerful way to really get it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I love issuing this challenge to anyone.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

When we think that we're not an autopilot, I always say, go into the kitchen.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And move around like the drawers, like put the silverware in a different

Amanda Gibby Peters:

drawer, put the, you know, whatever the spices, whatever you keep in the

Amanda Gibby Peters:

drawers, just move 'em all around and then notice how many times you go

Amanda Gibby Peters:

back to where you think things are.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That is how on autopilot we get.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That is how checked out we are.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if that is happening in all of your space, is that just means that

Amanda Gibby Peters:

energy is moving through the same way in your life every single day.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And when you move things around, it forces you to wake up.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It makes you pay more attention.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You have to be really bright and on your toes and that changes what you see

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and what you're calling into your life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So just those little shifts can

Jeannie Oliver:

make a big difference.

Jeannie Oliver:

Awesome.

Jeannie Oliver:

Okay, cool.

Jeannie Oliver:

So if there are like just, I don't know, three to five, I know you always do.

Jeannie Oliver:

You know, your five countdown Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

Lies on Instagram, which I love.

Jeannie Oliver:

Anyway, just a handful of tips, like if people just want like three

Jeannie Oliver:

to five ways where they can start taking steps or little functionally

Jeannie Oliver:

tips, what would those top ones be that people could start out with?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I would say my favorite and because they're super

Amanda Gibby Peters:

accessible for pretty much everyone, I would say if you have a front

Amanda Gibby Peters:

door sweep, Okay, it is when I first started, you know, consulting and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

people would be like, I can't do this or I can't do that, you know, I

Amanda Gibby Peters:

was running into a bunch of excuses.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I was like, Okay, if you can do nothing else, just sweep.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Again.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's that preparation of like releasing what is no longer needed, right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, but creating a welcoming space for something new, it's really powerful.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I would say to date, it's one of the top tips that I've shared in terms of.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Feedback and stories I've gotten, just what has happened.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So anytime you're doing something new, setting new intentions, getting yourself

Amanda Gibby Peters:

ready for a new week, find a way to stitch that in because that is a really

Amanda Gibby Peters:

powerful ritual of just creating and maintaining a little bit of space for

Amanda Gibby Peters:

improving what comes into your life.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Another tip, and I've said this already but you know, find a way

Amanda Gibby Peters:

to make an offering to your home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I like to do with fresh flowers, but honestly, it could be like,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

okay, every week I'm gonna do something small for my space.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So this week the weather's nice, I'm gonna open the windows.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Next week I'm gonna move furniture around and kind of vacuum or dust behind there.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Maybe I'll keep things moved around or maybe I'll put back, but I'm

Amanda Gibby Peters:

gonna just give the space a judge.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Maybe this week I'm gonna buy fresh flowers for three

Amanda Gibby Peters:

different rooms in the house.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Maybe the next week I'm gonna have people over so that there's just like

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that really big energy in my home.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

, but find a way to make these little offerings to your home,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

because I want you to think of them like positive cheat deposits.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And they're adding up in the bank.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so what happens is when you do this with consistency in your space, when

Amanda Gibby Peters:

life happens as it does functionally, certainly is not an inoculation, it's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

not gonna prevent things from happening.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's that your house can hold you up.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's like it doesn't, These things don't have to take you all the way down.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like you, you make a quicker comeback, the rebound is faster.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So the nice things are a really great thing to do.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I'd say when things feel really stale, you know, you're just like, Oh my gosh.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's just like I'm in this monotonous.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Move 27 things around, that's one of my favorites.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And people love doing that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And you can get as crazy as you want with it.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You can move 27 things in every room.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You can just move 27 things in the whole house.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, if you're somebody who struggles with clutter, you might change it up and

Amanda Gibby Peters:

say, Okay, I'm gonna get rid of 27 things.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But the reason we love that is, you know, three is such a

Amanda Gibby Peters:

engaging, energizing number.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You know, you'll see designers work with it a lot.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

They'll put things in groups of three because it's such an activating number.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so when you take three times, three times three, you're gonna get 27.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And that's kind of what we're playing with there.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that is a really great way to wake up the space.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then I would say, I guess the last thing, if I could tell you one thing to

Amanda Gibby Peters:

do, you know, have something in each room.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that you really love, Start there.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Like have a focal point, something in the room that really you love.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And at first, it doesn't have to be something that everyone notices, but

Amanda Gibby Peters:

as long as you know you've planted it there and let that start to take up

Amanda Gibby Peters:

space and then see what transforms.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Because you don't have to know what all the different areas of your home

Amanda Gibby Peters:

mean, but if you start planting love in those spaces, it's certainly going

Amanda Gibby Peters:

to infiltrate those areas of your life.

Jeannie Oliver:

I love it.

Jeannie Oliver:

It's super practical and um mm-hmm.

Jeannie Oliver:

. Yeah.

Jeannie Oliver:

Thank you for that.

Jeannie Oliver:

Because I know for me if again, like if I allow myself to look at the big

Jeannie Oliver:

picture of all the things, then I can get too in my head, overwhelmed

Jeannie Oliver:

cetera, . And so just having.

Jeannie Oliver:

Cup of little, little tweaks that feel really easy and accessible is so helpful.

Jeannie Oliver:

So, and lastly, I would love for you to tell us about your book and then I know

Jeannie Oliver:

you have a new program out, so tell us where people can find you and what you got

Amanda Gibby Peters:

going on.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Okay.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So lots of new things.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You're catching me right on the cusp of a ton of new things.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So I would say the best first place to find me and to learn

Amanda Gibby Peters:

more is to go to Instagram.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Ton, ton, ton of information over there.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So that is a way for you to sort of see, learn, but not need to

Amanda Gibby Peters:

have any, you know, visibility.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

You can lurk, you can stalk, you can learn a ton about shui.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I would say also sign up for my newsletter because that's

Amanda Gibby Peters:

another place that I, you know, share a lot of functionality.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So those two places, and you can sign up for my newsletter

Amanda Gibby Peters:

at Simple shu s h u i.com.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

After that, I would say the book is fantastic.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So just like the tips that we were sharing there at the end.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

My book, Simple Schwa, for every day, 365 Ways to Functional Your Life, There's a

Amanda Gibby Peters:

tip for every single day that's pretty simple, that's easily digestible.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It was something when I was brand new to functional and I wasn't ready to

Amanda Gibby Peters:

start figuring out like this landscape.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

What can I do?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Cuz I was enjoying the little things I was doing, but I didn't wanna

Amanda Gibby Peters:

have to keep buying more books to figure out more little things to do.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So this is 365 of those and you don't have to do them in order, they're not

Amanda Gibby Peters:

time specific, but it's just a great resource if you wanna just dip and dive.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

After that, I would say, yeah, I have a six week course that

Amanda Gibby Peters:

is launching later this week.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it's probably launched by the time you're listening to this.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah, yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Where you can learn.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's basically what my consult process is.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I teach it to you and you function at your own house.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Cool.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then there are other ways that you can work with me and you can find

Amanda Gibby Peters:

those over on my, on my site as well.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And then the last thing is I have a podcast that's probably out by

Amanda Gibby Peters:

now when you're listening to this.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It's house therapy.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And so yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So it's another great way to learn fun shui, you know, in the comfort

Amanda Gibby Peters:

of your own home and schedule.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So all those places, Lots of functionally for you if you are hungry for

Jeannie Oliver:

it.

Jeannie Oliver:

I love it.

Jeannie Oliver:

I'm so excited for your podcast.

Jeannie Oliver:

Cause I'm such a podcast junk and I am often driving or walking or working out

Jeannie Oliver:

and so that's what's on my headphones.

Jeannie Oliver:

is a podcast of some sort, so.

Jeannie Oliver:

Oh good.

Jeannie Oliver:

I love

Amanda Gibby Peters:

that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

That makes me excited.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Jeannie Oliver: Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Awesome.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Well, anything final that you wanna add that we didn't

Amanda Gibby Peters:

cover today?

Amanda Gibby Peters:

We covered a lot of ground.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Yeah, it was great information.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I mean, people are gonna have to come back and take notes.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. . Jeannie Oliver: Yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And I'll include in the show notes like where to find you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

and links and all of that.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if there's anything that you think of, we can always add that later too.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But I just am so appreciative and grateful for your time.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

This was super, super fun.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It was a lot of fun.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Really helpful information.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

I just think that it's, you know, if we can take a holistic approach to.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Our overall wellness, you know, including our spaces.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It, it's an element that people don't often think of.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

But I think it's one of the most important ones.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So, yeah.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

So this is all fantastic, super useful information that I think people are

Amanda Gibby Peters:

really gonna benefit from, so thank you.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Oh,

Amanda Gibby Peters:

thanks for having me.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

It was, it was great.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

And if people have questions or we need to do a follow up, I'm game

Amanda Gibby Peters:

. Jeannie Oliver: Awesome.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Sounds good.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Follow up episode down the road.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

For sure.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Let's do it again.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

All right, man, well thank you and we will see you

Amanda Gibby Peters:

All right.

Amanda Gibby Peters:

Thanks so

Jeannie Oliver:

much.

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