BrocanteHome Your Mobile Phone…

If ever there was a woman more obsessed with her mobile phone than I, then I would dearly love to meet her so we could spent an hour or three happily discussing our favourite apps.
Oh yes: I spend many a joyful hour staring at my iPhone, much to the annoyance of almost everyone I know. Frantically checking What’s App and lulling myself to sleep with the wonder that is Sleep Genius. It is always, always by my side and it must be comical to watch the panic on my face when I cannot find it in the dark pit that is my little velvet floral bag…
I think of my phone as the most authentic tool of my self: happen upon it and you would happen across everything I hold most dear. My photo’s, my books, snippets of the poems I secretly write in Evernote (I have noticed recently, that life moves too quickly, and apples taste too sweet…), a folder full of quotes I adore and another of images of the house so I can transport myself back there whenever I am away. All this and much, much more. Aspects of my (disastrous) financial life, my goals for all my tomorrows, and even my moods. It is all there: right in the palm of my hand – the most precious object I own.
And so m’dear, in honour of my beloved phone, I hereby present my sixteen point plan for Brocante-homing your mobile phone.

//
1. Start the search for a mobile phone case you absolutely adore, whether it’s a personalised one from Foto Handyhuelle Geschenk or just one with a pretty pattern, you should love it. Not just one you buy because it’s cheap, or because it does the job, but a case that totally thrills you each and every time you answer a call…
2. Find a pretty quote on Pinterest that truly inspires and use it as your wallpaper. (I am currently using this one). While it is lovely to have your smiling babba on the front screen of your phone, it is more life-enhancing to use it drum a mantra into your soul as you will see it so very often…
3. Switch off email notifications. You phone should mither you as little as possible and there is nothing quite so mithery as the constant bleep of yet another email…
4. Start a folder full of images of your garden and special spots in your house so you can transport yourself back to a peaceful place in the press of a button.
5. Keep testing ring-tones until you find one that neither grates nor startles you. Consider using a favourite song and set it so the tone ascends instead of bursting into noisy life. Nothing worse my friends.
6. If your phone has a touch screen, seek out a stylus. There is something rather elegant about using one instead of constantly jabbing at your phone with your fingers and they are great for making really quick notes in paper applications.
7. Use the silent button. You don’t have to be at everyone’s beck and call constantly, and by using the silent button so you are not disturbed when you don’t want to be, you can choose a time that suits you to call back. It isn’t rude. It is merely about preserving your own peace of mind.
8. Divide all your photographs into folders so you can find the pictures you are looking for in a flash, show photographs only of what you want to share with others, or spend a while with your far-away partner, looking at all your personal yesterdays.
9. Download the Cartolina App and use it to send out the prettiest texts, emails and Instagrams around.
10. Use reminders to help you remember self-care routines. Though everyone I know laughs at me, everyday afternoon at 1.15 my phone lets out the gentlest of little jingles: this is my “Miracle Moment”, a daily reminder inspired by Gabrielle Bernstein, that I use to inspire a pause to be both mindful and grateful. Yes it’s silly, but it is a moment I absolutely treasure and this method of reminder could be adapted for all manner of self-care rituals.
11. Keep a set of earphones in your bag so that you can instantly lose yourself in an inspiring podcast ( I am currently enjoying Woman’s Hour, Bonnie and Maude, Gabrielle Bernstein and -my favourite- The Good Life Project) when waiting for a bus, or dining alone.
12. Start the search for one game you both enjoy and feel challenged by. While games may not seem very BrocanteHome at all I have found that they channel my mind when I feel unfocused. My favourite? 2048 5×5… Can’t get enough of it!
13. Use a different screen for each part of your day: from goals and meditation in the morning to work apps and sleep and bedtime rituals. Get your day organised…
14. Buy a transparent plastic case and fit vintage wallpaper inside it so you can transform your case fashion in just a moment or two…
15. Photograph your favourite poems and keep them in a camera folder, so you can frequently reference your most precious words of wisdom…
16. Download my 50 Apps for Happy Housekeepers and create Housekeepers Central on your phone…