My journey towards a more simple life started in 2012 when I was extremely sick with my first pregnancy.
It was Christmas time and I wasn’t physically able to do all the things I normally do. Even though I did less that Christmas, it was the one of the best holidays I had ever had!
That Christmas was my introduction to simplicity and choosing a simplified lifestyle.
Since that time, I’ve cut out a lot of things that were getting in the way of enjoying life by simplifying. It’s a little ironic.
We think the more possessions we have or the busier we are, the happier we’ll be. But I believe those things end up creating more stress in our lives.
So today, I’m sharing 5 ways I’ve simplified my life in order to enjoy it more. This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start if you want to simplify your life too.
1. Get rid of the things you don’t use.
Most people have closets, garages, and attics full of stuff they don’t use. Things that take up valuable space in your home but serve no purpose.
But it’s not just stuff that’s tucked away. It’s also extra things that are in the every day spaces of your home.
For example, you probably have multiple utensils in your kitchen which all do the same thing. But you actually only use your favorite one.
You probably have a linen closet full of sheets and towels you don’t use.
Get honest with yourself and decide if those things are making your life easier or harder. I used to have multiple vegetable peelers, and one day I finally realized all those peelers were getting in my way and cluttering up my utensil drawer. So I got rid of the ones I never used and only kept my favorite.
I used to have 4 sets of sheets for our bed, and they took up a lot of room in our linen closet.
So I kept our 2 favorite sheet sets and donated the others. Now I have room to store extra toilet paper, and I don’t have to buy it every week!
If you want more tips for decluttering, I have lots of helpful posts here to help you get started.
How to Organize Any Space for Free
Overcoming CLUTTER IN YOUR HOME
How to Minimize Clutter in Your Home
2. Use a master meal planning list.
One of the most stressful parts of my day was figuring out what to make for dinner. However, my family has to eat. There’s no way getting around that one!
So I figured out a way to simplify meal planning and dinner.
I refer to a master meal list every time I plan the meals for my family. That way I don’t have to come up up with something new every week.
I also simplified the food I make. I only serve one “star” per meal. The star is either a complicated main dish or a complicated side dish, but never both.
For example, I might serve baked chicken (easy), rolls (easy), and a broccoli salad (the “star”).
If simplifying your meal planning sounds like something you want to try, check out these posts for more ideas:
The Best Simple Meal Planning Tips
Simple Meal Planning for Beginners
3. Plan how you spend your time.
As you begin each week, carve out some quiet time to plan ahead for specific things you’ll be doing in the week ahead.
That way you know what’s coming up and can be prepared. This simplifies your life because you aren’t scrambling around at the last minute trying to get things together.
I like to do this on Sunday afternoon when the house is quiet. Here’s my affiliate link to my favorite paper planners.
Here are the following things you’ll want to plan for each week:
- meals*
- household cleaning*
- random to-do lists*
- errands
- calls to make
- bills to pay
- things to buy
- self care
- goal(s)
- family time
*If you are short on time, or this feels like too much. Start by only planning these 3 things.
4. Follow a “uniform” outfit formula to get dressed.
This may sound boring if you are a fashionista, but hear me out. We’ve all looked in our closets full of clothes and felt like there was nothing to wear. Right?!
The reason is your closet is full of too many choices and it feels overwhelming. You also probably have clothes that you don’t really like or don’t fit you all that well clogging up your closet making it difficult to find clothes to wear.
Using a basic outfit formula has been incredibly helpful and simplified my life so much. It makes it easier to shop, do laundry, stay organized, and get dressed every day!
5. Let go of perfection and embrace good enough.
That first simple Christmas meant my home was not perfectly decorated. I didn’t spend a bunch of time finding the perfect gifts or making the perfect treats.
Instead, I saved myself a lot of time and stress by lowering my expectations and being okay with good enough.
I try to apply this to all areas of my life by letting go of doing things perfectly and choosing to be happy and content when things don’t go as planned but are still good.
As you think about your life, think about ways you are expecting perfection when it’s not really needed.
How could you simplify your life by lowering your expectations and allowing the freedom to do things “good enough”?
At home that means I spend less time cleaning. I still keep up with my home chores, but I don’t spend hours trying to get every speck of dirt cleaned up.
Here are more posts about letting go of perfection and simplifying your life.