3 Easy Ways To Simplify Your Life

Simple living is a way of life for me, and because of this fact, my life is much less chaotic than it used to be.

A simple life for one person might be something completely different than a simple life for another, and that’s okay. We each have our limits and we each have our breaking points.

My breaking point was about 3 years ago. At that point, my husband and I had moved 3 times in less than 3 years and each time we moved, I had to pack up countless items that I realized I had never even used the entire time we were in that current home.

On this one particular moving trip, I decided not to pack those items and instead just give them away.

The feeling that I got from letting go of those items was amazing. It was such a huge weight off of my shoulders to just let go of something.

Ever since then, I have been living a much more simple life. I purge our home every few months and get rid of things that have just been collecting dust. It still feels amazing every time I drop off another load of stuff at the local thrift store.

If you want to simplify your life, here are 3 easy ways to start:

1. Learn to say no.

When people ask you to do something, to buy something, to accept a hand-me-down of some sort – if you know that you really do not need it or want to do it, it’s okay to say no.

So many people feel like they need to be out all the time, “enjoying life”. Night clubs, bars, shopping malls, restaurants – it’s crazy! When you go out all the time, you never really have the chance to enjoy the simple things in life – like watching your children blow bubbles in the backyard, growing your own herb garden and watching the sun set.

As for things, well, we all know what we want and what we need. We know the difference, but sometimes it can be hard to say no to something, especially if it is a gift from someone special. To avoid hurt feelings, when people give you gifts that you really don’t need, express your gratitude and then donate that item to charity.

2. 10 minute tidy.

A clean life is a simple life! Set aside 10 minutes every night before bed to tidy up your home. Pick up stray toys and books, throw away garbage, wipe down your tables and counters – whatever you can get done in 10 minutes, do it.

The purpose of the 10 minute tidy is to enjoy a clean home every morning. From personal experience, I have found that waking up to a messy house leaves me grumpy, and waking up to a clean house leaves me happy.

Of course, try to keep things tidy throughout the day as well. This definitely helps when it comes time to do a quick tidy right before bed. If I stay on top of it well enough, there are times that I don’t even need to do a 10 minute tidy before bed!

3. Live with less.

Of course, the best way to simplify your life is to live with less stuff. Stop allowing new stuff to come into your home without first sending something out.

You should only keep items that you truly love. If it doesn’t make you happy, it’s time to let it go.

Having a life with minimal stuff makes life so much more enjoyable. Not only will you have less to clean and maintain, you will have more money in your bank account – because you won’t be out there buying stuff that you really do not need.

Simplifying your life is not something you can do overnight. Rather, it’s something that will need to be tended to your entire life. It gets much easier with time, and you will soon figure out that you are making the right choices without much thought.

A simple life is something that my family lives and we would never, ever go back to the way things were before.

How do you simplify your life? Let us know in the comments.