I am in a season of life where I am looking to simplify. I want to be intentional with my days and spend time on what is important. I don’t want to look back and wonder if I valued my stuff more than my people. I am simplifying my business, my home, my family…and it is so freeing. I find I can enjoy life more, I am not distracted or easily stressed out. I wanted to share some things that you can do today in only a few minutes to simplify your own life.
WAYS TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW
Set a timer for 10 minutes. Choose any of the following tasks. Stop after 10 minutes. Then celebrate your simpler life.
- Read your favorite inspirational book. If you need some new book recommendations, I have plenty.
- Hand write a thank you note to someone and put it in the mailbox.
- Turn on background music, lay down and close your eyes.
- Open your email and unsubscribe from as many lists as you can.
- Bring a trash bag to your car and clean it out.
- Toss or collect in a donate box any shoes you haven’t worn in a year.
- Bring a box into your bathroom and fill it with anything that has expired or that you don’t use or that will be expired by the time you use it.
- Go through your medicine cabinet and toss anything that has expired or you no longer need. Be sure to dispose of it correctly.
- Read this: Learn to Consider Gratitude a Discipline.
- Clear as many counter tops as you can while still taking the time to put things where they belong. Have a donation box close by in case that is where they belong.
- Remove all expired, stale, unwanted items from your pantry and refrigerator.
- Decide on an unplug schedule- meaning certain hours of the day where you turn off your computer and phone. Write it down and stick to it.
- Empty the cabinet under your sink. Wash it and then only put things back that you use.
- Schedule all annual medical appointments like physicals, mammograms, dental visits or other routine medical things.
- Look over your planner, calendar and command center and make sure they all line up with each other. Decide if you are overscheduling and make adjustments as needed.
Celebrate your simplicity! This is a journey and will never be a perfect arrival. Focus on the one thing you can do each day that will make the biggest impact. If you are constantly busy and stressed out, focus on your mind and take a few minutes to just be in the present. Look at your schedule and see what you can let go of. If your home is your source of stress, keep a donation box at your door and fill it up each day. If your closets are overflowing, research capsule wardrobes. Little by little…you’ll get there.
33 Comments
Ashley Stephenson
August 24, 2016 at 8:26 amThese are such good tips! I love getting hand written notes and I don’t nearly send them enough to friends and family so that is something I need to work on!
melanie
August 24, 2016 at 9:17 amGreat tips and I certainly need to do just about all of them. I have some time off work next week and I think I’ll tackle some of these. Especially cleaning out my car and throwing away expired products 🙂
Sarah Jean
August 24, 2016 at 9:34 amOne way I simplified my life was cleaning out the junk drawer the other. I felt so good after it!
Ivanna
August 24, 2016 at 9:38 amThese are all awesome. I just did a big purge in my house, simplified many things. It felt really good.
Kristin Cook
August 24, 2016 at 9:46 amI have so much stuff in a “donate pile” that I keep leaving there. I need to just drop it off and stop leaving it in a corner of our house. That would help!
Kiara
August 24, 2016 at 11:47 amI wrote a similar post like this on my blog recently as well! I love that you focus on organizing and decluttering your spaces.
Erin | A Welder's Wife
August 24, 2016 at 1:34 pmThis list is awesome! The donate box is a lifesaver! I have filled mine up in the course of two months, which may not sound that great, but I thought I was decluttered before I had the box! I have also been practicing to leave my phone out of arms reach so that I step away from it more. It has really helped me relax while doing daily tasks.
Laura
August 24, 2016 at 1:44 pmeven just THINKING about doing some of these tasks is making me happy. Reviewing my calendar, cleaning up some desktop clutter and cleaning out my car? I think I know what I’m doing tonight…
xxox
Laura @ http://www.cookwineandthinker.com
Neely Moldovan
August 24, 2016 at 4:03 pmWe just donated 2 whole cars full of stuff!
Susannah
August 24, 2016 at 4:07 pmI love these tips! I’m going to try to complete them all! <3
cara
August 24, 2016 at 5:10 pmI’ve been doing my second round of “spring cleaning” haha and it feels soo good to know I have less clutter in the home. Great tips!
Serena
August 24, 2016 at 5:14 pmGreat tips! Unsubscribing from mailing lists is a good idea.
Laina Turner
August 24, 2016 at 5:38 pmSimplification is my goal right now also. Too much mental and physical clutter distracting from whats important.
chloe | boxwood avenue
August 24, 2016 at 6:01 pmClearing countertops is such a great tip!! It refreshes a space so easily!
Gina
August 24, 2016 at 8:46 pmLove these!
Sue C
August 25, 2016 at 10:22 amI like to take 10-15 minutes to sort the mail, shred it, file it, or place in a pile for later action (paying a bill, reading a magazine, etc). Another favorite is to take the time to clean out my email folders and unsubscribe to lists I am no longer interested in. Both things make me feel lighter and accomplished after doing them.
Hannah Stein
August 26, 2016 at 3:11 amLove this! I think we all need to go and simplify our lives once and a while and we can feel so overwhelmed we don’t even know where to start.
Marina @ Life Coach Wannabe
August 26, 2016 at 7:34 amLove love love this! The first thing I will do is unsubscribe from bunch of useless newsletters!
Betty
August 28, 2016 at 9:03 amThis is awesome. I really like number 7. In fact that is going on my “to do list.” These are very inspiring and motivational thoughts. I have written a letter to 8 people that influenced me greatly and I hand delivered it to them.
Dana
August 29, 2016 at 12:01 pmSuch great tips! I love to take the time to write notes to friends and family. The handwritten note is so strong – to me at least 🙂
Angie
September 12, 2016 at 8:57 amThis is a great post! I’ve been putting a lot of focus on simplifying as well lately, and it makes such a big difference. I love the idea of an unplug schedule. My electronics set my nerves on edge some days, and I know I need to just step away and relax. d
tineke - workingmommyabroad
September 20, 2016 at 10:31 amGreat tips! I need some of that disconnection time…
Kim
September 20, 2016 at 10:33 amSuch a simple solution – I am definitely going to try it! I am overwhelmed with all my to-dos, but if I set aside this time, I know I will feel a bit better. There’s no reason to dwell or spend forever doing it. Love this – thank you!
Jasmine Hewitt
September 20, 2016 at 11:46 amThese are great tips and I do enjoy scaling things back sometimes
Suzanne Hines
September 20, 2016 at 2:11 pmI LOVE this list! I think I might add each of these things to my to-do list (one a day!) from now until our baby boy arrives! That will help with the crazy nesting I have going on right now!
Fiona
September 20, 2016 at 4:21 pmThis is a great list! I just know I’ll be putting off the boring tidying tasks in favour of reading and writing hand-written notes though, haha.
lauren
September 20, 2016 at 4:22 pmAwesome tips! Can I tell you, I unsubscribed from a TON of emails last month and MAN did it feel GOOD!
Sarah
September 20, 2016 at 9:07 pmThese are great tips! I am trying to find times during the day that I can “unplug” and spend more quality time with God, myself and my family.
Justine Y @ Little Dove
September 21, 2016 at 1:24 amOh my gosh, I totally need to do number 4 and number 7. And using a timer is such a great tip, I love doing that. Otherwise I can fall down the rabbit hole of whatever task I’m workign on and spend way too long.
Megan
September 21, 2016 at 12:07 pmGreat tips. It is actually quite funny how hitting unsubscribe can give you so much relief. I try and do this at least once every few months.
Ashleigh | Smart Cents Mom
September 22, 2016 at 1:05 pmGreat tips! I think this is so helpful! I think I would feel way more relaxed if I stopped and read a book for just 10 minutes! I’m going to try this.
The Ultimate Rabbit Hole #86 - The Geeky Shopaholic
October 6, 2016 at 9:46 am[…] Terryn shares 15 ways to simplify your life right now. […]
Sane Mama
October 14, 2016 at 9:40 pmI love doing #4. In fact, I often pop in there and unsubscribe from all the junk email lists that I get added to.
I also like to clean out my bathroom of all the products I buy and try but never incorporate into my routine. I like to do this when we have a yard sale and I set them all out marked free.