21 Ways to Simplify Your Life

Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated.

– Confucius

Getting rid of the stuff, obligations, expectations and people that don’t serve you.  It’s making space in your house, your brain, your heart and your life for things that you truly need.

The things we desire and lament most in life doesn’t cost money, yet we place the smallest value on it. Time. It’s going to pass anyways so what you do with it is important.

We fill our days with things that we don’t value – binge watching Netflix, scrolling our phones, stressing over how to pay off that new TV we just bought.

Harken the Good Ol’ Days

Living simply is returning to the way of living that many of us can only vaguely remember: pleasures that don’t cost an arm and a leg, amusements that don’t require a screen or fighting with hundreds of people to get to, and rewards you don’t earn through an app or buy from the store.

Now I’m not talking about going and changing all of your décor to be calm and peaceful and spend loads of money to buy all of the organizational things you *think* you need in order to find peace; I’m talking just being present in the moment.

Focusing on your interaction with the world. Acknowledging what you throw away and what you choose to save and find a new use for.  It can be as simply as sweeping up the leaves to use as mulch in your garden, or cutting up old t-shirts to use as rags.

Have you Fallen Into The Trap?

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably felt that sickening discomfort deep in your gut that the way we’re living and continually taking more is not ok.  

The more of us who live simply, the more we can imagine that we might actually dig ourselves out of this landfill of plastics, toxic chemicals, brain-deadness, climate change nightmare we’ve created by being overindulgent assholes.

We’re owned by our things.  Everything in our world conspires against living simply.  Corporate greed creates a need where there doesn’t need to be one.  Our economy demands that we make continual consumption a way of life.  Buying things has become a ritual in our society.

Simplicity makes you feel good – optimistic, alive, hopeful and less stressed because you can relax. We’re part of the solution, not the problem. Our brains are quieted from the endless mental chatter and the agitation to have more. 

There’s more time to be still, to sit and read, to be with your children, to provide for yourself, to do the things you enjoy.

Nothing Worth It is Easy

Living simply isn’t easy, but it’s well worth it. You have to fight for it.  You have to fight against the attention-grabbing headlines, the new shows and binge-watching Netflix. If you want more space you need to go through the stuff clogging up your house and your brain.

We didn’t get to this point quickly; it festered and grew over decades. If we’re going to bring ourselves to a place of peace, we’re going to need to devote daily practice to undoing what we have created, and not just dreaming of romantic ideals.

Simple living is really simple. There’s really just one idea: Prioritize the few things that really matter, and put aside everything else.

Living simply is simply living where less is more.

21 Ways to Simplify Your Life

1. Decide What Matters
Do you ever get to the end of the day and feel unfulfilled and unproductive? Choose 3-5 things you value and focus your daily life around them.

2. Live With Less
Evaluate your purchases. Take stock of your home. Less stuff creates more time and space to LIVE.

3. Ditch the Plastic
Plastics are full of toxins that harm our bodies, decrease fertility, and a completely unnecessary. I can also never find the lid to go with that container! Check out this simple DIY Produce Bags tutorial to get you started.

4. Take a walk
Get outside! Be in nature, garden, enjoy what a natural de-stressor nature is.

5. Reduce TV/screen time
Focus on eliminating the boob-tube. It fries your brain, de-energizes you, gets you into the FOMO and comparison trap, and you’re spammed with advertisements. Media controls the way you think and locks you into a consumer cycle. Turn off notifications. Set a time in the day to check your email, once.

6. Read more
Expand your brain! Let your imagination come back! Reading books helps your brain relax and destress, and come alive again.

7. De-schedule
It’s ok to be still and let your kids explore their own backyard rather than running off to every activity. Being bored helps foster creativity and learning. You too!

8. Create a routine
Every morning and every night. 5 minutes or an hour. Routines create habits which leaves space in your brain for rest, while allowing you to focus on your values (the reason for your routine). Check out this link for help.

9. Move
Stretch, do yoga, kickbox – move your body in a way that you love.

10. Spend less
Reuse what you have, learn how to make something instead of buying, or do without. Find an alternative. Not everything that costs money has to be done and not everything has to cost money.

11. Don’t tolerate debt
Hunker down and get out of it as fast as you can. Be aware of your spending habits. Live simply.

12. Say no.
You don’t have to do everything, go everywhere, o accept everything offered. It’s ok to say no!

13. Simplify your wardrobe and your kids’
Create a capsule wardrobe for each of the seasons. It’s much easier to find something to wear and feel great in!

14. More is not enough
Find what “enough” is to you. I guaranteed more stuff won’t be enough. Go back to #1 and how you can meet those with what you have, or make space in your life for.

15. Declutter before organize
Get rid of the stuff. It’s not serving you and it’s creating clutter in your brain.

16. Ditch multitasking
Your brain cannot multitask healthily. It becomes stressed and chaotic. Focus on one task at a time, will help you find balance and get more done.

17. Say no to ads
Companies are trying to get you to buy more and make you feel that their product is the answer to your problems.

18. Take a rest day
The world won’t come crashing down if you don’t do the dishes or get caught up on the laundry. Read a book, enjoy time with your kids, do you.

19. Get rid of unnecessary costs
Netflix, gym memberships, coffee every day, expensive car payments – think of how much money you’ll free up and what you can do with it that you really enjoy.

20. Eat simply
Eat from nature rather than overindulgence and junk food. Eat. Real. Food. You’ll love these whole food recipes that are easy to make!

21. Get quiet
Take a breather and still your mind. Meditate, do stretches and breathing exercises. Aim for 5 minutes a day to bring more calmness and clarity to your life.

“Do what you can. Where you are. With what you have.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed or my mind is spinning, I throw this favourite blend into the diffuser. I also carry it around in a roller bottle so I can apply it over my chest and heart while I’m out. It’s my zen in a bottle!

3 drops Frankincense
2 drops Northern Lights Black Spruce
1 drop Valor

Check out my additional resources on using essential oils here. I’ve done the research for you and, as always, only recommend and use the best.

I’d love to hear what ways you live simply!

Get my guide: 3 Ways Being “Unconventional” and “Crunchy” Can Give You Freedom, and learn how you can put this lifestyle to work for you. (…#3 had me feeling 10 years younger in a matter of months!)