Simplify and Seize the Joy

In today's fast-paced world, where we are constantly bombarded with distractions and material pursuits, the idea of simple living has become more relevant than ever. It’s a lifestyle choice that encourages us to prioritize experiences over possessions, mindfulness over busyness, and clarity over clutter. Below I have compiled some ideas that have helped me and may help you too, to embrace a more intentional, peaceful way of life.

Set a timer for 10 minutes. Choose any of the following tasks. Stop after 10 minutes. Then celebrate your simpler life.

ü  üDonate any shoes you haven’t worn in a year.

ü  üWrite three thank you notes.

ü  üTurn on music, drive slowly even if you are late, because complaining/ crying/ rushing etc. etc. will not make the timer go slow or smoothen the traffic that you are stuck in. So just relax and move on with the situation as-is.

ü  üComplain Less

“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.” — Tom Wilson

There are numerous benefits to complaining less. It shifts our focus to the positive. It allows gratitude to take root. And cheerfulness can be an excellent beautifier.

ü  Remove any glasses, dishes, silverware, serving dishes or cooking utensils from the kitchen that you haven’t used in the last 6 months. If you miss something, go get it. If not, donate it.

ü  Open any email that you didn’t sign up for, or signed up for but don’t need/ want/ like anymore, scroll to the bottom of the email and click “unsubscribe”. Also delete the emails that are just lying in your inbox without being of any use to you.

ü  Bring two small bags to your car. Fill one with trash and the other with anything that doesn’t belong in the car. Like I removed all the slips I got while getting the car refueled, all the trash including chips’ empty packets, toffee rappers etc. (thanks to my kids), all the disposable spoons that we collected in the car while taking take aways and much more….. The idea is to just clear the place and remove all the unwanted things that don’t belong there.

ü  Dump the contents of your junk drawer or desk drawers that you don’t open frequently into a paper bag. Close the bag. If you don’t need anything in the bag in 30 days … get rid of the bag and everything in it. If you do need something in the bag, remove it and put it where it belongs.

ü  üBring a box into your bathroom and fill it with anything that has expired or that you don’t use.

ü  üDonate all your formal occasion dresses that you haven’t worn more than once. Yes, all those dresses that you bought for something fancy and justified the purchase by saying, “I’ll be able to wear this again.”

ü  üClear 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.

ü  üRemove all expired, stale, unwanted items from your pantry and refrigerator.

ü  Start walking for only 5 minutes if you aren’t walking at all.

ü  Be Beautifully Human:

“There is some kind of a sweet innocence in being human – in not having to be just happy or just sad – in the nature of being able to be both broken and whole, at the same time.”
— C. JoyBell C.

Just be OK with not being OK all the time.

ü  üSkip the guilt-dwelling, soul-sucking process of focusing on everything you didn’t do, or how far you still have to go.

·       If your closet is a disaster but your kitchen counters are free of clutter, celebrate that.

·       If your morning was stressful and hectic, but you were able to sit quietly for 20 minutes after lunch, celebrate that.

Turn your focus to the ways you’ve made progress on your simplicity journey and use the momentum of how that makes you feel to tackle the next thing.

Happy Living!

And

Thank you for reading…