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Minimalism

25 Things You Can Do to Simplify Your Life

Posted on October 19, 2021

Every day we are faced with a barrage of noise and stresses, such as ads, traffic, social media and other constant distractions. Sometimes the only way to reduce or eliminate these distractions that take away our time, focus and attention is to make intentional actions each day in order to simplify our lives and focus on what truly matters to us, and do our best to turn down the other unnecessary noise.

Here are 25 Things You Can Do to Simplify Your Life.

25 Things You Can Do to Simplify Your Life

Avoid Ads

Wherever possible keep your eyeballs off advertisements. If you don’t know what is for sale, you won’t be so tempted to buy it. A few years back I became very interested in learning how to do makeup and before I knew it, my wishlist for designer make up grew. It wasn’t until I stopped watching makeup videos that I stopped wanting to buy more and more and learned to be content with the makeup supplies that I had. Now that I avoid those ads I only buy makeup when I need to replace something that has run out. Replace makeup in this example with whatever thing you seem to buy too much of.

Avoiding advertising is no easy feat. There are ads everywhere but there are things you can do to avoid as many of them as you can and remove the temptation to consume.

Some practical tips you can implement to avoid advertising:

Don’t read magazines.
Consider paying for services like Youtube or streaming services for ad-free viewing.
Avoid watching free-to-air TV and instead stream ad-free content.
Keep shopping and dining in at places that have TVs and advertising around to a minimum.
Turn off your Facebook news feed and the ads that go with it by installing a browser Facebook News Feed Eradicator.

All of these attempts to avoid advertising still do not completely eliminate all ads that you’ll end up seeing, but they’ll certainly limit the number!

2. Be More Intentional With What You Watch on TV

Be more selective with what you are watching on TV, rather than just watching whatever is on at the time. I no longer just watch Operation Repo, RBT, or whatever show just because it is on TV at that moment. I limit watching TV to only watching specific shows I enjoy watching.

This has allowed me to get some much-needed time back into my schedule for more valuable things like going to the gym or working on my blog. Think of all the amazing things you could be doing with that newly freed-up time!

3. Downsize Your Stuff

Five years ago I decluttered over 70% of my belongings. This in itself has been a huge step in simplifying my life. It makes getting dressed, doing laundry, and cleaning my house easier just to name a few benefits.

When you own less stuff, there is less stuff to maintain, clean around, replace or spend money on. You might even realise that you don’t need as big a house as you thought you did, which will lead to even less work for you and more money in your pocket!

4. Stick to a List For Grocery Shopping.

If you walk into the supermarket unprepared you are going to end up buying things that you don’t need. Often you’ll end up forgetting the things that you did and you’ll have to waist time and petrol making an additional trip. Save yourself the stress of going to the shops and the guesswork and bring your grocery list with you.

This goes for all shopping. I will not step foot into a Kmart, Bunnings, or anywhere without my list! Not to mention it frees up time that would have been wasted wandering down aisles if that is not your idea of fun!

5. Use a Planner to Stay Productive.

Those super-productive people that you see on YT or on Facebook are not unicorns. They are most likely good planners and you can be too, simply by having all your To Do’s and schedule in one place.

I use my weekly schedule planner to tell me everything I need to know or do like:

What chores I need to do that day
When do I plan to exercise?
What I am eating on what day?
What To Do items I have for myself, the band, my website, and anything I need to buy like a gift for an upcoming birthday party.

I don’t know how I used to function without one, but it’s great to have a place to write down all your thoughts so you can forget them and yet feel confident you can get what you need, done. This helps you to let go of all that info rolling around in your head, get it down on paper, set your timers or reminders, and give your brain a much-needed rest. Simply write what you need on your planner and get back to focusing on your current task or goal.

6. Simplify Your Wardrobe.

One of the most effective things you can do to simplify your life is to minimise your clothing and adopt a Capsule Wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is a well-curated small wardrobe selected for each season on pieces that mix and match and take the stress and work out of getting ready each day. With so many things to juggle on a daily basis, not having to worry about finding outfits that go together will help you simplify your life every single day.

7. Avoid The Shops

I try and spend as little time as humanly possible at the shops. I don’t go shopping unless I have something specific in mind and usually even then it needs to be a few things to warrant me even driving there. Some might find the experience of shopping thrilling and enjoyable but for me, it is filled with stress from crowds, loud music or advertising, and frustration at waiting in long lines for parking or to pay for your items or the changeroom.

Simplify your life and your schedule by shopping less and only shopping when you genuinely need to, not just to pass time. Keep a wishlist of things you want or need to buy and build that up over time so you can hit the shops once that month rather than going multiple times.

8. Learn to Say ‘No’.

For some time, I felt extremely stressed thanks to not having enough downtime. On weekends I’d cram in band practice or a gig, on top of trying to see family, go to the city with friends, see more family, get groceries, attempt to catch up on housework, and still have an outing with my husband. After a few years of this, I found myself completely burned out and overwhelmed.

If this sounds like you, and you want to simplify your life, start making space in your schedule for rest and downtime. Don’t feel the need to fill every hour with some kind of social event. The next time someone asks you to do something you aren’t feeling, just say ‘I’m sorry but I won’t be able to make it’, and give yourself some time just for yourself.

9. Use Homemade Cleaners.

I know this seems the opposite of simplifying when I tell you to make something yourself, but stick with me here.

I started using homemade cleaners a few years back. I love that with only a handful of products I can clean my entire home as well as avoid nasty chemicals as much as possible. And best of all – no more overflowing under sink cupboards packed full of different cleaning products!

Instead of having 20 different cleaners, you’ll find that just a handful of homemade cleaners can do the work of many different products. Basic ingredients like vinegar, bi-carb, dishwashing liquid, and lemon you most likely already have in your home.

For more homemade cleaners be sure to check out Clean My Space for some of Melissa Maker’s amazing cleaning recipes!

10. Learn to be Content With Less

When you minimise the excess you can begin to enjoy the benefits of minimalism and simplify your life. Minimising your wardrobes make for less laundry and a less stressful time getting ready.

Minimising your makeup collection means you can easily find what you want to use and everything can have its own place and not clutter up your vanity top.

Having fewer books means you can see the ones that truly bring your joy and you can eliminate the guilt you always felt for not reading the others you never got around to.

It may sound opposite to what we are always told – having more is more, but I promise you when you own what you love and what brings you joy you will have a newfound appreciation for what is essential and not miss all that extra clutter in your home making your life more stressful and disorganised than it needs to be.

11. Let Go of Your Aspirations For a Carrie Bradshaw Esque Shoe Collection.

Before I discovered Minimalism, I was a shoe hoarder. At my highest count, I had about 50 pairs of shoes. That may not seem like a lot to some of you but to me it was. I have since eliminated the excess shoes I owned and now have selected a few shoes that are versatile enough to go with everything.

Most of my shoes are black and there is a reason for that. It means I can run out the door in whatever shoes I have and know that there’s a 99% chance they will go with what I am wearing and also be comfortable. Not all of us are gifted fashionistas, so having a simple shoes collection helps simplify leaving the house everyday.

It may be time to be honest with yourself.

Ask:

Do you really need 10 pairs of heels when you only wear them to weddings twice a year?

Do you really need 20 pairs of sneakers when you prefer to wear two of your favourites and the others just sit there on show?

Do you really need 10 pairs of $10 flats from Kmart or would one quality pair do you?

After a while of living with just the shoes you need and love, you’ll wonder why you didn’t downsize your shoe collection sooner!

12. Automate Your Finances

Simplify your life and take the mental workload involved in paying your bills by setting up direct debit billing.

This has saved me in late fees that are no longer an issue as the bills are paid before I can forget to pay them.

Don’t forget to do the same for your savings transfers each month! Taking the work out of paying bills and savings means you can ensure your finances stay under control without too much work from you.

If you want to learn more about about how you can spend your money with intention book in your complimentary 15-min financial coaching Q&A session.

13. Eliminate Paper Statements.

If you hate filing, I’ve got a simple solution for you, e-filing. Request your bills to be sent to your email rather than by mail. It means not only less time spend sorting mail and filing it, but leaves less in terms of paper clutter!

An added bonus is this saves you the fee most companies now charge to mail you paper statements and only takes a once-off quick phone call to make the change.

14. Learn to Delegate.

I used to think that I had to do it all. I soon learned that this is not sustainable and things getting done by someone else, is better than not at all, or that task staying on your never-ending to-do list.

If you have too much to do, ask for help from those around you. Get your partner or kids to help out around the house even if it is just 10 minutes every other day. Small amounts of help add up.

If you can afford to, consider hiring someone to help mow the lawns or clean your home once a week or fortnight to give you back a few hours of your freedom and make day-to-day tasks that little bit less overwhelming.

And the same goes for work, if you are snowed under speak up. There’s no shame in asking for help!

15. Unsubscribe

Something as simple as a full email inbox can be a huge stressor! Take a quick moment to action emails as you go, rather than letting them build up where you feel that you can’t catch up.

If you get an email for a store or a website you either haven’t signed up for or aren’t interested in seeing in your inbox, quickly open the email and select Unsubscribe. Then delete those emails from your inbox. (type in the search the company name and all emails will show up so you can quickly delete or prior ones from your inbox).

This will save you one set of ongoing emails from taking away your attention on more important things and will help you keep your inbox under control and organised.

16. Focus on One or Two Hobbies.

Sometimes we can get carried away with multiple hobbies and interests, but the most effective way to get good at something is to limit those hobbies to 1-3 max. For me, that is my blog, music, and gaming.

Sure I would love to add some DIY projects in, to learn to paint and learn more instruments but those expectations are just not going to happen in my life right now where I am balancing full-time work with my social life, cleaning, my current hobbies, and having downtime.

The last thing you want is for your passion to turn into another stressor in your life and chore. By limiting your hobbies to just a couple you can get the most out of those hobbies without them taking over your life. As a bonus, by limiting your hobbies you can also limit the clutter that can come with having too many hobbies.

17. Speed Clean

Cleaning used to overwhelm me on a daily basis until I discovered the art of Speed Cleaning. Instead of letting cleaning take over my entire weekend, now I try and speed clean for 10-15 minutes most days. This doesn’t always happen, but if I can keep the house reasonably tidy day-to-day, and save the bigger stuff like the floors and bathrooms for the weekends, I don’t get as overwhelmed. And the best part is, it’s such a short time family might be more willing to join in and help.

Speed Cleaning has simplified my life as it is not something I dread as much compared to a huge clean-a-thon and makes it easier to clean in smaller chunks rather than tackling a disaster zone at the end of the week.

18. Meal Plan

If you only adopt one thing from this list, I highly encourage you to take up Meal Planning. And I am not even talking about Meal planning where you cook for three hours on a Sunday and eat the same 3 meals day-in-day-out. That’s not for me, although you may prefer that version of Meal Planning.

I am talking about Meal Planning where you select your meals for the week ahead and shop accordingly.

This allows you to:

a) Not have to stress about what to cook when you get home – you’ve already sorted that part out

b) You don’t have to rush off to the shops after work to buy groceries meaning you get home even later and still have to cook. That part has already been done.

c) You can save money as you will only buy what you need and plan to eat. This helps reduce food waste

Once you have seen how much just 10 minutes of meal planning a week can help you simplify you’ll never look back!

19. Be More Mindful of Photos by Deleting As You Go

Have you ever gone through your phone to look for one set of photographs only to see hundreds of blurry, poorly shot pics.

Yep? Me too.

So here I am going to suggest that rather than leaving these photos to take up space in our phones and clog up our phone, laptop or cloud memory that we get into the habit of deleting these unnecessary photos as we go.

If it takes 20 photos to get the perfect selfie, delete the other 19 that looked not as good.

Better yet, don’t take hundreds of shots in a day, just take a few and enjoy the moment without the camera. Curate your photo collection to only the best shots.

This can also be applied to anything that you want. If you are done with a to-do list get rid of it. Have an app you used once but aren’t happy with it? Delete it as well.

Keep only what you love and need.

20. Less is More

The Minimalists always say ‘less is more’, but what does that mean?

‘Less is more’ is about all the things that come about from having less.

It means less time spent cleaning because you have less decor to dust around
It means less photos to sort through as you only kept the ones that bring you joy
It means less time looking for your favourite lipstick because you only have your two favourites
It means less time finding an outfit that matches because you have a capsule wardrobe with only the clothes you love!

When you eliminate the excess: the decor you don’t love, the clothes that no longer fit you, and the overflowing makeup collection, you can simplify and claim some of your time and mental energy back.

21. Downsize Your Home

Downsizing your home is a very practical way to simplify your life.

When you have a smaller home you have less space to organise, upkeep, and clean.

You have less bills to pay like electricity to heat your space and can spend less money on furniture and decor.

You also have smaller rent or mortgage payments so you can choose to work less if that is your desire.

Bigger is not always better.

22. Eliminate Wasteful Spending

When you spend more intentionally you can simplify your life. Eliminating wasteful spending can allow us to eliminate unwanted clutter from our homes and ensure that we only bring what truly adds value into our homes.

Instead of buying every book that takes your fancy, only buy books as you are able to read them. You can always write a list for new books that you want to get when you are ready to read them.

Buy clothes to fill the gaps in your wardrobe rather than just grabbing anything at random because it is on sale.

Don’t buy anything for your home unless you know there is a need for it, or you have a designated place to put or store it.

By being more intentional with spending we can simplify our life and reduce the excess stuff in our homes that can add stress and anxiety.

23. Create a Morning Routine.

Having a morning routine can make all the difference in simplifying your mornings and having a good start to the day. The best part is it can be completely catered to you.

Avoid just waking up and looking at your phone or hitting the snooze button and take charge of your mornings. Even if it is just a small 10-minute window where you try and enjoy the start of the day.

Your morning routine might involve sitting and reading before starting the workday with a coffee or glass of lemon water. It might involve a workout, yoga, or stretching. You might get started on tidying up so you can come home to a tidy space later on in the day or dedicate your morning to journaling.

24. Create a Nightly Routine

A night routine can also help set us up for a restful night’s sleep and a stress-free morning.

You might choose to have a shower or bath before bed to relax and wind down.

Moisturise and have tea.

Set out your clothes and lunch for the day ahead so it’s one less thing to worry about the next morning.

You might choose to meditate or tidy up rather than do those in the morning.

This routine is something you can curate and tweak over time to see what is the best fit for you and help you simplify your nights.

I have recently started tidying before I go to sleep, getting my work clothes ready, and preparing my lunch, and have found this to be a huge stress relief come morning and a great and easy tool to help me simplify my life.

25. Have an Emergency Fund

I have never felt as at peace financially, as I have since having an Emergency Fund.

When you have money set aside for unexpected financial emergencies you take a weight off your shoulders that many of us carry around with us everyday!

Having an emergency credit card is not the same. It needs to be a saving’s fund set aside purely for financial emergencies.

Once you have one you will never look back or miss the days when you were potentially a moment away from financial stress.

This weeks comment question: What have you implemented to simplify your life? Let’s discuss this in the comments 🙂

Want to Simplify Your Finances?

If you want help to simplify your finances and spend your money with more intention so you can create your ideal life book in for your complimentary 15-min Q&A call to discuss how I can help you.

7 Day Simplify Challenge to Simplify Your Life

Posted on June 2, 2020

Are you keen to #simplify your life and clear some of the excess, but you struggle for time? Here are 7 Day Simplify Challenges for you minimisers, to help you get started on your minimising journey.

Each day of the week there will be a little challenge for you to do to simplify your life. These are designed to be quick, minimal challenges that can be done in as quick as fifteen minutes or less.

If you are keen to minimise the excess you should give the 7 Day Simplify Challenge a go 🙂

7 Day Simplify Challenge

Day One : Declutter Clothes

Day One’s challenge is to declutter some of your clothes

Go through your wardrobe and drawers and pick out 3 items to get rid of that either:

Don’t fit you
Are no longer in ‘your style’
That don’t bring you joy
Are Torn or beyond repair

Of course, if you feel motivated to get rid of anything more than that, go for it!

Day Two: Unsubscribe

Day Two’s Challenge is:

To Unsubscribe from three unwanted email mailing lists.

Of course, if you feel motivated to get rid of anything more than that – go for it!

Day Three: Delete Apps

Day Three’s Challenge is: To Delete any apps on your phone that you no longer need or use.

It’s time to clear up that phone background and get rid of those apps that are adding no value to your life!

Day Four : Declutter Beauty Supplies

Day Four’s Challenge is:

To get rid of any beauty products you don’t need.

Let go of anything:

you bought but didn’t like
that has expired
that is empty
that you no longer need

If you have anything new that you don’t want, see if you can donate it to a friend or local charity!

Day Five : Clean Out Your Fridge

Day Five Challenge is: To clean out your fridge!

Let go of anything:

that has expired including leftovers that weren’t eaten

anything that is empty
Whilst you are there give any spills a quick wipe and put like items with like items so you can easily find them to use em up next time.

Don’t forget to make a mental note, of what needs to be used up over the next few days so it doesn’t end up in the bin!

Day Six : Clean Out Your Pantry

Day Six Challenge is: To Clean out your pantry.

Throw out anything that has expired
Top up any near-empty containers or spice jars
Throw out anything that is empty
Do a quick tidy of things and put them back where they belong
and if you have the time, give your pantry a quick vacuum and wipe down!

Day Seven : Tidy Up Outside

Day Seven’s final challenge is: To tidy up your outdoor space.

Throw out anything that needs to be in the bin
Move anything back to where it belongs.
Do the things you need to do: weed, trim dead leaves off plants, & give your plants a much-needed water
Wipe down the table, chairs, and any cobwebs so you can come out and enjoy your space!

Good luck with the challenge, Minimisers!

And let me know how you went with Simplify Challenge when you are done! I would love to know:

How much did you end up minimising?
Did you find value in this challenge?
Would you like more of them like this one?

Do you feel that you have done a little bit to simplify and love your home more? Let me know in the comments

If you found value in this post I would be super appreciative if you could share it with others who might also find value in it 🙂

Minimalism

15 Intentional Ways to Simplify in 2020

Posted on January 26, 2020

A coffee cup on a bed with sheets. A cosy space.

We are often running on autopilot. With work, social commitments, hobbies, exercise, cleaning and kids in the mix there is little time left over to take a step back and access what we can do to reduce anxiety and stress and what changes we can make to simplify our lives. Sometimes it is not until a really overwhelming and stressful period that we even realise we are taking on too much, developing habits that are bad for us and we might need to reassess our current habits and lifestyle and the people and things around us.

We can all use more tips to simplify our lives and live a more intentional life so here is 15 to simplify in 2020 for you to try out.

**This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase of a product from the links in this post I will receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This allows me to keep my blog advertisement free and support the running costs of my blog. I only recommend products I believe will add value to others and that I love myself.**

15 Ways to Simplify in 2020

Get more sleep

Some people say they can live with a handful of hours of sleep a night. I am not one of them. If I don’t get at least 6.5 hours a night of sleep, than I am useless. When you don’t get enough sleep, it creates chaos in your day. You end up sleeping in late and being rushed. You’re irritable and unmotivated. You might even end up needing a nap at some point later in the day so less gets done. Simplify in 2020 by making it a goal to get more sleep! Even if it is just an extra half an hour a day, it can make all the difference. I recently invested in a Manta Eye Mask and it’s now my must have every night to get a good night’s sleep.

Ditch toxic friends/family

Do you have a friend, family member or other relationship who adds unnecessary stress and drama to your life? It might be time to say goodbye to those relationships. Whether it is leaving a toxic work environment, breaking up with a partner who doesn’t have the same values as you or letting go of the friendship you seem to always be holding together. Set yourself free from those who are weighing you down and bring toxicity and drama to your life. Even if it is just you finally setting appropriate boundaries for relationships.

If you have people in your life who choose not to respect your boundaries, people who continually make bad decisions and expect you to pick up the pieces, people who cause you constant anxiety and headaches, or even just someone that doesn’t seem all that interested in having you in their life anymore, it might be time to say goodbye to those relationships for good. Life is too short to spend with people who don’t appreciate you and take advantage of you.

Start looking after yourself

Do you need to do more to look after yourself? I know I can often find myself choosing between practicing for the next gig, writing a new blog post or having an hour to myself and it has taken me a long while to realise that sometimes productivity and other goals need to take a back seat to my own self care.

Simplify in 2020 by starting to look after yourself. Use that gym membership you are paying for, go for a small walk everyday, read a book you’ve had on your read list for too long, drink more water, book in that dental check up even though you prefer to put off those visits. A little effort goes a long way. And trust me, when you hit the big 3-0, your body is going to insist you make better choices :p

Declutter the clutter you’ve accumulated in 2019

It’s time to say goodbye to the clutter that’s been impeding the enjoyment of your space and making clutter eyesore hotspots in your home. Simplify your life in 2020 by letting go of the excess in your home! Let go of the clothes you no longer love, donate the excess Tupperware you don’t have space for and say goodbye to the books you know you are never going to read.

A good rule of thumb is, if you haven’t used it in 12 months out it goes. If you need the extra cash you can sell your clutter otherwise bag it up, get it in your boot and drop it off to your nearest donation bin or charity as soon as you can.

Watch less TV

I absolutely love my TV time, I am a #NetflixandChill girl at heart, like any other millenial but I decided to simplify in 2020 by reducing the amount of TV I am allowing myself. Instead, I am going to the gym three times a week. I’m minus 1.5 hours a week of Netflix but feeling great knowing that I am better utilising that time!

Have a think about how much time you spend in front of the black box a week and how much time you would need to dedicate to a new goal of yours – whether it be to hit the gym, read more books, work on some craft or DIY projects or learn a new language. Even if you can cut out just 30-60 minutes a week of TV there is a lot of value adding activities you can squeeze into that new found time! Give it a go! And let me know in the comments how much screen time you gave up and what you replaced it with!

Set small goals

Simplify in 2020 by setting yourself some super achievable small goals. As the saying goes, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

If you have a goal in 2020, such as reading more, set yourself a super easy to achieve target such as sitting down every day at 3pm to read for fifteen minutes. Set your timer and go! If 7pm works better for you – go for it! Maybe you can squeeze it in while you’re in the car at your kids dance practice or get up a little bit early in the morning. The key is to find a time where most days you are able to do that activity.

Maybe you want to learn a new language for your upcoming holiday, how about you do just two Duolingo lessons a day which take at most 10 minutes!

If you want to learn new recipes, set a goal to try one or two new recipes a month! Throw that ambitious once a week goal in the bin and make the goal so easy to achieve that you can’t possibly fail!

Buy less

The more we buy and bring into our homes the more effort we need to put in to maintain these items.

Simplify in 2020 by aiming to buy less. Spend less time shopping, less time researching, less time rearranging things to fit in the cupboard, less time cleaning said items whether it be dusting, washing etc. And save future your from the chore of decluttering any excess later on! And a great bonus – you’ll save lots too!

You might consider doing a No Spend Month as an extra challenge to take in 2020 to help you curb your consumer spending. Even if just for a few weeks of the year.

Create space in your schedule

A few years ago I was completely overwhelmed by my schedule. I worked full time as well as a second job on Sunday nights. I was studying for my CPA, playing in a band and had moved out of home so had all the cleaning, cooking, washing, socializing and so on to squeeze in as well.

Since then I’ve learnt the importance of creating space in my schedule. I looked at what was and wasn’t a priority and reworked my schedule to reflect that. I quit my second job and realised that more time was more important to me than more money. I became more selective of what I said yes to and acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly keep squeezing 3 or 4 social gatherings into 2.5 days on top of house work and some much needed downtime.

My new routing involved planning ahead in my schedule and blocking out dates or times to create space in my schedule. This means that our weekends are no longer consumed by multiple social gatherings where we have no time to rest after a big work week. Time to rest is factored in every single weekend.

You can simplify in 2020 by doing the same, creating times booked into your calendar to recharge. I use Google Calendar for this. As events get locked into your calendar, be sure to add in some block out zones for your sanity. If Friday night is a friends party, it might be work keeping Saturday night free. If you have a few mid week catch ups scheduled and know it will be a stressful period at work, maybe that week you keep the weekend relatively free.

Declutter your digital space

A cluttered digital space can cause you unnecessary frustration and stress. Take the time every so often to review your digital space and remove anything that is not adding value. Delete apps that you no longer, or never use. Delete blurry or bad photos and keep only the quality shots. Delete memo notes you no longer need and review any to do list items that you can clear off. Do the same for your laptop or PC. Don’t forget to unsubscribe from social media accounts or emails that no longer add value.

Tidy your pantry

Your pantry is something your family will access multiple times every day. A disorganised pantry can make meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking harder than it needs to be. Not to mention, not being able to see what you need can make you waste more money and food!

Whether you have large or short window of time, set your timer and get started tidying your pantry. Even if you only have fifteen minutes you can make a lot of progress in a short space of time.

Throw out anything that has expired. Usually you know at a glance what has been sitting in your pantry for too long
Put any open packets into storage containers to keep the food fresh
Group like items so they are easy to find
Give the shelves a quick vacuum and wipe down. If you are short for time just do a spot clean

Declutter Makeup

Less is more when it comes to make up. Simplify in 2020 but going through your make up stash and tossing anything that is empty or that you no longer use. Keeping only the makeup you use and love will make getting ready a lot easier and keep your makeup storage area much easier to keep tidier.

In 2020, consider a more minimalist approach to buying makeup, by only purchasing makeup to replace items as they are used up. Most make up items have an expiry of 18-24 months so the less you buy, the more chance you have of using up what you do have within the expiration period.

Set up a donation box in your wardrobe

A great way to donate items, especially for those too busy to dedicate a lot of time to decluttering is to set up a donation box in your wardrobe so you can declutter as you go. Each time you pull something off the coat hanger or put something back from the wash you can make a decision about whether it is something you want to keep, or something you want to let go of.

The easiest way to simplify and declutter for those short on time is to do it as you are assessing the piece. When you are trying on a piece of clothing that no longer fits, that is uncomfortable, or is simply no longer your style you can easily toss it into your clothing bin and donate it when it gets full. You can of course chuck anything else in to donate from around the house that you come across that needs donating as well.

Declutter your jewellery collection

Too much jewellery can add too many decisions to getting ready every day. Review your jewellery collection and donate anything that you no longer wear or love. Let go of mismatched earrings, discoloured jewellery or anything that is no longer in your style. Group like items together so you can select what you want to wear as you get ready at a glance.

And as with your makeup collection, consider limiting how much jewellery you buy going forward. Consider a jewellery ban for a period of time where you don’t add anything to your collection or set a one in one out rule, where you can only bring a new piece in if you have let something else go.

Don’t forget to be honest with yourself and only keep the jewellery you will wear that you still love. If you have a collection of rings but only enjoy wearing your wedding set, let the others go to someone who will love them

Organise your paperwork

Papers can easily multiple once they come through your front door, before you know it you have too many papers piled up and don’t know where to start. Simplify in 2020 by limiting what comes into your home in the first place:

Putting a no junk mail sign on your letter box can go a long way to stemming unwanted mail.
Sign up for email statement listings for your accounts to reduce paper mail being delivered to your home that requires filing.
Set up a paper station for items you need to Action, File, Scan and Shred. Try and get to this pile once a week for action items and once a month for the Scanning, Shredding and filing so you piles don’t become Mount Everest!

Once you have limited what paper is coming through the door it will be a lot easier to manage and you will have less physical paper to action and sort.

Lastly, scan your receipts when you get home from shopping. I simply take a photo and upload it to a Receipts folder in Google Drive and recycle the original. Or grab a box for receipts and go through and scan them once every now and then to keep on top of them. You will never misplace a receipt again and will tackle your paper clutter before it gets too out of hand and feels too overwhelming!

Create a chill zone

Simplify in 2020 by creating a ‘chill zone’ space to unwind. It can be as fancy or simple as you like, for me it is just my lounge recliner where I keep a throw blanket and candle nearby, and some comfy cushions. It’s a place I can go to, to unwind, read a book or some articles.

Keep everything you need nearby so you aren’t running around grabbing things and getting distracted on your way to the chill zone (Oh look – mess! Let me just clean that up…).

Depending on your home, you may have a room for this or just a small nook in your lounge room, or just a chair somewhere in your home. It’s a space where you can get away from the dishes, laundry pile and anything else that is distracting you so you can unwind.

Want more tips on how to Simplify?

For more tips on how you can simplify your life check out these 9 tips and these 15 in this post.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Comment Question: I would love to know how have you simplified your life? Let me know in the comments!

If you found value in this post I would be super appreciative if you could share it with others who might also find value in it 🙂

Minimalism

How We Do Our Minimalist Christmas

Posted on December 18, 2019

Christmas gifts laying on a wood floor with a dark blue painted wall and green christmas tree cuttings placed around

Inspired by J. Money’s post earlier this week, Are you done with your Christmas shopping already?! and his families ‘gifting habits’, I thought I would throw together a post on our Christmas Gift Giving and attempt at a Minimalist Christmas.

Of course, these are our Christmas traditions and gifting ideas, and your gifting traditions don’t need to reflect what we do, and likewise, we won’t do that same as your family. I just think it is cool to see what other people’s Christmas gift giving traditions looks like! So here we go!

Our Minimalist Christmas

Who we buy gifts for: Our nephews (4), step nephews (8), step nieces (2), parents & step parents (6), siblings (4), grandparents (2)

So essentially we buy gifts for everyone in our entire immediate family. We have a reasonably big family so that’s 26 in total. (Or maybe that is considered small to some? hehe).

Who we don’t buy gifts for: Friends & Colleagues. Sorry to our friends & colleagues, but buying 26 gifts twice a year or more is a job in itself! I even opted out of my works Secret Santa and have done so for most of the recent years. John Smith who works down stairs and I have never spoken to doesn’t need a gift from me 😉 and I don’t need some random knick knack either.

Donations: For the past three years I have donated bags to the Share The Dignity #itsinthebag promotion and contribute to my works Salvos Christmas appeal.

What about for us?
When it comes to my husband and I we have a Christmas budget of $150 each to spend on each other. To some that will see like a lot, and to others that will seem like not much at all. To us it is a reasonable amount that won’t hack into our savings too much, but gives us enough to afford something we really want or need 🙂

Personally, I usually struggle to spend it all, as my birthday is two weeks after Christmas so at least by my birthday, my gift list is looking pretty empty.

This year my husband wanted some pricey Chilli sauce and European beers – which was fine with me. Consumables are the secret to this Minimalist’s heart! And I always find it so funny, when my husband often appears to be a bigger minimalist than me! (Maybe he is?! :p)

And for myself?

My Christmas gift is usually just a concoction of things I have seen over the months leading up to Christmas that I want or need. More often that not I will just buy what I need when I need it, but I do try and save a small number of items to put on my Christmas List as I know how much easier it is to just ask someone what they want, rather than trying to guess, and I certainly appreciate when others help me in the gifting process to know what they would find value in.

As a minimalist I am not keen on having people guess what will add value to my life, and I certainly don’t expect my husband to read my mind so this year we went shopping together for what I picked out.

I’m pretty boring and consistent and generally ask for the same things each year, my gift list usually looks something like this:

A new handbag or wallet to replace my old one. I buy one handbag a year and carry the kitchen sink around in it, so by years end it is usually a bit ‘how you goin’
A new pair of pajamas. I am the girl that will recycle old shirts as pajamas until the end of time, but once a year (or so) I will spoil myself with a new pair of pajamas
A small block of my favourite Lush soap
A lovely scented candle
A book I really want (it’s usually the only physical book I will buy the whole year)
Something zero waste I have been keeping my eye one (this year it is a safety razor)
Chocolate, I buy a sneaky box of my favourite Quality Streets. Yum! 😉 I’m a big kid at heart so decided to do a Chocolate hunt on Christmas day last year which is a tradition I think this chocolate lover might just keep 😀

Minimalist Inspired Gifts

Where we can, we will try to gift Minimalist Inspired Gifts. We try and avoid gifting things we don’t think our loved ones will absolutely love, I know the guilt of holding onto an unwanted gift so if something I really want to avoid doing to anyone else as much as possible. We aim to give things that won’t take up a lot of space (especially for the kids!), or potentially add to clutter especially when we know a loved one has recently downsized. We also keep in mind that the perfect gift is not something you will necessarily find in store! Or at least that is what we believe.

More often than not we will gift the following minimalist inspired gifts:

– Consumables: Chocolate, Alcohol, Christmas Confectionery stockings etc

– Movie vouchers

– Money – generally given with the intention it is used for a meal out or travel or an experience.

– Our time – we offer to babysit our nephews for the day and take them out

– Experiences – We take the kids to a movies for some quality time

If you want more ideas for Minimalist Gifts you can check out some others I have thrown together here and here

Keeping Organised at Christmas

With such a large family, I like to start our Christmas Shopping List as early as possible. I already have a bit of a list going by early November and add to is as I go. I use this Christmas Shopping List to keep track of who we need to buy for, what we are buying, which store to get it from, the budget and the actual cost, and of course have a check box to tick off and feel all those good vibes!

Every year it is my goal, for my sanity to finish Shopping before Dec 1st! I was a little bit behind this year as I got hit with an unrelenting virus, but didn’t finish too far off the finish line.

I used to shop up to Christmas Eve in the past and just found it super stressful, especially when you have to deal with parking, crowds etc. It was not enjoyable at all, so now I like to keep the lead up to Christmas as relaxing and stress free as possible and find finishing shopping earlier is just something that adds a lot to Christmas and is worth starting early. (Let me know when your Christmas shopping “deadline” usually is in the comments!)

New Christmas Gift Giving Traditions

If you want to start some new Christmas Gift Giving Traditions and minimise the number of gifts you are buying, or the amount you are spending on gifts at Christmas, you may wish to give these a try, or create your very own!

Something you Want, Need, Wear, Read – This gift tradition is a great way to not go overboard at Christmas with your kids, but still give them a selection of things they want and need. Let them pick out one thing they really want, and you can skip the excess, poor quality ones that will soon be across your floor.
Experience, Toy & Book – Mix up your kids gifts with a memory to create together, something they can keep and play with and a book to read many times together. Or any other combination you can come up with! Maybe yours will be consumable, new quilt, new pajamas, new book, new toy x 3. Or anything you like!
Experience/Holiday – you may choose to skip out on gifts all together this year and instead spend your money on a holiday or experience for your family to share that will create memories for many years to come, long after the usual toys are broken or no longer played with.
Secret Santa – If you have a large family, a Secret Santa is a great way to give one good, quality gift rather than many smaller, less quality gifts. Simply set a budget everyone is happy with and draw a name out of a hat.
Opting out of gifts for adults – Gifts for kids only – This can be a slightly more controversial option for some families as some people are adamant about keeping the gift giving tradition up for adults, but this one I believe does makes a lot of sense, particularly if you have a lot of kids in your family or even just a huge family.

When You Can’t Afford Christmas

If you are struggling financially, or even just gazelle intense with paying off your debt, and splashing out on gifts this Christmas is not an option, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to turn up empty handed to Christmas and feel like you’re going to miss Christmas.

There are so many things you can do together to make Christmas as special as ever, even without having a pile of gifts to open at Christmas.

Here are some frugal ways to still enjoy Christmas with your family:

Bake Home made cookies together or make Christmas Bark
Play board games as a family
Grab some Christmas themed books at a thrift store to read together each night
Watch a Christmas movie in the nights leading up to Christmas
Go Christmas light looking around your area.
Make some Christmas themed arts and crafts together like Christmas wreathes , or Santas with paper plates and cottons balls you have left over.
Go to your local Christmas carols event

And some extra frugal gift ideas for your family they will love:

If you are artistic, gift them a drawing or painting
make a DIY Scrub or face mask
Gift them a DIY gift, Brittany from Vasseur Beauty has some amazing ideas in her video
Bake some home-made cookies, hot chocolate or Christmas Pudding
Find a second hand book in the thrift store that they will love
Give a home cooked meal
Gift your time: Babysitting, something you can teach them
Walk around your house and see what you can gift e.g. repurpose a spare picture frame with an inspiring quote you printed off

[Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash]

This weeks comment Question: What are your holiday gift giving traditions? Have they changed over the years? Let me know in the comments!

If you found value in this post I would be super appreciative if you could share it with others who might also find value in it 🙂

Minimalism

8 Ways Decluttering Helped Me to Live a More Intentional Life

Posted on September 24, 2019

Declutter your home and live a more intentional life today

Before I started my decluttering journey I had no idea how much my stuff was holding me back. I wasn’t aware of the daily struggle clutter bought with it or how it added to my stress and anxiety.

When I decluttered my first set of drawers that contained my shirts and shorts, I was amazed at the difference this one small change made to me. It seems silly that such a small change – decluttering two drawers, had any impact on my life but it did and that positive change grew exponentially from there with each decluttering project I tackled.

Decluttering benefited me in many areas of my life that I couldn’t have ever expected. Here are 8 Ways Decluttering Helped Me to Live a More Intentional Life.

8 Ways Decluttering Helped Me to Live a More Intentional Life.

1. Decluttering highlighted my impulsive consumer habits

Very early on in my decluttering journey, I became aware of numerous impulsive consumer habits I had picked up over the years. My wardrobe and bathroom were hard evidence of these less than desirable shopping habits. As I decluttered my bathroom, I saw lip balm collections, a foundation for every day of the week, and hand lotion bottles galore.

I didn’t have what I needed – the essentials, or even just a little more in case I ran out before I could get to the shops. I was apparently preparing stockpiles for the shops to close for a good year based on my collections

As I decluttered each item: shampoos, conditioners, hair products, makeup, and the like, I realised that I really didn’t need all those excess items and over time implemented new consumer habits to limit what I was bringing into my home.

2. Decluttering helped me appreciate experiences over things

Before I decluttered my home and cleared the excess, I was your average shopper. Most likely addicted and spending mindlessly on things I didn’t need.

I’d wander on my lunch breaks shopping for nothing in particular, spending my hard-earned paycheck.

Buy things just because they were on sale, even if I had no idea what I would do with them when I got home.

Waste my weekends in the mall buying things I didn’t need instead of doing things that added value to me.

Decluttering helped me lead a more intentional life as I slowly saw the value in experiences over things. After clearing over half my wardrobe, a buy one get one free sale sign lost its pull over me. I slowly started replacing my habits of buying things on impulse and instead learned to appreciate experiences. Experiences I could remember, and think back on with fondness, that didn’t require me to take some item into my home where I would have to find a place to store it, dust, and maintain it.

Over time I saw myself spending less money at the mall. Instead, I spent my money on experiences that I could enjoy and share with others, like going to the movies, a concert, or travelling. I noticed later in the year I’d long forgotten the new jewellery and perfume I got for Christmas, but years later remembered my first trip to New Zealand for my 30th with fondness and my honeymoon to Europe. I realised that when I invested my time and money into experiences and things I truly enjoyed, I didn’t need to go and shop to fill some void.

Declutter With Me Decluttering Course

Are you finding yourself overwhelmed and stressed out by clutter in your home?

If you’re looking to minimise the excess in your life, Declutter With Me: A 12 Week Guide to Declutter Your Home is a go-at-your-own-pace course that will give you the step-by-step, room-by-room instructions to help you clear the clutter in your home in as soon as just 12 weeks!

But clearing the clutter isn’t just about getting rid of your excess stuff. It’s important to change your behaviour and consumer habits so you can avoid re-cluttering your space once you have decluttered. Included in Declutter With Me, are “Keep It Minimal” tips for each area in your home + 7 Tips To Help You Keep Your Home Minimal, to give you strategies you can implement to help you spend with intention so you can avoid bringing clutter back into your home.

If you are keen to minimise your unwanted clutter check out Declutter With Me so you can create a home you love!

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3. Decluttering helped me be more mindful of gifts I gave to others

As I decluttered my home, I noticed a lot of gifts, that were bought with generosity and good intentions from family and friends had gone unused or weren’t adding value to us anymore. This made me reconsider my own gift-giving habits and be more intentional with what I gifted others. I stopped my usual gift buying habit of heading to the shop and browsing for the perfect gift, realising that the perfect gift isn’t always going to be found on a shelf at the mall.

I started to get more creative with my gifts. Some new habits I’ve implemented:

Buying experience gifts such a a massage, tickets to a concert, musical or kids attraction
Asking people directly what they would like for a gift
Taking a loved one out for a meal or experience
Making a contribution to a loved one’s travel savings fund
Performing or recording a song for a loved one
Gifting gift cards to their favourite store

If I know someone needs something for their home or wants something specifically I am more than happy to go out and get that item for them, but the shops are now something I only step into with intention when it comes to buying gifts

4. Decluttering made me more intentional with my time

After decluttering my home, I knew that I would never, ever, let my home get into the cluttered state that it was ever again. I wasn’t prepared to make all that decluttering progress just to go back into old clutter-accumulation habits. I was done.

Decluttering also made me see how unintentional I had been with my time.

Whether that be the time I spent looking for things around the house that had been misplaced, the time I spent trying to keep up with an overflowing wardrobe and the laundry that ensued, and the time I had spent shopping for things only to cluttering up my home that took up my very limited and valuable time.

I realised how I had used shopping as a hobby rather than a tool to buy things I needed as I needed them. As I decluttered the excess in my home I chose to utilise my time going forward more intentionally. Instead of shopping every week or on my break by default, I built up a list over time and only went to the shops once a month and made one trip. This saved me battling traffic and car spaces on multiple trips and meant I could free up some time to do things that actually added value to me.

5. Decluttering made me more intentional with my money

After decluttering over 70% of our belongings, I was faced with the realisation of how much money I had thrown away over the years on stuff I didn’t need. I added up in my head the dollars each time I donated an item of clothing that still had the tags on or the art project or book I had never gotten around to. It was certainly an eye-opening experience and made me think long and hard each day that I tackled my clutter about how I could start being more intentional with my money.

Decluttering my home helped me to see the wasted money. I refused to continue to waste my money on impulse purchases that I didn’t need any longer, I had wasted enough. I wasted money on clothes that didn’t fit or suit me because I was too lazy to try them on. There was wasted money on shoes I bought that were not something I would ever wear, I just liked the idea of them. There was waste when I bought more makeup than I could possibly use up before it expired.

When I decided to spend more intentionally, it had a huge positive impact on our finances. We were less stressed about money, we had more money to pay down debt and work towards our financial goals, and could justify spending money guilt-free on things like an overseas trip.

It wasn’t my expectation when I started my decluttering journey to save money but was a hugely welcome side effect!

6. Decluttering made me more mindful in other areas of my life

When you eliminate the excess in your home, it’s bound to make you more mindful of other aspects of your life. It is not uncommon to declutter your home and decide to move houses, get a new job, or end a toxic friendship. Decluttering makes you assess everything you bring into your home and soon you will apply those same tools and skills to other aspects of your life.

The Minimalists talk about how they decluttered their homes and soon after, changed their spending habits, left their corporate jobs to start their own blog and both moved homes. Like The Minimalists experiences, decluttering helped me realise what did and didn’t add value to my life.

As I previously mentioned, I realised that shopping regularly did not add value to my life, so I reduced how often I spent shopping and built a list to get in one go. It helped me to reassess relationships and made me more appreciative of the friends and family that made an effort to be in our lives. It helped me realise what was and wasn’t important to me and gave me permission to let go of things like the hoard of books I’d hoped to get to and instead put my time and energy into things I was truly passionate about, such as this very blog

7. Decluttering made us more content with what we had

Decluttering helped us see that we didn’t need much to be happy. We have now been in our fairly modest-sized home for 8 years and a bigger home hasn’t been on our agenda for some time now, and we don’t see the need to upsize our home when now that we just keep the things we truly enjoy and use.

We still have the same TV we bought 8 years ago when we moved in, the same Fridge and Dishwasher and most of the same instruments

We try to make do with what we have and use up what we have before we buy more. I keep limited stocks of makeup and hair products, I’ve just bought my first new sneakers in 5 years and shock horror I buy one book at a time to read.

I don’t miss the days of duplicated nail polish, too many books to read, and the guilt that comes with that and having enough eyeshadow to commission an artwork. We try to be content with what we have rather than constantly chasing what others tell us we need.

8. Decluttering helped me to realise that it is okay to let things go

As a former hoarder, and a girl who was surrounded by many other hoarders growing up and probably picked up a few bad habits along the way, I completely get that it is hard to let go of things. I was so worried when I let things go that I would regret them and curse the day I started decluttering my home.

But to be completely honest with you. That hasn’t happened once.

I found ways to ease my inner hoarder such as taking photos of sentimental items before disposing of them and asking myself questions like ‘would I buy this again today?’ which helped me part with the excess in my home again and again. And most things that I thought I might need Just in Case, I knew I could apply The Minimalists 20/20 Rule and get them at the shop if there ever really came a time when I needed that item again.

And letting go of the excess came with so many benefits that outweigh any need to hold onto things. You’ll have more space to enjoy your home, homes are meant for living not storage. You have the ability to find and display the things that do add value to you, such as your favourite books not being covered by ones you’ll probably never read and the freedom of knowing that if you ever wanted to move, change careers, cities, or anything else, you won’t be burdened by all your clutter holding you back.

[Photo by: Samantha Gades on Unsplash.com]

What’s your biggest decluttering struggle? Let me know in the comments!

Minimalism

Simplify Your Life in 2019 With These 9 Easy Tips

Posted on June 11, 2019

A couple relaxing by a lake in a hammock in the afternoon sun after simplifying their life

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Forget perfection.

As a clean freak I often get caught up in needing everything to be done find it hard to focus on things when I am surrounded by clutter and mess. It can be hard for a lot of us, to ignore the desperate need to vacuum or clean up the kitchen and so on. Sometimes you just need to say it can wait. Sometimes 30 minutes to yourself needs to come first, so give yourself a break and occasionally let the mess wait. You’ll get to it later on or tomorrow.

Meal Plan

Meal Planning can help take a lot of the mental hassle out of planning meals for your family. There is enough stress in life without having to add what you are going to cook into the pile. Take the stress and chaos out of your life by shopping more intentionally and planning ahead. You can check out meal planning tips here to help you get started.

Make less extravagant meals

Simplify your life and put less pressure on yourself to make fancy meals. Don’t worry so much about finding and trying out new recipes. Limit that to once a month or every now and then and stick with 10-15 or so favourites, which should give you enough variety for the whole family. By sticking with what recipes you know you’ll get better at making your favourite meals and can experiment with changing those up, rather than trying to make newer dishes all the time and adding more stress and complication into the kitchen. And if it means once a week your family eats bacon and eggs or ham and cheese jaffles for dinner, so be it. They’ll live! And it’s a great way to free up some time for other important goals. We realised if we made a super easy meal on Monday nights we could get to the gym after work and still have dinner by 7.30. A small sacrifice for a good pay off.

Just donate it

I made over $5000 from selling my clutter and though that was amazing and it was great to have some extra cash, it was time consuming and tedious! The amount of messages I received with questions that were answered in the ad as well as time wasters does really did add a huge annoyance and hassle to the sale process, and I would say that some sales were less worth it than others. If you don’t need the cash, consider just donating your excess and do away with hassle of selling the item, or keep it your sales effort reserved for the higher value items. Holding onto clutter longer than necessary causes us unnecessary stress which isn’t really worth it for a few bucks so if you are having a hard time selling something, it might be better to just donate it and put your energy into more important things.

Consider downsizing

If you’re in a home that is more than big enough for your family, you might be able to simplify your life simply by considering a downsize into a smaller place. With downsizing comes less maintenance, less cleaning and more time for you. Not to mention the savings you will make on rent or mortgage repayments. For more pros on downsizing check out the post Benefits of Living In a Smaller Home.

Get out into nature

If your regular form of entertainment is hitting the mall, consider a change of scenery. Simplify your life by swapping the aisles and clothing racks for a day in nature. Go for a hike, bike ride or walk to clear your mind and let go of any stress. Not only are you having much needed fresh air and time for yourself, but you won’t be buying things you might not need into your home or spending money that you might not have.

Simplify your digital space

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Forget perfection.

Meal Plan

Make less extravagant meals

Just donate it

Consider downsizing

Get out into nature

Simplify your digital space

In order to simplify your life you can take stock of your digital space in addition to your physical one. This can cover a whole range of areas in your digital world. It might be deleting excess or blurry photos on your phone as you go and only keeping the best shots, unfollowing people whose posts don’t add value on social media, unsubscribing from unwanted emails cluttering up your inbox or blocking people online who are toxic and add stress to your life. Whilst you are aiming to simplify your life and digital space, you might reconsider spending so much time on social media all together. You might have one day a week where you log off from social media all together like The Minimalist do on Screenless Saturdays. Or even a certain time of day where you put your phone away and read a book or watch a movie. If you are looking for more ways to simplify your life in 2019, check out 15 Ways to Simplify Your Life for even more tips on how you can simplify and live a more intentional lifestyle! This Weeks comment question: How have your simplified your life so far this year? Please let us know your tips in the comments! If you found value in this post I would be super appreciative if you could share it with others who might also find value in it 🙂Want to Simplify your life this year and reduce stress and live a more intentional life? Sometimes we get so used the chaos that is life that we forget to check in with ourselves and ask important questions like; am I happy? Am I prioritising what matters to me? Am I doing too much? How can I do less of what isn’t feeding my soul and more of what does? If you are looking for some new ways to minimise stress in your life and get back to living with intention, finding news ways to simplify can help you achieve your goals. When we pull ourselves away from the hustle and bustle and daily grind and rethink our priorities and consider if they are aligning with life choices and actions, we can reroute to a more intentional path. Whether that might involve spending less time scrolling through spam on Facebook and more time exercising, finding more time to be creative or giving yourself permission to spend in an area that will add value to your life. Here are 9 Easy Ways to Simplify Your Life in 2019 to get your started with a more intentional life.

Make a cleaning schedule or hire a cleaner.

If you are struggling to keep up with your housework consider simplify your life by making a cleaning schedule. This will allow you to break up cleaning tasks into easy, bite-sized chunks. This is also a great opportunity to get family involved and helping out and give you an opportunity to delegate some of the workload. Another option to help you simplify your life is to consider making the investment in hiring a cleaner to help take the load off. Even if it is just once a quarter for the bigger stuff you never have the time or energy for.

Worry Less

There are plenty of things to worry about in life and they will always find us. Simplify your life this year by being more attentive of your feelings and recognise who, or what is causing your unnecessary stress. If you have a friend, family member or work colleague that are constantly going through some drama and pulling you into their web of endless issues, accept that you can’t change what they do but you can change how you react. Accept that you have no control over other people’s choices or actions and if they bring stress on themselves, that is not something that you need to take on. Some people are genuinely going through a tough time, like an illness or job loss, but there are those more toxic people who seem to find drama everywhere they go and make sure you are close by to hear all about it. You can support them and listen to them, but you don’t need to wear their stress, particularly when it’s circumstances they bring on themselves. Make this year a simpler one by saying no to taking on more stress and worry and being a little more selective with who you share your valuable time with.

Declutter With Me Decluttering Course

Are you finding yourself overwhelmed and stressed out by clutter in your home? If you’re looking to minimise the excess in your life, Declutter With Me: A 12 Week Guide to Declutter Your Home is a go-at-your-own-pace course that will give you the step-by-step, room-by-room instructions to help you clear the clutter in your home in as soon as just 12 weeks!

If you are keen to minimise your unwanted clutter check out Declutter With Me so you can create a home you love!