You don’t have to overhaul your whole life to begin living simply. Just start with some of the basics to begin your journey towards a less stressful and more intentional life.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of living simply is a storybook cottage, surrounded by wildflowers, hedges, a small garden. You know, the classic English countryside cottage.
When I think of simple living, you know what does not come to mind? Toys all over my children’s bedrooms, reading books on the iPad, traveling to town for swim lessons, wiping the dog’s paws for the 13th time because it’s so muddy outside… you get the idea. The world we envision is always much, much prettier than the world we actually inhabit.
So how do we meld the two? How do we get those bits of the storybook cottage dream of simple living and incorporate them into our sometimes (or all times) chaotic lives? How do we start working towards that dream? I looked back at where I began, and thought of six things I did to start living simply.
But before I get into that, I want to share with you why and how I began my journey.
Why I Began My Journey Towards Simple Living
When I began my simple living journey, I knew it was going to be tough. I knew I would run into all sorts of obstacles, both physical and mental. And I knew, despite my desire for instant gratification, this was going to be a very long, tedious journey.
But it was one I wanted to take. For my sake, and for the sake of my family.
Our lives has become hectic, and I felt like no matter how many times I attempted to put good habits into place, none of them stuck. I was grasping at straws, trying to find a “quick fix” to my problem, because I knew that was the only way I’d stay motivated to keep things less hectic.
How I Began My Journey Towards Simple Living
Finally, instead of trying to find a quick fix to my problems, I started thinking about what I wanted the end solution to look like. I wanted to wake up to a peaceful morning, that continued into a relatively peaceful day. To have more time to actually play with my kids, instead of just picking up after them. I wanted a deeper connection to my family, and to the earth. I wanted my life to be more like the lives of the characters I’d read about who live in a picturesque cottage in the woods, who were able to make do and were happy about it.
Once I figured out exactly what I wanted out of life, I identified the things that were keeping me from having said life. And that’s where I began. We cancelled the subscriptions, I began waking up earlier, I started slowly (very, very slowly) purging our home of excess stuff that we just didn’t need. And very slowly I began to feel that peace and connection that were part of that storybook cottage I’d always dreamed of having.
I found a way to begin my journey. I hope my insight can help you begin yours.
1. Grow Something
Anything. Literally anything. It doesn’t have to be edible, it doesn’t have to be pretty. Just grow something. You don’t have to start from seed, although that can have its own simple living benefits. Buy something from your local nursery, or get it from a big box store if that’s the only option you have. But grow something.
If you don’t have outdoor space, grab an herb plant the next time you’re at the grocery store (mine always has basil plants in the produce section). Grab one, put it in your kitchen, and do what you can to keep it alive. When you use that fresh herb in your cooking, you’ll be tasting the fruits of your labor.
If you have some kind of outdoor space, but can’t plant in the ground, try a couple of container plants this year. If you don’t know what to get, go to your local nursery and ask what grows best in containers. Or ask the internet. The internet always has answers. Granted, some of those answers may not be correct, but when it comes to gardening, there’s enough info out there that you’ll easily find which sources are reliable and which aren’t.
If you have yard space, and can put in a small garden, go for it. Plant things you eat. But be forewarned, if you plant zucchini, be ready to eat a LOT of zucchini.
The key with growing something is to just try. The more you do it, the better you get. And when you grow something, the act of caring for that plant gives you the satisfaction that comes with doing it yourself. Taking a moment to relish that feeling is a step towards living simply.
2. Read a Book to Live Simply
When I picture that storybook cottage, the first thing I see myself doing is reading a book. Not an audiobook, although I do my fair share of reading those. I’m also not talking about a book on your book-reading device, whether that be a Kindle, iPad, phone, whatever. I mean an actual, physical book.
Pick up a book in your house that you know you like, and set aside time in your day to read it. If you don’t own a book, find a library. They’ll let you borrow their books, and they often have some decent suggestions for books similar to those you already like. If that’s not an option, thrift stores do have books. You could get one there.
But when should I set aside time in my day to read? For me, it’s when I wake up. I read while I drink my coffee. I used to doom scroll when I drank my coffee, but now I sit down, sip my coffee, and read an actual, physical book.
If mornings don’t work for you, do it before you go to bed (instead of doom scrolling). I’ve found that replacing scrolling on social media with reading a physical book has not only given me that tiny bit of the storybook cottage dream, but it was also helping me feel less guilty. Instead of my kids waking up to see me doom scrolling on my phone, they were waking up to seeing me read a book. And that is a magic all on its own.
Setting aside time to read an actual book gives me a tiny sliver of that storybook cottage dream and the simple life that comes with it.
3. Limit Social Media
Social media is a double-edged sword. Cliche, I know. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. It’s so great for so many things, and so bad for so many others. Limiting social media will help simplify your life.
The key to social media use for me was making sure that my use was intentional. If I open Instagram, I need to have a reason I’m opening it. Am I posting a picture to share? Then it’s fine to open it. Am I looking to see if my friends have sent me some funny reels today? That’s fine. Am I opening it with the intention of scrolling through my feed to see what everyone is up to and to maybe get a few laughs? Also fine, as long as I set a limit to the amount of time I am on there (Life hack: I set a timer on my phone when I want to scroll so that I don’t get sucked in and pop back up into the real world an hour later).
Whatever the reason, just be sure to use social media intentionally. This will cut back on the amount of time you spend on it, which will help guard you from the bad side of social media. I find that I feel much less guilty for giving myself 5 minutes to scroll through reels than I did when I found that I’d just been on my phone for 20 minutes, when I should have been getting the bags packed for swim lessons.
4. Simply Cancel the Subscription
First, let me say that I do not expect anyone to live without tv completely. If you do, go you! Maybe I’ll get there someday, but we will probably always have a tv.
Having a tv does not mean that we have ALL the tv. We don’t have cable. In fact, the only time we ever had cable was when we lived in an apartment and it was included in our utilities bill.
We have, however, had multiple streaming subscriptions at one time or another. What I’ve noticed is that having more than one subscription at a time means that I end up not using one or more subscriptions for a month or more. I also find that I end up scrolling through options for so long that I end up not watching anything. Not really a good use of my money, if I’m being honest.
So cut down on the subscriptions. Maybe you have one or two that you pay for annually. Keep those, but maybe pause the others for now. That way, you spend less mental energy trying to figure out what you want to watch because there are less options.
If you can, cut all the subscriptions and watch things the old-fashioned way. Maybe not VHS, because finding a working VHS player is rare. But you can get a DVD/Blu-Ray player. If you don’t have a DVD/Blu-Ray player (or a gaming device that can be used as such), digital downloads are the equivalent of having a DVD collection. And they take up less space. And the less stuff, the better.
Like social media, try to make your tv usage intentional. And with less bingeing options, you’ll be able to spend more time tending your plants, reading books, and generally living more simply.
5. Demessify
You didn’t think I’d give you a list about simple living without including getting rid of stuff, did you?
Demessifying is the word I use that melds decluttering, organizing, and cleaning into one. Demessifying isn’t about making things perfect; it’s about working towards a simpler life.
I won’t go into too much detail, because this post isn’t about how to demessify, it’s about what to do to live simply. You can find those posts in the demessify category at the top of the page.
So, pick up some trash and throw it into the garbage. Chuck the toy that’s been broken for weeks that you keep meaning to dispose of. Sit down and go through the baby clothes, keep your favorites, and donate the rest. Actually do the dishes that are in the sink. Doing just a little bit of demessifying will help simplify your life. The less stuff you have, the easier it is to focus on simple living.
6. Limit Trips
Spending time outside of the home is necessary, but the more time we spend away, the less time we have to focus on living simply. Limiting trips can benefit not only the desire to live simply, but can also benefit your bank account.
I know I’ve already talked about making tv and social media time intentional, but we should also try making trips intentional as well.
Before we go any further, let’s make sure we are on the same page regarding the word “trips”. When I say trips, I mean things like going to the grocery store, extra curricular activities, Target runs, and the like. I do not mean getting to and from work, picking kids up from school, going to the doctor when you’re sick. Those are non-negotiable trips.
If we can lump the extra curriculars, the Target runs, the grocery store, etc. into as few trips as possible, it frees up more of our time so that we can spend that time at home with our families. And that’s what simple living is all about. So try to only go to the grocery once a week, or once every two weeks if you can. This means less time in the grocery store, which also means less opportunities to impulse purchase. Believe me, your pocket book will thank you.
Start Living Simply
When I started my journey, I didn’t do everything at once. And neither should you. Trying to change too much, too quickly will likely cause burnout, and that is the opposite of what living simply is about.
For more info about living simply, check out my other blog posts about it here.
And remember, any step you take toward a simpler life is a step in the right direction.
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