Simplifying life doesn't have to be difficult. Learning to create a calmer, more balanced space in your life can go a long way, and taking small steps is the best way to make it a reality. Getting rid of fullness, becoming more organized, simplifying relationships, and learning to enjoy time and appreciate the little things can help you stay sane. You can start now.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Getting Rid of Fullness
Step 1. Decide which items are unnecessary
Simplifying doesn't have to be complicated: Identify what's most important to you and eliminate everything else. Imagine you have to pack everything you have in an hour to travel around the country for ten years, or for the rest of your life. What will you take? What will be important? Reduce your possessions to the most important and get rid of everything that only narrows the space.
If your habit tends to hoard for reasons of nostalgia or feelings, try to evaluate your attachment to things. Start "getting rid of" piles of stuff and take them immediately to a thrift store to donate. An old candelabrum that's been out of use since Reagan's tenure? Get rid of it. Billboard Magazine stacks from the mid 70's? Get rid of it
Step 2. Clean up a little
Walk around your house with a large basket. Fill it with necessities. Play a good song and give yourself 15 minutes to reduce the fullness and see how much you can do. Take out the trash, collect clothes and place them in the laundry. Be wise. If the item is not needed, throw it in the trash.
- Focus on high-traffic areas, such as the living room and kitchen. If dishes pile up in the sink, you will feel stressed and messy, even if the rest of the house is neat and tidy. If you have very little time, focus on the spaces that matter most.
- Don't worry about dirt coming out of every corner and the result "cleaning" every surface. Just focus on tidying up. Move things, tidy things up, make the place look right.
Step 3. Make a big clean every season
Several times each year, you should do a more thorough cleaning to remove accumulated items and simplify your living space, as well as rid your home of dirt and dust. Lost pet hair, dust, and other debris can accumulate in even the tidiest of spaces, so it's important to do a thorough cleaning. Vacuum, wash carpets, clean toilets, scrub walls, wash windows. Throw the shit out!
Check the workbench and clean the paper files too. Clean the drawers to get rid of that hidden fullness. Turn to eliminating paper waste and digitizing important documents to simplify your living space. Be paperless
Step 4. Reduce the contents of your wardrobe
Find your favorite and most versatile clothes then donate the rest. If it's outdated, get rid of it. If it doesn't fit anymore, remove it so someone else can use it. If you've always intended to wear it but never seem to find the opportunity, give up. Simplify your closet.
- If you have a ton of clothes you like, consider simplifying per season. There's no reason you need to rummage through piles of sweaters in the middle of summer, so pack all seasonal clothes in separate tubs and move them around until the season arrives. Far in the eyes, far in the heart.
- Have a "Naked Lady" party or other get-together where you can throw old or ill-fitting clothes together with a group of friends and swap clothes. Maybe those jeans don't suit you anymore but will look great on someone else. Whatever is left at the end of the night, donate it.
Step 5. STOP buying new stuff you don't need
If you always keep browser tabs open for your online store, work hard to curb this habit. Just because you find a good price on something doesn't mean it's worth buying. Simplify it by keeping new trash out of your home.
- Don't buy new books, go to the library and share the same reading material. Return it when you're done and there will be more shelf space.
- Don't buy new appliances, find ways to make do with what you have. Pneumatic garlic instant press? Seriously. Use a fork. Pastry cutters? Use two knives and some elbow grease, like grandma used to do.
- Look for rental options in your city. If you have a large outdoor project, it might seem like you should buy a new leaf blower for the garage, but you can just rent it out. Those libraries are becoming more and more commonplace, allowing you to use what you need in a short amount of time, then bring it back.
Step 6. Zoom out
Have a small but cozy house and learn to live with less. Buy less stuff, enjoy the quality more, and put spare money in a savings account just in case or a vacation as a gift.
- Rent instead of buying a house or the things you need to use. Then the repair, price, and dry weathering is someone else's problem, not yours.
- Have less stuff but make sure that what you have has greater flexibility. Items that can do two, three, etc. function is the most desirable to have. Remember that working to pay for things is not the ideal approach to living a happy life; review your priorities.
Step 7. Create opportunities
Having free space in your home, your bedroom, or your office can help to relax yourself and create an atmosphere of simplicity. Don't fill your walls with comforting things, let the emptiness be calming and elegant. Let simplicity outweigh embellishment.
Empty space need not be literally "empty." If you don't like the atmosphere of a sterile and super-clean space, natural wood, brick or other patterns are really simple and effective in relaxing yourself. Empty space just needs to be free from fullness. There are no shelves, movie posters, or hanging frames. Simple line pattern and clean empty space on the wall
Step 8. Make your bed every day
It only takes five minutes and can do wonders in changing your mood. Your bedroom looks much simpler, more elegant and tidy with a made and cleaned bed. Taking small steps like making your bed can help to reduce your stress and simplify your life.
If it's easy for you to leave your papers piled up, leave it. The point is to take small steps to simplify your everyday experience. Maybe instead you spend your meditation time making your coffee every morning, grinding the beans, heating the water, and pouring it into the press. Maybe you start your day by tidying up the kitchen and listening to the radio. Have a routine
Method 2 of 4: Get Organized
Step 1. Plan what you can plan, or accept the chaos within you
For some of us, there is no point in thinking about planning for a trip before an hour before you are about to leave the house. What's the point of stressing out for three days worrying about packaging? Or conversely, some others feel they have to arrange their daily clothes beforehand, calculate the benefits of each item, until they can be sure that they have everything they need.
- If you tend to procrastinate, don't force yourself to change your ways, unless it's hindering your productivity or your ability to get things done on time. If it can be for you, then it can be. Make sure you schedule enough deadlines to complete assignments, and you'll let those deadlines produce the best work. Simple and easy.
- If you're stressed about unfinished tasks, work on them ahead of time to get them out of your mind. Don't finish packing half way because you're starting from scratch-finish straight away and finish. Simplify it by doing it now, make it done, and relax. Simple and relaxing.
Step 2. Divide household chores evenly
A common source of complications and stress is a cluttered living space. Making time to do the laundry, do all the dishes, cook meals, and take care of other important tasks can be a huge hassle if you don't do it in a simple, organized manner. Get together with your family or housemates and agree on simple ways to divide tasks and simplify work around the house.
- Separate tasks by day. Get everyone to contribute to cleaning their trash cans and washing their clothes, but not every day. Let someone take a dirty job for a while and move on to another job for a while on a rolling basis. Write down the schedule that everyone agrees on and post it in the kitchen for easy and simple access.
- Separate tasks according to preferences. If you really can't stand washing clothes and tend to let them pile up, strike a deal with your roommate. If they do the laundry, you'll be cooking a big meal for everyone three nights a week, when they have to work late. Or, take responsibility for washing dishes every time. Find a way to balance things out for your situation.
Step 3. Streamline your finances
Nothing is more complicated than money. If you can, simplify your finances as much as possible by consolidating your debts and creating as few payments as possible for each month. Make a budget based on how much money you earn each month, and calculate the average expenditure of the known and estimated amount. Stick to the plan and expenses will be simpler.
- Set your bill to automatically debit from your account. If you've budgeted accurately, you shouldn't have to worry about paying bills again. What's simpler than this?
- Make saving money a basic action. If you're not sure how the task approach simplifies your finances, side with saving. The less you spend, the less you think about money.
Step 4. Find a place for each thing
Where's the remote? Where's the jacket? Where should dog toys be placed? If there are no answers to these questions, getting rid of the mess can be difficult. If things can be placed anywhere, the space will always feel cluttered. Setting the place doesn't need to be complicated-you don't have to find the best place for something, it just needs to be somewhere in particular.
Step 5. Prepare fast food
The end of a hard day may not be the best time to get busy making your own coq-au-vin. Look for recipes that are quick to prepare, and search online for quick meals you can use with ingredients you already have in your home. Spend free time enjoying your food and your family rather than overly complicated cooking processes.
Method 3 of 4: Simplify Your Relationship
Step 1. Identify the bad relationship and end it
Don't waste time in relationships with friends who pressure you, waste your time, or bore you. If you want to simplify your social life, start by breaking off relationships that are making things complicated. Reduce the contents of your phone address list to only good friends you want to hang out with, and don't waste your time with vain associations.
You don't have to be rude to do this-no need for an ugly Facebook update about how you're about to make a big cut on your contact list. Just stop making the extra effort. Keep the water away and the plants will wither
Step 2. Learn to tell people "no
"One of the ways that our lives complicate our lives is to be "submissive." We think it helps to simplify if we let someone else decide: where to eat for lunch, what responsibilities you take on at work, whether you have time or not. to take your friends to the airport. Letting people walk on you won't help you simplify your life, it will only get you harassed. Don't let yourself be trampled on. Stand up and learn to say no.
Or, if you tend to be assertive and don't hold back from telling people how you feel, it might simplify your life by learning to be quiet sometimes. Don't cause noise if there is no need to be noisy in the situation
Step 3. More alone time
Maintaining a relationship, be it romantic or not, causes complications. When you focus on other people's habits, you focus less on yourself and your needs. You are actually complicating your life for others, not simplifying it for yourself. It's not selfish to want to spend time alone, taking care of yourself.
- Consider going on a solo vacation, a solo trip to a place you've been wanting to visit for a long time. Rely on your own ability to navigate and determine the path you take. Maybe try retreating alone to a convent or something like that to be truly introspective.
- Romantic relationships are complicated. The less you have to deal with it, the simpler life becomes. If you're constantly being rocked by relationships, be they romantic or otherwise, consider spending some time taking care of yourself. Stop dating, for a while, until you feel like your life has become simpler and more organized.
Step 4. Reduce time on social networks
Fullness doesn't have to be physical. The psychic fullness of status updates, Tweets, and Instagram posts can do a lot to put pressure on you and complicate your life. Don't worry about 'likes' everyone's latest posts or keeping a constant check on your various feeds. There will still be a shuttle when you free up a little time, and you probably won't even miss it.
If you're feeling ambitious, consider getting off social media completely. Make in-person interaction your priority, and schedule catch-up sessions and phone calls with old friends with whom you can't keep in touch, rather than stalking their profiles online
Step 5. Simplify the way you take care of your children
Don't make lunch, don't clean dirty clothes, don't clean up toys. Expect your child to start doing these things on their own at an age-appropriate level. It's not that it's easy to "just do it" for your child in the long run, because it teaches your child that you will always do it and that they don't have to. Tell your kids where they can find items to do the chores on their own, while showing them how a few times, but then let it go.
Create a task chart for all the children to follow and complete each week. Involve them in making it and they will be more willing to comply with it
Step 6. Make an effort to spend time with people you like
Simplicity doesn't mean you have to disconnect everything from your life, it's just that you have to socialize quickly and dexterously. Approach a group of close friends who mean a lot to you and make an effort to spend time with them and with them alone. Don't waste precious time socializing with people you force yourself to be friends with, just hang out with people you like.
Method 4 of 4: More Relax
Step 1. STOP reading self-improvement manuals, books, and blogs
Other people's advice about life is often a source of suffering. Simplify by forgetting perfection. Rest assured that you are a good partner, a good parent, and a good person. Be more confident and do what comes naturally.
Step 2. Work from an easy-to-manage to-do list
For most people, having a small guide to get through the day makes it a lot simpler. Make a to-do list that is easy to manage and stick to it as much as possible. What do you hope to achieve at the end of the day? At the end of the week?
- For some, it may even be helpful to produce a larger list of long-term goals and plans, to help prioritize accomplishments. Simplify the career and life of your long-term prospects by outlining your goals in your career in five years, or your goals in life. What do you need to do now to achieve it?
- Celebrate every success every day. Working off a to-do list can be a lot more fun if you take a little time to celebrate what you've done. Have you cleaned the kitchen and tidied up your room and done your job for the day? It's time to enjoy a glass of wine in your sparkling immaculate kitchen. Pamper yourself.
Step 3. Tidy up your digital clutter
Unplug! Perform a massive clean of the stuff that is clogging your computer, start keeping things simple and maintain a regular cleaning regime.
- Place timers on electronics that are sucking up your time without you even knowing it. If you can spend more hours than you want online, install a timer, and use it. You may be surprised at your intensity level. Even if you just add regular forced breaks, your use of this technology will instantly simplify.
- Try to keep your email box empty. Answer, file, or delete emails after they are read.
Step 4. Do one thing at a time
Multi-tasking helps to make some people more efficient, but it also serves to mess up activities for others. Focus on getting one thing done at a time and tick it off your list. Don't worry about what you have to do tomorrow, or today, just focus on doing the best job possible in the present moment.
In an old zen story, an old monk lashes out at some newbies for talking when they should be doing their job. "When it's time to talk, just talk," he said. "And when it's time to work, just work." The next day, at lunch, the novices saw the old monk eating lunch and reading the newspaper at the same time. They approached him to remind him of his lessons. Why didn't he just eat, or just read, as they were told? "When it's time to eat lunch and read the paper, just eat lunch and read the paper," he says
Step 5. Keep your phone away
Nothing can distract you and keep you out of focus more than checking your phone for messages every two minutes. Texts, emails, Facebook updates and other small messages will be just as interesting the next hour.
- When you are with friends or family, mute your phone and keep it somewhere. Better yet, keep it in the car. Don't see it. Make it a rule at your next gathering that the first person to check his cell phone is the one who pays the bill. Stay focused from your phone and have a simple evening.
- More and more people are experiencing the phenomenon known as FOMO: the fear of missing out. What if you don't get those status updates before everyone else? What if someone beats you to a clever stream of commentary messages? What if your crush texts you and you can't respond right away? Don't let "easy" technology create complex stresses in your life. Be willing to take a moment to enjoy the moment you experience in the real world.
Step 6. Leave your work at work
Don't let the hassles of your workday ruin your life outside of work. Don't bring work back home to finish later–stay at work until you can finish today's work. If you're feeling stressed after a day's work, do something relaxing as soon as you get home so you don't have to burden your housemates with complaints for the day. Don't spread stress. Simplify.
- Reduce your hours as much as you can afford, if your job is a significant source of complications in your life. If you want to simplify, reducing the work again is one of the easiest ways to do it. Less money, less hassle.
- Stop working on weekends. Even if you love your job, dragging work onto your weekends starts an imbalance of proportions in your life. You may not feel it right now, but eventually, it will result in fatigue and/or reduced arousal. Block every weekend for the next six months. Neither of those weekends should be filled with work from now on.
Step 7. Meditate for 15 minutes every day
Only fifteen minutes. This is half the length of a sitcom, or half the time waiting in line at the police station, but it can help make a big difference in your stress levels and your ability to simplify your life and stay calm. Take small steps to spend some quiet time, just sit down, in a comfortable space. Focus on your breath. Relax your body and let your mind calm down on its own. Watch your thoughts.
Tips
- Limit worries. It changes a bit but consumes a lot of energy and complicates things unnecessarily. Instead, be proactive about whatever is bothering you. Make a list of actions and actively address them. Worry and stress come together so stop worrying to avoid stress
- Don't waste time bogged down by a problem. Instead, use that precious time to find the right solution for him.
- Record your days if you're not sure where your hours are being wasted. Keeping a calendar can also simplify your day because you don't have to tire your brain out constantly remembering everything.
- Everyone says "be yourself". There's a reason this cliche is repeated so often, namely that in principle when you deny yourself a way out of your true self by pretending to have a different personality, you are bound to try never to take off the mask. If you're more true to who you really are, it's more likely that you'll feel happier, and less attached to a lot of hassle.
- Make sensible choices when it comes to pets. For example, dogs need more attention than cats because they have to be trained every day. But on the plus side, this exercise can be a way to relax and get back in touch with the outside world for you.
- When faced with a situation, ask yourself “what would a wise man do?” Take a minute to consider this. This can give you the option to help yourself deal with things in a different way.
