Simplify Your Life with These Amazing and Simple Tips
Does your life feel hectic and overwhelming, or should I say cluttered? Does your home screen on your phone give you anxiety from all the notifications? Does the sight of piles of paper, junk, and random stuff that sits on your kitchen table frustrate you?
Just know this, you are not alone. We have all been there. As a matter of fact, I have to constantly clear clutter. Isn’t it amazing how fast it can accumulate? I am going to share some tips that will help simplify your life, so you can enjoy every moment and just breathe.
I love what Emily Ley said in her book, A Simplified Life, “The goal of simplifying is to eliminate distractions so you can focus on what really matters.”
Simplify Your Life with These Simple Tips
Tip #1: Declutter Your Phone: Social Media, Notifications, Etc.
The first step to simplify your life starts with your phone. This might be a hard first step. Our smartphones have become our safe haven. We are so attached physically and emotionally. Did you know that consumers now spend more than five hours a day on their smartphones?
According to statistics share by Blue Corona, “About 3 in 5 consumers check their email on the go. As a whole, in 2017, 61% of U.S. email opens occurred on mobile devices, 15% on desktop and 24% in a web mail client.” We are over stimulating our brains to the point that it is causing us to feel overwhelmed.
The first thing to do is delete old contacts and unused apps. Go through your emails and unsubscribe to the ads or newsletters that you always delete or don’t read. Turn off your notifications for all your apps, unless you need some for work. Declutter your home screen by having fewer apps visible.
With iPhones, you can create folders and place apps inside the folder. I absolutely love having folders! All I have to do is to swipe to the right and boom there they are. I organize my folders with one-word labels, for example; “Work” or “Photos” or “Social”.
Tip #2: Take Out The Trash.
This second tip to simplify your life is very simple. Take a garbage bag and walk through your house or apartment and throw away trash. Old receipts, empty water bottles, etc. Empty all the trash cans in your house. If you have a lot of magazines, go through them and recycle them. This one was a hard step for me.
When I was a teenager, I would get Seventeen Magazine and I would keep them. This later formed a habit of keeping all my magazines. Now I only keep my favorites or the magazines I go back to for tips, recipes, and more.
Another great idea for old magazines is to donate them to your nail salon, workplace lobby, or doctor’s office. After you have walked through your house with a garbage bag, now grab another one to clean out your car. Next, go through your fridge and pantry. Throw out old and expired items.
Tip #3: Manage Your Clutter Spots.
I don’t know about you, but at my house, the dining room table is my family’s dumping spot. We have piles of mail and newspapers to books and hats and the most random things. In order to eliminate this problem, organize the stuff by categories. Create a drawer or desk storage unit for managing your mail or file your papers in a filing cabinet. Find a place for everything.
When you are planning out your places for things, make sure it flows with your lifestyle and habits. For example, don’t move your mail to the opposite side of the house if you naturally put it on the kitchen counter. Create a drawer in the kitchen for it or use a magazine holder that works for your kitchen style. Meaning it flows perfect with your kitchen but also keeps them organized, so when a guest is over they won’t notice it. Just remember, create an atmosphere that flows and is calming.
Tip #4: Donate or resell.
I have a confession to make; I am obsessed with buying clothes and shoes. This next tip is always one of the hardest but always rewarding afterward.
Tip number four, is to empty out your closet and dresser and let the sorting begin. I do this every season; I take out all the clothes or shoes. I then sort out my favorites, most worn, and simply don’t need anymore items. After that is complete, I make two piles for the clothes, shoes, or accessories I don’t want anymore. One pile to donate, the other to resell, whether by a garage sale, Poshmark, or Craiglist.
There might be times, where you just want to donate it all. I say go based on what your heart says to do. After that is done, organize your clothes, shoes, and accessories however you like back into your closet and dresser. Create flow. Plan it out for what works best for you.
Tip #5: Take Care of You.
As many of you know, I am a huge advocate for self-care. Self-care is a huge part of living on how to simplify your life. Give yourself a break. Just breathe. Be still and quiet. This simple practice can go a long way. We are so busy with work, outings, friends, family, and social media updates. We forget to stop and be still.
Maybe for you, being still isn’t your thing, and then incorporate a workout schedule. Another great self-care idea is to do something you love. Sign up for the next cooking class, learn a new technique for crocheting. Your health and well being comes first. Once you establish this, everything else will be simply lovely.
These are just some simple, yet basic tips to simplify your life. One thing to remember, not everyone’s simplified life looks the same, what might be simple for someone else might not be simple for you. Do what works for you, your life, your home, and your culture. Take one step at a time.
xo Megan
