Living Simply: Tips to simplify

   

     Now that we're not in the middle of a daily challenge, I'll be using this blog for things that relate to Minimalism and Living Simply and intentionally that will hopefully add value to your life. That gives us quite a bit of freedom to cover many topics. If there's a particular question you have or topic you'd like covered - or especially if you have any tips that would be helpful to our other readers - please leave a comment at the bottom of the blog.

     So, let's talk about things I do to simplify my life and maybe something I say will spark ideas for you, which will add value to your life:

1.  Every morning when I get up I intentionally make my bed, but I only use a top sheet and a comforter. I know that's not possible if you live where it's really cold in the winter, but the reason I do it is to simplify. If I can grab the bottom of both the sheet and the comforter at once, I can shake them out once and my bed is 90% already made. All I have to do is straighten it and fix the top part. Why do I bother? Because the bed is the largest thing in the room. It's also one of the only things in the room besides 2 short dressers, 2 nightstands, 1 desk for blogging/paying bills/doing homework, and the desk chair - (and my husband's amp behind the closet door but it's never seen), that's all I have in my room. If I make up the bed, it's like the whole room looks "clean". 30 seconds to make an entire room look clean. Worth it.

2.  I put away whatever dishes were washed last night, whether it's in the sink strainer or the dishwasher. Why? Because then the day starts with cabinets and silverware drawers full. There's nothing more frustrating than rushing to make breakfast before you have to leave and you're out of dishes, or forks, or coffee mugs. There's sometimes 8 of us here at one time so we have a set of 8 dishes and silverware. We keep about 12 mugs/glasses for when we have company too. I just feel better in the morning walking into a clean kitchen. A messy kitchen makes me feel like I'm starting the day already behind. If anything has been left on counters by others after I went to bed the night before, those get quickly taken care of too. Who wants to come home to a messy kitchen either?

3.  I put away my bathroom things as I use them. Sure we keep out hand soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, a book, my day/night lotion, and daily vitamins where I'll see them and remember to use them - but everything else gets put away as I use it. You won't find hairbrushes, hair dryers, towels, makeup, perfumes, or things like that on my bathroom counter. I like walking into a clean slate, not a bunch of stuff I don't have time to put away later.

4.  I sort the mail every day as soon as I pick it up (either at the mailbox or off the table if someone already brought it in). Immediately I toss out all the junk mail. If anything belongs to others I make a pile on the table end they walk by every day and they're good at looking for it and removing it quickly. Mine goes in the same places on my desk/dresser depending on if it's a bill to be paid or something to be filed or read. No piles waiting for me on a day off.

5.  I keep my pantry "loosely" sorted so I'm not buying the same things I already have and constantly running out of things because we thought we had one. I can be pretty OCD in my pantry but I realize I live with other people, so I intentionally decided to "get over it". Basically, as long as the pasta, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, sauces and breadcrumbs are together, then the soups and broths are together, canned vegetables together, the condiments are together, the rice, quinoa and grains are together, and miscellaneous stuff is together, I can determine in under 5 seconds if we have something or not. HUGE time and money saver. Simplify.

     These are just a few ideas. If you have some other quick things you do that make your life easier, let us know. We'd love to hear what you have to add!