Who doesn’t love a good list. I sure do. I love hearing how others have figured out the ways of their world. I thought today I’d share the practical ways I’ve found to keep my life Simple in the midst of running multiple businesses with my husband, raising a daughter, growing with Jesus & investing into myself.
Let’s jump right to it…
Junk Emails! I LOATH junk emails but here they come multiple times a day. My options: I can either get a new address or spend sometime unsubscribing to accounts & companies that don't fit my life anymore. After deliberating on my choices I decided to just unsubscribe & flag spam as it comes. I noticed a quick change after doing this for about a week. Now I spend my time on things that actually impact my life.
Spam Phone Calls. On iPhones (not sure with Androids) I put the spam call blocker setting ON on my phone. I don’t have time or want to waste time on being interrupted by robots.
Grocery Inventory. Keeping inventory of my groceries is a great way to keep my budget in check & makes shopping quicker. You can make this as basic or detailed as you'd like. I write a list broke out into categories so that I don't forget items such as toothpaste or sandwich baggies.
Online grocery shopping. A great shift I made was to online grocery shopping. I only bring in to our home what is needed & keep in budget every time. And just this past Sunday I choose to pick up right after church to work a bit smarter not harder for my week.
Mason Jars. I get it mason jars are on the back side of the farmhouse trend but I fell in love with the simplicity & universal ways I use them. I make overnight oats in them & then turn around and use them to put out as a table scape with candles in them & then turn around again & use them as water cups for my daughters art projects. I also like using them to store not just food but cough drops, hair ties, plastic silverware & the list can go on forever honestly.
Turn music on instead of the TV. I have music on almost all day every day and we only have our TV up in our living room through the Christmas season. Why you ask?Because I’m convinced mentally & physically I’m healthier with music playing in the background. I’m sure there’s science to back this up also but I’m trusting my instincts on this one & the option of a family dance off or a short slow dance with my husband happens more often. It's all about the simple memories for me.
Meditating on a single Bible Verse or just one subject that I’m learning from the Lord with. I’ve tried doing multiple devotionals, sermons and subject studies & felt so overwhelmed! Once I stepped back & took a simple approach to my growth with the Lord it became clear, He honesty did not call me to actually be doing that much & now our relationship has taken deeper roots.
Less but the best home decor. I’ve gone overboard with this one for sure, especially after building a new home with a completely different style then the home we lived in for 12 years prior. Now that we’ve lived in our home for over three years I’m really finding great statement pieces but not crowding every inch with filler items. The more crowded my home is the less breathing room. (And the best doesn’t always mean the most expensive, please keep that in mind.)
Toys & Activities. I really give focus to what my daughter is actually interested in. Izzy doesn’t need 25 options to keep her entertained. She tends to gravitate to STEAM experiments, art activities, board games, amazing story telling & barbies and that is plenty for her. And we also took this approach with her iPad & have a limit on the amount of games that she has. I’ve learned that when there is more stuff available all that stimulation actually stifles the creative process for my girl.
Picking my clothes out the night before. Some people like this, some don’t. I really do find if my outfit is ready to go & I get dressed immediately, I’m setup for success for the rest of my day. As a hybrid working women (I own multiple businesses but also get to stay home majority of my days) I NEED this simple rhythm to bring order to my day.
Less clothes = Less laundry. I’m finishing my list with my favorite! Laundry is my least favorite thing to do around the house so why would I add to the madness by overwhelming myself with more & more clothes to wash or throw on the ground when trying to get ready? But I LOVE fashion & I’m not gonna dress boring! So the way I’ve combatted this is by buying good QUALITY clothes for all of us & keeping the amount of clothing we have to what I can easily manage. These items are our favorites so we get good life lived out of them & I purchase items that are versatile so you get multiple outfits out of a great piece that we love. When it come to choosing were I buy my clothing I like to hit up the small local boutiques first. I firmly believe how you spend your dollars is a simple but big statement & I want mine saying I support small business. For the occasional items I don’t find there I will buy from big box stores but that always secondary for me.
So there it is. A glimpse into my world of how I apply practical ways of Simple Living.
I keep it simple so I can guide my time & efforts into slowing down & enjoying this abundant life Jesus promised without being pulled in directions not made to be in my lane of life.
It may not be for everyone but it’s what helps this house of entrepreneurs maximize our day in the best simple ways possible.
Passing along all the the love & wisdom I have to give,
Tif
Let’s chat it up. Head over to my IG or FB & message me about your favorite idea on this list or which one you’d like to implement in YOUR journey to simple living. (@tifandco66)
Love how SIMPLE all of this is and practical!