What’s this blog all about anyway…?
I came up with the name of my blog-Simply Shine- a little while ago and the tagline around about the time I started doing this full time, at the beginning of the year. So far I’ve written a little about a simple home although I have focused on wellbeing and self-care. The observant among you will have noticed I haven’t written much about making life simpler and I thought it was about time I did.
What a Simple Life Means for Me
There are tons of articles and books on the subject. Living a simple life isn’t a one size fits all. So the only way of answering the question about simple living, is what it means for me. It is about living with intent and being mindful of what is happening around you.
For me it is…
- A simple home, which is clean clutter free organised.
- Keeping decisions simple, like what I’m going to wear or what’s for dinner.
- Reducing all forms of clutter
- Slowing down and doing less
- Enjoying simple pleasures like spending time with family and friends, curling up with a good book, watching a comedy film to make you laugh
Living in a Simple Home
For me this isn’t about living in a tiny property or living in the middle of nowhere. Although sometimes the latter may be a little appealing! Instead it is about only having what is useful and beautiful in the house. Having a clean, clutter-free organised house means there is less to clean and store, so you can spend more time on other things. And for those things that do need doing, there are routines in place. The house is ready for visitors within a few minutes, rather than a few hours!
Having a simple wardrobe
Having a simple wardrobe, frees up so much time and energy. Working with set colours and/or types of items means it is easier to shop. It is also a lot easier to decide what to wear each day. I know since streamlining my wardrobe-it is a pleasure to open my wardrobe and choose things and it takes about five seconds!
Eat simple meals and follow and menu plan
I’ve found it can be stressful to get to the end of the day and not know what to have for dinner. This is the time when you end up making bad choices and perhaps ordering a take-away because you are just that hungry. Creating a monthly menu plan, using some basic principles, takes the guess work out of dinner plans.
Reducing All forms of Clutter
Not only is it important to reduce the clutter in your home, including your wardrobe, but to live simply it helps to reduce other forms of clutter such as negative people and too much information. Spending time on social media is a great example of this. Have you ever caught yourself, just mindlessly scrolling? I bet you have, I know I have.
Slowing down and doing less
A big part of this way of life for me, is to not over-load my schedule. To intentionally decide how I spend my time. I don’t want to switch between rushing around and then being exhausted. I’ve done that-wasn’t fun.
Enjoying simple pleasures and the little things in life
It is important to me to have the time and mental space to enjoy the little things. To read for pleasure, to spend time with friends and family. To cuddle up with my husband and watch a film. That is nothing to feel guilty about. It’s uncomfortable to think back to a time when I thought I didn’t deserve that. I’m never going to feel like that again and I don’t want you to either.
As I said at the beginning; living simply can mean different things to different people. It is about finding a version that works for you. And enjoy it.
http://simply-shine.co.uk/author/tinaadmin
Originally published at simply-shine.co.uk