Simple, simplistic, less, few, minimal, space, spacious, order, systems, etc. These are but a few words that describe a simplified life. It’s really how you live, how you orchestrate your life. For some people life has to have a degree of order. For others life is living one day at a time in a survival mode. By that I mean only having what is absolutely necessary for the moment. Never looking to the next, or should I say tomorrow. There is nothing etched in stone that dictates how we are to live. So we’re basically on our own in that aspect. 

From generation to generation, our parents or guardians tried to instill some sense order in our lives. Clean up your room. Do the dishes which included a silent instruction in cleaning up the entire kitchen. Pick up behind yourself. Stop leaving stuff all over the place. And so on. For some of us this left a good impression, but for others we turned a deaf ear and chose to live the way we want to live. They were trying to develop some good qualities into our lives. Little did our rebellious lives realize that a cluttered space reflects a cluttered mind which reveals who we really are. As teenagers we wanted to be treated as an adult. We felt we had a handle on life and knew how to live. Until one day we realized being an adult came with responsibilities and accountability. Responsible for getting an income to pay monthly financial obligations. Being accountable to a job by showing up every day and actually doing the work. So much for being an adult.

Simplify, simplify, simplify! De-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter! To simplify is to make less difficult. It’s not elaborate or complicated. The simpler, the better. Any actions or changes you can make to remove distractions from your home or life is simplified living. It’s basically removing clutter from your life. Not just removing physical clutter, but mental and emotional clutter, so you can focus more on the things you value and matter the most to you. 

De-cluttering Process

De-cluttering is going to look different for each individual. I want you to be very honest and realistic in your de-cluttering process. You’re going to have to face the realities of hoarding and/or unnecessary stockpiling. If you struggle in these areas, get professional help so you can break the cycle. It will involve you discovering why you do what you do, the way you do it. You will also have to confront your reasons, justifications or insecurities for holding on to what’s not really serving you. You are not to be defined by things, but by who you are. People want to connect with you, not with your stuff. You are not your stuff. 

“Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.” (Barbara Hemphill)

It’s easy to procrastinate some tasks. However, it helps to acknowledge that a split-second decision can save you more time than no decision at all. Before getting into the de-cluttering process, let’s look at the signs of a Complicated Life.

• Work that infringes on other areas of your life – family, friends & recreation.
• You have a good income, but unable to enjoy it.
• Credit card balances getting higher.
• Have commitments of one kind or another almost every evening.
• Putting things off becomes the norm rather than the exception.
• Stress becomes a way of life.
• Feeling rushed, anxious, or ill at ease all the time.
• Clothes never been worn; items purchased never used; books never read.
• Frequently forgetting & have bouts of absentmindedness or easily distracted.

For 15 years my husband and I lived in a small three bedroom townhouse. Over the years I did what I could to make it seem more spacious. Years went on, and like most individuals, the accumulation of things was catching up with me. I had a home office/guest bedroom. It was tight. I hosted events and had to get a relatively large storage cabinet for items I used at the events. In that room was my desk, printer, supplies, and a bookcase full of books. Everything was neat and functional. There was no wasted space. Then after 15 years, we decided to move out of state. The place where we were moving had the open concept living space. Mentally I had to get prepared for a major purging. It took me months to get rid of stuff I knew wasn’t going to serve me anymore. A lot of stuff served my past well, but lost its value over the years. Much of it was not going to be relevant in my future. Whew!! I went through a range of emotions in getting rid of stuff. Papers I had written which contained outdated info. Books that were good, but ideas, etc. were no longer applicable today because of major culture changes. However, there was info I had that was timeless, and I did not get rid of that. But, I still had to size down. 

Not only that, I came to realize in my de-cluttering process, I was taking the weight off my family for them having the laborious task of getting rid of my stuff after my death. I realized that what was so important to me, probably would mean nothing to someone else. I was able to better organize important papers for easier access. I kept needed items in organized containers, boxes, file cabinet, bookcase, etc. 

That was just one room of purging. I had to physically decide on what would and would not fit in our new home. That meant getting rid of furniture, wall hangings and some of my collectibles. Some things I kept, but other things had to be parted with. I gave away a lot of stuff including clothes I knew good and well I was not going to wear, or should I say I was unable to wear any longer. Let me make it perfectly clear I had separation anxiety. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. Lol!!

The de-cluttering process boils down to this – let it go physically and mentally. Do it little by little. Just be consistent in doing it. Your world will not come to an end. You will not die from this. Actually, you will gain new life.

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

(Hans Hofmann)

Physical Clutter

We talked about physical and mental clutter. Let’s take a look at physical clutter. Removing physical clutter means taking action with tangible items that you can see, pick up and make decisions about. The more clutter you remove, the less time and energy your home takes to maintain. Giving you more time and energy to work on removing sources of mental clutter.

When you clear the clutter, your home goes from overwhelming and chaotic, to simpler and more peaceful. It will reveal space you didn’t realize you already had. It also shows you first hand the power of simplifying. 

Mental Clutter

When we talk about mental clutter, we can’t avoid talking about stress. What’s adding the most stress to your life right now? What is the unnecessary busyness that’s draining you, but not adding enough value back into your life? How you live on a daily basis creates the sum of how you live your life. Who wants to look back on their life and realize they spent their days managing clutter, distracted by unnecessary busyness and stressed out? Your days become a cycle of rushing to keep up, pick up, clean up, getting here and there. This will rob you of opportunities to connect with your loved ones, enjoy your home, and live a life that makes you feel good instead of stressing you out.

Take a life audit by identifying what’s working, not working, what you need more of, what you need less of. The next step is to take action of changing what’s not working. This is a process. It’s not always easy or fast. It’s often slow consisting of trial and error, while trying different things to see what works best. Also, identify if you’re able to change, adjust or remove any commitments, activities or obligations that are adding more stress to your life than value. Consider smaller sources of distractions that can be spent in better ways. Such things as amount of time spent on social media, your phone, watching movies as opposed to regretting having time spent with loved ones.

Tips to declutter your mind to simplify your life:

• Brain-dump your negative thoughts & get them out of your head. Replace them with positive & proactive thoughts. Do this via reading self-help books, listening to inspirational podcasts, or professional therapy.

• Practice regular habits for positive thinking, consider your words & the tone you use for yourself. Analyze your inner dialogue – what you say to yourself.

• Think about your mindset. How you think affects your choices, decisions & actions. Re-assess your perspective. 

Simplified Life Tips

• Learn how to say no more often. People agree to requests from others because they like to please them. Every time you say yes to someone, you’re saying no to yourself & depriving yourself of what you want to accomplish.

• Stop being a slave to electronic devices. Evaluate your need for them & use wisely. 

• Seek to communicate verbally & not always electronically.

• Carry a smaller wallet/purse & clean out your existing one.

• Track your spending habits for one month to see where your money is being spent. Regulate impulse spending. Draw up a personal budget & stick to it. Set financial goals.

• Streamline your wardrobe.

• Organize/declutter your paperwork & set up a filing system.

• Re-evaluate your relationship with stuff – own less.

• Seek to nurture healthy relationships.

• Identify & avoid mental distractions as much as possible. You have the power to manage distractions.

• Manage the use of your time – create better morning & evening routines.

• Cut back on busyness – it’s not a good path to productivity & success.

• Take care of yourself – stop cancelling healthcare appointments.

• Plan & prepare meals in advance.

• Ditch things that bring you down – learn to let go. You can’t change everything nor everybody.

• Cut back on your children’s planned activities.

• Strategically plan errands so as not to drive all over town haphazardly.

• Take a moment each day to be grateful.

There are so many other things that can be added to this List of Tips. I challenge you to create your own personal list of Simplified Living Tips. 

Intentionally choose what fills your home and your days to make it work for you, rather than having it suck the life from you. Live in a way that aligns with your values and priorities, then you’ll have the opportunity to create the life you love. Simplified Living is removing the clutter and distractions from your life to give yourself the time, space and freedom to create and live the life you love.

Dr. Theresa Scott

Optimum Living Advisor