The last two years have been pretty crazy…Dusty has been swamped with medical school requirements, we’ve been raising a little human from infancy and now into toddler-hood, I’ve been working tirelessly to hold down the expectations of a full-time job, a part-time blog, volunteering, and our home. Quite frankly…our whole family is feeling the exhaustion of the last two years….tenfold. Thankfully, Dusty’s schedule is opening up a little bit at Christmas…the break is long overdue and one we’ve been anticipating for a long long long time. During the last two years, I’ve noticed something that has helped to alleviate the stress and the feeling of utter chaos around our family and home….the simple task of….simplifying.
This past fall I started a capsule wardrobe to help get me through the winter and into the early spring. You can read more about that by clicking here.
After going through the process of simplifying my wardrobe…I became addicted to the art of simplification. I have quite a ways to go yet, but I’ve been reading everything I can possibly get my hands on that speaks to this concept.
I recently purchased “A Simplified Life” by Emily Ley, and while I wish this was a sponsored post, it isn’t! For years I used Emily Ley’s “Simplified Planner”….so when I heard she was coming out with the book “A Simplified Life“….I jumped at the opportunity to buy it.
Currently, I am working on simplifying routines and getting rid of clutter. I’ve never been a “routine” girl…and I most definitely was always a little bit of a hoarder!
De-cluttering Your Home:
This is an important step in the process and I feel like it sets up the rest of my simplifying goals for success. I have yet to master decluttering our home…but overall…I’m getting there…slowly but surely. Having Rowan enter our family also meant having a handful of “new” (and used) things enter our home. If the clutter wasn’t bad before…it most definitely is now! Two books I love that speak about de-cluttering your home is “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and “A Simplified Life“. Decluttering is an on-going process that takes persistence and awareness. De-cluttering never truly ends (in my opinion) but once you know what you have, what you don’t need, and where everything goes…you feel like you can live with less. In turn, your life and everything around you feels a little less chaotic and more “simplified”.
Simplifying Your Routine:
I am looking to simplify my routines by creating consistency and regularity in my life. I’ve always been more of an “on a whim” sort of person…that doesn’t mean I don’t like to plan…and in most cases, the people who know me best would call me a “type A personality”. However, if there is one thing I’ve noticed and especially since doing a capsule wardrobe…it’s that by de-cluttering…and creating routine…your life can feel more planned and simplified. If these last two crazy years have taught me anything, it’s that time is of the essence and if we aren’t careful it can slip on by without a thought. As I’ve said before…what’s more precious than time? Simplifying my routines will and have created more space for me to do what I enjoy and to spend time with those I love. I am still knee deep in the process of simplifying (and de-cluttering) but I know that the overall reward will be worth it.
What I love about the book “A Simplified Life“, is that it highlights the areas that I feel are most chaotic in my life and the areas I think with more thought and routine…will provide me with more space and breathing room.
So for now…I ask that you hang tight and stay tuned for more blog posts to come your way on this topic! I’ll be sharing what I am doing to simplify specific parts of my day and how I am working to create that routine I so desire. In the meantime, I’d love to hear if you’ve worked on simplifying any parts of your own life? Did you participate in the capsule wardrobe planning? (If not…you can start whenever you’d like – click here) Are there areas in your life that you’ve simplified? What did you do to reach that milestone?