When I close my eyes and picture the things that make me happy they are simple things. My family, food, friends, and nature. To me, a simple life is a happy life.
All of us have big dreams and we all want to achieve all our goal ideas.
At the same time we want our day to day life to be simple and full of meaningful moments and experiences.
When it comes down to it we all just want a happy simple life. We want to feel like we are growing and becoming better. And we want time to rest and really soak it in. Most of all we want a life full of love.
So how can you make all that a reality? How can you fight distractions an prioritize your life? How can you clear your cluttered mind and stick to beneficial wellness strategies? Most importantly, how can you reduce stress so that you can find joy in the routine but also start making real progress towards the life you are dreaming of?
What Does A Happy Simple Life Mean to You?
If a simple life is a happy life then why do we always look for things to complicate our lives? How can you have a happy simple life? What does that look like to you?
Would you like more time to do things with your family? Do you find it difficult to be present instead of constantly distracted? Or do you need to figure out how to strengthen your relationship with your spouse?
Are you wanting to quit your job and start working for yourself so that you can have a job you are passionate about? Do you just need more time for self-care and rest? Do you find it hard to keep up the things you need to do to continue protecting and promoting your health? Do you need to become your own best healthcare advocate? Would you like to try life without alcohol? Are you having trouble unwinding anxiety? Would you like to reduce stress fast? Or do you want to get outside more to enjoy nature? Have you forgotten some of your favorite analog activities like reading and playing music?
Simple living and being happy go hand in hand. We can only find happiness when we find out what we want in life and get rid of the rest. Having a happy simple life depends on finding balance in the different aspects of your life. To be happy you have to stop complaining and learn how to be more positive. You have to learn how to have more fun every day and you have tot ake time for mental health.
Getting chores done shouldn’t take over your life and neither should cleaning. You should live in a home where family teamwork is the norm. Your work should be fulfilling but it shouldn’t be everything. You should be able to take time to listen to and be with your family but it’s ok to say no to things that you don’t have energy for.
Balance is the key to happy simple life full of personal growth. Finding ways to increase productivity will help you work smarter and not harder so that you can find that balance! And taking time for slow living can make sure you are taking care of yourself. It can even help you avoid winter blues.
We have many demands on our time and energy. Our lives are full of wonderful times with friends and family. Some challenges come up too. Circumstances change with major life events. We also have many different interests and hobbies.
So how can we keep our life simple with all of this going on?
For A Happy Simple Life Make Time for Personal Growth
Do you feel lopsided? Are you walking around like a robot?
That might be because you are always doing what you have to do and never doing what you want to do!
When was the last time you made room for yourself? Do you feel like it is selfish to do anything besides what your work and family needs from you? Is it wrong to take time to read a book or take a nap?
A LOT of people (esp. women) feel that way! But it’s just not balanced. When you lead life that way you are asking to be a grouchy, nagging, tired wife and mother. That’s why taking time for self care is not selfish.It’s actually a wellness strategy you need. A simple morning self care routine doesn’t even have to take that much time!
What kinds of things can you do for self care? Is it just getting your makeup done, your nails painted, or taking a bubble bath? No! While those things are great self care can mean anything you do to take care of yourself.
You can get a great home workout routine you enjoy and make it a part of every day. Or you might need to get some healthy habits back into your life so that you feel better. There a lot of fun summer activities for adults that can keep you in motion! Protecting and promoting your health is so important to overall happiness!
Another great way to take care of yourself is to pick up a hobby that you enjoy. It may seem like you don’t need a creative hobby but they can help you relieve stress and improve your self worth. You will eventually define your value by your skills and qualities instead of external things like money and things.
Last but not least we are always growing and we can always improve. Learn what drives you in life and set yearly goals and make personal growth projects for yourself like learning how to be more humble, how to listen better, and how to improve your relationship will help you live more in line with the way you want to live. You will be the patient and kind person having manners that others are attracted to. Goal setting helps us keep looking forward with optimism and when we reach our goals it builds self worth. Being appreciative of all our blessings helps us feel more content and happy.
Make Hard Jobs Easier So You Can Enjoy Your Happy Simple Life!
Take time for yourself you say! Pick up a hobby you say! But WHERE AM I GOING TO FIND THE TIME? That’s not going to get the dishes done, the kids fed, or the laundry folded!
Trust me! I get it! Boring stuff has to get done. I don’t live in a dream world. I still have to clean house. In fact I clean lots of houses cause I’m the cleaning lady.
So while we can both agree that boring stuff has to get done, is there any way we can make it easier on ourselves? Absolutely!
I’ll give you all my best tips from real life and all the best productivity books I’ve read. I want to help you work smarter not harder so you can clean house like the maid without taking all your time. I’ll tell you which cleaning products will save your time and money and take you through the perfect spring cleaning day!
Then next step is to automate things like laundry and errands by creating systems that streamline your efforts and make them happen like clockwork. These practical life skills actually make the tedium less tedious.
Once you’ve got that out of the way create a meal plan to make evenings less stressful and use grocery pickup to save tons of time.
With your daily chores made easier you might just have time to help your kids with homeschooling. Or maybe you can take some online classes too!
Keep track of everything in a planner. I am a big fan of using a planner because it will help you brain dump all the things you have to do, see the gaps in your schedule that you didn’t know you had! In short, they help you be more productive without feeling like a chicken with it’s head cut off!
When you learn to look at the essentials and make them as easy as possible the boring stuff gets done a lot faster! You can give that time back to your goals and start making steady progress towards them!
Be More Intentional About Your Simple Life
A simple life is a happy life and when you make chores a smaller part of your days with the tips above you can start being more intentional in other parts of your life.
You can slow life down and enjoy it more. You can have more fun when you keep things simple and start opting out of things that aren’t really in line with your goals.
For instance, if you want to be more earth friendly you could make some sustainable changes in how you do things and buy some sustainable swaps for your home.
There might be new habits you want to start to benefit yourself or old habits you want to break.
Are you trying to save money for the future. Being motivated to save money and live better instead of wasting money it on meaningless purchases will really help your reach your goals!
You might want to think about life lessons you have learned and how they can benefit you. If you have been feeling off kilter, taking time for reflection can help you feel like yourself again. Taking time to serve others by helping out someone you know or volunteering can also bring you joy! Spreading kindness is never a mistake!
Or you might just want to enjoy some rest and time with loved ones. You can find things to do at home, date night ideas, and ways to stay positive in the restless world.
When you are more intentional about life it’s easier make the best of it when unexpected things happen.
Intentional, simple and slow living also means enjoying the experiences in your life more fully because you are taking time to really notice the beauty of life. In turn, you have more time with your family and a more meaningful life. This all reduces stress and brings joy.
Contentment Is the Key to a Happy Simple Life!
One of the hardest parts of simple living and minimalism is staying content. That is not because you need more but because we live in a society that constantly tries to convince us that we need too much!
Staying content with less involves changing your mental attitude. It involves developing the quality of appreciation. You have to remember that you have a lot more than many people and that you have more than enough. You have to remember that a simple life is a happy life. Having a bunch of stuff doesn’t add to your happiness.
Keep in the front of your mind the fact that family, friends, and experiences are what really make your life fulfilling. Also, remember that your possessions do not define your worth!
You can also stay content with simple living by being intentional about your shopping habits.
Don’t use shopping as a way to get a temporary high. Try not to purchase things that are not going to be used regularly and enhance your life. Help yourself do this by limiting your exposure to consumer culture. You can limit e-mail subscriptions and avoid the lure of big sales.
Remember that what you are looking for is not out there. It is inside of you.
Experiences Make Simple Living Fulfilling!
Your life will be more fulfilling if you have less stuff! How can that be true? Don’t you need all this stuff to be happy? Let me ask you this.
Does your garage packed with stuff make you feel happy? Does your closet full of clothes make you happy?
More often than not our possessions actually steal our happiness and cause frustration instead.
What if you try changing your viewpoint? Does going camping with your family or going to the beach make you happy? Does playing a board game or having a great dinner with friends bring you joy?
Do you see the difference? It is the experiences we have that make us happy, not things. It’s the company of our loved ones, and not the stuff we use, that gives us memories that will never fade.
So when you are looking for a happy simple life you are looking to be healthy and enjoy experiences with the ones you love and taking the focus off the things you might need to have those experiences.
When you take the focus off of things you will only get as much as you need and then you won’t be overwhelmed! You will have less stuff to maintain and clean so you will have more time with family and friends.
That’s a balanced way to live your life and enjoy a never ending cycle of simple living!
Let Me Help You Make Things Simple the EASY WAY!
I am not here to make things hard for you. My goal is to make simple living doable for you.
I want minimalism and simplicity to fit your life.
When I started this blog I was living in a 300 square foot studio apartment and some minimalism blogs made me feel isolated and not good enough. Sometimes it seems like an elite club for people who are super disciplined.
I don’t want it to feel that way! I want you to feel like minimalism is a journey worth taking and a simple living is something you can achieve!
For that reason, I aim to write helpful articles on any subject I feel will help you simplify life because I love to share good things with my friends! Whenever I find a new way to make life easier I will write a post about it! If you have any challenges or questions just ask! We will brainstorm together!
If you’re looking for organizational solutions, products that can simplify life, or resources that will help you simplify your life check out my resource page! If you just want great tips send to you inbox every week sign up for my e-mail list below!
Remember, a happy simple life is all about balance. You can find that balance. Overwhelm and anxiety do not have to rule your life! Like a beautiful flower you can continue to grow and bloom with the right care! Let’s make that happen together!