I recently asked my daughter what her favorite part of the holidays is, and she surprised me with her answer. She said, “Because everyone’s happiness level finally matches how I always feel!” If you knew her personally, you would know that is about right. She is a happy person, bubbly and always excited about something! […]
22 Great Reads For A Simpler Holiday Season
The holiday season is upon us. This magical time of the year can quickly become stressful for many, both financially and emotionally. But, it doesn’t have to be. Switching your focus from purchasing lots of gifts to the people you love, and building relationships with them, can help ease the expectations that cause us […]
7 Habits of Highly Effective Simple Living
During the past three years of simplifying life, decluttering belongings, reducing purchases and more, I’ve realized there seems to be a pattern of belief or thought among simple living folks that make them effective at living a simpler lifestyle. It is easy to start out with good intentions of simplifying life, cutting clutter or […]
Overcoming the Temptation Of Insecurity
Most people have probably never thought of insecurity in terms of being a temptation. But, when insecurity is around, it is tempting to avoid actions and making important decisions, which can stunt your personal growth. One lesson that I have learned over the years and have come to value is that during times of indecision […]
Losing Your Simplicity
This summer I feel like I’ve lost touch with quite a few aspects of simple living. My personal morning routine is nowhere to be found, which means I haven’t been extremely successful at keeping my children on some type of routine throughout the day either. Lunches are a hodgepodge of yogurt, PB oatmeal balls, fresh […]
Remove Distraction and Find Contentment
Are you suffering from distraction due to discontentment in life? Have you given up on your ideal life and given in to actions that will subconsciously keep you from thinking about your failures? Like the average American, maybe you are spending over 5 hours a day distracting yourself on various electronic devices. Take a moment […]
Consumer Chronicles Week 6 & 7 Plus Dinner Confessions
I’ve decided to merge my Consumer Chronicles into a post every two weeks, instead of on a weekly schedule. Basically, I find that I am actually doing better than I thought in this area of life, and I don’t have nearly as many wants and items I am purchasing on a whim as I thought […]
New Beginnings
It is always a good exercise to look back and remember where we first started and recognize our progress as a person, while also encouraging others who are just getting started on their own journeys. With the new beginning of February, I’d like to backtrack a little and relive my own beginnings of simplicity, and […]
Consumer Chronicles Week 5
This week came with some purchases that would definitely be deemed unnecessary, but valued and used in my home. When I am shopping intentionally, sometimes I become a deep thinker. I wonder if it is morally responsible for me to purchase things just for ‘fun’, when there are so many people without clean water and […]
Finding Calm In Community
Sometimes I have so many thoughts, needs and wants pulling at my attention, it feels like my thinking is far from intentional, almost out of my control, and it doesn’t feel like I can slow it down. I try meditating, and the quiet just makes everything louder up there. It can become pretty frustrating when […]
Consumer Chronicles Week 1
I decided I would give my accountability posts for this project on Saturdays, as that is usually when my shopping for the week ends. I like to stay home and take it easy on Sundays. This week was fairly easy, it is only a few days into the New Year, and, I hurt my back […]
Protected: Setting Goals and Making Changes
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30 Gifts of Living Simply
This week I celebrate my birthday, and as I was thinking about it, I realized how much my life has changed over the past few years, much of it due mainly to living a more simple, minimal lifestyle. The best way I can say it is that living simply is a gift, to yourself and […]
Simple Living & Chores for Kids
Children and chores. What to do… One of my goals for living simply has been to cut down on the amount of cleaning and household work that needs to be done. But even with all my decluttering and minimizing, there are still chores that must be completed on a regular basis. Aside from that, I […]
5 Steps to Start Living Simply Today
What do you do when you know you want to simplify, but are so over-committed and stressed that you can’t even bear the thought of adding simplifying to your to do list? Many people know they want a simpler, less hectic life, a life less rushed and lived more at their own pace, but they […]
8 Ways to Teach Kids Simple Living
Raising kids is hard enough as it is, but what happens when you’ve embraced a more simple and minimal life and are trying to teach your children the value of less? It can be especially difficult if your children are older and more influenced by the mass amounts of busyness and consumerism they’ve no doubt […]