How To Simplify Your Life When All Around Is Chaos!

Are the complications of life driving you crazy?

Are you craving ways to simplify your life?

How to simplify your life is a modern question to counteract the chaos that we can feel surrounded by.

These days we are surrounded by so much and expected to do so much.

In years gone by life may well have been harder without the many modern conveniences we now have but life was infinitely simpler.

Our grandparents concentrated on one task at a time.

If you want to simplify your life surely it should be easy? Like simple?

Yes it can be very simple but simplifying your life won’t happen overnight, it’s more of a journey that naturally progresses over time.

As I’ve adopted the frugal life, so I have simplified my life. A little bit at a time.

Let’s look at some easy ways to simplify your life that you can start today.

Stop Thinking You Must Always Be Productive

We live in times now where the busier you are the more you are held up as an example to others.

Headlines scream at us “this Mother of 5 works full time, runs her own company and still bakes her own cakes!”

Some people thrive on being super busy, most of us are exhausted just trying. You don’t need to be productive to be a successful parent, partner or human.

Give yourself permission just to Be occasionally.

You may also like: How To Stop Worrying About Money

Give Everything A Home

Do you lose things around the home or having items lying around waiting to be filed somewhere?

If you give everything a home, from day 1, then nothing needs to be left out.

Every item with a home can be placed there straight away. Simplify your home by giving everything you own a home.

Your home will be less cluttered and more organised.

Come and follow me on Pinterest for more money saving hints and frugal tips!

pinterest image for how to simplify your life

Schedule Less

Learn to say no more often. We all lead such busy lives.

Working, taking our children to various after school activities, running our home, looking after other relatives, keeping fit, socialising.

Life can be exhausting.

Try to slow down your life a little and not cram so much into it. Saying no allows you to simplify your life.

Enjoy the things you do more, by doing less.

Write Yourself A To Do List

Write your to do list on paper so it’s there in front of you wherever you are.

Any list on your phone or computer will mean opening them and getting distracted by social media notifications or the tabs you left open last time.

Know Your Why

Why are you looking for ways to simplify your life?

You need to know your why so if and when you find yourself back in the thick of the chaos of life you can refer back to your why.

Draw strength from your why, strength to move away from the chaos and back towards what you want – to simplify your life.

Create Routines

Creating routines helps you to plan your day and to not have to constantly be making decisions on what you need to do next.

Have a routine for every work day and keep it simple!

My morning routine is to always have a shower as soon as I get up. I do not go downstairs until I am washed and dressed. Ever.

My work day routine looks like this:

snooze alarm once (only)
shower
get dressed in the work uniform I created (no decisions required)
check wash basket for a full load of dirty clothes – if so bring downstairs with me
put washing on – use delay timer so it finishes as I return home
put items on drainer away & wipe surfaces
pull out pre-planned dinner from freezer or throw ingredients into slow cooker
make lunch (same every day as a way to simplify my life)
grab fruit for breakfast & afternoon break
Off to work

I do not deviate from this routine as it has simplified my life so much.

No need to make decisions, think about what I can or cannot fit into my morning, schedule or think about what I’m going to wear.

I just get up and do – simple!

If you want to know how to simplify your life – start with routines. They are the bedrock of my simplified life.

Let Go Of Perfectionism

None of us think we are perfect but we often strive for it.

We must be better than we are = we can be very hard on ourselves, always expecting more of ourselves.

Give yourself licence to do a good job and be content with this. Aim to progress but not for perfection.

Keep Surfaces Clear Of Clutter

Clutter makes for a busy mind. The more clutter you see around your home the more cluttered and busy your brain becomes.

Simplify your home by keeping your surfaces clear. It also makes dusting a breeze!

Me Time

Time for yourself – me time – allows you to regain your strength and your purpose.

Even whilst you simplify life it can be difficult, life can throw you challenges.

Carving out some me time, however small, helps you manage those challenges and keep your true purpose, your why, in mind.

Aim for 10 minutes a day to start.

Put yourself and your me time first just for those 10 minutes.

Do anything you want in the time – but no jobs or chores! Chill, read, write. Just Be.

Unsubscribe From Emails

How many emails do you get each week from companies and shops you’ve used previously? All offering deals and sales and must have items.

If you don’t know about them, you won’t clutter your life and your house with them.

Save yourself some money and simplify your emails – unsubscribe from as many as possible.

Be in charge of when you visit a website, don’t do it just because you received another email.

close up of purple flower with pollen on it's stamens

Create Your Own Work Uniform

As part of my morning routine I get dressed into my own work uniform.

My department has a dress code not a uniform but I chose to create my own work uniform as a step towards simplifying my life.

It’s my own capsule wardrobe for work with 2 base colors and a variety of blouses that match both. Check out why you should create your own work uniform.

Write Tomorrows To Do List Tonight

Before you go to bed write your priority to do list.

Don’t wait until the morning as you’ll end up reacting to what you think you need to do that minute rather than reflecting on what you want to achieve by the end of the day.

I’m not always wide awake or firing on all cylinders when I first get up, despite having a cold shower every day.

Read that post to find out why I do this regardless of the temperature outside!

Take 5 minutes to write your to do list before you go to bed.

Simplify Your Meals

Preparing meals can be a complicated process. Reading some cookbooks is like reading a science textbook with complicated instructions.

One of the ways to simplify your life is to simplify what you eat.

Simple home cooked nourishing food doesn’t need to be complicated.

Choose recipes that take no longer than 30 minutes to prepare and the less ingredients the better.

Disregarding spices, if I can cook with 5 items or less I am a happy bunny!

De-clutter One Small Area On Your Day Off

De-cluttering tends to go hand in hand with trying to simplify your life. When you have less clutter you feel more organised.

Help yourself achieve this by de-cluttering small areas one by one.

A kitchen drawer can be organised and de-cluttered in 30 minutes.

Tackling your hallway cupboard will help you to simplify your life and will only take 30 minutes.

Have Screen Downtime

We all lead busy lives and seem to be constantly plugged into our phones, tablets or computers.

You take your phone to bed with you and check your notifications before you go to sleep, if you wake up during the night and first thing in the morning.

Schedule some screen downtime as a way to simplify your life. Screens make us busy as we endlessly scroll.

Schedule something else instead.

Reduce the scrolling and reduce the busyness in your brain.

Get Rid Of Stuff You Think You Ought To Keep

We’ve all got items that we think we ought to be keeping.

Perhaps it’s that ornament that Great Aunty June got you for Christmas 3 years ago or the leaving gift your colleagues bought you from your previous, previous job.

If your items do not bring you joy then let them go.

Keep things because you truly want them in your life, not because someone gave them to you some time ago.

Have you started down the path of simplifying your life? What has worked for you?