Over the last decade, it’s become a trend in the online world to choose a “word for your year”… I think Ann Voskamp started it back in the day.
I’ve never personally participated in this trend, but as I thought about the word “simplify” over the last month, I realized it’s always my “word for the year”… and it might just be the perfect word for many of you this year too (or even just for the next month!)
Of course, the concept of “simple living” is not new for me… in fact, “simplify” is the word that motivated me to start my in-home organizing business back in 2007, the word that eventually lead me to venture into the online world in 2010, and the word that has shaped every piece of content I’ve shared here in my little corner of the internet.
More than all of that though, it’s the personal mindset I have for everything I do each day. I know that if I figure out how to simplify something, I’m more likely to follow through and actually do it… and less likely to feel stressed, anxious, exhausted, or resentful about doing it.
If you like the idea of simplifying your home, your schedule, your meals, and your life… but you just aren’t sure where or how to start, I’ve created an acronym that will help!
s.i.m.p.l.i.f.y.
- start somewhere
- identify your priorities
- minimize
- plan + prepare
- lower your expectations
- implement routines
- focus on maintenance
- you can do this!
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to simplifying, organizing, or better time management, the ideas and concepts I share below should serve as a general guideline as you embark on this exciting life-changing journey.
I’ve also included many links to additional resources that will help you dig deeper in certain areas — so feel free to bookmark this post and come whenever you need a little extra encouragement or motivation to keep pluggin’ away.
Ok… let’s simplify!
s = start somewhere
This is often the hardest part (truthfully) but in order to make any progress you must eventually start… so let’s get started today!
Start small so you don’t get overwhelmed… but start somewhere so you actually make progress.
Think through a few of the spaces in your home that bother you the most (ones you use regularly like the pantry, the bathroom drawers, your purse, etc.) and start there. Or choose one of your most hectic days and brainstorm a few ways to lighten your load on that day.
Once you start, your momentum will build, and you’ll see progress — which will motivate you to keep going.
i = identify your priorities
What are your priorities for your home, your family, your life?
It’s impossible to make intentional decisions that align with your goals, values, and priorities if you don’t even know what your goals, values, and priorities are… and if you aren’t making intentional decisions, your home and life will feel chaotic.
So, if you’ve never thought about this before, or if you’ve never actually put your priorities on paper, that’s what I want you to do first.
Sit down with a pad of paper and pen and write your answers to these questions:
- What 5 things are most important to you right now?
- What are you most excited about right now?
- How are you currently spending most of your time?
- How do you want to spend most of your time?
- Who do you want to spend your time with?
- Where do you spend/give the majority of your money?
- Where would you like to spend/give your money?
The answers to these questions will generally point you in the direction of your current priorities.
Once you identify your priorities, it will be SO much simpler to create goals (big and small) that align with your priorities. It will also be significantly easier to say “no” when requests for your time, money, talents, etc. don’t align with your current priorities.
m = minimize
I’m not a minimalist by definition, but I’m a huge advocate for minimizing whenever possible, simply because caring for less stuff requires less time, money, and effort.
For example:
- Less toys means it’s less overwhelming for the kids to pick up every day (and all the toys actually get played with).
- A neat pantry and fridge make it easier (and more enjoyable) to quickly make dinner.
- Fewer clothing options means less decision fatigue when it’s time to get ready each morning (and a lot less money spent on clothing).
- A smaller to-do list feels more manageable than a mile-long list of things we know we’ll never get to.
Reducing the number of things, to-do’s, and commitments in your daily life will help you simplify.
The trick is to incorporate time for “minimizing” into your regular daily and weekly routines so that decluttering becomes second nature.
Here are a few tips to help you do that:
- Keep a donation bin or bag in each closet and regularly fill it with anything you no longer need, want, use, or love. Donate when the bags are full.
- Purge clothing, accessories, toys, books, games, kitchen items, lawn tools, etc. as you realize you don’t need/want them.
- Remove to-do’s from your list if you aren’t passionate about them.
- Say “no” to things, people, and activities that don’t align with your priorities and goals from above.
more encouragement:
- 50 things you can purge right now
- Simplify your closet with 6 quetions
- The true cost of your stuff
- How to remove 100 things from your home TODAY!
- A doable plan to complete a full house purge in 16 weeks
- A lesson from 10 pairs of socks and underwear
- Solve your stuff problems with a space budget
- 5 questions to ask when purging
p = plan + prepare
One of the Bible passages that has caused me the most angst over the years is from Matthew 6:25-34, where Jesus commands us not to worry about what we will eat or drink or wear.
In verse 34, He specifically says:
“Therefore do no worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
In the past, I interpreted this to mean “don’t spend so much time planning ahead because our plans might not be God’s plans.”
However, I now believe that God wants us to plan and prepare for the future… just not to “WORRY” about the future. Planning helps alleviate stress while worrying creates more stress.
The fact of the matter is, our home and lives would be extremely stressful and chaotic if we didn’t spend some time planning and preparing each day.
If you don’t know where to start… here are a few ideas:
- plan 5 simple meals for the week (make sure you have the ingredients)
- pack lunches the night before
- encourage everyone to pick out their clothing the night before
- talk over your weekly schedule with the whole family (over dinner!)
- wake up 20 minutes earlier to give yourself a buffer
I’ve never regretted the time I’ve spent planning and preparing as it saves me so much time, energy, and stress in the long run.
more encouragement:
- How my morning routine sets the tone for our day
- How I plan ahead
- Improve your efficiency with weekly to-do lists
- How I use my planner to simplify
- How to eliminate meal planning overwhelm
- An unexpected benefit of intentional living
- Prevent burnout by focusing on planning and progress
- Don’t let the urgent get in the way of the important
- We have the time, we just don’t make it
- 6 strategies to take your weekends back
l = lower expectations
Simplifying your own home and life will never be as quick, fun, or glamorous as the TV shows, magazines, and Instagram stories make out to be. Sorry!
Living a simple life requires daily work, sometimes a lot of work (ironic… I know!)
If you have children (or a non-supportive spouse) it will be even more challenging.
I don’t say these things to make you lose hope — but rather because I know how important our expectations are in our efforts to accomplish anything.
If you expect magical overnight transformations, you will be disappointed and less likely to stick with it. However, if you expect to put in many weeks of hard work, you will be more motivated to continue working towards your goals, even if things don’t happen as quickly as you hope.
- Your kids will not magically remember to put their toys away tomorrow.
- Your spouse will still leave dirty laundry on the floor.
- Plans will fall through, despite your best efforts.
- It will always be easier to put something off until “later”.
- Your schedule will feel too full again.
This is real life… and real life is not perfect or predictable.
You’re not doing anything wrong, it’s just that sustainable change takes time… don’t give up due to unrealistic expectations for yourself and your family.
i = implement routines
I mentioned earlier that simple living can sometimes feel like a lot of work (especially in the beginning). However, once you find your groove and establish a few routines, those previously daunting tasks start to feel much more doable… you might even say “simple”. ☺️
Routines are pure gold for me and for our family — 100% necessary for my sanity!
Routines are the reason our home can be picked up in 15-20 minutes, why I can thoroughly clean our entire home in a couple of hours, why we never get behind on laundry, why our children don’t fight bedtime, why mealtimes aren’t a battle, why we have time for the things we actually want to do.
Routines make our home life more enjoyable, our work-life more rewarding, our finances more hands-off, and our parenting efforts more fun.
If you could use a few helpful routines in your home and life, feel free to browse through the list of resources below… I have lots of examples of different routines that have worked well for our family.
more encouragement:
- My cleaning routine
- (VIDEO) How I clean our home in 2 hours
- My laundry routine
- 7 specific ways I simplify my days
- 8 tips to speed up your cleaning routine
- Streamline your life with the 80/20 rule
- 3 daily routines that keep our home neat and organized enough
- Our kids’ bedtime routine
- Tips to create routines when every day is different
- 60+ tasks our children do each day
- How we maximize our savings and investing with automation
- 3 tips to keep your vehicle neat and organized
f = focus on maintenance
I’d be lying if I led you to believe that your home and life will be smooth sailing forever and ever once you identify your priorities, minimize your stuff, and implement routines to help you plan ahead and get organized.
Unfortunately, that’s just not how life works!
Yes, you should do all the things I’ve already mentioned… but the key to enjoying a simpler home and life is to put time and energy into maintaining your efforts on a daily basis.
Simplifying is not a once-and-done thing… your home, your schedule, your family, and your life will require continual maintenance.
But don’t let this discourage you! Once you have a few routines in place (like I mentioned above) the maintenance part will be much faster and easier than getting organized.
Daily and weekly maintenance is normal. Instead of grumbling and complaining or feeling like a failure, simply schedule some time to maintain all the work you did in all the steps above, and don’t think for one second that your efforts weren’t worth it!
Y = YOU can do this!
Don’t doubt yourself or your abilities…
Positive affirmation is a real thing, and the more you tell yourself: I CAN do this, I CAN simplify, I CAN get more organized, I CAN arrive on time, I CAN say ‘no’, the more often you will actually do it.
It might require some hard work, this might not be the perfect time to get started, it might take longer than you wish to make noticeable progress, but you can do this.
If there’s ONE thing you take away from the content here on my blog, I truly hope it’s a feeling of “doability”.
My goal has always been to make everything I share here feel doable for real people with real lives, real families, real budgets, real homes, etc. and I’m confident the tips and ideas above will help you to SIMPLIFY this year and beyond!!
Whether you are looking to fine-tune a few areas of your life or if you feel like your home and life are spiraling out of control, I encourage you to give s.i.m.p.l.i.f.y. a whirl this year.
What’s the worst that can happen!
a quick recap…
- start somewhere
- identify your priorities
- minimize
- plan + prepare
- lower your expectations
- implement routines
- focus on maintenance
- you can do this!
Henriette says
What a great blog post! So relevant and timely. I am at a very different time in life, 74, still very active in a number of activities at home on the farm and out in the community. This information is just as important at my stage of life as it is for younger women. It occurs to me that this SIMPLIFY approach can work on a large scale (the whole house) or on smaller issues. For example, I think I need to go into my sewing room and just work through your approach with regard to my sewing and quilting stuff and schedules. One simple thing I learned long ago: when life and time pressures force you to delay certain chores, never delay chores that get worse or take longer by being put off. I never put off dishes, the bathroom, laundry, balancing the checkbooks, etc. On the other hand, I can delay dusting a long, long time! Thanks for all you do, I love to come here and catch up a couple times a month.
Andrea says
YES! Exactly! The concepts I’ve shared here (S.I.M.P.L.I.F.Y) can be applied to any area of your home and life — no matter what type of home or life you currently have.
And… I’m with you on delaying dusting for a LONG time 🙂
Julia says
I’ve been using Duolingo for years to learn Spanish and love it. I used the free version for several years, but I’m now on my third year of the paid version. You can use it on the computer or the phone app. They have continually improved it. I have not run out of lessons yet!
Andrea says
Thanks for this, Julia!
Lisa says
Morning. I would recommend Duolingo to learn another language. I am learning German. It is fun! I use the free version. Their format requires you to interact with the app so if you just want to listen to something, this would not be the app to use. Which language are you going to try?
Andrea says
Cool — so many have recommended Duolingo too! I want to learn Dutch 🙂
Sonya says
This was a great post to revisit, I needed this reminder today. Especially the “start somewhere”. When thinking of a task/project that needs to be done, I have a tendency to get overwhelmed, either because I am overcomplicating (is that even a word!?) it or stuck on the idea of perfection. I have to say though, I have improved with this by focusing on getting started and progress, not perfection – I’m sure I read that phrase on here!
Andrea says
yes… just start somewhere!
and I have been known to “preach” progress over perfection 🙂
Ofelia Salgado says
I have been reading your post from many years ago, but this is my first comment. I just wanna say thanks you, Andrea! Your post are so useful to me and bring me so much help to organize my home and routines. The very best for you and your family on 2020. Congrats from Mexico City.
Andrea says
yay — thanks for your comment and your long-time readership!
I appreciate your kind words of encouragement!
Natalie says
I’ve just come across your blog this year, and have really enjoyed reading it! I appreciate your practical and down-to-earth advice. We were inspired by your post about simplifying Christmas gift-giving, and decided to exchange the majority of our family gifts before Christmas day. It was well-received by our kids, and it felt really nice, personally, to not be up late on Christmas Eve wrapping gifts and putting them under the tree in the late evening hours Looking forward to continuing to simplify in this coming year. Blessings to you and your family in the New Year!
Andrea says
Hi Natalie!
Welcome to the blog! I’m thrilled to hear from you 🙂
Also, I smiled the whole time reading your comment — it makes me so happy to know that what helps my family simplify also helps other families too (thanks so much for taking the time to let me know)
Happy New Year to you too!
Brenda says
This was such a great post. As an older Mom with grown kids and now raising two more and Having 7 grand babies, living more simply has become a necessity. It doesn’t come naturally for me, so I have relished your wisdom. I have read your blog for years and I am so glad that you are only taking a break and not leaving. Thank you for using the gifts God has given you to reach out to me. ❤️
Andrea says
Thanks so much Brenda! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!
Karen says
Perfect post! Thank you. I’ll be sharing this with others. I’ve pretty much got this nailed down at 64 years old but SO helpful for young families!
Actually, many years ago, I started with FlyLady and it changed my life and my family to get rid of the clutter. We were also homebodies. The only thing my “type A” daughter ever got “grounded” for was to many school activities. Your family is well on the way to an amazing life, full of precious memories.
Oh… I bought the Kid Ki’nex for my grandson’s January birthday! Thank you.
Enjoy your site SO much… even at this time in my life.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Andrea says
Thanks Karen — Merry Christmas to you (and I hope your grandson loves the k’nex!)
Donna G says
I’ve been with you since you were Simple Organized Living, and while I always miss you when you take a break, I applaud you for knowing how to take your own advice.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and may you and your family be blessed going in and going out!
Andrea says
Thank you Donna!
Sarah says
Awww, what a lovely sign-off to an eventful decade indeed 🙂
Have a fantastic Christmas and a peaceful New Year
Looking forward to an amazing 2020 xx
Andrea says
Thanks Sarah! That was my hope!
I’m looking forward to 2020 as well!
Stephanie says
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I’m a longtime reader. Very thankful for your wisdom and blog!
JoAnn C. says
Thank you, Andrea. Happy and safe holidays to you and your beautiful family.
Andrea says
Thanks JoAnn!
Christina says
Is it possible to make this a printable???( So I wouldn’t get all the ads trying to just print it.) I would love to share it with some friends and family this season of stress. lol
Thanks for a decade of great SIMPLE direction, advice and tips. Love your blog! Enjoy the rest of the year and decade off! Happy holidays to you and yours!
Andrea says
🙂
I’ll have this as a printable after the New Year — it will be a freebie bonus for those who sign up for my new email newsletter!
Ashley says
Wow…. I haven’t been reading from the very beginning but I’ve been reading since Norah was an infant! You’re certainly wise for taking a break but I always miss reading when you do! Merry Christmas to your family and thanks for all the ways you’ve impacted my family!
Andrea says
yes, you’ve been around a long time! Thanks so much for your loyal readership Ashley!
Marva says
So glad you’re taking your own advice and taking a break. Merry Christmas!
Andrea says
🙂
Kari says
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Andrea. I’ve been here since pretty much the beginning and just wanted to say thank you. I look forward to reading your blog every day. I’ve come a long way in simplifying over the last decade and much of that can be attributed to your tips and motivation.
Andrea says
wow — thanks so much for your long-time readership! I appreciate your kind words and I’m thrilled to have played a small part in helping your family to simplify
Annette Silveira says
I’m going to use these SIMPLIFY tips as I think about and plan how I want to enter this new decade. Have a wonderful break. I’ll be looking forward to seeing pictures of the fun ways you spent it!
Andrea says
Thanks Annette — Merry Christmas!
JJ says
Love “Lower expectations”–so wise!!!! Merry Christmas!!!
Andrea says
Yes, that’s a big one when it comes to Simple Living!
red2red says
Merry Christmas to you from a long-time reader!
Liked your summary of “simplify” and all the tips included.
Enjoy your special family time and the hope, love, joy and peace of this season.
God’s blessings to you!
Andrea says
Thank you, Thank you!
Kim Raffa says
I love this post and I adore your blog! At this point, I am not even sure about how many years I have been reading, but it has been several. Thank you for putting this together and I love all of the links to relared readinf. I am going to be on vacation so this will be perfect evening reading/inspiration!
Have a wonderful break. See you next decade!!
Andrea says
Thanks so much Kim!
I was hoping people would be able to “catch up” on a little blog reading over Christmas break, so I figured I’d give you all lots to read as you prepare for a simpler New Year!
Tina from Berlin says
Happy holidays and a great start into the next decade for you and your family.
Thank you for your blog, it is always a joy to read.
Andrea says
Thank you Tina!
Deb says
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! Thanks for another year of faithful blogging!
Andrea says
You’re welcome, Deb! Thanks for your loyal readership!
Kim says
I plan to read and review these questions and links. Have a fun break! May God pour out His richest blessings upon you and your family. See you in 2020!
Andrea says
Thanks Kim! Merry Christmas to you!