Life doesn’t have to be so complicated. 😉
In a world filled with constant noise, endless to-do lists, and pressure to keep up, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
But simplifying your life isn’t about doing less just for the sake of it — it’s about creating space for what truly matters to you (not to someone else).
Whether you’re looking to streamline your schedule, enjoy more family time, get better sleep, or just quiet your mind, these 6 practical tips will help you cut through the chaos and simplify your everyday life.
1. Focus on moderation.
The mindset of “all things in moderation” has played a crucial role in my own simple-living journey… but this might be easier said than done, depending on your personality type.
I have friends and relatives with perfectionistic tendencies, and it’s a battle they fight daily.
This is not to say you can’t create a simpler life with perfectionistic or procrastination tendencies… it will just be more difficult.
Here are 3 examples you might relate to:
1. SCREENS: We do very little with screens, but we’re not against them, nor do we ban them from our home. We have a home phone for our kids, we enjoy family movie nights, they use screens at school, and they love checking the weather or sports scores online. It’s a once-in-a-while thing, and they need to ask. But screens are not off limits or portrayed as “bad”.
2. FOOD: I mostly enjoy cooking and baking, and do a lot of from-scratch meals. However, I have nothing against occasional processed snacks, freezer foods, or fast food. It’s certainly not the main part of our diet, and the kids need to ask, but we also don’t label it as “bad food” or ban our kids from ever eating it. (We do explain that it’s less nutritious, though.)
3. HOME CARE: I love a neat, tidy, well-decorated home as much as anyone, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my sanity or my budget to stay up on the latest trends, products, or gimmicks. We have a basic weekly cleaning routine that keeps our home clean enough for our family. I change out a few decorations at Christmastime; otherwise, our home looks the same year-round. And I don’t go on social media, so I don’t even know the latest design trends or new products.
If you can get on board with “all things in moderation,” you will save so much stress, time, conflict, and energy. As a result, your life will feel simpler.
Related Reading: Living a Life of Moderation
2. Say “no” when it’s not your season.
This is not an excuse to slack off or get a free pass on volunteering. In fact, I’m a huge advocate of volunteering for groups and organizations that fit your current season and stage of life.
I’m equally an advocate for saying “no” when they don’t.
For example, Dave and I have always volunteered heavily at church, but this has looked very different as we moved through the changing seasons of life. I headed up the nursery when our children were tiny, then I helped with Children’s Church, now we both help with Sunday School.
Similarly, Dave used to coach high school sports early in our marriage and when our children were young. Now that the kids play sports, he coaches them instead. He’s still giving up time, he’s still coaching, but he’s doing it with our kids, so it fits our family’s season.
You should participate, volunteer, and get involved… but know your limits, know your season, and know when to say “no”!
Related Reading: 99 Effective Ways to Say “No”
3. Don’t overdo it on extracurriculars.
As children get older, I do think parents should encourage them to participate in extracurricular activities based on their interests and skills. However, I’m confident we can do this without sacrificing our sanity or our family’s health. We just need to focus on moderation and what works for our current season (see #1 and #2 above). ☺️
When our children were younger (9 and under), we only did things through church or the community, and only activities we could participate in as an entire family.
Now that our children are getting older…
They participate in band and choir through school, so it doesn’t require extra time or driving at night.
I teach them piano lessons at home… but if that’s not something you’re gifted in, you could hire a teacher to come to your house instead of driving the kids, or you could sign up for online music lessons (this is one I’ve heard great things about).
School sports do require some extra driving for practices and games, but we’ve often carpooled with friends/neighbors, or we’ve coached, so we’re driving there and back anyway.
Church activities are mainly on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, but they are always as a family (and often include a meal), so it doesn’t feel chaotic or too busy.
As a personal choice, we have firmly decided that this is not a season for club or travel sports… and as a bystander to families who do travel sports, I’m confident this decision simplifies our life (and our weekends!)
Also, I feel very confident that even if you don’t (or can’t) give your child an opportunity now, they will be able to have a similar opportunity later in life if they really want it. After all, I always wanted to learn the cello, and I finally started taking lessons at 40!
Related Reading: 6 Strategies to Take Your Weekends Back
4. Learn to delegate or outsource.
As a DIY gal, this is difficult for me… but I’m learning, and you can learn too!
Make a list of things, chores, to-dos, and tasks you really don’t love… then see if there’s a fairly simple way to outsource any of them.
Two personal examples:
BUSINESS TAXES: When I transitioned my business from an LLC to an S corporation, I decided to have our accounting firm to take over all my business taxes. They were already doing our personal taxes, but now they take care of all the monthly and quarterly tax prep for me, and all I need to do is sign a few papers every now and then and write a check a few times a year. This saves me a massive amount of stress, and it drastically simplifies my life.
HOUSEHOLD CHORES: For many years, I cleaned our entire home and did all the laundry on Mondays. This worked well for a season. However, more recently, we’ve switched to assigning each child specific chores (vacuuming, bathrooms, dusting, laundry, dishes) which they do throughout the week — freeing up the better part of my Monday to work my new part-time job at church.
A few more ideas you might utilize:
- Hire lawn care services (either professionally or just a neighbor boy).
- Swap cleaning with a friend, enlist your family to help, or hire that out too.
- Utilize grocery pick-up or delivery for busy weeks when you don’t have time to shop
- Look into a meal planning/prep service if you don’t love cooking but want to avoid restaurants.
The goal here (at least for me) is freeing up more time and energy to devote to family and the things I enjoy doing. If I can do that with minimal effort or expense, that’s a simple-living win.
Related Reading: More than 60 Simple Chore Ideas for Kids
5. Practice contentment & gratitude.
This is another one of those things that sounds so easy, but requires constant effort and “correction” in the beginning.
It does eventually get easier, and it can become a learned habit as you continually remind yourself to be grateful for what you do have instead of always wishing and wanting more or different.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with tackling a big home project, buying a new ________, or experimenting with different hairstyles… as long as it doesn’t stem from a desire to keep up with the Joneses or prove your worth.
If this is a struggle for you, I suggest the following:
- Get off social media and YouTube.
- Shop less.
- Make a list of 10 things you’re thankful for each day.
Related Reading: Simple Starts with Contentment
6. Refuse to rush.
Rushing is one of my least favorite things. It creates a sense of panic and chaos that is the opposite of simple.
This doesn’t mean that I never say “hurry up” to my kids, or that we’re never late. But it does mean that I intentionally work backward through my days, planning and prepping to work in as much margin as possible…
Which requires waking up a little earlier because 15 extra minutes of sleep aren’t nearly as valuable as calm, rush-free mornings…
Which requires getting to bed on time, so we can wake up earlier without compromising our health…
Which requires not overscheduling our evenings (see #3 above) so you can get to bed on time.
You get the idea — you’ve got to plan ahead!
Related Reading: How to Jumpstart Productivity with Intentional Evening Routines
These 6 concepts are all separate ideas, yet they work together — building on each other in so many ways.
None of them are overly difficult (in my opinion), but they do all require intentionality and consistency (especially in the beginning).
Are they necessary for a joy-filled life?
Nope.
Will they help you and your family to live with less anxiety and less stress?
Certainly.
Is it worth it?
That’s for you to decide!
What are your tips to live more simply?
april driggers says
I absolutely LOVE this and could not agree more. It’s such a refreshing approach because trying to be Pinterest-worthy in every aspect of your life really is exhausting. I, too, have seen people seemingly going through life only to exhaust themselves on the next project acting as if they’re a martyr for motherhood and frankly, I just think they’re idiots for not just realizing YOU CAN SAY NO! Bravo for this!
JJ says
Your post about clipping a trash bag to the back of the seat and using Dixie Cups for snacks has simplified my life!!! Tha nk you!!! One thing that helps me is having my kids have room time. My 2 older kids(ages 4 and 3) rarely nap. So when my 1-1/2 year old naps, they have room time. They each play in their own space for a set time (I set a timer). They cannot come out except to use the bathroom (I have them go before to help cut down on that). It is amazing how my productivity boosts! And it teaches them to play by themselves. It has given my middle child a sense of security, because it’s a time where no one is telling her what to do and no one is taking her stuff.
It also allows me to have some quiet in my day. And that definitely recharges me!
Andrea says
yay! We use our trash bag EVERY time we are in the car — and the dixie cups are life-savers for keeping the car (relatively) clean when I let the kids eat snacks 🙂
Also, I like your room time idea. I usually just sent Nora and Simon upstairs to play for about 20 minutes during James’ nap (they share a bedroom) but they do usually end up fighting over something. Maybe once they all have separate rooms we can do a true “room time”.
Katie says
I know you’ve shared this before but what is the thing your baby is sitting in?
Andrea says
it’s a baby björn bouncer — we LOVE it!
Stephanie Perry says
Hi Andrea,
I agree with moderation in the area of activities/sports/extra-curriculars. We have five children (our oldest is a freshman in college). We always made sure that our children were able to pursue what they were interested in (gymnastics, baseball, debate, music lessons, etc.). We didn’t load up on too many activities at one time though and we didn’t have to travel too far or invest much money in travel expenses. We prioritized meals together and kids doing chores, They got plenty of play time and outdoor time. I am so glad we did it this way as kids grow up so fast and I feel like we had a lot of time just to be together. Also at a certain point, teens get jobs and start saving for cars, etc. They have to balance school, work, and activities plus they need extra sleep. Our sports-loving son made choices so that he could work. I think prioritizing chores and work are just as important as pursuing an activity/sport. I know it can be hard when you have school sports as well as travel teams.
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing Stephanie — glad to know that moderation has worked for you even as you look back on this season of life.
Annette Silveira says
These are all such good ways from which to view your world. It’s especially important to realize that you aren’t where you used to be, and you aren’t where you may be in a few more years.
I know you have the usual struggles of a family with small children, but you have done what you can to eliminate as many as possible. Good job!
Andrea says
yes, yes, yes! We aren’t where we used to be (thank goodness!) and we don’t know where we’ll be in a few more years — but RIGHT NOW, we’re doing the best we can to simplify!
Jennifer says
As usual your post is very thought-provoking and inspiring. I need to work on #6. I hate getting in a rush, and yet it seems to happen quite often. I need to do more advanced prep for our days and especially for outings.
Andrea says
Thanks Jennifer!
Sometimes there’s no avoiding a rush… but I do think that the majority of the time, we can reduce our rushing by planning ahead (at least that’s my own personal experience).
Sandra Knecht says
Your photos are adorable. You are a great role model. Wish I had this information when I was a working Mom. Now I’m old and retired. But my daughter has moved back home with her husband and my two grandsons ages 12 and 16. I miss my quiet life but do have some great times watching our grandsons grow up.
Andrea says
Thanks Sandra!
Sounds like you have a busy household now!
Katie says
Love this post! And I agree with the idea of “good enough.” If it weren’t for that approach, I actually just wouldn’t get anything done. I stay at home with my kids, and I also hate rushing and rushing. But I find the alternative can sometimes be boredom.
I’d love to see a post from you about beating boredom and finding balance during your days as a SAHM. Or even just a few “day in the life” posts (kind of like peek into your week, but more specific?) Like what you did, ate, activities, sleep times, each day.
Andrea says
thanks Katie — yes, everyone asks for “day in the life” posts but I find it’s so difficult to actually give a realistic view of what a day in my life looks like. It’s on my list of upcoming blog posts but I keep pushing it back because I don’t want to write it 🙂
That said, we do probably have a very boring life compared to most people and most families. We stay home almost all day every day and always seem to come up with something to do 🙂 It’s easier when the weather is nice, but so far, no one seems to mind being home all day! Sometimes, when we go out, the kids will say “is it time to go home yet? I really like just being home” Looks like they take after their mamma!
Liz says
Number 3: be careful about starting too late!!!!
As the mom of an elite level high school aged soccer player, I can’t caution parents enough that it is NOT the same game that it was when we were kids. You CAN’T use the same rules and expect the same results.
Kids start younger and younger into sports. They specialize younger and younger. They go elite younger and younger. By 10, kids have already fallen behind and are excluded from higher level sports. And unfortunately, that track is needed for higher level middle school (high school and college). To break into that track later on is virtually impossible. Freshman year high school kids are committing to colleges for their various sports!!!
I’m not saying it’s right. I’m not saying it’s good for the kids. I’m just saying that’s where the current world is at.
Andrea says
I appreciate your concern Liz, but to be honest, this type of thought process is exactly why we have not gotten our children involved in anything yet.
Dave and I would rather have our kids be on the bowling team or the debate team, or some other team without much “demand” than start them in soccer, t-ball, and basketball when they are way too young just so they have the potential to be an “elite” athlete someday.
I realize not everyone shares our opinions either — but we can not (more like will not) be the parents who push their kids into certain sports at a super young age just because “that’s where the current world is at”. Our current world is also in a ridiculous amount of debt, very overscheduled, overworked, and overstressed — I don’t want to be any of those things either.
(p.s. just for information purposes, I was a 2-sport college athlete and Dave and I were probably both considered “elite athletes” in high school — so we do know the fun and benefits that come from being part of a team — we’re just not willing to “sell our souls” for team sports)
Heidi says
Yes! As a coach’s wife, my husband and I see parents all the time who invest thousands upon thousands of dollars and years of sacrificing family time into travel ball and trying to specialize in one sport in hopes of a college scholarship. And so often we see those same kids burn out from their one sport or struggle to keep up with their academics in an effort to focus on their sport. Or they realize that their hoped for college scholarship isn’t there.
I want to raise kind, giving, well rounded kids who enjoy being active and can get along with other. We play low pressure rec sports (in our tiny little town) solely because of that. If they decide tomorrow they don’t like like whatever sport, then so be it.
Ruth says
I have friends who spend about 10-12K per year on travel sports desperatley trying to get a D1 scholarship. The oldest two never got one so they are full in with child #3.
All I could think is “why don’t you just save the money and spend it on college!”
Andrea says
yeah, it’s crazy expensive! even basic club sports are getting expensive too — one more reason we don’t get our kids involved too young!
Andrea says
yeah, Dave coached 3 sports at one point a few years ago — and he saw all sorts of crazy parents pushing their kids so hard that the kids burned out. I kind of understand why the parents do it (they usually mean well) but it is sad to watch.
Carrie says
We feel exactly the way you and Dave do. We have no desire to push our child into something at an early age just because that’s how it is today. Our daughter is 10 and we have lots of home time, family time, friends over and just time to play, be together and have fun with each other. I have so many friends who spend their entire weekends (and week nights) shuttling children to games and practices and are just hanging by a thread. No thank you!
Shoot, my daughter loves to have her friends over to play and over half of the time, these kids don’t have a free night or weekend to do anything, because they’re busy with their sport. That makes me very sad. Kids need to be kids for as long as they can. They have plenty of time to specialize in something or be busy and stressed out.
We may get looked at like we have 3 eyes because of our opinions on this subject, but we don’t care! Life is good when you keep it simple!!
Andrea says
Thanks Carrie! I’m sure we’ll get our kids involved in some extra activities — but not until they are a bit older! And yes, it’s amazing how challenging it can be (already) for us to get play dates together. We have countless neighbor kids and friends from PRESCHOOL who are already so busy every afternoon and evening that they can’t even just come over to play.
Nora said to me “wouldn’t it be so bad if we were never home like _______’s family?” I wanted to shout YES YES YES! But I just smiled and said I was glad our family stayed home a lot!
Carrie says
My gosh, Preschool…..that is just insane!! We noticed a big change in play date time after 3rd grade. That’s when things really got ridiculous with friend’s schedules. When do these kids just get to be kids? It’s funny because every “expert” you talk to will tell you playing is learning when they’re young. We are actually depriving our children of an important development stage by keeping them super busy this young.
If you get a chance, you should watch this documentary on Netflix called, The Race To Nowhere. I’m sure you and Dave will enjoy it (especially since he is a teacher). It will only affirm the beliefs you have about simplifying your life and not doing too many activities.
My daughter, Ella, (10 years old) says the same thing Nora does. She’s always amazed at how her friends are at Volleyball tournaments all weekend long, one has dance every night of the week after school and every Saturday morning, Ella asks, “mom, when do they get to spend time together with each other or just ‘chillax’ (as she likes to say), when do they play with their toys?
I, in, turn, just tell her she can play with her toys as much as she wants and just enjoy a relaxing evening with mom and dad playing board games and watching movies. She is perfectly happy with this and I can’t imagine it being any other way. Soon she won’t want to hang with us. I want to soak up as much as I can now.
Andrea says
Thanks Carrie, I just added that documentary to “my list” in Netflix.
It might have to wait until after March Madness for Dave though 🙂
Sandra Knecht says
This is so very true! If the less experienced do get in, they are shunned a bit by the experienced players. It’s sad!
Ruth says
This is completely true, the kids start and specialize younger and younger.
Which is why parents also need to step back and think realistically about what could happen in the future which no one can predict. I’ve seen so many parents get their young kids into travel basketball (which does require height) in an effort for the elusive college scholarship but how do you know how tall they will get? There is NO promise of anything at the end.
I think what Andrea is talking about, a simpler life and schedule would behoove all those parents. They would alleviate SO MUCH stress during their children’s years at home.
My son received a D1 sport offer junior year, after only playing community level and one season of travel. I would have never even dreamed he could get something like that and it wasn’t on my radar.
Senior year, when he got a offer from the top travel club around here, we turned it down. This is his last year at home with us and I didn’t want to spend it that way. Time with us at home doing family stuff is more important as I prepare to send my son out into the world.
He has grown so much this year, learning how to take care of himself well, he raised a puppy, forged deeper relationships with wonderful friends and family, practiced his athletics, SLEPT A LOT (which made him grow another 2 inches) and spent a great deal of time dreaming of his future and what he may want to do. The worse part of the year, was college apps, but that too was made more pleasant with a simpler schedule. 🙂 LOL
Andrea says
wow — that’s impressive Ruth. I don’t know many high school boys who would turn down a sports offer like that. Sounds like your son has his priorities right though 🙂
Heidi says
Our youngest daughter started with rec sports earlier than our first, simply because it gave her something to do while her sister did her sports! I found that I’d much rather have them both busy at instead of having to wrangle her while trying to watch her sister play at the same time. This spring is the first time they’ll both be playing a sport and not being on the same team. The thought of needing to be two places at the same time seriously stresses me out! 🙂 After teaching all day, the LAST thing I naturally want to do is go somewhere else. I keep reminding myself that it’s just a part of my kids getting older, but still….. 🙂
Andrea says
I definitely think it’s different with youngest children versus oldest children — which is one reason I’m waiting to get Nora involved in anything for as long as I can! I know that once she starts doing soccer and whatever else, Simon and James won’t be far behind!
Beth says
Great post! I feel like my family is similar on the not rushing point, we prefer to plan and prepare as much as we can so our life is more enjoyable and simplified. My question is how does your family handle situations where your dealing with other peoples schedules or habits, ex. family or friends? We have some family we love spending time with but there have been times when it has been difficult because they are VERY last minute, non planning, etc. and sometimes it can be quite frustrating.
Andrea says
Yes, we can relate to your “last minute, non-planning” friends and family members too — and yes, it can be frustrating 🙂
Basically, we just always try to “take charge” and plan the event (since they never do). We say, this is what WE are doing that this time — if you want to join us, great, if not, that’s fine too. Then we know what to plan on and they are free to make their last-minute decision as to if they are going to join us or not. We also ofter to host a lot of events at our house as then we know there will actually be enough food, things will be somewhat planned, and somewhat organized. (we once went to a kids’ party that was suppose to have hot dogs at 5:30pm. We never ended up eating until 7:00 and the hotdogs were totally charred so our kids wouldn’t eat them. I seriously don’t know how some people function like that!)
Speaking of kids, a huge sanity saver for me has been to NEVER tell my kids about any potential outings with these particular people until they actually show up. For example, if one of our “flaky” friends or relatives say they are going to come over and play with our kids tomorrow afternoon, I will plan to spend the afternoon at home that day, but I won’t say anything to the kids about that person/people coming until they actually show up at our door. I’ve been burned WAY too many times by friends and family who intend to show up, but then forget or come an hour late or something better comes up or whatever. Then I have to deal with crabby kids on top of our schedule change since the kids wonder why so-and-so didn’t come.