Need Help Simplifying Your Life?
A collection of articles and resources that will help you begin simplifying your life and stay the course through stress and overwhelm.
Hi, I’m Mary and I love to simplify my life so I have time for the things that I love to do, the things that really matter, and the things that leave me fulfilled and rested instead of stressed and exhausted.
It’s likely you’ve fallen into the same patterns and habits that nearly destroyed my health, my peace of mind, and my relationships.
Running from activity to activity, in constant pursuit of more or better. Neglecting your health to care for others or reach an unattainable milestone. Never saying “no” so you could earn more money or the approval of someone you thought mattered.
Do you also feel like pleasing God or finding God or drawing closer to God is just one more thing on your never-ending To-Do list? Is church just another burden on your already failing and pain-burdened shoulders?
This isn’t the way you have to live. My story is not unique but my recovery from burnout is. Too many women never gain control over their lives long enough to make lasting changes that bring them serenity and rest.
Rest is God’s gift to us and our disposition of trust. Relentless worry, anxiety, and the pursuit of idols to fill our hearts will only result in burnout and separation from God.
If you’re ready to take some simple steps toward simplicity, I’ve got some articles and resources that can help you get started and help you stay the course when life gets overwhelming and stressful.
Decluttering your home is only part of the process. I believe that we need to start by decluttering our souls too. Eliminate emotional and spiritual clutter and reduce stress as much as possible so you can live an authentic life of faith.
Keep reading! I’ll show you how!
In a hurry? Here’s a quick primer to get you started! But bookmark this article so you can come back to these resources when you need them.
Let’s start with your mindset
If you’ve been running at a million miles per hour or collecting stress and things for years, give yourself some grace and space to grow. It takes time to change a mindset and lifelong habits. First, read about mindsets and then start to change yours, one step at a time. Remember the keys here: grace and space!
Cultivating a lifestyle of gratitude
I really didn’t understand how gratitude had anything to do with helping me avoid stress and reduce the distractions that had been weighing me down. I now know that all attitude shifts must start with gratitude. When you realize how much you already have, you’ll stop striving for more and be able to let go of the many things that are suffocating you.
Start with gratitude. I promise it will change everything for you. Gratitude is all about seeing what you already have in order to move through life with joy and grace. First, count your blessings, and then cultivate this activity into affirmations and a lifestyle.
10 Basic Principles for Living Simply
Don’t just say you want a simpler life. Commit to it. Today’s modern world does not make living simply easy to do. That sounds like a contradiction. Shouldn’t simple be easy? You’ve heard the saying: It’s simple but it ain’t easy!
You’ll need to be intentional about your life if you want to maintain a simple one. Here are some important things to consider and set intentions to in order to get to that simple life you’re craving.
If you want to create a life where you can focus on what matters, you first have to know what matters! Take some time to identify what’s important to you so you can make those things a priority. Life won’t slow down unless you force it to so really give this some thought.
You have to prioritize rest
I know I may lose some of you here. I get it. It takes more discipline and faith for me to do nothing than it does for me to go, go, go. My modus operandi is to go until I can’t and to find my worth in DO-ing. But I have a secret for you: you are a human BE-ing, not a human DO-ing, and until you start operating from that truth, your life is going to be upside down and out of whack.
You can start by picking more daisies:
Feeling overwhelmed? These tips will help!
Overwhelm can come from too many choices or from outside influences. I suggest curating and radically cutting out many things from your life.
Try stacking your life instead of plate-spinning
I know we can’t just walk away from all our obligations, buy a house in the mountains, and eliminate daily stress. Here’s a tip for managing your time in order to make life more enjoyable instead of stressful. The truth is that you cannot multi-task. Try stacking instead.
Decluttering can be hard; develop a mindset of sufficiency instead of scarcity
There is a reason we keep things we don’t need, overspend, overshop, and overstuff our lives. Call it collecting, an addiction to shopping, hoarding, whatever…the root lies in a scarcity mindset. I’ve had to change this mindset over time — you can too.
When you’re ready to downsize and declutter
If you’ve been living the standard American dream of buying bigger houses and buying more and more things…trust me: it will take some time to declutter and downsize. I went from 4,200 square feet to 2,200 and now to a 900 square foot apartment. The next goal is to move into a tiny home or possibly live a full-time RV life.
Downsizing is not for the faint of heart, and you may have to go through several iterations before you feel settled. Take time and don’t act hastily. This is your journey, and you don’t have to live up to anyone’s expectations!
Living simply is whatever you want it to be!
As we saw in the above article, there are purists — legalists — who try to tell you what simple living should look like. And there are misconceptions about minimalism or living simply. The good news is YOU get to decide how you want to live. Now I call that freedom!
Commit to less and learn to say no to the things that add stress
It’s tempting to think that simplifying and decluttering our lives is a one and done. It’s not; it is an ongoing commitment to a lifestyle of freedom. The fast-paced world is relentless in its attempt to creep back into our lives and draw our eyes back to the cares of the world, the temptation of consumerism, and the distractions of the shiny objects that disguise themselves as opportunities but really only offer more stress and obligation.
Examine your life often and get in the habit of saying no to stress and excess.
Learn to live in the now, be present in your life, and practice mindfulness
You'll have time to go inward as you declutter and destress your life. Socrates said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” You’re simplifying your life so you have time to examine it and reorder it in a way that helps you live it fully.
Practicing presence, mindfulness, and understanding that now is all we really have will take your simplifying journey to a deeper level. Congratulations! This is where the real living begins!
Enjoy the margin!
One of the benefits of a simpler life is creating margin in your life. Before, your days were filled from dawn to dusk, margin to margin, so to speak. Caring for all the things you accumulated and managing all the stress that came with that lifestyle.
Deliberately building in margin gives you space to breathe, think, and find joy in the ordinary. Margin is necessary for a well-balanced and healthy life, so don’t fall back into the old habit of filling up the page.
Are you ready for this journey?
The simple fact is true for all of us: We don’t know what the future holds. Life is unpredictable; even when we plan and strive, we could come up empty-handed.
I suspect if you’ve read this far you’ve realized that time is precious and there are things you don’t have time for anymore. You dream of a life that feels like real living, a life where days slow down, and you can savor the joy of being with those you love and doing the things you’ve always wanted to do. Why not start now?
Don’t just dream about it — live it!
We can get caught up in a lot of dreaming and planning but never really step out and live the life we are planning for. I call this living a Pinterest life instead of the real thing. Be aware of this trap as you plan for the future!
One of my favorite movie lines is when Andy, in Shawshank Redemption, says to Red: “Get busy living or get busy dying.”
We each have this choice to make daily. I wish you much joy on your journey to real living. Want to stop by and share what you’re learning in our Facebook group?
Additional Resources