Notice I didn't say "25 Ways to Simplify Your Life." Why is that? Because even if we crave simplicity, the truth of the matter is that many of the things we put on our daily to-do lists are just making our lives more complicated, busier for the sake of being busy, and less meaningful. Why, in our efforts to streamline, do we so often find ourselves in a tangle? Here are 25 things to consider. Think of it as a simplicity check, a reality check, or just a sanity check!
1) Don't make any appointments during morning or evening rush hours, or during lunch hours. You will be late, frustrated, and idling in traffic. Not a good mix.
2) Stop buying houseplants that are difficult to grow. I've given up on orchids (as pretty as they are), and anything that sheds leaves all over the house. (I'm looking at you, Ficus!) Peace Lilies are the way to go if you don't have a green thumb--they "faint" when they need water and then they bounce right back. Troopers!
3) No citrus trees, unless you live in California, Florida, or southern Europe. Thanks to an issue of O magazine, I thought it would be fun to raise a dwarf lemon tree, lime tree, and mandarin orange tree in our sunny foyer. In the three years since I bought them, we've gotten one meager lemon, two tiny limes, hundreds of sticky bugs called scale insects (gross!), two dead citrus trees, and one tree on the brink of death on our deck. Definitely not fun.
4) Stop running for the telephone whenever it rings. This is why answering machines were invented. Answer calls when it's convenient for you, not just for the caller. That includes cell phone calls. Let it go to voicemail if you're in the middle of something important (and that includes meditating, napping, or eating your lunch).
5) Grow your own cherry tomatoes and basil in summertime. They're effortless and you can add them to lots of easy dishes--salads, pizzas, pastas. (Or just enjoy them on their own, perhaps with a little mozzarella.)
6) Get a dry-erase board and use it daily instead of Post-It notes. It feels good to have a clean slate at the end of the day.
7) Keep your pantry organized by clearly dividing up the soups, pastas, sauces, beans, spices, condiments, and baking items. If you always keep the same things in the same places, you'll be able to take a quick glance to see what's missing when you make your weekly shopping list and avoid winding up with five bags of bread flour that go stale before you can use them.
8) Get your kids to eat the same meals that you're eating. Your house is not a restaurant and you are not a short-order cook. (If you need help here, read Bringing Up Bebe.)
9) Set up online banking for all of your monthly bills. Each Monday, make a note on your calendar to check what's due that week. You'll save on stamps and panicked runs to the post office.
10) Stop subscribing to newspapers. You'll never read all of those bulky sections, and all of those piles of paper just clutter up the house (never mind the tree issue, and the fact that paper recycling takes a LOT of water and energy resources). Get your news online instead, or read the paper at the library.
11) Recycle the junk mail as soon as you get it. Don't dare put it down on a flat surface. It will grow roots there.
12) Don't even open a mail-order catalog. Although the stores will try to convince you otherwise, you don't need anything that they're selling. (You've managed to survive this far without a double-ended spatula, haven't you?)
13) Carry a book with you wherever you go. You'll be less frustrated waiting in long lines and you'll finally get around to reading the books you've been meaning to read. J. K. Rowling once said in an interview that she never believed it when people said they didn't have any time to read, and gave this exact tip.
14) Consolidate your trips. Is the post office on the way to a friend's house? Is the library on the way to the grocery store? Don't make multiple trips in the same direction. Gas is expensive enough as it is.
15) You don't need a souvenir from every place you visit. (Chances are good that the gift shop trinkets were all made in China anyway.) Take pictures instead, or let the memories be the reward. You'll have less stuff to dust.
16) Stop saying "yes" to things that weigh heavily on you. No, you don't need to chair another school committee or run a bake sale this year. Make this "The Year of Saying 'No.'" Tell anyone who asks you to run something, "I'm sorry, but I just won't have the time this year to give it the attention it deserves." (And don't feel guilty about it!)
17) Go through your clothes (and your family's clothes) at the start of each season and clear out the closet. Anything out of season should get donated or stored. You shouldn't have to wade through your winter sweaters to get to a T-shirt when it's 90 degrees outside. When you can see what you already have, you'll stop buying clothes that you really don't need.
18) Limit your time on Facebook to 5-10 minutes in the morning and evening, tops, and don't play Facebook games. I'm just guessing, but on your deathbed, you probably will wish you hadn't played Candy Crush for hours upon hours upon hours upon hours...
19) Don't buy more storage bins. It's like throwing your stuff into a black hole. If your stuff is overflowing, it's time to declutter, donate, and have a yard sale, instead of buying more things to "organize" your stuff.
20) Figure out the bare minimum of makeup you need to feel good--for example, just concealer and eyeliner--and keep one extra set in your car or purse.
21) Stop taking thermal receipts from the gas station. They'll overrun your car and your wallet, and they're hazardous to your health (literally).
22) Keep the hobbies in check. Do you really have the time, room, and patience for scrapbooking?
23) Your kids do not need to have lessons for every sport and every musical instrument known to man. Make sure they have more free time than scheduled activities.
24) Buy plants for your garden and yard that are proven to do well in your regional area and in your particular yard. Bleeding Hearts grow great in the shady parts of our yard. Rhododendons do not.
25) Make space for silence. You don't need wall-to-wall sound throughout your day. Sometimes you just need to hear yourself think. Turn off the background music if it's just white noise, and turn off the TV that's just background noise.
Your turn: How many of these things are you already doing? What else simplifies your life? Let's hear it in the comment section!
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Before you go...
Less than two more weeks to sign up for my summer photography online course, "How to Take Better Photos of Nature and the World Around You." This is the last time I'll be offering this e-course until next year.
- All digital cameras welcome (any type, including smart phones).
- Even if you have a full-time job, you'll be able to take this course at your own pace.
- Click here for all the details!
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