As the name of my website suggests, I am a proponent of “simple” living. But what exactly is simple living? There are so many different ideas going around about what it means to live simply, but I have a specific goal in mind as I try to simplify my life and home. Let me explain.
When I say simple, I certainly do not mean “easy”. There are a lot of things that I choose to do that are anything but easy. Ease is a goal for many today, and I think that it is for their hurt that they pursue an easy lifestyle. To me, easy implies without effort or sacrifice. It is certainly easy to stay in bed all day if the only measurement is physical effort or exertion. But would that be a good life? Is that a life worth pursuing? I would argue that is the worst kind of waste of life! We are bettered by effort. We are only going to grow if we push back against the ease of mediocrity or laziness. So, no, I certainly do not mean “easy” when I say “simple”.
When I say that I am pursing a simpler life, what I mean is that I am pursing a life of a simpler time; a life without busyness; a life that is lived at a slower, more intentional pace. Today, I hear so much of the “hustle” and “slay” mentality. So many are exhausted by their pursuit of having it all and doing it all. That does NOT appeal to me any more. I don’t want to “have it all”. I don’t want to “slay the day”. I want to savor life and have less.
Less. That, when I boil it all down, is what I mean by simple living. Living with less. Less chaos, less running, less stress, less possessions, less worry, less tension, less complex.
But, I also mean “more”.
More savoring each moment with the people I love, more tidiness, more sitting, more reflection, more memories, more giving, more of what is really lasting and important.
You see, I don’t want the world’s idea of what a good life is. I see how vain and empty it all is. I want a life of meaning and impact. A life that is filled with value—true value.
My goal in living a simple life is to try to get back to the way people lived during my grandparent’s time. Seventy five or a hundred years ago, people’s lives were simple. Life was hard, yes. But it was simple. It was slow. It was steady. It was grounded.
We aren’t made to live life at 90 miles per hour. We are made to walk through life. We aren’t made to live on a “global” scale. We, in our nature, are people of community. We aren’t made to live life through a screen—we are made to live life first hand.
When we change all of that, and accept the imitation instead of what is genuinely human, we lose. And I don’t want to lose. I want to make the most of my life. And, so, I choose to live a simpler life.
That is what I want to encourage you to think about this month. I am going to have a series of videos and blog posts on simple living, and I hope that you will join me on this journey of seeking your best life. Consider what I have to offer, and measure it with your reality. See if simpler is better for you and your family. Maybe it isn’t for you. But maybe, just maybe, you will be drawn to a simper way of life too!!
Today, I want to begin a discussion about decluttering our lives. A big part of decluttering is pairing down our physical possessions. Of course, physical clutter isn’t the only kind of clutter in our lives, but it is a large portion of it. When we have less physical possessions, we have less chaos in our homes. The fewer items we own, the fewer things there are to distract us. I am not saying we all go minimalist, although I am sure that is a good way to go. I am simply suggesting we take inventory of our homes and consider what we would be better off living without.
So, this month, I want us all to take inventory of our physical “stuff”, and determine what we can do without. I have a challenge for us to do together! This month, I encourage you to take part in a Spring Cleaning Declutter!
Here’s the challenge—Declutter items from your home each and every day this month! As you practice, you will get better and better at parting with your possessions, so we will start slow. Very slow. Today is the first of the month. So, just try to find one thing-ONE-that you know you can live without. And put it in a donate box (or sell pile, or trash bin). See? Simple, right?? Tomorrow, we will find two things. On the 3rd, we will declutter three items. The declutter continues like this until we get to the 30th, and find 30 items to remove from our homes-and lives-forever!
I know that 30 things in one day is a bit extreme, but I promise that when you get to the end of the month, you will be able to breathe easier. You will look around your home and see less. Less clutter, less mess, less stuff to dust and clean and move.
I hope that you will join me in this Spring Clean Declutter! I hope that you will share your progress with me! You can send your pictures to my email- homemadesimplewithlori@gmail.com-, post your pictures here on the website, or to my instagram @myhomemadesimple! I will make a video of all of the progress we make together and share it at the end of our challenge! Better yet, if you join in the challenge and share your progress, you will be entered in to the “spring clean declutter” give away! At the end of the month, I will chose 3 winners to receive a non-clutter prize, so as not to undo any of your hard work!!!!
So, let’s do this—together!! I will be posting shorts of my declutter piles throughout the month, so be sure to keep an eye out for them! I will also include some of your shared progress as well!
I am so thankful you are here on this journey with me. You make my life better by being here and I am thankful for you! I hope you have a great week and I hope you have great success on this declutter journey!!