August is barreling towards us at record speed, which is why you might want to start preparing for all of the hassles this month brings. For many, last minute vacations will be in order, school will be starting and shopping for the end of the year will be on the horizon. With everything jumpstarting in this month, you might find yourself struggling to get out of the lazy days of summer mode and back into the swing of everyday routines. Luckily, the first week of August brings National Simplify Life Week. This week is the perfect time to sit down, take a deep breath and get rid of everything that is going to make your life more complicated. These ten tips are bound to help you get on track without spending a bundle on the simplifying process.
1. Set a Routine
There’s no doubt about it, setting a routine is one of the most important things you can do to make your life easier. You might think that routines are boring and a sign of your inevitable aging, but in reality, we all need a routine to keep life functioning. You already have a routine even if you don’t realize. However, fine tuning your routine will help bring the chaos and aimlessness to a minimum. If you have children, then a routine is going to be absolutely necessary. So, sit down and look at everything you need to get done on each day of the week. You might leave in some wiggle room for seasonal activities and family fun time. However, once you have everything you need written down, your life will flow a lot smoother. You might even start to feel healthier than ever.
2. Declutter
Clutter can be one of the worst things about your life without you ever realizing it. As a matter of fact, clutter has actually been linked to anxiety and depression. So, for National Simplify Your Life Week, you might find it the perfect time to declutter. You might start with the things around you. For instance, if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by pictures, nick-knacks and so on then it might be time to start donating items. Old clothes sitting in the closet are another great thing to donate or sell. You might even go through your filing cabinet and ditch some of the items that you no longer need. Before you know it, cleaning will be easier than ever, and you’ll feel better about your home.
3. Hide the Junk Food
One of the best ways to simplify life is to start eating healthier and encouraging the whole family to join in. This might not be the easiest task, especially if you have junk food in the house. Of course, you don’t have to ditch all of your favorite foods, nor do you need to throw away any food. Instead, you might consider pushing the junk food to the back of the pantry and refrigerator. Instead, keep the healthy food in plain view. When you’re in a rush for a snack, the healthy items will be in plain sight, which will make you more likely to grab them. This will help provide you with more self-control, so you will start to crave the junk food less and less. You can also use the junk food as incentive for children to eat right. If they can eat fruits and vegetables for the day then they can have a bit of junk food as a reward. You might find, as they meet their daily quota, that the need for junk food will decrease substantially.
4. Take Photos to Question Less
In this day and age, a lot of people are dealing with issues with anxiety and forgetfulness due to over activity. This can be a huge problem, especially if you need to handle your business in a timely manner. So, instead of second guessing yourself, take a picture of whatever it is you might forget about. For instance, if you are constantly worried about leaving the oven on, then take a picture of it before you head out. You can do the same for locking the door, sending important emails and so much more. You can even take a picture of your grocery or errand list. If you plan on shopping, then snap a photo of your refrigerator and pantry. You’ll know exactly what you have, which will save you a ton of money.
5. Go Audio
Often, we tend to find ourselves in a bit of a rut when it comes to entertainment. This is especially true when we’re looking for entertainment while commuting, working, or doing chores. Often, we wind up on the same playlists and hope to find some pleasure out of the mixes the shuffle comes up with. Instead of sticking with the same patterns, you might try something a little different. For instance, instead of letting your book list pile up, you might grab a book as an audio file. This will allow you to list and enjoy it while you do whatever else you need to. Before you know it, you’ll be making a dent in the pile, which is bound to make you feel amazing. Other than that, you might check out some podcasts. You will be surprised by how many fun podcasts are available. Both of these audio treats will help you broaden your horizons while giving you something to look forward to.
6. Swap to Online Storage
Many people have a hard time keeping up with their personal items. Photos, work files, important documents and more can go missing in the blink of an eye. That is why you might consider swapping to online storage to help you prevent major loses. There are many services that will actually store your items for free, so make sure to shop around and see what you can find to suit your needs. Once you have the storage you need then set up the account so that it automatically uploads files and more, so you don’t even have to worry about things. You can also add your documents and more to these services. Of course, if you don’t really feel comfortable with having your work online then you can always purchase a drive to do the work. All you have to do is move the items over to the scan drive or external hard drive, and everything will be backed up.
7. Invest in Easy Appliances
Although spending money isn’t always on our list of things to do, you might consider investing in appliances that will make your life easier. For instance, a crock pot is a great way to make dinner time a lot less stressful. You can make all sorts of soups, shredded meats and so much more. There are countless recipes to try too, so you can spice up your meal plan. Pressure cookers can also help you finish up your meals much faster. You might consider investing in cleaners that will help make the job a bit easier. All in all, the items you choose should be based on your lifestyle needs, so shop wisely to ensure you won’t waste money.
8. Clear Subscriptions
Without a doubt, it is hard to avoid subscriptions when you seem to have to sign up for one every time you shop on a website. This can actually make clearing out your email a pain in the neck, which might cause you to miss important emails. One of the best ways to ditch your email subscriptions is to go into the settings of your email and unsubscribe to anything you don’t want to get in your email each day. You might be surprised as to how many subscriptions you are signed up for. Another way to do this is to simply manually unsubscribe whenever you receive an email. Before you know it, you won’t find emails lurking around that you don’t actually need or want. Another subscription that you should be leery of is those that you pay for. May it be entertainment services that you signed up for a free trial with or services that you no longer use or enjoy, it is important to put an end to them. This will save you a lot of time and money, which will simply your life quite a bit.
9. Meal Prep
Meal prepping seems to be everywhere. This trend is on the tips of everyone’s tongues, but when you look into the concept it actually seems to be quite intimidating. Meal prepping doesn’t have to be a headache though. Instead, it can be a great way to save yourself some time and energy when you are too busy to do things during the week. Meal prepping can also be a great way to help the family bond, as everyone can pitch in to cover breakfast, lunch and dinner for the week. All you have to do is be mindful about your meal plans. Choose items with ingredients that can be reused in a dish to ensure that you have everything you need to be successful. When you’re done meal prepping, your refrigerator and freezer will look full and your concern over managing dinner, ball games and work will be gone. Best of all, meal prepping will help you ditch fast food habits, so the whole family can eat healthier.
10. Stay on Top of Finances
Budgeting isn’t the easiest thing on the planet, so you might find yourself struggling to get through it. However, if you want to simply your life, it is important to be on top of the money. The best thing you can do is make a list of everything you’re going to be spending money on. You start out by listing the charges that are going to come out automatically. Then, budget in what you need to spend on groceries and other items. You can keep track of all of this on paper or use an app that you trust. By organizing your finances, you’ll be able to spend less time on this during the month as the app will take care of most things for you. Plus, you will be able to budget in money for savings which is certainly helpful when it comes to planning for the future.
Simplifying your life might be one of the best things you can do to keep things in order as the busy months arrive. These ten tips are a great way to get started on the process of making your life as simple as possible.
