7 Simple Living Ideas To Adopt

Simple Living is becoming a popular lifestyle where the basis around the concept is to simplify one’s life.

Now, this can mean different things to different people with simple living ideas like downsizing your home, getting rid of unnecessary possessions, ditching the hectic schedule, or even automating all your bills.

Either way, there is no right or wrong way to simple living. You make simple living however you want it to be that aligns with your values and how you wish to live your life.

While simple living is not a lifestyle choice that I’m personally gravitating towards, there are a few aspects of the concept I appreciate that I feel anyone can incorporate into their lives.

That said, below are 7 simple living ideas to adopt that you can easily start today. If you find that these ideas work well in your ever day life, maybe the simple living lifestyle is right for you!

*I wish to be transparent with my viewers/readers. This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the links and make a purchase I will be paid a small commission.

7 Simple Living Ideas To Adopt

1. Create a Morning and Evening Routine

A morning routine can help you start your day peacefully, as well a night routine can help you to wind down from your busy day and relax before retiring to bed.

Your morning and night routine can be anything you want, but the idea is to start and end your day with simplicity.

For example, if you feel like you rush all the time in the mornings to get ready for school, work, or the kids off to school, waking up 30-minutes to 1 hour earlier can help you to slow down and feel more relaxed as you start your day.

Likewise, during the evenings, if you feel like your mind is racing from the day’s events, you can try stretching for 15 minutes or journal in your notebook to help calm your thoughts.

2. Clear Out Clutter

There is nothing like a clean space!

A cluttered home that looks and feels chaotic can make your life look and feel chaotic. Therefore, decluttering your home is a great simple living idea to get rid of stuff that you don’t want, don’t need, and more importantly, don’t use.

Why keep excess stuff only for it to take up space in your closet, spare room, or garage?

While being neat and organized does take effort, making it a point to keep your home clean and clutter free can help make you feel more at peace.

However, don’t feel like you have to get rid of clutter in every room of your home all in one weekend.

Start with one room, one closet, or heck…even with one drawer. Remember, the goal is to live simpler where there is no need to set a time limit to get your house in order.

So, if it takes the whole summer to declutter your entire home, it’s all good.

3. Schedule Downtime

Self-care is all the rage these days, but don’t think scheduling downtime means taking an hour spa bath every, single day.

While that’s fine if you have the time and/or it makes you happy (people are actually criticized for taking bubble baths and calling it “self-care.” Ridiculous) scheduling downtime can be as simply as taking 15-20 minutes per day to sit down and sip a cup of coffee, use your self-care kit, read a book, mediate, journal, or simply take a stroll around the block.

With everyone being so busy these days, people are neglecting their physical, mental, and emotional health.

Accordingly, it’s important to practice self-care or take some “me time” to help you feel more grounded, gather your thoughts, and to take a step back from the “rush, rush, rush” of everyday life.

As far as simple living ideas goes, you should schedule downtime for yourself daily, regardless if you choose to live this kind of lifestyle or not. If you can make taking care for yourself a priority, you will notice that you move about your day much lighter.

4. Spend More Time Outdoors

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself not having much to do. However, I had to keep myself busy, so I wouldn’t get bored being stuck at home all day and developing cabin fever during the lockdown.

One thing I really enjoyed doing was going outside to the park with my dog. It became more than just “walking the dog” and I came to appreciate those moments with my pet.

I would play tug-a-war with her lease, run across the field with my dog alongside me, and sit in the grass with her on my lap and just chill. I still do this today and my dog and I love it!

In general, I was going outdoors more and hanging out with my dog longer. It’s really a nice way to live without having to feel like I have to rush back home to do this or that.

So, whether you choose to walk, run, bike, hike, or simply sit on the grass and have the wind blow in your face and hair (which my dog loves), spend more time outdoors, enjoy the fresh air, and relish the moment.

This is definitely a simple living idea to do regularly with your dog, but also with your kids, significant other, or friends.

5. Eat Quality Foods

Eating quality foods obviously includes eating healthier like more fruits and vegetables, cutting out processed foods, and drinking less sugary beverages.

However, for me, I also want to eat more gourmet foods because that’s more of the kind of lifestyle I want to live.

Not exactly simple living, but it can be for someone who wants to be intentional about experiencing cultural and worldly cuisines; especially while doing so with family and friends.

Sure…a Hershey’s chocolate bar is cool, but I rather eat a more quality, handcrafted chocolate. Kraft cheese is fine, but I rather opt for artisan cheeses due to their high quality ingredients.

You get the idea.

Again, this caters more to the type of lifestyle I want to live, but at the very least, as part of a simple living idea that you can easily adopt into your life, begin eating healthier, slow down while chewing your food, and savor the foods you eat by having more sit down meals with your family and friends.

6. Take Your Time

Seems like all you hear these days is that in order to be productive or successful, you need to have a daily to-do list where people are multitasking more and cramming additional tasks into their day.

I do agree that having a to-do list can help you to be more productive and keep you focused when it comes to goal setting, but sometimes a to-do list can make you feel like an underachiever it you don’t complete everything in one day.

While I still sometimes create a daily to-do list, I try to make it a point to not beat myself up if I don’t complete all my tasks in one day or even in a week. Instead, I now focus only on doing one task at a time.

Once I complete that task, THEN I’ll move onto the next one.

Yes, I want to be productive and achieve goals that I set out for myself, but I don’t want my to-do lists or goals to feel like chores. I have to keep telling myself that the only person I have to answer to when it comes to my daily to-do list is ME.

Consequently, the simple lifestyle idea to take my time has been great because it has really helped me to focus on only one thing at a time, be intentional about what I’m doing, and enjoy what I am doing.

Yes…even if it’s just sweeping and mopping the floors.

I want to take more pleasure in the things I do as I travel on my journey to create the life I want and become the person I want to be.

7. Simplify Your Wardrobe

I now have a better understanding of my wardrobe style.

Classic.

A classic capsule wardrobe to be exact.

Can simplifying your wardrobe help improve your lifestyle?

Sure! Especially when you consider that people only wear 20% of their wardrobe regularly. Honestly, how many times a week do you wear that favorite pair of jeans?

Although I want to look stylish, I don’t want to waste a bunch of time wondering what to wear when I go out. Simplifying my wardrobe has helped with that, so I can spend more time on the things that matter most.

Therefore, I got rid of all the clothing, shoes, and handbags that no longer fit my style or taste.

If you don’t wear the majority of your clothes, try cleaning out your closet and redefining your wardrobe style to help simplify your life too!

If you liked my “7 Simple Living Ideas To Adopt” post, please be sure to like, share, and subscribe!

YouTube
Twitter
Instagram

Thanks,

-Tanisa