Are you up in the middle of the night because the thoughts won’t stop swirling? So many of us feel like there’s not much white space in our lives … and no room to breathe. But things don’t have to stay that way. Today we’re sharing six simple (and free!) ways to streamline your life by the end of the day. Here we go:
GET RID OF 50 PIECES OF PAPER.
50 may seem like a lot, but I bet you can do it. Here are some ideas:
- receipts you don’t need for taxes
- old To Do lists (or if you’re working off of 3 current lists – collapse them into one!)
- old bills (just take a picture on your phone and chuck ‘em)
- business cards (the masseuse you met and the ice cream place …. just put their contact info in your phone under masseuse and ice cream place so you can find it later)
- greeting cards with only signatures (save the long, heartfelt letters though, if you want)
UNSUBSCRIBE FROM ALL THOSE EMAILS YOU NEVER OPEN.
The realtor you asked to send you property listings 5 years ago. That art gallery you went to once for an event that added you to their weekly blasts. The online furniture store you thought you were going to get that lamp from but decided against it because it didn’t match the living room.
These are easy “unsubscribes.” Take 15 minutes and unsubscribe from everything you almost automatically delete when it hits your inbox. You’ll be amazed at how much lighter your load feels when your inbox says 5 unread messages instead of 15.
MAKE WEDNESDAY NIGHTS PIZZA NIGHT.
What I mean is, choose a no-brainer meal that you love and have it once a week. Deciding what you’ll eat in advance (even for one meal out of 21 that week) saves you the mental bandwidth you would have used to deliberate about what to eat. Routines simplify your life. And they save your decision-making energy (apparently we have a limited amount) for the stuff that really needs deciding.
LET YOURSELF OFF OF THE HOOK FOR ONE THING.
Been on your own case about cleaning out the attic? Forget about it. Let yourself off the hook. Beating yourself up about not starting a vegetable garden in your backyard? Just go to the farmer’s market and call it a day. Finally organized your cookbooks but disappointed that you haven’t alphabetized them? Just take the first win and move on. You won’t have any trouble finding Jamie Oliver in there.
These are silly examples, but really, turn those “should”s into “nah”s and your life is instantly simplified.
PICK YOUR FAVORITE OF DUPLICATE ITEMS AND GIVE THE REST AWAY.
Right now I’m looking at my closet. Two jean jackets: a darker wash, slightly larger one that I can wear over anything … and a lighter wash one that only works over sleeveless tops because it’s tighter. One of them has got to go.
There’s no reason for any of us to have 6 pairs of black pants (unless you’re a hairstylist who wears all black every day.) Donate them. Have a clothing swap with girlfriends. Get them out of the house. Get back that precious real estate and save yourself having to deliberate about which pair to wear.
BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF.
How many times have you had a drawn-out conversation with a friend that ended in, *heavy sigh* “I don’t know what to do. It’s so complicated …”? Or maybe you’ve been the one to say it.
The truth? Most of the time it’s not complicated at all. The answer’s clear … but hard to do. The next move is obvious, yet guaranteed to make you uncomfortable. Be honest with yourself. It’s not a complicated situation; it’s a simple one. Put on your big girl panties, look yourself in the mirror and say, “I can do hard things.” Then go do it. See? Simple.
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Hope these ideas helped! Happy simplification!