115 Ways To Simplify Life And Be Happy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m so excited that you are ready to create a simplified life!  Below you will find 115 ways to start living a simple, happy life.  You can start implementing these items now to create an easier, less stressful, clutter-free, and organized lifestyle.

• If you choose to apply some of these ideas in your day-to-day life, remember that the road to a simple life is not a quick and easy one – it will be a journey, and baby steps are recommended.
• If you are seriously interested in clearing the clutter and minimizing the stuff in your life, your journey will lead to a happier, more satisfying lifestyle.  These steps will provide a foundation to start your journey to a simplified life.

There is no better time to change than now – we are not promised tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

In addition to this very detailed list, I recommend taking control of the clutter in your home and start with the busiest room in your home – the kitchen – get my de-clutter your kitchen in 3-days ebook!

Or better yet, Grab my book, Your Home Made Simple in 30 Days here!

1. Develop daily routines – Get into a regular routine to simplify your to-do list and plan better.
2. Invest in a clear purse/briefcase organizer – Stop digging in your bag for an item. Invest in something like this and easily find what you are looking for.
3. Stop multitasking – Give your attention and focus to one thing at a time to complete a long list of to-do items.
4. Take a nap – Schedule a power nap (or longer) when you can. A 15-minute nap will provide you with increased alertness and energy. Longer napping provides the same benefits but can make you feel relaxed and rejuvenated.

   

5. Keep a gratitude journal – Writing in a gratitude journal lowers stress, gives you new perspectives and opens your eyes to what is most important in your life. Try this gratitude journal or print mine for free to get started.

   

6. Remove at least 1 thing per day from your home that you can donate or sell – If you are able to complete this task, by the end of the year you will have removed 365 items from your home.
7. Consider signing up for an Amazon Prime account – An Amazon Prime account is a one-stop shop that includes free 2-day shipping, apps included: Amazon photo, Amazon music, Amazon video, and the Kindle library with access to free Kindle books.
8. Use Amazon’s Subscribe and Save option – Subscribe for items like vitamins through Subscribe & Save and receive discounts while you “set it and forget it” (the item auto-ships going forward).
9. Create Amazon Wishlists – Create wish lists for yourself and your family members and refer back to them when you need a gift for holidays/birthdays or when others ask for your wish list.
10. Sign up for an Rakuten account and add the Rakuten cash back button to your browser – Easily earn cash back on items that you purchase online through Rakuten. Add the cash back button to your browser so you receive reminders to use your Ebates account when shopping online. It’s a simple way to make cash without doing anything extra. Our family earns around $200 every 3 months by using Rakuten.
11. Stop driving aggressively – Take the steps to stop aggressive driving habits by getting enough sleep, planning ahead, and using etiquette and kindness to other drivers. Remember that if children are in the car, they learn from watching you.
12. Host a yard sale – Sell unwanted items faster than you would on eBay or Craigslist.
13. Commit to only keeping 1 or 2 special pieces of your child’s artwork per month – At the end of the year, opt to have your favorites made into a keepsake book (try Shutterfly.com).  Check out our post How to Organize School Artwork and Projects for more ideas.

    

14. Keep reusable bags in your car – Reusable bags always come in handy for stores that give you money back for bringing your own bag (like Target) or those that charge for their plastic bags (like Aldi).
15. Create a command center in your home – a command center is the ultimate hub to keep your family organized. For tips to create your own, see this post.  My favorite command center item is this dry-erase calendar. 
16. Make your bed every day – Check out this video… Fast forward to the 4-minute mark and watch through the 6-minute mark and you will see how making your bed will simplify your life. We love using beddy’s on our beds for this very reason! Just zip the bed and you are ready for the day!

    

17. Create a Sunday basket and place all incoming and outgoing papers in the basket– Refer to this post to see what a Sunday Basket is all about and how to create one of your own.
18. Limit toys to 30 per child – If you have 3 kids, that’s still 90 toys in the house! Most kids only need their favorite 1-5 items that they play with daily.
19. Plan an R & R day at least once a month – Try to schedule at least 1 day every month for rest and relaxation. Try a Saturday all-day movie day at home or take off work on a Monday or Friday and have an extra-long weekend.
20. Delegate chores to household members – Don’t try to do everything around the house if you have others that can help. Ask for help to reduce your workload.

    

21. Invest in a Nest thermostat – The Nest has access control from portable devices and learns your preference for temperature which reduces your utility bill and gives you access to control from anywhere.
22. Try adult coloring books/pages – Print adult coloring pages for free online and take a break to color. You will be brought back to childhood memories and the activity is stress relieving. Don’t worry about staying in the lines 🙂
23. Use an online birthday reminder – Never forget another birthday (try punchbowl.com/reminders or Google contacts).
24. Recycle magazines immediately – Cut out interesting pages and keep in an inspiration binder and recycle the rest immediately to reduce clutter.
25. Cancel magazine/newspaper subscriptions – Read articles for free online instead.
26. Place wall hooks in your entryway – Invest in a wall rack system or a few 3M hooks to hang keys, backpacks, coats, and umbrellas so they are up and out of the way as soon as you arrive home.  Be sure to check out our post for 10 Items You Need to Organize Your Home Like a RockStar with more ideas.

    

27. Keep home décor minimal – Less clutter around the house makes it easier to clean.
28. Stop going crazy for holidays – Stop stressing to bake/cook a huge holiday meal. If you host during the holidays, ask everyone to bring a dish for a potluck-style dinner and there will be less work for you. Stop over-shopping for the holidays. Try the 4-gift rule for Christmas: something you want, something you need, something to play with, something to read.
29. Stop having huge “Pinterest” birthday parties – Your 2-year-old will not remember the huge Elmo-themed birthday party where you invited his entire toddler class and spent days making decorations, the cake, and party favors with food or party rentals over $300 just so you could have some pictures for your social media account.
30. Watch less TV – The average American watches 34 hours of TV a week – almost the same amount of time as a full-time job! Try reading a book, going outside for a walk or playing a card/board game.
31. Put items away after use – Putting things back in their home after each use will make clean-up easier.
32. Clean as you go – Try cleaning at the same time you are cooking and you will have less mess to clean up afterward.
33. Schedule to de-clutter your home for 15 minutes every night – This is the strategy that the most organized person you know uses.  Check out our post How to De-Clutter When You Only Have 15 Minutes or Less.
34. Create a cleaning routine and schedule it on your calendar – Schedule laundry days, trash days, house-cleaning days, etc.

    

35. Purchase multi-functional furniture – Try an ottoman that doubles as storage, etc. Be sure to check out our post for 10 Items You Need to Organize Your Home with more multi-functional furniture ideas.
36. Adopt the “one in, one out rule” – With this rule, you will never own too many things.
37. Telecommute, carpool, bike, jog or walk to work instead of driving – take the stress off commuting with one of these options.
38. Sort mail immediately – This ensures bills are not misplaced, other important items are not forgotten about and paperwork clutter is reduced.
39. Learn to say “no” to events, get-togethers, hand-me-downs, etc. – It’s okay to say no in our already over-scheduled and busy lives.
40. Stop holding grudges – You will feel happier if you just let things go.
41. Determine your definition of success – Success is defined in many different ways – how do you define success? Is it your “stuff” or is it your happiness?
42. Downsize – Get rid of items you don’t need or move into a smaller home.
43. Set monthly goals – Start a monthly/yearly goal planning worksheet and refer back to it often.
44. Write down daily tasks – Electronic calendars are wonderful if you are on the go, but handwritten tasks are easy to cross off once completed. Try a paper day planner like this one or this pretty one.
45. Listen to audio-books – Try Audible for Free for 30 days and refer to this post for how audible books can simplify your life.
46. Write your to-do list before bed – Get things off your mind before bed so you can sleep better.
47. Carry a water bottle everywhere – Drinking plenty of water has many benefits including keeping you alert and energetic. Try these bottles and never worry about going thirsty again.
48. Schedule your workouts – If you don’t add fitness to your daily routine, then you won’t be inclined to work out. Add working out to your calendar and set a reminder.
49. Meditate – Meditating reduces aging, helps you feel more connected, improves brain function, increases immunity and metabolism and helps you sleep better.
50. Do yoga or stretch throughout the day – Yoga provides increased flexibility, improved energy and vitality while assisting with cardio and circulatory health.
51. Go for a walk – walking prevents high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes while improving your mood.
52. Accept that change is in order – Acceptance is the first step to changing bad habits. Once you have accepted that you need to change your life, take the next step toward a simplified life.
53. Watch the sunset or sunrise – Watching the sun rise or set will slow down time. It gets you away from digital devices, helps you appreciate life’s gifts and will inspire you.
54. Use dry shampoo – Try dry shampoo (for your entire family) and spend less time getting ready. Try this version or a homemade version here.
55. Stop using shaving cream – Dove works for both men and women as a replacement.
56. Use multipurpose beauty products – Try a lip stain that doubles as blush and eye shadow.
57. Stop coloring your hair – Coloring at a salon is pricey and time-consuming. Your natural color is probably gorgeous. Embrace it!
58. De-clutter your closet – Many people have more clothes than they need. Refer to this post for tips to de-clutter your closet.
59. Start a wardrobe capsule – Creating a wardrobe capsule will change your life. Check out this post to create one and our popular post, Reduce Your Wardrobe to Only 10 Items and Change Your Life.
60. Fold your clothes standing up – Try the Kon Marie method which allows you to easily see contents in drawers.
61. Stop buying trending clothes – Purchase classic, high-quality items in neutral colors and you will rarely need to update your wardrobe.
62. Get your finances in order – Create a budget if you don’t already have one. Try Mint.com and read this book (listen to it on Audible to save time).
63. Stop using credit cards and pay cash for everything – Get rid of the stress of paying interest for that T-shirt. Freeze your credit cards, pay them off, and start using cash only – unless you are able to pay off credit cards in full every month.
64. If you need a credit card, consider one with rewards and benefits – If you absolutely need a credit card, choose one with big rewards. Pay the balance in full every month to reap the full reward benefits – otherwise, the reward is not beneficial if you are paying interest.
65. Stop shopping when you are bored – Buying items because you are bored will create debt and unnecessary items cluttering your life. Direct your energy to another feel-good activity, hobby, or project.
66. Stop using paper coupons – If you don’t have time to clip coupons, stick with electronic ones through apps like Ibotta or Checkout51.  Use Rakuten for all online purchases or shop at stores with already low prices like Aldi.
67. Invest in and use a crockpot or Instant Pot – Use your crockpot or Instant Pot as often as possible to cook ready-made meals.
68. Pack your lunch the night before – Reduce time spent in the morning getting ready by having lunches ready to go the night before. Better yet, prepare them all at the beginning of the week!
69. Make your breakfast the night before – Try overnight oats with fresh fruit for a grab-and-run healthy breakfast.
70. Keep healthy snacks at your desk – Keeping healthy snacks at arm’s length will ensure that you reach for them rather than the vending machine goodies.
71. Pack healthy snacks the night before – Here are a few healthy ideas for snacks to pack the night before.
72.  Keep a weekly meal planner – Try a meal planning journal like this and simplify grocery shopping, meal planning, and your budget.

    

73. Keep your dining surfaces clear – Use this 15-minute de-clutter strategy to make sure your dining spaces are always ready for eating or entertaining.
74. Create a recycling station – include bins for recycling, trash, donate, and sell. Try this one to get started.
75. Eat simple meals – Less thinking means faster, easier meals. Keep it simple with simple ingredients and meals that are fail-proof. Be sure to check out our post – Clean Eating for Less Than $70 a Week for a family of 4 (Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks included with a shopping list!).
76. Make freezer meals – Double your dinner recipe and freeze the rest for later. If you do this every night, then you will have 7 additional dinners in the freezer for next month.  Here are 365 days of freezer meals for more ideas.
77. Get rid of extra sets in the kitchen – If you have double measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc., now is the time to get rid of the extras.  Read our post for How to Organize Under the Kitchen Sink.
78. Stop using kitchen paper products – Try using cloth towels to dry hands, and dishes, or wipe up spills/spots. Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins. Stop using paper plates. You will simplify the items in your home and reduce waste and costs.
79. Use your leftovers – Pack them for lunch the next day or use them to make another meal – many leftovers can easily be made into a soup.
80. Invest in a coffee/tea machine with a timer or single-serve brewer – A basic coffee maker with a timer (like this one) will ensure your pot is brewed before you wake up. Try this one to reduce waste if you rarely drink coffee/tea.
81. Organize your junk drawer – The junk drawer is often forgotten about until it’s so packed full that it will no longer close. De-clutter your junk drawer regularly. Only place items in it that you use every day.
82. Use simple recipe ingredients – Stop buying spices/ingredients for one meal. Purchase basic spices and ingredients to minimize items in your pantry.
83. Make one-pot meals – Reduce clean-up by making an entire meal in one pot.  Here are 100 one-pot (Instant pot) meals for some ideas.

    

84. Unsubscribe from junk emails – Join unroll.me for bulk removal.  I did this and was able to unsubscribe from 110 subscriptions in just a few minutes!
85. Turn off your phone – Sometimes a break from the blinking light on your phone will serve well. If you want to focus on an important task, turn your phone off for less distraction.
86. Delete social media apps from your mobile devices – Social media is a time sucker. Remove apps from your devices so you don’t end up checking your news feed for hours at a time.
87. Turn off notifications from social media – Ever post a comment to a friend and then get notified with every comment thereafter? Remove notifications on social media.
88. Take a social media vacation – Unplugging from the Internet overload will simplify your life. Try a 1-week or longer social media vacation.
89. Program your mobile photos/videos to auto-upload to a cloud account – Never worry about uploading photos again – Try Google, Amazon, Picasa, and YouTube.
90. Create a follow-up email folder – Place all unread emails there until read then delete them.
91. Flag important emails – Respond to flagged emails then archive or delete them.
92. Create folders for your emails – Try creating folders for electronic bills, and electronic receipts, create a folder for each household member, etc. File important emails in each folder to reduce your primary inbox.
93. Unplug all devices – Unplug your TV, radio, computer, phones, etc. for a while to minimize distractions.
94. Cancel cable – Try on-demand options like Hulu, Netflix or Amazon Video.
95. Get rid of old electronics, cords, cell phones, etc. – Still, have that mobile phone from 8+ years ago? Now is the time to donate it.
96. Use the back side of the printed paper – Recycle paper that has a blank backside by placing it in a clipboard and using as a scrap notepad. Once the backside has been used completely, place in a recycling bin.
97. Upload/Download DVDs/digital copies to the cloud – Try Vudo/Ultraviolet to upload DVDs, digital copies to access movies on the go. Download/purchase movies online and store them in your cloud account, try Amazon Video.
98. Delete old files from your computer – I recently deleted 5 years of files from my work computer that were just taking up space. Schedule a de-clutter session on your devices.

    

99. Create a temporary folder on your computer – Place temporary items in the folder and delete files regularly.
100. Declutter your social media accounts – Unfollow people with annoying status updates or FB groups that no longer interest you. Get this Cheat sheet with how to declutter your Digital Life. 
101. Upload Excel/Word docs to the cloud – Try Google Docs.
102. Share cloud files with family – Share your budget spreadsheet or contact list with your spouse.
103. Organize multiple emails in one inbox – Forward all email addresses into one email inbox and auto-delete the forwarding email’s copy so you never have to log into each email account individually.
104. Declutter your mobile apps – Delete apps from your phone that you don’t use regularly.
105. Write canned emails – Try the canned email feature in Gmail and save emails that you regularly send out with the same verbiage.
106. Organize your social media accounts – Organize your Facebook groups, and Pinterest boards or create Twitter reading lists for a particular theme.
107. Use a combined social media app – Try Hootsuite – it combines your social media accounts and shares a post on all sites at the same time.
108. Use Instagram – To share on Twitter, Facebook, and other accounts all in one click.
109. Ditch junk files on your computer – Try piriform.com/ccleaner to purge useless items.
110. Print as little as possible – Read documents, books, and recipes online. Save these items online or as a document to your computer. Less paper lying around means less to organize later.
111. Stop trying to impress people that you don’t like – Stop buying unnecessary items to show off to people you don’t even like and stop trying to “keep up with the Joneses.”
112. Stop trying to do it all – Don’t try to do everything on this list right away and stop trying to get everything done all at once. Take baby steps and you will reach your goals.
113. Stop over-scheduling your life – Make sure you schedule time for yourself every day – whether it’s a relaxing activity like massage, bath, watching a movie or a fun activity like working out or hanging out with friends – stop overscheduling your life with a long to-do list.
114. Commit an ongoing effort to keep your life free of clutter – Don’t fall back into old habits after you worked so hard to create a simple life. Be consistent and remember why simplifying your life is important to you.
115. Breathe – Remember to breathe.

 

 

 

 

 

Wrap Up About Ways to Simplify Your Life

 

In a world that often seems to spin at a dizzying speed, finding ways to simplify your life can be a beacon of calm in the chaos. From decluttering your physical space to prioritizing your mental and emotional well-being, the journey towards simplification can lead to a more focused, fulfilling existence. By embracing minimalism, setting clear boundaries, and cultivating mindfulness, we can navigate our days with greater ease and clarity. Ultimately, simplifying your life isn’t just about removing the extraneous but about honing in on what truly matters, allowing us to live more intentionally and with a deeper sense of peace.

 

 

 

 

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How To Simplify Life and Be Happy