How to simplify your life without getting all complicated about it.

There was a time when I felt like I was too busy to brush my teeth (I wish I was joking), and even though I knew simplifying would help restore harmony in my life and to my health, I had no idea where to start. I mean, if I could barely squeeze time in for personal hygiene, how would I be able to pull off major life changes?

“People generally look to simplify their lives for a number of reasons—most commonly after they get fed up with the stress and chaos of their daily lives,” says Heidi Freeman, PhD, assistant professor of exercise science and wellness management at USciences. “However, simple living requires a lot of patience while adjusting, and generally entails a good amount of physical work.”

It’s worth the effort though: A recent study at University of the Sciences revealed 90 percent of people who considered themselves part of the “simple living movement”—where you favor values such as family and the environment over material consumption and income—reported improved physical and mental health. Cha. Ching.

You don’t have to start big, you just have to start somewhere. If you want to step away from the chaos like, now, here are 11 easy ways to simplify your life:

1. Define your priorities

This can be hard to do when you’re busy since your bod is automatically reacting to your day as if everything’s urgent. Deep down, under all the rush-rush-rush and panic, you really do know how you want your life to be. Take 10 minutes and picture what your ideal day consists of on both a professional and personal level. What does “future you” need “now you” to ditch in order to make it a reality?

2. Establish a morning routine

I’m a big believer that how you start your day is how you’ll spend the rest of it. If you start it all cracked out on coffee, wired and distracted, then your entire day will reflect that—and you’ll barely get anything done. Get up earlier and establish a morning routine that sets you up for success.

3. Clean as you go

When you stay on top of your chores, they feel like less of a chore. For example, do your dishes while your coffee brews. Put your groceries away right when you bring them home from the store (properly). Wipe down your tub after you shower. Rinse your sink every time you brush your teeth. You won’t believe the time you save!

4. Take out the garbage

Take out the trash as soon as you have a full bag. There’s something symbolic and soothing about an empty garbage can, no? Bonus: You’ll burn a few calories while you’re at it.

5. Do “one thing a day”

Make a list of tiny things around your home that you never make time for, such as finally buying a new lampshade or giving your stove top a thorough cleaning. Make sure the tasks themselves only take five to 15 minutes at a time, then do one of them a day. It puts the kibosh on mental clutter in a big way.

6. Set your schedule in stone

Once you’ve made your schedule for the week, make a rule to a) not add more tasks to it, or b) not rearrange your schedule to accommodate something that can wait. We often add and change our schedules for the wrong reasons—usually, it’s an urge to not disappoint someone—and ultimately end up disappointing ourselves.

When someone asks you to do something, instead of saying yes right away, say “I’ll get back to you.” Check your schedule, and if accommodating their needs interferes with your ultimate goals for the week, either let them know when works best for you, or learn to how to say no.

7. Move more

Vehicles are becoming more and more overrated (and expensive!) by the day. Consider walking or biking to your destinations, or carpooling or using public transportation when the weather’s nasty. The first will help you score some exercise points, while the latter’s better for the environment (and your wallet).

8. Don’t accumulate

For every new item you bring into your home, choose one to sell or donate. Otherwise… well, you know that show “Hoarders”?

9. Pay your bills right away

Paying your bills five minutes before they’re due is a waste of mental space and energy. Once you deposit your paycheck, pay the bills that have arrived during that pay period and any that come due before your next one. Not only won’t the bills be hanging over your head anymore, but you’ll know exactly how much money you have to work with. It’s a super easy way to avoid overspending.

10. Spend time outside every day

Anytime you feel you’re spending too much time living in your head (or in front of a screen), go for a walk around the block or have your morning coffee on the patio. Even as little as 10 minutes outside will reenergize you.

11. Choose one small change

If you want to simplify your life but the thought alone exhausts you, choose a really tiny change to get started. For example, make a rule to stop checking your email after a certain time, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. Once you’ve mastered that one change, it’ll give you the confidence to not only make another, but work your way up to more challenging ones.

“A common conception about this style of living is that environmental sustainability and scaling back on consumption requires unpleasant sacrifices – these are things that people don’t want to do,” says Dr. Freeman. “However, people who have adapted to this lifestyle reap the benefits, including a higher quality of life and a better state of health overall.”

How do you want to simplify your life?

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Image: Relaxed woman photo via Shutterstock

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Do we really believe in minimalist living or do we just like how cool the concept looks?

A friend forwarded me an image recently that someone had pinned on Pinterest. The caption read: “Cute shack!”

The image was in fact a shack. Like a Depression-era Hooverville shack. The kind that someone, somewhere in the world probably lives in, with very little money and very little access to the necessities for living. But on a blank, white background, removed from the realities of its actual setting it could only be one thing: cute. Quaint. Rustic. The perfect setting for a photo shoot with neutral colored clothing and models holding steaming mugs of coffee while wrapped in wool blankets.

In an oversized world, we have tried (often forced) to downsize, and our efforts are commendable; McMansions are simply ridiculous any way you look at them. But we’ve also come to over-romanticize small and minimalist living, the majority of us continuing to live in multi-thousand square foot homes where the only thing minimal about our space is the design magazine that lies on the coffee table. We love minimalist living for the image and the image only.

Tell me: how many “Check Out This Gorgeous Tiny Kitchen!” articles have you seen lately? Our minimalist living obsession is at an all time high. But while the obsession is there, the practice isn’t. We hoard. We buy more stuff. In an effort to downsize, we buy a new couch and rug and tell ourselves it will help de-clutter our space.

Our connection to minimalist living has gone haywire, in which small spaces are idealized but no one has them, and shabby chic makes the well-off yearn for a second (or third) home (it’s ok because it’s small!) that someone in a different socio-economic status would be happy to call their primary address.

The reality of small living: it’s really hard. It takes work. It means sacrificing certain things. Like a couch.

I have a lot of respect for people who live in tiny houses. Have you ever tried to have your living, eating, sleeping and work space essentially all in the same area? Your college dorm room doesn’t count.

Some people live in small spaces by choice, and some people live in small spaces because it’s their only option. Both of them should be reminders that we can live with less. A reminder that we should take to heart, not just take a photo of and put it on our mood board for inspiration.

I read an article in a lifestyle magazine (I won’t say which one) about downsizing. It profiled a couple that went from a very large house to a slightly smaller loft space. A loft space with high ceilings and a floor plan to make anyone drool. Now granted, choosing this loft space certainly made the couple give up some square footage. They had to get rid of a few things. But ultimately, this was nowhere near small living.

What do we do about our problematic obsession? Change it from obsession to action.

If we want to truly downsize and live lifestyles where we consume less, then we actually have to downsize. Talk does not cook rice and pinning small kitchens on Pinterest does not make you a tiny space dweller. You don’t need an interior decorator to tell you how to maximize your space. You just need to do it.

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Step 1: Declutter. Step 2: Picture yourself [here].

Minimalism. It’s about more than throwing $hit out. It’s a state of mind. It’s an extremely conscious way of being, a hyper-awareness about consumerism and its impact on the most macro and micro of living spaces, the macro being this fine green planet we all call home and the micro being our living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms.

Are you a minimalist? Do you aim to be? If so, this is a reprieve you’re certain to find transcendental, insomuch as an internet browse can be. While these rooms are material, clean lines and an abundance of space (not stuff) make them breathable, livable and thus minimal.

Exhibit A, part of the Minimalist Project by Js Interiors Group.

A blessedly devoid “black fumed-oak staircase with a custom-made aluminium handrail” via Elle Décor.

Kitchen in a minimalist London home featuring Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs, also via Elle Décor.

Space to breathe, room to ride. Little yellow tricycle space via UserDeck.

Parisian minimalism, from DustJacket.

Plus claw tub, also via Dusk Jacket.

Outdoor Tuscan Luxe, care of The Cool Hunter.

An inspired bedroom from Apartment Therapy.

Dorm chic via The New Black.

Reformed minimalist from Planete Deco, a Danish architect transformed a former fisherman’s house into a minimalist cabin.

From Desire to Inspire, interiors photographer Justin Alexander‘s photography that reflects to the subject.

The space is defined by clean lines, not moody lighting and fuss.

Color-blocked minimalism via Rafi Rafi.

A Shell in a Forest, ultra-modern sculptural minimalism by Japanese firm Artechnic.

Minimalist dining, also from A Shell in a Forest.

From Remodelista, Camper Van Minimalism at the Hotel Daniel in Vienna.

Comfort driven minimalism by Katie Lockhart.

Minimalism you could dive into, via Apartment Therapy.

Abundant minimalism, via The Selby.

Questionable minimalism from Unhappy Hipsters.

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