BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Living Simply How do YOU simplify your life?

Whether mind, body, spirit--or work, home or social life--what are the ways YOU keep your life simple?

Today's world can be complex but success and satisfaction come to those who keep things simple.

One of the ways I simplify my life now is to focus on the things that bring me joy. I delegate the things I don't like to do or I learn to put joy into them by listening to great music while doing them...or rewarding myself for completing them...or doing them with a buddy.

When I do things with joy, life is a joy. Less time for complaints, gripes or worries!

I've started schooling myself on tackling one thing at a time...multitasking is all well and good, but I can end up running around like a crazy person if I spend too much time multitasking. I'm not an expert on one thing at a time yet, but I'm spending a little more time each week focusing.

Cricket, that is so wise. I multi-task far too much. I get less done and with poorer quality results.

I'm still working on refining that, lol...the last couple of weeks, I haven't focused well, so that's what tomorrow and next week are for - get myself back on track!

I think that doing one thing at a time is a luxury for those without children. Anyone having to look after children must always be doing two things - keeping an eye on them and some form of home/house work. Having said that I'm sure too many of us try to do too much at once. And we can all simplify our lives by having less. People these days have so much stuff and we spend a lot of time looking after it, cleaning it and putting it away. I look at my grand daughter's room and see so much stuff on her floor. Back when her mother was little we only had 3 sets of clothes for each season so there was much less to get strewn around.

Hillary - I completely agree that having kids makes things more complicated Also agree that less "stuff" makes life easier.

My main secret simplicity is lots of plastic tubs, lol. My 4 yo has clear plastic bins in her room for all her stuff to go into. Each one is marked with its intended contents (whether that's what happens to be in there at the moment or not). Worse case scenario, we can toss all our stuff into the bins, stick the bins of their shelves and the world looks cleaner.

On the emotional side - letting go of anything I have no control over makes life easier and happier. Oh, and refusing to get involved in drama...

YES! I, too, agree that having kids makes it impossible to do only one thing a day! But that's when I separate my list of things to do.

Daily necessities like feeding the kids, driving them to school etc. are non-negotiable. It's like showering. I must do it but don't put that on my to-do list.

It's the other stuff that we feel we must do, the things that nag at us but aren't really do-or-die type of stuff. Those are the things that I can sweep away and postpone for another day. I choose only one of those to focus on for the day and I feel good if I can get it done amid all of the necessary daily chores.

Great responses! Thank you for sharing! One thing I find helpful is to try to be as present-focused as possible. I find that when I am doing something and my mind is busy listing ten other things I also have to do, I am not fully present in my current activity. When I am able to be present with what I am doing, it is much easier to complete a task, I feel better about it, and I have more energy to move on to the next task.

My husband helps to keep me grounded in the present moment and to enjoy each moment. For example, just last night while I was trying to finish up one job, get ready for the next day's work, fold the laundry and put away the dishes all at the same time, he put on a holiday song, held out his hand and asked me to dance. We danced and I enjoyed being in that moment. Simplicity truly leads to gratitude.

What a great husband you have, Meredith! That is pure magic!

A simple, joyful, loving act reminds us that life is divine!