What do you do to simplify your life?

[zephyr]

I came across a "simple living" book not too long ago, on amazon. I can't remember what it was called although it caught my attention and I was intrigued. It was supposed to be about simplifying your life, I guess from all the stuff in your house to your daily activities,etc. It sounded really interesting. So, care to share what you do to simplify your life? And if there's any great books out there about this topic, I would love to hear about them.
Zephyr

[clc053103]

Here's a quickie I'll toss out- any of the other meal preparation places(My Girlfriend's Kitchen, Super Suppers, etc). You can invite girlfriends so it's a social event, and you take home freshly prepared meals for your freezer! I post the list of what I made in the kitchen and cross off as I go so I know what's left without looking.

[kijip]

-Buy less stuff.

-Say no to onerous volunteer jobs, limit myself to 1-2 boards at a time.

-refuse to hate my job.

-Walk when possible for transportation.

-Keep my house uncluttered and neat.

[AngelaS]

I stopped folding part of the laundry. :)

Dishrags go in a neat stack, so do washcloths in the linen closet.

I don't fold pjs, they get tossed in the drawer (the girls rummage thru to find their favorites anyway, so why bother?).

I don't fold underwear either.

Socks--each of us has about 10 pairs of one style of white socks and they too get tossed in a drawer. They all match, so just pick two and you're good to go.

I also really limit how many activities we do outside the house. I'm amazed at how much freer I feel even just cutting one thing and getting to stay home one more day a week makes.

[overcome]

-refuse to hate my job.



Wow..this is really intriguing to me...would you elaborate on this...

Even though I like to watch TV, some nights I do not turn it on at all (i'm talking after dd is in bed). It makes me feel so free to just do things around the house I've been meaning to do. Even though I will watch tv while I fold laundry or empty/load the dishwasher, it still feels like I am tied to the tv when it is on.

[maestramommy]

Buy less stuff.
Say no to volunteer jobs unless I really want to do them. I used to be bad at this, but now I don't feel bad at all for refusing.
sing up for fewer classes with Dora. Try to have fun doing things like going to the park instead of the indoor playground.

My weakness? Trying not to be on too many forums:ROTFLMAO:

[Moneypenny]

- Limiting activities (for all of us, not just DD) is our big one. DH and I each have one once-a-month activity and DD has no more than two weekly classes (currently dance and swim). Nearly every weeknight is free and after swim class is done at 10:30 on Saturday mornings, we know we have plenty of time for housework, errands, and just hanging out as a family.

[Momof3Labs]

Pets. I love animals. I would have a dozen if I could. But we now have just one *wonderful* dog who is snuggly with us, great with the kids, and low-key in the house. It makes life so much easier than last year when we had a skittish, high maintenance dog (he died early 2007 of old age/cognitive failure) and an old cat (who died in July). Staying at one dog (vs. replacing the lost pets) has made life sooooo much simpler!

[KBecks]

I take in stray cats. No.... that's not simple living! :)

[KBecks]

In line with the fewer pets thing, but different, I reduced the # of houseplants we care for. I have 3 right now and that's a good number. My DH loved having plants but he never watered them or was very sloppy about getting water on tables,etc. and wanted me to do it. I let him know that if I was caring for the plants, I wanted to minimize it.

I'm going to do the same with outside plants come summer. Although the kids will help me water my outside pots while we play in the sandbox.

[gatorruth]

I cook in mass quantities using my crock pot, freeze several meals and just defrost when I want a quick dinner.

I make all of the 'sides' for my son and hubbie's lunches on sunday night. I put crackers, chips, etc. in small tupperwares. I put fruit in tupperwares. I stick it all in the fridge, so each night, after dinner, I assemble their lunches and just make the sandwich. It's soooo easy...

[ha98ed14]

Control the Clutter: I have been getting rid of things, and even parts of things, that I am not using or will not use. I have always used Freecycle to unload usable things, but even that takes time and effort. So if it is really old or won't be usable without replacing a part, I have been giving myself permission to trash it. I feel a little guilty, but we have a small apartment, no basement or garage and so it is sitting in my living/ dining comb room, if I hold onto it.

I also went to IKEA and got one of those big 6 ft by 6 ft cubbie/ book case storage unit things and I use that to hold all the junk that was piling on on the floor and tables. I got some baskets at the container store and bins PBK for DD toys, so at least it is not piled up on every flat surface in my apartment.

[Moneypenny]

I make all of the 'sides' for my son and hubbie's lunches on sunday night. I put crackers, chips, etc. in small tupperwares. I put fruit in tupperwares. I stick it all in the fridge, so each night, after dinner, I assemble their lunches and just make the sandwich. It's soooo easy...

Oh, that's a good idea! I hate making my lunch each night.

[gatorsmom]

Well, having more children certainly hasn't made my life simpler but here are some of my hard and fast mottos:

-no pets until the children are past the age of eating out of the pet's bowl and there is at least one child old enough to walk the pet/clean up after them.
-no houseplants unless they are plastic. or silk.
-A place for everything and everything in it's place. I'm super strict about this.
-If something doesn't have a place it doesn't come in the house. Or, it replaces something else.
-Every time I take the boys to get their haircut, I make a stop at Goodwill (they have a drive-thru drop-off facility right next to the salon. I store the items in my car until I can drop them off- about every 6 weeks.)
-The kids have to pick up their own toys and keep their rooms clean or I take away privileges.
-I refuse to make myself crazy driving children from one activity to the next.
-No toys for the kids that feel like thumb tacks when stepped on in the dark (this includes leggos)

other things that simplify my life:
-no fuss hairstyle
-I shower every other day-in the winter
-the boys and babies bathe 2x week
-as soon as I organize a closet or drawer I TAPE a note in that area saying what goes in there. Otherwise, I'll never remember.
-Separate laundry hampers for each load- that way I don't have to create piles on the floor.

those are the biggies. I HATE clutter. hth

[ThreeofUs]

-Limit my volunteer and professional obligations. Only two boards and 1/4 time or less contracts.

-Limit things. Buy little, get rid of outdated/unnecessary stuff.

-Focus on DS solely for a dedicated amount of time each day, without doing or worrying about anything else.

-Develop a weekly menu each Sunday and shop to it. I may not make all the meals, but this helps my sanity.

-Develop a "to do" list for major housework, and try to make a small amount of progress each week on one item.

-Clean up one room (at minimum) daily.

[jawilli4]

I'm still trying to figure this one out. However, I'm slowly making progress with meals. For breakfast, if I make something like french toast or pancakes, I double or triple the recipe and freeze the leftovers for later use. Also, if DH and I like a dinner I ask him how frequently he would like to eat it. We agree on a frequency (ie. three times a year in the fall and winter) and I schedule it accordingly in my calendar. I started this late last year and it has already saved me a lot of time just having two meal ideas already planned for a week.

[kijip]

Wow..this is really intriguing to me...would you elaborate on this...



Regarding refusing to hate my job- nothing is more complicating and energy sucking to me than complaining. I have a job that I mostly like and have good reason to mostly like however at times there have been some seriously obnoxious things to deal with and things that give me good reason to hate it. Once I start complaining about those things, I don't stop. So now, I just don't. It is not helpful to me or my productivity, sets a bad example for my staff and distracts me from my longer term career goals, which I very much need this current job to attain. Hating my job is an easy out that makes me stressed and stress is not simple. Now that I have a more positive, long termoutlook on my job I can focus on what I love about it. I manage a charity, so there is a lot of passion tied up in the work.

[clc053103]

another quick one- I open the mail over the trash can/recycle bin- envelopes, junk mail and any catalogs for items I don't need go right in the trash, bills go in a mail bin.

[TahliasMom]

when i wash i have a bin for stuff that's too small for dd - the stuff goes from dryer to bin.
i just stack under and undershirts, pj's and only put socks together. i make a game of it and dd matches them all for me.
i do laundry twice a week, no matter what. helps to keep it under control.
for breakfast i have quick stuff. oatmeal and cereal and yogurt for dd. i have shakes and granola bars ready for me. i do have to get better about cooking. i only do that when i have dd. and on the nights i dont have her, i mostly eat whatever. one night we do cottage cheese and peaches. i'm trying to cook ahead and freeze.
for work i buy frozen dinners, one less thing to do. i also take leftovers. i also keep snacks at work.
i shop at trader joe's so i have a lot of quick stuff. i buy a lot of jar stuff, so i toss the marinade and chicken in crock pot in late eve. have dinner for next day. i hardly make meals from scratch.
i have recycling and garbage next to each other. that way i separate on the spot.
to uncluttered the closets, i bough lots of shelves. i take sweaters, jeans from dryer straight to shelf. i have dd's hangers by washer so it all goes straight to the closet instead of lingering in piles on the couch and stairs.

i also rotate dd's toys. keeps it under control and keeps her interested. my next goal is to her my ex built one of those wall bookshelves for books. keeps the books from being all over the place and being utilized more frequently.