Tips for a simple easy life

[emerald226]

Your tips please

Great tips so far!

OP can you say a bit more about your situation or what it is you find overwhelming?

Do you have kids, partner, pets?

What do you find gets on top of you? Some might say don't clean, others might find a clean tidy home really restful. Some might say get a pet, others might find the work that brings is another layer of chaos.

Don't keep all the clothes which are waiting for you to lose weight... donate the clothes and if you lose the weight treat yourself to a lovely day out scouring the charity shops for bargains (in my city there are 2 roads which have amazing charity shops, where beautiful dresses are pretty much guaranteed)

If you are currently single get out of a new relationship the second your gut tells you. If you don’t have children think very very carefully about who is good enough to be your children’s father.

Don't put anyone else's expectations onto yourself.

You do not need anything in life that you don't want. You don't have to have that promotion or go to that event to impress anyone.

You want to stack shelves 35hours a week, pay the bills, and watch telly every weekend? (extreme example), then do that! Forever! And shove everyone else's expectations out the door and be happy.

Don't settle and spend your life with someone who brings nothing to the table.

Pick your battles, I hate nagging at the DC so I let a lot of stuff slide. For example they have to clean their rooms once a week but the rest of the time I just refuse to look as it makes me angry.

Meal plan but always have an easy alternative in the freezer for days when you can't be bothered to cook.

Stop ironing. I use a little hand held steamer for items that really need it but I never iron.

Get fit and try to stay in shape. I have been in shape and i have been obese, the benefits are so much bigger than appearance.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket relationship wise and neglect friends and family

Definitely live life on your terms, and stop comparing to social media, celebrity and online content.
Stop watching and listening to the news.
Don’t keep trying to ‘rescue’ people from their life situations.
Get out into nature, trees, rivers, hills or the sea, get your hands in the mud (especially if you can garden)
Grow your own flowers and Veg and feed birds.
Stick to a budget and don’t buy crap.
Get rid of stuff, or sell it. Less, but better.
Value people who make time for you and care for you, let those who do so little for you fall by the wayside.
Don’t gossip about others.
Let go of greed.
Develop a sense for calm, slow down, have less to do.

I really like what a couple of previous posters have said:

dont work full time if you don’t have to

and don’t take on other people’s expectations!! I had a ‘career’ and it broke me. I now have a (minimum wage) job, that is very much looked down upon and people are like “why are you doing that? Why are you wasting your life and your degree?” But I am SO much happier, and LIFE IS SO MUCH MORE SIMPLE!!

make sure you enjoy your job. You spend too much time doing it to be miserable.

Declutter your house twice a year- including wardrobes.

make sure you have great storage in your house.

have a file with all your important documents in it.

if a friendship is draining or difficult let it go.

address things head on

Sleep, sleep, sleep.

I work shifts so my sleep is sometimes erratic and I end up catching up some nights. However I discovered early on that I can do (almost!) anything when I've had enough sleep, and things are easy. Well perhaps not easy but you know what I mean!

Lack of sleep makes the days a slog, things don't get done, I eat badly, the list is endless. By prioritising my sleep I've found the rest slips much more easily into place.

Don't go shopping as a leisure activity. Never impulse buy.

Use the one out, one in method with stuff - so if you treat yourself to a new jacket, donate an old one to charity.

When invited to something, really think about if it was tomorrow, would you want to go? Don't feel guilty about refusing invitations.

Don't procrastinate. If you see something that needs doing, do it.

Figure out your personal priorities in life and keep them in mind when you make decisions.

So me and DH don't love working, we focused decisions around permanently reducing our outgoings so we would never have to stress about work and finances. Our house isn't fancy and we don't holiday abroad, but our life is stress free(ish) because we prioritized around our individual goals and values. Everyone's answer to this would be different of course!

I agree with this in material terms. Who cares if your car is ancient, so long as it goes, or your kitchen is old-fashioned so long as you can cook great food and enjoy it as a family.

But want more in terms of life experience. Allow yourself to consider what you really want and don't hang around aiming for it.

Avoid significant relationships (of any kind) with drama llamas, emotional vampires narcissists and bullies.

If a job sucks, leave it. Don't waste the limited time you have on earth struggling in toxic organisations.

When it comes to possessions, understand the difference between want and need. Most of us have too much stuff - which becomes another form of stress in itself.

Don't take time with important people for granted. You never know when they will be gone.

Throw yourself into your passions. Time spent doing hobbies that stimulate you and are good for your well-being is never time wasted.

Lower your standards when it comes to cleaning, life is too short to spend weekends cleaning!!
Never ever be financially dependent on a man.
Don’t say yes to things you don’t want to do or to spending time with people you don’t like, family included. Again, life is too short!!

Understand your own principles and priorities in life, don't be drawn in to playing life on someone else's terms because that just erodes your time and resources.

enjoy nature

Keep your sociak media private and get an app to block phone use of you need to (I need to)

Don't lot into work emails at home

Batch cook batch cook batch cook less mess less waste

Keep a capsule wardrobe

Keep a stash of cards for emergencies

Have things like a box with envelopes parcel tape stamps wrapping paper. Another clear container with lightbulbs and what room they are for e.g. E14 is for the hall ceiling light.

Buy clear containers. Sort your house eg sandwich bag with labels for things like batteries or whatever

I've a label maker and I love it for sorting drawers and going minimal (I follow YouTube)

Get rid of toxic friends and out boundaries up with people including family if needed (thanks to Attila who had helped me a lot)

I think lists can be a bit overwhelming if you stick absolutely everything that needs doing on to one. I have three lists , the 10 minute jobs , the hour jobs ( I can can get loads done in an hour if I concentrate on one thing ) and the longer jobs.

It is a sunny day, if not working do something outside

Cleaning can wait for another (rainy) day

Dont get sucked into believing busy is a moral virtue.

I seem to spend s fair bit of time on clothing management as in washing, sorting, putting away and occasionally ironing so my tip of the day would be good to have minimal clothing and socks all the same. I think it's too late for me to benefit from this wisdom

Definitely this!

Try not to take everything you read on tinternet so seriously?

To those saying "stay single" on a personal level I totally agree with this. My marriage ended in the most hurtful and unhappy way (he ran off with a work colleague) and I have no appetite to get involved with anyone else. On a rational day to day level I feel strangely content with this life choice but in occasional emotional moments i feel lonely and indignant in some way that I have been "put" in this position (single mum to two lovely children). To those who say "stay single" how do you find joy in that decision on a day to day basis? thanks in advance for any thoughts / tips on this.