Living The Simple Life

How many of you out there in “Life” are wondering where the first two months of the year went? As I get older, time seems to fly by more quicker than normal. Come to think about it, I still am thinking about my New Year's resolutions!

The world we live in is very complicated and to be honest with you, I am very ashamed and disgusted with it. So much hate fills our land and I long for simpler times. Remember the old Archie Bunker theme song.....?

Boy, the way Glen Miller played. Songs that made the Hit Parade. Guys like us, we had it made. Those were the days

Didn't need no welfare state. Everybody pulled his weight Gee, our old LaSalle ran great. Those were the days

And you knew where you were then Girls were girls and men were men. Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again. People seemed to be content. Fifty dollars paid the rent. Freaks were in a circus tent. Those were the days

Take a little Sunday spin, Go to watch the Dodgers win. Have yourself a dandy day That cost you under a fin. Hair was short and skirts were long. Kate Smith really sold a song. I don't know just what went wrong Those Were the Days

Now those were simple times. I am sure they had their own problems, each generation does, but how many of us wish we could go back 10 or 20 years? I think about it often, the good old days. We had a roof over our head, food on the table and clothes to wear. Even though we were considered poor by the world's standards, we had everything we needed.

We have way too much now. Better homes, more clothes (so many that you have to clean out the closets to make more room) and so much food. How much food do we actually throw out these days? Remember when your mom told you to eat everything on your plate because there were starving children in the world? Needless to say, we make our lives more complicated than what they need to be. We could have simple, basic lives without all the hoopla. Instead of longing for the old days, we need to live in the present with our eyes on the future. At this moment, you may be asking “Old wise one, how do I make my life simple and be content?” I am so glad you asked! First of all, we need to make the decision to live a simpler life and then be aggressive in achieving that lifestyle. Believe me, it is not something that you can achieve in a day. It will be a work in progress. I started last year by decluttering my home and it is something that I continue to do weekly. At this moment, I have 3 boxes sitting out that I am getting ready to take to the Goodwill store. I have learned that it helps me feel better knowing that I am able to “let things go”. I do not need STUFF to make me happy. I have my basic needs met and I am content. Joanna Gaines said “Living simply is a personal thing. There is no one-size-fits-all formula that's going to solve all your problems. Still, it takes only a couple of minutes of looking forward to have a pretty good sense of what areas in our life could use a little pruning”.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Limit your buying habits: If you are a slave to materialism, there are ways to escape it. I have been there. I had every store credit card that I could get which led to balances that needed to be paid off and my weekly allowance was not covering it. Before the end of the year, my husband decided to go to every store and pay off the balances for me. However, I had to give up my credit cards. Talk about going through withdrawal...but I am almost 3 months being debt free and I am loving it.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Make a list of your top 4 – 5 important things: What's important to you? What do you value most? Simplifying starts with these priorities. Make room in your life for the important by getting rid of the less important.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Evaluate your commitments: Look at everything you have going on in your life. Look at EVERYTHING. What can you let go of? This will also help to free up time to do what you love to do.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Learn to say NO: You cannot have a simple life if you cannot say no once in a while.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Limit social media: Your life will not be ruined if you cut back on the time you spend on your phone, facebook, internet, radio and TV.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Enjoy meals cooked at home: What happened to families eating at the kitchen table? Make a weekly meal plan for the week and stick to it. It does not need to be anything fancy. This saves money and it promotes quality time with family.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Develop a morning and evening routine: One thing that I started doing in the evening is to cook my breakfast for the next morning and pack my lunch. This saves so much time. I know you are asking yourself what in the world is she cooking at night for the next morning...well, I cook my eggs and a piece of sausage. It taste perfectly fine the next morning after I put it in the microwave. This leaves me only putting the toast in the toaster. I also get my clothes ready and have everything all together so I will not forget anything.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Live life in the moment: Pay attention to whatever you do. Enjoy that cup of coffee, do your devotions and pray, listen to the birds singing, enjoy the sunrise. What more could you ask for?

[if !supportLists] [endif]Don't waste time being negative: Life happens to all of us but it is how we react to the situations. See the good in everyone and everything.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Organize your life: Being unorganized can cause you to waste a lot of time. The average person spends 12 days a year looking for things they cannot find. Maybe you need to declutter? Could find some of the things you lost. My husband uses a calendar to track all the monthly bills. I use a planner to track everything from appointments to ideas that pop in my head. The greatest thing ever made was a “to do list”.

[if !supportLists] [endif]Put GOD first: If you do this, everything will work like it is suppose to work. Not only will you obtain a simple life but a BLESSED one as well.