Simplicity

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where I ought to be;
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed;
to turn, turn, will be my delight.
Till by turning, turning we come round right.
~Simple Gifts, by Joseph Brackett

If we stop and think about how completely the world and the way we live have changed in just the last one hundred years, it could make your head spin. One of the things that I have heard over and over is the lament of how busy life is and how nice it would be to get back to a simpler lifestyle. Few people know where to start and many aren’t willing to deny themselves enough to truly simplify their lives.

The idea of a simpler life is very appealing, but in practice it takes a level of restraint and intentionality that most people in this age aren’t willing to subject themselves to. We have so many things available to us instantly and it is easy to overload ourselves with allllllll the good things that come so effortlessly. The first step toward simplifying our life is to learn how to discern between what is good, what is necessary and what truly benefits us and helps us accomplish our goals.

You have to start by deciding what your goals actually are. If you don’t have a clear goal, you will wander around and get distracted, become more stressed and be worse off than when you began. Goals don’t have to be super detailed–that can make things unattainable as well–but clear and specific with flexibility for each season. We have to pray and ask the Lord to give us wisdom and discernment to be able to sort through the good and find the necessary and needful for our family.

Simplicity understands that just because something is good, doesn’t mean it’s needful or necessary.

As I have been striving to simplify and streamline more of our daily life and routines, I’ve been learning how much less is truly more. The more I can pare down things to the essentials, and the more margin I can add in, the smoother and more peaceful things become. And I feel like a better mom when things are that way.

I really suffer from decision fatigue. Being a stay at home mom and homeschool teacher, I feel like I make literally every decision about literally everything–what we are going to eat, what we are going to do, how we are going to do things, when we are going to do things, what people will wear….it is mentally exhausting. If I can remove as many decisions as possible I am able to operate at a much better capacity and the whole family receives the benefits.

Some decisions can be made once and they last. Some decisions need to be made every week, and some every day. Meals have to be made every day, or I can take a little time once a week and make a menu plan and grocery list and that will reduce the amount of mental energy required of me later on. If I make the meal plan and buy groceries accordingly, I know that I have ingredients for these five meals–which one sounds the best to me today? Which one is easiest on me based on what I have going on today?

Simplifying Our Routines and Schedules :

We are blessed to be able to homeschool and that gives us so much freedom in our schedule. We have goals that we need to have abc finished by lunch, efg finished by this time, and so on. We have managed to keep our evenings free during the week in this season of our life and we are able to enjoy just being home together and working on projects.

Menu Plans and Grocery Shopping

• Like I said earlier, simplifying our menu plan and putting a little more prep work up front means less work (mentally and physically) during the week. I try to plan at least one “nice” meal per week and four easier/less involved meals. I can pick which one to prepare based on our day and what our evening plans hold. Saturday’s meals are left open-ended and flexible. Sunday’s meals are when we eat out.

Simplifying Our Wardrobes and Laundry:

• One style of socks for my husband—I don’t have time to match tons of socks. If they are all the same, matching them is mindless.
• I don’t do a real serious sorting when it comes to loads of laundry. I mostly sort by weight or fabric similarities. Blue jeans and towels or heavier things together, t shirts and dresses together, etc. Now, I do not do anything brazen like wash a red item with a mostly light colored load, but I don’t stress myself out by sorting everything carefully.

I had to shift my mindset from “all or nothing!” to “imperfectly done is better than not done at all” and “it doesn’t matter how it’s done, so long as it’s done.” Another thing I tell myself is “the goal is improvement, not perfection.” These help my perspective stay realistic and give me grace to see what has been done and not focus on the failures of things that aren’t done. I know that seasons change and one day I will have much more time and energy to do things “the right way” (whatever that is, lol ).

What are some things or systems you have simplified in your life that have helped you? Please share in the comments!