What’s Your Definition of Simple Living?
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I think if you survey a group of people about what simple living means to them, no two answers will be the same.
Simple living means different things to different people. You’ll get the standard answers of living with less, having a de-cluttered house (but again having a de-cluttered house probably means different things too), living without the complications, and so on.
In Chapter 2 Tsh outlines some things that simple living is not, including living off the grid on your homestead (although that’s a perfectly fine way of living for some people) and more work.
Simplifying your life is meant to make things better, not worse. It’s about choices— about saying no to the things in your life that aren’t the best so that you are free and available to say yes to those things you truly want. ~Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living page 27
What I most love about that quote from the book is that it’s OK to say no to things and opportunities that you aren’t really in love with. This can be physical stuff that is brought into your home (by you or others) or evaluating all those tasks or requests that are made on you by others.
Living simply is more than just cleaning out and organizing your home, as we alluded to Monday, it’s also about simplifying your entire life which can include your schedule too.
Tsh provided the following definition of simple living in the book:
living holistically with your life’s purpose
Holistic living means realizing that every part of you (spiritual, emotional, physical, relational and financial) works together cohesively, perfectly intertwined supporting one another. Your life’s purpose goes back to those priorities you have defined for yourself (faith, family, relationships, home keeping, etc.).
When I shared my priorities and the goals that I created to align with them, I was focusing on the whole picture, every part of my life.
Are you seeing the pattern here?
Knowing and identifying your priorities helps you live your best life all around, not only in just goal setting.
When you know your purpose and live life according to them, then you are living simply because you know what you are living for.
As we read through and work towards Organized Simplicity you should be able to define what simple living means for you and why you want to live this way. There are many benefits for simplifying your home, life, and schedule. Tsh provides 4 specific benefits including time, health, money, and making better ethical choices. I’ll admit that time and money are two areas that I need to get a better grasp on (it’s a good thing that we will be specifically looking at both of those in the coming weeks).
I loved this book when I read it. For me one of the biggest ways I try and keep my life simple is about my time. I am constantly scaling back, reprioritising and trying to stop my time from getting out of control.
Thanks for sharing at Essential Fridays.
Blessings
Mel from Essential Thing Devotions
Making few things a priority! For me: Faith, family, work. 🙂