Beginner’s Guide to Simple Living

I strive to have a simple life. I don´t like chaos, clutter, having a lot of things. I like my living space and space in my head to be clutter free, organized and happy. It´s not always easy, but it´s always possible. I want to share with you some of the basics steps to more simple living. 

SIMPLIFY YOUR LIVING SPACE

Step one is more effective than you can imagine right now. Slowly go through your belongings. Corner by corner. Yes, even those drawers under your bed and all the boxes of “things I might need one day”. And if you think you can do that in a day, you might end up overwhelmed by the clutter and give up. Start with easy things and ask yourself if you really need that, when did you use it the last time, does it bring value to your life. Be honest with yourself. And please don´t throw everything away, somebody might be happy to have your things (except if it´s your old stinky socks with holes). Sell it, donate it, give it to friends, charity, just get it out of your life.

Your space will slowly become bigger, brighter and calmer. All your belongings will not drag you down anymore. You will have less to clean and you will spend less time searching for things. You might even end up falling in love with your clean space so much, that you will want to get rid of even more things and bring less new things in your life.

SIMPLIFY YOUR CLOSET

Yes, sorry this one is important too. And you might not see it now, but believe me that it will make you a lot happier. You know you all those ugly, worn out, damaged clothes are not making you happy or look good.

I´m still in the process of figuring out what I really want and need. And even cleared out my wardrobe a little bit too much, without replacing those worn out products for new good ones. I like having a small capsule wardrobe, it´s so simple to get dressed in the morning. Everything kinda fits together. I get more creative with finding new combinations.

And did I tell you how much I love 2nd hand markets? I visited 3 this weekend: Schwesterherz girls 2nd hand market, Clara Caritas shop in Graz and local market in Liezen. I will show you all the amaizing things I bought in some other post.

SIMPLIFY YOUR SOCIAL LIFE

this might sound a bit weird and you don´t need to become a grandma like me. But if you have some people in your life that are not your friends but you still can´t say no to their dinner invitations, baby showers or bday parties. If you don´t enjoy spending time with them, don´t feel bad politely saying “Thank you for an invitation, but I will be able to make it” …I have plans with myself 🙂 Make your time a priority. Surround yourself with people that love you, inspire you, bring out the best in you and make you happy.

SIMPLIFY YOUR WORK LIFE

Work is work. But doing something you love might not feel like working. I know pretty good, that dream job is not easy to find. But I promised myself to change jobs every time work starts making me unhappy. If you are a type that needs change, get new experiences, learn now things, don´t feel bad to change your job. For start, you can ask your boss if maybe you can focus on other things, or learn new things, work less hours if you can afford it. But if there is no way to make things better, make a plan, find a new job or save as much money as you can and leave. New opportunities will appear that you might have been too busy to see before. More about following your dreams in my last post.

LIFE SIMPLIFIED

Simplify and declutter anything else that takes your time, energy, brings you down or takes your money. Subscriptions to those magazines you don´t read, or movies you don´t watch, or gym that you don´t visit (although maybe you should). For me was also getting rid of the car. I tried if I can live without one for a while and it´s been 5 years already. No more flat tires, broken cars, even accidents or being stuck in traffic.

Another major step in my life was also moving from city suburbs to a small mountain town with 6.000 inhabitants. I can walk everywhere, know every corner, people are happy and saying Hi, the view is nicer and life is simpler. Just to make it clear that city was Ljubljana, which is for some hardly a city. But for a village girl like me, it´s already too much. Just the thought of going on a city bus after work makes me cringe. 

For me Simple life is spending time with people I love, nature, good vegan food, cozy home, simple summer island life, work&life balance (on which I´m working right now) and traveling to a new city or country when I feel like it. 

With love,

Mateja

“Love people and use things, because the opposite never works”

The minimalists (highly recommend their podcasts)