I have realized more than ever over the past few days how vital it is for me to simplify in as many areas as possible. It is so easy to compare myself to my “super productive” friends and those who are involved in many activities and create very involved, complicated lessons with the newest and shiniest curriculum, and feel like I am not doing enough. I can crush myself under my expectations, and then become paralyzed because everything is not getting done.
There are parts of my life that are complicated and probably will be for many years. Food at our house will always be complicated and very time consuming (long story). I can streamline laundry to a certain degree, but with 7 people in the house, laundry will be a big deal for a long time to come. Relationships with children, neighbors, friends, even marriage, require a lot of time and effort and they can be messy and complicated.
I am realizing that when one or more areas of life require a lot of effort, it’s so important to streamline other areas.
Here are a few ways I am simplifying.
Declutter.
I’m not a minimalist, but I try to keep the stuff rolling through. I hope one day to be more minimal. It’s a process. I rarely purchase home décor items these days, even thrifted. I amassed quite a collection of tchotchkes when I was learning to decorate, but once I pegged what I like, I purged my things and don’t add to it unless it’s a really special item or something specific I need. I try to purge the kids’ rooms often. I even reduced our books by quite a few recently.
Personal care.
It’s hard to strike a balance between pretty and functional sometimes. Lately I’ve thrifted a little collection of cute wrinkle-free summer dresses and skirts, and it’s just as easy to throw on one of these outfits with ballet flats, statement earrings, and air-dried hair as it would be to put on sweats. 5 minute makeup makes all the difference. Most moms don’t have a ton of time to spend on their appearance, but we can still look nice for our families if we learn tips and tricks along the way.
Activities.
I have to keep our activities under control. Between church, sports, and homeschool group, we stay plenty busy…Especially if we add having a friend over or some other social event during the week. Music lessons, martial arts, art classes, and so forth are really tempting, but they are not at the top of the priority list right now. It is key, I think, to not give way to guilt when we can’t do it all.
Simplifying curriculum and homeschool method.
This is the first year that I bought a number of items that haven’t really worked for us. I am looking forward to a simpler year next year in the curriculum department. I am re-evaluating…Where can I eliminate the expectation of a fussy notebooking project or busywork when a simple oral or written narration will do instead? Where can we use the library and read, read, read about topics we are interested in? How can I inspire interest in subjects that we “need” to cover? Is it necessary to do every item on this page? How can I incorporate language arts with projects the kids are doing for fun, like writing a story? Where can I use a video, internet resource (like Khan Academy) or book on tape to reinforce or teach something?
There are many, many more areas where I am considering how to streamline.
Tell me: How have you simplified daily life to make room for the complicated stuff?
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