Understanding Simple Living (& How to Practice It)

When you adopt a lifestyle of simple living, you practice simplifying your life in one or more of the following categories:

Minimalism: This is a lifestyle of reducing your possessions and consumption.
Self-Sufficiency: When you are self-sufficient, you rely as little as possible on modern systems.
Digital Minimalism: You’ll want to eliminate or reduce your access or time on your phone, social media, the Internet, TV, etc.

Connect with Nature:

This is spending more time in the natural environment and finding more ways to get outside.
Slow Down Commitments: This is finding ways to slow down commitments in your life to reduce busyness and urgency.

Simple living is essentially eliminating the excess in your life, prioritizing essentials and what’s important to you, and finding lasting happiness and freedom from spending time and energy on what’s really important.

When trying to live simply, you can integrate all or just a few approaches. How you live simply will be entirely different from the next person. You can customize the lifestyle to fit your personality and ability to change. Some may not give up technology or want to make their own soap, and that’s okay. Adopt or incorporate the simple living habits that make sense to you.

Benefits of Simple Living

Those who choose to live more simply often find that consuming less, reducing dependency on modern technologies, and reducing commitments give them a better sense of well-being. A recent study found that living more simply can significantly improve relational satisfaction and mental health. Other benefits of simple living include:

Less Financial Stress
Environmental Sustainability
Better Work-Life Balance
More Time for Family and Friends
Increased Spirituality
Sense of Freedom
Focus on What Matters to You
Time to Discover Your True Passions
Increased Happiness
Joy in What You’re Doing

Best Habits and Tips For Simple Living

We list some of the best habits and tips for living simply in each category:

Embracing Minimalism

To begin living more minimalistic, you will want to:

Declutter Your Living Space: Go through each living space and evaluate what is really necessary to the space. Get rid of everything else. If it isn’t seasonal and you haven’t used it in six months, you probably don’t need it. Unsure? Stick it in a box and in another six months, if you still haven’t used it, set it free.
Reduce Possessions and Consumption: You need to evaluate and reduce your possessions to the things you really need. This may be simplifying your living space, wardrobe, or amount of things. Make a conscious effort to buy less. You don’t need it.
Practice Gratitude: Take time out of each day for expressing gratitude for what you have. This can be tangible and intangible. You’ll realize how much you’ve been given.

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Becoming Self-Sufficient

Becoming self-sufficient will need discipline and time to learn new skills. Here are habits you should develop:

Live Within Your Means: Simply spend less than you earn. Take a serious look at your finances and create a budget. Then stick to it. Get rid of your credit cards.
Set Realistic Goals with Meaningful Rewards: Goal setting is critical to accomplish more out of life. But goals can become stressful when they aren’t realistic. Enjoy the process of working to achieve your goal.
Learn to Live Off-Grid: Some go to the extreme of homesteading, while others learn the skills necessary to live without modern conveniences.
Learn to Garden: Take steps to learn how to grow your own food. A garden is very therapeutic and enables sustainable living.

Implementing Digital Minimalism

Over 400 million people are addicted to the Internet. And as work and social life become more integrated with technology, it makes it very challenging to unplug and be present. Here are ways to reduce your digital dependency:

Reduce Your Digital Noise: To reduce your dependency on tech, unsubscribe to everything unnecessary. Set aside one hour of your day to reply to emails. Remove social media apps and any unnecessary apps entirely. Turn your phone off on the weekends for a digital detox. Don’t sleep by your phone.
Consume Less Media (Specifically TV and Social Media): Media is a massive time suck. And studies have proven that social media negatively impacts your mental health. Set timers on your apps, phone, or computer. Reduce your streaming subscriptions. Simply watch less.
Turn Off Notifications: Your time is valuable. Don’t let notifications distract you from what you are currently doing. Check your notifications when it works best for you. You don’t have to respond in real-time to everything. Shocking but true.

Connecting with Nature

Research found that people who spend more time outdoors lead more fulfilling lives. Here are ways to get out in nature:

Find Local Outdoor Spots: Find natural parks, gardens, beaches, or countryside nearby where you can go regularly.
Exercise Outside: If weather permits, take your workout outside. Fresh air and new scenery will boost your workout.

Protect Your Environment: Find areas where you can help care for the grounds. This might be watering new trees, cleaning up trash, or joining a conservation group.

Finding Ways to Slow Down

Learn to reduce your scheduled commitments, say no, and stick to it:

Make Time For Your Top Five: You need to determine the five most important things in your life and then designate time in your schedule for each of these things. Prioritize your priorities.
Maintain a Routine and Exercise Time Management: Create a routine and schedule your day. By utilizing effective time management, you’ll find you have time to fit everything in when you set priorities.
Allow White Space into Your Schedule: Schedule alone time into your day and without commitments. Use this time to meditate or simply do nothing. It can help relieve stress and inner anxieties.
Learn to Say No: For some, this can be really hard. But you need to create boundaries and recognize when some tasks may be more than you can handle. You don’t need the added stress.
Eat Slowly and Simply: Eat natural foods, reduce processed foods, and chew and enjoy each bite.

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