Minimalism is it hard work?
Virginia Wells

Virginia Wells

Does Living Simply Mean Life is a Breeze?

Living simply sounds idyllic. Lots of people are talking about living a simple life. A life filled with experiences, not stuff. A life with no clutter, which means time to enjoy the simple things in life like relaxation, hobbies and friends.

A simple life, or living as a minimalist, to me, indicates less stuff in your home, to the point that everything has a home and you’re living with what you need and love. You can find what you want when you need it. The excess is gone. What you have left supports the life you want to live. The same goes for all the stuff you do. You have pared away the activities that aren’t necessary, those things that don’t fill you with joy or support your life.

So, a simplified life would suggest an easy life, no?

From where I sit, living simply requires effort, perseverance, vigilance and focus. But it isn’t without benefits too. Let me explain what I mean.

Decluttering – Effort, Perseverance and Vigilance

For instance, decluttering and staying organised… it’s constant. It’s hard work. I (of course) think it’s worth the effort, but it’s hard work. After the initial purge, declutter and organisation, you need to stay on top of things, otherwise, you have to purge again. You need to persevere and follow rules you’ve set up for yourself (like one thing in, one thing out). It requires consistency. You have to take the time to put things back in their home, and you have to be super careful about buying or welcoming stuff into your home from others. If you don’t display vigilance on this you’ll be full of clutter in no time.

Staying On Top of Things – Focus

Then there’s everything you need to get done. Maintaining an up-to-date to-do list requires effort. You need to review it often and add to it daily. Then you need to actually put time in to complete the tasks too.

Sometimes though, the idea of following this list can be overwhelming. I get that. My experience is, if you maintain focus in this area, you’ll get the important stuff done and you’ll feel organised. You’ll stay on track of your life goals. It will save you time and allow you to focus on things you’d prefer to do. If it’s still overwhelming, try keeping track of a Done List.

Hard Work?

So looking over it, living a simple life is actually hard work, right?

It does sounds like a lot of hard work… It sounds relentless!

In some ways it is. You need to remain mindful of where you put things, what you buy, and putting time into your To Do List.

With time though, these things become second nature. So in the end, sorting, decluttering and organising takes little time. Cleaning takes less time. Doing things on your list becomes streamlined… You feel less stressed as you have less stuff getting in your way, and you can find or do what you want. There is freedom to dream and now have the space to do it in. You have more time to focus on the things you love.

There are so many ways you can simplify things. What can you change today to make things easier for yourself?

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