da Vinci once said that “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Every step I take toward a more simple life has been incredible. I want to continue on this path.
People who have done this
More "How I Did It" stories
How I did it: To master any skill one of the requirements is that you dedicate 10,000 hours to the practice of that skill. Regardless if you care to admit it or not, you ARE dedicating 10,000 hours to mastering something. So many of us are so caught up in the mastering the ridiculousness of the rat race that we completely forget what the voice of our own heart even sounds like. Living simply, I think, is re-learning the peace of conversing with y… Read how I did it…
BNelson1211 ready for the weekend!
How I did it: Part of it was the way that I was raised - growing up we did have nice things but my mom never emphasized material things such as cars, clothes, jewelry etc. It's basically a lifestyle that you become accustomed to. Realizing the importance of things such as your relationships, morals, and values -- will allow you to stray away from materialistic things. Once you realize what is truly important in your life, materialistic things don't see… Read how I did it…
How I did it: Eliminate expenses, renegotiate the remaining expenses, reduce commitments. Now, focus your money, time on what is most worthwhile in your life. Read how I did it…
robaccount Studying for FAR (again) and retaking BEC due to lost credit :(
How I did it: Pay for everything with cash. No credit cards, no debit cards.....cash and pay bills with checks on pay day. I made a list of all of my bills and paid off the smallest one first. Then each month after I applied that amount I was paying to the first...and applied it to the second. (got this technique from Dave Ramsey book). Then I cleared and removed all clutter. It's amazing how much you en… Read how I did it…
msebeli is :)
How I did it: Space was limited when I moved into my studio apartment that I shared with my boyfriend, so living simply was imperative. We shared a closet, so I brought very few clothes - only the necessary ones. We lived out of a mini fridge, so only important food was purchased. It's a cute, simple, little space :) Read how I did it…
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People doing this are also doing these things:
Entries
synapses is listening to Daft Punk. Bam.
My whole life I’ve been passive aggressive, over-analyzed and never told people who I really felt. That got me NO WHERE!
I know from experience that it’s just not the way to go. Be direct, you don’t have to be mean, just say how you really feel right off the bat. Don’t be passive aggressive and then resentful b/c someone didn’t know what you really wanted.
Simple is better!
And as far as having a ton of material possessions: that’s not the way to go. They end up owning you!
If we all said what we meant and didn’t concern ourselves with owning every little thing we would be a lot less tied down with all the excess baggage that brings.
Simplify!
Feeling Hopeful wonders why the titles of many of my entries lately have been numbers.
to go through my closets and give away about half of my clothes. I’ve kept enough to wear (obviously), but I don’t have tons of extras anymore. Who really needs their entire closet to be full?
I’m inspired by the people I’ve talked to who have managed to pare down their possessions to 100 items or less. I’m not quite there yet, but they definitely inspire me to get rid of more and more stuff all the time.
Simplifying creates more space and less clutter. I only wish I could convince people to stop giving me stuff for gifts. I’d rather they donate the money to someone who really needs it. Or if they feel they must buy me a present, I’d prefer an experience over an item.
Phoenix8720 is hating life.
I find I’m always worried or thinking about something.
I believe that if I learn to live simply, many of those worries wouldn’t be on my mind.
I plan to start questioning everything I bring into my life. Is it something I need? Or do I just want it…
Learn to say no, reduce expenses. My wife and I did this aggressively but it can be a slower process. Don’t dive in too deeply at first. I really considered why I was spending money and where I was spending my time and moved on from there.
I already have the mindset, but in practice I need some work.
Get rid of stuff and also focus my time on the important things.
I’ve had surprising successes on the road to simplification (which has come to bear the glow of an eighteenth century German philosophy), and discovered- of course- that I have a surprisingly long way to go.
I managed to stay more or less free of my ex-job over the summer, and though it’s gotten more difficult with school back in session, I’m sticking to my guns pretty well. I’m also proud to say that I’ve more or less quit drinking… I say “more or less” because when I say that last winter I was drinking like a dehydrated octopus, I’m not kidding.
I’d call myself reasonably industrious. I mean, I’m still a hella slacker, but in place of my previous extended periods of half-hearted efforts, I now intersperse bouts of intense loitering with bouts of intense productivity. Progress!
Obviously, attempts to prune Zak have met with crushing defeat.
Despite my efforts, life has not actually gotten much simpler. For one thing, I’m just starting the college application process. (...Hahahaha. “Simple”!)
I am trying, though! Really.
brickhorse has all the swirling plates in the air!
At long last, the dump has a recycle container, so instead of at 40 mile RT to recycle, it’s about a 10 mile RT. Recycling has become simple, finally. I want to buy several big plastic garbage cans to use for recycling, and stop using the plastic bags I use now (the sun degrades them so quickly). I’ll line the cans with black plastic bags, then take those to recycling, dump them, then reline again (as much as possible). This is important to do.
brickhorse has all the swirling plates in the air!
With these many things to do, how can I live simply? By doing some of them and clearing my list. If I’m “doing” more than 20 things, I’m “not doing” too much. Some of the “things” have been on my list for years. What is one thing I can do today, and can it be taken off the list?
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Ask for advice: Get help from people who've accomplished this goal
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United Kingdom
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eternalsunlight asks,
“Book and magazine clutter: Do you skim-read through them before you throw/give them away to make sure you don't need them or do you find that you'll be likely to keep them if you do that?”
— 13 months ago |
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Oxford
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undercover_laura asks,
“what happens when you have given everything up that you dont need?? how do you make life fun?”
— 21 months ago |
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Oxford
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undercover_laura asks,
“when living simply, what activities do you do to fill your time??”
— 2 years ago |
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Raleigh
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Justin Carboneau asks,
“How do I slow down my mind?”
— 2 years ago |
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