50 Ways to Live Slower and Simpler

Today I want to share with you some ideas that hopefully will inspire you to live a bit slower and simpler. Please keep in mind that this is not meant to be a checklist of even more things you need to add to or fill your days with but rather, inspiration to explore what speaks to you.

Everybody’s version of slow living will look different just the way everyone’s version of minimalism looks different. We are all unique and our opinions and values are as well. That’s a good thing, and it needs to be celebrated! Some of these things may sound immediately like more work and stress than rest. Please be your own guide.

I love this quote from Katelynn Anne of Girl in Calico on Youtube, Simple living is not something we arrive at or accomplish. It is something we have to nurture throughout our entire lives!

Only do what you feel fits in line with the way you enjoy spending your time and forget the rest. Enjoy!

In The Home

Clean and declutter for an hour. (It’s not fun to relax in a messy space)

Keep your home cozy and maintained with a cleaning schedule (I loosely use Fly-Lady’s Routine)

Read or listen to a good book

Cook a nostalgic meal from scratch

Start a Garden

Dry clothes on a line every now and then

Shop at your local farmers’ market

Eat seasonally

Set the table outside for your meals.

Chop wood and heat your home with a fireplace

Learn to cook and appreciate warm, frugal meals

Put a hammock in your yard

Make your own saurkraut

Drink a cup of tea or coffee without your phone around

Learn to bake bread

Light a candle (preferably non-toxic)

Host a weekly gathering of friends in your home.

Learn to make sourdough bread

Make your own broth with kitchen scraps

Shop vintage or secondhand when possible

Dumb down your smartphone or downgrade to a dumbphone

Your direction is more important than your speed.

Finances

Payback all debts

Live without a credit card

Set up a monthly budget

Live within your means

Work for yourself by starting a side business

The Great Outdoors

Go for a walk

Have a beach day

Start a compost

Put up a birdfeeder

Keep chickens

Get some sun on your skin

Search for natural preserves or land in your area and go for a hike

Purchase an Audobon Field guide and explore the nature around you.

Have an outdoor fire with loved ones, good food and hot chocolate

Go for a drive or road trip with a good playlist

Pick and arrange fresh flowers

Water the plants in your yard barefoot

Lifestyle

Stop comparing your life, home, looks, and accomplishments to others

Nurture your faith by attending a local Bible-based church

Get to know your neighbors

Capsule Wardrobe

Meet your mailperson

Reserve quiet time each day for God

Give up gossip

Simplify your hair and makeup products

Surrender your need for control

Forgive and let go

Quit negative self talk

Accept your family members as they are

Learn and practice boundaries

Say no

Declutter your schedule

Quit something you don’t enjoy doing

To live content with small means- to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion. To be worthy, not respectable and wealthy, not rich. To think quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to the stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart- to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions- never hurry; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.

William Elery Channing