Simple Living: 7 Steps To Start Living Your Best Life 2026

What is Simple Living

For me, simple living means prioritizing my life by getting rid of all the extras in my home and life to make room for all of the things that really matter. To me, it’s a way of life that focuses on making the people and things that I value most my top priority instead of something that I try to cram in after everything else, that really doesn’t matter, is done. Life is too short to spend on to do lists or shuffling around clutter. It should be spent with people that you love doing things you enjoy.

Advantages of Simple Living

Living With Less Stuff means less to clean and keep up with. There are so many things in our home and life that we don’t use anymore or don’t even like. Getting rid of those things gives us more room and opportunity to enjoy the things that we truly love.

Eases Stress and Anxiety. Removing the excess from our home and lives reduces the stress and anxiety of clutter and overwhelm and allows us to relax and enjoy our day.

Improves Creativity and Productivity. This seems like a no brainer, but it is amazing how much better you can think with a clutter free home and workspace. It’s like someone decluttered your mind too. You will be presently surprised at how much you can accomplish when your head and workspace are clear.

More Time to spend with the people that you love and do things that you enjoy that have gotten put on the back burner for so long because you haven’t had time. This is one of my favorite advantages.

Be a Blessing To Others. Decluttering allows us to give the things that we no longer want or need to those that do need them. I unknowingly blessed a sweet lady when I was cleaning out my attic.

Getting Started With Baby Steps

Define Your Values. Simple living looks different to each person. What are the most important people and things in your life? What things do you want to remove from your life that no longer make you happy or serves a purpose for the season of life that you are in? What things do you want to add or bring back to your life that increases your happiness. Now write them down. You might even make a dream board to inspire you and remind you of your goals.
Live Intentionally with purpose and baby steps keeping your values in mind. Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day and your life will not become simplified overnight either.
Routine Is Key. First, write down your daily routine. Make note of the things that you said yes to but should have said no to or things that you can delegate to someone else. Next, write down what your ideal routine would look like if you only included the things that you value and brought you happiness. What are some ways that you can bring your current routine in line with your ideal routine? One baby step at a time, start merging your ideal routine with your current routine. You can find more information on aligning your goals and values with your routines here.
Declutter. Keeping the baby steps in mind, set aside 15 minutes each day to get rid of things in your home and life that do not make you happy or serve a purpose. It doesn’t seem like much but it’s all you need. Start with the easy things like throwing out garbage or cleaning out the junk drawer. With each item that you toss or donate, you will feel like weights are being lifted from you. I speak from experience when I say it really is life changing.
Organize. This is imperative for a simplified home and life. The goal of organization is for everything to have a place and for everything to be in that place. Here are some wonderful containers from the dollar tree that I use all over my house to organize things. Being organized saves you time and money by knowing where everything is and how much stuff you do have so you are not buying those things again. Remember to declutter first because you can’t organize clutter.
Live In The Moment. Living in the present means that you are not wasting time dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. You cannot do anything about past and worrying about the future won’t change a single thing. The present is just that, a PRESENT. We were given the gift of today so take advantage of it and enjoy every moment.
Be Content. The world teaches us that the more we have the happier we will be. In reality, it is the opposite. The more we have, the more responsibility we have to take care of those things and the busier we become. I was reminded of this when we got an offshore boat. We had to wax the interior every year to keep the fish guts from sticking and staining, wash it every time we went fishing to get the salt water off, and we spent at least $400 for gas each time we took it out. It was wonderful to take the boat out, but it wasn’t worth the time it took to take care of it. Now we take a charter boat for $100. Simple living now allows us to enjoy someone else’s boat without the hassle of owning our own.

Simple Living: A Way of Life

Simple Living Journey

Simple Living is a way of life. It doesn’t end when you are done decluttering and organizing. It’s a wonderful continuous journey of removing everything in your life that doesn’t bring you happiness or isn’t necessary. I began this journey out of desperation to get the stress, anxiety, and overwhelm out of my life. It has become one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done. I would love for you to join me as I continue my journey here at Home and Life Simplified.