How to Live a Simple Life
We have learned that living simple really isn’t simple at all. It took some time for us to learn how to start living a simple life, slow down and find ways to simplify our life. We had to dig deep and figure out what was important to us. It took changing our mindset on how we wanted to live.
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania we had the joy of being surround with a simpler way of life.
I can still close my eyes and see the lush green pastures, smell freshly mowed hay and see an endless array of Amish buggies driving by. Life back then seemed so much simpler. It was a life we dreamed about and one we were determined to have.
Your dream may not be to live on a farm, but whatever is inspiring you to slow down take a good look at your life and try to apply some of these basic living simple principles.
Here are a few tips on how to start living a simple life:
Make your lifestyle a priority – I knew early on I wanted to live in the country, grow my own food, raise animals and be as self-sufficient as I could be. I wanted to re-live my childhood by smelling hay and gathering eggs. I wanted to see a pantry full of canned food, and my husband wanted to hunt his own land and till his own fields. That was the life we dreamed of. Whatever is inspiring you, determine the lifestyle you want and make it a priority!
Slow down and enjoy every task – A big part of living simple is slowing down. This can be a real challenge for a society that is driven by the fastest, newest, next best thing. Whether it is cleaning a chicken coop or building a fence, we try hard to enjoy the task at hand. We live in the moment and not let our minds wander to the list of other chores waiting for us, we find ways to make our work fun. We work hard and laugh often.
Know what is important – For us, there was nothing that could hold us back from living our dream. We knew for our own sanity we had to change, to get back to our roots, and build a life in the country by setting up a homestead. It didn’t come easy, but through hard work and determination, we accomplished our life long dream. Figure out what is really important to you and let nothing stand in your way!
Connect with nature – There is something so natural about feeling the dirt between your fingers, sand between your toes or the sun on your face. One of the first steps to living a simpler life is allowing the wonders of nature to connect with your soul. Start today by taking a break to enjoy nature and its calming effect.
Make the most of today – If you are in the first stages of slowing down or a seasoned at simple living, stop worrying about tomorrow and live for today. Literally, stop and smell the roses. Moving to the country, far away from the hustle of the city made us realize that our time here on earth is short and made us want to live each day to its fullest. When we stopped worrying about tomorrow …we started living for today.
Where ever you are, whatever you’re doing, stop and make a list of these five points. Figure out what lifestyle you want to live, slow down and concentrate on the task at hand, know what is important to you, take a break to enjoy nature and make the most of every day. Simple living is only a few steps away…take yours today!
Thanks for stopping by!
Tracy Lynn
P.S. Do you like what you are reading?
Are you looking to slow down and live a simpler life?
I am so happy you’ve landed here and I can share some of the simple living principles that have made a huge difference in our lives.
To give you a place to start I have created a “5 Steps to Simple Living Guide“ that I am offering to you free.
Along with this free download, is included a complimentary subscription to our weekly Our Simple Homestead Newsletter. Each week you’ll receive simple living tips, homesteading ideas, old-fashion recipes and every once in awhile a touch of the Amish lifestyle.
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Great points, Tracy. It really just comes down to the intention you have for your life. So glad you are living your dream. Continued blessings…
Thanks Daisy!
Thanks again Ms Tracy. You are an inspiration to us all.
Carla…I am humbled that people like to read what is just normal everyday living for me!
I love this post! Yes, especially the *slow down* reminder. It is easy to get caught up in the to-do list and overlook the joy of it. But, oh the joy of living simply. It is a blessing indeed.
Getting caught up in a to-do list is so easy to do. We try really hard to only approach one task at a time and not think about anything else on our list until the job at hand is done. That helps in stressing out about something you have no control over at the moment. Thanks for visiting Julie!
Once again, I LOVE what you wrote! It is exactly my husband’s and my desires too 🙂 This blog has quickly become one of my favorites!!! Have a lovely week Tracy! 🙂
Thank you so much for telling me that. Some days I think I have nothing to say but if I wrote what is happening in our life it always comes together. Thanks for such a great comment!
Love these thoughts Tracy. We just moved into a new home with a lot more land. We have made it a priority to live a simpler life leaving a smaller carbon footprint. 🙂
Kudos to you! It is a real passion for us and we try real hard to live it everyday!
Living simply does not necessarily mean boring. This list is a great way of showing that.
Thanks Lux and I agree!
“Slow down and enjoy every task” is one I know that works, for sure, yet is one of the hardest for me to do! When I force myself to slow down, a job that seemed unbearable (usually) does become enjoyable. — Thanks for the reminder!
That is always a hard one for me to, but I do make a real effort to practice it!
This is so good!… hard to do, but so important and definitely a desire of ours. An ongoing effort toward more simplicity. Thank you. 🙂
Our simple living life is always a work in progress and we approach it one step at a time. Thanks for stopping by Gentle Joy!
Love your blog and this post! My husband and I have entered the empty nest phase of our lives and look forward to downsizing and leading a more simple life with less stuff!
Beth once we became empty nesters we started to feel a real sense of freedom from owning less. As we get older we find we don’t need or want all that extra stuff we once had! We are fully enjoying this stage in our life!
This is exactly where my husband and I are right now, starting to figure out a plan to slow it down and be more self-sufficient. We currently live in Michigan but our dream is to move out of state and purchase more land (we have 2 acres right now), but for the moment God has us still here. I would love to have a few cows and chickens as part of a way to provide for ourselves. Do you have any suggestions on where to start?
Stephanie I would suggest you start right were you are right now. Don’t wait until all the stars line up to slow down and be more self-sufficient. There are so many things you can do start to work on now. Read this post…it might help you get started. https://oursimplehomestead.com/living-a-self-sufficient-lifestyle/
I love living the simple life and strive for it every day. I really do like just being at home, schooling and all that happens around here. Going to town and running around after things doesn’t drag me. Thanks for the post and for linking up at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings
I so agree…the days I have to do all the weekly errands is the day I am the most tired. I am a homebody and enjoy just being at home on our farm.
I really want to slow down but it is something that I struggle with. Each day my to do list gets bigger and I feel like I have less time to do things. I want to make sure I am enjoying my kids while they are young but that forever to do list makes it hard to enjoy them as much as I want to. I mean I do spend a decent amount of time with them just not like I want to.
Amiejo I remember feeling the same way when my kids were little and take it from one mother to another…forget about that list and spend as much time with them as you can now! I swear I closed my eyes one day and the next day they were all grown up with families of their own!
Such good points…Live the way you want to and that makes it simple.
I totally agree!!!
It can be so difficult to slow down and just enjoy the moment with all the chaos of the world around us. Thanks for the reminder that it should be a priority. Stopping by from Home Matters Link Up!
~Bonnie
Thanks for stopping by Bonnie!
The simple lifestyle is so fulfilling. I’m a city girl who married a country boy, and I wouldn’t want to go back! Thank you for your encouraging inspiring words today.
Linda I was raised a country girl, thought I wanted to live in the city only to find out you can never take the country out of a country girl!
I clicked on your post because of your great picture. Such a peaceful scene! I grew up in rural NYS and we often saw Amish buggies, too. I appreciate your advice for a simple life, especially number one, making it a priority! Thanks for sharing with Motivation Monday!
Marie thanks for telling me that…I loved that picture as well! I grew up surrounded by Amish and their way of life…I really think that is why living simple comes so easy to me.
Wonderful post. I agree that living simply is not so simple but you lay out some great tips on how to achieve that lifestyle.
Great post. I especially relate to the need to appreciate simple tasks and to connect with nature. That’s what does it for me.
Nature has a way of relaxing me, and I encourage anyone who needs some solitude go take a walk and see how it changes you.
Superb! I wish EVERYONE understood how to live simply! This world would be a very different place if they did! Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
Thanks Amy and I agree. It really isn’t hard to start living simple it just takes changing your mindset and doing it!
Congratulations on being featured at Motivation Monday!
Thanks Barb! How exciting!
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for sharing your great tips on Natural Living Monday! Your article is featured this week!
Andrea
Being present in each moment is important. Hello from Say G’day Saturday!
Just being happy in whatever you are doing is a big step!
CONGRATULATIONS!! I absolutely loved this post and so did quite a lot of our readers…you were chosen as the featured post of Simple Saturdays Blog Hop!! Hope to see you again this week and hop on by for your featured pic to proudly display!
Thank you so much for the feature Kat!
Tracy, do you have any specific advice for a 58 yr old widow to reach their goals of living their dream? I began minimizing about 3 yrs ago, and have made significant progress in minimizing things. Is it ever really too late to change how and where you live? I’m legally blind, and I have a lung disease with no cure. Living life the way I want to has become very important to me. I love growing things, but I, currently, live in a senior apartment complex where this is difficult if not impossible. I admire your persistence, and I’m determined to get my life to the place I want it to be!
Kim there are so many thing you can do to slow your life down and strive for a basic living lifestyle. Here are some ideas…grow herbs on your windowsill, dry your clothes on a drying rack instead of using your dryer, learn to make bread, shop at the Farmers Markets and buy your produce from locally grown farms, turn the TV off and enjoy the quiet, and find ways to enjoy nature everyday. Take a good look at the things that surround you and figure out if too much stuff is cluttering your life. You could even learn how to make homemade cleaners and stop relying on chemical laden cleaners from the grocery store. Anything you can do to stop a consumer driven lifestyle will help you slow down and enjoy the things around you. Simple living is a mind-set and it doesn’t matter where you live to look for ways to slow your life down and enjoy what God has provided for you.
What kind of work do y’all do in order to live the simple life and enjoy everyday and have the income you need?
Kate,
My husband still hold a full-time job off the farm. I am responsible for keeping the farm running, gardens tended, and animals happy. Years ago we knew this was the path we wanted to be on so we worked on getting rid of much of our debt. The only debt we have is our mortgage and a car payment that is almost paid off. If we were still drowning in debt we could never live and enjoy life like we do now.
Tracy,
So happy to hear you are simplifying your life and enjoying it. That is what is important.
We are both retired. Our kids are grown..We are dept free.. And we looked around, and we had TOO MUCH STUFF.. We had our home [modest], we had a coke collection building [big as our house and full of junk,ha]. And at retirement, Hubby bought 52 acres with an old farm house on it.. He is trying to take care of both places, and we were running in so many directions.. We needed to slow down and simplify.. and enjoy our remaining days.. Not always rushing around.. so.. we decided to .. Sale our house [kinda sad, since Hubby built it 20 yrs ago.], Get rid of coke stuff [we auctioned it off and took a big loss], and we are in the process of remodeling the farm house and making it
livable.. As soon as our house sells, we will move to our farm house. we have out garden there, fruit tree, pecan trees.. we will be about 10 miles in the country.. We are both excited about the quiet simplified life we are hoping to have.. [Both of us were raised in the country, so this is a dream for us].
Love your blog, and the encouragement you share.Thank you. Judy
This is my motto….”Live the life you imagine”. And I do this on a daily basis, whether it is drinking my tea in a real china cup, waking up to a perfectly clean kitchen EVERY SINGLE MORNING, or writing letters on a real stationary instead of sending an email!
I just LOVE your motto…thanks for sharing it with me!
Your words echo those in my own heart. I wanted to get back to my childhood, helping my grandmother in the garden on hanging their laundry on the line. RancherMan wanted to hunt his own land. We’ve found (like you) that there are sacrifices involved to both attain as well as continue living this dream but they’re minuscule in comparison. Love this life we’re living now! Thanks for sharing. (Visiting from ‘Our Simple Homestead blog hop)
~Taylor-Made Homestead~
Texas
Connecting with nature is so important. In addition to getting some outside time each day, I also like to look up at the night sky right before I go to bed. It’s often a very beautiful view, and a great way to wind down before sleep.
You are right, to live a simple life isn’t always simple to do. A good friend calls our life the “complicated simple life.” That just about sums it up. – Margy
Love this! We are just barely starting out and my husband and I were both lucky to have found decent jobs in the city- but living downtown is definitely not our final destination. We can’t wait to be finished with college and head out to the country! For now we are enjoying our time in the city and learning to do things on our own and be more resourceful and self-sufficient… canning and soap making anyone? One step at a time. 🙂
As our children grow up, and our family gets smaller, my husband and I are looking forward to downsizing our home, and living a simpler life. Great ideas here.
So happy you can use some of my ideas…it has really helped me prioritize my life!
Amazing simple suggestions for a simple life. I have bookmarked this to come back and spend more time! I really appreciate you sharing your awesome post and your talent with us at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great weekend and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Great tips. I really admire you for having the courage to do this. For me what comes close to simplifying my life is decluttering once in a while, though reading your post made me wonder if I’m not missing on something important…Thank you for joining The Really Crafty Link Party this week.
What a wonderful post! I’d like to feature your wise words today at Tuesdays with a Twist! I hope you can join us again this week! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
What a Beautiful post. So glad I read it. I try to live a simple life, even though I live in a city. I don’t have a cell phone and meditate daily. This helps me live in the moment and be present for the wonders that abound.