What do I do on those days? I dig out the list of goals we came up with when we first started to talk about living a simpler life and that usually gets me back on track.
Your list may look different but this is the list we live by:
- Make Your Lifestyle a Priority– We knew we wanted to live in the country, grow vegetables, raise animals and be self-sufficient. We wanted to re-live our childhood by smelling hay, gathering eggs and having a pantry full of home-canned food. Determine the lifestyle you want and make it a priority!
- Enjoy Every Task – A big part of living simple is slowing down, which can be a real challenge for a society that is consumer driven by the fastest, newest, and next best thing. Whether it’s cleaning a chicken coop or building a fence, we try hard to enjoy the task at hand. We work hard and laugh often.
- Know What we Want– For us, there was nothing that could hold us back from living our dream. For our sanity, we knew we had to change, to get back to our roots and build a life in the country. It didn’t come easy, but through hard work and determination we accomplished our life-long goal. Figure out what’s important to you and let nothing stand in your way!
- Connect with Nature – It’s so natural to feel the dirt between your fingers and 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. Take a walk, plant a flower, listen to the birds and you’ll be amazed at its calming effect on your personal well-being.
- Make the Most of Everyday –Stop worrying about tomorrow and live for today. 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.
Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, stop and make a list of goals and when life starts to take a turn dig it out and get back on track.
If you want to jump start your simple living life changes I would highly recommend reading “The More of Less“ by Joshua Becker.
I started reading his book on a day I wanted to buy something for convenience rather than need. After just a couple chapters I remembered why we made a choice to live a simpler lifestyle. Not because we wanted to give up so much, but because we wanted to live a richer more fulfilling lifestyle. I love living on less and better yet I love wanting less! To us, that is what living a simple life is all about.
“I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.”
If you want to jump start your simple living life changes I would highly recommend reading “
P.S. Do you like what you are reading? Join the homestead and homemaking movement and get some Our Simple Homestead inspiration delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up Now!
DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation from affiliate and sponsored posts on this blog.
For our family, not missing modern conveniences is a simple matter of organization. We love ethnic foods, so I cook and store them in the freezer for “let’s eat out” nights. Same goes for pizza. If they’re ready to pop in the oven, then it hardly feels like I had to cook dinner. Stocking the pantry means the grocery store is just in the next room, to include a stash of treats like soda, chips and candy that don’t find their way into the kitchen cupboards but are there to save us when we craze a little something special. Once I got organized, I stopped missing proximity to the modern world.
Mandy this is perfect! You have found wonderful ways to keep those urges at bay. I love your tip about keeping pizza ready to pop in the oven. I have a weakness for a good pizza and that is the one eating treat I fight with often. I am going to spend a day filling my freezer with homemade pizza this week. Thanks for your wonderful insight!!
I’ve been cooped up inside trying to get things done lately. I really need to get outside (aside from when I’m fussing with the goats) and just enjoy nature again. It’s been too long!
I always find your posts so inspiring. My Hubby and I started out this year making drastic changes to live more simply by decluttering every aspect of our lives. It has been a year long journey that is still in full swing.
Thank you for the gentle reminder to enjoy every task (love this) and remembering to make our lifestyle a priority. Sometimes just taking a few minutes to breathe and listen to nature is all I need to get my head back in the game.
It really does try to creep in quickly, doesn’t it? This is a good reminder. Writing down goals and reviewing them often would be a very good grounding force when it tries to creep in 🙂
I love reading your posts 🙂 They always make me feel like my hubby and I aren’t alone and someday we can have our own little homestead too! Also, we would love to have you at our new Wednesday “To Grandma’s House We Go” link party.