16 Ways I Simplified Life in 2016

16 Ways I Simplified Life in 2016
As the end of a year approaches, I always come back to how to simplify life heading into the new year. I don’t know if it’s the never-ending holiday shopping, hectic schedule or just the stress, but ending the holidays usually leaves me exhausted and craving more minimalism. The start of a fresh year is the perfect time to prioritize simplicity.

Below are 16 ways I made days more simple in 2016 and will add to this list in 2017. Pick and choose the ones that apply to your life, and enjoy the ease that accompanies the shift:

  1. Eat the same thing for breakfast each day until you get sick of it.
  2. Finally hire that house cleaner and give up something else instead to afford it. I gave up mani/pedis so often.
  3. Find 10-15 meals that you and your family love and that are quick to make. Plan your weekly dinners around these meals and keep it that until the season changes.
  4. Keep your nails bare.
  5. Take an hour to log into all your bill accounts and set up direct payment with your credit card. This will lead to building points, travel, etc. on your CC and you’ll never have to wonder which card to update when one expires.
  6. Buy a Keurig. No more cleaning the coffee pot daily.
  7. If you have a significant other but don’t have a joint account, use one card to pay for all your shared expenses. At the end of the month, simply split that bill instead of figuring out who owes who what.
  8. Use Instacart if you don’t have time for grocery shopping.
  9. Spend 2 minutes at the end of your workday to declutter your desk.
  10. When ordering at restaurants, go down the menu until you find something that sounds good. Close the menu and order that.
  11. Buy multi-tasking makeup. I use Aquaphor for my lips, as eye cream, and to keep my eyebrows in place. Easy and affordable!
  12. Set an alarm for once a month to update your computer, phone, all electronics.
  13. Ask your pharmacy to get you on a recurring system to mail your medications.
  14. Shower at night and air-dry your hair.
  15. Keep wrapping paper, boxes, ribbons, and blank cards at your house for birthdays and celebrations that sneak up on you. Also keep small gifts (candles—everyone loves this scent, wine, candy) stocked up too.
  16. Unsubscribe from all the BS emails and any social media accounts that don’t bring you joy!

Life feels a little more simple already right?! I urge you to add some of these practices into your 2017. Enjoy!

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25 comments

  1. I also recommend unroll.me to roll up all your email subscriptions into one email. Your inbox is cleaner and you keep all those shopping coupons/newsletters in one place!!

  2. I’ve already been working on some of these! Yesterday I unsubscribed from all junk email and got my inbox down to ZERO unread messages. It felt SO GOOD. I’m also taking showers at night, so 1) I’m making sure to wash my face at night and 2) I don’t have to deal with drying my hair in the morning. I love it, and it makes my mornings so much less hectic. Looking forward to the new year!
    http://www.wonderlandsam.com

  3. I entirely agree with starting with a clean slate in the new year. It just gives such a great feeling of peace and accomplishment. However, I read last night that those Keurig machines are actually horrible for the environment (http://i.imgur.com/G0O8l3o.png?1). Rethinking our relationship with the products we buy is in general something I’d like to put on my list of 2017 which will certainly help simplify life.

  4. Hey Geri,

    Im a big fan of your blog. I recently started blogging and would love for you to pass on some tips on how to get my blog more recognized. I’m sure you get this all the time. I am a mom to a toddler and what I’m finding is that once I became a mom, I got stuck into mommy mode. Now I’m determined to do the things that I love, get back to being healthy and sexy, managing my time effectively but not compromising my availability for my husband and young child. Please inbox me at danni_leck@yahoo.com.

  5. Love this! Already put a couple into action. Such small and simple ideas to make you feel less stressed and lighter. Some good habits for being organised.

  6. All great advice but the Keurig- these things create so much waste, that even the creator regrets his own invention. You should edit the post to include advice about getting a reusable coffee filter for it.

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