Simplify Simplify Simply – Dont be a Slave to Stress

We all seem to get busier with each passing year and if, like me, your time is precious then these tips might help you reclaim that time. 

For me, that is time to paint and draw, take photographs, create artworks, mosaics, assemblages, update websites, cook for pleasure and even a little gardening.

*  Do your banking online – this eliminates driving into town, postage and envelopes. It also enables me to schedule monthly, automatic payments saving hours of time, in travel and paperwork, a month;

*  Employ a house cleaner. My Christmas present to myself 2009 was to engage the services of a house cleaner.  She comes once a fortnight for 2 hours and although I still do some daily cleaning she deals with the nitty-gritty, bigger jobs that used to take up my weekends;  I am such a nicer person these days ! I don’t worry about the small things as they are tackled in the cleaning each fortnight.

*  If you have children, hire a nanny. This can be expensive but the savings in driving children to and from daycare will free up your time, perhaps giving you more quality time with your children at the end of the day;

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* De-clutter your house, your garage and your space. 5 years ago, when I moved from a ‘previous life’ I decided to De-clutter my home. I now have two different sized fry pans, 1 set of 4 different sized cooking pots, NO kitchen bench top gadgets apart from 1 toaster and 1 kettle. I have an old fashioned hand tin-opener although today most tins have a pull handle and my drawer of plastic containers has 2 sets of different types, with lids, piled one on top of each other (not a drawer full of bottoms without lids). This less is more, frees me up to purchase good quality stuff that lasts a long time rather than cupboards full of non-functional, quick-fix, short term gadgetry that are never used.  The same philosophy can be extrapolated to the rest of the house, garden and garage.

*  Shop less. I do one big shop every 6 weeks where I take a list that grows during the previous weeks.  Any urgent items and fresh produce I buy weekly from my local small grocers to which I can walk. The big shopping is where I  stock up on canned foods, frozen goods and consumables.  This frees up at least 5 Saturday mornings out of the 6 when I used to drive to do a weekly shop and spend half my day standing in line and then unpacking at home.

*Live off the land.  It sounds grand but need not be .  I don’t want or need a big vegetable patch so I grow a few vegetables, in small quantities, in and amongst my roses, daisies, perennials and under the fruit trees I have in my garden. So, each summer my garden provides me with just enough tomatoes, capsicums, potatoes, carrots, mini greens, red Satsuma plums, greengage plums, mulberries, pears, apricots and all year round a sweet yellow grapefruit.

* Plant fruit trees and get years of delight in picking your own and making your own jams, offerings to the neighbours and fresh fresh fruit. 

one of my favourite recipes

* Find other ideas on simplifying, to suit your own lifestyle.  Join any one of numerous ‘voluntary simplicity’ groups that have been growing since 1981. Read books on the subject such as Duane Elgin’s ‘Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich’ and dozens of national magazines and web sites.

Simplifying does not, necessarily, mean going or doing without. Rather, to slow down, live a more balanced, deliberate, thoughtful life that is a healthier way.  Perhaps one or two of these ideas may help you simplify and enjoy time, space and family.

PS .. the picture of the pear is from my own pear tree in my garden (truly)and the recipe is yummy !

all images and content (c) GINA 2010

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