4 Ways to Simplify Your Life This Fall

With the change of seasons comes the opportunity to implement new routines and work on simplifying your life.  The fall season doesn’t have to be overwhelming or crazy busy.  Instead of stressing about the holidays and to do’s coming up, use this fall season to experiment with new ways to simplify your life.  Here are some ideas to try.

1. Set new boundaries. Don’t wait for the new year to set resolutions just because that’s what everyone else does (and usually fails at).  Instead, choose one of these areas and set new boundaries around them now:
   1. Eating healthy – Choose to commit to one thing, perhaps eating out less, choosing organic, reducing processed foods or simply eating slower.
   2. Work – As daylight hours decrease, it might be a good time to commit to leaving work at work.  If you work from home, start "leaving work" by shutting the door to your home office.
   3. Volunteering – You don’t have to say yes to every request that comes up. It’s perfectly okay to say no.  Choose only the opportunities that align with your values and that you actually want to make time for.
   4. Self-care – Simple actions can go a long way.  Maybe it’s time to commit to doing 5 minutes of yoga stretches while you wait for dinner? Or taking 3 deep breaths before you get out of the car when you get home?  You don’t need expensive spa days to practice more self-care.  Integrating a few free, easy practices into your life is better than doing nothing.
2. Embrace open spaces in your home. You don’t have to fill every void in your home (or in your schedule).  This is how your home gets cluttered (and your life gets crazy busy).  Start small in your home with one of the following:
   1. Clear a shelf.... and LEAVE IT EMPTY.  Instead of putting out holiday decor, see what it’s like to have more clear, open space.
   2. Empty a drawer. Toss, donate, recycle whatever's in it then LEAVE IT EMPTY.  See how long you can keep it empty.
   3. Clear off the chair in your bedroom.  Maybe this isn't one of your clutter areas (yay, you!), but if it is, now's the time to clear those clothes and miscellaneous items off the chair.  Hang them up, wash them or put them in the donate bag.
3. Clean up your digital world. Between your emails, photos, downloads, and music, your digital world can spiral out of control in a matter of days.  One way you can begin decluttering this invisible, yet energy-draining piece of your life is to spend 10 minutes doing each of the following:
   1. Unsubscribe to emails.  Be quick and be ruthless!
   2. Delete photos (and videos)-as many as you can-from your phone. You know which ones…the ones your kids took when they grabbed your phone and the videos of your dog chasing his tail...again.
   3. Delete apps on your phone that you have not used in the past month. Be honest!
4. Go to bed. Studies continue to show that sleep is critical for health and well-being.  Why do we continue to skip sleep in order to get more done?  Reframe your thinking as Julie Morgenstern suggests: “When you view sleep as the start of your next day, you look forward to getting into bed, ready to charge up your batteries and fill your fuel tank for the next day’s adventures.”  Resist the temptation to do "just one more thing each night."  Instead, embrace the darker days and longer nights and get more shut-eye.

As the leaves let go this fall, you can, too.  When you simplify your home and create space in your life, you’ll have more freedom to enjoy the gifts of fall and to do the things that matter most to you.To Simplicity & Joy,Lisa