Guest Post: Small Changes for a Simpler Life

This is a guest post by Stacy at A Delightful Home.  Thank you Stacy!!

 

It all started with me standing at the front door, with two kids, a baby on my hip, and a bag on my shoulder. Juggling my load I tried key after key before finally finding one that would let us in.

I became irritated by the third key and thought, “Why on earth do I have so many keys?” Many of the keys had been passed down when we moved and I still don’t know what most of them are for.

Because of my cluttered key chain, it took me an extra 2 or 3 minutes to get inside the house.

If I did this every day, I’d be wasting at least 730 minutes a year! To put it another way:  that’s 12 hours of messing with keys at the front door annually! Who wants to do that? Not me! (And not you either, I expect.)

After this revelation, I took all the extra keys off the key chain. Now I can get in the house quickly and without frustration. Phew.

Removing a few keys was a very simple fix, with great benefits.  12 hours of benefits!

Thinking about this small change helped me see other ways I could make life easier. For instance, I want a bountiful garden, but I keep forgetting to water!

No water = no garden (at least not a very good one).

To remedy this situation, I bought a timer to attach to the hose.

I put off buying a timer for quite some time, thinking it was not worth the expense and I would surely get better at watering soon.

Well, as you can imagine, I have yet to improve my watering skills. In fact, I’m so bad my mother-in-law waters the plants on my porch when she visits!

I felt guilty about my ineptness for a while, but then accepted that I’m in a very busy stage of life right now.  With three kids at home, I just can’t do everything! (Forgetting to water doesn't equate to being a failure.) I also have a highly-distractable nature, so part of it is just me.

And that brings me to my next point . . .

Instead of feeling bad that we are not like other people who are say, good at gardening, it is more productive for us to work with our own unique personality. Sure, we can improve in many areas, but we can also develop strategies that help us where we are right now.

I know I am forgetful. I know I am easily distracted. So, I write notes in my cookbooks and use a timer to help me remember things.

I also started writing notes in my kid’s story books.

While reading a book about animals to my youngest, I decided to say “God made the (insert animal name)” at the end of each page. I wanted to say it at every reading. I knew I wouldn’t remember, so I wrote it in.

Now I don’t have to worry about forgetting and can say the things I feel are important to my child.

We are all different. Small changes in my home may not be helpful in yours. But there’s no doubt we all have areas where we can simplify.

I encourage you to find small tweaks that will make a difference to your home and sanity. Maybe it’s removing keys, or finding a new place to put the laundry hamper. It could even be keeping the kids toothbrushes in the kitchen instead of the bathroom. Whatever works for you!

Little changes can make a big impact on our home and take us one step closer to that simple life we so greatly desire.

What small changes have you made that make life simpler? What areas would you like to simplify in order to bring more peace into your home?

Stacy is the wife of a preacher and mama to three children. She strives to live a simple life but needs a lot of help along the way! She blogs about creating peace and joy for her family at A Delightful Home.

 

Top Image by Bohman