Creating a home where the living is easy

Simple living means something different to each of us. Urban or rural, working out of the home or not, raising older kids or newborns, driving or walking – we each have aspects of our individual lives that make our days simpler. Small steps in life can make moments at home easier.

Let’s face it, we all know life isn’t easy, but it can be easier. It has taken my family years of taking small steps to get to where we are now, and we are nowhere near where we hope to be even next year.

Here are some steps that can be taken in the here and now, no matter your situation, to make life a little simpler at home.

Make Both Time and Space for You

Often, it’s been so long since I have had either time or space for myself that I don’t even realize how much I needed it until I am holding onto it for dear life. The problem used to be that when I had the time, I didn’t have the space to retreat to.

I remedied that by creating a corner in my living room just for me – a cozy place to curl up with a book or my laptop, a wall shelf to set a cup of coffee and to add some touches like flowers and candles, and I had my space.

One of the minuses to living in a smaller home is that I can’t escape 2000 square feet away to one of 12 bedrooms. But making a space for me that works in my home has been a life saver. Home doesn’t have to be large to have space. Even the smallest of spaces can be carved out to provide a retreat for a weary soul.

End the Piles of Paper

Paper seems to multiply like bunnies in my house. Between stuff sent home from school and mail, it sometimes feels more like an office than a home. Make a system so you can find what you need and get rid of what you don’t.

This article on real simple solutions for an organized and efficient home is packed with inspiring ideas, but the one I love the most is the notebooks.  A great way to tame the papers that enter daily.

Control Your Clutter

Yes, I’m still going to talk about the stuff that accumulates around the house that makes life more chaotic than anything. There is nothing like walking through my house with a big cardboard box and filling it with things to donate that are doing little more than taking up space.

Each time you remove something, think of it as making space for something new, something better. Even if that something better is nothing.

Grow a Garden

In the spring and summer months, it’s easy to grow anything from a container garden , to a square foot garden, to a farm full of fresh produce, if that’s what you’ve got to work with. I loving sending my two kids out my back door to grab strawberries for a school lunch.

I love stepping onto my patio for herbs and veggies to throw into a stir fry at dinner, instead of making another trip to the store. A garden doesn’t have to be big or even beautiful, but it does make life a little more simple.

What are some things you do that make your home more simple?