Simplifying Life – The Next Steps

At the moment I feel that our plans are in limbo. I know that it’s to do with the time of year as we take ourselves off at every opportunity to make the most of the Summer. It shouldn’t be a surprise really as this happens every year and we try not to plan any large projects throughout the Summer months but it does mean that we lose some of our momentum.

So this post will hopefully act as a reminder of all that I feel that we have achieved so far in simplifying our lives and hopefully inspire us to continue on our journey.

Things we have done so far….

• Moved house and paid off our mortgage.
• Made energy-saving measures and lowered our fuel bills.
• Set up my own home based business.
• Begun to grow and brew our own.
• Decluttered our possessions.

Things that need work on……..

• Lower our fuel bills even more to save money and the enviroment.
• Declutter more and learn to live with less.
• Grow more of our own fruit and vegetables.
• Look at other streams of income which are not reliant on employment by others.
• Streamline our finances to enable us to save for our future plans.

I’m sure that there are many more things that will be added to the to do list over time, how about you – what have you already done towards achieving a simpler life?

Why The Simple Life?

I was recently asked why were we looking to simplify our lives? I think that the person asking the question was looking for a succinct answer – concise and easy to understand – unfortunately all they got was me rambling on.

Which is probably how this post will come across for which I apologise in advance. You see I don’t really think that there is an easy way to explain what we are doing mainly because we are doing it for various reasons.

So why are we doing it?

One of the reasons we are doing it is that by reducing our consumption it allows us to free up our income for other things. By not subscribing to keeping up with the Jones’ we are able to spend our income on the things that matter to us and eventually we hope that this will enable us to reduce the time we spend earning money.

At the moment our short term goal is that it enables us to save for our Son’s higher education, should he wish to study further. With university course fees costing as much as £9,000 per year ( I hate to think how much this will have risen by the time he goes) we want to be able to help him by not having to start his adult life with thousands of pounds worth of debt (and of course if this isn’t the path he wishes to follow we will have a nice safety net for when we finally give up the day jobs).

The long term goal is that by living simply it will allow us to reduce the time we spend earning money. Looking at it at a basic level the more money that we spend equates to the more time we have to spend earning it which means that we spend less time doing the things that we want to.

Simple living is fast become a way of life to us. It isn’t just about getting rid of stuff, decluttering and getting organized, although this certainly helps with simplifying life.  It’s about focusing on our priorities in life and for me living a simple life really does help me recognize the important stuff.

In the past I spent money on stuff thinking that it would make me happy. It didn’t of course because most of what I bought had no real purpose, it was a want rather than a need, put into my head by some clever marketing ploy.

As we have simplified our lives alot of those wants have disappeared. Of course I still want things but those wants have altered, where as once a new handbag may have topped my list now it’s more likely to be something with a purpose such as a new spade or a packet of seeds.

So the next time someone asks us why we are doing all this the answer will be simple – I’ll just tell them to read this post.

5 Simple Pleasures

The weather has been so damp and miserable in our part of Yorkshire this week but these are the things that have made me cheerful.

1. The view from my kitchen sink

View from the kitchen

Even if it’s pouring down with rain outside this view never fails to lift my spirits.

2. Blossom

Beautiful Apple Blossom

The blossom makes me hopeful, it’s a sign of things to come.

3. My Gardening Books

This week's reading material

I may not have been able to get outside to garden because of the weather this week but with the aid of my books I have been able to plot and plan for the weeks ahead.

4. The first cup of tea of the day

The best drink of the day

The best drink of the day – need I say any more.

5. Fresh Eggs

Which came first?

We were gifted a dozen freshly laid eggs this week and they were delicious. We have been thinking about having hens for a while now but in this case the eggs have definitely come before the chickens.

These are the things that have made me happy this week, I’d love to hear about the things that have made you smile.

hello

Welcome to The Simplicity Project. This blog follows our family’s efforts to live a more simple life, by making do and mending, growing our own, living more sustainably and most importantly by having more fun.

Our journey started some time ago and so it will be great to share with you all that we have learnt along the way so far, however our path to simple living is still very much a work in progress and we have a long way to go until we achieve our goal.

Perhaps like us you’d also like to enjoy a simpler life? Do you you love the thought of getting back to basics, living a greener life, or just simply having more time to enjoy the things you love. I invite you to join us in this journey and I’d love to hear about your ideas and experiences along the way.