Four Small Ways to Simplify Your Life

Do More with Less – Better Living During Difficult Times

Jul 22, 2009 Carla Baku

Everyone is feeling the pinch of today's tough economy. Here are four simple ideas for easing the strain and finding greater contentment with less.

Modern culture encourages over-consumption and unchecked spending; in 2008 the average American household owed well over $10,000 in credit card debt. The downturn in the economy has many people re-evaluating their priorities and looking for ways to cut back and simplify their lives.

How does a person begin to get off the consumer treadmill, to spend less and de-stress? It can be confusing. The average family doesn't have the luxury of recreating every detail of their lives. But there are simple, realistic ways to take the focus off consuming and shift it back toward the simple pleasures of living. Here are four ways to approach it.

Learn to Use a Budget

A book like The Everything Budgeting Book by Tere Stouffer can be a big help to the newly budget-minded person. Similar resources on the market explain the ins and outs of paying down credit card debt. Pick a day or an evening when there are few distractions, and get real about the money coming in, the money going out, and how finances can best be directed to create a less stressful, more fulfilling life.

With some careful planning, couples, families, and individuals can stop losing their hard-earned money to high interest credit cards, and begin saving for things they really want: a college education, a new car, or maybe a well-deserved vacation.

Eat More Meals at Home

The pace of life keeps families running from morning until night; it's hard to find time to do things together. However, according to a 2008 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, some families are rediscovering the economic and social benefits of eating at home.

Instead of separate meals eaten in separate rooms, families are preparing meals together and enjoying each others' company at the end of a long day. Taking a little extra time to prepare a meal and decompress over the dinner table is a simple habit, one that is well worth cultivating.

Grow a Vegetable Garden

Even without backyard acreage, gardening newbies can acquire a green thumb by trying container gardening. Mel Bartholomew has been teaching this method for decades in his book Square Foot Gardening. The smallest spaces can yield a surprising amount of food.

When kids get involved in the growing process, they often surprise parents with a willingness to eat more veggies. Adults will also expand their palates when they taste the difference between store-bought and home-grown. A vegetable garden cuts food costs while adding nutrition to the family diet.

Turn Off the Television

While making an effort to simplify life, it makes sense to minimize exposure to the constant barrage of "gotta-have-it" messages that come from the tube. An online video service like Netflix will drop the films right into the mail slot – no commercials, no high-priced concession food.

Prefer to read? Put down the ad-laden magazines and pricey catalogs and pick up a good book. Everything from Dickens to Stephen King is available at the local library. Thanks to the audio book revolution, you can listen to a best-seller while organizing the linen closet or enjoying a home pedicure. After a while, the cost of cable television may start to seem like an unnecessary expense.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but a springboard to help families craft their own methods of enriching and simplifying their lives. Even in difficult economic times, there are ways to lighten the load while deepening the ties that matter most.

The copyright of the article Four Small Ways to Simplify Your Life in Green/Simple Living is owned by Carla Baku. Permission to republish Four Small Ways to Simplify Your Life in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.