Live Simply | Simplify Your Life

Stepping Stones to Inner Peace:
Live Simply - Simplify Your Life

Never buy anything that you cannot use immediately. Take a week or two and go through your home room by room. Box up anything that you no longer like, do not use or no longer need. Give as much of it away as you can bear. Dump everything that you cannot bear to part with into a storage unit that you rent for a year, paid in advance. At the end of the year, let the storage unit owner deal with your clutter. They can and will auction the contents of the unit.

While you are going through each room of your home, scotchguard all of the furniture that you can and the seats of the car.

Instead of making your bed up daily, buy a durable comforter and sleep on top of it. You can use a blanket in the winter and a sheet in the summer. When company comes, just dump the blanket or sheet into the closet and smooth out the comforter.

Every six (6) months, go through your closets and box up everything that you do mot like, have not worn over the last year, and no longer fits. BE RUTHLESS! Take them to a thrift store.

Make a list of clothing that you need and place it in your purse or wallet. NEVER BUY ANYTHING THAT IS NOT ON THIS LIST.

Buy good quality clothes and get them fitted for your body AS SOON AS YOU BUY THEM.

Buy clothes in neutral colors (white, gray, navy blue) that will go with your existing wardrobe. Never buy a tie when you get a suit until you take the suit home and look over your existing ties.

Find out what colors look best on you and buy clothes in ONLY those colors.
Polyester blend shirts may not be as crisply professional as 100% cotton ones, but they definitely are more user-friendly.

Make a list each week of grocery items that you need. Keep it by the fridge and update it every time that you run out of something.

If you have a choice, buy dark patterned carpets for your home and office. Never buy blue carpets unless you like lint. Stained wood walls require less maintenance than painted ones.

If you are single, you can make a large pot of soup or chili that will see you through the week.

Establish ONE place in your home to place your keys, wallet/purse, glasses and checkbook and ALWAYS return that item to that place after you use it.

When choosing doctors and dentist, try to find a large practice group with many specialists or use an HMO. Try to find a doctor located as close to your favorite shopping area as you can get.

NEVER buy a car without first looking it up in Consumer Reports. Before you buy anything for over $300, look it up in Consumer Reports first. This will save you endless hassle.

Get rid of junk mail. Write the Direct Mail Association at Six 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017 and get you name taken off of their mailing lists.

Buy canvas bags for grocery shopping. They are stronger than paper ones and you do not have to store them.

Store some of the plastic bags that you accumulate each day in the trunk of your car and at least ONCE per week dump the trash from the car.