7 Days to Simpler Living

Life is not meant to be a square, living simply means recognizing that life happens outside the box. Get outside and live. Because after all, living simply is not about living simply but simply living. Remember, take what serves you and leave the rest.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Life can be complicated, confusing and chaotic, but it doesn't have to be.

I live my life simply. I collect what I need and discard what I don't. I use the following formula to assist me in living a more simpler and less stressful life:

Does it have a deep meaning for me?
Does it make my life easier in some way?
Does it make my life beautiful in some way?

It's as simple as that, if it doesn't serve you get rid of it.

When you say "yes" to something you are always saying "no" to something else. Wouldn't you much rather have a small quantity of good friends, favorite books, dinners out or quality experiences?

We hold onto commitments that don't serve us, people that hurt us, items that clutter our life and thoughts that pull us down and away from our goals.

In order to upgrade our life we need to simplify it.

Try for just seven days to live simply.

Day 1: Unsubscribe yourself from all of the newsletters that clutter your inbox. Make a few files in your inbox -- "now" and "later" -- and place your emails in the folders. Now your inbox is looking clean and beautiful. Assign five minutes before you check your emails to this process every day for the next seven days.

Day 2: Buy a diary. There are some gorgeous diaries available. Some of my favorite include Smythson, Kate Spade and Paper D'Amour. In this diary you are going to keep a journal of all the things that suck your energy this week. At the end of the week, go through your journal and write next to each item how you can reduce it or eliminate it all together.

Day 3: Today, clean your house, closet, car, bus, dog or tepee. Get into the groove of putting things away. Store things that you don't use. Better yet, if you have six umbrellas give four away to your friends.
Don't want to give things away? Put them on Ebay and make some extra cash.

Make it a practice to only have what you use.

Tidy up, throw things out and put things away. In the future when you buy anything new for your house or closet make it a habit to give away one thing. So, whenever you bring one thing into your house, take one thing out.

Day 4: Delete Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram -- take a social media holiday You will be surprised at just how much better you feel and how much more time you'll have. Just do it today, see how you feel and if it feels good, continue.

Day 5: Have you ever heard of the 5Ps? Proper planning prevents poor performance. Today is about planning. Plan chunks of your day out to specific task and do them. Number each one from the most important to the least. Ask yourself, if I were to die tomorrow what would I have regretted not doing? Do the most important first. Just do them.

Day 6: Instead of talking on the phone with friends (for hours) or texts back and forward, write them a letter. Writing is fun, relaxing and expressive. It allows you to communicate in a medium that induces creativity, playfulness and love. Today, write one letter to someone that you care about. Could you write a love letter, a letter of apology or a letter to just say hi?

Day 7: Life is not about being stuck at the computer, in the office, at work, in front of the TV or behind the walls of your house.

If you look at nature you will see that the little creatures that reside in your backyard are fluid and not boxed into any squares.

Life is not meant to be a square, living simply means recognizing that life happens outside the box. Get outside and live. Because after all, living simply is not about living simply but simply living.

Remember, take what serves you and leave the rest.

Live simply and beautifully.

-----------

HuffPost's GPS for the Soul app is based on two truths about human beings. First: We all have a centered place of wisdom, harmony and balance within us. Second: We're all going to veer away from that place, again and again and again. What we need is a great course-correcting mechanism -- a GPS for the Soul -- to help us find our way back to that centered place, from which everything is possible.

Because no one knows better than you what helps you de-stress and tap into that place of peace inside yourself, it's important for you to create your very own GPS guide -- a personalized collection of whatever helps you course-correct. Email us at GPS@huffingtonpost.com and we'll set you up with your very own HuffPost blogger account to share your guide on the site. If you're already a blogger, we encourage you to upload your personal guide today. We can't wait to see what you have to share.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE