10 Ways to Simplify Your Life & New Healthy Recipes

Hi friends!  I hope your week is off to a great start!  Yesterday was definitely a Monday, but I’m feeling good because I got great sleep over the weekend, had a killer Monday workout, and got lots of those to-do’s checked off, including giving my office a much needed clean-up!

For the past two years, I’ve been intentionally working on simplifying my home and life.  It often felt like I was running around in circles, trying to do all.the.things, taking care of all.the.things, while working, raising two kids, exercising, and being in a relationship.

It’s often all too much, so simplifying has been more of a survival strategy than a decor preference.  It’s a work in progress, but I feel like things are running much smoother lately.

Today, I’m sharing 10 things I’ve done to simplify my life, and hopefully, they give you some inspiration for your own life.

10 WAYS TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE

1 • Brain dump

If you’re like me, you have a million things running through your mind at all times and it’s hard to concentrate on your present task with all those brain tabs open.  One of the best ways to clear your mind is to do a big brain dump onto a piece of paper.  Don’t worry about organizing the list- you can do that later.  For now, just write down every.single. thing on your mind that is taking up that valuable brain space.

It’s amazing how much clearer and focused you can be after doing that! Once you get all the things onto paper, you can work on organizing them or putting them in categories or scheduling a time to get them done.

I keep a piece of paper handy while I’m working at my computer too.  If a thought pops into my head, instead of switching gears, I just write it down and keep working.

2 • Declutter & Keep a Donation Box Handy

If you feel like your life and your home is overrun with clutter, the best way to deal with it is to get rid of it! I’m ruthless in this area and actually feel like I have a  pretty good handle on my stuff (or lack thereof) now.  I love opening cabinet doors and drawers and having them half full or empty!

I keep a donation box in my mudroom and as I come across things we don’t need, I drop them in.  Whenever the box gets full, we make a donation.

3 • Keep Your Counters Clear

If you saw my Kitchen Organization post, you know I’m big on keeping our counters clear.  I do this in my bathroom too and it makes a world of difference not having that visual clutter to distract you all day.  I feel so much more peaceful when my counters are clear!

4 • Put your bills on auto pay

This one is a no brainer, but has been a game changer for me. It took some effort on the front end to set everything up, but in the end it saves lots of time and mental energy.

Now, I never stress over, “did I pay this bill on time?” because it’s on auto pay, I also don’t have to go through the logistics of writing a check, making sure I have a stamp, and getting the payment in the mail on time.

5 • Get into the Habit of a Daily morning and evening routine

Daily routines are essential for simplifying your life.  And I have found that not only having a routine, but doing things in the same order helps too.  Whether it’s the way you unload the dishwasher, wipe your kitchen counters or sweep your floors.  If you always do it in a certain order, it becomes mindless and helps simplify your life in that way.

I make my bed every single morning right when I wake up.

At night, the dishes go into the dishwasher and it’s started, the counters get wiped clean, the floors are vacuumed and I prepare Jordan’s lunch for the next day.  This evening ritual helps calm me down at the end of the day and I always wake up to a fresh, clean kitchen.

Master Bedroom bedding ideas

 

night time cleaning routine

6 • Dedicate a specific time each week to meal planning and grocery shopping.

If you’ve followed me for long, you’ve heard me mention how I like to meal prep every week.  When I make meals in advance, it helps me eat healthier and I don’t spend so much extra energy wondering what I’m going to eat each day.  I plan for that ahead of time and then I have meals ready to go for lunch and dinner.

It’s also so helpful to order groceries online.  I highly recommend using the Walmart+ membership to order your groceries and have them delivered to your door.

With Walmart+, you can: (1) shop online and get Walmart+ FREE shipping, with no order minimum on items from Walmart.com (excludes oversized/freight & Marketplace items); (2) get items from your store to your door  ($35 minimum, restrictions apply); (3) shop inside the store with the mobile scan & go in the Walmart app for a contact free checkout; and (4) get member prices on fuel.

You can sign up for Walmart+ HERE.

I’ve been ordering my groceries online and it keeps me from making those impulse purchases that tend to happen when you’re inside the store.  I’m have such a sweet tooth, and I’m liable to pile loads of treats into my cart when I’m in the store.  But, when I order online, I tend to make healthier choices.

If you do head into the store, you can take advantage of the mobile scan & go you can access with your Walmart+ membership.  It’s a contact-free checkout process that saves you so much time!

You can shop in the store, open the Walmart app, go to the menu and select your Walmart+ account.  You tap “mobile scan & go” to get started.

Then, as you’re shopping, you scan each item, and when you’re ready to pay, scan the code at self-checkout and pay with your phone.

Healthy Vegan Meal Prep

I was getting a little bored with my typical meals, and I stumbled upon Rainbow Plant Life on YouTube. She had a new take on meal prep that included a healthy sauce and spiced nut mix.  The addition of those two components is a game changer!

The sauce is an herbed tahini that can be used as a topping, thinned out as a dressing or as a pesto.

The spiced nut mix added crunch, texture and flavor to your meals.

Herby Tahini Sauce

  1. Add all ingredients except water to food processor. Blend until smooth.
  2. Slowly add cold water until smooth and creamy.

Spiced Seed Sprinkle

  1. Heat Pan over medium high heat. After a minute or two, add olive oil and sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, and salt. Stir continuously for 2-3 minutes.
  2. Transfer to plate and spread out with your hands so that everything is evenly coated. Allow to cool.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Roasted Broccoli and Cannellini Beans

  1. Preheat oven to 425
  2. Cut broccoli into florets
  3. Add the broccoli and beans to a large baking sheet ( you can line with parchment paper for easy clean up ) Add oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste, and toss to coat the broccoli and white beans well.
  4. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes, flip broccoli and toss around beans. Roast for another 10-15 minutes.
  5. If desired add a bit of lemon zest on top. Squeeze lemon juice over top before serving.

Spiced Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas

  1. Preheat oven to 425
  2. Cut cauliflower into florets
  3. Add the cauliflower and chickpeas to a baking sheet, add oil, salt, and pepper to taste, spices and toss to coat the cauliflower and chickpeas well.
  4. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes, then flip the cauliflower and toss around the chickpeas. Roast for another 10-15 minutes for a total of 20-30 minutes or until cauliflower is browned.

These meals can be eaten on their own, or you can add them alongside fish or chicken.  I’ve been layering the veggies onto spinach and kale mix and eating it as a salad.  It’s truly delicious and so healthy!

CLICK THE PHOTOS BELOW TO SHOP

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7 • Unsubscribe from unnecessary mail, email, and social media

Oh man, this is a big one!  We get too much email and social media can be a drain.  Can I tell you a secret? I scan my email daily for important messages from you guys or people I’m working with, but all the other email doesn’t get dealt with until I decide.

I don’t like to feel like a slave to when a message comes in, so I set specific times for checking email each day- and it’s not first thing in the morning!

I also signed up for Unroll.me to unsubscribe from unsolicited email subscriptions.

8 •  Set routines and schedules for your kids

My 5 year old daughter is so much easier to handle when we keep things on schedule.  It helps her know what to expect and she’s way less moody.  Same goes for my son and he’s at an age where he can help develop his own routines and checklists.  Y’all that have been here for long might remember the “I can get myself ready for school” chart I created when he was in kindergarten.

If your kids have routines and can take responsibility for themselves at age appropriate times, it takes some of the heavy lifting off of you.  Plus, it helps prepare them for adulthood when you won’t always be there to remind them to brush their teeth!

9 •  Single Task

In Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog, he says, “the ability to concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task, to do it well and to finish it completely, is the key to great success, achievement, respect, status and happiness in life.”

I often find myself distracted or thinking of other things I need to do when I sit down to write a blog post.  It can take hours to write one single post, so I force myself to sit down, set the pomodoro timer for 25 minutes and work on the blog post and nothing else for that time.  Then, I take a five minute break.  Repeat until it’s finished.

When I concentrate on the one task before me, the outcome is better and the task gets done more quickly.

10 • Give yourself 10-15 minutes of quiet time each day

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” According to philosopher Pascal, we fear the silence of existence, we dread boredom and instead choose aimless distraction, and we can’t help but run from the problems of our emotions into the false comforts of the mind.

Is there any quiet time in your day?  Try incorporating a few minutes at a time and see how it feels.  I bet you’ll start to like it!

master bedroom sitting area decor

I hope these tips help get you started with your own simplified life.  It’s hard to slow down, so making things easier on ourselves is critical to our well being and sense of peace and calm.

I’d love to hear some of your tips for living a more simple life in the comments below.

Have a fantastic day friends!

*affiliate links used in collaboration with Walmart

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

16 Comments

    1. I love this post! Thanks so much for the recipes, I made the cauli and broccoli both, they are *amazing!* I won’t dread eating these meal preps lol

  1. Morning Megan, I truly enjoy reading your posts each and every day. Such a wealth of information. Great and practical tips. Simplicity and Routine are a good thing to keep your life in order.
    Funny, I was thinking the same thing yesterday about always having a million things running through my mind of what needs to be done. I keep a checklist. But have to say love the “brain dump” tip. My son has been doing this for a few months and has been trying to get me to do it too. You too have now encouraged me on! Thanks!!

  2. Great post! I was wondering if you had gone vegan and maybe I had missed it. I am working on going plant based, it is hard for me to eat that way 100% but at home I am pretty good.

    1. Oh no, I’m not vegan, I still eat eggs and lots of fish. But, I do love veggies and realize now that they can be a whole meal by themselves, and quite enjoyable!

  3. Great post and very timely. I’ve been listening to the minimal mom and clutterbug on YouTube to help me feel motivated to declutter and minimize. Thank you for the additional tips today!

    1. Oh I love Dawn so much- and her twin sister! I’ve been watching her channel since she first started and I swear, I knew she was going to be huge because her message is so well stated and heart is so sincere!

  4. So many great things to incorporate into daily life. Thank you! Some of these I was pretty good about doing until Covid and then lots of things went out the window if you know what I mean. And those recipes looks so yummy. Can’t wait to try them! Thank you for your always fabulous content! XOXO

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