I have spent the last 5 years trying to live a simpler life. Years of succeeding at times and failing at times. What is important to note when you want to change your life for the better towards simplicity is that simple living is not necessarily just living with less. Simple living is actually living with more! Let me explain.

What is Simple Living?

Per Wikipedia, simple living is a voluntary lifestyle choice that focuses on being content and satisfied with what one has rather than constantly wanting. Simple living often holds components of minimalism, self-sufficiency, work-life balance, frugality, reducing stress and being more present in life.

In my own words, simple living is about reducing the excess in life so you can savor and enjoy the parts of life that truly matter. It is about reducing the noise so you can be in-tuned to what REALLY matters. Simplifying life is about getting your priorities in order, self care and true PRESENCE to increase your quality of life.

1. Organize your life. Organize can be as simple as clearing out the spam in your email to reduce time waste to literally making your entry way one you want to come home to. I have found getting my schedule in order, decluttering “time-sucks” from my day and making my literal environment less cluttered and more organized a great place to start.
2. Clean up. This can be a daunting task that everyone has an opinion on. I have found just STARTING ANYWHERE and focusing on just that area THEN moving to the next a simpler and less overwhelming process.
3. Declutter your life. We often think of decluttering our home which I have tips for ( here are 6 things to keep in mind before you declutter your home) but what about our MIND? Sometimes first we need to clear out the clutter we carry mentally day to day to feel we can take on the rest of life’s clutter. Once you clear you mind you can also take a wack at decluttering your schedule too.
4. Create a routine. I love time blocking. It helps give yourself the control you need over your time and what you want out of your life. For me too many varied tasks, even if time blocked in a day, create anxiety. I personally do better allotting different days to different tasks with a few repetitive ones at set times daily. i.e. Monday I have meeting in my business and do content scheduling, Tuesdays and Thursdays I am in my studio, morning I do self care, check my emails, evenings I read and drink wine (lol)…you see where I am going with this anyways.
5. Learn what to say YES to. Our YES should be aligned with our values and what we want to create our life to be. YES, I said we GET to CREATE the life we want! As a natural “pleaser” I have learned to think through things much longer before freely giving a YES for the wrong thing. A YES in error is inadvertently a NO to the things in life you want. Better yet-start with jotting down what you WANT in your life, business, motherhood ect – this will help direct your YES.
6. Learn what to say NO to. Saying NO is a beautiful thing. Really this is all about having BOUNDARIES. I will come back to this at a later date and share more on all the tips and tool and wisdom I have gained through years learning and developing this.
7. Create a budget. This is an area I am still learning SO please check out my good friends site at Family Finance Mom – she is an utter wiz in this area. FOLLOW HER AND DO WHAT SHE SAYS, That is all.
8. Set bills to autopay. I just started doing this this year. It saves a TON of time, prevents late payments and makes life easier.
9. Create an auto deposit for your savings. Anything is good but 10% of your income is a great start – heck even 5% then every time you get a raise put half of that in too (a wise financial advisor told me that one).
10. Create a meal plan. Meal planning takes the thinking out of the day to day, gives you a plan to follow and with that plan you can prepare for the week. Sundays work great for getting everything for the week.
11. Switch to grocery pick up. I love this! It saves time and money. I have done it at Fred Meyer and Walmart and they both were amazing. You can do it right from their app and even save your most used items for ordering next time.
12. Use Amazon Pantry for non-perishables. Did you know you can put some of your common monthly needs on auto pilot? Yes you can. Definitely look into it! Time saver for sure!
13. Delegate and outsource where it makes sense in your life. This may be help in your business, childcare, house cleaner- whatever will buy back some of your time and sanity can be a great investment. We just started getting childcare/housecleaning on Saturdays. We then use that day to spend quality time with each child doing something fun and end the day with a date night just my husband and I.
14. Reduce TV time. Less TV means more time for more valuable activities in your life. More rest, more quality time with loved ones, a more efficient schedule or more time to read and learn are just a few benefits to less time wasted watching TV.
15. Reduce social media time. This can be a time suck and a joy suck as you get caught up in all things not related to your life. Set a timer then move on to more meaningful things. BALANCE is key.
16. Prioritize. Often we get discouraged because we thing everything is important but in reality we must choose the top 3 things we want to achieve in a day then be OK if the rest gets done another day. With setting priorities you then feel accomplishment instead of overwhelm.
17. Simplify your time. Time block. Cut out distractions. Make time to do nothing and then also anything you want. Time is a precious commodity – treat it as such.
18. Get a planner. Whether you love paper or digital- get all this information down somewhere to keep you on track. I use paper for some things and google calendar for my business.
19. Slow down. Learn 10 way to slow down and enjoy life more. Take ME time. Take rest time. Take hobby time. Take NOTHING time. Take time to connect AND disconnect.
20. Meditate or pray. This can be in many forms but it is good for you. JUST DO IT…..or don’t. It is up to you – those that do generally feel better.
21. Change your mindset. The way we think and what we say to ourselves IS what we will ultimately do. We act out what we believe to be true. Find a coach, mentor, pastor, good friend and make a point to change and commit your mind towards the better.
22. Ask for help. This is a hard one for many. I like to think of asking for help as a way to bring value to others. We all want to have purpose and impact in others lives in one way or another so why deny someone that when you need it?
23. Reduce commitments. BUSY is not success. Overcommitment can actually reduce the value of the commitment in general. Take things back to a time when people gathered 1-1, had conversations uninterrupted by cell phone and NOISE.
24. Schedule self care. ME time needs to be a PRIORITY you SCHEDULE if need be. If your cup is not full you can’t be who you want to be for others.
25. Schedule slow down time. Whether it be a set time or day, pick a time to rest and stick to it. This may meaning turning off devices and wifi to achieve this. That is OK.
26. Simplify your wardrobe. Less is more. If you have not worn something in 2 years give it to someone in need.
27. Declutter your digital life. You can use services to un enroll you from spam emails, clean out your friends list, get out of groups you don’t utilize that add noise to the time you are on social media, reduce any negative accounts you might be following. Organize the apps on your phone.
28. Do what you love. Is it art, singing, dancing, gardening or??? Do it regularly and schedule it. This brings balance and more peace into ones life.
29. Be present.Being present means truly feeling the breeze as you go on a walk, noticing the new freckles on your child’s nose, the way your bed feels when you lay down at night. Connect in all the ways that help you experience life more richly.
30. Minimalism. This can be truly reducing things but it can also be reducing commitments, stresses and any excess that takes from your joy.
31. Live frugally. Live within your means. Most don’t do this but doing so simplifies life by reducing stress.
32. Find contentment. If you can find joy and contentment where you are then what more that comes is just gravy. Contentment often stems from gratitude.
33. Eat healthy. Fuel your body with foods your grandparents would have eaten. As a Registered Dietitian I could talk for ever on this but that thought is a simple one that truly will make a difference. They often ate less and more wholesome REAL food when they did eat. Start there and drink enough water.
34. Exercise. 30 minutes daily is what is recommended just to stay well and prevent disease.
35. Consider creating passive income. A course, digital product, a site that has ads, real estate – financial freedom does simplify life.
36. Leave space in your life to just BE. To do NOTHING is a beautiful thing. How do you want to just BE and how often do you need this?
37. Journal. This can be done in a notebook, through a blog or social platform. There are so many traditional and not traditional ways to journal and reflect on life. Bullet journaling is something I have been trying lately.

Well there you have it, 37 ways to Finally Simplify your Life. Dovidenia. XO

If you like this article you mat also enjoy my dear friends article that will help you get your house in order:

Best Tips to Keep Your Home Clean and Organized

The post Finally Simplify your Life with these 37 Amazing Tips appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

Spring brings a fresh new season, more sunshine and outdoor activities and the yearning to have a fresh start in a new season. After Winter with all its dirt brought in from snow days, germs from the cold season and accumulated stuff from the holidays I am left desperate to declutter, clean and minimize! This season can be a busy season so Spring cleaning tasks that can be done in less than an hour is crucial to quench the craving for a clean and less cluttered space. Let me share with you how!

Living on a farm with lots of acreage (dirt), animals and kids can make it a challenge to keep a clean home. One thing that is the cornerstone to making it feel more possible is to declutter and minimize your stuff so it feels less overwhelming to keep what you have organized and clean. Decluttering is coming soon in a series of blog posts but today I am so excited to share with you the simple ways YOU can clean your home in minimal time! 

Life is short and one topic we talk a lot about at Simple Acres is living a present life. A life with the time and ability to be present and engaged with your loved ones increases quality of life and shifts focus to the things that really matter. After years of feeling like all I do is try to pick up and clean after STUFF that never seems done or in minutes from the kids is undone I am really shifting towards minimalism in life. This article takes that aspect and interest focused around cleaning so you can feel less stressed and more accomplished in your home. I feel blessed to get to collaborate with Libman Company with this post. They are a family owned business with a passion for helping you keep a clean space. Right now you can snag a $3 off coupon as well when you sign up for their newsletter so don’t miss out on that great deal!

9 Spring Cleaning Tasks You Can Do in Less than an Hour

1. Vacuum furniture. A quick clean of the seats and backs with a spritze of furniture freshener will do the trick.
2. Dust hidden corners. Get your kids involved with the feather duster by Libman Company. While you are cleaning other spaces the kids will enjoy dusting with this handy tool!
3. Wipe down kitchen cabinets. Just use your favorite surface cleaner and a clean rag to clean this surface. This is another chore I find kids love to do.
4. Freshen up walls and trim work. I use the same thing I used for the cabinets for this job. Focus on your main rooms and gathering spaces at first.
5. Clean off ceiling fans. Tape the feather duster onto the end of the broom and dust those fans easily. If your dust looks more like a one inch layer of dirt you may need to use your vacuum with the soft brush piece on the end.
6. Shine up appliances. I do a quick swipe of these when the cabinets are being cleaned.
7. Clean floors. Use the Freedom Spray Mop by The Libman Company for this job. Once you fill the reservoir with water and cleaner it’s just a push of a trigger as you spray your hard wood floors, tile or linoleum and mop away!
8. Wash windows. This is another task to delegate to a child with a spray bottle of window cleaner and towel.
9. Declutter a junk drawer. Pick the smallest most simple space to clear out. Just doing a drawer here and there feels less overwhelming but gives you a quick sense of accomplishment as you slowly reduce the excess in your home!

There you have it friends, a simple list of Spring cleaning tasks you can do in under an hour! Have fun feeling accomplished in minimal time so you can devote more time to what really brings you joy in life!  Dovidenia. XO

The post 9 Spring Cleaning Tasks You Can Do in Less than an Hour appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

This post contains  affiliate links.

• technology use
• negative messages
• positive messages
• lists

Technology use

• turn off notifications
• delete problematic apps
• track your time and block apps
• create boundaries

Turn off notifications

Delete problematic apps

Track your time and block apps

Boundaries

Negative messages

Positive messages

Make lists

Simple Ways to Declutter Your Schedule

The post How to Declutter Your Mind: 4 Areas of Your Life to Focus On appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

Do you ever feel like your schedule needs some decluttering? Are you overwhelmed and worn out? Let’s take a look at how to stop over scheduling and make room for margin in our lives.There are simple ways to declutter your schedule...let’s learn more!

There are 5 areas that can be a challenge when it comes to our schedules.

• multitasking
• overcommitting
• reprioritizing
• clarity
• rest and margin

Multitasking

We multitask and wonder why we keep forgetting things or aren’t getting as much accomplished as we’d planned. It turns out, multitasking isn’t actually effective. It is a myth to think we can do multiple things well simultaneously.

Our brains aren’t meant to handle doing various tasks at once. Singular focus is required for achieving optimal results. As women, we feel like we need to multitask often. Children always seem to be asking for or needing something from us. There are instances though where we are multitasking because we are overcommitted.

Overcommitting

Most of us are overscheduled. We are doing too many things and running ragged because of it. Our culture values and idealizes busy. Social media reinforces our desire to not miss out on all the things.

When we say yes to too many things, we are forcing ourselves to try and balance various roles at the same time. Once we’ve overcommitted we are likely to feel burned out, depleted, and sometimes even bitter or resentful for all that we are expected to do.

We also aren’t able to do our best work when we are spread too thin. It’s easy for things to slip through the cracks when there is so much going on. When we feel overwhelmed and like life is out of balance, it’s time to reassess priorities.

Reprioritizing

First, examine your values and priorities. Do you know what your why is? Is your current schedule reflecting your why and your goals? If it isn’t, it’s time to reassess your commitments.

It’s easy to say something is a priority, but if something is important it should be reflected in your schedule. For example, I can say family time is important, but if our schedule shows every person the family doing separate activities constantly, then our schedule isn’t reflecting our values.

We overcommit because we have skewed ideas about what is expected of us. People pleasers have a difficult time saying no. We can feel guilty or think we need to do things that we actually don’t. In order to regain control of our lives and our schedules, we need to practice saying no.

The goal is for your life to be in alignment with your why. See where you may need to cut back to create more space in your life.

Clarity

When you are clear on your priorities, it allows for a new sense of focus. It becomes more readily apparent what is a yes or a no when you’re faced with new opportunities. Does it fit with your priorities and values in your current life season? If it doesn’t, then the answer is a clear no. If it is aligned with your priorities and you have the capacity for it, then your yes becomes easier.

How we spend our time determines how we spend our lives. Don’t live a default life filled with things you never intended. Decluttering your schedule is an important part of living a life of purpose and intention.

“Let’s live lightly, freely, courageously, surrounded only by what brings joy, simplicity, and beauty.” ~Shauna Niequist

Rest & margin

Our culture doesn’t place a high value on rest or margin. While the concept of self-care has become more popular, it often thought of as an additional action item rather than rest or intentionally planning nothing.

If we don’t plan for margin, it is easy to fill in all the gaps on the calendar. When we do that, we lose the ability to say yes when something unexpected comes up. We may miss out on opportunities because we are already overcommitted.

It’s also in the margins that we get to enjoy an impromptu dance party with our kids or get the opportunity to talk with them about challenges they may be having at school. Planning margin in their lives is healthy for them too. Play, rest, and even boredom are actually good for us!

Looking for ways to create more margin?

From February 7-11, fill out the form on my affiliate link and you can get a FREE e-book called Make More Margin with over 75 tips on finding more time in your day!

The post Simple Ways to Declutter Your Schedule appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

So you’ve been binge-watching Tidying Up and have decided you are going to take on your house. Before you pull out all of your items and put them on your bed and floors, I beg you to slow your roll and think through your process first.

Easiest to most difficult

My recommendation is to start in a room that you know will not be too difficult for you. It depends on the individual what room that would be. If you are very attached to your clothes, don’t start there. If you know the bathroom will be easiest for you to let go of things, that’s your answer. If you are unsure, start with your bedroom to create a restful calming space first.

Make a list of the rooms in your home from easiest to most difficult. The most difficult is usually where the most sentimental items are located. 
The final space would be the garage. It is helpful to be able to use the garage as a staging area when working on the other rooms in your house. Items can be temporarily placed there until you are able to sell or donate them.

I’ve created a Declutter Plan of Attack Worksheet to help you make your plan. After you fill out the form on this page, the link will be sent to you.

Take into consideration:

• your personality
• time available
• space
• other people’s stuff

Personality

The speed at which you will work through your house depends on your personal bent. Some people are ready and decisive and can move through spaces quickly. Most people will experience challenges in at least some parts of the home. That’s ok. It is helpful to know yourself and have already thought through which areas will be more difficult so you aren’t surprised when you slow down.

If decluttering is extremely difficult for you, start with smaller spaces and work for shorter spans of time. It gets easier as you go, but creating a situation that doesn’t overwhelm you right from the beginning is important. Scope your projects smaller so you are able to complete them. Then you’ll feel good about moving on to the next one. Start with one shelf or drawer at a time.

Time available

It’s a terrible feeling to start a project, get halfway into it, and then have to leave things a disaster because you’ve run out of time. The mess does get worse before it gets better so leaving the project midway can feel deflating. There are some cases where you may not be able to get it all done in a day. Just make sure your schedule allows you to complete the project in the very near future. Otherwise, you’ll end up hating decluttering and your house simulatanously.

Wait to start bigger projects if you’re tight on time. If you are watching Tidying Up at 9pm, fight the urge to pull all of your clothes out of the closet and put them on your bed (unless you want to sleep somewhere else that night and don’t care that you won’t be able to find anything in the morning).

Space

Consider the space in your home before you begin. Mentally prepare yourself and your family for the room to be disheveled as you are working through decluttering it. I recommend working in only one room at a time.

Having multiple rooms be a mess is stressful. Most people don’t enjoy being surrounded by unfinished projects (and if there are people who do enjoy it, that’s weird). Think about how the decluttering process will impact the function of the room. For example, if you are planning to make a meal that day that requires a lot of prep work, it’s probably not the best day to declutter your entire kitchen.

Other people’s stuff

Have you ever started trying to declutter a room only to realize many of the things in there aren’t yours? You can work on your things, but don’t expect to complete the room on your own unless your family members have given you free rein to declutter whatever you want (this pretty much never happens ;)). Schedule these spaces when you and your family members have the time to work together.

You can set aside items that other family members need to look over. However, this can be frustrating if you are imagining all of these items leaving your house and the family member doesn’t want to get rid of any of them.

Keep in mind, you can only control your actions and your stuff. Be respectful of other’s things and feelings. Ideally, compromise and work together as peacefully as possible. People’s belongings are very personal and decluttering can bring up a lot of complicated emotions.

Here are a few other articles to help in your decluttering efforts:

Figuring out what clutter is in your home

Do this before you start decluttering

Ready to get going?

Now that you’ve printed out the Declutter Plan of Attack worksheet and thought through your plan, you’re ready to start the process! I’ll talk through that process in the next post. Cliffhanger 😮

The post 6 Things to Keep in Mind When You Start to Declutter appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

Set expectations

Culture has an influence on our kids, but what you have done years past has a larger impact on what they will be expecting for this coming year. If you have very little children, great news, you can set their expectations now and don’t need to undo anything from the past.

Discuss ahead of time

Begin conversations early. Have a family meeting and tell your kids what to expect. Let them know how you’ll approach gift giving, traditions, and activities. Also, let them know why you have chosen those things. If you are doing fewer gifts, tell them why. Let them know what you value as a family and what you want to focus on this holiday season.

Remind

As various things come up like ultra long wish lists or lots of event invites, remind them what the holidays are going to look like for them this year. If needed, have more conversations about your family’s priorities.

Comparison

Kids have a tendency (like many adults do) to compare themselves with others. It is hard not to notice when your friend from school comes back from the holiday break talking all about the expensive new toys they just got. Kids aren’t always kind in their comparisons and may even point out how much more they got than their friend did. Kids don’t filter like most adults do, so they may even ask awkward questions like why did you only get 3 small gifts? They can also make incorrect assumptions based on that.

These moments are great learning opportunities for your kids. As much as may not enjoy the way kids compare, it is a good starting place for conversations with your kids on how comparing isn’t helpful. It’s better to begin to learn now about the downfalls of comparison before they are on social media comparing their lives to their friends. Here are some lessons that can be learned in this process:

1. disappointment is part of life
2. values and character are more important
3. keep it positive and focus on what you as a family care about

Disappointment is ok

In life, we are going to experience disappointments. If we’ve accurately prepared their expectations that should help mitigate some of the disappointment that may happen. However, if your kids go back to school and are comparing their Christmas gifts with their friends, it’s possible they may feel disappointed and/or jealous that their friend received more than they did. This is part of life. It’s ok to feel that way and talking through it can lead to valuable life lessons.

Values and character matter more

As we navigate through conversations with our children, we must remember the point of giving less. The values behind it should be the focal point. We aren’t having less for less sake. We are having less so we can give more to others. We’re doing things more simply to keep the focus off of ourselves at the holidays. Motivations can be different depending on circumstances and values, but it should be about pointing our kids to a greater meaning and purpose. It’s not about trying to deprive our kids.

The character development matters more than the stuff. And if you believe giving too many gifts hurts their character more than helps it, keep your eye on the goal. The desired outcome is an appreciation for what we have. We can teach them about being intentional with what we buy and being financially responsible. Kids learning these important life lessons and building their character will help them to be much better prepared for adulthood.

Keep things positive

Conversations should revolve around why your family made the choices you have and what you value. This isn’t about judging people who make different choices. Don’t let the conversation turn into an us vs. them. Keep the focus on your family values and all the great experiences you get to enjoy over the holidays.

Set them up for success

Think through your words and actions heading into the holiday season. It has become so commonplace to tell children to put every blessed thing they want on their Christmas wish list. Just the other day in the Target toy aisle I heard a mom tell her kiddo that if he was good maybe Santa would bring him what he wanted.

Handing your kiddo an Amazon or Target catalog and asking them to circle everything they want may set them up for failure. You’re now introducing them to lots of things they previously may not have known existed. Those catalogs are designed to make your kids want the items being advertised.

If you decide to let them catalog shop, set the parameters ahead of time. Ask them to select the top 3 items they would want. Before doing this, make sure you have looked through the catalog and considered if subjecting them to the wants that will come along with it are worth it. Also, there may be some very high ticket items in there that you may not want in your kid’s top 3. That will mean having another discussion on the value of money and budgeting.

These can be educational conversations to have. Christmas shopping is an excellent time for kids to learn about budgeting. This year I took my girls separately on shopping trips for each other. We gave them a budget and then guided them towards things that were within budget and steered them back when they began looking at more expensive items.

Kids will adjust

Kids are more flexible and resilient than we tend to give them credit for. As you’re setting your kids’ expectations for the holidays, they may just roll with the changes and not have the epic meltdown that we expected. Even if they do get upset, that is ok too. It will get easier the following year as they have had more time to get used to the changes and readjust their expectations.

There may be some growing pains in the first year of simplifying. However, keeping the end in mind and knowing why you are doing it can make it a bit easier. Keep focused on the positive character traits and values you are teaching your kids. The holidays are a great opportunity to learn about giving, gratitude, managing money and the value of spending time together. As you minimize the extra stuff, you may experience a much more meaningful holiday season.

Want to read more posts on simplifying the holiday season? You can find them here:

Relationships and expectations during the holidays

Change gift giving and create your best memories

Simplifying the holidays for more joy and less stress

The post How to Simplify the Holidays with Your Kids appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

Do you ever feel like you don’t have holiday traditions but you wish you did? Or maybe you have some, but they take too much money or time. Either way, I wanted to share some great simple and inexpensive Christmas traditions that I love.

As a warning, it can be easy to get excited about the idea of adding new traditions. Don’t try to do them all in a year. Pick what works for you and your family. If your goal is to have a simpler holiday season this year then be very thoughtful about what you add to your schedule. I wrote a long post over on my site about simplifying the holidays HERE.

If your goal is to experience a simpler and more relaxed Christmas then don’t add on 10 new traditions even if each one is simple in and unto itself ? Promise? Ok, here we go:

17 Simple Family Christmas Traditions

1. Write down things you are grateful for through all of December
2. At a family meal, share what you’re thankful for about person on their right
3. Four gifts per kid (something to wear, read, want and need)
4. Hide gifts on Christmas Eve
5. For the adults, do a gift exchange or trade names
6. Experiences instead of gifts
7. Make cookies or treats for your neighbors and deliver them
8. Pick a local family or organization to support
9. Have a pajama day
10. Bake sugar cookies and decorate them
11. Make graham cracker houses
12. Look at local lights
13. Snow play
14. Non-traditional Christmas eve food
15. Go to a living Nativity
16. Read Christmas story
17. Christmas Eve service

Gratitude traditions:

Who says gratitude practices should end with November? It is so easy to switch from being thankful to focusing on wish lists. To combat the self-focus, continue traditions that practice thankfulness through December.

1. Every day write something you are thankful for on a piece of paper and put it in a jar. On December 31^st, read all of the things you and your family members have been grateful for that year.

2. At a family meal, go around the table and let each person share something they are thankful for about the person to the right of them. This is a great way to lift each other up and practice gratitude for our family members.

You may enjoy doing this gratitude scavenger hunt if weather permits!

Gifts giving traditions:

There are many ways you can choose to approach gift giving. I talk about that more in my post on simplifying the holidays. These are some ideas if you are looking for ways to change up your gift giving traditions. It’s a good idea to have open conversations with family members to try and get everyone on the same page.

3. Limit gifts to 4 per kid and get something to wear, something to read, something they want and something they need. There is a gift worksheet in my free Simplifying the Holidays Planner which you can sign up for HERE.

4. Hide gifts. This is one of my favorite traditions from my childhood. After we were in our rooms for the night on Christmas Eve, my dad would take our presents from under the tree and hide them around the house. We’d wake up before the sun and take out our flashlights and search for them. Our 1 rule was we couldn’t get our parents up before 7 (which is funny because my mom has never ever slept in til 7 ?). My kids now love this tradition. Pro tip: count how many gifts there are before you’ve hidden them. We may have misplaced a couple once.

5. Do a gift exchange. Feeling overwhelmed with having to buy gifts for all of the adults in your family? See if you can get everyone on board to do a gift exchange. Limit the cost so that people are staying within the same range. The bonus is the exchange part is a fun activity to do on Christmas. Another option is trading names so each person is still only buying for 1. This saves time, money, and stress and helps you not end up with a ton of extra stuff.

6. Experiences instead of gifts. You can give experiences in place of gifts, such as passes to a local museum, an activity, lessons, etc. Another option is to opt out of gifts altogether and instead enjoy an experience. Enjoy a winter vacation as a family instead of buying gifts.

7. Make cookies or treats for your neighbors and deliver them. My mom used to make a dozen different kinds of cookies each year for this! It was very impressive, but the thought of that exhausts me. I made peppermint Chex mix for the neighbors last year because you can do it in big batches and I just don’t love baking that much ? Neighbors love getting the treats and it is fun to have someone who isn’t selling something come to your door.

8. Pick a local family or organization to support by buying gifts for them. Organizations you can check out are Operation Christmas Child, Giving Tree, Rescue Mission, and your local food bank. You can find other organizations HERE. Sharing with others is a great way to help make someone else’s Christmas better and is a good reminder to children to look for ways to bless others.

Activity traditions:

There are so many options for activities during the month of December. It’s important to know what your priorities are for the holiday season and then makes your plans accordingly. I’ve found it helpful to think through my own goals, then discuss them with my husband and then share our plan with our kids. In the free Simplifying the Holidays Planner, there is a page for prioritizing to start that discussion. It also includes calendars for November and December for planning out activities (and hopefully not overscheduling 😉 ).

9. Have a PJ day and spend all day in your pajamas. This allows for a fun relaxed day at home where you can play games, do puzzles, watch Christmas movies, and maybe even bake some cookies (if that’s your thing).

10. Baking-make sugar cookies and decorate them (if you have little kids try decorating the cookies outside if weather permits or just expect that it will get really messy?). I’ve found that expectations are important and if I know it will be messy I can handle it a bit better.

11. Make graham cracker houses. Kids LOVE this activity because it is full of sugar and candy. It is another messy one but it is fun to see how each child approaches decorating their house.

12. Look at local lights. Find out which neighborhoods in your area have great Christmas displays and go see them. We have one near us where the lights move along to music on a radio station. We bring a treat in the car with us and enjoy it while watching the lights ‘dance’.

13. Snow play. If you live in a place that gets a lot of snow, this one may be less novel for you. We tend to only get a few light dustings here, so planning a day where we drive about an hour or two to the snow is great fun. We typically borrow snow gear and sleds from friends to keep the cost down. Pro-tip: parents, don’t forget to make sure you are well covered with your own jacket, hat, snow pants, gloves, boots, etc. It is easy for us to become so focused on having all the things for the kids that we forget something for ourselves. This may or may not have happened to my sister last year and let’s just say it is not as fun to play in the snow with your kids when you have forgotten your own coat.

14. Non-traditional Christmas eve food. About six years ago I started making homemade lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner. I’ve continued making the Italian meal each year and we’ve enjoyed having something a bit different from the fancier foods. I have friends who get Chinese take out each year on Christmas Eve. You can do whatever works for you, but thinking outside of the norm can be a fun new tradition that makes things easier than another fancy meal that takes a lot of preparation.

Meaning of the season traditions:

It’s so easy for the Christmas season to become focused on ourselves. Our consumer culture has made so many things about us. For our family, we value our faith so it is important for us to communicate that the meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus. We choose a few activities to help keep the focus on Christ.

15. See a living nativity. We have been to two different local living nativities. They were both good experiences. One required buying tickets in advance and they sell out early. The other was more casual and you show up when you want during the scheduled time that weekend. In both situations, waiting was required and it was outdoors and cold. We knew after the first year to plan accordingly. If you are looking for something like this in your area, I recommend doing some research in advance.

16. Read Christmas story. When I was a child, my dad read us the Christmas story out of the bible on Christmas Eve each year. We are passing along the tradition along to our children as well.

17. Christmas Eve service. We love going to the candlelight service at our church on Christmas Eve each year. Our extended family comes with us and then we all enjoy dinner together afterward. The kids especially love the glowsticks they get to light up and singing Christmas carols together. After dinner, the kids get to open one gift (which is usually matching pajamas for all of them).

Choose traditions that reflect your priorities

Choose only the traditions that will resonate with you and work for your family. In the end, your traditions should reflect your values and your priorities for the holiday season. To help you in getting to your goals, you can get the free Simplifying the Holidays Planner HERE. I hope you enjoy the coming season and that you experience some simple traditions with your family.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also love tips on simplifying your life in these others ways as well this holiday season:

19 Holiday Traditions Your Family will Cherish

Change gift giving and create your best memories

Simplifying the holidays for more joy and less stress

The post 17 Simple Family Christmas Traditions  appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

Our lives have become so cluttered. If we want to model simplicity for our children, we have to first know what simplicity is and what it looks like in our lives.

What is simplicity?

Simplicity is what is left after all of the clutter has been cleared away. Simplicity is by definition plain, natural, and easy to understand. To fully understand what simplicity is, it can help to look at the various types of clutter that need to be cleared out of the way to make room for simple. You can read more about that in my post here.

As we live out simplicity, we are modeling it for our kids. For good or ill, children look up to their parents and often take on the behaviors they have seen modeled as they grow up. This is why it is so important for us as parents to be intentional about how we are living.

Modeling simplicity for our kids by:

• demonstrating healthy choices & boundaries
• teaching about consumerism & responsibility
• showing what we value & our priorities

Demonstrating healthy choices & boundaries

Living a simpler life is healthier. Less stress and overwhelm means you’re physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthier. Planning for more rest in your life impacts all those areas positively as well. Are we modeling being overscheduled or having margin and balance?

Kids live in a digital age. More so all the time. Are they experiencing outdoor and creative play? Are we modeling healthy choices in how we spend our time?

What about boundaries with technology? Are we showing them that the people in front of them are the priority or the buzz and beeps of the phone?

Teaching them about consumerism & responsibility

Our kids are paying attention to what we purchase and how we are managing our own belongings. They tend to know what we value. We model for them how we use our finances. They know what we are chasing after. Are we teaching consumerism or gratitude for what we already have?

Managing our own stuff

They observe how we run our homes. Do we have so much stuff that we are constantly having to pick up, re-arrange, re-organize our things? Are we often frantically searching for misplaced items because it is lost among the piles of stuff?

Do we actually value our belongings or is each new thing just another thing that wasn’t carefully thought through before purchasing? And what about what we are buying for our kids? What if the things we think are gifts to them are actually weighing them down and causing them stress?

Living simply allows your kids to have parents who are less stressed and overwhelmed and it creates less stress on them too. When children have too many toys and thereby too many options, they become overwhelmed too. If we give them a lot of things and then expect them to put everything away and maintain their things, that could be an overwhelming ask for a child.

Showing our values & priorities

Living simply not only allows us to focus on our why more but frees us up for the things that bring us joy. It helps us take our eyes off of ourselves and lets us look for ways to bless others.

Too much stuff also tends to lead to entitlement. We have experienced Christmases where our kids received far too many gifts and seemed overwhelmed, dazed, and frankly ungrateful. It was all too much for them to take in. They barely noticed what the gifts were, but asked if there were more and seemed to tire of them quickly.

The following year, we made sure to give them less. They each received 5 gifts total. They were thankful and cherished those items. We value gratitude and generosity and had to think through how we communicated and encouraged those values in them as well.

3 practical ways to model simplicity

1. Thoughtful scheduling
2. Technology timeouts
3. Limit gifts

Scheduling

As we model simplicity for our kids, we should seriously consider how we schedule our time. So many families are running from one lesson, sports practice, or extracurricular activity to the next. Parents are tired and kids are exhausted. Carefully evaluate anything you choose to add to your family’s schedule and make sure it is the best choice for everyone involved.

Modeling a healthy schedule for yourself is wise too. Your kids know when you are tired. They see what we say yes and no to. They sense what the tone of the home is. Whether that be all abuzz all the time to totally tame or somewhere in between.

Boundaries with technology

This is admittedly a tough one. It is hard for me to put my phone down sometimes. And frankly I get selfish and think no this is my time and I can be on my phone if I want. Yep, I realize I sound like I am three. Great example, huh? :/

It is so important to model being present and relating with people face to face. As we move into a continually more technological culture, kids (and adults) are losing the ability to know how to relate to people in real life. Nothing takes the place of real-life human interaction. These are important life skills to learn for future relationships.

Make dinner a technology-free time for the family. Try limiting your apps or taking some designated time off to get a break from all the noise. Turn off notifications. Make people your priority over phone distractions.

Gift giving

For most of us, simplicity means not having an overabundance of stuff. In order for our kids to not end up with lots of clutter, we need to stop the cycle of clutter that enters their lives via gifts.

Experiences make great presents and won’t add to your clutter problem. There are lots of creative ideas for experience gifts, some of which I mention in this post. There are also ideas I share on how you can get your kids to pass along items they no longer want or need by letting them pick a relative, neighbor, or organization to donate them to.

Modeling simplicity gets more and more challenging as our culture continues to change and provide countless types of distractions. Being present isn’t easy, but it is worth it. We lead by example in showing what it looks like to have healthy boundaries with money, things, technology, and people. Let’s experience what it means to live a life of intention and purpose with fewer distractions for ourselves and our children as we take on simplicity habits.

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We are so excited to have Julianna here at Simple Acres to share with you all the joy of simplicity as you strive towards it more in your own life. She is a wife, mama, and professional declutterer. We encourage you to join her on the journey of simplifying & creating margin so you can say yes to the great things in life more!

Find more amazing articles on her blog The Simplicity Habit such as this one:

How to balance simplicity and frugality

The post How to Model Simplicity for our Kids appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

Cleaning can be a nagging task on an already full plate of a busy mom but I have found a way to make that task more fun and efficient!  I am excited to share some helpful ways to to clean for busy moms that will get your tasks done faster so you can have more fun while you are at it! There is also a contest you can enter to gain a chance at winning a grand prize along with much more!

We as moms need a way to get our “to-do” list done in less time so we can enjoy and savor our families more. I’m excited to share a few thoughts that will help solve this problem!

Do you ever find yourself turning on some music and getting your groove on while busting out some cleaning tasks? We partnered with Pine-Sol® because we relate to that “go-getter” attitude when it comes to getting things done!

Cleaning is a task everyone has to do and with this current contest all you have to do is capture a picture of yourself dancing and having fun as you clean with your favorite Pine-Sol® product! Then you can enter by posting that picture on Instagram with Pine-Sol®, using the hashtag #MyCleanMoves and #Contest, tagging the @PineSol brand, and following @Pinesol. The #MyCleanMoves contest ends on July 13th so definitely go enter to get a chance at winning awesome prizes!

Have you ever found yourself so busy the thought of cleaning your house can be overwhelming? That has definitely been me at times! #ad #mycleanmoves . . . . If you have been following along you will notice I am all about minimizing, decluttering and cleaning lately. When our home environment is tidy it ups the happy factor and decreases our stress, enabling more time for fun and quality time! . . . . I am excited to be partnering up with Pine-Sol® for this post! The multi-purpose cleaner that get the job done! . . . . Right now you can be entered to win awesome prizes such as cash to even blue tooth speakers! All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is post a photo to instagram showing off your cleaning dance moves and tag #MyCleanMoves and #Contest . . . . Be a doer, roll up those sleeves and use these tips to create a clean environment you deserve in your home!

A post shared by Stefanie at Simple Acres (@simpleacresblog) on Jun 15, 2018 at 12:41am PDT

5 Best Ways to Cleaning with a busy life:

I love to give my house a daily pick-me-up. When I’m on my “A” game with cleaning I try to pick certain times every day I pick up the house in general. This helps reduce the overwhelm factor and then on Saturday mornings we clean as a family. Adding a daily time to spend 15-30 minutes picking up maintains a level state of tidyness and makes cleaning faster when we do it.

Doing a daily mini-clean always helps me feel on top of things better! If you can pick up for 15 min a day then give yourself 15 minutes a day to pick something small to clean. Here you can get a list of cleaning tasks you can accomplish in small fragments of time. 

Currently I am obsessed with minimalism and the power of minimize stuff! Do you ever feel like what free time you have is taken away by the task of picking up and piling up clutter? I have found the less I have the easier it is to keep a clean home. Join our Declutter and Cleaning Group for support from others just like you, tutorials and community. 

Using effective products is the key to success and getting your cleaning job done efficiently. When you use products that work you decrease your cleaning time. Pine-Sol® is a great multi-surface cleaner that gets the job done the first time around! It has 4 x the cleaning action for dirt, grime and grease and is safe on surfaces when used correctly.

The most important part of cleaning is having fun! Make cleaning fun again! Turn on music, get your family involved, make a game of it with your kids. I find I look forward to my cleaning day because of all these tips. Cleaning becomes simpler, fun and a time to spend quality time with my littles!

As busy moms we work hard and we need to find ways to do things in our homes that allows us to enjoy the precious moments of life more.

Be a doer, roll up those sleeves and use these tips to have the clean environment you deserve in your home!

That is all for now my friends, 5 Best Ways to Clean for Busy Moms! Don’t forget to follow us here on Instagram and enter the giveaway for the chance to win awesome prizes from cash to blue tooth speakers sponsored by Pine-Sol®. The details are in the Instagram post!

Dovidenia. XO

The post 5 Best Ways to Clean for Busy Moms appeared first on Simple Acres Blog.

Everyone has their vice in life. For some it’s hoarding holiday decorations for others it may be that odd yarn collection you have yet to use or possibly you just can’t stop your nightly addiction to ice cream. I am sure I have many but one I must come out with is…I AM A STACKER. There I said it. Junk, papers, magazines, kids homework all tend to find random homes in our house. You will find many paper mountains in my house and once the weekend comes it just MAY cover my table. Today I am sharing 5 Tips for Keeping a Tidy Home. You may be surprised what I have to tell you!

I can say my house tidiness varies depending on my work load and to-do’s but I try to keep my house fairly picked up. I can remember as young as 3rd grade thinking in class, “If only my room was clean I could focus!” This holds true to me still today. When my home is picked up I feel less stressed and able to focus on my daily tasks better. So you can imagine how a messy out of order house could make one feel!

How do you feel when your house looks as though a hurricane hit it? I feel like a hurricane myself…CRAZY…haha!

Here is a busy mom’s secrets to a tidy house EVEN in the chaos!

5 Tips for Keeping a Tidy House

1. Use creative storage to hide toys in main areas. I love having toys throughout the house to encourage creativity and play but if you have ever stepped on a bunch of toys you may secretly pray for your own peaceful death! These things can be foot torture.

As the picture shows in an area my boys always play I used an old vintage suitcase to hold their toys. I used a metal basket with brass handles to hold the “snack rugs” I keep in the living room for when we have snacks with a movie as a family.

2. Make your your stacking look pretty. Seriously, there is so much paperwork that comes home from school and work not having some stacks is likely impossible.

I found some cute vintage drawers that I have been using as storage in my home. I threw a jar in this one to hold pens and scissors and got a wire organizer for all the incoming school papers. The succulent just makes me happy.

3. Contain your shoes to designated areas of the house. With a family of 5 it is easy to have at least 10 pairs of shoes strung all over the house. With having a set place shoes go it helps my kids to put them away and be able to find them when needed.

As the picture shoes, I used a vintage wood box that added character as it serves as my entry way shoe holder.

4. Utilize your mini employees (I mean children). My kids still semi-like chores. Often I make a game out of cleaning or offer a small monetary reward they can save for something in the future. On the few days I clean a week I delegate a chore or two out to each child. This makes keeping a tidy home SO MUCH EASIER! I love my babies…enough to make them help. Ha!

We had a girls day. Among all the stressful things life offers …being present takes intention and effort… At least that's what I tell myself. So this week I took my kids to the local donut store, we went to the farmers market one night and today I had a girls day with my mom and daughter. These moments are what matter to me…quality time matters to me. And I'm fighting and sometimes failing for more of it!???❤️ What are you doing lately to savor life more?

A post shared by Stefanie at Simple Acres (@simpleacresblog) on Oct 1, 2016 at 4:51pm PDT

5. Simplify basic cleaning tasks. I had been noticing my dust bunnies building up on my curtains up top for some time now. Often some creativity can be such a help in little chores. With a Scotch-Brite™ Lint Roller, a broom and some tape I was able to create a tool in minutes that removed my dust bunnies without sucking my curtains off their hooks.

All you need to do is attach the Lint Rollers handle to the end of the broom handle with some tape and you have yourself a dust bunny removing machine even your kids can do with you!

You can find yourself some Scotch-Brite™ Lint Rollers at Walmart in the cleaning section. They have three varieties: Lint Roller (lint, hair and fuzz), 50% Stickier Lint Roller (great for large debris such as crumbs) and the Printed Lint Roller ( creative with designs on each sheet).

Go here to find more great ideas and inspiration in cleaning and keeping your life tidy. Scotch-Brite Lint Rollers tears cleanly guaranteed. These rollers will clean more than lint and dust bunnies but also crumbs, craft mishaps such as spilled glitter and so much more!

I hope my 5 Tips for Keeping a Tidy Home have helped give you ideas to simplify your life. I am going to go put my stacks of stuff in cute containers now! Ha. Dovidenia my friends. XO

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