Sometimes, I think we create many of our own problems. Generally, I have this thought when I consider how complicated our lives become – no, become is the wrong word – we make things more complicated. The choices we make in life can often influence how complicated or uncomplicated they become. Before you say it, I know that there are some complications we can’t predict and we can’t control.
But for those issues and matters we can control and we can affect – it certainly wouldn’t hurt us to make our lives a little less complicated. Over the last few years, we’ve done some of that for ourselves including:
- Decreasing the size of the residence (if possible)
- Organizing or minimizing the amount of housework needed
- Reassessing involvements – learning to say no to the ones we don’t really want or need to do
- Donating excess items and more to make room in closets and other portions of the household
We did these things in part because our budget was tighter and in part because by simplifying what we needed to do – we created more time for ourselves. For several years, we’d owned a horse farm and we’d had the responsibility of caring for the horses and the property and more. It was a huge responsibility and it required hours of effort every day. As much as I loved the place and the atmosphere, selling it and moving away was one of the best things we ever did.
Downsize Your Lives
By making a conscious choice to downsize our lives, we made a conscious decision to make more time for each other by relieving ourselves of these huge burdens – that were weighing us down and though we still enjoyed them somewhat – that enjoyment was souring as it drew more and more from us.
Our society promotes the concept of more. Make more money. Have more things. Enjoy more of the fine arts. More. More. More. Yet – more does not equate to better. Having more in your life doesn’t mean you have a better life. Having more in your marriage doesn’t mean you have a better marriage – it just means you have more of something whether it’s more area to clean, more items to dust or more items to get buried in and less time to enjoy any of it.
So consider making a conscious choice to downsize your lives and your obligations. Spend less time taking care of your home and your yard and enjoy your life. Downsizing your lives lets the two of you enjoy life together rather than spending so much of it rushing around trying to clean it up, take care of it or pay for it. We’re going to talk more about simplifying your life and how you and your spouse can enjoy the fruits of a simpler life.
What other ways can you and your spouse use to downsize your lives?
Related Articles:
Easy Tips to Make Meal Time SIMPLE
A Time to All Things – Recommitting to your Marriage
Keeping it Simple: What A Week It’s Been