In the past few years, there has been a great deal of talk about simplification—making a chaotic life more simple and paring things down so that they can be more manageable. Some of us assume that the “simplification movement” is for uber-environmentalists or people who want to live off the land. For the average single parent, however, finding ways to simplify your life and the existence of your family can make you happier, healthier and free up time for you to spend together as a family.
Simplifying your single parent home and family does not have to mean getting rid of all of your furniture or giving up the activities you love. What it can mean is eliminated all of the extra time-consuming things that you do not enjoy and learning how to slow down and enjoy the parts of life you do value. Simplifying can mean getting back to basics, of course, but it can also mean finding ways to do things so that you don’t have to run a lot of errands or spend a lot of time chasing things down.
For example, instead of running to the grocery store for frozen dinners and so-called “convenience” foods once a week, growing some of your own vegetables and keeping your cupboards stocked with staples and basics from a twice-monthly grocery run may actually make life simpler. With all the staples on hand, you can prepare any number of simple meals and enjoy time together as a family while you do it.
Get rid of extra things that you do not enjoy or that take up too much time and resources. Clean out closets and get rid of clothes that no longer fit or those that are not being worn for whatever reason—they take up time and energy to manage. Pull back, strip down, and find ways to get things done with minimal effort and this will help you to simplify your life as a single parent.