What Does “Simple Living” Look Like for Us?

I’ve been seeking simplicity for years, but I didn’t really even know what that meant until recently. I thought I knew.

I would see all of these people who lived on a homestead, made everything from scratch, and rarely left home. They would call it “the simple life.” It seemed beautiful from afar. It seemed peaceful. It’s honestly not simple, though.

I realized lately that adding on more responsibility, lots of things to take care of, and living in fear of eating things that aren’t “homemade” actually was NOT simple for me.

I’ve been reading a book called Soulful Simplicity by Courtney Carver. I really love it, but I actually realized something while reading last night… I actually already live a very simple life. Almost all of the ways that she talks about simplifying her life, we have already done or already do on a regular basis.

This summer when I decided to let go of the chickens, garden, feeling the NEED to make everything from scratch, and everything that goes with all of that, I felt a HUGE weight lift off of my shoulders. In fact, we had the opportunity to move to a different house here with an acre of land, and I felt more anxious about trying to think of ways to utilize the space.

For ME, true simplicity means that I can be “Wild + Free.” I can go adventuring. I can live in a clutter-free home without much trouble. It means I don’t have to work full-time which is huge. It means that our needs are taken care of, but we don’t have a lot of “things” weighing us down. It means peace and joy. It means structure and routine. It means freedom and the ability to be spontaneous sometimes. It means spending less money. It means focusing on only the things that are necessary (sometimes “fun” things are necessary, but it’s special that way).

I thought I’d share some of the ways in which we have simplified over the years and ways that we keep that in the forefront of our minds on a regular basis. I also want to share the benefit to these ways of simplifying! A LOT of these things also involve ways that we save money. I believe simplicity and spending less go hand-in-hand.

• We don’t have car payments. Robert is able to fix car problems, so that’s helpful. But, we hope to never have a car payment again.
• Our car insurance isn’t super expensive because our cars are older.
• We buy used furniture, clothing and shoes when we can, books, decor, etc. We have a lot of “hand-me-downs” as far as furniture goes as well.
• We don’t eat out often, and when we do, it’s special. We cannot afford to eat out as a family super often, but we enjoy it occasionally. Eating out has gotten SO expensive.
• I budget for a few fun things like coffee shop hangs, traveling for adventure, and special days with our kids. When Robert and I go on dates (not as much lately, but we will fix that soon), we try to be creative and find ways to not spend a fortune.
• I go through my clothes often. I get rid of things that I don’t wear. I only keep clothing out that’s for the right season. I pretty much only wear t-shirts and jeans or shorts most of the year. When it’s winter, I just have to layer more. I don’t really even own any nice clothes. I rarely need them.
• On that same note, I honestly go through my stuff multiple times per year. I do not like having a bunch of stuff sitting around that doesn’t get used. Sometimes this does come back to bite me… like when I give things away or sell things that I need again some day. It’s worth it, usually.
• Because we are in camp ministry, our home and utilities are covered. This is a huge blessing. The camp also takes care of our insurance premiums!
• I always meal plan (have for years), and I try to focus on getting only what we need with a few “extras.” Sometimes I get too many “extras,” but I try not to make a habit of that.
• We eat in the dining hall sometimes. I like to sprinkle dining hall meals into our plan. I don’t like to eat in the dining hall every single day, though.
• When I have the ability, I try to make some things from scratch. Only when I feel like I can at the moment. I don’t require it of myself anymore. It helps that I have more time lately, and I do enjoy it. Sometimes I’m just too busy or don’t have the mental bandwidth to manage it.
• We are slowly working on paying off debt. It’s definitely a slow process, and sometimes we go backwards. We were in a tough spot last year financially, so we are still trying to dig ourselves out. But we are getting there!
• When we travel, we do eat out some, but we also try to pack some snacks (and sometimes we will pack full meals).
• Travel usually involves camping. It’s pretty inexpensive that way.
• We try to keep extracurriculars to a minimum.
• We usually keep gifts very simple. We try to focus on time spent together more than “things.”
• With some exceptions, I try to ask myself if something I’m wanting to buy is a true need. Sometimes I buy it even if it isn’t (because life!), but this has cut down on spending quite a bit.

When I make decisions, I try to keep this in mind. If I’m going to complicate life too much, it doesn’t usually sit right with me. I might entertain the thought, but I always end up choosing the more simple option. I really feel like that is part of why I’m doing better in addition to so many other changes in my life.

I also try to live a life of gratitude! It’s hard some days, but it brings more peace than anything else. We all have things to be grateful for!