Simple Living -- not just a dream

For the past few weeks, we've all been counting down the days until we could move from our temporary apartment into our new house. The kids are looking forward to having a little more privacy, and we're all ready to move away from the dog that lives upstairs (and uses our patio as his bathroom).

When I dream of moving into our house, I don't necessarily dream about having all of our stuff out of storage. There's been something nice about having less things around that we have to take care of. I must've done a good job of packing when we left Arkansas. We have enough games to play, we have access to plenty of books at the library if we finish reading  the dozens of school books that I brought with us, and we even have basic camping and hiking supplies.

I do dream about moving into our house and being able to put everything away nicely. Over the past few weeks, though, I've been thinking seriously about exactly what I'm going to put away. I've learned that we can live comfortably with a lot less stuff than I once thought I could. I have a feeling that I may be making a lot of trips to Goodwill when I start unpacking boxes and deciding what I really want to keep.

Last Spring, I read Lorille Lippencott's book 321 Stop -- stop running and start living. I related to her statement in the introduction, "There is only so much I can hold up and I wanted to hold up so much more. I just couldn't keep living the way I was living, something had to change. My life wasn't bad; it was normal." She then started cutting back. Perhaps most importantly, she started thinking. That's where I am. I'm trying to figure out what I really want to do, what our family really wants to do, and what really matters to us.

Earlier this week, the companion book Simple Living -- 30 days to less stuff & more life was released. I cannot say enough good things about this book. I've read it through at least three or four times since I downloaded my prerelease copy. The concept is that you take a specific area of your life each day and make a small change. At the end of the thirty day challenge, you'll be well on your way to a more simple, less overwhelming pattern of living. Some of the days are easy -- it didn't take me too long to clear off all the horizontal surfaces in my kitchen. Similarly, it won't take me long at all to clear off the visual clutter decorating the outside of my refrigerator. Other days require me to take an inventory of activities in my life or to reestablish some better routines.

Did I find Simple Living challenging? Yes.

Did I find it doable? Yes.

Do I think it'll change my life for the better? Absolutely.

In the first chapter of Simple Living, I was asked to write down my dream. There's no time like the present. I'd like my house to be lived in, but organized. I don't expect perfection, but I'm really, really tired of hunting for things that have gotten misplaced. I want my schedule to be comfortably full. We're an on-the-go family, but I don't want to be a frazzled family. I like having free time on the weekends to plan family outings and not spend Saturday playing catch-up from a crazy week.

I'm ready to start making my life look more like my dreams. Lorilee Lippincott's books (and her Loving Simple Living blog) will be my cheerleader along the way.

For a few more days, Simple Living: 30 days to less stuff & more life is available for just 99 cents. Don't pass up this fabulous deal. I think it'll make a difference in your life; I know it already has in mine.

Simple Living is available for Kindle here or as a regular pdf file here.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Simple Living, and I received no other compensation. In return, I agreed to give an honest review.