4 Mistakes People Make When Trying to Simplify and How to Avoid Them

Let me guess. You're tired, worn out, weary, burning the candle at both ends, out of money, out of energy, and never have time to do the things you want. You, my friend may need to create just a little bit of margin in your life in order to simplify. Are you ready to give up the chaos and choose a life of simplicity? Before you do, be sure to watch for the following mistakes.

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4 Mistakes to Avoid

1. Thinking you have to be a minimalist in order to simplify.

Some people shudder at the thought of simplifying because they think they’ll have to give everything up and live in a tiny house with nothing to their name. This is so far from the truth. Simplifying is letting go of the things we do not love to make room for the things we do. This can be applied to any area of your life and not just your home. Not only can you clear some clutter from your home, but you can clear clutter from your schedule, your budget, and your health to create margin for the things you love and the things you love to do. It’s all about margin, not minimalism.

2. Diving in too deep, too fast.

Likely one of the biggest mistakes is diving in too deep and too fast. Humans, by nature, are impulsive and want quick fixes. Instead of addressing the cause of chaos in our lives we want to just get it all out as soon as humanly possible. But if we don’t take a look at why our lives are in chaos and find out why we desire simplicity, we’ll just return to our old habits. Instead of diving in, ask yourself these questions:

• Why is my life in chaos and how did I get here?
• Why do I want to simplify and how do I want my life to look when I get through this process?

3. Thinking organizing is simplifying.

Organized clutter is still clutter, my friend. Buying the latest organizational system or hiring a professional organizer is not going to get you anywhere. Sure, things might look pretty for a little while but eventually you’ll need more bins for all of the things you keep buying. Clutter is clutter whether you can see it or not. The only way to live with less is to get rid of what you don’t need and stop buying what you don’t need. Get in the habit of filling a box or two for donations once a week.

4. Thinking you only need to have one area of your life in order.

So often we’ll focus on just one area of our life. For some of you it may be your home or others your business, while for someone else it may be their health. What we seem to forget is that these things all intertwine. We are intricate beings with many facets and when one is out of order, it affects many others as well. It may not be obvious at first but before you know it, many areas of our lives are in disarray and we really don’t know how we got there. So while one area of our lives may need more attention than another, we can’t forget about the other areas and pretend they don’t exist. Try to look at the big picture as often as possible. Are you taking care of yourself? Are you tending to relationships, business, and other commitments in a way that would make you proud?