Simplify Your Life By Living Simply…

Easier said than done?  I’m sure this is what you are thinking at first glance.

Living simply doesn’t mean cleaning out all of your per­sonal belong­ings that hold a spe­cial place in your heart.  On the con­trary, it is more about being clear with one­self about what truly makes you happy so all of your time and energy can be spent on what means most to YOU!

Step 1:  Make a List

What is your life lacking?  Better yet, what is it you may not have time to focus on, that you wish you could?  Make a list of what you crave more of  or less of, for that matter, in your home.

Shown here are family photos art­fully lining the stair­case.  By keeping the frames sim­ilar in style, this cre­ates a happy, visu­ally pleasing col­lage to enjoy year round!

Start by sorting your home acces­sories into “wants” and “needs”.  Choose your cher­ished family photos and have them framed, along with that carved wooden vase you picked up on your trip to Hawaii last year.

Items like these will always bring you back to your most mem­o­rable times of your life.  All it takes is 10 min­utes of sorting, every Sat­urday, for a month…you’ll be amazed!  You can also feel good about donating your dis­carded items to a worthy orga­ni­za­tion such as Good­will or the Sal­va­tion Army!

Here our Arte­riors Home Ulysses Chan­de­lier is shown with these art­fully, orga­nized shelves with bold, happy colors.

Sets of matching acces­sories such as books or glasses are pleasing to look at, while too many odds and ends create a clut­tered feel that can bring chaos into a home.

Dec­o­ra­tive files and desk acces­sories are another great example of using style while staying organized.

Catch up with the times by storing music and movies to a hard­drive and rid your home of shelves upon shelves of CDs, DVDs, and other unnec­es­sary elec­tronic mate­rial.  Net­flix and Hulu are excel­lent alter­na­tives that give you enter­tain­ment right at your fin­ger­tips, without all of the clutter.  Storing impor­tant doc­u­ments and files by using an online “cloud” storage option is also an easy, clutter-​​free alter­natitve to keep orga­ni­za­tion to an already hectic, daily schedule.

Keep a jar of happy thoughts written on coor­di­nating paper to reach into any­time you need a lift.  Remember that first date and the drive along the Pacific Coast Highway that you hope would never end?  Exactly!  A small, yet happy addi­tion to  any room.

Chil­dren or pets?  Easy care fab­rics and fin­ishes make “acci­dents” less of a headache.  Chef extra­or­di­naire?  Orga­nize your kitchen cook­ware and acces­sories to make cooking and prep­ping as easy as pie!

When every­thing is arranged around you, you spend less time stressing and more time enjoying what mat­ters most!