Tiny House Lover

I had the urge to write a post on attracting more simplicity to your life through some of the experiences that I have had over the last few years.  So here is some quick and helpful tips.

• Learn to want less by appreciating what you already have. Think of how awesome the things that you already have.  You can take it further by giving away things that you don’t want, use, or need anymore.

• See the beauty, fun, and excitement in things that are often overlooked. The beach, mountains, nature, walks, and talking with friends are some ideas.  Appreciate the incredible fact of life–your body and all of its inner workings–you know, those things that used to amaze you when you were a child.

• Part with some of your extra stuff. My favorite way of doing this is taking a picture of that which I’m giving away or selling.  I usually do this on Sundays and try to choose 1 to 5 items then I’ll either post them on eBay, Craigslist, give them to friends, or drop them off at the local thrift shop.

• Take up meditation or silent prayer. My advice is to not expect anything out of it.  All you have to do is sit or lay down, listen to your breathing patterns, notice your thoughts, and then put a stop to the thoughts and focus on silence.

“The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it
becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in ones hands. The harder we
grip, the more it slips through our fingers.”
~Alan Watts

Enjoy your day,

Alex

This picture was taken by Stephen Zabel.

3 Ideas for Simplifying Your Life Today

• Think about your values and write down what’s important to you. Is it spending time with family and friends, making more income, spending time doing what you love, art, music, travel, adventure, etc.
• Cut down television time and continue to do this slowly more and more–or whatever works for you. But start replacing this TV time with productive tasks that you enjoy doing,
• Clear your desk and find your own unique way of keeping it clean that works for you. When your desk is clean your mind is clear and this will help you be more productive and efficient.

Today’s grateful and thankfulness quotes:

“Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.”
- Northrup Christiane

“If the only prayer you ever say in your life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say thank you?” -William A. Ward

“For today and its blessings, I owe the world an attitude of gratitude.” -Clarence E. Hodges

Downsizing your life has lots of personal benefits that can make you and those important to you happier.

Simplifying is not just about getting rid of stuff. It’s also about analyzing what you spend time on everyday and reconstructing your life according to what’s important to you.

An easy way to do this is with a smaller house. But you can also start by questioning and replacing some common life wasters: watching TV, playing video games, drinking, etc.

Here are five ways smaller houses can improve your life:

#1—Getting out of the house

When your home’s purpose is stripped down to the basic needs like sleeping, reading, showering, cooking and eating you’ll naturally want to get out more. (You don’t have to be this extreme, just do what works for you)

Anything beyond that can be done elsewhere around the community. Getting out of the house starts to make you feel happy because you begin meeting new people, experiencing different things and realizing new opportunities.

#2—More exercise

When you have a small amount of space you’ll naturally want to go outside more. This can lead to walking, jogging, running or using your bicycle.

We all know exercise makes us happier it’s just about replacing one of those time wasters with walking and finding your own way to enjoy it.

#3—Realizing your dreams and goals

When I started to simplify I ended up cutting out all of the things that weren’t getting me the results I wanted and replacing them with things that helped with my goals.

I cut cable television but then started wasting more time online instead. Eventually I put a stop to excessive web browsing and began working on my dreams.

The point is it takes time and constant questioning on the things you do daily. If you’re unhappy with your situation you’ve got to cut something out and replace it with whatever it is you want in your life.

#4—Personal Development

With less television I had to replace that time with something positive. Some ideas are reading about topics that interest you and learning new skills.

#5—Better relationships

Smaller houses demand less so that you can choose to spend time with what’s really important—your family and friends.