If I had to choose 9 books: Simplify your life

 

If I had to choose 9 books, these are the ones I would choose

1. The Power of now - 1997 - Eckhart Tolle
2. The Art of Simplicity - 2005 - Dominique Loreau
3. Simple Abundance - 1996 - Sarah Ban Breathnach
4. Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui - 1997 - Karen Kingston
5. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind - 1963 - Joseph Murphy
6. Heal your Body Whisper: How to unlock your self-healing mechanism - 2016 - Otakara Klettke
7. Simplify your life - 1994 - Elaine St. James
8. Le guide du mieux vivre - L'art de s'organiser au quotidien - 1997 - Gisèle Pierson
9. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain - 1979 - Betty Edwards

Simplify your life - Elaine St. James

We often get into work situations, social commitments, volunteer obligations, sports routines, and other types of activities that complicate our lives - Elaine St. James

Elaine St. James, a former real estate businesswoman is the author of bestsellers like "Simplify Your Life" and "Inner Simplicity, and a leader of the simplicity movement.

In "Simplify Your Life", she shows us how to simplify things in order to have more time to enjoy life.

She talks about work, relationships, health, finances, or leisure time.

She

• decided to no longer be overwhelmed or burdened by all her possessions, finances, commitments, and obligations

• this excess takes up so much space, wastes time, and distracts from the things that truly matter: relationships, health, happiness, spirituality, and inner growth

• became aware of this and wants to make the most of her family and close friends, and no longer lead a frenetic life: work, socializing, and all sorts of activities and leisure pursuits not truly desired

Her well-known tips:

• Create a 30-day waiting list to avoid impulse buys: when you add an item to your wishlist, commit to waiting for at least 30 days before buying it. This will prevent many purchases that are no longer truly essential or desired after those 30 days

• Buy only black or white socks to save time when putting them away: this might seem austere to those who prefer colorful or designer socks

• Have boxes ready to receive items to throw away or donate: for old clothes, books, games, appliances, etc. (to avoid clutter)

• Apply the "One-Year-Out Rule": thoroughly check all closets, basements, garages… and for each item, ask yourself, "Did I use this last year?" If you have not used Something in the last year, it's likely not essential

• Take 1 hour a day to ask yourself the big questions about what makes your life complicated

• For 1  month, try to buy only the food you absolutely need

We often get into work situations, social commitments, volunteer obligations, sports routines, and other types of activities that complicate our lives.  We stay in them far longer than we need to because it looks good on paper, or because it sounds good when we have the opportunity to drop it into conversations, or because in some way it meets our own or someone else's expectations of the kinds of things we think we should be doing.

Getting rid of the clutter is not about letting go of things that are meaningful to you. It's about letting go of the things that no longer contribute to your life so you have the time and the energy and the space for the things that do.