Living Simpler in February

We are well on our way into the new year now and as we look past the first month, it’s a time to reflect on our overall plans and how last month’s plans went so we can live simpler in February.

Living Simpler in February

Last month I shared with you our family goal for 2018, to slow down. I wish that I could say that January was a slower month for us but due to an unexpected health scare which led to multiple appointments. It was terrifying and very stressful but I’m choosing to see it through the eyes for thankfulness. I’m thankful that I’ve learned more about my health and that maybe the information will be able to help others within my family. I’m also very thankful that my eyes have been opened and my heart is really pondering what I want my life to be like. Do I want to waste it with foolish things? Or do I want to strive to seek out the life that I’m meant to live?

I think the answer is pretty clear, but sometimes it takes these trials for us to understand where we really are at in life. Life is not easy and life can be so short. I’m not one to believe that we need to stress about making every moment perfect but I am taking more consideration into making my moments count.

Moving On…

You know, at the beginning of the year I was wondering if I would have anything that I could write about in this book that I’m trying to write and I think life just had to show me that it’s never boring! So, moving on….

Last month I challenged all of you with eating from the pantry, redefining your budget, getting a penpal, making 2 freezer meals, unsubscribing from junk mail, cleaning out the kid’s toys, ordering garden seeds, and setting up a meal planning cheat sheet. Did you follow through? Be sure and comment on what you were able to do and which steps you still want to work on this month.

We have been eating from the pantry (and plan to continue through February!), we definitely redefined our budget (we became a single car family!), I made several freezer meals, I unsubscribed from some junk mail (although I could do better), we cleaned out the kids’ toys and organized them, I ordered and received all my garden seeds, and I worked on my meal planning book (I use the Binder Method). I’m still not sure how I managed to fit that all in between appointments but I think it was just nice to get some things organized and under control when other things were out of control.

Let’s get going on this month’s challenges!

Check into a side job to help pay off a debt faster. Working more doesn’t sound like slowing down, does it? But if we want to reach our goal of living a slower life overall (and not just this month!), things that cause us stress need to go away. And the sooner we can make them go away the better. Can you clean houses? Work as a virtual assistant? Cook for someone? Think about the things that you already know that you can do and try and see if you can make a little extra each week. Then pay all that extra money towards a debt.

Have a simple Valentine’s Day. If you aren’t into holidays, then you can skip it. But if your family does enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day, think about the things you can do to make it into a simple and fun holiday that the whole family will enjoy. You could make a fancy dessert like this Strawberry Cake and have a family game night. Or you could make some little I Love You notes to put around the house for your children to find throughout the day. Try to pick at least one or two things that you can do to make the day a little more special without going overboard.

Put away the phone. Not having my phone with me isn’t really something that is a struggle for me. In fact, most days I hardly know where my phone is at, let alone having it on my person at all times. This month, I’m challenging you to put away your phone for a specific period of time. Perhaps for you, that would be to not use the phone in the evenings, or maybe you can put away the phone for an entire day. Whatever commitment you can make, stick to it the whole month!

Go for one nature walk a week. This might be an easy one for those of you that live in the southern states, but for those up here in the north, this one might be a little tricky this month. But fresh air….it’s so needed. Especially this time of year when cabin fever (I’m starting to think it’s more of a cabin coma) really starts to set in. Let’s decide that each week we will get out (with the whole family if possible!) and take a good nature walk for as long as we can stand to be outside. Walks always do the body and soul good. 🙂

Make a cleaning chart. I’m one of those people that does not do well in a messy house. I don’t need my house to be spotless, but I do like for it to be clean when possible. This month would be a great opportunity to create a cleaning chart for daily and weekly chores so that you can make sure that you get done what you hope to do.

I think that seems like a good list to work on this month, even though it’s a little shorter month than normal. If you still wanted to do the challenges from last month you could add those into the month as well.

Do you think that you can accomplish these tasks this month? I’m still looking forward to continuing this year of slower living for our family and I hope that you will be following along.

Also, if you don’t already have a copy of my ebook, 31 Days to Simpler Living or if you bought a copy but haven’t taken the time to work on it yet, I highly recommend starting now! It will make you feel so accomplished and ready to start the year off right.

What are your goals to live simpler in February?