10 Easy ways to SIMPLIFY Your HOME / Becoming a Simplist 

You’ve certainly got it sorted. Sounds great. I’m 66 and doing the same......or trying to. 👍😃

I’m trying to do this but my three young adult children keep getting in the way of it😆

Considering growing out my gray, but scared! I ran the idea past my hubby the other night and he didn't have a quick answer. Normally he says a very safe " your hair always looks good", but him being lost for words freaked me out a bit. I said I know I will look older, but I am older, so what am I putting myself through the time and expense ever 6 weeks. Sounds like you have done everything I had hoped to do by age 50, but am aiming now for 65! 😂

@@rutheis I can chime in on the gray hair issue. It helps that my husband went prematurely gray (ok, salt and pepper) and that he is very thrifty. I started talking about it to him about a year before I actually took the plunge. He was all for it and I was the one qho needed his reassurance that he would still be attracted to me. I am not sure if you have developed a plan or not? I will tell you what I did. I got my hair cut short but cute, that helped grow out the gray easier so I didnt really have that dramatic line of color then gray/white. I have a lot of white around my face which I have been teasingly accused of getting white highlights. I now have it should length for my own ease and pull it back quite a bit due to the tropical climate of Georgia. I use a purple shampoo mixed in with my favorite moisturizing shampoo (gray hair can be very thirsty). The purple keepa the gray and white looking fresh not yellowish. The purple tint in the shampoo washes out immediately so don't worry about that! Blessings to you!

I love this Stephanie! We all have different ways of making life simpler and you have found what works for you.

We're minimalists [9 years] but these are great tips for everyone. I wanted to add that each person in the household can use a travel roll up toiletry thing with a hanger and if you dry your products, you can hang it in your closet so it's not using up bathroom space.

A simplest has common sense solutions. A minimalist only has less stuff.

@@sct4040 , Excellent distinction! 💖🙌😺

👍🏼 yes. I have enough white towels for a whole load. Paper towels are too expensive.

I'm a firm believer in washing all towels and washcloths in hot water. I do have both whites and colors, so I wash them separately from one another. Same with sheets. Now and then I will add some bleach for whitening. this business of washing everything in cold water just doesn't make sense to me. Diane

Me too, it’s worth the money to have really clean linens.

@@jimmiepatrum Yes, washing everything in cold water DOESN'T make sense. Why are there warm and hot water settings on the washer if cold water was the standard for all clothes?

Do you use bleach? I use borax and I love it.

Or her husband was

@@sl4983 , 😱😛😺

Lmao @@sl4983 or her adult 'children' when threatened with eviction 🦾🥰

@@sl4983 Why her husband ??? Seriously...

They say that in order to be lazy you have to be intelligent. Because it takes brains to avoid doing work.

I never seal them but lay on top so stays loose Or put all lids in one spot I try not have a lot in cupboard but have them all in use at all times! That means I’ve got quick meals just waiting to be made from fridge or cupboard (granola, spice mixes, DIY bisquik, etc)

So funny you'd write this. In our house we say she gets a bad rap, therefore, we call her "convenient Susan."

I didn't grow up with hooks for towels and seeing it as a thing has mystified me, as to how they'd dry well and quick enough. I have realized since, that many people nowadays always throw they're towel in the dirty laundry to be washed after every single use. A nurse commenting above has mentioned this ( along with washcloths etc.) and how it seems to help her family never get sick ( I can't help but think they must also be hardy stock &/or eat little to no refined sugar and junk, and plenty of healthy foods ..). Anyway, I grew up with using towels for at least a few times b4 washing, and I and my husband ( no kids yet) get super clean in the shower so I don't have a problem with this. I do however now have just a hook for my towel, and thankfully a towel rack set out from the wall a ways for hubby's, and he gets his WAY wetter than I do, mine. I even have long hair. He is very large and hairy all over tho and just doesn't drip off much b4 he towels, both with not giving a minute for this, and because his body holds the water so well. So, I'm guessing that hooks are more of an issue for people like him ;). Not for me so much. If mine is wetter than usual I hang it over the curtain rod for a while 1st, instead of my usual pulling the curtain closed to also dry off quickly. Making sure your bathroom fan is used and works well, and the vent to outside is un-obstructed, helps too, esp. with a small, window-less or cave-like bathroom.

My husband and I share products. Unscented vegan shampoo bar and I use an unscented vegan liquid conditioner, and we use vegan bar soap. I decant the conditioner into a plain white plastic bottle so we're not seeing brand names and commercial products in there. We're minimalists so we avoid leaving commercial products sitting out. They aren't attractive! Easy to do with liquid dish soap as well in the kitchen. Plain white plastic soap boxes. Same at the sinks, plain bar soap.

We took out the hooks, and installed rods because towels wouldn’t dry. Worst offers ever to have hooks for hand towels.

I've never liked the look of hooks always looks messy to me. We like towel bars better and we always hang our towels up neatly. I would also be concerned they won't dry as quickly.

@@frisco61 , Same goes for those rediculous towel rings! 😣😒😺

I haven't bought paper towels in 10+ years. Use white washcloths, bought in bulk. Hot water, bleach as needed

Someone else suggested that and it's a great idea! Sooo much cheaper!

thank you you just solved an issue i had with the weight of the kitchenaide on the slider on a vinyl table cloth cover

I'll have to try out the Dollar Tree thank you

Me too!

Yes, the cutting mats are what I’ve used for years. Cut in half, they work great under my food processor and coffee maker.

Yes, it absolutely does protect the countertop!

Thanks Deb! I considered Minimalism, but honestly, it stressed me out - probably the opposite of what it's supposed to do.

@@MindfulMidlife , Yes. To me, it looks as though no one lives there__as well as appearing very 'sterile'. 😱😛

Well, yes was and still am lazy. Get dizzy easily! 😄

Thank you Rochelle! You would be amazed how much I cut out my talking - I can "go on" sometimes!

Good Idea! I'll try that. Thanks Vicky!

We got the coffee maker at Christmas and it makes the best coffee. I was done buying K cups and wasting all that money. This coffee maker, grinds it and brews it.

@@MindfulMidlife , AWESOME!!! 💖🙌😺

As it's usually only me in my kitchen, I can make other options work m/l well, and in case you or ? want to know, here they are : Use a plate or pan lid divider rack thing to store upright, larger lids, in cupboard next to their bottoms ( the Tupperware type stuff). For smaller, use a cereal box or similar, tougher cardboard box or container cut to be like a magazine holder, those kinds that hold them upright, with most of the spines visible. Use somethin removable like museum putty or the velcro version of those plastic removable hooks ( so, no hook in it) to make it stay in one place on your shelf, not tip over. Or, even buy a thing like I found once, mainly for the base, organizer even though it came with plastic sandwich containers ! It had 2 each, separated from each other, molded plastic to stack the containers upside down upon, and behind them, a thing that holds the lids. Lots of different brands of those types of containers, fit on it. I have that in a cupboard, love it !

@@ajb.822 Great ideas👍

@@TK.000 , "Tupperware" used to sell a paper plate holder you attach to the inside of a cupboard door which also worked like a charm for holding all the lids to your food containers! 😛💖🙌😺

@@debracisneroshhp2827 Great idea👍

Yup, that's the down-side of getting used to the slow close!

@@MindfulMidlife , As well as living our lives as a compilation of 'habits', rather than 'thinking'/'being "mindful'' of' the little things we do throughout the day. 😱😛😹 Love, Light, and Mindful Blessings. 🙏😇✨💫🌱🌿🌻🐝🌳🌎💖🙌😺

Thanks, Rachel! It really has helped to keep things organized.

Yes, I use one in my refrigerator as well. I completely forgot to say that in my video.

I am so glad Beth! I’m really having fun planning new videos while keeping some of the old stuff going as well.

Reminds me of this ( and hopefully more people will now know why some of us do these things out in public/other's homes ! ) : I grew up with a 1981 Pontiac Bonneville, 2 door. Long, HEAVY ( compared to modern cars) doors ! I had to really give er all I had as a little kid, to close em all the way ! By the later 90s we had 1, then replaced with another, Chevy SUV with not exactly modern, light, nor electric, doors. Ditto on older pick-ups our farm sometimes had, mostly rusty-ish, needed some grease on the hinges I think, there. Not that they were heavy tho. Anyway, I was a very strong farm girl working like a man and a half and used to dealing with heavy and difficult things basically all day long, and for awhile, using the ol Bonneville as my (farm) work vehicle after I got married/moved out, down the road aways. I'd get in it out of someone's vehicle ( like my husband's car when we were dating) and accidentally give too much of a heave-ho when closing the doors !

@@ajb.822 yes! I grew up with old trucks a work vans and we always had to slam the doors. I had to retrain myself to stop slamming 😆

It won't help if you stick to the toilet seat when getting up and then the seat lets go. 😂

@@laurel7175 🤣🤣🤣

@ajb.822, Thanks for the recommendation, putting it on my 'book list' to get asap! 💖🙌😺

Same thing…even then being minimal doesn’t mean ditching everything just the things that are excessive that you don’t actually use

Great idea Callie!

This is the best darn idea I’ve ever heard and I’m gonna implement this immediately! 😂 I already have the giant box of white washcloths so all I need to do is fill a basket with a few next to the sink for the week and remove the ugly towel hanger and finally put something pretty on the wall instead. THANK YOU for sharing this idea. 🎉

Dont understand.?!? Facecloth for each handwipe. Instead of hand towels? Right?

@@donnalibman8439- I don’t get it either…where do the used washcloths go?

So one face towel for each hand wipe visit to the bathroom? That's a hell of a lot of hand towels!!!

Genius!

Oh boy...my videos would be very different! Haha!

We use purified water n do a white vinegar descale every month or so

Don’t make coffee with distilled water. It ruins the flavor and can actually destroy your coffeemaker over time because distilled water leaches minerals from everything it touches. Including your bones.

I hear you. My parents were British and I love my cuppa. I only put my dishwasher on once a week, so my tea mug gets very seasoned. I put it on the bottom rack to get clean. :) Jon in rural BC, Canada

A melamine sponge is great for cleaning tea stains out of mugs. Magic Eraser is one brand but I buy a big pack of unscented ones online.

@@jools1006 , A bit of Bar Keeper's Friend works for that, too! Btw, those 'magic erasers' work wonders on sooo many things around the house, I love them! 💖🙌😺

Similarly, I have kept my toaster on a cooky sheet for years - can't stand all those crumbs falling out every time I go to put it away!😛

Love that Sharon! Good idea!

I do this too. The small rectangle brownie pan with the from dollar tree works perfect for my toaster. I also use them for the fridge like unthawing meat so it doesn't make a mess. I use the cookie sheets on my bakers rack to slide my appliances, jars, canisters, etc easily. Lots of ways to use them, the same way you would the lazy Susan's.

I’ve been trying to find a wide, shallow, water resistant, but attractive tray to place under our coffeemaker for the exact reasons you mentioned. This sounds like just what I need 😊 Thanks for posting this!!

Same thing for me ~ all I get is resistance for the simplest suggestion to just leave things the way you found them. Why is it so hard??? 😡

Hi Joanna and welcome! I'm so glad these will be helpful to you!

Hope it works for you! It's a game changer for making our kitchen look clean even with "dirty" dishes out.

My son bought me a Keurig for Christmas because he loves coffee. My two-cup teapot fits perfectly. I love having instant hot water. Jon in rural BC, Canada

This is where I keep mine too

Yes! I was going to share the long bin tip. We have one for each kid and for myself, and we usually put lunch stuff in them, depending on who eats what. (Yogurts, small containers with applesauce, snacks, premade sandwiches, leftovers, etc.)

and spreads poo germs all over your house- via the invisible droplets all over your walls and floor- spread around inadvertently everywhere you walk. Easier to train yourself to put the toilet seat all the way down- before you flush 😅

@@josmith2002 You are saying to go poo, get off the toilet, close the seat and then flush? We flush while still on the toilet. I guess our butt acts as a seal then lol!

@@magdalenacruz2382 ❤️❤️❤️stay happy and stress free- thanks for lightening my day 🌟🌟🌟. I need to live more like you 👍

@@josmith2002 Of course my friend! I hope I gave you a chuckle :) Happy holidays!

Genius!!

When our toddlers outgrew their Link toy, I used them to hang towels from the towel rods.

Isn’t it funny how little things like that can make a big difference?

@danielled1720, I get the idea but have never heard of them__where do you get them? Thanks for the tip! 💖🙌😺

You're so welcome! Even little things make a big difference!