A simple thing I do to simplify my life is to put something away in its proper place once I've used it. That extra 30 seconds helps keep my home neat and clutter free.
Yeah, I started doing the same, by not leaving my clothes outside the clothes bin or strewn all around, beside my bed, on the floor of my room, after getting back home. Now, clothes don’t stack up in no time to eventually make my room look like a garbage room or a hoarder’s sanctuary! I’m much happier and clutter-free usually now. :)
@@AccordingtoNicoleHi there, Nicole. I am a new sub and really enjoy your content. I have a question about another video. You mentioned buying an Italian brand of jeans. What is the brand name?
We had to rearrange our garage to make room for storing appliances when doing a kitchen rennovation. We bought shelves and storage boxes so we knew where to find everything. It's actually improved our lives significantly. 5 minute jobs are now 5 minute jobs instead of a mission to find tools, safety equipment, screws etc. Having a room we don't even live in neat and tidy means we have enough time and energy to improve our actual living quarters. So when the kitchen is done we'll have an orderly kitchen and an orderly garage. So then we can free up more time and energy to organise and improve other rooms. A positive snowball effect.
One of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon is to get some records out, get them playing, sit in just the right spot, close my eyes and let the acoustics do the rest.
Good advice. Personally, as a retired Art Professor, I go to the Y to exercise for 30 min 7 days a week. It gets me out of the house and sets me in motion, which leads to even more activity in my day. Not too bad for a 75 year old that still feels like a 50 yr old. In addition I ride my bicycle each day, sail my sailboat, do all my yard-work, maintain a house and play jazz piano each day. Oh, and watch your channel.
It goes beyond all this, I question everything and arrive at my own decisions. I always consider other points view, but have the strength of my convictions to sand up to anyone.@@catherinemargaret2868
I always have my phone also. I think it’s okay, as long as I don’t look at it or think about it too often. When I’m out and about, I like to engage with others.
I ran out of dryer sheets, so for the first time I did laundry without. I really didn't notice any earth shattering difference & thought, Nicole was right. I don't think I'll be buying them anymore
My take: buying a home means you need to stock it with stuff (however much you deem necessary), store some of that stuff, maintain that stuff, and so on. One of the most liberating things my husband and I just did was sell our home, downsize, get rid of a ton of crap, and we are now renters. We are saving so much money by not maintaining a home (we sold after 20 years of owning, and although we kept up lots of things, there was ALWAYS more to replace). It feels like a weight was lifted (selling) and we are happier than ever. I would go back and tell my younger self not to own a home. The tax write-off doesn’t offset the massive expenses we talked ourselves into. Great video!
On the other hand, being able to retire at 55 because I own a home and land, with no debt to anyone, is priceless. If I still had to pay rent / mortgage I'd still be working at 67, but with minimal expenses I was able to afford to retire early.
I’ve always thought, “you don’t own a home; a home owns you.” I’ve done both, rent and own, and I loved renting for the reasons you mentioned but as a retired senior, being at the whim of a landlord was not ideal. My last one supposedly wanted to rent the house out long term only to decide to sell it after three years when we planned on staying for at least ten. That put an end to our rental living and we purchased a condo.
Your maturity and thought provoking videos are so helpful to so many people. You are doing way more to helping people understand the need to think through they're actions than you realize. Thank you Nicole, thank you dear. You are wonderful!
"Adulthood is a lie!" That sounds like a good motto. 👍 For a helpful tip, having only what you need but no more will help with organization, and organization saves time. For example, I can find all the tools needed for a project in a few moments, but it sometimes takes more time to find the tools than to complete a project at other people's homes. I also learned from my dad that a job's not done until the tools are cleaned and put away. This makes the next job easier.
I absolutely love your blogs, Nicole! I started making my bed every day when we moved into our new house. It really does feel nice to get into a made bed at night, and it's just a habit now. Another habit i've recently adopted is running the dishwasher at night and wiping down the stove and kitchen counters. It's nice to wake up to a clean kitchen. Another habit is to think of my morning coffee as a reward. I start the coffee maker and start unloading the dishwasher. It's turned into a game of seeing if I can empty and have everything put away before the coffee maker beeps!
I do these things too!! I didn't start making my bed every day until my mid 30s though. For years I had so many fussy special pillows that it seemed like a huge task. I would only do the whole made bed if we had company coming over. Then I realized just spreading up the comforter over our pillows and adding one big, attractive bolster pillow across the king bed looks perfectly neat and made. Game changer.
I agree with you about leaving the house each day. I am a heavy-duty introvert who now works mostly from home. I can easily stay at home for days at a time, even though I know it isn't good for my mental health.
Every two weeks I set up my medications and supplements in pill containers. This saves me time by not having to open and close 12 bottles each day. Also, I don't have to ask myself if I took the damn things that day -- I just look at the rack. Bonus, I can tell when my supply is down two weeks in advance and can reorder before I run out.
Your videos are so inspiring. Right now I'm going to leave my phone at home more and I'm going to ask 'why? ' a lot more. The rest of your points I do already. I love the clear, mature and inspiring way you talk about things. You rock.
You don’t “have to” rake leaves, but as someone who lives near you, we had two beautiful old maple trees we used to just “mulch” the leaves for with the lawn mower, and the rotting leaves seeped into the tree roots, causing the whole tree to be covered by black spot on the leaves for YEARS. The only cure (so you don’t have to cut down the whole tree) is to meticulously remove the fallen leaves and burn them. We have had to do that for 5 years and our trees are finally becoming healthy again - so just a word to the wise! As for small appliances, I got rid of a bread maker, crock pot, toaster oven, rice cooker, microwave and drip pot coffeemaker and cook simple and nutritious food for 10 people with a Dutch oven and cast iron pots and pans. Saves a TON of space and I don’t miss those things at all!
I need a tidy clean home to feel good, hence I cannot imagine not making my bed! But it's important to air it up before you make it. If it's good weather (no rain), try to put your pillows outside for 10 minutes while you air your bedroom.
As annoying, common, and overstated the Hiking Hobby is; I enjoy it for the exact reason you said you enjoyed leaving your phone at home. The sheer lack of cell service is so relieving as I'm able to unapologetically distance myself from the world for a few hours, or sometimes whole days, without feeling guilty.
Agree completely! My neighbor (who is my morning walking partner) thinks I'm crazy. I never take my phone with me when we walk the neighborhood. Or go out with my husband. I get the distance from distraction and get to focus on the person I'm with, it's fabulous!
My husband loves camping for the same reason. He's a very busy person. He has a full time day job, a part time evening job and a bunch of seasonal short term contracts that he does. All are managed through his personal mobile. Having time where he allows himself to be unreachable is rare and precious.
I just turn my phone off if I don't want to get bothered. Why leave it at home? I take mine with me for emergencies. You never know when you need it to call for help.
Actually too many leaves can ruin your grass. Been there, done that. Having four huge oak trees and tons of leaves falling in our lawn will literally ruin it next spring. The leaves will still be there. So raking them up is a must for us.
Proper laughed out loud at your comment on neighbours blowing and raking leaves 😂. I have a tip for you Nicole..mow your lawn every 4 days, that might seem excessive but there's a method in the madness 1. your lawn will always look healthy and lush 2. you're cutting off such a small amount you don't even need a grass box, nothing to empty and dispose of, free lawn fertilizer. 3. because the grass is always trim it takes no effort to push the mower around. 4. fresh air and exercise. My rear lawn is the same size as yours, after I learned this tip from an elderly neighbour I sold my electric mower and bought an old skool hand push reel mower which cuts like a barber ✂️, no cable to faff around with AND I now have a chequered/tartan lawn. Best wishes from bonnie Scotland 🏴
Some great ideas! The biggest thing for me at the moment is cleaning cookware as I go, and rinsing the plates, etc and putting them in the dishwasher immediately, so I don't have a sinkful of dishes to contend with before I go to bed. Makes powering down in the evening easier, with a nice, clean sink and kitchen to greet me the next day (fresh kitchen = fresh start).
I love making my bed and especially how it looks when I'm done. It also helps me to feel like I've accomplished a nice act of self-care and it does make the experience of getting into it at night that much more enjoyable. One of the things I stopped doing a few years ago that a lot of people do, is dyeing my hair to cover my gray hair. And I'll occasionally get compliments from other women saying they love the look of my salt and pepper hair.
I feel you on making your bed! I thought it was nonsense until I started making it a habit. Even on my down days where I'm not productive, the simple act of making my bed makes me feel like I've accomplished at least one thing.
Basically try to do things to take care of myself. Make my bed, cook healthy meals, exercise, plan activities with my friends or on my own. I’m 74 and retired and am amazed at all things I can do. There is always something to do. New saying “do less better.” At the time I’m planning a bike packing trip and doing the John Muir Trail. Life is great.
We have all became too attached to our phones, I totally agree with your idea of separating yourself from your phone. However, in today’s world with all the crime and problems, I chose to take my phone with me, but turn it off. I definitely make it a habit not to turn it on while I’m doing any activities that it could distract me from enjoying what I was doing. I really enjoy your videos. Thanks for all the great advice.
Agree; phone is self defense & safety tool. I don't bother to turn it off; I just do not respond to calls or text while out and about. Also I have the incoming ring set to one ring only then direct to vmail; and have text sound very low key tone.
Hi Nicole! Im from Argentina and I really like your videos! I saw all of them. I just wanted to say thank you for your content. Its so good! Here en Argentina everything is so bad.... And I think this kind of content is really usefull! (Sorry for my bad english) Sending my love, from Buenos Aires
I will reemphasize leaving the house once a day. I work from home 100%, and have for a full year now. It's very common now for me to not leave the house for sometimes up to five days. I can very easily see where, if someone is of a certain personality type, they could become a shut-in working from home.
I'm that personality type and have social anxiety, which of course gets worse if I'm not regularly sociable. Luckily I have dogs. Hiding in doors all day every day isn't an option, whatever the weather. Sometimes it feels like a huge chore to take them out but more often seeing my dogs happy makes me happy. All the neighbourhood kids wait to greet me and give the dogs a fuss every afternoon. So I'm out every day and I speak to people pretty much every day. My mental health has improved a lot.
Where I live my cell phone doesn't work, so that's an easy check. Every stupid time-saver appliance I've bought ends up going to good will. LOVE the questioning the WHY of things. One of my favorite places to get "out" to is the Library. Free books, free DVDs, free magazines. I could afford all of that, but why?? Especially love the new book section🙂
A successful day is a series of accomplishments and the first one is making your bed. This was taught to me by a wise old woman (my mother) about 65 years ago (I'm 69 now). Great advice then, and now.
I purposely turn the ringer off on my phone and put it on a shelf the minute I get home from work. I don’t pick it up again when I head out to work. People pick up on this and tend not to try to call me at home without leaving a msg or texting me for later. It’s the most exhilarating feeling and I find I stay off social media and enjoy my life more.
I left my phone at home and brought a book instead when waiting to pick up my daughter from work. Got a great start to a great book: 'Beloved'. Our TV is frequently put on when there's inclement weather and our upstairs neighbors young kids are running back and forth upstairs...so 'a cozy cabin for the season we are in with rain on the windows'. Making my bed (a raised loft bed with storage underneath) is easy with a throw and a blanket and a couple pillows. I agree it is so much nicer to return to after a long day at work.
I am now subscribed 😊 Love your videos. My daughter and I watch them together. I’ve always found when my home is cluttered or things are not put away, dishes washed and put up, bed made etc., then my mind is cluttered. I need to wake up to a clean house or my day is off. Lol
Looking at your backyard and those neighboring, there don't seem to be many trees about to lose leaves yet; but, in any case a tip, the wee outdoor animals and birds can use that leaf litter over the winter time as hovels of warmth and to keep dry from the cold/wind and even as bits and bites of food, so in the spring on your first lawn mowing day mulch them then - simple and best for your real neighbors the wild ones. If you are planting trees try native species and evergreens that don't drop their leaves every autumn but gradually through the year. The best minimalisms is that that takes care of itself as much as possible, and the best hunt and gatherings (shopping expeditions) are objects that have more than one use but yet require little care except when they do get used.
Nicole! Just found your channel at random and watched many of your videos, I've always been minimalist and frugal (within reason). Watching your videos hearing the things you do and the things you say it's like you're me!😂 I'm from the UK but loving your videos! Take care :)
I have never had a TV in my living room my entire adult life, I'm 52 now. My son and I were just discussing this, bc all of his friends do. I just don't watch TV, I can't sit still for long, and it's an eyesore. I just watch short videos (like yours) on my MacBook
The thing about the leaves goes similarly to the making the bed mentality. Looking at a clean exterior and fresh crisp bed goes hand in hand. Leaves wither and turn ugly brown as they decay. Also..clearing them while fresh is better than soggy wet leaves in frigid temperatures.
I love leaving my phone at home. I leave it when I grocery shop, when I walk with my friend and her doggos, when I go to a thrift store...it's wonderfully freeing.
Making my bed has helped a lot along with keeping my living space tidy and put away so i can remember where things are. Ive noticed i have spent less time looking at my phone while im out, and i want to break the habit of using my phone to "pass time." Great list and video as always!
One thing which helps me a lot is reducing my clutter by (at least) 1 item per day. Sometimes I throw away but usually I find a better solution like giving it away to charity or recycling. Doing this every day helps staying focussed on what is actually important to me.
I only started making my bed when my bed stopped being in the corner of the room. When it was centered, I just started doing it because I didn't have to climb on the bed to make it, just to have it messy when I climbed off. I think a toaster is a good thing to have because it uses less electricity than heating an oven, if the oven is electric as well, but I haven't had a gas or propane oven in like 15 years, so I couldn't even begin to calculate and compare the cost per unit. Everything else, I totally agree. I only have my phone on me for emergencies and killing time. I rarely have my data or wifi enabled. I only have a TV because I have neck issues, but I don't have cable and only have a netflix subscription. I wouldn't say I'm a minimalist, but I would say I have exactly what I need.
SHOPPING: Buying tools, whether wrenches, a vacuum cleaner, drain snake or a baking pan, can enrich your life by improving the results of your efforts. With some how-to videos, tools can allow you to forego calling in a repair technician. "Tools" covers half of the stuff we buy, but like other stuff, a lot of these items don't work out, and need to be donated. If you have the urge to just buy something, at least make it a tool, something you have often lamented not having when it was needed.
I have a relatively small yard and actually view leaf cleanup as similar to bed making. I don't do the most thorough job of it, but it takes about 2 weeks for all of them to fall, so every other day or so I get to accomplish something that I could just as well look at and say 'fuck it'.
I am multi axis CNC programmer and I never take my phone with me. It is off and in my truck. My CEO asked me why i did that. My answer was this “ I love technology but hate distraction “
The seasons are changing and the leaves are falling here. I’ve been “stressed” because I hate raking and I “knew” I needed to do it. But you know what? F it. ( I feel better, thanks Nicole)
I gotta say I agree with all of your points except toasting your bread in the oven. A good toaster is about $20 and almost never needs to be replaced. You definitely save that much in energy cost in just a few months compared to broiling. That said, you can't put a price on having less things to maintain. Not to mention you avoid contributing to the consumer culture we are entrenched in.
same thing with an electric tea kettle, way faster and consumes less energy than a stove top tea kettle...but there is something about setting a kettle on a stove and waiting for it to boil, similar to tossing a vinyl record on a platter and cleaning the surface before playing it rather than plopping on a CD or clicking on a music streaming service as long as you have some extra time on your hands to just go through the process. .
The trouble with making the bed right away is that the warmth of our body and moisture we leave behind are perfect for dust mites, so throw the blankets back and let it cool and dry. Come back after breakfast or hygiene. 🤗🙋🏻♀️
I have a path which is lower than the rest of my garden. The thing with leaves is as the wind blows they acquire a certain amount of energy, but the path acts as an energy well. Once they fall into it they don't have enough energy to get back out again. So with the application of a bit of physics you can get the leaves to clean themselves up into one pile.
Great advice. I totally agree with simplifying your life. I also think making your bed every day is underrated. The times in my life when I don't make my bed or have a clean room are usually when I'm more stressed.
I haven't had a proper bedding situation for a year now, since I've been preparing to sell my apartment and I've been sleeping on the floor in my living room on a single mattress. So the mattress serves as a bed and a couch for me and my dog at the moment. Otherwise I would tidy up the bedding and put the duvets on the end of the bed to air out the bed. I'm quite looking forward to have this routine back as it creates such a nice feeling. I also like to walk around with my dog, but best of all in nature/woods. We're moving closer to the woods, so it will be easier on my now elderly dogs legs and back, since asphalt is not good for long term walks. It's healthy to implement a good daily routine, but taking a breather once in a while just to relax is absolutely necessary.
I used to be a big "leave my phone at home" person, until one day I left at night to go pick up my meds. It wasn't super far by car, I was just going to the pharmacy and back. It was 2am. My car broke down. I had to walk about 20min at night back to the pharmacy to make a phone call for someone to pick me up. (Everything else was closed or only had night-shift workers, and I didn't want to approach a strange place at night.) I don't remember anyone's phone number but my Dad's. He didn't even answer the first 2 calls because, who answers an unknown number at 2am??? Needless to say, the phone comes with me now. 🤣
I have a rule that if a task takes less than 5 minutes to complete I do it right then and there, I don't add it to a list of "to do's". Unless I'm running late or on some crazy deadline I don't let small tasks pile up.
I. love Your channel Nicole !😊 Originally from NYC , Im Living Now in Tampa Bay , Florida. One of My Minimalist life changers when I moved down here was Biking everywhere. in 30 years I have saved tens of thousands of dollars in not buying cars , maintenance , gas and insurance . In NYC having a car was an expensive liability and mass Transit was so readily available so just a natural extension for survival . Not too mention the health benefits as a Cardio workout . Especially the extension bridge which heads out not the beach here . I did that bridge 2x a day , 5 days a week for 18 years , to get to my cooking gig out on the beach . And now. 30 years later and logged close to 100000 miles on Vintage Schwiinn Bikes , I have not been to a doctor since 1994 . I have not so much as taken any western Medicine . Granted I have a minimalist vegetarian diet and a 1/2 acre garden micro forest in the backyard here which are prominent aspects of My health too. as well as meditation and studying spiritual Yoga & Tantra . One of My mantras about money is spend to save. Invest in quality as these materials Items tend to last way longer . Also at least in America. items that are non perishable almost always cheaper when bought in Bulk , especially food stuff. Ill give an example. I have a small Organic Gourmet Popcorn Business . I can buy a pound of organic Popcorn kernels for $2.00/Lb. Or I can buy 25lobs for $22.00 or like $.85. Same exact kernels . Another example in the Garden I grow mainly edible plants . There is an organic fertilizer , maxi crop , which is soluble seaweed. which the plants love as there are many nutrients and minerals in sea vegetables not existent in land plants. Anyway I was growing Wheatgrass for local health food store when a. friend , a master gardener , made me hip to Maxicrop. First time I bought I bought a gallon for $32.00 . Then In mY quest to make it more readily available as I have like 40 fruit trees here in the ground I discovered that You can buy a 11oz. canister of the soluble seaweed , that You mix with a gallon of water , for $17.95. Same application , diluted one ounce of maxi crop to one gallon of water . I catch rainwater off My roof ( still) . I can hold up to 500 gallons, another savings . Anyway I investigated further and found they sold a 44 Lb. box of maxi crop Seaweed for $390.00 which made 65 canisters of Organic fertilizer . This brought. the cost down too $6.50/gallon . So now I was saving $26.00 every gallon and lots of very happy plants .Thats an example of spending to save , in the long run. Also I do all My own composting . I have not bought a bag of top soil in over 20 years . Everything planted in the garden was with compost I produced on the land , including wood ash from winter fires . :)✌❤💛💚🚴🚴♂🌞🥑🌻🌵🌱🌱🌱 Btw... Levi seems like a great Canine angel. we have a female Yorkshire terrier here named Lexi. She is a sweetheart too!!!
Being able to cook for yourself on a minimal budget can be so satisfying. Gather an arsenal of your favorite simple recipes and spices and expand and grow from there. Being able to do that for yourself and others is one of the greatest pleasures of life.
Hi Nicole 🤗 I hear you on the leaving phone at home thing. We go canoe portaging in the Northern Ontario wilderness for a week every October - no cell service and no people! it's amazing and so restful to the soul just to be completely unplugged for an entire week. Not for everyone - to be without any technology for a week - but as you mentioned, you can notice the benefits with short periods of time, like when you take your dog for a walk. We also like to turn off our phones while we eat dinner - it makes us more likely to talk to each other!LOL
Downsized my pretty large home to a small two bedroom apt. Didn’t need all the space with kids grown and didn’t need to spend all that money on upkeep plus hours and hours cleaning. Takes me one hour now to clean everything. So freeing, so much time to do what I really want to do now. And saving much more for retirement in 1 1/2 yrs. Really enjoying watching your videos.
I try to do something for myself each day. With 2 jobs, 3 kids, 2 dogs & a messy husband I need something for myself each day - whether it be a hot bath, reading a book or watching one of your vlogs, a quiet cup of tea- always something fairly small but really important to me 👍
Good video. Looking around my house, I guess I’m not a minimalist. I’m too much of a bibliophile. My house is like living in a library. Maybe more of a music store because most of my books have to do with piano. I need to minimalize things a little. Like your patio. If you have enough of a covered spot out there you could sit out there and watch the rain. Rain-air always smells so good. Good tips. Gave me lots to think about
A very simple thing is every time I receive something pertinent to income tax, it gets filed away immediately. So when the time comes to file my taxes there is no searching for lost receipts, etc.
That Simpsons clip! Hahhaha! I also used to think making my bed in the morning was a stupid waste of time. For some reason about a year ago, I started making it before leaving for work and now I'm hooked on the tiny thrill I get pulling back the covers at bedtime. Must be an over 30 thing!
You should bring a phone with you just in case for emergency. I have anxiety before, and it helps by calling emergency services to bring me to hospital.
I also do a lot of these. I always make my bed. I don't buy a lot of gadgets. I take vacations in places that do not have phone service, internet, tv. Like- they actually still have pay phones. I also do a reset on my house before I go to bed. Like pick up my couch throw and fold it, put any dishes in washer, put my clothes from the day in washing machine. I wake up to a tidy house. I use my washer like a hamper. When it's full- I hit wash.
The thing about the leaves goes similarly to the making the bed mentality. Looking at a clean exterior and fresh crisp bed goes hand in hand. Leaves wither and turn ugly brown as they decay. Also..clearing them while fresh is better than soggy wet leaves in frigid temperatures. Also, unless you have gutter guard, they will clog your gutters.....standing water.....wood rot...ect
I use a frying pan, dry, on top the stove to make toast. Never got the hang of having my phone with me all the time. Make my bed to keep the cat hair off the bottom sheet. It helps a bit. The problem I have is going out every day. Last summer, we had 2 months of temps over 100°. Not many can go out in that for long. Been trying since the weather broke.
Definitely agree about leaving the house, on free days. I struggle with this personally. When I stay in i feel tired, lethargic, sluggish, unmotivated, bored, maybe do nothing, and also find it difficult to go out when I need to.
Years ago I went through a long phase of buying digital cameras and camcorders (prior to that, though interested in photography in the film only era, I didn't want to undertake the effort of learning the necessary chemistry and art/techniques of dark room development) and after many many gigs of images stored about and thousands spent on gear and various storage solutions, printers and ink and frames/albums, I now find my best image keeping to be my eyes and memory alone - there is the minimalism. There is a difference if the camera work is for personal pleasure or for an income of course - that second purpose requires a tangible product to result from the services provided.
There's also the cost of keeping up with ever changing technology., better faster more capable lenses, higher pixel counts, new accessories etc. It's like any expensive hobby sometimes you get tired of it, want to try new things, new hobbies for a while and the pricey equipment you purchased 2 years ago is now very outdated and mostly worthless in comparison to the purchase price for resale in some cases.,
I don’t leave the phone behind just in case something happens and I need it. I usually just leave it in my cross body bag and don’t touch it unless I’m listening to music on my walk.
About the cellphone coming along… there are safety considerations having the ability to call 911. Plus health emergencies that come out of nowhere for me. I have no FOMO. It’s a fear of losing safety.
Empowering! I especially like the phone one. I do take mine everywhere I go though. However it’s ALWAYS on vibrate and I only answer it if I want to. Otherwise I call back later. I do want to stop using it as a crutch to fill up ‘down time’. I’m usually on it when I have nothing to do, or am filling in time, and I want to stop that. Lately that’s been causing me to feel really oppressed. I’ll be working on that.
you have incredible minimalism. I just want to get a dumpster and throw out all of my clutter. my biggest problem is BOOKS. then there are impulse buys, like for example when covid hit, I bought a bike thinking gas might get too expensive, but when the bike came it wasn't really complete and the instructions were crude so I just put it aside. I need to learn not to impulse buy. I also find that the more clutter there is, the more difficult it is to keep the place clean/organized.
Morning or evening calisthenics Just 5 ~10 minutes will transform the average person who deems it unnecessary to go to a the gym Or has a continual sense of lethargy
Making my bed is a big one. There is nothing better then crawling into a made bed at the end of the day. The one thing I learned is to always take something with you when you are going from room to room in your house. ( IE If you drank tea while reading in the living room the second you are done take your cup and put it in the dishwasher. or if you grab the mail don't just throw it on the counter take it to where you sort or file your bills/correspondence.) There are always mini task that need to be done and if you are just mindful of doing them immediately it will never catch up with you and overwhelm your house and it will stay relatively tidy. This also feeds into having ONE place that things go. So everyone can find items easily.
I love the experiences over things one so much. Even something small like going to meet an author whose book we liked or see a movie together bonds me and my friends a lot more than shopping or getting dinner and drinks.
Being among other humans is way overrated. I am the ultimate misanthrope. I can't stand the proximity of people. They look like gargoyles. Can't stand the way they smell. Can't stand to hear their voices. They all have some agenda, they're all working some kind of angle. We're always being told that loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and drastically reduces your longevity but how do they determine this? I am a total recluse and spend 99% of my time alone but I have never felt lonely. I am not without social skills and I can call them into play if the situation necessitates it but it requires effort that is almost never worth it. People, either individually or collectively, are so worthless, selfish and stupid that getting along with them amicably completely drains me. Each second I have to force myself to be sociable feels like being poked with a hot needle...
