Lorilee Lippincott has just published a new book: Simple Living – Thirty Days to Less Stuff and More Life. Keep reading to learn how you can get a copy for just $0.99 and a tweet to my 60,000 followers.
Summary
Often our lives get filled with clutter, materially, emotionally and in other ways, and this clutter isn’t what we need or what we love. Some of it was given to us, some of it we used to need or love, and some of it we think we might need someday. Scarily, there is often lots of clutter we don’t even realize we have.
Simple Living was written to help us de-cluttering our lives to make space for enjoying what we love. It’s broken down into 30 chapters. Each explains a 1 hour task that helps to simply and de-clutter one area of life – including counter tops social media, time and even your underwear drawer.
Personal Thoughts
I can personally attest to the destructiveness of clutter in one’s life. I’m not at the level where I’m a candidate for an episode of “Hoarders” but I my mindset has always been, “Hey, let’s hang on to that because we might need it some day.” and “Sure, that sounds good, I can squeeze that into my life.” It’s left me busy and tired. And most of all I find myself sacrificing time with the people I love doing things I love for running around managing things that are really not that important.
I need to simply and de-clutter and I pleased to have Lorilee’s plan and insight as the framework for doing that.
Simple Living breaks the monumental task of simplifying and de-cluttering into bite-sized chunks and provides smart strategies for getting it done.
One small criticism I have of Simple Living is that it seems more written for women than men. About half the chapters/days/tasks have to do with simplifying/organizing areas of the house. Yet there are no day for de-cluttering the garage or the outside of the house. Never the less, I’m still looking forward to going through all 30 days. And maybe I’ll add on a few of my own chapters at the end for some manly simplifying projects not covered in the book. 😉
Doing it Together
My wife and I are talking about going through the book together and possibly even doing it with our kids (11, 9 & 5). The more I think about it, the more it seems almost essential. The goal is not just to GET de-cluttered through a one-time clean-out but to KEEP our lives simpler by changing the way we do things.
If one person tries to change his or her habits but their spouse and kids just keep on with their busy, clutter-producing ways, how can they succeed?
$0.99 for a Limited Time!
Lorilee has made the Kindle and PDF versions of Simple Living available this week only for just $0.99. I don’t know exactly when that sale ends, so your best bet is to buy it before the end of Saturday. (BTW, one way to simplify your life is just to buy it now rather than putting it off, trying to remember, and then restart the process later).
Get Tweeted!
I want to throw in an extra incentive If you buy Simple Living and tweet/share this post, I will show my appreciation by tweeting whatever you want (as long as it doesn’t conflict with my values) to my 60,000 followers – give you a shout out, promote your book or website, say happy birthday to a friend, whatever you like. Just post a comment letting me know you bought the book and what you’d like me to tweet.
I just bought the book. Would love you to tweet the following:
Rescue an Orphan. Change the World. World Orphans wants to rescue orphans, strengthen churches & impact communities. http://www.worldorphans.org
Thanks Nate! Tweet sent: http://twitter.com/paulsteinbrueck/status/252119152561618944
Bought and shared, and need some promotions for my olive wood pens
https://www.facebook.com/LBPens
Thanks Paul
Thanks Leo! Hope you find the book helpful.
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/paulsteinbrueck/status/252119998754070529
Don’t underestimate the power of kids. my kids love decluttering. I havent forced it upon them, but shared why I want to get rid of things and they see the value in it too- especially when it comes to cleaning up after themselves. Good luck!
Thanks Nikki. I think sharing the why – the underlying principles & values – with kids is really important. Would you mind sharing what you tell your kids as to why it’s important to get rid of things and clean up after themselves?
Can’t get started? Read Simple Living & contact me. I clear clutter and emotional blockages! Janice 403 969 4054
Thanks Janice! Tweeted!
HI Paul – Clearing Clutter frees the subconscious mind from recognizing, categorizing, measuring and making sense of ‘that much less’ of whatever you stack up all around yourself. It reduces inner ‘chatter’ and self criticism – that still needs to be done, you should… etc. etc.
Simple Living will help clear the decks! Thanks! And thanks for the Tweet, too!
Hey Paul, I may be too late but I just stumbled across this and bought it, not for .99 but for 2.99, so still a deal, ya? =)
I am looking for people to guest post about this very subject, Simplifying Life. Would love to connect with like minded people via Twitter!
Hi Stephanie, tt’s never too late. 🙂
Can you tell me exactly what you’d like me to tweet for you? (Probably best to include your twitter username)
how can I simplify my life without losing my ambitions?
Simplifying your life is all about removing the clutter that is preventing you from reaching your ambitions.
How can I motivate my kids for being clutter free and enjoy a organized living? Really need some help ….
Hi Cathy, that’s a great question. I have the same challenges with my own kids who are 11, 9 and 5 years old. I don’t pretend to be an expert on this, but here are some of my thoughts…
First, most children are not naturally organized or clutter-free. I believe most people who choose to become organized and live a simpler life do so because they feel like their lives are out of control and they want more control. If parents are raising their kids in a safe, loving environment, those kids probably aren’t going to feel like their lives are out of control & need to simplify and organize.
Instead, I think we have to appeal to other things that motivate kids. Most children like routine, praise and rewards. So, we have assigned our kids specific jobs they’re responsible for. Some they do every morning, some every evening, some once or twice a week. We have reward charts for all 3 kids that we review with them each night before bed and check off the responsibilities they’ve done. When they get enough checks, they earn rewards like a visit to the ice cream shop, lunch at a restaurant or a night out doing something fun.
It’s still a bit of a battle when we assign a new job (like vacuuming or cleaning bathrooms) because they don’t see the big picture value in keeping things clean and organized even though we explain it regularly, but after a few weeks of doing it, they accept it as a part of their routine of life.