Simplifying life... while still being OS?

Tallu

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moments_of_sanity

When cooking meals, I try to make extra portions so that on nights when I don't feel like cooking I can still have a cooked from scratch meal. For example, I have made 5 quiches today, we have eaten one and frozen the other 4 for another time.

This can be done with chilli, shepherds pie, spag Bol etc, does save time and energy as you only cook once and a quick blast in the microwave to reheat the other portions.

Linda32

Live how you want to rather than something made up by random people on a internet forum that in itself will make your life easier. Its impossible tochange a lifestyle.

Buy all white bedding and throw the old ones away. Thats what I did.

Ilona

Tallu wrote: »

Hiya,

I'll start -
I wish I only had white bed linen and towels so I could do them together in a whites wash and not worry about matching sets!

Why worry if sheets, towels, pillow cases, curtains, cushion covers, tea,towels, socks, underwear, anything, doesn't match. Absolutely NOTHING matches in my house, I even wear odd socks sometimes. It's no bother at all. My friend said my house is a mishmash and she could change the soft furnishings at minimal cost so it would match. I said, 'I am mishmash and I like it that way'. Life's too short to worry about such trivialities.
Ilona

PS. Make a three or four day stew or curry in one pan from scratch, eat one portion and freeze the rest in margarine tubs. Microwave them when you can't be bothered to cook.

GreyQueen

:T Here, here, ilona.

Everything in my home matches........some whim of mine on that particular day. All my belongings have something in common; me. Other than that, I have towels in every colour known to woman and am enjoying the colour-pop of the vibrant red one against the bathroom's white walls right now. 50p well spent. In a few days it might be the pale blue one with the embroidered daisies, or one of the stripy ones. Who cares? It's be boring to have them all the same.

If you don't enjoy doing something and it doesn't absolutely have to be done; quit. Life's too short to feel that you should do this or you should do that.

In idle moments, I would like to be able to play a musical instrument. Not enough to actually get one and practise for many hours, but just idly. Same way I feel about converting my schoolgirl French into fluency. I probably could do it, but I don't want to spend the time.

If some, or indeed all, aspects of the old-style lifestyle don't appeal, just drop them. The world will still turn and the sun will still come up tomorrow.

midnightraven3

i agree about cooking for more than one dinner at a time
very much so

i think living OS is VERY rewarding...........eventually
what its not, is a quick fix

right now you are juggling a lot of balls
your home wont always need fixing up
you will eventually sell all your clutter
you will eventually replace your bedding and towels bit by bit and know now to buy one colour

i feel everything i do is worthwhile
but i must have stopped doing what wasnt and cant remember what they were:rotfl:

i think we all do lots of things we dont really think about
i grow as much as i can

my garden takes care of itself pretty much...now
but it took time and effort in the begining

pretty much like everything else

keep at it, you will find your feet:T

charlies-aunt

My life is organised chaos and nothing matches in my home...probably because virtually nothing has been bought new but I love living with my mismatched hand-me-downs , tidy
Hell is a co-ordinated, tidy, modern house!

hoglet121

I totally understand. The cooking element of OS comes easily to me, but I have totally given up trying to sell every little bit of clutter online. Every time I end up getting messed around, waiting for people to collect who don't turn up, and spending most of my lunch break in the post shop sending stuff off for scant reward. Sure I still sell stuff of value, but I give a lot of other stuff away either to family or the charity shops. It's still OS as the items will be used and not thrown away, but I just don't have the energy to spend trying to get money out of it.

As for the cleaning - yes I do it the OS way, without a different product for each job, but that doesn't mean it gets done often. DH and I both work full time and I'm not spending the weekend I've looked forward to all week cleaning our house. I did an hour on Saturday morning - vacuumed, mopped the floors and cleaned the window surrounds upstairs and DH dusted, so that will do for cleaning for the week. The house isn't spotless but it's a trade-off, it's good enough.

Nothing in the house really matches, some of it was gifted to us so I enjoy having items with a history rather than it all matching. I stopped looking at pristine homes online and in magazines, it helped me enjoy what we have so much more.

Don't beat yourself up about it all, if something doesn't work for you, do it a different way, it's your life and you can use the elements of OS that do work for you.

tiny_courageous

OS can be simple, but it takes work to get to that level of simplicity. Thinking about your house - don't have anything that isn't useful or beautiful. Look around your rooms: how much of what you have is "stuff", and how much of that stuff actually impacts on your life other than to be there? If you streamline and simplify your home, it makes lots of things more simple - cleaning, decision making, time, effort.
Also, explore things that have multiple uses. As an example, I use coconut oil for hair conditioner, face and body moisturiser, make up removal and it can be used for cooking as well. So, instead of having 4 or 5 bottles in the bathroom, there are only a few.

good_advice

Simplifying your life is something you really have to want to do.
It takes time, over many months and a change in how you live.

The biggest thing is to rethink and stop spending. This can take a full 12 months or more. Mistakes are made.
Look at what you spend and DD. The family will take time to be on board.

I speak from my own experience. I have been through all the DD and cancelled some at renew date. Others I have cut down.

Stop going to the shops unless it is a need.
Reuse, recycle what you can.
Make things and grow things from seed.
Go YS shopping and yes, Home cook.


How to simplify - as i said it is a life style choice.
I shop at the supermarket once a week and always with a list.
Going out is often free. We walk our dog in woodlands/nature reserves or parkland. Along the coast.

My stuff does not match, I try to bring things together by color. We have a lot of blue. Just cover furniture, sofa's etc with a cloth.

jlhmd666

I too, wish my life was simpler than it is. There is always something which needs doing in the house. It is like I'm on a never ending hamster wheel.