2020 Word of the Year: Simplify

Read more about why I chose simplify as my word of the year and scroll down for a checklist of 52 spaces, routines and “stuff” to simplify in 2020!

Every year I like to pick a word to focus on. In 2019 my word was “action”. Another year it was “brave”. 2020 will be the year of simplifying.

Why choose “simplify”?

The short answer: I want to simplify the routines, rhythms and possessions in my home to create less on my to do list and therefore more time for what matters most.

I don’t want to be a constantly stressed out mom or an always frazzled wife. I want to be a mom that has time to play with her kids and a wife that maintains a nice home for her family. I don’t want to spend hours preparing to have company over. I want to be able to have our doors always open for family and friends. I don’t want our house to be over flowing with “things”. I want space to play, learn and create memories.

How to actually simplify this year:

I love having a word of the year and choose that word because I want it to influence my life. So I know that if I don’t create some action steps related to my word, that my word won’t have the impact that I’m hoping for.

This year, I created a list of all the actionable ways that I could create more simplicity in my life. Each week I am going to focus on completing ONE of these tasks. By working my way through this list, I will be able to ensure that I did indeed “simplify” my life this year. 

When I shared about my simplifying checklist on Instagram, I received a lot of interest in creating a sharable version. As I always say, ask and you shall receive! 😉 Here is a list of 52+ ways you can simplify your life this year. Feel free to join me in completing one task a week- or if you’d rather chunk them together and do them all in a few weeks, that works too! (there are actually 57 areas to simplify-I added a few extra because you might not need to work on all areas or they might not all apply to you!)

There is no specific order to completing them, do them in an order that makes sense to you! For example, on a week that you are short on time-choose an easy area for you to simplify! Some areas you may already have decluttered in the past. I still encourage you to revisit these spaces- see if any clutter has snuck in or if you can streamline the area to be even better or more efficient!

I will be sharing how I simplify each area weekly on Instagram and sometimes on the blog as well! While I will be sharing ideas, this isn’t necessarily about simplifying how I do-it’s about making it work best for YOU!

Most importantly, have fun with this! I designed this to be spread out throughout the year to eliminate the stress that can sometimes come with these types of challenges. Spend some time each week really thinking about what you are simplifying and how you can eliminate clutter and create effective systems in that area. My hope is by NOT rushing this, we will be able to create longer lasting progress and end the year with peaceful, enjoyable homes and more streamlined and efficient lives in general. Let’s do this!

Oh and one more thing, if you want to post any progress updates on social media- use the hashtag #letssimplify2020 and tag me so I can cheer you on!