Slow living is a counterargument to the hectic lives everyone seems to live today. We are constantly connected, sounds are constantly whistling in our ears, stress is ticking like a bomb in many people's bodies and the demands are getting higher and higher. In a world where this is happening, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.
It is not only us adults who experience this stressful environment. In fact, mental illness among children and young people is increasing largely due to the environment we live in today. Always feeling pressure to fit in, have the latest gadgets and clothes, the fuss over money and the demands at school are also increasing. Are we heading towards a total collapse of humanity. How long can we walk around like ticking bombs because of stress?
Adopting the slow living lifestyle gives you opportunities to escape this stress and value what is important in life, yes really important. If you get time to reflect (which seems to be in short supply these days), you will realize that family is more important than all the gadgets, education is more important than wasting time scrolling on your phone, health is more important than fast food, well the list could go on but I think you get the point.
You may be starting to feel like it's time for a change. You may not have as much time with your family as you want, time to do what you love to do, time for just yourself, time to reflect. Nothing will change overnight, everything has its time, but starting small is really the biggest step. The beginning is always the hardest, so this is what I recommend you do to live more slowly.
1. Sit down (we're not going to do this standing up while we multitask), think about what you really want your life to look like. Reflect carefully and write down what you came up with. Having things on paper makes them more real than keeping them in your head, which is already full of other things to keep track of.
2. To start small, meditate for 5 minutes every day. Come on, we're talking about 5 minutes. It gives you time to breathe and focus.
3. Schedule time in your calendar for things that make you feel good. It could be taking a bath, running 2 kilometers, traveling. Whatever you feel gives you energy. You need to start getting used to focusing on what is valuable in life.
4. Time to review your energy thieves if you haven't already. Then I'm talking about laundry schedules, things that need to be dusted, washing dishes. Yes, I know what you're thinking, but this has to be done. Absolutely, it gets done at my house too (I also wash dishes by hand) but there are ways to simplify these "hard" tasks. Take laundry, for example, I prep a washing machine before I even have my laundry day, why then, because that reduce the time I have to do laundry. It might take me 5 minutes to go through the laundry basket after a week (we are a family with children), sort the laundry and throw the color we have the most into the machine. Once I have my laundry day, I quickly check the top of the basket to see if anyone has thrown anything new in and then I turn on the machine, it takes care of itself and I only have to hang it up when it's done. What I did was that I divided the occasions which means I can quickly handle the task and it doesn't require my attention for a long time in the same time.
Another way is to wash the dishes as soon as you eat. If you have a dishwasher, put them in there right after you eat. Make it a point to never leave the dishes in the sink, but to take care of them right away. Yes, I do the dishes several times a day, but they might take me 3 minutes at a time, which means I don't have to feel overwhelmed when I see that there are dishes for 30 minutes. When it comes to cleaning, get into the habit of picking up the dishes from the floor every day, making the bed every day, and making sure the kitchen is in order every day/evening before you go to bed. That way, you maintain your home all the time and you rarely have to spend many minutes at a time. If you feel overwhelmed by all of this, I would jump to the next step right away.
5. DECLUTTER. I'm writing it in capital letters because if you want to live simpler, you need to get rid of everything superfluous. Think about your clothes, let's say you have 50 shirts. How many shirts do you wear in a day and how often do you wash them? Let's say you wear 1 shirt per day and you wash once a week, logically you would only need 7 shirts, but I would say save 10 in case something happens and you need to postpone washing a little. This also applies to the children's clothes. Having chosen uniforms is not so crazy. There are many inspiring people out there who talk about how to declutter your clothes and I will try to write a blog post next week on the subject for more inspiration on how to manage them in your closet.
6. Get your family involved if you have any. It will be so much easier to make all the changes if the family is on board with it. But I know it can be difficult. I struggle to get my husband to understand why I want to be a minimalist and live a simpler life, but I keep going. However, I want to raise a warning finger, never declutter your partner's things without permission. We all have different attachments to things and we need to respect that.
7. Review your finances. Why is this important, because when you reduce your things you will realize that you can live with less, you will realize that you can save more or why not cut back on working hours now that you don't have to maintain your shopping lifestyle anymore. Keeping track of your finances creates great opportunities to keep costs down, you may pay for things you don't use or realize that you don't need to use, you will probably be able to set up an installment plan for your possible loans, you may be able to afford the trip you have dreamed of for years. The possibilities are endless if you start to keep track of where your money goes and how much of your income is lost on expenses.
8. Now is the time to start spending on activities you have long wanted to do. When you have decluttered your things and started to see what is valuable to you, it is time to take action and start spending time on dreams and goals you have had but never had time for. Now is the time to write that book you've always dreamed of, maybe spend more time with your family and possibly be home during your children's toddler years, maybe be able to travel where you've always wanted to go, or maybe just have time for yourself at the gym.
9. You will probably notice by now if you haven't already that it is possible to review all aspects of life. Being able to reflect is a powerful tool that takes us far. Never get stuck in the wheel of life again, but do what creates value in your life, those that mean something to you on a deeply meaningful level.
10. Live life before it is too late. Live according to the slow living lifestyle and notice how both you develop for the better and that you never needed all that you worked so hard to pay for. It is never too late to change your lifestyle. I myself am 40 years old and I have just started living, so do you. Live according to your values, your norms, your reflections.
Summary Living according to the slow living lifestyle opens doors for reflection, thoughts and reflections about what is valuable and important in life. It opens up opportunities for a life with less stress and less negative stimuli. But above all, it opens doors to living a life where you can flourish, where you have control over every part of your life and where you and your values are in focus. I can only wish you good luck and would be happy to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. I respond to all serious readers.
