Blog - Simple Joy

Why I Became a Minimalist: My Story of Life with Less

As a young girl I thrived on order, organising and tidying things around the home. I would collect mementos of holidays & day trips and keep them in little storage boxes. I would keep everything and anything! This carried on until I was older and owned my own home, but something was different…. I was struggling to keep on top of it and I didn’t understand. Normally I was on the ball. Why couldn’t I cope? What had changed? I started to question myself. My usual order and routines were no longer working. My confidence dropped. I suffered from stress, an[...]

Blog, Intentional Living

Minimalism. The true cost of our ‘stuff’.

Have you ever thought about how your unwanted stuff affects your life? To be fair, I think the majority of you will say no. Hence, why I write this blog post to you today. Let me start you off with some thoughts and feel free to comment any additional 'costs' you can identify! Money Now this is the 'cost' that first springs to mind! The element of money comes in different forms however. Your initial spend. Yeah I really did once spend £30 on a t-shirt that was worn by Seann William Scott in a film.....! I can think of so many different, infinitely more usef[...]

Blog, Declutter Your Life

Achieving Financial Freedom: Smart Budgeting for a Better Life

September is an ideal time to start afresh: the kids go back to school, summer is coming to an end and it brings the anticipation of renewed energy! Early Autumn is the ideal time to set objectives and adopt new habits. So here is some motivation to kickstart an all improved you and set yourself up for success! My children returned to school on Wednesday and to mark the occasion I wanted to share a 4 part series on how to get ahead of the game & focus on some new goals this September. Who needs to wait for January?? So here is our last topic..... Family Bu[...]

Blog, Declutter Your Life

Declutter Your Routine: Smart Tips for Effective Organization

September is an ideal time to start afresh: the kids go back to school, summer is coming to an end and it brings the anticipation of renewed energy! Early Autumn is the ideal time to set objectives and adopt new habits. So here is some motivation to kickstart an all improved you and set yourself up for success! My children returned to school yesterday and to mark the occasion I wanted to share a 4 part series on how to get ahead of the game & focus on some new goals this September. Who needs to wait for January?? So today's topic is..... Getting Organised![...]

Blog, Intentional Living

Simple Steps to a Healthier You: Daily Habits for Fitness and Well-being

September is an ideal time to start afresh: the kids go back to school, summer is coming to an end and it brings the anticipation of renewed energy! Early Autumn is the ideal time to set objectives and adopt new habits. So here is some motivation to kickstart an all improved you and set yourself up for success! My children are returning to school today and to mark the occasion I wanted to share a 4 part series on how to get ahead of the game & focus on some new goals this September. Who needs to wait for January?? So today's topic is..... Get fit & eat[...]

Blog, Intentional Living

The Time for Change is Now!

September is an ideal time to start afresh: the kids go back to school, summer is coming to an end and it brings the anticipation of renewed energy! Early Autumn is the ideal time to set objectives and adopt new habits. So here is some motivation to kickstart an all improved you and set yourself up for success! My children are returning to school tomorrow and to mark the occasion I wanted to share a 4 part series on how to get ahead of the game & focus on some new goals this September. Who needs to wait for January?? So today's topic is..... Learn somethin[...]

Blog, Declutter Your Home

How to maintain a clutter-free home

Maybe you see beautiful, clutter-free spaces in magazines or on the web, and think: my home could never look like that. But it can! Freeing your space — and your life — from overwhelmingly huge amounts of stuff doesn't take superhuman effort. All you need is a little commitment to some basic principles. 1. LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS. Let the size of your home dictate how much stuff you have, and not the other way around. If your wardrobe is bursting at the seams, instead of dreaming of a bigger one, why not try paring down your clothes to fit the space you have? 2[...]

Blog, Declutter Your Life, Intentional Living

Stop managing your time. Start managing your focus.

We all have the same 168 hours in a week, yet we all struggle with focus and finding time. This seems to be a constant battle in our modern society. You know exactly what I am talking about don't you? But believe me when I say it... We all have time. Even when we are busy, we have time. What happens when your boiler breaks down? You make time. But how do we find time for what matters the most? Our blog post below, details exactly how to do just that! When we actively do this, we can start to build the lives we want in the time we have. This guest pos[...]

Blog, Declutter Your Home

How to conquer those dreaded clutter hotspots!

Do you have areas in your home that are always full of clutter? No matter how many times you try to tidy them up, they’re always accumulating more. It cant just be me, can it........? Those areas are what I call the clutter hotspots. Despite tidying and organising my home for many years now, I can always get frustarted by these areas. In our house, the hotspots are the sideboard in the entrance way, the playroom, and the kitchen counters. I don't know about you but some days I finish tidying and then 10 seconds later, I turn around and they are messy again![...]

Blog, Intentional Living

20 One-Minute Tasks that Will Make You Instantly Happier

These short, one-minute tasks will make you immediately happier. While some stresses may be big enough to warrant “sleeping on it,” we can always intentionally focus on making ourselves as happy as possible in the current moment. This guest post was written by Jessica Eichenlaub. Jessica is a freelance writer, social media marketer, and confidence coach. You can learn more about Jessica on her blog (www.semisweettooth.com) or by following her on Instagram at @SemiSweetTooth. Life can be incredibly stressful sometimes. We can stub our toe in the mor[...]