Learn to Simplify Your Life, Possessions and Priorities
The journey to simplify my life has taken many detours over the past few years. After moving from London to Switzerland in July 2013, I put all my energy and passion into launching a new business, Sixty and Me. It has now grown into a community of over 650,000 women over 60 focused on well being, financial security and independence.
If you have been with us for the last 13 years, you know we discuss the changes we encounter as we get older and share our shifting attitude to life, people, places and things. The need for prioritizing and finding meaning seems a common and constant theme for us all. In the Facebook community we share personal stories. Our YouTube Channel now has over 3000 videos. The conversations are on topics of interest to women who are aging beautifully and living with passion and purpose.
Watch this video where I take us back to the place where Sixty and Me was born.
Letting Go
The content on the Sixty and Me website ranges from yoga to travel to health, beauty, retirement, grandparenting, fashion and inspiration. We talk about downsizing often – and the conversation often goes beyond things. As it should. Women in their 60s have accumulated a lot of everything in their lives – some that are in little boxes inside that are locked tight. Others that we are ready to let go.
So we talk about downsizing stuff, moving into smaller homes, letting toxic people go, letting a lot of emotion, experience and memories go. But we circle back to stuff, material possessions, and so I wrote this article that really summarizes how I see the process.
Learn to Simplify
My desire is to continue to learn to simplify my life and stay focused with a simplification mindset in everything I do. Whether it is travelling light, preparing simple meals, simplifying my surroundings or reducing the clutter in my mind.
This will be the place where we can learn to simplify our lives together. I am looking forward to the adventure!
Read more: Struggling to Manage Your Life and Home After 60? Downsizing Could Be the Answer.
Simplify Is a Verb
Learning to simplify is not a passive activity. It is about making decisions, taking action and using simplicity as a way to facilitate a lifestyle that is truthful and dynamic. It is not about saying no to things, but saying yes to life.
Simplicity drives action and uncovers meaning. It is a way of life, not a moment in time – an endless process of reducing and at the same time expanding and defining what is really, truly important in life.
So let’s get started.
Many of you have mentioned in the comments that you are also simplifying and downsizing your homes and your lives. Several have said that going through old photos is one of the most difficult tasks when downsizing. A few also commented that when something new enters the home, something has to leave. That’s a great strategy to remain clutter-free.
Read more: Downsizing Benefits for the 60-Something Woman: Are You Ready to Explore Them?
Let’s Have a Conversation:
What are you looking to simplify in your life? Have you started already? What did you start with? Have you found simplifying easy or difficult? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Tags Downsizing Your Life
I have let my adult children drive where I live!! First mistake
I have (of yesterday), thrown out various things to simplify my living conditions.
I have bought a one bedder in Sydney &will move there to live.
I believe you can’t rely on past people to fulfill your life. Even grandchildren have grown through you & don’t need you anymore. I have over the past few years realised I allowed myself to be used by many. Not that you have to cause a drama – simply walk away, which I have done.
I am lonely but will undertake many things in Sydney to find new, true friends.
Cheers Jenny
Adult children also often want parents to move to be near them (often with the best of intentions) but who’s to say they won’t want/have to move away themselves later? What then? Decisions, decisions..
You will LOVE Sydney!!! Have been a few times and the night life is just amazing!! Very friendly people!
Hello Jenny – I live in Buxton. It’s a 1.20mins drive south,west of Sydney. I’m not and never have been a city girl. Wide open spaces and rolling hills are in my blood. I share your thinking and assessment of relationships. I too have witnessed the preoccupation of younger ones. Wrapped up in their own space with little time or thought for others.
So true thanks for putting in words what I am going through,❤️
I’m slowly downsizing. A lot of the stuff that I no longer need/use, I put outside with a “free” sign. Almost everything finds a new home. The hard part is going through my parents’ photos, movies, vcr tapes, and slides. It’s very emotional.
In 2019 our property was totally destroyed by bush fire. We built a new home and garage etc. Soon after my parents(in their 90’s) located to a nursing home. The family (without asking) load all of mum and dad’s photos, slices,. videos, and collections into our new garage, Now as we down size our life and prepare to move into a retirement village, we have the heart-wrenching job of sorting through the family photos albums, antique collections etc. No one in the family wants any of their ‘stuff’. It’s painful.
I sorted through all my ‘old’ albums, and films (some 8mm from my childhood) Discarded badly taken photographs, and converted the rest into a digital file. Sent a copy of the file to both my children, so they have it for their record, and incase my lap top crashes. Also have it on USB (easily done). Voila! no more piles and piles of albums. It did take 3 months though to do all this … but for me, well worth it.
I have a rule that when I bring something new into the house, something else gets discarded. Bring it to Goodwill which I find very satisfying that someone less fortunate will be benefiting from an item that I no longer need or want. “One man’s junk is another man’s treasurer.” It’s a good method to stay organized and avoid a cluttered home.
Hi Margaret,
I love the word simplify! I wish I was able to keep the stuff in my life orderly. Papers abound in piles, then the piles get thrown away, then come back again. It would be wonderful to be more orderly and I will try to do better. Thank you as always for your beautiful words!
Just purchased a shredder and I use it every day!! Only allow myself to keep two years of important papers. If its really important to keep some info then I just scan and save it to my computer.
Cultivate joy in moments while walking, cooking, even cleaning. When I feel joyful I’m not looking to add more.