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Keeping It Simple | Pick Just One Thing

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

I don’t even know where that saying comes from. It sounds like a “dad joke” but I totally relate to the sentiment behind it. Sometimes I find the sheer amount of stuff I want to ‘fix’ overwhelming. And being overwhelmed is paralysing, which of course means nothing happens at all.

So here is my number one way to simplify your life: pick just one thing that needs simplifying. Pick the thing that annoys you the most. Perhaps it’s that the laundry shelf needs a good cull and sort, or you need to create a drop zone near the front door, or your spice rack needs alphabetizing (OK so I am joking on that last one). Now do it.

The key to simplifying life isn’t to do it all at once. After all, that is anything but simple. But by breaking down tasks into manageable chunks, life does become simpler.

Let me give you an example of one little thing I did that has made my life simpler. I sorted out the bathroom vanity unit… I know it hardly seems life altering, but it was.

I don’t have a before picture, so you will have to imagine it full of unused products I had some how acquired but didn’t want or need, and every time I wanted something I had to go hunting through a forest of random bottles.

One day last year I got the urge to simplify it.

I took everything out of the cupboards and drawers, and wiped them out. Then I culled. There were empty toothbrush boxes. Shampoo samples from hotels I’d never been to, gifted soaps, and bottles of things I didn’t even recognise, let alone use.

After I culled all the garbage, I had a second look over and got rid of a few products I knew we would never use.

Finally I got out some baskets that I had hanging around, sorted the products I needed according to their type, and put them neatly back in the vanity. It took maybe 15 minutes to do.

Now when Country Boy and Toby need a hair cut, I don’t need to spend 10 minutes fishing around for all the bits and pieces, I just pick up the tub with the hair cutting stuff and off I go.

It’s been over a year since I did it but still, every time I go to the vanity it makes me smile because I just know that everything works. And although the wallpaper (yes wallpaper) is peeling, and the room desperately needs a paint, it doesn’t matter so much because at least the room is easy to use. I honestly can’t believe that it took me so long to realise that little systems like this make life simpler.

On it’s own, sorting the vanity wasn’t a big deal, but it was a start. Once I got started it was easier to continue. So this week, let me encourage you not to try and eat the whole elephant; just take a bite.

What is one little thing do you can do to keep it simple? What’s your bathroom vanity like? I’d love to see/hear about what you’re tackling first. You can show me in the  comments below or on my facebook page.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gary and Carolyn vollmer says

    December 27, 2014 at 3:16 pm

    last year I had to downsize TWO full linen closets into one; that was major

    Reply
  2. Jo@Countrylifeexperiment says

    September 21, 2014 at 12:37 pm

    You're welcome 😉

    Reply
  3. Lila Wolff says

    September 20, 2014 at 4:07 am

    So true! I find when I don't just pick one thing I end up overwhelmed or burnt out!

    Reply
  4. Sonia@ LIfe Love and Hiccups says

    September 20, 2014 at 3:25 am

    My bathroom vanity has been on the to do list for sooo long. i have make up and lotions in there that are at least 10 years old. Thanks or the kick up the bum 😉 xx

    Reply
  5. Jody at Six Little Hearts says

    September 19, 2014 at 8:33 pm

    Oh I too did this yesterday! Must be what Spring cleaning is all about. I even tackled a wee bit of the pantry – not too much mind you!

    Reply
  6. Jo@Countrylifeexperiment says

    September 19, 2014 at 12:57 pm

    Great place to begin

    Reply
  7. AllisonTaitWriter says

    September 19, 2014 at 12:48 pm

    Love it! I'm working on my desk. One piece of paper at a time.

    Reply
  8. Jo@Countrylifeexperiment says

    September 19, 2014 at 2:16 am

    Absolutely – I'm going to put the tupperware on the list to do now. Problogger seems to have galvanised me into (much needed) action, and I'm already seeing the results 🙂

    Reply
  9. Katie says

    September 18, 2014 at 11:47 am

    So true! I love organising things into boxes – the boxes I get milk in are about the size of your tubs. It makes everything handy.

    Reply
  10. Lisa says

    September 18, 2014 at 1:31 pm

    Great post Jo. I am loving your posts-you have your blogging mojo back! I cleaned out my tupperware cupboard the other day, that is an achievement I think! xx

    Reply
  11. Jo@Countrylifeexperiment says

    September 17, 2014 at 11:46 am

    It's amazing how a little organisation can make you feel more relaxed!

    Reply
  12. Jo@Countrylifeexperiment says

    September 17, 2014 at 11:46 am

    I'm getting more of a neat freak as I get older. If only my kids would follow my lead!

    Reply
  13. Jo@Countrylifeexperiment says

    September 17, 2014 at 11:13 am

    I like the idea of saying no too – but just today I ended up supervising the school social because they needed some one and I felt bad! Good luck… x

    Reply
  14. Maxabella says

    September 17, 2014 at 10:53 am

    Good one! So true! My one thing this week is to say no to at least one thing. I'll go from there… x

    Reply
  15. Rae Hilhorst says

    September 17, 2014 at 10:45 am

    I am one of those neat freaks, baskets and order around every corner and every nook and cranny. It also helps being empty nesters xxx

    Reply
  16. Louise says

    September 17, 2014 at 7:20 am

    When we moved our bathroom to another part of the house we put in a shaving cupboard behind a large mirror. We only did it as a last minute thing because we had to use the laundry to do our teeth while the plumbing was getting sorted. There was a tiny shaving cupboard in the old laundry so we used that and I found it really good, so thats when we decided to do it in the new bathroom. We were doing the renos so it didn't matter that it was a plan B. It is narrow in depth but quite long in height. So the products can only be side by side not lost up the back somewhere. I did a big cull when we cleaned out the old bathroom. Family have been warned to never pick up another bottle of shampoo or anything in a motel again lol. We also had enough hair ties to go around the world twice and no one with long hair anymore!! I'm like you everytime I open the cupboard I smile at the sheer simplicity of it all.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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