A Simplified Life by Emily Ley

Tactical tools for intentional living

Is anyone needing a last minute Christmas gift for that lady who is always rushing here and rushing there, mostly overwhelmed, and always wadded up with 50,000 things to do? Stop right now and go buy her this book. If she can ever force herself to sit down and read it and then get up and follow it, she will thank you for for ever.

First off, let me start by exclaiming over how beautiful this book is. It's just like the title, simple. But it's also just pretty like that. A nice thick hardcover, with thicker than normal pages that are bursting with lots of beautiful photographs or sometimes just a full page dedicated to a profound sentence or two. It would make a great gift or even a coffee table display.

Now about the meat of the book. Emily looks at ten areas that can be simplified: space, style, meals, schedule, finances, hospitality, technology, self, motherhood, and faith. With each of these she offers helpful tips on ways to make your life simpler. And if even that feels too much, each chapter ends with five things you can do right now. And they are very simple.

Get rid of anything you don't use, don't just love or isn't a family treasure. Purge, purge, purge. Not to the point of minimalism, but just to simplicity, so you have space in your home. Pick out your favorite clothes that fit well and get rid of the rest. Plan a simple menu and rotate through it. Say no to things that aren't on your top list. Put all your finances together in one place, have one person take care of the day-to-day and another the long-term, or they could be the same person, but make sure to include the other person if you are married. "Hospitality is really just the way we wrap our people in love and care in the most basic, non-elaborate, meaningful ways."Wrap up your cords, turn off notifications. Take time for yourself to recharge. Teach your kids to work from a young age. And take time for God.

Those were a few nut shell things. There's a couple things I want to expand on a bit. I don't agree so much with her simple meals ideas that come from a list of tried and true simply because I love to try new foods. I do agree with the menu planning and also with having some fun traditions with food like Friday night pizza, etc.

Also on the simplified self, too often we hear the thing of you must take care of yourself, almost to an obsession. You need your time away, etc. etc. I think Emily cut a very nice balance here. To me, her self-care had to do with simple things that make you feel confident and ready to face life. She views it as tending to your health, your appearance, your mind and your heart. Eat healthy, dress nicely, exercise, find a relaxing release and do a brain dump to get rid of all those random thoughts swirling around. She would also say that by simplifying the rest of your life, you will help to eliminate those things that trigger overwhelming feelings and therefore you will have brain space to continue to fill others.

And last but not least, her little thought on teaching her children to work is so spot on and resonates with what I want. When she was little, someone asked her mother why she helps Emily clean her room instead of just telling Emily to clean it herself. Emily's mother replied, "Because she has to be taught how to clean up." And that's all I'll say about that now, but it is something I could go on and on about, because of how important I think that can be for the rest of the child's life in many areas of life.

Anyway, as you can tell, the book was great, easy to read and very insightful with lots of good tips.

I received this book from Book Look Bloggers and was not required to write a positive review.