As I travel down the road of simplifying, I am constantly looking for ways to make things easier and more streamlined. Ways to GAIN valuable minutes and even hours back into my day. Minutes and hours that can be spent doing things I WANT and LOVE to do rather than mundane tasks I HAVE to do.  Here are 5 easy things I’ve done (and YOU can too) to add a little margin back into your day.

1. Reduce the amount of email you receive.

Remember that time ONE time back in 2013, when you bought that random gadget from Harry’s House of Gadgets?  And now, it seems like you get an email from Harry EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. wanting you to purchase his latest and greatest gadget?  I sat down a few months ago for about an hour and unsubscribed from ALL emails from Harry’s House of Gadgets as well as the 100’s of other promotional emails I no longer care to receive.  Now the emails in my inbox are ones I truly WANT to receive and I no longer have to filter through a ton of advertisements or unwanted messages. This saves me literally 30 minutes a day I don’t have to spend weeding through and deleting emails.  It takes time up front, but oh how I love a simplified and streamlined inbox!

2. Clean out that closet!

This is one I’ve mentioned before. (Be sure to check out how I survived an entire year without purchasing new clothes.)  If I’m being honest, this is truly an ongoing process for me. My general rule of thumb is if I haven’t worn it in two years, it’s donated.  Trust me, I love choices as much as the next person, but LESS choices equal MORE time and MORE simplicity.  Do you spend precious minutes staring into your closet trying to decide what to wear each day, and yet you always defer back to the same outfits?  I’m definitely guilty of this and by simplifying your closet, your choices become easier and valuable minutes are gained.

3. Downsize your library.

This was a hard one for me.  I. LOVE. BOOKS.  And I’ve loved books for my entire life, so I have a HUGE library that takes up a LOT of room.  AND I still have books in boxes from my last move!  So recently, I took time and went through every book in my library and ended up donating probably 100+ to Goodwill.   I figure if I ever want to read a particular book again, I can always download or repurchase it.  Less books = less space = less time to clean = more simplicity.

4. Get ready for your day the night before.

This is a SUPER easy trick I’ve actually been doing for years.   Life is SO much easier when your morning routine goes smoothly and you aren’t rushing around tying up last minute loose ends.

Every night before bed, I:

• get the coffee pot ready because PRIORITIES.
• lay out and iron all my clothes.
• pack my ‘roly’ and have it ready to roll out the door.
• Depending on what my day looks like, pack snacks, lunch, etc., so it’s ready for me to just grab and walk out the door.

5. Set your monthly bills to direct draft.

This was a game changer for me when I set this up a few years ago.  I remember back in ye olden days when I would spend hours on a Saturday morning, writing checks, addressing and stamping envelopes, recording in my checkbook register then heading out to mail off all the bills.  What a waste of time!  Now everything is drafted either directly from my checking account or my credit card virtually cutting down my once a month, Saturday morning bill paying time to 30 minutes or less.  I basically just have to record the drafts and make sure all were paid correctly.  And VOILA! I just got hours back on my Saturday morning.

Of course there are hundreds of other things you can do to simplify, but these are 5 easy things you can begin to do right now!  You will be surprised how quickly you will add time back into your day!  What else do you do or could you do to simplify? I’d love for you to share in the comments below. I’m always up for learning new time saving and simplifying tricks!