It takes intention & persistence to focus on the beautiful and the good, and to grow a simple life in a world that seems to be only getting more complex. It isn’t simple to stay simple, especially when your creativity and natural ability to manifest abundance are offsetting your intention to have less stuff.

I discovered early in my journey to simple that my version of simplicity is different than many. I’m not on the minimalist road, by any means, so I felt a bit conflicted when I first began to write about simple living.

Our home doesn’t model what you might see in a simplicity magazine, although it IS very organized and peaceful, with a noticeable lack of clutter. My clothes closet is spacious, but I’m not interested in using Courtney Carver’s Project 333 to trim my wardrobe. My drawers are orderly, but not KonMarie-folded. (I do, however, use the Kondo joy-test when deciding what to keep.)

My kind of simple is more about having enough spaciousness in my life to fully appreciate the beautiful abundance around me. And this is nowhere more obvious than my yard.

Cultivating a simple life is a lot like growing a garden. It takes patience, and every season brings new challenges and gifts.

Here are 3 gardening practices that will help your simplicity grow through the seasons.

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Create a System.

I love my garden cart. It follows me around my yard with all the basics to weed, trim & prune where needed. It keeps me from running back to the garden shed and offers a system to keep my tools organized and ready for use.

A simple organizing system that is fun & enjoyable is the first step to creating a more productive, orderly work flow that will keep your clutter at bay. Do you have all the right systems & tools in place to bring ease and joy into creating more spaciousness in your home?

Consider putting a system in place that pays attention to the various seasons and needs of your various home environments.

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Prune & Clear every Season.

Every season is important for a garden, and staying on top of seasonal pruning, trimming, and clearing helps every garden thrive. Winter, clear the ground. Spring, plant and prune. Summer, weed and appreciate the blossoms. Fall, share the harvest.

When we practice clearing our physical spaces every season, they stay more spacious and easy to manage through the year. How might the seasons of nature inspire you to grow a more simple life?

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Regular Weeding & Watering.

When I keep up with the basics, my gardens (and my back) are much happier. When I make time to appreciate the beauty, notice what is in bloom, and share my garden’s bounty, the plants thrive and so does my heart. This is the reward of gardening, so I do my best to make it a daily practice.

Having a daily & weekly clearing practice for your home will not only keep your spaces more inviting, it will connect you to your belongings so you know whether to hold on or let go. Appreciating our bounty and choosing to keep what makes us happy is the essence of a simple, spacious life.

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Less stuff and stress. More joy and meaning. This is the true bounty you will receive.

Reach out if you’d like a gardening partner!