Caroline and I finished up our summer homeschooling yesterday. I now have two weeks off and we’ll start up with the new school year the day after Labor Day. I have been making small and large changes during August that are already paying off in terms of more time and less stress. I could write a post about each of these (and probably will), but for now I’m simply going to list them.

One, I have been steadily removing myself from email lists. I have significantly reduced the amount of email I receive. I’m already pretty careful about this, but have taken it to another level. Anyone who emails too frequently and doesn’t give me an option for less? Gone. Anyone subtly inserting propaganda that makes me feel stressed or angry? Gone. And so on. Even if it’s a company I like and might buy from again, if their emails annoy me they are gone.

Two, I deleted my Twitter account this week. I do plan to write a full post about this. Twitter is by far the most stressful social media I’ve ever used. It’s not even close. I think their algorithm is designed for it. I already feel different today by not having it.

Three, we have been cleaning out each room of the house. Last weekend, David took a carload of donations to a local charity that operates in our part of the county. I decided I didn’t care if there were things I could sell on Facebook for a few dollars. I asked the Lord to bless the people who find the things and provide that money for us in another way.

Four, I’ve been cleaning out homeschooing materials. Now that I know what we’ll be doing the last two years of homeschooling, there is no reason to hang on to a lot of things. I’ve been pitching stuff left and right. Some things will be donated.

Five, I moved all of my media files in posts to my own hosting/server. Every podcast and video I’ve made for both of my sites is now self-hosted. I have left some of them up on other platforms so people can find me, but nothing is embedded from anywhere else. No more adapting to changes on other platforms.

So that’s what I’ve been doing to simplify my life this month. Have you made any changes lately? Please share in a comment below if you have. Maybe your ideas will inspire someone else!