The Year Of Simple Living – Stephanie Parrell | Proactive eBook Written By Scale It Simple Blog Creator

***This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own***

Synopsis

Many of us know that meaningful connections form the core of a happy life.
In an increasingly fast-paced, socially and economically driven world we are becoming more and more detached from those meaningful connections that are so essential to our happiness.
That is where simple living comes in.
Simple living offers a way for you to strip away all of that clutter that is a burden on your time, energy and emotions. Simple living gives you new freedoms to spend time doing what you love with who you love.
The best part of all is that you can begin to cultivate the meaningful, happy and successful life you truly want and deserve, right now.
No matter who you are, what you’ve done in the past, or what time you have available in the present, you can do something, right now, to create a simplified, abundant life for yourself and the people you love.
(Taken from Scale It Simple)

My Review

My life can be cluttered and chaotic despite my best efforts so I was looking forward to reading The Year Of Simple Living and seeing what I could learn from it. The book is split into chapters, with each one dedicated to a month of the year. As I was reviewing this book I didn’t read a chapter per month as suggested, but could see how well this work work as each chapter gives you a substantial set of tasks to get through.

Not that they are chores though – quite the opposite. From decluttering your wardrobe to removing objects around the house that no longer are of use to you there are loads of physical activities to take on, however Parrell is quick to point out that simple living isn’t just about material minimalism, but rather the state of mind that you are in too. This leads to some very poignant chapters on self-care and mindset that I think even the most unmaterialistic person could still benefit from.

I enjoyed each chapter – they were all digestible and laid out typically in lists and challenges, which made them easy to scan through and then come back to as needed. It feels like a bit of a handbook which I think is appropriate giving the topic… Simple living isn’t something you can achieve immediately! I can imagine that I’ll be coming back to this time and time again to check in with myself and my progress and also to see what’s next to get done. Some of the stuff I already knew such as the methods for cleaning out the home and the effective methods of budgeting (now I need to actually stick to them and this book has been a good reminder of that), but I still learnt a lot. My favourite chapter was towards the end, Feed Your Soul, as it covered the ego and how this can get in the way of simple living. This chapter in particular resonated with me, and I feel the information included is valuable to many people that perhaps don’t realise how their attitudes and reactions are negatively impacting their lives. This is something I want to work on further so for me this chapter really stood out.

I also really liked the design of the ebook – the fonts worked well together and I loved the photography, which was very focused around plants and emphasised the vibe you’re going for with it all. If anything I would have liked to have seen photos from Parrell herself showing perhaps the before and after of each section (how minimalist her apartment is now, what she does for self-care, and so on), however I guess that’s something I’ll see for myself as I implement each step.

Final Thoughts

Generally speaking, The Year Of Simple Living is an excellent introduction to decluttering your life both physically and mentally. Although it could have done with slightly tighter editing, many people will learn something from reading this and will hopefully apply that newfound knowledge to their lives. Parrell’s Buddhist beliefs influence the text but it’s not written for any specific audience (just people that want to live simply), so it’s accessible for anyone. If you’re tired of feeling chaotic and overwhelmed by things in your life then The Year Of Simple Living by Stephanie Parrell is a challenge you should definitely consider taking up.

Purchase Links

If you’d like to purchase The Year Of Simple Living then you can do so using this link.

Author Bio

My name is Steph, I am a 30 year old from the Northeast coast of Canada, St. John’s, Newfoundland. 
My goal is to provide fresh and unique ways to bring balance to ourselves and our lives. I have come to learn that when you love and take care of yourself you are better able to do the same for your loved ones and the world around you. 
Whether it’s a journey to minimalism, self-love, travel or enriching your mind through reading you will find a little bit of it all on Scale it Simple.
(Taken from Scale It Simple)

If you enjoyed this review then please don’t forget to like, pin, and leave a comment – let me know if you’ve read Stephanie’s ebook and what you thought of it!