Simplify Your Personal Care

One of the first areas I changed when I became serious about simple living was my personal care. As a disclaimer, I have never been a high maintenance girl, so none of the changes felt sacrificial for me. Many of my personal care routines were done because everyone else did them, and that is one of the worst reasons to do anything.

Many of my [...] routines were done because everyone else did them,
and that is one of the worst reasons to do anything.

Hair color

I have gray hair, not totally gray, but probably 40 percent or so. I colored my hair for a while. First, I did it at home myself with help from my husband. Then, I decided that I deserved professional color and did that for a couple of years. My husband and I did not agree on the color. He wanted something natural. I argued that I did not want to pay good money to be mousy brown. I wanted something bright and wild and obviously artificial, since there was nothing natural about coloring your hair. I leaned toward red. It was a reasonable color in artificial light but when the sunlight hit it, my hair was on fire. I was stubborn about it for a while, but once my focus turned to simple living, natural became the way to go. Really and truly natural. It is a bit painful to grow out colored hair, and thankfully I am not too vain, so for now, I’m a couple inches of natural, and the rest is color. This is one process I will be glad to get to the end of. Natural hair color is absolutely the right decision for me. Saves time. Saves money. Keeps the husband happy. A triple win.

Hair Style

My hair is quite wavy. Our society is so silly. Straight haired people want curly hair. Curly haired people want straight hair. Why can we not be happy with what we are given? For years, I have blown dry the front part of my hair so that my bangs and hair that framed my face would be softer and smoother. My forehead is long so it was to cover that up a bit as well. I finally got over myself and started letting it dry naturally. It took some getting used to since I was so determined to tame the waves. Another simple living win. No more need for a hair dryer or special brush to straighten those natural waves.

Make up

Although I’ve never worn a lot of makeup, I have always worn makeup to work. I thought it made me look more polished and professional. It was a five to ten-minute routine: foundation, eye shadow, blush, mascara, and go. Always the same with the exception of subtle changes in eye shadow color over the years. One day I decided that it wasn’t really improving my looks anyway, so I just stopped. That first day or two I was a bit self-conscious, but nobody asked if I was tired or feeling bad or anything that I could trace back to a lack of makeup. I have never looked back but I also haven’t thrown out my makeup. I keep thinking that a formal occasion might convince me to pull it out again but that hasn’t happened yet. The day will come when I will let all of it go. This is another money and time saving change.

Contact Lens

Oh, I have such love/hate for contact lens. Vanity won here. I thought I was more attractive without glasses. Glasses are nerdy. I happily embrace my nerdy these days. I have been without contacts now for about a year. When I was wearing them, if the wind blew, my eyes were irritated. If there was pollen or dust in the air, my eyes were irritated. If I wore them too many hours in a day, well, you get the idea. They were great in that I did not have to adjust to the weight of glasses on my nose and ears or the loss of some peripheral vision. Now, I love my glasses. Wake up, put them on, and go. No solutions or soaking. No extra time to put them in or clean them during the day. Less expense. Less time commitment. Less hassle. Simple living. Love it.

I will never be a cover girl or beauty queen, but I can hold my own as a quirky, nerdy girl. And that makes me completely happy. Here is what I look like as I write today…

Less stuff means lower maintenance, lower expenses, and more time to focus on relationships, experiences, and all the important things that provide a richer, fuller life. A simple life happens as much within you as it does around you.

A simple life happens as much within you as it does around you.