50+ Things to Quit Doing to Simplify Life

Recently, my mom and I got together and started talking about everything we quit to simplify our lives. Most advice out there will tell you to start doing something to simplify, but I have found that the easiest way to simplify life is to see what you can quit.

I hope this huge list of things we quit doing will help you find some things you can quit.

Not everything will apply to everyone, but it’s all about generating ideas. By quitting some of these things, we have actually saved money and gained time.

Please be sure to leave a comment on this post and tell me some things that you have stopped doing to simplify your life.

Things to Quit Doing to Simplify Life

(Of course, if you do these things or don’t do these things, that does not mean it’s good or bad. These are just things that could be stopped to find more time and money.)

1 – I have stopped caring if my home is perfectly tidy all day, every day. We now tidy at the end of the day to reset for the next morning.

2 – I stopped feeling like everything is my responsibility or as if I have control over everything that happens in my home and family. We can only control so much. Example: The house getting messy, kids not eating certain foods, husbands appointments. Now, I am letting everyone be responsible for themselves. 

3 – Take addictive apps off your phone. This will give you so much time back. I am not singling out one in particular, but instead anything that eats up a ton of your time.

4 – Let that “get it all done” mentality go. We can only do so much in a day, and then we can start again tomorrow. It can be exhausting if we are trying to get as much done as possible every day.

5 – Quit thinking everything needs to happen on some timeline that was decided by society. For instance, get an education by a certain age, get married by a certain age (or get married at all), have kids when you’re young (now I know there is a limit on this one unless you adopt). But you get what I am saying. By taking this feeling of urgency off of our lives, it makes it more enjoyable.

6 – I quit watching the news! The horror! Now, before everyone freaks out, this does not mean I have no idea what is going on. It just means I no longer sit down at 4 p.m. and turn on a news channel to let them decide what was important that day or week to tell me. You can still get the news by visiting a verified news outlet online and looking through the top weekly stories. 
This saves so much time and stress. Because we don’t need to know every time someone’s dog ran away to still be informed. 

7 – I quit waking up super early. I kept hearing that I had to wake up early to take on the day. Well, it turns out you can’t be a night person and a morning person and still get 8 hours of sleep. So I picked being a night person. =)

8 – If you have kids, this is a great one! I quit getting involved with sibling drama. Now I let them work it out. 

9 – Stopped the “fad diets.” Everyone is selling a diet! Now I eat a balanced diet that I consider a lifestyle, not a diet that we do for a while then go back to eating bad.

10 – I quit reacting to things my husband says. Does it really matter if I don’t agree with his opinion on the weather?  Now I just say oh OK.

11 – I stopped letting people’s opinions affect the decisions I make. It’s easy to fall into the trap of always running things by people when really we should be doing things we think are good for ourselves. 

Watch the video here:

12 – Quit getting distracted by the next shiny object. This can apply in so many ways. Clothes, diets, home decor, apps, side hustles…

13 – I quit painting my nails. After some research I realized how damaging nail polish is. By giving this up it saves money and time and as a bonus my nails are healthier than ever.

14 – Quit keeping uncomfortable clothes and shoes because I “might need them some day.”

15 – I still wear makeup but I don’t feel like I have to wear it. Like it’s ok to just have a normal plan face with no makeup.

16 – Stopped dying my hair. I decided to embrace my real hair color. 

17 – I quit caring what people think. 

18 – Quit shopping for entertainment.

19 – I stopped cleaning my house for the sake of cleaning. Now I wait until I can see that I need to clean. No more preemptive cleaning for no good reason.

20 – No longer follow trends. If I like the trend sure, but I don’t feel like I need to rush out and get the latest thing. 

Here is a huge list of things that people commented that they quit:

1. All the “shoulds”
2. Make up
3. Don’t buy things that require ironing
4. fake nails
5. high heels
6. Jewelry
7. Living above your means
8. quit buying coffee out
9. Quit trying to convince people I am right
10. No more TV
11. Quit folding clothes
12. Quit buying gifts
13. Stopped volunteering when already doing too much
14. Quit social media you don’t like
15. Stop saying yes to every invitation
16. Quit decorating
17. Quit crafting
18. Quit getting New Cars
19. Quit seasonal decor
20. Quit having too many clothes
21. Stop Fancy hairstyles
22. Quit buying chemical cleaners
23. Quit yard sales
24. Quit having a Christmas Tree
25. Quit trying to make everyone happy
26. Stopped multitasking
27. Quit apologizing for how your house looks
28. Stop dealing with toxic people
29. Quit expecting people to change
30. Quit comparing myself to others
31. Quit trying to ALWAYS be positive
32. Stopped being a people pleaser
33. Quit trying to have a “perfect holiday”

Watch the Video Here:

I hope these long lists gave you some ideas of what to quit to save time and money!
Please comment below what you have quit to simplify your life.