Wanting to slow down and make life less stressful and busy? Embracing slow living habits and living a more vintage life can help.
With smart phones and everything being digital our lives are more connected than ever. This can be a good thing but it can also bring on a lot of stress and have us in a constant state of hustle. This has many of us seeking a slower and more simple life.
Slow living also works really well with living a retro lifestyle. Without all the technology and hustle culture people of the past seemed too often do a better job of slowing down and living intentionally.
We don’t have to ditch all the technology to live a slower and more intentional life. Technology has brought us so many great tools that can improve our lives and also add to accessibility but we want to be intentional about how we use that tech.
Tips for Embracing Slow Living
What is Slow Living?
Slow living is not about being “lazy” but more about being intentional with your time and consciously choosing to live at a slower place and be more mindful. It can help us prioritize our well-being and important relationships.
It can also help us opt-out of some of the over the top consumerism and capitalism. Which is not only better for our mental health but also for the health of the planet.
Cultivating Mindfulness in Daily Life
Something that my therapist has helped me with and stressed is very important for my mental health is being mindful. Our minds often race because we are just in the motions of life and not mindful about what is going on around us. This adds to anxiety and overwhelm, two things I suffer with.
Something as simple as when washing hands paying attention to the smell of the soap and the temperature of the water can help get us out of our heads.
You can do this with all of your daily activities. While cooking, cleaning, and spending time with family try to pay attention to all of the sensory experiences happening and the small details.
Simplifying Your Home and Decluttering
I’m not a minimalist and never will be. My home is filled with things I love but even if you are more of a maximalist you want to make sure the things you have are serving a purpose or bringing you joy.
A decluttered and intentional space can help bring more clarity and also helps us to keep our homes cleaner and tidier which can help us focus more on the things that matter.
Go through your home often and be honest about what things you actually want and need. If something is no longer serving a purpose or bringing you joy it’s time to pass it on to someone else that it will help.
A helpful resource for decluttering is Swedish death cleaning which I have talked about here on the blog. After you finish this post be sure to read A Guide to Swedish Death Cleaning.
Embracing Intentional Eating
Food not only feeds our body but can also feed our soul. Taking time to make meals that you love and your family loves can help heal a bad relationship with food and also bring back a happy meal time.
It’s generally ideal to eat meals at a table as a family but I know this doesn’t work for everyone. Honestly, it’s not something we do in my house as my husband rarely has time to watch tv and being able to watch something while he eats is important to him and I respect that. We do still use it as a time to chat and it would be different if we had kids.
Even if meal time is in front of the tv make sure you are slowing down and really savoring the food and experience.
Prioritizing Self-Care and Well-Being
Self-care is very important, even 1950s housewives knew self-care was something to prioritize. Carving time out of your day for things that bring you joy and replenish your energy are key to a healthy and happy life.
My therapist had me make a list of every thing I could think of that made me happy, big or small. When feeling stressed she said to look at the list and find one thing to do that day. You can even take this a step further and dive the list into things that take a short, medium, and long time so you can quickly find things that will work for the time you have.
I’ve been working to make my evenings more about self-care. I try to block social media on my phone started at about 4pm and instead of endless scrolling I have dinner with my husband and then work on a craft project or something like a puzzle. I often will have a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate as well. I end the evening with a hot shower or bath before heading to bed to read.
Fostering Meaningful Connections
Becoming more intentional about my relationships has been so valuable to me especially since the early pandemic days. I feel like I learned which relationships were the most important, the people that are truly there for me. Those are the relationships I put the most time and energy into.
There are so many ways to connect now. Texting, FaceTime, and of course in-person if that is accessible for you. My family even likes to have Zoom calls from time to time and play games. We live in the same town it can be really nice to already be home so it takes a lot less planning to be like “hey let’s play a game for an hour or two tonight” than to plan out a whole evening. It’s also nice because my sister and her family have young children. They can put them to bed and hang out or just drop in
The Retro Homemakers Club, a virtual homemaking community, can also be a wonderful space to connect with like-minded individuals who appreciate the magic of slow living.
Embrace a More Analog Life
The 1990s are starting to be trendy, which does make me feel old but I also get it. Going back to older technology or ditching the tech altogether is a great way to slow down.
This is a big topic and one I plan to share more about soon but start thinking about ways you can reduce technology in your life so you can disconnect from time to time and slow down.
Let us embrace the magic of slow living and embark on a journey of intentional homemaking that enriches our lives and the lives of those around us.
More Vintage Lifestyle Resources
Want to dive deeper into living a more vintage life? Check out these other articles here on Retro Housewife Goes Green.
Deanna Piercy says
Great post! I’m trying to do a lot of these things. The world is crazy these days so it’s even more important to focus on making our lives as intentional as possible.