The daily grind of raising a family and running a household can be taxing on anyone, both emotionally and physically. Truly simplifying your life can help you focus on those things that matter so that you can focus 100% of your energy on what you need and want to do, instead of feeling like you are being pulled in many different directions. Follow these four steps and you can live a more focused, grounded, and less stressful day to day life.

Get Rid of What You Don’t Need

Much of the time we spend is on activities related to stuff. It seems to multiply out of thin air. Think of all the hours of your life you’ve spent picking up, trying to organize, and storing toys that your children don’t truly need or even play with that often. The same can be said for anything, whether it be clothing or even cookware. How many times have you opened up a previously organized drawer, only to find it in complete disarray again and bursting at the seams? The easiest way to manage stuff is simply to have less of it. Marie Kondo, a bestselling organization writer, advises people to purge their house completely of anything that does not bring them joy—either in its appearance or utility.

Take Care of What You Have

A lot of the time, little stresses in life turn into bigger stresses when we don’t take care of them. Think about your car. Getting the oil changed regularly can feel like an inconvenience but if you don’t service and maintain your car, you will have bigger problems down the road and even more stress and inconvenience when your car doesn’t work properly. Once you get rid of everything in your house that you don’t want or need, it is easy to take care of those things you do have because you realize just how important and vital they are.

Cut Out Unnecessary Stress

Unnecessary stress can creep in using many forms. It can even be as simple as changing up your make up or beauty routine. Instead of using a primer, moisturizer, concealer, and then foundation, try using products that combine these functions and save vital time, storage area, and money. If you love having long hair but don’t necessarily want the stress of maintaining it, perhaps try clip-in hair extensions which can be removed and are generally low maintenance. Another way stress can creep in is in day to day activities like putting a meal on the table. Instead of cooking every night or guiltily calling for take-out when you aren’t able to, try cooking every few days but doubling the ingredients and thus your output. This will simplify grocery shopping as well, adding in additional precious minutes back to your day.

Outsource Where You Can

If you are able to, outsource chores like cleaning, laundry, or yard maintenance as much as you can. Write down what is most important to you and then prioritize your budget accordingly. If having a bi-weekly or monthly cleaning service and the corresponding time spent with your family instead of cleaning is more important to you then dining out every weekend or having your nails done, spend your money on that instead.