Maine Creative Momma

If I were to give 2026 a word it would be simplicity.

Simplicity in cooking.

Simplicity in cleaning.

Simplicity in shopping.

Simplicity in work.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary has several definitions of Simplicity, but the one I find I’m resonating most with is:

The state of being simple, uncomplicated, and uncompounded.

In my words: unhurried, unbothered, and free to just focus on what I’m finding most important in that particular day, hour, or moment.

A lot of our meals are the same week to week. Chicken thighs, salad, simply prepared vegetables (roasted or lightly steamed). Sometimes steaks or more complicated veggies like fiddleheads (thankfully they are in season right now). The same muffin recipes that we have been enjoying for weeks now. And it’s almost all homemade, so the simplicity carries through the ingredients and properly fuels our bodies.

Easy to plan, easy to shop, easy to cook.

Are they Instagram worthy dinners? No. Are they feeding & nourishing our bodies? Yes.

My laundry routine is on lock. Starting at 4:30 am on Friday my first load is in and by 8 pm it’s all done and put away. You’ll never convince me that there’s a better way to start my weekend than having fresh sheets on the bed.

Weekends don’t have plans – we are home (or at my sisters, which feels like our other home). Soaking up the sunshine in our backyard. Saturday morning is for the grocery store, Sunday is for cooking.

After a terrible year in 2025, Matt & I realized we had to slow down and focus on us. Our boys. We are had to find ways to connect with them and with each other. Part of me wants to fill my grief space with things – trips, over the top meals, gatherings that I don’t really want to attend, but still do. All of that would be a wonderful distraction. Yet here I am.

I’ve also given up Instagram & Facebook, which has the best simplification I could possibly make to my mental energy, time, and lifestyle. But more on that in another post.

I’ve seen people call this kind of simple life boring. Routine. Mundane. But to me, this is the most romantic and rewarding life I’ve ever had. Maybe it needed to take 37 years for me to find it, but I wish it hadn’t.

As the summer comes in, and the world calls us all to slow down a bit, I hope you will take the call and the invitation seriously. Cancel the plans. Eat the meals that you enjoy over and over. Say no to the emails, texts chains, parties, nights at the bar, dates, movies, shows, and activities that drain the energy you have.

Finding what your simplicity is doesn’t take a lot of energy or work. Start with something little; your coffee routine, get rid of one skincare product you don’t need (your skin is beautiful naturally), find the clothes that are comfortable in your closet and get rid of the rest.

For now – I’m going to hit publish on this, turn on some 90’s country, and watch my boys play with the garden hose (and yes, drink out of it). There’s nothing else I need to be happy today.