Succesful Simplification

Tonight we had dear friends over to dinner. The whole Simplify family had a great time!
I am proud because I kept it simple: I made an easy make ahead dinner (chili and cornbread) that took minimal effort on my part but was still healthy and delicious. It was just as much fun and enjoyable for all of us, and I wasn't overly stressed or busy in preparation for their visit. Clean up was a breeze too.
As part of the simplification effort, I want to surround myself (and our family) with people who we truly enjoy spending time with. I want to be around people who help to make me a better person and who enrich my life. I loved visiting with our friends tonight, and when they left the whole family felt so happy and grateful for the time we had spent together.
Mr. Simplify and I invest a lot of time socially to parties, charity events, and a variety of 'must-do's .... but are they really 'must-do's? Part of the prioritizing for simplification is going to be to really consider all the invitations and to be willing to say no to some of those that aren't going to enrich our lives or bring us closer to the people we love and truly want to spend time with. This is going to be a really tricky task, but at least having it in mind will help in making more thoughtful decisions as to where we commit our social time.