52 Ways To Frenchify Your Life… One Week At A Time
Let’s get Frenchy! Haha!!! Yah, that sounds cheesy (and it is), but if you’re the slightest bit of a Francophile like me, I look for ANY way to add some French to my life, or (as I’ve called it for decades), “Frenchify” my life. Last week I started a new weekly series to help you find ways to add some French-ness to your everyday. In case you missed last week’s post, you can view it here.
So, here we are at week four of “janvier” already! It’s a little difficult to wrap my head around that, but we’re here! I’ve been busy so far this month setting my French Daisy goals, attempting to create new habits and enjoying actually having a WINTER and SNOW with the hubs and our kiddos (dogs).


Anyway, back to Frenchifying. This week’s suggestion is to…
SIMPLIFY – because less is more!
Now of course this isn’t just a “French thing” and it is a perfect time of year to make progress with this. Simplifying can apply to nearly any aspect of life, but I will tie this to what I have learned about the French.
I recently read somewhere online a phrase that spoke to me as I’m looking to SIMPLIFY: “December, de-clutter, de-tach and de-lete anything that de-values your life. Don’t bring it into 2025.” I love this and it makes perfect sense to me. Although it states “December”, I normally try to start this in January after all of the Christmas decor has been put to bed for a while and I’m left with what seems like a perfect time to clean, organize and declutter our home.
Before I get too far into this, I want to preface the below with the fact that my thoughts are 1) generalities about the French (and mostly Parisians) and 2) my own that I have learned from my travel experiences as well as personal relationships with different French individuals.
I can learn a lot from the French because they are quite good at simplifying. I mean this in a way as far as “things” go. For example, many Parisians don’t have large flats or apartments, therefore they do not have a lot of room to keep extra “stuff.” They don’t live in excess like many of us do, myself included.
Fun Fact: The café culture that we all know and love actually started as a way to meet up with friends since they didn’t have the space to have gatherings in their apartments. This is also how “pubs” (Public Houses) started in England and Ireland.


Food – Parisians don’t usually have large refrigerators or freezers, therefore they only have what they need for just a day or two. Not only does this result in less waste, but it also forces them to buy fresh items every few days. It’s so much healthier and a lot less waste (and they WALK or RIDE a bike usually).

I can’t imagine going to the market every day or two for fresh bread, meats and produce. It would be much less wasteful than going once every week or so. I don’t know what your fridge looks like, but I’m pretty sure I have a couple things in the back that probably need to be tossed. Just sayin!

Clothing – Again, most Parisians don’t have large, elaborate, walk-in closets. They often just have a single dresser or armoire. There’s not a lot of room for storing an overabundance of clothes and shoes. Good quality clothing and shoes that can be worn in a variety of ways is what most tend to lean toward. Makes perfect sense that they choose their clothing wisely.
“Things” – Haha! This makes me giggle to even type it (because I need to do a lot of work in this area). I do have a LOT of “things” which is why I’m trying to de-clutter and simplify. Things as in excessive decorations. Things as in excessive crafty items. Things as in excessive kitchen tools. Things as in excessive clothes & shoes. Things as in excessive pillows. I can go on and on. You get my drift.
Are you smiling because you are in my same boat? If I had a smaller space, I’d have less things. Parisians do have small living quarters, in general, which means they have less room to clutter their living space. These are pictures of the entire apartment (minus the bathroom) we rented in Paris – only enough room for the essentials and nothing more!


I have a friend who is absolutely wonderful at living simply with NO clutter. I seriously don’t know how she does it, but I have a lot to learn from her.
Relationships – As I hope everyone does, the French tend to really value personal relationships. Having a few very close friends is by far more important to them than having many “shallow” relationships or acquaintances. Many times outsiders might think of the French as closed people, but I don’t see it this way at all. It may take someone a while to become an “ami/amie” (friend), but once you are, you’re a friend for life.

What ways can you think of to de-clutter and simplify? I would love to hear what you have done to Frenchify your life so far this month in the Comments below. 🙂
Allons faire un tour…

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