It’s time to get back to basics and celebrate National Simplicity Day on July 12! The holiday falls on this date every year to honor the birthday of Henry David Thoreau, who was born on this day in 1817. So read on for some modern-day tips on how to celebrate National Simplicity Day. As Thoreau himself said: “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”

NATIONAL SIMPLICITY DAY ACTIVITIES

1.      Reread Walden

We know you probably haven’t read it since you were in high school, so why not take Thoreau’s birthday to pick it up again? Thoreau chose to remove himself from society for two years to live as simply as possible in a cabin in the woods near Walden Pond and wrote his reflections of that time down in Walden. We know it’s unrealistic to expect you to give up on TV and takeout for that long, but you can at least live vicariously through him.

2.      Unplug from your devices

We know that it feels like it’s impossible to get through a day without Snapchatting, constantly checking your work email, posting to Instagram, and catching up on the latest HBO show, but try to challenge yourself to take a break from your computer and smartphone for a day. You’d be surprised at how refreshing it can feel to not be constantly plugged into everything that’s going on in everyone else’s life—and we’re willing to bet that when you log into Facebook the next morning, you’ll find you didn’t miss much.

3.      Declutter your home

Whether it’s a tiny apartment or a four-bedroom house, do you ever feel like you have too much stuff crammed into your home? Use Simplicity Day as an excuse to take a long, hard look at all your various objects and figure out what’s really important to you vs. what’s just taking up space. Take everything that falls into the latter category and donate it — you’ll feel more comfortable in your home and you’ll have done a bonus good deed!