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On Eating Less (aka The Minimalist Diet)

Happy fall, everyone! We’re having the most gorgeous weather here in the Pacific Northwest, and I’m soaking in every last ray of sunshine before it starts raining (and raining and raining). I’m enjoying a few more weeks of wearing my One Shoe before I have to switch over to the rain boots…

So I’m writing a new book, and experimenting with minimalism on all kinds of levels. I posted last about my Unplugged Summer, a lovely exercise in dialing back my digital commitments. Basically, I faced my fear of being unproductive, and was rewarded in spades with a mother/daughter summer I’ll always treasure.… {Read more}

A Year Ago on miss minimalist

The Minsumer Movement: A Quiet Revolution: “Don’t buy it!” may be an unusual call to arms, but it has the potential to transform our lives, our society and our planet. Like all revolutions, ours is bred by discontent. We’re sick of being slaves to debt and keeping up with the Joneses. We’re tired of working long hours at jobs we don’t like, to pay for things we don’t need. We’re unhappy with the clutter in our homes, and the commercialization of our holidays…{read more}

Minimalist Inspiration: The Story of Stuff: In the spirit of Minsumerism, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite internet videos: The Story of Stuff, by writer and activist Annie Leonard.… {Read more}

Chopping Wood and Carrying Water

I’ve been interviewed countless times over the past year, and frequently asked “What is minimalism?” More often than not, the reporter is looking for something dramatic, something newsworthy, something extreme. And more often than not, my answer disappoints them.

Why? Because in my opinion, minimalism is not about being radical or awesome or extraordinary.

It’s not about reducing your entire life to a hard drive, or interacting with the world through your iPhone.

It’s not about quitting your day job, traveling the world, or selling ebooks from a tropical beach.

It’s not about living in a sleek loft with three pieces of designer furniture.… {Read more}

Minimalism of Royal Proportions

In a previous post, I confessed my love of grand, empty spaces (Minimalist Confession: I’m an Empty Space Junkie). Unfortunately, while visiting European castles over the last few months, I’ve discovered that grand spaces are rarely empty. On the contrary, they’re usually stuffed with paintings, tapestries, gold gilt decor, and enough furniture to stock a showroom. Royal families have a unique way of making a football-field sized room feel claustrophobic.

Imagine my delight, then, when I recently stepped into Vladislav Hall in Prague Castle (pictured below). I couldn’t believe my eyes: soaring ceilings, unadorned stone walls, bare floors, and enormous windows.… {Read more}

Minimalist Inspiration: The Story of Stuff

In the spirit of Minsumerism, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite internet videos: The Story of Stuff, by writer and activist Annie Leonard. It’s a brilliant, 20-minute, stick-figure documentary about the life cycle of material goods.

The video explores the environmental and social issues of our current model of consumption, and calls on us to create a more sustainable economy.

While walking us through the five steps of extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal, Annie provides many thought-provoking statistics, such as:

80% of the planet’s original forests are gone. 40% of waterways in the United States have become undrinkable.… {Read more}

One-A-Day Keeps the Clutter Away

I don’t always have the time (or inclination) to set aside a few hours for decluttering. At the same time, I like to feel that I’m making progress in ridding my home of useless things.

My solution: the One-A-Day Declutter. It’s super-easy, super-fast, and most importantly, keeps me going in the right direction.

Every day, I commit to purging ONE item from my house. It can be anything—a worn-out pair of socks, a book I’ll never read again, a gift I could live without, a shirt that doesn’t fit, an old magazine article, etc. It doesn’t take much effort, and at the end of the year, my home is at least 365 items lighter.… {Read more}

Less Stuff = More Joy

I’m starting this blog to explore the joys and challenges of a minimalist lifestyle. I truly believe that having less stuff can lead to a happier life, and would like to discover that elusive point of “just enough.” Along the way, I hope to create a site where fellow aspiring minimalists can share their ideas and experiences, setbacks and success stories.

You may be thinking, “Oh, I could never be a minimalist,” “I have pets,” “I have kids,” “I have a closet full of shoes,” “My desk is buried in paperwork…” That’s okay!

The term “minimalism” can be intimidating; all too often, it conveys a sober, serious, sterile feel.… {Read more}