By miss minimalist |
A few weeks ago, I attended the John Pawson exhibition at the Design Museum here in London. For those unfamiliar with his work, he is the minimalist architect extraordinaire. I adore his aesthetic: white walls, open spaces, and minimum adornment, combined with natural materials like wood, marble, onyx, bronze, and granite. Simplicity, purity, grace, clarity – these are the words that come to mind when looking at his spaces.
He recently designed the beautiful Monastery of Novy Dvur in the Czech Republic, for an order of Trappist monks:
.
At the exhibition was a long table, displaying the architect’s notes, articles, architectural renderings and models. This page of Pawson’s typewritten notes was the first thing I laid eyes on:
.
“To be thingless is to possess the world.”
The words struck me like a lightning bolt and burned themselves into my brain. Every day since, I’ve been repeating this mantra over and over in my head. I love it for its simplicity, its poetry, its philosophy, its expression of the very essence and joy of minimalism.
And, of course, I couldn’t wait to share it with you. 
Like all things Zen, it shouldn’t be interpreted literally. In our modern times, it’s nearly impossible to be absolutely “thingless,” and none of us actually want to “possess” the world.
This phrase, rather, is a reminder that the less we’re attached to things, the more freedom we have. The less time and energy we devote to things, the more we have for experiences. The less walled-in we are by things, the more open we are to those around us.
In other words: when we’re not possessed by things, we can fully embrace the world.
And I’ll leave it at that, because nothing I can say is as beautiful, powerful, or inspirational as those eight little words.
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
By miss minimalist |
I live a minimalist lifestyle for many reasons: for example, I love the freedom, the flexibility, and the financial benefits of not owning a lot of stuff.
But I must admit, it’s also a chance to indulge my inner rebel. I’ve been a straight-A student, model employee, and overall law-abiding citizen; yet when it comes to consumerism, I can’t resist my desire to stick it to the man. 
When I see ads for luxury cars, designer handbags, trendy clothing, and electronic gadgets, I become more determined not to buy them. When I see promotions for loans, mortgages, and credit cards, I become more convinced to stay out of debt.
When politicians implore me to go shopping to “improve the economy,” I’m inspired to swap, borrow, and make do with what I have. When I hear that more stuff means more happiness, I become that much more passionate about living with less.
In short: the more I’m told to consume, the more enthusiastic I become not to.
I don’t know if my contrarian response is a minimalist thing, a frugality thing, or an environmental thing, but I do know this: the purchase of all this stuff is benefiting someone, but it’s certainly not us. And the last thing I’m going to do is trade my financial security, my precious space, and the planet’s resources for a pile of unnecessary material goods.
In 1849, Henry David Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience. The premise: people shouldn’t allow government to overrule their consciences. In our modern world, I think we can use a little consumer disobedience—to make sure banks, corporations, and other profiteering interests don’t do the same.
Are you with me? If so, here’s 14 acts of consumer disobedience for you to consider:
1. Pay with cash. Don’t give credit card companies another penny in finance charges – they grow richer at your expense. Save up for stuff instead of charging it; by the time you have the money, you may not even want it anymore!
2. Say no to logos. If a company wants you to be a walking advertisement, they should be paying you.
3. Be brand disloyal. Check out generic alternatives to name-brand goods; the products are often nearly identical.
4. Ignore trends. They’re just a clever ruse to get you to part with your hard-earned money. Don’t buy stuff that’ll be obsolete, outdated, or out-of-style in the blink of an eye.
5. Be a borrower. Whether it’s a book, a ladder, or a dress to wear to a special event, explore borrowing options before you buy. Check out the library, tool shares, car shares, toy shares, and other programs in your area.
6. Swap. Trading your old stuff with others is a great way to save space (one in, one out!) and money. If you can’t make a swap among friends and family, go online: sites like Swap.com, Paperbackswap, SwapStyle, and Zwaggle help you trade books, CDs, DVDs, video games, clothing, accessories, toys, and more.
7. Go on a spending fast. Select a specific time period—like a day, week, or month—and during this time, don’t buy anything but necessities (like basic food and toiletries). Find creative ways to meet your needs, and make do with the things you already have.
8. Have a gift-free holiday. Instead of exchanging store-bought goods, celebrate the holiday with gifts of service (like babysitting, tax help, or a massage), gifts of charity, or by simply spending time with loved ones.
9. Tune out the ads. The easiest way to stick it to the ad man is to stop listening to him. Cancel magazine subscriptions, turn off commercials (or ditch the TV altogether), and install an ad blocker in your browser.
10. Go car-free. If you can walk, bike, or take public transit where you need to go, consider going car-free. Then you can avoid the expense of gas, maintenance, parking, and insurance as well as a car payment.
11. Right-size your space. Live in the smallest space you need, not the largest you can afford. Not only will you save money on your rent or mortgage; you’ll have less incentive to buy stuff to fill it up!
12. Fix your stuff. Try to repair items before replacing them with something new. Darn your socks, mend your clothes, and take your lawnmower to the repair shop instead of running out for a replacement.
13. DIY. Grow your own veggies, make your own furniture, sew your own clothes, bake your own bread. Use your particular skills and talents to avoid buying mass-produced stuff.
14. Want less. Advertisers, marketers, and corporations will do everything in their power to make you want more. But to be richer, happier, and freer, all you need to do is want less.
If you’re tired of the clutter in your home, the finance charges on your credit card, the commercialization of your holidays, or the pressure to keep up with the Joneses, you don’t have to accept the status quo. Channel your inner rebel, and fight back.
Practice your own version of consumer disobedience, and let your conscience, compassion, and creativity—not corporations—shape your world.
By miss minimalist |
French composer Claude Debussy said, “Music is the space between the notes.” As a minimalist, I love this quote: it reminds us that beauty needs a certain amount of emptiness to be appreciated.
The space between notes allows them to resonate, reverberate, and reach their full measure of expression. Without this space, noise and cacophony would result.
The same can be said of our lives: too much clutter can stifle our creativity, and make our lives chaotic and discordant. Conversely, the more space we have, the more beautifully and harmoniously we can live.
Create Your Symphony
Think of every possession, every activity, every moment of your life as a note in your symphony. When a musician composes a song, he doesn’t fill it with as many notes as possible – instead, he carefully chooses just enough to make a pleasing melody.
We can do the same in our homes, and our lives: instead of accumulating as many possessions as we can, or taking on as many tasks as our schedules allow, we can exercise some creative restraint. We are curators of our lives, and what we leave out of them is as significant as what we include.
When we cut out the background noise, we put what’s truly special to us in the spotlight. If we owned a beautiful painting, we wouldn’t crowd it with other décor—we’d hang it on its own, with enough space around it to show it off. If we had an exquisite vase, we wouldn’t bury it in a pile of junk—we’d put it on its own pedestal.
We need to treat what’s important to us with similar respect; which, in effect, means removing all the other stuff that’s not so important.
Make Space Between Your Notes
For every new item we bring into our homes, or every new task we jam into our schedules, we sacrifice a little bit of space. In some cases, our space may have disappeared entirely—causing great discord in our lives. Our mission, therefore, is to reclaim as much as we can, and restore the harmony.
Many people look upon removing the excess — cleaning out their closets, basements, or to-do lists — as a chore. However, it doesn’t have to be a tedious or onerous task. Quite the contrary: decluttering can be a wonderful form of creative expression – a chance to compose your own symphony, full of exuberance, freedom, and joy!
Here’s a few tips on how to put some space between your notes:
1. Start with a clean slate. It’s often easier to compose from scratch than fix something that’s flawed. So when you’re decluttering your closet, your living room, or your schedule, empty everything out of it first. Then, put back only those possessions (or activities) that you cherish the most.
2. Lose the “filler.” Every item in your home, and task in your day, should contribute something of value to your life. If something does nothing more than take up space, give it the heave-ho. Filling your living room with extra tchotchkes is like putting extra notes into Clair de Lune.
3. Put everything in its place. A melody depends on every note being in the right place. Similarly, having designated spots for all your things makes your daily life much more harmonious.
4. Keep your surfaces clear. Your desk, your countertops, your tables, and your floor are the instruments on which you play; they’re where the magic happens! If they’re covered in clutter, you don’t have the room to fully express yourself.
5. Impose limits. A good composition only has so many notes; likewise, a serene home only has so many things, and a serene life so many obligations. Limit the number of things you own (books, clothes, furniture) and things you do (hobbies, committees, meetings) to what’s just enough.
6. Edit. A musician, artist, or writer constantly edits her work, removing the extraneous to reveal the extraordinary. In your own life, always be on the lookout for ways you can simplify. Take inspiration from Diogenes, who said, “I threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at the trough.”
7. Be mindful. When an artist creates, he’s completely focused on his work. Whether you’re writing an email, cooking dinner, or taking a walk, keep your mind on the task at hand. When you savor the moment, the excess falls away; everything you do is a creative endeavor, a celebration of life.
Get Up and Dance
So why create all this space? Because, to put a twist on Debussy’s quote, “life is the space between our things.” Recent studies have shown that experiences bring us more lasting happiness than possessions. It’s the stuff we do, not the stuff we have, that makes life worth living. And doing things requires a certain amount of space.
If we want to draw a picture, we need space on our desks to sketch it. If we want to cook a fabulous meal, we need space on our countertops to prepare it. If we want to do the tango, we need space in our rooms to dance it.
Therefore, we need to create our symphonies with enough space to stretch out, to run around, to laugh and play with our loved ones. For when we’re old and gray, we won’t wax poetic on the things we had—but rather on what we did in the spaces between them.
{If you’d like to read more about minimalist living, please consider buying my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
By miss minimalist |
 Last year at this time, I’d never heard of the term “digital sabbatical.” And I had no reason to: while I spent my days in front of my computer (writing, blogging, working), I rarely had need to log on during the evenings or weekends.
As the year progressed, however, my digital workdays grew longer: there were more blogs to read, emails to answer, tweets to write, etc, etc. I’d find myself online late into the night, or on a Saturday or Sunday, answering blog comments, working on projects, or simply keeping up with daily correspondence.
Sometime this summer, I realized my life was out of balance. Although I’d cleared my life of physical clutter, I’d taken on far too many digital commitments – and unfortunately, they were affecting my productivity, my concentration, and my sense of peace and serenity.
At first, I solved the problem by taking digital sabbaticals. I’d completely unplug for an evening, a weekend, or whenever I traveled. However, while I enjoyed being offline for a spell, I felt like I was constantly playing catch-up when I logged back on.
I realized that, rather than avoid my digital commitments, I needed to minimize them. It’s still a work in progress, but here are some of my efforts towards that end:
1. I’m resisting joining any new social networks. That’s why you won’t find me on Facebook, Foursquare, or anything that sucks me further into the world of 24/7 connection.
2. I’ve ditched my RSS reader. Instead, I check out my favorite blogs when the mood strikes. While it’s convenient to have everything in one place, it made me feel obligated to read it all.
3. I stopped answering every blog comment. I read and appreciate each one, but I just couldn’t keep up with both responding and writing new content – unfortunately, something had to give.
4. I’ve become more selective about projects I take on. While I’d like to say yes to everyone, I’ve found I prefer to work on just a few things at a time, and give them my full attention and effort.
5. I’m coming to terms with the fact that when you receive hundreds of emails each week, you can’t answer every one.
6. I turned off my news alerts. I don’t need to know about every article that’s published on decluttering or minimalist living.
7. I check Twitter once a day, and tweet only a handful of times each week.
It’s a whole new decluttering challenge for me, and in some respects, more difficult than disposing of physical stuff. I look forward to exploring these issues, and would love to hear how others have pared down their digital commitments.
{If you’d like to read more about minimalist living, please consider buying my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
By miss minimalist |
I was recently asked by a reporter whether I thought the current popularity of minimalist living was a passing fad, or a bona fide movement.
First of all, I’m thrilled that minimalist living is on the radar of mainstream media. I’ve been a minimalist for a long time, and I remember when my Google searches on the term turned up little more than references to modern architecture, John Cage’s music, and 1960s art. Today, the same search returns a treasure trove of websites, blogs, and discussions – and yes, some actual newspaper articles – on how to live a simpler life.
Years ago, when I told people I was a minimalist, they looked at me like I had two heads. Today, they invite me over to declutter their closets and basements.
My answer: I believe that minimalist living is an important new movement that will transform our lives, our society, and our planet.
As I see it, a movement involves the convergence of three factors: a precipitator, an enabler, and a means of communication. Here’s how they’re contributing to the rise of minimalist living:
Precipitator: the Recession. When the economy was booming, few stopped to question the status quo. Money was flowing, credit was easy, and we all went shopping. But when things turned south, all bets were off: many of us looked around at the stuff we’d bought, and realized what a deep hole we’d dug. We realized that trading our time, energy, and financial stability for a pile of possessions just wasn’t worth it. Plus, many of us had run out of space to put it all! And so began a massive re-evaluation of our consumption habits.
Now, I know a lot of minimalists (myself included) whose lifestyle choice had nothing to do with the recession. However, I do think the economic downturn gave minimalism more widespread appeal; when money is tight and jobs are scarce, living with less is a fantastic alternative to digging deeper into debt. Furthermore, staying in the job market often requires much more mobility these days, and it’s no picnic dragging around a lot of stuff.
Enabler: Technology. At the same time, digital technology has enabled us to turn more and more of our physical stuff into intangible bits and bytes. We no longer need to be saddled with CDs (or DVDs) and their cases, boxes of paperwork, or heavy loads of books. We can scan (or digitally save) our documents, and store scores of books, songs, and movies on our Kindles, iPods, and iPads. Of course, that also means less need for furnishings like bookshelves, file cabinets, and CD racks.
Means of Communication: the Internet. Corporations and big media have long dominated mass communication – and they used it to spread the message that more is better, and material accumulation is the measure of success. Now, with the proliferation of tweets, blogs, and discussion forums, we’re exposed to a lot more messages from “tiny” media – and a lot of these messages are saying “hey, ‘more is better’ didn’t work for me, but ‘less is more’ does!” Minimalism has gained a voice (make that thousands of voices), and we’ve only just begun discovering its joys and singing its praises.
So does the idea of minimalist living have staying power? I think it does. We’ll likely become more mobile as a society, and location-independent as a workforce (google “digital nomads”), and technology will only progress in reducing our dependence on physical stuff.
Will some people return to their old levels of consumption when the recession ends? Sure. But I think enough of us have discovered that we prefer living with less, and will continue to live a pared-down lifestyle by choice. Whatever our reasons for adopting a minimalist lifestyle in the first place, we’ve likely discovered some of its myriad benefits – like less stress, more freedom, and more time to spend with friends and family rather than fussing over stuff. Not to mention, it’s nice to know we’re contributing to a healthier planet; because the less we buy, the cleaner our air, the fuller our forests, and the emptier our landfills.
It’s pretty amazing, actually: if minimalist living is a movement, we have a unique opportunity to change the current paradigm – from one of overconsumption, to one of conservation and sustainability. We can be pioneers of social and economic change simply by consuming less.
I’d love to know your thoughts. Do you think minimalism is a temporary trend, or here to stay? Is it a short-term or long-term lifestyle choice for you? Let me know in the Comments!
By miss minimalist |
 When you spend time in the blogosphere, you hear a lot of talk about goals: personal goals, professional goals, finance goals, development goals, creative goals, short-term goals, long-term goals, etc. (Sometimes it can be exhausting just reading about them all!)
And if you’re a blogger, you’ll inevitably be asked to talk about your own goals. The question often comes up during interviews, and should be a snap to answer, right? Err, not for me.
You see, I’ve never been good at long-term planning – I don’t really like to outline (or even know) where I’m going to be one, five, or ten years from now. Accordingly, I’ve always been reluctant to define, write down, or consciously work toward a set of prescribed goals.
I was chatting about this with my husband the other day, while we were on one of our countryside walks. Over the last year, we’ve been marveling at the ever-changing panorama of wildflowers, and every time we go out, we look forward to what new beauty awaits us. We’ve been treated to bluebells, Queen Anne’s lace, poppies, thistles, wild roses, sowbread, and fields full of blooms we’ll never identify. No one plants them, fertilizes them, waters them, or otherwise cultivates them – they just spring forth, wild, ungroomed, and spontaneous, surprising and delighting us.
I like to think of my goals the same way: popping up like wildflowers, changing with the seasons, dazzling me with their spontaneity and variety.
Sometimes my goal is to finish writing a book, sometimes it’s keeping up with my blog, sometimes it’s learning key phrases in Italian, Hungarian, or Japanese. Sometimes my goals are easy (cook an edible dinner), sometimes they’re challenging (perfect a certain yoga pose), and sometimes they’re ridiculously farfetched (interest Oprah in minimalist living). They vary from day to day, week to week, month to month. Sometimes I have a whole bouquet of goals, and sometimes I don’t have any at all.
With that in mind, here’s my short guide to having wildflower goals:
1. Give them fertile ground. Keep an open mind, stimulate your intellect, interact with interesting people, and take advantage of interesting opportunities. For optimum growth, expose your goals to as much water and sunlight (in the form of other people’s opinions, ideas, and feedback) as possible.
2. Keep an eye out for new varieties. Sometimes we’re so focused on certain goals, we neglect to notice, or nurture, new ones that arise. Regularly survey your landscape, and don’t let those promising new buds escape your attention.
3. Let them surprise and delight you. Leave room for new and unexpected goals in between the ones you’ve “planted.” Learning to paint or play a musical instrument may spring up spontaneously among your more “serious” goals – instead of dismissing them as frivolous, embrace them as a wonderful new flowering of your interests.
4. Let them grow on their own. Don’t feel compelled to tend to your goals every minute of every day. The hardy ones will survive just fine on their own, ready for you to pick and pursue them when the time is right.
5. Let them change with the seasons. Instead of rigidly defining your goals, allow them to develop more fluidly. Goals you set last year may no longer be as relevant or desirable to you now – instead of forcing them to bloom, let them go to seed. Embrace new ones that arise in their place.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t set goals – they’re a fabulous way to help you stay focused and motivated. Rather, I’m saying that you shouldn’t feel compelled to clip, manicure, and overly tend to them. They should be a source of joy and self-discovery, rather than stress or frustration.
How does this relate to minimalist living? Well, when we’re loaded down with stuff, and wrapped up in consumer pursuits, we tend to have tunnel vision. We plod along in a straight line, and pay little attention to what’s going on at the periphery. We concentrate on the goals we set forth last year (or many years ago), and rarely stop for re-evaluation.
Minimalist living eliminates the distractions – the clutter, the chores, the debt – that devour our time and energy. When we’re not slaves to our to-do lists, we have the freedom to relax, wander about, and explore new possibilities.
So let your mental garden grow wild once in a while – you may be surprised what springs forth!
When you spend time in the blogosphere, you hear a lot of talk about goals: personal goals, professional goals, finance goals, development goals, creative goals, short-term goals, long-term goals, etc. (Sometimes it can be exhausting just reading about them all!)
And if you’re a blogger, you’ll inevitably be asked to talk about your own goals. The question often comes up during interviews, and should be a snap to answer, right? Err, not for me.
You see, I’ve never been good at long-term planning – I don’t really like to outline (or even know) where I’m going to be one, five, or ten years from now. Accordingly, I’ve always been reluctant to define, write down, or consciously work toward a set of prescribed goals.
I was chatting about this with my husband the other day, while we were on one of our countryside walks. Over the last year, we’ve been marveling at the ever-changing panorama of wildflowers, and every time we go out, we look forward to what new beauty awaits us. We’ve been treated to bluebells, Queen Anne’s lace, poppies, thistles, wild roses, sowbread, and fields full of blooms we’ll never identify. No one plants them, fertilizes them, waters them, or otherwise cultivates them – they just spring forth, wild, ungroomed, and spontaneous, surprising and delighting us.
I like to think of my goals the same way: popping up like wildflowers, changing with the seasons, dazzling me with their spontaneity and variety.
Sometimes my goal is to finish writing a book, sometimes it’s keeping up with my blog, sometimes it’s learning key phrases in Spanish, Hungarian, or Japanese. Sometimes my goals are easy (cook an edible dinner), sometimes they’re challenging (perfect a certain yoga pose), and sometimes they’re ridiculously farfetched (interest Oprah in minimalist living). They vary from day to day, week to week, month to month. Sometimes I have a whole bouquet of goals, and sometimes I don’t have any at all.
With that in mind, here’s my short guide to having wildflower goals:
1. Give them fertile ground. Keep an open mind, stimulate your intellect, interact with interesting people, and take advantage of interesting opportunities. For optimum growth, expose your goals to as much water and sunlight (in the form of other people’s opinions, ideas, and feedback) as possible.
2. Keep an eye out for new varieties. Sometimes we’re so focused on certain goals, we neglect to notice, or nurture, new ones that arise. Regularly survey your landscape, and don’t let those promising new buds escape your attention.
3. Let them surprise and delight you. Leave room for new and unexpected goals in between the ones you’ve “planted.” Learning to paint or play a musical instrument may spring up spontaneously among your more “serious” goals – instead of dismissing them as frivolous, embrace them as a wonderful new flowering of your interests.
4. Let them grow on their own. Don’t feel compelled to tend to your goals every minute of every day. The hardy ones will survive just fine on their own, ready for you to pick and pursue them when the time is right.
5. Let them change with the seasons. Instead of rigidly defining your goals, allow them to develop more fluidly. Goals you set last year may no longer be as relevant or desirable to you now – instead of forcing them to bloom, let them go to seed. Embrace new ones that arise in their place.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t set goals – they’re a fabulous way to help you stay focused and motivated. Rather, I’m saying that you shouldn’t feel compelled to clip, manicure, and overly tend to them. They should be a source of joy and self-discovery, rather than stress or frustration.
Let your mental garden grow wild once in a while. You’ll feel more relaxed and serene, and may be surprised what springs forth!
{If you’d like to read more about minimalist living, please consider buying my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
By miss minimalist |
I’ve been striving to simplify my life for many years now, and have recently (through my writing) been advising others how to do the same. In the process, I’ve learned that making little changes in our attitudes, habits, and environment can have a big impact. So today, I thought I’d compile a list of 100 ways to simplify your life – from the practical to the philosophical, and everything in between.
Of course, not every item on the list will work for every person reading it. However, I hope that you’ll find at least a little something that speaks to you, helps you save some time, space, and energy — and perhaps even increases your serenity and happiness!
AROUND THE HOUSE
1. Ditch the TV (or at least turn if off). If you’re an average viewer, you’ll save over a hundred precious hours each month. An added bonus: less exposure to commercials means less desire to buy stuff, and more money in your pocket.
2. Cancel magazine subscriptions. Read the content online instead, and avoid accumulating a pile of reading material.
3. Read news online, instead of on paper. You’ll save plenty of time, and plenty of trees, by reading only the articles that interest you.
4. Get rid of excessive furniture, so there’s less to walk around, trip over, or move when you have to clean.
5. Opt for multi-functional furniture, so you can satisfy your needs with fewer pieces.
6. Get rid of excessive décor, so you’ll spend less time and effort cleaning around stuff.
7. Digitize your music. You’ll eliminate the clutter of CDs, and have easier access to your music library.
8. Download movies instead of renting DVDs. You’ll avoid the hassle of picking them up, dropping them off, or mailing them back.
9. Put items away immediately after use. It takes a lot less effort than cleaning up piles of stuff later on.
10. Have a place for everything. It makes it much easier to find things, and put them away.
11. Clean as you go. Wipe up spills, and take care of little messes before they become big ones.
12. Devise a cleaning routine. Streamline your chores into an ordered set of tasks for maximum efficiency.
13. Do laundry in large batches, instead of small ones. It’ll save you time, and reduce your energy (and water) consumption.
14. Buy enough socks and underwear to make it through a full laundry cycle, to avoid doing small “emergency” loads.
15. Wash towels less often. They don’t need laundering on a daily basis; you’re clean when you use them, after all!
16. Consolidate hobby items in designated containers. That way, all your supplies will be on hand when you need them.
17. If you start a new hobby, drop an out-of-favor one (along with its equipment and supplies).
18. Adopt the “one in, one out” rule: when you purchase something new, get rid of something old.
19. Don’t start collections. Avoid the clutter, and save your money, by channeling your energy and creativity into something more productive.
20. Get rid of one item every day. At the end of the year, you’ll have 365 less things to worry about!
WARDROBE AND STYLE
21. Hang up clothes, or put them in a hamper, as soon as you take them off. Avoid starting a “floordrobe” or piling them on a chair, and you’ll have less straightening up to do later.
22. Organize your clothes by category. For example, hang all your pants, skirts, or shirts together so you can quickly find what you need.
23. Use containers to corral accessories like jewelry, watches, or scarves, instead of scattering them about.
24. Choose versatile clothing. The more ways you can wear something, the fewer items you’ll need.
25. Don’t be a fashion victim. Chasing trends is a waste of time and money.
26. Know what flatters you. You’ll avoid accumulating a closet full of wardrobe “mistakes.”
27. Don’t buy “fantasy” clothes. In other words, if you’re not a social diva, skip the cocktail dresses – reserve your closet space for the stuff you’ll actually wear.
28. Get a simple, no-fuss haircut; it’ll save tons of time in the morning.
29. Embrace your natural hair. Don’t make it straight if it’s curly, curly if it’s straight, or brown if it’s gray.
30. Keep makeup as minimal as possible, or go without. Most of us don’t need to look like supermodels on a daily basis!
31. Use multi-purpose products (like a shampoo/body wash, or moisturizer plus sunscreen) to save time and eliminate bathroom clutter.
32. Standardize your grooming routine, so you can get ready each morning with a minimum amount of fuss.
33. Don’t buy hope in a bottle, and clutter your cabinets with half-used “miracle” lotions and potions.
34. Avoid unhealthy habits, like smoking, drugs, or drinking in excess. You’ll look better now, and avoid a boatload of health problems down the road.
35. Let your inner beauty shine. A pleasant countenance and radiant smile will make you more beautiful than any cosmetics.
KITCHEN AND DINING
36. Love those leftovers. Cook extra for dinner, and have it for lunch the next day.
37. Cook a week’s worth of meals at a time, and freeze for later (Google “batch cooking” for recipes and instructions).
38. Plan your meals in advance. You’ll spend less time staring into your refrigerator, wondering what to make.
39. Shop with a grocery list. You’ll avoid making extra trips for forgotten items.
40. Make one-pot meals, and drastically reduce your after-dinner cleanup.
41. Pare down your dishes, cups, and utensils to what you regularly use. It’ll limit the amount of dishwashing that piles up in the sink.
42. Purge unnecessary gadgets and seldom-used equipment. A large variety of meals can be made with basic pots and implements.
43. Eat healthy foods (like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables), and you’ll avoid a wide variety of medical problems.
44. Keep your countertops clutter-free. Cooking is so much easier when you’re not moving stuff out of the way to do it.
45. Develop a set of standard dishes (like a pasta, chicken, or tofu dish), and vary the sauces. That way, you won’t have to reinvent the wheel each night.
OFFICE AND TECH
46. Stop as much incoming paperwork as possible. Get off mailing lists, cancel catalogs, and sign up for online billing and statements. The less physical mail you have to deal with, the better!
47. Print as little as possible. Don’t give yourself more stuff to file. Instead, print to a PDF file using free software like cutePDF or pdf995.
48. Digitize your paperwork. It’ll take up less space, and give you easier access to it.
49. Backup to the cloud. Use an online storage service, as an alternative to DVDs or an external hard drive.
50. Pay bills online. It takes much less time than writing and mailing a check, and you won’t need to buy envelopes and stamps.
51. Bank online. Transfer money without going to the bank, or standing in line waiting for a teller.
52. Automate recurring transactions. It’s a great way to pay your rent, mortgage, or insurance payments without lifting a finger.
53. Automate investments. Set up your brokerage account to buy a fixed dollar amount of a certain investment (like an index fund) on a regular schedule. It’ll smooth out the effects of market volatility on your portfolio, and keep you from making emotional decisions.
54. Stay out of debt. Life is much simpler when you don’t have to worry about interest charges and minimum payments.
55. Purchase bundled services. Buying telephone, tv, and internet services from the same company reduces your number of bills (and likely the amount you have to pay).
56. Telecommute. Arrange to work from home at least once or twice a week, to save time and commuting costs.
57. Don’t let junk mail enter your office. Keep a recycling bin by your front door, and dump junk mail and solicitations (without personal information) straight in.
58. Sort incoming paperwork immediately. Separate it into “file,” “act on,” and “dispose of” piles for efficient handling.
59. Organize your digital files. Develop a logical system of folders, so you won’t have to wade through hundreds of random files to find what you’re looking for.
60. Purge your bookmarks regularly. The stuff you found interesting last month, or last week, may be of no use to you today. Don’t waste time scrolling through irrelevant stuff.
61. Quit Facebook (or don’t join). It can be a huge digital commitment, and a major time sink. At the very least, limit the time you spend on it.
62. Limit the number of blogs you read. When you subscribe to a new one, drop an old one, so as not to increase your time commitment.
63. Reduce your Twitter time. Constant digital “chatter” can significantly reduce your productivity.
64. Check and answer email during defined periods. When you’re distracted by constant incoming messages, it takes longer to complete the task at hand.
65. Take digital sabbaticals. Disconnecting for a period of time – be it an hour, a day, or a weekend – can be quite liberating!
TIME MANAGEMENT
66. Learn to say no. It can be difficult, but will ensure you have enough time and energy for the stuff that really matters.
67. Delegate. Give up trying to do everything yourself; get employees to help with projects, and children to help with chores.
68. Limit your commitments. Don’t increase your number of obligations; drop old ones to make way for the new.
69. Right-size your expectations. When you expect too much of yourself and others, disappointment and stress are often the result.
70. Choose your battles. There are thousands of little things that just aren’t worth fighting for – let them go.
71. Go with the flow. Instead of trying to control things, let them happen as they may.
72. Be flexible. Adapt to the situation at hand, rather than insisting on doing things “your way.”
73. Forget about perfection. For the vast majority of tasks, good enough is good enough.
74. Fix little problems before they become big ones. A little effort now can save a lot of headaches later.
75. Consolidate your tasks. It’s more efficient to do your ironing, pay your bills, and answer your emails in one sitting than in bits and pieces.
76. Consolidate your errands. Plan your visits to the grocery store, dry cleaners, post office, etc., so you can take care of all of it in one trip.
77. Declutter your To Do list. Purge any unimportant, unnecessary, or unfulfilling activities.
78. Ask for help or advice. Reaching out to someone with more expertise can often save you hours (or days) of muddling through on your own.
79. Share your expertise with others. An open exchange of information makes things easier for everyone.
80. Make it a goal to do less, not more. Increase your productivity to free up your schedule, rather than jam more stuff into it.
ATTITUDE
81. Keep an open mind. Life is infinitely more interesting and pleasant when you’re willing to consider opinions and viewpoints that differ from your own.
82. Accept others for who they are. Live and let live, and you’ll have much less to worry about.
83. Live in the present. Don’t spend excessive hours pining for the past, or fretting about the future. Be here now.
84. Don’t meddle in other people’s business. Concentrate on keeping your own life in order, and don’t worry about everyone else’s.
85. Forget about the Joneses. Conspicuous consumption benefits nobody but the companies selling the goods. We’d be happier, more relaxed, and more satisfied if we disengaged from it entirely.
86. March to your own drummer. Don’t feel obligated to follow the crowd, or live according to others’ expectations.
87. Think before you act. We can often save ourselves a lot of trouble if we think about the consequences before acting on impulse.
88. Think before you speak. Once you let some ill-considered words out of your mouth, you can’t get them back. Better to hold your tongue than have to deal with the fallout.
89. Don’t be overly sensitive. Sometimes others don’t think before they speak. Let careless remarks roll off your back, not ruin your day.
90. Don’t hold grudges. Forgiveness eases your stress and tension, and frees up your time and energy for more positive pursuits.
91. Don’t be a drama queen. Making mountains out of molehills unduly complicates life.
92. Have an attitude of gratitude. Be grateful for what you do have, instead of stressing over what you don’t.
93. Realize that you’re not living in the spotlight. Most people are too wrapped up in their own lives to care (or notice) what you own, what you’re wearing, or how you look.
94. Embrace the concept of enough. Once our needs are met, there’s usually little utility (or happiness) in acquiring more – by contrast, it often leads to cluttered homes and empty bank accounts.
95. Enjoy without owning. Admire the objects in a shop window, the art in a gallery, the plants in a garden, without acquiring them for yourself. You’ll often get more pleasure from things when you don’t have the responsibility of ownership.
MISCELLANEOUS
96. Downsize your digs. A smaller home means less to maintain, less to clean, and less to pay in mortgage, utilities, and rent.
97. Go car-free. If you can walk, bike, or take public transit where you need to go, consider ditching your car. If you’re in a multi-car household, consider whether you can get by with one less car.
98. Avoid advertising like the plague. When you don’t know an item exists, you won’t stress over desiring, acquiring, or paying for it.
99. Don’t shop unless you need something. In other words, don’t browse stores, catalogs, or websites looking for something to need.
100. Make your own definition of “success.” Raising a happy family or excelling at your job are better measures of success than status symbols and material accumulation.
{If you’d like to read more about minimalist living, please consider buying my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
By miss minimalist |
 Given the title, you might expect today’s post to examine falling real estate values or the number of homeowners defaulting on their mortgages. But no – rather than discussing such heavy-hitting issues, I’m simply writing about the fact that my husband and I have to vacate our flat in four days and have no place to live.
The backstory is long and complicated, but to summarize: DH left his job, we gave up our flat (thinking we’d be leaving the UK), DH found another job, we now need a new one. Unfortunately, this turn of events transpired just weeks before our lease was set to expire, prompting a frantic search for accommodation in the expensive and competitive rental market that is London. (We were told by an agent that it’s the tightest market they’ve seen in years.)
And by competitive, I mean that any new listing that’s in decent shape, and a decent location, is immediately pounced upon by some equally desperate soul. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard, “That was let 30 minutes ago,” or “That one lasted just a few hours.” In a particularly heartbreaking instance: we found the “perfect” flat, and made a full-price offer on the spot. By the time our agent drove the 10 minutes back to his office to submit it, the couple who had seen the place just before us had arrived to put a deposit on it. It feels like we’ve been one step behind the entire time.
However, I’m not writing this post just to whine about our spectacular failure to secure new accommodations; I actually have a point to make regarding minimalist living.
The point is, we are not in a panic. Why? Because we don’t have a lot of stuff. Yes, we now have more than the two duffel bags with which we moved last summer (it’s hard to live without any furniture, plates, pots and pans, and cleaning supplies). But the amount is so little, and the value so low, that we’re not too worried about it. We can stash it in a small storage unit, or a kind soul’s garage, until we sort things out. To be honest, I wouldn’t lose that much sleep if we had to leave it on the street (I am frugal, though, so I’d prefer to avoid replacing the necessities).
If we had a house full of designer décor and furniture, I’m sure I’d feel differently. I’d be spending this week arranging movers, stressing over an appropriate storage solution, and paying untold sums of money to protect and transport our precious stuff. I’d be lying awake at night wondering if our sofa, or our art, or our vases would be secure from theft and safe from damage. Furthermore, I’d have to worry about finding a new home large enough to hold it all.
In a few days, our two chairs, coffee table, mattress, and handful of boxes (in addition to DH and I) will be adrift on the streets of London. Okay, that’s a little too dramatic: the stuff will probably be in storage somewhere, and we will be in a hotel. But instead of letting the situation cause distress and disruption in our lives, we will go with the flow, take each day as it comes, and be grateful that we live lightly enough to weather our own little housing crisis.
I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it again: life is infinitely easier when you have less stuff!
By miss minimalist |
In traditional Japanese households, décor is kept to an absolute minimum. Usually, just one or two artistic items are displayed in a small alcove called a tokonoma.
The tokonoma generally holds a calligraphic scroll or painting, along with a bonsai or simple flower arrangement. The items are appropriate to the season (like fall foliage or spring blossoms), and are meant to evoke an appreciation for both art and nature.
Of course, you don’t need an actual tokonoma to put this concept into practice. In our former house, we had a small console cabinet in the corner of our living room. On it, I displayed various “treasures” from our backyard, such as fresh flowers from our garden or a branch from our cherry tree. Sometimes, I added a small decorative object, like my little kokeshi doll or other souvenir from our travels.
That was the extent of our living room decor – we had nothing on the walls, or the other surfaces in the room.
As a minimalist, I love the tokonoma concept for the following reasons:
* it puts special objects in the spotlight, instead of making them compete for attention with dozens of others
* it’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the season and enjoy the gifts of nature
* by limiting the number of items on display, it discourages excess accumulation of decorative objects
* if you rotate your décor, you always have a fresh look
We don’t have a console table, a garden, or decorative items here in the UK, but we’ve created a miniature tokonoma on our windowsill – currently, it holds a handful of interesting rocks and shells we’ve picked up on our walks along the English coast. This small display always makes me smile, and adds a lovely personal touch (and a little bit of nature) to our otherwise minimal home.
So what do you have in your tokonoma?
{If you’d like to read more about minimalist living, please consider buying my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
By miss minimalist |
A few years ago, I participated in a Japanese tea ceremony. It’s a beautiful ritual, and—in my opinion—a wonderful analogy to minimalist living.
In a nutshell, chado (or Way of Tea) is the ceremonial preparation and serving of matcha, powdered green tea. Guests enter the teahouse after walking through a small, contemplative garden and symbolically purifying their hands and mouth with water from a stone basin. To enter the tearoom, they must bow their heads to fit through the small door—meaning all are equal in tea, regardless of social status or position.
After the guests are seated, the host cleanses each utensil, and prepares the tea, in a series of precise, choreographed movements. He or she then serves the tea to the first guest, who admires the bowl, drinks some tea, wipes the rim, and passes it to the next guest. Each guest follows the same procedure in turn. After they’ve all taken tea, the host again cleanses the utensils, and offers them to the guests for examination.
What principles of chado can we incorporate into our minimalist lives?
1. Bare essentials – the only implements used in the tea ceremony are those necessary for the activity: tea bowl, tea caddy, tea scoop, tea whisk, and linen cloth.
2. Economy of action – each movement of the tea ceremony has a particular purpose; nothing is superfluous.
3. Mindfulness – the nature of the ceremony focuses attention on each object and action, encouraging participants to be fully present in the moment.
4. Spare décor – the only decoration in the tearoom is a scroll, or flower arrangement, in a small alcove. It is appropriate to the season, and intended to provoke an appreciation of both nature and the occasion.
5. Respect – this is an overarching theme throughout the ceremony, manifested in bows, compliments, and proper etiquette.
6. Appreciation – the deliberate study and admiration of the tea bowl, and each utensil, ensures that no part of the ceremony is taken for granted.
7. Wabi-sabi – this term describes an aesthetic of impermanence, imperfection, and rustic simplicity. The objects used in the ceremony have a quiet and understated beauty, rather than being ostentatious.
The entire ceremony is an exercise in elegance, economy, purity, and tranquility. To me, the essence of the tea ceremony is the same as minimalist living—being mindful of every item, action, and interaction with others, so that in the process we may discover the grace and beauty of life.
{If you’d like to read more about minimalist living, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed, or signing up to receive new articles by email.}
|
my
new book
blog collection
|
(Photo: 
(Photo: 
(Photo: 
(Photo: 
Subscribe via email
Subscribe via RSS
Comments via RSS
Follow on Twitter