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My Tiny Apartment Tour: Minimalist Bedroom

After last week’s post (400 Square Feet is the New Black), I received quite a number of emails and comments requesting more photos of our tiny apartment.

Today, I thought I’d give you a sneak peak into the bedroom. I feel a little shy inviting thousands of people into this space, but what the heck – here goes.

To be honest, there’s really not much to see. It measures only 9.75 x 9.25 feet, for a grand total of 91 square feet. Suffice it to say, photographing it was somewhat of a challenge!

A few notes:

* I know a mattress on the floor is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it works for us.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Frugal Babe

Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.

Today, Frugal Babe tells us about her transition from frugality to minimalism, and why she favors a clean, spacious home over one filled with “just in cases.” If you’d like to read more of her thoughts, be sure to visit her blog.

Frugal Babe writes:

I’ve been frugal all my life, but not even close to minimalist. I was a big fan of keeping things “just in case”, even if they had no real value to me.… {Read more}

400 Square Feet is the New Black

Last week, I wrote about my Housing Crisis – at the time of the post, my husband and I had four days to vacate our flat and no prospect of new accommodations.

Well, today I have some good news to report: I’m writing this post from our new apartment! With only hours to spare, we found a place, passed the reference check, and signed a lease. I still can’t believe that everything fell into place at the last minute.

What’s even more exciting: our new place will inspire us to continue to live minimally, and provide me with plenty of blog material.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Miss HK

Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.

This week, I’m pleased to feature Miss HK. She’s been a long-time commenter here, and I’m so glad she’s decided to share her story! If you’d like to read more about her minimalist lifestyle, please be sure to check out her blog.

Miss HK writes:

I can remember when I first discovered minimalism. I was 11 years old, playing with my sister and our Barbie dolls. My sister’s doll had a lavish home and tons of clothing and accessories.… {Read more}

Minimalist Makeover: Beth’s Closet and Kitchen

Last week, Beth left the following lovely comment on my post about The Joy of Less:

Thank you! I read your book last week and loved it! There is so much valuable information in it! I started today with my bedroom closet. I kept remembering your words and kept going. I did it and the bedroom (which I am going to use as a yoga room too–don’t have a mattress and box spring–just a futon) is next! My closet looks so good! I can’t believe it but I am only using half of the rods to hang clothes on. I feel like a real minimalist–ok maybe a beginner but I’m into it now.… {Read more}

Housing Crisis

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.… {Read more}

Minimalist Decor: What’s in Your Tokonoma?

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.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Graduate

Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.

I was delighted to receive the following story from Graduate, and think it’s wonderful that she’s decided to pursue a minimalist lifestyle at such a young age.

Graduate writes:

I grew up in a pack-rat household, bordering on hoarding. We literally had four rooms in my house that were filled floor-to-ceiling with items still in their plastic shopping bags (thanks to my mother’s hobby of trying to own everything in the whole wide world).… {Read more}

The Story of Cosmetics

My main reason for pursuing a minimalist lifestyle is that I enjoy an uncluttered environment. Nothing makes me happier than a sparse, open space with little visual distraction. I also love the freedom that results when you don’t have a lot of stuff to worry about, care for, and move around.

However, I also have a second reason for practicing minimalism: I’m worried about the impact of all that stuff on the world and its people. I’m concerned about how the manufacture and disposal of material goods affect the environment, and how the chemicals contained in them affect our health.

With the latter point in mind, I was thrilled to discover Annie Leonard’s latest addition to her Story of Stuff series: The Story of Cosmetics.… {Read more}

Car Sharing 2.0

Most of you are familiar with the car share programs run by Zipcar, City CarShare, and the like: when you need a set of wheels, you go online, make a reservation, and pick up the car at its designated location.

Car2Go, a subsidiary of German automaker Daimler, has taken this concept one step further. They’re pioneering a program similar to bike sharing: members have access to any car in the network, without a reservation. Furthermore, the cars can be used for one-way trips, and left in any parking space free of charge (no need to return it to its original location).… {Read more}