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Unplugged Summer

Hi everyone! Many of you have reached out this summer to say hello and ask where I’ve been (you’re so sweet!). I’ve been right here, I’ve just been unplugged. Let me explain…

Remember my little Plumblossom?

Well, she’s five years old now and starting kindergarten this fall. Time has flown by, and it’s given this mama a wake-up call.

Last summer was a whirlwind of activity following the release of my book. I dropped my daughter off at camp each morning, then rushed home to do interviews and radio shows and answer countless emails. When she came home in the afternoon, I’d often set her up with an activity so I could squeeze in another phone call or two.… {Read more}

Book Giveaway! The Minimalist Mom: How to Simply Parent Your Baby

I rarely do book reviews and giveaways on my blog, but once in awhile, something so special comes along that I have to tell you about it.

Today, that something is a new book by my good friend and blogger, Rachel Jonat of theminimalistmom.com.

Rachel is my parenting heroine. Sometimes when I’m struggling to keep up with my blog and book-writing while caring for one child, I remind myself that Rachel is doing it (superbly well) with three. She’s truly an inspiration.

And how does she do it? By living simply and setting priorities, two things that figure prominently in her new book, The Minimalist Mom: How to Simply Parent Your Baby.… {Read more}

I Want

My daughter Plumblossom is nearly 2.5 years old now, and has had almost no exposure to advertising or marketing. We don’t have a television, we stay out of the mall, and most of her little friends aren’t verbal enough to inquire why she doesn’t have the latest Disney princess paraphernalia.

Grocery shopping with her is a breeze—she’ll ask for a star fruit or a bell pepper or an avocado, but never balloons, toys, or candy. I can even make a run into Target, that mecca of toddler tantrums, without her requesting a single thing (instead, she informed me that “there’s too much stuff in here.” LOL—that’s my girl.)

Although she’s been verbally capable of it for a while, she’s never asked me for a consumer item—until yesterday.… {Read more}

Minimalist Montessori Toddler Bed

From the day we brought Plumblossom home from the hospital, she slept in her crib. We hadn’t researched other options, and she made it clear from the start that she had no interest in a family bed (the girl has always liked her own space). No matter, we weren’t offended: she was sleeping, we were sleeping, all was good.

However, around her second birthday, she started plotting an escape. She had height to her advantage, and began hoisting a leg over the side and teetering on the brink. She didn’t have quite enough leverage to get over, but she was close; we knew it was only a matter of time.… {Read more}

Decluttering Update: Hello eBay, My Old Friend

Hello eBay, my old friend I’ve come to list with you again…

Sometimes you reach a point in life when you have things all figured out—you’ve accomplished that elusive goal, you’ve designed that perfect lifestyle, you’ve tweaked and fine-tuned your way into the ideal routine.

And then what happens? Well, things change, of course. One of the tenets of Zen Buddhism is that life is never static—and that the desire for it to be so is cause for great suffering. Better to accept that change is the rule, and embrace the twists and turns that occur along the way.

I had once decluttered my way to minimalist nirvana.… {Read more}

Montessori and Minimalism

Although Plumblossom is several years away from preschool, I’ve been doing some preliminary research on various educational methods. I’m particularly intrigued by the Montessori philosophy (thanks to reader Carrie-Anne!), as it seems quite complementary to a minimalist lifestyle.

I was thrilled to discover that several of its central tenets aren’t just applicable to children; in fact, we’d do quite well to practice them as adults:

Simplicity. A Montessori classroom contains all the essentials needed for the child’s development, but nothing superfluous. Each item is carefully chosen, and serves a specific purpose.

Adult version: You can edit your home in the same way—retaining only those items that you use on a regular basis, and that make a positive contribution to your household.… {Read more}

Possessions as Promises

When Plumblossom was just a few months old, I bought an infant swing. I never thought I’d own such an item—but desperate to get my daughter to nap, I went online and discovered this “solution” to my problem. It promised to calm my little one with its gentle rocking, and send her off to sleep in no time flat; the Amazon reviews confirmed its efficacy (“My baby naps 3 hours in this!”). I couldn’t part with my money fast enough.

My enthusiasm to acquire this new thing made me think: what are our possessions, really, but a bunch of promises? That dress promises to make us look stylish; that smartphone promises to keep us tech-savvy and connected; that cookbook promises to make us a culinary whiz; that moisturizer promises to take years off our face; that heirloom china promises to help us remember our grandmother.… {Read more}

The Minimalist Toybox

My daughter Plumblossom has a tiny toybox—a little fabric bin that holds her small selection of rattles, balls, books, blocks, and other infant playthings. The majority of its contents are gifts from friends and family; lucky for her, as her minimalist mother is not particularly adept at choosing or acquiring such items. :)

In fact, while browsing Amazon and other retail sites, I’ve found many more toys I don’t want to buy than those I actually do. Here’s what I plan to avoid:

Battery-operated toys. I think toys that have flashing lights, electronic sounds, or too many bells and whistles are overwhelming for a baby.… {Read more}

Minimalist Family: Is One Child Enough?

If you’ve been following my blog lately, you know that I recently gave birth to my first child—a beautiful baby girl I call Plumblossom.

My husband and I waited a long time before deciding to settle down and procreate—so long, in fact, that my medical chart bore the lovely, geriatric-sounding “Advanced Maternal Age” label.

Which brings me to the subject of this week’s post… With my biological clock ticking (fast), DH and I need to make a decision soon as to whether we’re “one and done” or ready to try for another. It’s a tough call to make in the midst of first-time parenting sleep deprivation; however, we don’t have the luxury of waiting until Plumblossom is out of diapers to ponder a possible sibling.… {Read more}

Clean Slate Part 2: Bundle of Joy

On the course of our minimalist journey, my husband and I had never seriously entertained the idea of having children. For a long time, we couldn’t imagine how an infant/toddler/adolescent/teenager could fit into the carefree, nomadic lifestyle we had created for ourselves.

But last year, after purging all the excess from our lives, something changed.

In my book, The Joy of Less, I liken minimalism to “emptying our cups”—not for the sake of being empty, but for discovering what’s truly special to us and making room for it.

Well, after my husband and I stripped everything to the bone—giving up our home, our possessions, the expectations of others—we discovered the potential of our “empty cup”: the capacity to love, care for, and share this amazing world with a child.… {Read more}