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The Thread of Connection

I spent last New Year’s Day in Bangkok, participating in the Thai tradition of visiting Buddhist temples and making donations to the resident monks. At one of the temples, a monk blessed me with a sprinkle of holy water and tied a simple white cord around my wrist. Eight months later, I’m still wearing it.

I’ve since googled this Thai tradition to find out its meaning. Apparently, the white thread is called sai sin, and is meant to represent the Buddhist Sutras (the word sutra is Sanskrit for “thread”). As such, it’s a constant reminder to act according to Buddhist principles—treating every living thing with respect, kindness, and compassion.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: LM

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, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to LM. She gave up her high-stress, 80-hour week job at a top law firm to pursue her career on her own terms, and tells us how minimalism helped her make the transition.

LM writes:

I am a lawyer. I graduated from a top-10 law school and got a job at a top-10 law firm – the kind that most new grads only dream about.… {Read more}

100 Possessions: Glass Plates and Bowls

After I graduated from college, I inherited a beautiful set of china from my grandmother. My fantasy self—the one who planned to throw fabulous dinner parties in her English manor house—was elated to own twelve place settings of vintage tableware. My real self, however—the one who carefully wrapped every dinner plate, salad plate, dessert plate, bowl, cup, and saucer during each move—became decidedly less enthusiastic about it over time.

After going through the painstaking process of packing and unpacking it at least four times (and constantly worrying about breaking an irreplaceable piece), I’d had enough. I finally gave the whole set to a less nomadic family member, and breathed a huge sigh of relief.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Paige Guthrie Hodges

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, we have an inspiring story from Paige Guthrie Hodges. I’m sure many of you will appreciate her insights on living with a non-minimalist spouse! To read more of her thoughts on simple living, please visit her blog or check out her wonderful book, Redefining the Meaning of Wealth: Discovering Prosperity and Fortune in the Unemployment Line.

Paige writes:

I discovered minimalism in the late 90s when I stumbled across a book titled Simplify Your Life by Elaine St James.… {Read more}

Minimalism Around the World: Danshari

When I first started writing about minimalism, I thought of clutter and overconsumption as primarily an American problem. However, from the emails and comments I received, I soon learned that many in the UK and Europe were struggling with similar issues.

Still, I considered it mainly an affliction of the Western world, and never imagined decluttering would have much relevance in the Far East (which has a long cultural heritage of simplicity and restraint).

However, according to an article by Michael Hoffman in The Japan Times Online, there’s a new trend sweeping Japan: danshari.

Kanjiclinic.com included the word in its “2010 New Words” list, and defined it as follows:

断捨離 Danshari – “de-clutter.” The three kanji in this compound mean “refuse – throw away – separate.” Self-help author Hideko Yamashita, drawing on yoga philosophy, promotes a three-step system for de-cluttering one’s life (both physical and mental) in Japan: 1) refuse to bring unnecessary new possessions into your life; 2) throw away existing clutter in your living space; and 3) separate from a desire for material possessions.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Bug Girl

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, we have a very interesting story from Bug Girl. This is one of the most compelling (and creepy crawly) reasons I’ve heard for becoming a minimalist! Great inspiration to clean out those nooks and crannies…

Bug Girl writes:

My minimalist journey unfortunately started with a pest problem two years ago. (Black Carpet Beetles, if you dare to Google it.) Little creepy crawly bugs that LOVE to feed on dust and cat hair and clothing were everywhere in my house.… {Read more}

Declutter Your Fantasy Self

Once upon a time (a long time ago), I had a fantasy self. She was an aficionado of antique chandeliers, vintage beaded dresses, fine china, and silver tea sets; I think she fancied one day she would marry a prince and live out her days in a British castle or manor house.

Charming as she was, after dragging her stuff thousands of miles in a cross-country move, I had to kick her out. And it’s a good thing I did—because even though I eventually married a prince (metaphorically) and moved to England (literally), my 400-square-foot flat would have never accommodated her lavish accoutrements.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Adriana

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, Adriana checks in with us from Singapore, and tells us how she’s minimized her wardrobe, her finances, and other areas of her life. After you read her story, please visit her website to see her delightful drawings; they’re sure to make you smile.

Adriana writes:

How wonderful it is to be a minimalist now! Now there is a community, and blogs such as Miss Minimalist to help us along!

In 2006, I decided that I had enough.… {Read more}

Ramblings On Food

One of my favorite things about writing this blog are the interesting discussions that take place in the Comments section—and did we have a great one this week, sparked by Sylvia’s Real Life Minimalist feature! For those of you who missed it, it revolved around the myriad of choices we make when it comes to food—such as being vegans, vegetarians, omnivores, or other; opting for grass-fed versus grain-fed animals; and the implications of our eating habits on our health and the environment.

I’ve written very little about food on this blog, save from my desire to eat every meal from a single bowl.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Sylvia Black

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, Sylvia Black tells us about the many ways in which she’s practicing minimalism, including her approach to food and diet (always an interesting topic!). To learn more, surf on over to her blog, Vegan Advantage.

Sylvia writes:

For me, the main area of my life in which I’ve consciously explored minimalism is my diet.

Diet, I think, sometimes gets overlooked as an area in which minimalism is applicable – or if it does get considered, people might perhaps think of counting calories and diminishing only the quantity of what they eat.… {Read more}