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A Year Ago on miss minimalist

Minimalist Food: One Bowl Eating: I’m intrigued by the idea of eating all of my meals out of a single bowl. Not only would it reduce the tableware in my cabinets; I think it would make me more mindful, and more appreciative, of what I put in my body. My ideal one bowl menu would look something like the following…{read more}

Minimalist Living & Spirituality: On my recent trip to Hong Kong, I visited the Wisdom Path on Lantau Island. This outdoor “sculpture” consists of thirty-eight wooden columns inscribed with the Heart Sutra, a text treasured by Confucians, Buddhists, and Taoists.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Robert Wringham

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. (Note: the schedule is now full until May — but if you don’t mind waiting, feel free to send me your submission!)

Today, I’m happy to share this contribution from Robert Wringham. He tells us how he’s pared down to the essentials, and how his minimalist lifestyle has enabled him to start his own business. Very inspiring!

Robert writes:

Hello! I’m Robert Wringham. I’m a writer and performer and I’m the editor of a magazine called New Escapologist.… {Read more}

100 Possessions: Little Black Dress

Sometimes people ask me if minimizing your wardrobe involves ditching all your old clothes and buying sleek new ones. Certainly not! In fact, some of the oldest items in my closet are my favorites.

For example, this little number here. I purchased it from J. Crew in…{drumroll, please}…1998!

This little black dress is the closest thing I have to a uniform. During the summer, I wear it at least once a week—usually on its own, but sometimes dressed up with a scarf or jewelry. In colder weather, I pair it with a cardigan, tights, and my knee-high boots.

Why do I love it?… {Read more}

A Year Ago on miss minimalist

To Drift Like Clouds and Flow Like Water: My husband and I spent the last ten days traveling through Southeast Asia, spending a few nights each in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. As usual, we packed only our small carry-on bags, giving us the freedom to wander between and throughout these places without the burden of heavy luggage. It was a wonderful trip. Our friends tend to view our vacations as something between exhausting and crazy (particularly as they are often planned less than two weeks in advance). To us, however, being “in motion” seems perfectly natural. We feel at peace, and at home, when we are on the road…{read more}

A Little Travel Talk: Since I mentioned my recent trip to Southeast Asia in my last post, I’ve received several requests for more details about the experience.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Karen Johnson

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. (Note: the schedule is now full until May — but if you don’t mind waiting, feel free to send me your submission!)

I was thrilled to receive this story from Karen Johnson, who proves that you can indeed be a minimalist even if you have kids (she has nine!). To read more about her family’s journey, please visit her blogs, Crunchy Minimalist and Be-Encouraged.

Karen writes:

The roof blew off my sister-in-laws house, the storm destroying it & much of their possessions including my mother-in-laws stuff as she lived in the basement suite.… {Read more}

The Year of the Butterfly

.Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year, which according to their lunar calendar is the Year of the Rabbit.

Well, I’d like to propose a special New Year for us minimalists: let’s make this the Year of the Butterfly.

Why? Let me explain with an excerpt from my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide:

When we overconsume, we’re like bulls running through a china shop—leaving a destructive path of downed forests, dirty waterways, and overflowing landfills in our wake. In our quest for more goods and unfettered growth, we break the Earth’s fragile ecosystems, shatter the lives of indigenous peoples, and leave future generations to clean up the mess.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Lisa Fine

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. (Note: the schedule is now full until May — but if you don’t mind waiting, feel free to send me your submission!)

Today, I’m pleased to introduce you to Lisa Fine. She’s the blogger behind Lisa’s Foods on the Move, where she moves towards simplicity through unconventional eating, and tracks her minimalist and other ventures, including baking her own bread for an entire year.

Lisa writes:

When I think about all of the ways I can make my life more minimized, food always seems to come to mind (besides giving away, selling, and throwing all kinds of items I no longer need, which I’ve been doing plenty of the last few months).… {Read more}

One Less Thing: Perfume

An important part of being a minimalist is realizing what you can do without. It’s a continual process of discovering One Less Thing that—despite what peers, advertisements, or societal norms tell you—you just don’t need.

Several years ago, I discovered One Less Thing I could do without: perfume.

As a young girl, I associated those fancy glass bottles of fragrance with glamour, sophistication, and femininity—and was thrilled to receive my first one (the lemon-y Jean Naté—oh, the nostalgia!) as a birthday gift in junior high. I graduated onto the hipper Calvin Klein Eternity in high school, had a brief fling with Le De Givenchy during an Audrey Hepburn phase, and spritzed daily with Chanel Allure as an adult.… {Read more}

A Year Ago on miss minimalist

The Minimalist Wallet – Seven Ways to Slim It Down: I try to keep my wallet as light and streamlined as possible (no Costanza wallet for me!). To this end, I’ve found the following strategies to be particularly useful: 1. Carry one credit card. In fact, own as few as possible; signing up for every store card, or offer that comes in the mail, only complicates life. Who wants to deal with all that paperwork? (And worse yet, all that potential debt!)…{read more}

Minimalist Philosophy: Doing Less: A few years ago, I was involved in a group conversation about work and careers.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Aaron and Hsinya Lin

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. (Note: the schedule is now full until May — but if you don’t mind waiting, feel free to send me your submission!)

This week, we have an inspirational story from Aaron and Hsinya Lin. They’ve drastically reduced their consumption out of concern for the environment, and blog about their green and minimal ways at Greenimalist.

Aaron writes:

For some, minimalism runs in their blood. Not for me–my family has packrat genes.… {Read more}