I just wanted to let you all know that I’ll be taking a semi-sabbatical for the next few months. Don’t worry, I’m not having another baby; just taking some time to enjoy this one, and visit with friends and family. :)
What I’ll be doing:
* Posting the Real Life Minimalists feature each Monday, and moderating comments
* Writing some articles for The Huffington Post
* Responding as best I can to press emails and interview requests
What I won’t be doing:
* Writing the weekly posts that I typically publish on Thursdays
* Responding to general inquiry emails
If you’re visiting my blog for the first time, welcome! I may be on sabbatical, but there’s over three years of posts here for your reading pleasure (see the right sidebar for specific categories or the monthly archives). For those who prefer to read them on a Kindle, PC, or other device (and have a copy for posterity), I’ve compiled the best of them into an ebook available through Amazon.
If you’re looking for a comprehensive (and fun!) guide to decluttering, I think you’ll enjoy my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life. It’s sold 40,000 copies, and was named to Amazon.com’s Best Books of 2010.
Need some minimalist holiday inspiration? You may enjoy these posts from Christmases past:
Miss Minimalist’s Gift Avoidance Guide
Minimalist Holiday: Declutter-Gifts
Minimalist Holiday: The Gift of Time
One Less Gift – A Holiday Gift Exemption Certificate
Thanks so much for understanding. Even though my posting schedule won’t be as regular, I’ll be popping in whenever I can with some minimalist inspiration. Happy Holidays!
Hey thanks for the list of posts. I particularly enjoyed ‘Minimalist Holiday: The Gift of Time’. I think that I’ll link to it in my holiday post in a week or two. Some fantastic advice.
Happy Holidays,
Dan @ ZenPresence
Hey! Sounds like you are trying to minimize which is totally fine. I am looking forward to reading the Minimalist holiday posts. Thanks for putting those up. :)
Hey, enjoy your time off!
Good on you for applying your minimalist principles to your life as well as to your stuff. Enjoy what’s important just now, namely the little one.
:-)
Enjoy your holiday season, with little Plumblossom!
Thank you so much. I recently found your site looking to simplify my cluttered life. I am not seeing a search box on missminimalist. Is there a way to search across all of the blog postings for the last three years? This will help keep me occupied while you are on semi-sabbatical. Thanks!
Kerry,I think the categories on your right pretty much does that for you, and you don’t even have to come up with a search word :-). Anyway that’s how I read through most of her post in “one” go.
Will miss having new posts coming up – but on the other hand, I really enjoy the “real life minimalist stories” so look forward to them!
Francine, I wondered what had happened to you last Thursday! I’m glad to see you are okay and just taking a well deserved break. :D
I hope the three of you have a wonderful holiday together! Look forward to your posts next year. :D
Catch you on the Huffington Post!
AussieGirl
xxx
Enjoy your time with family and friends! A break from any routine is usually a wonderful thing :) Hope to see you again some time next year!
I too would like a keyword search, however I find the categories fairly straightforward. Enjoy your time off!
I hope you have a wonderful sabbatical! I will miss your updated posts! Part of my weekends is to sit down with a cup of tea and read your latest! I hope you come back with plenty of inspiration and stories to share!
I think you should publish 2 ‘real life minimalists a week’. I bet you have a backlog of them. So enjoy reading your twice a week posts and this way it would take a minimal, yes play on words, amount of time.
Thanks for letting us know so clearly why you’re taking a mini-break.
I know I’ll still have Monday posts to look forward to and will check you out at The Huffington Post :)
I really look forward to your posts, but love the example you set by taking a well deserved break and putting family first. Can’t wait until your back!
MarieG LifeSimplyBalanced.com
NOOOOOOOO!!! DON’T GO!!!!! I wait and wait for new posts from you and have already read all the archives. I will miss you too much. My hubby thinks I’m crazy but everything you write just resonates with me so much!
I do commend you for taking time for yourself, your family, etc. but selfishly I just want you to write and write for me! Enjoy this sabbatical time and we will be ready for new content from you (or perhaps a new book?!) whenever you are!
Merry Minimalist Christmas everyone! :)
I will be sad to see the Thursday posts go, but I understand needing a break. Good on you for focusing on what’s important.
May your break be inspiring, delightful, and renewing. :) I love reading Miss Minimalist each week, and look forward to your return!
Hi Ms. J,
I just came across your books on the Internet. Interesting stuff. Being a minimalist have you considered eliminating the letters “A” and “Y” from your last name? After all, for a minimalist, those letters are simply unnecessary. Such a move might land you some terrific publicity. Just a thought.
I have purchased to of your books. I am a big fan! I would love to purchase Miss Minimalist but it is only available for Kindle and I have a Nook. Please can you look into making your book available in print or for barnes and noble Nook. Thank You!!! Melinda (minimalist in training:))
Enjoy your sabbatical Francine! We’ll be happily waiting for you to get back. ;)
Congrats on the sabbatical! I am looking to enjoy a mini retirement myself pretty soon. Can’t wait! I look forward to reading your posts…please don’t stop!
Whilst I completely understand the sabbatical(s), the site is very lacklustre now. Hopefully, Francine will come back with a huge bang!
Hi Francine! So nice to get an update and hear that both you and Plumblossom are thriving :)
I’ll leave a comment on Huffington Post but as I already have “The Joy of Less” on my kindle there’s no need to alert you to it. Your capsule wardrobe post is one of my favourites and has been very inspirational for me so it’s good to see it having another airing! Thanks for everything and looking forward to having you post regularly again.
The base color idea has changed my life. So fewer shoes, socks, purses, skirts and pants that don’t match the base color. I thought I’d have to get rid of a lot of tops when I limited all my bottoms to black or gray, but really only had to get rid of 2 navy blue and brown shirts. Everything else still works. I will never go back to having a “mixed” wardrobe with browns and navy. This way is so much simpler and freeing. All my bottoms match all my tops. Its amazing. Thank you!! And, I completely support the sabbatical. Plumblossom will only be little once!
I really love your blog, can’t get enough. I bought your book and enjoyed that too. I have alot to say but I will make it short because, well, I am trying to be a simple person.
My husband and I started the simple adventure a couple years ago. We started getting rid of things and making plans for a simple life. It was going so well. We made the biggest step and sold our home and moved into an apartment. With that came getting rid of so many things that, at one time, we thought we could not get along without.
Finally we got down to the essentials and were very proud of ourselves.
Then my husband, the love of my life, my other half, passed away. It was a blessing that we minimalize our life together. However, I don’t know what to do now. Together we had a perfect plan. I don’t have a plan B.
Diane,
My deepest, deepest condolences on the loss of your husband; it’s just heartbreaking to read your comment and I want to give you the biggest virtual {{{{{hug}}}}} possible. I hope you’ll find some solace and support in our little community here, as well as the strength to continue on the beautiful path you set out on together.
Thanks to everyone for all the greetings and well wishes–a digital sabbatical is truly a wonderful thing!
I try not to miss a single posting. I just went to a huge rummage sale with a list of wants from various people. I spent $3 total. I will get paid back for a lot. When you see that what was once in fashion becomes unwanted, you realize that minimalism is the way to go. All the shoes, purses, clothes, etc that someone had to have and now they are going for $10 a bag or maybe less. And that doesn’t count toys, holiday decor, etc.