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To Drift Like Clouds and Flow Like Water

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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}

Real Life Minimalists: Jesse

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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, Jesse tells us about the motivations behind his minimalist journey. If you’d like to learn more about him, surf on over to his blog, A Life Reinvented.

Jesse writes:

My minimalist journey didn’t start where you’d imagine…it started in a Reflexologist treatment room.

Let me explain:

I had spent several years battling an on-again-off-again nerve problem in my right hand. After a 1 hour session she had completely eradicated the problem.… {Read more}

Minimalist Life: How Many Keys on Your Keychain?

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I’ve decided that my goal is to have as few keys on my keychain as possible. To me, the less keys on your keychain, the less responsibility you have—and the more freedom!

Interested in joining me? Here are five ways to pare down your keychain:

1. Go car-free. My husband and I have gone from two cars to one (he drives it), and our ultimate goal is to be car-free. I’d love to simply use a carshare program whenever the need for wheels arises.

2. Don’t own multiple houses. Well, duh. But seriously, a beach home or downtown pied-a-terre can be pretty tempting.… {Read more}

Minimalist Wardrobe: The Power of Accessories

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I’ve noticed something funny. I can wear an ensemble that someone has seen me in multiple times; yet if I pair it with a scarf, unique necklace, or interesting pair of earrings, they’ll invariably comment on my “new outfit.”

Such is the power of accessories. They freshen up an “old” look in no time flat, and better yet, demand very little storage space. (I’m focusing mainly on scarves and jewelry here, as handbags take up *too much* storage space and merit a post unto themselves.) Guys, I imagine this is how ties function for you, as I’d have a hard time telling if you wore the same suit five days in a row; the tie, however, I would notice.… {Read more}

Minimalist Philosophy: Doing Less

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A few years ago, I was involved in a group conversation about work and careers. One of the men, in his mid-late twenties, was asked what he did. He simply smiled and said, “Not much,” offering no further explanation. (It later came to my knowledge that he worked part-time helping disabled children.)

At the time, I was somewhat of a workaholic, clocking in sixty-hour weeks. I, and several of the other young professionals in our group, were taken aback by his casual remark. We were all what you’d consider “upwardly mobile,” and it was difficult for us to understand someone else’s deliberate rejection of such a lifestyle.… {Read more}

The Minimalist Wallet – Seven Ways to Slim It Down

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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!) I typically keep two credit cards at a time: one with a high credit limit, for travel and big-ticket items; and one with a low limit for online shopping (to lessen the hassle if the numbers are stolen).… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Janet

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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 wonderful contribution from Janet, who shares her story (with photos!) of leading a simpler life.

Janet writes:

Mine is not as much a minimalist story as a quest for simple living. Two years ago as the last of our 3 boys left home we decided to scale back, slow down and try to recapture the time in our life before kids. We were young and didn’t have much but were quite content.… {Read more}

My Minimalist Wedding Dress

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I recently received an email from a reader named Elise, who wrote: “You mentioned that you are married. I’d love to know what you have done with your wedding dress and other keepsakes.”

Great question, Elise! After the big day, many women struggle with how to store the “dress of their dreams”—as well as all the other stuff they accumulated from the ceremony and celebration.

Fortunately, I was a minimalist before I got married—and knew I could never manage to drag around a big, bulky, and delicate garment for the rest of my life. My husband and I also wanted little to do with the usual marriage accoutrements (favors, invitations, albums, cake, presents, and the like.)

Therefore, instead of a traditional wedding, we eloped and got married in Iceland.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Sunny

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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’ll get to know a little more about Sunny, and her motivation for choosing a minimalist lifestyle.

Sunny writes:

I’m a minimalist. I own two pieces of furniture. My closets are empty and my cupboards are bare. There’s space everywhere in my life, and I’ve never been happier.

Once upon a time, I was very complicated. I wore stilettos, carried designer handbags (stuffed with receipts, chewing gum, extra socks, a dozen lips glosses, and sticky unidentifiable objects), and spent an inordinate time organizing/dusting/reorganizing my overwhelming burden of belongings.… {Read more}

Why I Love Ebooks, Part 2

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In Part 1 of this topic, I talked about how moving overseas (and being separated from my favorite tomes) made me a huge fan of ebooks.

Even before I moved, however, I was growing weary of physical books. I didn’t like how everything I read seemed to stick around on my bookshelf. Consequently, I committed to get rid of (resell, pass on, or donate) books directly after I’d finished them. I’m a fast reader, though, so in many cases books would leave my house just a day or two after I purchased them! That didn’t feel quite right either.

To compound the problem, the town I lived in (before moving to the UK) was NOT part of the county’s library system (!).… {Read more}