family

Minimalist Family: Is One Child Enough?

May 31, 2012 400 Comments

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

April 12, 2012 201 Comments

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}

Minimalism in the Family

June 16, 2011 218 Comments

Not too long ago, I received an email from a reader inquiring about the demographics of minimalists. She was wondering if the urge to purge had any correlation with being the oldest, youngest, middle, or only child.

That’s a great question, but I’m unaware of any polls or studies that have been done on the subject. I’m an oldest child myself. However, there’s someone in my family even more minimalist than me: my younger brother.

Believe it or not, my brother’s lifestyle makes mine look maximalist. He’s single, completely carefree, and has mastered the art of location-independence while working a professional job (he’s a self-employed engineer, and his clients are scattered all over the world).… {Read more}

Dealing with OPC (Other People’s Clutter)

May 26, 2011 59 Comments

I often receive emails from people who want to pare down, but are frustrated with their partner’s/children’s/parent’s/family’s reluctance to get on board. They feel that no matter how much of their own stuff they purge, they’ll always be tripping over, shoving aside, or otherwise dealing with someone else’s clutter.

I have to admit, that’s a tough situation. Unfortunately, begging, pleading, evangelizing, or threatening can have the opposite effect—and result in making them more determined to hang on to their stuff.

Don’t despair! Your words may fall on deaf ears, but there’s a few things you can do to (gently) prod those clutterbugs in the right direction:

1.… {Read more}