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On My Blog’s First Birthday

Today marks one year since I published my first post here. (Wow, how time flies!)

This time last year I had just moved to a new country, and started blogging on a whim – mainly to entertain myself and indulge my passion for minimalist living. I considered it a creative outlet, a way to practice my writing, and never expected to have more than a handful of readers.

The response, however, was incredible. According to my latest statistics, I have over 3,000 RSS subscribers, and received 76,000 unique visitors last month. I can’t tell you how excited I am that so many of you are interested in minimalist living!… {Read more}

Minimalist Makeover: Barry’s Bookshelf

When it comes to downsizing our possessions, some things are easy — like knickknacks we don’t like, dinnerware we don’t need, or clothes that don’t fit. Others, however, present more of a challenge; and I don’t think I’m the only one who puts books near the top of that list.

Therefore, I was excited to hear from Barry, who recently decluttered his bookshelf. He kindly agreed to share his “before” and “after” photos with us:

Here’s what he wrote about his experience:

As a book lover and a graduate of medical school some years back, I’ve carted half a ton of books around wherever I’ve lived.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Fawn

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 December — but if you don’t mind waiting, feel free to send me your submission!)

This week, I’m honored to present Fawn — one of my minimalist idols! I’ve been reading Fawn’s posts on the Simple Living Network for almost a decade, and they’ve been an incredible source of inspiration to me. I’m so excited to introduce her to all of you!

Fawn writes:

Minimalism by the Numbers

I think that a preference for minimalist living is a personality trait like extroversion or a dark sense of humor.… {Read more}

Minimalist Philosophy: Wildflower Goals

When you spend time in the blogosphere, you hear a lot of talk about goals: personal goals, professional goals, finance goals, development goals, creative goals, short-term goals, long-term goals, etc. (Sometimes it can be exhausting just reading about them all!)

And if you’re a blogger, you’ll inevitably be asked to talk about your own goals. The question often comes up during interviews, and should be a snap to answer, right? Err, not for me.

You see, I’ve never been good at long-term planning – I don’t really like to outline (or even know) where I’m going to be one, five, or ten years from now.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Reggie

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 December — but if you don’t mind waiting, feel free to send me your submission!)

Today, we have an inspirational contribution from Reggie, a Generation-Y minimalist who’s discovered (so early in life!) that a consumer lifestyle is NOT the road to happiness. He writes about his experiences on his wonderful blog, People, Not Stuff.

Reggie writes:

I’m a 23-year-old recent college graduate who was jolted by a combination of the financial crisis, my first real-world working experience, and an overall desire for a lifestyle change.… {Read more}

Minimalist Makeover: Lea Ann’s Closet

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Beth’s closet and kitchen makeover. Shortly thereafter, I heard from Lea Ann, who had just finished a closet makeover of her own. I was amazed by the “before” and “after” photos:

What a difference! I asked her to share with us exactly *how* she accomplished this transformation. She wrote:

Background: I lived in San Francisco where space was tight. Moved to Wisconsin and am suddenly in a 770 s.f. apartment that has more space and closets than I was used to. To leave San Francisco, I’d given away all but a car load of items and road tripped to Wisconsin.… {Read more}

Real Life Minimalists: Deirdre

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 December — but if you don’t mind waiting, feel free to send me your submission!)

This week, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Deirdre. In her story, she chronicles how her clutter accumulated, and how she was able to purge it from her life. Please visit her blog for more inspiration on living life simply and slowly.

Deirdre writes:

Like many of the readers and contributors I found my way to consciously minimizing my stuff as an adult (though I do remember as a kid trying hard to have a messy room like my friends, but it was against my inner nature and I could never pull it off…my mother had it easy in that regard!) I moved around a lot as a child and in my teens and then some more in my twenties and as result items would have to be pared down for convenience and often a box or two would get lost in the shuffle.… {Read more}

100 Ways to Simplify Your Life (and Make Yourself Happier)

I’ve been striving to simplify my life for many years now, and have recently (through my writing) been advising others how to do the same. In the process, I’ve learned that making little changes in our attitudes, habits, and environment can have a big impact. So today, I thought I’d compile a list of 100 ways to simplify your life – from the practical to the philosophical, and everything in between.

Of course, not every item on the list will work for every person reading it. However, I hope that you’ll find at least a little something that speaks to you, helps you save some time, space, and energy — and perhaps even increases your serenity and happiness!… {Read more}

Extreme Minimalist Travel: No Luggage

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know I like to travel light. I take a small carry-on bag for long trips, and nothing but a large purse for anything under a week.

Author and “vagabonder” Rolf Potts, however, has me beat. He’s traveling the world for six weeks without a single piece of luggage: no suitcase, no day bag, not even a fanny pack!

The only items he’s taking are those that fit in the pockets of his Scott eVest: a handful of toiletries, a few electronic devices, and a couple of miscellaneous items like earplugs, sunglasses, safety pins, and a notebook.… {Read more}

My Tiny Apartment Tour: Minimalist Bedroom

After last week’s post (400 Square Feet is the New Black), I received quite a number of emails and comments requesting more photos of our tiny apartment.

Today, I thought I’d give you a sneak peak into the bedroom. I feel a little shy inviting thousands of people into this space, but what the heck – here goes.

To be honest, there’s really not much to see. It measures only 9.75 x 9.25 feet, for a grand total of 91 square feet. Suffice it to say, photographing it was somewhat of a challenge!

A few notes:

* I know a mattress on the floor is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it works for us.… {Read more}