“outside of the box” simplicity living tips

February 8, 2010 in advice by becoming minimalist | 1 comment

there are countless articles written on the steps to a minimalist lifestyle.  this is where we started: a guide to creating a minimalist home.

today, as a supplement, we offer 8 “outside of the box” simplicity living tips that you haven’t read anywhere else:

  • buy things for their usefulness rather than their status. stop trying to impress others with your stuff and start trying to impress them with your life.
  • reject anything that is producing an addiction in you.  refuse to be a slave to anything: coffee, cigarettes, soda, television, chocolate, alcohol…
  • develop a habit of giving things away.  most of us could get rid of half of our possessions without any serious sacrifice.
  • refuse to be propagandized by modern gadgetry.  technology doesn’t always make your life simpler. as a matter of fact, most of the time it just makes your life more cluttered.
  • learn to enjoy things without owning them.  ownership is nothing, access is everything.
  • develop a deeper appreciation for nature.
  • reject anything that breeds the oppression of others.  bananas, coffee, etc.
  • never underestimate the freedom of plain, honest speech.  a lack of simplicity in one area, such as speech, can undermine simplicity in every area.

expect e-book prices to rise

February 8, 2010 in online resource by becoming minimalist | No comments

in case you haven’t heard, apple’s new ipad is causing the price of e-books to rise:  higher amazon e-book prices expected to coincide with ipad launch

what will my reward be?

February 5, 2010 in inspiration by becoming minimalist | 13 comments

one day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. he was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

about that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. he noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family. “you aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman to the fisherman. “you should be working rather than lying on the beach!”

the fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, “and what will my reward be?” “well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” was the businessman’s answer. “and then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman, still smiling. the businessman replied, “you will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!” “and then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again. the businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions. “you can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!” he said.

“and then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman. the businessman was getting angry. “don’t you understand? you can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!” once again the fisherman asked, “and then what will my reward be?” the businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! you can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. you won’t have a care in the world!”

the fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, “and what do you think i’m doing right now?”

the art of being minimalist by everett bogue

February 2, 2010 in Uncategorized by becoming minimalist | No comments

ex-dance student/current yoga enthusiast, everett bogue at far beyond the stars has just released a brand new e-book dedicated to the minimalist lifestyle.  it is titled, “the art of being minimalist” and is receiving great reviews around the blogosphere.  in the interest of honesty and full disclosure, i have not read the book yet.  but here are some of the accolades that it is receiving:

  • “a simple and beautiful introduction to crafting a simple and beautiful life.” – chris baskind of the minimalist century.
  • “…this ebook will help you rethink your life choices, your consumption patterns and how you see the world.” – tammy strobel of rowdy kittens

everett lives the 100 item challenge.  he blogs on the benefits of minimalist living as a tool to craft the life that you want to live.  he made the leap out of the work-a-day world and is working on using his blog as his primary source of income.

“the art of being minimalist: how to stop consuming and start living” is currently being offered at $9.95 for a limited time.

our definition of minimalism

February 2, 2010 in articles, personal by becoming minimalist | 5 comments

in may 2008, our family of four decided to become minimalist.  and since then, we have been on a journey to define what that means.

we live in suburbia.  we have two small children.  we are active in our community.  we love to entertain and show hospitality.  while not exceptional, our life is not identical to anybody else. it is our life – nobody else’s.  and if we were going to become minimalist, it would have to be a style of minimalism specific to us.  it would requires us to ask questions, to give-and-take, to identify what we most value and be humble enough to change course when necessary.

eventually, we defined minimalism in four aspects:

1. we will remove all “clutter” from our lives.  this process began with physical items as we moved from room to room selling, donating, and recycling everything that we no longer used. our home began to give life and energy rather than draining it.  as we began clearing physical clutter from our lives, we noticed opportunity to remove other non-physical clutter from our lives: emotional clutter, relational clutter, and spiritual clutter.  since then, we have worked hard to maintain a clutter-free life.

2. we will decorate in a minimalist style.  since becoming minimalist, we have removed numerous pieces of furniture and countless decorations from our walls and shelves.  what remains is not just clean, sleek, and modern, but is meaningful.  the decorations and paintings that remain are the pieces most dear to our souls and lives.  and our house draws praise from many who enter and enjoy its simple beauty.

3. we will use our money for things more valuable than physical possessions.  madison avenue has controlled our finances for too long.  since the day we were born, it has told us what needs to be bought, when it needs to be purchased, and what store we should visit to find the best value.  when we chose freedom from material possessions, we broke the control that our consumer-driven, capitalistic society has over us.  suddenly, we have been freed to use our finances to pursue endeavors far greater than those offered at our local department store.

4. we will live a counter-cultural life that is attractive to others.  we have met many minimalists over the past year that live a life that is far from attractive to us.  they have sold all their possessions to live communally on a farm… no, thanks.  they have listed all their possessions on a sheet of paper and determined to eliminate all but 100… no, thanks.  instead, we have determined to live out a rational minimalism that fits our lifestyle and invites others to simplify their lives as well.

the benefits of our decision are unmistakable: more freedom, more impact, more time, and less stress.  since our decision, we have encouraged tens of thousands of households around the world to simplify their life, remove clutter, and become minimalist.  after all, if this typical family of four in the suburbs can become minimalist, so can you!

our definition of minimalism originally appeared as a guest post on the website: organzing your way.

two-week odorless socks

February 2, 2010 in humor by becoming minimalist | 2 comments

i know some of you have taken on the 100-thing challenge to limit your number of personal possessions to 100 items or less.  these may help:

israel’s foot soldiers are getting new odour-free socks that can be worn for two weeks straight without smelling or stinking up the feet, the maariv daily reported on thursday.

 

10 obsolete consumer products for 2010

February 1, 2010 in online resource by becoming minimalist | 12 comments

msn.com ran an article this weekend titled, “10 things not to buy in 2010.”  seeing as how the title immediately caught my eye, i had to read it.  in the column, they list 10 consumer products about to be considered obsolete.  here is their list:

  1. dvd’s – given the increase in affordable web-based / cable-based on demand movie rentals, dvd’s and dvd players have begun to go the way of the beta.  even blockbuster has said it plans to close 1/5 of its stores in 2010. 
  2. home telephone service – the increase in cell phone lines and web-based services (skype) has resulted in more than 1/5 of american homes no longer suscribing to land lines into their home.
  3. external hard drives – external hard drives are still an option for storing all those photos, videos, and music files, but they can crash. an up-and-coming alternative might be simpler and save you another transition down the road. online backup services, like carbonite and mozy, allow users to back up data over the internet.
  4. smart phones not called blackberry or iphone - they just haven’t generated the same buzz.  as a result, fewer developers are likely to create applications and other products that cater to those phones. today, the blackberry dominates the smart-phone market with 40% market share, followed by the iphone with 25%.
  5. compact digital cameras – given the rise in manufacturers of slr’s coupled with the increased quality of cell phone cameras, the compact digital camera is rarely needed anymore.  if you don’t know what an slr camera is, they are the fancy expensive ones that look like this: Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera
  6. newspaper subscriptions – in 2008, newspaper advertising revenues declined by 17.7% and the average daily circulation at 379 newspapers fell 10.6% from april through september 2009.
  7. cd’s - did you even know they still sold these?
  8. new college textbooks – used textbooks can save you 70-90%.  and now, the new growing trend is downloadable textbooks.
  9. gas-guzzling autos – i’m not sure i’d classify them as obsolete quite yet, but recent announcements by car manufacturers that they plan to mass-produce fuel-efficient cars could help push consumers away from gas-guzzling vehicles.
  10. energy-inefficient homes and appliances – not only do thse energy-efficient alternatives save you energy costs each month and/or offer you tax-incentives, the once high cost of these appliances continue to drop every year.  

so, what did they forget from their list?

stephanie’s story

January 29, 2010 in stories by becoming minimalist | 10 comments

at becoming minimalist, we frequently share stories of everyday people who have decided to begin living a minimalist life.  they encourage us.  and probably encourage you.

recently, stephanie shared her story with us through our share your story page.

I am 17 years old, and have started to become a minimalist about a week ago. Yes, not very long. But my life has been transformed in many different ways.

It all started with a quote I found from one of my favorite authors, Chuck Palahniuk, “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate, so we can buy sh*t we don’t need.” I thought about this quote for a while. I realized how much of an avid consumer I was – constantly buying clothes and makeup, always eating out (not to mention unhealthy), and just giving in to the mentality that having more will make you happier.

After this thought, I began to read up about minimalism on the internet, and I was completely inspired. I have always been fascinated by this concept, and always wanted to try it, but I never had the integrity to do it. Right after browsing through blogs (like this one!) and other helpful sites, I sought after a new minimalist lifestyle.

I began to empty my closet of the countless clothing articles that I never wore and yet refused to part with before. I emptied out maybe 1/3 of my closet. I’ve still got a long way to go, but for me, this was a good first step. I started to eliminate the little clutter on my desk, and in my cabinets. I already feel a bit more free.

This start in minimalism has made me realize how different ’simplicity’ and ‘minimalism’ are. I would always tell my friends and family that I wanted to live a simple life. I tried to do this by always keeping my room very simple and organized, as well as buying items that were versatile (plain black bag). But what I really needed was a lifestyle change, not just making things appear to look clean cut.

I am not a pack rat to begin with actually – I am one of the most organized people you will probably meet. But I consumed far more than I needed. Part of it is being a teenager is today’s society. I hate to admit it, but the media has a huge influence on me, as much as I wish it didn’t. It is a big reason why I bought so many CDs, magazines, books, etc.

I even work at a job I dislike. I would put in many hours just to splurge on a new dress, or buy fast food with my friends.

I am at the start of my life. I’m heading to university next year, and the real world soon enough. I’m very happy with my decision to become a minimalist, it is probably the best one I’ve made thus far. I want to go into my adult life as a minimalist. I want to travel, and have more time for my family and the things I love, such as creating art.

I realize that this probably won’t be easy. Especially for me, a teenage girl that loves to shop. The biggest challenge will be adjusting my eating and spending habits. But I am willing to do it, in hope of a more balanced and happy life.

I just want to live life the way I want, not the way that society has made me want to live.

All the blogs I’ve read so far have been incredibly inspiring, so I just wanted to say thank you.

stephanie, may you find incredible joy in living life the way you want…

related:

his heart rejoiced…

January 28, 2010 in inspiration by becoming minimalist | 3 comments

in the 5th century, arenius determined to live a holy life. so he abandoned the conforms of egyptian society to follow a simpler lifestyle in the desert. yet whenever he visited the great city of alexandria, he spent time wandering through its markets. asked why, he explained that his heart rejoiced at the sight of all the things he didn’t need.

how to minimize your time on facebook

January 27, 2010 in advice by becoming minimalist | 13 comments

social networking sites continue to explode in popularity.  according to nielsen:

  • in december ‘09 alone, over 300 million people logged onto facebook.  
  • on average, people spent 5.5 hours on facebook during december 2009 (a 201% increase from december 2008).
  • over 300,000 businesses are now on facebook promoting their goods/services.

depending on your line of work, facebook may be unavoidable.  but even if it is unavoidable, there’s good news: it doesn’t have to run your life.  i have compiled a list of helpful hints to keep facebook from ruining your life.

how to minimize your time on facebook:

  • choose your friends wisely.  if you really want to limit your time on facebook, just limit the number of friends that you accept.  remember, the less friends you accept, the less number of possible interactions that arise. convince yourself that you do not need to accept every friend request that shows up on your page.  just because you went to the same high school with somebody doesn’t mean you need to become their “online friend” today.  besides, apparently, the human mind can only handle 150 friends anyway.
  • skip the applications/games.  if you are on  facebook to connect with friends, then get on facebook to connect with friends.  you don’t need to spend your time joining the mafia, building a farm, or finding out which disney princess you are.  however, if you would like facebook to be your online gaming platform… that is certainly up to you.
  • remove all e-mail notifications. by turning off all notifications to your e-mail or mobile device, you remove facebook’s opportunity to interrupt your daily life at any moment.  you also remove the urge to respond to every notification as it appears.  to change these options, go to account settings and choose the “notifications” tab, there click “off” on all the e-mail notifications you don’t really need.
  • hide unnecessary notifications from your newsfeed.  if you’re not interested in someone’s or an application’s updates specifically, you can hide them from your newsfeed permanently.  just hover over the update’s upper right corner and when you see the button “hide” appear, click to choose “hide this person’s updates” or “hide (whatever app) updates”.  i use this on every application that appears in my newsfeed, on people who update way-too-often, and on people who constantly post negative status reports (i don’t need them bringing me down with them.)
  • don’t facebook chat.  among the most inefficient methods of communication in our world today stand internet chatting, texting, and morse code.  and you don’t even have to initiate a facebook chat to get stuck in the middle of one… should a friend notice you are online.  to go offline even when using facebook, click “chat,” “options,” and “go offline.” 
  • sync your social networking sites.  if you are also a user of youtube, flickr, twitter, or etc., there are many applications/software that will sync them for you so that you do not need to upload/update things twice. 
  • only log-in once/day.  certainly, this works only as well as your personal discipline allows.  if once/day is still chewing up too much of your life, choose any frequency you desire.
  • get drastic and limit your minutes.  if personal discipline isn’t working for you, there are websites that will limit your time for you: minutesplease.com, for example.
  • honorable mention: choose your photos wisely, choose your fan pages wisely, and become a friend of the “ignore” button.

these tips can be used for any user of facebook whether you are on for personal or commercial reasons.

oh, and don’t forget to become a fan of becoming minimalist on facebook.

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