Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision. It is a counter-cultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption that surrounds us.
The world we live in is not friendly to the pursuit of minimalism. Its tendencies and relentless advertising campaigns call us to acquire more, better, faster, and newer. The journey of finding simplicity requires consistent inspiration.
For that reason, I hope you will make an effort this weekend to find a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy some of these hand-picked articles to encourage more simplicity in your life.
How to Live an Exceptional Life, Even When Life Doesn’t Feel Exceptional | The Art of Simple by Kat Lee. We do it by living with wild, exceptional excellence in the small things.
Increasingly, Retirees Dump Their Possessions and Hit the Road | The New York Times by David Wallis. “The purge of possessions was ‘a little nerve-racking’ at first, but ultimately ‘hugely liberating’.”
18 Non-Toy Gifts for Children | Nourishing Minimalism by Rachel Jones. A great way to combat too many toys is to shift all the gifts to non-toy items.
Smallish Blog by Evelyn Rennich. A young family of five happily living in 450 sq. ft.
I always love discovering new blogs on your weekend reads. Thanks for sharing these. I really liked the Non-Toy Gifts for kids article. It’s sometimes hard to find gifts that do more than contribute to an every growing pile of toys, and this article provided some good ideas.
Thanks for including Smallish–that’s been one of my favorites for quite awhile!
The article about retirees was interesting. Here’s a good blog about two retirees who are planning on paring down their possessions and traveling: http://justabackpackandarollie.com/ .
:) Hi Bethany!
Thanks for introducing to the Smallish blog .
Glad to have you over, Gail! :)
Great variety of reads. I was most intrigued with the NY Times article. Not just retirees! I know a couple in their early 30’s, quit their high-paying jobs in CA, craigslisted all their stuff, and have been traveling the world ever since, house sitting, dog sitting, giving alpacas vaccinations, organic gardening. They are young and extremely fit and will do just about anything. I know of many retirees who have set up permanent residence in foreign countries because the cost of living and healthcare is so much cheaper. Refreshing, upbeat article. And I thought the Tiny House movement was radical!
John brings up the fundamental error in our macroeconomy. Our savings, retirement, investments, salaries, etc. all depend on rampant over-consumption of goods and services. This is why minimalism, vernacularism, localism, and other decentralized, locally-controlled arrangements of human activity (otherwise known as “culture”) offer promising means of living more humane, beautiful lives.
Joshua,
Yes, the world we live in is not friendly to the pursuit of minimalism. Is this because if a significant portion of our populace adopted a minimalist lifestyle our economy would collapse? And what if a significant portion of our populace adopted the minimalist lifestyle? What would be the ramifications for our economy? Even for us minimalists, our jobs and retirement savings still depend on the (over) spending of our fellows.
John