Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to Downsize, Declutter, and Simplify

62. Limit the number of blogs you read. When you subscribe to a new one, drop an old one, so as not to increase your time commitment.

70. Choose your battles. There are thousands of little things that just aren’t worth fighting for—let them go.

Therefore, I back up essential data to both physical media and the cloud, so that I could reconstruct it if necessary. Because everything with “memories” is digitized—photographs, letters, postcards—I don’t have photo albums or sentimental items that would be heartbreaking to lose.

98. Avoid advertising like the plague. When you don’t know an item exists, you won’t stress over desiring, acquiring, or paying for it. 99. Don’t shop unless you need something. In other words, don’t browse stores, catalogs, or websites looking for something to need. 100. Make your own definition of “success.” Raising a happy family or excelling at you

When we’re trying to declutter, areté is a call to quality over quantity. Choose one pen that writes superbly over a drawerful of mediocre ones. Choose one gadget that functions flawlessly, rather than a slew of sub-par ones. Choose a small wardrobe of excellent clothes instead of a closetful of inferior ones.

My husband and I travel a lot, and people sometimes ask us if we worry about our apartment while we’re gone. Our answer: not particularly. The reason: we have nothing to steal.

78. Ask for help or advice. Reaching out to someone with more expertise can often save you hours (or days) of muddling through on your own.

40. Make one-pot meals, and drastically reduce your after-dinner cleanup.

Our time would then be free for friends, family, and community; and for spiritual, philosophical, and cultural pursuits. Imagine what we could do with all that newfound time, energy, and capital!