Favorite Minimalism Blogs « Back to Group Discussions

[Oliver's Mama]

What are your favorite blogs/websites on minimalism?  I feel like I've found most of them, but maybe there are some hidden gems out there. 

Here are my favorites:

www.missminimalist.com

www.theminimalists.com

www.zenhabits.com

www.mnmlist.com

www.becomingminimalist.com

www.bemorewithless.com

www.minimalistmom.com

www.minimalistpackrat.com (Tanja's slowing down her blog, but the archives are rich with great topics)

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http://thegardenerscottage.blogspot.com/

http://sailingsimplicity.com/somewhere-there-sails-a-smaller-boat/

http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/

Soon to be mine...

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http://www.abeachcottage.com/2011/12/beach-cottage-coastal-christmas-5-tips-for-christmas-beach-decor.html#more-6255

[Robert Wall]

I don't know that I'd say Tanja's blog is slowing down; I'd say it's changing focus. :)

A few "hidden gems" that you might not be following...

http://www.ex-consumer.com - Jenny McCutcheon talks about minimalism, finances, and family living with less. Good stuff!

http://www.minimalistathome.com - Faith Janes & her minimalist journey, living in a household of ten. 

And then there's my blog. I'm not a mom, but I have a blog about minimal, simple, frugal living. May be worth a read for y'all. :)

http://www.untitledminimalism.com

[Mommel]

Originally Posted by Oliver's Mama 

www.missminimalist.com

www.mnmlist.com

www.becomingminimalist.com

www.bemorewithless.com

www.minimalistmom.com

I'll second these and add the following:

http://100things100days.com/

http://rowdykittens.com/

http://www.gipplaster.com/ (So Much More Life)

http://minimalistwoman.com/

So happy to have more to add to my list!!

[Rainey Daye]

I started a blog about not necessarily minimalism, but living simply in any case, almost four years ago...around the same time as a lot of other living simply mom blogs (though I wasn't a mom at the time)...but I didn't put as much into my blog as they did so of course it didn't get many followers and I haven't blogged there at all since January.

One of my new goals though now with my further embrace of minimalism and simplicity is to go back and re-vamp my blog...hoping to do that before the new year. I'll be taking out obsolete posts and posts dealing on organizing my stuff and reposting the few posts that are still useful....and then plan on posting new posts at least once a week (and hopefully a weekly linky post as well to other useful minimalist posts around the blogosphere). 

Anyway, if ya'll want to see it in it's un-updated state now it can be found at:

http://essentialsimplicity.blogspot.com

[Rainey Daye]

I read a few of the ones mentioned above but noticed these weren't listed:

http://smallnotebook.org/

http://simplemom.net/

Funnily enough, Tsh at Simple Mom started her blog in early January of 2008 and Rachel at Small Notebook started her blog in February of 2008 just days after I started mine....they just were a LOT better at blogging relevantly and faithfully...so they ended up with a TON of followers and Tsh even has a book out now and like five different blogs with other contributing bloggers and stuff. Guess I should have stuck with it better, huh? Though truthfully, I don't think HAVING to blog cause you have a ton of followers is really my kind of minimalism. I'd rather blog for a few people about what I'm passionate about and call it good!!

Here's a couple about minimalist wardrobes:

http://www.theproject333.com/

http://project36365.wordpress.com/

[Mommel]

Originally Posted by Rainey Daye 

I read a few of the ones mentioned above but noticed these weren't listed:

http://smallnotebook.org/

http://simplemom.net/

Funnily enough, Tsh at Simple Mom started her blog in early January of 2008 and Rachel at Small Notebook started her blog in February of 2008 just days after I started mine....they just were a LOT better at blogging relevantly and faithfully...so they ended up with a TON of followers and Tsh even has a book out now and like five different blogs with other contributing bloggers and stuff. Guess I should have stuck with it better, huh? Though truthfully, I don't think HAVING to blog cause you have a ton of followers is really my kind of minimalism. I'd rather blog for a few people about what I'm passionate about and call it good!!

Here's a couple about minimalist wardrobes:

http://www.theproject333.com/

http://project36365.wordpress.com/

I have to tell you that I went to Small Notebook and the first post I saw was about things to do with your kids over Christmas break and one of the things on her list was to start an ornament collection, which is a far cry from minimalism in any way. I think it's important to note that every minimalist lives simply, but not everyone who lives simply is a minimalist. That said, I think she's very creative and some of her tips and advice are really great!

I tried to write a blog too... it takes a lot more dedication to writing than I'm willing to put in, I guess. I do think that the key to success has more to do with proliferation than writing skill though and I'm just too lazy for that. Maybe that's why I'm a minimalist... I'm too lazy to care for more stuff. LOL

[Oliver's Mama]

Originally Posted by Mommel 

 I think it's important to note that every minimalist lives simply, but not everyone who lives simply is a minimalist. That said, I think she's very creative and some of her tips and advice are really great!

Nicely said.. Yeah, I wasn't sure how this Minimalist Mamas group is going to discriminate between minimalism and simple living. For instance, I would consider www.walkslowlylivewildly.com to be simple living, not minimalism, though I do get lovely inspirational tidbits from her blog.  It's a matter of picking and choosing what works for you from the simple living blogs.  At times it makes me feel guilty that I'm not so crafty and fun as a mom, however, "art time" is always a disaster at our house and keeping boxes of supplies is not my cup of tea.

I did look at the smallnotebook blog and got  a great idea about using a blanket as a tree skirt and putting the kids' holiday books there, which solved my minimalist problem of having to buy a separate item to use as a tree skirt, got my kids to actually look at books, and we had some quality time under the tree.

[Rainey Daye]

Well, yes... Small notebook isn't super minimalist, and I think she is less so now that they are remodeling and moving into a house...but last year when they up and moved to Italy for several months with just a few suitcases she was definitely living more minimalist then. She also had some good posts about having a minimalist wardrobe. 

About the Christmas ornament thing....guess in that aspect I'm not super minimalist in that we do add to our ornament collection every year. HOWEVER, the little paper ornaments that we made for our tiny tree that just got passed down to Bug for his bedroom? Yeah...all those are going out in the recycle after the holidays and we can make new ones next year. The nice matching blue and silver ornaments we have from IKEA and Selgros (the big Sam's Club type superstore I was a member of in Romania)? Yeah, they all fit in one plastic bin in the attic and if we move into an RV and downsize back to the tiny tree those can go to Freecycle or Goodwill with no regrets. 

But we do collect one nice ornament a year for my husband and myself, one nice ornament for kiddo, and this year there will be three new ornaments for my miscarried babies....so in our six Christmases together we will have accumulated (once my angel babies ornaments arrive) a total of twelve special ornaments...with at least two new ones a year to come from here on out till Bug is grown. The idea is to then have a small little sentimental collection for Bug to start his own tree off with once he is grown (with no need for cheap filler ornaments eventually). 

Oh, and I did the Christmas books under the tree thing too...only I got our Christmas books at the library!! 

[Mommel]

Originally Posted by Rainey Daye 

Well, yes... Small notebook isn't super minimalist, and I think she is less so now that they are remodeling and moving into a house...but last year when they up and moved to Italy for several months with just a few suitcases she was definitely living more minimalist then. She also had some good posts about having a minimalist wardrobe. 

Cool! I'm going to go look for that!! Thanks.

I'm not really into decorating much at all, so I don't really get the whole ornament/tree thing. Then again, my kiddo is only two months old, so that will likely change. 

[Rainey Daye]

Heh, if you could see our house you'd know that I'm not much into wall stuff either!! There's an ugly cheap poster type painting in our kitchen that DH likes, some weird print (again DH) over our couch, and Ferris Bueller and Star Wars posters in the office (again DH). Other than that, we've got a couple inherited paintings in our bedroom (again DH) and one random little picture in our guest bedroom (that one is mine). All of those I could do without. DH has talked about lending the paintings to a museum (they are of a locally known deceased artist, so of a small value but still valuable enough to a local museum)...and I could probably talk him into getting rid of all but the original Star Wars poster...but so far they are all still on the walls. 

Besides that, I've got a few frames on the wall in Bug's room with his name and a couple silhouettes, a little plaque that was mine as a kid with the bedtime prayer on it, and a bulletin board...all in Bug's room. Then I have a couple bulletin boards over my desk. Those all are keepers for now. 

Truthfully, all I really want on the walls (other than Bug's stuff and my bulletin boards) is the picture collage frame for family pictures I got months ago that is still sitting and waiting for pics from the various family members!! The rest can go....though I know DH will keep the Star Wars poster!!

Our Christmas decor? Yeah, those two trees in the pics above are basically it. I have three stockings and an advent calendar on the wall, three little snowmen figurines on the breakfast bar, and a star-shaped tealight on the table....and that's it. The snowmen and tealight and advent calendar are all expendable really...I just keep them for now cause they really aren't in my way for the three weeks or so they are out...and they will be GONE once we downsize to an RV.

It's a bit difficult when my DH likes things clean and simple for the most part, but doesn't really want to part with any of HIS stuff!!

[Mommel]

www.minifylist.com

Not a blog, but it's a new Minimalist tool website, where you can list your stuff with photos... I am at www.minifylist.com/Mommel

[SomethingAnonymous]

Originally Posted by Rainey Daye 

Our Christmas decor? Yeah, those two trees in the pics above are basically it. I have three stockings and an advent calendar on the wall, three little snowmen figurines on the breakfast bar, and a star-shaped tealight on the table....and that's it. The snowmen and tealight and advent calendar are all expendable really...I just keep them for now cause they really aren't in my way for the three weeks or so they are out...and they will be GONE once we downsize to an RV.

I think that now that it's been a couple months since Christmas I am going to go back through our 2 boxes of Christmas stuff. I think it might be easier to get rid of more now that the emotions of the season have faded away.  I was really proud that I got it down to 2 boxes but I think I can do more :)

update: I was able to get it down to 1 box plus a smaller organizer that holds the ornaments. 

Edited by SomethingAnonymous - 2/18/12 at 1:04am

[MiniMum]

I follow many minimalist blogs for inspiration. My blog about minimalism with children called Cat's Meow 

It's a more personal blog though than some, and with lots of photographs.

[SomethingAnonymous]

Cool thanks : ) Somehow we got off track talking about Christmas stuff.. sorry about that! Thanks for getting the thread back on track :)

[LoveOurBabies]

Love www.missminimalist.com

Hope to do a segment on real life minimalists with Francine soon. :)

Edited by LoveOurBabies - 3/3/12 at 10:24pm