Quotes and stories for a simpler life.
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Have Nothing in Your Houses That You Do Not Know to Be Useful or Believe to Be Beautiful
William Morris was a designer, craftsman, and restless critic of the cluttered Victorian home. In an 1880 lecture called “The Beauty of Life,” he offered a rule that still cuts through the pile on the dresser: keep what earns its place, and let the rest go. “Have nothing in your houses that you do not…
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There Are Many Things We Feel We Should Do That We Don’t Have To
Elaine St. James on the shoulds that are optional, and one yes to cancel this week.
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Nothing Is Harder to Do Than Nothing
Jenny Odell’s line about how hard it is to sit still, and ten unbought minutes this week.
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Wealth Consists Not in Having Great Possessions, but in Having Few Wants
Most advice about money starts with earning more. Epictetus started with wanting less. He was born enslaved in Hierapolis, taught philosophy in Rome, and wrote like someone who had already tested the math on both sides of the ledger. “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” Epictetus That line is…
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How Would It Feel to Live So Light?
Dee Williams’s question from The Big Tiny, and one heavy thing in the house this week you actually put down.
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You Can Remove a Significant Amount of Stress by Reducing the Items in Your Closet
Courtney Carver’s line about a smaller closet, and one tote of maybes parked out of sight for a week.
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Clutter Is Anything That Gets Between You and the Life You Want to Be Living
Peter Walsh’s line about clutter as a blockage, and one surface this week cleared with a bag out the door.
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A Man Is Rich in Proportion to the Number of Things He Can Afford to Let Alone
Thoreau’s line about wealth as what you can leave alone, and one almost-purchase this week you do not buy.
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Leave This Military Hurry and Adopt the Pace of Nature
Emerson’s line about patience, and one hurried loop this week done at walking pace.
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My House Meets All of My Domestic Needs Without Demanding Much in Return
Jay Shafer’s tiny-house test: a space that earns its keep, and one room this week that has to prove it.
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Love People and Use Things, Because the Opposite Never Works
The Minimalists’ ranking, and one hour this week that goes to a person instead of an object.
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Money Is Something We Choose to Trade Our Life Energy For
Vicki Robin’s line about life energy, and one way to spend it on purpose this week.
Have a downsizing story?