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The Simple Guide To A Minimalist Life
by
Leo Babauta
"What is a minimalist life? It's one that is stripped of the unnecessary, to make room for that which gives you joy. It's a removal of clutter in all its forms, leaving you with peace and freedom and lightness. A minimalist values quality, not quantity, in all forms." So writes Leo Babauta, the creator of Zen Habits and author of The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life. A jo...more
Published
(first published January 1st 2009)
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I listened to the audio recording and felt a mixture of admiration and annoyance for the minimalist lifestyle. I can see how minimalism simplifies your life, making it more efficient, where you don't waste a lot of time. I also love the idea of focusing on one room at a time and accepting the limitations of others in choosing minimalism. But when it comes to books, more is better, disorder is in some respects, creative chaos and decoration rolled into one.
Leo Babauta is one of my favorite minimalists. He's so practical and unassuming.
This book gets the basics of his message all down in one place. It covers how to simplify each area of your life, starting with why, and then giving what steps to take. It's very concrete and helpful.
I love the minimalist principles: realizing you have more than enough, eliminating the excess, being content with what you have, and refraining from acquiring more. I wouldn't say I live them enough to be a true minimali...more
This book gets the basics of his message all down in one place. It covers how to simplify each area of your life, starting with why, and then giving what steps to take. It's very concrete and helpful.
I love the minimalist principles: realizing you have more than enough, eliminating the excess, being content with what you have, and refraining from acquiring more. I wouldn't say I live them enough to be a true minimali...more
It's clear that Leo really loves the whole idea of minimalism and all that it might mean. I honestly think that while many of the tips and suggestions in this book are great ideas, some of them are a bit over the top. For instance, I completely agree that having as few icons as possible on my computer is a good idea. But seriously, in order to be a minimalist I have to change my background image to one in his color scheme? And speaking of color schemes, I don't agree with the idea that minimalis...more
This book is a compilation of articles from the blog Zen Habits. No need to buy the book unless you like the feel of paper as I do. Sometimes the books says "as the picture above shows" when there is no picture. Apparently in the original web page there was a picture. The text is pulled verbatim from the web site. Other times it says I'll talk about minimalist finances later but he's already discussed them in an earlier chapter.
The book is a good start to living minimally. I've read his blog an...more
The book is a good start to living minimally. I've read his blog an...more
A nice little guide to minimalism
I laughed at the travel advice - "toiletries are available at your destination". I think toiletries are a basic need when travelling.
Very Californian - eg "Okinawans eat until they're 80% full, and they're the healthiest people on Earth", and dietary suggestions including quinoa and agave nectar
I laughed at the travel advice - "toiletries are available at your destination". I think toiletries are a basic need when travelling.
Very Californian - eg "Okinawans eat until they're 80% full, and they're the healthiest people on Earth", and dietary suggestions including quinoa and agave nectar
This gave me some really good perspectives on minimalism and helped me hone in on my goals a bit more -- especially the parts about work and office. I read his blog, so some of it was repeating, but I also read quite a bit of new info as well. I'm looking forward to utilizing some of the lessons learned here.
This'll be old news to anyone who's been following Leo for a couple years, but a good solid intro to the basics of minimalist living beyond decluttering (though thats included as well). These days I honestly prefer Tammy Strobel and Joshua Becker as having a more engaging writing style with more personality, but there's a reason Leo is so damn famous.
This was my first minimalist book and a great introduction to the minimalist lifestyle. Yes it's very simple and objective but made me want to read more, not just his other books but to read more about minimalism.
Leo sums it up best:
"It’s a way to escape the excesses of the world around us — the excesses of consumerism, material possessions, clutter, having too much to do, too much debt, too many distractions, too much noise. But too little meaning. Minimalism is a way of eschewing the non-essential in order to focus on what’s truly important, what gives our lives meaning, what gives us joy and value."
"It’s a way to escape the excesses of the world around us — the excesses of consumerism, material possessions, clutter, having too much to do, too much debt, too many distractions, too much noise. But too little meaning. Minimalism is a way of eschewing the non-essential in order to focus on what’s truly important, what gives our lives meaning, what gives us joy and value."
Nothing really new here, but a few good ideas to jog my brain and get me thinking of ways to simplify.
After reading some really bad books on minimalism, this book was very welcome.
Some notes:
"Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; love more, and all good things will be yours." - Swedish proverb
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results." - Albert Einstein
"Too many people spend money they haven´t earned, to buy things they don´t want, to impress people they d...more
"Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; love more, and all good things will be yours." - Swedish proverb
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results." - Albert Einstein
"Too many people spend money they haven´t earned, to buy things they don´t want, to impress people they d...more
Velmi zajímavé, našel jsem se v tom :-)
Aug 01, 2011
Manuel Sánchez
added it
I read this in 2011
I was expecting something more. Some parts (travel and finance) are common sense or even worse
I like everything this book had to say. Since I read his blog I don't feel like there was a lot of new information for me here so that is why only three stars. It was a nice quick, reenergizing read for a Sunday though.
Some interesting ideas to simplify your life!
Some good tips.
May 22, 2013
Sylwia
marked it as to-read
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Leo Babauta is a simplicity blogger & author. He created Zen Habits, a Top 25 blog (according to TIME magazine) with 260,000 subscribers, mnmlist.com, and the best-selling books focus, The Power of Less, and Zen To Done.
Babauta is a former journalist of 18 years, a husband, father of six children, and in 2010 moved from Guam to San Francisco, where he leads a simple life.
He started Zen Habits...more
More about Leo Babauta...
Babauta is a former journalist of 18 years, a husband, father of six children, and in 2010 moved from Guam to San Francisco, where he leads a simple life.
He started Zen Habits...more
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