Rachel Jonat's Blog, page 5

Minimalist-ish Family Series: Eliza, Minimal MD

Happy to share Eliza’s story of upsizing and downsizing today as part of the Minimalist Family Series. You can read more about Eliza’s journey at MinimalMD.com. Our family When we arrive at a new place, people often ask where we come from. My nine year old eagerly responds that she is from Connecticut, her seven year old brother is from... Read More

Love Where You Live: Part 3

Pssst… the Uncluttered Course closes April 29th. If you feel stuck, if you keep wondering if this will be the weekend/month/year you tackle all that stuff in the basement – this is your course.  This is the third post in a series on making better attachments in your community. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.  A... Read More

Minimalist Family Series: Brittani Oplinger

Ever wondered what minimalism looks like for other families? Today Brittani shares her less than 800 sq ft home with us and her story of downsizing to avoid upsizing costs. If you’d like to share your story of living minimalist-ish family life – any size home or family! – contact me at the minimalist mom at gmail dot com. My little family is... Read More

Love Where You Live: Part 2

Quick note: The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle is out! Every year the book lovers over at Ultimate Bundles put out a super bundle with many, many books to help you have a simpler and smoother home life. This year it is filled with over $3000 worth of books, courses and more for $29.99. This is a great way to stock your... Read More

Love Where You Live: Part 1

Has a book ever come to you at the perfect time and place in your life? Chalk it up to luck, and Amazon’s creepy algorithm, but I found Melody Warnick’s book, This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are, just when I needed it last fall. We’d just moved to a mountain town from the city and I... Read More

Is Country Life Cheaper Than City Life?

The lovely Frugalwoods had a post up recently about the cost of living in the country vs. their previous years living in the city. Apparently people kept saying to them ‘you must be saving so much money living out there!’ which couldn’t be farther from the truth for them at the moment. This really piqued my interest because I so... Read More

The Cure For Too Many Toys

Continuing on the theme of children and their stuff, I wanted to talk about toys. This is usually a bugaboo for most of us. Too many toys. They seem to multiply overnight. Especially around birthdays and holidays. And while many of us put firm restrictions on what we bring in or give to our children, there are so many other... Read More

Paring Down Kid Clothing

As I mentioned the other day, the best method for paring down your stuff is the method that works for you. It could be a bet, a number based goal, a system based on rooms or categories or items or a slow and steady push through all your stuff for a few months. Find what works for you. If what... Read More

Simplifying for the New Year

Hello! There are many new faces that find this space at the beginning of the new year (not surprising – it’s a great time to set some intentions around your stuff). If you’re new here, nice to meet you. I’m Rachel, minimalist-ish author, mother of three, recent transplant from a downtown condo with a walk score of almost 100 to... Read More

How to Change or End a Gift Giving Tradition

Gift giving and receiving is supposed to be a joyous and celebrated affair. Wikipedia tells me that modern gift giving was made popular in the 1800s when Queen Victoria’s tradition of giving gifts for the new year merged with the Christmas holiday. Prince Albert popularized the Christmas tree and our modern take on Christmas was born. In the Victorian era... Read More