This week’s post about goal-free living and writing brought me to a number of good websites and books. Mainly, they came from the simplicity movement—the growing trend of committing to less cluttered, more spacious, and less stressful lifestyles. On this Great Stuff for Writers Friday, here is some of the best “stuff” I came across this week.
72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life
More than once on this blog, I’ve mentioned one of my all-time favorite bloggers, zen writer Leo Babauta. For anyone even slightly curious about simplifying their life—or just learning about the simplicity movement—I highly recommend his list of ways to start the process. My first thoughts as I read this post: There is no way anyone is going to go with all these ideas (that’s not Babauta’s intention anyway). My second thought as I read this post: Go with one of them, and it will change your life. Find it here.
The Simplicity Collective
How can you not love a website that has the subtitle, “Let us be pioneers once more“? The simplicity collective describes itself as “a grassroots ‘network of imaginations’ dedicated to creatively exploring, promoting, and celebrating a materially simple but inwardly rich life.” Other things I love about this website: They acknowledge that simplicity is a radical concept that can not only change individual lives but could change society. They unabashedly acknowledge that capitalism and the consumer culture are antithetical to simplicity. They present a wealth of information on everything from mindfulness to clothing to music. They present a diversity of ideas. In my opinion, this is the best simple living website out there. Check out The Simplicity Collective here.
A Few Ideas about Simple Living
The problem with the Simple Living website is that it’s difficult to know who these people are, and you can’t help wondering what they’re selling. Any website that doesn’t have an “about” page with a clear statement about who owns the site and what their goals are makes me suspicious. That said, they make some good points, and it’s worth taking a peek at.