The Christmas decorations are up, and I’m already starting to twitch a little. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. I wince. The house looks festive but full, maybe too full, especially with the tiny messes in every corner. Hal, age 4, is into wrapping the whole house and putting it under the tree. She, like most of us, thinks that empty space needs filling. For that very reason alone, minimalism is hard. It’s hard to do less. Minimalism is a continual, deliberate choice that manifests itself even in the space between the last branch of the lit evergreen tree and the hardwood floors. How will we fill that space? That’s a question we’re asking ourselves more intentionally this year, especially now that Hal can comprehend our decisions. Read more

Here we are again. December will be here by the end of the week, and 2018 will be here the day after that. December is shorter than February. I’m certain. It’s the season of gift giving, which I’ll be talking about over several posts. My extended family is comprised of some of the best gift givers on this side of the Mississippi. Christmas is their Super Bowl. My Super Bowl, on the other hand, just passed. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I did not inherit the good gift giving gene.
Read more

Do you remember when I started a permanent series on Minimalism twelve days after the new year? Well, twelve days after that, I signed a contract to write the cookbook The Minimalist Kitchen, which will be in your hands April 2018. This series (and life) took a major pause as every effort went into creating the book. I wont write a whole lot more on minimalism in the kitchen until after the book comes out, which creates plenty of space to talk about minimalism from a different perspective. Since the beginning of January, I’ve gotten several emails about minimalism and kids with subject lines like—SOS, Help, is it even possible?! Read more

I should know by now that the word never never holds up. After turning in my last paper in college, I swore I’d never write another. In college, I also swore I’d never dabble in web design or take pictures with a heavy camera, especially one set on manual mode. Over lunch with a freelance designer early in my design career, I swore I’d never work for myself because taxes and accounting. And then, as so many of my friends began to publish cookbooks, I swore I’d never write one myself. A couple years into swearing that, I added the caveat, unless one pours out of me. Read more

Last year I did a major pantry overhaul. It was a disaster prior. I shared the before (close your eyes) and after, along with 7 tips to building a minimalist pantry. It’s been a whole year, and we’ve stuck to it. We’ve made some improvements too. But before I get into those, check out the original post. For a comprehensive guide to creating and cooking in a minimalist kitchen, check out my cookbook, The Minimalist Kitchen, and take the in-depth course here.]

Read more