I started picking a couple of books of this theme because I felt I needed to ground myself from my rampant consumerism so as to avoid repeating past mistakes. This book does a good job of covering most of the bases you could think of where your life could become complex.

Unique to this particular book on the subject are the real-life stories interjected from people who made a decision to simplify their life and how they did it. Very interesting and since it is a lengthy book for one of this nature, the stories help to break up the how-to portions.

I read this every few years. I love how it inspires me to simplify in so many different aspects of my life.

Reading this huge book is NOT the way to simplify your life.

This is a nice overview of simplifying different aspects of your life. It isn't too preachy, which is nice, and the author doesn't paint herself as an enlightened one. That said, depending on where you're coming from some of the suggestions may seem totally off-the-wall. Take from it what you will.

Great!

It's not really bringing much to to think about. I read it but skimmed some of it because it got a little monotonous.

I really enjoyed this book and all the personal stories from people. I greatly admired them for their frugal living. I wanted to pack up everything and take my family to a simplier place until my husband told me I'd last exactly three days without a store or movie theater and he's probably right. But I did take away a lot of helpful information to try and strike balance in my life between simplicity and insanity.

Skimmed through a few chapters, seemed too extreme,

example: couple quits job, moves to basement of house and rents out top two stories

example: women lives in house with no electricity

and seriously she even tells you how to read a book!

I loved this book. Reading it was a meditation on how rich life can be in so many ways if we stop, slow down, think about what we are doing, and simplify.

THE POPULAR AUTHOR GIVES HELPFUL ADVICE

Author Janet Luhrs wrote in the Introduction to this 1997 book, “When I got involved with voluntary simplicity… I listened and thought it sounded right, but I didn’t really and truly get it..; My little dream was that my family would go off and live in a log cabin in the woods, simply ever after… Six years later I’m still living in the same house in the same city. I still look pretty much the same. But inside I’ve changed… I’ve edited and published a journal called ‘Simple Living’ since 1992. I have interviewed countless people who have simplified their lives in every way imaginable… I read everything I could get my hands on about the subject. And I spent a lot of time thinking about what it all meant. Now, finally, I really, deeply understand … The key word… ‘deliberately.’ … This one word, in my opinion, is the hallmark of a simple life… Simple living is about living deliberately. That’s all. You CHOOSE your existence rather than sailing through life on automatic pilot.” (Pg. xiii-xiv)

She continues, “Living deeply means living consciously… being fully present, fully aware…. Living deeply means living intimately… closely tied to the people, places, and things in your life… Simplicity is not just one thing, one path. There is not an easy recipe for simplicity. There is not a perfect way to live simply… Simplicity is not so much the outward trappings of your life; it is the inner you making decisions. Not the outer you, the one that says you need a certain car or certain house or certain clothes or certain job or degree in order to look good to the world… that is the one that lives far from your essence. That is the one so many of us in Western culture have been trained to follow…The one that keeps us up at night worrying about how we’re going to continue maintaining this image that takes so much money, energy, and time. The that overrides the quiet voice of our essence that is begging to be heard.” (Pg. xv-xvi)

She adds, “Simplicity means stopping for a moment and asking what the heck we are doing with our lives. Simplicity asks whether we need to follow the status quo just because everyone else is doing it. Simplicity asks: Is it right for me? For us? If not, then simplicity gives us the inner strength we’ll need to say no… Simplicity asks: Is it worth is” Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. Simplicity gives you the space and consciousness to find out.” (Pg. xvi)

She acknowledges, “A certain level of material comfort is necessary. We all need our own nests, food, and clothing in order to survive. We need some kind of work to do, paid or unpaid. And as human beings, we need more than the bare minimum; we need a certain level of aesthetics. The trouble it, most of us don’t know when to stop. We get to a certain level of comfort and then think, ‘This feels nice, I’d better strive for some more.’ The next thing we know we’re buried in debt, stress, and complication. Then we’ve lost our fire, our passion for life.” Pg. xix)

This book will be of keen interest to those trying to ‘simplify’ their lives.

I've been interested in voluntary simplicity for a few years (for the environment and an alternative to consumerism), and this is a sort of simplicity textbook. However, I think the author fails to take into account that urban neighborhoods can sometimes be excellent places for simple living.

This is a good book for someone who likes lists...like me Not overly theoretical.