Start Here

Introduction

New to minimalism? New to our website? New to our essays? Welcome aboard.

There is a lot of content to read here, and you certainly don’t have to read it all at once, but here’s the order we suggest for starters. Start below (where it says “Start Here”) and find the things that add the most value to your life. Read slowly. Take your time. It might take weeks to get through all of our content. But that’s OK—it will still be here.

Start Here — Free Essays, Connect, and a New Book

Free Essays. Subscribe to this website via email or RSS to receive free essays about minimalism from Joshua and Ryan. This way you’ll always receive new essays whenever we publish one (usually one or two per week). We never send spam. We want to add value to your life, so only subscribe if you find value here. Unsubscribe anytime.

Connect via Social Media. Follow us on your preferred social network: Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ (or all three). We say a lot of insightful and funny things we don’t say here.

New Book. Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life is our finest, most important creation to date. It’s also the best thing we’ve ever written about Minimalism and will likely serve as the cornerstone to our work for years to come.

It took us a year to write this book—a year of creating the best material possible and finding ways to relate it back to our lives so you would have practical ways to relate the subject matter to your life.

This book’s content is different from the content on our website. While our website documents our journey into minimalism and our continued growth through experimentation, this book discusses minimalism in a different way: it discusses in great depth the five dimensions of living a meaningful life. It also gives you a lot more insight into our personal lives, into the painful events that led us to our journey into minimalism, and into our world outside the web.

Learn more or purchase on Amazon for $7.99.

And then…

• You can read more about us on our About Joshua & Ryan page.
• You can meet us in person during our 33 City Meetup Tour.
• You can take a look at all our books if you’re interested.
• You can read our definition of minimalism.
• You can read some of our most popular essays of all time.
• You can take a look at our 21 day journey into minimalism.
• You can laugh at our silly photos.

And then, let us answer your questions…

Having trouble getting rid of stuff? Read this essay: You Are Not Your Khakis.

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Having trouble getting rid of sentimental items? Read this essay: Letting Go of Sentimental Items.

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Tired of buying and receiving so many stupid gifts? Read these essays: Getting Rid of Gifts, The Blackest of Fridays, and The Commodification of Love.

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Having trouble explaining minimalism to your friends and family? Read these three essays: Minimalist Family: Start With Yourself followed by Minimalist Family: 12 Useful Links followed by Minimalism Is Not a Radical Lifestyle.

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Is minimalism just about counting your stuff? (Hint: counting has nothing to do with minimalism). Read this essay: I Counted All My Stuff then I Threw Away the List Because I Didn’t Want It to Count as One Item.

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Wondering how minimalism can help you with your finances and help solve your money problems? Read this essay: How To Find Your Freedom: Minimalist Finances and Budgeting.

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Want to stop wasting your time? Thinking about getting rid of your TV or maybe even getting rid of the internet at home? That’s great! Read these two essays: Why I Don’t Own a TV and Killing the Internet at Home Is the Most Productive Thing I’ve Ever Done.

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What kind of clothes does a minimalist wear? Read this essay: Favorite Clothes of a Minimalist.

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Want to clean up your office, desk, or workspace? Read these two essays: My Minimalist Workspace and My Minimalist Desktop.

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Ever thought about living with no goals and just enjoying your life? Read these two essays: Living with No Goals and Moving Beyond Goals.

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Sick and tired of your soul-crushing corporate job? Read these three essays: Why I Quit My 6-Figure Corporate Job, Being Laid Off From My 6-Figure Job was One of the Best Things that Ever Happened to Me, and The UnAmerican Dream.

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Having trouble making a hard decision? Read: How to Make a Damn Decision.

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Having trouble taking action towards your journey into minimalism? Read this essay: Never Leave The Scene Of A Good Idea Without Taking Action.

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Wish you could live in the moment more often? Read these two essays: Be On The Mountain and Clear Your Damn Plate.

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Wish you had more time for yourself? Read this essay: 5 Ways to Create Solitude Using Minimalism.

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Wish you were in better shape? Wish you exercised more? Wish your diet was better? Wish you were just healthier? Read this essay: Minimalism is Healthy: How I Lost 70 Pounds and 18 Minute Minimalist Exercises.

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Feeling depressed or sad or just kind of crappy? Want to find a way to make a quick change? Read this essay: Motion Creates Emotion: 3 Simple Ways To Break Your Pattern.

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Having trouble letting go of the past? Read this essay: Your Past Does Not Equal Your Future.

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Want to establish deeper connections with other people? Read this essay: Establishing Deeper Connections with People.

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Want to know the meaning of life? Read these essays: Giving Is Living and Adding Value.

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Want to know what freedom really means? Read our three part essay series: Conscious Freedom Essay Series.

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Want a bunch of life lessons from 30 years of living (complete with a ton of great links)? Read this essay: 30 Life Lessons From 30 Years by Joshua, followed by Ryan’s 30 More Life Lessons From 30 Years.

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Tired of always explaining yourself? Read this essay: You Don’t Have to Explain Yourself.

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Feel like you’ve tried everything but can’t get results? Read this essay: Stop Trying.

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Want to know who’s holding you back? Read this short essay: Who Is Preventing You from Being Completely and Totally Free?

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Want to see 10 links that changed our lives? Read this essay: 10 Life Changing Links.

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Interested in starting your own website or blog? Read these two essays: How to Start a Blog Today and Who the Hell Reads Your Blog Anyway?

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More

Once you’re done with all of that, check out our archives page, which includes our guest essays and interviews on other sites throughout the web.

Last, you can check out some of our favorite websites about minimalism.

Have questions? See our FAQs page, or you can contact us.

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