Over the past few years or so I have been slowly making my way through books that are shaping the way I want to live my life. In addition to many of the blogs I read (a post for another time), these books in one way or another all talk about cutting down on the excess and finding the things you really love. Whether you are hoping to cut down to 100 things or you just want to explore the idea of minimalism or conscious consumerism, there’s something here for you.

1. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo: Marie takes a different approach to dealing with excess and clutter. Her method is based on whether or not your items bring you joy, and while not all of the things in my life do, it’s an interesting perspective. Minimalism is about getting rid of the things you don’t need and that don’t add value.

2. The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and our Health—and a Vision for Change This book (and the videos that go with it) were my first introduction to conscious consumerism and taking into consideration everything that goes into my stuff.

3. Everything That Remains by Joshua Fields Millburn: I dove into this looking for an answer to my endless itch to get rid of everything. I got so much more out of it than just a list of things I could donate or sell.

4. The 100 Thing Challenge by Dave Bruno: Spoiler alert, I don’t have only 100 things, and I likely never will. But learning about what he chose to keep and what got the boot (and what he regretted getting rid of), was worth the read.

5. Essentialism by Greg McKeown: Minimalism isn’t just about the amount of stuff you have shoved into your closet or in the back of your car. Greg dives into how to cut back your work and your social life to the things that are essential to you. “The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done.”

6. Clutter Free With Kids by Joshua Becker: To be fair, I don’t have kids and I haven’t read this book, but I really enjoy Joshua’s blog, Becoming Minimalist.

7. The Big Tiny by Dee Williams: Tiny houses are not for everyone, but they are absolutely fascinating. Dee dives into how she ended up living in a tiny home, including building it herself.

8. Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson: Bea makes getting to zero waste seem perfectly normal and doable. The book is full of recipes for making everything from toothpaste to house cleaner, and it’s fascinating to read about how Bea’s family of four produce only a handful of trash each year.

9. Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano: This was my first handbook to simplifying my life, and I didn’t even know it at the time. I started making my own beauty and cleaning products after reading this book in high school. It’s a great book to flip through for inspiration or to keep on hand for helpful recipes.

10. You Can Buy Happiness (and It’s Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can Too by Tammy Strobel: Tammy intertwines her personal story of downsizing with research on happiness and wellbeing.

For more minimalist reads, check out my list on Goodreads.

*These are in no particular order, not my random decisions as to which is The Best.

I love athletic clothing – the colors for every mood, the comfortable shoes, the snuggly sweaters, the sleek lines – all of it. I can talk myself into needing just about any item. It’s been kind of cold outside lately, so another long sleeve shirt would be good. If I had one more pair of pants then I wouldn’t have to do laundry so often. I could wear this to work and no one would know I also work out in it. If I don’t buy this now, it’s going to be gone forever. It’s a problem.

While some clothing is necessary to work out six days a week without doing daily laundry or clearing a room with stench, it’s easy to overdo it. There are some things I am ridiculously drawn to the point where I will think about them for the rest of the day after seeing them. And then there are things that I know I need (like a windbreaker/water resistant layer for the wet fog where I live). I have a tendency to nearly convince myself I need a lot of things I don’t.

In the never-ending battle of need vs. want, athletic clothes are my biggest weakness. While a new item every few months or so to replace something that needs it or to fill a true need isn’t bad, it’s easy to purchase unnecessary pieces and not only waste monty, but also make a big impact. Most athletic clothing is made in sweatshops out of materials that won’t break down in a landfill (both of which go against my normal criteria for clothing purchases).

For a while I opted out of all emails from companies. It was the best – I never knew that there were new things out every week and I didn’t have the temptation to buy so many items. But then I was looking for a water resistant layer to run in, I signed up for one of them again, and I’ve kept it ever since. I used to say it’s because I helped research product pages for Yoga Journal and I needed to stay on top of trends, but the reality is that it goes deeper than that.

It’s not only that I love to look at all of the new pieces, but also that of everything in my closet, my workout clothes are what make me feel the best. I would much rather rock my running gear than a ball gown. But instead of reaching for my wallet every time something catches my eye or I want a little pick me up, I’ve been pinning it to my wish list and letting it sit for a few weeks. I’ve also been stringent about my budget and when it comes down to tough decisions, I have been prioritizing experiences over new clothes (like a weekly yoga class or a night out with friends).

As of right now, unless it’s directly replacing something that I already have, no new pieces are coming into my closet. Even race shirts aren’t free of the scrutiny. If I bring home a shirt, even if it’s from an event I loved, something else has to go. Turns out I don’t love race shirts as much as the clothes I already have, so I kindly say no to most (or give it to someone I know would like it).

I currently have enough clothes to make it through an entire week of workouts without having to do laundry, which is perfect for my sanity and it means I only do full loads of laundry. In the winter when I wear more of my gear at once (I love layers, especially on cold runs), it doesn’t kill me to wash a little more frequently.

The best parts? My drawers don’t overflow anymore with clothes I don’t love to wear (everything that itched or chafed is long gone), and I am sticking to my monthly budget.

In honor of Earth Day I wanted to give some quick, easy tips to minimize your impact today:

Are you doing anything special today?

This “winter” (seasons are hard to define in Northern California, and often quite fickle) I have been mostly sticking to a limited “capsule-like” wardrobe. I have been following Unfancy and Project 333 through their capsule wardrobe adventures, and I decided to test the waters a bit.

I haven’t made full rules or set a limit to my wardrobe, but I have started to narrow my focus and consider what this could look like for spring/summer.

Unsurprisingly, one of my favorite parts of doing this has been taking a critical eye to the clothes in my closet and trying to figure out if they add value to my life, serve a necessary purpose, and make me feel good in them.

I love a good decluttering. It was fun for the first few items that I had been thinking about getting rid of for months, but it got a lot harder when I had to accept that some of the pieces I loved just didn’t fit my lifestyle or my body anymore (hello new muscles, it’s nice to see).

In preparation to laying out my spring capsule, I got rid of more than 20 pieces that were just taking up room in my closet. I sold five to a local used clothing store and donated the rest. (I was honestly disappointed about how little I was able to sell, but I learned some tips for next time and I’m glad to get everything out of my space!)

Handmade goods should be filled with love, not toxins. That’s why I wrote a piece for Rodale’s new magazine, Organic Life, on the best eco-friendly fabric options, what to look for, and where to find them.

Check the piece out and let me know what you think! What are your favorite eco-friendly fabrics for crafting?

Over the past year I’ve been slowly removing things from my life – extra stuff, unnecessary obligations, TV shows, negative or draining relationships. I’m still busy and I still struggle to balance everything, but for the most part the things that fill my time also bring me joy and contentment.

The easiest thing to give up was TV. In college I used TV as a mental break or a reward for hard work. I would treat myself to an episode or two after completing certain assignments or working uninterrupted for a few hours. After college it was easy for me to justify binge watching entire seasons or coming home to a few episodes every night.

When most of the shows I was watching ended for the summer, I filled my time with more of the things I loved (hi books, I missed you). I realized how much more satisfied I was digging into a good book for 30 minutes than a show I sort of liked. When fall rolled around I picked two shows and ditched the rest. Now I watch an hour (or less) of TV per week when they are in season, and each one feels like a real indulgence. I honestly don’t miss the rest.

I have more room to be creative and create instead of constantly consume. Most importantly, I have more time for the things that are really important to me.

Over the long weekend I turned off my phone and never looked back.

It wasn’t necessarily intentional. While driving down the coast I was tired of my phone constantly searching for a signal, so I turned it off. It remained off (except to very rarely check the time when I wasn’t near a clock) for the entire weekend.

I’ve known for a while I have some unhealthy habits with my phone. My alarm has barely finished making irritating noises at me in the morning when I’m already on my email. I frequently check my email one last time before bed, ensuring that I can toss and turn for awhile longer than necessary with thoughts of what I need to do the next day or what my boss meant by that last line. If I have a few extra minutes (or seconds) I’m suddenly on my phone without really thinking about it. When I get to the gym I scroll through Instagram while I foam roll.

I think my phone and I need some space.

For the next week (and hopefully longer) I have some new rules for my phone. No checking email before breakfast (ideally not before getting to work, but I always have this tiny hope that I will have an email telling me work is cancelled for the day, and I’m not ready to accept that it’s a delusion). No mindless scrolling through Instagram because I don’t want to be doing whatever I’m supposed to be doing. No more pulling out my phone the second I am left alone with time to spare.

On Monday night I turned my phone back on and proceeded to go through three days worth of my Instagram feed. We can’t win all the time. But for the most part I’ve been sticking to my rules and actually enjoying it.

This Christmas my family decided that instead of giving each other gifts we were going to put the money we would have spent toward our family vacation in August.

I know what you are thinking, ‘Wait, no presents under the tree?!?’ but before you completely freak out, it’s not as scary as you think.

It was quite liberating to not have to worry about getting the right thing or fitting new items into our already full lives and to enjoy a minimalist Christmas. (I am still abiding by my ‘one in one out’ rule, so the thought of new things made me slightly anxious of what exactly would get the boot.)

And Christmas didn’t feel any less joyous. We filled each other’s stockings with fun magazines, a cookbook for the whole family to enjoy, and of course, chocolate. We made cookies and laughed about the sad state of our seen-better-days artificial tree.

In years past we had wrapped our gifts in repurposed or reusable materials, requested things we really needed, and gave each other delicious treats. And while all of those years were great, there was something special about this year. I can’t wait to have a blast together this summer.