Elaine St. James

Simplify Your Life is stuck firmly in the (very) early nineties, but it remains charming and often useful despite that. While the admonition to get rid of your "car phone" because of the "as-yet-unperfected technology" sounds awfully quaint, the fundamental question about the wisdom of multitasking and the necessity of being perpetually available remains worth examining.

I reread this every few years - it's basically a collection of very short admonitions about a wide variety of topics, and show more it goes quickly. It's always a good reminder to re-examine my priorities and find the complexity in my life that isn't adding enough value to be worth the hassle.

There are more modern books on the same topic that are probably more helpful today, but I'm still fond of this one and it's particularly entertaining as an immediate reaction against the "greed is good" eighties. show less

This book needs a new title. I was thinking/hoping it would give suggestions & ideas on how to "simplify" things in order to have more time to enjoy the holiday season (e.g. buy pre-made cookie dough instead of making from scratch, etc.) Instead this book is giving ideas on how not to celebrate the season at all! No tree??? Come on!

I can understand how others might like this if you're sick of the commercialization of the season, or are elderly and too tired, etc. but I still have young ones show more at home and I want to make fun memories for them w/out showering them with gifts (some presents are their fave foods that I often say no to throughout the year).

It does have some good examples that helped me convince my hubby not to spend time with his extended family (the s-i-l is a you-know-what and it's not fun to be around her), so that came in handy! But a lot of the book is too "scrooge-ish" for me. show less

Written by someone without children this offered little practical advice and was generally quite annoying. I suspect the author really thinks you ought not to have kids in the first place if you truly want to simplify your life. This view has some validity but is not so helpful to those of us who,you know,already went and had kids and have grown quite fond of them ;)

I thought this book was chock-full of great ideas and tips to not only to help simplify a hectic life, but also to learn to enjoy life more and make more time for yourself and your family. I wrote down 25 things that I plan to start doing immediately and I'm already excited about the changes I know will happen. Plus, it was consoling and confirming to read #98: Stop Making the Bed (which I found funny that it was in the "hard-core simplicity" section).

Reading this book will give you a new show more sense of freedom and will help you realize that many things you think are important today (television shows, tons of accessories and makeup, minute-by-minute scheduled work tasks, etc.) really aren't necessary for a fulfilling life, career, or relationship. show less