Lightly: How to Live a Simple, Serene, and Stress-free Life Hardcover – February 26, 2019

This book is beautiful. It's literally light in weight. The essence of it is lightness. It's just wonderful.I read this book on a leisurely Sunday. Now I plan on giving it to my daughter, who just got her first place, with the hopes that it guides her through what to (and what not to) acquire in her new home, while also being a guide to living an easier, lighter life.This is a practical guide on how to live more lightly, physically. But it's so much more than that.This book is for anyone who wants to simplify their life. It begins with lightening your physical load. Reducing your physical belongings. The guidance is simple, but clear. Anyone can do this. And it is a transformative first step, to begin lightening the rest of your life.The book is sprinkled with nuggets from great philosophers and guides throughout the ages. From zen to yoga to stoics and Walt Whitman, they all encourage and embrace the virtues of living lightly.Beyond the 1st section of the book, Lighten Your Stuff, each subsequent section gets deeper into your life: Lighten Your Step, Lighten Your Stress, Lighten Your Spirit.This is a philosophy - a guide for life. I recommend this for anyone that wants to know, as the subtitle states, "How to Live a Simple, Serene & Stress-Free Life." It truly lives up to its title.

I loved this book. I felt calmer, lighter and more serene just reading it. I’ve read several minimalist books hoping to get the inspiration I needed to become “lighter”. This one inspires and worked better than any of the others. Now that I’ve completed each room, drawer, closet and cabinet, (in a relatively short time) I’m excited to spend time each day doing a little something to keep it that way. The toughest had been culling my books. This book made it easy for me. I never thought that possible. So thank you!

This is a wonderful little book that introduces the concept of minimalism as a lifestyle and mindset. If you don’t like the idea of being a minimalist, no worries. The idea behind the “lightly” concept isn’t to have one cup and one pair of shoes (unless that’s what you want) but rather, it introduces the idea of living a fulfilled life with less. That can mean less physical items, less impact on the planet, and less emotional baggage.I really liked that each section is short and sweet as though the book is written like a piece of minimalism itself. It encapsulates the idea of minimalism in an easily accessed format and divides it into manageable pieces. It begins with reducing physical items, then digital ones, living more sustainably, and changing or reducing mental and emotional baggage. It also touches upon more “spiritual” concepts from different cultures, like Zen, so that we can also live more “lightly” internally. I read the book cover to cover, but it’s also designed so you could flip to a random page and tackle whatever concept is in that section. Or you could go through each chapter and section one at a time over a longer period of time and do what you will with the ideas and advice therein.The only real downside I can think of is that I do consider this book an intro to minimalism and “lightweight” living. If you’re someone who is already living with this sort of mindset, you might not find a ton of new information here. Personally I’ve already adopted a more minimalistic and eco-friendly lifestyle, so the parts that resonated with me the most were the more internal, emotional stuff. Still, even as someone who is by no means a newbie to these concepts, I really like having a small guidebook to put all of these ideas in one spot. When I get around to my next bout of decluttering, I definitely want to use this book as a guide so I don’t miss any items I may have forgotten.

I liked her first book and this one is as good or better. What I particularly like is that the author has been practicing living lightly for some time and so her insights are realistic; her advice practical. New converts to living simply often go overboard advising a drastic reduction in everything you own. She doesn't. If you aren't sure you want to give up something, then don't. Instead put it into a "hold" box and revisit it in 6 months time. And this book explores going deeper into yourself and sorting through your own thoughts/stresses and simplifying in that way as well. A very nice book.

I loved this book and all of the quotes were wonderful. It gave me a lot to think about how I could live my life more lightly every day.

Having read and loved The Joy of Less, I found myself disappointed with Lightly. It is a very quick read, but I don't feel like I got much out of it. I wasn't expecting so much mention of eastern philosophies and religions, and as a Christian it was a little bit of a turn off (in her defense she did mention Jesus once in reference to owning few possessions, and my dislike is obviously personal preference). There were many ideas repeated in subsequent chapters and I caught myself just skim reading the last half, already figuring out what she was going to say because it seemed rather shallow.

Great insights from Ms. Jay! I'm going to slowly incorporate all the wonderful information from the book and live more Lightly! 🌾🦋