There are a few books you consult often, even fewer that you actually read often. Most books that you read, you only read once.
So, the simpler life comes from borrowing books from the library than in buying them. (It makes for a somewhat simpler personal life -- shelves not so crowded; it makes for a much simpler social life -- less paper, ink, and shipping.) Without going deeper into actual libraries, I advocate this as an example.
One recent copying of this example is in the "car sharing" idea. Two companies are using this, Zip-Car and I-Go. (One of these, I think I-Go, is local. I believe Zip-Car is national. As I don't drive, I know them only by their advertising.)
What other goods do we use without actually consuming them? Which ones of these could we reasonably share?
Long ago, I read a column about an American suburbanite's visit to some Israeli kibbutzim. They had a couple of washing machines which they shared; "we" each owned our own washing machine for each single family. Of course, his definition of the American experience was his own affluent suburb. In fact, most people renting apartments in Chicago wash their clothes in commercial (or their landlord's) facilities with multiple washing machines and multiple dryers. I think the issue among publicly supported facilities -- libraries, cooperative facilities -- kibbutz Laundromats, and commercial facilities -- Chicago Laundromats, can be settled later and in each particular use. All three kinds of facilities ease society's consumption of resources without decreasing the advantages to the individual.