Downshifting: Practiced by economically well-off and secure people who voluntarility give up some consumer goods (often considered luxuries) they could readily afford, but maintain their rather rich and consumption-oriened lifestyle. For example, they "dress down" in one way or another: wearing jeans and inexpensive loafters, and driving beat-up cars. Some professionals and other members of the middle class are replacing elaborate dinner parties with simple meals, pot-luck dinners, take-out food or social events built around desserts only. Often this pattern is inconsistent and limited in scope, in that a person adhering to the norms of voluntary simplicity in some areas does not do so in many others.
Strong simplifiers: Includes people who have given up high-paying, high-stress jobs as lawyers, business people, investment bankers, and so on, to live on less income, often much less. These people forgo not only income, but socioeconomic status as well. Similarly, numerous women and some men prefer part-time jobs or jobs that allow them to work at home, even if better paying full-time jobs are open to them, because they are willing to accept a lower income to be able to dedicate more time to their children and be at home when their children are there. By necessity, a significant reduction of income tends to lead to a much more encompassing "simplification" of lifestyle than the downshifting of select items of consumption.
The simple living movement: The most dedicated, holistic simplifiers adjust their entire life patterns according to the ethos of voluntary simplicity. They often move from affluent suburbs or gentrified parts of major cities to smaller towns, the countryside, farms, and less affluent or urbanized parts of the country with the explicit goal of leading a "simpler" life. A small, loosely connected social movement, sometimes called the "simple living" movement, has developed, complete with its own how to-books, nine-step programs, and newsletters. This group differs from the downshifters and even strong simplifiers not only in the scope of change in their conduct but also in that it is motivated by a coherently articulated philosophy.

Adapted from Amitai Etzioni (1996), "Voluntary Simplicity Characterization, Select Psychological Implications and Societal Consequences."