The Minimalist Home By Joshua Becker

The Minimalist Home
by Joshua Becker
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 9781601427991

I was so thrilled when I was chosen to review this book for WaterBrook. I'm an accumulator and as my old boss refers to it as a "surface abuser". If there's a surface somewhere, you can pretty much bet your bottom dollar I'll plop something down and it'll be come a pile so that you can't see the surface in a matter of time. I had a lot of hope that this might help me turn a corner.

Summary:

A popular minimalist blogger and author of The More of Less shows you how to methodically turn your home into a place of peace, contentment, and purposeful living.

One of today's most influential minimalist advocates takes us on a decluttering tour of our own houses and apartments, showing us how to decide what to get rid of and what to keep. He both offers practical guidelines for simplifying our lifestyle at home and addresses underlying issues that contribute to over-accumulation in the first place. The purpose is not just to create a more inviting living space. It's also to turn our life's HQ--our home--into a launching pad for a more fulfilling and productive life in the world.

My Review:

Living a minimalist lifestyle has been popping up quite a bit in my life for just over a year. Our friends in Peru started living more intentionally and each day for 30 days they would get rid of a number of items that went with the day of the month. 1 item on the first, 2 items on the second, 3 items on the third and so on. That seemed scary to me! lol

Then we went back to Peru in October for our 5th mission trip, and you can't walk away from what you see there and not be affected by it! It certainly made me want to come back and evaluate the "too much" that we have. After we got back I received The Minimalist Home and was hesitantly excited about learning more.

We were so busy I didn't have a chance to get started reading right away because we were so busy with life.

A couple weeks later the pastor at a church we were visiting was talking about how we accumulate so much unnecessary stuff. It was pretty amusing, but really a great way to get us to look at what we really do in our homes and how we spend our money. He pulled out a bunch of his family's coffee cups as he talked about how they "need" this cup and "need" that cup. All I could think of was, "please don't ever come to my house where you'll see my intentional Starbucks coffee cup collection that I have displayed!" hahahaha

Living like a minimalist was coming at me from every direction.

So, let's talk about the book.

This was a no-nonsense, but gentle approach to living life with intention and spending your money & time more wisely. The author, Joshua Becker, understands how our minds and our hearts work. We attach so much to "things" that shouldn't have those attachments. For me, the things that I don't attach a value to are easy to toss, I just never get around to it. Well, over the past couple of weeks I've gotten around to it!

He also encourages us to determine the kind of life we want to live. How do we want to spend it with family? Where do we want to spend it? What do we want to enjoy? What do we want our home to feel like as we live in it and have people come over to spend time with us?

I want to have a home that looks crisp, clutter, free, and like it belongs in a magazine during every season and in every room. For me, that's sort of a pipe dream. I might be able to make a dent in my clutter, but I'll never be a decorator. lol I'd have to have someone stage my home for it lo look that way. HA!

• I would love to learn Spanish to be able to translate, speak to Spanish speaking people, and be able to communicate when we go to Peru
• I'd love to own a hobby farm in Minnesota
• I'd love to take my kids to Disney World & some day grandkids as well as travel

The author goes room by room explaining how to look at each of the spaces in the room and what we tend to keep in those rooms. Some times I got ahead of the author because I'd have a spark of energy to go through something and just get rid of whatever the stuff was. I got rid of so many sheets and towels in both linen closets. I went through some of the kitchen cupboards and got rid of so many things we just never use but I hold onto "just in case".

One thing I'm thankful for is that in The Minimalist home, nothing is pushed on us. In fact, Joshua encourages us to be very mindful of what we're doing. He encourages the reader to not throw out someone else's items and to include the kids at their own pace. The reader is also encouraged to talk the changes over with the family before going gang busters. Words of wisdom right there!

Something that I've learned about myself over the past years is that I have a fear of not enough (FONE) or fear of running out (FORO). I grew up without a lot. My parents didn't have a lot of money and I always knew about the money issues. So, as I became an adult I started keeping things. Not lots of things, but a little here and there. It began to turn into tubs and tubs of stuff. Now, although I've gotten rid of a lot of things over the years, I still have tubs. That may never change, but reading this book sure has made me want to make changes.

While this book isn't necessarily Christian, there aren't scriptures or references to faith, it's a good  book that's practical. It'll help you either take the plunge or baby steps towards living a less cluttered life. I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking to make a change!

About the Author:

JOSHUA BECKER is the founder and editor of Becoming Minimalist, a website dedicated to inspiring others to find more life by owning less. The website welcomes over 1,000,000 readers each month and has inspired millions around the world to consider the practical benefits of owning fewer possessions and given them the practical help to get started. He is the best-selling (Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, Amazon, Audible) author of The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. Joshua's writing has led to speaking opportunities all across America and internationally. He is a contributing writer to Forbes and has made media appearances in the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post Live, and the CBS Evening News. Joshua and his young family live in Peoria, AZ. In many ways, they are just your typical middle-class, suburban family--minus the dog and relentless pursuit of physical possessions.