The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify - Updated and Revised (Minimalism Books, Home Organization Books, Decluttering Books House Cleaning Books)

I use to really struggle with keeping my house remotely clean. I tried FLY Lady and various apps and making a cleaning schedule but nothing helped. Then one day I was browsing a used bookstore and stumbled upon The Joy of Less by Francine Jay and it was exactly what I needed. It's about minimalism, but not rigid "100 items" minimalism. It's about having *enough*. What's enough for one person will look different than what's enough for another. Like a gourmet chef's "enough" in the kitchen will look different than the "enough" of a single guy who eats take-out all week. I have a lending library, so my "enough" looks different than someone who relies on an e-reader. The point is to have your needs and wants met but not to excess. Every book I own deserves its spot on my shelf, and I do cull my collection regularly because books do still sneak in. (That is the nature of books, haha) It's also about the value of space. If your table is full of clutter then you first have to clear it off before starting a project. That could deter you from getting started in the first place. But if your table is clear, if you have that *space*, you could start a project on a whim. Doesn't that sound like a more enjoyable way to live? Plus space just plain feels better. Clutter clogs the air flow but when the space is clear it's easier to breathe and there's less weighing on your mind. It's more relaxing. Spas aren't cluttered for a reason ;) The book also helps you reframe your relationship to your stuff. It makes you be honest about why you're hosting this stuff. Is your stuff serving you or are you serving it? Is your stuff worth the time and hassle of its upkeep, of maintaining it, of putting it away? Does it deserve the space it occupies? Where did it even come from? The book helps you deal with gifts and freebies and sentimental items and back-up items (if your coffee machine breaks are you really going to get and use your old one from the garage or go buy a new one?). It helps you evaluate every item. The book has practical suggestions on how to downsize too. For example, take items out of "their spot" when you're evaluating them. Like items in a junk drawer, they might trick you into thinking that they belong in that drawer because that's where they always are. But if you dump the drawer out to go through the contents, suddenly you realize that you don't need or want those seventeen ink pens that you never use. Empty your closet to go through your wardrobe, take books off the shelf, empty your pantry. Also in the book is how to keep the clutter from building up again. Be a gatekeeper, don't let new things in without an interview. Try the "one in, one out" rule. Don't accept freebies at conferences (yay... an advertising magnet, thaaanks....). The last chapters walk you through decluttering room by room. Do you really want all those expired cosmetics in your bathroom? What's that stuff in the back of your closet? The author wrote the book before she became a mother (she has one child last I heard - she has a blog, that's how I know), so her advice on kids' clutter is... well she wrote it before becoming a mom ;) One piece of advice is to ask for experiences vs things for their gifts. For example, my daughter is receiving ballet classes for her birthday. Her physical gift will be ballet shoes. That's from my parents. I'm giving her new pajamas (the girl loves pajamas, and she has a lot of sleepovers). The craft at her party will be an art project to decorate her new bedroom. It'll be made with love and will remind her of her friends AND it's useful (because being beautiful IS a use). I get my kids involved in downsizing their possessions regularly too, but I never force it. I gently guide them and every decision about their stuff is theirs to make. We make it fun and they feel good about donating their things for other kids. I have a friend who said she's impressed by how little stuff we have. We haven't always been this way! Our walls use to be lined in furniture and clutter. Our closets were packed with clothes we never wore. The playroom was insane!!! We still have more than I'd like to have (that happens when you have three kids), but our house feels way better and is so much easier to maintain now. It's a constant effort though. Stuff still sneaks in, and if a clutter pile forms it can get out of hand (clutter attracts clutter. It does). Anyway, this book helped us improve our quality of life. We're sacrificing much less time to fussing with our stuff now that we have less stuff. And I don't miss the stuff! I now see stuff as a burden to an extent. We use to stop at a thrift store weekly and buy random crap. Now it's been months since we've been to one, and even then we went with a purpose! OH! And now that we have less stuff I no longer fail at housekeeping. I didn't need FLY Lady, I didn't need a cleaning schedule. I needed less stuff. That's it. Now it's easy and enjoyable to maintain my home. I just put a little bit away and suddenly my home is peaceful and serene. BTW, this book has earned a permanent spot on my shelf. I re-read it sometimes when our clutter starts sneaking back in. I loan it to others. It very much deserves the space which it occupies!

I have been on a simplicity journey for a little over 15 years now, and a JOURNEY it is! Even though I am a strong believer in minimization and getting rid of the "stuff" in our lives, I still find myself needing a boost now and then (especially around the holidays). I picked this book up from the library - which is in line with wanting fewer material possessions - at the end of the year and found myself enjoying it immensely. The book is divided into four parts: 1 - Philosophy 2 - STREAMLINE 3 - Room by Room 4 - Lifestyle Part 1 addresses what the philosophy is behind minimalism. Seeing our material possessions for what they are, less stuff = less stress, less stuff = more freedom, etc. It is the 'why'. Parts 2 and 3 address the overall 'how' as well as a room by room approach for reducing our stuff. Part 4 addresses topics such as how to get our families to to embark on this same journey (including children) and then talks about how consuming less is helpful for the environment and how to be a thoughtful consumer of what we do chose to purchase. I found this to be an excellent book as it is so comprehensive. Not just a motivational book on why this is a good idea but it also includes a concrete, step-by-step guide on how to actually do it. The author also spends quite a bit of time addressing the need for maintenance and vigilance against slowly allowing the old habits to return which will result in finding yourself back in the same place you started. Some of the ideas you will find elsewhere, which is fine for me as hearing good ideas multiple times is helpful. If it's good to know, it bears repeating. The way the book is formatted allows the reader to go from beginning to end as well as to easily go back to specific topics for reference or clarification. If you are only going to own a single book on this topic, this is one of a handful I would highly recommend. Note: If you are an e-book reader, this book would be fine in that format (and no physical clutter added). As I said at the beginning, I have been working on this for over 15 years and still am not where I would like to be. However, we are moving sometime this year from our larger home to a condo that has 1/3 the current square footage and I don't know that we would be able to do that had I not started this eons ago. Books that proclaim "organize your home/life in a weekend' or 'one month to simplify your life' are often not that helpful in my opinion unless you are really ready to be draconian in your process and that can be difficult to do. In my experience, it takes time and dedication and this book is the perfect guide.

Excellent book

A ideia que eu mais gostei do livro é a de que menos é mais. Tudo o que temos ocupa lugar em nossa mente, exigindo atenção e gerando preocupação com administração. Portanto, ter muitas coisas ocupa o lugar na nossa mente que poderia ser reservado a coisas que realmente gostamos. Mais grave, as coisas materiais desnecessárias ocupam o lugar que poderia ser ocupado por pessoas!!!!!!! Quanto tempo passamos pesquisando preços de produtos, arrumando bagunça, fazendo manutenção de carro, quando poderíamos estar nos ocupando de nós mesmos e das pessoas!!!! "The things you own end up owning you" resume isso tudo.

The author does a great job in this book to address many components of simplifying ones life, while being very down-to-earth and realistic. This was an enjoyable read that suggested a minimalistic mindset, without being too preachy. The solutions were a bit repetitive at times (STREAMLINE method), but I see myself re-reading a chapter or two when tackling a specific task (cleaning out the garage, etc.).

Hardcover book about the minimalism..

This book gave the insight about the stuff that I have collected over time and how less do I actually need to live a happy life. It also helped me letting go of the stuff I was attached to and the habit of buying stuff to make myself feel good. As told in the book I don’t need more stuff to be happy, I just need the sun and fresh air.