Ready to downsize and streamline your things, routines, and life, but not sure where to start? Here are some of the resources I’ve used in my journey towards a minimalist life.
BOOKS
Start here: The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify by Francine Jay.
This is a great book to start towards a simpler life with less things. Jay breaks down the process of downsizing your possessions in approachable chunks and categories. She also addresses the tough act of letting go by offering advice that declutters but keeps an object’s memory.
If you want to focus on clothes: The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees
Rees’s book came into my life at just the right time: I’m slimming down my things, shifting towards a new chapter of my life as a mother not a club-going 20-something-year-old, and struggling with the last bit of baby weight.
The Curated Closet helps you identify your style, not what you imagine it to be, but actually what you like and what’s practical for your lifestyle. Then her system works through your current wardrobe, offers advice to freshen what you have and prioritize purchases to complete your new style.
Streamline your routine: Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World By Cal Newport.
Cal Newport is a Georgetown University professor and blogger who achieved major career milestones ahead of the “normal” timeline. He owes it to the focus he’s cultivated in a minimalist-inspired work routine. It’s simple: work is either deep or shallow.
Spend more time on the deep work to move your career forward. Additionally, as someone who works from home and spent the first year of my son’s life struggling with a work-life balance, I appreciate that Newport mentions in his book my situation is special. He didn’t offer a blanket “if I did it so can you, figure it out” but rather acknowledged (and praised!) people in similar situations who require a little extra planning and thought to make time for deep work.
He has a book coming out in February, Digital Minimalism, which I’m looking forward to reading.
Fix your diet: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan, Illustrated by Maria Kalman
Michael Pollan is a phenomenal writer. Not only does he present well-researched information but his storytelling skills are aspirational and his prose will make you stop, sigh, and reread paragraphs just to savor the beauty of his words. I might have a writer-crush on the man.
But in all seriousness, if you want to clean up your diet without going full-fledged and eliminating food groups, check out Food Rules. Pollan is a food writer, so he needs to eat a variety of foods, but, also wanting to be healthy, he developed common sense rules that govern his diet.
They make sense, are easy to apply for life, and will help you be a little healthier. This edition is a quick read: simple rules laid out with lovely illustrations.
Help your mindset: The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim
Cultivating a minimalist lifestyle is beneficial because it helps you live with more intention and creates more happiness in your life. On the surface we see decluttering, but really there’s a mental shift. Sunim’s book is a great inspirational read, especially if you’re struggling with the whys for minimizing, having trouble letting go of things, or shifting to a minimalist mentality.
I read it towards the end of my pregnancy, when I was ticking off the days that my son was overdue (12). It helped calm me and in a way helped prepare me for motherhood (I’m a perfectionist, it’s tough being a perfectionist while caring for a baby).
BOOKS ARE GREAT, BUT I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF HOURS
Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things
This is a good documentary that answers why shifting to minimalism is a good idea for many people, however most of the featured individuals are on the extreme side, like the guy whose possessions fit into a duffle bag. That’s great for him, but I found it wasteful that he readily purchased products for the time being then left them behind.
I’m also on the fence on the two hosts, finding them a little arrogant and too “get rid of everything or it’s not minimalist.” Putting those opinions aside, I think it’s a great introductory film into minimalism and offers some great information.
You know Marie Kondo, she wrote the best-selling book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” This Netflix series follows Kondo as she helps real people work through her tidying up lessons. Her approach is straightforward: keep what brings you joy, toss what doesn’t. She also has some great organizing and folding tips.
In all honesty when I was looking for a book to begin my minimizing journey I purposely avoided Kondo’s, rationalizing that it’s just over-hyped and, from reading summaries, decided I gathered enough information to brush off her advice. Halfway through the first episode I ordered her book. She’s such a sweet, positive presence that I’d like to read what she has to say. I think there will be tips and tricks that will benefit me even after all the other research I’ve done.
To help offer one final image of Kondo, in one episode the mom made a comment, “She doesn’t judge us for what we want to keep.” It’s true. Kondo asks open-ended questions without judgement and allows the person to make the decision. She also displays such a respect for items that makes you want to emulate. I really recommend watching her show. I suspect I’ll also recommend her book.
YOUR TURN
Check out some or all of these resources. Even though most are divided into sections, it’s beneficial to work your way from beginning to end, garnering all the tools and tricks.
Also trust in the process. Downsizing can be tough, not only because of the physical work in decluttering but the mental shift to be at a store and choose NOT to buy something just because it’s on sale. It’s a process.
Let me know if you have any questions, I may have struggled with something similar during my journey!