After introducing my new book, Minimalism for Families into the world I began thinking about all the helpful books that have inspired, encouraged, and taught my family and I along the way. I wanted to share a short list of books that I’ve found helpful to cultivate living more with less in our family. I hope they’re helpful to your family too!
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The Minimalist Home
Becker 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. You can pre order The Minimalist Home now.
Soulful Simplicity
In this book, she shows us how to pursue practical minimalism so we can create more with less—more space, more time, and even more love. Carver invites us to look at the big picture, discover what’s most important to us, and reclaim lightness and ease by getting rid of all the excess things.
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne
This is an all-time favorite of mine! I said, “YES!” on nearly every page! With too much stuff, too many choices, and too little time, children can become anxious, have trouble with friends and school, or even be diagnosed with behavioral problems. Kim John Payne helps parents reclaim
for their children the space and freedom that all kids need for their attention to deepen and their individuality to flourish.
Essentialism: by Greg McKeown
If you often find yourself stretched too thin, overworked with a constant urge to declutter your life this book is for you! This book gives you a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter.
The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees
If you have a closet full of clothing you don’t want to wear or have minimizing everything you don’t like and now need clothing that actually fits you and your style, this is your book.
Clutterfree with Kids by Joshua Becker
Joshua’s writing is helpful, encouraging, and practical. In this book, he invites you us to change our thinking, discover new habits, and free our homes through practical application and inspirational stories.
Essential: Essays by The Minimalists
This book is an edited collection and organized collection featuring the most relevant essays from their website, The Minimalists. I found the flow of the articles especially helpful and enjoy their thoughtful, practical categoric, and succinct writing style.
The Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson
In Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares the story of how she simplified her life by reducing her waste. Today, Bea, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons produce just one quart of garbage a year, and their overall quality of life has changed for the better: they now have more time together, they’ve cut their annual spending by a remarkable 40 percent, and they are healthier than they’ve ever been.
While I’m nowhere near the Johnson’s zero waste her book opened my eyes to see that I don’t need so many options to live happily.
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
What I like most about the konmari method is that her approach is by category. I think this can be really helpful, especially when you have similar items stored in multiple rooms. What you won’t see me doing is holding up a sock and asking myself if it sparks joy. It’s things like relationships that bring me joy. Not fuzzy socks, those just make me happy.
The Minimalist Kitchen By Melissa Coleman
While The Minimalist Kitchen helps tackle one of the home’s biggest problem areas —the kitchen—this book goes beyond the basics of clearing out and cleaning up, it also gives readers practical tips to maintain this simplified way of life. Melissa shows you how to shop, stock your pantry, meal plan without losing your mind, and most importantly, that delicious food doesn’t take tons of ingredients or gadgets to prepare. This streamlined way of cooking is a breath of fresh air in modern lives where clutter and distraction can so easily take over.
Simplicity books to read with kids.
Too Many Toys by David Shannon
Spencer has too many toys! His father trips over them, his mother falls over them, and the house is overflowing with junk. Now it’s time to give some of the mountains of goodies away, but Spencer finds it hard. In the end, he fills a box, but decides the one toy he can’t part with is the box! This is a great book for conversation starters.
The Rainbow Fish
The Rainbow Fish is an international best-seller and a modern classic. Eye-catching foil stamping, glittering on every page, offers instant child appeal, but it is the universal message at the heart of this simple story about a beautiful fish who learns to make friends by sharing his most prized possessions that give the book its lasting value.
This book has opened up wonderful conversations with my kids. Giving is really a beautiful thing!
More
With beautiful illustrations, this innovative book asks the questions: When is MORE more than enough? Can a team of well-intentioned mice save their friend from hoarding too much stuff? This book will inspire your kids to acquire less while using just a few simple words!
Minimalism for Families
After minimizing my own stuff, then my children’s, I began to better understand different strategies families face when becoming minimalist. It’s one thing to part with your own clutter and another to get your kids and partner on board! In Minimalism for Families, I share specific tips, perspectives and simple conversations I’ve had to help my family see how living with less can benefit their own lives.