Joshua Becker's Blog, page 74

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

F ill your life with stories to tell, not stuff to show.

The simplicity/minimalism movement is a beautiful community. And I enjoy any opportunity to promote writing that encourages people to live more by owning less.

So fix yourself a nice warm cup of coffee or tea. Find a quiet moment this weekend. And enjoy some encouraging words to inspire more simplicity in your life today.

Let Children Get Bored Again | The New York Times by Pamela Paul. Boredom teaches us that life isn’t a parade of amusements. More important, it spawns creativity and self-sufficiency.

Why ‘Tidying Up’ Like Marie Kondo Is Good for Your Health — and Wallet | Healthline by Cathy Cassata. The new Netflix series that teaches people how to declutter their lives isn’t just popular entertainment, it’s helpful advice that can lead to a happier, healthier you.

The 7 Most Satisfying Ways to Declutter Your Home in 5 Minutes | Working Mother by Joshua Becker. Clean your home, one simple step at a time.

Are You Looking at Your Screen Too Often? Here’s How to Declutter your Digital Life | USA Today by Sarah Day Owen. It’s not just harmless time misspent, Cal Newport, a Georgetown professor in computer science, argues – the mini-computer screens we glance at during each spare moment are addictive “slot machines in our pockets,” and tech companies design for users to spend more and more time on their products.

Stick to Decluttering with The Becker Method | Joshua Becker on YouTube.

The Possibilities of a Decluttered Writing Space

If you’re a writer, or want to be, there are many benefits to minimizing or decluttering your writing space. Here are just a few:

Less distraction. Distraction is a problem for virtually every writer I know—and a cluttered writing space is filled with potential distractions. Sticky-notes, business cards, books, file folders, bills, and uncompleted projects all clamor for attention. Removing them helps you to better focus on the most important project—the one you are currently working.More freedom. A distraction-free writing space puts you—rather than your clutter—in charge. Now your to-do list is determined by your priorities, not by the piles on your desk. Increased self-confidence. A distraction-free writing space is empowering. It’s a way to prove to yourself—and others—that you are self-directed, take your work seriously, and want to be efficient, accomplished, and thorough. New opportunities. A new day brings new opportunities and the potential to accomplish something great. Walking into a writing space strewn with unfinished work from yesterday (or yesteryear) immediately anchors you to the past, burdening today’s potential with yesterday’s baggage.

A clear writing space offers a clean slate—a place to begin again and consider endless possibilities. Even if your new day consists of completing yesterday’s project, reopening a file provides a fresh starting point and new perspectives for tackling a problem or task. That’s one of the reasons I clear my desk every evening before ending work.

The work required to minimize a writing space comes more naturally to some than others. But I have before-and-after proof that it is possible and worth the effort. When my family and I first began to minimize our home about ten years ago, my writing space looked like this:

BEFORE:

My office space in 2008, before I minimized. Virtually every wall and surface was filled with distractions and items I did not need.

Would you want to write here? Yeah, me neither. And here’s what it looked like the first time I decluttered it.

AFTER:

My writing space in 2008, after I minimized it—and added a fresh coat of paint. I removed wall hangings, every book I had not/would not use, and memorabilia. I put papers and office equipment, such as the tape dispenser and stapler, in drawers.

(By the way, these before / after photos are from the Archives of Becoming Minimalist . If you are unaware, this blog started as a journal of our family’s journey into minimalism. It has slowly grown over the past ten years into what it is today).

It is possible for any writer, regardless of their starting point, to create a less cluttered, more focused writing space.

Here is a six-step process you can use to clear clutter and enjoy the opportunity of a minimized writing space:

1. Clear out storage cabinets, drawers, and closets. Get rid of anything obsolete or unnecessary. Start with computer accessories: specialized cords that used to go to who-knows-what equipment, flash drives, old equipment manuals (which are probably available online), unused or outdated external hard drives.

Eliminate
duplicate office products—you only need one stapler and one tape dispenser,
right? Get rid of things you no longer need. When was the last time you used
that three-hole punch? If you have a calculator app on your phone, do you
really need a calculator?

Tackle consumable supplies—stationery, folders, labels, paper clips, Post-it Notes, pens, pencils, tape rolls, colored markers, and so on. If you have more than a six-month supply, get rid of some or store neatly out of sight.

2. Reduce the number of books on your shelves. How do you decide which books to keep and which to give away? Start by sorting your books into one of four categories:

Books you have never read and don’t realistically expect to read. Donate them.Books you have read but will never go back to. Donate them.Books you have read that have been influential in your life. Keep them. Or, lend them to someone else who might get just as much out of them as you have.Books you have already read and know you will want to return to. Keep them.

3. Simplify walls and bulletin boards. Take a critical look at the walls that define your writing space. Are they crowded with photos, posters, or inspirational plaques? Do you have an “ego wall” of diplomas and certificates? Do you have shelving that displays a multitude of small objects? Get rid of anything that’s more distracting than helpful, and take down shelves or even a whiteboard or bulletin board you don’t need.

4. Clear out your filing cabinets. Even in the digital age, many of us still keep too many paper files. To file papers, you need hanging file folders, labels, and file cabinets. It all takes up space. It’s also a disquieting reminder that there is a whole bunch of paper stored inside those drawers that at some time or other you’re going to have to face. That time is now. Get started by removing anything that can be accessed online.

5. Remove furniture or accessories you no longer need. Have you eliminated enough unnecessary files that you can now get rid of that ugly metal file cabinet? Great! Do it. Other candidates include credenzas, bookshelves, chairs, lamps, electronics, clocks, distracting decorations, etc.

6. Create a wide-open desktop. Is your desktop cluttered with things you think you need to have at hand? Be bold in getting rid of all you can do without. Do you really need the clock since you have the time on your computer and your phone? You can write with only one pen or pencil at a time, so isn’t that enough to have on hand? When you’re satisfied that what’s on your desktop is only what you really need at hand when you’re working, arrange this stuff neatly and wipe down the desktop. Then enjoy the wide-open vista of creativity it presents.

If you’re a writer, or want to be, creative work is no doubt a big part of what you’re here on this earth to do. The ideas and stories you share make a contribution that adds value to your own life and to the lives of others.

When you minimize your writing space, you take a big step toward maximizing your potential. You free up your mind to think more clearly, be more creative, and make better decisions. And that should be reason enough to sort through some files and toss out some clutter.

Creating a More Comfortable Home

One reason some people resist minimalism is they are afraid they will have to get rid of things that make their home pleasant and/or a comfortable place to live.

Is that true? Does minimalism make us less comfortable at home or does it make us more comfortable?

You probably know my answer already. But let me ask you some questions:

How would you rather spend a rainy Saturday afternoon?

A. Doing what your spouse has been asking you to do—straighten up the storage room where your family keeps its board games, toys, puzzles, sports equipment, and electronic games both new and obsolete—even though it seems like you just did that last week?

B. Doing something that makes you feel cozy inside, such as looking at a photo album with your kids, sitting by the fire in your recliner, or enjoying a movie on television.

Which
gives you more of a sense of relaxation and peace?

A. A home that’s crowded and messy, where everywhere you look something reminds you of cleaning or repairs that need to be done?

B. A home with clean counters, floors and walls that present open vistas, and everything put away in its place?

What’s
a better use of your time and prevents frustration when you’re looking for an
ice cream scoop in your kitchen?

A. Peering behind leaning towers of Tupperware, pushing aside unnecessary gadgets (banana slicer, anyone?), and digging through drawers filled with such things as duplicate measuring cups and salad tongs in several styles.

B. Being able to put your hands right on the ice cream scoop because there’s nothing extraneous in your kitchen and you know right where the scoop is.

If you’re getting ready to minimize your home, let me assure you—you don’t have to immediately get rid of the things you love or use. I have found, most often, that the optimal amount of things for your home is less than the number you currently own. But it often takes some time to get there.

More importantly, realize today that after minimizing, your home will feel more like a place you want to come back to at the end of the day. It will be a home filled with more intentionality and more purpose.

Minimalism does not require you to sacrifice comfort or pleasantry. Quite the opposite, in fact. It will help you feel even more comfortable in your own home.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

There’s more to life than buying stuff.

There are many wonderful people pursuing and promoting simplicity. Fortunately, some of them are gifted in communication and choose to encourage and inspire us with their words. I enjoy reading their unique perspective. I’m sure you will too.

So fix yourself a nice warm cup of coffee or tea on this beautiful weekend. Find a quiet moment. And enjoy some encouraging words about finding more simplicity in your life today.

Decluttering Only Helps so Much if You’re Still Buying Too Much in the First Place | The Washington Post by Nicole Anzia. Real progress in terms of decluttering and organization requires changing our mind-sets and rethinking what we value. 

5 Ways to Declutter Your Home—and Keep It That Way | Parade Magazine. A home that serves its purpose is a beautiful thing.

Q&A: Joshua Becker on Keeping a Minimalist Home | The Washington Post with Jura Koncius. I had a wonderful sit-down chat with the Washington Post earlier this week answering reader questions.

How to Declutter and Organize Your Personal Tech in a Few Simple Steps | The New York Times by Brian X. Chen. Accessories and data may not take up much physical space, but they contribute to frustration and anxiety.

7 Common Problems Solved By Owning Less | Joshua Becker on YouTube (5:00).

—

The Minimalist Home is currently on sale for only $11.99 on Amazon.

Minimalism: Means to a Better Life For All

This article is an excerpt from The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life.

There’s something I hate when the term minimalism crops up in conversation. What I hate is the misperception that so many people have about it.

Many people think of minimalism as a “style” of home, on a par with Colonial homes, Victorian homes, or Southwest adobe homes. A minimalist home, to them, is a boxy white house with almost nothing in it, and if you do happen to find a chair or sofa somewhere, it’s going to be really expensive—and good luck feeling comfortable sitting on it!

A minimalist home, in this sense, is for people who don’t care much about coziness or comfort and definitely don’t have kids or pets or hobbies. Such a house might look good in a magazine photo spread, but who wants to live there?

Creating a minimalist home doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your favorite design style—or even your “no-design style” or “frugal living style”—to accomplish it. In my home, for example, we still use my wife’s grandparents’ old bedroom set. It’s anything but modern in design, but it works for us. My wife, Kim, our two kids, and I got rid of a lot of things when we were transforming our home, but we didn’t get rid of everything, and we didn’t feel every room needed a different look or style than it had before.

What’s widely known as minimalism in architecture and interior decoration today is fine as a design style, if you happen to like it, but that’s not at all what I’m talk about here. I’m promoting an approach to owning less that you can take regardless of the style of your home. It’s not about making an artistic statement or glorifying emptiness. Instead, it’s about transforming your home so that you can transform your life.

Minimalism, as I’m referring to it, is not about taking something away from you; it’s about giving something to you. My definition of minimalism is “the intentional promotion of things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them.” As I sometimes like to say, minimizing is actually optimizing—reducing the number of your possessions until you get to the best possible level for you and your family.

It’s individual, freeing, and life promoting. It’s a makeover that you can do on your own, in your current house, just by getting rid of stuff.

In battling against misperceptions about minimalism, I sometimes feel like Henry Ford when he was trying to convince the masses that automobiles didn’t have to be just for the rich. Except what’s available to everybody now—in our affluent age when it is sometimes said we’ve reached “peak stuff”—is a radical and amazing home makeover courtesy of minimalism.

This is an idea whose time has come.

Minimalism isn’t just for the few who happen to have some spartan quirk in their personalities; it’s for everyone. Homes everywhere would benefit from a thoughtful and deliberate reduction of their possessions load.

So that’s how I wrote The Minimalist Home—with everybody in mind.

This book is for you if you’re single or married.

It’s for you if you are childless, have one or more kids at home, or have an empty nest where your kids and grandkids come back to visit you from time to time.

It’s for you if you have an apartment, condo, town house, duplex, detached single-family dwelling, cottage, trailer home, cabin, farmhouse, houseboat, or mobile home.

It’s for you if you live in the United States, Australia, England, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, or anyplace else and your home is overcrowded with stuff.

I’m not trying to make you into someone you’re not or turn you into some kind of doing-without extremist. You don’t have to live in a tiny home or wander the world living out of a backpack. (My family and I don’t.) Now, after minimizing, you may want to downsize to a smaller place, but you certainly don’t have to move in order to enjoy the benefits of home minimalism. You can change your environment and change your life right where you are.

You bought or rented the home you’ve got for a reason, right? To some extent, you must have liked it, or at least liked what you imagined it would look like after you were done making it your own. Most likely, it’s the overaccumulation of goods since then that’s keeping it from being what you wanted. So let’s address your “stuff problem.”

Give yourself the house you’ve always wished you had. You’ve already got it! It’s hidden underneath all your stuff.

—

This article is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of my new book, The Minimalist Home.

Get The Minimalist Home today to receive a number of helpful resources on your minimalist journey (21-day reading guide, private webinar, printables, discounts to Uncluttered, and more). Bonus offer ends on Saturday, January 26.

Purchase The Minimalist Home at your local bookstore or find it online: Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, CBD, or Book Depository (for international readers). It is also available in digital and audio formats.

After purchasing the book, complete this form with your order/receipt number to claim your bonuses.

The Single Most Important Factor in Leading a Happy, Fulfilling Life–According to Science

Note: This is a guest post from Jay Harrington of Life and Whim .

Working out at the gym got a lot easier the day I realized the sweat served a higher purpose. I’m 43, and have three kids under eight years old, so if I want to be around—healthy and active—for my grandkids, I better put the work in now or face regret later.

Activities that aren’t inherently joyful, like clocking time on a treadmill, get better when done in service of something bigger.

The same can be said of cleaning out one’s
closet. Satisfying, yes, but the buzz is too fleeting to be self-sustaining.
It’s only when decluttering is reframed as a piece of a larger, more
significant puzzle that it sticks.

Without a bigger picture in mind, our actions are often dictated by “What’s more pleasurable in the moment?” rather than “What’s better in the long-term?” In the moment, the consequences of most choices are insignificant. It makes little difference, on a particular day, if you opt to stay on the couch rather than hitting the gym, but over the course of a year, the negative results from this repeated decision will compound.

An intentional life is one marked by long-term
thinking that leads to beneficial short-term decision-making. First, decide
what you want. Then, decide—every day, in ways big and small—how to get there.
Have the ends in mind, and the means will become clear.

Determining the ends, however, is not always easy.

What makes Netflix so appealing—the quantity of programming—also makes it hard to decide what show to watch. The same quandary applies to life, but the stakes are obviously far greater. There are countless ways to live, values to prioritize, and experiences to optimize for. However, because there’s no clear path to follow despite the abundance of options, it’s easy to bounce aimlessly through life like a tumbleweed.

One of the best ways to live a fulfilling, intentional life, and direct one’s actions toward a beneficial end, is to adopt an “ism” operating system. Some “isms,” such as materialism and consumerism, have proven to be harmful and should be avoided. Others, such as minimalism, lead to smart decision-making, contentment, and happiness.

Years ago, when I first stumbled across the
notion of minimalism, I bought into the idea that a life with less could lead
to more. Like many, I began my journey by eliminating the low hanging fruit of
plentiful and obvious excesses from my life. Over time, despite how satisfying
purging could be, I came to realize that minimalism is not an end in itself.
The process of decluttering, detaching, and deemphasizing materialism is simply
a step on the road toward something more significant. Minimalism is a mechanism
to create space and time for what really matters.

The
Real Secret to Happiness

For thousands of years, people have grappled
with the big question of “What really matters?” What, among the many
alternative ways we can choose to spend our finite time, will bring us
happiness?

Recently, another batch of smart people have
attempted to answer these eternal questions, and their conclusion reinforces
something that most of us intuit.

According to Harvard’s Grant & Glueck Study, which tracked more than 700 participants over the course of 75 years, the key to long-term happiness and fulfillment comes down to a single factor: the quality of our relationships.

The root of happiness is not money, fame, or good looks—it’s the people we choose to surround ourselves with and how well we nurture our relationships with them.

Robert Waldinger, director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, explained that: “The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.”

As with most things in life, when it comes to building good relationships, quality is more important than quantity. Indeed, practicing minimalism is as important in curating relationships as it is in decluttering a closet.

In the 1990s, British anthropologist and researcher Robin Dunbar determined that we are only capable of having a finite number of people in our social sphere—150 at most—due to the size of our brains. Any more, and it becomes impossible to manage one’s social network. This theory is known as “Dunbar’s Number.”

Dunbar went on to conclude that while we can form, at most, 150 loose relationships, we only have the capacity to form close, meaningful relationships with approximately five individuals.

The takeaways from the Grant & Glueck Study, and Robin Dunbar’s research, are both hopeful and daunting. Hopeful in the sense that our capacity to lead happy, fulfilling lives rests on our capacity to forge close bonds with merely five individuals. Daunting in that most can appreciate the challenge posed by nurturing just one close relationship over a lifetime.

Nonetheless, despite how hard it may be, the reward is worth it. As Booker T. Washington once said, “Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”

The
Payoff from Positive Relationships

The benefits of having close, healthy relationships with members of one’s immediate family are self-evident. A safe, secure, and loving family results in happy, independent children and parents who derive the satisfaction of having completed a job well done. The payoff from social and professional relationships may be less obvious, but are no less important. Consider the following historical examples of people leveraging close relationships into meaningful success:

In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway moved to Paris
to join a group of expatriate, “Lost Generation” writers, including Gertrude
Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald, who had taken up residence in the Left Bank.
They hung out at cafes, argued about politics, caroused late into the nights on
the streets of Paris, and produced some of the greatest works of literature of
the 20th Century.

In the 1970s, young and brash directors
Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Brian De
Palma, known as the “Movie Brats,” took Hollywood by storm. They competed,
collaborated, shared resources, worked on each other’s films, gave critical
feedback, and formed friendships. They transformed an industry because of, not
despite, one another.

A “tribe” of inspiring and supportive people
can lift you up, hold you accountable, and inspire you to live to your greatest
potential. As motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously observed, we are the
average of the five people we spend the most time with. So choose wisely.

Implicit in this principle, of course, is the
fact that it works both ways. If you fail to choose wisely, and surround
yourself with people who exhibit behaviors and habits that are inconsistent
with your own desires, you’ll have a hard time bucking the group’s standards—as
unappealing as they may be.

For example, if you desire to lead a healthy
and active lifestyle, you’ll be hard pressed to do so if your inner circle
consists of couch potato friends who spend their days playing video games and
eating junk food. On the other hand, if your friends are physically fit you
stand a much greater chance of being fit yourself because the cultural norms of
your group will influence your own behavior. Who you spend the most time with
is who you are.

Find
the Tribe that’s Right for You

Our instincts to fit in have ancient roots.
For thousands of years, humans have lived in tribes in which it was essential
to conform. To buck the tribe was to be shunned or cast out altogether, leading
to great hardship. Modern culture is different, but from fraternities and sororities
to sports teams and social groups, tribes still exist and still enforce social
norms. Just ask a young college student who is pledging a fraternity whether
participating in hazing rituals is optional if you doubt the existence of
modern tribes and their codes of social conduct.

In this environment, faced with the
expectations of a tribe, you have a few options: (1) conform to the rules of
the tribe, (2) resist, or (3) find a new one.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with conforming to a tribe’s social norms—as long as those norms align with your own desires. If you’re living out of alignment with your desired values, and those around you are exemplifying the lifestyle you want to live, then the quickest way to get what you want is to surrender to the group’s standards. But often the opposite is true—you want something different than what the group demands. In this scenario, surrendering to the group is sacrificing the life you desire.

Another option is to resist the group, but
this path is perilous. It’s hard enough to change one’s own thoughts and
behaviors. Why take on the nearly impossible task of trying to change someone
else’s?

The third way is to practice relationship minimalism, which is not always the path of least resistance, but is certainly the path of greatest benefit. Most people enter into relationships too haphazardly, or maintain existing ones by default. They rely on proximity or convenience to guide relationship decision-making, or are gripped by the inertia of the status quo.

Finding the tribe that’s right for you is not always easy. It requires careful consideration. Often it means making difficult decisions to part ways with those who don’t align with your values. But isn’t the payoff of lifelong happiness and fulfillment worth it?

There are people out there who can bring real
joy to your life, who you can share meaningful experiences with, and who will
be there to lift you up when you need it. Cultivate a tribe in which your
desired behavior is the normal behavior. Surround yourself with people who are
leading lives you want to live.

Here’s how:

First, use minimalism to shed the extraneous excesses that clutter your home
and your mind. Cast aside harmful “isms” that are detracting, not adding, value
to your life and the lives of those around you. This will create the space and
time necessary to tackle life’s more important issues.

Second, leverage your newfound mental bandwidth to think deeply about how you
want to live your life. How do you want to spend your time? What makes you
happy? What kind of person do you want to be?

Third, make the hard decisions necessary to part ways with toxic people in
your life, and scale back ambivalent relationships to make room for new, better
aligned ones.

Fourth, find people who exemplify the values and lifestyles you aspire to.
Clusters of such people may already have found each other and formed
groups—from book clubs to biking groups—centered around the activities and
experiences that are consistent with your desires. Begin to engage.

Fifth, take frequent, consistent steps to strengthen budding relationships with members of your newfound tribe. Show up. Give back. Express gratitude. Let your guard down. Be generous. Find your people, then never take them for granted. You’ll become a transformed and better person when you surround yourself with people who push, prod, and encourage you to reach new heights.

Give of yourself to others who inspire you and a delightful thing will happen: you’ll get so much more than you could ever imagine in return.

***

Jay Harrington blogs at Life and Whim where he offers insights and inspiration about how to live a life full of more First Moments.

6 Ways to Apply Decluttering Principles to Your Finances

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Emily Guy Birken.

Getting your home to look like your minimalist vision of a cozy retreat is a simple (but not easy) process that anyone can understand. Decluttering your home is about identifying what physical objects are unnecessary. It may be tough to make decisions about each item, but you usually know what you need to do.

But when it comes to making your money life resemble your stress-free financial vision, the process to get there is harder to understand, much less follow. When it comes to physical decluttering, you can’t help but notice the unused treadmill in your bedroom if you stub your toe on it twice a day. Cluttered money choices, however, are much less visible.

The good news is the same strategies that can help an overwhelmed newbie minimalist declutter can also help a financially struggling minimalist get a better handle on her money. Many of the same principles apply.

Here are some decluttering strategies that can double as tips for money management:

1. Know what matters to you.

Minimalism is all about removing what is unnecessary so only the essential remains. This is an inherently personal process, because what is essential for your home and happiness is different from that of anyone else. Recognizing exactly what is most valuable to you allows you to create a home that reflects your values.

Similarly, budgeting your money starts with your values. Other than financial necessities, identify the purchases or spending decisions that matter most to you. Choosing to spend on the things you value makes it easier to let go of the things you don’t.

2. Declutter first, organize second.

A common mistake in decluttering is to try organizing your way out of the mess. Starting with organization allows you to avoid the tough decluttering decisions while feeling like you are making progress. But organizing first means you are often trying to find space for things you don’t want to keep—while ignoring the root of the problem at the same time.

A similar mistake with money management is forcing a tracking system onto your spending habits without first examining those habits and purging the ones that aren’t working for you. This has become even more common nowadays with the countless banking apps that will track spending for you.

But trying to track your spending when you spend more than you can afford is just another way of organizing clutter. It doesn’t get to the root of your financial stressors, and it gives you only a false sense of progress. As with physical declutter, it’s better to start by eliminating the purchases you don’t need before getting into the nitty-gritty of organizing your finances.

3. Start with easy-to-declutter items.

You don’t start your minimalism journey by getting rid of your grandmother’s wedding China, even if you don’t use it. Instead, you start with the duplicates you own, the things in storage you will never miss, or the stacks of magazines you haven’t read.

So if you need to cut expenses in your budget, start with the items that are not important to you or that you simply will not miss. That could be anything from your cable subscription to your unused gym membership to the extra data you never use on your cell phone plan.

4. Every item needs a home.

Minimalist homes have a place for everything, anything out of place can easily be returned to their proper homes.

Give every dollar you earn a home by planning where your money will go with every paycheck. Doing this will mean you are prepared for both expected and unexpected expenses. Some of the “homes” you should plan on for your dollars include: an emergency fund, retirement savings, bills, and fun money.

5. Declutter daily.

A little bit of decluttering every day not only helps to maintain your space, but it also saves you time and frustration. For instance, it is easier to recycle your junk mail and file important mail as soon as it comes in the house, than it is to deal with a teetering pile of paper when you realize you can’t find your cousin’s wedding invitation.

Managing your finances should also be a similar daily habit. Make it part of your daily routine to log into your bank account, check your balances, and look over your purchases. This will help you keep track of where your money is and what it is doing, and it will give you a chance to head off potential problems.

6. Remember it’s a journey.

Both minimalism and good financial health require regular maintenance. Neither process is a once-and-done job, as you will always have to maintain your decluttered home and your budget. There will always be items that need to be put away or decluttered from your home, and there will always be money coming into and flowing out of your life.

It’s helpful to think of both processes as being similar to laundry—these jobs are never done. Just as you must sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away your clothes on at least a weekly basis, you need to make decluttering and checking in on your finances a regular habit.

These six strategies are the basis for creating both a serene and decluttered home, and a well-managed and stress-free budget. Committing to these strategies can help you feel more in control of your life and finances and more connected to the things that matter most to you.

***

Emily Guy Birken is the author of End Financial Stress Now.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision because it is a countercultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption that surrounds us.

The world we live in is not friendly to the pursuit of minimalism. Its tendencies and relentless advertising campaigns call us to acquire more, better, faster, and newer. The journey of finding simplicity requires consistent inspiration.

For that reason, I hope you will make an effort this weekend to find a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy some of these hand-picked articles to encourage more simplicity in your life.

The Unbearable Heaviness of Clutter | The New York Times by Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi. A cluttered home can be a stressful home, researchers are learning.

‘Throwing Things Out Gives You Time to Look After Yourself’ – How to Get Better at Decluttering | The Guardian by Sally Walford as told to Sirin Kale. You might feel that shedding possessions is difficult, but once you start, you will realize how great it makes you feel.

Seven Decluttering Tips I Discovered in The Minimalist Home | No Sidebar by Caitie Wiersma. Picture your dream home. I bet it’s not filled with clutter.

Why a Minimalist Lifestyle is a Big Win for Creatives | Medium by Cathy Hutchison. “Art lives on constraint and dies of freedom.”

The Ten Best Personal Finance Resolutions for 2019 | Forbes by Joshua Becker. If you are looking for some changes in your financial circumstances, here are the ten best personal finance resolutions to consider.

How To Get Your Partner To Be a Minimalist | Joshua Becker on YouTube. Use the right words. At the right time. With the right attitude.

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Uncluttered. If you’re looking for help trying to keep your resolution to declutter, our 12-week course will help you own less, live more, and discover the life you want. But registrations ends this Sunday, January 13.

Get Uncluttered in 2019

“I have significantly less stress in my life and more self-control. Most importantly, I’m becoming more like the mom and wife I want to be.” — Caryn Seney

Uncluttered

Uncluttered is a 12-week online course designed intentionally to help you own less, live more, and discover the life you’ve always wanted.

We offer the course only three times each year. We are launching the New Year’s Edition today. But registration ends on Sunday, January 13 at 11:59pm.

If you want 2019 to be the year you declutter your home, own less, and get ahead financially, this is the right program for you.

The course includes…

Videos with step-by-step instructions
Interviews with thought leaders in productivity and minimalism
Live webinars tackling specific tough-clutter topics
Live Q&As for members to ask questions
Weekly challenges
And perhaps best of all: accountability and encouragement from a super-engaged community.

If you are drawn to the idea of owning less, but need some extra help getting there, this course is perfect for you. Uncluttered will provide just the motivation you need to declutter your home and start living a better life. By the end, you will have decluttered every major living area in your home and begun changing your spending habits.

Every Monday, you will receive a video from me, an exclusive interview with one of the brightest minds in the simplicity movement, and/or written content prepared exclusively for the course. You will receive a weekly challenge to complete. And opportunities to engage with the community in a private Facebook group and with me during live webinars and live question and answer opportunities.

The course offers everything a book or blog post cannot: community, accountability, and opportunity to ask questions.

The Uncluttered plan will help you celebrate your progress as it provides helpful answers on where to start and how to stay motivated.

To find more information about the content and the subjects covered, click here.

Extra Tools to Get Your Family On Board

We’ve created special material for those of you with families.

Because of the high number of people with families who register for the course, we have included a special family-specific section with tips and strategies for getting your family and kids onboard with the process. The new section includes a family-specific webinar to answer your questions, a free Children’s ebook to read with your kids, and a Couple’s Discussion Guide to spark conversation with your spouse or partner.

We want you to find the most success during the 12-week course and we are confident these resources will help you do that.

The Results

Over 25,000 people have gone through the course. Here are just a few of the responses:

The term life-changing gets thrown around a lot, but this course really is. I went into it with a lot of shame and anxiety. Joshua gently guided us in a way that made lasting change seem possible. My home is much improved, but my mindset is also clearer. —Kathryn Wagner, Los Angeles, CA

The power of this shared experience is hard to explain to people, it is so overwhelmingly positive. It not only provides the incentive to keep going, but reminds you there are good people out there. You find yourself rooting for complete strangers. Together, there is a momentum that drives you through the course. It was completely unexpected and so overwhelmingly helpful. —Tanya S, Webster, NY

I am a better mother, a better wife, a better housekeeper, a better budgeter, a better teacher, a better neighbor and a better friend. I’m still a work in progress, but it feels good to be where I am at. —Pam L.

My credit card statement came today. $1,000.00 under my typical monthly balance! Thank you Uncluttered community. I’ve been at this for years; however, it’s clear I truly needed this group to get to that next level. —Cheyanne Morris, St. Paul, MN

The Details

We offer the course three times each year.

The New Year’s Edition begins on Tuesday, January 15. Declutter your home this year! Registration is open now, but only for the next 9 days — ending January 13.

The cost is $89. But you can find a 25% off discount code in the back of The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own or The Minimalist Home*. The book is not required—but the course is based on it. And it’s cheaper to buy the book and use the discount code than it is to pay full price—the option is yours. *Double-check availability.

I am personally involved in every aspect of the course. Helping people live more by owning less is what I am passionate about. I created the videos and the content. I host the webinars. I answer questions in the Facebook group. And I host live video chats over the course of the 12 weeks. My goal is to help and cheer you along. I have come to understand how essential community, accountability, and ongoing encouragement is for people. And I work hard to craft that culture for the Uncluttered Course. 

When you join Uncluttered, you’ll receive lifetime access to the course. That means you can take it as many times as you want (or need). I know life can be busy, and the unexpected can happen at any time. But we’re here to help you succeed. And if you ever want to do the course again, or just enjoy a decluttering refresher, you’ll be welcomed back.

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Uncluttered is a 12-week online program with videos, interviews, webinars, articles, weekly challenges, accountability, and community. It is strategically packaged for one purpose: To help you unclutter your home, own less stuff, and find space to live the life you want.

Visit My Becoming Minimalist to register.

Make this the year you discover the home and life you’ve always wanted.

Love the Home You Live In

This article is an excerpt from The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life.

I shake my head at those home makeover shows that are so popular on TV. 

You know, a couple who are discontented with their home invite a design expert to come in and evaluate the situation. The couple nervously agree to stretch their budget as far as possible to make as much of a change as they can. Then a renovation team takes over, carrying out repairs and upgrades (there’s always an obstacle that arises and creates drama), and after that the designer stages the house with new furniture, store-bought decorations, and this year’s color scheme. Finally the homeowners come back for the big reveal and get teary-eyed at their house’s new look. 

I shake my head because, even though their house may look nicer, the homeowners typically wind up with just as much stuff as they had before, maybe even more. That’s all stuff that may be getting in the way of how they want to spend their days more than it’s contributing to the pursuit of their goals. 

I wonder, after the initial dopamine zap from the redecoration, are their lives really any different? 

Is their home more personal and life giving to them now, or is it just more pleasing to the eye? 

Or worse, will their renovated home require more time and money and energy for upkeep than it did in its previous form? 

Very few of us get picked to be on TV’s home makeover shows, yet most of us who have a house or apartment go through something similar with our own homes. We’re disappointed in our living space. We’ve spent a lot of money buying stuff for our home—and a lot of time organizing, cleaning, and maintaining that stuff. And nevertheless, in the rare times we have left to simply enjoy the home, it doesn’t feel like the place we really want to live in. What do we do then? 

If we don’t just give up hope, we most likely double down, continuing to look in all the wrong places for help. We pay attention to commercials and visit showrooms and scroll through shopping sites online, and we decide that we need more stuff or better stuff, with a different organizing and decorating plan. And when we take our best shot at making our living space better, it’s…well, it’s somewhat better in some ways, but it still doesn’t give fundamental satisfaction or kick off any lasting life change. 

What if the problem isn’t that we don’t own enough stuff or aren’t managing our stuff well enough? 

What if the problem is that we’re living in the homes that advertisers and retailers want us to have instead of the homes that deep down we really want and need? 

I’d like to suggest that what the huge majority of people in my own country—the United States—and other countries need if we are going to be content with our homes and start living more fulfilled lives is a minimalist makeover of our homes. 

Are you willing to explore that idea for your home—that there is more joy to be found in owning less than we can ever find in accumulating more? 

I know from years of experience that by getting rid of the excess stuff in every room, you can transform your home so that you feel not only free from the stress of so much clutter around you, but also free to live a life focused on what you want to do with your limited years on this planet. 

Consider the benefits of a minimalist home: 

1) A minimized home is a better place to come home to. Without all the clutter, you’ll find that your home is more relaxing and less stressful. With fewer things competing for your attention, you’ll appreciate more and make better use of what you have. You’ll be able to focus more on the people and activities in the home that bring you joy. I know some people fear that minimizing their home will make it feel cold and impersonal, but I assure you, through minimizing, you’ll feel more at home than ever. It will be a place you anticipate returning to at the end of every day or relaxing in for a weekend. 

2) A minimized home is a better place to go out from. After you minimize, you’ll be buying less stuff and spending less on repairs and maintenance, leaving you with more cash in your bank account—what I call a “minimalism dividend”—that you can use for other purposes. Even more important, because you’ll be spending less time and energy cleaning, organizing, and taking care of your possessions, you’ll have more time and energy left over for dreaming and planning for the future. With these extra resources, you’ll be better prepared to go out into the world, whether it’s for a day’s work, an evening’s entertainment, or a life-changing adventure.

By doing a minimalist makeover of your home, you can set out on a new course toward better fulfilling your purpose and potential in life. 

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This article is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of my new book, The Minimalist Home. Read more here. 

Get The Minimalist Home by January 1 to receive a goldmine of helpful resources on your minimalist journey (21-day reading guide, private webinar, printables, discounts to Uncluttered, and more). 

Purchase The Minimalist Home at your local bookstore or find it online: Barnes and Noble (in-stock), Amazon (shipping January 9), Books-A-Million, CBD, or Book Depository (for international readers). It is also available in digital and audio formats.

After purchasing the book, complete this form with your order/receipt number to claim your bonuses.