A special thanks to each of you for making 2015 an incredible year at Becoming Minimalist. This website continues to grow each month beyond my wildest expectations—in fact, this year represents the 7th consecutive year of consistent growth. As before, this growth has occurred entirely from the support of readers like you—there is no advertising involved.
Thank you for sharing this website. But even more, thank you for sharing the life-giving message of owning less.
Here are some numeric representations of our growth:
- Monthly visitors to Becoming Minimalist have increased to over 1,000,000 visitors/month.
- The Facebook group grew from 200,000 to 320,000 followers.
- Twitter followers increased from 25,700 to 35,200.
- 60,000 people currently receive Becoming Minimalist posts via email. You can sign-up here to do the same.
- In November, our book Simplify was once again #1 in Self-Help on Amazon.
But the most significant successes this past year are not found in numbers:
- On November 1, we launched The Hope Effect, non-profit organization designed to improve how the world cares for orphans.
- I completed a new book, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own, to introduce the world to minimalism. It will be released on May 03.
- And, on January 1, we will be launching a 12-week course called Uncluttered to help you own less, live more, and find the life you’ve always wanted. To receive updates concerning cost and registration, visit this page.
It has indeed been an incredibly exciting year. The metrics above prove the point. But going beyond the numbers, 2015 marked my second full year of writing and speaking full-time on the topic of minimalism. This message is important and the opportunity is great. I am grateful to be a small part of it.
In case you missed any, here are some of the top posts on Becoming Minimalist from 2015.
Most Popular Posts from 2015 (as determined by readers):
21 Surprising Statistics That Reveal How Much Stuff We Actually Own. Increasing data is being collected about our homes, our shopping habits, and our spending. The research is confirming our observation: we own too much stuff. And it is robbing us of life.
8 Reasons Successful People Are Choosing to Wear the Same Thing Every Day. Those who adopt minimalist principles in their wardrobe choices are discovering more productivity, less stress, less distraction, less expense, and more peace. Maybe it is time you gave it a try.
7 Things That Shouldn’t Impress Us Anymore. Let’s stop trying to impress others with the things that we own. And start trying to inspire them by the lives that we live.
How to Slow Down Your Family’s Schedule. Wise parents take their role seriously. They seek to develop talents, skills, and self-sufficiency in their children. However, they realize this does not occur best within the confines of a cluttered schedule. Busy is not the same as productive.
9 Important Strategies for Raising Children in a World of Technology. The decisions we make for our kids concerning technology are important—but entirely without context.
My Personal Favorite Posts from the past year:
We Are Wealthy. And Why It Matters. We are already wealthy. And this should change entirely the way we live our lives.
Your Predisposition is Not Your Future. Your predisposition is not your future. Your future is what you choose to become.
Owning Less is Great. Wanting Less is Better. Because I don’t want to own more than I already have, I am freed from the constant comparing of my stuff to others. I am no longer bound to the incessant pursuit of more money and more stuff. I have found contentment in the things that I own. I have discovered more room for generosity. And I have begun to bend my pursuits towards things that matter.
A New, Minimalist Economy. Can minimalism and a thriving economy co-exist? I believe they can.
Most Popular Guest Posts in 2015:
Let Go of These 10 Items to Jumpstart Decluttering by Courtney Carver. Letting go of these items will lighten things up and encourage more decluttering, simplicity, and freedom. Once they are gone, celebrate your progress and dig back in.
Fewer Things. More Peace by Sarah Mae. The less we have, the less overwhelmed we feel. And the less overwhelmed we feel, the happier we are.
6 Lies that Keep Our Homes and Lives Cluttered by Rachel Jones. If you need to buy more stuff to organize all your stuff, maybe you own too much stuff.
Most Popular Outgoing Links from the past year:
Why I Got Rid of My Wardrobe | Dallas Moms Blog by Denaye Barahona. What did I have to lose?
The Real Cost of Your Shopping Habits | Forbes by Emma Johnson. The road to bankruptcy is paved with good deals.
The Purpose of Living Simple | No Sidebar by Melissa Camara Wilkins. Making a difference in your life and your world sometimes means that you have to make a different choice than the people around you. But making your own best choices now means you benefit in the days to come.
8 Things That Make You Happier: Backed by Research | TIME by Erik Barker. Wouldn’t you love a real list of things that make you happier? Here’s what scientific research says will work.
Whether you have been reading Becoming Minimalist for one week, one month, one year or longer, thank you so much. This blog owes its success to the support of its readers. Thank you for reading. And thank you for sharing these posts with others.
We look forward to an exciting 2016. Last year represented one of my most ambitious year ever—and now, I look forward to seeing each of those dreams become reality.
Uncluttered will be launched January 1 and The More of Less will be released in May. Both, I believe, hold significant opportunity to help you (and others) own less stuff and live more life.
No doubt, in the coming year, Becoming Minimalist will continue to evolve and be redefined. But it will always stay true to its core message that there is more joy to be found in owning less than can be found in pursuing more.
We will continue to invite as many as possible to discover this truth in their lives. And I hope you will join us.
The hope effect is indeed a noble project. Would be glad if you could post some updates on the project current standings.
The best place to find updates is on The Hope Effect webpage/blog —> http://hopeeffect.com/blog/
I have read all of these posts, some more than once. The beauty of your words are that the inspiration stays in your mind long, long after reading them. Thank you for taking us on your journey and continuing to share such great stories.
Fran.
This is an amazing site. I’m still in the crawling stage. I would love to take the on line course, but perhaps you will teach it again? Happy, peace-filled 2016
Thanks for putting all this together, Joshua! And how wonderful to see how well Hope Effect is doing! Keep up the good work, and may 2016 bring even more of the best things!
Joshua, congrats on an incredible year! Minimalism not only enhances quality of life, it is also one of the best things that could happen to help the state of the environment. So glad it’s catching on.
Happy New Year to you Joshua. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your site and the message behind it. Ignore the trolls that have come out of the woodwork. The community of readers here at Becoming Minimalist appreciates what you do. Best.
P.S. I just finished Simplify and have handed it off (digitally) to my wife. It’s actually a really good companion to Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which I received as a present for Christmas from my wife — who has heard me talk about this “minimalism” thing ad nauseam for the past year.
I especially like that you speak of rational minimalism because like you, I, too, live in the suburbs and have a wife, two kids, and a mortgage (and a dog) :)
Take care.
I found this site a few years ago and loved the concept and tried very hard to incorporate it into my life. I started strong, Gave away over $5,000 worth of clothes to a local charity and felt FANTASTIC about it. I continued to empty my house, room by room and made great progress.
I then ran into strong headwinds, my family. I have two teenage girls and a wife who considers shopping as one of life’s great pleasures. They wanted no part of my lifestyle change, but my wife did enjoy me cleaning the house room by room…
She didn’t fight me on it, but wasn’t going to participate either. My enthusiasm began to wane and before long things began to return to the unsatisfying attempt to buy happiness one amazon package at a time.
With the new year right around the corner, I am again going to jump back into the fray and try again to free myself from the materialistic world I am drowning in.
This website, Joshua’s books and the many other resources available will hopefully let me succeed this time.
So let it begin again tomorrow, and I will start again with my closet and work my way through the house and office..
Wish me luck!!!
The absolute best of luck and strength to you! Happy 2016
I see that there is a lot of catching up ahead of me.
Glad to have found your blog.
Happy 2016!
Agnes
findinglifebalancewithagnes.blogspot.com
Way to go!
I discovered this website months ago and still enjoying it! There is some solid advises to start with. I’m in minimalism for 2 years now and haven’t achived what I was looking for. I downsized the house by moving closer to work, sell a car, sell a motorcycle and let go a lot of useless stuff. My vision is pretty clear, trying to pursue my goal of pure simplicity.
Congrats on your success Joshua, you have a great blog. Whenever I think about a minimalist your blog always comes to mind.
I wish you much success and a great year.
I really enjoyed discovering and reading your site this past year. I especially like your focus on faith, generosity, and relationships. And your gracious but bold writing style.
Joshua, your house is beautiful :)
Love seeing the new or even old posts as I just joined within a year. It keeps my motivation up.
I am also on another site that deals with actually moving out the clutter.
It is the double whammy I need.
Interesting that the biggest clutter problem in my inbox is from Becoming Minimalist. Way too many posts and emails to absorb.
Thanks for the feedback Gary. I send out 1-2 emails per week (whenever new articles are posted). If that’s too many for you, there is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email.
Sorry, should have only said “minimalist”
I always look forward to your posts. Not fussed on having loads of stuff, but there are drawers to sort.
Although more of a tea drinker. The coffee seems to me to represent someone who is going to sit for a while & write posts like yours. Please keep up the good work. It’s wonderful to learn you have so many readers. I used to think I was odd not liking shopping etc!
All the very best in the coming year.
Angela UK
Joshua. A real minimalist would not have a latte to start his/her site, blog whatever. Even if it was not made at Starbucks, it is a status symbol vs a just good cup of joe.
Thanks for the comment, but I disagree with your sentiment. Actually, I tend to disagree with most statements that begin with the phrase “a real minimalist…”
My minimalism may be considered someone else’s hoarding. Minimalism is not depriving yourself, its enjoying what you love and letting go of the rest.
The latte mix we bought at the local kwik trip gas station is hardly a status symbol. To me, the latte represents having the time to make a good coffee treat and relax by reading a piece of inspiration on weekend. During week, it is me running out door with my thermos of plain coffee.
Josh keep up good work…
I love the quote “Minimalism is not depriving yourself, its enjoying what you love and letting go of the rest.” Beautifully, said and how true.
Thanks, I use that like a mantra while sitting thru my clutter.
Sorting thru, not sitting.
That is a great way to put it!!
May we see pictures of your home?
I am curious…
What a great idea. I second that request. :-)
There are some photos from my house posted on this site. And we included a walk-through of my entire home in the upcoming Uncluttered course.
Wow! Great year Joshua. 60,000 email subscribers sounds intimidating to me. LOL. Thanks for your inspiration in 2015 and looking forward to more and better in 2016.
I read all articles or texts again and they are very useful.
Thanks :)
The post about wearing the same thing every day made me want to do the same thing – my only problem is actually finding an outfit I’d be okay with wearing every day. Seems like it needs to be extra special in some way if I wanna do that. Like a trademark look or something.
I guess it doesn’t matter that much though.
Alice Gregory calls it a “uniform.” Maybe you will find this article to be helpful.
In 4-H we learned about the complete costume. If you have a basic skirt, slacks, jacket, then you can get two or three blouses/sweater/vest that will work with them in different combinations. A scarf and jewelry can change the look too, and also the shoes/boots you use. Dress it up or down. It is interesting that we don’t think much about seeing jeans everyday, but tops yes. I would wonder if they are being laundered very often. Kind of depends on your job too.
I just went black, gray and white. Think about adding scarves as accessories. That’s a friend’s suggestion. I’m not a scarf person, but it might work for you. ??
I am new to this site this year and am very grateful for finding it. Thank you for so much inspiration!
My personal favourite is the post about wealth – the wealth that we all have and can tap into when we look for happiness in the right places.
Thank you for a great year of posts! Here’s to a wonderful, full 2016!
What a great year! Wonderful to see more and more people embracing purposeful living.
Great roundup for everyone jumping into minimalism (or renewing their commitment) for the new year! Shared to my twitter followers.
Amie (www.momalist.com)