Welcome to Becoming Minimalist. If you are new, welcome! With over 1M readers every month, we’re honored to have new readers every day. If that’s you, welcome. I’d love to make your experience as comfortable as possible.
Most importantly, Becoming Minimalist is designed to inspire people to pursue their greatest passions by owning fewer possessions.
To find out more about my new book, Things That Matter, click here.
About Joshua Becker
My story begins in suburban Vermont while I was cleaning the garage, my wife was cleaning the bathrooms and my 5-year old son was playing alone in the backyard. I struck up a regular conversation with my neighbor who commented, “Maybe you don’t need to own all this stuff.”
The juxtaposition was striking. My possessions piled up in the driveway… my son in the backyard… my day slipping away… I immediately recognized something needed to change. My belongings were not adding value to my life. Instead, they were subtracting from it.
My family and I began donating, recycling, and removing our unnecessary personal possessions. We embarked on an intentional journey to own less stuff.
As a result, we discovered more money, more time, more energy, more freedom, less stress, and more opportunity to pursue our greatest passions: faith, family, friends. And we decided to write about it.
Becoming Minimalist quickly became a place to encourage others to embrace minimalism. It does not boldly require anyone to become minimalist overnight—nor does it specifically define the word for you. Instead, it encourages each reader to discover their own journey and the far-reaching benefits that come from owning less.
We are dedicated to rational minimalism and discovering what that uniquely means for us. And the more who are introduced to this life-changing message, the better! Because we’re all just trying to make the most of this journey called life.
Over the course of the last eight years, I’ve become a best-selling author and have written four books:
- Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life*
- Clutterfree with Kids: Change your thinking. Discover new habits. Free your home.*
- The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own.*
- The Minimalist Home.*
- Things That Matter*
Past media coverage includes:
CBS Evening News, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio (NPR,) The Guardian, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Forbes, TIME, Fox News, The Huffington Post, Minimalism Documentary (Netflix), Reader’s Digest, LA Times, Sirius XM, CNBC, TODAY Show, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Good Housekeeping, and countless others you can find all over the Internet.
Our Articles
Get introduced to our simple message by reading some of our most popular posts:
- How to Declutter Your Home: 10 Creative Decluttering Tips
- What Is Minimalism? The 8 Essential Aspects of Minimalism
- The 10 Most Important Things to Simplify in Your Life
- 10 Reasons to Escape Excessive Consumerism
- 15 Clutter Busting Routines For Any Family
Or, to discover the importance of owning less, try one of these posts:
- Don’t Just Declutter. De-own.
- Minimalism Benefits: 21 Benefits of Owning Less
- Living With Less: 7 Ways to Sample Minimalist Living
We learned quickly that our journey to live with less on the outside would force our attention inward:
- How to Be Happy: 8 Ways to Be Happier Today
- How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
- 20 New Ways to Measure Success
- Learning to Consider Gratitude a Discipline
And would be entirely unique because of our life’s values:
If you really can’t get enough, browse our most popular articles. But be warned, there’s a bunch of information there.
Our Community
If you would like to receive new posts via e-mail, sign up here. We are also connected to our community through social media. Find us here:
- Facebook: Inspirational quotes and links.
- Twitter: Quotes, thoughts, links.
- YouTube: Promoting simplicity in home and life.
For interviews, media requests, or general questions, contact us at becomingminimalist@gmail.com
For more information on Joshua, visit his Wikipedia entry here.
Karen Asmus-Alsnauer says
Can no longer get signed on to my account and would like to register for the class as an alumni.
Thank you for your help!
Lori Almendinger says
I need to cancel the $99.00 course.
Please advise.
joshua becker says
I’m happy to help. Reach out via email so we can communicate: https://my.becomingminimalist.com/customer-support/
Joyce Simpson says
Hi Josh, I previously bought your course. Can you direct me to where I sign in?
Thank you,
Joyce Simpson
joshua becker says
Of course: https://my.becomingminimalist.com/login
JOHN E LUTZEL says
The clock of life is wound but once
And no one has the power
To know just when the hands will stop
On what day – or what hour
Now is the only time you have
So live it with a will
Don’t wait until tomorrow
The hands may then be still
Thomas Bryan says
Mr. Becker. In a recent column you opened a paragraph with, “Every time I open social media….” My question is why are you even on social media? My wife and I have never succumbed, and I have no smart phone.
Are you practicing what you preach?
joshua becker says
Thanks for the comment. I am on social media each day to reach people with the message of owning less and network with colleague, family, and friend. I think that’s great that you’ve chosen to not be on social media. You certainly don’t need to be on social media to make a difference in the world. Pertaining to your last question, you won’t find a mention of me telling people to never use social media, but you will find lots of occurrences of me advising people to use it wisely – something I hope I do.
Kyotaro says
Nice to meet you, Joshua.
I watched “Minimalism” on Netflix.
Your sensibilities are similar to the story in the Japanese “Hojoki.”
In Japan, the first part is learned in the compulsory education curriculum.
Buddhism also believes that if you let go of your attachments, you will be happy.
I hope this will give you some ideas!
James says
I watch your videos on YouTube, and have been listening to your book “Things that matter” on Audible. I’m both inspired and encouraged.
Thank you
Beth DeLashmutt says
Joshua – I am on your mailing list, although I have not read most of the posts. I want to cull through the posts I have in my In-Box (472 to date, to be exact) but I’m also on an in-box clearing mission. QUESTION: Are the emails based on the content I can find on your website? I’d like to set a regular reminder to check your website for new material, instead of gathering a bunch of emails that never get read. Thanks in advance for your response! Wishing you well!
joshua becker says
Yup. The same posts that get published here get emailed out the day they are published for free to anyone who prefers to read them that way.
Beth DeLashmutt says
Thanks so much for your response, Joshua!