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.
Mary says
Hi,
I’ve been thinking about this idea for a long time and trying this year to alter my outlook on possessions. Thank you for this site it has been really helpful to me, and inspiring.
Pete Simpson says
I’m finding this blog quite inspiring. For a long time now, I’ve realised that life is less stressful if there is less clutter in it, and home chores are easier if the house is not filled with useless objects. It’s good to read some new related ideas and see which ones will work for me. Keep it up.
RL says
I have come to realize that the concept of minimalism (and the accompanying neatness and organization) has appealed to me since I was a child. I remember trying to make the most out of the few toys available to a child in a family of 6 in the 1960s. I remember trying to make my bedroom and play area neat and organized and peaceful, and I was OK with that. I didn’t start questioning and resenting it until I got older and experienced peer pressure and self-consciousness about my appearance and image in my early teens. I started wasting my money on the things I thought I was missing out on almost as soon as I started earning it and those bad habits continued for most of my adult life. I have found a lot of genuine peace in letting go of some of the unused, unworn things in my home. But I have also realized that some of this activity has been a poor substitute for dealing with bad life choices that can’t be thrown out or donated to Goodwill. Now that the visible is in fairly good order, the emotional issues that couldn’t be tossed out have nothing to hide behind any more. Working on it.
leslie says
The idea of minimalism really appeals to me. I agree that people should streamline their lives and possessions, but I’m kinda conflicted. In the post above, you stated that many of the things people hold on to don’t add meaning to their lives. I enjoy fashion, and wonder what your thoughts would be on me living a minimal life, but with clothing as a form of self expression. Similarly, I’ve always wanted to decorate my future apartment to make it inviting and happy. Do you believe that these things could be justified as meaningful? (or am i just trying to make excuses to avoid any real sacrifice?)
Additionally, I’ve been feeling a lot of guilt over the way i spend money. I think to myself, “What I just spent on ___ could have fed someone.” Everything from gum to fancy soap makes me feel like I’m being selfish. I honestly have been considering a vow of poverty, but I am very conflicted, because it would (obviously) have a huge impact on my daily life and my idea of the future. Am I completely overreacting to this? I just can’t help but feel like a bad person when I put my own trivial desires over others basic needs.
Jenifer Martins says
Joshua, I read your blog for the first time exactly 1 month ago (May 27th) just because a dear friend of mine sent me the link, but I have to admit I wasn’t that interested. I had been making some changes in my life since January, but I didn’t believe a blog could make any difference in my life. But I have to tell you…from the first text I read, my mind changed completely. This blog is one of the most inspiring influences I’ve ever had. After reading your posts for 2 days, I decided to start taking action on May 29th and my life has improved greatly ever since. I’m a 26 year-old Brazilian woman having to live with a bunch of excess around me, because Brazil has gone through a huge economical growth for the past 10 years or so. Over half of our population has gone from poverty to middle class living, which, don’t get me wrong, I think is great, but the problem is that these people now want to own as many things as they can as a form of compensation for all the years they lived in poverty. So what we see in Brazil nowadays is a lot of excess…of everything: cars, TVs, gadgets in general, food, clothing, alcohol, parties, drugs, sex, crappy TV shows, crappy celebrities. It’s just wrong. People barely talk to each other nowadays. I’m an English teacher and it just hurts me so bad when we go for our 15-minute break and nobody interacts. They just sit next to each other and start playing on their cell phones or checking Facebook. And I’m talking about people in their 20s and 30s here, not teenagers! People here only care about themselves. They want everything right now and for the lowest prices they can get. I had been trying to fit into this lifestyle for a long time, but I’m done with it now, and your blog was the boost I needed to “come out” and admit I’m different (a weirdo in the Brazilian scenario). No, I don’t like to have a house full of stuff, I don’t like to spend hours inside a shopping mal, I don’t like to eatch reality shows and soap operas, and really…I’m done with having to stay inside a classroom every day doing my best to teach people who think they’re gonna learn English in 2 years (even though it took ME over 6 years). I’ve been getting rid of the stuff that are not important to me (which I’ve found is A LOT) and cleaning up the apartment I share with my mother. Surprisingly, I actually had to face criticism because of this decision to change and I didn’t get it until the same wise friend who sent me this link told me “Truth is, Jenifer…people don’t want you to change, because it means something inside them is gonna change as well, because your lives are connected, and if you change, their attitude towards you is gonna have to change as well…and people don’t like changing”. That’s really sad, but I guess it’s true, so I’m just gonna suck it up and they’re gonna have to deal with it. I’m gonna work as a teacher until the end of this year to save money to put myself through Physical Education or Physicaltherapy school next year. In May, I came to the end of the month with a R$ 760 debt with my mom. After reading your blog, I’m coming to the end of June with a R$ 300 debt, and if everything works out, next month I won’t owe her a cent. And if everything works out even better, I’m gonna get my own apartment, because my mom is one of those people who try to fill in huge emotional holes with stuff and more stuff and I can’t stand this apartment crowded with negativity and crap she doesn’t even remember buying anymore.
Wow, this reply turned out way longer than I expected, but there you are! What I’ve been meaning to say with all these words is: thank you, Joshua! Your blog really does have the power to change people (if they’re willing to change, of course). Keep up the good work! =D
Anne says
Thank you Joshua for all your inspiring reads. I have been reading your blog since January and we are having “The Garage Sale” this weekend. It has been a cleansing process to move all the unused possessions to the garage and a struggle to let go of the sentimental items. I know it is the right thing to do and I can see the light getting brighter to freedom from our stuff. Thank you for being a daily inspiration to me.
Karen says
I’m finding that choosing to live with fewer things is an ongoing process. My husband and I have taken a step by step approach over the last 5 years, beginning with going down to one car and taking up bike commuting to get around. Part of our motivation was the economy and the realization that we too were living with more than what we needed and drowning as a result. Three years ago , we bit the bullet and did a short sale of our overly large house and downsized to a smaller, less expensive rental. Realizing last year that we were still paying too much for more than what we needed, we decided to move at the end of our lease and next week will move into an smaller space that will put us in greater proximity to things we like to do.
We are both working on reducing are wardrobes to just those quality pieces that we really love to wear and wear often. I don’t know that I’ll get down to 10 or even Project 33 level but I can now fit all my clothes in one closet.
Betty Blackwell says
Please add my name to your emails
Christina says
I am new to your website, having just read your article on how to have less toys which a friend sent to me. Exploring your website a little bit has been an “aha” moment for me! I’m realizing that this minimalist title unifies so many principles I’ve started to live my life by. These principles came from observations/experiences like how many people in my field of work make a decent income yet feel that they have no money, how many people are sucked into consumerism and the latest fad, how much waste there is when everyone wants to have brand new things, my trip to a third world country where people literally live with nothing, reading “Wealthy Barber” and wanting to live within my means, my husband’s love for travel and how he keeps harping on experiences over material things for our kids, and coming from an extremely cluttered home that is in such a state I hate to visit there.
Thank you for validating these ideas and giving me so many ideas for the future. How inspiring!
Kristina says
Just wondering about minimalist renters….how do you get around maximum occupancy limits?