Hello Everybody,
Let’s try something different today and have a little bit of fun.
This past weekend, Becoming Minimalist reached a significant milestone I wanted to share with you.
We officially surpassed 100,000 email subscribers!
That’s a pretty impressive accomplishment worthy of celebration. It means more and more people are being introduced to the life-giving benefits of owning less. And it means our community and our movement continue to grow in significant ways.
Asking people to subscribe via email to receive updates from Becoming Minimalist has never been a huge priority for me. But recently, I’ve begun to change my thinking about that. For starters, there are many readers who appreciate the convenience of receiving an email whenever we publish new posts. I want to make sure readers know that is an option if that’s what they prefer.
Additionally, and equally important, I have just created a 10-day “getting started with minimalism” email sequence to people who subscribe. The sequence includes a PDF copy of my best-selling book, Simplify, as well as first steps people can take on their minimalism journey. It serves as a helpful touchpoint for people who discover the blog, find themselves interested in minimalism, and are ready to start owning less and living more.
If you would like to join the ever-growing email list to receive the free book and email sequence, click here.
For those who have already joined, all 100,000 of you, thank you for being a part of this encouraging community and providing opportunity for this celebratory post.
I’d like to offer a special thank you to everyone who reads Becoming Minimalist. Every month, we welcome over one million unique readers and our Facebook community has now grown to 800,000. These numbers are a credit to each of you who have so generously shared this blog and its articles with friends and family.
Thank you, thank you for supporting Becoming Minimalist and helping to share the inspiration!
To celebrate, I’m giving away 7 book bundles specifically to this community.
**UPDATE: This contest has concluded and winners have been notified. You can find a list of winners at the bottom of this post.
Each prize bundle contains:
- An autographed, hardcover edition of The More of Less.
- An autographed, paperback edition of Clutterfree with Kids.
- One free registration to our upcoming Uncluttered Course ($89 value) beginning on September 5th.
The prize is open to all readers from around the world—we’ll ship the books anywhere for free.
To register for the drawing, leave a comment below.
In the comment, tell us where you are from and which Becoming Minimalist post you remember reading first (or how you were first introduced to this site).
*I know some of you have been reading for many years and do not recall your first introduction, that’s okay, just do your best.
On Friday morning, we will use an online Random Number Generator to select the winners and begin contacting them via email. I will also announce the winners on this post.
Thanks again for being part of the Becoming Minimalist community and making my work so enjoyable. I am more grateful than you realize and I look forward to the comments below and subsequent interaction.
Here are the seven winners of the prize bundle: Jason R. (Houston, TX); Jen F. (California); Alex (Buffalo, NY); Tara P. (Sunshine Coast, Australia); Dana B. (Unknown); Selina C. (United Kingdom); Christie C. (Black Hills, SD). Each of the winners have been contacted via email to redeem their prize.
On a personal note, I am blown away by the stories that have been left in these comments. I have read as many as possible.
There are stories from readers who have been following this blog from the very beginning and stories of people who just found it last week. There are stories of people finding us through Facebook, through guest posts, through mentions in the media, through conversations with friends, through Netflix, through Google, and countless people who couldn’t remember exactly how they found it. It has been incredibly encouraging to me to read these stories from all over the world.
Thanks for being part of the conversation.
Sarah Bradham says
This had been our year for learning about this phenomenal ministry. It has come in kairos: the fullness of God’s appointed time! I know that our lives are about to be radically changed; for this we thank you with all of our hearts!!!
Cynthia says
It’s been years and can’t remember when. But I just remember looking for an article about minimalism or simplicity as I get ready to give a talk at our church and I stumbled on your FB page. From then on, I instantly became a huge fan and been reading your articles ever since. Thank you.
Tara Cree says
Tara from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. My husband and I have just started exploring this way of life. A friend shared an article you wrote on Facebook that intrigued me and I signed up for your email after reading that. I have de cluttered the kitchen as a staring point and it felt great. 4 boxes of stuff to goodwill. Plan to continue the journey over the next few months. One room at a time. Thanks!
Sonia Irlanda-Lites says
I currently live in New Jersey, but I’m from New York. I stumbled upon you from someone on my Facebook feed last year. I even have my daughter reading your posts.
Mary says
I’m trying to teach this old dog new tricks!! Down sized from a big house to my absolutely perfect smaller home. Reading and learning from you every time I read a post. Thank you ?
Lauren Padilla says
Minmalism started for me after reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying up. I have OCD, so letting go of things for me is very hard. Before I donate, I go through the bag two-three more times before I drop it off. I’ve given away over 20 bags in the last year though! I searched decluttering after reading this book which brought me to trying to become a minimalist, which brought me to this site. I can’t recall which post from this site I first read, but I know it has helped me when I get stuck giving things away, and it helps me to prioritize what’s important. I had a very emotional pregnancy, which led to very severe postpartum anxiety. This is going to sound crazy, but getting rid of things has helped save me. We’re allowed a year of maternity leave (I’m a high school teacher) but I initially thought work and money were much more important, so I was only going to take two months off. After taking this journey, it hit me that the money and stress weren’t worth going back late in the year, so I took the school year off. I needed more time to heal emotionally and the thought of leaving my baby terrified me. My husband initially thought we couldn’t afford to be on one income while I’m on leave, but minimalism also helped guide us to get out of debt. We enrolled in financial peace university and have been able to survive on one income with an infant and a teenager. Basically minimalism has completely changed my life, so thanks to this site for always reminding me what’s important in life and that it’s ok to get rid of things. That is where I struggle the most!
Julie Dishman says
I’m from Hagerstown, Indiana and work at Earlham School of Religion, a Quaker Seminary in Richmond, Indiana. Quakers are really into simplicity! I don’t remember when exactly I saw your first post but I remember thinking you would be a great speaker at one of our spirituality or writing conferences. Then my daughter, who was in junior high at the time, told me about a great article she read about minimalism, and I told her I know of a good person to follow on social media, and we realized we were talking about the same person!
Heather says
I have lived in Upstate NY all my life. Saw a friend share one of your posts on FB and have been inspired ever since. Thank you for the reminders of what really matters in life.
Jenna says
I was introduced by a colleague last year after discussing how my
Kids had too many toys and they shared your Clutter Free with Kids book – such a great read!!! We spend lots of time indoors in the winter here in Winnipeg so less clutter is so important.
Mojmíra Némethová says
Hello, i´m from Slovakia from the middle of Europe. I really clear remember my first touch with the minimalism, that was with the documentary The Minimalist. :) And then I countinue: Project 333, fat fashion, My green closet, Dave Ramsey and much more. Whole new world. I´m so grateful…