This book will change your life! I've been wanting to declutter my home for a long time, but I never really knew where to begin. The popular phrase "Less is more" is something I kept thinking about when I read this book. Why do we have to have so much stuff? We really don't need it all. I think the key thing I took away from Becker's book is to remember to keep only what is of special value to you and get rid of the rest.

In The Minimalist Home you learn how to break down the declutter process room by room. You start with the easier rooms and then move on the harder ones. I like how he outlines this for you and really gives you a lot to think about as you reduce the amount of unnecessary bulk/stuff in your house. I'm still in this process and it's not something you need to get done in a week. Go as quickly or as slowly as you need to. I'm being more conscious of stuff and space in my home and it really has made a difference. I am now applying this to my office at work and it feels great! I definitely recommend this book to everyone!

I’ve followed Joshua Becker’s blog for a few years now. He was one of the first to introduce me to the concept of minimalism (not the aesthetic, but the lifestyle movement), and I loved his story. For those unfamiliar, his journey started on a Saturday morning many years ago when he was cleaning out his garage. His son wanted him to play, but he was too busy. His neighbor finally called him out on it, asking why he was spending all his time managing his possessions, when he could just have less stuff and therefore more time to enjoy his life. (I’m simplifying, but you get it.) This was his “a-ha moment,” and propelled him and his family on a journey to get rid of the excess stuff, downsize their house (and lifestyle), and completely change his view about what’s important in life. Pretty compelling, huh? Many more have written about their own journeys, but he’s one of the most popular.

Becker’s newest book THE MINIMALIST HOME (December 2018) is a how-to guide for those of us wishing to declutter our homes and lives. He does a good job of blending the theoretical (the WHY) and the practical (the HOW) of minimalism. He promotes rational, intentional consumerism, not deprivation. Am I going to do everything he suggests? No, nor do I agree with everything he wrote, but that’s not the point. I took away what *I* needed and can put into action things that can help me and my family. I think that’s the point and purpose of any good “self help” book. And for that matter, I did have several “a-ha moments” of my own!

Becker gives the reader a room-by-room guide on how and what to declutter. And that HOW and WHAT is important, but for me it’s the WHY that’s so interesting, and I don’t just mean “have less stuff so you can spend less time cleaning” (although that is certainly a compelling reason!), but “have less stuff so you can live a more meaningful life that aligns with your passions and values.” When we are satisfied with our possessions, instead of focusing on getting more and more stuff, we can turn outwards and start to GIVE more, PURSUE our passions, and GROW. Sounds really good. And really hard. But I'm game.

THE MINIMALIST HOME by Joshua Becker, considered one of the movement’s gurus, provides a simple room-by-room approach to clearing your home of excess clutter and living more happily with less. I was struck by his assertion — one I’ve found true in my own life — that by making literal space in your home, you make “space” in your life for untapped dreams to come forth. He describes the benefits that he derived in his own life ... less financial outlay when you own fewer things, more time for what matters, better example for his kids of being satisfied with less. All of that rang true, hence my 5-star review.

Thanks to WaterBrook & Multnomah and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#TheMinimalistHome #NetGalley

I’ve read all of Becker’s Books, which all have a focus on minimalism. Since he has such a focus on families with kids, I appreciate his perspective. Becker even has one book that entirely focuses on decluttering with kids.

So I knew that this book would be right on target with what I needed to hear/read and it was. Becker goes room by room, giving simple but practical advice on decluttering. Each chapter covers a different area of the house. He calls the kitchen the “heart of the home” and I particularly liked that chapter.

The end of the book spends a bit of time going into the practicalities of downsizing your home. I liked this section a lot as well.

I received an advance copy of this book from
Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is not a book for my classroom, because is not my topic, but I found it very useful. I'm in my way to try a life with less things. More sustainable for the planet and for my life, so this book it's perfect for this moment in my life. Has a lot of tips of how to start to clean your house of unnecessary things.
If you want find that your house has more spoons that your family members, even your visitors, this book is for you. It's not about an empty house, it's more like a house with the things you love and really use.

Thanks, NetGalley for offering this advance ebook to review.


I've read almost everything in the market on minimalism and follow many blogs including Joshua Beckers. I really liked this book. I thought he laid out a refreshing way to declutter and move towards minimalism.
He points out clearly that his minimalism will look different than yours and I liked that.
He gives some great ideas and even though I have decluttered and been a minimalist for almost 7 years, I still relooked at some things that I was holding on too.
He's passionate about getting the message across that we could all benefit from owning less stuff.

This is a great book for beginners and those who are already minimalists.

Great place to start if you are trying to learn more about what minimalism actually is and how it can help your everyday life. I love that more and more books on the topic are being published so they can inspire people to make positive changes in their lives.

I have previously followed Josh Becker on Facebook for his minimalist viewpoint. This book is simply that and more. He has expanded on the concept of living in a minimal manner, while tending to make anyone who has any possessions at all feel guilty. While I understand that some can subscribe to this style of living, I felt this book is contrived and aimed at those who have a lot, whether financially or otherwise. Some people with fewer things would relish the ability to just throw or donate items they no longer want. This appears to be an appeal to lessen our impact on the Earth,and leave behind our consumer based lifestyles; all very noble, but again, it seems written for those who have the luxury of having everything they need and more.

My thanks to #NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review. I have long pined for a minimalist home, but my hoarding tendencies, and my blended family often gets in the way. The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker provided just the motivation and support I needed to get started and make some real changes in our home. Becker walks the reader through from the very beginning mind-set changes to the step-by-step, room-by-room process of eliminating the excess material items that are weighing down our lives. Becker provides vignettes and personal stories of people who are working through their own minimalist journeys. This was an insightful, helpful book for the process of reclaiming time, money, and family life through minimalist living. “You don’t need more space. You need less stuff. #minimalisthome “

I enjoyed reading this book and learning about the minimalist approach to the home. I thought the room-by-room advice for minimizing possessions was helpful. In particular I found the section on downsizing the home and the many benefits that provides to be a fresh perspective I haven't read in other books about organization and minimalism. Overall, this book helped me take a good look at my lifestyle and evaluate ways to implement minimalism.

More a philosophical narrative for a way of life than a practical what-to-throw-away guide, this is interesting reading even if you aren't looking to change your lifestyle entirely.

It's been five years since I first encountered Joshua Becker and the concept of minimalism. It has been a slow process and a life changing experience for me. What I love about this book is that is answers so many of the questions I too have answered over the years in a methodical and practical way. The difficult thing to convey about minismalism is that it looks entirely different for each family and for each person in a family. But Joshua Becker does a great job explaining the philosophy without trying to dictate how specifically a person (or family) will determine what to keep and what to let go.
Room by room, the reader is asked leading questions about what they want for their lives and how the style of their home reflects their personal values. Minimalism is more a journey of knowing ourselves and expressing that knowledge than it is about whittling down to a certain number of possessions and Mr. Becker does a wonderful job capturing that vision in this book. It is definitely one I will recommend to people who are seeking a different way of living than the 'American Dream' the advertisers want us to accept.

One of today's most influential minimalist advocates takes us on a decluttering tour of our own houses and apartments, showing us how to decide what to get rid of and what to keep. He both offers practical guidelines for simplifying our lifestyle at home and addresses underlying issues that contribute to over-accumulation in the first place.

Becker is on the forefront of the minimalism movement. I've read his writing over the years, and been astonished by how easy and fulfilling the "less-is-more" ideas are. What is the emphasis of our life - to live, or to acquire things that make us seem like we are alive?

With this book, he charts a course for creating a fulfilling and pleasing home. I enjoyed the charts and research put into this book (for example, the needs of various ages of children). Also, I felt that the practical tips could be personalized for each reader.

I recommend this and will be putting some of his ideas into action in my own place. Thanks, Joshua.

Having read a few books on minimalism by this point, and having a favourite that I actually reread regularly for inspiration, a lot of this book felt a little re-hashed to me - stuff I've read before and know about fairly intimately.
However, it was clear how much research had gone into the writing of this book, and the testimonies sprinkled throughout, and at the very end of the book, were absolutely wonderful.

A definite winner for those new to minimalism who want a guide to clearing and decluttering the family home, room by room. The testimonies are great for those already familiar to minimalism.

This is a practical book with some good tips for creating a more minimalist home. I appreciate how the author was careful to draw a line between currently popular minimalist decorating/design styles and actual minimalist lifestyle/philosophy. Joshua Becker’s advice about involving the whole family and working room by room was helpful too. There are some aspects that reminded me of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up but overall this is a welcome entry to the minimalist homemaking cannon.

I want a minimalist home! I have de-cluttered time and again, only to find my home cluttered a year or two later! I haven't given up hope yet though. I liked this book, step by step, room by room instructions for reducing the clutter. I really need to do this as I am planning on retiring next year and want more space! Good book!

Thank you for granting me access to this book.

I have read many books on declutting and was pleasantly surprised to find this book offered new insights to both decluttering and the possible benefits of having a meaningful life.

I will leave 5 star review on Amazon under name Connie

I've been slowly trying to organize our home, and when I say slowly I mean sloooooooowly! We've lived in our current home for over three years and still had unopened boxes in basement storage from our move. I requested this book from NetGalley in the hopes that it would motivate me to finally do something about all this stuff. While some of the book and the minimalist movement is not for me (I need to live with more than two towels and one plate and fork per person), some of it was incredibly helpful and motivating. I asked my in-laws to watch my children for one day and was able to tackle that basement storage room and open every box and the majority of the contents immediately went into the garage sale pile. I've managed to make it through the children's toys and bedrooms and have removed so much stuff! I still need to tackle the kitchen, and master bedroom and closet this week but I know I will be as ruthless as I was with the rest of the house. I'm planning an epic garage sale for this summer!

"A home that is filled with only the things you use and love will be a home that you love to use"

(Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.)

I am a fan of Joshua Becker. One of my favorite books of his, that I re-read often, is Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life. I've also read The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own & Inside-Out Simplicity- both great books.
This book focused specifically on decluttering and minimizing in each individual room of one's home. I can see how this could be a fabulous reference guide for someone new to the minimalist lifestyle or someone who is overwhelmed and doesn't know where to start. I appreciated how he went from room to room with step-by-step instructions/suggestions on where to start in each room. At the end of each room chapter he gave a "Minimizing Checklist"- much like a summary checklist of what he had gone through in the chapter. I thought that was helpful.
Overall the book was exactly what the title says - A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life. Having read several of his other books, this book seemed to repeat a lot of what I've already read and have put into play in my own life, but that is understandable when it comes to teaching about minimalism. He had a lot of quotes that I highlighted because they spoke to me. If you are thinking of minimizing or need help decluttering your home, this book can help. He has it set up in a easy method to follow and he doesn't force anything. A person can minimize as much or as little as they feel comfortable with during that specific season in their life.
A few quotes I liked:

"Ask yourself what is really important and then have the courage to build your home and life around that answer."

"Just because you have the space doesn't mean you have to fill it with stuff."

"Never organize what you can discard."

"A home that is filled with only the things you use and love will be a home that you love to use."

Source: Netgalley