On today’s episode of the podcast, Kathi is joined again by Joshua Becker, author of The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. Kathi and Joshua continue their conversation about his new book The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life.
On today’s show you’ll learn:
• Whether it is possible to be a minimalist when you have small children
• How minimalism helps spur on the values we want for our children
• Why there is an abundance of life in owning few possessions
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Enter to win a copy of The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life.
In the comments below share “what room would you start in?”
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Meet Our Guest
Joshua Becker
Joshua Becker is the founder and editor of Becoming Minimalist, a website dedicated to inspiring others to find more life by owning less. The website welcomes over one million readers each month and has inspired millions around the world to consider the practical benefits of owning fewer possessions and given them the practical help to get started. He is the bestselling author of THE MORE OF LESS: FINDING THE LIFE YOU WANT UNDER EVERYTHING YOU OWN. His latest bestseller is THE MINIMALIST HOME: A ROOM-BY-ROOM GUIDE TO A DECLUTTERED, REFOCUSED LIFE. Joshua is also the Founder of two family-focused magazines: Simplify Magazine and Simple Money Magazine and the nonprofit organization The Hope Effect, which is changing how the world cares for orphans by focusing on family-based solutions.
Joshua is a contributing writer for FORBES and has made appearances in the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post Live, and CBS Evening News. Joshua and his family live in Peoria, AZ. Learn more.
I would start in my craft room which holds at this time other items as well. I need to go through those extraneous items first. Those items are in the closets and underneath my craft spaces. It is difficult to start because I have no idea of what those items are.
My dinning room. It is a dumping ground because it is not really used. I clear it and it seems to just gather more
Basement laundry/storage room
I would definitely start in my bedroom!
I would like to start in my kitchen. It is open to the living room and visible when you first enter the house. The counter is a catch all and a constant source of anxiety for me.
I would start with our living room. It’s the first room you see when you walk in and we spend all our time there!
Definitely my LIVING ROOM! It is the first room that guests see and it is where I do my quiet time. When it is a mess, I avoid going in it (and put off my quiet time). Getting that room in order helps me get myself spiritually in order and more willing to open the door to the neighbors. A win win!!
I have started in my living room because it’s the first room that everyone sees and we spend a lot of time there. I have already given away a bookcase and a large picture that was on the wall.
I want to start in my living room. It’s where we spend most of our awake hours at home and is also the place our guests spend the most time. I don’t feel that it reflects us — our style, our priorities, our space — it has become a collecting ground for the day’s mail and extra shoes and papers for days! I would love some tips on how to minimalize each room!!!
I would start in my bedroom because that is the room I spend more time in
Having been at the Clutter Free journey for a year, I am on Round 2 (definitely a tougher round as the decisions are harder). Kitchen is usually my starting point – first room you see, room we spend the most time in, room that needs to be the most efficient for cooking, homework, family time. I LOVE when the island and breakfast table are clear!!!
really need start with the living room, were we eat,work; dining table paper build up,clutter.
Thank you for all you do. God bless you.
I started in my kitchen; it is the gathering heart for our home. We spend the most time here.
I’m a homeschooling mama, and so the place where I’d start would be in my school room–I have so many sweet memories and attachments to the books and *things* that I’ve used with my kiddos during these sweet homeschooling years, but as they get older, I know I need to start decluttering and getting rid of them so that they can be a blessing to other families. But maybe I really just need to start in the kid closet where I house the games, puzzles, and crafts–that might feel like a bigger and quicker win!
Oh dear! I had just submitted a comment, but I didn’t think it went through. It did! Please delete this one 🙂 . Thanks!!!
I’m a homeschooling mama…..and I *love* the memories attached to the books and *things* that I’ve accumulated over the years…..especially those resources that I’ve used to help grow my kiddos’ faith. And so THAT is the room that I know I need to tackle….but maybe before I do that, it needs to be the kid closet with games, puzzles, craft supplies, etc. The struggle is real! But I so appreciate your podcast and the encouragement I received today by listening to it!
I would start in my living room/entry since it’s where you enter our house.
I would start in the master bedroom. Make it more ideal to sleep in. I definitely need to get rid of the stuff under the bed.
I need to start in my daughter’s room now that she has moved out. Get rid of those things left behind and create my “always wanted” office space. I’m doing it!! This was sooooo motivational! I love it!!
I’d love to tackle the garage, but if I had to start smaller I’d do all of the bookcases.
Starting in our toy room which is also the first room people walk into-for now because we don’t have a front walkway or steps right now so our entry is through the garage. It would keep me up at night and created a lot of unrecognized stress. We are starting to Homeschool and I wanted a different space than our dining room table to do school so i knew the toy room needed to be addressed. I just couldn’t do it alone and my husband travels for work. So with the help of my dad and his wife we were able to tackle the toy room! It’s not perfect but it’s much more functional! It was then that I realized how much stress and anxiety it was causing and the freedom I felt was amazing! It gave me the energy and the focus to move on to the next smaller project that would also provide me with that “atta girl!” feeling and continued from there. Still plenty to do lol but I am much more encouraged and focused now! My bedroom is the next big project that will produce more freedom!
I would start in the dining room. Lots of papers gather there.
Ugh. My basement needs it the most…but…I think I will start in the office/homeschool room, one drawer at a time. Such a good podcast. Thank you!
The garage, for sure!
We moved last year into a larger home. We didn’t have massive amounts of stuff, but we didn’t sort through the things we owned before moving. Boxes of books, memorabilia, clutter, unnecessary items, school supplies, papers, etc. were transported (and sometimes tossed together into boxes) to our new home. That was over a year ago.
There isn’t one particular room that needs to be started on. If you walk into most of them, they look “fine,” but it’s what’s hiding below the surface, behind closed cupboard drawers, inside the drawers. It’s lurking in the basement and the garage and waiting to pounce on me whenever I open the closet upstairs. There is so much unorganized clutter in these places and it’s mentally exhausting.
my office!! So many vendor catalogs and paperwork! If I could tackle this area, I’d be so motivated . . .
Definitely the four kids and all that comes with them! We have two bedrooms for them that need serious attention all the time. I would really like to not have to tackle these two rooms (and the kids about their possessions) multiple times a week!
from the time our boys (a year apart) were toddlers, as part of their bedtime routine they would pickup all their toys and put them away. As teens, their friends were amazed at their rooms. “Dude, why is your room so clean?” Most times their room was the only tidy room. It’s not too late to start your new routines!
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I would start in my kitchen. It’s the worst room for clutter in my home.