As with many, I've got to know The Minimalists through Netflix, and was instantly hooked. Not in a radical way, but it definitely made me question a lot about the stuff I own.
So I soon looked for a book to go deeper and from them, this one seemed to me to be the most practical, fact, suggestion oriented. I wanted to get tips on how to reduce my stuff, clutter, to put into practice and things like that.
This is a book of essays they published on their blogs... many will provide great practical suggestions (the one where Josh put a bar to do pullups at the bottom of the stairs so he has to exercuse every time he goes down is amazing), many will be cool stories about their lives, others will be more philosophical but still make you question a lot. And a few were less appealing as they entered some generic self help platitudes.
The other great aspect of this book is you can read chapter by chapter easily, jump among them and then come back to the ones you feel can add practical changes to your life.
And the authors are not patronizers, know-it-all types... they actually write it clearly that there is not one single path to Minimalist perfection and that even their journey may not be right. What is important to them may not be important to you, and they are not radicals in the sense that you must get rid of all your stuff or things like that.
The point is to question what really adds value to your life, and most of what you have in fact does not. I've bought an eletric pressure cooker thinking I'd eat better with it... used it a couple of times. I've a Nespresso coffee maker that I use 4-5 times a day. The former does not add value to me, the latter is my greatest purchase of the last 2 years. And if you put everything you have under this prism, it becomes clear that for everything that you actually need, you have 3-5 other things you really don't.
One of my favorite suggestions from the book is the 20-20 rule... that pretty much anything they did not take with them to a trip would take 20 minutes and cost less than USD 20 to get if they actually needed it. It's an amazing way to put that we carry (and own) so much unnecessary stuff just in case we need it, usually forgetting that if they are really necessary (99% of times they are not), we can get them quickly, easily and cheaply.
Some people may be too literal or become radicals after reading their books (or watching their documentary). But that's not their message... they are not asking people to not buy stuff, to quit high paying jobs, to leave their houses or to put everything into the trash.
They are just proposing that we critically question ourselves into the real need we have for the stuff we buy and that we avoid creating reasons to transform nice to haves into must haves. The answer is not the same for everyone, each one can find their own threshold (Joshua believes owning just one pair of jeans is enough, I believe I need 2 pairs). Find what is really makes your life better, get rid of the things that do not and spend less money while living a better life.
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I value this book so immensely.
I can’t remember the last time I wrote an Amazon review if I ever have. But I’m rereading this book for the 3rd or 4th time and I just felt an overwhelming desire to express my support for The Minimalists and what they have created. I’m 28 and have been suffering from pretty difficult mental disorders for the past few years (I’m talking dissociative and personality disorders that have altered my everyday life). Finding minimalism 1 1/2 years ago was so liberating. It felt like a couple aspects of my life became more manageable which was tear evoking when everything was crumbling and my daily functioning suffered greatly. Anyway, the reason I wanted to give some back story is because this book is such a great collection of not only their essays (which I personally don’t really read so all this was new content to me despite it having similarities to other books on minimalism which is bound to happen) but also just an awesome collection of inspiration and food for thought when you need it. I’ve read all three of their books and each one is amazing in its own way. I feel like they convey their message with such passion but also such simplicity, fitting for a book on minimalism. I saw some people complain about the repetitiveness. I have to say that I didn’t find it overly repetitive and the messages that were repeated were done so for emphasis. Some books I read over and over because I enjoy and want to soak in the message. I feel like this book does well to do this in an appropriate manner that doesn’t feel redundant. I would recommend this book to anyone considering reading it. To me, it’s such a comfy feel good book that still challenges me. What I mean is that it’s a book that I pick up when I’m having a rough week and need a really good book to grab my attention in a healthy way. Although I’m rereading it all the way through for the 3rd time it’s a book I often pick up and just read some sections of at my convenience and due to its format it’s extremely easily to pick it up on any page from time to time. I can’t wait for their new book Love People Use Things coming out next year!!
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2021
- Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2020
I can’t remember the last time I wrote an Amazon review if I ever have. But I’m rereading this book for the 3rd or 4th time and I just felt an overwhelming desire to express my support for The Minimalists and what they have created. I’m 28 and have been suffering from pretty difficult mental disorders for the past few years (I’m talking dissociative and personality disorders that have altered my everyday life). Finding minimalism 1 1/2 years ago was so liberating. It felt like a couple aspects of my life became more manageable which was tear evoking when everything was crumbling and my daily functioning suffered greatly.
Anyway, the reason I wanted to give some back story is because this book is such a great collection of not only their essays (which I personally don’t really read so all this was new content to me despite it having similarities to other books on minimalism which is bound to happen) but also just an awesome collection of inspiration and food for thought when you need it. I’ve read all three of their books and each one is amazing in its own way. I feel like they convey their message with such passion but also such simplicity, fitting for a book on minimalism. I saw some people complain about the repetitiveness. I have to say that I didn’t find it overly repetitive and the messages that were repeated were done so for emphasis. Some books I read over and over because I enjoy and want to soak in the message. I feel like this book does well to do this in an appropriate manner that doesn’t feel redundant.
I would recommend this book to anyone considering reading it. To me, it’s such a comfy feel good book that still challenges me. What I mean is that it’s a book that I pick up when I’m having a rough week and need a really good book to grab my attention in a healthy way. Although I’m rereading it all the way through for the 3rd time it’s a book I often pick up and just read some sections of at my convenience and due to its format it’s extremely easily to pick it up on any page from time to time. I can’t wait for their new book Love People Use Things coming out next year!!
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2014
Top reviews from other countries
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UnamusicapuofareReviewed in Italy on May 23, 2016
Un libro di saggi piacevolissimi che fa riflettere
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