Simplify – a new e-book from suburban minimalists
Since starting this living simply journey this year, I’ve already read a several great books by folks who have been practicing the simple life/minimalist life for a good deal longer than me. While I’ve gained great insight from each of them, none of them have struck a chord quite as closely as Joshua Becker’s new e-book, “Simplify.”
I think it’s because I identify more with his particular path.
Joshua is the author of the blog Becoming Minimalist (which I love as a title BTW – minimalist is not something you simply are – but something you are continually becoming) and he lives in suburban Virginia with his wife and two children. He began his own minimalist journey in the summer of 2008.
He writes about the book:
“Simplify” is a compilation of the lessons we have learned over the past two years of pursuing simplicity. We have worked hard to ensure this e-book is a valuable resource for anyone who desires to remove clutter from their home and life. We are confident that you will benefit from it.
And while several of the minimalist/simple life books I’ve read recently come from a stricter and more stringent attitude towards minimalism, Joshua is a firm believer in “rational minimalism.”
Your particular practice of minimalism is going to look different from anyone else. It must! After all, you live a different life than anyone else.
I agree!
I think strict minimalist living is excellent — the more the better (how’s that for a contradiction 
). But we each have to think rationally about our own personal lifestyles.
For a family of 4, living in a downtown loft without vehicles may not be the best idea. For a single guy living in a downtown loft, maintaining a vegetable garden may not be the best idea either.
While John December, Everett Bogue and Leo Babatau have each written great books (and I highly recommend reading each of them) — Joshua tells the minimalism and living simply story with a different twist and includes great examples from his own “rational minimalist lifestyle.”
Whatever lifestyle changes, decisions and patterns you decide to make, you have to make it work for you — and Joshua proves that in his book.
Find a style of minimalism that works for you. One that is not cumbersome, but freeing based on your values, desires, passions, and rational thinking.
A few great take home points for me:
On clutter
Clutter is anything you don’t need or love. One of the joys of becoming minimalist is that we are constantly pushed to define what we truly value in life. Through the process we have learned that a home filled with only the things we use and love is a home that we truly love to use.
On finances
Tax day and deathbed are two moments in life when everything gets flipped upside down. But there is one big difference between them: we’ll have to do our taxes again next year (unfortunately), but we only get one shot at this life (unfortunately). Live it for the things that matter by becoming a fan of the invisible, lasting things today.
Finding the things you love
Simplifying your life can be more than just removing physical belongings. If minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things that I most value, it is also about deciding what is most important in my life and removing the things that distract me from it. It is about removing the urgent for the sake of the important.
The book is 77 pages in length and you can download it and begin reading it right away for only $10! Plus if you purchase the book from our site, it not only helps support indie artists like Joshua, but We Live Simply as well.
Purchase the book.
Hope you enjoy the book and let us know what you think in the comments below.
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UPDATE: Joshua Becker’s books Simplify and Inside-Out Simplicity are now available for Kindle (and other e-readers). There’s no excuse not to own a copy now.
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