The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own Paperback – November 20, 2018

I loved the tone of this book. It was so comforting and encouraging, and as Becker leads you through the basics of understanding minimalism, he does it in a way that reflects his own journey without imposing it on the reader. I really appreciated his ability to recognize that the journey is different for everyone. And I especially appreciated the emphasis on generosity and service. I read a book by another popular minimalist and it seemed so prescriptive I was turned off. Becker's approach is more expansive, more gentle, and kind.My experience so far seems to be going in phases or levels. Level 1 is getting rid of the obvious junk. With his recommendation, I started with the easy stuff. Clothes are easy for me, I'm no clotheshorse and am happy to wear the same thing every day. Same with jewelry and makeup - I really don't feel the need for much. So I started there and found it so refreshing to get the clutter off my surfaces, that I have continued with a basic household purge. Once that's all done, I will start really doing the work of minimalism as I work through some of the things I am attached to but don't need.This really is a process and I'm just at the beginning. I finished this book and immediately read two more of this others. His "voice" really resonates with me personally. Easy-going and practical, and he's living a life a lot of people can relate to, in the suburbs with a couple of kids. This is in contrast to the other popular minimalist who went on and on about how he made tons of money and was obsessed with status. For a lot of us, the issue isn't that we buy things for status. Becker goes into the reasons why people buy stuff, and the thing that resonated the most with me is "security." He wisely points out that security is also found in strong social connections. And unlike others, he doesn't advocate throwing out people who don't "serve you," recognizing that give and take in relationships varies from person to person. Of course he does recognize that some relationships are just plain harmful and need to go. But if we only consider relationships on the basis of how much any given individual makes us feel self-actualized, well, that's kind of selfish.So I've read three books by Becker now and I have enjoyed them all. I find them motivating and practical and comprehensive. The religious overtones didn't really bother me. When he used examples from the Bible it was to illustrate a point and he talked about these values in other religions as well. It didn't feel like proselytizing.Well done, sir.

For many, the terms minimalism or minimalists may conjure images of vegan yoga fanatics living in sparse apartments, people traveling the world with all of their earthly belongings in a backpack, or the guy choosing to live in a van down by the river. Yet, there are forms of minimalism, including the type promoted by Joshua Becker in his book The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. I consider his form “rational minimalism for the rest of us.” Becker’s blog Becoming Minimalist has been instrumental in my minimalist/essentialist/simple living journey over the last year and I was excited to read his new book.I can relate to Joshua. Like me, he is a husband, dad, homeowner, has a career, passionately involved in church ministry, and around the same age. These factors helped make the teachings from his book accessible and reasonable for me. Becker defines minimalism as “the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them” (Page 18) and clearly unpacks it in about 220 pages.After sharing the story of his launch into minimalism and the benefits of it, Joshua provides well-researched background about consumerism and advertising. This was both eye-opening and convicting. It is also important to note that the author stresses that minimalism and the minimalist lifestyle will look differently for each individual or family. There is no “cookie cutter” approach, but many clear strategies and techniques are presented throughout the book.In his clear and enjoyable writing style, Joshua provides strategies on getting started in reducing the number of possessions cluttering our lives, addressing difficult areas (e.g. mementos and papers), and sustaining a minimalist lifestyle over time. Finally, in the last three chapters, Becker details the abundant/purposeful life that minimalism can create. These chapters were outstanding and probably my favorites.Having started exploring minimalism about a year ago and reading many different blogs, not many of the strategies presented in the book were truly new to me. However, they were great reminders and encouragements to persevere in the journey. I picked up several great tips in the chapters. The testimonies included throughout the book were also very helpful. Finally, while it is not a “Christian book” per se, it is written from a biblical worldview, something that I deeply respect and appreciate.Whether you are on the minimalism journey already or just exploring the concepts, I whole-heartedly commend Joshua Becker’s The More of Less.Disclaimer: I received a free advanced copy of The More of Less from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased book review.