Peace of Mind Organizing

Less stuff, more living: A review of Clutterfree with Kids (+ giveaway!)

21 February 2014

Joshua Becker, the founder and editor of the popular Becoming Minimalist website, sent me a copy of his new book, Clutterfree with Kids for a review and giveaway. Here’s the review. At the end you’ll see how to enter to win an autographed copy of the book.

I’ve long extolled the virtues of living with less. I tell my clients and various audiences that less is more. Owning less stuff makes life easier. I sincerely believe that.

Reading Clutterfree with Kids, though, has given me even more perspective on it. I define clutter has having more items than you can comfortably store. Until now, I’ve always thought about excess in terms of whether or not stuff can be stored.

But Joshua Becker has me thinking about minimalism. That is, living with a fundamental philosophy of not just avoiding having too much, but rather embracing having as little as possible. That’s actually a pretty big shift. And it was an wow moment for me.

While this is a book focused on children’s possessions, the first third of it is about the concept of minimalism. And even if you (like me) don’t have kids, you might find it really interesting and, possibly, mind blowing.

Before he even gets into talking about kids’ stuff, Becker outlines his four steps for living in a clutterfree home.

• Believe it is possible
• Remove the excess
• Implement habits to manage your clutter
• Slow the accumulation of possessions

If you have kids, and you find the notion of teaching your kids the value of living with less intriguing, this book will give you many reasons to do it and will give you a way to go about it. The discussion isn’t limited to toys. It also includes chapters on clothing, artwork, sentimental items, collections, tv and video games, photos, gifts, packing, schedules, and preparing for baby.

I was especially delighted to read the chapter, “Clutterfree with a reluctant partner.” Minimalism is a huge lifestyle changed for many. What if your partner is not on board? Becker is full of sound advice, like “Refuse to let stuff separate you.” And “Realize you can’t change someone else. You can only change yourself (and your attitude).” He recommends leading by example, purging your own items first then looking for common items you can together agree to part with. And he recommends patience. Sounds spot on to me.

This book is well written, with lots of gentle humor. And it has what I believe is a profound message. If you’re at all enticed by the subject, I encourage you to read it.

The giveaway

Here’s how you can get a free copy of Clutterfree with Kids, autographed by the author. Just leave a comment below and/or tweet about the giveaway and/or post on your Facebook timeline or page about the giveaway. You’ll get extra entries for doing tweets and Facebook posts in addition to the comment. (Be sure and put my twitter handle, @janinea, in the tweet or, when you’re posting on Facebook, tag my Facebook page Peace of Mind Organizing so I’ll count your extra entries.)

Last day to enter is Friday, February 28. I’ll select the winner at random and announce the winner on my blog on Monday, March 3. (And I’ll contact you directly if you’re the lucky person.)

Tagged with: children, clutter, clutter clearing, giveaway, joshua becker, minimalism

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