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Chronicle Books

The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify - Updated and Revised (Minimalism Books, Home Organization Books, Decluttering Books House Cleaning Books)

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Format: Hardcover


Description

"An inspiring read for anyone wanting to downsize, finally park the car in the garage, or just clear out a few closets." —Rachel Jonat,Having less stuff is the key to happiness: Do you ever feel overwhelmed, instead of overjoyed, by all your possessions? Do you secretly wish a gale force wind would blow the clutter from your home? If so, it's time to simplify your life! The Joy of Less is a fun, lighthearted guide to minimalist living: Part One provides an inspirational pep talk on the joys and rewards of paring down.Part Two presents the STREAMLINE method: ten easy steps to rid your house of clutter.Part Three goes room by room, outlining specific ways to tackle each one.Part Four helps you get your family on board and live more lightly and gracefully on the earth.Ready to sweep away the clutter? Just open this book, and you'll be on your way to a simpler, more streamlined, and more serene life. Francine has helped hundreds of thousands of people declutter their homes and simplify their lives with her bestselling book, The Joy of Less. Her advice has been featured widely in the media, including on CNN, BBC, Today, and in The New York Times, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post, Le Parisien, ELLE Espana, House Beautiful, Woman's World, Dr. Oz The Good Life, and others. The Joy of Less, a beautiful minimalism book, makes an ideal gift for any loved one on a mission to simplify their life. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chronicle Books (April 26, 2016)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1452155186


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 80


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.63 x 1 x 8.38 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #23,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #74 in Home Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating


#74 in Home Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating:


Customer Reviews: 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,471 ratings


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Helped me improve the quality of my life!
I use to really struggle with keeping my house remotely clean. I tried FLY Lady and various apps and making a cleaning schedule but nothing helped. Then one day I was browsing a used bookstore and stumbled upon The Joy of Less by Francine Jay and it was exactly what I needed. It's about minimalism, but not rigid "100 items" minimalism. It's about having *enough*. What's enough for one person will look different than what's enough for another. Like a gourmet chef's "enough" in the kitchen will look different than the "enough" of a single guy who eats take-out all week. I have a lending library, so my "enough" looks different than someone who relies on an e-reader. The point is to have your needs and wants met but not to excess. Every book I own deserves its spot on my shelf, and I do cull my collection regularly because books do still sneak in. (That is the nature of books, haha) It's also about the value of space. If your table is full of clutter then you first have to clear it off before starting a project. That could deter you from getting started in the first place. But if your table is clear, if you have that *space*, you could start a project on a whim. Doesn't that sound like a more enjoyable way to live? Plus space just plain feels better. Clutter clogs the air flow but when the space is clear it's easier to breathe and there's less weighing on your mind. It's more relaxing. Spas aren't cluttered for a reason ;) The book also helps you reframe your relationship to your stuff. It makes you be honest about why you're hosting this stuff. Is your stuff serving you or are you serving it? Is your stuff worth the time and hassle of its upkeep, of maintaining it, of putting it away? Does it deserve the space it occupies? Where did it even come from? The book helps you deal with gifts and freebies and sentimental items and back-up items (if your coffee machine breaks are you really going to get and use your old one from the garage or go buy a new one?). It helps you evaluate every item. The book has practical suggestions on how to downsize too. For example, take items out of "their spot" when you're evaluating them. Like items in a junk drawer, they might trick you into thinking that they belong in that drawer because that's where they always are. But if you dump the drawer out to go through the contents, suddenly you realize that you don't need or want those seventeen ink pens that you never use. Empty your closet to go through your wardrobe, take books off the shelf, empty your pantry. Also in the book is how to keep the clutter from building up again. Be a gatekeeper, don't let new things in without an interview. Try the "one in, one out" rule. Don't accept freebies at conferences (yay... an advertising magnet, thaaanks....). The last chapters walk you through decluttering room by room. Do you really want all those expired cosmetics in your bathroom? What's that stuff in the back of your closet? The author wrote the book before she became a mother (she has one child last I heard - she has a blog, that's how I know), so her advice on kids' clutter is... well she wrote it before becoming a mom ;) One piece of advice is to ask for experiences vs things for their gifts. For example, my daughter is receiving ballet classes for her birthday. Her physical gift will be ballet shoes. That's from my parents. I'm giving her new pajamas (the girl loves pajamas, and she has a lot of sleepovers). The craft at her party will be an art project to decorate her new bedroom. It'll be made with love and will remind her of her friends AND it's useful (because being beautiful IS a use). I get my kids involved in downsizing their possessions regularly too, but I never force it. I gently guide them and every decision about their stuff is theirs to make. We make it fun and they feel good about donating their things for other kids. I have a friend who said she's impressed by how little stuff we have. We haven't always been this way! Our walls use to be lined in furniture and clutter. Our closets were packed with clothes we never wore. The playroom was insane!!! We still have more than I'd like to have (that happens when you have three kids), but our house feels way better and is so much easier to maintain now. It's a constant effort though. Stuff still sneaks in, and if a clutter pile forms it can get out of hand (clutter attracts clutter. It does). Anyway, this book helped us improve our quality of life. We're sacrificing much less time to fussing with our stuff now that we have less stuff. And I don't miss the stuff! I now see stuff as a burden to an extent. We use to stop at a thrift store weekly and buy random crap. Now it's been months since we've been to one, and even then we went with a purpose! OH! And now that we have less stuff I no longer fail at housekeeping. I didn't need FLY Lady, I didn't need a cleaning schedule. I needed less stuff. That's it. Now it's easy and enjoyable to maintain my home. I just put a little bit away and suddenly my home is peaceful and serene. BTW, this book has earned a permanent spot on my shelf. I re-read it sometimes when our clutter starts sneaking back in. I loan it to others. It very much deserves the space which it occupies! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2014 by Molly
    • Can't imagine a better book on this subject
While I have always thought of myself as being "organized", I still find myself looking for items I have misplaced, which is one of the reasons I bought this book (Kindle version). It did not disappoint. "The Joy of Less" is organized into 4 parts: Part One is on Philosophy, Part Two covers the STREAMLINE method with practical steps for putting the minimalist mindset into practice, Part Three goes into Room by Room suggestions, and Part Four offers some Lifestyle comments and thoughts. Part One made me realize that my attempts at organization are being sabotaged by the "stuff" in our house, and that I will never get organized until I declutter. The author made me aware that all this stuff is an emotional drain, and that for me to truly enjoy my house and reduce my stress level, I must pare my possessions down to a manageable level. I like that she does not have rigid ideas, and recognizes that what is "enough" for one person may not be the same as for another person. In Part Two, the author gives specific tools, steps and ideas for getting started. The chapter on Modules, a valuable organizational technique that helps achieve minimalist goals, is extremely helpful. I've already begun the Trash, Treasure or Transfer process, and I am feeling better already. The book made me think about things that should have been obvious to me but weren't -- real slap-the-head moments! I will give an example. We keep our photograph albums in a cabinet in our Great Room, while hobby-related items are strewn all over the house. We rarely look at the albums, but I do use the hobby-related items, so I am transferring the photo albums to the basement (ultimately for digitalizing, another one of her suggestions), to make room for the hobby items so that they will be handy. Why didn't I think of that before? I don't know, but I'm glad she pointed it out to me! In Part Three, she goes room-by-room and makes suggestions. I particularly liked her thoughts about the bedroom area. Specifically, if it does not relate to sleeping or dressing, it does not belong in the bedroom. After reading that, I immediately moved a stack of magazines from the bedside table to another room, and I honestly think I am sleeping better now! It doesn't mean I don't still read in bed, but now I take only what I'm currently reading into the bedroom. She ends Part Three with a discussion of gifts, heirlooms and sentimental items, which taught me to look at these types of items in a different way. I especially like the suggestions on the Donation Box and "miniaturizing". To summarize, if you are looking for a book to help you declutter your house and your life, get better organized and live simpler, I don't think you could find a better book than this.The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2010 by Pam M Atlanta

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