The Minimalist Home Quotes

“Have the courage to build your life around what is really most important to you.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Be who you are, not who you wished to be.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“In our overcrowded homes today, most possessions are not truly “belongings.” They are only distracting us from the things that do belong.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Over the course of an average lifetime, because of all the clutter we live in, we will spend 3,680 hours, or 153 days, searching for misplaced items.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Minimalism isn't about removing the things you love. It's about removing the things that distract you from the things you love.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Kids who don’t learn boundaries become adults who don’t set them.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Approach the spaces in your home this way:
First, your living room and family room.
Second, your own bedroom and the other bedrooms in the house.
Third, all the clothes closets.
Fourth, your home's bathrooms and the laundry room.
Fifth, your kitchen and dining areas.
Sixth, your home office.
Seventh, your storage areas, including your toy room and craft work spaces.
Eighth, your garage and yard.
...this represents the easier-to-harder progression.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Owning less creates an opportunity to live more.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“The pull toward conformity can be strong. The desire to fit in with popular culture is significant at times, as is the desire to impress others with our clothing. And no matter how old we get, the desire to run with the cool kids can remain.
But I believe that within each of us is a desire that is even stronger- the desire to be ourselves, to embrace the things we love and enjoy and that make us unique. One of the best decisions we can make is to reject the cultural expectations that change with the wind. And to accept the fact that we don't need to run with the cool kids to be happy.
We can choose to be ourselves instead.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“But if we're going to be putting up signs on our walls in our own homes, shouldn't they be encouraging us to do our work well and selflessly instead?”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“It feels better to do stuff than to have stuff.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Who knows what advantages you might find in a smaller home, even beyond what you were initially hoping for, after you move in?
Maybe you'll be inspired to become a more creative person when you take up residence in a quaint older neighborhood and get out of that suburban tract where you can have a house of any color as long as it's beige.
Maybe by putting your preadolescent kids in a bedroom together, they'll socialize better and develop closer bonds.
Maybe you and your spouse will rediscover each other when you're actually spending time together instead of tag-teaming on chores.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Clutter attracts clutter. If you drop the mail on the kitchen counter, someone else is going to find it natural to leave his keys there. A dresser with receipts is also going to collect coins. A purse dropped in the entry is soon going to be joined by shoes and gloves. An empty soda can on the end table usually winds up with a few candy wrappers next to it.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Whatever your motivation for downsizing, you're going to love the benefits that come with this change. Let me highlight a few:
1. More money... in general a smaller home costs less to buy or rent and less to maintain.
2. Less time and energy spent cleaning and maintaining...
3. Better family bonding... A smaller home naturally brings family members into proximity, leading to their having more conversations and doing more things together.
4. Less environmental impact... using less energy and fewer natural resources.
5. Easier perpetuation of your minimalism...
6. Wider market to sell.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Not every possession is belonging.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Never organize what you can discard. #minimalisthome”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“A home that is filled with only the things you love and use will be a home that you love to use. #minimalisthome”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“We come to a point where we realize there is more to life than what the world is peddling. We admit we have foolishly bought what the world is selling—and our lives are still empty. Possessions have not bought happiness. Money has not provided security. Popularity and power have not satisfied.… The answers clearly do not lie in a life conformed to the unoriginal culture of our day. We know it to be true. And we seek desperately for teachable moments to transfer this understanding to our kids.1”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“minimizing is actually optimizing—reducing the number of your possessions until you get to the best possible level for you and your family. It’s individual, freeing, and life promoting. It’s a makeover that you can do on your own, in your current house, just by getting rid of stuff.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“You don’t need more space. You need less stuff.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Minimalism isn’t about removing things you love. It’s about removing the things that distract you from the things you love. #minimalisthome”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Minimalism isn’t about removing things you love. It’s about removing the things that distract you from the things you love.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“I get it. Who wants to contribute more to the buildup of the world's "trash mountains" than necessary?... The undeniable fact is that every object in your home already exists. The resources have already been pulled out of the earth and manufactured into something. If you can't recycle it, presumably it's never going to become usable raw materials again... It is already taking up space... namely inside your home. If you send it to the landfill, it will be taking up an equal amount of space in a location...designated for disposal and...to protect the public well-being.
Let your regret about how much you have to throw away reinforce your determination not to buy so much in the future.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“If you need nice things to impress your friends, you have the wrong friends. #minimalisthome”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Nevertheless, I'm not sure I can quite express what is so basic, so right, so utterly human about cooking and eating together. As far back as you can go in history, you find human beings gathering around tables for the purpose of eating together. Offering food and water is an instinctive act of courtesy in almost every culture around the world. In the Bible and Jewish-Christian tradition, breaking bread together is perhaps both the humblest and the most meaningful reflection of unity.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Ayelet Fishbach, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago, said, "Food really connects people. Food is about bringing something into the body. And to eat the same food suggests that we are both willing to bring the same thing into our bodies. People just feel closer to people who are eating the same food as they do.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“The bathroom and the laundry room may be humble, utilitarian spaces, but let me point out a simple fact you may have overlooked: they can also be noble places.
If you're cleaning yourself and attending to your own grooming regularly, you're making an effort to present yourself well to the world.
If you're taking the time to relax in a bubble bath periodically, you're recognizing that life is not all about activity and achievement and that there are suitable times to de-stress and meditate.
If you're monitoring your weight on a scale or taking vitamin supplements kept in your bathroom, you're pursuing the value of health.
If you're storing medical supplies that you can grab when a child wakes up sick in the night, you're prepared to bring relief.
If you're bathing an infant, or perhaps a disabled spouse or elderly parent, you're giving comfort while serving a basic human need.
If you're teaching and modeling a simple approach to health and beauty for your kids, you're helping to start them out well in life.
If you're going through the routine of washing your family's clothes week in and week out, they may not thank you but they owe you.
Let me say it: thank you for caring and thank you for making the most of these spaces in your house by keeping them tidy and uncluttered.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“For the most part, these items in storage aren't consumables. They're durable goods that we don't use or even look at very often- and that's a clue right there that many of them are candidates for minimizing.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Not everyone has, needs, or wants a yard. But if you've got one, then you know that it, just like your house, can contribute to the feelings of clutter, mess, and distraction you feel. On the other hand, if you minimize it well, you can turn it into a space that creates the context for a peaceful, orderly, and lovely place to live.”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life

“Before minimizing your home office, clarify in your own mind how you want it to work. Are you running a business out of there? Is it just for processing the household accounts? Do you want it to be inspirational, encouraging creativity and dreaming, or would you rather keep it sparse and utilitarian? Is it a retreat where you like to read a book or sip a drink- more of a den than a mere office? Is it for the whole family or just the parents?”
― Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life