The More of Less

I really wish that I had known about The More of Less when I created my Essential Reading List for a Simple 2016.  It totally would've made the cut!  Joshua Becker is the creator of BecomingMinimalist.com and discusses why we should choose minimalism from a Christian perspective along with what he believes minimalism is.

Honestly, before reading this book and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I never would have thought that I could even consider minimalism as a way of life.  I always thought that minimalism meant owning as little as possible...and it does...sort of.  Becker defines minimalism as "the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them."  My minimalism may look different than yours, but we could both be minimalists.

Think of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up as the "how" to minimalism and The More of Less as the "why" to minimalism.  While both books contain a little of both, I think that this is the best way to describe the two.  The More of Less is about changing your mindset.  Why would you want to live with less stuff and fewer time commitments?  Becker lists the reasons:

1. More time and energy
2. More money
3. More generosity
4. More freedom
5. Less stress
6. Less distraction
7. Less environmental impact
8. Higher-quality belongings
9. A better example for our kids
10. Less work for someone else
11. Less comparison
12. More contentment

I don't know about you, but all of those sound pretty good!  Becker also says that, "The goal of minimalism is to unburden our lives so we can accomplish more."  What if you didn't have to work overtime to pay for all of those toys you don't have time to use, and instead could pursue your dream job?  What if you moved into a smaller house and spent less time and money on maintenance, allowing you to volunteer and donate to charity?  What if instead of cleaning out the garage every spring, you had the time and money to take a trip with your kids?  These are the things that Becker believes should be at the forefront of our minds when we consider whether or not minimalism is for us.

And as for the "Christian perspective" that I mentioned earlier, Becker does not believe that in order to be a "good Christian" you need to sell everything.  He does mention the Rich, Young Ruler, but he also mentions a story where Jesus told a man to return home after being healed.  We aren't all called to sell everything and become missionaries.  BUT, we are called to live for Christ and not our stuff.  If you don't have time for Christ to call on you because you're too busy working to pay for all of the stuff you have or because you're too busy taking care of all of that stuff, then that's when there is a problem.  

I really enjoyed this book and finished it in a day and a half!  I'm excited to look around Becker's site, BecomingMinimalist.com as well.  If you are looking for a simpler life with more time for the important stuff, then you should check out this book and consider moving more toward a minimalist lifestyle.  Like I said, becoming minimalist doesn't mean getting rid of everything....just everything that isn't important to you.

Find out more about the book here.

Find out more about the author here.

Disclosure:  I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.  This post also contains affiliate links, which mean that if you purchase any item after using the link the blog receives compensation to keep things running at no extra cost to you.  Thank you for the support!