The More of Less Book Summary

Book Summary

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Brief Summary

Consumerism today has led to more Americans owning items than ever before. We are surrounded by advertisements that tell us to buy more. The author found that by living a minimalist style — decluttering his life — he was able to be more generous and spend more time with family and on things that he cares about. This book teaches you how to live by owning less.

About the Author

Joshua Becker is an American author, writer, and philanthropist. He writes about minimalism and intentional living. His books The More of Less and The Minimalist has been best sellers. He has been featured on Huffington Post Live, CBS Evening News, and The Wall Street Journal. He is a renowned speaker on the topic of minimalism. His blog — Becoming Minimalist — is a popular blog. He writes for Forbes. He attended the University of Nebraska Omaha. He then graduated from Bethel College and Seminary, where he completed a master’s degree in theology.

He started as a pastor in Vermont. After sorting through his garage and realizing he was wasting time caring for his possessions instead of spending time with his family, he converted to minimalism and started his blog — Becoming Minimalist, with over a million readers visiting every month. He has downsized 75% of his possessions and adopted a more minimalist lifestyle. He now lives in Arizona with his wife.

Topics

Self Development

The More of Less Book Summary Preview

Don’t you feel sometimes overwhelmed by the things you buy? If so you are not alone. When the author was sorting through his garage, he realized he bought a lot of stuff. Instead of spending so much time in his garage, he could have been spending time with family. He decided to start reducing the things he owned. He wrote a blog — Becoming a Minimalist - that reached millions of people and converted thousands to minimalism.

Minimalism changes lives. Decluttering your home allows you to live more freely. For example, Anne decided to live a free-spirited life. She sold her house and belongings and started to live a life as a global nomad in South East Asia living in apartment shares, housesits, and hotels. However, you don’t have to go that extreme to be a minimalist. Dan decided to sell his big house and downgraded to a smaller house across the street. That gave him more time to spend with his family and his career.

Companies nowadays spend billions on advertising to get people to buy more. The Average American owns twice as much as that did 50 years ago. A normal house contains 300,000 more items. It’s easier than ever before to get cut up owning “things,” even when you have no need for them.

Minimalism is more than decluttering your life. It allows you to focus on the things that are important to you. To start, think about what your goals are? Are you trying to save money for retirement? Then divide your belongings based on importance. Get rid of items that have less value to you.

It’s going to be hard to remove sentimental items from your life. You need to decide what’s important. Decluttering will help you manage your stress. Keep your favorite items and get rid of the rest. If you are having trouble, spend a few months with items you have questions about and see how that goes. Eventually, you’ll get less use for them. By giving things away, you are being kind to people who have less!

Now how do you handle the increased consumerism that you’ll see in everyday life? There are advertisements everywhere. Even though you have begun to adopt a minimalist approach, you’ll be tempted for sure. Well, take a break from shopping. Jenny is an Ivy League graduated who had a good job. However, she was making little money by the end of the month because she spent her money on useless things. Eventually, she took a break from shopping and had more time for other things.

What happens when you receive gifts? When it comes to receiving gifts, you might want to be proactive and tell your family and friends what gifts you want to receive. You can also encourage them to donate to charity. That way you can keep your minimalist style in tact.

Rejecting endless consumerism can help you live a more prosperous life. You can give the things you don’t need to charity or start a nonprofit. That way you’re helping...