5 Best Books to Read on Minimalism

If you’ve read our article on the psychology behind minimalism, here’s our take on the five best books on minimalism, written by experts who have successfully transformed their homes and their lives, and found improvement in their overall well-being. Embracing a minimalist lifestyle might also provide you with some respite from claustrophobia brought on by visual clutter!

Fumio Sasaki was a regular guy living in a cluttered apartment with things he collected just to appear cool, until the day he decided that it was time for a change. He now lives in a sparsely furnished apartment after getting rid of almost all his belongings.

In Goodbye, Things, Sasaki shares his experience shifting his mindset and offers tips on how to minimise. From a guy who used to feel sentimental discarding work-related Post-it notes from colleagues (!), he’s come a long way.

Although his transformation is extreme and certainly not for everyone, this book will give you permission to be ruthless in discarding your things and offer the inspiration to be content with less.

Dana White is a self-proclaimed “slob” who used to live in homes so cluttered that her floors were stacked with storage boxes full of items she didn’t remember owning. Then she hit rock bottom and began decluttering as if her life depended on it.

In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, Dana writes humorously on the importance of having the right mindset and provides an action plan on how you can get started right away clearing detritus from your life.

For instance, in “The Visibility Rule”, she recommends starting your decluttering project in the most visible places in your home. By looking at your home through a visitor’s perspective, you can start tackling the clutter that greets you the moment you walk in the front door.

In “The Container Concept”, she invites you to accept your storage spaces as boundaries. If your drawer only has the space for 10 T-shirts, choose your top 10 favourites and get rid of the rest. It’s when you think you can create space under your bed for your other 10 T-shirts that clutter finds its way into your home!

Speaking of T-shirts and overstuffed wardrobes, how many clothing items do we really need? In Project 333, Courtney Carver challenges you to build a capsule wardrobe consisting of 33 items that you’ll wear for the next 3 months.

Carver walks you through the steps and promises that this will simplify how you get ready for the day, and that clarity will spill over into other parts of your life. The good news? You don’t have to throw away the unselected pieces — you just need to store them away until your experiment is over.

Many readers who have tried Project 333 shared that they were daunted and sceptical at first, but learnt a lot about themselves, got over their fears of repeating outfits, and realised that they could have saved money if they hadn’t bought as many clothes as they did, or indulged in cheap, low-quality clothing.

People who know about Marie Kondo either love her (“Truly life-changing!”) or hate her (“It’s weird thanking my frayed toothbrush before throwing it away!”). So, be warned. This book isn’t for you if you’re casually into minimalism; you have to be committed and almost desperate for change before you’ll enjoy Marie Kondo’s quirky KonMari system for decluttering and organising.

While other decluttering experts recommend starting with baby steps, Marie Kondo proposes a dramatic reorganisation of your home. Always discard items that don’t “spark joy” first, then focus on organising. Tackle your belongings according to categories, and in this specific order: clothes, books, papers, then miscellany and sentimental items.

Another minimalism expert who prefers a more aggressive approach with the promise of lasting behavioural change, Cal Newport recommends a 30-day digital declutter where you severely restrict the technologies you use. This means replying your work emails and following up on messages from your child’s teachers, but refraining from watching TikTok videos for 5 minutes that quietly stretch into 20. After 30 days, identify the technologies that support real connections or professional advancement, and uninstall the rest.

What’s interesting about his book is how he also suggests other complementary habits to help us live more focused, meaningful lives. These include: spending time alone, not simply clicking “likes” but making the effort to have proper conversations, engaging in high-quality leisure activities that give you joy, and resisting the attention economy by not mindlessly giving away your time to digital advertisers.

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Text by
National Library Board

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