10 Minimalism Books to Learn More About Living With Less

If you've been introduced to the concept through the Netflix documentary The Minimalists: Less Is Now, this book will give you another look into this duo's origin story.

In 2009, friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus were burning out in their careers, although to the outside observer, their wealth, job titles, and expensive possessions all signified happiness. Upon both men's lives being upended by unhappy events, the two began to embrace minimalism after researching the concept through blogs and seeing the profound effect that resisting compulsory consumption could have. A year later, the two had quit their jobs to become The Minimalists, changing their life focus to exploring and sharing the steps to live a more meaningful, present life. 

These two may not be the most relatable, and they are a pretty extreme example of living a minimalist lifestyle, but many reviewers of this 2011 book appreciate their focus on reframing one's relationship to passive consumption.

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If you've always maintained a skeptical view of modern minimalism as mainly being a cultish fad that's been appropriated from something that may have once held real meaning, Kyle Chayka's The Longing for Less offers a far less breathless approach to the concept.

He writes, “No single English-language word quite captures this persistent feeling of being overwhelmed and yet alienated, which is maybe why ‘minimalism’ has become so widespread.”

Deftly weaving together narrative and criticism, this book examines the art and architecture of the 1960s minimalism movement while contrasting it with the modern fixation with home decor, gadgets, and even branding that aims to sell a so-called minimalist lifestyle.

Minimalist books may each focus on a particular aspect of the concept, from home life to finances to media intake, but where does race factor in?

The lack of Black voices in the cultural conversations about minimalism was not lost on author, historian, and TED speaker Christine Platt. Her journey with minimalism started in 2016 when she realized that her habit of overconsumption of home goods and clothes was making her miserable. But in beginning to embrace a simpler, more intentional lifestyle, it also led her to wonder why the near-ubiquitous concept so often was associated with stark, all-white aesthetics that seemed like a form of self-erasure.

In her forthcoming book, The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living With Less, Platt "celebrates the importance of history and heritage," and emphasizes finding a way to pay it forward. 

Afrominimalism is less about design rules and more about a mindset shift, letting go of guilt and the fear of scarcity to embrace what makes you feel happy and whole. The book will be out this June.

Cal Newport is known for being a productivity master, and his oeuvre centers around his personal findings and methods for streamlining the online noise out of your life. Digital Minimalism is not an anti-technology screed, but it asks readers to approach it as a tool that they choose to use consciously. 

His method involves 30 days of digital decluttering that helps readers wean themselves off of low-quality consumption. Newport also emphasizes the importance of solitude and intentionally leaving your devices for an hour or two at a time (to start) to help acclimate to the feeling of being alone with your thoughts instead of reaching for the constant distraction on a screen.

If digital sabbaticals really appeal to you, we also recommend Jaron Lanier's Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now.

There are a lot of minimalism books about paring down the wardrobe, but this one from author and blogger Courtney Carver has a simple yet effective concept that has resonated with readers. 

The essence of Project 333 is to live with just 33 items in your closet for 3 months, leaving the rest of your clothing and accessories in storage. The idea is that those 33 most-loved items in your closet are the only ones that you really need. By eliminating your impulse buys, you can invest in higher-quality clothing over time that becomes a regular part of your rotation.

Sometimes, just the word “declutter” can have us itching to go through our cabinets to find things to discard. But immediately trashing the items that are no longer useful to us isn’t the eco-friendly answer.

Sustainable Minimalism, as one reviewer puts it, offers a “blueprint” to a zero-waste life. It explains how to donate and recycle items responsibly, repurpose items for storage, and repair furniture that we'd otherwise consider dump-bound. 

It's a common theme to see a life crisis or burnout as the starting point for a person's journey to the minimalist life. Cait Flanders' memoir The Year of Less chronicles her journey from being a compulsive shopper with thousands of dollars in debt to a life freed of the vices that continually kept her in a state of unhappiness.

Beginning with only buying essential consumable items like food, toiletries, and gas, she gradually realized how little she truly needed to be happy. Soon her mountains of stuff and even her television became distractions that she could part with to embrace a simpler and more peaceful life.

Fumio Sasaki's Goodbye, Things is described by many of its reviewers as “gentle,” “humble,” and “a breath of fresh air.” Minimalism helped Sasaki, former coeditor-in-chief of Wani Books, transform his outlook, making him feel more gratitude for life as it simply is.

This book offers 70 minimalism tips and short explainers to go along with each one. Some are aesthetic, like decorating in neutral tones to maintain a calm vibe at home, to interpersonal, in which you limit your contact with "superficial relationships."

Even if some of the tips don't work for you, the nonjudgmental tone of the book feels like a refreshing relief that there are no strict rules to feel bad about breaking.

One big (and very legitimate) rebuttal to the minimalism concept is “What about kids?” Zoe Kim’s Minimalism for Families helps parents find strategies that fit their circumstances so that they can instill the value in their kids of loving what they already have.

This minimalism book focuses mainly on decluttering each room of the home, instead of accumulating piles of unnecessary stuff. 

We'll be honest — in this strange world without gatherings, parties, and in-person events, we still feel more overbooked than ever. Tanya Dalton's 2019 book may have been written in a pre-COVID time, but much of the advice about minimizing our commitments to free our schedules (and minds) certainly resonates.

This book applies many of the core principles of minimalism to your schedule like streamlining what you have going on, reprioritizing your focus, and committing to simply doing less.