Where to Begin

Hello again!

Far and away the most frequently asked question I get is where to begin this whole minimalism/mindful/decluttering journey.

I have been on this kick since 2016 ish, and I have consumed a lot of material that I am so happy to share with you! It's also worth mentioning that this journey is uniquely your own. You'll forge your own path and find what works for you, and please share with me when you do! There are so many great resources out there, and here are some I've found:

• The Minimalists
  • These two gentlemen introduced me to minimalism (and my sweet friend Alex introduced me to their podcast!).
  • Netflix documentary Minimalism
  • Authors of Minimalism, Essential, and Everything That Remains 
  • Their fourth book will be out in 2021
  • Years worth of great podcasts on every imaginable facet--this is where I began
• Gretchen Rubin
  • She is the lawyer-turned-happiness researcher responsible for the Four Tendencies framework, and a treasure trove of free material to jump start you on your own Happiness Project.
  • Author of The Happiness Project and Outer Order, Inner Calm (many more as well but I found these to be most valuable)
  • Cohost of Happier podcast (to be really honest, not my favorite pod)
  • More free content on gretchenrubin.com
• Dana K. White
  • Blogs at aslobcomesclean.com
  • Incredibly real approach to decluttering
  • Author of ​Decluttering at the Speed of Life and How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind--this book introduced me to concepts like "clutter blind" ness and how to trick your slob of a mind into noticing what you typically don't (this is to those out there who, like me, cover every flat surface possible and then forget that those items don't belong there)
• Marie Kondo
  • I read ​The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up but don't necessarily find myself agreeing with her approach--you will make a humongous mess before you make real progress but many have found success with this so who am I to say
  • I use her folding techniques and think they are absolutely genius
    • There are countless youtube videos on her folding techniques, to be honest I would skip the book and head straight there
• Cait Flanders
  • I am a little bummed to say she no longer blogs, and that her blogs are not available anymore
  • Her book They Year of Less is the inspiration behind this little project of mine and an excellent resource for any mindfulness/minimalist practice
  • She mixes the worlds of personal finance, mindfulness, and minimalism seamlessly and has lots of great resources on her website caitflanders.com (including budgeting tools)
• Fumio Sasaki
  • Author of Goodbye, Things
  • His simple and humble writing style is immediately endearing and I loved to read about his personal experience minimizing 

I hope this is helpful for where to start your own minimalism journey. These individuals have inspired me to really make a change in how I approach the things in life. I am sure you know that people matter, things really don't, but their work has made it possible to put knowledge into action in my life and I hope it does the same for you!

Love,
​Ashley