Minimalista: Your step-by-step guide to a better home, wardrobe and life
- Downloads：3827
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-05 08:53:06
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Shira Gill
- ISBN：1784728179
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Elyse
，
I will read almost anything having to do with minimalism so this beautiful book was definitely included。 I really liked the layout and a lot of the advice。 The only downside was sometimes I felt like she wasn’t really delivering on the minimalism and was catering more to privilege throughout。 That said， I still really enjoyed it！
Statement Books
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Ein schön aufgemachtes Buch！ Das Cover ist schlicht und ansprechend。 Die Qualität einwandfrei， ob von den Bildern oder auch hinsichtlich der Textgestaltung。 Kaffee machen und durchschmökern。 :） Der Ansatz der Autorin， dass Minimalismus für jeden etwas anderes bedeutet， hat für mich persönlich großes Potential。 Jeder Mensch hat andere Lebensumstände und Familienstrukturen。 Minimalismus wird oft mit Selbstkasteiung und Verzicht in Verbindung gebracht。 Doch darum geht es nicht。 Es geht darum sich （ Ein schön aufgemachtes Buch！ Das Cover ist schlicht und ansprechend。 Die Qualität einwandfrei， ob von den Bildern oder auch hinsichtlich der Textgestaltung。 Kaffee machen und durchschmökern。 :） Der Ansatz der Autorin， dass Minimalismus für jeden etwas anderes bedeutet， hat für mich persönlich großes Potential。 Jeder Mensch hat andere Lebensumstände und Familienstrukturen。 Minimalismus wird oft mit Selbstkasteiung und Verzicht in Verbindung gebracht。 Doch darum geht es nicht。 Es geht darum sich （mehr） Raum zu schaffen。 Raum im Leben und im Kopf。 Es geht nicht darum， Dinge， die einen Zweck erfüllen oder uns am Herzen liegen， „wegzuwerfen“。 Primär steht im Vordergrund， das Bewusstsein zu schärfen und den Fokus auf die Dinge zu richten， die uns einen Mehrwert bringen und positive Gefühle auslösen。 Man findet super Tipps und Anregungen， wie die Organisation zu optimieren ist und bei Lesen selbst packt einen die Lust zum Ausmisten。 Die unterschiedlichen Anleitungen， können dann individuell gewählt werden。 Auch diverse Methoden， zB nach Kategorien aufzuräumen， werden mit Vor- und Nachteilen aufgelistet。 Aufräumen ist eben nicht nur aufräumen。 Auch hier kann man ins Fettnäpfchen treten。 Das Buch macht wieder bewusst， wie viel oder eben wenig Raum man hat und wie viele Gegenstände man besitzt， die oft verstaubt in der Ecke oder einer Schublade liegen。 Und wie man den Raum， der zur Verfügung steht， besser nutzen kann， um sich wohler zu fühlen。Wie soll dieser oder jeder Raum für mich persönlich aussehen und was bereichert diesen bzw。 wie möchte ich mich darin fühlen？ Möchte ich dort produktiv sein oder vom Alltag abschalten？ Gegenstände， die dem im Wege stehen， dürfen gehen。 Ich interessiere mich derzeit sehr für das Thema und möchte betonen， dass ich nicht auf den „Minimalismus Hype“ – Zug aufspringe。 Es geht mir auch nicht darum， sich minimalistische Einrichtungsgegenstände anzuschaffen oder verschwenderisch Dinge wegzuwerfen （Spenden ist eine super Alternative）。 Oder als Minimalist in dem Sinne zu leben。 Ich versuche， wie bereits erwähnt， den Fokus auf Dinge zu richten， die mir guttun。 Regelmäßiges Ausmisten fühlt sich für mich persönlich befreiend und erleichternd an。 Selbst bei Büchern， die es mir übrigens sehr schwer machen， mich von ihnen zu trennen。 Aber hey， es kommen ja wieder andere spannende dazu！ Minimalismus heißt für mich persönlich， Ballast loszuwerden und das， was man bereits BESITZT， zu minimieren， wenn es nicht mehr benötigt wird。 Dies kann man ebenso emotional hinterfragen， warum sich Menschen an Dinge binden。 Ich kann das Buch nur empfehlen， denn es wird jeder den ein oder anderen neuen Input daraus ziehen und es hat mir richtig Spaß gemacht darin zu lesen。 Ob und inwieweit man es individuell umsetzen wird und möchte， soll jedem selbst überlassen sein。 。。。more
Hannah Brown
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Mostly information I already knew but it was still fun to read， beautiful and motivating。 Gill has a really fun/simple humor that made the book enjoyable to read。 This might be my favorite minimalist/decluttering book （sorry Kondo！！）
LK
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3。5 rounded up to 4This book was a great motivator for decluttering and thinking about what items you really use or are just collecting dust in your basement。
Stacy
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This book was recommended by a social media minimalist account that I follow。 I borrowed it from the library and I was glad to see that they had it。 Even though I have been minimizing my home for years and I absolutely love organization and beautiful things， I still enjoy reading books on minimizing and organizing to inspire me， keep me going， etc。 This book was definitely more for first time home organizers/minimizing。 I did not learn anything new here。 The good: The pictures in the book are lo This book was recommended by a social media minimalist account that I follow。 I borrowed it from the library and I was glad to see that they had it。 Even though I have been minimizing my home for years and I absolutely love organization and beautiful things， I still enjoy reading books on minimizing and organizing to inspire me， keep me going， etc。 This book was definitely more for first time home organizers/minimizing。 I did not learn anything new here。 The good: The pictures in the book are lovely - bright smaller spaces that are organized and aesthetically pleasing。 I also liked that she speaks from the point of view of a homeowner living in an older small home。 This made me happy because most organizing type of books are coming from a perspective of huge amazing closets that I simply do no have！ Some of her points about what to keep and what to get rid of inspired me that I do not need to hold on to guilt of keeping things （like all of my kids schoolwork or artwork and gifts I no longer use） so that is always encouraging。 My favorite part was about kids and the example she gives about how preschools teach kids to stay organized and create zones that the kids can easily follow and implement during the school day。 Kids can stay organized and they do not need a lot of stuff to stay busy。 A lot of parents do not understand this and let their kids take over their entire house thinking that it is just a way of life that they have to live with instead of teaching their kids what the preschool / kindergarten class teaches them。 If they can do it in school， they can do it at home！ I was just having a conversation with a friend about how minimizing and she asked me， “well what do you do about all of your kids stuff？” I told her that kids get overwhelmed with too much stuff and it is actually better for them to have less toys and stuff to play with and clean up。 I think most parents think they are being good parents by giving their kids more toys/entertainment type of things then they need or can take care of and it is overwhelming to the kids。 Teach them young to organize and take care of their things and to put them away when they are finished with it before moving on to the next thing and don’t clean up after them and this will be a GIFT they will take with them into adulthood！ The bad: It is very obvious that this author is an environmentalist。 She hates plastic - DO NOT organize with plastic - she says over and over。 Along with telling you to recycle that paper and to not throw it in the trash can。 She lectures about it being our responsibility to not give to Goodwill exclusively unless you know for sure that they will accept it （how would we know unless we worked or work there？） because they may just throw it away。 Over and over she lectures about these values of hers … we get it already！ Stop lecturing on this！ It gets quite annoying。 And the no microwave thing？！ I’m sorry， I hate the look of a microwave， but it is way too practical to give up！！ I do not want to spend the time warming up everything on the stovetop or waiting for the oven to preheat。 Unless you are new to this game， this book is pretty obvious in its points of how to declutter。 It’s all common sense。 She encourages you as a new minimalist to buy only quality items。 This is true some of the time but now always。 For example， I bought a wool pottery barn rug 18 years ago and it still looks lovely to this day under my dining room table。 That rug， however， was on sale and I got a good deal on it and it was in my budget。 Some of the things she recommends， however， is not only beyond my budget but seems silly to spend so much money on！ I was looking through her closet recommendations and come on …。 $150-200 for ONE shirt？！ Maybe if it were a special material that keeps me extra warm but a dress shirt？ What is wrong with a $20 dress shirt that I found at TJ Max？ Will it last me less time？ Maybe， or maybe not but I will probably be ready to move on to a new on anyway a few years in but if I spent over $100 on it， I would have extreme guilt about getting rid of it ever！ And the sneakers she recommends are $600？！！！ WHAT？！！ Really？ She is not living in the real world。 I guarantee you those sneakers will still get dirty over time like any other （cheaper） sneaker and won’t last any longer！ All of her items are from high end stores and some may be worth it but definitely not a lot of those things。 Has she ever heard of a budget？！ I also wanted to mention that becoming a minimalist should not cost you a cent！ It is all about freeing up space to create peace and more time in our life。 Getting rid of things we do not use gives us a sense of calm and more time that we are not spending looking for things or taking care of extra things we did not need。 Not to mention freeing up stress that it took to clean up our homes for other people to come over。 Minimizing for me has been so freeing and given me contentment。 Once I got over “needing” things and “wanting” thing after thing and really thinking through every item that I thought I “needed” and instead shopping in my home， I have had so much contentment！ I used to think I needed a bigger house for my husband and 4 kids but after becoming a minimalist， I realized I could CREATE more space by simply eliminating STUFF in the home I already lived in。 It has been a huge blessing in my life。 So my encouragement to you is that you do NOT need that nice stuff she recommends to be content， have a clean organized beautiful home that brings YOU peace！ 。。。more
Mary Jefferson
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I loved this book！ Shira makes organizing fun with her wit。 I found this really helpful！
Phyllis
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I’ve read and/or thumbed through several books with the theme of organizing your home， of decluttering and streamlining your living spaces。 The high ratings， the book description， and the fun title intrigued me to take a look at this one。 And for the record， for every book I’ve read， I usually find a couple of tips that I’ve been willing to incorporate。 For instance Marie Kondo’s style of folding items in dresser drawers is one tip I have successfully embraced in various rooms of my house。 So wi I’ve read and/or thumbed through several books with the theme of organizing your home， of decluttering and streamlining your living spaces。 The high ratings， the book description， and the fun title intrigued me to take a look at this one。 And for the record， for every book I’ve read， I usually find a couple of tips that I’ve been willing to incorporate。 For instance Marie Kondo’s style of folding items in dresser drawers is one tip I have successfully embraced in various rooms of my house。 So with a bit of tentative skepticism， I read this guide to creating “a better home， wardrobe and life。” During the first half of the book I found myself arguing with the author’s advice and downsizing suggestions， defending my choices for keeping my stuff and not becoming an obsessive convert of the minimalizing way of life。 I had to laugh at some of her descriptions – how did she know I have an abundance of empty boxes （shoeboxes， gift boxes， amazon cartons） as well as enough giftwrap supplies to wrap mine and all the neighbors’ gifts （Christmas and birthdays）？While there are many tips throughout the book on how to declutter， what I found most helpful was the support， general advice， and perspective。 The color photos help， too。 Author Shira Gill lives with her husband and two kids in a smaller-than-usual space， so her decisions on what to keep and what to discard are primarily influenced by square footage。 But regardless of how much room you have to store things， I found her most helpful advice was that the act of evaluating and simplifying the amount of your possessions can be liberating。 Gill says， “Just looking at the things you own with fresh eyes and making decisions can lead to a whole cascade of positive changes。”And I agree， filling a donation bag （or two） of no longer worn clothing and shoes， excess cooking utensils and coffee mugs， already read books， etc。 really is liberating。 Especially once you drop it off at the thrift shop。 。。。more
Susan
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Who doesn’t like organizing？ This book shared the typical edit， sort， and organize strategies， but also emphasized the benefits of living with less。 This will be a true challenge for me， but I’m game。
Emma
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3。5 ⭐️This book was good， very helpful and good suggestions for an aspiring minimalist like myself。 It got a bit repetitive， and I was not a fan of the brief foray into talking about health and what foods to stock in your home。 But otherwise was very useful。 I’ve been de-cluttering in preparation for moving house in the coming months。 Luckily I’m not sentimental so I don’t struggle to let go of things the way some people seem to。 I’ll definitely take some of these tips and run with them！ I was a 3。5 ⭐️This book was good， very helpful and good suggestions for an aspiring minimalist like myself。 It got a bit repetitive， and I was not a fan of the brief foray into talking about health and what foods to stock in your home。 But otherwise was very useful。 I’ve been de-cluttering in preparation for moving house in the coming months。 Luckily I’m not sentimental so I don’t struggle to let go of things the way some people seem to。 I’ll definitely take some of these tips and run with them！ I was also pleased to see many of the tips are things I already do。 。。。more
jacquelyn
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I admittedly bought this book because if all else failed it was an aesthetically pleasing coffee table book。 And that's exactly what it is， looks good but the content is navel-gazing at best。 The author lost me when she recommended her readers throw away their plastic brooms to get "natural" wooden brooms。 She says this while preaching sustainability in the next paragraph。 Where do you think that plastic broom is going？ Magical plastic recycling heaven？ Honestly， she's not bad at describing orga I admittedly bought this book because if all else failed it was an aesthetically pleasing coffee table book。 And that's exactly what it is， looks good but the content is navel-gazing at best。 The author lost me when she recommended her readers throw away their plastic brooms to get "natural" wooden brooms。 She says this while preaching sustainability in the next paragraph。 Where do you think that plastic broom is going？ Magical plastic recycling heaven？ Honestly， she's not bad at describing organizing and styling aspects of a home although I was still left wanting more in that area too。 A "pro tip" about living in small homes/apartments just says "your rooms will have to multi-task so get clear on the functions the space needs to serve。" Like。。。 okay？ Can you elaborate a bit on some actionable tips from your years of experience in professional organizing？ It'll look cute w/ my coffee table books， and I enjoy reading content on organization， minimalism， and sustainable living so it was enjoyable。 But there's much better real life advice on these topics for free online。 。。。more
Samantha
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Did not actually read， but looked through every page and seems like a book I might want to read cover to cover and have a copy of in my home。
Jane Henningsen
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Read ahead of a move。 Definitely helpful for planning， and going through this with a notebook helped me make a thorough to-do list for decluttering and planning spaces that will make our move easier。All in all I thought this was mostly common sense advice but it was a quick read and we’ll benefit from it。 Highlights include the index of stores for sustainable home supplies and her advice on reducing paper clutter。 （You can opt out of junk mail and pre-approved credit card offers！ Omg） Otherwise Read ahead of a move。 Definitely helpful for planning， and going through this with a notebook helped me make a thorough to-do list for decluttering and planning spaces that will make our move easier。All in all I thought this was mostly common sense advice but it was a quick read and we’ll benefit from it。 Highlights include the index of stores for sustainable home supplies and her advice on reducing paper clutter。 （You can opt out of junk mail and pre-approved credit card offers！ Omg） Otherwise I don’t feel that I learned too many new tricks。 The remodelista organizing book is probably a higher value counterpart to this one。Also some of the recommendations were a little too minimalist for me。 She almost lost me when she suggested that dog beds are unnecessary because dogs are happy sleeping on the floor。 We don’t have a dog but if we did， it would for sure have somewhere cozy to sleep。 。。。more
Allegra Goodman
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This book is beautifully produced， like all in the series。 I love home organization books， and I've read Remodalista too。 Minimalista full of common sense advice--so while the book is pretty， it is never precious。 My favorite passage goes something like this--you don't need to decant all your Oreas into clear plastic canisters with cursive labels。 Who has time for that？ That seemed to me a quick swipe at the Home Edit gurus--and I thoroughly enjoyed it。 Meow！！ This book is beautifully produced， like all in the series。 I love home organization books， and I've read Remodalista too。 Minimalista full of common sense advice--so while the book is pretty， it is never precious。 My favorite passage goes something like this--you don't need to decant all your Oreas into clear plastic canisters with cursive labels。 Who has time for that？ That seemed to me a quick swipe at the Home Edit gurus--and I thoroughly enjoyed it。 Meow！！ 。。。more
Gwen
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Overall， an okay book。 Not as great as some others that I've read on the subject， so， didn't really learn anything new in this one。 Overall， an okay book。 Not as great as some others that I've read on the subject， so， didn't really learn anything new in this one。 。。。more
Martine
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I liked this books approach。 It broke down organizing and decluttering into more manageable steps， opposed to doing a big purge。 It also made you think about the things you keep and if you actually need them。
OvercommuniKate
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I love Marie Kondo's book but it can be a tad philosophical。 This book has a much more practical walkthrough of similar concepts which I think would be helpful to the average American。 All the photos are warm minimalism but the context is applicable to anyone's style。 It is very "American mom" in it's voice but that's the author so it's authentic。Like every organizing book I've read， it breezes past digital organization。 I love Marie Kondo's book but it can be a tad philosophical。 This book has a much more practical walkthrough of similar concepts which I think would be helpful to the average American。 All the photos are warm minimalism but the context is applicable to anyone's style。 It is very "American mom" in it's voice but that's the author so it's authentic。Like every organizing book I've read， it breezes past digital organization。 。。。more
Billi Haug
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I liked her step by step style of organization。 I felt that her thoughts on the subject made sense and that all of us would enjoy life much more if we just pared down。 She made it sound doable。 Her suggestion of starting with one shelf or corner you can complete in an afternoon would make the task satisfying so that the next available afternoon you continue on another section， etc。 She also made you think of how many of any one thing you really need。 Certainly a book to suggest to your friends - I liked her step by step style of organization。 I felt that her thoughts on the subject made sense and that all of us would enjoy life much more if we just pared down。 She made it sound doable。 Her suggestion of starting with one shelf or corner you can complete in an afternoon would make the task satisfying so that the next available afternoon you continue on another section， etc。 She also made you think of how many of any one thing you really need。 Certainly a book to suggest to your friends - she brings a lot of experience to decluttering！ Enjoy！ 。。。more
Abby
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Obsessed。 Such great advice for decluttering and organizing your home。 As a Marie Kondo devotee， I can say that this is actually the more practical version of her method， one that may even be more likely to spark permanent change in your home。 It was just the thing I needed as we prepare to move back in。
Anna Allen
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This is the best book on organization that I've found。 Entertaining to read， with specific ideas that really make you think and explore your personal space in ways you probably haven't yet。 I love it and will come back to it sometimes。 It's become one of my favorite books！ Which is so unexpected and delightful！ I keep recommending it to everyone。 This is the best book on organization that I've found。 Entertaining to read， with specific ideas that really make you think and explore your personal space in ways you probably haven't yet。 I love it and will come back to it sometimes。 It's become one of my favorite books！ Which is so unexpected and delightful！ I keep recommending it to everyone。 。。。more
Dawn Garrett
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Bearing in mind she doesn’t live in a Victorian semi in the North of the UK it’s an ok book。 The one take-away for me is ‘your home is not a storeroom’。 She’s not into vintage， carbooting， pets， gardening… so be warned！
Dana
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SO GOOD。 I will keep this and reference it for a long time。
Marisa
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I thought this was a great guide to decluttering。 While I’m not planning to become a minimalist and I’ve already done a major declutter during a move a few years ago， I found this book very motivating to do a little more editing and push through to actually better organize and eventually elevate my things。 I’ve started very slowly working on editing my bedroom and have so far completed my nightstand。 I checked this book out from the library and I’ve realized that I may be better off buying a cop I thought this was a great guide to decluttering。 While I’m not planning to become a minimalist and I’ve already done a major declutter during a move a few years ago， I found this book very motivating to do a little more editing and push through to actually better organize and eventually elevate my things。 I’ve started very slowly working on editing my bedroom and have so far completed my nightstand。 I checked this book out from the library and I’ve realized that I may be better off buying a copy so I can use it as a guide while slowly working though my home。 I do wish this was a spiral bound paperback rather than a coffee table book， so that I could use it more like a workbook。 I absolutely loved the photos throughout the book— they definitely made me want to edit， organize， and elevate！ 。。。more
Megan Healy
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I found this book very inspiring and impactful。 I like how she organized it， breaking down her philosophy and then going room my room to bring up roadblocks that typically happen in each space， as well as tips related to each space。 At first I just wanted to read the chapters that related to my “problem areas”， like the bathroom and linen closet， but then I broke down and just read the whole thing cover to cover… but I like that you could read it either way and get something out of it。 She does I found this book very inspiring and impactful。 I like how she organized it， breaking down her philosophy and then going room my room to bring up roadblocks that typically happen in each space， as well as tips related to each space。 At first I just wanted to read the chapters that related to my “problem areas”， like the bathroom and linen closet， but then I broke down and just read the whole thing cover to cover… but I like that you could read it either way and get something out of it。 She does a decent job breaking down the protests we inevitably have for keeping the things we don’t actually need。 I hear her words in my head when I want to keep something “just in case…” but it really does feel so good to let your stuff go and live more simply。 It helps me shop less too！ 。。。more
Dawn Foster
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Bleh。 Nothing new or interesting in this one。
Bree
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Notes:Being a minimalist shouldn't be so hard， this book is huge！ And it ends with a buying guide which is just too ironic。The pictures are pretty though Notes:Being a minimalist shouldn't be so hard， this book is huge！ And it ends with a buying guide which is just too ironic。The pictures are pretty though 。。。more
Dorsey
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I’ve read several organizing books and this is my favorite one。 It’s easy to understand and makes it seem like organizing is possible （although I will say that I’m naturally an organized person to begin with）。 The books is also pleasing to look at！ Love a pretty， well organized house。
Tarah
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I thought this book gave a very balanced approach with a lot of good， practical advice。 When I first started it， I didn’t think it was going to help much。 I’ve been on the minimalism journey for a while now。 But as the book wore on， I started finding more and more valuable information。 On the past， I’ve done without things like a shoe basket or an “out basket。” I viewed it as one more piece of clutter。 I should have a shoe basket。 Shoes go in the closets。 I shouldn’t have an out basket; I should I thought this book gave a very balanced approach with a lot of good， practical advice。 When I first started it， I didn’t think it was going to help much。 I’ve been on the minimalism journey for a while now。 But as the book wore on， I started finding more and more valuable information。 On the past， I’ve done without things like a shoe basket or an “out basket。” I viewed it as one more piece of clutter。 I should have a shoe basket。 Shoes go in the closets。 I shouldn’t have an out basket; I should jsut take care of stuff immediately。 The problem is， none of that works for me。 My kids shoes still pile up in the entryway。 My store returns and such still pile up next to the garage door。 So I broke down and got baskets and didn’t feel guilty about it after reading some of this book。 And they were game changers。 This is just an example of what I found to be practical advice and not strict adherence to some concept of minimalism。 。。。more
Stacia
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Tedious。 Bossy。
Carri
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My favorite hobby is reading。 My second favorite is organizing and styling my home （I’m super fun！） I’ve read lots of books in this genre and this is the best one I’ve come across。
Sonia Ramirez
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