Top 7 Simple Living Books You Need to Read (if you’re serious about simplifying)

Inside: Looking for a simple living book to jumpstart your journey to a simpler life? These are the top 7 simple living books I wholeheartedly recommend to help you declutter your home and simplify your life (and I’ve read just about every book on the subject).

I started my journey in simplifying by reading quite a few books on simple living and decluttering. Reading different points of view on the topic was interesting.

Not everything resonated equally, but I wanted to share my favorite books so that you can check them out too.

For the record, I do not typically buy the books I read. The library and I are very good friends.

I do own a few to have as resources that I can easily share with others. Without any further ado, here is the list of the best books on simple living and decluttering.

7 Simple Living Books You Need to Read

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1. The More of Less by Joshua Becker

This is my favorite book on simple living. I had read a few other books prior to this one, but they had all felt a bit empty to me. Becker emphasizes the importance of minimizing excess in order to focus on higher priorities, which really resonated with me.

In The More of Less, Joshua Becker helps you realize the benefits of owning less. He also shows you how your stuff is keeping you from pursuing your dreams.

Becker also discusses the joys of giving and how minimalism is about living a full meaningful life rather than just having a clean home. 

Joshua released a new book in December called The Minimalist Home. You can read my review of it HERE. It’s a great read for how to declutter your home. Whereas, The More of Less is a bit more philosophical on why to pursue simplicity in the first place.

2. Make Room for What You Love by Melissa Michaels

I checked this book out from the library multiple times and even took screenshots of various pages to text to friends. I loved Melissa’s take on decluttering and creating a home that you love.

She makes a big point about not just buying inexpensive cheap things. This admittedly is a challenge for me.

I don’t like spending money so I have tended to buy based on price rather than quality or whether or not I truly loved something.

I’ve made a lot of ‘good enough’ purchases. This book helped me re-evaluate this tendency and be more thoughtful and careful with my purchases.

Melissa gives practical advice to inspire you to create a place for the things you love and breathing room to pursue your dreams.

3. Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

There are so many things I loved about this book. Shauna’s writing is very relatable and feels like you are reading a long letter from a friend. I have both read the book and also listened to it on audio. Both were great.

Shauna challenged me to think about how I show up in my life. She shares openly and honestly about her own journey.  

Shauna talks about letting go of busyness and the pressure to be and do more to maintain an image of perfection.

Instead, she advocates for living a life of grace, silence, rest, prayer, presence and connection with people who matter most.

4. Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington

If busyness is a struggle for you, this book by Alli Worthington is great. I found her personal stories inspiring and interesting.

She teaches the reader how to stop chasing empty tasks and how to embrace what you were created to do.

Alli talks about the common lies we believe and how to squash their power in your life. She wisely also points out that what you say no to determines what you can say yes to.

Alli models real-life guidance on boundaries, relationships, and self-care, while owning her own mistakes. She discusses how even through her less than perfect choices, she managed to find peace in a chaotic world. 

5. Unstuffed by Ruth Soukup

In this book, Ruth inspires and empowers readers to declutter their home, their mind, and their soul. She challenges the reader to create a vision for their home and make improvements on how it functions.

Ruth discusses setting limits for bringing new items into the home. She also talks about how to manage the constant influx of stuff that comes with having kids. 

Additionally, she tackles scheduling and how to keep from over committing and running on empty. Ruth dives into discussing relationships and how to cultivate true friendships and let go of toxic ones.

This book gives a clear plan of action if you want to declutter various aspects of your home and life.

6. Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarssen

Cass Aarssen, also known as the Clutter Bug due to her youtube channel, has a unique perspective on clutter and organization.

Cassandra starts by classifying people into one of four different bug types relating to how they prefer to organize. Her quiz here will give you insight into which bug you are.

Cassandra refers to herself as a slob who has learned how to deal with clutter and organize over time due to necessity. She has now helped countless people with their clutter as a professional organizer.

In the book, Cass teaches you how to declutter and then create organizational systems that will work with how your home functions. 

7. Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana White

Dana White, also known as A Slob Comes Clean due to the name of her blog, writes in a very humorous and direct way. She also wrote How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind. I highly recommend her books for people who would describe their homes as very messy.

Dana’s approach is geared toward people who have no natural bent toward organized and clutter-free living. If you feel like you are at the opposite end of the spectrum, her no-nonsense book is a great place to start. 

Dana identifies the mind-sets and emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter. Then, she offers solutions into how to declutter regardless of the reader’s clutter level or emotional resistance to decluttering.

She helps identify procrasticlutter, which is the stuff that will get done eventually so it doesn’t seem urgent, as well as how to make progress when you’re short on time.

When Simple Living Books Just Don’t Cut It

Have you already read all the books and you’re still having trouble getting started with decluttering in your home?

In working with various clients over the years, I’ve been able to develop a process that breaks down the steps with decluttering.

The truth is, it can feel overwhelming initially. You don’t know where to start, so I created a course that walks you through each and every step in the process!

While I can’t go to every person’s home to help them, this course mimics how I help guide my clients through the process. If reading the books still has you feeling lost, check out the Your Home Decluttered course.

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