Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really wanted to love this. I have read quite a few books on adopting the minimalist lifestyle over the last few years and this seems more of the same. But the problem is this is just a regurgitation of all the basic adages of, "have you used this in the last two months, do you love it?" It isn't groundbreaking, but it isn't bad. Also, I had some issues with some of her suggestions. They aren't practical, but I just may not be her target audience. All in all not a bad book, but just not for me.

I've been trying to adapt to the Minimalism lifestyle, and that's my take on Minimalism, it's a lifestyle change not so much a decluttering and organizational guide.
You can declutter and organize until you are exhausted but if you aren't willing to adapt to this way of life you are still going to be overwhelmed.
I liked the way this book covered the whole art of Minimalism, from financial to self-care. I took away a lot of valuable information from this little book, I've bought quite of few books that just left me overwhelmed thinking who can live like this?
I've started slowing adapting to this way of life, and it has cut down on my stress load. I had so much "Stuff" that I couldn't enjoy what matters in life. I like the philosophy of using your good stuff while you can enjoy it. I never understood why I had of China and Crystal in my China Cabinet that was gathering dust, and I was always taught we must not use the good stuff until company comes over. Well, guess what? I've decided to use the good stuff and get rid of a lot of the others things.
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this galley in exchange for my honest review.

I was given a preview of this book from NetGalley to review.

I follow Rachel Aust's blog so I was familiar with her style of minimalism. She is an ascetic minimalist in my opinion. She has clearly minimalized all areas of her life.
The book gives a nice layout for minimalism but the visuals didn't work for me. I found them not useful.

I like many of her suggestions on being a minimalist and trying to be zero waste as well.
I would recommend this book to a beginner minimalist who is looking for visual aids to help them start the process.

I appreciated the aesthetic of this book, which gave a new angle from which to understand concepts that have recently become more popular. The book contains a lot of basics for those already willing to commit to minimalism to some extent, but not as much for those still deciding whether they can make it work for themselves. It gives a bite-size amount of information on a lot of different topics, which the reader could then delve into more deeply on their own in areas of most importance.

Thanks for the netgalley copy to review!

I’ve found that cleaning out closets and decluttering anything seem to make “space” for a new, more creative phase of life. LESS: A VISUAL GUIDE TO MINIMALISM shares the process of making that happen, with decision trees, flow charts, icons, and other graphics that can be applied to any life area ... home, time, decor, wardrobe, decor, cooking, cleaning, and finances. This instructive book teaches how living with less actually adds a richness to life not otherwise achievable.

While the content of this book is highly effective, I did not like the design. The cover did not attract me, the text was hard to read, lack of color drained energy, as did the grayish photos. Those elements reduce my approval from five to three stars. Sometimes “less” is actually “less.”

Thanks to DK and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#Less #NetGalley

I'm usually a sucker for organizing and decluttering books, but I honestly hated most of this book. I found it to be visually unappealing, dull and overwhelming -- exactly the opposite of what I want in a book like this.

The book has photos, but they're this depressing gray. They're color, but muted so they come off as black and white with grayish-green. Even the photos with plants looked nearly gray.

The entire book is designed to have a visual minimalist style, which may appeal to some people. There are few paragraphs on the page with lots of white space. There are also copious amounts of flow charts. They all are the standard "Have I used this in the past two months?" and "Do I love this?" kind of thing, just for all different things.

Much of the book is common sense or things that you've probably read a million times. This is basic stuff that my teenagers already know (even though they may not practice it). There was literally not a single new idea or helpful tip that I found in the whole book.

It also frequently depressed and overwhelmed me. The lists of things we're supposed to do to minimalize our homes, workdays, computers, smart phones, wardrobes, etc. is way more than I have any interest in doing. Put on every item of clothing I own and take a picture of myself to see how it looks? Just no. I often declutter my wardrobe and there are quite a few items that I only have to pick up to know that I never really reach for them and they can go bless someone else (to use a concept from that famous magic of tidying up book, which I did find helpful in many places). And her lists gave me far MORE that I felt compelled to do that I never felt any need for. Day one of the 30 day minimalist challenge is to define my personal style in my wardrobe and interior. A lot of that stuff just felt like homework or additional trouble, not something that ultimately helps me streamline my life.

Her example of a minimalist daily schedule involved getting up at 5 a.m., taking an hour for breakfast and cleaning, then an hour and a half for the gym, then a half hour for free time or commuting, then 4 hours of work, then an hour for lunch and social media, then four more hours of work, then an hour and a half of free time, commuting, dinner and/or walking, then two more hours of work, then relaxing from 7:30 to 10:30 and getting 6 1/2 hours of sleep to start again. Yuck.

I also took issue with how wasteful and non-budget-friendly some of the suggestions were. The section on "25 items you can trash without even thinking" had items on it like socks with holes in them. How about buying fewer socks and spending a few minutes mending them? Must we trash everything? And I really wish she had pointed out that many of the things on that list could be recycled or donated to charities that could still use them. That may not be the minimalist use of your time, but things like clothes that don't fit, unused DVDs and CDs, toys that the kids or pets don't use and unused craft supplies are examples of things on that list that can be donated and kept out of landfills. Also, I can pay someone to do lots of my responsibilities but I don't want to. One of the ways we live well on little money is because we don't farm out our household chores and such. I still have a desire to apply minimalism, but not by having to work much harder to afford to pay other people to do things for me.

The book just seemed endless and boring. I realize that some people probably really like the black, white and gray look and the never-ending flow charts and lists of things to do, but I just wanted to declutter first by erasing this book from my e-reader.

I did bookmark two pages that I found helpful -- the homemade household cleaner page was nothing new but I liked the use of illustrations to make a simple cheat sheet, and the daily/monthly/yearly cleaning list was helpful (though extremely incomplete and unrealistic for me-- no way am I cleaning the outside of all the windows of my house every month, for instance, and to be honest there is very little hope that I'll ever clean under my couches and refrigerator every month either).

The author of this book seems to be young, upper middle class and single (her bio says she "began her you-tube career in 2015"). I'm guessing that this book would be a good fit for that audience.

I received a temporary digital ARC of this book via Net Galley.

This book explains Minimalism and where you can use it in your life. Not just for your house, clothes and Make-up, but also for food and plastics. Making sure the earth we leave behind will be a better one.
To-do lists, ideas for interior styles, how to organize and what colors to paint the walls are just some of the ideas this book gives you to make your “downsizing” easier.
The wardrobe/closet and office space revamping is over several pages, Kids and Pets get only one page. Together.
All in all I would say this is a great guide for younger people that are just starting out and don’t have much to begin with and have more “room” to start their journey in Minimalism.

Moving from a three bedroom, two bathroom farm house to a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment has ignited this urge inside of me to get rid of all of our "crap". Thought I wouldn't consider myself a "minimalist" in any sense of the world, I do enjoy trying to figure out what I should and shouldn't keep, and how to organize my life so I don't spend so much time cleaning, decluttering, and swimming through all the useless junk. Thankfully, I found this incredible book called Less by Rachel Aust, which has literally the best cover, it's so pure and perfect, just like I strive for my life to be (lol jokes on me).

One of the things that made me fall in love with this book is the simplicity. Each chapter has just the right amount of informational text and pictures to get the job done. The visual representation of having less in this book makes you feel like you are already accomplishing something. I love that I felt less anxious just looking at the gorgeous pages in this book. 

 

 
Some examples of the gorgeous pages

As I cracked this book open, I realized I was getting into something I couldn't back out of, and I was okay with that. So, I started decluttering everything I possibly could. One of the inspirations in this book is that having less stuff gives your mind space to become clearer, because you don't have as much stuff around you taking up that mental space. This is so true. Once I cleared out all of the stuff that I didn't use, or my family didn't use, I felt like there was a weight lifted off my shoulders.

I went through every room of our house more than twice, getting rid of toys, books, games, clothes (so many freaking clothes omg), furniture, knick knacks, movies, bedding, toiletries, you name it I either tossed it, sold it, or donated it. By the end of this decluttering, which took about a month, I felt like my house was bare, and I liked it that way.

Now that we've moved, I have accumulated a couple more things, but they are things that I enjoy in my life, and with kids you're always going to find yourself with fifty million toys and clothes that just appear out of thin air.

I really enjoyed every aspect of this book, it was fresh and light to read, and the tips in it inspired me to become a pseudo minimalist. 5 out of 5 stars.

Comprehensive guide to living a minimalist lifestyle. Cleanly designed charts and lists make this seem fairly attainable. Readers who may not be in the same socioeconomic bracket as the author--and therefore not able to adopt all of the suggested lifestyle choices--will still find useful tips for decluttering closets, parting with sentimental junk, and other consumer society-related tribulations.

The book Less by Rachel Aust is minimalism in action. I love the way she organized her book. There is no long philosophical discourse about minimalism or the one million reasons that hold people back from decluttering their living spaces and simplifying their lives. Instead of using too many words to describe the home decluttering process, she presents decision flow charts and picture dictionaries with items to purge and essential items to keep. As a visual learner, I find this very helpful. When I applied the strategies for displaying items in one of the rooms of my house, the room was immediately transformed. Instead of being irritated by cluttered accumulation of stuff on my shelves, I suddenly felt calm. This calm and the feeling of spaciousness is something I have been longing for and Rachel's book motivates me to make minimalism part of my lifestyle.

How do I love this book? Let me count the ways:

• The design is beautiful! The style of the entire book is minimalistic. Each page contains a short bit of text in an appealing, clean layout.
• The book is concise and quick to read, yet has a ton of helpful tips.
• A bunch of charts are included to help you make decisions on what possessions to keep and what to give away.

I love everything about this book! It explains what minimalism is and what it is not. It clears up common misconceptions and encourages everyone to customize minimalism to work for their individual lives. Minimalism is supposed to be freeing, not restrictive.

I was interested in trying a little minimalism before, but now I'm all in! This book showed me what a minimalist lifestyle can be; it can be freeing and beautiful.

The book opens by giving a little bit of information at a time. It invites you in to read more. Pretty soon, you're sold on the idea and then you can't stop reading. I read the entire book in two or three sittings, but it could easily be read in one sitting.

The charts and advice have helped me make decisions. Deciding what items to keep and what to get rid of can be a major obstacle to organizing, but this book takes all the stress out of decision-making. It also takes away all excuses so you can start decluttering immediately.

A number of 30-day challenges are also provided, along with a bunch of helpful lists and some motivational quotes.

After reading this, I know exactly how to start, and furthermore, I am extremely excited to do so! Not only is the book practical, it's also motivating and clarifying. It makes the process feel less overwhelming, and it gives a clear plan of action.

If you want to get started in minimalism, if you want to know what it is, or if you're still on the fence about it, I encourage you to read this book. Even if you've practiced minimalism already, I still think you'll enjoy this book and learn some useful tips from it.

In <i>Less: A Visual Guide to Minimalism</i>, Rachel Aust gives us multiple ways to reduce our clutter and make our living space more... livable.

This includes reducing clothes and accessories that we don't wear or use; daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning schedules; how to set reasonable goals and actually achieve them; and so much more. She uses graphic organizers with multiple questions to show us how we can determine whether we TRULY need something, even those sentimental items that just seem to collect themselves in the corners. She even shows us how we can organize our goals and set reasonable short-term and long-term ones.

Great read for those who are looking to reduce their clutter and get their homes together in a way that will be helpful to our daily living. No more buying items because you can't seem to find the ones you already have! Your home will be a much cleaner, welcoming space if you follow the tips that are discussed in this book, which will in turn provide you with a little bit more mental clarity! (We all know that can be hard to find, sometimes...)