# Simplify - Joshua Becker #book
This book felt more like a primer into minimalism. It did have some good quotes and introduced somewhat of a less monastic approach. The author talked about how their family adopted the bits of minimalism that worked for their unique needs and applied them to every part of their lives.

Some tips that I remember from the book
- Have a little box next to the “clutter spots” at home. That would show that the nest time you put things away and let them look less messy
- Every item has a home. If it doesn’t, things tend to get lost
- Gifting season doesn’t have to be stressful if you tell people what you want instead of blindly getting things
- Family can be taught how to keep things in their place. Be it toys or books or anything
- This book was written a while ago but everything about digital minimalism still holds. Social media sucks the life out of you
- Have the things that are either useful or make you feel good. 
- When you die, someone will have to handle all your goods. You’ll just doom them instead of being helpful. I guess that doesn’t apply if they are poor and they could use the money, but still.
- Craigslist or similar services help a lot in decluttering
- Of course, giving it to thrift stores works too
This reminds me of a few more tips
- Everytime you leave a room, see if there is something that doesn’t belong 
- Turn hangers one way, and only turn them the other way when you use the clothes. In effect you will see how many of them don’t get worn at all. I think that’s a pretty good idea. 
- Similarly, keep things in a “to-give” pile. But wait for a month or two. If you don’t remember what was there or actually havent bothered using it yet.. then its time to give it away
- Simplification should go to every part of your life. Be it digital or physical 
- Maybe using the default apps or just clean applications without the clutter serves a good purpose in that regard. 
- I guess it all boils down to the Pareto principle. “The big rocks”. Only 20% of the things actually have 80% of the effect. That really does apply to every aspect of our lives doesn’t it? Its almost weird if you think about it.
- There were also some somewhat vague tips on how to make sure the clutter does not come back. Most of it went in actually convincing yourself that you dont really need all those things. And trying it and seeing just how much difference it actually makes.

All in all it was a small, nice introduction to the topic. It didn’t really teach me anything new per se but some reminders of some ideas were needed. I will put them into practise. Subconsciously at least.