I LOVE the fresh start feeling of a new year. December is always busy, no matter how much I think "this year will be simpler" and so turning the calendar, and all of a sudden having A LOT of white space is so refreshing to me. I love Christmas but I also like how simple and cleaner our house seems now that it is all packed away. I find January so refreshing after December and Christmas.
I have more posts planned over the next couple weeks about my plans for the new year and also what I am doing to keep my "less of all the things!" momentum going. But before I get into that, a good place to start is always books. When I want to learn something (where the answer is more in depth than a 2 second google search) I turn to books. I read books about adoption, I read about parenting, being green, travel, and have read every book I'm recommending below. When my enthusiasm starts to wane, the right read can really give me a kick in the pants to keep going.
Intentional Living
A Simplified Life: Tactical Tools for Intentional Living by Emily Ley
I've been following Emily on Instagram for a few years and she puts on a big emphasis on simplifying many areas of life, which she breaks down in this book. From stuff, to schedule to routines, to parenting...she addresses many areas I'd like to simplify with manageable, actionable steps. I read this last January and hope to again next year. (I reviewed it last year here!)
Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin is fantastic at talking about habits and how to you can motivate yourself to do what you need or want to do (I reviewed her The Four Tendencies book back here). In this book she picks about 10 areas of her life at home she thought she could improve and then spent one month really working on each. She has some great insights and really works to make habits she can keep, highly motivating.
Loving my Actual Life: An Experiment in Relishing What's Right in Front of Me by Alexandra Kuykendall
This is the one I am rereading this January, similar to Happier at Home, the author wants to be happier without making drastic life changes - mainly improving things at home and with her family. I also want to love my actual life and a little improvement wouldn't hurt. I also remember that there is a chapter about improving school mornings which we could DEFINITELY use some help with. (I reviewed it here.)
This is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick
This isn't so much intentional living but intentionally loving where you live - specifically your city. The author moved to a new city for her husband's job and it's not really where she would have picked to live. So with her daughters, she sets about really getting involved and loving their new home. I've lived in the same city my whole life, besides college, but could still love it more! (I reviewed this way back here!)
Having Less
The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own by Joshua Becker
I've found Joshua Becker to be a big inspiration for my constant intention to live with, and need less. He is very practical but also understands how it can be hard to get rid of stuff, especially those things with an emotional attachment. It helped me see I don't need to keep EVERYTHING. And I like every book that tells me, and actually get me, to get rid of things. (Review here)
Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider
I've been listening to Tsh's podcast for years and she advocates simplicity in many aspects of your life. In this book she walks through a 10 day plan for simplifying many aspects of life, down to budget and time. She gives suggestions for less toxic cleaners and cleaning routines. A great way to start off a year.
Simple Matters: Living with Less and Ending Up With More by Erin Boyle
This is a pretty quick and easy read (could you really trust a LONG book about living simply?) that goes through different areas of your home and life to simplify. I especially appreciated that she included information about using greener and fewer cleaning and beauty products.
A Life Less Throwaway: The Lost Art of Buying for Life by Tara Button
This isn't just an argument for having less but also for buying higher quality, and why we, as consumers, don't demand that from more products. One of the big reasons I'm so interested (/obsessive, take your pick) in recycling is because the idea of covering our planet with trash is disgusting to me. So throwing away less by buying smarter is very interesting to me but it should be to all of us. (I need to stop there before I get on my favorite "too much trash" soapbox)
Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey off the Beaten Path by Erin Loechner
I had this book on my TBR and had been listening to her as a co-host of a weekly podcast for weeks before I found out that Erin and I live in the same city. How crazy is that? Which has nothing to do with the book, just a fact. Anyways, Erin used to live in LA and had a successful show on HGTV.com before her and her husband decided to slow down their lives and return to the Midwest. It's very much focused on her journey but with lots of reflections sprinkled in. She also has a fantastic Instagram feed with near daily related thoughts.
Grace Not Perfection: Embracing Simplicity, Celebrating Joy by Emily Ley
I have a bit of a perfectionist streak in me (my Mom says I didn't talk until I was 3 because I waited until I could do it well) and this book was a fantastic (and beautiful) reminder that we need to inspire towards grace more than towards perfection. (I reviewed this here.)
Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters by Rachel Macy Stafford
I have taken serious steps over the last couple years to make sure I spend less time on my phone, all the way to deleting apps (Instagram) on every Friday to reinstall every Monday to break my habit of checking it on the weekends. (I write more about spending less time on social media here). This book might be where I started my long "spend less time on my phone" journey. Really what matters is spending time with loved ones and generally not through a screen. Sometimes it's just easier to read about it from someone else. (And then actually work on it yourself.)
168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam
Time management is one of my favorite topics to read about and if you are only going to read one book on the subject it should probably be this one. Laura is a time management expert, she's spent years tracking her time, every day, in 15 minute increments. With her books she's studying time diaries of hundreds (thousands?) of people. This book makes the argument that you don't need to fit every activities in every day, but to look at your week as a whole: working out 4 times a week is still pretty good (for example). She also advocates actually tracking your time for a week because the stories we tell ourselves about where our time goes might not (probably not) be accurate. I've learned a lot from her.
The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You by Jessica N. Turner
This book inspired a whole post a few years ago. Jessica Turner is a busy Mom and wife, works full-time outside the home, manages an active blog, and still finds time for hobbies. Which all seems impossible but she lays out how it actually is possible and how you can do it too (if you want, I have no desire to work full-time outside the house). Everyone needs GOOD down time (mindless phone scrolling doesn't count) and working that in alongside all the work you do (paid work, house work, parenting work) is important.
Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam
This author again but I really feel like she has a lot to say. In this book she studies time diaries of multiple people with busy jobs who also feel like they have time to do their hobbies or leisure activities. And, really, does it matter that we get a lot done if we FEEL like we have the time to get a lot done? It's really all about that feeling of having a lot of time and she details how that can be possible for everyone.
Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin is an expert on habits and how to get ourselves to pick up new ones. And the New Year is an excellent (and popular) time to try new ones! She goes through ways we can know ourselves better to get ourselves to pick-up new habits, common pitfalls, and the excuses we make to get out of them. It's an easy but perfect read if your New Years Resolution included any sort of new habit.
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
This is an even more in depth look at habits and how they are formed and how we can change them. It's all about the trigger and getting the "reward" whatever it is. It's a little more academic than the above but also really educational if you really have habits you want to change.
Hello Mornings: How to Build a Grace-Filled, Life-Giving Morning Routine by Kat Lee
This is about a very specific habit - how to have a good morning, to wake up for your day and not to your day (helpful hint: be up and around before your kids are awake). Mornings are a trouble spot for many (raises own hand) and I don't want our morning to be rushed and crazy 230 mornings a year (that's every school morning and Sunday church mornings). I picked up some habits after reading this book that we are still doing over 6 months later, even if mornings are still (sometimes) a struggle.
January and September tend to be when I read the most non-fiction and I love the feeling of getting new knowledge to kick off good habits!
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