Cozy Minimalist Home - Book Review

As you know if you've been reading the blog, I'm in a state of mind to declutter our house. When I saw Myquillyn Smith's book Cozy Minimalist Home at BookExpo, I knew I had to pick it up. I was not familiar with Smith and her online alter ego of "The Nester", but something about the term "minimalist" was calling out to me.

Whereas some of the other decluttering books I've read have been about decluttering and cleaning your house, this one is more of a decluttering in your decorating - getting rid of too many knick knacks that just make your house look too busy or rearranging the furniture to find the best pieces and their best fit. It's about figuring out what you want each space in your house to do and understanding some basic minimalist design principles.

But Smith isn't going to let you do it alone. There is a step-by-step process to finding your style and making it all work. This is a book that you'd read the first three chapters, take a break to follow Smith's advice, and then come back to read the next chapter, take a break to follow Smith's advice, and so on and so forth.

In the advance review copy I received, there was an appendix, but it did not include a handy cheat sheet with all of the steps listed. I feel like for quick reference, that might have been nice to have, especially if you do read the whole book before you're ready to commit to the Cozy Minimalist lifestyle, and then just want to easily find what the steps are without having to flip back through the book.

But I digress.

There are also pictures in the book to give you inspiration. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't really see anything wrong with some of the "before" photos. But I'm still functioning as a "Stuff Manager".

I would really like to incorporate Smith's tips in my own home. I'm not sure if I'll be able to go full-on Cozy Minimalist, especially with a toddler running around, but the book has given me some things to think about in terms of decorating and what I have out on display.

Cozy Minimalist Home is published by Zondervan and is on bookstore shelves now. I received a free advance review copy at BookExpo.