I’m thrilled to announce that The Joy of Less Journal: Clear Your Inner Clutter is being released today—and I’m giving away 3 copies to celebrate!
Decluttering often makes you ask questions that go beyond possessions—you have to confront your past, let go of emotions or expectations, and decide what you want for your future. That’s why it feels so liberating: decluttering frees you of psychological baggage as well as physical baggage.
Sure, clearing out the inner clutter can be a little more challenging: we can’t just put our guilt or anxieties or fears out on the curb. However, we can give these little buggers the same inquisition we did our stuff, and decide once and for all to let them go.
In this journal, I help you do three things: Reduce Stress, Release Worries, and Restore Clarity. As I explain in the Introduction:
Over the course of this journal, we’ll ponder various ways to Reduce Stress. Commitments, expectations, and responsibilities pile up over the months and years, and rarely do we take the time (we don’t have any!) to purge them. The result: lots of less meaningful activities crowd out the more meaningful ones, leaving us weary and unfulfilled. Worse yet, our busyness can take a toll on our mental health, making us feel frustrated, helpless, and overwhelmed by our daily lives. As we write, we’ll strive to identify and eliminate our excess stressors and the pressures that go along with them. In so doing, we’ll regain a sense of empowerment and control over our lives, making for more-rewarding days and more-restful nights.
We’ll also write to Release Worries. (You may be surprised how powerful and life-changing this can be!) When we squirrel away negative feelings the way we do our stuff, they weigh on us and steal our joy. But now their days are numbered: one by one, we’re going to shake them out, see them for what they are, and send them on their way. When we do a clean sweep of our hearts, that old grudge, nagging guilt, or buried anger will no longer have a place to hide. Writing helps us identify our emotions in a detached, objective way—Hello, anxiety. What are you doing here?—and say good-bye to those that aren’t serving us well.
As we clear out the mental clutter, we Restore Clarity. This is the ultimate goal of our minimalist journey: to eliminate the extraneous, so as to focus on what’s truly special to us. We’ll explore various techniques to calm our muddy waters, filter out the detritus, and see what emerges from the clear and sparkling depths. We’ll contemplate what nourishes our souls and gives us a higher sense of purpose—whether it’s pursuing a passion, contributing to our community, or spending more time with our kids—and commit our time, attention, and resources to that end. The point of emptying our cups is that they stand ready to be filled with our hopes, dreams, and joy.
I’ve filled this journal with prompts and inspirational quotes designed to make your inner decluttering as effective and enjoyable as possible:
That quote in the middle (by Nathaniel Hawthorne) is one of my favorites:
She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom!
I invite you to come along this new journey with me—let’s get rid of those hangups that make us feel heavy, and bring a new lightness into our souls.
I’m giving away 3 copies of the journal to get us started. (Even if you’ve never journaled before, I encourage you to try it; I personally was amazed how transformative it can be!)
To enter the giveaway, simply leave a Comment below. If you’d like, let us know what inner clutter you’d like to get rid of.
I’ll keep the giveaway open until the end of Friday, October 28 and use the number generator at Random.org to choose the winners. Please be sure to use a legitimate email address, so that I can contact you to obtain your mailing information.
{The journal is available for purchase through Amazon, Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, Book Depository, Amazon UK, Waterstones, Readings, and QBD.}
The inner clutter I would like to get rid of is commitments to other people and start committing to myself, scheduling time for myself. My schedule seems constantly cluttered with commitments.
I would love a copy. I am 70+, retired and still have clutter to get rid of: in my house and in my head!!!! Looking forward to this tool to help!
I am an irregular journaler. Now I can’t find time anymore for it. I am a mom of a teenager, a wife, a medical student(who can’t seem to move forward), a daughter, a sister…and many other roles I cant seem to put in their proper places due to guilt. The clutter I want to get rid of the most is…everything else that doesn’t help me move forward with my studies. For this, I need help in letting go of the guilt of not beeing able to play the other roles expected of me. It is so difficult to do without feeling so selfish and so incapable. I am definitely spreading myself too thin!
Congrats on your lovely journal, Francine. I’d love to work on removing my “shoulds”.
I would love to have one of the journals!
Amen to (finally) letting go of negative emotions.
This looks like a useful tool to help me on my continued journey to less.
Looks great!
I am enjoying your book and would love to be included in the giveaway. I believe the journal would be most helpful. I am working to declutter and feel lighter. Weight and papers seem to be the most pressing needs now.
Mary
Congratulations on the release! I’d like to clear my procrastination clutter to make room for what really matters to me.
I am practicing mindfulness and trying to find “me” again. I think this journal will be a big asset in putting my thoughts in one place.
What a great giveaway! Need to work on the inner clutter created by the ‘need’ to be busy!
I would like to work on my worries about clutter (ha!).
I am not much for THINGS, but at the same time, when I am down, I find myself “shopping” even if it isnt to purchase. I want to feel all the time, happy with my surroundings, in the home and safe place I have created for ME.
would like to get back to journaling
At 65 and finally retired, I’m determined to move my life in an exciting direction, leaving my clutter behind. The journal sounds like a perfect edition to my goals.
I’ve read your previous books which I enjoyed immensely and always look forward to your Monday posts. Thank you for the encouragement and knowledge you share on minimalism. Congratulations on your latest endeavor in promoting a life filled with greater experiences than things. ?
I am not a journaler, but I’ve always envied those who are. They are the people who seem to “have it all together.” My house and life are also synonymously cluttered up messes. I’ve been reading what the Minimalists are saying, and wondering if I’m ready to take baby steps? Maybe journaling would be the best place to start.
I would like to declutter my worries and things I think I “should” be doing.
Congratulations – I would love a copy.
One of my current minimalism-inspired goals is to buy fewer books … but in this case, I’d like to make an exception :)
I would love a copy. It is a goal of mine this year to clear out a lot of clutter from my life, in my house and in my mind. Less is more!
I need to declutter boxes and boxes of old unlabelled photographs of people and places I do not recognise, or which are out of focus or badly shot. Kept just because…
Am seeking more inspiration to live a simple, intentional life.
This journal looks lovely! I’d love to work out my sense of guilt over pretty much everything. Guilt over hurting people, guilt over other people’s business that I have no reason to feel guilty for, guilt for having feelings…all that terrible guilt.
I want to rid myself of the anxiety of ‘not having everything in order each day’ ! Thanks for the giveaway.
I liked this question from the journal: What unproductive activity or distraction can you purge from your day? (That might not be it exactly, but close). It’s a beautiful journal! Congratulations, Francine!
I can’t wait to read the journal and go through the journey of simply living!
is it open worldwide?
I love to journal and this seems a nice way to clear out inner clutter in a very practical way.
I would love a copy of the journal to help me let go of emotional clutter.
I would like to declutter my thought processes of having to constantly check social media sites to “keep” up with what everyone else is doing, instead of focusing on myself and becoming a better me with less things both external and internal.
I’d like to get rid of the metal clutter of regrets using this journal.
I’d love some help getting rid of all the mental distractions.
How exciting, congratulations! My inner clutter is that I worry far too much about other people and what they think of me.
I’ve just come through a very challenging two years of divorce, the death of my father, and my mother’s stroke and am learning to live independently but am struggling with loneliness. I have been journaling with the inspiration of Julia Cameron’s Never Too Late book but have long followed your blog, book, and inspiration for minimalism. Congratulations on your newest book. Your story has changed my life.
I began journey to minimalism about 5-6 years ago with the help of your blog/book. I am now working on the “mental clutter” part of my journey and think this journal would be just what I need.
I need one of these journals in my life! Thanks for hosting the giveaway.
Working on decluttering now and this would be a good help!
Congratulations on the journal release! I would love one of the giveaway ones to help clear out my stresses over changing my whole life, location and leaving old relationships and stuff behind in retirement. I try to de clutter my mind about all this change, but this new journal looks like an organized approach to get past my struggle. Best wishes!
I was looking at the journal in my local bookshop the other day but a free one would be better!!! I’m hitting the big 40 next year so there’s lots of what ifs and if onlys going on at the moment!!!
This is a lovely idea, which would make a lovely gift. I’d like to declutter those final ‘hard to shift’ items – nearly there!
I would love to win one! I want to get rid of my negative stress. :)
I would love to win a copy. It looks lovely and helpful. You have taken me a long ways in my decluttering journey already. Thank you!
Congratulations on the release of the journal book. I’ve being working on becoming a minimalist over the past few years editing & organizing home stuff and clothing . I would enjoy winning the journal book . This journey I’ve started has opened new paths for me to follow and explore .
Jenith
Count me in! Would love a copy! Thanks.
I’m letting go a past relationship that didn’t work out with my horse. And starting from scratch with a fresh clean slate on my new pony!!
My inner struggle is taking that first step to get rid of clutter. We have lived in the same house for 25 years and it is now time to get rid of the clutter and start a new phase of our lives. I thought as we got older our lives would become more simplified but we have more responsibilities than ever.Thankfully we do not have time to add to the clutter but what we have is not getting noticeably smaller.
I’m currently reading the joy of less book and love it so much that it will be the book of the month for November on my new blog hellopeacefulmind.com.
I would love to declutter my home so i can focus when I’m working on my blog! And because I’m tired of the useless mess that accumulated everywhere. ..
I really would like to deal with some heritage from my aunt, she left a lot of thingsand I don’tt what to keep and what to let it go! So your is helping me a lot! I bought it today at brazilians ibooks! Great! Menos é Mais.
I would love to clear our worry and anxiety!