Happier at Home

After reading Better Than Before, I immediately dove into Happier at Home. There is some repetition between the two books and I found some parts too similar but I read the two books just a day apart so if you haven't read one or the other and its been a few months, I think the repetition would be reaffirming rather than feeling a bit rehashed.

As regards the content, Better Than Before focuses on personal habits while Happier at Home deals with (as it says in the title) how to be happier domestically. The concepts Rubin explores in Happier at Home build on her original Happiness Project and, appropriate for the pandemic life, how to be happy at home without taking a strong stance towards any all-or-nothing approaches. Rubin does not recommend getting rid of all your possessions but does suggest learning to love what we have which seems like a more centrist approach (vs the “does this bring joy?” approach or stark minimalism). She also deals with improving relationships with her spouse and family and choosing activities that make her more content in her life.

The best thing about the book is that it does not present a “do it this way” approach to anything. She finds what is important to her and works to improve those areas. It inspired me to (at least) think about the whats and whys of the things I do and the items I keep.