My Back-to-School Reading List

It’s always a good time to step back and read a great book, but something about when school is back in session makes me want to grab for a book and learn.

So, I wanted to share my favorite books with you.  These are books I keep re-reading, recommending, and passing on to others because they show you how to live a more fulfilling and rewarding life, including guidance on how to make the most of your home.

I’m sharing the books I recommend to both homeowners and for those who want to become one.  And, because I feel like I have spent the last year of my life organizing, I have a few of my favorites I reach for when it comes to that subject as well! 

I hope you find all these back-to-school reading recommendations helpful and enlightening!

The Paradox of Choice By Barry Schwartz

I love this book and talk about it almost every day with my buyer clients.

Here’s why I love it: understanding how to make choices in life determines everything—where you live, where you go on vacation, what you eat, literally everything you do all day long.

We assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. This book explains that in order to make the best decisions in life, you must first narrow your options to only one or two choices. After reading this book, every decision you make—both big and small—will become so much easier, and you will be able easily to cut through overwhelming abundance of options that are available.

The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach 

The average American couple–he’s a low-level manager, she’s a beautician–whose joint income never exceeds $55,000 a year, but somehow they manage to own two homes debt-free, put two kids through college, and retire at 55 with more than $1 million in savings.  

I love this and proves you don’t have to make a lot of money to become rich! 

This book explains that the way to retire rich is NOT to have a budget and that you don’t need willpower or a huge salary. All you need is to set up a plan and let it work automatically for you.

David Bach also has an awesome follow-up to this book called The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner which we also highly recommend, but read the first one and then go to this one about homeowners.

Buy Homes, Not Shoes By Tamara Celeste 

In “Buy Homes, Not Shoes” lawyer and real estate expert, Tamara Celeste, shows you that with just some small shifts in your thinking and spending habits, you can own the home of your dreams.

She teaches how you can stop building wealth for your landlord and start building wealth for you and your family. 

This book is full of practical advice and show you how little hinges swing big doors as we always say.  It makes buying a home feel attainable, no matter your income.

The Home Edit Life – by Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin

I binged-watched their Netflix show, Get Organized With The Home Edit and then immediately proceeded to organize every corner of my home!  I think the book synopsis sums this one up best:

The Home Edit mentality is all about embracing your life–whether you’re a busy mom, a roommate living with three, or someone who’s always traveling for work. You just need to know how to set up a system that works for you.

In the next phase of the home organizing craze, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin go beyond the pantry and bookshelf to show you how to contain the chaos in all aspects of your life, from office space and holiday storage to luggage and pet supplies. Get to know your organizing style, tailor it to your family’s lifestyle, and lead the low-guilt life as you apply more genius ideas to every aspect of your life.

Clea and Joanna are here to remind you that “it’s okay to own things” in the quest for pretty and smart spaces. With The Home Edit Life, you’ll soon be corralling phone cords, archiving old photos, arranging your phone apps by color, and packing your suitcase like a pro.

They also have a great Home Edit Workbook with prompts and activities to help you create an organizing system in your own home.

Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave By Joanna Gaines

Something about everything Joanna Gaines and her company, Magnolia, feels like a breath of fresh air.   This book was published in 2018, but resonates so well with the year we just had.  In this book, she helps us create a home that reflects US and even provides a room-by-room guide and a design template to sketch out our own designs!  

I hope these books inspire you to live your best life when it comes to your home.   I’d love to hear your feedback on any of the books you do read, especially on how it could change the way you think and live your life.

Also let me know what your favorites are too so I can pick them up next time I’m ready for a good new book as well!