I’m also thinking about it’s applications to me as a bookstagrammer. Recommended if you feel like doing spring cleaning, moving house or get annoyed by clutter like I do. If you can get past the haphazard tone and self-importance of the book, there’s many actionable steps to help you evaluate your relationship with your possessions. The book also feels bloated with it’s excessive repetition of ideas - it feels like a good editor or trimming was missed.

He quotes Steve Jobs, Fight Club and How To Think And Grow Rich along with That Nhat Hanh liberally - the who’s who in inspirational self-help. Sasaki writes like a mix of motivational speaker cum evangelical preacher interspersed with moments of extreme calm and serenity. I appreciated the reminder that minimalism is a personal journey, there’s no one fixed way to do it.

Some applications seemed extreme, (3 white shirts only?), but perhaps in Japan with its frequent earthquakes and extreme weather, this has practical value - you might actually get killed by excessive stuff. We also see people’s varying applications of minimalism in Goodbye Things. Getting rid of all items besides the essentials is a somewhat liberating thought to have. Minimalism therefore is a natural path to follow. We feel overwhelmed, stressed and distracted surrounded by so much stuff. I came to this breaking point when I looked around my house and saw lots of things I wouldn’t touch ever again (or have never touched in the last 6 months). The chapter “55 tips to help you say goodbye to your stuff” is perhaps one of the more powerful, actionable chapters in this book.īut how did we get here in the first place? How did minimalist movements and decluttering initiatives (ala Marie Kondo’s wildly successful KonMari (and sticky idea “does it spark joy?”) become so popular? His road to minimalism might be familiar for some - he describes the tipping point where consumerism gave no extra joy and how he embraced minimalism. Sasaki takes the vantage point of a ‘former maximalist’ - one who sought refuge in possessions and consumerism.

Goodbye, Things is an introduction to minimalist philosophy and it’s origins in Zen Buddhism.

Moving in with my wife = great opportunity to ask yourself the tough questions about your stuff - to keep or not to keep?.

Fumio sasaki minimalist