Goodbye, Things

Fumio advocates a style of living that is close to that of the ascetic, and is difficult to live as he does – he has only four shirts. He got rid of all his books (all £7,000 worth), CDs, rolls and rolls of developed photographs, and, well, almost everything else he owned. Some people are hoarders by nature and this book will never appeal to them. Some people are neat and minimalist by nature, and this book will not add much other than the pleasure of reading a fine personal account of the life of a minimalist. But there are many in the middle, who at times feel that their lives and living conditions are cluttered. There are people who are on the verge of deciding whether to keep their keeps sakes or throw them away. If they read Fumio, they will go right ahead and chuck their stuff. Fumio is a minimalist, not so much because he is a Japanese, who are more minimalist than many other societies, but because he was reacting to his ‘overly cluttered pigpen’. As a Japanese, he once was a hoarder! Not anymore, as he tells us his reasoning that we do not need most of the things we possess. A £20,000 will not have fifty times the battery life of a £400 one, and it is probably true that even Bill Gates cannot eat six meals a day, as Fumio says, but the point that the author is making is that not only should we not acquire things, we need not acquire expensive things. That is part of minimalism. It may border on parsimony, but the line is drawn by Fumio – minimalist living includes enjoyment of possessions and experiences. He places experiences above material possessions, but he says we should enjoy the few material possessions that we do have. Fumio gives plenty of tips as to how to start a minimalist life. But first, one has to rid himself of the greed that pervades the modern world; the psychological attachment to acquisition as a sign of achievement; and the accumulation of things as a measure of self-worth. He tells the reader who is thinking whether to keep a thing or discard, ‘Don’t think. Discard’. He tells us to spend less time shopping. Fumio is a minimalist indeed, and his philosophy is about living and appreciating life in the present, and happy memories. Yet, it is hard to argue that some objects are desirable because they bring back memories. Fumio seems to think that the memories in themselves are sufficient – this may be a matter of the different extent to which one wishes to be a minimalist. Don’t forget, Fumio got rid of all his towels, and now only has a Japanese towel that he uses for everything – bathing and washing his dishes included.

It is not often that I read a book twice in the first week. I have read a couple of books before about getting rid of 'clutter' which were ok but I somehow felt like their authors lived very different lives to mine. But this book is very different. Sure, most readers will think this guy has gone to extremes, but don't let that put you off. What really impresses me about the author is that he says more about his own life and how he has found meaning and some kind of happiness the further along the minimalist path he goes. There is so much about his own life in this book. It is very inspiring and I salute Fumio Sasaki's bravery in telling us what he does. So this is not just another book from the East that talks about living in a tidy home and getting your stuff organised. That's only a part of something bigger. I recommend this book 100% to anyone who feels their life is empty even when their home is full and their days seem very full and busy.I have just read Ken Mogi's book entitled The Little Book of Ikigai. So very disappointing. Maybe it needs reading more than once but it fails to deliver. Please read Goodbye Things. You do not have to throw away things you love. You embrace the message your way. I don't think you will be disappointed. If nothing else, it will get you thinking about the things in your life and what matters.

you probably should get it on kindle if you want to get into the spirit of it.

Whilst I’m not sure of the logic of buying a thing entitled Goodbye Things, I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments expressed inside this book. I only wish I could live up to Fumio’s example. I did manage to chuck out a few odd and sods, and I now have a fairly large pile of stuff to eBay (if that’s a verb), but one year on from reading the book I’m still living in a whole heap of clutter that, I fear, will be making me feel maximalist-guilt for some considerable time to come. Nevertheless it’s an entertaining read and shows what’s possible. Probably best to buy the Kindle version or borrow a friend’s copy though.

I bought this for a friend who is a keen minimalist, but I borrowed it after she had finished it and I am... unimpressed.I wasn't sure what to expect really, but the main cut and thrust of the book is that you should throw everything away and your life will improve immeasurably. You'll be happier, richer, thinner; you'll have more meaningful relationships with other people; climate change will reverse itself; all humanity will embrace one another in a spirit of brotherhood, and YOU have the power to bring that about. By throwing away those CDs you've been holding on to.You think I'm exaggerating but all of this is in there. Sasaki has clearly had some sort of breakdown and his way of coping with this is to throw everything away and live like a hermit while wearing turtlenecks because he wants to be like Steve Jobs, who was awful.He also introduces several other minimalists and their blogs, and they're exactly the sort of insufferable 'Pinterest people' you'd think they are. None of them have a cup for you to drink tea out of when you go and visit, but boy golly do they have a vintage typewriter for their latest screed on how throwing everything away made them happy.Didn't really learn anything practical either. I have too many books, and I do indeed need to throw some of them away, but there is no practical advice about how to go about doing this. Simply throw them away and all will be good and right with the world. Cool, thanks.I started with this one.