What I’ve learned from “Goodbye, Things” by Fumio Sasaki

Note: This post is neither a review nor summary of Fumio Sasaki’s book. More than anything else, it’s a digital copy of some thoughts and feelings I had while reading “Goodbye, Things”.

In my quest to find a lifestyle that’s right for me, I stumbled upon Fumio Sasaki’s book about modern Japanese minimalism.

I loved the first chapter: profiles of Japanese minimalists and pictures of their beautiful homes and scant belongings. I especially loved the simple bedrooms with tatami beds and open windows. It must be my imagination, but it felt like there was so much more air in that room — like somehow the emptiness was compensated for by extra oxygen and peace.

There was so much peace in those pages.

I also loved the third chapter: 55 little lessons (he called them “tips”) on how others can say goodbye to their belongings (like he a few years before).

To be honest, it felt like he knew me personally, like he was writing these tips solely for me to discover sometime in the future, because he spoke about all of the things I struggled with:

• Wanting more space and more objects, so I can have a home that can entertain and host friends
• Keeping items because “someday” I will use/need them
• Keeping items because they were expensive and I haven’t gotten my money’s worth yet
• Finding it impossible to part with an item (even if I have no use for it) because it has some sentimental value (especially hard if it was a gift)

But, rather than feeling silly or exposed, I felt a sense of relief. He struggled with what I struggle with, but he was able to make changes and become happier, so:

I, too, can live in a space that makes me feel at peace.

It will take time, I know (it took Fumio a few years to “get there”). Frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever get to that true minimalist state, but I will continue to try because I feel empowered to.

And, to help me out, I’ve got my favorite tips from Fumio:

#16) Our things are like roommates, except we pay their rent.

We want big houses to live comfortably, but humans don’t take up a lot of space. What we actually want the big house for is for all the items that we want to own. But most of these items do not actually contribute value to our lives; actually, they detract from it sometimes because they force us to spend money on higher rent/mortgages so they have a place to live. Rather than living with that, we should discard them and keep only those that add to the quality of our life.

#17) Organizing is not minimizing.

Instead of relying on organization techniques to put our things in order, we should focus on reducing the number of things we even have to put in order. Life is busy and things tend to clutter over time. But, if we don’t have much in the first place, then we won’t need to waste energy and time on organizing frequently.

#23) Don’t get creative when you’re trying to discard things.

Don’t make excuses or sudden revelations about an item. If you weren’t using it before but are only thinking of using it now because you’re about to discard/give it away, then you should really let that item go. You don’t actually need or want it (you would have used it before if you did); you’re going to be better off without it.

#32) The city is our personal floor plan.

This was the most personal to me, because I specifically picked my next apartment because of all the extra space it gave me…even if it came at a high cost. You don’t need to have a big house to be able to have quality time with friends. You can take advantage of what already exists out there.

#37) Discarding memorabilia is not the same as discarding memories.

Fumio wrote, “It’s the memories that we can recall without the aid of objects that are truly important.” And, for the really hard-to-let-go items: take a picture. It’ll be easier to keep memories when you go digital.