Book review – Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki‎ — Joshua Poh

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

Goodbye, Things is an introduction to minimalist philosophy and it’s origins in Zen Buddhism. Sasaki takes the vantage point of a ‘former maximalist’ – one who sought refuge in possessions and consumerism. 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. The chapter “55 tips to help you say goodbye to your stuff” is perhaps one of the more powerful, actionable chapters in this book.

But 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?

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). We feel overwhelmed, stressed and distracted surrounded by so much stuff. Minimalism therefore is a natural path to follow. Getting rid of all items besides the essentials is a somewhat liberating thought to have.

We also see people’s varying applications of minimalism in Goodbye Things. 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. I appreciated the reminder that minimalism is a personal journey, there’s no one fixed way to do it.

Sasaki writes like a mix of motivational speaker cum evangelical preacher interspersed with moments of extreme calm and serenity. 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. This may or may not be your cup of tea. The book also feels bloated with it’s excessive repetition of ideas – it feels like a good editor or trimming was missed. Ironic, considering the topic.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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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. Recommended if you feel like doing spring cleaning, moving house or get annoyed by clutter like I do.

I’m also thinking about it’s applications to me as a bookstagrammer. I’m painfully aware that bookstagram encourages consumerism – we see beautiful editions of books we want to own, books being added to already-exploding TBRs, books that we keep on our shelves but may never read. Food for thought here.

Key ideas:

1. Be aware of the natural tendency to grow tired of our possessions no matter how new or shiny they initially are

2. By placing less value on things, we can focus our time on people and the relationships that matter

3. Minimalism is the act of reducing your possessions to those that are truly necessary and truly matter to us. It is up to you to define what that is.

4. “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”. – William Morris

5. “Our things are like roommates” – with every item you own there’s physical and psychological effort involved.

Interesting links:

Some of the tips shared in the “55 tips to get rid of your stuff” chapter.

An interesting analysis of the relationship between Zen Buddhism and minimalism.