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Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by [Fumio Sasaki]

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Fumio Sasaki

Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism Kindle Edition

by Fumio Sasaki (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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The best-selling phenomenon from Japan that shows us a minimalist life is a happy life.

Fumio Sasaki is not an enlightened minimalism expert or organizing guru like Marie Kondo—he’s just a regular guy who was stressed out and constantly comparing himself to others, until one day he decided to change his life by saying goodbye to everything he didn’t absolutely need. The effects were remarkable: Sasaki gained true freedom, new focus, and a real sense of gratitude for everything around him. In Goodbye, Things Sasaki modestly shares his personal minimalist experience, offering specific tips on the minimizing process and revealing how the new minimalist movement can not only transform your space but truly enrich your life. The benefits of a minimalist life can be realized by anyone, and Sasaki’s humble vision of true happiness will open your eyes to minimalism’s potential.

Print length

260 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

April 11, 2017
File size

54171 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Inspiring in its straightforwardness and sincerity . . . I don't think it would be possible to read Goodbye, Things without taking a look at your own home (and life) with a new set of eyes. . . . In the end, what matters is the thoughtfulness the book inspires."
― Janel Laban, Apartment Therapy

"In his new book, Goodbye, Things, Fumio Sasaki shares the lessons he learned by going minimalist. . . . For Sasaki, minimalism isn't about how little you have, but how it makes you feel. Sasaki credits his minimalist lifestyle with helping him lose weight, become extroverted and proactive, and above all, feel happy and grateful for what he has."
― Heeseung Kim, Cosmopolitan

"Makes the case for radical minimalism . . . treat each of [Sasaki's] 70 tips as an opportunity to reevaluate how you use and why you keep the things in your home."
― Jenny Xie, Curbed

"Take your spring cleaning to the next level with Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki. A best-seller in Japan, this book uncovers why we want to own more than we need, what this mentality does to our well-being and how we can live better by owning less."
― Katie Neal, Parade

"If you’ve ever felt bogged down by all of the things filling your life up with clutter then this is the book for you."
― C.A., The Daily Want

"In a time of rampant consumerism, a new movement is preaching an alternative path ― one that banishes all but the most fundamental and enriching consumer products from our lives. In Goodbye, Things, Fumio Sasaki recounts his conversion from reckless hoarder to hyper-mindful consumer, and offers advice to those seeking the same simple happiness that he found in minimalism."
― Gear Patrol --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Fumio Sasaki is a Japanese author, editor, and minimalist. He is the former coeditor in chief of Japan’s Wani Books, and cofounder of the website Minimal & ism. He currently lives in the Philippines. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

ASIN : B01HDSU7KE
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company; Illustrated edition (April 11, 2017)
Publication date : April 11, 2017
Language : English
File size : 54171 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 260 pages
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #24,404 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews:
1,618 ratings

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Coco

An Introduction to Minimalist Living that Changed My Life

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2017

Having consulted countless self-help books written by gurus who appear to have it all figured out, “Goodbye, Things” was a breath of fresh air to me. Fumio Sasaki’s tone is quiet, contemplative, open-minded, and above all, humble. I easily identified with his description of how he used to be: constantly making myself miserable by comparing myself to others; berating myself for not keeping up with household chores; spending way too much time on internet research to buy something, only to never get much use out of that item. And if a self-proclaimed “regular guy” like him could go from being a depressed shop-a-holic living in a dark, messy apartment to waking up with the sun every morning feeling happy and grateful, I couldn’t see any reason not to give this minimalism thing a try myself.

When I discovered the Japanese version of this book over a year ago, my husband and I had already downsized quite a bit after reading Marie Kondo’s “Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” But reading “Goodbye, Things” has had even more of a dramatic impact on our lives, mainly because it made us think fundamentally about how we use, and why we keep, certain things. Our priority went from “living in a nice apartment full of things we love” to “minimizing our footprint to maximize our time and freedom.” We used to talk about buying a condo someday; now the idea of taking out a mortgage or being tied down to a place does not sound appealing to us at all. We used to tell each other we should entertain guests more often; now we realize that was only because our friends like to host dinner parties, and we felt guilty for not reciprocating. We have accepted that the number of things we can realistically take care of are much, much smaller than we once thought.

“Goodbye, Things” also helped us let go of items that sparked joy but we weren’t actually using or taking good care of. I really resonated with Sasaki’s observation of the “Silent To-Do List”: the more objects we have in our surroundings, the more they contribute to our already overwhelmed sensory load, and the more time and energy they take up. My husband and I used to have three bookshelves full of our favorite books, but now we only keep a handful that we are actually reading. We also let go of our long-owned musical instruments, after we finally came to terms with the fact that playing them just was not our passion or priority anymore. As difficult as this was, now it feels as though a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders.

Overall, I found this book to be a very helpful and inspiring introduction to minimalism, and for my husband and me, it really did change our lives.

731 people found this helpful

Helpful

KaraTop Contributor: Coloring

Find Your Inner Minimalist Without Deprivation

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2017

Verified Purchase

I purchased a bunch of Kindle books on decluttering a few years back, including the Marie Kondo one. They had some good ideas, but somehow I just kept collecting stuff. A couple weeks ago, this popped up in one of the srollbars on my Amazon homepage, and I picked it up (Kindle) on a whim.
So glad I did! For whatever reason, this one matched me better than the others, possibly because it looked like the author had some of the same issues I struggle with (books, in particular). One of his other offhand observations was that his old bed was heavy, and that was pretty much a direct hit too! I live with a couple cats in a one-bedroom apartment, and I refuse to get a bigger place just because the square footage has too much stuff for me to set up a writing/creative area.
With this book, I figured out a way to open up a lot of space in my current apartment, and while I doubt I'll make it to a real "minimalist" living space, I can definitely see getting down to a slender "mediumist" place. (I love my backup toilet paper!) This book doesn't "shame" you either, if you don't happen to want to get down to practically no possessions, it just does a wonderful job of explaining how to let go and find your own balance so your stuff doesn't take over your life.

219 people found this helpful

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Patricia Brogan

Gentle and Inspiring

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2017

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At first I wasn't sure about this book. "Great," I thought, "another single, male, Fight-Club-quoting, Steve-Jobs-idolizing minimalist is here to tell us how superior he is for reducing his life to a mattress and a MacBook." I wasn't far off in some ways, but before long the author's openness and lack of pretension had completely won me over.

The first part of the book is practical advice, and though he includes references to minimalist friends with spouses, hobbies, and children, it's mostly oriented toward people like himself. (The advice is still pretty good). For me the best part of the book was the second half, where he talked at length about the changes minimalism had made in his inner life. I found myself nodding in along as he talked about silent to-do lists and the procrastination they cause, the joy of living in the present, and finding value in just being ordinary.

Recommended to anyone who thinks of minimalism as chilly or self-centered, because this book will fill you with warmth.

Not recommended to anyone who is just looking for the perfect manual. That's not what this is trying to be.

297 people found this helpful

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TruthSeeker

Yay! Lots of tips on how to think differently...

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2017

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I'm very happy I purchased this book. As someone who wants to reduce belongings and simplify life, it's hard to justify buying another book but this does have a ton of wonderful ideas to help you let go, simplify, etc. (tangible and nontangible things).

125 people found this helpful

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Cathryn Zhao

A practical way of understanding minimalism

Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2017

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So many things I've read on minimalism focuses on decluttering your possessions. One level up from this are the most typical reasons to minimise and the typical benefits. Goodbye things goes one level higher by discussing how your whole lifestyle, thought process and perspective can change. I feel like this book puts into words the fundamental obstacles and urges people who are interested in minimalism have but are unable to articulate fully. Reading this book gave me such a sense of relief, like all my unarticulated yearnings to simplify and find happiness had somehow tumbled out and were being reflected in every word written on the pages of this book. For every person looking to become a minimalist but can't quite find the motivation, I highly recommend this book.

141 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Hande Z

Sayonara

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2017

Verified Purchase

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.

100 people found this helpful

Robert Blunden

Superb Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2017

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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.

63 people found this helpful

joe

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

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

51 people found this helpful

Moo

Maximise your maximalist-guilt (and perhaps get rid of a thing or two)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2018

Verified Purchase

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. Problem best to buy the Kindle version or borrow a friend’s copy though.

20 people found this helpful

Anon

Gentle Zen

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

This gentle, thought-provoking book is more than just a guide to decluttering your home. It's full of insights into how minimalism can transform the way we see ourselves, how we wish to present ourselves to the world and how we strive to attain happiness. Sasaki's writings offer a simple and practical application of the Zen Buddhist teaching of non-attachment. This book was a joy to read and I hope Sasaki one day writes another.

21 people found this helpful

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