Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism Kindle Edition

Thank you Fumio for such an enlightening and profound read. I just graduated and have been feeling a sense of urgency for a while to get a good job now I have a good job and to climb corporate ladder, to build intellectual and emotional intelligence, to navigate modern dating, to stay fit and eat healthy and a barrage of other non stop aggressions. Thanks to minimalism and the ideas of this book coupled with spiritual training and meditation I can finally breathe and live in the moment. Things really do block our insights into the space of happiness. You are a great author and excellent teacher. I thank you so much Fumio

I’ve been slowly declutterring for a while, but the habit of buying continues. This book has given me a lot of good advice and insight on my purchasing habits and how I can move beyond consumerism.

This book goodbye, things is about minimalism and the positive impact this lifestyle has had on the author and includes a manual on how to disregard with possessions in a positive way. The author testifies he formerly lived a shallow life full of clutter but has not now transformed to a life of meaning because he's stripped it of non-essentials. He's learned he doesn't need most of the things society says is important for happiness, so everything he owns now is crucial. Discarding things has freed him up to focus on what he, the individual, not society, believes are the most important things in life; people and present experience. This book says simple living, gratitude, and flexibility are the keys to a well lived life. Big Ideas I Took from This BookGet Rid of the Notion that Someday You'll Use Something: I like this rule because I use it when I try to justify keeping mess in my house. I was mortified he caught me keeping "fancy disposable bags" I think I'll use in the future.Get Rid of Decorative Stuff and Unused Furniture: I like the rule about getting rid of unused furniture. Extra furniture and things increase the need for square footage and square footage means more rent. Material Belongings Have Baggage: Items we don't use speak both positively and negatively. The unread books on our shelves tell us we lack follow through. The expensive chair we no longer sit in reminds us of a poor impulsive purchase and posturing. Stuff Controls our Time, Directly and Indirectly: A big house requires a lot of cleaning. Expensive purchases requires lots of income and high income requires absorbent amounts of stress and time. He says since he reduced his footprint he's had more time to work on things that are important to him and his confidence has increased. He wrote this book, created a website and has reached out to celebrities who've agreed to coffee. That newfound courage is new to him and he credits minimalism with the positive change.Before reading this book I was following a basic form of minimalism, but after reading I am reignited to adopt a stricter approach because I believe it will have a huge positive impact on my lifestyle.

I have read probably 75 books on decluttering, organizing and minimizing because they calm me. I have been slowly trying to become a minimalist for a while now.I think this is the first book to talk about your things talking to you. That is EXACTLY how I felt but I didn’t put 2 & 2 together until I read it in this book.My things tell me:I need washing or dustingI need a new batteryYou’d better put me back on the shelf before your mother-in-law/ friend / neighbor doesn’t see me out of this drawer that you hide me in until they come over.It’s almost Halloween, time to drag me out once a year so every one can see my adorable holiday displays that hide in the attic the rest of the year with all of the other showy, holiday clutter. Oh, and sidenote, you’re 55, have no kids and no one saw any of your Halloween stuff last year so….. yay you, what a waste of time and energy.I am out of date, buy a newer version of me….and the list goes on.Less things equals less chatter. Less of my life energy being spent on THINGS.Thank you Fumio, that one idea was so enlightening and helped me release sooo many more things from my life.

A good book to introduce the idea of minimalism in your life, even if you are not considering the lifestyle fully. It makes you think about the value, or lack thereof, of everything around you. Meaningful words.

Minimalism taken to its extreme. The book, while well-written, will not resonate with most simply because the author's path caters to people approaching middle-age without any children, pets, significant others, etc.Recommended only for those seeking a solitary life with little to no burdens outside their control.

I remember seeing this at work one day from the suggestions portion of a page left open by a co-worker doing a search for a previous guest. I had already read The Art of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and had begun my own journey of cleaning things up in my own life. The only thing was that I had gotten busy along the way and felt that I had gotten to a point where it was "adequate." Fast forward and seeing this book and looking through the preview at work I buy it the same night and get on it remembering a review I read that said this is more of a memoir than a "how-to" which put me in a certain mindset when reading this book which I was open to. As a result it has inspired me to go back to the "cleaning" I've left unfinished and to re-evaluated the items that I hold value in or that bring value to me. From the day I bought this book until now, it has taken about a month and a half to finish reading here and there, I've cleaned out much more of my possessions and continue using what I've leaned here from a different perspective as a guideline to what I can be doing. While I'm far from achieving what my idea of minimalism is, I can say I'm much happier and have further reduced my own clutter and excess belongings. It also aligns with what I believe in as well, to create memories and not clutter with belongings.Short version; this has a story that is being told and not just a how-to be minimal or declutter which makes it great.