Book review Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki
Book review Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki
Book review Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki – a book on minimalism and simplifying 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.”
This blurb is borrowed from the Amazon description of the book.
Regular guy – just like you
Fumio Sasaki is just that. A regular guy on a path towards freedom from things cluttering his home.
I had heard a lot of good things about this book and first encountered it through youtuber Simple Victoria. Then I heard it referenced through The Minimal Mom too, about the quiet to do list. Suddenly it just made total sense to me and I had to read the book for myself.
I liked Marie Kondo and the whole “sparking joy” thing, but I also felt pressured to kind of decorate in a certain way. Not necessarily because of Kondo, but the minimalism wave that followed.
Fumio Sasaki takes a more hardcore approach, simplifying down to absolute essentials and going way beyond what I currently feel comfortable with. But the thing is, he started out exactly as other regular people just happening to stumble upon minimalism and the need to simplify your belongings.
A simpler existence
Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki definitely is more of a passenger seat to another persons journey but relatable and easy to follow. I was instantly motivated to declutter some things. All these things seemed way less important.
The most interesting thing for me was the idea of the Quiet To Do List. Which made me realize that I have way too many things. Things that I don’t want to spend mental energy on.
The biggest take away
Honestly, that’s also the biggest point I’ve taken from Goodbye, Things. It’s to simply say goodbye to the things I don’t want to bother managing. The Minimal Mom calls it inventory to manage, and I feel that. I’m not a store house and I don’t want to pay rent to house things that are just there with no real purpose.
So think about it – what exactly do you want to make space for in your life? Maybe this book?
I borrowed it on Libby, since I was already on a minimalism roll with downsizing my book collection. (Which is NOT easy guys!).
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