Back approximately four or five years ago, I caught what I like to refer to as “the minimalism bug”. In fact, I’ve written about it a lot on this site because it really changed my life path. Today we’re going to talk about the book that started it all: Goodbye, Things.
A New Beginning
When I think back to my first time reading this book, I have to give credence to how it first found me. I was a pack rat, with messy tendencies. I wasn’t in the habit of cleaning up after myself. And I wasn’t used to living in a clean or organized space. But I did have a passion for learning and tying new things. And I wanted to improve myself.
I came across this book and thought, “What a strange title. I have to read this.” And so I did. I have to say, I wasn’t ready for what I would find within. I had never heard of someone deliberately getting rid of their things in order to have less. My mom had a penchant for decluttering, but that was in order to organize. Not to have less things. I was shocked at this novel idea. Minimalism, he called it. Fumio Sasaki was a minimalist.
The Book
Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism is a book by Fumio Sasaki. In it, he shares a little bit about himself and his life, and a lot about the concept of minimalism, as he sees it. He mentions both The Minimalists and Marie Kondo in his book, but unlike their work, he focuses far less on the how of minimalism and far more on the why.
I think this approach is very interesting. It’s clear that his work is inspired by minimalists that came before him, not solely personal revelation. And I think that’s quite relatable, in a way. The voice he uses to write the book is very plain-speak. He’s a real no-frills kind of guy, and overall, it works.
If The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is the warm embrace of decluttering, this book is the nearly the opposite. It doesn’t talk down to you, but it certainly doesn’t hold your hand or make room for your excuses. He’s frank, not rude. And for me, the tone is very refreshing. You get the sense that as he’s talking to the reader, he’s also addressing his former self in a way. He’s very clear on what sorts of rationalizations we make in order to keep things around that we really don’t need.
The Author, The Minimalist
We get a few passages of explanation in the book that tell us who this author is, and it provides a really personal feel. Fumio Sasaki is in his mid-thirties at the time of writing this book. He is a single man, who lives alone in a small apartment. He’s not a hermit. He has romantic relationships and friendships, and he loves his mother. He has a job, and in general, a life. Nothing strange or spectacular. He’s a pretty average guy, although he says one might call him a loser. (I personally think that seems a little judgemental and harsh, but the point is, he’s not claiming to have this charmed life. That’s not what this book is about.)
He often juxtaposes his life before and after minimalism, which gives us a rather interesting look into his psyche, as well as what he would perhaps describe as the benefits of minimalism. Before minimalism, he was more or less the same person, but far less happy with himself and his life. He spent his time collecting books and movies. He liked photography and sharing a hotpot with a friend. (Or at least, the idea of these things, since he often didn’t get around to doing them.)
Since getting rid of most of his possessions, he’s happier. He feels lighter in life, less bound to one place, one identity. Less tethered to a life he feels trapped in. Even though his life hasn’t changed that much in broad strokes, it’s completely improved in his experience of it. He’s not spending so much time maintaining and procuring his things, and he finds housework far easier. He knows that people may see him as unsuccessful, but it doesn’t matter to him as much anymore, because he’s really happy.
Radical minimalism
You may be wondering, how much stuff did he really get rid of, to have these huge emotional results? Well, a lot. He doesn’t say exactly how many things he owns or how many he got rid of in the book, but he does explain that it was a lot. He also mentions that today (as of writing the book) it would only take him 30 minutes to move out of his apartment! I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty extreme to me.
That being said, even he admits that you don’t need to have any certain amount of possessions in order to count as a “real minimalist”. There’s no minimalist card to carry, and you don’t finally gain legitimacy by having only double digits of possessions. In the book, he mentions some more radical minimalists who own barely anything, live out of a single suitcase, etc etc. But that’s not the goal. To him, the goal of minimalism is to discard the unnecessary. And it’s up to you to decide for yourself what is truly necessary.
His Relatable Neuroses
There are many times in the book when he talks about the ways he used to think and feel before getting rid of his things, and they are (in my opinion) tragically relatable. He was insecure because he didn’t make enough money in order to provide for his girlfriend all of the things that he felt she necessitated. He felt uncomfortable in his body because of the extra weight he was carrying.
But it wasn’t just his insecurity in himself that I saw myself in. His stories about why he was keeping around certain items and specific kinds of things rang quite familiar to me. For instance, he wanted to show just how smart he was, so he kept a large collection of books. Difficult books, the classics, highly conceptual books that he wanted to show he was interested in. He was using his book collection as a way of showing (himself and others) that he was smart and interesting and interested in life.
A lot of us do that. And we do it without even realizing it! Books, movies, kitchen appliances, exercise gear–all sorts of things. We buy and keep them to demonstrate who we are externally, instead of just being who we are. It’s interesting that we feel we have to prove ourselves in this way, considering how many times we’ll buy things that we never use. We know that, and yet overall we still consider this an overall neutral thing, or something that “just happens”. It’s sort of funny, in its own way.
What is necessary?
The big question that the book tries to get you to ask yourself in multiple ways is simply “What is truly necessary?” And yes, the answer is going to be different for everyone. I like Marie Kondo’s approach to decluttering where the qualifier is that you want your possessions to spark joy. And yet in this book, that is mainly viewed as a jumping off point.
Goodbye, Things asks you to not think of what sparks joy, but to discard something if it is not necessary. And the author even goes so far as to mention that some things will still spark joy and you should get rid of them, because they’re not necessary, and thus, are still weighing you down. This point is challenging and unsettling. Far different from the magical world of Marie Kondo where you feel that you could have limitless possessions, as long as they make you happy.
I think it’s worth saying that Fumio Sasaki doesn’t believe that everyone needs to be a minimalist. He acknowledges in an interview with Martha Stewart that if you own lots of things but are happy, then that’s great too. (You can read that interview here.) But he still asks you in the book to reflect on living a life with less, and more specifically, to get rid of any unnecessary possessions. And the implications of this can feel a bit harsh. Especially if you’re not ready.
A Call To Action
When I first read this book, it set me on a path. One of decluttering and discarding that I could never have imagined myself capable of even a few months before. And yet, after getting through this book, I felt extremely motivated. Reading it made me realize just how many excuses I was making for myself–and for behaviors that I didn’t even like. I was tired of being this person and living this way. And for once, I saw a way out. So I took it. It was a lot of work, but within about a few months, my space was revamped. I felt freer than I ever had before, and considering I had just moved into my own space for the first time that year, that was saying something.
Now, four to five years later, I read the book again, in preparation for this book review. And strangely enough, it had a similar effect. Even though I’m not a “pack rat” like I used to be, reading this book again made me feel…motivated. I wanted to look around my home and get all the extra stuff out, ASAP. And I did. I found a lot more extra items than I expected to, and in the days following, I’m continuing to do light decluttering and discarding. (I’m sure my local Goodwill will be excited for all the extra merchandise they get to sell.)
I find this surprising, because minimalism is no longer a novel concept to me, and reading it was not as exciting the second time around. And yet, it still had that very strong effect to make me get up off my butt and go through my things. It shoved away my complacency and made me realize that there’s a lot further I can still go with these concepts, should I so choose.
And no, in case you’re wondering, I don’t plan on being a radical minimalist. I don’t plan on counting the items that I own or living out of a suitcase. (I mean, never say never, right? But it’s not my goal or something I aspire to.) It’s just that there’s so much more freedom to be felt. And if getting rid of more things will help me to see and be more of myself, then that’s just what I want to do.
Read this book!
I really would recommend this book to anyone who is curious about minimalism, either personally or conceptually. We’re so often taught about the benefits of having more, and yet nobody ever seems to explain to us the benefits of having less. Fumio Sasaki does that in no uncertain terms. He’s honest and open about his story, his shortcomings, and his own neuroses in order to make a compelling and easy-to-read case for why saying goodbye to your things is a good idea.
He also lists 55 tips for how to declutter if it’s your first time and don’t know what you’re doing. These tips are actionable, and insightful. He doesn’t judge you for where you’re at, but he also doesn’t accept the excuses that we so often put in front of ourselves when it comes to decluttering. He fearlessly hacks away at the stranger parts of our human psyche in order to successfully ask the question: “What is necessary? Why not live with less?” And I have to say, his book changed my life.
So go and get yourself a copy of this book. And if you do get a physical copy of the book, pass it along once you’re done. Fumio Sasaki would approve.
