Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism MP3 CD – Unabridged, 11 April 2017

I have read the this book 3 times already and I’m now getting the kindle version because we’ll I’m trying to reduce my possessions !!I have read/listened/watched a few minimalists content and this book is the one that resonated the most. It’s practical, the guy is pragmatic and there is no nonsense drama (like in the US The Minimalists). I’m far from being there in terms of minimalism but at least with this book you start having a different approach when buying. You also learn to let go with less guilt. And when I struggle, we’ll I grab the book again 😊

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.

Loved this book. Very honest about his journey in to minimalism and really interesting to read. Not preachy or prescriptive but very helpful. If you want minimal books on minimalism then this is an excellent choice. I am keeping mine!

3 years ago I moved from the UK to Portugal taking only what would fit into the boot of my tiny 2 seater sports car. Getting rid of my stuff was so liberating that I vowed I would never go back to living with clutter again.Before I set out on my move to Portugal I learned Vipassana meditation and have since travelled around the world to attend meditation retreats. Being able to jet off spontaneously is largely due to the fact that I live without unnecessary possessions. I can truly say that living a minimalist lifestyle is one of the best things I’ve ever done.I have never met another minimalist and it was just something that happened to me through personal experience. I was therefore curious when I came across this title on kindle which peaked my curiosity. I can tell you that this book resonated with me on so many levels and I know if I’d read it a few years ago it would have immediately triggered my start to a more minimalist lifestyle. Highly recommended.

So before I began reading this book, I took a look at the, frankly, incredibly funny 1 star reviews on Goodreads. Some of the criticism did ring true.Yes he believes that Steve Jobs, the iPhone, and the Apple kingdom is actually better than sliced bread. Yes he is bordering on Spartanism. Yes he does repeat a lot of things, and yes his book chapters are like blog entries.But all of that said, I really enjoyed this book. Maybe it was the exceedingly candid point of view that fueled each sentence. The frankness, the eagerness, and the love for his topic, all made this book a good read. Did it make me want to be a minimalist more than I did before reading it? Yes, but sensibly. He importantly stresses the point that this is what worked for him and it may work for you, but at the end of the day, the reader has to be intelligent and responsible enough to tailor the approach to their circumstances. If you enjoy creating scaled models of trains, then an almost empty apartment with a MacBook and an iPhone, aren't likely to be the things that would make you happy.The two foundations of this book and that of the minimalist movement in general as put extremely eloquently by Joshua Fields Millburn are:1) Love people, and use things, because the opposite never works.2) No one on their deathbed says they regret not accumulating more stuff.So in conclusion, consciously consume, and enjoy this book.