Goodbye, Things

The New Japanese Minimalism

By: Fumio Sasaki, Eriko Sugita - translator

Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka

Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2017 Fumio Sasaki (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Practical , Deep and Self-Reflection

Loved this book. One of the best I have come across in my life time. Truly has made me reflect about myself,
my possessions and their purpose in my life. This book was worth every penny. I will relisten to this, and think it is a great reference book. I recommend it to any and anyone who is looking to rid their space and mind of unecessary clutter.

There is value here, but...

Pros:

I found it really easy to draw the comparisions to my own life, and helpful in seeing where I can make some changes.

Hearing how minimalism changed his life was a fresh take on what is becoming a saturated market.

Cons:

The author seemed to have a real crush on Steve Jobs and how he lived his life. While I think Jobs is an excellent example of someone who focused on simplicity I had a hard time when he was brought up yet again as the perfect example of minimalism. It would have been better to have more variety of successful minimalists and how they made it work for them.

I also had difficulty with the way chapers were written. It seemed as though each point had a subtitle which really broke up the flow of the story and seemed redundant as it immediately used the exact same wording in the following explaination. Maybe in a printed work it would be less intrusive but it was annoying in audio.

Overall:

A new perspective who is not trying to pretend he has all the answers.

I would recommend reading this book to someone who was interested in the reasons WHY of simplicity and minimalism. This is not another book on how to clear your closets.

For a skeptical person this may not be a good into as the previously listed cons can be particularly irritating unless you are commited to the reading.

A Grounding Perspective

I have listened to this book 4x over the last six months. I gain a new perspective with every listen. I never considered the baggage or emotional price you pay for items you own. After the sudden loss of a parent, I couldn't part with any of their possessions (chapstick, shoes, magazines, ect). None of these items represented my parent but it was a physical tie that I subcontiously could not break. This book helped me process those emotions and realize we are not our things and our things are not representations of us. I started to declutter my physical life and my emotional life followed suit. With less (emotionally insignificant) items to care for, I have more time and a clearer perspective on what I value. I have donated/discarded more than 300 items over the last 6 months. This book is a cult classic for me. I'm thankful for it's publication. Happy Reading

anyone curious about Minimalism MUST READ

ME: always organized/clean no problem discarding incredible success with konmari curious since about full blown minimalism

This guy really breaks minimalism down. I like "the minimalists" from the Netflix documentary but they can be a little preachy and a little too philosophical for some. Fumio of course gives some minimalist philosophy but its from a logical practical place.

I think what makes this book stand out is that its incredibly well formed and clear yet I think you could open any random page and get some good advice . This book is no chore to get through I was hanging on every word, as a minimalist I suppose everything he writes has a clear purpose. It seems like he has an answer for everything its almost like he is reading the readers mind answering their questions, providing solutions to their excuses before they are even formed. This book contained so many lightbulb moments.

I really liked what some may see as the self deprecating nature of this book ( something kondo does as well) I just see it as honest. He speaks a lot about his former self all the mistakes he made all the failures and unhappiness, even now at one point saying "she since dumped me" haha.

The theme of this book is basically: I was unhappy, minimizing my things made me happy I believe it can make you happy too here's how.

Many good ideas, but...

Some ideas are good, but some are over the top. Such as live for the now, it doesn’t work so well for retirement planning, some thing needs to plan out for future results.

Given how we Americans are consumers, follow 50% of his advice and we will do better.

Exactly what I was looking for

I knew the subject interested me after watching a TED talk and then, a very unhelpful Netflix documentary that spent more time advertising their book. I read Kondo's book, but it seemed focused mostly on how to declutter, not the reasons.

I've listened to this several times in a row now. Which, says something. This book goes into many areas of how and why one should consider minimalism, in a well told and organized manner. There are references to other subject experts throughout and the authors own personal story is present, without being the overbearing focus of attention. As opposed to other books in this topic, which seem most concerned with spending time telling me how to fold my shirts.

The content seems to have list nothing in translation. The narration was high quality, not too drab, and easy to listen to.

Not for me

There were a lot of good points in this book. But he goes overboard in his purging. Get rid of tv and watch shows on computer- get rid of couch and hang out at the neighborhood diner for hours. Just dumb.
The narrator did okay except when he read quotes by Ghandi, Einstein,etc and faked an Indian or German accent.
I hate writing bad reviews - in fact this is the first real review I’ve done. I’d like to minimize some. And this book does have good tips. Just think another book may be better

How to Edit Your Life

I write this short comment, as I encourage you to take advantage of this great daily deal.
The writer is an editor by profession, Japanese, and he writes in the Ernest Hemingway style. So this book is simple, to the point and doesn't ponder too long on why.

Note I do use the new 1.25x speed to match the author's intent.

I am a recovering hoarder, and shop-a-colic so I am always on the look out for good quick tips that can help me when I slip my leash! Or galvanize me to start again on purging my treasures I have not use in way too long.
These types of books are for those who want to try or to keep trying to stop hoarding or perhaps shopping.
This is not written in a style for those who just keep thinking about trying, but really for those who need a boost to keep going to get to the place that truly makes them happy.
Let me know if my comments helped?

Unlikable Guy

I am not sure what I was hoping for out of this book but by the end of it I came to the conclusion that I do not like this guy. An alcoholic, woman abuser, living in clutter decides to get rid of his stuff and buy things only in whites, grays and tan. Oh, and he dries off his plates with the same towel he uses to dry his balls!

He replaced a life of buying books to impress people to buying Apple products because they are more minimal. I think minimalism has eluded this guy. It feels like he is replacing his shopping sprees with a new criteria but he is still on a shopping spree.

Pure Zen

This is a wonderful book. Profound and yet written in deceptively plain language. My new bible. Also, this is my favorite narration of all time. Fantastic voice. Rich and expressive, it resonated deeply with the text instead of distracting from it. Bravo. Everything was perfect about this one.