Reddit reviews Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism

The single best book (or audiobook) I recommend every beginner about minimalism is "Goodbye, Things". The writing is simple and direct. It's full of interesting insights and advice.

After that, read "The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. Why not the main book? Because the manga (comic book) is easier and more entertaining to digest and goes over her main ideas just fine. While Marie Kondo isn't a minimalist, her methods complement it immensely.

And for the love of God, avoid "The Minimalists" or anything by them. Absolutely preachy, pretentious, surface level garbage.

Fumio Sasaki, the man featured in the article and videos has a book about minimalism which is receiving an English-language release in April. It's called Goodbye Things: The New Japanese Minimalism.

Minimalist philosophy is vague, so here are some books that cover a few areas. No one agrees on what the philosophy means so some will take issue with each of these I'm sure.

Contemporary Minimalism: Goodbye, Things

Getting Rid of Stuff: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Traditional (somewhat related): Walden

Design (again, not perfect match, but similar): Wabi-Sabi

Do it yourself guide: Clear one area (desk, countertop, bed side table) then enjoy the emptiness. That'll give you enough of a taste to explore more.

edit: typos

Funny you should write this as I was in a bookshop and saw this book today - Goodbye, things and it was really interesting. Had before and after pictures of his house before an after becoming a minimalist. He was basically a hoarder before and after his room just looked so airy and nice. He wrote about all the benefits of minimalism and said how much better he feels because of it. It made minimalism seem like a really positive life change. I will definitely look more into it as I am a very messy person and acquire lots of things although I generally feel I dont buy much other than food. I very rarely get plastic bags and have stopped buying any plastic bottles since I saw how much damage they do to the seas and oceans. Anyways the book was really good and if I buy it it'll be on kindle as I rarely buy books and never buy magazines. (I usually read them in the big shops - seems like such a waste to buy them when they produce so many and all I can think about is how many trees are cut down to produce these and so many of these magazines are never bought - there are thousands on the shelves of shops at the end of every month.) Anyways yeah as vegans most of us understand how devastating eating meat is to the environment and cutting down on buying and consuming stuff is better for the planet and probably for ourselves so yeah Im gonna look into it more and try and cut more stuff out of my life.

edit: Here's the book : https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Things-New-Japanese-Minimalism/dp/0393609030

Here is his new book on Amazon. Not many reviews but it seems to be well-rated so far.

It depends on you. For me, Minimalism is a tool to helps me simplify my life and to focus on what is important by removing the "Things" that clutter my mind and my space. The "Things" could refer to physical things such as items that you don't need, things that you haven't used in a while, and the things that you hoard for no apparent reason. The "Things" could also refer to the amount of information you consume as well.

To ask "What is a minimalist Lifestyle?" one must ask "Why do you want to live a minimalist lifestyle?" Is it for financial reasons? Are you going to crisis? Are you moving? Always question the idea with "Why?" and once you have it, then try to simplify the "Things" around you that are holding you back.

Example: For me, I had credit card payments and medical bills to pay, and minimalism helped me minimize my spending habits, and focus on paying those bills. later on, I started questioning all my stuff, and started removing the things that I didn't need or didn't bring joy or value to my life anymore. It wasn't all sudden but it was all worth it.

Here are some wonderful sources that might give you an idea on minimalism:

• The Minimalists - Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
  
  • *There is also a Podcast and Netflix special Called, "Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things"
    
• The More of Less - joshua Becker
  
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing - Marie Kondo
  
• Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism - Fumio Sasaki

https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Things-New-Japanese-Minimalism/dp/0393609030/

This book changed my life. Good bye, things by fumio sasaki

https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Things-New-Japanese-Minimalism/dp/0393609030

this book