Goodbye, Things

 Fumio Sasaki

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Nonfiction

Goodbye, Things is one of those books that either will convince you to make changes in your life by taking the first step or will make you totally dismiss the whole idea of what it suggests and go on with your life as it is without taking its advice. There is no right or wrong here, because it is your life and you know better what is right or wrong for you.

The author gets very personal in this book by giving his take on minimalism. He blends practical advice with his own reflections on why we clutter our lives in the first place. While the book may seem to be mainly about decluttering your house, I feel it is more about decluttering your mind first—setting your priorities and understanding what is more important and what you can let go of to save your energy and money.

The great thing is that the book is very easy to read and understand. I alternated between reading and listening to the audiobook, and both formats worked well for me in reinforcing the message. The content is quite easy to digest and makes you pause and think of the possibilities if you applied the idea to your own life.

One of the strongest aspects of the book is how motivational it is. I won’t lie here when I say that this book has motivated me and made me want to declutter many unnecessary things in my house. I found that the author’s honesty about less doesn’t mean less but can be more is very fascinating and, at times, even liberating. 

While reading the book, I was thinking about my book shelves, movie collections, and other items. Yes, I have been unhauling things lately that I don’t plan to read or watch again—especially those that have less reread or rewatch value. It can be difficult at first to part with your things at first, but eventually it will feel like a very freeing process. The idea that everything we own, actually, we don’t own but are renting, that the book suggests is true if you think about it. We come to this world without a thing, and we leave it empty-handed. Whatever we leave will be passed to someone else. 

I’ve also begun applying the same mindset to other areas—clothes, electronics, and even unnecessary furniture. The book highlights something simple yet powerful: the more you own, the more complicated life becomes. Managing, organizing, cleaning, and even thinking about all those items adds a kind of invisible weight that you don’t fully notice until you start removing it.

I feel minimalism should not stop at physical things but also should include digital decluttering, which the author mentions too. Organizing and decluttering your PC or mobile can be a starting point before you go for the physical items. 

The book is not without downsides. Those downsides can differ from one reader to another. I don’t think that everything the author suggested could be practical for everyone. People have different lifestyles and different living situations. There was also a bit of repetition, which I find is a flaw of many nonfiction books. 

Overall, Goodbye, Things was a positive reading experience for me. It’s not the perfect universal guide because those do not exist, but without a doubt, I found it to be impactful and convincing. You don’t need to follow every piece of advice by the author. However, I bet you will find a few of his ideas that can help you in making your life less complicated than it is with so many things surrounding you. It is definitely worth reading. 

Key Themes:

• Minimalism
• Freedom
• Identity
• Possessions
• Decluttering
• Ownership