Book recommendation: “Goodbye, things” by Fumio Sasaki

“Goodbye, things” by Japanese minimalist Fumio Sasaki, published by Penguin, is an inspiring and uplifting book. It explores the philosophy and cultural history of minimalism from Zen Buddhism to Steve Jobs. Reading even just a few chapters in it from time to time always puts a smile on my face!


Fumio Sasaki is one of the hardcore minimalists whom we sometimes hear about: he’s a writer who lives in a tiny studio in Tokyo with just three shirts, four pairs of trousers, four pairs of socks and not much else. Minimalism has opened his mind to happiness he’d never experienced before.

Fumio Sasaki is someone like any of us,
who struggled with what we’re also struggling with

I found “Goodbye, things” heart-warming because Fumio Sasaki does not proclaim himself to be a minimalism guru or a decluttering expert: he’s just an ordinary guy. He’s someone like any of us, who was weighed down by too much stuff and struggled with what we’re also struggling with.


As a result, he set out to explore minimalism. He figured out that incorporating minimalism into your life not only transforms the physical space around you, but also can bring about a fundamental shift in life and lead to more happiness.

In the book, he offers 55 tips to help you say goodbye to your things and 15 more tips for the next stage of your minimalism journey. In addition, he sets out 12 ways in which he himself has changed since he said goodbye to his things.


His tips and his insights into minimalism are neatly packaged into short, compact chapters, which are written in a punchy and highly readable style. Special praise to translator Eriko Sugita!



In “Goodbye, things” Fumio Sasaki explores the philosophy and cultural history of minimalism from Zen Buddhism to Steve Jobs. It takes the reader on a fascinating journey into minimalism, which is defined as a lifestyle in which possessions are reduced to the absolute minimum that one needs.



Related links:

- Penguin webpage for “Goodbye, things” by Fumio Sasaki: https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/131952/fumio-sasaki.html

- “Goodbye things, hello minimalism: can living with less make you happier?” (Guardian article of 12 April 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/12/goodbye-things-hello-minimalism-can-living-with-less-make-you-happier

- An in-depth look at “Goodbye, things” by Fumio Sasaki (book summary) (by Kyle Kowalski): https://www.sloww.co/goodbye-things-fumio-sasaki-book-summary/

- What I’ve learned from “Goodbye, things” by Fumio Sasaki (by Meziah Ruby):
https://medium.com/moychoy/what-ive-learned-from-goodbye-things-by-fumio-sasaki-d5a497823fa7

Coronavirus crisis and using time wisely while stuck at home

Suddenly, with massive restrictions imposed on our work and social lives following the worldwide spread of coronavirus, most of us are finding ourselves stuck at home. I’m sure we all wish to spend that extra time at home wisely.

Minimalist Joshua Becker (whose books back in April 2014 inspired me to want to also become a minimalist) has published an appropriately timed article in which he sets out 14 achievable tasks to help declutter your home while stuck inside. You’ll find it on the Becoming Minimalist website.

Feeling braced for the impact of the cataclysmic coronavirus crisis
(Image source: Alexey Hulsov on Pixabay)

I hope I, too, will be able to set aside some time to tackle some of those tasks, although for the time being I intend to mainly carry on working in my home office, as I’ve done for many years. Right now, I’m fully booked for some time to come, with yet more orders coming in over the past week.


The impact of the cataclysmic coronavirus crisis

Without a doubt, the huge economic shock we’re currently experiencing is going to be felt by everyone around the globe. As far as my translation job is concerned, it remains to be seen what the exact impact will be on the IP industry, which I mainly work for these days.

I am under no illusion that the current cataclysmic crisis has the potential of impacting my business, with perhaps noticeable effects such as fewer translation projects available or a degradation of my current good standard of living. Am I feeling braced for this?


Social distancing, solidarity and love

Yes, the fear of the impending economic downturn and the hit my small business is potentially going to take from it do bother me; yet it bothers me (a lot) less than it would have in the past. After all, less often frees up the space for more, and thanks to my new minimalist mindset, I now know work isn’t the main thing in life.

Over recent days, I have witnessed people coming together (while adhering to the new social distancing rules) in extraordinary acts of solidarity and human warmth. What really matters in life is these things: kindness, empathy, love for oneself, and love for others.


Stay healthy, happy and safe, everyone. And perhaps you, too, will find some time to tackle some of the tasks that are set out in Joshua’s article “14 Achievable Tasks to Help Declutter Your Home While Stuck Inside”.

What really matters in life: kindness, empathy, love for oneself, and love for others
(Image source: drawing by Hannah Heisler)

My (unusual) approach to minimising social media time

As I work at a screen all day, I’m faced with this problem: I don’t have much “brain capacity” left to absorb yet more online content, such as social media contributions, blog posts or online newspaper articles. However, I want to read online outside of work, too. And I am keen to interact with my colleagues and friends online as well, and want to show an interest in what they have posted.


A minimalist’s approach to social media use

How to make time for (non-work) online reading? As I work all day at a screen already (and blog as a hobby), spending lots of time in addition on social media isn’t really what I’m after. I’ve therefore adopted this approach, which minimises my time on social media and news sites:

I simply copy interesting content (whether in the form of whole articles or even just interesting bits of online discussions) and paste it all (without any photos) into a Word file. Once that Word file is long enough, I send it off to my e-reader. This often takes just a few minutes. I can then enjoy reading it at my leisure – away from my work screen!

I also use social media apps minimally. I maintain an active presence on Twitter (for English here and for German here), whereas I just lurk on LinkedIn. I’ve never felt the need to own a tablet, but I have Twitter installed on my phone. However, I don’t have LinkedIn or Facebook (or WhatsApp, for that matter) on my phone.


Efficient and proper reading of online content

Reading on my e-reader makes sure I am shielded from the myriad of online distractions and can block out interruptions. That way, I can properly absorb the content (AND appreciate the way in which it’s written). If you’ve ever received a response from me to one of your social media contributions one week or so later, now you know why! It does sometimes take me that long to send stuff to my e-reader and read it.

Sounds like this is not for you? Yes, I do realise this approach may not work for most people; yet it works for me. Although my English is getting better, in the end, I'm still a language learner, and this is the best way for me to pick up new words and phrases, including colloquial ones. What's more, as a translator I’m by nature a text-oriented person. I am therefore perfectly happy in the black-and-white, text-only world which my e-reader provides me with.

This is my current approach to social media use. Watch this space as it's likely I'm going to tweak and further optimise it in the not-too-distant future once I've finished my current book, “Digital Minimalism” by Cal Newport. (Cal Newport's books were recommended to me by Sean Reid from Aye Run, who introduced me to the beautiful city of Glasgow on a sightseeing run last year.)



As I'm usually short of time, I use a dedicated approach to minimise the actual time spent on news sites or social media, while maximising what I get out of it. This approach involves sending online content in a Word file to my e-reader so that I can indulge in interruption-free reading.