When you think about it, there isn’t a single person who was born into this world holding some material possession in their hands.

Saying goodbye to your things is more than an exercise in tidying up. I think it’s an exercise in thinking about true happiness.

While you may struggle at first, it gets easier when you practice discarding stuff.Our things are like roommates, except we pay their rent. Think of departmental stores as your personal warehouses. There’s generally no need to have 40 rolls of paper towels, 25 spare lightbulbs, and 60 extra cans of food. It takes up precious space and ties your money up in something you may never use.

The Art Of Discarding Stuff

We’re all born into this world as minimalists, but the Japanese used to lead minimalist lives as well. Foreigners who came to Japan before industrialization were shocked. While it might be hard to imagine today, most people owned perhaps two or three kimonos, always kept fresh and clean, as their entire wardrobe. They packed light, their legs were strong, and they could walk wherever they needed to go. Homes were simple structures that could quickly be rebuilt, and people didn’t tend to live in the same place all their lives. Japanese culture used to be a minimalist culture.

Japanese Were Minimalists Before Capitalism Happened

Reducing the number of possessions that you have is not a goal unto itself. I think minimalism is a method for individuals to find the things that are genuinely important to them. It’s a prologue for crafting your own unique story.

Our homes aren’t museums, they don’t need collections.Don’t keep stuff because it’s free. The low price of something isn’t a good enough reason to bring it into your home and your life. Be intentional.

Don't Get Something In Your House Because It is Free

When you become a minimalist, the energy you use will also become minimal. You won’t need to try to live in an eco-friendly way—it’ll come naturally. By minimizing your possessions and settling into a focused, simple life, you’ll find that the weight on your shoulders has become lighter and you’re living in a way that’s gentler on the environment. And you know what? It gives you a pretty good feeling.

Using Minimal Energy

Through gratitude, we can trigger sustainable stimulation, which gives us more peace than the stimulation that we get by buying something new or increasing our stockpile.

Gratitude

There’s an important concept called minimum living costs, which refers to the minimum amount of money you need to live. It’s worthwhile for everyone to calculate this for themselves at least once, by adding up rent, groceries, utilities, communication charges, and so on.

Calculate Your Minimum Living Costs

Minimalism is having fewer possessions and being intentional with the items you have.  Minimalism allows us to have freedom, satisfaction, and experiences we may not have had when we are buried under our belongings.Minimalism isn't just about throwing away stuff we don't need, but a new way of living life, where we are more aligned with the present moment, not distracted by stuff around us.

Minimalism

When you purchase a cell phone, you aren’t just getting the phone. You need a charger, case, screen protectors, earbuds, and countless other accessories. When you take up a sport, you need equipment for the sport, appropriate clothing, and appropriate shoes. And let’s not even talk about crafting.

Things Bring Things

Everyone started out a minimalist. Our worth is not the sum of our belongings. Possessions can make us happy only for brief periods. Unnecessary material objects suck up our time, our energy, and our freedom. Minimalists are starting to realize that.When we practice minimalism, we’ll spend less time being distracted by the media or by advertisements because we become aware that we already have everything that we need. And when we feel this way, we can easily ignore most of these messages that cry out to us

Don't Believe The Billion Dollar Ad Spending

Our old-fashioned brains are totally overwhelmed with the amount of information we consume and the things we need to care for. Humans weren’t meant to pay attention to so many things at once. Yet here we are doing it and wondering why we’re stressed, depressed, and can’t stay on top of all the things we need to do.Since there are no “updates” available for our old hardware, we need to alter our environments so we can better perform.

The World Has Changed Too Much

A lot of times, we keep things around just because. Because it’s there, because we bought it because we might need it. But if it disappeared, would you replace it or would you be okay without it?When decluttering, many people feel guilty disposing of items given to them as gifts. Think about when you give someone a gift. Do you expect them to keep it forever? Do you check for it when you visit their home? If they didn’t like it, would you want them to hang onto it? If you answered no, odds are the person who gave you a gift would feel the same way.

Stuff We Don't Know That We Don't Need

It basically boils down to, don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet. If you think about doing an everyday task every day for the rest of your life, it can be overwhelming and daunting and depressing. If you take it one day at a time, or one dish at a time, it’s a lot easier to think about and tackle.

Don't Wash The Dishes That Aren't Even Dirty Yet

Most of the stuff we own is wearing us down.

The best-selling phenomenon from Japan that shows us a minimalist life is a happy life. 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.

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Personal Development

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Books

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Society, Arts & Culture

The best-selling phenomenon from Japan that shows us a minimalist life is a happy life. 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.

Fumio Sasaki is the former co-editor-in-chief of Wani Books, and lives in a 215-square-foot apartment in Tokyo, furnished with a small wooden box, a desk, and a roll-up futon pad.

The World Has Changed Too Much

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