| Author | Fumio Sasaki |
| Genres | Self Help |
| Rating | 💖💖💖💖💖 |
| Date Finished | 01/2024 |
🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
- Minimalism is about the important things
- Minimalism is personal
- Minimalism is about true happiness and peace of mind
🎨 Impressions
I love this book. It’s probably one of my favourites in the genre. The book talks about:
- 55+12 rules to more easily become a minimalist;
- the personal experience of the author and some of the philosopy behind minimalism.
So you will find helpful lessons and tips that you can apply to your Minimalist journey paired with decluttering wisdom of the author.
How I Discovered It
I was looking for books about minimalism.
Who Should Read It?
I think everyone. Especially people who tend to buy a lot and would like to improve their relationship with their possessions and consumerism.
🍀 How the Book Changed Me
I always tought of myself as a minimalist. I seldom buy more than is necessary and I’m never influenced by ads. But I never used this term. I always tought:
Oh yeah minimalist, the stuff millenials do ‘cause they can’t afford stuff.
I tought it was a coping mechanism, guided by the fact that not everybody is rich, so instead of aiming to own a lot, you do the complete opposite. But I wanted to explore more this concept nontheless so I picked up this book.
The book is full of inseresting lessons. I’ll share one here: “Minimalism is about the important things”.
You don’t have to own only a handfull of ojects to be considered a minimalist. You can still own a lot of stuff and be considered a minimalist, because Minimalism is about the stuff that is important to you. Minimalism is not a race of who has the least, is about throwing away the superfluous so that only what’s important is left.
Concretely:
- I buy even less stuff that before. I always let a few days pass between the idea of buying something and the action of buying it. I think if I have stuff at home that can do something similar to what I’m about to buy. Or if I would get bored. Or how I would sell it once I’m done using it.
- I’m more aware of my stuff. I discard things that I don’t use anymore or that I keep just in case. But it’s slow because I want discarding to be a process part of my life-style, rather than the end-goal.
It doesn’t get easier thatn this. I’m just more aware of what gets in (buying, receiving gifts, …) and what gets out (discarding, donating, …).
A simple exercise
If you are in your home do this simple exercise. Discard an item. No for real, put down your smartphone/tablet/laptop or whatever you are using to read this article and discard an item. It doesn’t have something fancy or big, you can start from something that is clearly junk. Maybe some fliers or knicknaks. If you are in doubt use one or more of the following simple rules:
- something you never used in the last year;
- something you once thought of throwing away;
- something you wont buy again if you throw it away.
📒 Summary + Notes
The book talks about:
- 55+12 rules to more easily become a minimalist;
- the personal experience of the author and some of the philosopy behind minimalism.
It won’t be very minimalist the list the rules here, so go and check out the book. You won’t regret it.