Goodbye, Things: On Minimalist Living

by Fumio Sasaki

Why do we own so many things when we don’t need them? What is their purpose? I think the answer is quite clear: We’re desperate to convey our own worth, our own value to others. We use objects to tell people just how valuable we are.

We are social animals that act in packs; we can’t thrive without proving our existence has value. We need others to recognize our qualities so we can believe that our life is worth living. To show this value, we communicate our qualities through our belongings. But when we become too reliant on that method, we end up being surrounded by too many possessions.

These objects themselves have no power. We’re the ones who have raised their status to become our equals or even greater, but they’re actually nothing more than objects. They don’t symbolize us and they aren’t our masters. They used to be plain old tools. So why not consider hanging on to just the things that we really need?

Tackle the nest (storage) before the pest (clutter).

It’s possible to minimize more carefully, but I think minimizing the effort it takes to minimize is often the key to success.

Our homes aren’t museums; they don’t need collections.

The real waste, though, is the psychological damage that you accrue from hanging on to things you don’t use or need. You feel guilty when you look at items that someone gave you as gifts, or that you purchased but never got around to using.

Quality time, not quality objects, leads to happiness I often see people running frantically to jump on a train, almost bumping into people in the process. Every time I see a person like that, I can’t help but notice that he or she does not look happy. No one’s beaming with joy when they’re rushed.

Psychologist Tim Kasser stresses that the enrichment of time will lead directly to happiness, while the enrichment of material objects will not.

There’s no point in putting up with a terrible job or working yourself to death just to maintain your standard of living. By having less and lowering your minimum living costs, you can go anywhere you want. Minimalism can really be liberating.