Every item in your house, is silently yelling for you to do something with it. It was the part that got me on board with really evaluating your objects and decluttering. I’m going to wrap this post up with the portion of the book that resonated with me the most. But there was something in that section that really rubbed me the wrong way regardless. Which are all practices that totally reduce an individual’s environmental impact. If this was an essay for school, and trying to prove that the book encourages Consumerism, I would fail since there are way more instances when he talks about the importance of sharing, borrowing or renting the things you need on rare occasions. This is probably me over-reading the tone of the text since if there aren’t any good quotes in the book that would prove my point. Which, in general, I agree, if you don’t buy stuff, you're helping the planet by not creating demand for new items.Īlthough I know this wasn’t his intention, he did make it sound like being a Minimalist gives you a free pass at buying stuff that is shit for the environment, since you don’t do it often. This was even weirder when he was talking about how Minimalism is really good for the environment. Research allows you to know you’re getting a quality item so you won’t have to get rid of because it broke. He mentions that he doesn’t research his purchases because he doesn’t need to know all the bells and whistles of the thing he’s getting, only that it serves the purpose he requires. But I didn’t like the blasé way he talked about just mindlessly buy when you need something. Most Minimalists mention that rarely (or don’t ever) replace an item they declutter. The concept of buying stuff when you need it, get rid of it and buying again.

I don’t agree with that, and it promotes a weird level of Consumerism. Or people lost so much of their belongings in the floods.Ī recurring thing that I noticed in his tips was the idea that if you really need something, you can just buy a new one at the corner store. People’s stuff was falling all around them, and their prized possessions were turned into weapons within moments. But a reason that would have never crossed my mind, and was interesting to read, was the impact of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The first few chapters talk about Japan and why decluttering and minimalism is growing in popularity there. So if you’ve read Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you could still find value in this book. Swearing in my decluttering book? Marie Kondo would never! He does actually mention her in the book, but there’s actually not that much overlap in ideas or methods. Pants I only bought because my boss told me to, which made that quote hit even closer to home.Īfter reading that line, I decided that I would actually read the book. That quote hit me hard as I was wearing khakis that day. The one before the first or second chapter: “You aren’t your fucking khakis” from Fight Club.

Goodbye things on minimalist living