Too busy to read?

44: Say "see you later" before you say goodbye. When you aren't sure if you really want to part with something, try stowing it away for a while. A technique that minimalists often use is to gather all the things they're considering getting rid of and place them in a box or in the closet. The trick is to tuck the items away in a place where they do not usually belong. They can even be placed in a garbage bag, so that they are on standby for disposal. Even though they're sitting in a garbage bag, it doesn't mean that you have to actually throw them away quite yet.

I think throwing away your material possessions and throwing away your memories are two completely different actions. As long as you still have the images, you'll be able to recall your experiences. A work of art that your child made in grade school, a souvenir from a trip, or a gift that someone gave you--take pictures of them and it'll be easier to throw these things away when you feel like you can't.

50: Don't buy it because it's cheap. Don't take it because it's free. When people buy something worth PS50 for PS20, they generally think they've saved PS30 of their money. It's as if they've actually received PS30 by buying that particular product. But we never think about the space we need to store that item in our homes.

For a minimalist, the objective isn't to reduce, it's to eliminate distractions so they can focus on the things that are truly important.

One of the main reasons we become depressed or consider committing suicide is that we convince ourselves of the lack of value of our existence. There are said to be a million people in Japan who suffer from depression and more than twenty-five thousand who commit suicide each year.

These stressful situations tend to happen when you're saddled with more objects than you can handle.

my definition of a minimalist is a person who knows what is truly essential for him- or herself, who reduces the number of possessions that they have for the sake of things that are really important to them.

38: Our biggest items trigger chain reactions. Let's say we switched from having one smartphone to two. We should realize that we haven't just added a single smartphone to our lives. We might get a case for the new smartphone, put a protective sheet of film over it, buy a power charger, covers for the earphone jack, and of course a strap. Before you know it, we've accumulated five new items. Things tend to bring in more things.

34: If you lost it, would you buy it again? A key way to gauge your passion for something you own is to ask yourself, "If I were to somehow lose this, would I want to buy it again at full price?"

22: Discard the things you have already forgotten about. I think the ideal minimalist is someone who can give a rundown of every item that they own. We should be able to recall our possessions if they're all necessary things that we use regularly, right? In other words, if we've forgotten that they even exist, then it's pretty obvious that we don't really need them.

Tyler Durden said it best in the film Fight Club: "The things you own end up owning you."

Quality time, not quality objects, leads to happiness

11: Get rid of it if you haven't used it in a year. One essential method for reducing your possessions is to discard things you haven't used in a year. You should also get rid of things you have no firm plans to use in the future. You don't need to throw away the blanket, or the down jacket, you're going to be using come winter. The same goes for the bathing suit you always wear in the summer. But if you haven't used something during the past four seasons, you probably don't need it. The one exception would be the emergency equipment and supplies that you keep in case of a disaster.

The qualities I look for in the things I buy are (1) the item has a minimalist type of shape, and is easy to clean; (2) its color isn't too loud; (3) I'll be able to use it for a long time; (4) it has a simple structure; (5) it's lightweight and compact; and (6) it has multiple uses.

To throw things away, it's necessary to ask, "Does this object spark joy or not?" This is an effective way to become more aware of our senses.

My feeling is that minimalists are people who know what's truly necessary for them versus what they may want for the sake of appearance, and they're not afraid to cut down on everything in the second category.

I'd rather regret something I've done than something I wish I had done The regret we experience for not doing something leaves a much stronger impression on us than the regret we may have for doing something. In psychology, this is called the Zeigarnik effect, which says that people remember things that they once pursued and left incomplete more than they do the things that they had completed. For example, I'm sure most of us regret not telling someone we loved them, and those feelings are likely to remain with us forever.

We are more interested in making others believe we are happy than in trying to be happy ourselves. --FRANCOIS DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD

We're desperate to convey our own worth, our own value to others. We use objects to tell people just how valuable we are.

Minimalism is built around the idea that there's nothing that you're lacking.

14: Take photos of the items that are tough to part with. Call me sentimental, but I like to take pictures of the things I'm about to part with, to soften the blow. This is something that I still do from time to time--just the other day I took a picture of an old pair of nail clippers before I got rid of them. You're probably wondering what I do with these images. I don't think I've ever even looked at them myself. I take them to preserve the memories that are associated with these belongings.

The glory of acquisition starts to dim with use, eventually changing to boredom as the item no longer elicits even a bit of excitement. This is the pattern of everything in our lives. No matter how much we wish for something, over time it becomes a normal part of our lives, and then a tired old item that bores us, even though we did actually get our wish. And we end up being unhappy.

Want to know how to make yourself instantly unhappy? Compare yourself with someone else.

Cleaning becomes three times easier when you have less

It's clear to me now why I kept these books lying around and never got rid of them even though I knew I was never going to read them. I was desperate to convey my worth through my books. They were there to communicate one message: I've read a lot of books to date. As anyone who looks at my bookshelves can see, my interests are diverse, and I'm very inquisitive. I know all about these different topics, if only in name. Though I haven't read all the books yet, I'm definitely interested in these areas--of course I am, that's why the books are sitting there on my bookshelf. I may not understand everything that's discussed in these books, but I've read huge volumes of works including an array of publications on complex issues. I'm not very talkative and I may look like a plain, ordinary guy, but inside I'm filled with all this incredible knowledge. Perhaps I can be described as an intellectual with depth.

31: Think of stores as your personal warehouses. Author Daisuke Yosumi writes that we should consider stores as our personal warehouses. All those stores out there pay good sums of money to secure space so they can stock all sorts of goods for us, and they manage their items with care. Convenience stores welcome us around the clock. Yosumi suggests we should not think of these places as shops where we buy goods, but instead as our warehouses where we go to get something when we need it.

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

2: Find your unique uniform. Steve Jobs always wore the same clothes: a black turtleneck by Issey Miyake, Levi's 501s, and a pair of New Balance sneakers, which even served as his attire for public presentations. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg seems to be fond of a gray T-shirt. Einstein is said to have always worn the same type of jacket. These people took the time that others spend on choosing clothes and chasing trends and turned their attention instead to the things that mattered most to them.

Cleaning can be really easy if you have fewer things. Let's look at how we might clean the floor if we had an owl sculpture in the room. Step 1: Move the owl over. Step 2: Wipe the floor where the owl had been sitting. Step 3: Return the owl to its original position. And if we didn't have this statue in our home? Step 1: Wipe the floor. There! Done! It's that simple. It takes a third of the effort, and probably a third of the time, to clean the floor. And forget about wiping those intricate hollows and crevices in the sculpture itself. Now imagine the work we'd have to do if we owned three or four, or maybe ten or twenty of these sculptures at home.

As social animals, we feel the need to have value to society. We're unable to live without feeling that there's some meaning to our existence through the recognition or acknowledgment of others.

Recap: 15 more tips for the next stage of your minimalist journey 1. Fewer things does not mean less satisfaction. 2. Find your unique uniform. 3. We find our originality when we own less. 4. Discard it if you've thought about doing so five times. 5. If you've developed your minimalist skills, you can skip the "see you later" stage. 6. A little inconvenience can make us happier. 7. Discard it even if it sparks joy. 8. Minimalism is freedom--the sooner you experience it, the better. 9. Discarding things may leave you with less, but it will never make you a lesser person. 10. Question the conventional ways you're expected to use things. 11. Don't think. Discard! 12. Minimalism is not a competition. Don't boast about how little you have. Don't judge someone who has more than you. 13. The desire to discard and the desire to possess are flip sides of the same coin. 14. Find your own minimalism. 15. Minimalism is a method and a beginning.

17: Organizing is not minimizing.

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.

Recap: 55 tips to help you say goodbye to your things 1. Discard the preconception that you can't discard your things. 2. Discarding something takes skill. 3. When you discard something, you gain more than you lose. 4. Ask yourself why you can't part with your things. 5. Minimizing is difficult, but it's not impossible. 6. There are limits to the capacity of your brain, your energy, and your time. 7. Discard something right now. 8. There isn't a single item you'll regret throwing away. 9. Start with things that are clearly junk. 10. Minimize anything you have in multiples. 11. Get rid of it if you haven't used it in a year. 12. Discard it if you have it for the sake of appearance. 13. Differentiate between things you want and things you need. 14. Take photos of the items that are tough to part with. 15. It's easier to revisit your memories once you go digital. 16. Our things are like roommates, except we pay their rent. 17. Organizing is not minimizing. 18. Tackle the nest (storage) before the pest (clutter). 19. Leave your "unused" space empty. 20. Let go of the idea of "someday." 21. Say goodbye to who you used to be. 22. Discard the things you have already forgotten about. 23. Don't get creative when you're trying to discard things. 24. Let go of the idea of getting your money's worth. 25. There's no need to stock up. 26. Feeling the spark of joy will help you focus. 27. Auction services are a quick way to part with your possessions. 28. Use auctions to take one last look at your things. 29. Use a pickup service to get rid of your possessions. 30. Don't get hung up on the prices that you initially paid. 31. Think of stores as your personal warehouses. 32. The city is our personal floor plan. 33. Discard any possessions that you can't discuss with passion. 34. If you lost it, would you buy it again? 35. If you can't remember how many presents you've given, don't worry about the gifts you've gotten. 36. Try to imagine what the person who passed away would have wanted. 37. Discarding memorabilia is not the same as discarding memories. 38. Our biggest items trigger chain reactions. 39. Our homes aren't museums; they don't need collections. 40. Be social; be a borrower. 41. Rent what can be rented. 42. Social media can boost your minimizing motivation. 43. What if you started from scratch? 44. Say "see you later" before you say goodbye. 45. Discard anything that creates visual noise. 46. One in, one out. 47. Avoid the Concorde fallacy. 48. Be quick to admit mistakes. They help you grow. 49. Think of buying as renting. 50. Don't buy it because it's cheap. Don't take it because it's free. 51. If it's not a "hell, yes!" it's a "no." 52. The things we really need will always find their way back to us. 53. Keep the gratitude. 54. Discarding things can be wasteful. But the guilt that keeps you from minimizing is the true waste. 55. The things we say goodbye to are the things we'll remember forever.

46: One in, one out. This is one of the golden rules of minimizing: If you want to buy something, first get rid of something else. Even in the process of minimizing, there will be new items that we need. You can start by getting rid of two or three items when you buy one new item. Once you're down to just your essential possessions, stick with the "one in, one out" rule.

Holding on to things from the past is the same as clinging to an image of yourself in the past. If you're the least bit interested in changing anything about yourself, I suggest you be brave and start letting things go. Leave only the items that you need moving forward from this very moment.

By reducing the number of material possessions you have, you can take back the time that your belongings have been stealing from you. That time is precious. It's a shame to waste away what is allocated equally to all of us--only twenty-four hours a day--on material belongings. Instead, devote that time to the pursuit of everyday happiness.

I think the real reason why e-books gave me a sense of unease, though, was not because they lack the appeal of paper as much as the fact that they simply can't be stacked up after reading. I owned an enormous number of books that I had thought I liked and collected, only to realize that I just picked them up for the sake of appearance. I wanted people to see them and be impressed by what a person of depth I was and how thirsty I must have been for knowledge. It's clear now that I wanted to convey to others what a worthy person I was through my books. For that purpose, they absolutely had to be piled up in stacks as I finished reading them. Anyone who sees a pile of books will think that you've read a lot. I felt uneasy about e-books because it would only look like I'd read a single book regardless of how many thousands of works I'd gone through.

I've heard it said that the secret to a happy marriage is to simply talk a lot with your partner. One study showed that happily married couples talked with each other five more hours per week than couples that aren't happy. If people are busy taking care of their possessions, quarreling over them, spending time in separate rooms, or watching a lot of TV, they're naturally going to have less time for conversations.

You don't "become" happy A person once said to me that the only thing missing from his life was children. He believed that he would be content when he achieved that objective. Maybe a lot of people feel the same way. Once they achieve some criteria, they will be able to "become" happy. It's like reaching the summit of a mountain called "Happy Mountain," where you're guaranteed happiness for the rest of your life. Or running a "Happy Marathon," where you cross the finish line and you're awarded a medal called "Happiness." But happiness isn't on a mountaintop or at a finish line. It isn't possible to "become" happy. That's because every achievement can make you happy for a moment, but you'll soon get used to it. It'll become a part of your daily life, something that'll be taken for granted.

I feel true gratitude. There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is. --attributed to ALBERT EINSTEIN

It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything. --TYLER DURDEN, FIGHT CLUB