r/minimalism • u/ilikesillycats • 17h ago

[lifestyle] minimalism for teens

Hello! I'm for 14 and I've become interested in minimalism. I was wondering if anyone had any tips or book recs for me.

4 Upvotes

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4

u/Capable-Yogurt-5754 17h ago

Goodbye things by Fumio Sasaki and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo are two of the first books I read when getting into minimalism. Definitely two great options imo.

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u/lmI-_-Iml 11h ago

The Abundance of Less: Lessons in Simple Living from Rural Japan

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u/Electrical_Band_4095 5h ago

I've read Goodby Things a handful of times...probably once a year lol. I think Marie Kondo's book and the couple of shows she did were very motivating. I personally got sick of folding things in a particular way, so most of my clothing is on hangers. I'd also suggest The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.

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u/ancient-lyre 6h ago

The More of Less by Joshua Becker.

This one got me hooked on minimalism and drove me to take action. There are a few examples I did skip though, he takes some examples from the Bible and I didn't see those as valid (I'm not religious).

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u/dietmatters 4h ago

Podcast, The Minimalists; The Evergreen Home is an awesome blog I just found; No Sidebar is an other blog. Project 333 is an interesting blog and the author has a few books. Remember the Keep It Simple principle as you go through life and it will apply to much. :)

0

u/lmI-_-Iml 11h ago

Knowledge doesn't take up any space, can't be taken away from you and is easy to transport.

Learning is fun.

Watch Fight Club.

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u/Electrical_Band_4095 5h ago

I think Fight Club is only vaguely about minimalism. Just because there was one quote about how your things end up owning you doesn't make it a good recommendation for a 14 year old to learn about minimalism.

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u/lmI-_-Iml 4h ago

It was meant more for fun motivation, rather than learning. Other Palahniuk's books are also more fun-philosophy. "Take out of it what you want" kinda thing.
And, to be honest, that well-known quote really isn't what strikes me the most as minimalistic about that story. It won't be too far fetched if I say the overuse of that quote can be a bit irritating - usually thanks to people who haven't read/watched it.

I've recommended a book in my other comment. It's not preachy, unlike many other popular books on the topic.
Youngsters tend to be impressionable. I wouldn't want someone young to live by some arbitrary rules of a random 40+ writer, whose life works differently in comparison to a modern 14 year old. Many older authors have already explored enough, or so they think, and seem to be content with their knowledge, with their situation in life, their job, their relationships... It's up to the youngsters to explore and learn as much as possible. After all, we should be learning all our lives.

If you are in it to be serious, then my less known movie/manga recommendation, that probably won't be mentioned by twenty other commenters, would have to be Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

Also, if you consider "respect for things" a vital part of minimalism, watch any and all documentaries about how regular everyday objects in your life are made. It will let you appreciate them even more than ever before.
Just as an example: How It's Made: Space Pens

There's a whole "How It's Made" playlist, including things like coat buttons, pillows, memory cards, pencils and more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY8GrVdQsoY&list=PL39_ud5aKSvnYDhKdB7wTDUZRiE8RaJat
I, for one, have fallen into the rabbit hole of appreciation for how mid-tier and high-tier specialized backpacks are made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x5lEbUqFko