The Minimalists: Less Is Now Parent Guide

The average American home contains 300,000 items – and after Christmas that number feels larger as new gifts and toys clutter the floor until cupboards are reorganized to hold them. Given this annual problem, Netflix has astutely released The Minimalists: Less Is Now at the end of the holiday season.

This documentary asks us to reconsider our relationship with our stuff. “How might your life be better with less?” is the central question of the film.

It’s an important query but, sadly, the documentary doesn’t measure up to the moment. It sometimes feels like three movies mashed together. The first one is a discussion about why we buy so many things – how advertisers manipulate us and how we use shopping to fill psychological needs. The second story focuses on the personal lives of Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus and their personal journeys from childhood poverty to adult financial success and on to their embrace of minimalism. And the third facet of the film is a brief discussion on how to declutter our homes. The movie jumps back and forth between the three themes, often losing focus in the transitions.

The Minimalists isn’t a bad doc and it will provide you with some useful insights and hopefully motivation and advice. Frankly, if you’re already convinced that you need to declutter, you’re probably better off watching an episode of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix. Her counsel to keep things that “spark joy” and her advice on storing items neatly is more helpful than the vague suggestions presented by Millburn and Nicodemus.

Where this doc shines is illustrating that minimalism is more than simply getting rid of objects. The two presenters see minimalism as a change of orientation away from getting and towards giving. As they summarize, it’s about “community not comparison; giving not taking; people not stuff.” Their reminder that shedding stuff frees us from the treadmill of earning and spending allows us to reconsider other goals and lifestyles. In a world without debt, overloaded closets, binge shopping, and a desperate struggle to pay for it all, how could we reimagine our lives? That’s really the biggest question raised by the film and the best reason to watch it – to trigger our own examination of our priorities. Now that’s a good way to kick off the new year.