Review: Less Is Now

I just had to watch Less Is Now because I am obsessed with The Minimalists. They have changed my life in so many ways from reading their blog to listening to that podcast. I just knew that the minute this documentary was out I had to watch it.

So anyways onto the documentary if you’ve seen The Minimalists (in interviews or whatnot) or if you read their book “Everything That Remains” you know that it is about; Josh and his best friend Ryan and how they go from being corporate players to deciding that they don’t need that much in life. The fact is happiness is this journey and unfortunately, they always thought of it as a destination so the documentary follows how they go through life and change their ways. They go from typical consumers to minimalists. Minimalism for anyone who isn’t aware is the act of owning and having less; a way to control the chaos as Josh would say. I also have another article on how to be a minimalist, check it out.

Luckily for them, it wasn’t as difficult as it may seem though they had been in debt they decided to arm themselves with information and establish themselves as The Minimalists, by creating a blog. By successfully pursuing minimalism they were able to get out of debt and control much of the chaos in their lives.

This documentary, as told in their podcast, was meant to only take four months but the project took four years. They have quintessential people such as Dave Ramsey and other experts that come in to talk about the quality of life in America. They talk about the debt crisis, the fact that a lot of times we think we have to get in debt in order to be happy, and the fact that people have way too much stuff and not enough time on their hands to enjoy their life. Dave Ramsey for those not aware is the main player in the world of debt control.

From understanding different dynamics between people and their things we find that a lot of times our things are a way to fill a void or to hold on to certain people that are may or may no longer be in our lives. It is in the sense that we determine that things are not what makes a quality life, but instead, the way that you spend your time determines quality. I actually ended up making my boyfriend watch this movie with me because I was worried about his spending habits, and the way that he established himself as being a consumer and by the end of the movie he looks at me and he says “this actually has me worried, I need to get my shit together”. So if you need to have a difficult conversation with your significant other about money, start with this documentary.

We should be worried because it is really difficult to get outside of the consumer mindset. We think we need the next best thing, the new gadget and we are willing to extend credit lines in order to do this. This game plan isn’t gonna work and it is not sustainable long-term. The point of this documentary is to bring to light the fact that we as Americans have lost sight of what really means to follow the American dream. The next best thing is not spending money on everything but instead, it’s learning how to use our time in ways that are valuable.

Because of the minimalist I have been able to determine what is most important in my life right now. I have fixed my budget I am no longer spending on unnecessary things. I don’t have to work full-time! I can actually work part-time and still enjoy a great and grand life but also not spending all my time at my career, and not enjoying my hobbies. My career is as a nurse but my passion is in writing and so now I’m able to write and focus on my health and focus on my daughter. As a single mom is super important for me to be able to work to support my daughter and myself as well as have time to be with her.

I know that it’s really difficult to get out of the mindset of buying things because I love to buy things. In fact, shopping used to be one of my hobbies! For a moment, the serotonin and dopamine would pop in my head, and I will feel better. I would be mesmerized by the items I could buy but my one-bedroom apartment was quickly filling up. I almost considered a storage unit, then I realized that I was one person, and no one person needed that much stuff.

I was able to pull myself out of debt, around $15,000. I’m about to finish paying off my car and eventually I’ll be able to do even more than I want to do especially after this Covid crisis has passed. I plan on taking my daughter to travel; I want to show her the world. I want to advance my career, go back to school. I will become a nurse educator to combine a couple of my favorite things, you know writing and having attention to me. I wouldn’t be able to do this if it wasn’t for the fact I learned how to budget, I learned the things that were truly valuable in my life. Less really is now, and the sooner we realize that, the better. If you liked Tidying Up, you will like Less Is Now. And as The Minimalists say, love people, use things because the opposite never works.