the minimalists

Most of us can only handle stacking, storing and stepping over our stuff for so long before we start to feel claustrophobic. We go on a cleaning spree and give (or sell) it all away. But that's only a temporary fix. Living small requires a more permanent shift. You might find it hard to believe, but there is a growing demographic of people convinced that no person needs a house full of possessions to survive. These aren't tent-dwelling hippies, but successful, intelligent individuals and families who have rejected the stuff-cluttered life for something more meaningful. Here are some of our favorites.

Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus - The Minimalists

On the brink of turning 30, Millburn and Nicodemus (pictured above) discovered that working 70-80 hours a week for a corporation and buying more stuff didn’t fill the void. "In fact, it only brought us more debt and stress and anxiety and fear and loneliness and guilt and depression," writes the duo. So, they quit their jobs and took back control using the principles of minimalism to focus on what’s important in life. Since then, they've written hundreds of articles aimed at helping others embrace a life that's free from material and emotional cumbersomeness. Millburn claims to own around 288 things (even though he doesn't really count his stuff).

[via facebook]