What in your life brings you true joy? Is it the excessive amount of clothes in your closet or do you find yourself always wanting more, striving and straining to keep up with the latest fashions? Is it the house you live in, double the size it needs to be? Is it the food you eat, more about the event than actual sustenance? Is it the number of Facebook notifications you receive each day, the number of hours sitting on your computer or in front of the TV rather than personally interacting with the people in your life that mean the most?

When did living excessively become the norm in our culture? When did we decide that more is better but better is never enough? Somewhere along the way our society has become more focused on attaining fleeting sources of gratification rather than working towards establishing true, lasting joy. And that needs to change.

Thrive with Less began as a project which aimed to contrast an excessive lifestyle with one that was more minimal. But, as time went on, we realized we weren’t exactly embodying minimal living ourselves, so we decided to take on six challenges to cut out the excess in an attempt to discover a more essential way of living. 

During these challenges, we turned the cameras on ourselves and documented both our individual and collective journeys. We also reached out to members of our community who represent one or more aspects of minimal living in their everyday lives, such as commuter cycling, urban farming, or living in smaller spaces.

This project is more than just a film though. It’s a challenge — To us as creators and to you as the viewer. We’re asking that you let go of preconceived notions, stereotypes and generalities that you have of living minimally and question the patterns of daily living that we have all naturally fallen into. By stripping away the excess and pursuing moderation, we believe it’s possible to get back in touch with what really matters.