By
Ten years ago, suggesting that less might be the answer sounded absurd.
Recently, a Dutch interior-design magazine asked me a simple question:
It’s been a decade since your Matt D’Avella–directed documentary Minimalism was released. Do you notice things have changed?
My answer was yes—and no.
You see, back then, minimizing felt rebellious. It was countercultural to proclaim that more stuff wasn’t the solution.
But today the word minimalism is everywhere—
Pinterest boards, fashion campaigns, architecture magazines.
And yet the deeper problem hasn’t changed.
Our culture still defaults to addition.
Add more information.
Add more followers.
Add more hustle.
But every new addition creates obligation: another object to store, another app to check, another notification vying for attention.
The result isn’t more fulfillment.
It’s more overwhelm, more debt, more noise.
If anything, the need for less is greater now.
Because the clutter hasn’t multiplied only in our homes; it’s multiplied in our pockets, our calendars, our inboxes, our minds.
People today are more aware—but also more exhausted.
They don’t just want a tidy home.
They want relief.
They want breathing room.
They want to subtract what no longer belongs—excess stuff, toxic relationships, never-ending busyness.
That’s what minimalism has become.
Not empty white rooms.
Not aesthetic restraint.
But inner spaciousness—
the freedom that’s revealed
when you finally let go
of what’s in the way.
Minimalism Tour 2026
This spring, Ryan Nicodemus and I are celebrating the ten-year anniversary of Minimalism with events at our favorite indie theaters—each with a live talk, film screening, Q&A, meet-and-greet, and a surprise. We’d love to see you there:
Ohio — April 16 (tickets)
California — May 4 (tickets)
Tennessee — May 11 (tickets)
Montana — June 6 (tickets)
The post Minimalism Has Changed appeared first on The Minimalists.