Going minimalist. Many Americans are. We look at the art of living with less.

Johsua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus are the Minimalists. (Adam Dressler / The Minimalists)

In this mid-winter, half the country's been locked in a deep freeze lately while the other half, on the West Coast, has gone to the beach, the pool. But everybody seems to be thinking about stuff. Too much stuff. Crowding, weighing down, blocking the view of possibilities. My guests today call themselves the Minimalists. Cut back, pare down, they say, and odds are you will get closer to happiness. To freedom. This hour On Point: Clearing away the clutter of our lives with the Minimalists.

-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Joshua Fields Millburn, minimalist. Co-author, with Ryan Nicodemus, of "Essential: Essays by the Minimalists," "Everything That Remains" and "Minimalism." He blogs at TheMinimalists.com. (@JFM)

Ryan Nicodemus, minimalist. Co-author, with Joshua Fields Millburn, of "Essential: Essays by the Minimalists," "Everything That Remains" and "Minimalism." He blogs at TheMinimalists.com. (@ryannicodemus)

From Tom’s Reading List

Slate: A New Memoir About What Happens When You Get Rid of All Your Stuff -- "Whether our homes are strewn with wall-to-wall junk or we have a color-coded and alphabetized methodology to camouflage our mess, we’re still not dealing with the real problem. No matter how organized we are, we must continue to care for the stuff we organize, sorting and cleaning our meticulously structured belongings. When we get rid of the superabundance of stuff, however, we can make room for life’s more important aspects."

The Atlantic: Living With Less -- "Americans tend to have a lot of stuff—closets full of shoes, garages cluttered with gear, basements stacked with boxes of who knows what. But for about as long as Americans have been stocking up on the latest gadgets and styles, there's also been a vocal band of dissenters, arguing for the merits of a simpler, less materialist life."

TIME: Minimalist Living: When a Lot Less Is More — "Millburn, Nicodemus and a growing number of similarly minded purgers around the U.S. have forgone non-necessities in exchange for a much simpler existence in the last few years. Minimalists like to say that they’re living more meaningfully, more deliberately, that getting rid of most material possessions in their lives allows them to focus on what’s important: friends, hobbies, travel, experiences.