Retailers be warned.

The M-generation may put a cramp in this season’s holiday spending.

Young, urban “minimalists,” as they’re called, have been turning their backs on excess ever since the economy went south a few years ago. These tech savvy twenty-somethings have been systematically embracing smaller, less cluttered and more meaningful lives, a rebellion against the consumer culture that defined their boomer parents. Their devotion to parsimony could be associated to a variety of social and cultural phenomena — the hoarding tendency, for example, that’s captured on television shows, or the disposable nature of fast fashion and cheap electronics.

The minimalist stands defiant, in direct contrast to the over-the-top, shop-till-you-drop frenzy that leads up to Christmas. These reluctant shoppers remain true to their frugal convictions, heeding the message that less is more.

Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, both 31, have written the book Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life. They will appear Dec. 11 at Toronto’s Centre for Social Innovation, Annex location, 720 Bathurst St., at 7 p.m. to discuss their pared down approach to a better life. Admission is free.

The friends, who met in Grade 5, have clear rules for gift-giving that rejects consumerism.

“We’ve commodified love,” complains Millburn, who rejects the notion that gifts can symbolize emotion.

“I don’t give material possessions. I prefer to give experiences — let’s see a concert together, or let’s watch a sunset together. If I do give something that is physical it will be consumable — like a bottle of wine.”

While their minimalist tendencies may be most noticeable during the countdown to Christmas, for young minimalists this is a year-around commitment. Many have downsized everything about their lives. Those who had large homes shed them for smaller, more efficient digs. They’re pruning possessions, clawing back work schedules, even eliminating fringe friends and non-functioning lovers.

And when they compile their Christmas shopping lists, the minimalist has one wish: Don’t contribute to their clutter and they won’t contribute to yours.

Millburn suggests the movement may also be a reaction to his fellow Generation Xers who he describes as “solipsistic.”

GenXers are a self-centred “Me” generation that constantly chases happiness, he says. “We’re always looking for the next best thing — even though what’s in front of us might be great. The deal is you won’t find happiness if you are perpetually chasing it.”

“A lot of people tell themselves we’d be happy if we made a million dollars. Well why not tell yourself I should be happy now. There’s nothing wrong with achieving. I’m not allergic to making money. But when that becomes the primary concern it’s problematic,” says Millburn, who recalls his previous life when he made a good salary but was still unhappy.

The book follows their personal discovery of the minimalist lifestyle and offers advice to the novice.

To start, they took time to identify passions and calculate how much money they needed to live a good life. Both abandoned lucrative but stressful careers to pursue lives more in keeping with their new values.

Millburn recalls, “I had all the things that were supposed to make me happy. I was 28 years old. I had a huge house, luxury car, all the gadgets that were supposed to make me happy.” But he was saddled with debt. “It brought me stress. I was working long hours as the director of operations for 150 retail stores. I felt anxious all the time and that led to depression and that’s when I started questioning things.”

Both men are divorced. Neither has children.

It’s optimal, says Millburn, for minimalists to associate with people who share their values. “If they have radically different values it would be a difficult relationship. I’ve been married before — we had different goals in life. I’m much more ‘experience’-based now. I go way out of my way to show people — the people that are closest to me — that I care.”

Millburn knows there are detractors, critics who suggest the lifestyle is for people who lack ambition and motivation. “This lifestyle might not be right for everyone but I can show you a recipe that’s worked for me and I can tell you why it’s worked for me.” It’s more than down-sizing. “I think you can get rid of all your stuff and still be miserable. You can go home to an empty house and sulk.”

He believes we often hold onto things out of sentimentality — and of course, from the worry — you just might need it some day. He calls it the “just in case” scenario. “Those three words come up a lot.”

Millburn has a rule. He gets rid of anything he knows he can replace for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes.

Minimalism has become a hot topic online.

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Minimalist Sam Hughes, for example, boasts he can pack his life into ten plastic crates that he stores under his bed. He defends his approach, commenting it’s much more than, “sanctimonious anti-consumerism” and “saving money.”

And the blog mnmlist.com offers answers to frequently asked questions such as, “What are the benefits of minimalism?” and “Do you need to be vegan or vegetarian to be minimalist?”

One Toronto minimalist blogs anonymously as Mochi & Macarons. The 28-year-old business consultant, who didn’t want her name used in this article, says minimalism is a commitment to living a mindful life. It is not a competition to see who can live with the least amount of money or things, she says.

She likes the idea that she can pack her life into her car. The consultant who admits to being a former “shopaholic” once had a commodious apartment and closets full of clothes. Now, because she travels constantly, she lives out of a suitcase and in hotels.

During the Christmas season she has a rule of thumb. “I don’t give gifts unless I see that they are of a practical nature.”

She believes it’s the compulsion to impress friends and family that contributes to holiday stress. “So rather than being a time of enjoyment, it ends up being a painful endeavor that you wish would end as soon as possible.”

“What I do ask for during the holiday season is to meet up with my friends and family, de-stress, talk over a cup of tea or dinner and to connect in-person in this very tech-oriented, disconnected society that we live in.”

“Happiness can’t be purchased in stores,” she says.

Another Toronto blogger who works under the title Aspiring Minimalist is a 28-year-old who’s employed full time in the construction industry. “I’m not an extreme minimalist,” she allows. But six months into her first job after graduating from University of Waterloo, she began noticing that her paycheque seemed to be spent too quickly, often on things she was barely aware she’d purchased.

It was time for re-assessment.

To start her minimalist journey she moved from a 1,000 square foot apartment to a shared 700 square foot apartment.

The Aspiring Minimalist ignores the persistent pleas of advertisers who tell her she “needs” to buy things to be happy.

“As an exchange student I became accustomed to getting everything I own in a backpack,” she says. It’s not about living a parsimonious life, she says. “I do buy nice things. I just give it more thought when I do.”

“I might exchange gifts with my boyfriend. But for the most part, with close friends and family, we usually set a date and have brunch or go skating. With some young cousins we might pool our money and get them one nice gift.”