#thrivewithless

Hi TWL Community,

Exactly two years ago today we were 19 days into our month-long challenge to see what our lives would look like with some things trimmed out. What started with smaller closets, more home meals, and less driving grew into a project that went far beyond our individual lives and sparked a conversation that we've been thrilled to be a part of for the last two years.

  Until now, the film has only been viewable through screenings and DVDs and we are extremely grateful for everyone that has contributed to the project in those ways! In the pursuit of keeping conversations alive on minimalism and sustainability, we want to offer our documentary free to anyone, anywhere. So here's your chance to revisit the film or see the full Thrive With Less documentary for the first time online via this link: https://vimeo.com/thrivewithless/film

  Please feel free to share the film with anyone you like. The project came into manifest with the sole intention of bringing these topics to light, so engage your peers and keep us posted if you take on any new challenges yourself.

  We still have DVDs for sale on our website along with the opportunity for screenings at your community centers / schools / churches / etc. We've been blown away by your support and engagement with us, and we hope to keep in touch in moving forward.

  Our best thoughts to you in striving for lasting joy. With warmth,

  The Thrive with Less Team (Matt, Colin, Josh, Ryan, Mo, Jaclyn)

We had a great time in Huntington, IN last weekend. Not only did we get to show our film and talk about it with some great people, but we also had a chance to make some new friends and cook a meal together. It's truly an honor and privilege for us to be able to continue to spread the word about minimal living while meeting such incredible people along the way.

A huge thank you to everyone who came out and supported our film at the Capital City Film Festival! It's always great to get to show our film to a wider audience, and we saw many new faces at the screening, who brought up some great ideas while we talked about the film.

This is why we do what we do. Starting conversation and engaging in new communities; that's the whole reason we set out to make this film.

Last week we had a seriously great time hanging out at GLCC all day. Colin and Josh had the opportunity to speak to students in the morning giving a quick glimpse into what we learned through the whole TWL process. We were then invited to dinner with students followed by tea and coffee with Ryan [our facilitator] in his home. [He also peeled some carrots for his 4 year old son, who provided much entertainment for our time there.]

After the screening of the film, we went on to have a 2 hour discussion and nearly everyone stayed for the duration of our dialogue. It was so great to hear students open up about how they've been thinking about or struggling with similar issues of materialism, and it's incredibly humbling that we have been given the opportunity to inspire and engage in these students lives.

Multiple people stated they wanted to start their on TWL challenges and our new friend Kevin has decided to be off of Facebook and twitter for the month with only 4 shirts and 1 pair of pants as well. Yeah Kevin!

We're continually blown away by the reach of our film, and how conversations such as these consistently spring up!

It may be the middle of winter in Michigan, but that's not keeping the TWL crew from keeping their local commutes to bicycle. Yes, it's quite a rush and a chill to bike through the blowing snow get hit with slush flying up as cars go by, but what better way to be present in your environment?

It helps to be prepared though, here are my winter biking essentials:

-Warm boots

-Wool socks

-Gaters to protect my pants from the spray

-rear fender [don't want a dirty butt at work]

-safety glasses to keep out the wind and snow

-a giant scarf [for warmth and to look great]

-mittens that keep out the most tundra of winds