Some things you can’t do without, Finnish and klaar

LIKE many of us, Petri Luukkainen from Finland felt he had too much stuff. Unlike many of us, he decided to put it all in storage for a year, removing one item per day to discover what he really needed to live comfortably. The result is the documentary My Stuff.

The film begins with the 29-year-old naked in his empty Helsinki flat. From there he runs across icy streets to the depot where he has stored his belongings. The first thing he takes is a long coat to preserve his modesty and provide a makeshift sleeping bag. On the second day he takes shoes, on the third a blanket and on the fourth jeans.

Halfway through the year he falls in love, leading to a dilemma over whether he should replace his new girlfriend’s fridge — one rule of the project is that he is not allowed to buy anything new — or fix it at greater expense.

Later, Luukkainen’s grandmother is taken ill and has to move into a care home, which means he has to go to her old flat to sort through her stuff. The events provide the documentary with such a satisfying narrative that some critics have suggested the film is semiscripted, although Luukkainen insists it is all real.

The conclusion he comes to at the end of the year is probably what he suspected at the beginning — that possession is a responsibility and “stuff” is a burden. He does, however, provide a few figures that may be of help for anyone thinking about decluttering. Luukkainen found he could get by with 100 things (swimming trunks, trainers, a debit card and a phone) but needed 200 to live with some “joy and comfort” (a third spoon, an electric kettle and a painting).

Speaking from Helsinki ahead of his film’s UK release, the documentary-maker claimed the project itself was not something he was particularly proud of. “My problem was that I had too much of everything. It’s not the worst problem and it’s not being noble to give some of it up for a time.”

Whatever the seriousness of the problem, the international interest in the film suggests it is one that many in the West face.

“I’m not some kind of minimalistic Jesus, sitting in my flat with nothing but a phone,” said Luukkainen. “I might have a bit less stuff than other people, but I’m still part of urban life with everything that involves.”—

I might have a bit less stuff than other people, but I’m still part of urban life