Could you pare your life down to 100 things?

Families are joining the '100 Things Challenge' a movement that focuses on consuming less and encourages people to de-clutter their homes. (iStockphoto)

CBC News has profiled a Montreal family who decided to try to reduce their worldly belongings to just 100 things.

Jenni and Gary Glad-Timmons realized that despite the fact they both worked full-time at well-paying jobs, they were battling large debts that weren't going away. So they started to divest themselves of stuff, working with their kids to whittle down their individual belongings to 100 things each. Then the Glad-Timmons family went farther, selling their house to become renters instead. Jenni Glad-Timmons says the family went from being $30,000 in the hole to $30,000 in the black.

They're taking part in a movement started by American blogger Dave Bruno in 2009. 

Bruno's goal, as stated on his Facebook page, is to "fight irresponsible consumerism and promote alternative economies that everyone can enjoy."

The Glad-Timmons family joins others like American Courtney Carver, who detailed her own 100 Things Challenge for Business Insider.

Carver was between $40-50,000 in debt when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. That prompted her to reevaluate her life and figure out how she could remove stress by living more simply.

Carver and her husband stopped using their credit cards, and worked at fighting their debt. Carver started to empty out her wardrobe, after realizing how much money she was spending on clothing. Their next step is to find a smaller, cheaper place to live, hoping to cut their living expenses by 50 per cent over the next five years. 

Carver lists the 100 things (excluding household items) she kept on her blog here.