Podcast - The Practical Minimalists

Welcome to today's show! Anyone hungry? If you're not you may be after today's episode! Today we are chatting about an in-demand topic from our listeners.  Today we are talking all about meal planning, simple meals, and how to make meal time joyful, less stressful, and easier.  As always we'll talk about our missteps and challenges along the way.  We tackle questions like, "How do you plan meals for your family?" and "How can I simplify meals while still dealing with food allergies and sensitivities?" and "How can I best handle a picky eater while still keeping meal time simple?" and more.  This episode is perfect for you if you are looking for some inspiration for making meal time more fun and easy, if you want to hear what we do personally, or if you just want to have a laugh at our expense when we talk about our meal planning missteps and our least favorite foods. Enjoy!

We are so excited to talk to you today about capsule wardrobes!  We also have a special guest, Suzy Holman with us to chat about this fun topic!  Suzy is a wife, mama of 3, photographer and owner of the amazing space Denver Photo Collective. She is new to the whole capsule wardrobe thing so we thought it would be fun to bring on someone with a fresh perspective. Today's conversation is perfect for you if you are curious about capsule wardrobes and want to hear another newbie speak on what inspired her to get started and what she learned about herself in the process.  You'll also love today's show if you enjoy real talk, true confessions and a good dose of self deprecating humor.  Enjoy!

 Today we are switching gears and talking about a lighter topic that you guys are jazzed about…and that is home styling!  Today we’ll chat about ways to style your home more intentionally, how to style when you feel like you have no sense of design, and as always, our challenges along the way. We love today's show not only because of the interesting topic but because we feel like we represent listeners whether or not you love and are talented in the area of home design or if you have, how shall we say it....not been blessed in that area!  Listen in to figure out who loves home design and which of us does not fancy themselves a talented home designer.  We talk about minimalism + design, styling on a budget, blending style with kids as well as when your style clashes with your significant other.  This episode was so much fun for us and we hope you enjoy!

Today is part 2 of our conversation with Jess Lively. Jess is a fellow podcaster, and runs online courses to help people live their best life. She is a tea lover, explorer and is traveling the world indefinitely. In this part of the conversation we get into alternative therapies for dealing with emotions, paradigm shifts and human consciousness…so a fun light, show. Just kidding, just like the first part of our conversation with Jess, this part is just as lively and gets into big ideas like alternative ways to think about how and why we are on this planet. So again, buckle up and get ready to stretch your brain cells.

We might have to restrain ourselves from “fan-girling” out a little bit with today’s guest. In all seriousness though we are thrilled to have fellow podcaster Jess Lively on the show today. Jess runs online courses that help people live their best life, she has a wonderful podcast called “The Lively Show” (one of our favorites), and is currently traveling the world indefinitely. Buckle your seat belts guys, because you are in for a fun and slightly mind-blowing ride with this conversation.  We talk about how, in American Culture, we are often taught that "success" equals hustle and struggle.  But what if there was another way?  And that science backed it up?  In part one of this conversation we dig into emotional frequency and what that means, classical personal development vs. quantum living, and climbing the emotional scale. We also use some very personal examples in order to apply these conter-intuitive concepts that Jess speaks about in her newest course, Flow with Intention Online. This episode is perfect for you if you are tired of struggling and want to hear about another approach to "success", if you get weary of all the talk about hustle in the personal development world and are interested in hearing a completely different approach, or, you are simply a Jess Lively Fan.  Enjoy!

We have another bonus episode for you today! Today with are chatting with Kimberly Cochenour. Kim is a friend of the show, has 3 kids and a husband, is instrumental in running a non-profit, and is just an all-around fun person to be around. Kim is also an essential oils user and lover. She has a background in integrative medicine and loves using her knowledge in that area when using her oils and today we’re talking with her all about oils + natural therapies. If oils aren’t your thing, feel free to skip this episode. However, we are talking about so many other topics from baby minimalism, to motherhood, to juggling it all and we think everyone will enjoy this one!

We are talking about plateaus today….starting the minimalist journey can be exciting as you start to let go of things.  But there can come a time on your journey where you start to like you are moving more slowly and you feel like you are at a plateau.  We have received questions from listeners regarding this and have experienced it ourselves so we though we’d take an entire show to dive into the topic of plateaus…we think it’s a worthy topic to dig into because it can apply to any area of growth in your life, minimalism related or not.  So whether you are a minimalist or not, if you're feeling stuck in any area of life, this episode is for you

Today it’s just the two of us and we’re talking Travel. With Spring Break coming up quickly followed by summer, lots of you will be traveling and we’ve gotten many questions from listeners over the last few months about how to travel minimally. So we’re talking all things travel today….we’ll talk about the joy of traveling with less, our favorite travel hacks, and, of course, our challenges along the way. This episode is perfect for you if you're interested in some manageable and practical tips for traveling lightly OR want to hear some funny stories about our challenges with travel!

Today we are chatting with guest Miranda Anderson! Miranda shares inspiration and handmade goods over on her blog, www.livefreecreative.co . She shares weekly stories, DIY tutorials, and unique handmade products in the shop. Miranda connects with people offline in regular craft and sewing workshops, because she believes in cultivating community and confidence through making. Miranda is also what we’d call a “creative minimalist” and shares about her minimalist experiments through her online community. She is a wife, mama of 3, and creative entrepreneur and we are thrilled to have her on the show today! This conversation is lively, thought-provoking, and fun. We think you'll love this episode if you want to hear tips on living out minimalist values with kids, want to hear practical tips on creative living, are interested in some minimalist experiments to try, or, are simply interested in getting a peek at what it's like to be Miranda Anderson. Enjoy!

The long awaited Enneagram episode is here!! We are thrilled to have Leigh Kramer on the show and she’s going to walk us through an overview of The Enneagram and show you how you can use it to know yourself and others a little bit better. Leigh is a writer and administrative assistant currently living in Minneapolis with a background in social work. She also has passion for and expertise in the Enneagram and we are thrilled to have her on the show today! If Minimalism is all about spending your time and resources on the things you most value and letting the rest go, then this takes a lot of self knowledge. This is where things like the Enneagram can really be helpful. There are a lot of personality testing systems but we love the Enneagram because of it’s flexibility and accuracy. This episode is perfect for you if you love the Enneagram and want to gain a more in-debth understanding. You'll also enjoy this episode if you are new to the Enneagram and want to see what all the fuss is about. Either way, we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Today we are talking about something very vulnerable with you guys today and that is the topic of secrets. This topic was inspired by our guest Laura Parrott-Perry who said, “the story that you haven’t told could be the one that’s running your life.” This touched us both on a personal level and got us both thinking about the secrets we keep, how they effect our lives, where they can create mental clutter, and how to let them go. This episode is perfect for you if you feel burdened with a secret big or small, if you want to hear some true confessions from us, or, if you are curious about how secrets have the power to weigh us down.  Enjoy!

Hello wonderful friends!  Today we have another TPM BONUS episode for you!  Today we are chatting with our friend Casey Wiegand.  Casey is a blogger, mama to 4, wife, artist, and essential oil lover.  During our conversation she talks about everything from minimalism and miscarriage, to her serious financial struggles which ultimately led to financial freedom.  After listening to today's bonus episode, you'll understand that living that blogger life isn't always what it seems, however, Casey's honest, raw and beautiful story is sure to leave you inspired and uplifted.   This episode is perfect for you if you are interested in a behind the scenes look at the life of a successful blogger, want to hear an uplifting story about achieving financial freedom, or simply want to get to know Casey Wiegand a little bit better.  Enjoy! 

We are back together, just the two of us today!  Today we are talking about Comparison, when it can serve us, when it is harmful, how to be happy for other’s, and tips on how to just do you.  As always, we don’t have this all figured out, so we’ll share our challenges with growing in these areas. This episode is perfect for you if you struggle with comparison, want tips on getting out of the comparison loop, or are simply interested in our own journeys in this area.

Some of you might consider our guest today unconventional. You might listen to his story and back ground and think, how in the world can I relate to this guy? Well, Eryn and I have always felt like we’re a bridge between the "traditional" community and those that are interested in minimalism and intentional living but feel intimidated by living out of a backpack while traveling the world. If you’ve listened to us long enough, you know that we don’t think there’s one perfect recipe for minimalism or intentional living….it’s going to look different for everyone. However, just because someone IS living out of their backpack and traveling the world doesn’t mean they don’t have something special to offer the world even if that’s not your jam. So that’s why we’ve brought Rob on the show today. What he is doing is VERY unconventional, but we think you will find it interesting, inspiring and hopeful you’ll learn something from his story. This episode is perfect for you if you want to know about what it's like to leave a more traditional job for something unconventional, are interested in the power of storytelling, or are just curious about how and why Rob wanted to meet 10,000 people and where he is now and what he's learned on the journey.

Today we welcome guest Jen Biswas to our show.  Jen is a mama, wife, business owner and friend.  Her business, Paisley and Sparrow, empowers at-risk women around the world.  When you purchase from her shop you are giving a marginalized woman in India a hopeful future, someone in Ethopia a way to support her family, and a woman recovering from addition a second chance.   More and more, the minimalist community and people in general are interested in conscious consumption, and we loved the opportunity to bring someone on the show who is running a business with with a purpose.  Not only that, Jen also shares some real-life struggles like comparison, the stress of new motherhood, and the pressure of being a work-at-home mom that so many of our listeners will relate to. This episode is perfect for you if you are interested in hearing about a place where you can buy fair trade goods, are curious about what life's like behind the scenes for Jen Biswas, or you just want to hear some real talk about motherhood and self discovery. Enjoy!