Minimal-ish: Minimalism, Intentional Living, Motherhood

Today I'm talking about one of my favorite topics when it comes to minimalism: Contentment. I love talking about how we can be more grateful and content with what is right in front of us. We discuss three ways we can take small but impactful action to get more content with our homes. Of course, these all apply to other areas of our lives as well. I hope you enjoy this episode, and I hope you feel...

I've been thinking about how minimalism and decluttering can sometimes feel like a surface-level, irrelevant topic in the midst of scary headlines and difficult things that may be going on in our world and our individual lives. I thought a little deeper and realized that minimalism and decluttering can be relevant because it can prompt us to change so much more than just our stuff and our homes. S...

Today I have Vanessa Quigley, co-founder of Chatbooks and mom of 7, as my guest. We talk all about the importance of photos to our kids' "sense of self" and our family culture. We also talk about memory making and how we can do it through simple, budget friendly adventures. Photos + adventuring can help our families grow closer, and I love how this conversation includes so many simple tips to help...

Today my guest, Noell Jett, tells us the story of how she and her family built their own dream home with no experience, and encourages us that we are capable of home renovations, or even building a home, too. Noell and her husband did this with multiple kids by their side, and their story is impressive. Noell brings us encouragement for any "new thing" we'd want to embark on where we may feel like...

Today I'm coming to you with a solo episode about how we can begin to change our shopping habits. It's so easy to find immediate gratification through shopping in our modern world. We can get an impulse idea to search for something online that we think sounds nice, click a few buttons, and end up with something new and shiny on our doorstep a few days later. So how do we change our shopping habits...

Today my guest is Carly of Debt Free Mom. Setting up a budget for ourselves is one thing, but actually following through with it is a while different beast. Carly brings us helpful and attainable tips to help us making tracking our budget part of our routine so we stick to the financial goals we set for ourselves. We also talk about a very relevant topic with rising prices: our grocery budgets. Th...

Today my guest is Linda McGurk, author of There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather and The Open Air Life. Today we talk about "Friluftsliv" and how this aspect of Nordic culture can benefit us wherever we're from. If you've wanted to convince yourself to get outside more, no matter the weather, this is the episode for you. Links: Rain or Shine Mamma - Linda's Website The Open Air Life - Linda's Book L...

Today we're shifting the New Year, New You narrative. This episode is for you if you're weary from the new year new you marketing, or just don't have the energy for a whole life overhaul/ big resolutions as we start a new year. I hope this episode encourages you that we can make impactful change in small, sustainable ways. Links: Goal Setting Episode Word for the Year Episode Subscribe to Substack...

I hope you enjoy this end of year Q&A! Thank you for sending in questions. This was a fun way to end the year and I hope to do it more often in the new year! Links: Simple Morning Lists Podcast Website Find Desirae on Instagram Mercari Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I am honored to have Emily Ley as my guest. She recently wrote a devotional book titled Sure as the Sunrise, and in today's episode, we focus in on the idea of creating a word for the year along with how to create a grace filled morning routine that will work for whatever your life looks like right now. This conversation is so encouraging and comes at the perfect time of year as we are looki...

Today I'm taking you through a reflection to help you set a meaningful goal or two (or three) that you'll be more likely to keep for 2023. We reflect a bit on this past year and then dive right into some questions that will make sure your goals are deeply anchored in your priorities and what matters most to you. I hope this episode is helpful, as using this mindset for goals that I set has been ex...

Today's episode is the second in the Minimalism Stories series. My guest, Mary Simpson, shares her story about how downsizing and a health scare brought her into minimalism. She also gives great advice for getting started along with tackling sentimental items, something she personally struggles with in her journey. Find Mary on Instagram at minimalism_with_mary Find Desirae on Instagram Podcast We...

Today we're recapping and reflecting on some of the main points of the last several episodes as we get specific on what matters most to us this holiday season, what we can plan for so we make sure it happens, create a yes and no list for the season, and make sure we're also taking care of ourselves. I hope this episode is one that allows you some time and gives you some ideas to really reflect on...

Warning: As with many holiday episodes, we are talking about gifts, the emphasis of gifts, and gifts under the tree. If this might be something you don't want your kids to hear, you may want to listen with earbuds in! :) Today's episode is full of ideas to make the holidays fun and special for our kids, but also intentional and enjoyable for the entire family. My guest, Tasheena Ticer of The Cinna...

We are getting Hygge again on the show because it has been one of the most popular topics recently on minimal-ish, and I personally wanted to learn even more. This time, I went straight to the source: Denmark. I started following Diane in Denmark on her Youtube channel a while back, and I knew she was the perfect one to teach us how to Hygge our way through the winter and holiday season. We talk a...

How are you feeling about gifts this holiday season? Whether you're all about simplifying your gift giving (and receiving) for your family, or you just want to get more intentional and planned out, today's episode is for you! Gift giving and receiving can feel a little sticky when minimal-ish living is one of our values. The holiday season can be full of stress- stress on our budget, stress on our...

Today I talk with Sharon Marcus of The Realized Home. Sharon is an interior designer with a philosophy that we can keep our decor simple, within our budgets, and still allow it to be incredibly meaningful as it reflects us and the story of our family. Today she brings a gold mine of practical tips to help us find our decor style, stick to it (aka don't buy excess) and get creative in decorating in...

Today I'm bringing you part two of this series of what I've learned while decluttering with my daughter. I'm bringing you my process and what has made decluttering easier with my 5 year old as I've handed over the reigns of deciding what stuff to let go of and given her most of that choice. I also briefly talk about decluttering toddler things as well. I hope this episode helps you in some way whe...

I'm bringing you a two part series on what I'm learning as I declutter with my 5 year old daughter. First, we are starting with a reflection. Next week we will get a little more practical with the how. As I was cleaning up my home, doing a nightly reset, this question occurred to me and caused me to reflect. Is our pursuit of minimalism selfish if we have kids. I've seen similar questions discusse...

My first solo episode of each month will cover something I'm simplifying - today, that is my wardrobe. I've talked about creating a uniform on this podcast before, about three years ago, so I felt it was time to update you on this process and how I'm using it to simplify my wardrobe postpartum. I hope you take away something from this episode that will help you simplify your clothing and create a...

Today I'm talking with Kat Steck all about her cross country move from LA to Nashville. She's a mom to two young kids who sold nearly everything her family owned and refurnished her new home completely secondhand. This conversation is full of tips on secondhand selling and shopping whether you are moving or not. Links: Kat on Instagram Desirae on Instagram Sponsors: Mixsupps: Get 20% off at mixsup...

Today I'm talking with Jamie Erickson of The Unlikely Homeschool all about the concept of Hygge and how we can apply it to our homes and lives. We go beyond the aesthetics of Hygge and talk about how we can use it as a way to choose comfort, joy, connection, and find contentment in our current season. Find Jamie's book, Holy Hygge, here. Find Jamie on Instagram Find Desirae on Instagram Sponsors:...

Today I'm bringing you a solo episode of something I've been learning lately. I hope this idea of learning when to call it enough, stop trying so hard and stop striving for perfectionism resonates with you if you've been feeling tired, run down, even overwhelmed. It's so easy to just never settle in an area of our life because we always think we need to improve. We see others who are better than u...

Today I'm bringing you a mini episode to share a podcast I've been loving that is a part of Cloud10 Media - the network Minimal-ish is a part of. I've been so grateful to work alongside of amazing podcasters like Rachel Nielson, host of 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms. 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms is hosted by Rachel Nielson, a lover of practical ideas, conversations with kindred spirits, and her two wil...

Today starts our minimalism stories series which will return every 5 or so episodes. I am so excited to be starting this series that is all about sharing our stories and being encouraged by the journeys of others. My guest Emily McDermott shares her journey on her blog, Simple By Emmy. She is a mom of two and shares how her journey to minimalism helped her through a season of infertility, along wi...