Paring Down: Realistic minimalism, decluttering, & intentional living

For the sake of savings and convenience, so many of us fall into the trap of keeping too much backstock in our homes. It's become all too common to treat our homes as a store, instead of letting stores be the store and our homes be our home - with just enough that we need for daily living inside it. So what IS the right amount of backstock? We'll explore that question on today's podcast through di...

The question we often forget to ask ourselves even though it is central to our wellbeing: Is this working for me? Does this pace of life feel good? Am I spending my time how I’d like? Are my routines helping me or cycles I’d like to break out of? If our basic needs like food and shelter are met, then where we spend our time is up to us! Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way, does it? In this episode,...

"How do you find the time to declutter?" I hear this question on repeat - and I get it! Between kids and jobs and just...life...it's hard to find time to eat a meal sometimes, much less tackle decluttering the house. So I hope this episode gives you some ideas of how to find the time as I share what has worked for me during 3 different stages in my life: As a full time "working" mom, as a SAHM, an...

Well, folks. It happened. My first tears on the podcast. Sarah Horgan of the Simple & Intentional Podcast is one of those people who makes you feel completely seen and heard, and I am so grateful we had such a personal and honest conversation. Sarah's story of being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer 10 years ago and how that led her to live a more intentional, minimal life is powerful. We also went in...

FIFTY-EIGHT SQUARE FEET, people. It's nuts and we love it! This week I share with you a bit more behind-the-scenes of van life in our camper van that is 58 square feet of "living" space, and how spending time in such close quarters with 5 humans and 2 dogs really highlights the beauty of living with less. I also offer some tips and ideas for your next road trip - especially if you have kids in tow...

You do NOT want to miss this one, you guys. While this podcast primarily focuses on paring down our belongings to declutter our homes, I like to branch out a bit every now and then to pare down different beliefs, anxieties, and ideas we have on a variety of subjects in order to help us move through the world with less stress and more peace. Well, flight anxiety is one of those things I simply can'...

What if my kid needs to pee when the fasten seatbelt sign is on? What should I bring to entertain my kids on a flight? Also, what exactly is the role of a flight attendant? From their perspective, what are basic dos and don'ts of air travel? You will LOVE this enlightening and fun conversation with former Miss Vermont, year-9 flight attendant for a major US airline, Unitarian Universalist Minister...

Paring Down Travel is a miniseries I’ve wanted to bring you since the moment The Paring Down Podcast was conceptualized. Particularly air travel. And I KNEW I had to bring on Miss America 2015 and sports broadcaster, Kira K. Dixon. Kira is one of my personal fashion icons and manages to always look amazing and unique while traveling 30 weeks a year. How does she keep her sense of style and self wh...

"What do I do with all the stuff other people give me and the kids?" Whew, this is a BIG one. It's a nuanced topic, but I hope you find nuggets of help-- both practical and mindset-driven-- as we walk through 5 different types of gifts we receive from other people. From holidays to hand-me-downs, I share with you best practices that have helped me navigate personal relationships with care while al...

Our brains don't all work the same way, so we won't have the same experience decluttering and managing our homes! Elena Willits, host of the Kind Organizing Podcast, shares her own experience with ADHD and how it has shown up in her journey to create a peaceful living space. With vulnerability and practicality, Elena talks us through feelings of shame many of us experience when we can't seem to st...

You only get to find out how many photos are on my phone if you listen to the podcast! Haha...but seriously, it's embarrassing. I'm learning right along with you in this episode, offering strategies for how to go through an overwhelming number of photos, and best ways to organize them once we declutter. We also dive a bit deeper into the importance of photos. How can we be intentional about preser...

Can you imagine your family living with your in-laws AND your parents? Certified Organizer Aubrey High knows and chose this experience, and once you hear her speak, you'll know why it works. It's such a PLEASURE to talk with someone who has such a deep sense of self-awareness, empathy, and intention. Aubrey shares with us her family's unique decision to combine homes, what that meant in terms of p...

Piles are the enemy's favorite weapon. (Is that too dramatic? It is. But let's go with it.) The enemy: Stress caused by a cluttered, messy home. Piles are a sneaky weapon because they're the bad guy *undercover.* Most piles start out with good intention. We think the piles are on our side. Like items are set aside together: Organization! We're keeping some of the chaos contained: Control! ...but t...

With raw honesty, Yeli Heidecker shares her personal story that led to her decision to fully declutter her home today on the podcast. This is one of those episodes that will feel deeply relatable. It's so easy to start striving for what our culture calls successful-- the new car, the bigger home-- only to find out that those things don't bring more happiness to our lives. We also dive into influen...

This is your sign to DM me and let me know if there's ever a topic you want me to cover on the podcast! I love it! Today's episode is a compilation of requests that all revolved around kid stuff in some form or fashion. From "What do I do about children's books when they mean so much to me??" to "How do I help declutter my older kids' stuff when I also need to respect their privacy?", I do my best...

It's about to get REAL, y'all!! My husband, Aaron, is on the show with me today. Coming at you from my side of the closet, we share things we've done well and things we've learned the hard way when it comes to decluttering as a couple. Aaron is a natural maximalist when it comes to stuff...he wants to keep ALL of it. (And can tell you exactly why!) I live on the other side of the spectrum and woul...

Am I the only one who loves a good love story? Well, I hope not, because that's what I'm dishing up on the podcast today...sort of. More like, I'm sharing some love stories gone wrong while I was dating in my 20s. Specifically, my seven most influential relationships before meeting my husband. SEVEN, SHANNON?! (Clutches pearls.) That wasn't even all of them. I cast a wide net, okay?? Each of these...

This episode is a BIG one!! It will be answering the #1 question I get in DMs: What do I do if my partner won't declutter? Not only will it answer this question, it features the one and only Dr. Tracy Dalgleish, world renowned psychologist and couples therapist. Using her 20 years of clinical experience, Tracy walks us through - how to approach our partner about their stuff - asking the right ques...

Have you ever felt stuck, then heard someone say "It's okay to do what you need to do"... and you feel this big weight lifted from your chest? Sometimes, all we need is for someone to gently offer us permission to take the step we know we want to take, but our anxiety and guilt paralyze us. Whether it's wanting to please our kids, worrying that our loved ones will personalize our choice, or fear o...

As parents, we're often concerned that our choices will negatively affect our kids, and decluttering feels like such an "adult" choice. So what does this mean for the kiddos? Elisabeth from @balancingbeams and I dive into the intersection of decluttering and parenthood, discuss the balanced approaches we take, and work through the misconceptions about what it means to live with less. If you don't...

I was SO inspired after listening to Brene Brown's book, Atlas of the Heart, that I had to do a podcast episode that draws inspiration from the different emotions she defines through her qualitative research. Because paring down and decluttering is EMOTIONAL! We're proud, we're guilty, we're relieved, we're overwhelmed...we're all the things. Today, I walk you through some of the top emotions peop...

Do you ever feel like "What's the point of going green? What difference is my one little choice going to make?" Or maybe you think "It's too complicated. I just don't have the bandwidth to add sustainability to my list of things to do." This episode with Shila Wattamwar is such a breath of fresh air! Shila is a true industry insider when it comes to sustainable living, and offers motivating yet ge...

It's the last episode of 2023! What is this life?? This week, I walk you through the areas of my life I simplified this year in hopes of giving you a few ideas for what to pare down in the coming year! From books to the social media to paper flyers, I've really become intentional about what's allowed in my physical and mental space. Maybe next year I'll actually finish decluttering the garage. Hap...

For the very last episode in our Paring Down the Holidays miniseries, I'm back on the pod with author, fellow podcast host, and all around dynamite human being, Molly Stillman. We continue our conversation from Tuesday (go back and listen to Episode 10 if you haven't yet!!) as we dive into different Christmas traditions and where they come from. What's the history of the Christmas tree? Why do we...

Who was Jesus? Does he matter even if you're not a Christian? Why do we celebrate his birth?  I'm so excited to pare down the meaning of Christmas in this episode with the HILARIOUS, wise, and brilliant Molly Stillman. Molly is an author, podcast host, church planter, farmer, mother, comedian...she's truly dynamic. This podcast is not just for followers of Jesus, however as we move through this mi...