221: Grief and Minimalism with Krista St-Germain

Today I’m bringing you my conversation with special guest Myquillyn Smith where she is talking all about simplified home decor. She’s sharing several realistic tips and tricks from her new book ‘House Rules’, such as how to redecorate or reconfigure a room on a budget, adding layers of “coziness”, or the importance of decluttering a space to make it feel more clean and simple. I was so encouraged by her down-to-earth, walk-with-me approach for any woman who feels like they aren’t a “naturally inclined” home decorator. I know you’ll love this episode as much as I did! Myquillyn’s new book: House Rules Myquillyn’s website Myquillyn's 'House Rules' Podcast Desirae on Instagram Minimal-ish Podcast Website ---- Sponsor: Green Chef: Go to greenchef.com/minimalish50 and use code minimalish50 to get 50% off, plus 20% off your next two months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm doing a special edition of "declutter with me" where we're focused on trouble shooting the commonly cluttered areas of our home and answering the question "Why do I still have Clutter." Links: Decluttering Action Plan Podcast Website Desirae on Instagram Sponsor: Oneskin: Go to oneskin.co and use code minimalish for 15% off your first order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are kicking off our Getting Intentional At Home series with Lyndsey of Treehouse Schoolhouse who shares her personal experience with minimalism + simplicity for her and her family as a work-from-home business owner and homeschool mom of 4 kids. In this episode, we talk about maintaining a clutter-free home with systems and routines, intentional home design and arranging spaces purposefully, hosting and boundary setting, and so much more! I hope you love learning from Lyndsey’s personal journey as a minimal-ish mom as much as I did! Treehouse Schoolhouse Instagram Shop - Treehouse Schoolhouse (Code MINIMALISH15 for 15% off) Desirae on Instagram Minimalish Podcast Website Sponsor: Hungryroot: Go to Hungryroot.com/minimalish to get 40% off your first order and free veggies for life! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm introducing our new series that we will be focusing on for the next several weeks: Getting Intentional at Home. The goal of this series is to work towards contentment and gratitude for the home we have as we also work on one simple improvement we can make to the way we take care of our homes or use our homes. I explain of that in this episode, and I also take you through some reflection questions and mindset shifts to get us started. Links: Join the Minimal-ish collective and book club Desirae on Instagram Podcast Website Minimal-ish Ep. 176: Q&A: Why We Moved + Getting Things Done With Little Ones Sponsor: Fearless Finance: Head to fearlessfinance.com and use code Minimal-ish for 50$ your first planning meeting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm honored to have pastor and author, Max Lucado, as my guest. We talk about his newest children's book, Just In Case You Ever Feel Alone and how we can approach the topic of loneliness with our children (and any other big feeling), help them cope, and stay connected as a family in a time where it is common to feel distracted and disconnected. I love this conversation, the encouragement it brings to parents, and the simple, practical tools that Max brings us. Links: Book: Just In Case You Ever Feel Alone Max's website Max on Instagram Desirae on Instagram Podcast Website Podcast Book Club Sponsor: Fearless Finance: Get 50$ off your first meeting with a financial advisor at fearlessfinance.com/minimalish Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode is a topic that I love. Though we don't often talk about it on the podcast, I believe fitness and wellness, and how we take care of ourselves in general, is a big part of intentional living. However, motherhood often does make it a little more difficult to navigate making it a part of our lives. Today I have Amy Kiefer of Expecting and Empowered on the podcast to encourage us with resources and motivation to a healthier life - from nourishing ourselves well, to simplifying fitness, to making it a part of our routine in the midst of overwhelming days as a mom. We also talk about the benefits of strength training and nourishing ourselves well. I hope you can tell through listening in that I absolutely loved this conversation and was very inspired by Amy- I know you will be, too! Links: Expecting and Empowered Expecting and Empowered on Instagram Desirae on Instagram Minimal-ish Collective Podcast Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I have Ashlee Gadd as my guest as we are talking about a "thing that matters" - creativity, or really, doing whatever it is that makes you feel more like you. We encourage our kids to be creative, yet as adults we often fully lose this part of ourselves to a busy life. We count creativity as something that we no longer have time for, that is inessential. Today's conversation challenges that and encourages you to keep creating, right in the margins of a busy life and motherhood. Ashlee s a wife, mother of three, believer, and the founder of Coffee + Crumbs. When she's not working or vacuuming Cheerios out of the carpet, she loves making friends on the Internet, eating cereal for dinner, and rearranging bookshelves. Her book, Create Anyway: the Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood, is now available wherever books are sold. Links: Minimal-ish Collective (book club) Ashlee's Book Ashlee's Podcast Coffee + Crumbs Ashlee on Instagram Desirae on Instagram Podcast website Sponsor: Hungryroot: Get 40% off your delivery and free veggies for life at Hungryroot.com/MINIMALISH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I am honored to have Dana K White of A Slob Comes Clean as my guest! Dana is (much to her surprise) a messy person turned decluttering expert, and she brings so many actionable tips in this episode to help us see decluttering in a new way. Instead of taking everything out and making more mess in the process, what if we did things differently? This episode is full of tips for the overwhelmed, messy person who wants to declutter but doesn't have much time to be making and cleaning up more messes in the process. Listen in and then go declutter something! Join our Decluttering Challenge/ Book Club Dana's Website Podcast Website Find Desirae on Instagram Sponsor: Earth Breeze: Get 40% off your subscription at earthbreeze.com/minimalish Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are taking a break from your typical weekly minimal-ish episodes to bring you a preview of what is to come next week - our first challenge in the minimal-ish patreon community + the happy mom summit. I would love to see you in either one of these places, and hope I do! Either way, I'll talk to you next week right back here for our regularly scheduled programming. Sign up for: Happy Mom Summit (free 5 day summit with 32 speakers) Minimal-ish Collective Maintenance Decluttering Challenge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are approaching a hard topic: Grief. While it's hard to talk about, it is important. Many of us don't even want to think about what my guest, Krista, experienced through losing her husband, but for many others, it is a reality. Krista now helps other women struggling through loss, and today she shares about her story, post traumatic growth, and how stuff, clutter, and decluttering plays a role in the grieving process. Links: Minimal-ish Collective/ Minimal-ish + Coffee Podcast Krista on Instagram Krista’s Website The Widowed Mom Podcast Grief Plateau Quiz Desirae on Instagram Minimalish Podcast Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices