The Practical Minimalists

Heather and Eryn give you a preview of their new show, The Common Cult.  This episode on the common cult of Influencer Culture is one of their most downloaded this quarter.  Head on over there if you enjoyed the show to Subscribe to their new podcast!

Did you know we have a new podcast called The Common Cult?  We had a highly requested episode from some of our Practical Minimalists friends to do a deep dive on the budgeting world of Dave Ramsey.  Enjoy our second most popular episode from The Common Cult- a deep dive on Budgeting and the culture around Dave Ramsey.

Take a quick listen to preview our friend Maria Failla's amazing plant podcast Bloom & Grow Radio!

Did you know we have a new podcast? We're giving you one of our most popular episodes of Heather and Eryn's new show, The Common Cult Pod. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi TPM listeners!  Heather and Eryn are starting an all new show and we'd love to have you listen!  In this special bonus episode of TPM we talk about our new show, what it's all about, and why we are doing in this direction.

Today we are back again with another episode where we're sharing our thoughts with you during quarantine / self isolation in the age of Covid-19.  Today we're going to discuss what it means to let go of judgments and how that might serve us in getting through a time like this.  We've done shows on this topic and adjacent topics before, but today we're going to look at it through the lens of this collective crisis.  

Today we are talking routines!  Some people thrive on a routine, some do not, and each of us are on different end of the spectrum on this so we thought this would be a fun topic to help you think through as we are all confined in our homes.  

Today we are coming to you again to talk Covid-19 and what we are doing to cope during Quarantine.  Specifically today we are going to talk about homeschool and home learning as most of us in the US have become homeschool families overnight.  Listen in as Eryn, the Homeschool OG talk about what her days look like and Heather chimes in too with the perspective of being thrown into home learning overnight!  

In today's episode we talk about and define collective trauma, but do not fear!  This episode is not 100% sad and/or scary because we talk about all the amazing things that we are seeing come out of this situation  as well.  We also share the funny things that are helping us cope as well as lots of book, TV, and podcast recommendations.  Enjoy!

Hello TPM listeners!  What a crazy time we are living in!  As we all figure out how to navigate this pandemic that is affecting everyone on the globe, we wanted to do what we can to help.  In this episode we are here to check in after a long hiatus as well as to offer some solidarity, conversation, tools and coping mechanisms. We are keeping it light yet real in today's episode and we hope that our conversation today provides some entertainment and comfort for you during this historic time.

Happy Holidays everyone!  We are back with you today with some insight on how we are approaching the holidays as "practical minimalists" and are also giving everyone an update on our lives and the show.  Additionally The Nester is BACK with us to talk all things holiday.  We hope you enjoy the show!  

Today we are chatting with a guest that's honestly been a dream guest for us.  Myquillyn Smith, AKA “The Nester” is an author, mom, wife, speaker, and home styling EXPERT!  She's wrote the book The Nesting Place which focuses on beauty and letting go of perfection when it comes to curating your home.  In her next book, Cozy Minimalist Home, she explore the idea of being a stuff manager vs. a home curator, loving your stuff vs. letting your stuff own you, and tactical advice on how to get started….so basically she's speaks our language!  So it's a dream to talk to her today and we can't wait to share this conversation with you today.  

Welcome to another mini "solo-sode!"  This week Heather' talking about all her favorite things from September.  From podcasts, to book to TV to things you don't even have to buy, listen in as co-host Heather dishes. 

This episode is marches to the beat of its own drum and it might just be our most vulnerable episode yet.  We've been wanting to share about our spiritual journeys and how the process of letting go has supported us throughout our experience.  The time is right and it is with a grateful, loving, and tender heart that we give you this episode.  In it you'll hear about our own spiritual paths as well as the viewpoints of a few others.  We talk about what its like to be in relationship with someone when they don't believe what you believe.  We talk about what its like when you burn it all to the ground.  We talk about how infertility relates to spiritually.  We talk about what we think of when we think of God.  We aren't offering answers or doctrine.  We aren't trying to sway or convince you of anything.  We are simply sharing our own journeys and opening up to the paths of others so that, perhaps you might feel less alone if any of this resonates and that you may receive the permission you need to crack open and keep moving down your own trail.  

It's just me, Heather today and I'm sharing all of my summer favorites!  So many of you love the recommendations portion of our show, so think of this as an extended version of that; a mini "solo-side" if you will with fun book, podcast, show and other miscellaneous things that have added value in some way to my life over this past summer.  In a world where it's sooo easy to unconsciously consume things, I know I appreciate recommendations from trusted friends, so this is my attempt to do that for you, our awesome listeners.  I hope you enjoy! 

We are back and so pumped to catch up with you guys and let you know what you can expect in season 4 of The Practical Minimalists.  Listen in as we discuss what happened over our summer break, how we're growing, what to expect in season 5 and a roundup of summer favorites from each of us!  Feels good to be back!  

Welcome to the season 3 Finale of The Practical Minimalists!  Today we are talking about the difference between letting things go and letting things lie dormant in our lives.  We are also sharing a pretty huge announcement that you don't want to miss!  This episode is perfect for you if you want to hear more about the practice of letting things lie dormant, if you want to hear about our experience with this practice or if you simply want to hear a big announcement about the show.  We hope you enjoy! 

Today we are talking with Amy Stroup.  Amy is a singer, song writer, designer and creative.  Amy Stroup is a Boston born, Abilene, Texas raised independent artist, living in Nashville who has had her songs  featured on more than 30 TV shows (This Is US, Parenthood, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Vampire Diaries, Walking Dead, One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars) as well as National TV ads for Calvin Klein, New Balance, Lexus & more.  Amy has released 3 digital EPs and one nationally distributed full length solo recorded  entitled Tunnel.  She is the newest member of the TEN OUT OF TENN tour where she is one of ten featured artists along side Andrew Belle, Katie Herzig, Joy Williams and more. Recently Amy released a single called 'This Is My Time' featured on NBC's hit show This is US she co-wrote with Mary Hooper her creative partner and co owner of their design boutique Milkglass Creative.

In today's episode we are discussing pressure; internal pressure, external pressure, expectations.  We dig deep as we discuss how these pressures can effect us, what role they've played in our own lives and what we are doing to let go.  This episode is perfect for you if you struggle with internal or external expectations and want some practical ideas for starting to loosen the pressure, or you are simply interested in hearing us work it out! 

Today we are talking about creating family values and rituals.  Since the show's beginning, sharing how we strive to live an intentional life is something that's been at the heart of our show.  We and several of our guests have referenced family values and we thought it would be fun to share our personal family values and the process we used to create them.  Additionally we'll be chatting about how we incorporate rituals into our families lives and how to maintain a growth mindset through that process. 

The longer we do this show, the more our vision for it is revealed. More than practical tips for clearing out your basement or your closet, we've come to realize what our show is really about is letting things go that are holding us back so that we can live a more fulfilling, creative, and free lives. So today we are going to expand on that topic and share with you how we've done that in our own lives and ways in which you can start that practice as well. BONUS: stick around for the whole episode, because we have something special for you at the end. A while back we asked for stories about letting things go from our very own listeners and we're sharing some of their stories with THEIR voices with you today! You don't want to miss it!

Elise is a powerlifting world record holder, business owner, home schooling mama and world traveler. Last year Elise and her husband Justin made the scary decision to sell all their stuff and become a traveling family, or gym gypsies as they refer to themselves. So today we're going to chat with Elise about what it means to her to define and live by your values, the challenges that can come along with not a permanent home, and for fun we'll talk about simple, healthy meal planning too since that's what their business is built around!

Today we are talking to Priscila Smith! Priscila is a wife, mama, wellness enthusiast and personal style maven. You guys loved our capsule wardrobe episode with Suzy Holman, so we are revisiting the topics of clothing, and this time instead of talking about capsule wardrobes specifically, we are talking about what to do AFTER you've whittled down your wardrobe into those items that you just LOVE. We're so excited to share our conversation with you today!

We are talking about a topic the topic of time. There is a lot of content out there about making he most of your time, how we don't have enough time, and on being productive, but today we are going to talk about time in a way that maybe you haven't considered before. TIME ABUNDANCE. What does this mean? Maybe the story that we don't have enough time is not serving us. Maybe we have all the time that we need. Maybe we don't have to feel so rushed and we don't need 12 productivity planners to help us manage our time. Maybe time is abundant. Sound confusing and/or too good to be true? Listen up while we break it down today.

Today we are going behind the scenes at TPM!  Find out what it takes to get this show into your earbuds.  Today we talk about our productions schedule, how we procure guests, how we create content and we reveal some of our deepest insecurities around sharing our lives through the lens of the show. 

Today we are chatting with Maria Failla. Maria is a woman who wears many hats. When she's not in concert, auditioning, or on broadway, she can be found hosting her podcast Bloom and Grow radio. Bloom and Grow radio is a show for plant lovers where Maria, a self proclaimed plant mom newbie interviews plant experts on all things keeping your plants alive and thriving. She also offers a series within her podcast called “plant side chats” where she gets into the spiritual side of keeping plants and drawls parallels between life and plants. We've been wanting to do a show on letting things die, bloom, and lie dormat, and we couldn't think of a more perfect guest to come on and chat about this and love how this interview has unfolded. We can't wait to share our conversation with you today; hopefully you'll come away feeling inspired about life's seasons and learn a little something about plant parenting as well

Today we are chatting with Krystle Cobran of yourbravebox.com Krystle is a former lawyer, mom, teacher, speaker, writer, researcher and joy seeker. Krystle coaches both individuals and organizations on having judgement free conversations about race. We wanted to treat this topic with the utmost respect and love and we feel that Krystle is the right person to help us in doing that. 


In this episode we are interviewing health and wellness coach Beth Clayton. Beth is a former actress turned heath coach where she helps people at www.soulbodylife.com She helps people heal their relationship with food through a truly integrative approach guiding people down a path of more joy, freedom and love. Food, weight, body image…even things like meal prep and planning can be an area where we have a wide array of clutter and we couldn't think of a more perfect person to come on and talk about how to release that clutter.

Today we are welcoming guest Erica Gellerman to the show. We have had requests since day one from listeners to have a show on money. And to be honest nothing felt quite right until we both stumbled upcoming Erica Gellerman's work. Erica Gellerman is the woman behind www.theworthproject.co where she talks about all things money, negotiation, living the life of your dreams, minimalist budgeting and more. With a background in finance and a love abundance, Erica set out to empower people to stop looking at their money as an obstacle in their way but rather a tool to help people live the life they want. We couldn't be more excited to share our conversation with her with you today!

Today we are kicking off the new year by having a chat with our first second-time guest Laura Parrott Perry. Laura first appeared on our podcast in episode #23 and we talked about letting go of the stories that aren't serving you and we talked with her about how Say it Survivor, a non profit supporting survivors of sexual abuse that she co founded came to be. Whether you are a survivor of sexual abuse or not, Laura's work is powerful and can impact positive change. As we start the new year, often people are thinking about making strides towards improved mental and emotional health. Laura's new book She Wrote it Down is launching soon and we couldn't think of a more perfect person or time to talk about mental and emotional health. Survivor or not, this book and this episode is for everyone.  We talk deeply about the role shame can play in our lives, how to set boundaries with those closest to us, and why it's crucial that we are truth tellers in our own lives.  

Today we are doing a 2017 wrap up! Can you believe it's that time of year? We're going to be chatting about everything 2017, observations, things that worked, didn't work…what we learned and what we loved.

We have a treat for you guys today. To day we welcome Courtney Carver to the show. Some of you guys will be familiar with Courtney's work, but in case you aren't, a bit about her….Courtney Carver changed her life by simplifying it after a devastating diagnosis in 2006. She's the founder of bemorewithless.com and minimalist fashion challenge Project 333. Her new book Soulful Simplicity will be published December 26 by Penguin Random House. Carver shows us the power of simplicity to improve our health, build more meaningful relationships, and relieve stress in our professional and personal lives.

Today we are chatting with Grace Druecke of the Bali Market. Grace is a mama, interior decorator, and is passionate about simple, intentional living. At the Bali Market you'll find beautiful, simple quality turkish towels created and shipped with lots of love. The Bali market is not just a online towel company; The Bali Market is a place where families are encourages to live simpler lives through providing items that bring joy and usefulness. Grace is also no stranger to minimalism and lot of life changes both in business and in life and we're looking forward to sharing our conversation with you today.

If you are a TPM superfan, you'll remember that Kallie was the person who inadvertently introduced Heather to the term Minimalism. Since then Kallie has lived our her values by living in many places including Seattle, Dallas, and now Portland Oregon. Kallie is a former film photographer who still loves to get behind the lens. She's always making things with her hands whether it's beauty or functional improvements. Kallie is a wife, mama, and forever explorer and we're excited to share her perspective with you today.

We are continuing our everyday minimalism series today with our friend Alexis Rethlake. For those of you who love the idea of minimalism but the fact that you have a gaggle of kids that live with you….well this episode is for you. Alexis is the minimalist mom of 5 girls and you guys…she is such a gem. Down to earth, funny, wise, and spiritual, Alexis always teaches me something so when I found out she was a minimalist at heart, we HAD to have her on the show.

Today we are continuing our Everyday Minimalism Series by speaking with our friend Analisa Leaming. Although Analisa's life is anything but “normal” she's only just started dipping her toes into the concept of minimalism this past year. Analisa is a working singer and actress. She is currently starting on Broadway. You heard that right, Broadway where she is currently playing the role of Rosalie in School of Rock. While is she not giving it her all on stage, she is producing and hosting her podcast A Balancing Act, exploring, or hanging out with her husband. We love Analisa, her heart, and her perspective and we think you will too!

Today we are starting a new series called “Everyday Minimalism.” One of the big reasons we wanted to start the show in the first place was to take all that we were learning from leaders and voices in the minimalist community to share it. A lot of people don't resonate with minimalism because they thing you have to travel the world in an RV or live in a tiny home. But what we have found that what draws us to minimalism is not the how, but the why. That being said, we thought it would be fun to feature some real conversations with real people who aren't necessarily famous bloggers, authors or speakers about how simplification, minimalism, and intentional living has affected their lives. So today we are chatting with my friend Cara Ellis. Cara is a wife, mom of 2, entrepreneur and lucky charms lover. She is passionate about gluten free living, freedom, organization, health and wellness, talking about the hard stuff, and living your best life. We are so excited to have her on the show today!

Today we are so excited to share our guest Catherine Greer with you Catherine is a writer and blogger living in Australia. She writes novels about power, desire, jealousy and redemption. She writes picture books about optimism, resilience and flow. And she shares about life in her Happiness Blog. We wanted Catherine to come on the show today to talk about kids and flow as well as to share her thoughts on intentional living. We think you're going to love our conversation.

Today have another kid-centered episode around the topic of Flow. After Heather's interview on the Lively Show, the questions started pouring in around how you guys can start implementing the idea of flow and emotional frequency with your kids. While aren't child psychologists, we certainly can and will be open books when it comes to our experiments in all things flow, including our experiments, challenges, and joys in parenting.

Today we are serving up a fresh episode that centers around Kids and Minimalism. We get a lot of questions these days and so many of them center around kids. Although we did a kid focused episode last year, we are coming at you today with some fresh new idea, experiences and content all around the challenge and joys of having kids while being a minimalist or, at least “minimalist-ish.”

Today we are chatting with Erin Loechner!   Erin has been writing and speaking for over a decade and her work has been featured places like HGTV.com, The Huffington Post and The New York Times. Although she has done some BIG things, she very intentionally chooses slow living in a Midwestern town with her husband and kids. Our eagerness to share her with you guys can be summed up in her description of her life on her blog: “Erin strives for less in most areas except three: joy, grace, and goat cheese.”

Today we are we are talking about a topic we think a lot of self proclaimed minimalist struggle with at times.  And that is the question, when is minimalism harmful vs. helpful?  Do you ever find yourself struggling to be the "perfect" minimalist?  Do you ever feel like minimalism is oppressive? Do you ever find yourself struggling with minimalism and wonder what you're even doing anymore?  If you answers yes to any of these questions, today's episode with you.  We are talking about all this and more on today's show.

Today we are talking about something that may be a little controversial in the minimalist community….and that is when or is it ok to add more? We'll talk about when we've subtracted and taken away, the challenges this can cause and our opinions and perspectives on the issue.

Today we are continuing and finishing our clean green living series with guest Lara Adler and we are thrilled to have her onthe show today. Lara is a certified holistic health coach and self taught environmental toxins expert. Lara is committed to opening up the conversation around environmental toxins in an accessible way. We've actually gotten a lot of questions from our listeners about simple, non-overwhelming ways to start cleaning up our skincare products, water, household items, etc…and although we feel like we do know a fair amount about that process, we thought it would be great to bring in someone like Lara who is non-biased and pretty much and expert.

Today we are discussing freedom with less worry and anxiety. That's what we all want, right? Isn't part of what draws people to minimalism a release from outer anxiety so that we can also release our inner anxiety? Today we're going to talk about worry, anxiety, what causes it and how we can release ourselves from it's grip.

Today we are talking all about friendships. In school and in our younger years, for most of us, friendships is so much easier for us than it is when we are adults. Once we break away from that forced social circle and get out into the real world and get jobs, spouses and babies….well things get harry. Yet it seems we are hard wired for connection? So how to we find solid friends, invest in them and grow with them? That's what we are talking about today. We hope you enjoy.

Today we are talking about one of our most buzzed about topic on Instagram and that is the topics of self care. But this episode may not be what you think. Will we encourage you to take time for yourself? Yes. Will we tell you to drop everything and get a pedicure…maybe maybe not, but today we are talking all about self care. We're going to be getting into whether or not we are unconsciously “consuming” so to speak, things like massages and pedicures and how we can better tune into what our bodies, minds and spirits REALLY need

Today we are tackling big questions like how do stay informed but not get my emotions manipulated by the media? What can I actually DO to help those in need? How do I choose? Do I engage in the conversation on social media? What really matters? Bear with us audience. As we've said before, we are not politicians or seasoned activists, we are just two people trying to navigate the world in a more meaningful way. And we think that's most people so hopefully you will find some value in our conversation today.

Today we continuing our series on Clean, Green Living. So many of our listeners are interested in simplifying and living intentionally. Often times when we start cleaning out our physical and mental clutter, we find the space to think about things that might have otherwise felt overwhelming. Today we are talking about recycling and resourcefulness and we are bringing in special guest Cody Lilstrom to talk about small, simple and easy ways to love the earth and incorporate more resourcefulness into your life. Cody is a husband, father, explorer, biker and loves the outdoors. He also work to implement Boulder County's zero waste program and will talk all about that today. He ALSO once wore the same outfit for one year in college….so he's going to fit right in here on the podcast!

TPM Bonus time!  If you've followed along with us for a while now, you know that we love essential oils and, in fact, we facilitate and online wellness community outside of the podcast. In our bonus episodes (which come out about once a monty) we expound upon that part of our lives and that is what we're doing today. If wellness and essential oils aren't your thing, feel free to move along, but even if they are not your thing we've crafted this episode with everyone in mind and think that there's something here for everyone. Today we thought we'd bring in David Jones, Eryn's husband who is a chemist and former essential oil skeptic to speak to do a little essential oil 101 talk and speak to the “science-y” side of essential oils and even to some of the skeptics out there.  We love it when we can combine wellness and practical minimalism!  

Today we are starting a new series on Clean, Green Living. So many of our listeners are interested in simplifying and living intentionally. Often times when we start cleaning out our physical and mental clutter, we find the space to think about things that might have otherwise felt overwhelming. Which brings us to this series. Over the next couple of weeks we are going to talk all about ways in which you can live cleaner and greener and we are starting by chatting with Becky Rapinchuk of the Clean Mama blog. Becky is also author of one o of Heather's favorite books, Simply Clean. She is a wife, mom, long time blogger, cleaning guru, and DIY master. Today we are talking to Becky about blogging, ways to stay on top of keeping a tidy and clean house that don't leave you overwhelmed, and DIY home cleaning recipes.