Minimal-ish Podcast

21/05/2024

We are approaching summer which means swimsuits and shorts season- and it also might be the time of year where we are finding every way to hide behind our clothes yet still keep cool in the heat if we’ve got body image things we’re dealing with.

If that’s you- you’re not alone. Motherhood changes our bodies and it can be really hard to embrace the changes & to find clothes we feel good in.

We’ll be talking about some summer topics on Minimalish with some fun episodes over the next couple of weeks, and we are starting off with a replay of one of my favorite summer-themed episodes with . It’s a blast from the past (2021 to be exact) and a conversation that deserves a replay.

I definitely needed to (re)hear this conversation! I hope in encourages you whether it’s your first or second listen.

PS: if you have a summer staple outfit that makes you feel great- give us the details below🤍.

06/05/2024

We’ve been talking about getting intentional at home for the last 5 weeks on the podcast. This past week, I shared some things that help me be my most intentional self at home.

I’m certainly not perfect, and have seasons where I’m less intentional than others. I think we all do. But this series isn’t about perfection. It isn’t about beating ourselves up for all the areas we’re struggling, either.

It is about celebrating the areas where we’re doing it, acknowledging areas of growth, and moving towards just one of those growth areas.

If you’ve been listening along, I hope you’re enjoying this series, and I hope last week’s episode encouraged you to celebrate your wins 💕.

Search “Minimal-ish” anywhere you listen to podcasts 🎧 to listen in!

01/05/2024

I don’t stop writing because things are going well.
Or because things aren’t going well.
I’ve written through both of those types of seasons.

It seems I stop writing when I doubt myself. Doubt the words matter - to me or to you.

It seems I stop writing when I lose myself a little.
When life gets a little too busy. When things get confusing. When I don’t see the clear path ahead.

This has happened more than once - as it will in life.
And it seems if I write through it, I hold on to who I am as I navigate the murky waters.
And if I stop? I get a little lost.

So, I don’t know about instagram algorithms.
I don’t want to know about them.
But I do know I’ve been overthinking instagram for far too long: If I’ll show up here or not. How I’ll show up here. If it’s a waste of time or worth my time.

Here is what I know - when I write, I feel more at home.
And I know myself enough to know I just won’t really write without somewhere to share it.

So, hey friend,
It’s been a while since I wrote something.
But writing helps me see the beauty in my everyday, and I think I need a little bit more of that right now.
Writing helps ground me in what matters, and I definitely could use some of that.
So I think, although I’ve tried to convince myself, for whatever reason, that this little app is a waste of my time,
I’ve decided that I really don’t think it is. Not for me. Because it gives me a reason to write.

Here’s to writing more - whether or not it sounds perfect,
whether or not the algorithm likes my old-fashioned static-posts and long-captions.
I’m just excited to write again. I’m just excited to be here with you again. ☕️🤍✍️

30/04/2024

We will have our book club meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, May 1) at 7pm ET!

I’ll post a link for it here and in Patreon.

For now, here are questions to discuss from the end of the book! Each section has its own picture and feel free to discuss however you’d like to in the comments!

Looking forward to tomorrow! Check back here for the link- it will be via zoom.

25/03/2024

Happy Monday everyone! I am starting to finally feel better. It was a crazy weekend in my house which I will detail in the episode which will come this week at some point. I have a lot on my plate right now, and this weekend was, like I said, not according to plan haha. But towards the end of the week we have Spring Break so my husband will be home - I will be able to put some time to the bonus episode! Anyways...

If you haven't listened to last week's episode yet, it is a very different conversation than we typically have on Minimal-ish, but I was happy to have it because it is a topic I love! Here are some questions to think on and discuss if you'd like! Answer one or all or just use them for your own reflection :)

1. What are some ways you prioritize fitness/ wellness in your daily life? Aka what works for you?

2. What are some ways you'd like to improve this area of life?

3. Have you struggled with body image/ negative mindset about fitness, wellness, your body, etc?
4. What takeaways did you have from this episode?

16/03/2024

Eras Tour is the new Ms. Rachel. At least for today. 😂🤍

13/03/2024

Motherhood requires so much of us.
So much of our bodies.
After two weeks of pain and cabbage in my bra, I was feeling like it’s a little unfair- the pain we have to go through to start feeding our babies, and then the pain to stop. I honestly don’t know which is worse.

And then there’s the guilt I feel for stopping when she would still happily continue nursing. I nursed for almost 2 years, but still, the guilt. Her skin is so much better since we stopped (she’s sensitive to a lot of foods and has bad eczema- the main reason we stopped is I believed her skin would improve and it has) but still, the guilt.

And then there are the 9 months of growing them inside of us- with various pain and ailments to accompany it. And childbirth- however they come into this world. There’s pain, and there’s painful healing involved.

And then our bodies are never the same- yet society holds women to unrealistic beauty standards. We can scream body positivity all we want, but it’s hard to fight that, isn’t it?

Not to mention the hormones, the mental health struggles, which are very real and often worse than the physical pain.

So yeah, after 2 weeks of weaning, of painful clogged milk ducts, of crazy hormone changes, of feeling so far from myself, I was feeling a little sorry for myself. Sorry for all of us.

But of course- there’s another side. We’d all do it again in a heartbeat because of the babies we bring into the world and nourish through all of this pain.

And the side I’m clinging to - to get through to the end of this pain - is how strong we are. We endure this pain. We continue to care for our babies through it. And we repeat that each time we’re sick or we’re struggling. We keep strong, the best we can, to take care of them. We are so much stronger than we give ourselves credit for.

What if we walked through each day with a reminder of that strength? It would change some things, wouldn’t it? You are so strong. Time to acknowledge that. Time to remember that. 💪🤱

12/03/2024

If you’re not sure where to start decluttering or you just feel overwhelmed with the state of your house right now…come listen to the most recent episode of minimal-ish with - you will leave ready & equipped to take steps forward.

Out of over 220 episodes, this might be my favorite one for getting started with decluttering, or decluttering as a messy, less-than-organized person. It’s very actionable, and I fully believe you will gain some strategies you can put to use right away (like the visibility rule shared in this post).

If you listened already, let me know if you agree that Dana is just amazing ❤️👏.

PS: we will be reading her book “Organizing for the Rest of Us” next month in our book club! Join us at Patreon.com/minimalish

29/02/2024

1. The way my littlest bear-hugs my biggest in the mornings after waking.
2. The way fresh, warm coffee tastes, and the way the freshly ground beans make my living room smell like the coziest coffee shop.
3. The way I remember the laughter & play of my kids right after bedtime, as I’m putting their toys away.
4. The way the sun comes in my kitchen window, even if it’s highlighting the dishes-everywhere situation.
5. The way music is playing on both Alexa’s and it initiates an instant dance party with my girls.
6. The way we watch the voice in the evening all together - even if it involves wild, loud playtime overpowering the singing voices half the time.
7. The way that my kids laugh the loudest and are the happiest when I’m tackling them with tickles and smooshing their cheeks with kisses - that’s really what they want the most.

The house isn’t tidy because I don’t have the energy.
I’m not the most productive, lately.
And I am feeling restless.
I don’t know what to do with myself in the quiet of nap time when I really have a thousand things to do.
I don’t even know what I want to do.
But I do know, that these little things are the big things.
These are the things that make me happy.

20/02/2024

Just released episode 2 of the The Minimal-ish + Coffee Podcast, which is part of the Minimal-ish Collective.

Get more from Minimal-ish Collective on Patreon

14/02/2024

My mom always used to get us a tiny little gift for Valentine’s Day. Like a CD or magazine. And some chocolate. And to think she got to do that without social media telling her it was too much or not enough 🤯

But it was always so special to me. So today I gave my kids each a stuffy and a book. Two things they love. Not because social media said I should. But because a little gift was something that made me feel special on VDay as a kid. Because it feels like a doable little tradition. I did it because I wanted to. Just like my mom always did years ago.

We also got some baked goods from a local bakery. Little things to make the day one to look forward to. To me, that’s what these little holidays sprinkled through the year are. Just days where things are a little different, a little less ordinary. Simple traditions to have fun with. Tiny joys that remind us that life is also meant to be fun & having fun together as a family is important.

These little holidays can feel heavy on the marketing these days, heavy on the consumerism, heavy on the expectations. One more thing to add to the mental load of motherhood.

But maybe they don’t have to be. Maybe we don’t have to get inspiration from 30 different people on social media and then end up feeling bad because there’s no way we are doing that much. Maybe we can just keep it simple by asking what feels good? What feels right for our family? Family traditions are meant to be yours. You don’t have to measure up to everyone else’s.

I kind of long to be a mom in an age where social media didn’t tell me what it looks like to be a good mom on Valentine’s Day. But here we are. The thing I’m learning is that social media isn’t telling me any of that- if I feel bad, it’s because I’m telling myself that story based off what I’m seeing. It really is on me.

Regardless, I’m learning we’ll be much better off if we shut out the noise a little, keep our eyes on what’s best for our own family, and just do that. ❤️

Happy Valentine’s Day to you - however simple or elaborate it may be in your house. 💕

13/02/2024

Just making space on the feed for a few of the generous, kind encouragements that keep me going. 🤍

I say it often, but I am truly so grateful for each time you listen, share, or even let me know you’re listening and enjoying minimal-ish. I’m grateful for you 🤍.

We are so close to 1000 reviews on Apple podcasts! If you have an iPhone, love minimal-ish, and haven’t left a rating/review yet, I’d be so grateful if you take a few minute to do so!

08/02/2024

The Minimal-ish Collective/ Patreon Community is here! A space for us to work towards a more minimal-ish, intentional life together.

In February we'll focus on getting acquainted with the community and in March, we'll be full on Maintenance decluttering with a two week challenge, followed by a related book club in April! I'm so excited for these next few months!

Link is in comments to learn more!

02/02/2024

We are one month in- which means if you set some goals but already abandoned them- you’ve got an endless amount of opportunities to start again. 🤍

A very guilt-free, shame-free revisiting of our goals on the podcast this week. I heard someone say that January felt like the “1 month free trial” of 2024, so February gets to be a fresh start if you want it to be. I love that.

I started my goals in a much gentler way this year. Putting my toes in the water. Seeing what actually made sense and what I thought would make sense but didn’t. Changing and shifting as needed. Choosing only 1-2 big focuses. And reminding myself that I don’t need to beat myself up if I couldn’t get a certain routine up and running.

I hope this week’s episode encourages you to pick back up on something important to you, let go of something that doesn’t actually matter, and move forward gently, with grace for yourself and the reminder that each step towards your goal is really FOR you & who you are becoming. 🤍

Search minimal-ish wherever you listen to podcasts and find episode 218 to listen in. 🎧

What’s something you’re working towards this February?❤️

26/01/2024

How are we supposed to be happy, to feel content, when we constantly feel like we “should” be doing it differently?

How many times a day to you feel like you’re doing it wrong- or just not *quite* right enough?

It’s easy to see into other peoples lives and see the way they are doing everything - and therefore easy to feel like things would be better if we could somehow manage to do everything differently.

Can you picture the weight that would lift off your shoulders if you could just make a choice- in your motherhood, in what you’re going to accomplish, in choosing to rest vs. be productive- and not feel like you SHOULD be doing it some other way?

Not to say we shouldn’t pursue growth- but also- shouldn’t we pursue just living, too?

I know this is a problem I face each day. One example for me…

As a work from home mom, when it comes to naptime, I give myself a lot of shoulds about how i should spend my time, which often turn into indecision, and definitely turn into a rude inner voice.

If you relate to this- you’re surely not alone. Tune into episode 217 of minimal-ish, where and I talk about decluttering your motherhood and discuss this area of life where many of us could us some mental decluttering. 🤍

Do you struggle with this, too?

23/01/2024

How do we change our shopping habits with we are bombarded by product recommendations? How can we become more conscious about our consumption habits in an influencer world?

We talked all about it on the most recent episode of minimal-ish, episode 216. And I think the most important first step is to know ourselves and the way we find ourselves tempted to hit the checkout button.

So you come across a shared link from an influencer for something you don’t need, something you haven’t been searching for, something that isn’t on a wishlist of yours- but it looks nice. Are you tempted to look into it more? What happens when you do? How quickly can you go from discovering an item for the first time to an impulse purchase?

The answer to this doesn’t mean youre “good” or “bad,” it simply gives you a starting place. It’s an observation you can work with.

The pretty target displays tempt you every time? Only use order pickup for a while and don’t venture into the store.

Fashion influencer links cause you to have a string of packages at your door say after day? Unfollow for a while til you’ve dealt with that habit.

It is hard to change our shopping habits, but a little bit of self awareness can go a long way. 🤍

In the episode, we also talk about the Stanley craze (it’s our example for overbuying) and I give you some reflection questions + examples of challenges we can do to help us stop the cycle of buying stuff we don’t need which then turns into clutter.

I hope you enjoy this episode! It was a fun one to record, and an episode where i definitely spoke from experience. Aka, if you can relate to any of it, you’re not alone!

Search minimal-ish wherever you get your podcasts and listen in🎧

12/01/2024

When we have the ability to see into so many others’ (curated) lives, ours might start to look a little boring.

But the key word here is curated. And the parts we don’t see, we often make up on our heads. And we probably imagine a much fancier version than the reality.

But really- that all doesn’t even matter- what someone else’s life “looks” like or what it is actually like.

Are you perfectly fine with your life how it is? Do you like *this little life* just the way it is? Maybe the mundane of your days is full of what matters to you- and if that’s the case, sounds to me like your life is far from boring.

In the social media influencer age, we are often made to feel a need for more. A belief that more stuff will make us happy or more interesting is more pervasive than ever. meaningful life is what matters.

If your social media has you feeling that way, maybe it’s time to pause and reflect on what actually matters to you. To reflect on your days and how much good you already have. To reflect on who you are and how you don’t need to add anything to yourself to become more worthy or interesting. To start a gratitude practice and remind yourself daily you have more than you need. ❤️

I just loved this idea and how we can apply our values and who we truly are to our budgeting and financial goals. So grateful for insight on this week’s episode of minimal-ish.

Listen to episode 215 of minimal-ish for more on values based, deprivation free budgeting + a chat about comparison. 🎧

06/01/2024

This week on minimal-ish we eased into the new year 🎉. I shared a 2023 wrap up with top episodes, some fun stats to celebrate, and shared my biggest learning about minimalism this year.

Then, we took some time to look ahead as I shared some things to look forward to (things I’m super excited about!!) on the podcast in 2024, and shared some of my own goals for the year.

I loved taking a week to pause, reflect, and look ahead. I hope you enjoy listening in. 🎧

Thank you so much for any way you listened in and shared the show in 2023. Looking forward to another year of minimal-ish with you 🫶.

31/12/2023

Sat down and did most of my goal planning yesterday and today. Here are a few things I plan to keep around, add, & subtract as we move into a new year. ❤️

Any of these ins and outs on your list, too? Happy NYE, friends! If you need some help with goal planning I’ve got two episodes and goal planning printable templates for that. Comment goals and I’ll grab the links for those your way!

27/12/2023

3 things I learned this year - a 33rd bday post.🎂

1. Life is a lot more joyful when we see the good rather than dwell on the tough things. I did know this already. But this year I learned it’s okay to need help to get there. I explored different things that would help my anxiety (which was making it really hard to focus on the good this past year) and found some things that have helped more than I could have imagined.

2. Motherhood is a lot better when you care less about others’ opinions on your motherhood. This is hard to do, but gets easier with time. Going through postpartum the second time around made me realize how far I had come in trusting myself as a mom. And it turns out, when you trust yourself more, you stop thinking others are judging you- and if they are- you stop caring, because you’re the best mom for your kids and they don’t see the whole picture- they are working with limited information and making assumptions and that says more about them than you.

3. Do the things that scare you, bet on yourself, chase your dream. Whatever cliche way you want to say it 😂. Not because it will always work out…but because if you never try, you might always wonder what could have been. And if it doesn’t work out, you’ll make something else work. You owe yourself the best shot you’ve got.

Not going to lie- this year was mentally hard. I struggled with postpartum anxiety more than I wanted to admit and more tha. I even let myself fully grasp while i was going through it. I convinced myself what i was feeling was just normal. It wasn’t. But I’m currently in a much better place mentally, honestly feeling my best in a long time, and I’m really grateful to be entering year 33 in that way. 🤍

19/12/2023

What I’ve realized is that in this season where we’re purposely shopping more than we might the rest of the year - in this season of sales, we get a little desensitized to the check out button.

Whether you’ve done it haphazardly or carefully budgeted, many of us are buying a little more than the rest of the year. And sometimes, that can bring back old habits. It can feel like the norm to hit add to cart, check out, and not even think twice.

So here’s your reminder, and my own, to remember the pause. Hit that add to cart, then give it 24 hours. Likely, you’ll forget about it. If not, maybe it’s a purchase to come back to.

Here’s your reminder, and my own, that we don’t have to keep buying more stuff for others to be a good friend, daughter, wife, mom. We can call it good and done.

Here’s your reminder, and my own, that just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean we need it. Or even if we might “need” it, right now might not be the best time to get it.

Consumerism is abundant - always, but especially right now.

These last minute and no post Christmas sales create urgency - even when we’ve brought so much new stuff in already.

We’re less than a week out from Christmas and maybe it’s time to remind ourselves regularly, over and over, what we want our focus on.

Because if I don’t keep my focus there, I’ll be distracted by the sales, the shiny things, the “just one more thing.”

And sure, it’s satisfying to hit the checkout button, to get something new. It brings a little spike of happiness. But you’ll need to keep the cycle going to experience that short term happiness again, again, again.

What’s even more satisfying is walking away. Leaving it in the cart. And a few minutes later realizing there are several things in life that bring you lasting happiness, but that item you almost bought wasn’t one of them.

The gift part of this season is fun. I hope you thoroughly enjoy giving (and receiving) this next week or so. But I hope you find a good stopping point. And while I’m sure the week will be a busy one for all of us, with lots of to do list items to check off, I hope we’ll make space to focus on what matters. That’s where the real lasting happiness lives.🎄

15/12/2023

Three years ago I set a goal to get outside more often in the winter. This year, I just realized I don’t have to even think about it anymore, it’s just second nature- a normal part of my life.

But it took 3 years of ups and downs of progress to get to this point.

We’re sold the idea of instant transformation, but often quick change isn’t lasting change.

The above slides are some previews of what we talk about in this week’s podcast episode. We also go through a reflection and goal setting exercise. I even made a worksheet to help you take action on the episode 🫶.

✨If you comment goals, I’ll send the episode + goal setting worksheet your way! ✨

I’d also love to hear about some of your goals for 2024, or some you made progress in this year if you want to share! I personally want to read more. I just feel it- this is the year I return to my bookworm roots 📚

This is one of my favorite episodes that I do yearly, and I’ve learned more and more about what works (at least for me) with goal setting along the way. I hope this episode helps you get intentional for the new year to come 🤍.

13/12/2023

Starting out 12 days of Minimalish-mas with an introduction, since I haven’t done one on here in literally years.

I’m Desirae, the writer and voice behind the mic on The Minimal-ish Podcast. I started Minimal-ish over 5 years ago now after my husband and I decluttered our whole home. Decluttering brought us a lot less time spent on managing our home and a lot more time to spend on what matters to us.

We’ll talk more about minimalism and minimal-ish living over the next 12 days- for today, we’ll start out with some fun. Here are 6 things you might not know about me.

1. I love coffee but decided to greatly reduce my caffeine intake about a month ago for anxiety purposes. I was a little on edge🙃. I’m thoroughly enjoying decaf every morning now and I’m not looking back. I feel so much better.

2. I am born and raised in a small town 20ish minutes north of Pittsburgh. I must like it because I’m still here🖤💛

3. Contrary to the vibe of fact #2, my husband and I have moved a lot. We’ve moved 7 different times since being married almost 10 years ago. Hoping to greatly reduce the rate at which we move by about 100%. I never want to move again.

4. Christmas has always been my favorite - I feel a special connection to it because I’m (almost) a Christmas baby - due on Christmas, born two days after. I never really felt slighted as a kid with a birthday close to Christmas, but I do feel slighted as an adult. Mostly by myself. Because I don’t want to do anything, eat any sweets, or drink anything by that time in December 😂.

5. My house is messy each day even though we decluttered and maintenance declutter. I’m a messy person and I have two young children. I’ve learned to not see it as a problem to be solved- this is just real life. Even with good routines, mess still happens.

6. I taught English/ language arts for 6 years and taught every grade from 6-12 other than 10th. 8th and 9th were my favorite.

Tell me about you - have you moved a lot? Do you drink decaf? Where do you live?
I’d love to hear something you relate to or your own fun fact.

I’m so glad you’re here ❤️

07/12/2023

We stopped homeschooling in early November.

In October, I saw the signs it wasn’t working. I won’t share much detail for the privacy of my child, but I will say my 6 yr old is the extrovert of extroverts.

I convinced myself I could provide her enough opportunities to socialize with other kids. However, with a 1.5 yr old along for the ride, it wasn’t easy, though I tried.

I was giving her pretty much all of my time and attention, getting out of the house as much as possible, but it wasn’t enough.

It became glaringly obvious to me that homeschool wasn’t the best option for my oldest at this point in her life.

I still have lots of qualms with traditional school as a former teacher who has seen it from the inside.

But what I’ve learned from this experience is that there is no ideal way. And this concept goes beyond education.

Between discipline and baby sleep and screen time and more - there are different philosophies and parenting experts that will insist they’ve got it right.

But every kid is different - so it’s pointless to believe there is an ideal way to do anything. A waste of energy to believe you’re failing because you can’t seem to find it.

This decision was so hard for me because I had believed so strongly that homeschool would be more ideal for us.

I was sad and anxious for weeks. I had to dismantle beliefs I built up, and simply let go.

It hasn’t been perfect (because there’s no ideal way) and it’s only been a month, but let me tell you, it has been very clear that it is the better option for us all right now- especially my sweet kindergarten girl.

I know I owe no explanation of my parenting choices, but I shared our decision to homeschool earlier this year, so I did want to give this life update.

And more than anything, I wanted to encourage you if you’re in a hard season of parenting or in the midst of tough parenting decisions: there is no ideal way. There is only the way that fits you and your family best. It might not even be your preferred way. And that might feel frustrating.

But if you’re learning and shifting and figuring it out as you go - that’s really the best you can do. You’re doing a great job. ❤️

04/12/2023

If you’re saying you don’t have time for rest- there’s a problem.

I know it because I’ve said it and believed it. And I know when that’s the case, burnout isn’t far away.

Here’s the truth: the world doesn’t rest on your shoulders and nothing will happen if it doesn’t all get done.

There are deadlines. There are tragic situations that demand our attention. There is parenthood, family life, professional life, work and kids to be tended to. There is constant demand on our time. But we have to choose ourselves sometimes, too.

There is a lot on your plate. But you’ll burn out if you don’t decide to find some space for rest on that plate, too. Space you can fill with the things that allow you to breathe, to let go, to remember that it all doesn’t hinge on how much you can get done- and that your worth doesn’t hinge on that either.

I encourage you to find some space for unproductive things, things you love to do, things you enjoy, but maybe they don’t “move the needle” in any way at all. “Waste” time and you’ll come back from it more creative, more patient for your kids, more joyful, more ready to serve & love others well.

Happy Monday, friend. I hope you rest & play a little this week, even in the midst of a busy holiday season. ESPECIALLY in the midst of a busy holiday season.

What’s something you can let go of to find some rest this week?

🎄Tag a friend that may need this reminder, too.

04/12/2023

If you’re saying you don’t have time for rest- there’s a problem.

I know it because I’ve said it and believed it. And I know when that’s the case, burnout isn’t far away.

Here’s the truth: the world doesn’t rest on your shoulders and nothing will happen if it doesn’t all get done.

There are deadlines. There are tragic situations that demand our attention. There is parenthood, family life, professional life, work and kids to be tended to. There is constant demand on our time. But we have to choose ourselves sometimes, too.

There is a lot on your plate. But you’ll burn out if you don’t decide to find some space for rest on that plate, too. Space you can fill with the things that allow you to breathe, to let go, to remember that it all doesn’t hinge on how much you can get done- and that your worth doesn’t hinge on that either.

I encourage you to find some space for unproductive things, things you love to do, things you enjoy, but maybe they don’t “move the needle” in any way at all. “Waste” time and you’ll come back from it more creative, more patient for your kids, more joyful, more ready to serve & love others well.

Happy Monday, friend. I hope you rest & play a little this week, even in the midst of a busy holiday season. ESPECIALLY in the midst of a busy holiday season.

What’s something you can let go of to find some rest this week?

🎄Tag a friend that may need this reminder, too.