Paring Down: Realistic minimalism to live more intentionally

"What if they ask me where it is??" "I feel ungrateful." "They expect to see it displayed."

These are just a few of the hard issues we dive into on today's episode, because we're talking about parting with items that were gifted to us.

Decluttering gifts can be really tricky, primarily because of two emotions:

Guilt - an internal experience as we wrestle with our core values (gratitude, kindness, etc.).

Fear - which is formed from the external pressure we feel from another person to keep the gift...and our discomfort around their potential reaction if we don't.

Today's episode is NOT an easy or straightforward topic, but I hope you find the strategies and mindsets I share useful as you declutter your home to experience a less stressful, more functional environment...all while navigating the tricky waters of relationships and personal dissonance.

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@paring_down⁠

Paring Down Website: ⁠theexpertbeginner.com

Join the Photo Declutter Community on Facebook (by Picta)

Paring Down Resources:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠⁠

$5 ⁠⁠Instagram Growth Basics⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Free 15 Clutter-Free Gift Ideas⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paringdown/support

There are two major pieces to living a decluttered life:

1) What we get OUT

2) What we let IN

On today's episode with Brad Nelson from Debt Free Dad, we talk about how to make smart choices with our money that not only decrease financial stress, but help us stay mindful about what we let IN during our decluttering journey.

Brad also shares ways we can make money while decluttering as a tool for getting out of debt or creating a rainy day savings account.

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@paring_down⁠

Paring Down Website: ⁠theexpertbeginner.com

Debt Free Dad website: debtfreedad.com

Debt Free Dad Podcast

Brad Nelson Instagram: @debtfreedad

Paring Down Resources:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠

⁠Instagram Growth Basics

⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠

Free 15 Clutter-Free Gift Ideas

⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠

STOP, book lovers! Don't scoff and say "No way am I listening to this episode because books are something I'll never declutter!"

I mean, you can absolutely say that and we can still be friends and it's all good.

However, I think this episode will surprise you! I'm a huge book lover myself, so I want to 100% validate readers by recognizing exactly why it's so hard to declutter our precious books.

I offer 5 top reasons we want to hold onto them, then ONLY once those reasons are fully understood and accepted do we dive into mindset shifts or new perspectives that may help you lighten your load in a way that heightens your love for books rather than diminishes it in any way.

My book: ⁠You're Completely Normal⁠

My newsletter: ⁠The L.E.S.S. Express⁠

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@paring_down⁠

Paring Down Website: ⁠theexpertbeginner.com⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠

Instagram Growth Basics

No one wants to end up on their death bed and say, "I wish I hadn't spent so much time on my phone."

Founder of FreeWyld vacation cabins, Eric Moeller helps shed light on the importance of unplugging in a practical (not unrealistic) way.

His 6 steps for entering into what he calls "Wyld Mode" help us break out of our screens and embrace experiences with our loved ones that truly feed our souls and help us live the life we know we want to live.

In this episode, we also talk about finding purpose in what we do with our time, alongside the benefits of spending unplugged time building healthy relationships.

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@paring_down⁠⁠

Paring Down Website: ⁠⁠theexpertbeginner.com⁠⁠

FreeWyld Website: ⁠www.freewyld.com⁠

FreeWyld Instagram: ⁠@stayfreewyld⁠

Eric Moeller Instagram: ⁠@ericdmoeller⁠

Paring Down Resources:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram Growth Basics

Ask and you shall receive!

When I polled the audience a few weeks ago about areas you'd like to declutter, lots of you said that your garage or your basement were hanging over your heads.

Sometimes these huge projects can feel impossible, so we never start them out of a state of overwhelmed paralyzation.

I hope today's episode gives you the encouragement to start on your own garage, basement, or doom room - to hear how my husband and I tackled ours, and to know that it CAN be done! You CAN do it!

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@paring_down⁠

Paring Down Website: ⁠theexpertbeginner.com⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠

Instagram Growth Basics

Paring down what's important in our life sounds nice and all, but HOW?

So often, pretty much everything feels important. We'd love to say that not everything is a priority, but most of the time it can feel anxiety-provoking to not *do it all.*

Business owner (x5) Ashli Pollard is at the top of her field - her agency working with celebs from Brooke Shields to Bethenny Frankel - and reaching thousands of entrepreneurs with her podcast, The Unfiltered Entrepreneur, and her online membership, The Doers.

If anyone knows about determining priorities, it's Ashli. She offers practical approaches we can take to figuring out what needs our attention NOW, and what can wait - both in our work and in our personal life.

Plus she's been one of my favorite humans and friends for 12 years. It's a fun episode - we both love to laugh, and hope you do too!

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@paring_down⁠

Ashli Pollard Instagram: @ashli_p

Ashli's podcast, The Unfiltered Entrepreneur

Paring Down Website: ⁠theexpertbeginner.com⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠

Do you have an area of your house that can't seem to stay decluttered or organized no matter what you do?

Same.

Today I walk you through the four biggest clutter problem areas in my own home, and hope that you find inspiration as I brainstorm how to keep the clutter at bay!

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@paring_down⁠

Paring Down Website: ⁠theexpertbeginner.com⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠

One of the most efficient ways to simplify your life so your life becomes exponentially easier is to implement household rhythms.

Each new rhythm (i.e. routine, habit, etc,) takes away the mental load of problem-solving and decision fatigue. When you don't have to think through what to do, you're left with way more brain space and a lot less stress.

Ben and Brianna Folkman of Folklife Rhythms have spent years learning best practices for implementing their "flexible frameworks" in order to create a more peaceful home - even during the chaotic years of little kids.

They walk us through their understanding of how rhythms create security in our relationships (for our kids, too!), as well as their Parenting and Teamwork Series that sets couples up for success as they navigate life as a unit.

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@paring_down⁠

Paring Down Newsletter: The L.E.S.S. Express

Paring Down Website: ⁠theexpertbeginner.com⁠

Ben & Brianna Instagram: ⁠@bribenfolklife⁠

Ben & Brianna Website: ⁠folkliferhythms.com⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠

This episode doesn't list things to avoid temptation, like unfollow influencers or take the Amazon Prime app off your phone - though those are great ways to save money!

Instead, we're talking about actionable steps that will save you money - from small choices to big life decisions.

Why should we bother paring down our spending? Does spending less and saving more truly matter? Don't worry, we'll cover that, too!

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@paring_down⁠

Paring Down Website: ⁠theexpertbeginner.com⁠

Print photos: printique.com

Gen Z vs. Millennial Blog Post

⁠⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠⁠

How do you know an idea is true?

That's a pretty big question, but I've found that the best way to know if an idea is worth exploring is to find out how long it's been around.

Because, as Mark Twain famously said, "There's no such thing as a new idea."

Sage wisdom usually comes in the form of a repetitive idea that respected spiritual and thought leaders have landed on independently over hundreds - even thousands - of years.

Today on the podcast, we welcome Suzanne Johnson, whose book Vital Simplicity pulls on the work of Charles Wagner - who authored The Simple Life in 1895.

Living simply as a means to internal fulfillment is a timeless truth - a conclusion that dates back as far as 600 BCE.

If that's not motivation to at least explore the principle of living with less...I don't know what is!

Paring Down Podcast Instagram: ⁠@paring_down

Paring Down Website: theexpertbeginner.com

⁠⁠Free Know Your Why Worksheet ⁠⁠

⁠⁠Free Baby Essentials List⁠⁠

⁠⁠Complete Guide to Decluttering Kid Stuff⁠⁠

Suzanne Johnson Website: suzannesjohnson.com

Suzanne Johnson Blog: avitalsimplicity.com

Blocks 

by Suzanne Johnson

Child plays 

Hour after hour 

Stacking blocks 

Knocking down 

Holding wooden 

Cubes in his 

Tender hands 

He is 

Entertained 

Leave the 

Floor bare 

Except for 

These sturdy 

Pieces 

He finds his 

Way 

His interest is 

Held 

Add Legos 

To the mix 

And coloring 

Books 

Trains and trucks 

And why not 

Screens? 

He soon becomes 

Bored

Let his 

Amusement 

Be in the 

Simple things 

Let his 

Vision sharpen on 

One thing at a 

Time 

Cut through the 

Clutter 

And find 

Joy