The Simple Home

Living with less stuff, living within our means, and staying intentional.

When my first baby was 6 months old we moved to a town with lots of young families. I quickly realized that these moms had their kids signed up for all the activities and had since birth. I was already behind. So I jumped in with two feet and got him in mommy and me swimming, mommy and me art class, mommy and me music class, and allt eh other mommy and me classes I could find. 

I also quickly noticed that our house was starting to fill up with stuff. We now lived near a Target and a children's consignment store and I was making weekly trips to see what new deals I could find. My intent to live with less stuff in our house and on our schedule had gone out the window. I was keeping up with everyone else without giving any thought to what was best for our family. 

I hated living with clutter so I continuously purged and organized. I was on a never ending cycle of shopping, purging, organizing, and my days were filled with activities. I was tired and felt like something had to change. But I didn't think my exhaustion came from my child, I thought it came from my house. 

So I made lots of changes to my mindset and my home and found peace with finally, living with less. 

In this episode of The Simple Home Podcast, I share my interview from The Wannabe Minimalist Podcast where I talked about my journey to simpler living and give lots of tips to help you find the right balance for you and your family and finally get your house and schedule in order. 

Links From This Episode:

• Original Interview on The Wannabe Minimalist Podcast.
• Get your free Jump Start Guide to Simple Living
• Connect with me on IG
• Connect with me on FB
• Free Meal Planning Bundle
• Wannabe Minimalist Podcast Website- littlegreenbow.com

A special thank you to Deanna Yates of The Wannabe Minimalist Podcast for allowing me to share this interview on The Simple Home Podcast. 

If this episode inspired you in some way, please take a minute to leave a rating and review on itunes. Use this link, click the 5 starts, and write a short review of the show! 

Find this episode of The Simple Home Podcast and others you’ll love on your favorite podcast player, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and TuneIn or anywhere else you listen to podcasts! Remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast player so you don’t miss an episode.

I want to be a 'Martha Stewart' mom. You know the moms who make everything look easy. The ones who make homemade meals each night, sew their own clothes, always look put together, and get enough sleep every day.

Before having kids, I actually thought that was possible. Haha! Now I know just how unrealistic that was.

I've let go of being the perfect mom who can do it all. I've found simplicity in all things gives me more freedom and joy in motherhood. With that said, simplifying has allowed me to focus on things that are really important to me and given me more time to be intentional. One of these areas is food. I want my family to eat simple, healthy meals of real food as often as possible.

In this episode of The Simple Home Podcast, I talk to Stephanie from Wingin It On The Homestead.

Key Takeaways From the Episode:

• She teaches busy moms about modern homesteading, cooking from scratch, and slowing down. 
• She gives us practical steps to add cooking from scratch into our daily lives without feeling overwhelmed. 
• She talks about her 'modern homestead' and how she implements these 'lost pastimes' into her household while raising 3 young kids. 

Links From The Episode

• Blog: https://wingingitonthehomestead.com/
• Simple Living Starter Kit:  www.simplelivingstarterkit.com
• Self-Sufficiency and Simple Living for Busy Families Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/678576789329881/
• Instagram: wingin_it_on_the_homestead
• Find more episodes, free resources, and courses at athomewithkids.com

If this episode inspired you in some way, please take a minute to leave a rating and review on itunes. Use this link, click the 5 starts, and write a short review of the show! 

Find this episode of The Simple Home Podcast and others you’ll love on your favorite podcast player, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and TuneIn or anywhere else you listen to podcasts! Remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast player so you don’t miss an episode.

Early learning is wildly important when it comes to setting your kids up for academic success. But who has time to search Google and Pinterest and create elaborate learning activities for their young kids?

The good news is, early learning doesn't have to be complicated. With a few clever ideas and the things you already have around your house, you and your child can build a solid foundation. 

On this episode of The Simple Home Podcast, I chat with Alison and Lisa from Learning Begins at Home. They teach us simple ways to include learning into our everyday without extra work or hassle and how to have fun doing it. 

Alison and Lisa are sisters, mums and teachers with a cumulative experience of over 20 years! They are passionate about learning and development of kids aged 2-6 in being ready for school and life, as this period of time is so crucial!

Their mission is to support as many families as possible to build enriching, family time into their lives. They do this in their membership by supporting you, the parent, to feel empowered in providing inexpensive, creative, and fun screen-free play options that support key developmental skills, using everyday items from your own home. No glitter and unicorn tears needed, just good old grassroots learning!

Links From This Episode

• Literacy Development Activities: 300+ Literacy Development Activities You Can Do At Home
• Free eBook ‘Developing Fine and Gross Motor Skills and Vocabulary using Tongs’ available at https://www.learningbeginsathome.com.au/AHWK 
• Website: https://www.learningbeginsathome.com.au 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/learningbeginsathome
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/learningbeginsathome/

Living simply is about more than just getting rid of stuff. It's about finding ways to improve your life. It's about creating space in your life for what matters most. It's about learning to live with intention.

Part of this journey for me has been about taking care of myself, my family, and our planet with more intention.

Honestly, I had no idea the true power of essential oils just a year ago. The more I've learned, the more I want to learn.

I've learned that these powerful, natural oils can help our minds, bodies, health, emotions, and our homes. The benefits seem endless.

On today's episode of The Simple Home Podcast, I chat with Amy Wadlington from The Lavender Movement. Amy is a single mom to two teenage daughters who loves inspiring busy moms to claim their joy, freedom, & health. After many years of struggling with emotional and physical health, Amy took her family’s health into her own hands, empowered herself with knowledge, and found simple ways to live non-toxic, natural living on a budget.

Amy's insight in this episode is inspiring and filled with applicable takeaways so you can start or continue your journey with essential oils. She even tells us about her favorite oil, which she refers to as her gateway oil.

Links from this episode
Thelavendandermovement.com
The Lavender Movement on Facebook
Simply Earth- Use this link and the coupon code, THESIMPLEHOMEFREE, to get a free bonus box and $40 gift card for your next purchase.

Find this episode of The Simple Home Podcast and others you’ll love on your favorite podcast player, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and TuneIn or anywhere else you listen to podcasts! Remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast player so you don’t miss an episode.

My name is Inez. I am a mom, children’s pastor, digital creator and advocate for anti-racism. I run a podcast called Mocha Mamas where we lead conversations about race, culture, justice and social change. 

I am super excited to be taking over today for Jenna. Jenna, I love your heart in muting yourself today and sharing your platform to address this important topic. 

Jenna asked me if I would share with you some tips on how to talk to your kids about racism. 

This is not an easy topic to talk about. Adults have a hard time discussing it but I wholeheartedly believe that if we start early, our kids can be the ones that bring about the change. 

I’ve heard people say that racism starts in the home. I get the sentiment here but, really, it starts in the heart. As moms we are molding the hearts of our children but we cannot mold a heart to value something that we do not value ourselves. 

So, my first tip is this: check your own heart. Root out the biases that you hold. We all have biases but we must challenge them. And this is a daily action. Do not assume that simply not being racist is enough. It’s not. You have to be anti-racist and in order to be anti-racist, you must challenge the mindsets that systems that keep racism alive and well. Educate yourself, listen and learn. 

The next thing I encourage you to do as a mom is expose your children to people that do not look like them. This can be done in a variety of ways: buy books with a brown main character, buy your white child brown dolls, watch shows and movies with Black/brown centered main characters. Participate in multicultural events in your community. Attend a church that is ethnically diverse. Consider racial demographics when choosing your home, school, dance studio, etc. If you are not a person of color these may not be things that you naturally think about. Be intentional about seeking this out. Diversify your circle of friends and the influences your child has. We fear what we do not know. You may be unintentionally causing your child to fear people of color by not having them around. And so much of what we see going on in the world is a result of that. People fearing others because of the color of their skin. 

Show love and compassion. This goes back to the heart issue, if it’s not in your own heart it’s heard to teach but we must model love and compassion to our children. We must show them that we need to love everyone. 

Get involved in social causes. This doesn’t mean you have to take your kids out to a protest but maybe you will! It was not a protest but I took my son to a MLK march back in January. It was important to me, as he is Black but I saw a dad there with two little white boys and it almost moved me to tears. What a beautiful way to show your children that we are all equal and we should all care about equality and justice. There are so many ways that you can do this - watch documentaries, study civil rights and civil right leaders. Talk about current issues and ways that people are still not treated fairly. Always emphasizing that it is wrong.  Talk to your children about loving all people. Educate them on Black History. Black History is American History. Teach them about people of all colors that have made important contributions to our nation. 

Guard your family against racist people. Mama, it may be time to clean up your friends list or to have a heart to heart with your racist parents. If you want to raise anti-racist children you cannot raise them in an environment that tolerates racism. 

The most important thing is honesty and a conscious decision to raise children that are anti-racist. 

Follow me @inezbayardo. Also, if you want to further this conversation with me, join my Mocha Mamas Facebook group! 

Do you have trouble sleeping, feel tired when you wake up in the morning, have difficult periods, feel stressed or anxious, or just not feel your best?

Did you know all of these symptoms and more can be related to your hormones?

Ali Damron has been a licensed acupuncturist and a certified personal trainer for over 11 years. She specializes in women’s health including everything from painful periods, fertility, hormonal balancing, weight loss, pregnancy and postpartum all the way to menopausal symptoms.

On this episode of The Simple Home Podcast, she gives us practical advice for finding balance and focusing on our health with a holistic approach.

Key Takeaways

• How our hormones play a role in our overall physical and mental health
• The Hormonal Pyramid and how it impacts you.
• 3 practical things you can do for optimal health.
• The signs and symptoms you may experience if you have a hormonal imbalance. 

Links From This Episode

• Simply Earth- Make sure to enter coupon code, THESIMPLEHOME, to get a FREE bonus box and $40 gift card for your next purchase.
• Alidamron.com
• Ali on FB- Ali Damron Wellness
• Ali's Facebook Group- Holistic Health with Ali Damron
• Ali on IG

Find this episode of The Simple Home Podcast and others you’ll love on your favorite podcast player, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and TuneIn or anywhere else you listen to podcasts! Remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast player so you don’t miss an episode.

This episode is going to be a little different. If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know that I’m a photographer and I teach moms how to use their cameras so they can capture the sweet moments of motherhood. 

You can hire a professional photography to get good family photos, but you're the one with your kids during the in between moments, The silly, messy, precious moments that you don't want to forget. 

I want you to be able to take beautiful pictures of your family that you and your kids can cherish forever. 

This episode is specifically about taking beautiful pictures of your family.

I know for most moms, even if you don’t have a fancy camera and you're using your phone, want to have photos you love as your kids grow. 

These six tips are easy to implement and you’ll love giving them a try.

Rather than taking hundreds of so-so photos, start taking photos you can hang up and share. 

Links from this episode

• Manual Mode Made Simple- Learn how to use your camera
• Document Your Life- Downloadable ebook created to teach you how to capture beautiful images of all your precious moments.
• Photography Tips for Moms Who Want Better Photos
• 9 Incredibly Helpful Photography tutorials for Moms

Find this episode of The Simple Home Podcast and others you’ll love on your favorite podcast player, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and TuneIn or anywhere else you listen to podcasts! Remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast player so you don’t miss an episode.

The American dream has long been buying a home and a car and maxing out our financing to have the best one we can afford. As we earn more money, it’s often encouraged to upgrade to a newer, nicer version. 

But I think we’re starting to see a shift. More and more people are yearning to be financially free so they have time, not stress. 

However, it can be a hard shift to make when most of the messaging we see and hear entices us to spend without regret.

Learning how to budget as a busy family can feel hard and a little scary. 

On today’s episode of The Simple Home Podcast, I chat with Kelly Bowman from Cozy and Comfortable. She’s been on the side of living above her means and understands the stress that comes with. 

Over the last few years, her and her husband have worked to streamline their budget and are on their way to their financial goals. She gives practical advice on starting a budget and being able to stay on track and get ahead, even if you’re feeling strapped. 

Key Takeaways From This Episode

• What budgeting looks like for her family.
• How to start and stay on track with a budget.
• Simple money saving ideas for families.
• Why intention spending and creating margins in your finances is so important.
• Baby steps to getting started if you feel like you’re maxed out.

Links from this episode

• The Simple home reset Mentorship Program
• Cozy and Comfortable on IG
• Cozy and Comfortable on FB
• 50 easy ways to save money every month
• YNAB- Budgeting App Kelly uses and loves

Minimalism with a family seems idealistic, at best.


Especially if you’re looking around your house with kids running all around. 

But the idea of living a bit simpler also sounds freeing. 

Is it possible to live with less clutter and less to do when you have a family? Or is it only possible to live this way if you live in a modern city apartment by yourself. 

I asked myself these questions when I first started to feel overwhelmed with all the stuff that entered my life when I had kids. I thought there must be a simpler way to live, but wasn’t sure it could happen until I was done raising my family.

On this episode of The Simple Home Podcast, I talked to Rachelle Crawford from Abundant Life With Less. She has such an honest approach to Minimalism and what it really looks like with a family. 

Key Takeaways from this Episode

• Why Rachelle was drawn to minimalism and how she started.
• The biggest benefits of minimalism for her and her family. 
• Changes she’s seen in herself and her family through minimalism.
• Where to start if you want to get a big impact.
• Why and how minimalism with a family is possible.

Links from this episode

• The Simple Home Reset Mentorship Program
• Abundant Life With Less
• Rachelle on IG
• 10 Things in 20 Minutes- 10 things you can do every night for easier mornings 
• How to Create a Simple Home (Even if You’re Busy)

Have you ever felt like mornings are too rushed?

This has been a struggle for mine for years, but more so since I've had kids. It feels like we're just rushing around, I'm nagging everyone, and our day starts off on the wrong foot.

I've done a lot of thinking on why this happens and what changes we can make for a more peaceful home in the morning and I've found a system that works for our family.

There are a lot of small tasks that need to be done in the morning. Add the stress of dirty dishes from the night before, things left out of place in a rush to bed, and the stress can be felt and scene.

I started to look at my house like a business. I asked myself, if this was a restaurant, what would I do at night to set myself up for success for the next day? When a business closes, they take certain steps each night to ensure they are good and ready.

So, I thought through our household and what needed to be done to feel successful (and to have less nagging) . That's how I created this list of 10 things. This system has made our lives so much easier and it only takes 20 minutes!

Listen to today's episode of The Simple Home Podcast to learn 10 things you can do every night for easier mornings. You can download a PDF checklist to help you implement this into your life right now.

Key Takeaways

• Learn what 10 things you can do every night for an easier morning. 
• Use the checklist in your everyday life. 
• Add or change any item to make it a perfect fit for you and your family. 

Links From This Episode

• 10 Things You Can Do Every Night For Easier Mornings Checklist
• Morning Routines, Evening Routines, and Daily Resets for Moms
• Learn more about The Simple Home Reset Mentorship Program

Find this episode of The Simple Home Podcast and others you’ll love on your favorite podcast player, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and TuneIn! Remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast player so you don’t miss an episode.