079: How to be a minimalist through intentional shopping – with Miranda Anderson

Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to be a minimalist? To live with less clutter, less stuff, less things holding you down and holding you back? I don’t know about you, but simplifying down sounds pretty good to me. Clearing out, letting go, and decluttering once a quarter – that’s right up my alley. Count me in.

But could you sustain being a minimalist every single day? Especially if you have kids who seem to need a mountain of stuff? Could you go an entire year without buying anything new? My guest and her family went an entire year without buying stuff and the experience transformed her household completely.

Miranda Anderson simplifies how to be a minimalist, through intentional shopping

In this episode, you will learn:

• How Miranda defines ‘practical minimalism’ and how it influences how she runs her business and home
• Why cultivating gratitude is a critical step in being a minimalist
• The (surprising) lessons Miranda learned from a year of not shopping
• How she taught her children (and herself!) the power of patience through this experiment
• How Miranda determines whether to buy something… or not
• How to replace ‘retail therapy’ with something healthier, as a self-care practice

Miranda’s memoir, More Than Enough: How One Family Cultivated A More Abundant Life Through A Year Of Practical Minimalism, a fascinating read. After reading it I just knew I had to chat with her on the podcast all about it. She shows us how we can be minimalists, but in a practical and more realistic way.

#DoTheThing!

Links, books and apps mentioned:

Tool: Use Unroll.Me to unsubscribe from unnecessary e-newsletters. Unfortunately, Unroll.Me is temporarily unavailable in the EU and EEA.

Book: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones – James Clear

Book: More Than Enough: How One Family Cultivated A More Abundant Life Through A Year Of Practical Minimalism – Miranda Anderson

Podcast: Live Free Creative Podcast – Miranda Anderson

FREEBIE – 5 day email course from Miranda Anderson – Five Days to Freedom

Favorite quotes from this episode:

[12:46] “I understand that my life may not have every single thing in it, and that actually is better for me. And so I’m going to choose the things that I value and I’m going to disregard the rest.” – Miranda

[13:56] “If I hold lightly the things that exist in my life–and recognize when it’s time for them to move on–that opens this space for new opportunities. And for new growth and new development.” – Miranda

[15:01] “Once you free yourself of all this constant striving for more, you tend to go into a grocery store and go, ‘I don’t really need that. Do I?’” – Mary

[25:47] “As a culture, we use shopping and browsing as a pastime and a non purposeful pastime.” – Miranda

[26:35] “At the end of a hard day as a Mom, I want to go wander around the mall and find some things to make me feel better.” – Miranda

About Miranda:

Miranda is a maker, adventurer, creative, and the woman behind Live Free Creative Co. She’s also the host of the Live Free Creative Podcast and author of More Than Enough: How One Family Cultivated A More Abundant Life Through A Year Of Practical Minimalism. In this newly released memoir (2019), Miranda shares the lessons her family learned during a year of not shopping for anything, beyond groceries.

Miranda shares design ideas and inspiration to live a simple life with less stuff and more adventure. She also uses DIY projects to inspire creativity. She lives with her husband, three kids, dog, and chickens in Richmond, Virginia.