Tiny Ambitions: In Search of the Tiny Life

As an unintended consequence of spending more time at home, I'm trying to use up what I have. From personal care products to repurposing clothes, I'm getting thrifty and crafty because of the global pandemic.Read more about my shopping ban: https://www.tinyambitions.com/category/shopping-ban/Keep Tiny Ambitions ad-free: contribute.to/tinyambitionsFollow me on Instagram: @tinyambitionsEmail me at: tinyambitionsblog@gmail.comTheme Music by Hero Song OST http://www.herosongost.com/

Tiny Bites is now the Tiny Ambitions podcast and I couldn't be more excited!Keep Tiny Ambitions ad-free: contribute.to/tinyambitions

Everything we hate about Marie Kondo, why we are terrible minimalists, and an exciting announcement! In the season finale of Tiny Bites, I'm chatting with my friend Elle and we're spilling the tea on all our bad habits, plus sharing our new project: re: terrible yoga, a new podcast about everything wrong with yoga today. I'm taking a break from Tiny Bites over the summer, see you in September! Follow me on Instagram: @tinyambitions. Blog: tinyambitions.com

In part two of my conversation with Cait Flanders, we dig deeper into her upcoming book, some unintended consequences that can occur when we opt out of things, we discuss more about what it was like for Cait to be travelling while also wanting to be environmentally conscious (and what happens when that's not really an option) and what she's looking forward to most for the rest of the year. Email me your comments or questions at tinyambitionsblog@gmail.com or comment over on the blog, tinyambitions.com.  

In part one of two with Cait Flanders, we talk about The Year of Less, creating intentional relationships, stepping back from blogging, dealing with wanting to be more private, the concept of feedback and how to deal with it when you didn't ask for it, traveling and Cait's forthcoming book. Email me your comments or questions at tinyambitionsblog@gmail.com or comment over on the blog, tinyambitions.com.  

I'm answering your questions about minimalism, my education and what's next for me in this week's episode of Tiny Bites. If you have a question for me that I didn't answer, feel free to email me at tinyambitionsblog@gmail.com.  Mentioned in this episode: Episode 46: Progressive Minimalism with Jennifer Taylor Chan The One Thing That Changed How I Make Decisions

I talk with Jennifer Taylor Chan about working smarter, not harder, food waste in South Korea and breaking up with Facebook. We also talk about the term she coined, 'Progressive Minimalism'. Jen is the author of the weekly newsletter Deliberate Discourse. Email me your comments or questions at tinyambitionsblog@gmail.com or comment over on the blog, tinyambitions.com. 

I'm talking to Penny from She Picks Up Pennies this week all about the minimalism movement, why Penny doesn't call herself a minimalist and why decluttering really does take a community. Penny, from the fantastic blog, She Picks Up Pennies blogs about everything from minimalism to personal finance, and everything in-between. https://shepicksuppennies.com/  I'd love to know how you feel about minimalism as a label - do you call yourself a minimalist? Where are you on your decluttering journey? As always, if you have a favourite blogger, or podcaster you think I should interview, let me know - I'm more than open to your suggestions! www.tinyambitions.com/tinybites45

On this week's first-ever interview Tiny Bite, I'm thrilled to share that I'm talking to Michelle Summerfield, fellow blogger and Canadian behind The Simple Classy Life Blog. We're talking all about self-care which is something that Michelle has written about at length on her blog. I think that self-care is having a bit of a moment right now, which is both a good and bad thing. It's great that people are wanting to learn how they can take better care of themselves so don't burn out from their jobs or so they can be there for their families. The bad side of this is that there are lots of "answers" out there, especially in the Instagram and Pinterest fear that are trying to sell a self-care lifestyle. So in some ways, self-care has become another avenue for people to consume mindlessly. Beyond that, self care can feel like it's unattainable for people for a variety of reasons. People often feel like they're failing at doing it properly, or they don't even know where to get started and it can seem like it's just another thing you have to check off from your to do list. Michelle and I are diving face-first into sustainable self care. I hope you enjoy the conversation. https://www.tinyambitions.com/sustainable-self-care-michelle-summerfield 

Is KonMari the complete opposite of minimalism? Or the other side of the same coin? In episode 43, I'm talking about the decluttering method/lifestyle brand taking the world by storm - KonMari. In case you don't have Netflix, or Twitter, Marie Kondo has a new show on Netflix - and people have all the feelings about it. I’m jumping on the bandwagon a little late in terms of talking about it, but that’s because I really wanted to take some time to collect my thoughts on it. Are you a Marie Kondo convert? Do you hate the Spark Joy method? What's your biggest barrier or obstacle when it comes to decluttering? Feel free to shoot me an email at tinyambitionsblog@gmail.com or comment over on the blog. If you’re listening to this on Anchor, feel free to call in and let me know. 

This is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill. After a very long hiatus, Tiny Bites is back! This week's episode is a spring cleaning of sorts, sharing updates on my mental health, the shopping ban & home ownership. You can review the show notes for this episode at tinyambitions.com/tinybites42. If you want to connect, feel free to email me your questions, comments or suggestions at tinyambitionsblog@gmail.com.  

Minimalist gift giving - does such a thing exist? I'm sharing how I approach the holiday season as a minimalist and “slow living” enthusiast. I don’t think what I do is particularly revolutionary but I have found that it helps to stave off a lot of the panic and anxiety that this season causes for a lot of people.

In this episode - is it possible to have a mindful Black Friday and Cyber Monday experience? Plus, I'm sharing what I’m planning on buying on Cyber Monday this year. Gasp - I know! A minimalist looking for a deal during one of the craziest shopping days of the year? Who even am I??? https://www.tinyambitions.com/tinybites39

Apologies for the tardiness of this episode! I mulled over several topics earlier this week that I wanted to discuss for Tiny Bites, but none of them felt right. Which, incidentally, is how I finally decided on this week’s topic. When I started to think about why nothing felt right for this week’s episode, I realized it was because I’d fallen into my bi-annual seasonal funk. That funk is the lovely time of year when the seasons change and your body gets thrown all out of whack. www.tinyambitions.com/tinybites38

As promised in the last episode of Tiny Bites, this week’s episode is another listener request. When I put out my call for topics, fellow blogger and friend Penny from She Picks Up Pennies, asked if I would talk about the next steps in the decluttering process, for people who are deep in the middle of it and can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel (my words, not Penny’s). When Penny suggested this topic, my wheels immediately started turning because I’ve been out of that place for a couple of years now. So, what do you do when you hit a decluttering roadblock? Leave me a comment: www.tinyambitions.com/tinybites37 Resources: - www.tinyambitions.com/shopping-habit/ - www.tinyambitions.com/confessions-of-a-reformed-shopaholic/ - www.tinyambitions.com/decluttering-guide/

As you can probably guess by the title of this episode, it was International Podcast Day today! If you’ve been listening to Tiny Bites from the beginning, you know that I accidentally created a podcast while making an Anchor account. But, I ran with it and I’ve really enjoyed making Tiny Bites episodes for over a year now! This week’s episode of Tiny Bites is going to be all about the process of creating your own podcast. Or, to be more accurate, the process of how I went about creating Tiny Bites hopefully for the benefit of anyone out there who wants to start your own podcast. Even if you don’t want to start your own podcast, I wanted to cover this topic to demystify the process a little bit. Comments: https://www.tinyambitions.com/tinybites36 Resources: -Anchor: https://anchor.fm -Power DeWise Lavalier Mic (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/2Ov67Ol -Audacity: https://www.audacityteam.org/

In this week's episode of Tiny Bites, I'm waxing poetic about the lost art form of fermentation and why I've been loving it lately as a gateway into slow living. Fermentation might be a weird thing to be super jazzed about, but I've been digging it these last couple months as a new tool in my DIY toolkit. Leave me a comment at www.tinyambitions.com/tinybites35 or email me at tinyambitionsblog@gmail.com Resources: -Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation - https://amzn.to/2QypKTA -The Art of Fermentation – https://amzn.to/2D7LZ02 -The Canning Kitchen – 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes – https://amzn.to/2QBmCX3 -Fermenting Vegetables: Creative Recipes for Fermenting 64 Vegetables & Herbs - https://amzn.to/2QE4Nqu - The Nourished Kitchen - https://amzn.to/2QE5EaG

Sometimes, when we look up from our tech for long enough - magical things really can happen. https://www.tinyambitions.com/tinybites34 The Nature Fix by Florence Williams: https://amzn.to/2wLd4Av Bored and Brilliant Challenge: https://amzn.to/2NOaW1u Part 1: https://www.tinyambitions.com/bored-and-brilliant-challenge-part1/ Part 2: https://www.tinyambitions.com/bored-and-brilliant-challenge-part2/

Welcome back to Tiny Bites! I can't believe it's been two months since season one ended. Time sure does fly! In the inaugural episode of this season, I'm sharing my first-ever virtual reality experience and all the messy philosophical questions it left me pondering.  Leave a comment over at tinyambitions.com/tinybites33 or email me directly at tinyambitionsblog@gmail.com.

It's the finale of the first season of Tiny Bites! I've decided to give myself the summer off from podcasting to recharge and come up with more awesome content for the fall. Before I sign off though, I'm having an existential crisis about seeing my life all packed up in boxes. Happy listening! https://www.tinyambitions.com/tinybites32