SPEAKER_00
In today's show, we chat to Kelly Fuss and Lauren Morley, the hosts of the Millennial Minimalist podcast. Kelly and Lauren are two Canadian millennials and minimalists on a mission to live more with less, and together they help their listeners simplify their lives and live with greater intention. Kelly and Lauren share their definition of minimalism and their advice for anyone looking to start incorporating minimalism into their home and work space.

Over the years, they have worked with many clients and transformed their lives, and they share how impactful a minimalist lifestyle can be, and how much more clarity, focus, creativity, and energy so many people who adopt this lifestyle gain. Over the years, Lauren and Kelly have developed their own methods for being intentional with each area of your space, and they share some of their methods with us. They have also developed a range of products, including the Clutter Kit, which helps people maintain a simple and functional wardrobe for a lifetime, and they share more about this during our conversation.

They share the story behind starting their business, master simplicity, and the methods they have developed to simply help people declutter and organize their things, and why it is so important to take time to reflect on your lifestyle needs before diving in. We chat about the benefits of incorporating the principles of minimalism into your business, and the newfound focus, mental clarity, time, and productivity you'll experience when you adopt these principles. The average household has over 300,000 items, and we talk about the difficulty of purging possessions which no longer serve you, and Lauren and Kelly share their advice on what questions to ask yourself about each item and how to get started.

They share the importance of consistency when adopting a minimalist lifestyle and the best way to stay on top of it. We also talk about the habits that you need to change to make this lifestyle easier to adopt. Kelly and Lauren share their bullet journal process which helps them stay focused each day and how it can impact your life.

They also talk about the importance of creating space in your day, how to prioritize yourself as an entrepreneur, how to prevent burnout, and so much more. So let's jump right in. Welcome to the Jewelry Business Academy podcast.

I'm your host Robin and it's my mission to empower and inspire women to build and scale profitable businesses and have the freedom to live life on their terms. I'll be bringing you inspiring interviews with successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders from around the world to shift your mindset and drive you to succeed. There will be lots of actionable tips for you to level up your business, your mindset, and your life.

We'll be chatting everything from marketing, mindset, and sales to life as an entrepreneur and more. Welcome to the show. Kelly and Lauren, it's so good to have you on the Jewelry Business Academy podcast today.

Thank you so much for joining me. Of course. Thank you so much for having us.

Yeah, thank you so much for having us. It's such a pleasure and I'm so honored to have you guys here today. I'm really excited to chat all things minimalism with you to today.

I myself started my minimalism journey about two years ago and I ended up incorporating a lot of principles of minimalism into my business over the years. And so it's just a topic that I'm really passionate about and really excited to learn more about from the experts. So for anyone who doesn't know who you are, do you want to go ahead and introduce yourself to our listeners and share a little bit of both of your backgrounds and how you got to where you are today?

SPEAKER_02
Absolutely. Yeah, so my name is Kelly. I'm the producer and co-host of the Millennium Minimalist podcast.

My background is, I mean, I've always been in the event space and I've always been a big listener or personal development podcast and big reader personal development books. And I used to run community empowerment series in Toronto to help bring together young entrepreneurs in one room who don't always have fellow entrepreneurs surrounding them each day to keep motivated. And so I did that and it's kind of a very unique story how Lauren and I ended up coming together and starting this podcast, but I will turn it over to Lauren to share a little bit more about her background.

So I'm Lauren. I'm the co-host of the Millennium Minimalist podcast.

SPEAKER_01
I sell real estate like as my day job. And yeah, Kelly and I, we kind of have a cute story. That's how I met her was I showed her properties.

I had a listing on Craigslist and she messaged me for it. So I always joke that we met on Craigslist. Amazing.

And yeah, one day Kelly came over to my place and she was like blowing away. She's like, oh my God, like your place is so beautiful and it's so simple. And I was like, yeah, I'm a minimalist.

And I think that's kind of what inspired everything. She just started adopting the lifestyle and we went from there from starting the podcast. So it was actually back in 2018.

I was going through a career transition and Lauren and I were

SPEAKER_02
hanging out a lot and I realized that a lot of the stuff that I owned was not just about cluttering my space, but cluttering my mind and cluttering my focus and my ability to have the clarity to figure out what I wanted to do next in my life. And I'll never forget the day that I went to Lauren's house and I didn't just look around. I actually noticed for once.

I was like, wow, you live so simply. This is incredible. And it was that very day, that same day that I went home and I started decluttering my closet.

And I was like, wow, I'm so happy. I'm so happy. I'm so happy.

And then I started to get my closet. So that's where I started. I started with my closet.

And then of course, starting with your closet, it then flows into any every other area of your life, especially when it came to my calendar. So I adopted what we like to talk about. We could talk about the bullet journal.

So I adopted that method of keeping organized. And then Lauren and I decided to transition in 2018. And we decided last minute within maybe, I don't know, maybe 10 days that we would go book a trip to Italy.

And we went to Italy. And it was on our second last day in Italy, in the fields of Florence, Italy, that Lauren and I decided to start a podcast together. And it was inspired by our shared love for minimalism.

Lauren, the dynamic is that Lauren is the innate minimalist. She's always live this way. And I am more of the minimalist adopter because I didn't discover this until later.

And now we're four years into the podcast. And so that's a little bit of a

SPEAKER_00
background on us. Wow, you guys have an incredible story. It's almost a bit magical how everything sort of happened from Craigslist to like Italy.

It's, it's pretty magical. So thank you for sharing that. I would love to hear more about like your bullet channel in a few minutes.

But first I want for anyone who doesn't know what minimalism is, or who's new to minimalism, can you share what your definition of it is? And what are some of the characteristics of a minimalist lifestyle?

SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I was actually looking at this question thinking, how would I personally describe minimalism, not like Google it and just give a definition. But I think it's owning what you use. And like you walk into your house and the decorations you have are out and you love them and you use them and the possessions you use.

And when I think about characteristics, that's when it can spill into all areas of your life. Like it's not just your physical possessions that you're using, but it's your thought processes. Like is the thoughts that you're thinking, are they beneficial to your life? Are you using them in a way that, you know, is helpful to you? Is your technology, are you using in a way that's helpful to you, you're mindful, you're aware of, you know, your surroundings and your thoughts.

So minimalism is just being about it's being intentional with your stuff, your thoughts, the way you live your life. And I think that's why it's growing. And people are so interested in it because we're just, we have so much distraction and so much clutter in our lives now.

SPEAKER_02
Yeah. And simply put, it really is a lifestyle. Minimalism is a simple and intentional way of life.

It's, you know, Lorna, I love to remind our friends, you know, it's an opportunity to remove all the excess in your life, whether that's physical, mental, emotional, digital or spiritual clutter or there's five main areas. And, you know, it really is also a lifestyle template. It is an opportunity to start fresh, start with a clean slate.

I remember when I started adopting this lifestyle, I was like, wow, like as you keep removing the excess in all those areas, you regain the clarity to figure out, okay, so how do I want to live now? Like I want to be intentional with how I spend my time, energy and money. And so you get that, you get that new found sense of focus. And it's just an incredible feeling.

And, you know, again, this lifestyle isn't, oh, you just adopt this lifestyle one day and you're done. It requires maintenance. So of course, Lorna and I have, you know, it started from minimalism, decluttering your closet, decluttering your home to now we're helping, you know, our listeners and, you know, we'll get into our business as well.

We're helping people, you know, clear their minds, their mental space, we're helping them figure out how to manage the thoughts that aren't serving them, manage feelings, the FOMO, like all these, and then, you know, also how to focus on what's most essential, like there's all these different areas. So it's not just about removing the physical, it's so, so much more.

SPEAKER_00
I really love your definition of minimalism. And I'd love to touch on platter, because you mentioned there's a couple of different types of platter. So I know many of the listeners of this podcast are jewelry business owners.

And for jewelry business owners, especially, it can be really hard to manage the platter. I don't know if you are aware, but it can be pretty intense, especially when you have a business going on over the years. And if you're not intentional about keeping it in order and simplified, and getting rid of things that you're not using.

So I'd love to know, what are the main areas of platter in your home? And what would be one piece of advice that you would share with a listener who's feeling overwhelmed at the platter in their home, in their home studio, in their office, and they just don't know where to start?

SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I would say the biggest areas of clutter for most people, I would say clothes are probably number one. If you look at people's houses, their front closets are jam packed, their bedrooms are, their laundry rooms are like we're just have an overflowing amount of clothes. I think people own a lot of books, they own a lot of kitchen stuff, you know, you think things like cutlery, containers, appliances, and paper clutter, and also just little knickknacks, like people have so much random stuff around their house, not to go off on a tangent, but Kelly and I always joke that our mothers owned all of this stuff, and it made us not want to own that much stuff from just being in these houses that were so full.

So I think those are the biggest areas of clutter. I mean, Kelly and I will touch on our closet kit and why we designed it and how it helped people, but you know, if people are looking to get rid of stuff, I think clothes are probably one of the biggest areas to start with, because it's one of the things we purchase the most often. We don't really get rid of them or go through them, but it's something we still need on an

SPEAKER_02
everyday basis. And we also recommend starting by room and category. So not just the cluttering all your all different rooms at once, because you'll just feel overwhelmed, start with one room, and then go by category, start in one area and declutter from there.

We also, you know, the thing is we really focus on, you know, promoting the method of decluttering, and also being mindful while you're doing so, so that you're adopting the habits, so that it just becomes second nature, and it becomes an everyday habit, you know, a lot of people, they just declutter and they organize once, and then, you know, it gets messy again, because they're not changing their habit. So at the end of the day, that is the most that is the most crucial part. Again, it comes back to keep what you use in love and get rid of the rest.

And by get rid of, we mean sell, donate, or recycle. So you have those three options. I know sometimes it can get a little bit overwhelming, but, you know, sometimes maybe we can create a space in our home for that clutter.

I know, Lauren and I, we both work out of our homes. I know Lauren, only part of the time, but sometimes your office space can get a little bit clutter, but it's about keeping on top of it. Also, you can have a room dedicated to it, right? So that not everything's scattered everywhere.

And we can also talk about, you know, being in an environment with other people. Some people are clutter blind. They're not supportive.

That's so true. Yeah. And, you know, it's crazy because some people, you know, they actually, they can thrive in clutter. But that's not the majority of us.

And that's why we exist. So, but for those people, we always recommend, you know, giving those people that room that they can, you know, thrive in, but, you know, have that compromise with your partner in a way that you can keep the majority of your place quite simple. Because again, the more simple that we live, the easier it is to go through each day.

So yeah, one of the methods Kelly and I really push,

SPEAKER_01
I just want to touch on this, is when you go into your living room, where you go into your dining room, like ask yourself, what do I need this room for? And what do I need in it to like carry out those activities? Like most people's dining tables are full of stuff, like it's piled high, and they don't even use it for dining. And, you know, do you need in your living room, all of this stuff that you, like most people watch television in their living room, or maybe they read or like, what do you need to carry out those activities? Like you don't need to be surrounded by all of this stuff constantly. And like Kelly said, some people are clutter blind.

I'm the type of person, I kind of need that like blank canvas in life to be creative, to like be at peace and to not be anxious or stressed. Like I need clear tables and like that's just how I need to function. Again, not everyone's like that, but it minimalism varies for everyone.

I love that. Sorry, go ahead. No,

SPEAKER_02
you go ahead. And then one thing that I would like to add, sorry, and then one thing that I would like to add is that, you know, sometimes we can often find ourselves buying things to store things that we don't need. So we highly recommend going through the decluttering process before buying

SPEAKER_00
those pretty little items that store our items. Yeah, that's such good advice. And I love what you said about going into each room and thinking about the purpose of each room and not treating like your dining room table as a storage facility, which I know can be easy for people, especially home offices, I feel like are often storage facilities for just everything else in the home.

So I really love that advice. I'd love to hear a little bit more about your business before we go into the other questions. Master's simplicity, what inspired you guys to start your business and can you share

SPEAKER_02
just a little bit more about it? Yeah, so our business master's simplicity was really inspired by our listeners. We received a lot of emails and DMs about how do I manage the clutter in my closet? So it was really a response or a response to their call for help for their closets. But it was also, it was also Lauren's way of organizing her closet by outfits that inspired our closet kit.

So Lauren has always kept a very organized closet. She's never had an issue in the morning getting dressed because her outfits are all laid out there for her. So we decided, hey, this is a really good method that works.

And Lauren can share more information on how she's kind of tried every method out there. And she was there with our listeners. She's tried them all.

She's tried, she's a lover of YouTube. She's tried all the methods and none of them worked. And so we put our heads together and we decided to create our own closet decluttering method, which turned into a kit that includes a sustainable wooden dividers divided by category.

So we have seven categories, a seven, seven piece sustainable set. It includes workwear, casual wear, active wear, sleepwear, evening wear, outerwear, and miscellaneous items. And so the purpose of this kit and this guide that we built, so there's the dividers, there's the maintenance guide, and then there is the system that we created.

We created because, again, unlike most methods that are quite complicated, we want to create a method that was quite simple. So it's five steps and it not only helps people declutter and organize their things. More importantly, it helps people reflect on their lifestyle needs.

As Lauren said, before this decluttering system even starts, the first step is to reflect on your lifestyle needs. What do you do every day? So by saying what do you do every day, what do you do for your career, how often do you go out for dinner, how often are you active, all these things will help us uncover your daily habits to figure out what kind of clothes you need in your closet and how many pieces, how many items you will need in your closet at a certain time of year. So really it's a system that helps people adopt the daily habits they need to not only keep an organized closet each day, but build the habits to keep it for good for a lifetime.

And it's been super rewarding. And originally we built it as one product kit, as one kit, which we still sell on our website at MasterSimplicity.com, but we also sell the dividers and the system, the guidebook as well individually.

Because we found some people just

SPEAKER_00
wanted the guidebook, so we offer all three. Yeah. Amazing. I actually really love that because my closet is arranged by colors and it's very impractical.

Like when you said by sections, that makes so much more sense. Like I was there thinking for years colors is the way to go,

SPEAKER_01
but it's not. Yeah. And Lauren can detail the method first. I looked at all the other methods and I feel like as women we can relate.

How many times have you had to go to an event and you have ripped apart your closet trying on every single outfit, been late to work because you didn't know what to wear, and there's so many memes out there. I've been shopping my whole life and I have nothing to wear. It was so true.

And I looked at the traditional way of organizing closets where like you said it was by color or it was by type. Like you would do your tops and your pants and your sweaters, which was great. Like aesthetically that looks nice.

It looks beautiful. It looks organized, but if it's seven o'clock in the morning and you have to be at a meeting in 30 minutes and you have to like piece together an outfit, then it's not practical. So it might look beautiful, but it's not a very practical.

It also doesn't make you an intentional shopper when your closet's organized like that because why not buy a new sweater? Why not buy a new pair of pants? You're just going to be adding it to a section. And I tried everything like I tried the 10 item wardrobe and the capsule wardrobe and I felt like I just, I didn't really like my outfits. I kind of remember all the different outfits that the 10 pieces made and I got so frustrated.

And one day I was like, you know what? I'm just going to make a few outfits and just wear them on rotations. So I don't have to think about this anymore. And it worked.

And then I was like, if I can just have my, a few work outfits, a few outfits for the weekend and for when I need to get dressed up, they will always be lined up in my closet and I will always have something to wear to whatever, wherever I need to be. And it, I will not have to think about it. And then when you're shopping, when you go to buy a sweater, you're like, what am I going to wear this with? Do I have pants to wear this with? Do I have shoes? Do I have a bag? Do I have a coat? Where am I going to wear it to? Am I going to wear it to work? Am I going to wear it on the weekend? And then when you start breaking those things down, you can be like, actually, I don't need this and I don't have anything that goes with this.

Or you'll bring it home and try it on with the other things to make sure it goes well. And you'll put it in the proper category, whether you're wearing it to work or on the weekends, and you'll actually make use of it. And then you wear your entire wardrobe.

You can get ready in seconds because it's right in front of you. And you're not buying stuff that you don't need or use anymore. So it just like Kelly and I just nailed this with the closet.

I have struggled and tried everything. And I've finally just been able to like wear the clothes and find pieces I love. And I know that I'll use and I can go on about this forever.

But that's kind of the summary of

SPEAKER_00
how the kit works and our system. I love that. I think it's a brilliant system.

I feel like I'm definitely going to be completely overhauling my wardrobe at some point after listening to this feedback. And everyone listening can definitely take a look at your course and your closet kits and everything online. We'll link them in the show notes at the end.

And so yeah, I'd love to know about like purging possessions. I know it can be really challenging. What has your experience been over the years in terms of people letting go of items that no longer serve them? Do the majority of people struggle to let go? Do they end up storing the items in their garage and their offices? Or are they able to easily let go and donate once they know the process?

SPEAKER_02
So I mean, I should mention that there are in the average household, there are over 300,000 items. So first of all, I just wanted to share that. So, you know, most of us amass so many possessions throughout our lives, mainly because we go to a store, we buy something, we end up not using that thing.

And then we let it sit in our homes, collect us. And then maybe a month later, we buy that same item, a different version, and we start using that. We still use have that old item in our home.

You know, it's again, it's it's about living with intention and asking those right questions before you buy, right? When you're at the store. But when it comes to letting go, yes, that's very, very challenging for most people. Of course, there's a lot of conversations involved, especially so Lauren and I run one on one consulting sessions with some of our listeners, and those who found us off the pod.

And we we help them through those questions. So a lot of people hold on to things, but we ask them questions such as, do you still use this item? Do you still love this item? Will you still use it? So sometimes people own things like, for example, an old guitar. And, you know, they think they're going to use it one day.

But we say, but are you that person? Are you going to be that person one day? And most of the time, like, no, I probably won't. And so we inspire them to then donate that item. And again, there's so much positivity.

It's so rewarding when you donate something like that, or, you know, even selling the item and getting the cash back can feel good. So, you know, but when it comes to more sentimental items, of course, it's a little bit more difficult. The minimalist Ryan and Josh, they always suggest, you know, keeping a few items that spark memories, but not having not keeping all of those items, you know, I'm sure most of your listeners have heard of the minimalist and Joshua, he he lost his mom and his mom left him with all of these possessions.

And he realized in decluttering her space that, you know, he didn't need everything and that, you know, the five little things that he chose to keep, you know, and they don't take up too much space, number one, and number two, they can spark those memories. So, and I know Lauren has more to share on this. So I'll share this with Lauren as well.

SPEAKER_01
I feel like with possessions, there's things that are easy to get rid of. Like if something's broken, or if it's ripped, or, you know, those things are easier to part with other things. I think people do they just they can't justify it's like I paid for this, you know, maybe I'll use in the future, I don't want to get rid of it.

One way Kelly and I suggest with stuff like that is you can store it for a little bit store it for a month. And then you're not looking at it, you kind of have, you detach yourself a little bit from it. And then you can kind of go back in a month or two, and be like, you know what, I didn't use this, or I don't need this.

And now I feel like I can get rid of it. My kind of rule of thumb is one calendar year. If you don't use something within one calendar year, you're probably not going to use it.

Like there's things like a Christmas tree, or like I store my skates, like stuff like that. But I still use them every single year. And I think when it comes to sentimental items, like Kelly was saying, there's people will leave their stuff or if someone passes away or you know, something happens, if you get passed down their stuff, there's going to be things that are sentimental to you.

Like if it's your friend, if it's your family member, there's going to be pieces that bring back memories for you or that are meaningful to you. And that's what you're going to hold on to. Like to keep everything of someone else's stuff doesn't make any sense.

You just would want to keep what brings value or meaning to you. But I understand it is really

SPEAKER_00
hard to get rid of those sentimental things. I love that advice. And I love the advice of storing something for a month and seeing if you even think about it and need it and then letting

SPEAKER_02
it go. Yeah. And a lot of people, it becomes so easy to accumulate more. It's so easy to be at the checkout and see extra items at the checkout and have that impulse buy and take it home and accumulate more access in your home.

So when we're talking about letting go, we remind those that we're working with that don't just let go. Think about how those possessions came into your home so that you can build the habits to or positive habits so that that doesn't happen again. Because a lot of the access that we own is stuff that we never even use.

So it's like, you got to ask yourself, how did I get here? Like, what are the habits I need to change? And, you know, I'm sure many of your listeners have heard of the home edit on Netflix. You know, and it's a great show. It's a great home.

I think it's organized with the home edit or something like that. And get organized with home edit. And, you know, it's great what they do, but those who are coming into, you know, they're trying, so they go into people's homes, they help them declutter and organize, but the people aren't actually with them.

So they're not learning with them. They're not adopting the habits they need to keep it tidy. So the fear is that they're going to come back and they're going to just get messy again.

So, so Lauren, I like to instill that in everything we do.

SPEAKER_00
Yeah, that is so true. Developing those habits to actually make that change and become more intentional with what you're bringing into your home and what you're keeping is so important. And that can take a while, I'm guessing, to develop those habits and even just remember that you're on that journey.

So thank you for sharing that. Okay, so I'm a huge believer of incorporating many principles of minimalism into business from streamlining processes to simplifying designs. And there's so many benefits of incorporating minimalism into any business from giving you more mental clarity, more time, increased productivity.

And I'd love to chat a little bit more about this. What would you say is one of the biggest benefits that you see your client's experience from following a more minimalist lifestyle that you feel would translate over to

SPEAKER_02
someone incorporating minimalism into that business? Absolutely. So I mean, gosh, everything. Clearing the clutter gives you this newfound focus.

I would say that is the biggest benefit, especially when it comes to business, you can focus on your work and feel less distracted, not only from the physical things, but the digital clutter. We talk about on our podcast and, you know, in working with individuals, you know, how to better manage their technology so that their technologies don't start owning them. Same with the physical clutter.

The physical clutter in our spaces can actually affect our productivity. So it's very, very important. The majority of us, not all of us, again, the clutter of blind people exist.

But for the majority of us, you know, when it comes to living this way, I would say that is the one of the biggest benefits. I mean, it's overall clarity. You have clarity.

So you are, you're not only more focused, but you're more present with the people that you're speaking with, right? I think a lot of people in business, they feel incredibly overworked, number one, and they feel overworked because, of course, they've got, they, there's not enough time in the day. But again, at the end of the day, I always remind myself, we all have the same amount of time in the day. We just need to prioritize our, our, our, our tasks better.

So one of the things that this minimalist lifestyle has really helped me and all those that we work with is, you know, we, we highly recommend keeping what I call the bullet journal, which I believe you want to touch on. So a bullet journal is a way to organize your daily tasks and also keep a record of your past accomplishments and your future goals. So it's basically just a journal, a daily journal.

I put both my personal and my work tasks in it. And for me, what I get out of this is the act of putting bullet points of what I need to do each day. And I don't, I, when I originally had a bullet journal, I started with it.

I started putting every little item in it and I got overwhelmed. And I realized that over time, I started refining it. And the best benefit of this is that I physically get to cross things off.

I know most people prefer to have a digital system. I have a digital system as well, but I put the most important pieces, the biggest appointments in my bullet journal, so that I won't forget them. I mean, I think a lot of us, we, we can be consistent when it comes to our work, but then we'll, little personal things will slip.

And, and with a bullet journal, it doesn't allow you to do that because you're on top of bull. So your personal commitments will also be in there. So for me, it's, it's been something that I've leaned on.

I know Lauren has kind of simplified it for her, for her, she prefers to just do notes every day, just, Hey, these are the things that I need to do. And she'll just cross them off either on her phone or on a little piece of paper. And that works for her.

Every, like, everybody has a different system. But for me, it's really, really, really worked well. We have a couple episodes in the bullet journal method.

It's, it's changed my life. And, but again, off the top, clearing the access to your life gives you that focus to actually like be more effective at the work, at work, be more present with those that you work with. And it also gives you space.

It, this lifestyle reminds you to create space to take a break. I experienced severe burnout in 2019. And in that experience, I realized that I need to put dedicated space in my calendar each day for me, for my mental health, even if that means like a 10 minute walk to the coffee shop, just to get out of here.

You know, sometimes I'll have meetings in my, in my calendar that says like 3pm, I'm going to meditate for a half an hour or something like that. And I'll have a work call saying, Hey, can you speak at three? I'll say, No, I'm busy at three. You have to prioritize yourself.

And especially as an entrepreneur, you are creating your own schedule. So, and also from working from home, we end up working longer and not prioritizing ourselves. And so, you know, at the end of the day, I've heard a quote about how, you know, if you're, if you're too busy, it means that you're not prioritizing well.

And when someone told me that, I was like, Oh, I'm not going to say I'm busy anymore, because then that means that I'm not prioritizing well.

SPEAKER_00
So I'm more careful with that now. I love that. That is so, so true.

And it can be really hard as an entrepreneur to actually take time and schedule in breaks in your day, because you feel like you should be working 24 seven, especially in the early years of business, I see so many entrepreneurs do this and then burnout, I've done the same in the past. So I know. And it can be really hard to schedule in those breaks, but it's so important.

And thank you for sharing about the benefits that minimalism can bring to your mindset and just giving you that clarity to really focus on what's important in your business and in your life. It just seems to have endless, endless benefits. So it's really incredible to hear how important is it for one to regularly organize and clean up clutter from your home and your workspace?

SPEAKER_01
The biggest thing is it's like anything in life, like you can't just minimize your possessions and like you're done. Like it's like, if when you're in a relationship, if you meet someone, you're not done, like you have to work on the relationship for the rest of your life or as long as you're with them. And like the same goes for minimalism.

Like my place has no clutter, but I also go through my stuff on a weekly basis. Like I'm constantly editing my place. It's part of my morning routine or my cleaning routine is, you know, I'll wash the floors and then I'll go through a drawer.

So it's, I'm just very consistent with going through stuff. Kelly always jokes around, like if people are handing out samples or stuff, I won't take them.

SPEAKER_02
She like runs away. She's like, no, no. So funny.

I always joke around when I have a house in

SPEAKER_01
family, one day I'm going to have like metal detectors coming in the house, like an airport. I'm like, what's in your pockets? But it is hard. Like I know how quickly, like, you know, you come home from work and you have bags and you're just dropped stuff.

And it is hard to stay on top of, but you know, at least monthly, I would say you have to go through your stuff. And, and not only that, but you have to change your habits. Like if your weekends are spent at the mall or shopping, or if you take a break at work and you like scroll online shopping, you have to change those habits so that you're not constantly bringing stuff in.

And then you can start going through your stuff

SPEAKER_02
to edit it to see what you actually need and use. And it's, yeah. And even more so, like you ask about why is it important to keep organizing and purging? Well, I mean, think about, you know, this lifestyle, but by, by living with less, you're going to spend less time organizing and purging, which is great.

You know, at the end of the day, Lauren always reminds our listeners, you know, you're going to, you're no longer going to spend so much time decluttering and organizing because you won't have much to declutter. Like Lauren, I sometimes walk into her house and I'm like, what is there to clean? It's hilarious. You know, and of course, you know, I mean, it's, it's so easy for us to accumulate so much excess and it can start to own us.

So I think that's the most important. And I think a lot of people end up living on autopilot because their technologies are owning them. Their work is owning their time.

You know, and I think it's, especially after the pandemic, I think we've learned that, no, we should take control of our time. If we have the opportunity, especially as entrepreneurs, we have the opportunity to manage our time. And rather than, you know, planning our days around our work, we should plan our work around the lifestyle that we want to live.

Put our lives first, because at the end of the day, health is number one. So we have to watch out for that. That is such, such good

SPEAKER_00
advice. Thank you. So do you have any stories from clients that you've worked with in the past, where they've had like a really transformative experience, decluttering their home or their office space? And like, do they gain a lot of clarity and energy from the process? Can you

SPEAKER_01
share a story with us? Yeah, I think, I mean, we've worked with a number of clients, but and what's so beautiful is they get so excited and to do this and to like transition into this lifestyle. I think from our past clients, the biggest things people struggle with obviously are their closets. And the another thing is just storage, like that they struggle with stuff that is just accumulated over the years that they haven't gotten rid of and that they've ended up storing.

So those are some of the biggest areas we've worked with people and, you know, watching them transition, like people with their closets, it's so nice to like, they wake up and they dress up and then they have energy and they feel good and they feel confident. And they're not wasting all of this money on clothes anymore. And their mornings are more streamlined and that's hectic.

And then their day goes better. So like, that's one of the biggest things we've seen with our clients. And just, you know, seeing people, their homes get like nicer and nicer every week or month when we meet with them and like seeing their spaces more clear and seeing them less stressed is it's incredible.

So

SPEAKER_02
And we work with our clients virtually as well. Like it's amazing. We just, you know, they bring their laptop and they show us their space.

So we help them with their physical clutter. As Lauren said, it's a lot of storage issues. You know, people have messy basements.

Lauren and I can test to that growing up in our parents' homes. You know, we both have our family homes with very, very cluttered basements. And, you know, also I wanted to touch on, you know, it's, it's, it's super rewarding.

It's also a very emotional experience as well. In such a beautiful way, I think, you know, letting go is tough. But also, you know, happy tears as well, saying, wow, like, I feel like myself again, you know, the clutter isn't overwhelming my life.

I can see more clearly what I want to do next in my life. Or, you know, if someone's downsizing, we worked with someone who is downsizing, moving, moving to a smaller place, getting rid of all that stuff. And it just feels like a fresh new start.

And to be a part of that, it's just, it's so rewarding. And again, it's people you like to joke a lot of Konmari consultants like to joke that it's, or like to say that it is really a, the cheetah's form of therapy to declutter your space. And really, it is therapy.

And, you know, as, as two people helping others, we, we also get a helper's high out of all of it. So it's, it's really, really fun for us to do. Yeah, you, so you don't realize how

SPEAKER_01
much your stuff affects you. Like, I feel like people, they have clutter here, they have stuff in their basement, their closets are full, they're like, Oh yeah, I should get around to that. But once it's gone, the lightness that you feel and the energy you have, and it's beautiful.

Like, I don't think people realize like the benefits of this lifestyle until they start transitioning

SPEAKER_00
into it. So it's amazing. I love that you shared that.

Cause I actually remember when I, I mean, I've never hoarded stuff at all, but I went like extreme minimalism two years ago, for me, at least, and I felt so much lighter. And I would do it every three weeks, because I felt it got easier and easier to let things go to the point that I was like wanting to get rid of everything. I was like, okay, I'm done with everything, which was a bit intense.

But like, you suddenly just feel so much lighter, so much freer, so much more energized. And then you just don't want to buy stuff anymore. Like that was how I was feeling.

So what's crazy about my story is that I've always

SPEAKER_01
lived this way. Like ever since I was a kid, people thought that my bedroom was the spare bedroom. And people made fun of me.

They're like, Oh, Lauren doesn't own anything. If I had people to my place, they'd be like, Oh, did you just move in here? Like why? And I thought I was crazy. I was just like, I don't want to own all this stuff.

Like I can't stand clutter. Like I just like clear spaces. And then once the minimalism documentary came out, and I was like, wow, like I defined how I lived, like, and people want this, they aspire to this.

And so it was so nice that Kelly and I were able to like share our stories and make a podcast out of this, because I felt crazy forever for how I lived. But people love it. I was right.

I love that. Okay, so I do have a question for you guys,

SPEAKER_00
because you are sort of on top and years as well, and business owners. And I just this isn't mine's minimalist related, but it's mindset related. And I just love to hear your perspective on this, like as entrepreneurs and business owners, especially with everything that's gone on in the past two years, it's really easy to feel overwhelmed, drained, tired, burnt out.

And I know a lot of listeners have gone through this, some people have lost their spark for showing up in their business and they really struggling. Do you guys have any advice on how to avoid burnout, or anything that you incorporate into your day to day to prevent burnout and to keep going?

SPEAKER_02
Absolutely. So something I should mention is, both Lauren and I have three roles, if not four, if you separate our business from our podcast. So I manage a run for charity full time, as well as I work in the podcasting space.

And then I have my own podcast and we have this business. So we've got a lot on the go. Lauren does real estate.

She's also into comedy, and she's got this podcast with me in the business. So we're both two very, very busy people who have both experienced burnout. And something that Lauren and I have incorporated into our day to day is our mindfulness exercises, mental fitness.

So for me, I go to meditate, I make time for meditation. Yesterday, I was even sick and I still went to meditation because I was like, I need this. I need this break away from work.

I don't recommend that. But for me, I needed that motivation. But I'll call Lauren every morning, almost every morning.

And she's always on her daily walk. She makes it happen. Lauren wakes up at like six in the morning, maybe earlier each day.

She has her morning routine. So for Lauren, it's her morning routine. That's like she, she, she won't break that.

And she's, I always know where Lauren is at that time. And then for me, I'm kind of a night owl. So it really works for our business.

I see a play. She wakes up super early. So, but for me, it's, it's exercise.

Exercise really, really helps making time for physical exercise and mental exercise. In the beginning, it was just physical exercise for me as someone who directs a 5k run. I'm an active runner.

But I remember back in 2019, I wasn't making time to exercise my mind. Yes, in terms of, you know, listening to personal development podcast and stuff like that. But I wasn't making time to rest my mind, creating space to rest mentally.

And that is so important, whether that's meditation or laying down and doing nothing. There's a lot of power in doing nothing. But as entrepreneurs, we often feel guilty for doing nothing.

But at the end of the day, by doing nothing, we'll actually be more productive and have the clarity to work better and more effectively in the long term. So creating those little spaces in your calendar for to disconnect, also using your phone with greater intention. The minimalist lifestyle is all about living with intention, doing things with intention and asking yourself each day, okay, do I feel distracted? Okay, if you feel distracted, then how can we manage our phones better, our technologies that are, you know, buzzing every hour.

And you know, maybe there's something, you know, most of it is an urgent, right? You can get back to people at the end of the day. So for me, I've learned how to use my iPhone a little bit better. You know, making time again for exercise, mental fitness has been huge.

We've interviewed Humza Khan on the podcast, he talks, he wrote the book, The Burnout Gamble, one of our most popular talks to date. Because I think it's a very relatable topic. And he has some great

SPEAKER_00
and he has some really good tips as well. Amazing. That's such good advice.

And did you want to add

SPEAKER_01
anything? Yeah, my biggest advice, Tim Ferriss always says, just you just have to move the needle a little bit every single day towards your goals. And I always think about that when I wake up, I'm like, I just have to do a little bit. And it's, you know, if you're consistent, same with minimalism, with decluttering, if you're consistent with just doing a little bit every single day, you will make huge gains, like 20 minutes a day of decluttering, that's hundreds, over 100 hours of decluttering in a year.

And you know, I obviously, Kelly was saying, I do credit my morning routine, which I wake up every morning, I make a cup of coffee and I read, I don't like to hit the gram running when I wake up, because it like starts my day off on a peaceful note. I exercise, I get ready, and then I start work. And I do that whether I'm on vacation, whatever day it is, I always start my way my morning that way.

And I just write out the few things I need to do, like the few clients I need to call in real estate, the notes I need to take on the podcast that's coming up. If Kelly and I have dividers that we need to mail out, like, I just write down the few things I need to do for each category, and I make sure I get them done. I also like really like Kelly said, schedule my time off, like I love to relax in the evenings, I'm not a night person, all I don't have energy at that time.

I'm wired at 5am, but I'm exhausted at nine. So I, and I'm aware of that. I'm like, I have to get this done, because I know that after dinner, I'm just going to want to relax or see a friend.

So I'm just very mindful of, and it makes you excited if you're like, okay, I'm going to get this work done. And then tonight I'm going to relax. I can, because I think a lot of people are like, oh, I have to work so much or so long.

Whereas if you really focus on what matters and get that done, you'll go a lot further in business as opposed to trying to do everything and then burning out and not being able to do anything.

SPEAKER_00
That is such good advice. And I love that you shared the importance of consistency, like just taking little steps every day does accumulate in life, in business, in every, every aspect of your life, really. And so for people who are feeling overwhelmed, just taking those little steps every day, you'll wake up three months from now, six months from now, and be in a different space, like mentally, physically, whatever you're working on.

So thank you for sharing that. I would love to know what book you would both recommend to all entrepreneurs or anyone listening to read if they could only read one. What book has had a really significant impact on your minimalist journey and entrepreneurial journey so far?

SPEAKER_02
So for me, oh, that's so hard to choose one. But I would choose Essentialism by Greg McEwen. We've interviewed him twice.

He wrote the books Essentialism and Effortless. His first book is all about focusing on what's most essential. I think the reason why a lot of us become burnt out is because we're not just focusing on what's most essential.

We're focusing on way too many things at once that are actually taking up time from the thing that is the most essential to us. So that book is jam-packed with tips to help you refocus your attention, move each day with intention, figure out the areas in your life that you're spending time that you could remove so that you can create more space in your day for those things that you're working on. That are the most important.

And it goes back to the big rocks theory. Put the big rocks in first, the most important pieces in first before you put in the pebbles and the sand. And that's a book that's definitely changed my life.

And if I can add a bonus book, I think the most important book to read in life is Mindset by Carol Dweck, because everything in life starts with our mindset. And it's all about having a growth mindset.

SPEAKER_00
I love that. I'm going to add those to the show notes for anyone listening.

SPEAKER_01
Lauren, did you want to share yours? I have so many books on such a big reader, but the one that like always pops into my head. And this is people aren't going to expect that this would be the book that I would mention. But it's called Madame Chic.

It was written by a girl named Jennifer L. Scott. She has a YouTube channel, which I watch every week too. Why this book changed my life.

So it's about a girl who did a exchange program in Paris. And she just talks about how she lived with an older Parisian family. And they lived very formal lives.

And she came back to California and wrote about these people and their lifestyle. And she just, they lived their lives with such passion and such meaning. And they woke up every day and they dressed up and they had these beautiful meals every night and they put passion into their work.

And they just lived these beautiful, formal lives. And it always stayed with me. Like I, it made me so much more present.

Like even in work, it's like when I work, I want to be working to enjoy my work and to do a good job, not just to like make money or as a means to an end. And just everything she said in the book resonated with me so much. And I applied it to my life.

And even though I have so many other books I read, that's just one book that I took so much from. And I've always, I've read all of her books and I've watched her for so many years. So, yeah,

SPEAKER_00
it's called Madame Chic. It's really good. I love that.

I'm adding all three of these books to my reading list for the year. They sound really great. And for anyone listening, we'll add the links to those books in the show notes.

So Kelly and Lauren, you've given us so much today. And to wrap up that interview, I'd love to ask you one last question. What is the biggest lesson that you've learned in your years of living a minimalist lifestyle? So the biggest lesson I've learned,

SPEAKER_02
number one is that you should move at your own pace. Everybody's story is different. Everybody moves at a different pace.

It's not a race. And I would suggest, you know, for others, you know, for me, this lifestyle has really helped me uncover my true passions and helped me develop my passions and, you know, try things out and pursue the things that are most meaningful to me, rather than, you know, following everyone else. And, you know, I think a lot of us can fall into that trap.

And, you know, this lifestyle by removing the excess possessions in my life, you know, it's helped me uncover the things that were weighing me down and, you know, see more clearly, I like to say the people and experiences and things that bring me

SPEAKER_01
the most valuable value in my life. I love that. Yeah, minimum minimalism.

Now I can't say it has just made me realize that there's so much more to life than stuff. Like once you get past that and you can start living, like you're not spending your Saturdays cleaning your house and shopping, you're like writing and reading and seeing your friends and like you work on passion projects. And you just, it's also a very responsible way to live.

Like I feel like owning what you need and what you use is better for the environment. It's better for you financially. It's just, it's a good way to live.

I've realized that there's so many different areas of minimalism. Like we always joke, I have two bath towels and like a million thoughts. So there's definitely, you can improve with technology, you can improve with your mental clutter.

Like there's so many different areas. But I've also learned that it's such a wonderful way to live. Like I feel like I look at people who have so much stuff and it causes me stress and anxiety.

So I think that once you become aware of this lifestyle and you start applying it, you will reap so many benefits that you didn't even

SPEAKER_00
know you were missing out on. I love that. That's so, so true.

And those lessons are very powerful actually. So I'm sure you're going to have a lot of listeners going and researching and finding more out about minimalism. So thank you so much for being here, Kelly and Lauren, and for sharing so much insight and your experience with us today.

For anyone who is listening to this and is feeling really inspired and want to follow along on your journey and connect with you and learn more about minimalism, where can they find you and how can our listeners support you? Absolutely. So they can

SPEAKER_02
find us on at Millennial Minimalist on any podcast platform. And you can look at us, look, find more about our business and learn more about us at MasterSimplicity.com. And again, you can find us at Millennial Minimalist on Instagram and Facebook. And it's Millennial with two ends.

Sometimes people have trouble finding us because of the spelling of Millennial. And then of course, you can also send us an email at millenialminimalistatgmail.com. Amazing. Thank you.

I'm going to put those in

SPEAKER_00
the show notes so anyone listening can go get the links there. And thank you so much for being here. I had so much fun chatting to you and learning more about minimalism today.

Thank you so much. You're so

SPEAKER_02
lovely. This was so great. It's so nice to have the three of us together.

And I wanted to say like congrats on your journey. Even just looking at your backdrop, it's so minimalistic. It's beautiful.

Thank you so much. Yeah, no, thank you so much. This was so much fun.

Thank you so much for joining

SPEAKER_00
us today on the Jewelry Business Academy podcast. I hope you found a lot of takeaways and insight and inspiration during our conversation today. This podcast is brought to you by the Jewelry Business Academy, where we empower and support you to scale your business successfully.

In this program, I teach women how to build solid foundations in their jewelry businesses and scale successfully through simplified marketing strategies and streamlined processes so that you can live life on your own terms. If you'd like to learn more, hit to our Instagram page, Robin Clark Coaching, or send me an email. Hello at jewelrybusinessacademy.

co. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. And I'm excited to share our next episode in a couple of days with you too, with an epic guest.

You do not want to miss this show.