You're listening to episode 23 of the Sustainable Minimalists podcast.

You are listening to the Sustainable Minimalists Podcast, a show about living simply and

sustainably with your family. Here's your host, Stephanie Safarian.

Hello there and welcome back.

This week I am so thrilled to bring you a conversation

with my friend Leslie Ford. She studies the

mental load extensively and she's dedicated herself to helping other women make time

in their busy lives for self-care.

In today's episode, Leslie and I are talking about two distinct things that interact and intersect over and over in many unique ways.

First, we're talking about women's mental load.

Now chances are real good you've heard the term mental load before

because everybody's talking about it these days.

We're talking about what specifically comprises the mental load that women face and how it affects women's health and well-being. Now Leslie has

studied the mental load by surveying real women and I think you'll be surprised to

hear what she has to say.

Second, we're talking about mom's hierarchy of needs,

which is a visual made by Leslie that plays off of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

We talk about what exactly are mom's needs

and where they fall in daily life.

What needs of our families and our households get the most attention and what

gets the least? There's also a discussion about minimalism, specifically as minimalism applies to our attempt at reducing

the heavy weight associated with the mental load. Now Leslie is the type of person you would love to sit next to at a dinner party.

...