Minimalism and Plants with Stephanie of Sustainable Minimalist

Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness

Education, How To, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Home & Garden, Leisure

4.8 • 883 Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As plant parents, we love our green babies, but sometimes we can get carried away with our collections. With life returning to normal, we might feel like it's time to simplify our spaces and make room for new experiences. Today's episode is all about embracing the joy of living with less. We're joined by Stephanie, the host of the Sustainable Minimalism podcast, to talk about how the principles of minimalism can bring positivity and happiness into our plant parenthood journeys. So get ready to enjoy some uplifting conversation on how to create a healthy and balanced plant collection!

In this episode, we learn:

[03:04] Maria’s recent trip to Florida and her experience with outdoor plants
[05:58] How did Stephanie become a sustainable minimalist and what journey did she take to get there?
[08:57] How can regret and shame be used as a tool for positive change?
[10:23] Do you throw your stuff away, give it away, or return it?
[13:01] Why you should not let the “investment shame” hold you back from letting go of items that no longer serve you
[15:15] Where to get a variety of edible flowers that can add beauty to your garden and unique flavors to your dishes
[17:41] Are there any hidden signs of overwhelm people should watch out for when deciding to go minimalist?
[21:13] What tools can you use to resist the urge to buy something new when trying to declutter?
[25:01] Books and resources Stephanie recommends for those interested in minimalism!
[26:33] What are the first steps you should take toward decluttering?
[31:51] How wind chimes can be a beneficial addition to a mindfulness practice
[34:28] Where can you find high-quality, safe, and eco-friendly indoor and outdoor gardening products?
[36:13] Stephanie’s top minimalist takeaways that could inspire anyone interested in minimalism, and how it could apply to your plant collection
[36:56] #1 Using cost per use as a metric!
[38:19] #2 Space is more valuable than your belongings!
[38:51] #3 Memories do not reside in items!
[39:47] #4 Multiples of an item keep us cluttered!
[42:04] How do you know if it's time to celebrate getting a new plant and be more intentional about what you buy?
[43:07] #5 Pair your next purchase with something wonderful going on in your life!
[45:29] Follow Stephanie and Sustainable Minimalist!

Mentioned in our conversation:

For a detailed list of tips and tools for your minimalism journey,

check out the full show notes and blog here!

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Territorial Seed Company

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Espoma Organic

Espoma Organic is dedicated to making safe indoor and outdoor gardening products for people, pets, and the planet. They have an amazing variety of high-quality, organic potting mixes, garden soil, fertilizers, and pest control products that are organic and eco-friendly. To top it all off, they have a huge sustainability commitment with a 100% solar powered plant, zero waste manufacturing and eco-friendly packaging.

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

Wind River Chimes

Bring more peace, serenity, and magic into your home with chimes. Wind River is a Virginia-based company creating premium handcrafted and hand-tuned wind chimes for over 35 years. If you are looking for a new way to grow joy in your life and find a moment of peace, a Wind River chime is the perfect addition for your home or garden.

Visit windriverchimes.com and use code GROWINGJOY to receive free engraving on all Corinthian Bells wind chimes.

Follow Stephanie:

Follow Maria and Growing Joy:

Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

Join the Bloom and Grow Garden Party Community Platform & App AKA the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet! Get your FREE 2-week trial here!

Take the Plant Parent Personality Quiz (Get the perfect plants, projects and educational resources for YOUR Lifestyle)

Support Bloom and Grow Radio by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon!

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Tiktok: @growingjoywithmaria

Subscribe to the Growing Joy Youtube channel! /growingjoywithmaria

Website: www.growingjoywithmaria.com

Pinterest: @growingjoywithmaria

Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp: betterhelp.com/PLANTS
* Check out Manukora: manukora.com/BLOOM
* Check out Outdoor Electronics: www.google.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Minimalism is definitely not a word that I associate myself with.
0:04.6	Our Growing Joy Community Manager Morgan actually calls herself a maximalist.
0:09.1	And although I'm not really on either side of the spectrum,
0:11.6	I know that every plant parent, every single one, comes to a point where they start thinking, hmm, have I gone overboard as they look at all of surfaces in their home covered in plants? I'm hearing this more and more from our community
0:24.5	as we move out of isolation, we go back to commuting to work, we have more social
0:28.8	plans, and some of us are looking at the plant collections that really served us in the past years when we were indoors more,
0:35.4	getting a little overwhelmed and feeling like it might be time for a prune, it might be time to pair back.
0:41.6	So when I thought of how to put an episode together on the
0:44.7	thought of pairing back, the thought of reducing when it comes to our plant
0:48.0	collections, but the thought of reducing in a healthy way, I thought I don't really
0:52.1	need a plant expert for this episode. I need an expert on having less. What does that look like? Oh, right, minimalism. And then I thought of Stephanie, a fellow podcaster, the host of the Sustainable Minimalists Podcasts podcast.
1:06.0	I always see her on the Apple iTunes charts with me because we're usually in the top of the home and garden section together and I love her really
1:14.0	direct and approachable approach to minimalism. So today we're going to have a lengthy
1:20.8	conversation, ironically, about how to reduce and how to enjoy a minimalist's
1:26.5	approach to plants.
1:28.6	Welcome to the Growing Joy Podcast, where we not only learn how to care for plants successfully, but how to simply
1:35.0	and affordably use our plant babies to cultivate more joy in our lives.
1:39.3	I'm Maria, author of Growing Joy, The Plant Lovers Guide to Cultivating Happiness,
1:43.4	Speaker, podcaster, and most importantly, an epic plant killer turned happy plant lady.
1:49.2	On Growing Joy, you'll find conversations about plant care, plant community, and wellness through the lens of plants.
1:57.0	Plant care is self-care on growing joy, the podcast.
2:01.0	Hello, Plant Friends, I hope you've had beautifully plenty weeks.
	...

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