Speaker 1: With the Heads Podcast Network. Hi, and welcome back to
Speaker 1: another episode of Slow It Down. I am your host,
Speaker 1: PJ Harding, and this podcast is all about finding peace
Speaker 1: in the chaos, ways that we can find a little
Speaker 1: more sanity in this wild world that we're living in.
Speaker 1: Every week I'm joined by a new guest who, well,
Speaker 1: I think we'll bring to the table some inspiration with
Speaker 1: how they live their life, and today is no exception.
Speaker 1: I'm joined by Kate Hall, who is the genius behind
Speaker 1: Ethically Kate. You may have seen her online. She is
Speaker 1: an educator, writer, and content creator who advocates for living
Speaker 1: and decision making that respects people and the planet. I
Speaker 1: think it's really easy to feel intimidated by people such
Speaker 1: as Kate who come out and put their voice behind
Speaker 1: sustainability in the environment, because you're always like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: I could be doing wavyr there. So I'm really honest
Speaker 1: about that with her in this conversation, and it's interesting
Speaker 1: how she delves into the responsibility that she's felt on
Speaker 1: her shoulders being a voice for the environment. In this conversation,
Speaker 1: we talk about how she slows it down, how important
Speaker 1: nature is, the beautiful rituals that she and her family
Speaker 1: do to spice up life, to get out of ruts.
Speaker 1: I really really enjoyed this conversation with Kate, and I
Speaker 1: hope you do too. Thank you so much for coming
Speaker 1: on today. Okay, it's so nice to meet you in person. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you too, you too?
Speaker 2: What is background?
Speaker 1: Thank you? Oh my god, don't look at the plant.
Speaker 1: It's not doing well. First of all, how are you, like,
Speaker 1: how is life going at the moment? Have you go
Speaker 1: a lot on lots of projects in the works, Like
Speaker 1: how does life look for ethically Kate? At the moment?
Speaker 2: Hmmm, I'm like preparing? Is it too echoe in here?
Speaker 2: Does it sound echoey?
Speaker 1: It's fine at less you've got another I mean it's
Speaker 1: probably fine. I feel like we never it's through zone,
Speaker 1: can sound a bit echo. That's probably fine.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 3: At the moment, I feel like, so we have a
Speaker 3: long term houseit and that is really lovely.
Speaker 2: For about seven months we settle in and this has
Speaker 2: been in our rhythm for the last two years going
Speaker 2: on three years. And so now now.
Speaker 3: We're in the final kind of four weeks of packing
Speaker 3: up and ready to be like transient again. So life
Speaker 3: is a bit like yeah, just I think like mentally
Speaker 3: physically just gearing.
Speaker 2: Up to pack up our stuff.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we work that out and just kind of sought
Speaker 3: life and sort a lot of stuff, do a lot
Speaker 3: of deep cleaning, prepare the house before the owners come back,
Speaker 3: and then yeah, be a lot more transient again.
Speaker 1: So when you say transient, do you may staying at
Speaker 1: different places? Are you looking at a rental or you
Speaker 1: don't know how that's going to lie.
Speaker 3: We rented at our house in January twenty twenty three
Speaker 3: and went to India for three months and then house
Speaker 3: that for a few months and then over winter, so
Speaker 3: from kind of May till November we're in this permanent house,
Speaker 3: which is amazing, and the rest of the year we
Speaker 3: house it for you know, from three to two months
Speaker 3: at the time, and also go on a nationwide tour
Speaker 3: around the country every year. So we leave here in
Speaker 3: four weeks and then over Christmas we have a house
Speaker 3: for a month near family, which is great for Christmas activities,
Speaker 3: and then we go on to it around the country
Speaker 3: for two months and then we'll come back. Don't know
Speaker 3: I'm going to live at April yet, but then we'll
Speaker 3: come back to the here to our winter house sit
Speaker 3: in May.
Speaker 1: How do you feel not having that base all the time,
Speaker 1: because some people need that constant, you know, place of
Speaker 1: grounding or anchoring. Do you kind of thrive off a
Speaker 1: bit of where we're going to be next. I don't.
Speaker 3: Like a lot of people like I tell them what
Speaker 3: we're doing, They're like, oh my gosh, there must be
Speaker 3: so cool.
Speaker 2: It must feel like you're on holiday all the time.
Speaker 3: And it is cool, like there's so many fun parts
Speaker 3: about it. But I definitely I like routine. I'm really
Speaker 3: affected by my environment and stuff.
Speaker 2: And also I'm not on holiday. I'm trying to live
Speaker 2: my normal life.
Speaker 3: I'm trying to get groceries in a more sustainable way.
Speaker 3: It's just very difficult and puts a lot more wastes
Speaker 3: and stuff from house it because you don't have your
Speaker 3: usual yes of things anyway, and even just your physical environment.
Speaker 2: You know, we're living in.
Speaker 3: These amazing, lovely houses, but it's not my stuff and
Speaker 3: it's not my choice of colors and textures. And I'm
Speaker 3: really affected by that, and I've realized that a lot more.
Speaker 3: But I think our main priorities for him and I
Speaker 3: to my husband are doing life together. Yeah, and yeah,
Speaker 3: doing life in a certain way.
Speaker 2: And so we also realized we love our home.
Speaker 3: It's by the beach that we've renovated for the past
Speaker 3: few years before we started doing this, and just adore
Speaker 3: it like gardens and fruit trees and really made this
Speaker 3: little little blissful spot. But we realized, you start to
Speaker 3: get a little bit kind of like gollum.
Speaker 1: Yeah, stay away from my pressures.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's not a bad thing, Like it's nice
Speaker 3: to feel proud of something and nice to use your
Speaker 3: favorite mug in the morning and have these routines. But
Speaker 3: I think we really didn't want to like get stuck,
Speaker 3: and we didn't want to I don't know, just become
Speaker 3: like too particular too and not that we are like
Speaker 3: we always have people staying at our house, open to
Speaker 3: the policy, but we just we needed that challenge.
Speaker 1: So is that what prompted the house sitting kind of
Speaker 1: nomadic lifestyle moving around? How long do you plan on
Speaker 1: doing that for until you go back to your precious cave?
Speaker 2: I know? And there's saddest year.
Speaker 3: I was like, I'm moving back to my house in
Speaker 3: December other than a dead buddy, like this is the.
Speaker 2: Thing I'm doing.
Speaker 3: And then after again being in this long term house set,
Speaker 3: so you kind of, yeah, just have a little bit
Speaker 3: more stability. We decided not to move back, so it'll
Speaker 3: probably be in a year, so end of twenty twenty
Speaker 3: five we'll move back home.
Speaker 1: You're always coming up with interesting challenges to put yourself through, though,
Speaker 1: aren't you?
Speaker 2: Like?
Speaker 1: It seems like I love that though, And I mean,
Speaker 1: you've done how long did you not buy a new
Speaker 1: clothes for?
Speaker 2: There was a year? A year of twenty two and.
Speaker 1: Was that one of the those challenges? Do you think
Speaker 1: you've done or have you done tougher things of the easiest?
Speaker 2: Really? Yeah?
Speaker 3: It was surprisingly much more freeing and yeah, not as
Speaker 3: hard as this. I'm currently doing New zeal Made Food
Speaker 3: Challenge that's been much harder than the fashion one.
Speaker 1: So how long is the New Zealand Made Food Challenge
Speaker 1: for the whole year?
Speaker 2: Yes? Yeah, first January?
Speaker 1: Okay, And so how have you gone? Have you slept
Speaker 1: up at all?
Speaker 2: Yeah? It's like I think you just kind of get
Speaker 2: used to it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, after a while, and you just I'm also Celiac,
Speaker 3: so I'm used to being able to tell myself you
Speaker 3: can't eat that food, you know, Like I it's yeah,
Speaker 3: I was staying as Celia when I was three, So
Speaker 3: that's you know, and I know, yeah, I kind of
Speaker 3: just use that mentality and so you can't eat it
Speaker 3: those bananas from the Philippines, someone try to tell myself.
Speaker 3: So it's just those main staples like bananas and rice
Speaker 3: and I don't know, just like fun stuff you see,
Speaker 3: like I just need to try.
Speaker 1: That, yeah, because I would think i'd go pretty like
Speaker 1: I would think, oh, I could probably do that because
Speaker 1: I like to shove organically and locally and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: But actually there's a lot that way I don't realize
Speaker 1: from overseas that snakes in a lot of.
Speaker 3: The organic stuff and the stuff from Bolkan stores. That
Speaker 3: is the overseas stuff discovered really.
Speaker 2: Hard when you're.
Speaker 3: Yeah, sometimes you have to weigh up your values around
Speaker 3: waste free, organic, new zilla made fairly produced, and you
Speaker 3: often can't find all of those.
Speaker 2: So I do I do? I guess I.
Speaker 3: Eat a lot. It's you know, that like meat and
Speaker 3: the three ven kind of mentality, which sounds really boring.
Speaker 3: I kind of do that, but in a far more
Speaker 3: creative way. So I'm eating I mean, I've never really
Speaker 3: done processed foods and stuff much anyway.
Speaker 2: I really like cooking and making my own.
Speaker 3: But I've kind of really gone back to the absolute basics.
Speaker 1: I think you do, especially when you are being a
Speaker 1: bit more conscious of like the produce you get. I
Speaker 1: think you do kind of go back to basics a
Speaker 1: bit more because you don't have all the extra fancy
Speaker 1: bits and bobs and whatever. And it's there's a good
Speaker 1: way to eat and seasonally as well. I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: sure you're a big advocate of eating seasonally.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. I think it's good for our bodies too. Yeah, Like, yeah, I.
Speaker 3: Remember seeing someone made a fruit platter at an event
Speaker 3: and it was like July and there's a pineapplen of strawberry.
Speaker 2: You're like, no, what is this?
Speaker 3: Firstly, is this millionaire to like afford it because it's
Speaker 3: come home from Yes, efensive, and just like, what is.
Speaker 2: The life of this strawberry?
Speaker 3: Where has it been hanging out since you know it
Speaker 3: grew in summer?
Speaker 2: Where did it come from?
Speaker 1: Yes? And we've come to so detached to that because
Speaker 1: we can't have everything of our fingersip And yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean I'm not perfect by any means, cheep as I'll
Speaker 1: buy out of season, but I think it is a
Speaker 1: beautiful kind of rule to sort of like guide ourselves
Speaker 1: when it comes to trying to eat seasonally. Maybe if
Speaker 1: there are more carrots, then you have more carrot dishes,
Speaker 1: or you know, trying to get creative. But you talk about,
Speaker 1: you know, your values with whatever it is you're navigating,
Speaker 1: and I think they change all the time. And people
Speaker 1: have probably found themselves evolving along this kind of sustainable
Speaker 1: journey and you'll be really good at something for a
Speaker 1: while and then that slips off and then you're like, Okay,
Speaker 1: well maybe I'll try this. And would you say that
Speaker 1: that is the reality of embracing a life more sustainable
Speaker 1: is it is constantly evolving.
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
Speaker 3: I mean I think that's what sustainability means is something
Speaker 3: that can sustain itself, can continue over and over again.
Speaker 3: And we don't know everything now, things that a few
Speaker 3: years ago I was like, come on, everyone, this is
Speaker 3: so great.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, oh, this isn't so great anymore. Let's
Speaker 2: learn and change.
Speaker 1: Because information evolves in changes absolutely.
Speaker 3: And it's also like, there is no perfect sustainable lifestyle.
Speaker 3: Some people may argue that, but the more I learn, like,
Speaker 3: the more I think even when I started probably about
Speaker 3: eight years ago, I was really like, Okay, cool, I'm
Speaker 3: going to do like this, you know, rubbish like rubbish
Speaker 3: been free thing and be really had core on waste
Speaker 3: and all this stuff. And now I just there's sustainability
Speaker 3: is so much more to me about every facet of life.
Speaker 3: Sustainability doesn't mean environmentalism, it doesn't mean green things, it
Speaker 3: doesn't mean less pastic. Sustainability is a term that relates
Speaker 3: to every facet of our life. So over time I've
Speaker 3: become way more passionate about sustainability for our health, for ourselves,
Speaker 3: and knowing that over the last eight years, the times
Speaker 3: when I have lived a less sustainable lifestyle or you know,
Speaker 3: had more in my rubbish bin or made decisions that
Speaker 3: didn't align with my values was when I was mentally low,
Speaker 3: physically sick, you know, situationally didn't have the resources.
Speaker 2: So I think, yeah, sometimes I.
Speaker 3: See a lot of people say, oh, yeah, it's so
Speaker 3: easy to live without ways and do this thing, but
Speaker 3: they often in a privileged position of accessibility of resources and.
Speaker 2: All that type of things. So that's why I think, yeah.
Speaker 3: And a lot of my messaging, I'm not just saying
Speaker 3: these are the eco friendly lifestyle hacks, and I also
Speaker 3: go take a nap.
Speaker 1: Yes, because the irony is people who try me all
Speaker 1: in one hundred percent sustainable. That's not stainable. And you
Speaker 1: have to be able to be sustainable, and you have
Speaker 1: to keep the passion alive. And you come to that
Speaker 1: when you're just constantly failing, because people just give up
Speaker 1: and I feel like it's just a battle that they're
Speaker 1: never going to win.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's what I think a lot of people
Speaker 3: I talk to it and why people. I mean, I
Speaker 3: started out ethically, Kate just you know, it was it
Speaker 3: wasn't intentional, and now here it as being my full
Speaker 3: time job. But I think people have continued on the
Speaker 3: on the journey and continue reading and being part of
Speaker 3: my work because they realize that they don't have to
Speaker 3: be the sustainable giru to like try to just try,
Speaker 3: and so I share. I try to share equally my
Speaker 3: quote unquote failures, you know, but I really a failure,
Speaker 3: but my imperfections let's call them, and and non sustainable
Speaker 3: habits just as much because then they go.
Speaker 2: Oh, she's not doing well.
Speaker 3: Maybe I can just try like one thing and that's
Speaker 3: going to be the change maker. Like that's going to
Speaker 3: be what like actually drives this cultural shift of doing
Speaker 3: better four people in planet rather than like a whole
Speaker 3: bunch of hardcore have been living in tiny house, which
Speaker 3: absolutely awesome to you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we have to be realistic.
Speaker 3: Yeah, as helping mainstream people who don't like care yet
Speaker 3: to kre even just a little bit.
Speaker 1: I'm sure there was quite a bit of pressure on
Speaker 1: your shoulders when you sort of came forward and you
Speaker 1: almost became this figure of sustainability in New Zealand. You
Speaker 1: made something that previously wasn't mainstream cool And how did
Speaker 1: you should navigate that sense of responsibility on your shoulders?
Speaker 1: Was that when you were like atually have to embrace
Speaker 1: the imperfection because this is just kind of ruin me.
Speaker 3: I mean every day I think to myself, like her
Speaker 3: mind to call myself.
Speaker 2: Like that's a pretty yeah? Pretty? I mean, firstly, ethics
Speaker 2: a subjective.
Speaker 3: That's why I chose the word because it's you know,
Speaker 3: I won't get into that.
Speaker 2: But it is. It is scary because.
Speaker 3: First and foremost I'm a person who's just sharing what
Speaker 3: I'm learning and hoping that other people will learn from it.
Speaker 2: I am I often you know, I.
Speaker 3: Guess I know obviously more than like the average person,
Speaker 3: and I'm just so privileged to have been kind of
Speaker 3: in lots of different spaces, from lots of different industries.
Speaker 3: But I'm by no means an expert and a lot
Speaker 3: of what I do and share, even I'm often in
Speaker 3: the media commenting on things, and they say it's a
Speaker 3: strain ability experts, hold on, hold on, I'm still a
Speaker 3: person who's learning, growing, evolving, sharing, and I'm just sharing
Speaker 3: as I go. So I think I definitely and people
Speaker 3: often surprised to hear it because I come across, you know,
Speaker 3: quite confident, which I am, but I'm confidently acknowledging my
Speaker 3: all the things I don't know, and I experienced imposter
Speaker 3: syndrome and kind of the overwhelm of it. But I
Speaker 3: go here, If I'm going to let those feelings paralyze
Speaker 3: me and stop me from doing this.
Speaker 2: Screw it. That's like screw it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, benefits from me talking and actually going out
Speaker 3: and speaking, but then being younger, okay to like you know,
Speaker 3: backtrack or update people on information. That's that's you know,
Speaker 3: what it should be like. I just feel like it
Speaker 3: would be a disservice for me to keep all of.
Speaker 2: This information of course, and learn, you know.
Speaker 3: To myself when we must. We need to do it,
Speaker 3: you know, for the sake of people on planet.
Speaker 1: And I think that transparency and the humanness is what
Speaker 1: takes away that kind of pretentiousness that could be or
Speaker 1: like I'm better than you. It never feels like that
Speaker 1: from what I have consumed of your content. I love it,
Speaker 1: and I think it's fun, and I think it's a
Speaker 1: really creative way of getting across really important information. So
Speaker 1: get that so down out the way, Kate, You're doing
Speaker 1: an amazing job. I want to know what kind of
Speaker 1: got you on the road in the first place, because
Speaker 1: this was never your plan, was it. Didn't you study
Speaker 1: business at Messy or something like that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well I studied business psychology, which some could argue
Speaker 3: is actually directly related to what I do now, because
Speaker 3: that was me being passionate about people in the workplace
Speaker 3: working sustainably, you know, like thriving, loving their job, loving
Speaker 3: their work.
Speaker 2: And so I did actually come into this space. You know,
Speaker 2: a lot of people come to.
Speaker 3: It from you know, they don't want pollution in the
Speaker 3: oceans because they're a surfer or.
Speaker 2: But I came into it from a people point of view.
Speaker 3: You know, obviously I love nature's environment, you know, are
Speaker 3: we a part of it? But from that social site,
Speaker 3: I so that business psychology does play into it. I
Speaker 3: didn't intend like I was working in hr kind of
Speaker 3: roles and that was I guess I was maybe going
Speaker 3: to do my master's to become a industrial psychologist. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I just I started sharing in twenty fifteen and learning,
Speaker 3: and I just kept communicating and talking. So you know,
Speaker 3: when you kind of reflect back and you're, oh, that
Speaker 3: was random, but then you look back through your life,
Speaker 3: that was it random? And that kind of just to
Speaker 3: be here. Yes, I had my business when I was
Speaker 3: eight years old. It was called Kate Care and I
Speaker 3: watered plants, clicked in mail. Then evolved into like mowing lawns, walking.
Speaker 2: Dogs, hats.
Speaker 3: Yeah, like up to ten houses over the summer at
Speaker 3: a time.
Speaker 1: Okay, so you've always just been a really good human from.
Speaker 2: The Yeah, I guess I've always like been much.
Speaker 1: Heard I can do that, I'll.
Speaker 3: Start this so Yeah, to be honest, I actually wanted
Speaker 3: to be a vet my whole life up until I
Speaker 3: was about seventeen, So that was my plan but.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 1: I love it for anyone lest saying who is feeling
Speaker 1: guilty as we're speaking the words of sustainability, eco living
Speaker 1: all of that. What easy bits of advice can you
Speaker 1: say that could inspire them to get back on the
Speaker 1: bandwagon that don't need to be huge overhauls of their life.
Speaker 3: I would say, first start by learning and refreshing yourself
Speaker 3: in a way that suits you. So if you like podcasts,
Speaker 3: then you know, find some good podcasts to learn. And
Speaker 3: I say learn and refresh your stuff, because if I
Speaker 3: want to tell you to go out and buy a
Speaker 3: certain thing or do a certain thing, it's kind of
Speaker 3: irrelevant unless you have that like why is freshed? So
Speaker 3: you might like podcasts or documentaries, or just you might
Speaker 3: like sitting with community, you know, and go to your
Speaker 3: local repair cafe. There's so many around the country now,
Speaker 3: and just yeah, be with people, strike up conversation when
Speaker 3: you're having a coffee with your neighbor or a friend
Speaker 3: next ask them, you know, how they approach this topic
Speaker 3: and if they think about people on planet and they're
Speaker 3: kind of purchasing and habits.
Speaker 2: Just I think starting with that.
Speaker 3: Means sustainable of them becomes sustainable.
Speaker 1: Yes, not unrealistic, unattainable thing that that makes us feel
Speaker 1: really shit about ourselves.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we can't. We can't do things like things
Speaker 3: aren't going to stick. You know. I could tell you
Speaker 3: to compast and send you are good Habit recycling guide
Speaker 3: and a list of places to shop in the whole
Speaker 3: fashion which all my website, But like, that's irrelevant unless.
Speaker 2: Unless you know why you're doing it, And you're not
Speaker 2: going to stick to those things unless.
Speaker 3: You know why and you're nected in with people and
Speaker 3: you're learning in a way that suits you.
Speaker 1: I love that. So finding out the why and however
Speaker 1: it looks for you, whether it's however you.
Speaker 2: Like to.
Speaker 1: Ingest content. When it comes to locally shopping locally, I'm
Speaker 1: sure you're massive on that.
Speaker 3: I am miss upon shopping locally, but I'm not exclusive
Speaker 3: to it. I certainly won't be sticking to just New
Speaker 3: Zealand made food after this challenge.
Speaker 1: I do like rice, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: And secondly, there's also a huge power in supporting organizations
Speaker 3: who employ people overseas.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: I think of the brand Hollybolly, who equal fashion brand.
Speaker 2: They were still in Weltain as well, but mainly Aline.
Speaker 3: And they employ women in rural India who you know
Speaker 3: they talked to so is that long, beautiful story, but
Speaker 3: they taught these long to so and then the women like,
Speaker 3: we want jobs you know in this in this town
Speaker 3: where women and nothing weren't allowed jobs like or he.
Speaker 2: Completely oppressed.
Speaker 3: And then you know there's this fashion label which means
Speaker 3: they can make clothes, have employment treated with so much
Speaker 3: more respect. It's really changing the whole culture of the city.
Speaker 3: So to say we should only buy a New Zealand
Speaker 3: made and local is to kind of yeah, stop, great
Speaker 3: opportunities for being able to actually support our global community
Speaker 3: as well. So I think it's a great it's a
Speaker 3: great balance, and it's again it's up toide person. The
Speaker 3: person's your individual values. Because for a lot of people,
Speaker 3: they only shops you can hand and it's amazing, you know,
Speaker 3: but for a lot of people maybe only supporting companies
Speaker 3: like Hollibolly recreate clothing others overseas. That may be a
Speaker 3: passion because you have that kind of that that global conscience.
Speaker 2: So I think it's it's a bit.
Speaker 1: Bit of everything. Just quickly. I'm sure you've written lots
Speaker 1: on this, but your favorite ethical Keewi clothing brands in
Speaker 1: New Zealand. As we're heading into Christmas, I just want
Speaker 1: to I'll get into Christmas a little bit more, son,
Speaker 1: But do you have just a couple of faves that
Speaker 1: you want to give a shout out to?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean I've already mentioned Holly and yes, we're
Speaker 2: great as a tall chip.
Speaker 3: Koto is the jeans are so good. It was a
Speaker 3: black tank top that still exists in my wardrobe.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I could guarantee if I bought it at the
Speaker 2: mall from the brands.
Speaker 1: I would I would have holes in it.
Speaker 3: No, So yeah, Koto is brilliant standard issue.
Speaker 2: I'm wearing one of the tops right now. I just
Speaker 2: live in this stuff.
Speaker 1: I love your dancing videos within this so good makes
Speaker 1: me want to just like get my husband wearing my clothes.
Speaker 3: I know it is handy, tom as similar at heights
Speaker 3: and can fit. I can even have fit his shorts
Speaker 3: I just discovered the other day. But it's not happy
Speaker 3: with me buying his shorts.
Speaker 1: And so with Christmas obviously fast approaching, and there's the
Speaker 1: cost of living crisis, so that is obviously in a
Speaker 1: lot of people's minds, but with the environment in mind
Speaker 1: as well, what do you think is some good alternatives
Speaker 1: for Chrissy presents some fun, creative ways that you can
Speaker 1: show people you love them without just going to stock
Speaker 1: standard shop and dropping fifty or one hundred bucks.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think.
Speaker 3: I mean personally, I actually just launched the biggest blot
Speaker 3: I've ever written in my entire life, which was like,
Speaker 3: it's huge. There are a hundred different options on there.
Speaker 3: So that's like your classic sustainable Christmas gifts, which it's
Speaker 3: still stuff which you know, personally still end up having
Speaker 3: to buy some stuff, but it's your sex. It's like
Speaker 3: soaps and underwear and towels and candles, but it's all
Speaker 3: good ethically made mainly New Zealand brands.
Speaker 2: So that's a great thing because it's a low cost point.
Speaker 3: You know, like there are small gifts too, so you
Speaker 3: know it kind of means a lot more.
Speaker 2: You're still spending a small.
Speaker 3: Amount, but it's like a boutique New Zealand maid, so
Speaker 3: you know that it adds a bit of more.
Speaker 2: Kudos to the gift.
Speaker 3: For me and my funo, we often don't do any
Speaker 3: physical gifts and like one year we all donated to
Speaker 3: a charity that suited the person. So like, my brother
Speaker 3: is a musician, and I think it was my mum
Speaker 3: who got him as like a secret standard situation and
Speaker 3: donated to like a music therapy group, you know. So
Speaker 3: it's a it's a personalized gift still, but you're, yeah,
Speaker 3: you're just donating. Or we donate vouchers for things. So
Speaker 3: my sister gave Tim and I a voucher to it
Speaker 3: up like a lovely date dinner meal and leave us
Speaker 3: to it. And Tim and I gave mom and Dad
Speaker 3: two hours of deep cleaning their house. And I really
Speaker 3: like that.
Speaker 1: Like really thoughtful girls.
Speaker 2: So you can.
Speaker 3: I know that it's hard because in some family cultures
Speaker 3: there's this expectation of buying something and physically sitting around
Speaker 3: and clifting. But I would suggest, you know, especially we
Speaker 3: kind of have a bit of time before Christmas to
Speaker 3: actually say, hey, should we do things differently this year
Speaker 3: or or yeah, just plant that seed, because to be honest,
Speaker 3: probably a lot of people will go, oh my gosh,
Speaker 3: thank you for saying that. You know, I was stressed.
Speaker 3: Let let's all commit to this. So I think it
Speaker 3: does involve you know, I'm really grateful that my family
Speaker 3: and Tim's family were all on board with the less
Speaker 3: gifts and more time and and you need gifts. But
Speaker 3: I know it has had to suggest that, you know,
Speaker 3: because we were quite set in their ways. But I
Speaker 3: found suggesting it in a cold, cold blooded moment, not
Speaker 3: saying not sitting down on Christmas this year and going,
Speaker 3: oh my gosh, I got all that's rabbit like, yeah,
Speaker 3: actually being soft and kind about it and planting planting seeds. Yeah,
Speaker 3: Like vouchers are great, you know, experiences this. We have
Speaker 3: so many opportunities to buy gifts that aren't junk. A
Speaker 3: majority of gifts end up, you know, in the rubbish
Speaker 3: or in the junk cupboard.
Speaker 1: So it's true you are a big fan of making traditions.
Speaker 1: Was it a Christmas tradition? I can't remember. I saw
Speaker 1: it where you and your husband literally had like breakfast naked.
Speaker 1: Was there Christmas?
Speaker 2: It was Christmas? And you know what it was.
Speaker 3: We thought about it for ages and we did it
Speaker 3: and it was so much fun that we got out
Speaker 3: beautiful china.
Speaker 2: And they like bread and we had this whole and
Speaker 2: it was just a term and it was so much fun.
Speaker 3: It was just kind of I think it's nice because
Speaker 3: sometimes you can get caught up in all the family
Speaker 3: things and you forget, especially when it's just two of you.
Speaker 2: That like we're a family unit terms, it's fun.
Speaker 3: But now that we're house sitting and over Christmas were
Speaker 3: like staying with family.
Speaker 2: Vision, we'll restart it mixt you do you.
Speaker 1: Have like a certain special menu when you're not or
Speaker 1: like some kind of food guys.
Speaker 2: I mean, anything goes, But it's mainly the part.
Speaker 3: It's not just being naked, but it's also having like
Speaker 3: lovely you know, really working on making the bread and
Speaker 3: getting fresh fruit and you know, a very very gourmet
Speaker 3: kind of fancy breakfast to match our fancier times.
Speaker 2: I love that.
Speaker 1: I see you do upside down Thursdays as well. Is
Speaker 1: that still going you do that every week?
Speaker 3: Yes, though who've been house to have found it's too
Speaker 3: just sorient it so we have to be pau but
Speaker 3: it's definitely still yeah in our repertoire.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Again, that was just us.
Speaker 3: Not wanting to get stuck in a rut of get in.
Speaker 2: The bed and you have the same side of the bed, and.
Speaker 3: I think it was Tim's idea and we just where
Speaker 3: our feet usually are our heads are and we switched around.
Speaker 3: Often it's a good day to like do the sheets
Speaker 3: that they do. Yeah, yeah, not sleeping actually your.
Speaker 1: Feet and it gives you a fresh perspective, do you
Speaker 1: find and it gets you out of ruts exactly.
Speaker 3: And you honestly, we have to go to bed quite
Speaker 3: a bit beforehand because you're honestly looking at the room differently.
Speaker 3: You come up with all these different ideas that we
Speaker 3: just find ourselves to like it feels like a sleepover, yes,
Speaker 3: and even though we've done it over the years and years,
Speaker 3: it still feels like that.
Speaker 2: So yeah, we'll definitely keep it up.
Speaker 1: It's a bit of so do you have any support,
Speaker 1: Like do you ever find you lose your pillow because
Speaker 1: it's not up by the bed.
Speaker 3: I've actually never lost my pillow And we started like
Speaker 3: this six years on, so I think you kind of
Speaker 3: because we're quite tall people, we have to pull the
Speaker 3: bed off the wall.
Speaker 2: Yeah, otherwise outfect don't fit.
Speaker 3: And be Eccleston's kind of health the end of the
Speaker 3: bed and yeah, I think you kind of it just
Speaker 3: becomes like also pilot yeah type people go under a
Speaker 3: bit and got a bit of space. Yeah, no problem
Speaker 3: with that, But it depends on the fabric of your linen.
Speaker 2: Yes, you're the thickness of your pillar. I'm sure there's
Speaker 2: a science behind it.
Speaker 1: I just love these cute little things that you infuse
Speaker 1: into your life to obviously bring a bit of joy.
Speaker 1: And I know that you talk about how you try
Speaker 1: to encompass joy filled living. How does that look for
Speaker 1: you on a daily basis, Like, how do you capture
Speaker 1: those moments of joy that could often be overlooked by others?
Speaker 2: M I think it starts with really good phone hygiene.
Speaker 2: They call it my phone.
Speaker 3: I'm charge in another room for a few hours before
Speaker 3: I go to bed, and not for the first few
Speaker 3: hours of my day.
Speaker 2: I think that allows.
Speaker 3: You to just be much more human and much more
Speaker 3: awake and aware, especially when my work is so digital.
Speaker 2: And I'm not saying I'm perfect at that two hour thing,
Speaker 2: but it is.
Speaker 3: I really find having my phone in my room just.
Speaker 1: It's horrible, isn't it. You just you actually just can't disconnect,
Speaker 1: and you feel the feelings of hundreds of different people
Speaker 1: that you wouldn't usually be impacted by, and all of
Speaker 1: a suddenly they're getting into your space and it's like, hey,
Speaker 1: why am I feeling the secondhand? You don't need to,
Speaker 1: and I'm so guilty of it, and I reckon. I
Speaker 1: got really good for a couple of years, but since
Speaker 1: getting back into work this year so bad.
Speaker 2: It's hard I find. I brought a really fancy, beautiful
Speaker 2: alarm clock. That's great.
Speaker 3: It's really helped because I spent a lot of money
Speaker 3: on this beautiful and it's ever got a power nap time.
Speaker 3: So that means I'm yeah, really so yeah that that
Speaker 3: phone trick and different things. Just I think if you
Speaker 3: don't if you're not aware, the world can just catch
Speaker 3: you up, and you're doing all these important things, you know,
Speaker 3: but are they really important and you're not actually opening
Speaker 3: space to find those little joys. So yeah, I spent
Speaker 3: a lot of time outside. I'm really grateful to live
Speaker 3: by the beach, to spend a lot of time in beach.
Speaker 2: Yeah, in beach. In actually a lot of time in
Speaker 2: the beach all the way around.
Speaker 1: Yes, and.
Speaker 3: Yeah, a lot of time with my family, which I
Speaker 3: think when I hear the word joy, that's what I
Speaker 3: think of two. So yeah, I want to analyze that
Speaker 3: question more in my daily life too, because I wonder
Speaker 3: how different. Yeah, yeah, my little routines and habits build
Speaker 3: and the opportunity to find joy, because we can all
Speaker 3: find it, but it's it's allowing more opportunities for it
Speaker 3: and open yourself up to that. So I think also
Speaker 3: feeling you know, I try to move every day.
Speaker 2: You to do first thing in the morning, so if
Speaker 2: you're feeling good and you're aware of your body and aware.
Speaker 3: Of yourself, and I do that first thing. And I'm
Speaker 3: also a religious napper, so.
Speaker 1: I'm how many times do you get to nap to day? Oh?
Speaker 2: I net once a day.
Speaker 1: Do you like a little catnap in the afternoon? Oh
Speaker 1: that sounds so blessful, Like twenty minutes or an hour?
Speaker 2: Twenty minutes? An hour much? I can't Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: Even fifteen sometimes I'm pretty pretty good.
Speaker 1: Do you nestle up into like a little patch of sun?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, depending on the season, if the sun's available. Yeah,
Speaker 3: but I have a little weighted an eye mask and
Speaker 3: it's all yeah. But you know, I think all these
Speaker 3: things we talk about, people go, oh, you're so lucky
Speaker 3: to have a nap or oh there's all yeah, there's
Speaker 3: all these things, which absolutely I'm lucky but but I don't.
Speaker 2: You know, I.
Speaker 3: Actually get more way more work done after I have
Speaker 3: that nap than I would have if I hadn't, So
Speaker 3: I'm not. It's about prioritizing time and actually being aware
Speaker 3: of what your body needs how you can foster it,
Speaker 3: like a thriving existence and a thriving Yeah, a thriving
Speaker 3: space to find that joy to work on things you
Speaker 3: want to to have capacity for relationships and create of
Speaker 3: ideas and things like that. So yeah, we really get
Speaker 3: built into this like gotta work, gotta do the hours,
Speaker 3: and it's not it's not really helping helping anyone. And
Speaker 3: I absolutely know like that I am you know, I
Speaker 3: whip for myself. I love by the beach, I have
Speaker 3: all these great things that set me up for success.
Speaker 3: But we do have a lot more control, I think
Speaker 3: than then we realize looking after ourselves and opening ourselves
Speaker 3: up for more opportunities to feel dor and enjoy and
Speaker 3: find it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you're just creating. I think it's so beautiful
Speaker 1: that you're creating a life and a career around your passion.
Speaker 1: That's pretty cool. Like, I think that is such an
Speaker 1: important part of ones you know, purpose and whatnot and
Speaker 1: it's just amazing that you're being able to follow that journey.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm sure you've still got lots of grand
Speaker 1: plans along the way, but that's pretty cool when you
Speaker 1: look back on what you've bechanged.
Speaker 3: It's pretty like, to be honest, this year, I nearly
Speaker 3: gave it up.
Speaker 1: Really yeah, I think.
Speaker 3: It's obviously brilliant and incredible kind of quality of life
Speaker 3: and freedom. But you know, when you're when you're working
Speaker 3: and dealing in something that is you're absolutely giving yourself
Speaker 3: to thousands of other people every day, and that's your.
Speaker 2: Job, that's your work.
Speaker 3: It really does take a toll and you become you know,
Speaker 3: you find yourself. So they go, oh my gosh, all
Speaker 3: those people in the world who like go to work
Speaker 3: go home, rather than like, oh, I wonder what jobs
Speaker 3: are coming in this month. Yes, but obviously the grass
Speaker 3: was always green. Now you know this, but it is
Speaker 3: it is.
Speaker 1: It is draining and exhausting when you're constantly expected to
Speaker 1: put yourself authentically out there and you're obviously going to
Speaker 1: have bad days and you're going to have moments that
Speaker 1: you don't want to share, but you still have to
Speaker 1: show up. And it's I think I think everyone in
Speaker 1: that position would have those moments where they're like, I
Speaker 1: don't know if I can do this anymore.
Speaker 3: And I've always had those ups and downs, but I
Speaker 3: think when life like it's been in the last few years,
Speaker 3: it's it's not yeah, there's been more big, deep lows,
Speaker 3: and so I've really experienced yeah, feeling oh, like how
Speaker 3: can I do? You know, I'd love to just go
Speaker 3: sit at my office job.
Speaker 1: And like be able to switch off at the end
Speaker 1: of the day. You don't have to think about how
Speaker 1: you're going to show up to all of these people. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I absolutely get it, But then you've got to think,
Speaker 1: what are you? You know, you are literally changing lives
Speaker 1: with the information that you are present in the way
Speaker 1: that you're making it so palatable for so many people.
Speaker 3: Yes, and you think, like that's what keeps me going
Speaker 3: my messages of how I've impact yeah people's worlds, but
Speaker 3: also I think, you know, I do.
Speaker 2: The reason that I kind.
Speaker 3: Of walked off the end of literally applying for some
Speaker 3: of the jobs that I had looked at was even
Speaker 3: though part of the job is why I can be
Speaker 3: so down sometimes, it's also like I don't have to
Speaker 3: get up and be somewhere every day at the same time,
Speaker 3: I can go for a swim and I can do
Speaker 3: something that I actually really need to look after myself
Speaker 3: in that moment.
Speaker 2: And so.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this type of lifestyle also actually lends itself to, yeah,
Speaker 3: being more helpful for when you aren't.
Speaker 1: So it's me it's a natural process and it's the
Speaker 1: grass is green and rose turned to glasses mentality that
Speaker 1: gets us all. I don't think any of us are
Speaker 1: immune to that. Anyone who looks like they've got the
Speaker 1: perfect life, there is always that water or you know,
Speaker 1: life would be better if whether it's financial or there's
Speaker 1: always some area of one's life that they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: this could be bitter if dot dot dot.
Speaker 3: Totally absolutely good, like good things aren't easy.
Speaker 2: No, it's also like, you know, it's just life, like
Speaker 2: it's you know, yeah, if we were happy all the time.
Speaker 3: It wouldn't know what happiness or joy was because it
Speaker 3: couldn't hit us on the face at a time of
Speaker 3: just you know like yes, yeah.
Speaker 1: So this is my missage she to keep going. That's
Speaker 1: a little write it down down, keep going. Do you
Speaker 1: have any advice that you tell your younger self before
Speaker 1: you got into this lifestyle, maybe like early twenty year. Okay,
Speaker 1: what would you what would you tell her ahead of
Speaker 1: everything you know is coming up?
Speaker 3: I would tell her firstly, not to donate the black
Speaker 3: ever jumpsuits that I gave up, because I regret that.
Speaker 1: Do you know where it's gone? Anywhere to located?
Speaker 2: A great hop shot? Fine?
Speaker 3: But secondly I would I'd tell her something that actually
Speaker 3: someone told me when I was like fourteen in a
Speaker 3: property manager, to spend more time stopping and smelling the roses.
Speaker 3: And I know, like a lot of the things we've
Speaker 3: talked about, people may think, oh, o, Kate, it's.
Speaker 2: Really good at doing that.
Speaker 3: But I think I have these challenges and I have
Speaker 3: these strategies because I'm not someone who lives making in
Speaker 3: the clouds stopping to smell the roses. Like my husband
Speaker 3: is so good that and he inspires me so much
Speaker 3: more to do that I can left to my own
Speaker 3: advices be quite intense, quite like Taipei and full on
Speaker 3: and I started a childcare company in my early twenties.
Speaker 3: I started ethically, Kate, it was, it was, it was
Speaker 3: a lot, and so even though I absolutely don't regret
Speaker 3: any of.
Speaker 1: It, I would just enjoy the right rees that to.
Speaker 3: Younger Kate and say no, seriously, just sit more in
Speaker 3: the moment and don't always be thinking about the future,
Speaker 3: like that's a great skill of mine, but just don't
Speaker 3: always like like, I've started learning a lot about meditation
Speaker 3: in the last five years, so i'd tell her to
Speaker 3: maybe start learn about that a bit earlier.
Speaker 1: I reason ate with the re word you said, that's
Speaker 1: literally why I started this podcast. You know, we know,
Speaker 1: we know all the stuff, we know what we meant
Speaker 1: to be doing. You've had these conversations over and over,
Speaker 1: but actually embodying it is another whole thing, and I
Speaker 1: think the more we can remind ourselves of that the better.
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Well, Kate, thank you so much for coming on. It's
Speaker 1: been so nice to meet you, and all the best
Speaker 1: with what's to come over the next few years.
Speaker 2: Thank you so awesome. Love what you do.
Speaker 1: That was made chat with Kate Hall, also known as
Speaker 1: Ethically Kate. I just wanted to kick off the takeaways
Speaker 1: that I got from the episode. I just love the
Speaker 1: rituals that she's got with her family, the sort of traditions,
Speaker 1: for example, that upside down Thursday. I know that may
Speaker 1: not be Rod's cup of tea. But for me, I
Speaker 1: get it like it's just something different that you do
Speaker 1: once a week and it just gives you that perspective shift.
Speaker 1: And even if you are almost falling off the bed,
Speaker 1: I think that's such a cool way of just getting
Speaker 1: out of your everyday routine and mixing it up, and
Speaker 1: I can see how that would give you fresh insights
Speaker 1: and fresh perspectives. I love that. I also thought a
Speaker 1: crucial takeaway from that in terms of sustainability was the
Speaker 1: importance of why. When it comes to your sustainable journey.
Speaker 1: If you don't know your why, there's no point and
Speaker 1: everyone's why, we'll look a little bit different. There'll be
Speaker 1: different things that motivate people to do things for the planet.
Speaker 1: But if you just are going loosely for looking after
Speaker 1: the planet, that's that's not going to necessarily motivate you.
Speaker 1: You need to find a specific issue that gets you excited,
Speaker 1: and sustainability I just love the refresher that sustainability needs
Speaker 1: to be sustainable, something that you can actually keep up
Speaker 1: and something that you get excited about. I love the
Speaker 1: term that she uses joy bringer and just finding those
Speaker 1: moments of joy where you can and opening yourself up
Speaker 1: for those opportunities of joy. We just close ourselves off
Speaker 1: and we don't even realize. You know, she lives near
Speaker 1: the beach. That is obviously what keeps us saying she
Speaker 1: swims all year round, brilliant. Yes, you may not live
Speaker 1: near the beach, but we all, particularly here in New Zealand,
Speaker 1: are so privileged with the gorgeous nature that we have
Speaker 1: so close to us. So it's just about getting outside
Speaker 1: and really connecting, taking your shoes off, getting in touch
Speaker 1: with the mother nature. And also I really liked the
Speaker 1: phone hygiene chat and being really conscious of having a
Speaker 1: couple of hours off that I am really feeling the
Speaker 1: negative affixing my phone. The last few months, I've just
Speaker 1: felt so overwhelmed by it. And it's because I'm not
Speaker 1: having that discipline. I'll find that I'm in bed scrolling,
Speaker 1: I'm on the couch scrolling market place on Facebook keeps
Speaker 1: pulling me in and I'm like, no, I just need it,
Speaker 1: and then I'm like, no, it's the dopamine hat I
Speaker 1: am actually hooked. So being really strict on there, and
Speaker 1: I think observing how you feel when you pull yourself
Speaker 1: away from those habits is probably a really powerful thing
Speaker 1: to do because you realize how much it's actually missing
Speaker 1: with your mental health. So that was some of my
Speaker 1: main takeaways that I got from Kate this week. I'd
Speaker 1: love to know what you got from the chat, and
Speaker 1: I'd also love to know who you'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from on future episodes. You can always get in touch
Speaker 1: with me on Instagram at pj DJ and I'll see
Speaker 1: you next week for another episode.