Speaker 1: Episode two eight one, How to curate a life with
Speaker 1: less stuff and more intention with Christine Platt. Welcome to
Speaker 1: the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money,
Speaker 1: embrace simplicity rights, and live with your life. Here your
Speaker 1: host Jen and Jill. Mm hmmmm, Welcome to the Frugal
Speaker 1: Friends podcast. My name is Jen, my name is Jill,
Speaker 1: and today we are playing an interview we did at
Speaker 1: our very first Frugal Living summit. Whoa stuff you haven't
Speaker 1: even heard unless you were at that summit. Yes, back
Speaker 1: in so as I Jen prepared to give birth at
Speaker 1: any minute, we are going to play a few of
Speaker 1: the Well, we think they're all the best. We had
Speaker 1: twenty interviews during that summit, but are most watched, are
Speaker 1: most anticipated, the ones we got the most feedback on
Speaker 1: and really really excited to share this interview with Christine Platt,
Speaker 1: also known as the Afro Minimalist. Yes, it was such
Speaker 1: a good one, and it is a bummer that this
Speaker 1: wasn't then available on the podcast, but now it is
Speaker 1: now forever and always before archived just on Jen's computer
Speaker 1: now for all the world to see. Yes, but before
Speaker 1: we bring you this goodness, the episode is brought to
Speaker 1: you by the Buffalo Bills. At the time of recording this,
Speaker 1: we do not know who will be playing the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: but we do know the Bills are doing exceptionally well,
Speaker 1: especially after losing Damar Hamlet you're going for You're the
Speaker 1: one who's like doing sports references. I can't not help
Speaker 1: you this after my failed golf references. Um, who he
Speaker 1: is still? I just want to stay he's still with us.
Speaker 1: They lost him on the field, not in life. Um.
Speaker 1: But whether you are one of our beloved listeners in
Speaker 1: Buffalo or one of our beloved listeners who maybe a
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bill I don't know, or you're just an avid
Speaker 1: Bill of the Week fan, we want you to have
Speaker 1: more bills in your life, not the kind that costs
Speaker 1: you money, but the kind that get you things. So
Speaker 1: if you can't catch a game, then sign up for
Speaker 1: a Savings Connect account at C I T because they
Speaker 1: are currently offering over four a p y on their
Speaker 1: savings account. That is crazy. There are no hoops to
Speaker 1: jump through, no lines of scrimmages to jump through. And
Speaker 1: that was the that's the that's the extent of my
Speaker 1: football knowledge. I don't even think it's accurate. Okay, well
Speaker 1: I didn't think through scratch you could. Oh, it's just
Speaker 1: an imaginary line and you can do anything you want
Speaker 1: to it. Anyways, no hoops to jump through, just a
Speaker 1: hundred dollar minimum deposit. And if you do not have
Speaker 1: your emergency fund in a higheld savings account, it's time
Speaker 1: to do it. So head to Frugal Friends podcast dot
Speaker 1: com slash c I T. Or maybe you just need
Speaker 1: a sinking fund for next football season. Maybe you think
Speaker 1: the Bucks are going to come back with Tom Brady.
Speaker 1: That's what everybody else in this area thinks. Me. I'm
Speaker 1: putting all my money on the bills Frugal Friends podcast
Speaker 1: dot com Slash the I T. That's mainly the takeaway here.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna also that we know little into nothing about sports,
Speaker 1: but we try anyway. All the money I make from
Speaker 1: the interest that I gain in my savings connect account,
Speaker 1: I will be gambling with on the bills. We go.
Speaker 1: We gotta get to Christie, never got you gotta give birth.
Speaker 1: We gotta listen to Christine. Okay, So, if you are
Speaker 1: as interested in minimalism, decluttering simplicity as we are, but
Speaker 1: not in the minimalism for minimalism sake conversation and you're
Speaker 1: gonna love this episode, but we have a few other
Speaker 1: episodes that you might like. UM episode two sixty six
Speaker 1: we talk about sustainable minimalism with Stephanie's Ferrian, she runs
Speaker 1: the Sustainable Minimalist podcast UM. And then we also have
Speaker 1: episode nine talking about contentment, gratitude, and flexible minimalism within frugality.
Speaker 1: Those are a couple of my favorite favorite episodes, so
Speaker 1: they tie in beautifully with this conversation we have with Christine.
Speaker 1: She is the author and advocate known as the Afrominimalist.
Speaker 1: She is a children's book author, so if you have kids,
Speaker 1: she is fantastic author of children's books. And after struggling
Speaker 1: in her personal life with the austerity and whiteness of
Speaker 1: mainstream minimalism, she realized that minimalism often seems unattainable for
Speaker 1: so many because of this barren aesthetics, you know, minimalism
Speaker 1: for minimalism's sake sort of view. So she decided to
Speaker 1: do things her own way by creating a life of less,
Speaker 1: influenced by the African diaspora, and what she discovered is
Speaker 1: that living with less isn't just liberating less is liberation
Speaker 1: and that's a tagline of hers that I absolutely love.
Speaker 1: So you will hear so much more of that in
Speaker 1: this conversation. So let's get into it. Let's do it.
Speaker 1: Welcome Christine to the Future of Frugal Sounna. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for joining us. Thank you. I am so
Speaker 1: happy to be here. Thank you. We are thrilled to
Speaker 1: have you on this summit and on our podcast and
Speaker 1: to be talking about minimalism. It's something that's very near
Speaker 1: and dear to both Jenn and my hearts and lives,
Speaker 1: so we're super excited to get your take on it.
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining. Thank you. So Christine, Can you tell
Speaker 1: us and for those who might not be familiar with you,
Speaker 1: although I hope tons are because you've got an amazing
Speaker 1: platform and some awesome books, But tell us a little
Speaker 1: bit about yourself and your journey to minimalism. Sure, sure,
Speaker 1: So I am Christine Platt. I like to calm myself.
Speaker 1: I guess a bit of a renaissance woman because I
Speaker 1: do so many different things that I am passionate about,
Speaker 1: and one of those is an author. I write diverse
Speaker 1: children's literature. I also um work in the spaces of
Speaker 1: social justice and advocacy. And then yes, I am also
Speaker 1: a minimalist, and I guess more known as the Afro minimalist,
Speaker 1: which is just a little moniker that I made up
Speaker 1: for myself because my minimalist lifestyle is one that is
Speaker 1: more influenced by the African diaspora, um, which is really
Speaker 1: the breadth of my life's work, and so um, you
Speaker 1: know it's a bit more. Yes, it's not as traditional
Speaker 1: as mainstream minimalism. So a lot of bright colors, a
Speaker 1: lot of mudcloth, a lot of paper, playful like patterns
Speaker 1: and prints. But yeah, that's pretty much like how my
Speaker 1: minimalist lifestyle is influenced. Um. And I've been living with
Speaker 1: less almost Uh, I'm going into my fifth year now,
Speaker 1: so it's been it's been a journey. I'm so inspired
Speaker 1: by the way that you're describing already that you've made
Speaker 1: it your own and and this combination, even just in
Speaker 1: your introduction, like these are the things that are purposeful
Speaker 1: and that make me me and also I'm a minimalist,
Speaker 1: and the blending of that and the meaning behind it
Speaker 1: not just I don't like stuff. I'm not sentimental. Therefore, okay,
Speaker 1: call me a minimalist. But I've given my life to
Speaker 1: this topic and different subjects and have found what works
Speaker 1: for me. Can you speak more to this aspect of
Speaker 1: how you came to make it your own? Yes? Yes,
Speaker 1: I'm so glad you said that, because this is what
Speaker 1: I tell folks all the time who are trying to
Speaker 1: live with lists or be minimalist or whatever name they
Speaker 1: want to frull go whatever they want to call themselves.
Speaker 1: You know, you really have to do it your own way.
Speaker 1: And I learned that the hard way. I tried to
Speaker 1: really marraw a lot of the images that I saw
Speaker 1: on Pinterest and on Instagram, and like my house was
Speaker 1: just like everything was white, everything was barren, and I
Speaker 1: was like, this is so miserable. I hate it here, right,
Speaker 1: And so I ended up like really just having to
Speaker 1: make it my make it my own. And I tell
Speaker 1: people all the time that is the only way that
Speaker 1: I was able to make living with less work for me.
Speaker 1: And sort of the tagline that I came up with
Speaker 1: surrounding that is, I tell people all the time, remember
Speaker 1: authenticity over aesthetics, right, because so caught up in the
Speaker 1: aesthetics of minimalism, how many things we should have, how
Speaker 1: our place should look what colors, right, and it's like, ah,
Speaker 1: authenticity is where the real you is when it comes
Speaker 1: to living with less. And once you focus on authenticity
Speaker 1: over aesthetics, like it becomes one of them. It's just
Speaker 1: a beautiful practice. I love that. That's so beautiful authenticity. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean we feel it like with frugality and minimalism,
Speaker 1: because they don't always align. Like I describe myself as
Speaker 1: like a minimalist with a packet drawer, so like we
Speaker 1: have like stuff from the thrift store and stuff and
Speaker 1: it doesn't all match, but it's like all affordable and
Speaker 1: then there's not much of it. So it's like this,
Speaker 1: it's great like feeling. It's so it feels unique and
Speaker 1: like that feels good, yeah, And I mean that's your
Speaker 1: own authentic style, right, and it and it works. And
Speaker 1: so you know, I really try and get people to
Speaker 1: understand that, you know, minimalism, living with less, all of
Speaker 1: these things, they it's really a journey of self discovery, right,
Speaker 1: and you're going to discover so many things about yourself.
Speaker 1: For me, it was yes, of of course I knew that.
Speaker 1: You know, I love the history and beauty of the
Speaker 1: African diaspora. Right, like this, These were my majors in college,
Speaker 1: but like, I didn't realize how important it was to
Speaker 1: me and how much it influenced my home and my
Speaker 1: space until I went on this journey of self discovery
Speaker 1: of like getting rid of all of the things that
Speaker 1: don't work for me, right and so um so yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like it's a lifestyle that is
Speaker 1: available to everyone. Again, if they focus on authenticity over aesthetics.
Speaker 1: You focus on aesthetics, you're gonna lose out every time
Speaker 1: because all of our lives are different, right, and so,
Speaker 1: like to expect that everyone's home is going to fit
Speaker 1: this sort of Pinterest board is just not realistic, you know, seriously,
Speaker 1: I've got to write this down. It's such a beautiful quote.
Speaker 1: I think we talk about freedom a lot, how there's
Speaker 1: there's freedom in frugality and minimalism and simple living. Make
Speaker 1: it work for you, and that is still true. But
Speaker 1: I think what you're saying blends well with that. It's
Speaker 1: two coinciding ideas of how we get at that freedom
Speaker 1: that exists for us in all of these spaces. It
Speaker 1: doesn't have to look just one way. We have to
Speaker 1: make it personal. We've got to make it work for us,
Speaker 1: And what a beautiful kind of banner over our homes
Speaker 1: and the freedom that we can have it in our
Speaker 1: homes and in our lives and wherever we kind of
Speaker 1: interact engage this this concept of authenticity. Thanks for sharing
Speaker 1: that with us, And I feel like it's applicable, like
Speaker 1: you said, to every area of your life, right like,
Speaker 1: leading with authenticity, leading with intention right like, those are
Speaker 1: the things that are going to bring you joy. And
Speaker 1: it just becomes I feel like, once you go through
Speaker 1: that journey of self discovery and you start to feel
Speaker 1: those failings, like you want to keep feeling it, so
Speaker 1: it's not it doesn't become like people are like, does
Speaker 1: it get harder? I'm like, no, I guess so much easier,
Speaker 1: Like it gets so so much easier because now you know, right,
Speaker 1: and you want to hold onto those to those feelings,
Speaker 1: and you know again, I mean I also think that
Speaker 1: it it really helps me remain um intentional with my
Speaker 1: minimalist practice and what I allow into my life because
Speaker 1: if I'm you know, if I'm leading with authenticity, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna you know, like I really don't like that. Thank
Speaker 1: you for that. Thank you for offering me that gift,
Speaker 1: but that doesn't you know, it doesn't so of me.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to use it right, like you just
Speaker 1: it just becomes just sort of like this essence of
Speaker 1: who you are and and the decisions that you make.
Speaker 1: So absolutely yeah, And I love that the journey taught
Speaker 1: you about yourself. It's not like just making minimalism about
Speaker 1: who you are, but actually finding who you are and
Speaker 1: like finding the real you. I tell people that all
Speaker 1: the time. I'm like, so, I know you think you're
Speaker 1: going into this that like you're either trying to you know,
Speaker 1: declutter your closet, your garage, or you know, get your
Speaker 1: home in order. But I'm like, it literally transforms every
Speaker 1: area of your life. There's no way that you can
Speaker 1: be intentional with your wardrobe or intentional with what you
Speaker 1: have in your living room and be like, Okay, that's it.
Speaker 1: You know, It's like you end up being intentional with
Speaker 1: every area of your life. And I feel like that's
Speaker 1: where that process of self discovery is, right, Like, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe it does start in your closet and you you know,
Speaker 1: you're like, what do I really where what silhouettes do
Speaker 1: I really gravitate towards? Why do. I have so many
Speaker 1: of these? Right, Like, you start this process of self
Speaker 1: discovery and then like it just it literally like takes
Speaker 1: over your life. There's no way, I promise you, there's
Speaker 1: no way you can just be intentional with your wardrobe. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: So I know that you're all about like letting go
Speaker 1: and finding what serves you. So how do you recommend
Speaker 1: like people find what serves them and let go of
Speaker 1: what doesn't. Yeah, I mean, I feel like there's so
Speaker 1: many different ways. And but the first thing that I
Speaker 1: really want people to start with, that will, that will
Speaker 1: I feel help them get to this point is first
Speaker 1: understanding why they have more than they need and then
Speaker 1: understanding why it's so hard to let go, right because
Speaker 1: if you don't, if you don't understand why you have
Speaker 1: more than you need, you're going to end up in
Speaker 1: the same space. Right. And so there are you know,
Speaker 1: several different reasons for that. Um, you know, maybe it's
Speaker 1: unfulfilled childhood expectations, right, Like, maybe maybe it's something that
Speaker 1: started in childhood. Maybe you grew up with scarcity, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe you grew up with abundance and it was just
Speaker 1: too much and now you don't like, like you can't
Speaker 1: have a lot of stuff around you, right, You know,
Speaker 1: for some people it's it's a cultural and societal expectations.
Speaker 1: It could be mindless consumption, it could be conspicuous concert,
Speaker 1: it could be all these different things. But you have
Speaker 1: to know why you have more than you need and
Speaker 1: then understanding why it's so hard to let go, right,
Speaker 1: which is really rooted in the psychology of ownership, which
Speaker 1: I had to learn all about working on my book.
Speaker 1: It was like I it was, it was mind boggling,
Speaker 1: Like I just couldn't believe it and believe it or not,
Speaker 1: Like I didn't get this information from psychology journals. It
Speaker 1: was all marketing materials, like millions of dollars are spent
Speaker 1: on you know, understanding the psychology of how consumers buy
Speaker 1: and spend. And it was just mind boggling to me.
Speaker 1: So that's the other thing, is like why is it
Speaker 1: so hard to let go? And the psychology of ownership
Speaker 1: are attachments to things? Why have we formed attachments to things? Right?
Speaker 1: So then once you have that information, then you can
Speaker 1: go into Okay, I know where my pitfalls are. Right
Speaker 1: for me, I was a bargain shopper and that's how
Speaker 1: about this all the time. I love finding a deal
Speaker 1: and you know that whole why do I have more
Speaker 1: than I need? Peace for me was going through my
Speaker 1: closet and realizing that, like so many things had red
Speaker 1: stickers on them, and I was like, what is this?
Speaker 1: Have I attracted to all these red stickers? And everything
Speaker 1: has a red sticker? It is unworn as a red sticker.
Speaker 1: And I had to like really dig down and say,
Speaker 1: like where is this coming from? And it went back
Speaker 1: to my childhood. Me and my mom used to go
Speaker 1: shopping together on the weekends, and um, you know, shopping
Speaker 1: for me became synonymous with relaxation, with fun, with joy, right,
Speaker 1: And so that is something that I took with me
Speaker 1: into adulthood. And my mom was a bargain shopper still
Speaker 1: is and so for me, though it was I discovered,
Speaker 1: it was the thrill of the hunt for me. So
Speaker 1: once I hunted and I found what I needed and
Speaker 1: I got at home, it went in the closet. Right.
Speaker 1: But that led me to understand, here's why you have
Speaker 1: so much more than you need in your closet, right,
Speaker 1: And then I had to go, Okay, well, why is
Speaker 1: it so hard for me to let some of this
Speaker 1: stuff go. For me, it was this feeling of guilt, right, like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, but even though I mean I spent
Speaker 1: my heart earned money on it, even though it was
Speaker 1: a deal, I still spent my money on it. Or
Speaker 1: you know, oh this is so beautiful look at this
Speaker 1: designer label, right, Like I had to understand what my
Speaker 1: attachments to things were and it was rooted in there
Speaker 1: either actual value or per eaved value, which other issue
Speaker 1: where so many of us struggle, you know, And then
Speaker 1: I think, like, so to answer your question, I feel
Speaker 1: like once you go through that process of self discovery,
Speaker 1: it really helps you with the process of letting go
Speaker 1: and more importantly, not bringing more back in. So now
Speaker 1: when I go to stores, because whatever your feelings are, like,
Speaker 1: it's not that they magically go away. I still feel
Speaker 1: a little tingle when I see like a little clearance rack,
Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm like, oh my god, something's on sale, right,
Speaker 1: And so like I had to come up with something
Speaker 1: to help me through that. And and so what I
Speaker 1: say when I go into stores, especially like my favorite store,
Speaker 1: like I love anthropology and you know, candles, all those things, right,
Speaker 1: and I just tell myself, I'll see your clearance talk.
Speaker 1: I'm like Christine, it's not a deal if you don't
Speaker 1: need it, Like I have to like, this is the
Speaker 1: mantra that I tell my You're not saving money if
Speaker 1: you're spending it. You know, like you're not saving twenty dollars,
Speaker 1: you're losing, right and so like, but I had to
Speaker 1: tell like, there's like I create mantras and different things,
Speaker 1: but you can't do that really until you know what
Speaker 1: your reasons are behind your over consumption. Right, So my
Speaker 1: background is in social work and the mental health field
Speaker 1: and also my day job. Let's be real, So it
Speaker 1: doesn't really surprise me, Well, it doesn't surprise me at all.
Speaker 1: But how we can't get away from all of these
Speaker 1: things being connected. We are whole people, and as much
Speaker 1: as we might want to kind of separate or fracture
Speaker 1: one part from the other of this is just my finances.
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna work on my finances. Or this is
Speaker 1: just me decorating my home. It has nothing to do
Speaker 1: with my childhood. No, we're whole people. And the more
Speaker 1: that we can pay attention to that be curious with ourselves,
Speaker 1: just practice curiosity and then discover what works for you,
Speaker 1: what doesn't work for you, But I appreciate the permission
Speaker 1: and encouragement that you're providing of ask these questions first
Speaker 1: before we just say, well just stop shopping or just
Speaker 1: doing those Those things are great, but what is it
Speaker 1: teaching us about ourselves? Yeah? And I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: there are so many practitioners in this field that I
Speaker 1: respect and admire, you know, I mean I've con maried
Speaker 1: my closet. I don't even know how many times I do,
Speaker 1: like every season, um for project three three three to
Speaker 1: create my capsule. Right. But like I tell people all
Speaker 1: the time, it's so much more than just walking into
Speaker 1: your closet and saying like, okay, does this spark joy? Right?
Speaker 1: Like something is always gonna like you got it because
Speaker 1: it's spark joy or because you thought it was beautiful
Speaker 1: or something like that, Right, Like you have to really
Speaker 1: dig down deep and and say like, why am I
Speaker 1: buying more of what I don't need? Why am I
Speaker 1: buying more of what I don't need? Speaking of purchasing,
Speaker 1: so much of this is connected. As we talk about
Speaker 1: simple living and paring down and identifying what's our authentic selves,
Speaker 1: what have you found are the financial realities of this
Speaker 1: of aiming at minimalism or or more living authentically. What
Speaker 1: have you seen there? I mean the amount that I've
Speaker 1: been able to save is like I mean, I think
Speaker 1: that's the other thing, right, Like you realize which is
Speaker 1: so hard when I mean, that's it's why so many
Speaker 1: people struggle through that letting go process. It's really not
Speaker 1: that they want to keep the things. It's that it's
Speaker 1: their money, right, and they're looking at the piles and
Speaker 1: they're literally seeing dollar signs, right, and you know, there's
Speaker 1: a whole process of like you just gotta pay it forward.
Speaker 1: You're never gonna be able to recoup everything that you spent,
Speaker 1: like you just gotta let it go. But um, for me,
Speaker 1: like realizing how much money I was spending on the
Speaker 1: weekends going out and bargain shopping things that I did,
Speaker 1: like once I stopped, Like you just you're like, wait,
Speaker 1: where did I did I get like a raise or something?
Speaker 1: And You're like, where did all this money? It adds
Speaker 1: up so fast. I think that's the other thing that
Speaker 1: I tell people, like one of the first changes that
Speaker 1: you'll see is in your finances, right, And um, for me,
Speaker 1: it was, it was, it was, it was a huge motivator, right,
Speaker 1: because um, I was always paycheck to paycheck and I
Speaker 1: remember like how quickly I stopped being paycheck to paycheck
Speaker 1: and just was like, wow, it is really that was
Speaker 1: a really spending just recklessly right and again thinking I
Speaker 1: was getting a deal, as you said, right, especially if
Speaker 1: you think you're saving money. Can I ask what you
Speaker 1: found to replace that with, like the thrill of the
Speaker 1: hunt or something to relax yourself for enjoying shopping? What
Speaker 1: did you find? You know? I actually love being in
Speaker 1: my home now. That sounds so crazy, but especially but
Speaker 1: like you know, like once I once I found um,
Speaker 1: you know, my my authentic style and you know, curated
Speaker 1: my space. But just like love and intention, like I
Speaker 1: just love being in that space. If I'm not at home,
Speaker 1: I love going for walks. I love visiting friends. Right,
Speaker 1: but I just yeah, like I mean I would so
Speaker 1: many weekends are spent at home instead of in them all,
Speaker 1: like even during the pandemic, right because home is now
Speaker 1: it's a sanctuary for me. It's a place where I rest,
Speaker 1: where I recharge, where I I mean, it's it's magical
Speaker 1: for me, right, Yeah, I love that and it's so
Speaker 1: funny like we buy in order to complete, like either
Speaker 1: to complete our wardrobe or to complete the esthetics of
Speaker 1: our home. We buy to complete. But when you stop
Speaker 1: buying and you say, I am this is complete, Like
Speaker 1: I am complete without this stuff, like, then it becomes
Speaker 1: a sanctuary. It does. It does, and I mean like
Speaker 1: just the the lightness and that comes with that, right,
Speaker 1: and the lightness that comes with you know, not feeling
Speaker 1: like you have to hang something on every wall or
Speaker 1: have something in every corner. Right, I mean this is um.
Speaker 1: I have an office space here in d C at
Speaker 1: um Eating d C. They have a wonderful space for creators.
Speaker 1: And I mean, I promise you before my minimalist journey,
Speaker 1: like every wall would have been covered everything like it
Speaker 1: just sort of right, So even like learning use of space, right,
Speaker 1: learning how to to to utilize that in a way
Speaker 1: that is more functional for you rather than in something
Speaker 1: that it has to be filled, right, Like, there's all
Speaker 1: these lessons that that you learn. And so I mean,
Speaker 1: I I just I enjoy my life so much and
Speaker 1: it's something that I want so many more people to
Speaker 1: experience because it's it's not that hard of a heavy lift.
Speaker 1: It's just making that initial jump and decision to say,
Speaker 1: you know what, I'm going to live more, more frugal,
Speaker 1: I'm going to live with less. I'm going to be intentional.
Speaker 1: I'm going to you know, lead with authenticity. Which these
Speaker 1: are all things that we should be doing anyway, even
Speaker 1: if not for ourselves, for the good of our planet,
Speaker 1: for our communities. Right, Like, there's so many benefits to it.
Speaker 1: And so I love showing a different approach to minimalism. Um.
Speaker 1: And I'll get questions and comments all the time, you know,
Speaker 1: people say, oh, my gosh, I can be a minimalist.
Speaker 1: Now you have color in your house, right, like, oh,
Speaker 1: you know that's pillow is red, right, and it's so funny.
Speaker 1: But because people again are so caught up in the aesthetics,
Speaker 1: because has only showed one thing. It's a green fiddle
Speaker 1: ly fig against a white wall and woosh chair, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that one chair that everyone has. So like I love
Speaker 1: showing people that and just you know, again, as you said,
Speaker 1: just like giving them the liberty and permission to just
Speaker 1: like let me just try it, but let me try
Speaker 1: it my way, you know. Yeah, I feel that the
Speaker 1: office decorating thing on a deep level, Like behind me,
Speaker 1: I have my bookshelf and it's the bottom. You can't
Speaker 1: see it really, but like the bottom shop doesn't really
Speaker 1: have any books on it. And I'm like, I feel
Speaker 1: like a bookshell should have books all the way down.
Speaker 1: But like, I'm not going to get more books this
Speaker 1: is to fill it. I'm just gonna like kind of
Speaker 1: shift my body. Yeah, but you to Jen, this is
Speaker 1: what we do, like with our with our furniture, with
Speaker 1: our living spaces, right like, and I think so many
Speaker 1: people saw this during the pandemic, right like they until
Speaker 1: you were forced to be at home, you didn't realize
Speaker 1: either how much home you weren't utilizing or how underutilized
Speaker 1: your space was. And so you know, I also tell people,
Speaker 1: you know, frugality and minimalism is also about reimagining the
Speaker 1: space and things that you already have. Right, So you
Speaker 1: need a homeschool space for your kids. Uh, that dining
Speaker 1: room set in there that no one uses, right, dining
Speaker 1: rooms are so overrated. Yeah they don't get used, but
Speaker 1: people feel so compelled to use it as a dining
Speaker 1: room because the builder says, this is your dining room,
Speaker 1: this is your living room, this is your bedroom. Right,
Speaker 1: And like getting people to understand reimagine and make the
Speaker 1: space work for you, right, like your dining room maybe
Speaker 1: better served as an office, right, Yes, freedom don't. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you don't have to fill every space. And I love
Speaker 1: that you use that bookshelf as an example. That would
Speaker 1: never be the case for me. All my bookshelves are
Speaker 1: like over but that at one point. But yeah, but
Speaker 1: just like that pressure that we feel, I feel like
Speaker 1: that's a really good example. Like I have to it's
Speaker 1: a bookshelf. It should be filled with books. It's okay,
Speaker 1: the books will come. Yeah, thankfully I had a baby
Speaker 1: and I had to like move the bookshelf out of
Speaker 1: my office so that I could put my son in there.
Speaker 1: So that was like what forced me to pare down
Speaker 1: my books. So, have a child, it will force you
Speaker 1: to pare down your stuff so you can fill your house.
Speaker 1: So Christine, tell us a little bit about the cultural
Speaker 1: expectations people might encounter when trying to adopt minimalism, because
Speaker 1: I know that's something like you worked through. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean I think you know, every culture and group has
Speaker 1: their own thing, and you know a lot of it
Speaker 1: are I would even say not even cultural expectations, it's
Speaker 1: more societal expectations. Right, which is like, what do you
Speaker 1: mean you're you don't like shopping? You're a woman. Don't
Speaker 1: all women like shopping? Or you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Or like you're a man, why don't you have ten
Speaker 1: pairs of Jordan's Like what you know what I mean? Like,
Speaker 1: so you you what you will face is sort of
Speaker 1: like questions and challenges and critiques and commentary from friends
Speaker 1: and family. That's what I feel like that expect That
Speaker 1: expectation is also some people may realize that they are
Speaker 1: in certain situations that they're in because of societal or
Speaker 1: cultural expectations. Right. So one of the examples that I
Speaker 1: like to use is um, I was doing a workshop
Speaker 1: on minimalism and this is about two years ago, so
Speaker 1: like I was still in the midst of my journey
Speaker 1: and still like trying to help and bring anyone along
Speaker 1: who would listen, and um, this young dentist came up
Speaker 1: to me and she waited until like the room was cleared,
Speaker 1: and she said, you know, everything that you said today
Speaker 1: just like really resonated with me. And she said, you know,
Speaker 1: I have this huge town house so much more it's
Speaker 1: just me, right, And she said, I would love there's
Speaker 1: an apartment that's right near my job that I could
Speaker 1: just walk to. And she was like, but my family
Speaker 1: would be like they would just frown upon it, because like,
Speaker 1: you're a dentist, you know, or you're a doctor, you're
Speaker 1: a lawyer, aren't you supposed to have? Aren't you supposed
Speaker 1: to own? Aren't you you know? And like getting her
Speaker 1: to understand that, like this is her life. And anytime
Speaker 1: you feed into those expectations, you find yourself in spaces
Speaker 1: and places and with things that aren't really again authentic
Speaker 1: representations of who you are, right. And so I feel
Speaker 1: like so many people will as they go through that
Speaker 1: journey of self discovery, realize like, oh, this is why
Speaker 1: I have this house, or this is why I have
Speaker 1: this car, or this is why you know. For me,
Speaker 1: I had like even though they were in clearance, it
Speaker 1: was like all these designers shoes and you know, suits
Speaker 1: and all these different things because I wanted to look
Speaker 1: the part of being an attorney, right, and I felt
Speaker 1: like I had to look the part guess what my
Speaker 1: clients didn't care, right, Like, yeah, I rarely saw them,
Speaker 1: you know, but but these are the kind of things
Speaker 1: that you know, So when I talk about pressures and expectations.
Speaker 1: You know, some of them do come from family members
Speaker 1: and friends and cultures in our community, but so much
Speaker 1: of it is also societal right and like breaking for me,
Speaker 1: like breaking those change was so important, like getting my
Speaker 1: daughter to understand, like we don't have to go to
Speaker 1: the mall every weekend. I just don't have to go
Speaker 1: some weekend. As I hear you talk, Christine, it's so
Speaker 1: apparent how much this is linked to our confidence in
Speaker 1: our own self, who we are, the decisions that we're making,
Speaker 1: the autonomy that we have, the personal ownership that we
Speaker 1: can take on, the freedom that exists there. But yeah,
Speaker 1: there's a journey to that, not not that we don't
Speaker 1: care or you don't matter, but to not place that
Speaker 1: much weight on what other people think or say, or
Speaker 1: the societal pressures of here's your job, this is what
Speaker 1: you should do. And I see it going both directions
Speaker 1: of you're wealthy, you should or you say you're a minimalist,
Speaker 1: but how do you have so many tools in your
Speaker 1: garage or how do you have so many kitchen appliances
Speaker 1: or yeah, whatever that thought is, it can go either
Speaker 1: way where people will just beat you up at that's
Speaker 1: exactly why you have to focus on being your authentic self.
Speaker 1: And I love that you mentioned that minimalist East because
Speaker 1: minimalism has become this whole conspicuous saying, which is like
Speaker 1: so annoying to me because again it feeds into this
Speaker 1: aesthetic thing, right. And so another reason why I love
Speaker 1: showing my aspects of minimalism is it's like a real
Speaker 1: house and it's a real authentic reflection of my life.
Speaker 1: And I remember someone I had, Oh my, it was
Speaker 1: like a feature that I had done. I think it
Speaker 1: was apartment therapy, and um, it was like my first
Speaker 1: big feature and I was so excited, and I mean
Speaker 1: people were like, there was I shouldn't say people. There
Speaker 1: was one comment or who said, you know, I just
Speaker 1: don't see how you can call yourself a minimalist. And
Speaker 1: you have all those pillows on your bed now I
Speaker 1: use like euro pillows, and then I have like bed
Speaker 1: pillows and also have like a body pillow. But what
Speaker 1: that is for me? I am in my bed writing
Speaker 1: all the time. I am an author. I write in bed.
Speaker 1: What do I look like having one pillow? Not being
Speaker 1: able to support my back and do what I need
Speaker 1: to do because I'm worried about someone looking at an
Speaker 1: image on Instagram and questioning whether or not I'm a
Speaker 1: minimalist because I have four pillows instead of two pillows, right, Like,
Speaker 1: it becomes like this thing and this is why again
Speaker 1: you just have to lead with authenticity And I posted
Speaker 1: about that. Um I posted about that whole commentary a
Speaker 1: while ago, and it was the comments were so funny
Speaker 1: because I was like, what do I look like walking
Speaker 1: around here with a hurt back? Someone is worried about
Speaker 1: how many pillows I have? Right? And like someone who
Speaker 1: I'm probably never going to meet in real life probably
Speaker 1: didn't even use their real name. I don't even remember
Speaker 1: who they are. Like, why would you structure and build
Speaker 1: your life around someone else's expectations of you? It is
Speaker 1: just beyond me then someone else's narrow definition of what
Speaker 1: minimalism means? And how can you keep up? How can
Speaker 1: you keep us? Someone? Yeah? Someone else to say yeah, like,
Speaker 1: if it's only two pillows, it's going to be the
Speaker 1: color of the pillows. If it's not the color of
Speaker 1: the pillows, and it's going to be the size of
Speaker 1: the bed. Who yeah, No, I need my pillows, need
Speaker 1: like three pillows behind the back sometimes two pillows on
Speaker 1: top of me, right, the I am and I need
Speaker 1: tons of tools in my garage so my husband can
Speaker 1: build me stuff and fix me stuff. So I like
Speaker 1: my packet drawer, and we all got it, you know.
Speaker 1: And so again, just like living your authentic life, being
Speaker 1: your authentic self, and like structuring it in a way
Speaker 1: that works for you, right, Like, yes, I may have
Speaker 1: four pillows right where someone else may have fifty T shirts.
Speaker 1: I may have to because I don't wear a lot
Speaker 1: of T shirts. But if you need, use and love
Speaker 1: your fifty T shirts, have had it. It's your life, right.
Speaker 1: I think you're already getting at it, Christine, But if
Speaker 1: you could put more thoughts to this, what would you
Speaker 1: hope the future of minimalism includes. Yeah, I mean I
Speaker 1: definitely want minimalism to include more diverse voices and perspectives.
Speaker 1: And I don't just mean racially, right, I mean I
Speaker 1: think there are so many different ways that minimalists live
Speaker 1: and just showing people the many. I mean, I have
Speaker 1: friends that live on converted school buses, right, There are
Speaker 1: van life folks, there are you know people They come
Speaker 1: over my house and it feels like a mansion because
Speaker 1: they live in three hundred square feet, right and I
Speaker 1: live in six hundred. They're like, there's so much room
Speaker 1: over here, right. Um. You know one of my dear friends,
Speaker 1: um Radia Rhode, she lives in Baltimore. They have a
Speaker 1: beautiful home, and you know, upon first blush, someone would
Speaker 1: walk up and say, like, there's no way a minimalists
Speaker 1: lives here, right, but they only have in there with
Speaker 1: their family, need, uses and loves. Right. So showing people
Speaker 1: also like no one is saying that you have to
Speaker 1: downsize your house, like people think like it's this huge
Speaker 1: life transformation that has to happen. Right. It's like, if
Speaker 1: your house works for you, keep your house and work
Speaker 1: on the things that are in your house. Right. If
Speaker 1: your house doesn't work for you, right, finding a space
Speaker 1: that does work better for your family, right. Um. And
Speaker 1: So when I talk about like showing just diversity and minimalism,
Speaker 1: it's showing the many different ways that people live with
Speaker 1: less because I feel like it's such a source of
Speaker 1: inspiration for other people who are still trying to figure
Speaker 1: out their journey rather than showing the same figly fiddle
Speaker 1: against go. It's so beautiful, Christine, It's reminding me you
Speaker 1: might have your own opinions on this book. I'm going
Speaker 1: out on a limb is a children's book. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you're familiar with it, and I'm going to
Speaker 1: forget who the author is. But the whole premise is
Speaker 1: like come over. There's this common refrain come over to
Speaker 1: my house, come over and play. And it's going throughout
Speaker 1: like different nations describing how people live, clearly not stating
Speaker 1: one being better than another, just the children in that
Speaker 1: home setting. Come over to my house, come over and play.
Speaker 1: Here's where I sleep, Here's where I eat. It's just
Speaker 1: like so beautiful, and I feel like you're capturing that
Speaker 1: in your hopes for the future of Come over my house.
Speaker 1: Here's what minimalism looks like for me. Come over to
Speaker 1: my house. This is what it looks like for like that.
Speaker 1: I love that I might use that for like the
Speaker 1: name of a TV show, just like come over to
Speaker 1: my house. It doesn't pigeon hole us. And it's interesting.
Speaker 1: I think when we choose one thing, people think, Okay, well,
Speaker 1: now you're gonna stick with it. I used to live
Speaker 1: in one hundred seventy square foot tiny home. Now I don't.
Speaker 1: Now I live in four hundred square feet because this
Speaker 1: is what works for me now and and I felt
Speaker 1: that freedom, and I think it's it's a message. I'm
Speaker 1: with you. I want to help to tell people, you know,
Speaker 1: this is what worked for us. Then we loved it,
Speaker 1: and it didn't mean that it didn't work out. It
Speaker 1: was perfect for that time. And now here's what we're doing,
Speaker 1: and you don't have to ever feel stuck. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I like to say that we're
Speaker 1: always growing and evolving, right, and so our lifestyle is
Speaker 1: going to grow and evolve and change, right, So like
Speaker 1: right now, six hundred square feet works for me. You know,
Speaker 1: I don't know, like I have dreams of a tiny house.
Speaker 1: You know, we'll see how that works, you know. I
Speaker 1: also love the idea of van life, Like there's so
Speaker 1: many different ways again to live with less, and I think,
Speaker 1: you know, I really love that idea. As you said,
Speaker 1: like come over to my house and just like let's
Speaker 1: show that many different ways that frugality looks and minimalism
Speaker 1: looks like all of these like buzz words. Let's show
Speaker 1: like these are lifestyles like less, show how people live
Speaker 1: in these spaces. So beautiful. I hope that's my hope. Well, Christine,
Speaker 1: if you ever do van life, we've got r V
Speaker 1: parking in our in our backyard, So come over to
Speaker 1: my house, come over for dinner. I will. I love it.
Speaker 1: This has been such a beautiful conversation. It's I hope,
Speaker 1: inspiring to everybody who's listening and watching. I've loved it.
Speaker 1: To lighten it up a little bit, let's end with
Speaker 1: asking you, Christine, what is your bill of the week.
Speaker 1: My bill of the week. Hmmm, I think my bill
Speaker 1: of the week this week. So um, there's so many
Speaker 1: Actually I know what my bill of the week is.
Speaker 1: It's my daughter's tuition depends state. So super excited she
Speaker 1: she um, she got accepted depends state, and um finally declared.
Speaker 1: You know, such a wild and weird year, and so
Speaker 1: yeah she she will be starting, um shortly after this
Speaker 1: conference ends. And so that's my bill of the week.
Speaker 1: Well done. How amazing to have zeroed in on a
Speaker 1: college and kind of what she wants to do next.
Speaker 1: I'm sure better sweet for you, very bitter sweet, and
Speaker 1: so much so that I've already planned but I'm doing
Speaker 1: with her room. So yeah, so so well, you've done
Speaker 1: your job. You raised a child who got into's actually gone.
Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, I'm like, indoor botanical garden, here we come.
Speaker 1: That's stunning. I feel like that's the real bill. It's
Speaker 1: like I've paid a bill in order to have my
Speaker 1: indoor botanical That's it. It's nothing to do with education.
Speaker 1: It's fine, it's fine. Well, thank you so much Christine
Speaker 1: for coming and chatting with us. This is great. Yeah,
Speaker 1: where can people find more from you and get your book? Sure? Sure,
Speaker 1: so you can find me on Instagram under afro Minimalist. Um.
Speaker 1: You can find me online at afro minimalist dot com.
Speaker 1: Everything is Afro Minimalists is super minimalist and simple. Um.
Speaker 1: And then also you can check out my new book,
Speaker 1: which I probably should have had closer, made that mistake
Speaker 1: for the Afro minimalist guy to living with less um
Speaker 1: and in there, you know, I talked about a lot
Speaker 1: of the themes that we talked about today, just more
Speaker 1: in depth. And um. Yeah, hopefully you guys will have
Speaker 1: me back on and we can meet up again here
Speaker 1: as well that I can see that book cover standing
Speaker 1: out so vividly with all of the other minimalists. Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: yours will stand out so if you go and get
Speaker 1: one a physical copy, you will not be able to
Speaker 1: miss it. Yeah, and we will have links below this
Speaker 1: video to all of that too. So thank you so much, Christine.
Speaker 1: Congrats on the book, Christine, and thank you know this
Speaker 1: is great. Thank you both so much for having me. Oh,
Speaker 1: what a great conversation with Christine. I feel like so
Speaker 1: much wisdom. Two years ago and today I remember really
Speaker 1: enjoying that and and enjoy it again and hope you
Speaker 1: all also enjoyed it, and we're able to take away
Speaker 1: just a few nuggets or maybe the whole thing. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's the whole meal. It's not just a little chicken snack.
Speaker 1: It's everything, and it's totally gonna revamp some of your
Speaker 1: behaviors and decisions, what whatever, whatever you choose to do.
Speaker 1: We just hope that this was a fruitful dialogue for you. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I really still to this day appreciate the authenticity over
Speaker 1: aesthetic piece because so much of minimalism has been distilled
Speaker 1: down into an aesthetic, a very like particular aesthetic. And
Speaker 1: I just love the freedom to just live simple and
Speaker 1: not with no stuff. Because if you follow Christine, She's
Speaker 1: I am Christine Platt On Instagram. You can see her
Speaker 1: apartment is not empty. Her apartment has stuff she got
Speaker 1: throw pillows, you know, and I love it and it's
Speaker 1: but it's only stuff that she loves and that really
Speaker 1: speaks to her and her background and her identity, and
Speaker 1: that's authenticity and I love, love love that. We're here
Speaker 1: for that. Oh yeah, we're also here for you. Thank
Speaker 1: you again for list inning to this podcast this episode.
Speaker 1: Many of you know, last month we did a spending
Speaker 1: makeover and it was a hit, really so fun. Loved it.
Speaker 1: It was so fun, and we want to congratulate and
Speaker 1: share some of our participants in that spending makeover some
Speaker 1: of the big mindset shifts and changes they made. Lindsay shared, Honestly,
Speaker 1: it's realizing that I stick with patterns and impulse purchases
Speaker 1: whenever I'm feeling down to lift my spirits. Now, I'm
Speaker 1: going to work on creating healthier habits and solutions for
Speaker 1: when I start to feel that way. Well done, Lindsay.
Speaker 1: Than Michelle shared, you can buy anything, but you can't
Speaker 1: buy everything. Life changing mindset shift for impulse buyers. Ya
Speaker 1: Michelle so true, and Jennifer said, knowing that each person
Speaker 1: is a set is at a different point in their
Speaker 1: journey and that I can find those people with a
Speaker 1: similar situation in the online group. Amazing. These are just
Speaker 1: like a smattering of what some of the feedback was
Speaker 1: some of the takeaways were from that Spending makeover. So great. Yeah,
Speaker 1: congrats to everyone who participated in the Spending makeover. And uh,
Speaker 1: we loved it so much that we decided to make
Speaker 1: it available to everyone. Yeah if even if you missed
Speaker 1: it last month nb D, no big deal. We've just
Speaker 1: made the makeover videos and workbook available for anyone at
Speaker 1: any time. If you want to check it out and
Speaker 1: make some of your own revelations, head to Frugal Friends
Speaker 1: podcast dot com slash makeover. You can check it out.
Speaker 1: You can engage with it for free. Yes, so we will.
Speaker 1: We'll see you there, shea. Frugal Friends is produced by
Speaker 1: Eric Sirianni. So, Jill, will you be having a Super
Speaker 1: Bowl part again this year? It depends on who's playing.
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, what if the Bills play? That would
Speaker 1: be amazing. We know the Bucks are out, so it's
Speaker 1: free range to be a Bills fan now, yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean probably, I guess I am here for like the
Speaker 1: buffalo chicken dip, so it really doesn't actually matter who plays.
Speaker 1: If people want to come over and eat chicken wings,
Speaker 1: that's great, but no children. No children this year. Made
Speaker 1: that mistake the last year's party. My house is still
Speaker 1: in renovation mode. No casting. I just have to make
Speaker 1: sure that there's like a few exposed wires and sharp
Speaker 1: tools in my house, like for the unboreseen future, very
Speaker 1: unforeseen amount of time. And then I've just got a
Speaker 1: great excuse adults, only my house won't get ruined. I'm
Speaker 1: sad I won't be able to participate in a drinking
Speaker 1: game this year because I really believe drinking games are
Speaker 1: my spiritual gift. I don't know which any graham is
Speaker 1: best at making drinking games, but that's my any hold on.
Speaker 1: Just for like any listeners who continue to tune into
Speaker 1: this part of the show. You say drinking game, and
Speaker 1: it is that, but we never engage in it as
Speaker 1: a true drinking game. Like it's not a like quick
Speaker 1: get drunk kind of a thing. It's like we're usually
Speaker 1: sipping water by the end of it. It's just like
Speaker 1: speak for your c amount of times. The announcers says,
Speaker 1: I don't know it's like when Tom Brady is mentioned,
Speaker 1: because even when he's not there, they're going to talk
Speaker 1: about him. So like you just take a sip whenever
Speaker 1: somebody mentions Tom Brady or gz L bunch In or
Speaker 1: like you take two SIPs when the our works go
Speaker 1: off or plays. You're drinking more than you're like one
Speaker 1: to two drinks and then you move to water. That's
Speaker 1: just how we k It's just fun to like when
Speaker 1: somebody sees one and they're like they just said, wait,
Speaker 1: they just said Tom writing day. And that's the fun part.
Speaker 1: It's a fun way to engage in something that you
Speaker 1: wouldn't maybe otherwise. Yeah, I would say, if you haven't
Speaker 1: tried doing it, try it. We love to gamify things
Speaker 1: we do. We do and that's um my, that's my
Speaker 1: gifting is drinking games. So you will just have like
Speaker 1: some ice to your lemonade for you, thank you, Okay,
Speaker 1: I guess Busy Beerball