Baby June is now 8-months! She has been a little wonder baby. She is turning out to be very smiley and observant. She is just learning to wave and will wave at literally anyone passing by, even animals, even people quite far away who would never see it (lol, so cute). Keeping our home simple and clutter-free has been another journey. …let's just say it ebbs and flows. 8 LESSONS learned, thus far 1. We only need 3 bottles A reader actually told me she only used 3 bottles (thank you!), which gave me the confidence to try it out right away. We have not looked back. It’s kinda like ..read more

As I was preparing for maternity leave, I got the advice to travel early, as it is much easier to travel when a baby is not yet crawling or walking. That planted a seed and I began to scheme a month-long trip to BCS Baja, Mexico during our combined maternity and paternity leave. It was definitely a leap of faith - I booked the accommodations when I was only 4 months pregnant. I was assuming she would be about 3 months at that time, when we would have a 1-month window between pediatrician appointments. Then, once baby June was born, we had to immediately procure her physical birth certificate ..read more

How does an artist embrace minimalism, while still collecting all the materials that are an integral part of inspiring new designs?  This question spawned a list of tips for how artists can embrace minimalism without hampering the creative process. This post was inspired by a conversation with Mariele Ivy, the genius behind the jewelry brand, Young in the Mountains which creates the most beautiful rings out there. Be sure to check out her work, all handmade and conscious of the environment from which her jewels are drawn. First, let’s understand the artist’s narrative:  “Random, co ..read more

All photos: ginaandryan.com We did it! Will and I were married this past spring, in April 2021 on the sunny coast of southern California. While planning for an intimate, intentional gathering, we learned a lot along the way. My hope is that these tips will help you or someone you know in planning their own intentional wedding celebration. Selecting Your Ceremony Location Utilize the State Parks In picking a ceremony location, Will and I were able to narrow our scope to southern California pretty quickly because we wanted to make it easy for Will’s grandmother to attend. As Will and I imagined ..read more

Image Source Hello readers, Kyle here to share some of my favorite water-saving tips. Back in my undergrad days, I traveled to Nicaragua on a service trip. While there, digging holes in the ground to install smoke-free stoves, I learned about water wars. Disputes over water rights in rural areas had led to young men sleeping with machetes (!) next to wells in order to protect their water sources. That mental image has stuck with me ever since and I am eternally grateful to live in a place where with the mere twist of a faucet, clean drinking water fills my glass. Here in much of the United St ..read more

Today Kyle and I are welcoming our second New Minimalism baby into the world—the New Minimalism Journal! We’re immensely proud and incredibly grateful to you, our NM community, for supporting us and our work and helping us earn the tremendous privilege of bringing another book into the world. While today is the Journal’s official birthday, it’s actually been several months since we handed in our final edits on our manuscript, since we approved layouts and covers and design elements. Book making i ..read more

Today Kyle and I are welcoming our second New Minimalism baby into the world—the New Minimalism Journal! We’re immensely proud and incredibly grateful to you, our NM community, for supporting us and our work and helping us earn the immense privilege of bringing another book into the world. While today is the Journal’s official birthday, it’s actually been several months since we handed in our final edits on our final manuscript, since we approved layouts and covers and design elements. Book makin ..read more

HURRAY, IT’S DECLUTTERING DAY! It’s finally here, the day you’ve been waiting for — it’s time to declutter (insert household category) of your home! We couldn’t be more excited for you. We recommend starting first thing in the morning, right after a hearty breakfast and a little caffeine. Don’t neglect the setting: turn on the lights, open the blinds, crack the windows to circulate fresh air, perhaps turn on some background music. And drink water! A couple of hours into sorting, these little tips will massively help your productivity and focus ..read more

Hi all, Cary here! Today I wanted to share some of my top resources for where to drop your post-decluttering donations in Boise. I’ve been working on growing this list for the past few years, but I also know that it took us the better part of a decade to secure our dozens of donation partners in the Bay, so please if you have additional suggestions. The impetus for this post was the recent gathering of over 800 brilliant, accomplished, and civic minded folks at the 2019 Women and Leadership Conference here in Boise over the past week. Two of the keynote speakers were none other than Obama ..read more

This article was originally published on mindbodygreen. Parenthood is wonderful and joyful and exhausting and hard. As soon as you think you've got it figured out, something—your kid, your body, your schedule, your home, your child care—shifts. Parenthood for me has also been about embracing seemingly contradictory ideas, like: Clear rules and guidelines make for resilient parenting, and flexibility is key as our family continually evolves. Parenthood is a sea of grays: It's about making and then breaking rules as you and y ..read more