Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Living and Working Well in a Small Space
142 Plays2 years ago
Today, Beth and Ayla dove into the topic of smaller living, and how to THRIVE even when living in a tiny space. We both have lived in multiple small spaces including apartments, basement suites, and dorm rooms, and while there's always more to learn, we wanted to pass along our favourite tips for how you can INTENTIONALLY make your smaller space work for you, in both your work and personal life. If you're currently in an apartment, tiny home, or even van, we hope we were able to pass along some tangible advice, and help your tiny living journey! Any advice we missed? You know the drill, you can email us at artofintentionpodcast@gmail.com or reach out to us at @artofintentionpodcast on instagram! We can't wait to hear from you, and we hope you love today's episode!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Excitement
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Art of Intention podcast with Beth and Ayla. Two best friends turn creative entrepreneurs. This is a place for us to discuss everything business, friendships, and faith and occasionally more. We're so excited for today's episode. We think you're going to love it. Stay tuned.
Living in Small Spaces
00:00:21
Speaker
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Art of Intention. We are back with another episode for you this week. And today we're talking about small space living. Both Beth and I live in smaller apartments at the moment, along with doing the bulk of our work from home. And we have a few years experience of what we I guess you could call tiny living. We wanted to share how we navigate that talking about both our work and our personal lives.
00:00:47
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. We know that living in a smaller home can have its harder moments, especially if that's also the place you work. So we are also both pretty active people. And the question has really always been like, how on earth do we sit and work at a desk for hours on end?
Book Haul Segment Introduction
00:01:03
Speaker
Um, if you've ever had any questions about small space living, working from home and also staying active while having a more office like desk job, we get into all of that today.
00:01:15
Speaker
First, before we do that, in place of our community news segment, we wanted to do something a little bit fun and share a book haul. We both recently just did some book shopping. And if you were around a couple episodes back, which one would that have been? Our first episode, our very first one, introducing us. We talked about whether we read or not. We talked about how I, I'm a reader. I grew up a bookworm, but I haven't been reading the last couple of years just cause I don't know.
00:01:43
Speaker
I haven't. And Beth's never really been the biggest reader, but we both talked about how we want to be reading more. So I kind of, I went on a little book haul the other day with Chris and I went through a bookstore and picked some stuff up. And I have a few picks of what I'm going to read next, what I'm done with the book I'm currently on. So I wanted to share that. And the haul was Beth's idea actually. So Beth, if you want to. Yeah, it was funny because you posted on your Instagram stories like, oh, a couple of books I got. And then as
00:02:10
Speaker
So if you are listening and you listened also to our first episode, you know that I am not an avid reader. In fact, I'm not even a reader. So I've been trying to get more into reading and I have a, like I don't read a lot of books at all and I usually tend to read things like health books just from back when I was in college for my major. I really love like books about diseases and about like naturopathy. So super weird, but I've been trying to branch out and read more like business books that will help me in my entrepreneurship.
00:02:39
Speaker
When I saw that you were buying books, I had just literally the day before been at a thrift store when I was in California photographing weddings and I like took a little break, went thrifting and bought like way too many books, but they were all books that had been recommended to me before by other entrepreneurs. So yeah, so.
00:02:55
Speaker
cool let's just jump through I guess let's go back and forth and we'll just each share some of mine like I said one of my books I'm reading and then the other ones are stuff I've gotten either the last couple days or the last couple weeks okay that I'll share so I'll start I'll start with what I'm currently reading I tend to read a lot of fiction fiction is one of my most favorite ones but I do do a few like
00:03:16
Speaker
sort of self-help slash like faith-based ones. So I've got a few of those, but what I'm reading right now is a fiction one. It's called The Whisper Man. It's by Alex North. It's a murder mystery and it's young children going missing in a town. And the basic story is like this happened, I think like 20 years ago in this town. Oh my gosh.
00:03:39
Speaker
And it follows this police officer who worked that case never found out who did
Book Discussions and Recommendations
00:03:43
Speaker
it. So he's just been like tormented by it for 20 years. And then it just happened again, 20 years later. And he's like, they're not getting away with it this time. A young boy the same age went missing. So yeah.
00:03:54
Speaker
I'm about halfway through it and it's really good. I like the writing so far and I haven't found out any of the mystery yet so I'm excited to keep reading this one. Oh my gosh dang that sounds intense. So the first one I'm gonna share this is one called Girl Wash Your Face and I know funny little title but this one's actually recommended by Evie Rupp, Evelyn Rupp. She, oh wait that's not her last name anymore.
00:04:18
Speaker
Oh, Evie, uh, McCloud date is her new last name. Yeah, she goes by either. I suppose, but yeah, exactly. I think her Instagram might still be rough either way, but she's a business entrepreneur. Probably if you follow us, you probably know of her as well. Um, but she recommended this a while ago and so it's actually been on my wishlist for a long time. And, um, with books, I have like a wishlist and if I see my other stores when I grab them. So this one's just about, um,
00:04:44
Speaker
how you can kind of drown out the lies and like the intrusive thoughts as a business owner or as an entrepreneur and really just like become the person you're meant to be. It's a very inspirational like that, like kind of like a girl boss one, you know, so.
00:04:58
Speaker
Cool, my next one, it's a faith-based one and it's called The Purpose Driven Life and it says, what on earth am I here for? So it's basically just about like getting in touch with the Lord and with support groups around you for like your purpose here on this world and like how to reflect the Lord the best during your time here. I haven't read this one yet, but this is my next one after I finish my novel. And my mom gifted this one to me a while ago, but I really like
00:05:25
Speaker
um missions based like faith-based ones so i'm excited to pick this one up but that's my next one oh and the author is rick warren okay that's awesome that actually leads uh really well into one the other recommendation i had um i just finished reading with chad the screw tape letters and if you've never read them you've probably heard about it but if you've never read them it's or it it's a book it's phenomenal it's basically the
00:05:49
Speaker
view of the world from like a demon's perspective as crazy as that sounds. It's written by C.S. Lewis and it's like a classic. It's phenomenal. It's unlike anything we've ever read and it's crazy how it just pinpoints how a person can slowly just kind of walk away from the Lord's path and like how it's really subtle and all the ways that like demons can tempt us and we don't even realize it and how even good things can get in the way of you know our path in life.
00:06:16
Speaker
Really crazy, really good, very gripping. So that was my second one. Wow, that sounds right up my alley. And I think I've heard you talk about that one before. So I should I should add that to the list. Read it with Chris.
00:06:28
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I should. This one is, well, I guess this is like a bonus one. This isn't in part of my haul, but that reminded me Chris is currently listening on audio book to the 12 rules for life by Jordan Peterson. And he'll play that one sometimes like while I'm just cleaning or whatever. So I haven't heard all of it, but that one's, I think known to be one of the more phenomenal books ever read. So we have that one going on audio book these days as well. Nice.
00:06:55
Speaker
Cool. I'll just share another one since that was like an interruption. Okay, sure. The next one, I am excited to start this. It's a historical, I think fiction. I don't know if it's a true story. I believe it's a historical fiction. It's called The Last Train to London. And it's about a Dutch woman in Nazi Germany, I want to say, or just generally Nazi Europe.
00:07:19
Speaker
taking place in 1936. She herself doesn't have any children, but she is risking her life to smuggle children out of Nazi occupied lands to take them to London. And I love a good historical fiction. So yeah, that's the one that I'm excited to open. Dude, that's amazing. I love that. And I only have a couple left. So I'm just gonna
00:07:39
Speaker
Read through them real fast. The first one is The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. It's about how willpower and simple discipline can change your life and change your business and change your happiness and all that stuff. I'm super excited to get into that. I've always felt like I don't have as much personal discipline and willpower as I could. I noticed that in college too. Chad would be really good about sitting down and always doing his homework.
00:08:05
Speaker
And I was much less inclined to always do what I needed to do when I needed to do it. And the next one is, um, this one's a health food book. It's called the sacred cow. I have read this. This is phenomenal. It basically talks about how well-raised meat is actually good for you and good for the planet. It kind of debunks the whole myth about vegans who say they are vegan for the planet. Um, this is really just kind of like a,
00:08:29
Speaker
like mind blowing book. So yeah, there's that. And the last one is just girl boss. It's called, okay, it's literally, you're going to laugh at the title. Don't judge. It's called, it's literally called hashtag girl boss. That is the title of the book, but it's about a girl who was homeless and she went from homeless to like a millionaire. So super phenomenal story. It's more of a fun read, but also kind of applicable. It's, it's not fake. It's a real story. So, and that's by Sophia Amoruso.
00:08:58
Speaker
That's awesome. I have heard of that one. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. So then if you want to finish up with yours too. Yeah. I'll rapid-fire the last of mine. That does remind me. I want to get more of the entrepreneurial ones. I've been recommended so many and I don't have any. So we'll call part two coming soon. And we should follow up whenever we finish any of these two. Accountability for me, honestly.
00:09:21
Speaker
This next one was a Chris Pick. He picked this out the other day, but I'm really excited about it. And the book looks really pretty, but it's simple Japanese furniture, 24 mid-century products for your home. So Chris has been, for those who don't know, does carpentry. So he loves all things building. And he picked this one out, but we actually, it kind of is on brand with today's episode. We talk about it later.
00:09:44
Speaker
But we really like Japanese decoration and furniture. And when you flip through the pages of this, for those, for everyone who's listening and can't see, I'll just describe it to you. It's basically like a grown up Lego book. Like it shows you exactly what your wood pieces need to look like, the exact tools you need to make them.
00:10:01
Speaker
and then how exactly they fit together. So it's really like, I couldn't care less about building stuff. And I was flipping through this thinking it looked interesting. And Chris has talked about once he actually wants to build for our house. So I was like, I'll take that. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So simple Japanese furniture. There's no author really. It's a company. It's called Group Mono Mono is the group name who makes it.
00:10:27
Speaker
nice that's one that's like yeah not a reading one but like a building one but i'm excited about it i love and then the one i'm most excited for to share i got this for chris's birthday but it was very selfishly for me to get him something else but it is called the encyclopedia of country living the original manual for living off the land and do it yourself but you this would be right up your alley chris and i have been really big into researching like homesteading
00:10:56
Speaker
And the best way to live off the land from like slightly off to land to like fully off grid. We're really interested in stuff like that. Yes. This is by Carla Emery. It's huge. I'm showing it to Beth right now. Looks like a dictionary. Yeah, it's freaking huge. And the front, I'll just quickly run through some of the things it tells you how to do. It gives you step by step instructions on how to live sustainably, raise chickens, mix herbal remedies, plant in your garden, build a barn, mill your own flower.
00:11:23
Speaker
Forage, make soap, preserve fruits and vegetables, deliver a baby, learn beekeeping, spin wool into yarn, make sausage, tap maple trees, milk a cow, create natural skincare products, and make cheese and more. It's an encyclopedia, it's instructions, but I actually want to sit and read it because she goes into super great detail for all of it.
00:11:46
Speaker
I'm like beyond stoked about this one. My mind is blown. That looks phenomenal. I'm, I'm hooked, dude. Now I'm like super interested in that. And yeah, it's on Amazon. Yeah, it's on Amazon and I was going to order it, but we came across it. It was the only copy in the bookstore we went to the other day and I was like, mine.
00:12:02
Speaker
So, well, what a steal. And for those of you who are listening, of course, um, we know we just rapid fired a bunch of titles. So we are going to be taking pictures of these books and putting them on our Instagram. So you will be able to screenshot once it sounded interesting to you. So go ahead and check that out. And hopefully we can keep sharing books. We've been liking. Yeah. That's always fun. Yeah. If you guys like this, let us know.
00:12:23
Speaker
So I figured the best way to kick off this episode, again, we're talking about small living, working and living in a small space.
Making Small Spaces Feel Like Home
00:12:31
Speaker
So I figured we'd roughly describe our current living situations.
00:12:35
Speaker
So you don't have to go into too much detail, but Beth, would you mind starting us off with kind of what is your home like in Hawaii right now? Yeah. So our home is a small one bedroom, one bathroom. Um, it's a pretty open layout, but very small, simple design, which I like. Um, it's smaller than the last place we lived. We had a one bedroom before, but it was almost like 700, 800 square feet. If I remember correctly, which isn't tiny, um, for a one bedroom apartment. Um, and this one, I don't even know what the square footage is for this one, but it's very small.
00:13:05
Speaker
It's like half the size of our last one, if not less. And yeah, so this is just a very small, simple layout. It has everything we need, but yeah, for sure. Our space right now, it's pretty small. I want to say it's around 400 square feet. If even that, it might be slightly under. It's part of a complex and it's on the basement level. So we only have two windows in here and it's like,
00:13:33
Speaker
It's southward facing, so only sometimes during the year did we really get light in here. Actually, right now is a great time in the evening. The sun comes through really beautifully. But for most of the year, we don't get the most sunlight. But anyway, there's that. Other than that point, I've actually really loved this apartment up to this point. It's housed, Chris and I just find, and it's all good for two people. But I've kind of started to notice its size in the last few days.
00:13:58
Speaker
Uh, it's one bedroom with a really small, but really, really cute little kitchen. Like all the appliances, like the stove and the fridge are, um, small size. So it looks pretty cute actually. And then it actually was a really gen generally spacious living room. So that was nice. We totally decked out the living room cause we have people over and stuff. So that was nice. But because of the larger.
00:14:22
Speaker
living room, it has a really small kitchen, bedroom, like everything else is a little bit smaller. But yeah, about 400 square feet ish. And up until this point, I also lived in a small apartment that was maybe 450 square feet more 420 square feet. So and that's kind of where I moved into when I moved out of my parents house. So and I've lived in community settings with roommates. So it's been pretty much my whole adult life has been in smaller spaces.
00:14:48
Speaker
Oh, right. And I forgot to share too, like my previous living situations. I've lived in everything from like a big house that I grew up in, but then also I lived in a studio dorm room, a dorm room where I had like five roommates, um, then one bedroom apartment that was like really big and then like small one bedroom apartments before this. Right. So Beth, what would you say are some steps you've taken kind of in general, but this home specifically, or yeah, what are some steps you've taken in making your small space a home?
00:15:19
Speaker
First, no matter where I live, I always immediately turn it into my style. Not only am I very picky about where we live, I make sure that has my main three basics, which is wooden floor, white walls, or walls that I'm allowed to paint white, and then lots of natural lighting. Luckily, this place had all three before we moved in, ready to go.
00:15:40
Speaker
But I do my best to lighten the place up. So again, I make the walls white, minimal, decor. I don't really wait to make it all feel like me. I know some people like wait to decorate, but I do it literally as I'm unpacking. And I don't like being in a place that doesn't feel like me. So that's probably one of my big motivations for that.
00:15:58
Speaker
I might also make it as convenient as possible, you know, doing things like fixing anything that's broken, any functionality improvements, anything that may be like structurally goofy, just all those like things that are probably maybe, you know, assumed, but just to fight that right away. I also get a routine down as fast as I can in my new home. When I'm going to wake up, when I'm going to do the laundry and dishes and clean services, like this is like my home care routine that fits into my work routine also, which we'll talk about later.
00:16:24
Speaker
but like every home layout is different. And so I've especially noticed that when I'm in a smaller space, like the home chores that I do, like dishes, laundry, sweeping, all that stuff, it might look different for each like place. Like right now we have wooden floors and also because we live by the beach, we get lots of sand. So I had to incorporate things like sweeping every day into my like routine. So I just try to get these routines down pretty early on because it makes me feel more in tune with my home. And like, I've actually like adopted it as my own.
00:16:49
Speaker
If that makes sense, I don't know. I just really get it down early because especially the cleaning part because I can't start my day without cleaning. I actually read a study in college and I feel like you either already know this or you'll be really interested in this. I read a study in college that said people who make their beds in the morning first thing, like first thing that they do.
00:17:09
Speaker
They experience a surge of dopamine in their brain and it's small, but it was significant enough to actually change the reward system in their brain for that day to not be triggered by productive tasks rather than lazy ones. So it makes it more productive for the day. So just overall, I make Myspace look pretty like my style and then try to get an actual routine down to make it feel like I've lived there forever.
00:17:33
Speaker
I remember you telling me that and I've started to do it. I'm not the best at it. Like some days our bed definitely goes unmade, but again, because it's a small space and I see our room all the time when it's messy, I'm just like, yeah, lately I've had to make it before I can start. If we were in a bigger house and the room was like up and around and I didn't see it. But yeah, anyway, that totally makes sense for me. And I remember that about you too. Like you've always been really good about making a space yours and like stewarding it and just taking care of it is kind of how I like to think of it.
00:18:03
Speaker
Uh, for me, when it comes into moving into a new space, Chris and I kind of do all the stuff together to set up for it practically. Yeah. He actually, it was funny when we moved into this space, this was the first space where we lived together and I thought I was going to do everything. And then I, I was like knees deep in editing around that time. So he just put the stuff up and I was like, looks great. I don't care. It's all good at that.
00:18:26
Speaker
I learned this tip a while back that I'll expand on later. But essentially, we pick one space that's the most important part for us. Because with small spaces and limitations, every room's not going to be our dream room until we get to build our own house. So we pick the room that's the most important for that and set that up first. So for my apartment back in California, I loved the bedroom in there. And when Chris lived there for a little while, we repainted it because it was my parents.
00:18:55
Speaker
the property so we got to paint it we decked that room out with like pretty lights and a tv and nightstands and made it look all nice for this apartment it's definitely the living room because between our circle of friends we're like the house that people come to so it was uh it was important for it to like be our living room
00:19:14
Speaker
So for this apartment and our future homes, yeah, we definitely pick the space we're going to be spending the most time in. And then we also have to make it feel like us. And sometimes this means risking our rent deposit and putting art on the walls. We both paint, we both collect things. I used to be a more like minimalist style person, but lately like
00:19:35
Speaker
people who are on my business Instagram can see our apartment's pretty kooky right now and I really like it. We put art on the walls, we display little things we've collected and I really like that. We thrifted all of our furniture and stuff and we didn't stick to general colors. We just kind of picked things we liked and then naturally as we placed them together, we've been figuring out that we like that more like eclectic style that I guess is a more like home decor discussion. But anyway,
00:20:01
Speaker
Yeah, so we make it feel like us as well. It's just kind of a little different than you because you like clean and minimal and we're just kind of like, let's put our stuff everywhere. And then also like, I'm a naturally messy person. Beth would be aware of this, but it's very easy for me to let a space get messy. Again, you and I are so different in that you're so good at cleaning right away and I'll just live in my own filth for a while. It's not that bad. I've gotten a lot better into adulthood and marriage, but
00:20:28
Speaker
Um, I've noticed that if I can get 15 to 20 minutes of cleaning and tidying in before I start my day, my day is definitely more set up for success. And then Chris gets to come home to a somewhat okay home and I'm not stressed as we work. So yeah, those are little things we do, I guess, as we move in and as I manage it, just trying to clean a little bit each day to keep up with it. And then we also do a purge of all of our stuff. I would say about twice a year.
00:20:54
Speaker
So clothes, decorations, dishes, whatever we're not using about twice a year, we try to thrift all that because we like to collect stuff, but we don't have the space to collect it all. So you got to get rid of some stuff too. Oh, I love that. Purging is so therapeutic. It feels so good when you're able to do that. Yeah. So kind of going off, those are our general routines, daily things that we do in those spaces that we're in now. What would you say with where you live now is kind of your biggest con as far as space and organization?
00:21:23
Speaker
Like I mentioned above, I think I mentioned it right. We downsized with this place. So the biggest downsides was actually storage space. In our previous place, we had like a huge closet and then we also like couple of closets, but one of them was really big. And then we had an entire loft that we use for storage. With this current one, we have like half the amount of storage. You know, like I said, we love it. We love the layout, but with it being such a simple and open layout, we have a one closet. And then I have a,
00:21:50
Speaker
I bought a cabinet that I use as a closet as well. Again, that's probably our biggest con right now of where we live, just so small on the storage aspect of that. I'm kind of a wannabe minimalist. My style is definitely minimalist, but I like to hide the stuff that I have in closets to make it look like I don't own anything, but I definitely need closets to do that.
00:22:14
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Anyway, so what about you? Yeah, we have like zero storage place here. And I'll get on to that. But my bigger con more so than that is actually specifically our bedroom. I hate it in there. Like I said, we decked out our living room. It's nice and big. But that means we've lost space in our bedroom. And there's just we've tried so many things and there's no way to set it up nicely for two people.
00:22:37
Speaker
because initially I wanted our bed and then a shared dresser to be at the foot of the bed and the day we moved in we realized that room wasn't big enough to do that. So now the dresser's like alongside and so one side doesn't have a lot of room so we haven't even bothered like there's no decorations in there.
00:22:52
Speaker
All the mess stays in there, which is fine because our relaxing time is done out in the living room. But yeah, if I could just get a few more feet here and there in the bedroom, I feel like I could make it look nice, but that's my least favorite part of it right now. Oh yeah, that's hard. Especially when you go in with vision and you're like, I got this. It's a small space, but I'm prepared for this. And then it's like just a little, even smaller than you thought. That's really hard.
00:23:15
Speaker
Okay, but on a more positive note now, what's your favorite aspect of small living?
Benefits and Challenges of Small Living
00:23:21
Speaker
Like where you are now or just in general? I do love the simplicity of smaller living and I love that it prevents you from owning too much. Like I said, we collect stuff and artwork and books and stuff, but I still do like to be a minimalist in the sense of like, I don't want things that I'm never using to just like stack up. And you really can't do that with a small space. Like I grew up in a bigger house.
00:23:44
Speaker
with just things everywhere. So I like the simplicity of, yeah, it prevents you from owning too much. Sometimes we complain about the storage and people have asked if we want to rent a storage unit. And I'm like, nope, if we need extra storage, we have too much stuff. So I like that we have everything we need and it's close by. And even if we got the opportunity, because obviously we want to be homeowners someday, I don't think I could see us moving into any kind of mansion, even if we had the opportunity to. I think we'll always live somewhat small.
00:24:13
Speaker
Interesting. Yeah. And I, for sure, I would say my favorite part is some like specific like features that you can find even like kind of the excitement of like being able to figure out that you can still have some of your favorite things even in a small space. It's just really inspiring. So I definitely like what you said. And then I guess to get a little more like just not to say the exact same thing as you, because I totally agree. That's what my favorite thing is about small living. But if I had to choose something different, it would just be how inspiring it is to
00:24:41
Speaker
have to kind of problem solve with small spaces. Um, like, you know, but also appreciating that you can still have like the things that are important to you. Like I, you know, we have big windows, we have wooden floors, you know, light walls. So just kind of like, yeah, just still feels
00:24:57
Speaker
Like I have a beautiful home and it makes me feel like we are homeowners because like you we want to be homeowners eventually No matter what it is. We can make it look like ours because we've had practice doing this, right? So yeah, I love that and you're super you're really good at that. Probably even better than me, but
00:25:13
Speaker
I've seen all the places you've lived and you've always just gotten like, even if it's a little corner of like, this is me, the rest of this place is kind of gross, but this here is me, like, yeah, that totally makes sense with you. Sometimes you have to, sometimes you have to just like you were saying, narrow in on one part and like pour all your love into that and just pretend the rest of it does not exist if you can't fix it. Anyway, so I know you sort of touched on this, but Ayla, would you say you prefer to live small?
00:25:36
Speaker
Yeah, I go so back and forth. This question is such a toss up. For the last few years, I would say yes. I think it's good to learn how to keep your belongings to a minimum. I think it's good to learn to be thankful for the few things that you might have and the little bit of space you might have, and to only truly keep the things that you really love or use every day.
00:25:58
Speaker
I've always been interested in van life, nomad life. I have gone months with just a backpack of belongings and it's so fun and adventurous. But I think now as I settle into marriage more and we talk about having a family, my brain is shifting more into wanting a home.
00:26:13
Speaker
not a mansion or anything, but also not a 400 square foot apartment. Like I'd like to have some rooms. Yeah. Chris and I also have lots of hobbies. If we were super boring, a place like this would work, but we have hobbies that require things to collect that we're making work right now, but I would love to just have space for all of our hobbies to go. So as much fun as it is to not really own anything, I, I'm feeling ready for a house at some point. Yeah. What would you say about you? I actually don't know this about you, but do you, do you like small living or?
00:26:43
Speaker
I would actually say no, definitely not. Like I said, I can be positive about it and I like some features, but I do not prefer to live small. Like I said, I agree with you about what you just shared and the benefits, and I'm proud to know that I have the ability to transform any space, no matter how small, into a minimalist aesthetic home, but I've always wanted to live in a large house. I would say I probably prefer an above
00:27:05
Speaker
average-sized home. I remember when I was younger I used to get a lot of comments from people like adults or like moms and stuff who would say like yeah well you want to live in that until you have to clean it and it just makes me laugh it made me laugh then and it makes me laugh now I love cleaning and you know this about me I love cleaning I literally can't concentrate to start my day until I have cleaned something if I'm stressed I need to clean if I can't focus I need to clean if I'm bored I love cleaning so I
00:27:33
Speaker
I actually think I'm the kind of person who would do fine in a large home. I know people who say that just really show I think that they don't know me. They're just like, oh, you would like until you move in? I'd be like, no, I'd be thriving. And I also grew up in a pretty big house and I cleaned it from top to bottom by myself multiple times. I would sometimes do it when I was bored or as like a gift to my parents, I'd be like, oh, I cleaned the whole house from top to bottom and I never once hated it.
00:27:56
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, we did both grow up in bigger homes. I actually remember one day you text me, your whole family was gone because you had siblings and your parents and stuff. So it was like rare you had the house to yourself and you were like, I have the whole house to myself. I'm going to clean it. And you were stoked. And I was like, okay.
00:28:13
Speaker
Oh my gosh, no way. I'm cleaning the whole house and I get to clean it the way I want and I'm so excited and I was like, okay. Oh no. Oh my gosh, you're exposing me. It's so true though, you guys. It's so true. I used to invite you over to help me clean too whenever I had it. That was so fun. In high school, if I had to clean my room or in my apartment or whatever, if I had to organize, I'd be like, do you want to come hang out?
00:28:38
Speaker
clean. You were like, yes, dude. Those are some of my favorite texts to get from you. I mean, I love all the other ones too. But when you say, Oh, like when I have a clean day, I'd be like, I'm already there. I'm on my way. I bringing every single thing I can. Let's go. And you made it look so much better. Yeah.
00:28:55
Speaker
Oh, I don't know, but I feel like there are probably times where we're like, okay, this is good enough. I'd be like, yo, keep going. I don't even know. It was so, I'm sorry if I traumatized you at all, but I loved that. I do remember. I'd be like, I think we're done. And you were like, um.
00:29:11
Speaker
I was like, did you check behind this? I was like, have you ever actually peeled behind this wallpaper to clean it? I don't even know. That's interesting. I didn't know that you would prefer a big house because I grew up in a big house too and I remember I just hated
Inspiration from Japanese Minimalism
00:29:25
Speaker
cleaning it. I mean, yeah, I'm not a natural cleaner. I do it out of necessity, but I hated cleaning it. I hated all the hidden crevices where things could just be gathering dust.
00:29:36
Speaker
We've been getting really into traditional Japanese homes and minimalism lately. So I really like that concept of only keeping what you use, but I do like displaying art knickknacks. So there's kind of a balance to find, but I've been really into some of those homes where it's just a giant like paper room with just a floor bed in the middle of it. And that's it. I'm like, wow.
00:29:56
Speaker
that looks so nice so we've kind of been like I think in the next place we get we might try to channel a bit more of that but uh yeah just generally smaller that's fun oh I like that yeah I like a lot of aspects of like I don't research it as much as you but like I know there's a lot of like modern Japanese home styles and a lot of minimalism but especially like the ultra
00:30:16
Speaker
functional designs and appliances that I love. There's just no waste of like space or waste of anything I feel like in a lot of Japanese designs. Yeah. Yeah. And I know like I'm not quite on your level of cleanliness and organization.
00:30:31
Speaker
Like I said, always been a bit messier, but even the last few months working from home more, I have liked cleaning and organizing now more than ever because our space is so small. It feels like I'm taking care of it and this is not my favorite place I've ever lived by any means.
00:30:51
Speaker
Yeah, maybe I'll like share some of the photos of our place because I think it's cute, but it's also not my most favorite place. But still, it's like a stewarding thing for me. Like we're thankful for where we live kind of no matter what it is. So little tasks like cleaning and organizing. It's different when you move out and you're with your own, you're on your own or you're with your spouse. It's all your stuff. It's your responsibility to keep it up. And having that set in really, really helped a lot.
00:31:16
Speaker
Yeah. Ooh, I love that. That's such a good point. Like the feeling like you're stewarding it. Um, and speaking of taking care of your space, uh, we both brainstormed some specific tips that can help you maintain peace of mind and productivity, you know, while you're living in a smaller situation. So even if you're not tiny living, if you're in a regular sized home or even just a slightly smaller home, you know, these are practical tools that can help you
00:31:40
Speaker
with or help you make your home like peaceful and a more restful place. Hopefully these tips apply to everyone from homeowners to van lifers. So let's get into it. Sure. I ended up with a lot of tips, so I'll rapid fire through them as quick as I can. I know there's lots of home organization like books and documentaries, and it's been floating around for a while in the last couple of years, but we took a hard look at what we like to do as we live in these small spaces.
00:32:08
Speaker
There's hopefully there's some tidbits in here that you've never heard before for general small living. So I'll kick it off. Like I said, I shared this in the beginning, but pick the space that you value the most and spend the most time in and let that space serve you the most. For Kristin and I, that's our living room. That's where we hang out to relax. That's where we have people over. It's ideal to get every room, you know, looking the way you want it, but if you can only prioritize
00:32:34
Speaker
prioritize one, be it like the space that's most important to you, that you feel the most comfortable in and relaxing. For some people, it's their bedroom. For some people, it's the kitchen. They love cooking and that's where they unwind and relax. So deck out your kitchen if that's for you. Or when you're looking for an apartment, find one with a better kitchen, maybe a smaller bedroom or whatever that looks like.
00:32:53
Speaker
This might not be for everyone, but I value this one quite a bit. Talk with your, if you're living with a spouse or even a roommate, but typically like in your marriage, talk with who you're living with about what's important for each other. In our apartment, we don't really get our own spaces. There's no room for a man cave or, you know, a she shed or whatever people are doing. Right now, Chris and I fully share this apartment. 100% of this apartment is each other's. So yeah, so there's no space.
00:33:22
Speaker
to create separate ones, which is okay. Luckily, we get along really well and that all goes well. But honestly, you learn to share and you learn to share styles. As much as I have a style that I would love to do, I don't want to give him not a say. There's some husbands that wouldn't care and be like, yeah, you decorate it. That's fine. But again,
00:33:41
Speaker
Chris and I are both like pretty creative. We value art. So I liked having his input and how we set it up. And it felt fair to him, you know, maybe in life, we've talked about having a room where he can have like, well, both of us, I say he, but I mean, both of us can have all of our like nerdy stuff and like Lego statues and movie posters, like all the unaesthetic stuff in this cool den, while the rest of the house looks a certain way, right? Like,
00:34:04
Speaker
That's a dream we have for now. Day-to-day, you're sharing 100% of your space, so be willing to just compromise. We do have some tiny things that's just our own. I have my desk for work. When we set it up, I was like, I don't want this to become a place where we dump mail or dump random things. This has to stay clean. For him, he's got a dedicated area of our storage closet for his tools, his work supplies, and I don't organize that.
00:34:29
Speaker
He organizes that so there are like little things that are just ours It's just on a much smaller scale, but overall be willing to share and compromise
00:34:37
Speaker
This might sound obvious, but see how you can use each and every space. Try new things, try moving things around in a way you might have not thought before, because you might stumble onto something more creative. We have a really small kitchen with not a lot of counter space. We thrifted this cube shelf, so it's just a square with little cubes in it for stuff. We moved that into our kitchen to get additional storage. We display our fancy
00:35:04
Speaker
ramen bowls some glasses and stuff on that but it also became an extra counter and kind of like expanded our kitchen and made it bigger so right like we took a living room piece of furniture and moved it into the kitchen and it made our kitchen bigger so look at every single space and see places that you can get creative with it and utilize everything there's no such thing as blank empty space in a small space usually it has something
00:35:25
Speaker
that can be used. It's okay to have hobbies that'll take up space. You don't always have to be a true minimalist, but just learn how to store those pieces and treat them well. If you have printed photos, books, again, things for your hobby that you value, but you're worried they take up too much space, it's not even like you have to have them on display, but it honors the items that you have more to treat them well. Even if it's in a box and just put somewhere safely, it's better than it just being scattered around and cluttered. So the things you do own, treat them well.
00:35:56
Speaker
purge your clothing and belongings often. I touched on this but at least twice a year if not more we go through our clothes and everything and get rid of what we don't like anymore or aren't using. We plan out our decorations and artwork because we collect so much artwork it could be easy for it to get cluttered but we go section by section along our living room walls.
00:36:15
Speaker
So we kind of divide it up into different places and then decide what would fit well there. When I first moved out, I just put stuff up willy nilly as I felt and it got really cluttered and stressful very quickly. But if you kind of plan out your artwork and your knickknacks, you can make it look really fun but not cluttered.
00:36:31
Speaker
And overall, let's see, be willing to let some things go. There are just some things, if you're dreaming of a bigger space, but you're in a small one now, there are just some things that aren't really going to be. If you're a van lifer, but you dream of having a walk-in closet, you're not going to have that right now. And that's okay. You can dream for bigger and better things, but it's okay to just accept some things aren't going to happen right now.
00:36:56
Speaker
And finally, get outside. Don't be in your small space all the time. Get out into the bigger space. Winter in Canada, I go a little bonkers because it's cold outside, so I'm in here a bit more. But we still try to find other things like shopping the gym, something to get us into a bigger space.
00:37:16
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. You guys are really good about that. You have all your things that you do all the time. Like you guys go to the gym basically every day and you're really good about being intentional about that. Like even better than me. So I'm working on getting better about getting outside of my small space too. Um, okay. So let's see my small space living tips. Um, number one,
00:37:35
Speaker
This one's kind of longer but I'll try to explain it well and that's don't underestimate the power of things being hidden and how a minimalist space can make your mind feel also clear and more focused. This is why I personally this is just me but it's from trial by error and learning through my experiences.
00:37:54
Speaker
This is why I don't do any open shelving. I don't do any decorating with what I guess you'd call knickknacks and stuff, or even a lot of things in my walls in the form of pictures or stuff like that. Because when I personally live in a small space, I find more stuff makes me more stressed out. And the less stuff I have showing, even decorative stuff, the less I have showing, the more clean it looks to me. So during high stress times, I discovered this because I was
00:38:21
Speaker
Well, I'll actually explain it in a different way. So like during high stress times, this can make you and your brain feel more cluttered. So like if you work from home and you've just had this feeling forever that you just can't concentrate or you have a hard time focusing, or you feel like you spend all day cleaning, but it never actually feels clean or looks perfectly organized.
00:38:41
Speaker
then try minimizing the look of your space. Try if you can do, um, take some things down or stuff like that. Um, you know, or hide things. So like, if you have things in like clear bins or clear, like clear, um, what do you call it? Clear doors to cabinets and stuff. Yeah. Like try doing ones that you can't see through.
00:39:02
Speaker
Something as simple as that can help. If you can hide what's inside, it can make a space look more organized. And again, this is just me. And for anybody who has an issue with stuff making their brain feel cluttered, not everyone's like this. My sister is actually one of my sisters. She loves, she's a designer and she can make a space look so good and beautiful. And her style is actually similar to like you, Ayla, where she likes decorating with stuff. She likes actually having beautiful things around her.
00:39:29
Speaker
and stuff that she likes and enjoys and things that make her happy. It doesn't matter how much I like something. If it's sitting on a shelf, it bothers me. That's frustrating. I had to learn that about myself, but when I did figure that out, it felt like so many problems were lifted out of my life.
00:39:45
Speaker
figure out which kind of person you are. Are you someone who likes certain decorating styles, even if you're still figuring out what it is. But if you like stuff and you can have it around, even if you don't like how it's decorated, but you know you like it, that's great. And if you're someone who needs to have nothing around you, figure that out and fix that as soon as you can. That's a good way. All right. Then the next thing, sorry, you know, that's a great way to word it because
00:40:04
Speaker
The way you described it made me think, I was thinking like, yeah, I like stuff, but how do I like to be? And it's so funny because I actually get more distressed by an empty space. Like our room right now, I hate it because we don't have anything on the walls. It looks unfinished to me. It looks unlived in, unmoved into. So I prefer like, not everywhere. Like I don't go crazy with stuff on the walls. Open space is definitely still a good tool, but generally if I see
00:40:29
Speaker
Certain spaces like near a window that's empty. I'm like, oh I could put a painting there I get this and if I don't do any of that dad strip that is right. Oh, that's so interesting Yeah, it's so important. It's so important that you figure out which kind of person you are because neither is wrong and you can No matter if you live in a small space or a big space you can do either and so that I'm telling you right now I discovered that I started discovering around like
00:40:54
Speaker
high school and I really was able to kind of describe it and fully understand it in my own brain by the time I went to college. And it's hard because not everybody understands but I have to have an empty space. I have to. I would have like minor panic attacks when like anything else in life was going on that was stressful or school work or anything like that tests. I couldn't, I would, it was, I guess my way of getting through emotional stressors was to get rid of stuff and that's kind of when I figured out that
00:41:21
Speaker
clutter stresses me out, period, even if it's stuff that I like. Okay, next one though, moving on, I'll try to be faster through these next ones. So things that can fold, wheel around, things that have dual uses are really important. So definitely think about that. Choosing, for me again, this is me personally, choosing a color scheme. For me, it's a neutral color scheme and try not to choose too many colors in that.
00:41:43
Speaker
because if you have a small space, if you choose like 10 colors, it can all like look like 1000 colors. So for me, I choose white and then a light, natural brown color. And that's it. Those are try I try to make those like the only colors that show in my home. Again, that's an extreme version, not everybody's like that.
00:41:58
Speaker
But yeah, I think over the years studies have really proven to that caring about how your home looks isn't vain. It's not all vanity that it actually affects the chemistry of your brain and the ability to focus and be productive. And yes, even your dopamine levels. So again, figure out which one you are. If you like a decorated space with lots of stuff, do that. Well organized stuff, do that. Or if you like a minimalist space, do that. And actually kind of funny because I'm the opposite of you on this, Ayla. I actually have a storage unit.
00:42:26
Speaker
And I love them. I, again, because I have to have stuff, you know, like I need items, like there are certain items you need for your life and for your business don't fit in my home. Yeah. Yeah. I do. It is about 80% business stuff, like props and stuff like that. But even so, even before I fully had all this stuff for a business, I did have a storage unit when I lived in a dorm in college.
00:42:49
Speaker
But it was really cheap and everything, but it had like a couple furniture pieces in it and stuff like that. But anyways, so if you really need a minimalized space, it's okay to maybe get a storage unit. But again, know yourself. Know if you'd rather save that money and have a personal role for yourself. Like you do ALO where like, no, I don't want to become a hoarder and have like a storage unit and then start collecting stuff I never use. So know which kind of person you are. And then when something comes in, something goes out. That's another rule for me. So my rule.
00:43:18
Speaker
I've had this rule since college. I really enjoy thrifting and shopping in general, became my stress reliever as well in college. But I lived in a studio dorm room and clutter, like I said, made me stressed out. So my rule was however many items I brought in, I also had to get rid of that many items. So if I bought five shirts, I had to get rid of five items. It doesn't have to be of the same kind. It doesn't need to be five clothing items.
00:43:39
Speaker
but it just needs to be five items. That really helps to organize because I knew you can do your yearly purges, your seasonal purges, but this helps maintain it in the long run. Lastly, I would say narrow down what causes or exacerbates your stress and what brings you joy.
00:43:58
Speaker
really marinate on this. Seek to really discover this. Cut out or fix what causes you stress and then find ways to enhance and bring more of what causes joy into your home. Nice. I like that. I like, it goes along with that classic one that came out a couple of years ago, but like whatever sparks joy. And I know that doesn't resonate for me. Yeah, Marie Kondo. Yeah, but it really resonates for me when I'm decluttering, like
00:44:21
Speaker
Even though I like to keep certain books and stuff, when I hold it in my hand, do I feel anything? And sometimes it does come down to that you can't find yourself able to get rid of stuff. So I liked that. One tip that I forgot that I'll just throw in real quick and then we'll move on. I was going to let it go, but it's semi-important. But set a cleaning routine and stick to it daily, weekly, and monthly. I do not deep clean my house every day.
00:44:45
Speaker
You know, but there's stuff I do every day. I'm working on my bed every day. That's when that happens every day. Dishes after I'm trying for every meal, but at least at the end of the day, because I will cry if I wake up and go to a kitchen full of dishes, even if they're my own and I did it to myself. So make a bed every day, dishes done at the end of every day, and just sweeping our kitchen floor at the end of every day.
00:45:10
Speaker
because again I'll cry if I go in there and there's crumbs like whatever so like whatever stuff really bugs me every day that's what I'm doing every day weekly will be more of like okay the vacuum wiping down surfaces and then monthly is like the stuff we barely touch so daily weekly monthly
00:45:27
Speaker
Set your routine and stick to it. It doesn't have to be insane, but do a little something. It'll be so much easier than when you're suddenly in a space where you can't see your own floor. So yeah, all of those are awesome. All those were such good tips. Beth, I loved yours as far as like.
00:45:43
Speaker
kind of how much decor can play with your psychology. And there was stuff I didn't know as well that I'm curious to kind of look into in my own home. So before we get to the end, I kind of wanted to rapid fire off. I wanted to also make this episode talking about working in our small spaces.
Balancing Work and Life in Small Spaces
00:46:01
Speaker
Work from home as a topic can be a whole thing we can talk about and ways to create productivity in that.
00:46:07
Speaker
And there's all kinds of tips for that, but I mostly wanted to do, if you're someone who works from home and is in a small space or is generally working on your hobby or whatever in your small space, if it involves your work life, in your personal life, what are things that we do and some advice that we can pass on. So like that balance of home and work in your small space.
00:46:29
Speaker
Yeah, that sounds awesome. Yeah, exactly. I think you actually should just start with that because I know you have some really awesome tips for this. Sure. Yeah, I'll jump right into it. Yeah, and then you can follow right up. So I'll start with a couple. The main thing I needed when I went full time with my editing was an office. In case you're new here, I'm a private photo editor for photographers. I've been doing it for almost three years now and for the first two and a half years.
00:46:55
Speaker
I didn't have an office set up. So I was editing from the couch, which I actually did that today. So not to knock editing from the couch. Sometimes I definitely still do that. But edited from the couch, on the floor at our coffee table, from my bed, all these things. But when I went full time, I was like, I need an office. Obviously, we don't have a second bedroom yet. So we delegated just like, I'm sitting in it right now, a little corner of our apartment.
00:47:22
Speaker
And like I said, it's a place that doesn't get touched by anything else. So no mail, no clutter, no anything is allowed to touch this one because then I hate having to clean it before I start work. So anyway, I'm a big spaces person and this can apply anywhere in your work, even if you do have to edit from your couch and that's your only option. Have a space where you go to work every day.
00:47:44
Speaker
that's not the same space where you sleep. So as much fun as it would be to edit from your bed, I don't recommend it because that's your rest space. So create a workspace.
00:47:54
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a really good point. Um, my first work from home balance tip would be to start your day early. Um, but also find out what sleep pattern is just best for you. Um, that makes you feel energized throughout the day. If you need to like sleep journal, um, or journal your energy levels for about a week to figure that out, then go for it. For me, it's going to bed around 10 PM and wake up around seven to seven 30. I kind of need a lot of sleep. I wouldn't say I'm a morning or a night person because honestly, I just need a lot of sleep.
00:48:22
Speaker
My schedule's about the same. I do like 11, 11 to 7, 7.30. Yeah, I don't need to be up that early by any means, but I just, yeah, I just do. Well, I found this goes into my next tip. My next tip is doing a little bit of cleaning before starting work. So I found if I wake up just about 20, not even that much, 20, maybe 30 minutes earlier and unload the dishes from the night before or
00:48:47
Speaker
down my desk or something. If I can wake up to do a couple tasks to make sure my space is kind of reset when I start, that's been a game changer.
00:48:56
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. If you hadn't said that, that was absolutely gonna be one of my tips too. And I guess similarly on those lines, if you're your own boss at home, then be a boss and have high standards for yourself. Keep your workspace really clean and really organized. All these things we're telling you, if you're your own boss, then be a boss girl or guy and really make sure that you have high standards for yourself. That's amazing. That goes into my next tip.
00:49:22
Speaker
We're vibing. Mine, I said, definitely have a morning and night routine slash open and close. So I work to customer service for most of my working life. You open and you close. There's things you do to get started for the day. And there's things that you do to end of the day. And I've always really liked that routine. Like when I close a shop where I work, it's closed. Then I go home and work's done because I closed it. So have like, Chris and I call it the open and close shift.
00:49:51
Speaker
So I've been waking up before in the last couple of days. So I come in, turn the lights on, wash my face, change into something else. Doesn't have to be, you know, business professional, but change into clothes that I can work in. And then at the end of the day, you know, close my computer, turn my desk lamp off, like pack away all my stuff, like reset it for the next day. But there's just like, and it can look different for you. It can be a little bit of cleaning. It can be a shower. It can be a walk, whatever.
00:50:19
Speaker
But something that you do always before you start work and something you do to end work, to tell your brain we're starting, we're stopping.
00:50:27
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome. And so my next one would be ignore personal calls and texts while you're working on a work task, or just during your general work hours. If you hold office hours in your home, then set the standard for yourself to not get distracted. And it also lets your family and friends respect your job and your office hours, too. Yeah, I like that. For mine, it's, again, for the entrepreneurs, or self-employed ones in the room, try to give yourself a full weekend.
00:50:55
Speaker
I know it can be hard to try to give yourself a Saturday, Sunday. Sometimes when I, when I'm in the midst of fall wedding, busy season, I have to work on a Saturday too. And that's okay. Like I'm okay with those hours, but as much as possible, try to give yourself a full two day weekend. I even like to break it down. Like Saturday is my catch up errands cleaning day and my productive day. And then Sunday is like, I don't lift a finger, you know?
00:51:21
Speaker
Chris and I do our church. We come home and we relax because we've cleaned and set our week up for success the day before, then our next day can be rest. And that's the way I recommend doing it the most. Might not work for everyone's schedule. A lot of people might be a lot busier than I am, honestly, but that's what's been working really well for us.
00:51:39
Speaker
Okay, let's see, another one from me. This one's a little bit different. I know some people like going and working at a coffee shop or a library and nothing really against that in general, but I personally don't like doing that because it makes me get into the habit of feeling like I need to be away from my home to concentrate. So what I learned over the years for myself is that when my job centers around me needing to be home most of the time, I find it harder to work from home when I leave to work.
00:52:07
Speaker
For that, I've had to make the hard, but beneficial choice to limit where I do my work to just home. So I don't go out to like the pool and edit anymore. I don't go to libraries or even though, or coffee shops, even though I will say working in a public library, like the vibe is unmatched. I do love that and miss that sometimes. And I guess on occasion I'll do that. But yeah, I try to not let my brain think that I have to be away from my home to edit.
00:52:30
Speaker
I went through the exact same journey recently before I had an office set up and I was only editing part time but still every single day of work I drove to this shop and it was ridiculous. I drove to the other end of our city. It was like a 20-25 minute drive because the shop is great. I'll still go there right now and again but I was going there like four times a week.
00:52:50
Speaker
because yeah, I couldn't work at home. So I just went through the same thing of like having my office set up and I was like, okay, you're going to learn how to work from home. And this, that's where all these tips came from of like, I had to learn, oh, apparently I can't work when it's messy. Oh, apparently I can't work with this. So I turned my home into that. I still like to get out when I can, but yeah, you totally have to retrain your brain to be like, no, we don't have to go somewhere. You don't have to buy a coffee. You can like recreate all of that at home. And with that, yeah, like,
00:53:20
Speaker
I recreate kind of a work day the best I can. So if that's a walk, like I'm walking to work, or if that's making a coffee or tea, or even just like a fancy ice water. So I have a little beverage to have, like whatever. Sometimes it's so weird what little things kind of drive forward the work day from, and that's for me, I just do like a bunch of, a bunch of small things. And that's kind of,
00:53:41
Speaker
Basically like my last little tip is have start and end times. I know I don't always stick to this, but I have my office hours up on my website and I stick to them. I'm in my desk working by nine. Once 4pm hits, I am not. Sometimes I go outside of that for busy season. Sometimes I start earlier in the morning, but just like generally give yourself times because your brain loves routine.
00:54:02
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Um, and I have a couple more tips actually. Uh, so let's see. Um, another one is that I think it's really important to watch your eating habits. It can be really easy to kind of eat out of boredom or eat because we can, it's snack all the time when we're home, working from home to all the time. So try to make sure you still stick with regular just breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or however you're eating is and, um, try not to get to,
00:54:29
Speaker
crazy with food I definitely like went over our food budget when I first started working from home back I think it was back in California because I was just literally eating all the time and so yeah it was hard also little tip for you if you're feeling really really snacky but you feel like you shouldn't be hungry like it just doesn't make logical sense you might just need to drink water you might just be yeah because sometimes more thirsty we think we're snacky right did you have another one Ayla or do you want me to go on with my yeah no I'll throw one more in there
00:54:58
Speaker
The food one's a big deal. I have a lunch time and it's so general, but I take it at noon. Noon happens and I'm like, okay, and I take a lunch and I move away from my desk and watch a video or something, but I treat it like a break.
00:55:13
Speaker
Oh this one get out of your house again when you need when you need to especially when the weather's nice guys we just hit we just hit spring here in Canada and I just want to be outside all the time but I like to try to start outside in the morning even if it's just like a lap around our building I actually love running my errands before I start the workday
00:55:33
Speaker
So I don't always have errands but if there's a big shop day or recycling or something I need to do, I'll do that at the start of my work day at like 9am and go do those because it gets me out, it gets my blood moving and it makes me again accomplish a task. So it makes my work day start later but then I don't have errands looming over me to do at the end of the day. They've already been done. So that might be a niche one. I don't know if everyone would do that but if I have errands to run, I run them when my work day starts.
00:56:01
Speaker
Oh, no, I do that too. I love that. I just feel a lot better in every way if I've gotten out of the house first thing. So yeah, I agree with that. So let's see. I just have a couple of them more. Um, one of them is to get fully dressed in the morning, even if you aren't going anywhere. I know that it's so tempting and even I don't follow this perfectly. It's so tempting to just stay in our PJs or wear comfy clothes.
00:56:22
Speaker
but getting dressed to the nines, and I'm talking full professional outfit down to the shoes. If you do that in the morning, especially if it's a day where you feel like you don't really have a lot of motivation to get work done, if you do that, you may see that it kind of turns your day around. So don't underestimate the power of that. And then my last tip, I'll kind of finish it up with this, and it would be to sit down and think about what your dream work from home life would look like.
00:56:50
Speaker
you know, would you be waking up early and then cleaning working from 10 to three? You know, would you have your lunch break outdoors? And then would you be making food in the evening? You know, like maybe a really big like gourmet dinner every night and then reading a book and finishing off your night with like a skincare routine.
00:57:06
Speaker
or hair care routine, whatever your luxurious dream is. When you close your eyes, you think, oh, the people who work from home and have this lifestyle, I want that. If you're either transitioning into working from home or if you do now, but you're not feeling super, you have a good flow in it, envision what it would be like, write it down, think about it, and then start taking steps to reach that.
00:57:29
Speaker
make small everyday changes to your routine and your habits until your work and life flow from home looks like how you want it. Yeah, that's a great point. On my business page, I follow some of those work from home influencers. I know it's not the best content because it can bring about comparison, especially people of these gorgeous houses and you're like, what do we even do?
00:57:53
Speaker
Sometimes I find myself being drawn to the like making my cute little coffee before I start work or yeah going to the gym Midday and all this stuff that I can find really really nice and even though their life might you know quote-unquote look prettier than mine I'm like, what can I do to get that same feeling and sometimes it is like some days I just pour myself a black coffee in the morning. That's good That's all I need
00:58:13
Speaker
Let's go. Sometimes, yeah, it's like, let's make myself a fancy iced tea. Let's top it with this. And you don't have to spend a lot of money on stuff. But for me, it's like little treats throughout the day that match what rich, successful people are doing. And not in a comparison way, but just like, oh, I see that for myself. I see waking up, like what you said, I see waking up early. I see getting off and taking my dog for a walk. And not just sitting around hoping that you do that, but yeah, make the list exactly of what your goals look like. I love that.
00:58:43
Speaker
Yeah. Perfect. Well, that seems like a wrap on today's episode. We hope we get to hear some stories from you about how you work and live well in a small space. If there's anyone out there who truly lives in a van, I want to hear what your life is about. Even if you're running a smaller home with children, whatever your life looks like, if you've got any tips that we missed that we didn't get to share, go ahead and comment on our Instagram at Art of Intention podcast and shoot us an email as well. And we can also continue to benefit from your good ideas.
00:59:37
Speaker
Absolutely! Alright, see you next time! Bye!