the tortoise & the hare

Latest Episodes:

Decluttering #5 Oct 30, 2016

Show notes

Today marks the final day of the October Slow Home Experiment of daily decluttering, and the big question is - how did they go after last week?

Brooke and Ben talk about their final efforts, what clutter they let go of and whether they made the #minsgame total of 497 items each.

They also talk about the upcoming November experiment of playfulness, and why they decided to go with something that felt a lot less like work.

Enjoy!

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to Live a Good Life with Jonathan Fields Oct 26, 2016

Show notes

This week's episode is such a treat, as Brooke sits down with Jonathan Fields - founder and host of The Good Life Project, author, father, life-long learner and all-round wonderful human.

Brooke and Jonathan talk about what it means to live a good life, why the power of choice is a game-changer in how we choose to spend our days, and the hugely traumatic event that led Jonathan to question his definition of 'a good life'.

They also chat about the delicious irony of advocating a slower, simpler way of life when in the midst of a busy season (Jonathan is in the midst of launching his new book and all the work that entails) but also why it's not necessarily a bad thing to experience the busy-ness some times.

Jonathan explains the difference between mindful living and practicing mindfulness, and has some incredibly practical tips on using technology to live more intentionally - flipping on its head the idea that technology is only good for distraction and faux-connection.

Such a wide-ranging and beautiful conversation, that is certain to leave you feeling inspired and motivated to continue the quest for your own version of a 'good life'.

Head over to the blog for links to Jonathan's manifesto, his new book and The Good Life Project.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Decluttering #4 Oct 23, 2016

Show notes

This month’s Slow Home Experiment is proving to be quite the emotional roller coaster for Ben and Brooke! After a strong start and a shaky Week 2, last week felt good, while this past week has been a real stretch.

Brooke tries to talk Ben down from his decluttering-related tantrum while remaining stoically upbeat, but even she has to admit this week has been tough.

It’s also important to Brooke that this doesn’t become a different kind of obsession with stuff (the letting go as opposed to the holding on) as Ben shares the fact that he’s actually feeling unpleasantly obsessed with decluttering at the moment.

It’s not all bad news though, as they have some big areas to tackle during the final week of the experiment (and Ben has some “Trump decluttering” to do) which will offer up clutter they haven’t considered yet, but it’s certainly going to be an interesting time as they try to make the total of 500 items by October 31.

Head over to the blog for a full run down of the week’s efforts and a hilarious journey through the month so far (in gif form!)

Enjoy!

It’s never too late to join in on this month’s experiment, so feel free to tag your social media posts with both #minsgame and #slowhomeexperiment and play along.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grow Just One Thing with Kyrstie Barcak Oct 19, 2016

Show notes

Brooke chats with the wonderful Kyrstie Barcak - a passionate gardener and educator - about the slow living benefits of growing even one edible plant, and why her personal goal is to see every home growing one thing they can incorporate in to their cooking.

Kyrstie and Brooke talk about information overwhelm, garden comparisons, time and the steep learning curve of growing your own food, and why starting small is the best way to slowly find a level that works for you. Brooke talks about her own experiences with gardening, and how, even though she didn’t realise it at the time, it was actually a practice in mindfulness which helped her recover from post natal depression.

Kyrstie also has some great advice for people who want to grow just one thing but don’t know where to start - including some suggestions for hard-to-kill starter plants and her never fail tips on caring for your plant once you’ve got it in the ground.

Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/112 for links to the awesome resources mentioned in today’s episode, as well as links to Kyrstie’s blog and book.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Decluttering #3 Oct 16, 2016

Show notes

In last week’s episode Ben and Brooke spoke about how tough they’d been finding this month’s decluttering experiment, and how they’d gone from confident to concerned in the space of a few days. This week sees them back in confident mode after a significant shift in their attitude towards their stuff.

Brooke realised she’d been making a lot of assumptions about the things they’d held on to over the years, but as she started viewing their stuff with a more dispassionate eye this week, it became clear that they really were just assumptions and there was a lot they could let go of.

They also talk about the areas they decluttered this week, Ben talks about his trump card for the final few days of the experiment, and the absolute glut of clutter they uncovered in the office.

Head over to the blog for photos of everything they let go of this week, as well as links to some relevant decluttering posts.

This month is already proving to be a really fun experiment that lots of you are joining in on, so please feel free to play along (it’s never too late to start!) and tag your social media posts with both #minsgame and #slowhomeexperiment.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How slow living can save you… in a zombie apocalypse Oct 12, 2016

Show notes

In last week’s hostful, Brooke and Ben answered some excellent listener questions about birthday presents, advice for their 20-year-old selves, and how they manage to balance home duties while also working from home. But the question that got the most feedback was one about zombies.

As big fans of The Walking Dead and other zombie/apocalyptic TV and movies, Brooke and Ben had a lot of fun briefly discussing their chances of survival in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, as well as establishing which weapons they’d be most likely to pick up if the undead came for them.

But it also got them thinking about the different ways slow living could actually impact your ability to survive (and perhaps even thrive?) in the apocalypse, and in a discussion over on Facebook earlier this week, a lot of people weighed in on the question: “What is it about slow living that would prepare you for a zombie apocalypse?”

So here it is - a possibly-slightly-ridiculous but-very-well-researched episode that addresses the incredibly serious issue of how slow living could save your life if ever you find yourself living through a zombie apocalypse.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Decluttering #2 - The Slow Home Experiment Oct 09, 2016

Show notes

Brooke was feeling quite optimistic at the beginning of this month’s decluttering experiment, certain she could find 500 items to let go of between the beginning and end of October… Turns out she might have been a tad over-confident.

Ben and Brooke talk through the past week and their efforts in continuing the Slow Home Experiment, and while so far so good, they’re both concerned at what the latter part of the month will look like.

It’s proving more difficult than expected for two reasons. Firstly, they don’t have as much stuff to let go of as they used to, and secondly is the stop-start nature of the experiment. Needing to shift in to a daily practice of letting go is proving a challenge, but definitely a positive one that will see both Brooke and Ben let go of sticky, sentimental or invisible clutter as the month goes on.

For links and resources mentioned in today’s episode head over to the blog http://www.slowyourhome.com/109.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Birthday Parties and the Zombie Apocalypse Oct 05, 2016

Show notes

Today is another hostful episode and Brooke and Ben try their best to answer some cracking good questions. Including:

I'm a 20 year old university student and a big advocate of slow living, but I feel like a lot of the content out there is targeted towards a different age group. What advice would you give to your 20 year old selves regarding slow living and what would you have done differently at that age if you'd been introduced to this idea sooner?
Can you talk about school holidays and your thoughts on structured activities for your kids versus encouraging them to find their own fun?
How do you navigate birthday parties? With sport friends, school friends, parent friends with their kids .... it can turn into a party every weekend! Kids love parties and being invited so much so that I think saying a flat out 'no' is almost cruel. And if you go and celebrate one child's birthday, then isn't it nasty to say no to another child? I’d also love to hear your thoughts on actually hosting a party and the gifts and the lolly bags etc.
I am working from home and find myself distracted by laundry and dishes...I'd love to hear details about how you get work done. Specifically, your daily rhythm, how you set boundaries around work/home management etc.
If the world were presented with a zombie apocalypse, do you think it would still be necessary to live a slow life? How well do you suppose you both might fare in that situation?

Turns out Brooke has some very real thoughts about birthday parties and zombies (not necessarily together) and Ben has some really excellent insights into how he breaks his work days in to chunks that allow him to get a lot of work done without getting overwhelmed or becoming distracted.

For resources and links mentioned in today’s episode, head over to the blog.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes: or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Decluttering #1 - The Slow Home Experiment Oct 02, 2016

Show notes

It's the beginning of a new month, which means the start of a new Slow Home Experiment. In today's episode Brooke and Ben talk about their decluttering experiment, why they wanted to go back to their simple living roots, and the rules of the #minsgame they're following this month, as a motivator to let go of some of the clutter that's crept in over the past year.

Essentially though, they're letting go of clutter every day. October 1, they each let go of one thing. October 2, two things. October 3, three things, and so on, all the way to the end of the month. Ben does some impressive arithmetic to work out how many items that is, but suffice to say, it's going to be a challenge!

Both Brooke and Ben talk through their first three days worth of clutter, the strange emotional attachment we form with things - particulalrly when they're tied to important moments in life - and the freedom and lightness that comes with letting go.

Brooke talks about the importance of simplifying and the impact decluttering the family home had on her recovery from post-natal depression, as well as the massive ongoing benefits that letting go of the excess has provided over the past few years.

For links and resources mentioned in today’s episode head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/107

It's going to be a really fun experiment that anyone can join in on, so please feel free to play along, and tag your social media posts with both #minsgame and #slowhomeexperiment.

In the meantime, have a cracking week! Enjoy!

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/slow-home-podcast-brooke-mcalary/id985005895?mt=2 or head over to the Patreon page www.patreon.com/slow to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Conscious Capitalism with Carolyn Tate Sep 28, 2016

Show notes

Last week you heard the first part of Brooke’s chat with Carolyn Tate - founder of The Slow School of Business and founding member of Conscious Capitalism Australia - and today she returns for Part 2!

In this episode they go deep into the issue of hyper-consumerism and whether Carolyn feels a sense of ownership of it - considering her background as a marketer. This leads into a really interesting conversation on conscious consumption, what it looks like and how to know if a brand we’re supporting really is ethical, as well as the important accompaniment to conscious consumption, which is conscious capitalism.

Brooke and Carolyn also share a whole heap of resources so head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/106 for all the links.

Enjoy!

====

If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes: (https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/slow-home-podcast-brooke-mcalary/id985005895?mt=2) or head over to the Patreon page (www.patreon.com/slow) to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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