In honor of Halloween, we’re sharing a genuinely spooky occurrence at our beach house that baffled us for months (even I, usually a skeptic, found myself asking, “How did that just happen?”). We also chat with author Miranda Anderson about how her family committed to a yearlong shopping ban and how that choice cultivated more gratitude, patience, and a spirit of adventure for everyone. Plus, an update on our bathroom renovation—things are getting real (and messy!)—and a tool that’s been essential to keeping our sanity through the process.
You can also find this episode on your favorite podcast app, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, and Spotify.
What’s New
- Here’s a peek at the current state of our bathroom after the demo we completed this week so the professional plumbers and electricians we hired could do their work on Thursday and Friday.
- Everything went remarkably smoothly, so now the focus is on rebuilding. The next step is prepping the floors and shower walls for tile.
- If you’re curious about acting as your own general contractor, there are useful resources that explain what that role involves versus hiring a contractor to oversee the entire project.
- We’ve also covered working with contractors on the podcast: advice for selecting a contractor (Episode #68), tips from contractors themselves for a successful relationship (Episode #104), and guidance on navigating estimates and bids (Episode #109).
Our Haunted Room?
- This photo shows the middle bedroom at the beach house during a recent makeover—not the summer moment when we experienced the “haunting.” You can spot the attic access door on the ceiling near the top of the image.
- We’ll share more about installing the board and batten treatment in this room later this week, with a blog post full of photos and how-to details.
Miranda Anderson, More Than Enough
- To learn more from our guest, visit Miranda’s website or find her on Instagram at @livefreemiranda.
- Her book, More Than Enough, explores her family’s year of “practical minimalism,” including why they tried it, the challenges they faced, and the lessons they learned.
- Miranda offers a 5-week “Live Free From Clutter” e-course; she sometimes shares a discount code for listeners and limits enrollment, so keep an eye out for the next session.
- Miranda also hosts the weekly Live Free Creative podcast, which covers topics from family and money to home life and marriage. If you’d like to explore topics we discussed on the episode, check out some of her shows that dive into having enough money, optimism, decluttering beyond KonMari, home renovation basics, coping when things go wrong, and the prologue/introduction to More Than Enough.
- We referenced a few of our older episodes in our chat with Miranda, including a conversation with Cait Flanders about her Year of Less (Episode #96) and Myquillyn Smith’s idea of becoming “stuff managers” (Episode #116).
We’re Digging
- My wet/dry vac is a few years old but has been indispensable for big jobs like cleaning up the bathroom demo area. For smaller or more portable tasks, there are compact models that reviewers recommend for convenience and car cleaning.
- We’ve been listening to the podcast The Clearing and shared its trailer below.
If you’re trying to find something we mentioned on a past episode but don’t remember which show notes to open, we keep a master list of everything we’ve been digging across past episodes. You can also view all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
Finally, a big thank-you to Social Print Studio for sponsoring this episode. Use code YHL15 for 15% off your next order.
Thanks for listening!
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