Ep 68: The Afrominimalist with Christine Platt
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Ep 68: The Afrominimalist with Christine Platt
Episode 68: Show Notes
In this episode, I’m honored to have Christine Platt, a modern-day Renaissance woman also known as The Afrominimalist. From serving as an advocate for policy reform to using the power of storytelling as a tool for social change, she is focused on doing the work that reflects her practice of living with intention.
Her most recent book, The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less, is a radical re-envisioning of minimalism that focuses on authenticity over aesthetics. A resource for anyone seeking to discover the truth behind their overconsumption as well as how to let go of what no longer serves them, this book encourages mindful consumption, and will hopefully inspire you to fill your life with only the things that you need, use, and love. In today’s episode, we dive into Christine’s backstory, from her love for her local library as a child to becoming a single mother in law school and everything in between, and we connect the dots between her former life of excess and the intentional life of less that she lives now.
Tuning in, you’ll learn how Christine’s retail therapy problem coincided with her dissatisfaction with her job, how her decluttering journey began when she rediscovered her love for storytelling, and where her nickname, The Afrominimalist, came from.
We also touch on some of her mindful philosophies when it comes to consumption and she shares her advice for listeners struggling with excess or clutter: just pause and take the time you need to do the inner work, because that is actually the most difficult part!
Make sure not to miss this story of reinvention, reimagining, and living a life of less, with intention with advocate, storyteller, and minimalism guru, Christine Platt!
Key Points From This Episode:
Learn about Christine’s childhood and her favorite place: the West Palm Beach Public Library.
What she means when she says her family was minimalist by circumstance growing up.
How being an avid reader made Christine more imaginative and broadened her perspective.
Christine’s spiritual upbringing and the philosophy of respect her mother instilled in her.
Hear about her perception of success and happiness as a young person.
How she ensured that her intelligence was brought to the fore over her looks.
What inspired her decision to go to law school and how she became a single mom.
Her struggle to find a job as a single mom with a major in Black studies.
What it was like being one of the few Black women in energy and environmental law.
When her retail therapy problem started to kick in and she began to accumulate stuff.
Hear the story of how Christine met her ex husband and got divorced six years later.
The societal pressure that exists to stay and make it work rather than getting divorced.
How Christine’s decluttering journey began when she rediscovered her love for storytelling.
How self-publishing a book she wrote for a challenge kickstarted her career as an author.
The low point or the ‘pressure cooker moment’ that came soon after for Christine, which she says is when her trust self showed up.
Find out how she discovered that she had a knack for writing children’s stories.
What makes a great children’s book, which is the same as any other great book: authenticity.
Where the framework for living with only what you need, use, and love came from.
Where Christine’s nickname, The Afrominimalist came from, and how to live with intention.
The limiting connotations of the word ‘minimalism’; why it’s mindset and not an aesthetic.
Some benefits Christine has received from minimalism, including the time she got back.
Why she says that minimalism is the gateway to living with intention.
Hear her shopping mantras; ‘it’s not a deal if you don’t need it’ and ‘the why behind the buy’.
Christine’s advice for those struggling with excess or clutter: pause and give yourself time to do the difficult inner work.
How deep rooted many of our behaviors and habits of consumption are in our psychology.
Why Christine says that reinvention is one of the best gifts you are given; reinvent yourself!
Hear about Christine’s philosophy of being a growing woman, not a grown woman.
How she thinks about success now: helping people and doing what she loves.
Tweetables:
“I had more perspectives, even though they weren’t my lived experiences. I had more perspectives because I’d experience all these different lives on the pages of books.” — @christineaplatt [0:11:54]
“That is when my spending really started kicking in, because I had the resources. It was a way for me to escape reality and ecommerce was just starting, so I could order things online and have it delivered to the firm.” — @christineaplatt [0:32:25]
“I had not thought about what I wanted and needed for myself as a woman, only what I wanted and needed for myself as a mother.” — @christineaplatt [0:36:30]
“Those pressure cooker moments, that is often where the magic is. That is where our truth, our intentions, our authenticity, our truest selves show up.” — @christineaplatt [0:49:31]
“What makes a good children’s book is what makes any book a good book, which is authenticity.” — @christineaplatt [0:56:20]
“[The word ‘minimalist'] evokes a certain image, a certain aesthetic. It evokes feelings of scarcity and lack. I tell people, ‘Don’t be a minimalist. Can you live with more intention? Can you be a more mindful consumer? Can you live with less?’” — @christineaplatt [0:59:46]
“There are so many ways that you can declutter, but unless you get to the root causes of your overconsumption, you’re just going to keep decluttering because you don’t understand why you overconsume. You don’t understand why it’s so hard to let go.” — @christineaplatt [1:03:03]
“Reinvention is one of the best gifts that we have. We have the choice to reinvent ourselves as many times and as often as we need to. Why don’t we do it more often?” — @christineaplatt [1:18:04]
“Minimalism was this barren space. When we have these opportunities to redefine some of these terms and lifestyles and ideals, and reimagine them for ourselves, it’s so powerful.” — @christineaplatt [1:25:46]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less