Wannabe Clutter Free | Declutter, Simplify, Find Freedom
- Episódios
- 335
- Publicação
- semanal
- Último episódio
- 11 nov 2026
Sobre o podcast
Ready to finally calm the overwhelm and create a home and life you actually enjoy? The Wannabe Clutter Free podcast is here to help you clear the clutter, simplify your routines, and find freedom in the life you’re building. I’m Deanna Yates, a busy mom who knows what it’s like to juggle family, career, and the never-ending piles of stuff. From selling 80% of what we owned to travel with our toddler, to managing the daily chaos of running a home with a school-aged kid, I’ve learned that living with less isn’t about deprivation. It’s about creating more space, more peace, and more joy. Each week, I share real-life stories, simple decluttering strategies, and mindset shifts that make it easier to let go of what’s weighing you down. You’ll also hear from inspiring guests who share practical tips and fresh perspectives on minimalism, home organization, intentional living, and building habits that last. If you’re tired of feeling buried in clutter and crave a home that feels calm, welcoming, and easy to manage, this show is for you. It’s not about perfection. It’s about progress, freedom, and finding space for what truly matters to you.
Episódios 335
What a 10 Minute Tidy Can Actually Do (Ep 335)
Does 10 minutes really work when your whole house is a disaster? This week I'm trying something new and answering your questions about 10-minute tidying.In this episode:What my home looked like before, with …
Notas do episódio
Does 10 minutes really work when your whole house is a disaster? This week I'm trying something new and answering your questions about 10-minute tidying.
In this episode:
- What my home looked like before, with weekend marathon cleaning sessions
- Why I really do want you to stop when the timer goes off
- How I clean a bathroom in two 10-minute chores
- Why a 30-minute Mighty Tidy beats a whole weekend of decluttering
- The leaky boat, and why decluttering doesn't stick
- Tidying when you're exhausted, working full time or raising toddlers and teens
- Why I built Sm'ores, the small chores dealt out like cards
- What 10 minutes a night adds up to (about 5 hours a month)
- The one thing to do tonight
Want the reminder and the timer done for you? Try Tindy free at https://tindy.app
Have a question I didn't answer? Email me at [email protected].
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/335
Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyHow to Get Your Family to Tidy Without Nagging (Ep 334)
Are you the only one in your house who notices the mess, and the only one who asks for help cleaning it up?In this episode, I'm sharing how I stopped feeling like the nag in my own home. My family is great and …
Notas do episódio
Are you the only one in your house who notices the mess, and the only one who asks for help cleaning it up?
In this episode, I'm sharing how I stopped feeling like the nag in my own home. My family is great and happy to help. The hard part was carrying the remembering and the asking every single night. After our unexpected move into a much bigger house this summer, I knew something had to change.
In this episode:
- Why the person who notices the mess ends up doing the work
- Wanting someone to parent me, and why handing off the reminder helps so much
- Why 10 minutes works better than 5 (hello, underpromise and overdeliver)
- How a nightly tidy turned us into a team against the house
- The night we finished in 4 minutes and 38 seconds
- 3 steps to hand off the nightly reset, starting tonight
Tonight's homework: pick your reset spots, set a 10-minute timer and ask your family to join you for just 10 minutes.
Want the reminder and timer done for you? Try Tindy free at tindy.app. You'll also get every episode of this show ad-free inside the app. The price goes up on November 10, so this is the week to try it.
Resources Mentioned: Tindy.app
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe Decluttering Method I Gave Up On After 6 Weeks & 42 Boxes (Ep 333)
Six weeks ago Deanna said she was doing a Packing Party. Everything stays in boxes, you only take out what you need.She quit.In this episode she gives you the real numbers, walks you through the entire …
Notas do episódio
Six weeks ago Deanna said she was doing a Packing Party. Everything stays in boxes, you only take out what you need.
She quit.
In this episode she gives you the real numbers, walks you through the entire declutter pile, and tells you the part she didn't see coming: she and one of her family members traded methods without ever discussing it.
The numbers: 42 boxes and bins unpacked. Six still packed. One of them hasn't been opened since moving day and won't be for six months.
What she was actually after: margin. Open space on purpose in every drawer, on every shelf, on every flat surface. A drawer with margin still has your things in it. There's just air around them. Start at 5% if you have to.
Margin in your calendar, your budget, and your brain too.
Also in this episode: why she's keeping four rolls of Scotch tape on purpose, the 16 IKEA mirrors that never got hung in two different garages, a listener tip about electronics recycling, and an honest conversation about the hardest room in her house and the mom guilt underneath it.
Your challenge: Pick one drawer. Take out enough that you can see space around your objects. Close it. Open it tomorrow and notice how it feels.
Mentioned: Tindy at tindy.app, Dana K. White's container concept, Dawn at The Minimal Mom on margin.
Coming this week on YouTube: Deanna empties her pause box on camera, item by item. @wannabeclutterfree
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/333
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyTiny Steps Out of Brutal Mom Burnout with Megan Caldwell (Ep 332)
Do you feel exhausted and overwhelmed, even when everything looks fine on the outside? Your home might be feeling it too.Megan Caldwell is a mom of three, a two-time burnout survivor, and the creator of the …
Notas do episódio
Do you feel exhausted and overwhelmed, even when everything looks fine on the outside? Your home might be feeling it too.
Megan Caldwell is a mom of three, a two-time burnout survivor, and the creator of the ROCKSTAR Mom Method. She joins me to talk about why balance is BS, why moms need to put themselves first, and how the tiniest actions lead to real, lasting change in your life and your home.
In this episode, we talk about:
- How clutter and burnout feed each other
- Why Megan wants moms to put themselves first
- Why balance is BS, and why alignment and harmony work better
- What losing 98% of her belongings in a house fire taught her about calm
- Her three phases of change: awareness, decide, practice
- Minimal viable actions, the smallest steps that build momentum
- What clutter free means to Megan
Your minimal viable action for your home: a 10-minute tidy tonight. Tindy gives you a nightly 10-minute Lightning Tidy with a timer and streaks. Try it free: https://tindy.app
The ROCKSTAR Mom Summit starts Tuesday, October 27, and it's free. I'm one of the speakers! Grab your free ticket: https://wannabeclutterfree.com/rockstar
Connect with Megan
- Website: https://megancaldwellpdx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megancaldwellpdx/
- The ROCKSTAR Mom podcast: https://therockstarmom.buzzsprout.com/
Connect with Deanna
- Full show notes: https://wannabeclutterfree.com/332
- Tindy app: https://tindy.app
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wannabeclutterfree/
Thanks to our sponsors:
- Check out 1-800-GOT-JUNK and use my code 1800gotjunk.com for a great deal: https://www.1800gotjunk.com
- Check out BetterHelp and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyOctober Holiday Prep: 4 Ways to Make December Feel Calm (Ep 331)
Boo. It's October.Thanksgiving is only six weeks away. Christmas is only ten.Deanna shares the four things she's doing right now so December feels calm, cozy, and intentional instead of frantic. This is her …
Notas do episódio
Boo. It's October.
Thanksgiving is only six weeks away. Christmas is only ten.
Deanna shares the four things she's doing right now so December feels calm, cozy, and intentional instead of frantic. This is her family's first holiday in a brand new house, and her goal is to buy as little as possible.
1. Decisions before decor. Decide how you want your home to feel, then ask what the minimum is to get there. Most of what makes a home cozy is already in it. Plus: why holiday decor should leave your house by the end of October, while a thrift store can still sell it and someone else can still use it.
2. Create your holiday zones. A spot for incoming packages and hidden gifts. A surface for wrapping, crafting, and card writing. Clear counters for baking. And a dining table that isn't buried when people show up.
3. Start the gift conversations. Declutter outgrown toys before new ones arrive, why Thanksgiving is better timing than Christmas for moving them out, and the mindset shift that frees you from gift guilt. Also: how Deanna's family uses a Secret Santa exchange, and why experience gifts are her favorite workaround.
4. Calendar the season now. In pencil. Including asking everyone in your house for their top three must-dos, so you stop doing the things nobody actually enjoys.
Your challenge this week: Spend 30 minutes with your decoration bins. If that's too much, set a timer for ten and open one box. Then come tell Deanna what you found on Instagram @wannabeclutterfree.
These tips aren't specific to any religion. December is a full month for everyone.
Resources Mentioned:
- Clutter Free Holiday Blueprint: https://www.wannabeclutterfree.com/clutter-free-holiday-blueprint
- Try the Tindy App
- Check out 1-800-GOT-JUNK and use my code 1800gotjunk.com for a great deal: https://www.1800gotjunk.com
- Check out BetterHelp and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe 4 Jobs We Call "Cleaning" and Why That's the Problem (Ep 330)
Deanna moved from a 1969 single level house into a home with a second floor and three full bathrooms. Standing in the new kitchen, her first thought wasn't "look at all this space." It was "how am I going to …
Notas do episódio
Deanna moved from a 1969 single level house into a home with a second floor and three full bathrooms. Standing in the new kitchen, her first thought wasn't "look at all this space." It was "how am I going to keep up with all of this?"
After a few days she realized she wasn't behind on anything. She had been treating four completely different jobs like one job.
The four jobs:
- Decluttering is deciding what leaves. All decisions, and it takes your whole brain.
- Tidying is putting things back where they already live. No decisions at all.
- Cleaning is dirt. It has nothing to do with how much you own.
- Organizing is deciding where things live. Zones and containers, and it does not have to be pretty.
Three ways mixing them up backfires: you start cleaning the kitchen and end up frozen over a mug. You buy bins before decluttering and end up with organized clutter. You tidy every single night and it never holds, because tidying can't fix a decluttering problem.
You are not bad at this. When you don't name the job, your brain picks for you, and it usually picks the hardest one.
Also in this episode: how to look at a room and diagnose which job it needs, how Deanna's family splits 21 ten-minute cleaning tasks across the week so it doesn't all fall on her, why she's treating her moving boxes like drawers, and the app she had her husband build so the reminders don't live in her head.
Your challenge: Say out loud which job you're doing before you start. Set a timer to match. Ten minutes to tidy, 30 to declutter. If you switch jobs mid-task, put the mug down and finish what you started.
Mentioned: Tindy at tindy.app (Lightning Tidy, Mighty Tidy, and the new Sm'ores), Dana K. White's container concept, episode 329.
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/330
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe 3 House Rules I'm Setting Before This House Fills Up (Ep 329)
Two weeks into a new house, Deanna is still living out of boxes on purpose.She's running a Packing Party, and while she unpacks, she's doing something that matters more than where the dishes go. She's deciding …
Notas do episódio
Two weeks into a new house, Deanna is still living out of boxes on purpose.
She's running a Packing Party, and while she unpacks, she's doing something that matters more than where the dishes go. She's deciding how this house will work before it fills up.
After 17 moves, she knows a house decides how it works in the first few weeks whether you're paying attention or not. So this episode is the three house rules she's putting in place, all built on one framework: if this, then that.
A real rule has two parts. A trigger you'll actually notice, and one action. "Be tidier" isn't a rule. It's a wish with a stern voice.
Rule 1, for the no: If you pick something up and know you don't want it, it goes straight into the donation bin. No setting it back down and deciding all over again next week.
Rule 2, for the surfaces: If you have a flat surface, put a container on it. A tray, a bowl, a basket. The surface isn't the problem. A surface with no boundary is the problem.
Rule 3, for the maybe: If you hesitate, it goes in the Pause Box, with a date on it. One to three months. And check the box before you buy anything new so you don't rebuy what you already own.
Also in this episode: why willpower fails exactly when you need it, why your cluttered house is a decision problem and not a caring problem, where Deanna's donation bins live while they unpack, the console tray, the entry bin, the fruit bowl, and how house hunting got her family on board with clear surfaces.
Your challenge this week: Pick one to three rules. Write them as if this, then that. Say them out loud at dinner tonight and let everyone add one.
Then come tell Deanna your house rules on Instagram @wannabeclutterfree.
Packing Party results coming at the end of October.
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/329
[Next week: decluttering, tidying, cleaning, and organizing are four different jobs]
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyMy Family Is Running a Decluttering Experiment (Ep 328)
Five nights into a brand new house, Deanna is recording from a room full of boxes.The furniture is up. A few kitchen things are out. Everything else is still packed. And all three members of her family are …
Notas do episódio
Five nights into a brand new house, Deanna is recording from a room full of boxes.
The furniture is up. A few kitchen things are out. Everything else is still packed. And all three members of her family are about to unpack in completely different ways.
In this episode:
- Method 1: The Packing Party (Deanna's). From Ryan Nicodemus of The Minimalists. Whatever is still in a box stays there until she reaches for it. She's giving it one month.
- Method 2: The Traditional Way (her husband's). Open the box, decide on every item, finish it, move on.
- Method 3: The Pause (her daughter's). Unpack what you love now, put the maybes in a box, and revisit them at the end of November.
Also in this episode: why moving feels so heavy even when you own less than most people, how Deanna searched every box she owns in about an hour, the sentimental things that earn their place without being useful, and why she and her husband are ready to pare down even further.
Your challenge this week: Pick the method that sounds most like you and try it on one space. Packing Party: box up a category and only take out what you need for two weeks. Traditional: empty one drawer and decide on every item. The Pause: put away what you love, box up the maybes, and date the box.
Then come tell Deanna which one you picked on Instagram @wannabeclutterfree.
Results episode coming in about a month.
Mentioned:
- Tindy, the nightly 10-minute reset app, at tindy.app
- Check out 1-800-GOT-JUNK and use my code 1800gotjunk.com for a great deal: https://www.1800gotjunk.com
- Check out Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.com
- Check out BetterHelp and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/328
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe Clutter Wasn't in My House (Ep 327)
Deanna Yates thought the hardest part of moving would be the packing.It wasn't.Nine weeks ago, her landlord told her family she was selling the house they had rented for almost five years. It was the longest …
Notas do episódio
Deanna Yates thought the hardest part of moving would be the packing.
It wasn't.
Nine weeks ago, her landlord told her family she was selling the house they had rented for almost five years. It was the longest they had lived anywhere, and everyday there felt like winning the lottery. Now they're packing up the whole house in less than a week.
In this solo episode, Deanna shares six mindset shifts from one of the hardest seasons her family has had in a long time. Not one of them is about her closet.
In this episode:
- Shift 1: It's never really about the stuff. Why her uneasiness came from feeling out of control
- Shift 2: Same reach, different bag. How the donation bag and the Add to Cart button come from the same place
- Shift 3: You can't declutter a feeling. What a waiting season teaches someone who likes to take action
- Shift 4: "Just in case" is just fear. The crowded Labor Day showing that flipped her into scarcity mode
- Shift 5: Stop chasing, start trusting. The late-night Zillow message that turned into keys four days later
- Shift 6: Clutter free starts in your head. Let go, create space, release your grip
Plus the question her family is asking about every item they pack.
Try this week: Pick one drawer. Pull everything out. For each item, ask: would I unpack this?
Mentioned in this episode:
Tindy, the 10-minute nightly tidy app: tindy.app
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/327
Instagram: @wannabeclutterfree
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThis Japanese Concept Changed How I See Clutter with Amy Nesbitt (Ep 326)
My clutter threshold broke this year.I am a decluttering expert. Our house is not cluttered. And I still hit a wall, because we are in the middle of an unplanned move, my husband had back surgery, and I am 46 …
Notas do episódio
My clutter threshold broke this year.
I am a decluttering expert. Our house is not cluttered. And I still hit a wall, because we are in the middle of an unplanned move, my husband had back surgery, and I am 46 and doing most of the lifting myself.
That is the exact season I was in when Amy Nesbitt came back on the show, and I am so glad she did.
Amy is a full time corporate working mom of two boys, the creator of the This Japanese American Life YouTube channel, and the host of the Whole Wellness Mamas Summit, now in its fourth year. She is also the person who got me into summits in the first place.
This year she built the summit around four Japanese concepts, and they reframed how I am thinking about my own home.
In this episode:
- Why the popular Venn diagram version of Ikigai misses the point, and what it actually means
- Ma, the concept of intentional empty space, explained through the pause in a song
- Why your empty counter is not wasted space, and why we fight so hard to fill it
- The two minutes you sit in your car before walking in the door, and why that counts
- Kaizen, and why going smaller than feels impressive is the thing that actually sticks
- Kintsugi, the art of gold in the cracks, and why your hardest chapters are not the ones to hide
- How to bring your family into something without becoming the household nag
- Amy's answer for how she does it all, which starts with four words: it does not have to be you
Amy and I are both speaking at the Whole Wellness Mamas Summit, September 14 through 17. It is completely free, completely virtual, and you can watch in whatever you slept in. My session is How to Face the Challenge of Midlife Decluttering, which I am currently living in real time.
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/326
Find Amy: Instagram and TikTok: @wholewellnessmamas YouTube: This Japanese American Life Books: AmyNsReads
Find me: Instagram: @wannabeclutterfree Website: wannabeclutterfree.com
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyHow "Would I Unpack This?" Changes Decluttering Forever (Ep 325)
You will get rid of more in two weeks of packing than in five years of living in the same house.Not because you tried harder. Because the rules changed.Deanna Yates has moved 16 times as an adult, and number 17 …
Notas do episódio
You will get rid of more in two weeks of packing than in five years of living in the same house.
Not because you tried harder. Because the rules changed.
Deanna Yates has moved 16 times as an adult, and number 17 is happening right now, unplanned and unwanted. In this episode she breaks down exactly what moving does to your brain, and how to steal that effect without touching a single roll of packing tape.
On a normal day, everything you own is already in your home. Every item has a spot. So when you try to declutter, each thing has to argue its way OUT, and if you cannot find a good reason, it stays. That is why decluttering feels like a fight. It is why so many decisions end with "well, I have room for it."
When you move, everything comes out. And now every item has to argue its way back IN.
Same stuff. Same you. Opposite default.
Deanna hands you the one question that flips it: Would I unpack this?
In this episode:
- The real reason moving makes you ruthless (it is not motivation)
- Why "I have room for it" is the sentence that kills most decluttering sessions
- How to use the unpack question on your kid's artwork without feeling like a bad mom
- What that box you never opened from your last move is actually telling you
- Why show ready and move-in ready are not the same thing, and which one you deserve
- The five minute photo exercise that will show you exactly what feels off in a room
Plus, Deanna is taking a small group through her move-in method in real time as she packs up her own home. Six years of helping families declutter, a background in property management, and 17 moves worth of lessons. Waitlist link below.
You do not have to move to declutter like you are moving.
Homework this week: Stand in the doorway of one room. Take a wide angle photo like it is a real estate listing. Then look at it the way you would scroll past it on Zillow. It will click.
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/325 Join the move-in method waitlist: https://www.wannabeclutterfree.com/move-in-waitlist Come say hi on Instagram: @wannabeclutterfree
Next week: Amy Nesbitt on wellness, energy, and how to be a whole mom when your time is completely constrained.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy5 Ways to Donate Smarter Without Fueling the Landfill (Ep 324)
If you're decluttering the chances are that there is a bag in your trunk right now, isn't there?You did the hard part. You went through the closet, you made a hundred decisions in a row, you got everything …
Notas do episódio
If you're decluttering the chances are that there is a bag in your trunk right now, isn't there?
You did the hard part. You went through the closet, you made a hundred decisions in a row, you got everything bagged up and loaded in the car. And then you drove past the donation center. Twice.
The problem is that there are two decisions inside every declutter, and almost nobody warns you about the second one.
In Episode 324, Deanna is answering this question in real time. Her house is selling, her family is moving, and she is decluttering 500 items right now while her husband recovers from back surgery. Some of it is going to Buy Nothing. Some of it is going on Vinted. Some of it is going in the trash. None of it is happening perfectly, but it is happening.
She is also going to tell you the truth about where donated items actually end up, because she thinks you can handle it, and because knowing is going to make you feel better instead of worse.
In this episode:
- The two decisions inside every declutter, and which one stalls you out
- What percentage of your donations actually make it onto a thrift store shelf
- Where the rest of it goes, including the millions of garments that arrive regularly in Ghana
- How to tell in 30 seconds whether a parking lot donation bin belongs to a real charity
- The 1938 labor law behind the unease people feel about big box thrift chains, and how to research your own local one in two minutes
- Why the guilt you are carrying is not keeping a single item out of a landfill
- The donation Deanna found while volunteering that made her want to throw her hands up
- Five places your decluttered stuff can go, ranked in the order you should try them
- The new Target Textile Drop Spot that takes stained and torn clothing in every California store
- Where to send shoes, makeup empties, electronics, and batteries
- Full permission to throw away actual garbage
- Why we need a lot of people doing this imperfectly instead of a few people doing it perfectly
FREE RESOURCE:
- The Guilt-Free Exit Plan One page that tells you where anything goes, a short vetted list instead of forty links, and the 30 second donation bin check. Comment the word TRUNK on Instagram to get it, or grab it here.
LEARN MORE
- Show notes and free resource: wannabeclutterfree.com/324
- The 19 for $19 Ultimate Decluttering Bundle: wannabeclutterfree.com
- Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.
CONNECT
- Instagram: @wannabeclutterfree
LISTEN
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wannabe-clutter-free-declutter-simplify-find-freedom/id1485473251
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1ATUIVONi0kyoVUKOQV4OT?si=f555de5388164b10
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wannabeclutterfree
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe 12 Minute Method That Quiets Any Room with Myquillyn Smith
Your house isn't cluttered. It's loud.That single reframe changed how I look at my own home, and it comes from Myquillyn Smith, known online as The Nester.Myquillyn has spent over twenty years helping women …
Notas do episódio
Your house isn't cluttered. It's loud.
That single reframe changed how I look at my own home, and it comes from Myquillyn Smith, known online as The Nester.
Myquillyn has spent over twenty years helping women create homes they actually want to use. She's the author of Cozy Minimalist Home and House Rules, and her new book House Hushing is out now.
Here's what makes her different. She's a decorator, not a decluttering coach. She is not going to tell you to give up everything beautiful. She's going to show you how to turn the volume down first and let the room tell you what it actually needs.
In this episode she walks through backwards decluttering, her method that takes about twelve minutes a room and requires zero hard decisions up front. You clear the visible layer, you live in the quiet room for 48 hours, and then you only bring back what you genuinely missed. No willpower required. The room does the convincing.
We also get into why we fill up whatever space we're given, what to do about the closets you're not touching yet, and how to hush a kid's room without breaking their trust.
And I got honest with her about where my own home is right now, in a hard season, drifting. What she said back to me is the reason I'm keeping this episode close.
In this episode:
- Why "loud" lands when "cluttered" doesn't
- The photo trick that cures house blindness instantly
- All the steps of backwards decluttering
- Why the 48 hour wait does the deciding for you
- Stuff threshold vs clutter threshold
- When to finally open the closed storage
- Hosting without keeping every extra just in case
- How to hush a kid's space collaboratively
- Experiencing a season through your five senses instead of storing decor eleven months a year
Your quick win from Myquillyn: clear off your coffee table and let it be naked.
Connect with Myquillyn:
- Website: thenester.com
- Instagram: @thenester
- House Hushing is available everywhere books are sold.
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/323
Come say hi on Instagram @wannabeclutterfree and tell me which room you're hushing first.
Happy decluttering.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe 20 Day Declutter Plan I Never Wanted to Make (Ep 322)
I host a decluttering podcast, and my house is full.Not messy. Full. And I know exactly how it happened, because I have done it before.Our landlord is selling our house. My husband is in surgery the day this …
Notas do episódio
I host a decluttering podcast, and my house is full.
Not messy. Full. And I know exactly how it happened, because I have done it before.
Our landlord is selling our house. My husband is in surgery the day this episode goes live. My mom is in another round of chemo. My daughter just went back to school and does not know about the move yet.
I did not choose any of this. So I am choosing the one thing I still control.
For the next 20 days, I am radically simplifying every single thing I own. Not my husband's. Not my daughter's. Mine.
This is not the plan I wanted to make. It is the one I have. And I would love for you to make it with me.
In this episode I share:
- Why my home quietly filled back up after I sold 85 to 90 percent of what we owned
- The reason I am not touching anyone else's belongings, and why going first works better than asking
- My five rules for the 20 days, including why the maybe box has to go
- The four phase plan: the warm up, the drift zone, papers and pixels, and the hard things
- My goal of 500 items in 20 days, or 25 items a day if you want it simple
- The reframe that changed everything for me the week I found out we had to move
I have been told you are not supposed to share until you are through to the other side. I cannot do that.
So I am showing you the whole thing, in real time, starting today.
Want the tracker? DM the keyword 20 on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wannabeclutterfree and I will send you the 500 Item Declutter Challenge tracker so you can count right alongside me.
Before you do anything else today: find five things that are yours. Just five. Put them in a bag by the door. That is day one, and you are already in it.
Next week I am talking with Myquillyn Smith, The Nester, about her new book House Hushing. I recorded that conversation standing in the middle of this very full house, and I asked her things I would not have asked a year ago.
Full show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/322
Follow along daily: @WannabeClutterFree
Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyHow to Reclaim Time and Live Clutter Free with Megan Sumrell (Ep 321)
You have decluttered your closets. But have you decluttered your calendar?In this episode, Deanna sits down with Megan Sumrell, time management expert and founder of The Pink Bee, to talk about why reclaiming …
Notas do episódio
You have decluttered your closets. But have you decluttered your calendar?
In this episode, Deanna sits down with Megan Sumrell, time management expert and founder of The Pink Bee, to talk about why reclaiming your time is the piece of living clutter free that most people skip. Megan spent over 20 years in corporate IT before she realized traditional time management systems were never built for women's lives, and she has spent the years since building something that actually works.
In this episode you'll learn:
- Why living clutter free has to include your calendar, not just your closets
- The single biggest time thief most women never notice
- How to set up your phone so you're only interrupted for what actually matters
- Why invisible work is real work, and how to make it visible to your family
- Why a to-do list is not a plan, and what to build instead
- How a decluttered home and a decluttered schedule work together
- Why rest is not a reward, it's required
If your schedule feels just as cluttered as your closet used to, press play.
Connect with Megan Sumrell:
Podcast: Work + Life Harmony
App: The Pink Bee (App Store & Google Play, free training inside)
Instagram: @megansumrell
Connect with Deanna:
Instagram: @wannabeclutterfree
Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/321
Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy5 Steps to Stop Being Your Family's Human Calendar (Ep 320)
Who has soccer at 5:15? Did the permission slip go back? Is there anything defrostable for dinner? Are we out of milk again?If every one of those answers lives in your head and nowhere else, you do not have an …
Notas do episódio
Who has soccer at 5:15? Did the permission slip go back? Is there anything defrostable for dinner? Are we out of milk again?
If every one of those answers lives in your head and nowhere else, you do not have an organization problem. You have a bottleneck problem, and the bottleneck is you.
In this episode I am sharing the session I presented at the Chaos to Calm Summit on building a family command center. It is one of my favorite things I have ever taught, because it is not about being more organized. It is about not being the only person in your house who knows what is going on.
We cover both versions, physical and digital, so you can build the one that actually fits your family instead of the one that looks good on Pinterest. I walk you through the components every command center needs, the extras that solve specific problems like the school paper avalanche, and the five steps to get yours set up this week. And with the school year and every activity schedule coming back at once, this is the week to do it.
In this episode:
- Why a family command center works as the brain of your home, and what it actually fixes
- The three components every command center needs, physical or digital
- The one physical addition that finally solves permission slips and school papers
- Why location matters more than how pretty it looks
- Why I love my Skylight calendar, and the three features to look for in any digital system
- How color coding creates instant ownership so nobody has to ask you
- Why I use a hybrid of physical and digital, and where each one earns its keep
- The five setup steps, including the fifteen minute weekly sync that holds the whole thing together
- Three bonus tips to make it stick past week two
Your next step: Pick one component. Just one. Set it up today.
Grab my free Doable Dozen guide with the 12 tasks I run every week to keep our home running, including my Daily Magic Five: https://wannabeclutterfree.com/doabledozen
Want the rest of the Chaos to Calm Summit? All 35 sessions are available here: https://wannabeclutterfree.com/summit
Next week I am talking with Megan Sumrell about time management, and it is the perfect follow-up to this one.
If this episode helped, would you tap follow and leave a quick rating? It genuinely helps other tired moms find the show.
Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wannabeclutterfree/
Full show notes: https://wannabeclutterfree.com/podcast
Go to https://OmahaSteaks.com and use promo code BEEF at checkout for $35 off. Minimum purchase may apply.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyWhy Your Routines Never Stick & The 3-Word Fix with Monica Packer (Ep 319)
If you struggle to stick to your routines, create new habits, or find perfectionism running your life, this episode is for you.I'm sitting down with Monica Packer, host of the top-rated About Progress podcast …
Notas do episódio
If you struggle to stick to your routines, create new habits, or find perfectionism running your life, this episode is for you.
I'm sitting down with Monica Packer, host of the top-rated About Progress podcast and author of the upcoming book Sticky Habits, for a conversation that completely reframes why habits feel so hard for busy moms.
Monica opens up about her own journey with perfectionism, and then walks us through something surprising: almost every popular habit book was written by and tested on lives that look nothing like a mother's. Most of us carry an insane amount of invisible labor every day. So when the standard advice doesn't stick, we blame ourselves, when really the method was never built for us.
Here's what we get into:
- Why perfectionism is really a misplacement of identity, and what it quietly costs us
- The invisible labor research that explains why habit advice keeps failing women
- How to redefine consistency so it's actually possible on your worst days
- The four qualities that make a habit sticky
- Monica's simple WTA formula (When, Then, After) for habits that finally hold
This is warm, validating, and full of the kind of slow, messy, sustainable growth we love around here. It pairs perfectly with the decluttering work you're already doing.
The thing Monica most wants you to know? You can change. Everyone can.
Resources mentioned:
- About Progress podcast
- Sticky Habits by Monica Packer, pre-order at stickyhabitsbook.com
- Fair Play by Eve Rodsky
Connect with Monica: Instagram: @aboutprogress Book and bonuses: stickyhabitsbook.com
Let's connect: Instagram: @wannabeclutterfree Show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/319
If this episode helped you breathe a little easier, share it with a friend who's been beating herself up about her habits, and leave a quick review so more moms can find us.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyHow a 5 Minute Daily Tidy Beats One Big Weekend Declutter (Ep 318)
You have probably said it at least once: “I’ll do the whole house this weekend.” And then Saturday came, and you either didn’t start, or you started and made things worse, or you finished and watched it fill …
Notas do episódio
You have probably said it at least once: “I’ll do the whole house this weekend.” And then Saturday came, and you either didn’t start, or you started and made things worse, or you finished and watched it fill right back up within a week. Today I’m explaining exactly what’s happening, and introducing the habit that finally breaks it.
The Lightning Tidy is five minutes a day. Same time, same routine, every day. I’m walking you through the neuroscience of why it works when every other approach hasn’t, including a deep dive into what happens in your brain with every unfinished task in your home, why large sessions create decision fatigue before you even begin, and why the Lightning Tidy is specifically designed to work for ADHD brains in a way that conventional tidying advice never has.
I’m also sharing what comes next: the weekly Mighty Tidy, a 30-minute deep dive into one specific area of your home, and why the daily Lightning Tidy is the thing that makes the Mighty Tidy actually possible.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- The Zeigarnik effect: why every pile of clutter is an open loop draining your brain
- How unfinished goals degrade cognitive performance (2011 Masicampo & Baumeister research)
- Decision fatigue and why the Lightning Tidy bypasses it completely
- Task initiation aversion and why it hits ADHD brains differently
- Exactly what a Lightning Tidy looks like (with the family math that makes it powerful)
- Peggybacking: how to attach the Lightning Tidy to something you already do
- The identity-based habit shift from James Clear’s Atomic Habits
- The 66-day research on habit automaticity (and why it’s less daunting than it sounds)
- The Mighty Tidy: 30 minutes once a week for real decluttering progress
Mentioned in this episode:
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Effortless Home: DAILY Edition: wannabeclutterfree.com/effortless-home-daily
Next week: Monica Packer joins me to talk about habits. If you listened to this thinking, great, but I can’t keep habits, that episode is for you. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.
After that: the next solo episode goes deep into the neuroscience of why your cluttered home is affecting your mental health at a biological level. It’s some of the most important context I’ve ever shared on this podcast.
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe Shocking Reason Your Home is Cluttered & the 30-Day Fix with Ashlee Piper (Ep 317)
Have you ever decluttered your home only to watch it slowly fill right back up? This episode is for you.Ashlee Piper is a sustainability expert, speaker, and author who has been featured on the Today Show, Good …
Notas do episódio
Have you ever decluttered your home only to watch it slowly fill right back up? This episode is for you.
Ashlee Piper is a sustainability expert, speaker, and author who has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and CNN, and in Vogue, the New York Times, and Newsweek. She created the No New Things Challenge in 2013. What started as a personal 30-day experiment turned into nearly two years of not buying anything new. The result? She saved over $36,000, paid off $22,000 in debt, reclaimed her time, and completely rewired her relationship with shopping. Her new book, No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity, guides readers through the same challenge.
In this conversation, Ashlee and Deanna dig into what she calls conditioned consumerism, the history of how post-WWII America reprogrammed an entire society from resourceful people into reflexive shoppers, and how that programming is the real reason your home keeps filling up no matter how many times you declutter.
In this episode you will learn:
- Why the urge to buy new things is not a personal failing but a historical and marketing construct
- The SUPER System: five ways to get your needs met without buying anything new
- How to use a trigger-tracking journal to discover the real emotions driving your shopping impulses
- The 2-7 minute rule and why riding it out changes everything
- How the challenge builds creativity, community, and connection as unexpected side effects
- Why Ashlee says women are the most powerful purchasing cohort on the planet and what that means for your household
Pick up No New Things wherever books are sold. You can also find it secondhand at ThriftBooks.
Find Ashlee on Instagram: @ashleepiper
Learn more at: ashleepiper.com
Full show notes: wannabeclutterfree.com/317
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe Hidden Digital Clutter Draining Your Day and the 15-Minute Fix (Ep 316)
Have you ever spent a Saturday morning deep cleaning your entire house, and by noon you still feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and a little annoyed at everything? Your house looks great. You should feel amazing …
Notas do episódio
Have you ever spent a Saturday morning deep cleaning your entire house, and by noon you still feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and a little annoyed at everything? Your house looks great. You should feel amazing. But you don’t.
That’s not you being a perfectionist. It’s the sneaky kind of clutter that almost nobody in the decluttering world ever talks about.
Calendar clutter (or the mental load of keeping everything running)
In this episode I’m bringing it to light and giving you a real system to clear it. You’ll learn the two distinct forms calendar clutter takes (an overbooked calendar full of other people’s priorities, and the quieter weight of undone decisions with no home), the weekly capture method that gets everything out of your head and onto paper, and why protected blank space is not wasted time, it’s the time that makes everything else work.
This is the finale of my four-part series on the invisible weight of clutter, the stuff that doesn’t pile up on your counters but piles up in your mind instead.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- Why a clean house doesn’t always feel like a calm house
- The two kinds of calendar clutter (most people only ever deal with one)
- How to build a “vision filter” so you stop saying yes out of guilt
- The weekly capture method for clearing undone decisions out of your head
- Why blank space on your calendar is not wasted space
- A simple script for saying no without feeling like a flake
Mentioned in this episode:
- Effortless Home: DAILY Edition (use code EPISODE316 for $10 dollars off, 48 hours only): https://wannabeclutterfree.com/daily
- Fair Play by Eve Rodsky: https://amzn.to/4wpuSwF
- Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing: https://amzn.to/4weJL4E
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyHow to Declutter With Kids Without the Power Struggles with Dana K. White (Ep 315)
Your kid won't get rid of anything. You know their room has too much stuff. But every time you try to do something about it, it turns into a battle. What if you never had to be the bad guy again?Dana K. White …
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Your kid won't get rid of anything. You know their room has too much stuff. But every time you try to do something about it, it turns into a battle. What if you never had to be the bad guy again?
Dana K. White is the creator of the No Mess Decluttering Method, the blogger behind A Slob Comes Clean, and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Decluttering at the Speed of Life. She has spent 17 years teaching overwhelmed, messy people how to get their homes under control without shame or perfection. And now she has taken everything she knows and put it into her very first children's book, Winnie's Pile of Pillows.
In this episode, Dana shares how to use a picture book as an actual decluttering tool, why her container concept works even better on kids than it does on adults, and how to get through a decluttering session with your child without convincing them of anything. This one will change how you approach your kid's stuff.
Covered in this episode:
- How to use Winnie's Pile of Pillows as more than a bedtime story
- Why the container concept makes the space the bad guy instead of you
- The five-minute pickup test that tells you if your child has too many toys
- What to say when your kid insists they need to keep everything
- How to declutter with your child without starting a power struggle
- Why you should never start with your kid's room
- The age when kids can really start to grasp the concept of having enough
- How to pass on a no-shame, no-guilt relationship with stuff to your kids
If you are fighting the toy clutter battle and losing, this episode is for you. Hit play, grab the book, and go find that trash bag.
LEARN MORE
Winnie's Pile of Pillows by Dana K. White: https://amzn.to/4afYyDH
A Slob Comes Clean: https://www.aslobcomesclean.com
Lenora and Her Super Duper Messy Room by Deanna Yates: https://amzn.to/4gDSp89
Show notes: https://www.wannabeclutterfree.com/315
CONNECT
Dana K. White on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aslobcomesclean/
Deanna Yates on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wannabeclutterfree/
LISTEN
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wannabe-clutter-free-declutter-simplify-find-freedom/id1485473251
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1ATUIVONi0kyoVUKOQV4OT?si=f555de5388164b10
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wannabeclutterfree
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyDigital Declutter: Clean Up Your Email, Phone, and Brain for Good (Ep 314)
Digital clutter doesn’t pile up on your counter, but it absolutely piles up in your brain. Every unread email, every unused app, every notification going off every eight minutes is quietly draining your focus …
Notas do episódio
Digital clutter doesn’t pile up on your counter, but it absolutely piles up in your brain. Every unread email, every unused app, every notification going off every eight minutes is quietly draining your focus and your energy.
In this episode I’m giving you three moves for your inbox, three moves for your phone, and a simple weekly habit that keeps all of it under control going forward.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- The one reframe that changes how you think about email forever
- How to cut your inbox in half this week without losing anything important
- The 30-day app audit (and why you don’t have to fully delete things to get them out of your way)
- The Favorites list trick that lets you protect your peace without missing important calls
- The three-habit digital maintenance system that takes under 15 minutes a week
Resources mentioned:
- Unroll.me (mass email unsubscribe tool)
- Clean Email (email management tool)
- Digital Declutter Challenge course: https://www.wannabeclutterfree.com/digital-declutter-challenge
If this episode resonated with you, share it with one person who needs to hear it.
Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if you have two minutes, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts makes a real difference.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction to Digital Clutter
00:29 Understanding the Impact of Email Clutter
03:44 Reframing Your Email Inbox
05:03 Unsubscribing and Archiving Emails
07:45 The Archive Bomb: Cleaning Out Old Emails
11:49 Organizing Your Email Folders
14:30 Addressing Phone Clutter
16:42 The 30-Day App Audit
18:29 Resetting Notifications for Clarity
21:31 Creating a Favorites List for Important Contacts
22:29 Simplifying Your Phone's Home Screen
24:14 Establishing a Digital Maintenance Habit
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyDeclutter for Real Life: Flexible Minimalism Tips for Families with Desirae Endres (Ep 313)
Have you ever looked at a "minimalist" home on Instagram and thought, well, that is never going to be me. My kids alone would destroy that in four minutes? Or convinced yourself that your clutter-free journey …
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Have you ever looked at a "minimalist" home on Instagram and thought, well, that is never going to be me. My kids alone would destroy that in four minutes? Or convinced yourself that your clutter-free journey isn't working because your house just doesn't look the part? You are not alone. And this conversation is for you.
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- Get the transcripts and more at wannabeclutterfree.com/313
- Episode with Joshua Becker
- The Minimalists Documentary
- Previous episode with Desirae
Connect with Desirae:
- Minimal-ish Website
- Minimal-ish on Instagram
- Minimalish Podcast: Search "Minimalish" wherever you listen
Follow Deanna Yates, the host of Wannabe Clutter Free on:
- Instagram
- Website
- Effortless Home: DAILY Edition - 5 Steps to Run Your Home Like Magic
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Desirae Endres is the host of the Minimalish podcast, and her decluttering journey started in 2018 when she sat down as a brand new mom and watched a documentary that completely changed the way she thought about her stuff, her home, and her identity.
Since then she has built an entire community around the idea of "minimal-ish" living, not a perfect aesthetic, not a stark white capsule home, just a real and intentional life with less in the way.
In this episode, Desirae gets honest about the postpartum anxiety that made her desperate for a calmer home, what it felt like when her husband said their house no longer looked minimal-ish, and the beautiful shift she had about what this whole journey is actually for. We also dig into how to get your kids involved in decluttering without it turning into a battle, and the single most powerful thing you can do to raise kids who genuinely understand how to let go.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
- What "minimal-ish" means and why it has nothing to do with how your home looks
- The real connection between clutter and mental health
- Why letting go of stuff is really about letting go of past versions of yourself
- How to involve your kids in decluttering without forcing it
- What age kids can meaningfully participate (and when it is okay to just do it yourself)
- The one thing you can do today that quietly teaches your kids to let go
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
2:59 Desirae's origin story: the documentary that changed everything
5:37 Why changing your nature is harder than changing what you own
9:21 How decluttering helped manage postpartum anxiety
11:37 Letting go of clothes and letting go of past versions of yourself
15:02 Baby stuff, the "what if" fear, and letting go anyway
20:20 Feeling like an imposter when your home does not look minimal
22:45 The minimalist aesthetic vs. the minimalist mindset
24:56 Accepting certain areas of clutter in your current season
32:43 Teaching kids to declutter: where to start
37:21 The power of narrating your own decluttering out loud
43:28 What age should kids start participating?
47:07 What Desirae wishes someone had told her at the very beginning
49:13 Decluttering as a gateway to bigger life changes
50:09 Rapid fire questions
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Music: Fresh Lift by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
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We’d love to hear how you’re applying the strategies discussed in this episode. Share your stories and tips with us on social media (@wannabeclutterfree). Don’t forget to subscribe for more insightful episodes designed to make your busy life a bit easier.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe Paper Clutter System That Took Me From 6 Piles to Zero (Ep 312)
Paper doesn't ask permission. It just shows up in your mailbox, your kids' backpacks, and somehow on every flat surface in your home. And if the piles keep coming back no matter how many times you deal with …
Notas do episódio
Paper doesn't ask permission. It just shows up in your mailbox, your kids' backpacks, and somehow on every flat surface in your home. And if the piles keep coming back no matter how many times you deal with them, it's not a discipline problem. It's a system problem.
In this episode I'm sharing the exact system I use to keep paper from taking over, including what to do with everything that comes in, how to handle the stuff that's been piling up for months, and two bonus sections for the things nobody talks about: your kids' school papers and the one document organizer every family needs.
In this episode you'll learn:
- Why paper piles keep coming back (it's not what you think)
- The Paper JAM System: three categories, every piece of paper, no exceptions
- How to set up a weekly processing routine that takes under 30 minutes
- The landing spot rule that stops paper from spreading during the week
- A simple system for kids' artwork and school papers that doesn't require keeping everything
- What an Emergency Binder is and the one document it cannot be missing
- Catalog Choice (opt out of paper catalogs for free)
- Digitized in a Day (go fully paperless)
- Episode 310: Your Phone Has 10,000 Photos
- Episode 314: Digital Declutter
- Ep 232: How Simplifying Your Home Can Improve Your Finances with Jill Sirianni
- Ep 174 Learning How To Spend Guilt-Free in a Clutter Free Home with Alli Williams
- Ep 243: Declutter Your Finances: Breaking Free from the Debt Cycle Without Budgeting Burnout with Germaine Foley
- Ep 260: Simplify Your Family Budget: The 5-Account System That Changes Everything with Brittany Flammer
If this episode resonated with you, share it with one person who needs to hear it.
Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if you have two minutes, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts makes a real difference.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 The Sneaky Clutter: Paper Invasion
01:47 Understanding the Paper Pile Problem
06:55 The Paper Jam System: Sorting Made Easy
16:26 Establishing a Weekly Processing Routine
23:16 Managing Kids' School Papers
27:18 Creating an Emergency Binder
30:16 Going Digital: The Future of Paper Management
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyWhy Your Schedule Will Never Work Until You Fix Your Home with Lori Oberbroeckling (Ep 311)
Time management expert and Secrets of Supermom host Lori Oberbroeckling joins Deanna to talk about why energy runs out before time does, how clutter quietly sabotages your best-laid plans, and the small routine …
Notas do episódio
Time management expert and Secrets of Supermom host Lori Oberbroeckling joins Deanna to talk about why energy runs out before time does, how clutter quietly sabotages your best-laid plans, and the small routine changes that actually stick.
****************
- Get the transcripts and more at wannabeclutterfree.com/311
Connect with Lori:
Follow Deanna Yates, the host of Wannabe Clutter Free on:
- Instagram
- Website
- Effortless Home: DAILY Edition - 5 Steps to Run Your Home Like Magic
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You bought the planner. You made the schedule. You had a whole plan. And then a super busy day happened.
Sound familiar? This week Deanna sits down with Lori Oberbroeckling, a working mom of four, corporate project management leader, and host of the Secrets of Supermom Show. Lori has spent years helping busy, ambitious moms figure out why their best systems keep falling apart. Spoiler: it is almost never the plan.
In this episode, Lori introduces her framework of energy bleeds, energy blocks, and energy boosts, and explains why your home environment plays a much bigger role in your daily productivity than most time management advice will ever admit. When your physical space is draining you before you even start your to-do list, even a perfect schedule cannot save you.
Lori also shares the moment she and Deanna both recognized in themselves: we think we need a better planner, when really we need more energy boosts built into our days first.
If you have ever felt like you are doing all the right things and still ending every day depleted, this episode is going to reframe everything.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
- Why a cluttered, chaotic home is an energy bleed that quietly tanks your whole day
- How to do a simple time and energy audit to figure out where your energy is actually going
- What to do when you hate a task but still have to do it
- Why routines fall apart and the one question to ask before you try to build one
- The small change that helped Lori's family of six stop tripping over shoes
- How to get your family actually on board with new home routines
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction to Lori Oberbroeckling
03:05 Why home environment matters to your schedule
08:25 Energy bleeds, blocks, and boosts explained
10:01 What to do when you have to do an energy bleed task
16:18 How to find your energy boosts when you do not know what they are
20:24 Flying trapeze and other energy boost revelations
21:32 Why routines fall apart and how to build ones that stick
24:11 Small changes that create big impact for the whole family
26:58 Getting family buy-in with carrots, not sticks
29:28 Why the planner is not the problem
32:27 Where to start when everything feels out of control
34:26 Rapid fire: what clutter free means, what is making Lori happy, and one takeaway
****************
Music: Fresh Lift by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
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We’d love to hear how you’re applying the strategies discussed in this episode. Share your stories and tips with us on social media (@wannabeclutterfree). Don’t forget to subscribe for more insightful episodes designed to make your busy life a bit easier.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyHow to Declutter Thousands of Photos Without Losing Your Mind (Wannabe Clutter Free Ep 310)
Digital clutter doesn’t feel as obvious as a cluttered closet. But if you’ve ever had that pit-in-your-stomach moment of not being able to find a photo that matters, you know this isn’t small. In this episode …
Notas do episódio
Digital clutter doesn’t feel as obvious as a cluttered closet. But if you’ve ever had that pit-in-your-stomach moment of not being able to find a photo that matters, you know this isn’t small.
In this episode I’m breaking down the three phases of getting your photos in order (Declutter, Organize, Maintain), the two specific starting points that build momentum without making any hard decisions, and the triple backup system that means you’ll never lose a photo again.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- Why photo clutter is an emotional problem, not a storage problem
- The three-phase framework: Declutter, Organize, Maintain
- The burst photos trick that eliminates hundreds of photos in 20 minutes
- The calendar method for going through your entire catalog one day at a time
- The triple backup system that keeps your photos safe forever
Resources mentioned:
- Snag Photo Freedom Formula ($37)
- Instagram @WannabeClutterFree
- Episode 304: The 15-Minute Declutter Method
This episode is Part 5 of a series. Start with Episode 304 if you haven’t already.
Next episode: The Paper Clutter System That Took Me From 6 Piles to Zero
If this episode resonated with you, share it with one person who needs to hear it.
Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if you have two minutes, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts makes a real difference.
TIMESTAMPS
02:03 The Invisible Weight of Digital Clutter
04:56 Understanding the Emotional Impact of Photo Clutter'
07:30 Framework for Organizing Photos
09:54 Three Phases of Photo Management
12:31 Practical Tips for Decluttering Photos
15:41 Maintaining Your Photo Organization
18:24 Quick Wins for Photo Organization
20:45The Calendar Method for Photo Management
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe Real Reason Your Kids Aren't Helping Around the House (And How to Fix It) with Katie Kimball (Ep 309)
Your kids are more capable than you think. Katie Kimball, creator of Kids Cook Real Food and founder of the LifeSkillsNow summer camp, shares the practical systems that take kids from passengers to contributors …
Notas do episódio
Your kids are more capable than you think. Katie Kimball, creator of Kids Cook Real Food and founder of the LifeSkillsNow summer camp, shares the practical systems that take kids from passengers to contributors -- and why cooking is the gateway to all of it.
****************
- Get the transcripts and more at wannabeclutterfree.com/309
Connect with Katie:
Follow Deanna Yates, the host of Wannabe Clutter Free on:
- Instagram
- Website
- Effortless Home: Run your home in less than 20 minutes a day
****************
What if the key to a calmer home (and a lighter mental load) was already walking around your house asking for snacks?
In this episode, Deanna Yates sits down with Katie Kimball of Raising Healthy Families, a former classroom teacher, two-time TEDx speaker, and mom of four. Katie created Kids Cook Real Food (named the best online cooking class for kids by the Wall Street Journal) and runs LifeSkillsNow, a virtual summer camp that teaches kids everything from cooking and budgeting to entrepreneurship and mending their own clothes.
This conversation is all about kids as contributors, not passengers. Katie shares how her teaching background shaped the way she thinks about agency, choice, and raising the bar for what kids can actually do. She talks through the moment she realized her mental and physical load didn't have to fall entirely on her, the summer she intentionally taught her kids to cook, and the chore system her family is still using ten years later.
You'll also hear why Katie calls cooking the gateway life skill, how the skills gap happened across generations, and the three-part framework she uses to help any parent hand something off to their kid in a way that actually sticks.
If you have ever stood in your kitchen thinking it would be faster to just do it yourself, this episode is for you.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
- The summer everything changed: how Katie went from "forgetting the faces of the children she was feeding" to building a family system that actually works
- What her classroom teaching taught her about agency, choice, and why raising the bar is always a good idea
- Why teenagers need even more autonomy than young kids -- and how she built Teens Cook Real Food around that
- The story of her 14-year-old vacuuming on a day off with no one asking him to
- Cooking as the gateway life skill: why starting in the kitchen spills over into everything else
- The three-part framework for handing something off to your kid: teach the skill, find the motivation, set the expectation
TIMESTAMPS:
- 00:00 -- Katie's Parenting and Cooking Journey
- 04:37 -- What Teaching Taught Her About How Kids Learn
- 07:31 -- Raising the Bar: Kids Are More Capable Than We Think
- 10:33 -- Teaching Teens: Why Choice Is Everything
- 13:14 -- Cooking as a Pathway to Empathy
- 19:20 -- The Long Game: What It Looks Like When It Works
- 22:27 -- The Life Skills Gap: What Kids Are Missing
- 30:05 -- Values, Vertical Transmission, and Family Culture
- 32:36 -- Cooking Is the Gateway Life Skill
- 36:50 -- LifeSkillsNow Summer Camp and Where to Start
****************
Music: Fresh Lift by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
****************
We’d love to hear how you’re applying the strategies discussed in this episode. Share your stories and tips with us on social media (@wannabeclutterfree). Don’t forget to subscribe for more insightful episodes designed to make your busy life a bit easier.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe Nightly 10-Minute Declutter Routine Every Busy Mom Needs (Ep 308)
You can declutter your entire home and still end up right back where you started. I know because I’ve lived it. This episode is the piece that makes everything permanent. I’m teaching you the closing shift, the …
Notas do episódio
You can declutter your entire home and still end up right back where you started. I know because I’ve lived it. This episode is the piece that makes everything permanent. I’m teaching you the closing shift, the exit bin, and why stacking habits beats scheduling them every time.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- Why I went from owning almost nothing to filling up a house, and what finally broke the cycle
- The restaurant-inspired closing shift my family does every night
- What the Lightning Tidy is and how to make it fun for your whole family
- Why the one-in-one-out rule doesn’t work (and what to do instead)
- The habit stacking trick that makes routines stick forever
Resources mentioned:
- Effortless Home Course ($27)
- Instagram @WannabeClutterFree
- Episode 304: The 15-Minute Declutter Method
- Episode 305: The Joy Anchor Method
- Episode 306: The Motivation Cliff
If this episode resonated with you, share it with one person who needs to hear it.
Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if you have two minutes, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts makes a real difference.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction to Clutter-Free Living
02:18 The Journey to Minimalism
04:45 Establishing a Daily Routine
07:13 The Closing Shift Explained
09:44 The Exit Bin Strategy
12:28 Habit Stacking for Success
14:23 The Invisible Weight of Clutter
21:03 Looking Ahead: Future Topics
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyThe Science of Why Your Spaces Shape You (And How to Take Back Control) with Leidy Klotz | Ep. 307
Behavioral scientist Leidy Klotz reveals how your home feeds or starves three core psychological needs, why clutter blocks connection, and how to make your spaces actually work for your family. **************** …
Notas do episódio
Behavioral scientist Leidy Klotz reveals how your home feeds or starves three core psychological needs, why clutter blocks connection, and how to make your spaces actually work for your family.
****************
- Get the transcripts and more at wannabeclutterfree.com/307
Connect with Leidy:
- In a Good Place by Leidy Klotz: Available wherever you get your books
- Subtract by Leidy Klotz
- Leidy's website: leidyklotz.com
Follow Deanna Yates, the host of Wannabe Clutter Free on:
- Instagram
- Website
- Effortless Home: Run your home in less than 20 minutes a day
****************
What if the reason you feel stuck, distracted, or disconnected at home has less to do with your habits and more to do with your spaces?
Leidy Klotz, an engineering professor at the University of Virginia, is the author of Subtract and his brand-new book In a Good Place. He has spent over a decade studying the relationship between our physical environments and our psychological well-being, and today he is breaking it all down for us.
This conversation changed how I think about my home. We are not just talking about decluttering (although we do get into that). We are talking about why our spaces either feed or starve our deepest needs, and what we can do about it.
In this episode you will learn:
- The three core psychological needs your home either supports or works against
- How clutter literally gets between you and the people you love
- Why you use your spaces the same way every day (and a simple research-backed way to break out of it)
- The renovation trap: when updating your home actually makes it less meaningful
- How to involve your kids in decisions about your home (and why it changes everything)
- The beautiful story of Josie's Way and what it teaches us about legacy and space
Content note: Leidy shares openly about his daughter Josie, who passed away unexpectedly at four years old. Her story is woven throughout this conversation and is both heartbreaking and deeply beautiful.
Time Stamps: 00:00 Introduction and Leidy's background
05:40 The intersection of environment and behavior
11:24 The three core psychological needs: agency, growth, and connection
17:25 Agency and connection in the home (plus tips for renters)
20:30 How clutter literally blocks connection
26:50 Behavioral changes through environmental cues
32:23 The family that moved dinner outside
36:06 Functional fixedness: why adults are worse at this than kids
40:42 Nostalgia, the renovation trap, and protecting what matters
50:57 Josie's Way: remembering through spaces and stories
****************
Music: Fresh Lift by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
****************
We’d love to hear how you’re applying the strategies discussed in this episode. Share your stories and tips with us on social media (@wannabeclutterfree). Don’t forget to subscribe for more insightful episodes designed to make your busy life a bit easier.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyWhy You Quit Decluttering After One Week and 3 Tools to Fix It | Wannabe Clutter Free Ep. 306
You started decluttering. It felt amazing. And then somewhere around day 7, your house felt just as cluttered as when you started, even though you know you did the work. That moment has a name. I call it the …
Notas do episódio
You started decluttering. It felt amazing. And then somewhere around day 7, your house felt just as cluttered as when you started, even though you know you did the work. That moment has a name. I call it the motivation cliff, and in this episode I'm explaining exactly why it happens and what to do about it.
In this episode you'll learn:
- What the recalibration dip is and why your brain makes progress invisible
- The one metric that your brain can't trick you on
- How to make decluttering enjoyable enough to actually sustain
- The identity shift that turns you from a starter into a finisher
- Why motivation follows action, not the other way around
This episode is Part 3 of a series. Start with Episode 304 (the 15-minute declutter method) and Episode 305 (the Joy Anchor Method for sentimental items) if you haven't already.
Comment HOME on my latest Instagram post (@wannabeclutterfree) and I'll send you the link to Effortless Home.
- Effortless Home
- 19 for $19 Ultimate Decluttering Bundle (includes the 500 Item Challenge tracker)
- Decluttering Playlist on Spotify
- Episode 304: The 15-Minute Declutter Method
- Episode 305: The Joy Anchor Method
If this episode resonated with you, share it with one person who needs to hear it.
Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if you have two minutes, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts makes a real difference.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Why the decluttering quit day hits around day 7
01:16 What the motivation cliff is and how to recognize it
04:01 The recalibration dip explained
08:37 Tool 1: Count items out the door, not how your home looks
13:04 Tool 2: Joy during the process, not after it
19:11 Tool 3: Finish what you start, even if it’s small
24:04 How Effortless Home and the 500 Item Challenge tracker can help
28:35 What’s coming next in the series
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Our Sponsors:
* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com
* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.com
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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