Motherhood Simplified
By Krista Lockwood
Why I Changed My Mind About Experience Gifts
In today's episode, I'm sharing why I changed my mind about experience gifts. Although I still share many of the same feelings about not giving experience gifts, my feelings have changed in some aspects, and that's what I'm talking about today.
For the full show notes and list of resources mentioned in the episode, head to https://motherhoodsimplified.com/why-i-changed-my-mind-about-experience-gifts/
How this mom of 7 decluttered - Morgan Macedo
This Clutter Chronicles episode is with Morgan, a mom of 7 who was able to declutter her home prior to moving to a much smaller home.
Listen to all of the Clutter Chronicles episodes here
Join Decluttering Simplified to declutter with the same support Morgan had.
Holiday boundary conversation starters
https://motherhoodsimplified.com/clutterfree
Fast fashion solutions with Sarah Villareal
Connect with Sarah and listen to her podcast Socially Misguided here.
Fast fashion solutions for the every day mom and consumer.
Ethically sourced clothing just isn't accessible for most people, and it's to no fault of our own that this is the society we are born into and have a responsibility to change.
Sarah communicates big topics and issues in society with kindness and truth. It's a process of educating people on the reality of how systems work, and encouraging us to make changes that need to be made. One step at a time, and remembering we are all on the same team.
Fitness Simplified! With Megan Dahlman
https://partners.vigeofit.com/40441/117882
FITNESS SIMLIFIED!! One thing that happens often for moms after they declutter is an increase in time and energy to focus on their physical health through fitness and nutrition.
It is one area of my life that I have mastered and enjoy, I am just not good at teaching others how to do it, like I do with decluttering.
That's why I was SO happy when I met Megan Dahlman, founder of the Self Care Simplified podcast (I mean, duh we totally get each other).
She teaches moms how to care for themselves by simplifying their fitness and nutrition in VERY similar ways to how I teach decluttering. Bite-sized pieces, doable for mom life and impactful.
She's hosting a free two day event and here's what you will get if you attend:
- 8 of the best trainers, coaches and experts in the industry
- Practical demos and step-by-step guidance to make working out EASY, EASY, EASY.
- Completely FREE virtual event - you can attend from anywhere!
PLUS
- Stop feeling overwhelmed and be inspired and motivated to exercise consistently
- Spend less time “figuring things out” and more time getting the results you want
- Unlock the barriers that have been keeping you stuck and discover the routine that will work best for YOU!
It’s time for you to love exercising again!
She's curated an exclusive group of the very best trainers, coaches and experts to help you:
- Be inspired and motivated to exercise consistently
- Not feel overwhelmed by the process anymore
- Discover what styles and type of routine works best for you
- Know how to fuel your body for more energy and better results
- Balance your workouts to match up with your cycle, and your core and pelvic floor needs
- And even create an inspiring workout space in your home!
You can sign up right here! https://partners.vigeofit.com/40441/117882
And if you want more details on this, go check out the live we did that is tagged at the top of the group now
Clutter and enneagram
https://simplyborganized.com/enneagram-and-clutter/
paper clutter + surface clutter challenge!
Enroll here before 6/6/2022 to get the live component!
This link will redirect if you are joining after 6/6/2022
A bunch of decluttering resources for you!
https://motherhoodsimplified.com/blog - use the search button to find what episodes you want or need in the meantime!
https://motherhoodsimplified.com/clutterfree
Email me and let me know what episodes you want for the future! krista@motherhoodsimplified.com
And! Leave a 5 star review, screenshot it and then submit it. Then head over to your email and send a screenshot of that review and I will send you a surface clutter workshop!
Simplified postpartum care
Maranda Bower
when you just can't catch up on life
Get the full transcription and closed caption video here
Have you ever gotten to the end of the day and just laid there totally exhausted by the day and you just can't seem to figure out what you actually did all day? Me too.
You have already spent the day cleaning and catching up but there are still dishes in the sink, laundry to be done and once again everyone in your house seems to have left their stuff all over for you to clean up? Sometimes I just can't do another freakin' chore.
Even if I know it needs to be done. If someone makes me go behind my kids and clean up those tiny pieces of string, straws and cardboard scraps they left on the kitchen table again I will cry (insert bad straw that broke the mama camel's back joke here ).
When I Googled "how to make my kids stop making a mess" it told me this... Keep only what you need in all areas of your home Simplify your kids toy collection
Each and every mom out there feels the hefty weight of trying to keep up on the messes that come with raising kids and that will affect their energy levels and mental/emotional state.
Add in the need to declutter on top of manage these daily messes, and there is a whole new set of decisions that can affect us and our time we have to do anything else in a day. Everyone at some point is going to question if they're doing enough, but moms have it on so many levels that I want to make sure you know that you are not alone when you question what you actually got done at the end of the day.
Especially if it feels like that answer is nothing. Of course we can make to do lists, chore charts and check them off so that we can feel good about our productivity....and yet there will never be a time where we don't have days where we feel like we still fell short and forgot something or didn't pay enough attention to our kids.
Every time you question yourself know that there are a million moms out there feeling the same pain as you. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I can't give you a world where you will always have the energy to do all the things in a day, but I can make sure you are surrounded by people who tell you that even when certain decisions don't give you the results you wanted that it will all be ok.
That is the moment when friend Krista, (not coach Krista) will be there to tell you to just go to bed and leave the messes for tomorrow... and then the next day (when you are ready) I'll be there to help you figure out how to clear some major clutter to get chronically caught up!
I hope this gives you the gentle nudge to trust yourself to make a decision today even if it isn't contributing to having a more simplified home today, but I do know that you are a wonderful mother who isn't perfect (none of us are) and that's ok. We don't need to be perfect, we just need to be bold in our decisions, and compassionate in our forgiveness of ourselves. Talk soon,
when you struggle to declutter
Get the full transcription and closed caption video here
Enroll in Decluttering Simplified here
Check out last week's episode called "the right way to declutter" and it will help identify why you may be experiencing difficulty letting go of your things. And then here's my number one top to help you move past this guilt:
- Do something small. Anything small. Get rid of it, let it go. See how it feels after you are done. In the moment it may be hard, but long term it is fully worth it. And I know you believe that on some level because you are here listening to this podcast WANTING to declutter but being held back for some reason. That's okay.
- Give yourself some time to reflect on how it went for you. It sucked in the moment, but now with your new experience you can see that nothing bad happened. No one was hurt. You feel relief, have more time and energy, etc.
- Now is the point where you can alleviate that guilt and transform it into something else. You likely feel guilty because you believe you are contributing to a problem (may or may not be true) but I do know that once you decultter you have the ability to be a part of a solution rather than just feel like the problem. Maybe that solution is being financially responsible within your family, serving your community better and being involved or helping creating sustainable living solutions for our planet. You just can't be a huge problem solver when you're so bogged down in the day to day, even if the day to day is getting stuck on what and how to declutter.
Right and wrong ways to declutter
Get the full transcript and closed caption video here
Enroll in Decluttering Simplified here
The ONLY right way to declutter is to ultimately get the stuff out of your home and possession for good. I say possession because a storage unit means it's still within your care and responsibility.
Some things that hold people back from actually making this progress and final decision are:
- Not wanting to be wasteful. The waste was in the purchase. the money and resource. Decluttering is not inherently wasteful. Unless you are just buying things so you can declutter them, which is another conversation.
- Wanting to redistribute it to people who can use it. People don't need clutter. And we already live in a society with a surplus of things we don't need, and a shortage of a lot of things we DO need like community and financial literacy.
- Wanting to get your money's worth.
Mom inspired Amber
Mom inspired Amber
grief, guilt and decluttering
Get Decluttering Simplified here
There are a lot of different intensities to grief, so here is the definition real quick: a deep sorrow, or less intense; trouble or annoyance.
Ways you might not know you are grieving as you declutter:
- Closing a chapter of your life (baby stages, relationships ending, career, old life, old body)
- When moving, a deep loss of more than just stuff. The walls of your home, your community, comfort zone, familiarity, scenery.
- Fear of losing memories, security, people.
- A childhood wound trigger - financial history, home life, insecurity, memories.
Acknowledge your grief. The intensity can stop you in your tracks, but that doesn't stop the grief. The season of life is still over, the relationships, you are still moving. Acknowledge it, articulate it (with a friend or therapist, or FB group).
Then, find the things you are looking forward to next. This isn't fake it til you make it. This is sitting with the shit and then getting yourself out of it. Because the other choice is to just sit there indefinitely.
How to declutter as a mom when everything feels overwhelming
Toy Decluttering 101
Clothes Decluttering 101
Decluttering Simplified
Toy, Clothes and Paper Decluttering 101 bundle
The sustainable minimalists
https://mamaminimalist.com/
How to move - military and civilian edition
Listen in with Krista and Sarah as they share how they have moved many times, with multiple children. Often suddenly and under less than ideal circumstances.
The moving guide inside the Facebook group
For getting a very general idea of schools in the area you are moving to.
For getting a feel for the area just use Google Earth
Air tags for tracking your stuff during a move.
Use Scan Your Boxes to track what's inside your moving boxes with a QR code.
The Tidy Rebel, Kelly Haller
Kelly Haller (aka the Tidy Rebel) and I sit and jam out on our thoughts on anti-minimalism and how to actually declutter in a way that feels good to you and your family.
Minimalism and decluttering can be a trend, and just another thing we feel we should do and that defeats the entire point to us.
I love me some Tidy Rebel.