Wannabe Clutter Free | Declutter, Simplify, Find Freedom

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.

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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. 

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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 Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.com

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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 Omaha Steaks and use my code BEEF for a great deal: https://www.omahasteaks.com

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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:
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