Many of us want a more organized home, but sometimes our strategies make the process harder than it needs to be. In this episode we speak with a home efficiency expert about rethinking how we organize so it actually improves daily life — making us calmer partners and more present parents. She shares why the kitchen should be treated like an operating room, offers thoughts on minimizing wardrobes, and explains why garages are notoriously difficult to keep tidy. We also talk about how a surprise phone call and a poor forecast stalled progress on our duplex move, but we still found small wins to celebrate. And yes, Sherry fell hard for some fairies.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen to it below. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- Here’s a short video tour of our messy garage, packed with boxes and items waiting for a moving truck headed to the duplex, including the two Crate & Barrel sofas we ordered over a year ago. (There’s also a glimpse of dining room chaos.)
- Note: If you’re in a feed reader, you may need to click through to view the video. You can also watch it on YouTube.
- We bought those sofas back in November 2017, right after purchasing one for our Richmond house during a major sale. The couch we kept is in “Steel,” while the duplex couches are “Truffle,” chosen because that color had a deep discount.
- The remaining boxes contain essentials like window blinds, curtain rods and rings, toilet paper holders, shower rods, and kitchen hardware — and there are rugs tucked in there as well.
- Also included is a photo of our infamous moving-truck-in-the-ditch moment from eight years ago when we moved out of our first house.
Stephanie Sikora, Life Made Simple
- If you want to learn more from Stephanie, her new book Simplified: A Real-Life Guide To Organizing Your Space And Saving Your Sanity offers practical tips and approachable strategies for streamlining a home without overwhelm.
- Her site, Life Made Simple, also contains helpful blog posts, online courses, and consultation options for anyone seeking hands-on guidance.
We’re Digging
- Sherry has been diving into a fantasy series lately. The first book is A Court of Thorns and Roses, followed by A Court of Mist and Fury, and A Court of Wings and Ruin. There’s also a box set if you prefer that format.
- She compares the series to The Selection she recommended previously, but says these feel a bit more like Game of Thrones meets Hunger Games — with fairies who wear cool leather outfits.
- She’s already started Sarah J. Maas’s earlier series, beginning with A Throne of Glass, and is enjoying the worldbuilding and characters.
- On a different note, we’re still fans of shower heads with H2Okinetic-style technology — they perform well and many models come in multiple finishes, so you can match your bathroom’s look.
- The clearance shower head we found isn’t available anymore, but it closely resembled one of the current models we link to as a reference.
If you’re trying to find something we mentioned in a past episode but can’t remember which show notes to click, we have a master list of everything we’ve featured in prior “We’re Digging” segments. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
Finally, a big thank you to Grove Collaborative for sponsoring this episode. New customers can receive a free gift bundle that includes a trio of Mrs. Meyer’s cleaners, walnut scrubber sponges, and a tin cleaning caddy when they sign up.
Thanks for listening!
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