Kathi Lipp (00:11) 

Hey friends, welcome to Clutterfree Academy where our goal is to help you take small doable steps to live every day with less clutter and more life. And guys, let me just tell you, ? you’ve heard me talk about it here on the podcast. I am still recovering from COVID. Now I am totally toast. Okay, this is what’s happening with my brain. Okay. 

Tonya Kubo (00:30) 

I was gonna say you 

were just about to say you were totally fine, but you couldn’t get those words out 

Kathi Lipp (00:38) 

I could not. I am testing negative, so that is good. But I will tell you the the exhaustion is real. I am good for about four hours. And let me just tell you, they are not stellar four hours. They are. We’re just surviving four hours. But then I’m toast. I have to go lay down. ? I can’t believe I did this. But let me just here’s my true confession, because my doctor said 

Tonya Kubo (00:50) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (01:07) 

You can probably expect another three weeks of this. No, like, no. And I don’t know why, but it is exhausting to sit at my desk. It is just exhausting. I do so much better in bed. So do you know what I’ve done? I’ve ordered a hospital table. So this is just a table that you know what it is. Like it sticks out. Yes. 

Tonya Kubo (01:09) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mmm. 

that comes to the side of your bed! 

Yes. 

Kathi Lipp (01:35) 

And 

it rolls under with it. It was only like 60 bucks, which you know, I don’t have 60 bucks to throw around, but I just do so much better with my legs up ? and ? just being cozy under blankets. I can do so much more so. 

Tonya Kubo (01:40) 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (01:55) 

? I have ordered a hospital table that can collapse down. We can put it in the attic when we’re done, because I know I’m going to be, but I don’t want to be underwater for the next three weeks not being, not getting some stuff done. So ? as I stated on Facebook the other day, ? we have a lot of people who come to Clutterfree Academy or a part of Clutterfree for Life. 

who deal with chronic illness. Now, this is not chronic illness what I’m dealing with, not by a long shot. And it has also given me a 1 % insight to having to manage my energy. And a couple of years ago, you went through a major health thing where you had to really manage what you were doing. We have both been through something. And so we don’t have all the answers. 

Tonya Kubo (02:26) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (02:53) 

But here’s what we do, Tonya, You and I listen to the answers from the people in our communities that have chronic illness. And we’ve gained some insight. ? So if you are recovering from illness or you’re in a hard caregiving season, maybe you’re grieving or you were just run down. I mean, like that’s what I am. I’m run down. But this episode is for you. Tonya ? 

I put up a question in Facebook about how do you survive when you’re completely overwhelmed? And we got some great answers, including yours. And so I would love for you to share with our audience what you said ? you do when you’re in that space. 

Tonya Kubo (03:41) 

Yeah, I would love to. for me, and I think the question had something to do with like, you know, how, how do you intentionally like lower the bar, right? When you’re already in over your head. And so I feel like as a mom, right, I’ve got kids in the house, I’ve got a husband, but like the number one thing is everybody has to eat. 

Kathi Lipp (03:51) 

Yes, yes. 

Tonya Kubo (04:02) 

And I am fortunate in that we haven’t had too many situations where all of us are sick at the same time. There’s usually at least one person who can do something. But I think, you know, it’s making sure that you have stuff available for everybody to eat because that’s one of the best ways that you can heal and recover is to make sure you’re getting your nutrients. So generally speaking, we always have stuff to make soup on hand. 

Kathi Lipp (04:03) 

Mm-hmm. 

Yeah. Right. 

Tonya Kubo (04:31) 

I make my own bone broth, you know, anytime I roast a chicken or whatever. And so that’s usually in the freezer. I freeze fresh ginger so that I can add that easily to recipes. So I’ve almost always got that in the freezer. And then we do a lot of ? freezing of cooked meats, like just, you know, browning ground beef and having that ready to go, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. So in a perfect world, I’ll have all of that in my freezer and I can just make a quick pot of soup. But… 

We also keep like I buy like from frontier foods or something but dehydrated soup vegetables where you can just add like a quarter of a cup of them to you four cups of liquid and you make a quick soup So I think those like having a quick soup to put together is easy. I do live in town I can order delivery like I know when my mother-in-law has been sick. She loves whenever she’s sick She loves the chicken tortilla soup from El Pollo Loco and we’ll just 

Kathi Lipp (05:07) 

Yeah. 

yeah, that’s a good soup. 

Tonya Kubo (05:29) 

Yeah, well, if we’re not sick, we’ll order that and we’ll just go and take it to her, but we’ve ordered it before just to be delivered to her house. ? That’s super helpful. Abby swears the chicken noodle soup at Panera is the best soup ever. I don’t know, but okay. 

Kathi Lipp (05:44) 

Well, that’s kind of because 

Panera is kind of dressed up hospital food. you know, so that’s that’s where she’s getting the vibes from. Yes. But I will say, yeah, I don’t know. A Panera orange scone. ? Yeah, will heal just about anything. Yeah. So, ? you know, it’s so interesting. You and I were talking, I don’t know, a couple of weeks ago, and I was like, the best thing I did 

Tonya Kubo (05:50) 

okay. 

Got it, that would make sense. 

Hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (06:14) 

? when the bet the the thing that made me feel so much better was Roger changed the sheets and talk about sheets 

Tonya Kubo (06:20) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm, yes. So I don’t know about you, but I ever since I was little, I noticed that like there’s some funky smell that happens when you get sick. And it took me until I was in my 30s to realize that smell was my sheets. So one thing that we try to do is we always try to have at least two extra sets of ? sheets on hand to that way we can strip the bed every three, three days or so. 

Kathi Lipp (06:36) 

Yes. 

Tonya Kubo (06:54) 

But I find if I can keep up, nothing else, keep up on the towels and the sheets. Like if the linens are washed and dried and ready, I’m doing pretty well. So like when the stomach flu hits the house, that is my first priority is making sure that I’ve got clean towels and clean sheets in rotation at all times. Because if I get hit, I know that I deserve, Kathi Lipp, I deserve clean towels. I deserve clean sheets. 

Kathi Lipp (07:17) 

Right. 

Yes. Yes. 

Tonya Kubo (07:23) 

And if I’m not staying 

up on it while everybody else is sick, guess what? There’s no clean towels left for mom when she needs them. 

Kathi Lipp (07:30) 

Yeah, and can I just go a little step further on that? Now, people all lost their minds when I said, I don’t sort my clothes before I wash them. We’ll do a whole nother episode. But here is something I do that has been, ? especially when I’m sick, is using laundry sanitizer, which is not a bleach, but it just sanitizes your laundry. And when we’ve had COVID, when we have a big group of people here, 

Tonya Kubo (07:34) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mmm. 

Kathi Lipp (07:59) 

I just run the towels and the sheets through with the sanitizer and it just makes it feel so much cleaner. So just something to think about. Now that is not necessarily about lowering the standards. It’s just a little extra tip, but yeah. And by the way, if you’re sick, somebody else in your house should be doing that for you. Should be doing the laundry and stuff like that for you. Okay, I wanna talk food for when you are sick. 

Tonya Kubo (08:02) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (08:29) 

One of the things, a category that we got was meals that take less than five minutes. So Suzy Flory, who has been on this podcast before, she says, you know, if she has the energy, she makes a pot of chicken soup. But if she doesn’t have the energy, she opens up a can of refried beans, put some salsa and cheese into a tortilla and she has a quick burrito. And I’m like, 

That is dream. Can I tell you also what Suzy did for me last night? Because I’m still in the midst. Roger is not ? the guy who’s going to do a home cooked meal. ? She is on a book deadline. So she is offered to bring me, well, she’s on her doctoral thesis deadline, let’s be clear, which is turning into a book, right? But ? I kept telling her, don’t bring me anything. Don’t bring, you know, finish your book, finish your book, we’re fine. And she goes, 

Tonya Kubo (09:12) 

? yeah. 

Kathi Lipp (09:21) 

Hey, I’m coming to your house and bringing you food. And I’m like, that would be lovely because she’s offered so many times. So what she did, she just got back from Texas and she, think she was inspired by this. She stopped by our local grocery store. It’s local to her. And she picked up some sliced Thai tri-tip. She brought some ? barbecue sauces. She brought some potato salad, some pasta salad and some beans. 

Tonya Kubo (09:27) 

Yeah. 

Kathi Lipp (09:50) 

And ? so she and some buns and she made us tri-tip sandwiches last night and she stayed and ate with us, which was lovely. I mean, I was so tired by the time she left, but my soul was reenergized. And then this is where she is so extra. Not only did she bring us a quart of vanilla ice cream, she made ? peach hand pies because she know, right? And so. 

Tonya Kubo (09:55) 

Mmm. 

she makes the best pie crust ever. 

Kathi Lipp (10:17) 

This is more crust than pie, which by the way are the ratios that I love. So she really went extra for it, but it was so lovely and I felt so loved and so taken care of last night and so did Roger. Cause let’s also, he’s a caregiver all this. I try to be very low maintenance, but he is checking in all the time. ? Shannon Garcia says, ? we just do ? cereal and milk. And I’m like, you get it girl. I love that. ? 

Tonya Kubo (10:20) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (10:46) 

Tina Maxwell, I love this. She does a lot of charcuterie style snacks. You talked about how ? your Abby loves, does she call them? 

Tonya Kubo (10:56) 

The Snackle Box. 

Kathi Lipp (10:58) 

That’s right. You know, I love this just like getting some sliced ham, some sliced cheese. You can even get sliced apples and toothpicks and just like I grab kind of, if that sounds good to you, I love that. And then Trisha, I want to make sure, Ontiveros I hope I pronounced that right. Ontiveros, you said it much more elegantly than I did. 

Tonya Kubo (11:07) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm, on Tavares, yeah. 

Kathi Lipp (11:24) 

? Instant mashed potatoes, which I think everybody should have in their cabinet at all time. They’re so much better than they used to be. And here’s my justification for using them, is that Julia Child served them to her husband one time and he couldn’t tell the difference. I’m like, okay, if it’s good enough for Julia’s husband, it’s good enough for me. And then Trisha says she does that with some canned green beans and ham steak. And by the way, I’m not a big… 

Tonya Kubo (11:41) 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (11:51) 

canned green bean person, that’s not my favorite, but there is a lemon pepper seasoning that you can get at Costco, that you put that on any green bean product, it’s a winner. ? It’s the one with the cow head on it. I’ll make sure that we mention that, yeah, it’s so good. And then somebody else mentioned mac and cheese and frozen chicken nuggets and applesauce. that is a, whatever works, friend. ? Yeah, so. 

Tonya Kubo (12:03) 

So good? 

you 

Whatever works. 

Kathi Lipp (12:21) 

? Let’s talk about your pantry and some freezer MVPs. ? Now, Pauline and Shelly both mentioned rotisserie chickens. There is nothing. I keep a cut up frozen chicken in my freezer at all times. And then somebody else, you just mentioned a dehydrated vegetable soup mix. ? 

Tonya Kubo (12:37) 

Mmm, so smart. 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (12:49) 

And I’ve seen these Bear Creek soup mixes. 

Tonya Kubo (12:53) 

who always has five or six of those in her pantry. I will tell you, my family does not enjoy like soup mixes like that. That’s just not their thing. These are so good, Kathi. They do a really delicious, I will give you all my favorite flavors, not that you asked, but I will tell you them anyway. The minestrone is really good. There is a like cheddar potato that I think is really delicious. And then, yeah, so good. And then the beef and barley and what? 

Kathi Lipp (13:03) 

Okay? 

Okay? 

Okay, okay. 

? I’ve had that before. It’s so good. 

Tonya Kubo (13:23) 

My friend likes about them is you can just make them as is on the package, but they always have embellishment ideas on the back. So for the minestrone, what she does is she’ll brown ground beef and onion, and then she does the soup. So it’s a little bit of a heartier soup. ? But I have to say, I have not had a bad one. think right after my friend introduced me to them, I went to her house and we had soup together. I saw them for sale at the grocery store. 

Kathi Lipp (13:30) 

Yes. 

? 

? 

Tonya Kubo (13:52) 

Cause I feel like they’re a little expensive. They’re not really that expensive. Okay. I think they’re like $5, but they were on sale five for five. So he picks them up and even Brian, Mr. Soup Snob that he is, he thought they were pretty tasty. 

Kathi Lipp (13:56) 

Yeah, right. 

Okay, yeah, this is this is You know making some adjustments and you know zipping them up, which I love. Yeah, Sarah her Burley Sarah Burley mentioned this she says Bear Creek vegetable beef dry soup mix and add a can or two of canned beef from Walmart or Costco when they have it and a beef bullion cube and we have dinner for days makes eight to ten cups of soup. I love that 

Tonya Kubo (14:12) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (14:36) 

I love that and some you know, don’t don’t sleep on frozen entrees So one of the things we did is I made a sam’s card order or not sam’s card Excuse me sam’s club order where you can just go and pick it up because you know Roger this isn’t his bailiwick We’re just you know being honest here. So we got some of the shredded pork carnitas and we just did that with 

Tonya Kubo (14:46) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (15:03) 

some vegetables and that he did on the grill and some tortillas and that was wonderful. Some people suggest, ? go ahead, yeah. 

Tonya Kubo (15:09) 

Kathi, 

I’m sorry, because you said frozen entrees. have to share something that you like introduced us to. taking frozen, because we always have like frozen wonton, frozen pot stickers, things like that in our freezer, because my family loves that. But dropping that into some chicken broth with a little bit of green onion back to you can buy freeze dried green onion. Like tastes just like fresh. 

Kathi Lipp (15:18) 

Yeah. 

Yeah, yeah. 

Yeah. 

which is a beautiful thing, right? 

Tonya Kubo (15:36) 

But again, quick soup filling but light all at the same time. So fast. 

Kathi Lipp (15:41) 

Yeah 

Yeah, think about these things guys like the healthy choice steamers frozen ravioli ? A prepared meatloaf a prepared pizza like this is survival food guys We’re not talking about your entertaining or this is what you do every week I like to just have a sliced ham because ham can be eaten You know warm cold it does not matter 

Tonya Kubo (16:07) 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (16:09) 

You can throw it into eggs for breakfast. can have it between two slices of bread for lunch. You can put some ? mac and cheese with it and some artichokes or artichokes, excuse me, asparagus. And that’s dinner. Like do what you have to do. There have been some days where I just haven’t felt like eating, but Roger still wants to eat and I want to have things that are easy for him. ? Jill May says she eats 

Tonya Kubo (16:12) 

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (16:38) 

pressure canned meat. So ? if that is something you’re into, that’s great to do in advance. Or if you’re bringing something to somebody, that’s a beautiful thing. And then Lori Hayes says she loves a good salad kit, deli meat, hard boiled eggs. ? That is a winning combination. I love those ideas. Okay, but guys, it’s, ? it’s not just about the food. We also have other things to keep up on. 

Sarah Thompson made mention she only really keeps up on her bathroom and kitchen like right 

Tonya Kubo (17:15) 

I agree. I agree 

because everybody deserves to throw up in a clean toilet. That’s my rule. That is my rule. You deserve to throw up in a clean toilet. 

Kathi Lipp (17:21) 

it’s so true, right? Yeah. 

I love that. And you’re gonna be more likely to throw up in the right place if it’s clean. Let’s be clear, okay? ? Susie Flory says she just keeps Clorox wipes everywhere, because you can clean almost anything with a Clorox wipe. ? Yeah, and then make sure you, especially if somebody’s sick, if you don’t normally have room to keep all your cleaning supplies in the bathroom, ? 

Tonya Kubo (17:30) 

Exactly. 

Kathi Lipp (17:49) 

just for this time while people are sick, keep those Clorox wipes, keep everything in there because you just want to grab and go. I thought this was so smart and I have one of these and I have not been using it. But Carla Stewart says she uses one of those grabber tools for energy conservation. And Tonya, why have I been bending over and picking up Moose’s toys and her half-eaten chew sticks and 

the clothes that end up on the floor like a sucker. Like I have a grabber tool. 

Tonya Kubo (18:20) 

Because Kathi, 

because your brain cells are tired and are healing and they did not process that, okay? You needed somebody else to make the suggestion so you could go, ? I could do that. Now you will. 

Kathi Lipp (18:26) 

Yeah. No, they didn’t. 

Yes. 

And by the way, I’m using paper plates like it’s 1995. Like I don’t care anymore. 

Tonya Kubo (18:40) 

yeah, no, Brian, that is I would say Brian’s number one thing is if somebody’s sick, he runs to the store, he gets paper plates, paper napkins. ? He won’t do paper cups just because he feels like when you’re sick, you like neglect the cup and then it gets all leaky and gross. But he’ll even go so far as to get plastic utensils because for because he’s the one that keeps up with the dishes. He’s like, OK, if he gets hit, 

Kathi Lipp (18:56) 

Yeah. Yeah. 

Tonya Kubo (19:08) 

He just wants everybody to be able to just use and toss. 

Kathi Lipp (19:08) 

Yeah. 

Yeah, and I’m gonna hold this up for Tonya to see, right now I’m supposed to be drinking. It’s like one of those, what were the Stanley cups, but this is the cheap knockoff. got the, remember we had a meeting here several years ago and they came up with prizes and this is the one I got. I use this every day of my life, but ? I fill it up with, ? I need to keep hydrated. 

Tonya Kubo (19:15) 

? that’s a nice one. 

Yep. Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm, yep. 

Kathi Lipp (19:41) 

And the way I’ll do it, you can hear this, it’s still got ice from last night. And I just keep refilling it with ice and whether it’s something with electrolytes or something like that. I’m gonna run through the rest of these really fast. then Tonya, I’m gonna ask you for your best idea as we close out. ? the systems we keep up with are laundry and dishes. It’s the bare minimum. This is from Samantha Weatherstone. ? 

Tonya Kubo (19:45) 

Mm-hmm. 

Kathi Lipp (20:10) 

Those are the things that if you get backed up on it’s gonna be harder. So minimize those. Can ? you use the paper plates? Can you eat out of the container that you bought the food in? Do as much, but keep up on those when you have energy. You only have so much energy, put it where it has to go. This is not the time to go into your photo albums and reorganize them. Just keep up on dishes. 

? Keep grocery orders simple deliver drive up or ask a friend when somebody asks you what can they do? Go pick up their food order. You can assign somebody else your Sam’s order or your ? Your Rayleigh’s order, whatever that is ? Robin and Lynn both recommended that and then if you need toilet paper This is the time to bust out your Amazon order, right? You need paper towels. You need a food order 

Get that delivered. If you have to pay extra to get it here on time, do what you need to do. And then finally, when people are asking for help, Laurie Nichols says, ? accept help. People want to help. I want to help when my friends are sick. ? Shannon Garcia says, I love this. Asking doesn’t make you weak, it makes you human. ? My friend, Kathi Carlton Willis says, before you say no, ask God if he wants you to say yes to receiving help. 

? Julie Wiseman asked for specific help on social people jump at the chance, you know, so ? Hey, you know, my my kid is sick. Could you pick up our prescription people want to help I remember somebody was ? that I barely knew Needed to be picked up at the airport and I said, ? that’s easy. I can do that and She was so shocked and I’m like, no, it was an easy way and it was a specific way and I knew what time 

And so Tonya, give us one more example of something you can do ? when you need to lower your standards. 

Tonya Kubo (22:12) 

well, would say ? accepting help, I think, is probably like the best advice ever, but also like reaching out for help. You know, if you’re sick, call a friend and, you know, ask one of your kid’s friends if they can bring your child home. That has been the hardest thing for me as a parent to go, ? I could ask somebody else to pick the girls up and take them to school or to bring them home. 

Kathi Lipp (22:24) 

Yeah. 

Yes. 

Tonya Kubo (22:40) 

I think that’s a big one. And even like picking up a grocery order for you. Like you can place the order because not everybody has grocery delivery, but can somebody pick it up for you and bring it to your house? 

Kathi Lipp (22:41) 

Yeah. 

Yeah, and you know, ? I thought this was this is such a good one to end on ? Tracy DeLong. ? She recently lost her husband and I mean, that’s the ultimate ? grief ? energy zapper and her advice. I love this ? every day. I got out of bed made my bed brush my teeth got dressed had devotions and breakfast even if I didn’t feel like it is helped me. 

to have some order and stability in this season of unrest. So thank you to all of you who shared your wisdom. Tonya, thank you because I love you. You are such a grace first person and I’ve appreciated that in my life. And when I see you ? give it to the people in our Clutterfree Academy membership, ? you are a model for all. And friend. 

Take good care of yourself in this season. That is your highest calling, it really is. ? Friends, you’ve been listening to Clutter Free Academy, I’m Kathi Lipp. Now, go create the clutter free life you’ve always wanted to live.