#680 -From Overwhelmed to Organized: Transform Your Closet in 45 Minutes

#680 -From Overwhelmed to Organized: Transform Your Closet in 45 Minutes

#680 -From Overwhelmed to Organized: Transform Your Closet in 45 Minutes

Is your closet causing you stress instead of bringing you joy? In this episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi Lipp and Tonya Kubo share their proven system for creating a closet you’ll actually love opening every day. 

What You’ll Discover: 

  • How to set a clear vision for your ideal closet (and why this matters more than you think)Simple organizational solutions that make any closet feel 40% more organized 
  • Storage solutions that work for small spaces and tight budgets 

Perfect for listeners who: 

  • Feel overwhelmed every time they open their closet door 
  • Struggle with decision fatigue when getting dressed 
  • Want practical systems that actually work long-term 
  • Are tired of failed decluttering attempts 

Kathi and Tonya share their personal closet confessions, favorite organizational tools, and the small changes that make the biggest difference. You’ll leave this episode with a clear plan to create a closet that feels like “the best curated consignment shop” of items you actually want to wear. 

Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest

Kathi Lipp gives readers an easy-to-follow process for meal planning and prep, so that they can enjoy a full day each week of real rest and refreshment.

Could you use a break from cooking (and everything else) once a week? Not only is rest vital for your mind and body, it’s good for your soul too. God designed us to enter into Sabbath rest one day per week, but as you know, meals still need to be made. Your family still needs to be fed.

Sabbath Soup includes convenient, seasonal meal plans that take the guesswork out of shopping and cooking. More than just a collection of delicious recipes—including main dishes, breads, breakfasts, desserts, salads, sides, and yes, soups—this is your guide to establishing a weekly rhythm and routine of meal planning and prep that allows you to have a true day off.

Do something good for your soul and experience the peace that comes with a full day dedicated to spending time with God, family, and friends. Savor your Sabbath as you proudly proclaim, “Soup’s on!”

Order your copy of Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest here.

Links Mentioned:

FYI: Some product links may be affiliate links. If you buy, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! 

As promised, a photo of how Roger’s closet is organized using the above linked shelf dividers:

Clutter Free Resources:

Let’s stay connected

To share your thoughts:

  • Leave a note in the comment section below.
  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.

Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe to our newsletter now.

Meet Our Co-Host

 

Tonya Kubo

Tonya Kubo is the illustrious and fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter Free Academy Facebook group and the Clutter Free for Life membership program. A professional community strategist, she believes everyone deserves to have a place online where they feel like they belong. Raised by a hoarder, Tonya knows firsthand the pain and isolation that comes from living in conditions others don’t understand. She wants better for her family and her cluttery peeps, which is why she is passionate about the compassionate slow-and-steady approach that makes Clutter Free unique. She lives in the heart of California with her husband, Brian, their two spirited daughters, and one very tolerant cat. Visit tonyakubo.com to find out more about her community work, or email her at tonya@kathilipp.org to discuss the Clutter Free Academy podcast and programs.
Tonya Kubo Picture
Transcript

Kathi Lipp (00:10) 

Hey friends, welcome to clutter free Academy where our goal is to help you take small doable steps to live every day with less clutter and more life and We are back with our series. We’re just taking it one space at a time Sometimes we just need a deep dive and that’s what we’re here to do how to declutter certain areas of your home And I am here with my fellow clutter girl 

  

? We have gone through our houses together and we live to tell the tale. It is Tonya Kubo. Hey, Tonya. 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:43) 

Hey Kathi 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:44) 

Okay, so I need to know how does your clothes closet make you feel? Do you approach it with love and joy? Is it overwhelming? Like what’s the deal for you? 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:57) 

I am pretty ambivalent about my clothes closet, but I don’t have a walk-in closet. ? so, you know, I just have like a stereotypical 1950s sort of row of clothes across and Brian gets about two thirds of it and I have a third of it. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:14) 

That is not the normal breakdown for a couple. 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:18) 

No, but it’s a normal breakdown for us. When we lived in a bigger house, he had two closets and I had one closet, but my closet wasn’t full. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:21) 

Okay. 

  

? Brian Kubo, 

  

you live an extravagant life. I love it so much. Yeah, I also do not have a walk-in closet. This house was built more as a summer retreat than it was like. People are very impressed we live here year-round. When we moved here, it wasn’t supposed to be a year-round place. And then we decided to move here year-round and the people who ? 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:39) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:54) 

Sold us the house. There’s like, we’re very impressed. You’re living there year round and our neighbors were like we did not think you were going to make it the first two years. So i’m like, yeah, we didn’t either because the house kept trying to kill us but ? It was yes. Yes, but ? we have come to a peaceful living arrangement with the house We we’ve stopped trying to burn it down and it’s stopped trying to kill us. So it’s a beautiful thing 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:02) 

hahahaha 

  

I was going to say that was a rough two years. I was there for it. 

  

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:21) 

but the closets have not gotten any bigger. And I wanna talk about how do we get to be more in love with our closet? And today I wanna talk about making that a reality. So we’re gonna talk about how do you declutter, clean and organize your closet? Because that’s going to get us a fur piece to really loving it. So number one, I want us to think about 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:30) 

Hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:50) 

How do we set a vision for our closet which sounds very woo-woo, but do you want a decluttered closet? Do you want because you want less? Decision fatigue more space feeling good about your wardrobe ? I do but I also want I also don’t want to go there and say I have nothing to wear because I don’t like the clothes in the closet So I I don’t want to over declutter, but I also don’t want it under declutter and so ? 

  

I thought this was really interesting. I heard about somebody who talked about a visualization exercise. Imagine your ideal closet and how it makes you feel. So for me right now, we talked about this on a previous episode. One, I love, and I do mean love, some matching hangers Like that gets me 30 % of the way to feeling good about my closet. 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:42) 

you 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:46) 

So I’ve got you’ve got matching hangers tonya. I’ve got matching hangers ? what I wish my closet had right now that it doesn’t is a little bit more space before between the clothes ? right now it’s a little too packed for my I haven’t done a deep declutter on that In a while, so that’s something I want to do. The other thing is ? And my closet doesn’t cause me stress right now 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:58) 

Hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:13) 

but one improvement that I’d like to make in the next month or so is hanging all the pants together, hanging all the jeans together so I can really see what I have. Is there anything that you’ve done in your closet that makes you feel better about it? 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:21) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, so it’s funny, I don’t do this consistently, but I have, because I typically organize my closet, you I have a coat and then anything that’s long and then business attire. And then I kind of go to more casual toward the center of the closet. But ? one time I color coded everything like I had everything done by color. And I have to tell you, it was so much easier to find 

  

my favorite top, my favorite this, my favorite that, when I had it arranged that way. Now I will tell you week to week, I did not have the energy to be that thoughtful about how I put things away. But when I do, it’s special, Kathi It really is. Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:59) 

you 

  

It feels good, right? 

  

Yeah, you know, when I know I’m having a busy week and I really want to, you know, launch well, I’ll put together outfits for that week. And that’s a beautiful thing. I’m not going to lie that really, really, because you already know that shirt hits you at the right spot for those pants, etc, etc. It makes me it makes me very, happy. So 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:22) 

Mmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:37) 

Yeah, that’s set what step one is like, how do I set my vision for this closet? ? Again, sounds a little woo woo, but it actually makes it makes a big difference. And step two, the purge. ? If you are able to maintain that one in one out rule, that’s really, really helpful. But also, ? maybe setting aside like 45 minutes and trying on questionable pieces. Now, Tonya, I’m going to admit. 

  

I’ve had something in my closet for three years now that I have never worn. ? And it’s something I spent a lot of money on and I tried it on in the store. ? It’s from the Sundance store, which they don’t have any near me. I bought this in Colorado. I cannot return it. And every time I go to try it on, feels a little, it’s a dress. It feels a little too short. And 

  

Tonya Kubo (06:10) 

Mmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:36) 

I but I can’t get rid of it and I think we all have something like that in our closet if you don’t you are a stronger human being than I am but There’s been a lot of other things that I’ve bought and it’s like I’ve worn it a couple times I’m like, you know what this just doesn’t feel like me So if you take 45 minutes and just try on some questionable pieces and say, okay Will I ever wear this is this something that I should keep in my closet? 

  

And if it doesn’t make you feel great, get it out of there. You probably already have enough that makes you feel good. And when I get rid of enough questionable pieces, I’m like, okay, if I get rid of 10 things, I’m gonna allow myself to buy one thing that’s gonna replace that. Because I have, and so it is time for me to do that. What is your purge system? 

  

Tonya Kubo (07:23) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, so for me, ? I don’t do a lot of shopping. So I’m not one of those reasonable people who buys like a couple of pieces every season. So typically what I’ll do is as I’m putting away my clothes, there’s this one shirt or something that gets in my way. And I realize, it’s because I haven’t worn it in a long time and now I’m starting to get really grumpy about having to move it to put my clothes in. And so that always tells me, okay, it’s time to go through the closet. 

  

And so I’ll get rid of everything. And then what I do is I inventory what I need to replace because I dislike shopping so much that I do not want to go and buy four shirts if I actually only need two, because there’s a lot more trying on if I have to go home with four versus two. and then I also will take a look through I’ll look at Brian’s clothes because Brian wears a lot of printed t-shirts. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:17) 

Right. 

  

Tonya Kubo (08:26) 

And if there shirts that like the designs are coming off, I know he won’t get rid of those shirts, but I’ll make a note like for gifts and stuff for him for later. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:35) 

Mmm. that’s nice. I love that you’re you’re planning on a replacement. I love that so much ? Another strategy for maintaining how much is in your closet ? We had on the abundant home conference my friend Lauren who has a tik-tok channel about how every season she pulls out her clothes turns the the hangers back we’ve all heard this trick and she only flips them when she wears them and ? 

  

And then at the end of the season, what she does is she works at a college and so she donates a lot of those clothes to girls she works with at the college. And so she knows they’re going to somebody who will give them a good home. She does the same thing with her shoes. She’s trying on everything every year. And I love that for her. ? And you guys have all heard our quiz, do I love it, do I use it, would I buy it again? So I’m going to… ? 

  

Tonya Kubo (09:13) 

you 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:34) 

give you a couple of different questions you could ask about clothes. Do you love it? If you love it, you get to keep it as long as you also wear it. This dress I got at Sundance, I love it, but I don’t wear it because I don’t necessarily love it on me. And then the third question, know, when I was coming up with this, I’m like, does it fit and does it flatter? And I’ve decided I don’t like the word flatter. 

  

Because I think that that for many of us doesn’t make me look thinner and I care a lot less about whether something makes me look five pounds less Here’s what I care more about. Does it fit and does it feel like me? Does it feel like what I would want the world to see me in and so if flatter is a very important thing to you then go ahead and keep it but 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:04) 

Hmm. 

  

Hmm. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:34) 

I would love for us to think about does it fit and does it feel like me? ? Do you have any sentimental clothes that you hold on to even though you don’t wear them? 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:47) 

I mean, I still have my engagement dress. I have that. You know, I have my wedding dress. But beyond that, I have a t-shirt. It’s so old right now. But Brian brought it back from Disneyland. had a chaperoned grad night. And it so he brought that back for me the day that we found out we were expecting Lily. So I keep that and it’s orange. It’s orange and it says bad girls rule. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:50) 

Aww. 

  

Aww. 

  

Tonya Kubo (11:17) 

and it has the evil queen on it and all sorts of sequins and stuff and I love it. In fact, think like Lily wears it every now and then now, which is funny because she never wears orange, but yeah, it’s a fun shirt and I still have it, but it’s very memorable. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:30) 

? I love that so much. Yeah, I have a couple of things, like things that people have given me that are sentimental that I don’t necessarily wear, but I can’t really get rid of them. You know, it’s just, ? you know, so I think it’s okay to have a couple of things, a couple of things that you’re like, I’m not ready to get rid of that. And it’s like, that’s okay. You know what? If you’re still functioning, if you still have enough clothes to wear, it’s okay. 

  

? Okay, so now if you’ve decided I’m getting rid of this I I want to give you a couple of different piles So there’s the keep pile obviously that can all go back in donate. So if it’s still in good condition ? You can donate that trash and then I think there’s also a reasonable pile That is I’m going to try it on again. Maybe closer to fall or maybe you 

  

You don’t have to make your decisions in one fell swoop. You can say, you know what, I’m not ready to make this decision. Now, I want you to make hard decisions as much as you can, but if you can’t, that’s okay. We can do this in steps because we are compassionate with ourselves and with others. Okay, we’re gonna take a quick break and when we come back, I wanna talk about cleaning out and organizing your closet. So we’re gonna come right back. 

  

Okay, friends, so if you’ve pulled a lot of your clothes out, now you don’t have to pull everything out at once. I don’t need you to do this. This is not Marie Kondo. We don’t need to pile everything in the middle of our bed and make it work. And even Marie Kondo has said recently, that’s too much. It’s too much. Don’t do that. So. 

  

Tonya Kubo (13:13) 

It’s 

  

amazing what having children will do to change your perspective on keeping your house tidy. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:19) 

It really is. can I just say, I love that she said that. Because when I read her book, I was like, yeah, no, no, no, no, no, that’s not going to work for me. And now she’s saying, you know what? I’ve had a little bit more life experience. That doesn’t work for me either. So maybe if you’re 20s, Marie Kondo can totally work for you. Otherwise, maybe be gentle with yourself. So ? as much as you can, as you’re pulling things out, 

  

Tonya Kubo (13:24) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:45) 

This is the time to grab a vacuum. Grab that feather duster. You know, it’s the fuzzy duster. Let’s call it that. Get in there and clean. ? I just recently redid Roger’s closet. ? you know, I don’t consider that an especially dirty place. We do not put his clothes away dirty in there. But pulling all that out felt really good to be able to swiffer in there, wet swiffer, and just get it looking really, really good. ? Also, ? 

  

Well, we’ll talk about organization in a second, but ? get in there and just deep clean, get a handy vac, do all that. Now I also want you to go in there and let’s talk about organization. ? You can categorize by type and function. So maybe there’s work clothes, casual clothes. If you have anything formal, Roger has a couple of shirts. I mean, ? suits. I have a couple of more dressy dresses. ? maybe there’s some seasonal. We are. 

  

Where we live in the mountains, it’s very seasonal. I have probably a quarter of my wardrobe crosses over all year round. Things like sweat bottoms, things like that. But all of my winter clothes are up in the attic right now and I’ve just got summer clothes out. Now that’s probably not the same for you, right Tonya? 

  

Tonya Kubo (15:08) 

No, mean, our house is so much smaller, but we do have like our winter clothes. I put that underneath my bed. I have organizers and because, you know, again, small closets, those bulky winter clothes take up so much space. 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:17) 

Okay. that’s right. 

  

They really do. You probably have a lot more clothes that you can wear year round. ? Yeah. So, you know, also think about, and I’m going to put up a picture of what I’ve done with Roger’s closet. Now my closet has a lot of, I’m not going to say nonsense, but things you might not expect in a closet. Like we keep all of our medications up on the top shelf of my closet. 

  

We keep a lot of my hair products, those kind of things. So that’s not what the typical closet is going to be for, but I’ll show you Roger’s because we’ve been able to really ? put some great systems in there that has really helped. ? So I wanna talk about some of the storage solutions we’ve done. So ? again, I use slim velvet hangers to maximize space. Roger hates those. He hates the texture of them. 

  

So he has just white plastic hanger. ? You might wanna consider clear storage bins. ? That’s what I use for all that, ? like the back stock of our bathroom stuff that we use in there. ? I also, something I’ve just discovered recently that has been super helpful is shelf dividers. So ? Roger has like four categories of clothes that he has on the top. 

  

portion of the shelf. Now I used to just throw them up there. Like there was no rhyme or reason, but he has sweats. He has long sleeve shirts. He has short sleeve shirts and jeans. And we got some shelf dividers and these things are a miracle. I love them so much. They just slide onto the shelf and they have like a wire separator and it has made his closet 40 % more organized. I love it. 

  

Tonya Kubo (17:02) 

Want to pick? 

  

Mmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:19) 

? Yeah, I love these things. ? Also, you might want to consider hanging organizers for shoes or accessories, especially like my mom has the largest closet I have ever personally been in. It is huge. Like when they showed the house, they had a gym inside the closet. It’s huge. It’s huge. So, ? you know, my mom has shoe rack organized, hanging shoe rack organizer. 

  

Tonya Kubo (17:20) 

Nice. 

  

my gosh. 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:49) 

because she has so much hanging closet space. That is not my personal dilemma. ? And then if you have drawers in your closet, well, we live an entirely different life. We just do. But ? if you do, we’ll link to the episode about ? the sock and underwear drawer organizers that might be able to help you. ? 

  

You know, there are some people like they repaint their closets. That’s not really my jam. I just want my clothes to be at I wanted to feel like I’m going into a really well run consignment store. Does that sound weird? 

  

Tonya Kubo (18:32) 

No, not at all. I mean, you want it to feel cozy and exciting and you want everything to make sense. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:41) 

Yes, yes. I think and something that has been really important for me is at the end of the day, I am very careful like the shirt I’m wearing right now. I’m wearing this for work. I’m not wearing this to make dinner. I’m not wearing this to go out into the garden. So this has not been worn. So I have not spilled anything on it yet. I mean, the day is still young, but I’m going to hang this up again. 

  

So that has been a real saver for me. Okay, we’re about to get controversial again, Tonya. So here we are, right? Okay, so we live far from everything. So pretty much after work is done, I’m gonna take my work clothes off and I’m gonna get into my night clothes. I’m gonna get into some sweat bottoms. I’m gonna put on a sports bra, which I sleep in, which freaks people out apparently. I don’t care, I live my life. Nothing bad has ever. 

  

Tonya Kubo (19:18) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:38) 

has ever happened because I’ve been in a sports bra while I’ve been asleep. In fact, I would like to suggest if I had to leave here in the middle of the night, which I’ve had to do to take Roger to the ER, I was very glad I slept in a sports bra. That’s a good thing for me. I’ve never had to, I just hang my clothes up again. And every once in a while, I’ll wash them again. 

  

Tonya Kubo (20:03) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:05) 

putting those away, having room in my closet, not having to fight with that is huge for me and I really, really love it. And then one of the things I’m going to commit to from this podcast out, I have shoe storage in my closet. I’ve got some shelves in there. This is my lazy habit. I just throw my shoes in there. I don’t put them back on the shelves. 

  

Tonya Kubo (20:31) 

you 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:32) 

So about once a week, I’d love to say I’m gonna be the person who just, that’s never gonna happen. I am 58 years old this week. It’s never gonna happen for me to just put those right back in there. So I’m going to once a week commit to putting all those things back in there. Any closet confessionals you wanna give us, anything you wanna change. 

  

Tonya Kubo (20:54) 

Yeah, I would, I feel like I say this every time we talk about closets on here. It’s like, I want to make better space of the floor of the closet. Cause I have a floor and then there’s ? drawers below it. And so I can’t put anything too heavy because then the drawers will collapse. But I always feel like it’s such a waste of space. This open space down here. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:02) 

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Right? Yeah. 

  

Okay, okay, we’re both committing to making our closets more functional. I love it ? guys it will have a little download here so that you can follow along with some of these suggestions because We want your closet. Like I said, I think that that is my new vision is to have the best curated consignment shop That of all things that I would want to buy that makes me super happy.  

 

More Posts 

#679 – Grief and Clutter – A Journey Through Loss and Letting Go

#679 – Grief and Clutter – A Journey Through Loss and Letting Go

#679 – Grief and Clutter – A Journey Through Loss and Letting Go

Join Kathi as she has a conversation with Lisa Woolery who lost her husband Eric suddenly at age 50. Lisa faced an overwhelming reality: not only was she grieving the love of her life, but she also inherited his extensive collection that filled their 6,700 square foot home. From dozens of guns to barrels of water and MREs, Eric’s “beautiful, cluttery” nature had created a different kind of burden for his wife and their two children. 

In this deeply moving episode of Clutter Free Academy, Lisa shares her raw and honest journey of grieving not just her husband, but also dealing with the mountain of possessions he left behind. You’ll discover how she navigated the anger, the overwhelm, and ultimately found peace through intentional decluttering. 

Listeners will gain an inside look at someone having to manage a loved one’s clutter after they are gone, learn practical strategies for honoring a loved one’s memory without keeping everything, including Lisa’s “five box rule” that helped her teenagers choose what mattered most when they downsized. She reveals the difference between sentimental items worth keeping and collections that served their purpose, and how creating a curated space helped her heal and move forward. 

Whether you’re dealing with your own loss or simply struggling with a partner’s clutter, this episode offers hope, practical wisdom, and permission to choose peace over possessions. 

Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest

Kathi Lipp gives readers an easy-to-follow process for meal planning and prep, so that they can enjoy a full day each week of real rest and refreshment.

Could you use a break from cooking (and everything else) once a week? Not only is rest vital for your mind and body, it’s good for your soul too. God designed us to enter into Sabbath rest one day per week, but as you know, meals still need to be made. Your family still needs to be fed.

Sabbath Soup includes convenient, seasonal meal plans that take the guesswork out of shopping and cooking. More than just a collection of delicious recipes—including main dishes, breads, breakfasts, desserts, salads, sides, and yes, soups—this is your guide to establishing a weekly rhythm and routine of meal planning and prep that allows you to have a true day off.

Do something good for your soul and experience the peace that comes with a full day dedicated to spending time with God, family, and friends. Savor your Sabbath as you proudly proclaim, “Soup’s on!”

Order your copy of Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest here.

Links Mentioned:

FYI: Some product links may be affiliate links. If you buy, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! 

Clutter Free Resources:

Let’s stay connected

To share your thoughts:

  • Leave a note in the comment section below.
  • Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.

Subscribe on iTunes or subscribe to our newsletter now.

Meet Our Guest

 

Lisa Woolery

After two decades as a public relations executive, Lisa was thrown into widowing without warning. Not ashamed of her many “hot messes,” she shares the challenges of rebuilding life after the desolation of losing her husband.

Lisa writes with grit, humor, and raw honesty so other widows know they don’t have to be perfect in the face of grief. In The Widow’s Comeback, she dives into money, abandonment, parenting tweens, dating, self-forgiveness, and faith—offering companionship and hope for the road ahead.

She lives in Kansas City, loving on her two teenagers while chasing after her three rapscallion dogs. For fun, she travels the world, plays pickleball, and reads in her cheetah-print recliner.

The Widow’s Comeback memoir and the companion 365-Day Grieving Calendar are her first books. Lisa is currently working on her first Widow’s Comeback comedic novel. Stay tuned.

Follow her journey at TheWidowsComeback.com or on Facebook and Instagram @TheWidowsComeback.

Tonya Kubo Picture
Transcript

Kathi Lipp (00:08) 

Well, hey friends, welcome to Clutter Free Academy where our goal is to help you take small doable steps every day to live with less clutter and more life. And I’m so excited to have one of my friends on the podcast. She’s never been here before, but we are talking about, it’s a hard topic, but it’s also gonna be a good topic today. ? the title that we’re working with is A Minimalist Journey Through Loss and Letting Go. 

  

This is my friend Lisa Woolery. She recently wrote a book called The Widow’s Comeback. What if you knew you’d be okay? Lisa, welcome to the program. 

  

Lisa Woolery (00:47) 

Well, thanks for having me, Kathi. I’m really excited to be here. I just love your ministry and the work that you do. 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:51) 

Hmm 

  

Well, and you’re part of that. You help, especially over on our writer’s side, and I’m so grateful for that. And we’ve already done some foreshadowing here about what this topic is going to be. ? You are widowed. And tell us just really briefly ? that portion of your story. 

  

Lisa Woolery (01:14) 

Yeah. Well, one day when I was 50, I was making dinner for my husband who was 53 and he died suddenly while I was chopping broccoli. I unsuccessfully gave him CPR and suddenly my life really was over because I had to figure out how to create a new life without him. And I had two tweens at the time. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:27) 

Wow. 

  

my goodness. It just unimaginable. And I will say that you do live with a lot of joy. I see that every single time I’m in a room with you, a zoom room or in a room physically with you, you do live with a lot of joy, which I’m sure at the time seemed impossible. And you had not only did you have grief, but you had a lot of really practical things to take care of. 

  

And when we were talking about doing this podcast, you said that you’re more of a minimalist. I mean, I see in your house almost every single day. We’re on Zoom almost every single day. And I would never, ever think that you have a clutter problem. But maybe your husband was a little bit more on the cluttery side. Is that the impression I’m getting? 

  

Lisa Woolery (02:35) 

My husband was a beautiful, cluttery person. Yes. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:38) 

Yes, they’re the best, right? This is why 

  

we all marry them. And then we figure out, oh, no, oh, no, what have I done? But you guys were married for almost 30 years, you know, and very, very close. But your husband, you say was a little bit of a prepper. And you know, that’s close to my heart. I’ve written a book on prepping. But it sounds like maybe he was a little bit more extreme than I was. 

  

Lisa Woolery (02:45) 

Hahaha. 

  

Hello. 

  

Yeah, well, I think that, so my husband was a member of the NRA, lifelong gun owner, ? loved to shoot, hunt, these kinds of things. And then some new topic or hobby came about, which was called prepping. And it sort of… 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:13) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yes. 

  

Lisa Woolery (03:30) 

it sort of fell into what my husband loved to do, which was to collect things and go like all out. Like I used to joke that Eric Woolery put in 100 % when he had a new hobby. And so when we were young in our marriage and had our first apartments, he immediately got the extra bedroom for his clutter. And then as our marriage grew and we became… 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:41) 

Right. 

  

? got it. 

  

Lisa Woolery (03:58) 

better at our careers and made more money. We just bought bigger houses so he could have more space for his things. And ? I like to laugh and say that Eric Woolery died like eight months early because he missed COVID and all of the collecting of toilet paper and all of those things. Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:15) 

? He would have been proven right! 

  

Yes. I, my big flex was when I went to Costco, 

  

just as COVID was emerging, they’re like, you don’t need to buy toilet paper. I’m like, baby, I’m set. I’m good. Don’t you worry about Ms. Kathi. We’re good here. And yes, you know, I, first of all, I’m glad that you had whatever you needed in that time. ? you know, he probably would have looked at it like, Hey baby, look, I was taking good care of you. 

  

Lisa Woolery (04:35) 

Ha ha ha! 

  

Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:50) 

I 

  

made sure that you were prepared. So here’s my question. ? Was it a big point of contention? Was it a big point of frustration in your marriage? Tell me, unpack that for me. 

  

Lisa Woolery (04:54) 

You 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Well, we had two topics throughout our 28 year marriage that we never resolved. One was junk food. One was clutter. And so we, like I said, we managed it by having more rooms and, and we had an agreement that the house was mine to keep neat and tidy and his rooms were his to do what he wanted. And so, ? 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:10) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Okay. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Lisa Woolery (05:32) 

That’s kind of how we dealt with that. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:34) 

You know, and it’s really interesting. ? That is pretty much the conclusion I’ve come to for a lot of people is that we may never resolve with our, it’s the people who have a lot of clutter and are not working on it that I know can be very, very frustrating. And so that clutter has to be contained behind the door or, you know, on shelves or something like that. So what you guys really did was, 

  

You didn’t argue over stuff you agreed on space Yeah, and that is something that we really Preach here because you’re probably never going to change somebody else’s clutter personality But you can say hey, it’s important to me that I live in a house that I feel comfortable in and that means not having guns and ammo Because I we’ve talked a little bit about this 

  

Lisa Woolery (06:08) 

100%, yes. 

  

you 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:32) 

He wasn’t just collecting toilet paper and food, right? 

  

Lisa Woolery (06:35) 

No, 

  

  1. When he died, we had in the basement of our 6,700 square foot house, he had these big rooms down there where he had his prepper things. And yeah, he liked guns. We had a joke. He never counted my shoes. I never counted his guns. And when he died, actually our estate was frozen for three months.

  

Kathi Lipp (06:46) 

Wow. 

  

Yes. 

  

Lisa Woolery (07:04) 

for an investigation and a delayed death certificate and some things. So luckily actually, because I sold his 74 guns and that allowed us to have food on the table and go on field trips with school, rent a violin and et cetera. So that was actually a little helpful. Yeah, yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (07:04) 

Hmm. Yeah. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Yeah, he was taking care of you from the beyond. He absolutely was. Yeah. 

  

And guys, we know people have a lot of different feelings about guns. We’re just telling you what the actual story is. Yeah. I, I, have to understand, ? you know, a lot of people really draw a line in the sand and say, you know, I, I know what’s in these rooms. So you have to, you have to get rid of this stuff. And, but 

  

That stuff made Eric very happy. ? I right? And it wasn’t a financial burden or was it? Okay. 

  

Lisa Woolery (08:00) 

Yeah. 

  

It was not. And he 

  

and he actually would invite the kids in he would take the kids to gun shows and they would buy MREs and all of these things and they would make bug out bags together. And he enjoyed it. It was his hobby. And that’s fine. I was fine with that. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:15) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, 

  

I wonder if he and I ever ran into each other at PrepperCon, because we did go one year in Utah. You know what, we’re going to take a little commercial break. And then when we come back, I want to talk about grieving, not just Eric, but the stuff and how you dealt with that, if there was resentment. And just giving us the non-cluttery person’s perspective about 

  

you know, what we leave behind. And I think that that could be really helpful. We’re gonna take a quick break and we’ll come right back. Okay, friends, I am back with Lisa Woolery, The Widow’s Comeback, and we are talking, I’m sorry, I didn’t even get that into frame there. ? We are talking about the stuff that’s left behind when somebody you love is gone. And, 

  

not only were you grieving, but you had a lot of practical things you had to take care of. And, you know, one of them was selling some of the things. Tell me some of the other things that, you know, you were left to deal with that some of us might not think of because I’ve never lost a spouse. I’ve lost my dad, but I haven’t. My mom is still with us. I’m so grateful. So I know that there are going to be big things I have to deal with that I didn’t have to deal with with the loss of my dad. 

  

because, ? you know, and it’s a little bit different because than losing parents because that’s closing an entire estate, but you were still around. still had, you still had to live life even though your partner was gone. 

  

Lisa Woolery (10:04) 

Yeah. Well, I have a scene in my book where I wasn’t expecting this, but over the course of five days, five huge crates came from Southern California to my house in Kansas. We had lived in Kansas for nine months and he was ? working super commuting and his staff finally, a few months later, was probably six months later, packed up his stuff and sent it. And it was four very large crates. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:34) 

  1. my.

  

Lisa Woolery (10:34) 

One day, 

  

yeah, one day I looked out on to the front yard and my puppies were out there just tearing things up and there was just trash everywhere. And one of the crates had arrived and the puppies tore into it. And it was such a huge mess. I kenneled the dogs and I went outside and was just like the wind was blowing. I was trying to get a hold of all this stuff and I hadn’t yet been mad at Eric, but ? 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:45) 

Mm. 

  

Lisa Woolery (11:03) 

I was burning mad. Like I remember being out there just yelling you F F F. You leave me with this and I have to clean up more. When will it end? And I just had a horrendous meltdown in my front yard. I mean, I don’t know who saw or who heard or like I don’t even care. But ? so there was some anger. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:09) 

Mmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Of course, of course. 

  

Lisa Woolery (11:31) 

in dealing with some of that stuff. And, you know, it was probably the resolution of all the fights that we had had about his stuff. But, you know, I cleaned it up, I dealt with it, and then I moved forward. And it was kind of empowering that I was allowed to choose what to do with this stuff. And I actually called my neighbor and said, all this stuff is here. I don’t want the kids to see it. And so she said, 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:38) 

Right. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Lisa Woolery (12:00) 

put it all in your car, bring it down and I’ll put my trash cans up at the curb. And then I just threw it all out and I did that for four days. I did it for four days straight. The last day I took the last crate, I put it down in the basement in this kid room where they had their puzzles and sleeping bags and just put it in the back and thought, well, they can find that one day. 

  

Kathi Lipp (12:07) 

wow. 

  

Okay, okay, so it was is a process of going through that I You know, I it’s such a weird question, but I’m gonna ask it anyway You know those of us who struggle with our clutter when we live with other people You know, they they get to share that burden What what do you wish Eric would have known? Maybe in the five years before he passed that would have helped you 

  

it not only in the grieving process, but the going on process. 

  

Lisa Woolery (12:57) 

Well, I think that his prepper stuff is okay. Like it’s fine. I dealt with it. Like I loved the guy and I loved all of his silly, silly quirks. I mean, I would say that the things that I wish we would have prepared for better were ? like financial things. Like we never got around to finishing our ? estate because we couldn’t decide who the kids would go to. And he left a business loan. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:03) 

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Lisa Woolery (13:25) 

? Just like some things like that. So I can’t even say it was clutter. Like I’m a good cleaner out or I’m not sentimental. I just threw it all away. Well, actually, I’ll say this. And for anybody who’s dealing with a cluttery prepper husband and gets to get rid of some of the stuff, I would like take pictures of these big barrels that you could put water in or just MREs. And I just put it up on Marketplace and I’d say, 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:33) 

Yeah. 

  

Yeah, yeah. 

  

Lisa Woolery (13:55) 

prepper stuff, $100. And people would come to my house and they’d just take it away. And some of the guys would be like, are you sure I can take this? I feel like I’m leaving you in an unsafe position. And I would be like in my head, COVID happened. My husband died. What worse things am I going to have to live through where I’m going to need an MRE? 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:56) 

Mm-hmm, yeah. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Yeah, it’s so it’s so true you’ve already lived through the worst of it and Here we are and you know, I will always keep prepper stuff. Just I’m not an extensive prepper I’m a very practical prepper like I go through my stuff. We have lots of canned food. We’re good you know, we make sure that we have a ? Non-electric can opener so we can get into that food that kind of thing 

  

Lisa Woolery (14:23) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (14:46) 

? You say you’re not sentimental, but ? was there any struggle with getting rid of some of these things that Eric cared about? Or did you really from the start know this isn’t Eric, this is things he cared about. There are two different things. Like how did you rationalize all that? 

  

Lisa Woolery (15:08) 

Well, I didn’t feel sentimental about any of the prepper stuff. But when Eric first died, I took these two beautiful Tiffany boxes that we had that had had some large purchases that he had made for me. So like, I loved those boxes. And I took those boxes and I filled them with his personal items. ? And then I… 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:28) 

Mmm. 

  

Lisa Woolery (15:31) 

have them saved for my kids. They know when they graduate from college, they’re allowed to come in and choose. And occasionally, if they’re having a really hard time, I let them come in and choose things. But they’re like, so here’s, ? I’m holding up, I wear Eric’s watch every day. He had a lot of watches. He had a lot of, so many things. And so I was able to choose like some beautiful sentimental things. So I guess I am a little sentimental to keep. But then some of the other things like, 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:41) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Lisa Woolery (16:01) 

MREs were just junk to me. They weren’t, it wasn’t his beautiful watch or his personal things. 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:07) 

Guys, 

  

MREs are like, ? no, that’s okay, packaged food that lasts a really long time, backpackers, preppers, know, astronauts, yes, yes, they all, MREs are something that they do. ? How did you decide what to keep and what to let go? I mean, okay, so the prepper stuff was easy, but then you get to his watches or… 

  

Lisa Woolery (16:11) 

? sorry. 

  

Army guys. 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:34) 

You know some of the other thing and what did you how did you decide what I love that you created two boxes? For your kids for things that they could have I my kids are in their 30s and they still they still feel like mom I’m not settled enough to take Grandpa’s ring yet. Can you hold on to it? And I’m like, absolutely I’m not gonna hang on to a car for you, but I can hang on to grandpa’s ring. So how did you decide what to keep? 

  

Was it about him? Was it about your relationship with him and the kids? Like, how did you go through that thought process? 

  

Lisa Woolery (17:09) 

Well, I went through when I was cleaning his things out and this was over some time. I would if I felt sentimental about it or I felt like, ? it’s Eric, then I would put it in the box. And that’s how I did it. But a year ago, we moved out of our six thousand seven square foot house with all of the things. And I took some time to get rid of things and. 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:29) 

Yeah. 

  

Lisa Woolery (17:34) 

I did what I told my kids was right sizing, like getting to the right size house for us. And I gave my kids each five boxes and I said, here is what you get to take to the new house. So when you’re packing, they were 15 and 16 at the time. Like here, you can put whatever you want in these boxes and that’s what we’re moving. Everything else. 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:37) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Lisa Woolery (18:02) 

we’re throwing away or we’re going to give to people who need it like the goodwill. So and then I said, you know, if your five boxes fill and you still have some things, you know, come and talk to me and we’ll discuss it. And so my daughter did very well. My son, who is, I think, a little cluttery, ? had some trouble. So I went down and just had a session with him where I’m like, keep or throw out, keep or throw out, keep or throw out. And 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:07) 

Right, yeah. 

  

Lisa Woolery (18:32) 

that I could walk him through, why is this special? Do you feel something special about it? Or is this just something that’s been sitting around for a long time? Like, how do you feel dad in this? And so, yeah. So I feel like we did pretty well and there’s only been like maybe one or two things that the kids have asked about. Nothing. I haven’t missed anything. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:42) 

Mm-hmm. What a great question. What a great question. Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Lisa Woolery (19:01) 

So 

  

when they do say like, well, you didn’t bring that or something, then I’ll just say, I’m so sorry. Let’s just talk about it. And then we do. And then they can get mad at me if they want. And then we just move on. 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:09) 

Mm-hmm, yeah. 

  

I love that. ? I love that you had them be part of the process. yeah, there are always going to be things, it’s never gonna go perfectly, right? It’s never going to be 100%, but we can say, we can gather these things and we can say, this is just a small representation of everything that he was to us. And these spark great memories. ? 

  

I know you live in a pretty clutter free space. ? Does that make you miss Eric more Does it give you a sense of peace? how, how is it to not be surrounded by the stuff? 

  

Lisa Woolery (20:00) 

Well, I don’t do well with clutter. I can’t write if my space isn’t perfectly clear. So I feel very empowered in my new house. And I feel like it’s a fresh start. if, like right now, where I’m sitting in my living room in a chair, and I can just glance to my right a little bit and look at my bookshelves. I have these bookshelves. 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:03) 

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Lisa Woolery (20:27) 

Looking at the bookshelves on the very top shelf. I have five yearbooks Some of the yearbooks Eric and I shared because we were high school sweethearts. Some of them were his Before he knew me so I have those I look over on the shelf and I have his two pens sitting there and I have ? behind it like I have a beer stein with like pens in it and Behind it is the preppy handbook, which he loved in high school 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:35) 

Mmm. 

  

Hahaha! 

  

Lisa Woolery (20:57) 

And so ? then I have like on the other side back here, I have a picture of us. And so I just have some little things around that I can look at or like my son signed some papers the other day and he used his dad’s pen. So ? he’s here. Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:06) 

Yeah. 

  

? You’ve really curated it you’ve really 

  

curated Eric around your house I love that for somebody who is going through a loss and They feel the need to keep everything because it feels like that’s how you honor the person What would be your advice? To somebody who is is really struggling with the the things left behind 

  

Lisa Woolery (21:46) 

Well, I can say for how I feel and everyone feels differently about clutter, but what I can say is you, like your loved one dies and then you have to start over. So how do you want to start over? What feels comfortable for you? Does it feel comfortable to have all this clutter around? Well, I don’t know what to say about that because I’m not a cluttery person, but for me having, and I love the word you used, having curated. 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:09) 

Yeah. Yeah. 

  

Lisa Woolery (22:15) 

the things that mean something to me about Eric and then moving forward feel really good. And ? I know that you talk a little bit about like making a video about something. I didn’t know that at the time, but I still like, this is going to make me like tear up a little bit. I remember when I got to Eric’s first briefcase because we like, he was so proud of that briefcase. He was the first person in his family to not be blue collar. And he was so proud of that. 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:27) 

Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. ? 

  

Lisa Woolery (22:44) 

and he took it to his accounting job at Ernst & Winnie and like circa 1990 or something. And that was so hard for me to get rid of, but I knew that I had to, because it was old and janky and dust collecting. And so I took it to the trash can. It’s gonna make me cry a little bit. And I said to him, this was your beginning and we don’t need it anymore. 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:48) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Lisa Woolery (23:13) 

And so I threw away a close to trash can and I went in and cried. But you know, like sometimes it’s hard, like it’s gonna make you cry and just, but kind of going through all of it helped my healing. And so now here I am in this new house, new neighborhood, new fresh start, some of Eric’s things and I can be happy. 

  

Kathi Lipp (23:17) 

Yeah. 

  

Yeah. Right? 

  

? What a great note to end on guys if you are interested in Lisa’s book it’s called the widow’s comeback. What if you knew you’d be okay? It’s Lisa Woolery Lisa. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today And thanks for letting us get to know Eric a little bit ? You know, they’re never truly gone as long as we keep their memories alive ? Friends 

  

Lisa Woolery (23:55) 

Well, thanks for inviting me. 

  

Thank you. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (24:09) 

? We’re gonna take a quick commercial break and we’re gonna come back and it is this week’s ? installment of things that have earned a place in my clutter free home. So stick with us and we’ll be right back. 

  

Lisa Woolery (24:20) 

You 

 

 

 

Kathi Lipp (00:00) 

Hey, welcome back. This is my favorite part of the show, the part where I talk about these clutter-free items that have earned a place in my home. And I’ve got Tonya Kubo on the line. And so Tonya, I’m very excited to talk to you about can openers. Yay! 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:21) 

Tell me more? 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:23) 

Okay, I’m sending you a link right now. It’s called the Kitchen Mama Auto Electric Can Opener. so I discovered this when I was going through some mobility issues. I overused my phone and my kids are all embarrassed. They’re like, mom, it’s too much TikTok. I’m like, I know, I know, babe. here’s the problem. 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:27) 

  1.  

  

Kathi Lipp (00:50) 

I had a real hard time with my right hand, which is not my dominant hand, but grasping things, holding things. And I saw this online. it’s a can opener that you put on top of the can and you hit a button and it spins around and does a clean cut of your can and without you even having to touch it. 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:54) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:18) 

It’s so great and can I tell you it’s not just a mobility thing but when I’m doing my chili which has a lot of cans in it I just sit that on top of the can push the button and it has to be seated properly it takes a second but it just spins around does it and I can open the can so if if a can opener is never anything you’ve thought about before 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:27) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:46) 

But I’ll tell you, there are more items in your kitchen that really take strong mobility than you might imagine. A salt grinder, a pepper grinder. And I bought one of these can operators for my mom and she’s like, Kathi, that seems a little ridiculous. And now if there was a fire, it would be one of the top five things she takes out. 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:53) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Well, you know, it’s funny is because I looked at I was like, that doesn’t look like anything. And they’re like, no, Tonya, really. But I mean, I’ve been a desk worker since college, which, you know, keyboards long before they ever knew what ergonomics was. So, yeah, my grip strength is terrible. So the idea. Yeah. But the idea that I could open cans. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:13) 

Yeah. 

  

Yes. 

  

Yes. 

  

Right, so we have to work on our grip strength and do this. Yes. Yeah, this is 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:35) 

Cause my hand will cramp if I try to open three cans just to make chili, right? It’s like three cans of beans. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:39) 

This is exactly where I’m 

  

  1. And I like this because one, a couple of things. It’s not electric. So in an emergency situation, you know, your power’s out, battery operated, you’re good to go. The other thing I like about it is, you know, we’ve all used or seen those electric can openers that sit on your counter. I don’t want an electric can opener on my counter. I just stick this in the drawer and I pull it back. It takes four batteries.

  

Tonya Kubo (02:52) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:09) 

And it’s, I love it. I can’t even tell you, I love it so much. It can open any kind of can that you need it to. I have used it on soda cans that I lost a little tab on. So that was nice. And I just, yeah, so like I said, if it’s not a big deal for you, this may not be. 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:27) 

Ooh. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:35) 

the things that have earned a place in my clutter free home, this may not be it for you. But if you have arthritis in your hands, ? if you’re careful with sharp edges. Now, one of the fun things was I was making chili when we had some friends over and their seven year old asked how they could help. And I’m like, you know, you can’t help fry the ground beef necessarily. Mom might not. And then I’m like, 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:56) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:02) 

you can open all the cans. And this was the most fun that seven year old had had in a really long time. And I wasn’t worried about it because all the edges are, they’re the non-sharp edges. And so that makes me super, yeah. So this is something that Abby would have no problem working with. regular can openers can be frustrating. And by the way, I know there’s a can opener where you lay it flat on top of the can. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:06) 

Ha ha! 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Right, that’s so important. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

I have 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:31) 

And okay, can I, yes. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:31) 

that. But my hand cramps because I just don’t have that dexterity and Abby has a hard time because her hands aren’t yet big enough. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:40) 

Okay, see, and this would solve both of those. And can I tell you who this would make a great gift for? The lefty in your life. Because can, yeah, can openers are not designed for lefties. And as a lefty, yeah, yeah, exactly. So if anybody wants to buy a second one for me or Tonya, yeah, this is great. Go ahead, Tonya. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:55) 

No, no, fellow lefty here. 

  

Yeah, 

  

we’ll take it. I just have one very important question. What color do you have? 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:09) 

I have red because I live at the Red House, but ? mom has blue So that will never get them mixed up. There are different colors There’s just the plain white one if you’re more of a minimalist And there’s a green one now I am I am buying the turquoise one because the blue is kind of a turquoisey blue for our RV because everything in an RV is ? Is turquoise blue so that how what color would you order? 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:10) 

Okay, right. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Got it. Okay. 

  

A blue. I was gonna order a blue. Cause it’ll stand out. I have a yellow kitchen and so I want to be able to like see it across the room. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:39) 

Okay, yeah. 

  

Yes, I love it. Okay, so by the way, if you’re into tinned fish, which everybody is these days, this also works on that. It opens like any weird can. So I love that for us. Yes. Okay, so the link will be in the show notes. Let me be honest, we get a little kickback. I think it’s probably gonna be a whole 40 cents from the $22 that you might spend. 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:58) 

Yay! 

  

Ooh, I was gonna 

  

say, I thought it would be like, you know, 2.8 cents. So, hey, 40 cents. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:17) 

I don’t know, 

  

I don’t know. Who knows, maybe this is the way I get rich, I don’t know. But I wanna be honest with you, but this is something that I personally use and love and wanted to share with you guys. So friends, thank you for listening to Clutter-Free Academy, I’m Kathi Lipp. Now, go create the clutter-free life you’ve always wanted to live. 

 

 

More Posts 

#680 -From Overwhelmed to Organized: Transform Your Closet in 45 Minutes

#675 – Why Summer is the Perfect Time to Declutter

#675 – Why Summer is the Perfect Time to Declutter

In this engaging episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi Lipp and her clutter comrade, Tonya Kubo, dive into why summer is the ideal time to declutter. As the days get longer, tackle those overwhelming clutter issues that seem impossible during the rest of the year. They share personal insights, practical strategies for overcoming sentimental and overwhelming clutter, and success stories from the Clutter Free for Life community. Whether you’re struggling with where to start or how to ensure everyone in the household is on the same page, Kathi and Tonya provide a wealth of support and encouragement. Plus, hear how Clutter Free for Life can help keep you on track with ongoing support and resources. Listen in and start your decluttering journey today.

Click here to be notified when the next podcast episode is released!

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Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest

Kathi Lipp gives readers an easy-to-follow process for meal planning and prep, so that they can enjoy a full day each week of real rest and refreshment.

Could you use a break from cooking (and everything else) once a week? Not only is rest vital for your mind and body, it’s good for your soul too. God designed us to enter into Sabbath rest one day per week, but as you know, meals still need to be made. Your family still needs to be fed.

Sabbath Soup includes convenient, seasonal meal plans that take the guesswork out of shopping and cooking. More than just a collection of delicious recipes—including main dishes, breads, breakfasts, desserts, salads, sides, and yes, soups—this is your guide to establishing a weekly rhythm and routine of meal planning and prep that allows you to have a true day off.

Do something good for your soul and experience the peace that comes with a full day dedicated to spending time with God, family, and friends. Savor your Sabbath as you proudly proclaim, “Soup’s on!”

Order your copy of Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest here.

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Meet Our Co-Host

 

Tonya Kubo

Tonya Kubo is the illustrious and fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter Free Academy Facebook group and the Clutter Free for Life membership program. A professional community strategist, she believes everyone deserves to have a place online where they feel like they belong. Raised by a hoarder, Tonya knows firsthand the pain and isolation that comes from living in conditions others don’t understand. She wants better for her family and her cluttery peeps, which is why she is passionate about the compassionate slow-and-steady approach that makes Clutter Free unique. She lives in the heart of California with her husband, Brian, their two spirited daughters, and one very tolerant cat. Visit tonyakubo.com to find out more about her community work, or email her at tonya@kathilipp.org to discuss the Clutter Free Academy podcast and programs.

Tonya Kubo Picture

Meet Our Guest

 

Rachael Adams

Rachael was once a stay-at-home who struggled to believe that her life was truly significant. She was told her work was important, but in a sea of mundane tasks, it certainly didn’t feel true.

But then, God started to work in her life.

She began to find fulfillment, significance, and purpose. Not because her circumstances changed, but because her heart did.

Now every week on her podcast, she shares the encouraging and inspiring stories of other women who are dedicated to living out their faith in God and believing their offering matters.

Find Rachael and what’s shes up to here!

Tonya Kubo Picture
Transcript

Kathi Lipp (00:09) 

Hey friends, welcome to Clutter Free Academy where our goal is to help you take small doable steps to live every day with less clutter and more life. And I am here with my clutter comrade. It is Tonya Kubo. Hey Tonya. 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:24) 

Hey Kathi! 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:26) 

Guys I Okay. So let me ask you this Tonya When do you attack your clutter most deeply? ? I have noticed that for me. I I have a little bit more bandwidth in the summer and When it gets really hot here, I don’t want to go outside So I try to find indoor projects like my my garage never gets decluttered in the summer, but every other room does 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:53) 

Mm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:56) 

So, but I, you and I live very different lives. So how about you? 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:01) 

Well, it’s the same for me, but for different reasons, right? So my kids are home during the summer and Brian, he teaches in June, but he doesn’t teach in July. And so we really do a deep dive on our decluttering when we’re both home, because as you know, we both have cluttery issues or cluttery habits, but they’re different cluttery habits, which means that we have a much bigger clutter issue. So I find it’s easier. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:16) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Right. 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:28) 

take a deeper dive when we’re both here so that we can both address our individual perspectives on clutter. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:34) 

You know, I don’t know that I know the answer to this question, even after we’ve probably done at least 100 episodes together. ? But I don’t think I know the answer to this question. ? Did Brian grow up in cluttery circumstances or very neat? Or is this not something we should talk about? I don’t know. 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:55) 

So I’m not sure that Brian’s memories or perspectives on his upbringing would match outside perspectives. So Brian would tell you, no, he did not grow up in a cluttery environment at all. However, when he points to an area and says, well, this is how my house was growing up, I would label that area as clutter. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:08) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Interesting. So, okay, not to be like, I don’t mean to have you laying on the couch analyzing, but when you say that you guys have different cluttery issues, how would you summarize that? 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:29) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, so, well, he’s much more of a sentimental clutter person than I am. And part of that is access, right? Because my mother was a hoarder, I don’t have very much stuff from my childhood, right? It rotted in her house. So I don’t have stuff from childhood. I don’t have stuff from middle school, right? He does, because his stuff was all kept in much better condition. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:38) 

Mmm. 

  

Right. Mm-hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:58) 

So, and he is very attached to a lot of that stuff. Like he still has, he is the kid who did want all of his awards from grade school. Like we hear from our members, know, they’ve saved all this stuff for their kids and their kids didn’t want it. No, he did want it. He does enjoy having it. So he has a greater volume of sentimental clutter, or sentimental items, I should say, than I do. And both of us, you know, come from that time when printing pictures was very expensive. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:19) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:27) 

So both of us hesitate to throw away printed pictures, even if they’re bad printed pictures, but back to Access, he has a much larger storage of printed photos than I do just because I didn’t have any. So he’s more sentimental. For me, my clutter, what I have discovered is much more about overwhelm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:34) 

Yeah. 

  

Mmm, okay. So, yeah. Yeah. 

  

Yeah. Okay, how does that manifest? 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:53) 

So 

  

for me, things just get out of hand when I’m working long hours, when we’re out of the house a lot and I’m not doing the daily maintenance. I do a lot of, just put this here for now and it piles up. But when I go to address that area, it’s not like, the area is up to my nose and I wanna keep the stuff that’s up to my mouth. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:06) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm, okay. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:20) 

Right? It’s like 

  

when I go through the area that’s up to my nose, it’s all trash or recycling. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:25) 

Yeah. 

  

Okay. So now who in the family, because there’s one of these people in every family, who is the one who’s like, okay, that’s it. We’re cleaning everything out. We’re taking, you know, all weekend. Like, this is it. We’re going to do it. Is that either of you? No. Interesting. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:45) 

No. No. Maybe that’s the problem. 

  

Maybe we need that person in our house. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:55) 

Maybe maybe you need to invite somebody else into you need a great aunt who’s gonna boss you around But you guys have done big decluttering projects before 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:00) 

you 

  

Same we don’t, but there’s not one of us who is, I guess it’s my perception of the question, right? So neither of us are the type of people who say, that’s it, tomorrow we’re clearing the calendar and nobody is going to do anything except for this one thing. We are both people who will say, okay, this is out of hand, let’s look at the calendar, when would be a good day to tackle this? Okay, so for instance, Abby had a birthday party last Saturday. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:12) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:34) 

And 

  

Brian was just like, just so you know, while you and Abby are gone, I am going to be doing these decluttering projects. So text me when you’re on your way home so that I can wrap that up. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:43) 

? 

  

Oh, nice. Because I, I know that one of the how do I know you’re a cluttery person? That I’m going to attack this, it’s going to happen. And that way, our lives are going to get better. And I think one of the things that are, you know, especially people in our free group who haven’t really been through, let’s just call it our indoctrination, that’s the nicest way of saying it. 

  

Tonya Kubo (06:06) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:19) 

? They think if I can clean this out once it’s going to stay that way I’m going to be naturally motivated to keep up on it and you know, it was Cheri Gregory who said clutter is never one and done and I love that quote because I this is back when we were writing when I was wearing clutter free we were writing overwhelm ? You know, it’s never one and done. You have to you have to keep 

  

up on this. And I know that a lot of our listeners are waiting for the perfect time to declutter. And I am going to be 58 in two days. Never once in my entire life is like, ? this is the perfect time that I am motivated. There is time on the calendar. I have energy. I have a plan. I know what to do. Like that has never once happened. And so 

  

If your clutter keeps coming back, it’s really important to me that you understand ? that one, you are not broken and you maybe haven’t either had the right system or the right support or either. I think that much of our clutter battle is we are working, we feel like 

  

This should be easy. We should know what we’re doing. We should, we should, we should. Or ? everybody in my family should be pulling in the same direction. We all want the same thing. I don’t think our families want the same thing. Oftentimes they want to be left alone so that they can be on their phone watching YouTube videos. Like that, that doesn’t sound like a half bad way of spending 45 minutes to me either. And so 

  

For the people who don’t know how to do this naturally, which I think is very few of us, studies show that 60 % of women in the United States say clutter is an issue for them. Like it’s a big issue for them. ? For those of you who need that accountability, support, training, ? we do have a ? sale coming up. 

  

Tonya Kubo (08:29) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:42) 

for clutter free for life. And this this sales a little different. I well, it’s the end of an era. Let me just say that it’s an end of the era. Can you explain that Tonya? 

  

Tonya Kubo (08:53) 

Yeah, and the sale is actually going on right now. But the end of the era. Clutterfree for Life started back in 2019. It’s hard to believe. I feel like I was not alive before the pandemic. That is how I truly feel. I feel like I was born. I was birthed in the middle of the pandemic and my memory doesn’t go much farther back. and in 2020, you know, is when we because we piloted it and then 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:09) 

I understand. 

  

Tonya Kubo (09:22) 

Everybody was like, oh my gosh, this is awesome. And we’re like, right? Right. This is awesome. And you were like, hey, like we know stuff. This is good stuff. So in 2020, you know, we kind of settled on our pricing. And so it’s $299 a year, $24.99 a month. And then once a year, we put it on sale for $118. And so it’s been the sale price has been $118 a year every December since 2020. And unfortunately, nothing. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:30) 

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (09:51) 

has stayed the same price since 2020. So yeah, so we’re gonna have to raise the price this year. And you know, I was the person who did the math and said, Kathi, we gotta do this. And you said, no, we don’t. And I said, but no, really. And you said, but no, really. And so where we’ve landed is… 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:53) 

I know. I know. 

  

I just say, Roger and Tenneil 

  

here’s the thing I know yes they do they do I’m a nice person but I also don’t want to drop the quality of the program and so it had to be either we raised the price a little bit or we dropped the quality a lot and I just wasn’t comfortable with that so here we are 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:19) 

Nobody needs to know that! 

  

be real, right? You have made some, like in our internal discussions, you’ve made some really good points, right? Which is $118 a year as a sale price when it’s $299 the rest of the year, feels really, really good to our community, right? It’s a 60 % discount. That feels really good. ? The fact that we’ve only put it on sale 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:53) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (11:01) 

that deeply once a year allows people to plan and to budget and to look forward to the sale break. They get to make a very strategic, thoughtful decision. ? And when you shared that, all of us went, you know what? mean, because ultimately what you said is that’s all fine and good, but we can’t just drop that on people when they’ve been expecting a big 60 % off sale in December. And so what we’re doing is we’re honoring one last hurrah. 

  

at $118 a year on sale right now. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:30) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

And let me tell you why I’m excited about this for summer because I do feel like Summer gives us some options that the rest of the year doesn’t When it comes to decluttering so first of all the days are longer. I don’t know about you Tonya Well, I do know a little bit about you in the winter. I want to be in bed at 430 like I I As it gets darker and I know you’re in early to bed not 

  

necessarily early to sleep all the time, but early to bed. I was just on a podcast with Valerie Burton, who’s the psychologist, and I said, I love sleep. I think about like at, at, you know, 430 in the afternoon, thinking I can crawl into bed in three hours. Like, nothing brings me such joy to know that I can get into the sheets. I can have moose with me, I can have my book or my phone or my tea. 

  

Like it just makes me so happy. But in the summer, I stay up later. We eat dinner later because we’re trying to take advantage of all the sunshine. And so, and I feel a little ridiculous going, getting into bed when it’s still bright, shiny out. But so I think we have longer times we can work with that energy. And then ? unless it’s getting too hot, we have better weather for dump runs, donation drop-offs. 

  

Even a yard sale or two you can start planning those for as the summer is winding down and getting a little cooler I didn’t know this but I was looking at some statistics real recently and ? Thrift stores I would think that they’d get the most of their traffic around Christmas because you know two things made me think that one was because You know more people are dropping off after Christmas 

  

Tonya Kubo (13:16) 

Mmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:27) 

So there would be a lot, and I think also people, some people shop secondhand for Christmas. But it turns out thrift stores get their highest amount of traffic in the summer. So you know that if you’re dropping things off, can take advantage of it. ? Kids and clutter. Now I don’t have kids living at home. I do have kids coming this weekend and I am not making them go through their stuff while they’re here because. 

  

Tonya Kubo (13:32) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:54) 

if TikTok has taught me anything is that kids will make fun of you if you try to make them go through their stuff when they’re home. So I’m like, I’m just gonna pitch it all. But your kids are home. Does that help or hurt? Or yes? Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (14:09) 

Yes. 

  

But here’s what I will tell you. What I have discovered is it hurts if you don’t have a plan. Right. So part of the thing that I do, right, because I’m on this mission to not raise hoarders because my mom was a hoarder. Right. And I just don’t want that generational curse to be repeated. So we spent the month of May really setting expectations of what summer was going to look like. And Brian ? has been 

  

Kathi Lipp (14:25) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (14:39) 

And this is something we haven’t talked about. We should actually have an episode on this. But Brian has been listening to a lot of podcasts that have talked about people who lost their homes in the LA fires. And one thing that has really hit him is when people talk about what they don’t miss. And so, you know, back to his connections with sentimental clutter, it’s really got him thinking about everything very differently. 

  

Kathi Lipp (14:49) 

yeah. 

  

Mmm, it’s so true. 

  

Tonya Kubo (15:05) 

And so, you we set some expectations with the girls. It’s like, okay, so we’re the house is not working for us right now. And we’re in a difference in phases. And you know this, we talked about this around Christmas time. know, Abby is 11 or she’ll be 11. And this is the year where at school they transitioned to chapter books only. 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:28) 

Mm, okay. 

  

Tonya Kubo (15:29) 

which means 

  

we have now reached the stage where we don’t need picture books at home. And we’re not the kind of people that are saving books for our grandchildren. Almost all of the books we have in this house were hand-me-downs from other people whose kids had graduated out of them. So we’re seeing that now as she’s shifting, she’ll be in fifth grade, there’s a lot of those childhood toys and things that we don’t need to have anymore. And so we just set the stage, this is gonna be a great time for us to sort of switch up the house 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:33) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

No. 

  

Hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (15:58) 

toward teenage years. And the girls were on board with that and they entered into summer knowing that they were going to have an active role. 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:00) 

Yeah. 

  

love that reframing, giving them something to look forward to, to say, Hey, we’re growing out of this phase, let’s adjust our lives. Never really heard it talked about like that. And I think that’s really, really, that gives them something to look forward to, it helps them embrace a new phase in life. I love that. ? I think another thing is, you know, you may have some more time in summer, depending on what your family situation is. 

  

but we also tend to have more time at home during the holidays. But holidays can be very triggering when it comes to clutter. It’s, don’t, yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (16:42) 

Can I talk about this, Kathi? Because I have been married to Mr. Kubo now for 16 years. And of those 16 years, he has been a teacher for roughly 13 of those years. And every year, the house, because the house gets kind of cuckoo in the fall, and it’s like November, it’s right after Thanksgiving break where he starts telling me how all we have to do is make it to winter break and he’s going to do all these things. 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:45) 

Of course you can! 

  

Yes. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (17:11) 

And let me just say that no teacher has any energy from winter break during winter break, right? Because that fall period is so insane for them. So I’ve spent a good 13 Christmases thinking that that was going to be a great time to get our house decluttered. It has never been a great time ever, ever. 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:11) 

Okay. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Right 

  

and I think you know whether it’s a teacher or you’re just a civilian That it’s a tough time to try to think about that now I will say the one exception is I really do think after Christmas the idea of like a boxing day is a beautiful thing like Okay, I got you know these three new t-shirts are there six t-shirts I can get rid of now those kind of things. I think that’s wonderful, but 

  

Tonya Kubo (17:41) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:00) 

trying to create a deep declaim during the holidays just doesn’t seem very fabulous. 

  

Tonya Kubo (18:05) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Well, and that’s also part of it, Is going into the holidays, right? The days before Christmas kind of feels too late almost because you’ve got so much that’s coming into your home at that time, right? You’re bringing in more food for holiday prep. You’re buying decorations or gifts that you’re gonna give away. I mean, there’s just a lot of stuff that ends up piling up. ? So yeah, so I find that summer for us is just a little bit more relaxed. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:18) 

Yes. 

  

Yeah, I love that. Okay. And this is also a good chance to, I feel like, get prepped for fall. Fall feels like the beginning of the year to me, and then it’s just like vroom until, you know, after Christmas. And so if you can lay the foundation, I think that that’s really, really helpful. ? Okay, so we… 

  

Tonya Kubo (18:53) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:02) 

If you’re thinking about Clutter Free for Life, we have a couple of members who have made real changes. And Tonya, I’m going to ask you to talk about some of these people. Tell us a little bit about the journey of Jackie. ? You can either read or quote, or you can tell us what you know, but I would love to hear that. 

  

Tonya Kubo (19:11) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

? 

  

Oh, well, OK. So I will say this about everybody. So I will because I want to be like, oh, Jackie’s my favorite. But everybody is my favorite in one way or another way. But, you know, Jackie is somebody who believes very strongly in sustainability. And so because she believes so strongly in sustainability, she is one of those people who sees life in everything. And she hates seeing stuff go to landfills. And so that led her to sort of. 

  

being this archivist of all things. And so, Jackie got to the point though where she did recognize she just didn’t have any more real estate. There was no more available space in her home. And she had been listening to the podcast for several years. And she admits that when she started listening to the podcast, she wasn’t so sure about the idea of just letting things land where they’re supposed to. That was something that you had mentioned years ago. 

  

about you have to release things and just trust God will make sure that they get to the right place. She didn’t really have that level of trust. But then, after listening to the podcast for a while, she was just like, well, maybe, but she couldn’t quite figure out how. And so when she joined the program, she was pretty quiet. She didn’t really make herself known the first year or so, but a couple of years ago, we started talking and she really started decluttering in earnest. Now, 

  

I will say when she started, she was so overwhelmed. She didn’t know where to start. Right. So part of it was just carving out a starting place. But, you know, just recently, I don’t have the exact number, but I want to say she got rid of like 1200 items in a week. 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:59) 

That’s incredible. It’s incredible. That’s amazing. And I know she is such a creative person. She does big, big projects, but still that, that is insane. I, I am so proud of the progress she went from not being able to have anybody over to her house now to being able to have people in her house without embarrassment. That that’s huge. 

  

Tonya Kubo (21:01) 

Like, weak, Kathi. 

  

Well, she gets to have 

  

her granddaughter there. That’s the big thing for her. That was her major motivation. That’s what pushed her over is wanting to be able to spend days with her granddaughter and feel like her granddaughter was safe. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:25) 

Yes. 

  

Yeah, because yeah, I mean, just as a potential grandparent at some point in my life, I know how unsafe my house is right now. My house is built for adults. So to get it over that threshold with the stuff and everything, that’s huge. Okay, tell me about Carrie. 

  

Tonya Kubo (21:46) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

You should talk about Carrie. Carrie is delightful. Yes. So Carrie is somebody who, ? know, for them, they were living in kind of a smallish space, but they had storage units. And Carrie’s first step was to focus on the home, like on her actual home space where she lived. But then the monthly cost of the storage units started to eat at her. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:57) 

I love Carrie. Yes, Carrie’s wonderful. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (22:22) 

So last year, we worked together and she was able to release one of two storage units. Now the other storage unit, she’s discovered as a necessity. That’s housing some things that doesn’t make sense to have at the house, but they do need to keep. And so she released one whole storage unit, which was huge, but she has gotten, I think she is at 9,000 items in two years. And part of why we know this is because Carrie has such a heart. 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:39) 

Amazing. 

  

That’s incredible. 

  

Tonya Kubo (22:49) 

for everybody and she’s so generous. She wants everybody to know the good, bad and ugly of her journey because she knows how helpful it was when people shared their struggles as well. And so part of why we have such a beautiful story with her is because she’s made it so transparent for us. 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:55) 

Mm hmm. Yeah. 

  

She’s she’s so generous of heart. She really is and then Kathi not me But we have other good Kathi’s in our group We do have a lot of Kathi’s it’s a very 60s name. I’m assuming that’s where most of them come from. Yeah 

  

Tonya Kubo (23:14) 

Not you, Kathi ? we have actually a lot of Kathi’s in our group. It is a very, maybe, 

  

maybe that’s it. So yeah, so, you know what I love about Kathi is she doesn’t quit. So Kathi is a founding member. So she’s been there for going on six years now. And… 

  

She is the prime example of the person who’s like, this year is the year we’re gonna do it. And then life slaps her upside the head from every possible direction. And so she has been going like gangbusters and like, this is the year I’m finally making headway. And then something has happened and she has had to just change her focus for several months at a time. But the thing with Kathi is she never quits. She keeps moving forward. And what I love is she’ll reach out to me like, I won’t hear from her sometimes for six months, seven months. 

  

Kathi Lipp (23:49) 

Right. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (24:09) 

And she’ll say, just want you to know I haven’t given up yet. And I just went through one box. It’s the only box I’ve been able to go through all month, but it’s a box that I’ve gone through. And for Kathi, you know, the big lesson that she has taught me, and I, you know, I don’t know what she would say that she has learned specifically, but the lesson that she has taught me is that community is everything. 

  

Kathi Lipp (24:15) 

Mmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (24:35) 

because what has made an impact for her is initially after a period of not being able to focus on her clutter, she’s come back in and she’s just been very ashamed and apologetic with everybody. Like, I have no excuse. I’ve been part of this community since this long and why am I still dealing with this? And people would just be like, yeah, no, we get it. We have good days. We have bad days too, but we keep coming. And the fact that she would keep showing up. And so now she’s just like, you know what, what I love is I tell people, 

  

Kathi Lipp (24:57) 

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (25:04) 

that I’m embarrassed and all of them tell me all the reasons why I don’t need to be embarrassed and that automatically lifts me from the shame. 

  

Kathi Lipp (25:12) 

Mmm. Yeah, all three of these women and so many people in clutter free for life are just a gift and their encouragement and you know how I talk about Clutter free people are the meanest people in the world, but only to themselves ? We’re starting to lift some of that as well and people are being kinder to themselves, too Okay, so let me just tell you Clutter free for life is a very different group. It’s ongoing support ? 

  

Tonya Kubo (25:28) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (25:39) 

It is not a one and done, you take this one class and you’re done, no. And so every month we give you a monthly action plan that you can adapt to your season of life. We have weekly coaching calls. Now, ? let me just say, we have four a month. If it’s the fifth week of the month, there’s not a call. We just wanna give you that time back so you can go do something. But there are check-ins in this private community, so. 

  

If this is a struggle for you to talk about, this is a really safe place. There’s a big library of resources. So if you’re struggling with something in particular, ? you can find the resource on that. And then every spring we have our Abundant Home Conference, which is amazing. And this year we’re offering something a little bit different. Some people are like, well, I need more one-on-one. So if you are interested in a… 

  

coaching call with me. There’s an option for that. It’s an additional charge, but ? we want to help you if you need something that you need to talk over to break through. finally, the rate you join at, $118, is the rate you keep forever. So if you keep renewing, you’re going to be at $118 forever, even when we raise the price. ? We’re not going to offer this price again. And so if this is something you’re interested in, come check it out. ? 

  

If you visit Kathi, so that’s k-a-t-h-i dot link slash c-f-l, and we’ll put that in the show notes. You can go sign up over there and ? we will be happy to answer all your questions. Tonya, did I miss anything? 

  

Tonya Kubo (27:20) 

No, you covered it all. ? and also, I mean, have awesome people. They’re just awesome. And you totally want to hang out with them. 

  

Kathi Lipp (27:26) 

The best the best the best the 

  

best Okay, friends. We would love to see you in there It They’re favorite people in the world and they’ll be your favorite people in the world, too 

 

 

Kathi Lipp (00:00) 

Hey friends, welcome back to Clutterfree Academy and today I am thrilled to welcome a friend, fellow author, fellow podcaster. She’s all things amazing. Her name is Rachel Adams. 

  

And we are welcoming her back to our things that have earned a place in my clutter free home segment. And let me tell you, this devotional has done it. ? This is her beautiful new book, Everyday Prayers for Love, learning to love God, others, and even yourself. Rachel, welcome to Clutter Free Academy. 

  

Rachael Adams (00:33) 

Well, Kathi, thank you. It’s an honor to be here. And I’m just thrilled that I’ve earned a spot in your clutter free home. 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:39) 

You know, so you guys let me tell you how what what my book like processes I was telling Rachel this earlier. Yes, I, I get sent a lot of books and a lot of them are not. I’m sure you do too as a podcaster and a lot of them are things that one I might not you know, I wouldn’t read and two, they’re not appropriate for the podcast. So I donate a lot of books. 

  

Rachael Adams (00:56) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:06) 

But when I find something I love, especially a devotional, and I’m pretty much a one-time devotional girl, that’s how I roll. And I don’t write in my books because, I don’t know, it’s something from being in fourth grade and getting yelled at for writing in a book. So I have my little journal, but I’m going through your devotional right now. And what I’m doing is I’m keeping notes in my journal. But then what I do is I either pass this on 

  

Rachael Adams (01:21) 

I’m 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:36) 

to somebody who comes to a retreat at our house. And I asked them, hey, if you like it, please share about it on social media because that’s the best way to say thank you to an author. Or I have a couple of friends who financially books are not, they’re a luxury, not a necessity. And so they are really grateful. So I’m excited to finish this up so I can give it on to somebody else. And you’re a tremendous writer. I just, I wanna. 

  

talk to you about a moment that sparked this whole journey for you when you saw a love offering envelope at church. Can you talk a little bit about what that moment was and what it meant to you and how that kind of started you on this journey to this book? 

  

Rachael Adams (02:21) 

Well, thank you for spreading the love. So that’s what the whole message is about. So you’re doing it so well. So that really this happened about a decade ago. I attend a pretty traditional church and in front of me was a love offering envelope in the pew. And in that moment, I sense the Lord whispered to my heart, Rachel, you are my love offering. I’ve given you my love. And how are you going to give my love to the world around you? 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:23) 

Yes, exactly. 

  

Hmm. 

  

Rachael Adams (02:47) 

And in essence, how are you going to live out the greatest commandment to love the Lord God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself? But I honestly struggle with some insecurity and inadequacy and endowed the gifts that God has given me and the talents that he’s given me. So in that moment, I thought, you know, I don’t know how I’m living out my faith in ordinary, everyday, practical ways. My life feels pretty insignificant, honestly. And am I doing this? 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:53) 

you 

  

Rachael Adams (03:14) 

And so I just started having conversations with family and friends and realized I wasn’t the only one struggling with this tension. And so one specific friend that I was having a conversation with, said, Rachel, it’d be neat to start to record these conversations. And so I thought, okay, so downloaded a free podcast app and seven years later, here I am. So there was no master plan. Well, the heavenly father’s master plan, maybe, but not mine, just one conversation at a time. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:20) 

Yeah. 

  

Bye. 

  

Rachael Adams (03:42) 

Gosh, it’s been a gift to get to have people like you on the show and ? just meet new friends and to be inspired by the ways that they’re living out their faith in their everyday lives. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:54) 

There are a lot of devotionals on God’s love and I have read many of them. enjoy what why do you think this one is for right now? Because what one thing that you just said is you’re looking for ways to live out God’s love and I I’m sure there have been other times in my life in history but 

  

I don’t know for something right now, it feels so critical. ? Not just because we want to show God’s love, but also because the world is in deep need. And so why this devotion? Why now? And how are some of the ways that you are seeing your readers live out that love? 

  

Rachael Adams (04:43) 

Yeah, for such a time as this, right? I really do believe it was timely when it released. We were right on the tails of the election. ? you know, just when the reality is we look around at our neighbors and we’re not going to always believe the same way or have the same morals or the same values or the same likes and preferences. And so, and to your point, the world needs God’s love. There are so many natural disasters. There are so many people far from Him. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:45) 

Yeah 

  

Rachael Adams (05:13) 

And so I think every single person that we come into contact with has some kind of need. And we are God’s hands and feet. Some of Jesus’s last words were to love one another and that we would be known as His disciples by our love. So that should be our trait that people experience when they encounter us. And so I really do feel like this is a timely and a timeless message. 

  

something that we want to live out. I pray that through these words, it just encourages people that not to overcomplicate what God intended to be simple. It really is just a smile, a hello, kind text, sharing a meal, an invitation. It’s in much smaller ways that we can make a significant impact than we think. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:54) 

Yeah, you know, it’s so interesting. I am on the sermon team from my church that I went to several years ago. We’ve moved since then, but I zoom in as we do these days. And we were talking about a sermon about wise love and how do you love with wisdom. And I was talking about how I am frustrated with many of my neighbors right now. 

  

Like my neighbors, not just the people who live close to me, but the people that I know I’m supposed to love. And I’ve, I have found the only antidote besides prayer is going out and serving. And I think you’re exactly right. Like going out and saying, how can I help my community? How can I reach out to my neighbor? How can I reach out to, you know, the, community around me? It’s, it’s the only thing. 

  

that brings peace to my heart because my heart is not naturally peaceful and ? it is spending time with God in his word, talking with him, but then putting that into action. can’t just, and that’s what I love about your book. It’s not just theory. It’s deeply practical. Can you share a favorite example of how love moves from prayer into action? 

  

one of your favorite examples in there. 

  

Rachael Adams (07:21) 

Well, I just want to echo what you were just saying that we want to be hearers, not just hearers of God’s Word, but doers of God’s Word. that James, like he talks about that faith without works is dead. And I think when you’re talking about even loving our enemies or those that feel unlovable, that’s what Jesus did. Think about how he had Judas as one of his disciples and he washed his feet. He was serving him right before he died on the cross for him too. That while we’re still sinners, Christ died for us. 

  

Kathi Lipp (07:24) 

Yeah. 

  

Okay. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Yeah, right. 

  

Rachael Adams (07:50) 

So apart from prayer and the Holy Spirit residing in us as believers, there’s no way that we can live out this greatest commandment without Him. And so I think one of my favorite ways, it just comes honestly from 1 Corinthians 13, four through eight to love is patient, love is kind. doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it doesn’t keep a record of wrongs, et cetera. And so I think that those little characteristics, it’s verb, it’s action, it’s not, 

  

a feeling and so we’re not always going to feel loving towards the people around us, but we’re going to choose. And so to answer your question, not long ago, I had a lot of people in my home and tensions were high and I was just stressed out to be honest and I didn’t feel like serving in that moment and everybody else was just enjoying their time and I was kind of feeling just… ? 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:33) 

Yeah. 

  

Rachael Adams (08:40) 

grumpy for lack of a better word at my role that day. And so I ended up, I just felt like the Holy Spirit just was speaking to my heart. Rachel, how would love act in this situation? Love would be patient. Love would be kind. Love wouldn’t envy it, boast, it wouldn’t be easily angered, et cetera. And so I feel like that’s a way that we can kind of regroup ourselves and serve and love anyway, again, through the Holy Spirit and His empowerment. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:02) 

Yeah. 

  

Yeah, I yes like that attitude change because people can feel it in the room can’t they they can absolutely feel it in the room. Yeah, so ? When people come on and I say who the who is this book for and they say everybody I’m like, no, our books are not for everybody Who is the woman right now? Who who this book what like that it would meet them exactly where they are. What’s her? 

  

Rachael Adams (09:12) 

Yes. Yes. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:37) 

What’s her struggle today? 

  

Rachael Adams (09:40) 

I think her struggle is that she feels unlovable. She needs to know that she’s beloved by the God of the universe, that he adores her and delights in her and treasures her apart from anything that she does. That’s the key. We first, we love because he first loved us. So we have to accept his love first before we have anything of value to give. So it’s the woman doubting her own lovability, if that’s even a word. And that’s me. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:06) 

Yeah. ? I have been there. 

  

Yes. Yeah. Okay. I have a really practical question. How do you find time to read? How do you find time in your daily life? Because I know we are all struggling and I can I just say I think I’ve gotten stupider. As we have done social media and I struggle with sitting down and finding time to read. So I always love to ask that it’s really practical. But how do you find that? 

  

How do you carve it out and create a rhythm? 

  

Rachael Adams (10:39) 

So I actually don’t sit down to read. I walk and listen to books. I’ve been trying to, based on atomic habits, pair things that I love with things that I don’t necessarily love as much. And so I try to get in my 10,000 steps a day. And so to pass that time, I’m also listening to something that is filling my mind as I’m trying to move my body. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:42) 

? 

  

Yes. Okay, yes. 

  

Rachael Adams (11:07) 

Because in this season of my life, I don’t have much time to just sit and just savor a book. I’d love to, I love doing that, especially in the summer or on the beach or whatever, but ? it doesn’t, my life doesn’t always lend itself to that right now. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:07) 

Okay, and. 

  

Yeah. Yeah. 

  

And guys, if you’re not familiar with the book, Atomic Habits, it’s about pairing, exactly what you said, pairing habits that come very naturally to you or very, so which is the one that you struggle with? Are you one of these people who’s like, I love my 10,000 steps a day, it makes me so happy? Or are you pairing the book that you love with the habit that’s hard? Which is the hard habit for you? 

  

Rachael Adams (11:45) 

The hard habit is the walk. I do enjoy it and I’m always glad that I did it, but an hour a day, if I’m not doing anything, if I’m not listening to anything or watching anything, it can feel, or if I’m not talking with a friend, it can feel long if I’m just in my own head for that long. And so I would say that the reading is the pleasure and the walk becomes a pleasure too, but I need the extra stimulation to make it the hour. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:47) 

Okay, good. Yeah. 

  

Yeah, my goodness, I can’t. 

  

Right. Yeah. Yes. Yes. 

  

It’s so hard. 

  

Yeah, it’s so hard to get out there. Okay, guys, you can find everyday prayers for love. ? Everywhere. mean, everywhere books are sold. So your big retailers, your your Barnes and Noble, you can find it everywhere. ? Can you just sign us off with a word of encouragement for the woman listening today who is struggling to feel that love? 

  

Rachael Adams (12:39) 

Yeah, absolutely. I would say that God has always been in pursuit of mankind from the very beginning. When you think about Adam and Eve and when they sinned and fell short of the glory of God, what did he do? He said, where are you? And he pursued their hearts and pursued relationship with them. And so he’s done that from the very beginning. then he sent his son Jesus, then he sent the Holy Spirit, and he’s coming back again in pursuit. 

  

Kathi Lipp (12:58) 

Yeah. 

  

Rachael Adams (13:06) 

God is pursuing your heart and he wants to be pursued by you too. And so just be intentional with that. There is so much of his love that the world needs. And so the prayer for us is to help to introduce other people so that they can come to know the God who loves them and is pursuing them as well. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:27) 

love it. Rachel Adams, Everyday Prayers for Love. Thank you so much for being here today, Rachel. I so appreciate you. ? you are love. You are love. And friends, you are loved. You know how much I love you. You have been listening to Clutterfree Academy. I’m Kathi Lipp Now go create the clutter free life you’ve always wanted to live. 

  

Rachael Adams (13:35) 

Thank you for making me feel loved, Kathi. I appreciate you having me on. 

 

 

More Posts 

#680 -From Overwhelmed to Organized: Transform Your Closet in 45 Minutes

#672 – From Pantry to Plate: The Secret to Smart Food Storage

#672 – From Pantry to Plate: The Secret to Smart Food Storage

Join Kathi Lipp and Tonya Kubo in this episode of Clutter-Free Academy as they tackle the often overwhelming world of food storage. Whether you’re struggling with long-term pantry organization, fridge chaos, containers for on the go or finding the right containers for meal prep, Kathi and Tonya share practical tips and solutions that can turn your kitchen clutter into culinary clarity. They explore the benefits of square, stackable, and see-through storage solutions, the beauty of a cheese drawer, and how to make food storage solutions work for your unique household needs. Tune in for insights that cater to anyone aiming for a clutter-free kitchen.

  Photo of Kathi’s storage drawer organization as promised!

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Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest

Kathi Lipp gives readers an easy-to-follow process for meal planning and prep, so that they can enjoy a full day each week of real rest and refreshment.

Could you use a break from cooking (and everything else) once a week? Not only is rest vital for your mind and body, it’s good for your soul too. God designed us to enter into Sabbath rest one day per week, but as you know, meals still need to be made. Your family still needs to be fed.

Sabbath Soup includes convenient, seasonal meal plans that take the guesswork out of shopping and cooking. More than just a collection of delicious recipes—including main dishes, breads, breakfasts, desserts, salads, sides, and yes, soups—this is your guide to establishing a weekly rhythm and routine of meal planning and prep that allows you to have a true day off.

Do something good for your soul and experience the peace that comes with a full day dedicated to spending time with God, family, and friends. Savor your Sabbath as you proudly proclaim, “Soup’s on!”

Order your copy of Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest here.

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Meet Our Co-Host

 

Tonya Kubo

Tonya Kubo is the illustrious and fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter Free Academy Facebook group and the Clutter Free for Life membership program. A professional community strategist, she believes everyone deserves to have a place online where they feel like they belong. Raised by a hoarder, Tonya knows firsthand the pain and isolation that comes from living in conditions others don’t understand. She wants better for her family and her cluttery peeps, which is why she is passionate about the compassionate slow-and-steady approach that makes Clutter Free unique. She lives in the heart of California with her husband, Brian, their two spirited daughters, and one very tolerant cat. Visit tonyakubo.com to find out more about her community work, or email her at tonya@kathilipp.org to discuss the Clutter Free Academy podcast and programs.

Tonya Kubo Picture
Transcript

Kathi Lipp (00:11) 

Hey friend, welcome to clutter free Academy where our goal is to help you take small doable steps every day to live with less clutter and more life and I am here with my my co-conspirator on all things clutter free. It is Tonya Kubo. Hey Tonya We are both in podcasts ? How do we want to say we’re both heavy laden with podcasts right now 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:28) 

Hey Kathi. 

  

Yes, we are deep, deep in creator mode. 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:41) 

Yes. ? you know, so most of my clutter free people are probably not your target audience for the podcast you’ve just launched. But you know what, if 3 % of them are, they’re going to want to find it. Just just do me a favor. Tell me, give us like the the elevator pitch of what your new podcast is about. 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:02) 

Yeah, so my new podcast, so it’s depending on our cluttery people, it actually could be perfect for them, because my podcast is for people who feel like they don’t fit in. So. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:09) 

Okay. 

  

Well, okay, 

  

there we go. I hadn’t heard it described that way. Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:17) 

Yeah, yeah, it’s not a business podcast. is. 

  

So Apple is categorizing it under relationships and so society and culture is the big label. And it’s just for people who feel like they don’t fit in, aren’t quite sure that they might be too weird for a polite company. And we just have a conversation every single week with somebody who has learned that. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:28) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. Okay. 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:45) 

rather than trying to fit in, they’re just gonna own their weird and find other people just like them. And then we talk about what makes that work. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:50) 

? 

  

And what’s the name of the podcast? Love it, love it, love it. 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:54) 

Find your freaks. And who 

  

gave me that title? That would be Kathi Lipp. That would be Kathi Lipp. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:00) 

You know what? 

  

I love a good title. Not going to lie. Yeah, I did a whole speech around that for when you’re writing to an audience, you have to find your freaks because your book is not for everybody. It’s just not. And so with this podcast, we’ve had to find our freaks. So, guys, you are our freaks and we love you. And I just want you to know that’s the highest compliment we can give you, because who else is going to listen to an entire podcast episode? 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:09) 

Yeah? 

  

No! 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:28) 

food storage. Who? Our freaks! Because I love this stuff and can I just tell you Tonya you gave me the highest compliment I think anybody has ever given me. Because when I said Tonya what kind of food storage do you use? How did you answer me? 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:29) 

Our freaks. Our peeps. 

  

Whatever I see you use in your house. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:50) 

Okay, can I tell you why I feel like that’s such a huge compliment because I do take these things too seriously like it I have realized in ? my late stage clutter ? the things that I am doing my clutter looks very different now in my late 50s than it did say in my 30s or 20s and Usually my clutter now 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:57) 

Hahaha 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:15) 

Is I buy something because I’ve researched it. I think it’s going to be great and come to find out it doesn’t quite work But it works enough that I don’t want to get rid of it But it works not enough for me not to go out and buy another thing and so then I have two things and I have to I have to fight my inner clutter girl and Say, you know what somebody this is going to be perfect for somebody else, but it’s not me 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:23) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:45) 

And so that is my story of storage containers. And here’s why I think it matters, ? especially pantry organization. have, okay, so I really believe that there are three different kinds of food storage. And there may be more, but in my house, there are three. There’s the long-term pantry storage. So what I consider long-term is not like years, but ? we in our house put, 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:45) 

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:15) 

cereal into a plastic container not because we’re trying to be as my niece would call it aesthetic ? no, it’s because we live in the middle of the country and every once the while the ins the outside tries to come inside and My goodness, yes, so we’ve done a much better job of that recently, but it just is better. We also can get 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:31) 

I was gonna say you have to keep out the critters! 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:42) 

Extreme temperature differentials and so it just makes sense so but also storing like your flour or your sugar or Your brown sugar those kind of things so we’ve got long-term pantry storage, and then we have fridge storage So I’m thinking like last night. I made a Cucumber salad in like an Italian dressing that tastes better after it sat overnight and so 

  

? That went into fridge storage Leftovers go into fridge storage now if it’s up to Roger it might go into a ziplock bag because deciding on on The storage even though it really is pretty well laid out is just too much for him So I tend to put be the person who puts away all of the leftovers, but I that’s really important What are you going to keep your leftovers in? Because you want to be able to eat your leftovers when you come back to them 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:41) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:41) 

And then 

  

the third segment is food to go storage, which isn’t a huge category for the Lipp family. I’m guessing it might be a bigger category for the Kubo family. If you’re packing lunches. Now, where it is a category for us is we often bring food to neighbors or to my mom. And then ? also when we go to town, you know, we are usually driving for an hour and 15 minutes before we get somewhere. And Roger’s going to need a little snack. 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:52) 

Yeah. 

  

Yup. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:11) 

? He’s just gonna need a little something to nosh on and of course I will join him in that. those are the categories we’re talking about. So ? I wanna talk about long-term pantry storage first. ? I really believe that getting the right storage, it helps you keep track of what you have. Now, is your storage see-through or is it opaque? 

  

Tonya Kubo (06:11) 

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

? most of my storage is see-through. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:40) 

Okay, I feel like that is a huge bonus, at least for us to say, this is actually what we have instead of opening it up and also. Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (06:42) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yes, because like I have a flour 

  

bucket. So you know, because I have sourdough and I use a high gluten flour to feed my sourdough. So that is in an opaque round bucket. And then our backup rice is also in an opaque round bucket. And there is nothing worse than opening that up and thinking it’s like half to three fourths full and finding out, no, no, no, my friend, you are wrong. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:58) 

Yes. 

  

Okay. 

  

How? 

  

Right. You’re not making sourdough tonight. What were you thinking? You thought you were going to have rice with that orange chicken? I think not. Yeah. No, I have to have everything see through. In fact, I this will be a totally different episode. But Roger just Roger makes very few decrees in our family. ? He makes very few like, but he said we will never and I mean never buy an opaque storage container again because we are 

  

Tonya Kubo (07:20) 

Mm-mm. Mm-mm. 

  

Mm-hmm 

  

Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (07:43) 

currently going through our attic and cleaning things out and I agree it’s Have mercy. Okay. I also love a see-through container because it it avoids duplication you know what you have you can see what you have and then For me it makes meal planning quicker and more efficient because like I need to know are we running low on rice? 

  

Tonya Kubo (07:48) 

And every box is a mystery. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:10) 

And if we are, we have rice probably three times a week, which may pale in comparison to the Kubo household, but very few others. And ? I need to know when we’re running low because it’s not go down to 7-Eleven. It’s it’s hitch up the mule team. 

  

Tonya Kubo (08:14) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yes. Well, 

  

and you know, we live within walking distance of a grocery store, but we have finally bitten the bullet and decided we are the buy rice 25 pounds at a time family. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:38) 

? Costco does this for a reason. They love us and they want good things for us. Okay, I wanna talk some best practices. So ? I believe deeply for all storage containers, square and stackable. ? Because square takes up less space than round because it can fit together better. And then stackable, 

  

Tonya Kubo (08:42) 

Yes. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yes. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:07) 

This is especially for like our fridge storage and things like that. There is nothing worse than having containers that don’t sit well together. I don’t know anybody’s house who has enough space for that. I really don’t. ? How do you label your containers? 

  

Tonya Kubo (09:10) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

No. 

  

Well, if they’re see-through, I usually can just see what they are. That’s part of the beauty of having transparent storage is you don’t have to label. ? You know, I love a good label maker because you taught me that and I don’t have great handwriting, so it’s just nice to use a label maker. But for some reason, my label maker seems to always end up at Mr. Kubo’s classroom. And so I frequently can’t use my label maker in my home. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:31) 

Okay. 

  

Yeah, yes 

  

I don’t either. 

  

? 

  

Tonya Kubo (09:55) 

I get to use my label maker every summer because he remembers to bring it home at the end of the school year. But I don’t get it. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:01) 

So you’ve got two, 

  

two and a half months to make all your labels for the year. my goodness. 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:04) 

I just keep my 

  

sticky notes with all the things I want to label and then come June 6th get to label stuff. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:09) 

My goodness Label everything. my goodness 

  

now. I will say Yes, I think you can see most of the stuff, but I have to label things like flour Are apparently I collect rice I had no idea but I was looking at my rice collection I have about seven different kinds of rice and I want to make sure I’m using the right rice. I know I’m ridiculous you guys but I I 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:19) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

hahahaha 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:39) 

got a new labeler ? because my other one died and it’s called Kata symbol. I’m holding it up, yes, right there. And can you see that? 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:46) 

Let me see. want to see. Hold on. I have to move a thing. 

  

Ooh, it’s so nice and like compact. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:53) 

Yes, 

  

it’s really nice and it is Bluetooth to your phone. So you type on your phone and it spits it out. ? it makes me very, happy. Very, very happy. So yes, I will. 

  

Tonya Kubo (11:08) 

I’m adding that to my list of things I want, but I will 

  

hide it. It’s small enough to hide. See, my other one’s not small enough to hide. This is small enough to hide. And then maybe it can actually be my label maker. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:16) 

Uhhh 

  

I love 

  

that. I love a good plan for you, my friend. Okay. Now, um, I, so I believe in labeling and expiration dates and you know, some things I don’t worry so much. We go in through enough flour. We go through enough rice that we’re not going to worry about that. But if I am worried about it, I am going to put it on there, whether it’s an official label or maybe I’m just going to write it on there with like, um, blue painters tape or something like that, because I am not. 

  

Tonya Kubo (11:23) 

Hahaha 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:50) 

making my storage pretty for other people. mean, it this is we’re getting it done friends. And then my, my long term pantry storage, I like to categorize it together. Like I’m putting baking things together and I’m putting snack items together and canned goods and grains. Like I, and I know what area to go to in order to do that. And we’ve talked about this in some other episodes. They’re also 

  

Tonya Kubo (11:53) 

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (12:18) 

It’s great to have those containers, but it’s also good to have things like risers so that if you have smaller containers towards the back, you can see those. And then, of course, I will always mention these until the day I die, the pullout shelves. The pullout shelves, I will list all of this, you guys. And at the end of the episode, we’re going to talk about my favorite kind of storage. As you know, 

  

Tonya Kubo (12:23) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yes, yes. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (12:44) 

I am the pied piper of storage that the Kubos will just follow along afterwards. But I feel like I’ve done the research and we’re gonna be able to do that. Okay, I wanna mention some things about just some tips for this. ? FIFO, we all know the acronym FIFO, first in, first out. So if you are… 

  

Tonya Kubo (12:46) 

Hahahaha 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:10) 

creating the storage and you have more than one container, make sure you’re using up your first container first and airtight. I think that’s the most important thing. ? What special considerations do you have for like temperature and stuff at your house? is, cause it gets pretty hot there, right? 

  

Tonya Kubo (13:28) 

It does. so our challenge, of course, so we don’t have a pantry. So we have like two cabinets and one cabinet gets really hot. It’s just that’s where the kitchen like sunshine comes through. And so that one is like I keep cold cereal there. I keep things that aren’t going to go bad faster if they get the sun beating down. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:37) 

Yeah, right. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Right. 

  

Yeah, so something to consider friends if you live in a place where ? you’re getting those big bags of flour and things like that one, know, Tonya is right. Don’t be storing that in the hottest place ? because, know, It can change things. She’s storing stuff like cereal and things that is going to get eaten more rapidly. But also a good practice is to freeze 

  

that rice, freeze that flour at least overnight so that if there are any what we’ll call wee beasties in it, you’re gonna kill those off. 

  

Tonya Kubo (14:19) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

I was gonna say, 

  

that’s why I don’t want my flour where it gets hot is I don’t want the wee beasties to come out and play. 

  

Kathi Lipp (14:30) 

Yes, right. Yes, to grow. 

  

Yep, exactly. Okay, guys, we’re going to take a quick break and then we’re going to come back and we’re going to talk about fridge storage. So you’re not going to want to miss that. We’ll be right back. 

  

Okay friends, it’s time to get into your fridge. ? I love again a square container. I love a square container because I feel like that’s more stackable and clear. I think in the fridge, it’s super important that you have clear containers because only things that are known and seen will be eaten. Yeah. And also if something’s gone a little off, you want to make sure that you’re able to see that. 

  

Now, I stack my clean containers in a drawer and I’ve got, I’ll add a picture of that drawer so you can see how I’ve organized it, but I’ve also bought some organizers to, ? how do I wanna say this? Contain the lids. Lids are an important thing, right? So I’m going to show you my storage drawer, which feels very intimate. I don’t know why, it just does. But I’m. 

  

Tonya Kubo (15:35) 

Yeah, that’s hard. 

  

I was like, I’m not 

  

showing them my storage drawer, Kathi. 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:46) 

That’s okay, 

  

I will take the bullet for both of us. But I want you to see how I’ve stacked the lids in there too, to maybe give you some ideas. And I’ll put a link to the kind of drawer dividers and things that we use in there. Because I feel like for the first time in my adult life, it’s working. It’s taken 57 years, but we’re here. ? Yes. And it’s also important that things have a tight seal. 

  

Tonya Kubo (15:54) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mmm. ? 

  

Yay! 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:17) 

because you don’t ? want any odors getting out or coming in. So that’s really, really important. I also tend to have designations within my refrigerator of like the top shelf is leftovers and ready to eat items, middle shelf, dairy and frequently used item, bottom shelf, more like raw meat, that kind of stuff. And then I have a crisper drawer and a cheese drawer. I love my cheese drawer, not gonna lie. 

  

Tonya Kubo (16:17) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Me too, 

  

I have a cheese drawer. It’s my favorite part of the fridge. 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:46) 

It’s it’s the best isn’t it if I 

  

it acknowledges our love and passion for cheese I love that so much the other thing that I’ve done in the past is have bins for similar items so a couple of things you might want to think about like if you’re gonna be creating a charcuterie tray just having a bin in the fridge that you can throw all that into and pull out or a Condiment bin if that you know depending every refrigerator is like a fingerprint 

  

Tonya Kubo (17:16) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:16) 

It’s very 

  

different than somebody else’s fridge and how often and where you want to find stuff. I think that that’s very individual as well. 

  

Tonya Kubo (17:24) 

Yeah, well, and it also depends on life circumstances. Like when the girls were littler, so I’m thinking like when Abby was in preschool, Lily was in early elementary school, we had bins in the bottom shelf of the fridge that had the snacks that they could grab and go with whatever they needed, right? So like your like package string cheese, your little apple slices, like all of that. And then they had a lot of freedom at snack time because they knew which bin had what. 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:39) 

Mm-hmm. Right. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Yeah, ? I love that so much. 

  

Yes, I feel like every, I don’t know, five years, my refrigerator goes through a metamorphosis and things just have to be in different places than they’ve been before. I just have to, you have to make it your own. And I think part of making it your own, one customization, maybe some containers, like kids know, hey, here are the snacks you can have anytime. And here are the snacks you can have once an afternoon. 

  

Tonya Kubo (18:11) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:25) 

And those are in two different containers. We’ve got the red and the yellow or the green and the red. There we go. And then, ? but also having those clear containers for leftovers helps me meal plan better. I know what’s there. I’m like, that’s right. I forgot I’ve got that potato salad leftover from when we did barbecue the other day. And now I’m going to be inspired to barbecue something else. 

  

Tonya Kubo (18:30) 

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:51) 

I also am a big believer in labeling those leftovers with the date. I just have blue painters tape. It’s nothing fancy. It’s not aesthetic, but it works. ? I know some people, I don’t do this, but some people keep a small dry erase board on the fridge door to track leftovers and expiration dates. That seems next level. But if you’re cooking, if you’re cooking for more than a few people, that might be really, really important. And 

  

Tonya Kubo (19:13) 

Yeah 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:20) 

As I’m spending, I’m trying to spend less money on groceries, that might become something, that might be something I aspire to one day. Is there a way that you clean out your fridge on a regular basis? 

  

Tonya Kubo (19:24) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Well, for us, we make soup on the weekends, which is how we use up leftover meats and veggies and any veggies that are about to go bad. That’s our favorite thing. I have, again, because I have kids, I do the meal plan on the fridge. so I generally know if there’s rice in the fridge, the rice came from Tuesday night. If there’s potatoes, the potatoes were from Monday. I don’t need to actually mark the leftover container. 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:41) 

Love that. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

You’ve got an archeological dig going on that will really, really help. I love that. Okay. And then let’s go to our third segment, food to go storage. ? I, I love making sure that I have containers. One, I don’t know if this is an issue in your home, but I send containers and I say, go with God. Like if I don’t get those containers back, I’m not sending my 

  

Tonya Kubo (20:22) 

Hahaha! 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:28) 

$8 a pop clear good containers out ? What what kind of to-go containers are the Kubo’s using? 

  

Tonya Kubo (20:30) 

Hmm. 

  

Yeah, so Brian prefers to use like the gladware, you know, so that’s the it’s disposable, but it’s meant to go through multiple uses. Because like you said, if it doesn’t come back, especially with the girls lunches, it’s like, OK, if they leave it or what usually happens is it gets left in the backpack in the car over the weekend. Brian likes to just throw the whole container away. Just say, you know what? We have sacrificed this to the microbial gods. So. 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:46) 

Right. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Right, right. 

  

Right. 

  

Tonya Kubo (21:06) 

That’s his preference. I have always preferred the metal containers, but good golly, Kathi, they are such a beast to clean. And so I’ve just had to say, you know what? Forget it. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:16) 

How are they, really? 

  

For this stage in my life, no. Yeah. ? I love these kind of containers because sometimes what I’ll do is I’ll just prep a bunch of meals and just stick them in there and I can bring them to our neighbor. We can eat them. They’re ready to go. ? I really do feel like they encourage healthier eating on the go. Like I’ll make our little snack packs in there or something like that. It’s better than going to Carl’s Jr. 

  

Tonya Kubo (21:23) 

No. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:48) 

at least budget-wise, health-wise. And I like the multi-container. What do I want to say? Yes, I like that. Now, some people like to have a bunch of different containers. ? You know, you do what floats your boat. Now, when I’m bringing food to other people, I will sometimes do that because I don’t want to put like the dip. 

  

Tonya Kubo (21:58) 

Like multi-compartment. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:16) 

Like if I’m making a yogurt dip, I don’t want to put that in the same ? container that a the hummus at like I don’t want them to have to heat things up. So I don’t want them to have to heat up the meat that kind of thing. So I like multi-purpose containers that are microwave safe, freezer safe, leak proof. We don’t normally heat stuff up in plastic, but I’m also not ? religious about it. ? But they do have to stack. 

  

Tonya Kubo (22:16) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:46) 

Like 

  

if they don’t stack, it’s not happening. I’m pitching them. They’re out the door. And I love like the bento box kind of that makes me super, super happy. The other thing I haven’t had much experience with and I wonder if you have is reusable bags. I mean, I know we all know about, you know, washing out a Ziploc, but have you used any of like the beeswax or any of that kind of stuff? 

  

Tonya Kubo (23:10) 

Kathi, if it exists, I have used it. Yes, I did. I did the beeswax fabric ? sandwich wraps for a while. I’ve done reusable. Yeah, we’ve done the reusable, like resealable bags. We’ve done all of it. And, you know, it’s like everything works to some extent if it works for your family. Right. So the beeswax stuff. 

  

Kathi Lipp (23:12) 

I know, you’re an experimenter, yes. 

  

Right, right. Sometimes you just have to try. 

  

Tonya Kubo (23:37) 

Yeah, and this, like the beeswax to wrap a sandwich isn’t bad, but they don’t last forever. So you do have to replace them. And then when they stop being sticky, you just have to be prepared that there are consequences to that action. 

  

Kathi Lipp (23:44) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Yeah, I will say one thing. We’re gonna get into our next segment and tell you, I’m gonna tell you some of the things I recommend. But can I tell you, this is a category where my millennial-ish kids love when I buy them something. They love a food container. They love a beeswax. Like, it’s the practical thing that they may already have. 

  

Tonya Kubo (24:09) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (24:21) 

but it’s in a different format. And if you’re trying to think of something, because they don’t want to be using the Ziploc bags, they don’t want to do any of that stuff. But also those glass containers are pretty heavy to take to school or work. 

  

Tonya Kubo (24:26) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, well, that’s the problem, right? Is glass and metal are heavier. ? nowadays, especially like for school age kids, you used to be able to just put your lunch like by the door of the classroom. Now they expect the lunch to be in the backpack all day. So it’s a lot for the kid to carry on their back. But what I was going to say is if you don’t have compartmentalized containers, if you don’t have the bento box, know, the silicone cupcake holders, like cupcake wrappers. 

  

Kathi Lipp (24:47) 

? interesting. Yeah. 

  

Yeah, great idea. 

  

Tonya Kubo (25:01) 

Those are something that 

  

I use when I do, I tell Abby that I’m taking, I’m sending her with mini charcuterie. ? I used to call them like mom lunchables, but it’s whatever word it takes, but you can put the stuff in those and then they can pull it out if they need to heat something up. 

  

Kathi Lipp (25:08) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yes. Right. 

  

I love it. And is she is she a lunchbox accessory bringer homer? 

  

Tonya Kubo (25:26) 

? no. No. That would be nice though. One day. 

  

Kathi Lipp (25:28) 

Okay, okay. Yeah, 

  

you know, some days. ? Okay, where are you storing all this stuff in your tiny petite kitchen? 

  

Tonya Kubo (25:38) 

Yeah, so we just have one cabinet that has two shelves that’s devoted to kind of all of this stuff and the bakeware. 

  

Kathi Lipp (25:46) 

Yeah So guys my number one recommendation for this is The stuff you’re not using donate it or throw it away Like you’re never going to use it more. You’re gonna buy stuff to replace What you if you lose what you love, but I I kept things for way too long I also have Something like I said when i’m giving things to other people. It’s the I don’t care if it comes home 

  

Tonya Kubo (25:54) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (26:15) 

And 

  

so one of the things I’ve done for that is ? I’ve bought some lower cost ones and we’ll talk about that in our next segment. Okay, Tonya, we’re gonna take a quick break. We’re gonna come back and I’m gonna tell you my favorite food storage brands and why I love them. This is my own mini version of Wirecutter. These are the things I love and I have tested and I can’t wait to talk to you about them. So guys, we’ll be right back. 

  

Okay guys, we are back and I’m gonna tell you these are the things that have earned a place in my clutter free home and I’m just gonna tell you my favorite brands will link them in the show notes So if you want to check them out on Amazon or other places you’re able to do that So my favorite why can’t you the right container matters? These things are not cheap. Let’s be really honest. ? I I love a good container 

  

Tonya Kubo (27:18) 

True. 

  

Kathi Lipp (27:23) 

But when I went to go order my long-term pantry storage containers, I said, yeah, I’ll be doing that in three months once I saved up, because that’s how not cheap they were. But I’m glad I invested, because they look better, they seal better, and all of that. ? I want something that’s durable, stackable, and versatile. ? I also like to be able to wash those out in my… 

  

Tonya Kubo (27:35) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (27:53) 

dishwasher and so I will tell you you have to turn your heater off and I am not guaranteeing that any of these things are going to be ? Dishwasher safe for you, but I’ve come to a place where I’m using hot water in my dishwasher But turning the heater element off so that it’s not melting things because I have melted and I didn’t cry but I did feel tears forming in my eyes 

  

Tonya Kubo (28:14) 

Hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (28:22) 

So let me tell you my three favorites. So this is for the long-term pantry storage I love the OXO good grips pop containers. Do you know what I’m talking about Tonya? I 

  

Tonya Kubo (28:35) 

Of course I have them because I tried them out at your house and so I have them at my house now. This is 

  

going to be a very short segment for us, Kathi, because you’re going be like, hey, Tonya, have you heard of these? I’m like, yes, actually I have. I own them. 

  

Kathi Lipp (28:45) 

Okay, the 

  

the third one may be a surprise for you the third one Okay, so because I don’t know that I’ve ever shared those with you. Yeah guys, you’ve probably seen these they’re clear containers I have them in both my ? I have them in white and in like stainless steel they look great and They are durable in the dishwasher again with the heater element off 

  

Tonya Kubo (28:49) 

Okay. 

  

Kathi Lipp (29:15) 

and they keep things fresh. And I don’t have a ton of storage. Maybe other people might think, you have a ton of storage, Kathi. For me, it doesn’t feel like a ton of storage. So I need to use that storage space as smartly as possible. And these are all squares or rectangles, and they are great. And you like them as well, right? I know you have them, you like them. You’re not feeling like you wanna try something different. 

  

Tonya Kubo (29:36) 

Yep, I do, I do. 

  

No, but I will say that, you know, because they do that vacuum kind of seal thing, but you can’t overfill your container. So we’ve had some issues with the cinnamon toast crunch not being willing to seal, which just means everybody eats cinnamon toast crunch for dinner. Really is what happens. We have to make the space. 

  

Kathi Lipp (29:46) 

Yes. Yes. 

  

It’s so true. Yes. 

  

Yes, I love that. I love that plan. It’s a use it up plan. And I label those again with my little labeler. I love them. Okay, my fridge storage are the Rubbermaid Brilliance food storage containers. So these are clear on top clear on the sides. And they have like gray handles, they have a gasket all the way around. So when you press it down, it seals and then they have ? 

  

Handles on both sides that click down and I have dropped those on the floor Not a problem. They do not leak. They do not let odors in or out. So Love me some of those ? Do you have those as well Tonya? 

  

Tonya Kubo (30:45) 

I do. ? My Kubo girls though are hard on things. So they have managed to like get the sides those like tabs. They can break those off. And so you do have to be careful. But I find like that wasn’t a problem on the ones that I used exclusively. I’m just gonna say. Not that I blame people. I’m just saying I did not have that challenge. 

  

Kathi Lipp (30:50) 

? 

  

? yeah. 

  

Mmm, yeah. 

  

They have different dexterity than people our age. And you know what? Here’s the thing is I get older, I’m going to get back into a dropping stage. So, you know, everything that is new goes around again. I love these. Again, neither of these I’m talking about are cheap. I’m just admitting it, guys. But I’ve also not wanted to rebuy, rebuy, rebuy, rebuy. And I feel like they’re such an investment because they keep the food longer. And so I’m not throwing food away. 

  

Tonya Kubo (31:10) 

Hahaha 

  

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (31:36) 

And so I use these for Roger’s chips for crackers all sorts of things. They keep things that I like a crunch and you know when your cinnamon toast crunch doesn’t have a crunch anymore It’s not as enjoyable. I’m not gonna lie Okay, so my favorite thing that I do for on the go storage. It’s a ? A brand called bent go so it’s like bento but been good. you’ve used it before Tonya 

  

Tonya Kubo (31:50) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, for lunch containers for the girls. 

  

Kathi Lipp (32:06) 

I love their stuff. I love it. 

  

Tonya Kubo (32:08) 

Yeah, it’s really, 

  

really nice, except that I not going to lie, I threw an adult size temper tantrum when they didn’t come home for summer break last year. Because they’re they’re like a little too pricey for me to want to replace twice a year. 

  

Kathi Lipp (32:17) 

I don’t blame you. Okay. 

  

Yeah, okay. So the ones I bought and let me know if these are the same. It’s a 20 20 pack now when they say a 20 pack what they mean Is the bottom of the container and the top so you’re getting 10 units? and so So if you’re expecting 20 of these it’s not going to happen guys, but so 10 units for $14, excuse me 

  

Tonya Kubo (32:40) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (32:52) 

It comes out to be about a $1.40 apiece, I think. 

  

Tonya Kubo (32:55) 

? that’s 

  

a really good deal. What we got was they were specific for school lunches. And so it was the bottom, the top, was some accessories for like dipping sauces and then like a, a tote and a drink. 

  

Kathi Lipp (33:00) 

Okay. 

  

Okay, so 

  

here’s what I’m imagining because mine you would not want these in a backpack if it had like spaghetti or Something a little bit wet in it. So I I think bento makes a lot of different things So you probably have the foo foo shishi ones and these I got I actually got these at Sam’s Club ? in a pack some of them were just one compartment some of them were two compartments and 

  

Tonya Kubo (33:14) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (33:37) 

? Than three compartments and ? and Tonya Tonya hold up what you’ve got there I know you were trying to you were trying to be sneaky 

  

Tonya Kubo (33:43) 

Oh, well, I was like, hold on. was trying to 

  

show you something and then it was like big pop over ad that just keeps happening on my thing. But there we go. Yes, it says claim your $10 off. I would really like it if it would let me exit. OK, well, there you go. So that little like $46 one. 

  

Kathi Lipp (33:53) 

Okay. 

  

But you found a discount. 

  

Nice. 

  

Okay. ? nice! Okay. 

  

Tonya Kubo (34:12) 

is what we had. 

  

Kathi Lipp (34:12) 

Okay. And so 

  

this is from the actual company. So we will put the Amazon link and the Bintco ? link in there as well. Cause we love to save a little cash. love that. Yeah. This is perfect for meal prep, lunches, snacks, you guys, if you’re taking food to work or, you know, sending it off to a friend, something like that. I think that these would be great. ? If you know somebody who has had a baby and you’re bringing dinner. 

  

Tonya Kubo (34:24) 

I love saving cash. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (34:42) 

And to do ? a few of these for family members so everybody can have their own. Beautiful, beautiful. And we also use them for like, we’ll do a snack-cuterie. So like here’s a few crackers, here’s some ? grapes or orange slices, that kind of thing. It makes us really happy. Snackle box, I’ve seen that before. It’s so cute. Choosing the right container really does help simplify this. 

  

Tonya Kubo (34:55) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

We call that a snackle box. 

  

Kathi Lipp (35:12) 

You’re not spending and guys, okay This is gonna be my last thing and now I know some of you are gonna write me and say Kathi must be nice to have all the money. I get it Sometimes we are able to buy ourselves out of solution But can I tell you one of the best things I’ve ever done was get rid of all my random Tupperware rubber made Bing-bob-boom ? Because it was frustrating me so much and I just went all in 

  

Tonya Kubo (35:39) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (35:41) 

on this Rubbermaid Brilliance. It made all the difference in the world. I am not constantly hunting for the right ? lid to the right thing. It just works. ? I hope this episode’s given you some practical tips, inspiration to organize your food storage. Guys, if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, please subscribe wherever you love to listen to podcasts or share it with a friend who could use a little help in the kitchen. 

  

Don’t forget to tune in next time. We want you to be able to organize your spaces without feeling overwhelmed. That is our goal here. Thanks so much for hanging out with us. 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. 

 

 

More Posts 

#680 -From Overwhelmed to Organized: Transform Your Closet in 45 Minutes

#671 – Sentimental Clutter: Finding Freedom in Letting Go

#671 – Sentimental Clutter: Finding Freedom in Letting Go

Kathi Lipp returns with Tonya Kubo and Tenneil Register to address a common challenge faced by those on the clutter-free journey: sentimental items. In this insightful episode, the trio tackles the emotional weight of inherited belongings and the guilt that often accompanies letting go. Through personal stories and heartfelt advice, listeners will find encouragement and practical ideas for memorializing loved ones without drowning in clutter. Tonya and Tenneil offer creative solutions and emphasize that true memories don’t reside in things but in the stories and connections we cherish. Tune in to gain a fresh perspective on organizing keepsakes that celebrate the lives of those we’ve loved and lost. 

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Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest

Kathi Lipp gives readers an easy-to-follow process for meal planning and prep, so that they can enjoy a full day each week of real rest and refreshment.

Could you use a break from cooking (and everything else) once a week? Not only is rest vital for your mind and body, it’s good for your soul too. God designed us to enter into Sabbath rest one day per week, but as you know, meals still need to be made. Your family still needs to be fed.

Sabbath Soup includes convenient, seasonal meal plans that take the guesswork out of shopping and cooking. More than just a collection of delicious recipes—including main dishes, breads, breakfasts, desserts, salads, sides, and yes, soups—this is your guide to establishing a weekly rhythm and routine of meal planning and prep that allows you to have a true day off.

Do something good for your soul and experience the peace that comes with a full day dedicated to spending time with God, family, and friends. Savor your Sabbath as you proudly proclaim, “Soup’s on!”

Order your copy of Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest here.

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Meet Our Co-Host

 

Tonya Kubo

Tonya Kubo is the illustrious and fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter Free Academy Facebook group and the Clutter Free for Life membership program. A professional community strategist, she believes everyone deserves to have a place online where they feel like they belong. Raised by a hoarder, Tonya knows firsthand the pain and isolation that comes from living in conditions others don’t understand. She wants better for her family and her cluttery peeps, which is why she is passionate about the compassionate slow-and-steady approach that makes Clutter Free unique. She lives in the heart of California with her husband, Brian, their two spirited daughters, and one very tolerant cat. Visit tonyakubo.com to find out more about her community work, or email her at tonya@kathilipp.org to discuss the Clutter Free Academy podcast and programs.

Tonya Kubo Picture

Meet Our Co-Host

 

Tenneil Register

Tenneil Register can be found creating, repurposing, decorating, gardening and welcoming guests to their reclaimed barn storefront. She and her husband, Cowboy, established rural roots for their blended family of 7 in their DIY ranch home in Iowa. Connect with her on Instagram for practical ideas to reclaim your home.

Tonya Kubo Picture
Transcript

Kathi Lipp (00:09) 

Hey friends, welcome to clutter free Academy where our goal is to help you take small doable steps every day to live with less clutter and more life and we are back here for our three part series of sentimental items because Tonya Tonya Tenneil and I have all talked about this recently where when Tonya you were doing the clutter free Bible study and you said that people were really struggling with their sentimental items. Is that correct? 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:36) 

Yeah, that is 100 

  

% correct. 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:40) 

Was it more their own stuff, their kid’s stuff, or stuff that has maybe been passed down from people that they love? All the above. Okay, we’re not doing any special treatment for anybody. It’s just all the things. Yeah, you know, all three of us have had to go through this at one point or another. I’ve lost my dad. Tonya, you’ve lost your mom. And, Tenille, you lost a sibling recently. And so… 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:48) 

All of the above. Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:09) 

? We are all coming to this with some practical Application and you know, Tonya, I’ve never really thought about this before But I’m just gonna get and this wasn’t something I prepped for the show But you know, I don’t think you care. You’ll let me come at you. Is it different? I wonder because you and I have both lost a hoarder as I just wonder 

  

Tonya Kubo (01:34) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (01:38) 

I have not personally, like, but you know, my mom’s not a hoarder, my dad was. I haven’t been able to compare and contrast that. That is not your situation either. Do you think that there’s a different level of guilt or do you think there’s a different level? I don’t know. I’m just, I’m, you can tell I’m exploring this in my brain in real life time, but I always know you have such good wisdom. What’s your immediate thought to this? 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:01) 

Yeah. 

  

It is a different type of hard and let me I’ll give you the sort of what I have come to because you’re right I don’t have the personal experience of Having to clean up after one relative who was a hoarder and one who wasn’t but you know Brian lost his dad before we met and ? Because I am so closely connected to our Clutter Free community, right? I talked to them a lot about what they’re dealing with and so the difference is 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:10) 

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (02:35) 

is the first difference that’s a big one for those of us with a hoarding background is the volume we have to manage when our loved one dies. There’s a volume that nobody else can ever understand that we go through. So there’s that piece that makes it different. But in terms of the sentimental items, those of us, depending on where our loved one was on the hoarding spectrum, 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:44) 

Yeah. ? amen. Yeah. Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:04) 

In some cases, is actually there is a large volume of stuff that is usable, good condition, yada, yada, yada. And then on, you in my mother’s case, there was actually very, very little that was usable. I mean, so much had just been destroyed and eaten away and rotted. So that’s different. So there’s that piece. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:27) 

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:30) 

that makes it different. And then the other that I would say is our folks who don’t come from a hoarding background, a lot of times part of why the sentimental items are such a struggle is because they have these very acute memories of the sacrifice that their parent or their sibling went through to keep this stuff over the years. And they feel like they are a bad daughter, bad son, bad sister, bad whatever to not 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:50) 

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:59) 

have the energy, the time, or even the desire to go through that same level of sacrifice. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:04) 

Yeah, you know, it’s very interesting. I think ? not always, but many times this does fall to the oldest daughter. And I’m an oldest daughter. Tonya, you’re an old you’re you’re only child. So oldest, you’re all the thing. You’re you’re the middle of the youngest. Tenneil I don’t know. I know you have a sister. Where do you fall? 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:20) 

I’m all the things, all the things over here. 

  

Tenneil (04:28) 

Yeah, so I’m the second in my overall family, but I am also the oldest in some ways. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:35) 

Well, and I would say it’s being the oldest daughter and it also tends to fall to the daughter who lives the closest. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:44) 

Yes, absolutely. Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (04:44) 

That’s where I have 

  

been a lot of times. Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:49) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:50) 

Yeah, the one who’s closest. Well, this is part of the reason that we have ? our clutter-free creative counselor, Tenille Register here, who has walked this road, but also has great ideas for us to honor the loved ones with meaning and intention. And you’ve done some really beautiful things in your own life. So ? we’re very grateful you’re here, Tenille. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:53) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tenneil (05:15) 

I’m glad to be here. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:18) 

Yeah, okay. So 

  

here’s the first thing I want to talk about is the emotional weight of inherited items. ? Because they do have a weight to them, right? We get things, whether sometimes they are passed down, sometimes they are left behind. ? Tonya, I have to imagine that a lot of your stuff as with my stuff, it wasn’t so much passed down to me. There wasn’t intention with it being passed down. 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:46) 

Mm-mm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:47) 

It was more of like, well, there’s their stuff. Same for you. Yeah. OK. Yeah. And so ? I think there was a real issue for me not knowing what my dad wanted done with some of these things and, you know, not thinking to ask those questions until he really couldn’t answer it. ? You know what? Where does that guilt come from, Tonya? When 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:51) 

Yep, exactly. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:14) 

where things that haven’t been specifically passed down to us and we’re trying to sort through all this stuff. What do you think is running through people’s heads with that guilt? 

  

Tonya Kubo (06:23) 

Well, I think if it hasn’t been intentionally passed down, right? I mean, first of all, there’s this belief that there must have been a reason for them keeping it. And because I don’t know the reason, I can’t make the right decision on what to do with it. That’s a big one. Another piece of guilt is, you know, my, like what I’ve heard a lot in our group is my parents had such meager circumstances. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:33) 

Mmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (06:50) 

but they made a point to move this through three different houses. So who am I to get rid of it? And so there’s that, that’s a heavy weight, right? Because what you’re really doing is you’re carrying the burden of your parents decision-making there. And like though you can make a different decision, some people don’t feel free to make the different decision. And then the other piece, and I go back to this, nobody has said this in the group recently, but it… 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:50) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (07:19) 

was it came from a deep place of pain. And I think that just because people haven’t said it out loud doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. They actually believe what they do with the item is akin to what they do to the person. And so I have heard things like to get rid of my brother’s sweaters would be to kill him all over again. 

  

Kathi Lipp (07:34) 

Yeah. 

  

my gosh, okay, that’s deep. Yeah. Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (07:42) 

Like, but that is the depth of the feeling. And I’ve heard that several times. 

  

Like when I was doing my free sale and I was getting rid of this angel collection I had, I’ve talked about the angel collection for years, people were like, that is like you are destroying the generosity of every person who gave that, gave one of those angels to you. 

  

Kathi Lipp (07:54) 

Yeah. 

  

? 

  

Tonya Kubo (08:06) 

And but the thing is, is I don’t get offended, right? Because I know the pain that that is coming from. They’re not they’re projecting their own hurt, their own tenderness onto me. And I don’t have to accept that. But I mean, this is this is how cluttery people feel many times that keeps them holding on to things that they don’t even really. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:15) 

Yes. 

  

Yes. 

  

Right, absolutely. You know, it’s so interesting. Am I erasing that person if I get rid of this item? And you know, it’s very interesting to me because my kids only know my grandparents through items. You know, I think, you know, my youngest grandparent died when my son was, you know, probably five and didn’t live anywhere near us. And so, you know, but we have to 

  

Tonya Kubo (08:49) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:02) 

Curate that because as much as we don’t want clutter our kids Do not want clutter all my kids in their 30s like now I will say that my girls have wanted some very specific things like one of my girls like If you ever get rid of that purple chair, I’ll take that purple chair and she said that to me like eight times I’m like, know what? I think you’re gonna enjoy this purple chair more than I will and like, you know some things that were super practical but 

  

Tonya Kubo (09:09) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:31) 

They don’t want stuff from their great grandparents that they’ve never met. That’s not how they are living. I’m holding onto a couple of things from my grandfather to my son, but they’re small. There’s like a football ring and things like that. ? yeah, Tonya, go ahead. 

  

Tonya Kubo (09:34) 

Mm-mm. Right. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

There’s just one more aspect that I, because I think Tenille’s gonna have a really good insight on this, so I wanna bring it up. So this came up recently in the Bible study, which is, because to your point about as much as we don’t want the clutter our kids don’t, is trying to work, we’ve got several members who walk this walk. They try to get their parents to declutter and downsize while their parents were alive. And their parents very, 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:56) 

Yeah, yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:16) 

freely and unapologetically said, why would I do that? That’s your problem when I’m gone. And now they’re in a place where the parent is gone. They have to clear through it all and they are angry. And what they’re realizing is whereas one person might say, well, I’m so angry. I’m backing up a dumpster and it’s just all gonna go. They’re so angry that they don’t feel like they can. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:22) 

Cool. 

  

yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:41) 

objectively process through the clutter and so it’s taking them even longer and then that just makes them angry. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:43) 

Hmm. 

  

Yeah, when we have people come into the clutter free for life group, our paid group, I would say at least a third of them are saying they don’t want to leave this mess behind for their kids. And so that’s what I love. Okay, Tenneil, we’re going to get you back in here. let me ask one of the things that I have realized through, you know, looking at my grandparents stuff, we’ve lost ? all four of Roger’s parents because we had, you know, steps and things like that. 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:53) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:17) 

is that it’s not the stuff, it’s the story. Like what’s the story that I want my kids or Roger’s kids to know about these people who have passed on? So how do we tell that story? Because we can’t sum up a whole life, but we can leave our kids with a narrative of these people that they come from. 

  

Tenneil (11:42) 

And listening to Tonya talk about the reasons that people struggle with this stuff, it is even more important that we figure out how to take what I heard over and over, Tonya, is a thread of guilt and turn it into a story, right, of joy and remembering and even that grief story. So I think there’s something to be said for physically, tangibly. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:45) 

. 

  

Tenneil (12:10) 

not just having the object, but doing something with the object that says, I’ve moved through the guilt, I’ve moved through the pain, and this is what I’m taking from this person’s life. And not just what the story of their life was, but how it intersects with ours. And so I think there’s a lot of hands on ways we can do that because we don’t want them to be just a memory, right? 

  

Kathi Lipp (12:25) 

Yes, yes, absolutely. 

  

Tenneil (12:33) 

We want their story to have its shape in our life, whether our memories of them are positive or not. They still have helped shape who we are. So how do we take some tangible objects and reflect that shaping? 

  

Kathi Lipp (12:46) 

Okay, I want to know how you’re doing this, Tenille. And I think one thing, Tonya and I got some feedback the other day from one of our previous episodes, we were talking about memories and how I kept a footprint of one of my chickens in my underwear drawer. I think, and Tonya, what was it that you kept in your drawer? I’m trying to remember. Baby teeth, that’s right. We talked about that last time. 

  

Tonya Kubo (13:11) 

? baby teeth. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:15) 

The baby teeth are a recurring theme here. But here’s what I’m wondering. Do cluttery people not feel that their memories are worth having a space to keep them? Why am I keeping these next to my underwear? That’s my big question. Like I’ve never had like 

  

Tonya Kubo (13:17) 

It’s always the baby teeth. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:38) 

like a chest, a memory chest or anything like that. A hope chest, that’s what I was trying to say. I’ve never had a box where I keep all my, like, why do I think that my memories are not important enough to preserve in a special way? I don’t know, I’m getting very deep in this episode. I don’t know. Yeah, Tenille, please address this, come on, help me. 

  

Tenneil (13:41) 

Yes. 

  

Tonya Kubo (13:42) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tenneil (14:02) 

some of it is decision paralysis, right, which is what really affects us about clutter, right, is this weight of the decision, right, where am I going to keep these things? And so I think when we can put these things in a visible place, in a practical way that influences our life, then we kind of take some of that decision out about where to store it or where to keep it. 

  

Kathi Lipp (14:06) 

Mmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (14:29) 

even honestly if we get too caught up in where to hang it, right? Or how to frame it. We’re going to get stuck in any of those places. And so I like to really keep it tangible and simple and also changeable, right? We’re not making a monument here. If we hang it on the wall in the kitchen and it works until we redecorate the kitchen, that’s okay. We are not making monuments here. We are just learning to live with the pieces 

  

Kathi Lipp (14:29) 

Hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Right. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (14:58) 

of someone else’s story that have crossed our path. So this can look like a seasonal decor item and just really getting creative. Like when do I think about this person? If it’s grandma and you think about her in the kitchen or, you know, like I have a memory with my sibling ? who was not ? like mechanical or carpentry. 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:02) 

Thank you. 

  

Hmm. 

  

Tenneil (15:24) 

but he was available and so he helped me repair my falling down flower bed, right? And so it’s not like gardening that connects them to me, but this like section of the garden I actually hate, his willingness to stick it out in the heat and figure it out with me are there, right? And so this year I’m gonna plant something purple, his favorite color, near that section of the flower bed. If my flowers die, it’s okay. That’s not my brother. 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:51) 

Mm-hmm. Right, 

  

right. 

  

Tenneil (15:54) 

That’s 

  

my memory of him being there for me, right? And so those are some examples of simple ways, like where am I when I think of this person? What are the connections I feel? 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:06) 

And I think the other question there is where am I most likely to tell their story? So like to tell the story to your kids, you know, when he was helping me with this garden, I knew that was love because he didn’t like to do stuff like that, but he just wanted to be near me. I think those are some great criteria for that. ? And I’ve talked about this in other places. Like I have something of my dad’s that is connected to both of us. 

  

It’s his first paycheck when he worked at the library for 40 cents an hour, you know, his first paycheck was like 720, $7.20. But you know, because 

   

having something that is I love what you said. It’s not just about the person. It’s about your connection to the person. I love that. Okay. So it’s what you’re seeing is make that memory active. Like put it into place. Yes. 

  

Tenneil (17:02) 

Yes, and 

  

use the things. Like sometimes we’re so scared if all we have left is grandma’s dishes, we don’t want to break them, right? So we don’t use them. Grandma doesn’t want you to live like that, right? And so use those dishes at your gathering. If there’s a tool that you kept of your dads or your grandpas, use it every now and then. Like I just really think that it’s important that it becomes a real and 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:16) 

Yeah, right. 

  

Tenneil (17:31) 

part of your life in any way that it can. 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:35) 

Love it, love it. I love the idea of honoring someone by living with the items. Okay, when we come back, I want to talk about some memorial projects because I think this is what people think of mostly when it comes to what do I do with their things? And so I know that you’ll have some great ideas about that. You’re gonna help me and Tonya out here a bunch. So we’re gonna take a commercial break and then come right back. 

  

Tonya Kubo (17:52) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:05) 

Okay, we are back and Tenneil is going to solve all of our problems about what to do with those keepsakes. Tonya, did you have anything from your mom that you were able to use to memorialize her? Was there anything that you were able to keep as a keepsake or was that just not something you were able to do? 

  

Tonya Kubo (18:27) 

Yeah, that’s an interesting question. So the things that I kept that I was able to keep. So she still had my grandfather’s wallet from when he died at the hospital. She still had the bag of stuff, of his stuff, but the wallet was still in good condition. Everything else wasn’t. So I have that. I have my grandfather’s old milking stool from the 1930s. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:37) 

? cool. 

  

Mm, okay. 

  

? 

  

how cool. 

  

Tonya Kubo (18:56) 

It’s absolutely not usable, right? ? But I still have it because it’s cool. ? And then ? there was a small container of ceramics that I had done when I was in like the second grade. So those are really like all that was usable because my mom, because of how advanced her hoarding was, there were no keepsakes. There was no jewelry. You my mom never married, so there wasn’t a wedding set. There wasn’t a locket. 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:00) 

Yeah. Yeah. 

  

No. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (19:25) 

Nothing 

  

like that. She had some of her writings, but even her recipe box, which I loved when I was little, it was completely, all the recipes were mildewed and the paper had disintegrated. So that would have been something I would have loved to have kept. That probably would have been my absolute favorite thing to have kept. It just wasn’t in a condition where I could. 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:31) 

? 

  

Yeah, but you’ve got the memory, so that’s good. I love that you have the memory. Okay, Tenille, we need some ideas. We cluttery people are very good with a project when it’s low hanging fruit. It can’t be too complicated, it can’t be too crazy. So give us some ideas, all right? 

  

Tonya Kubo (19:51) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tenneil (20:09) 

Okay, so one trend that I love when it comes to fabric is we’re starting to see taking just a little piece of it. So like we’ve got grandma’s wedding dress or a baptism gown or these things. I grew up in a home where these things hung in the closet turning yellow and you were the evil one if you decided to throw these things away, right? So we’re starting to see where they’re cutting out just a bit of lace from it. 

  

Tonya Kubo (20:23) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:27) 

Right. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (20:35) 

And they’re having that piece of lace sewn into their dress or onto their veil or things like that. So I think that’s a huge shift is that we don’t have to take the whole object. It can be just a piece of the object. So I think that is really important. And then looking, I mean, the most common is when you can plant something in it, right? So we’re talking teacups, ladles, even like, 

  

an old can from the garage, right? Lots of grandpas kept every can under the sun, full of all the different nails and the objects and stuff. And if your conversations with grandpa happened in that workshop, right? It’s okay to get rid of all of his stuff and then hold on to one of those rusty cans, right? And plant a little something in it or use it to hold your pens and pencils on your desk. Like let their real memory stand out. It doesn’t have to be of 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:08) 

Hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (21:23) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:23) 

Right? 

  

Tenneil (21:34) 

? like monetary value. If it makes sense to you, then it makes sense. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:38) 

Right. Right. 

  

I’ve got to dig out that Hillsbrothers coffee can, you know, ? because we have a couple of those and I’ve always kept them outside and they would look so cool inside. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I think that that’s really, really key is it doesn’t have to be of great monetary value. We have something that I just have to tell you about it. It’s so cool. And I’m sure both of you have seen it in our house, but you may not have known what it was. 

  

My grandmother loved popcorn, loved popcorn. And she has a popcorn popper. It’s this long metal kind of, don’t know. It looks like, I don’t even know what it looks like, but it’s an old fashioned popcorn popper that we have. 

  

I love it so much because we could use it to pop popcorn and we will someday. We haven’t done it yet, but we will someday. And it makes me so happy to think about my grandmother, even though I never popped popcorn with her, the joy is there. And by the way, Roger loves popcorn. Like that’s his favorite thing in the world. So it intersects, even though she never got to meet him, she would have loved him. Yeah, so that’s what it brings up for me. So I love that. 

  

when you’re saying it doesn’t have to be a value, but it’s a value to you because of the memory. 

  

Tenneil (23:04) 

Yeah, and like taking that coffee can one step further, if it has a lid that’s open and closed, then if you have like little sugar or creamer packets that you only get out every once in a while, storing those in there so it also like is super functional rather than just decorative can be a really big one. Another great one is to take like a wood planer tool. So it’s like a chunk of wood, you know. 

  

Kathi Lipp (23:13) 

you 

  

Yeah? 

  

Tenneil (23:31) 

And you can turn that into a bookend or there’s like a little hole on the top of those that’s perfect for a test tube. And then you can use it for like starting plants, right? Now you have a piece of art and this like talking piece all from this thing. And also I think a really big one is think outside the box. We tend to think like, where can I put this in my living room? I feel like that’s just what we go to for memory things. 

  

Kathi Lipp (23:42) 

Yes! 

  

Tenneil (23:57) 

but it doesn’t have to be limited to that. It can be as simple as keeping the clothes pins and using those clothes pins to hang a few things on the wall in the laundry room. Right? Like you just can be so simple in how we do these things. 

  

Kathi Lipp (24:08) 

Wow, I love that. 

  

Here’s what I love that so many of the things that you’re speaking of ? are for men. Because I think it’s easier for us to figure out what we’re going to do with grandma’s apron. But dads, dads can be hard. Grandpas can be hard. 

  

Tonya Kubo (24:14) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tenneil (24:28) 

I didn’t, when you were talking about cleaning out your loved ones things, I have this unique experience where I had to clean out all of my dad’s belongings and I would say he was borderline hoarder and while he was still living, but without his say in it. And so I’m gonna go through that whole process of wondering whether I was doing the right things for them. Now I’m 20 years down the road and he’s starting to accumulate things again. 

  

Kathi Lipp (24:44) 

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Wow. 

  

Tenneil (24:55) 

But I have very firmly given him like square footage boundaries. He can only feel that space because I don’t want to go through that whole process more than once. 

  

Kathi Lipp (24:59) 

Yeah 

  

And it 

  

is a process. And I can’t even imagine with the person still being alive and going through that process and them coming back to say, wait, you got rid of blank? my goodness. And it’s like, ? yeah. Okay, so I know that we’ve all seen some of the things ? online where ? you make it into a teddy bear, you make it into a t-shirt quilt. 

  

I will tell you one of the things that I saw recently that I loved. ? One of my friends, her father passed away and he always wore flannel shirts. She took a heart out of his flannel shirt and sewed it to the inside of her jacket. And I just thought, what a clever way of keeping him close to you without having to keep hundreds of shirts. 

  

Tonya Kubo (25:56) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (26:01) 

because I think there were dozens of shirts. Let me not exaggerate. There were dozens of shirts, but if there were 200, I wouldn’t be surprised. But to take a couple of those things, a couple of those shirts and cut out the hearts and put those in places where you’re gonna see it over and over again. And one of things I thought about and she is gonna do now, which I think is really cool, is she is sewing one of those hearts onto the front of a pillow. 

  

that she can keep in her, I think it’s her living room or maybe it’s her study. But I just think what a simple way, you don’t have to keep the whole shirt. You can use that as the basis of something. What about donations? ? Now, Tonya, I know you didn’t have a lot to donate. Like we went through a lot with my dad because my dad had a lot of collections. So, and of course, you my mom, you know, here we are 10 years out. 

  

Tonya Kubo (26:51) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (26:57) 

It’s so weird why I remember the year he died. It’s the same year that the clutter free came out. And for some reason, I have to put those two things together to be able to remember it. But it’s been 10 years out and my mom just gave away his stamp collection because that was 50 years of them being together. Let’s not always say agreeing on the stamps because when I say a stamp collection, we’re talking 

  

Tonya Kubo (27:22) 

Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (27:26) 

crates and crates and crates of stamps. But it was such an intricate part of who he was. And so ? we did some donations there. We did some tool donations. did a, ? we did put some ads, some places about people could pick things up if they were interested in them. But he had very specific things, not of a great deal of value. Like if you saw them guys, you would be like, ? maybe not. 

  

But I know Tenneil would be able to come up with things to decorate with. But not high value, but for some people, they might have been high value ? because they are very interested in that niche. And so I think about those kind of donations things, but I also think about in Tonya’s case where there wasn’t a lot left to 

  

to remember them by, know, is there, what are things that we can do? I love your idea, Tenille, of planting something, because if Tonya’s mom had a favorite flower or a favorite color, you can find that somehow. Are there any other things that you can think of to memorial? Or maybe you don’t live close to that person. Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (28:45) 

Right. So I 

  

was thinking that earlier, like ? when I sell vintage things, ? one of the things that I sell is like thermos, old vintage thermos. And I’ve had several people buy those because it looked like the one that their dad had. And then they incorporate that into the decor. And so because our connection is to the memory and honoring that person’s legacy, it doesn’t have to be their exact object. 

  

Kathi Lipp (29:00) 

? yeah. 

  

Tenneil (29:13) 

Also thinking outside the box. So when I lost my sibling, we have his childhood items, but we, he did not own any possessions of his own when he passed, he was living homeless. trying to figure out how to process that, right? In the place where we did us a memorial where he was found, there was like a dried Spanish moss hanging off of the tree growing on the fence and scattered. 

  

Kathi Lipp (29:24) 

Hmm. Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (29:43) 

on the ground there. And so I took some of that Spanish moss that I could bring home and just put in a little bowl, right, as a little bit of a memory. And so thinking outside of the box, or if the person loved to go hiking, come up with, you know, a little bowl of pine cones or something like that. So we can kind of recreate if we’re in a situation, let’s face it, families can get really ugly in the process of dividing up things. 

  

Kathi Lipp (30:10) 

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (30:13) 

And so if you didn’t end up with grandma’s recipe box and that broke your heart, look around, make vintage shopping and adventure and find one that’s maybe similar or represents the same thing. And the other value that that has is if you do have these odd objects that you’re like holding onto because I want to use it, but I’m not sure what to do with it. I say, find your local vintage shops that are especially decorative. 

  

Kathi Lipp (30:13) 

Yeah. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (30:41) 

because a lot of times you’ll go in and you’ll see an idea. Countless times ? do I hear people say, ? my goodness, I have one of those in the garage from my grandma or grandpa and I never knew what to do with it and now I’m gonna bring toolbox in and put my grandkids colored pencils in it and they’re coloring the toolbox at the ready, right? So those are the things. 

  

Kathi Lipp (30:41) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Bye. 

  

Yes. 

  

? you just sparked something 

  

for Tonya. You just sparks. Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (31:08) 

love that idea! That’s such 

  

a great idea! 

  

Kathi Lipp (31:12) 

I love that so much. Tonya, I want to come back to you because I feel like many of us who are cluttery, we struggle with the conversations around items. Where do you think that that stress mostly comes from for our people? 

  

Tonya Kubo (31:29) 

Well, what do mean by the conversations around the items? 

  

Kathi Lipp (31:31) 

Like, 

  

what do, when you pass, what do want me to do with this? When I pass, do you want to have this? I guess if the, I guess my question is, is there an easier way to get into those conversations that you have heard from our group? I know my mom was very bold and said, I’m putting Post-it notes under everything I want you to make sure you don’t sell. 

  

Tonya Kubo (31:36) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (31:57) 

So like, 

  

I love that she brought it up because it’s very awkward for me to bring up. Let’s be clear. 

  

Tonya Kubo (32:02) 

Yeah, I would agree. It’s always easier if the parent brings it up to the kids or like, it’s much easier for you to bring up what you want them to do after you’re gone than it is for them to bring up what you want me to do with this after you’re gone. But I would also say that there are some kids that really struggle with their parents’ mortality. And so you kind of have to like weigh the pros and cons. Like, not… 

  

Kathi Lipp (32:13) 

Yeah. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (32:30) 

all kids want to have the conversation with you. But what you can do, so let’s just say that you can’t have the conversation. Well, you can do what your mom did, right? And do post-it notes or even, ? I knew somebody who did a label maker, right? And just did labels underneath and they just, they put the name of the person they wanted it to go to. And then they had a journal that, and it was in an envelope that was like open when I die sort of thing. 

  

Kathi Lipp (32:33) 

Yeah. 

  

Yeah. Okay. 

  

I love that. 

  

Tonya Kubo (32:57) 

But in that journal was like, the things that I haven’t specifically designated, here’s what I think you should do with it. And here are the things that if you think I care about these things, I just need you to know you’re wrong. Like I don’t care what you do with this. 

  

Kathi Lipp (32:57) 

Yes. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, okay. 

  

Okay, 

  

that’s such a great statement. If you think I care about this, you’re wrong. I love that. Yes. 

  

Tonya Kubo (33:15) 

Right? 

  

Yeah, there 

  

was like one item that it was a military family and so they had moved it from places and the person was just like, look, I’m sure you think because we moved it to so many places, it was really, really special. It was really, really special to me, but I don’t see this being of any use to either of you kids. Now, if I’m wrong, fine. 

  

Kathi Lipp (33:32) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yes. ? 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (33:44) 

But just so you know, there’s like something, if you’re like, don’t know what to do with this, don’t feel like you have to like run a storage unit for it. We’re good. 

  

Kathi Lipp (33:50) 

I 

  

love that. Yes, there is nothing that I own that my kids should be paying rent on. I love that. Yeah. And you know, we had a terrible thing happen in our family when my husband’s stepfather, so my stepfather-in-law, I don’t know, ? you know, he graduated from Princeton. He was a doctor of philosophy. ? He had a chair from Princeton. 

  

Tonya Kubo (33:57) 

Right. 

  

Kathi Lipp (34:19) 

And the people who were closest proximity wise was my brother-in-law. And so he contacted everybody in the family and said, who would like this chair from Princeton? And everybody said no. So he donated it. And then like four months later, somebody said, you know what? I’ve changed my mind. I want that chair. And he’s, I didn’t keep it. And like, I don’t blame my brother-in-law for getting rid of it. 

  

Tonya Kubo (34:24) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Right. Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (34:45) 

You said you didn’t want it and 

  

people are going to be listening to this and saying Kathi Why didn’t you bring it home? It would have had to have been shipped like it was a whole thing. So there was ? Yes, we can’t keep everything forever 

  

Tonya Kubo (34:58) 

No, and I just want to offer you a flip side to that story because similar was Brian’s dad’s truck, which they kept for a while because it’s like all of them agreed. Brian’s mom, sister and him agreed. It’s nice to have a truck, right? Like in the family. And if it doesn’t belong to any one of us and we all share it, this is kind of like nice to keep around. It makes sense to renew the registration. And everybody agreed it would live. It lived at his sister’s house for a long time. Then it lived at his mom’s house. Well, his mom 

  

Kathi Lipp (35:05) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, right. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tonya Kubo (35:27) 

was not appreciating it living in her house. Quiet like his sister enjoyed it living in her house. And so his mom put out the call, know, like asked us if we wanted to keep it, because if we wanted to keep it, she was fine with it. She’d pay the registration. It was this whole thing. And Brian’s sister was like different phase of life now, like, no, like I can’t store it, can’t do this. We were like, yeah, we just don’t see that that makes sense for us. So his mom said, okay, well, I’m selling it. Kathi, there must have been. 

  

Kathi Lipp (35:29) 

Okay. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tonya Kubo (35:57) 

a dozen times in the following five years where somebody in the family would be like, dad’s truck would really come in handy right now. But here’s the thing, it was as so funny as they would say, ? dad’s truck would have come in really handy right now. And then they were like, but the idea of storing it to get to right now, right? But they would laugh because everybody acknowledged we had the chance, we were given the choice, didn’t make sense. 

  

Kathi Lipp (36:04) 

Ha 

  

Right? Yeah, exactly. 

  

Yep. 

  

Tonya Kubo (36:23) 

I of regret it right now, but don’t regret it enough to wish we’d had it for the last so many years. 

  

Kathi Lipp (36:27) 

Exactly. And you know what? Dad’s truck served when it needed to serve and then you could figure out other things. Guys, I just want to wrap us up by saying this, that if there is no other circumstance where quantity is lesser than quality, it’s in the memories of our people. And, you know, I also want you to know when that person has passed, 

  

Tonya Kubo (36:31) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (36:55) 

They don’t know what you’ve done with their stuff. And they didn’t always have an accurate perception of what was important to you. I think it’s really interesting when my kids bring up childhood memories and I’m like, going to the train station is your favorite memory. What about Disneyland that we spent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars on? No, it was going to the train station. So let’s… 

  

Tonya Kubo (37:16) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (37:21) 

the important things be important to the people that they were important to. And you don’t have to, you don’t have to manufacture that importance any longer. Tenneil and Tonya, thank you so much for being here. And friends, thank you for being here. You’ve been listening to Clutterfree Academy. I’m Kathi Lipp Now, go live the clutter free life you were always meant to live. 

 

 

More Posts 

#680 -From Overwhelmed to Organized: Transform Your Closet in 45 Minutes

#670 – Emotional Decluttering: A Journey Through Sentimental Keepsakes

#670 – Emotional Decluttering: A Journey Through Sentimental Keepsakes

In this episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi Lipp is joined by clutter experts Tonya Kubo and Tenneil Register for the second part of their heartfelt discussion on sentimental items. Discover the emotions that often lead us to hold onto things we neither love nor use, and learn how to navigate these feelings with grace. Whether it’s figuring out what to do with your prom memorabilia or repurposing your grandmother’s teacup, our hosts share practical steps and innovative ideas to help you cherish the memories without clinging to items out of guilt or fear. Tune in to learn how to display the items you love and let go of those you don’t. Plus, dive into Tenneil’s incredible tips on repurposing for a clutter-free home filled with joyful memories. As an added bonus, Kathi cointinues her new segment: “Things That Have Earned A Place in My Clutter Free Home” where she chats with Tenneil about a simple gadget that made a huge difference in storage space in the kitchen! 

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Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest

Kathi Lipp gives readers an easy-to-follow process for meal planning and prep, so that they can enjoy a full day each week of real rest and refreshment.

Could you use a break from cooking (and everything else) once a week? Not only is rest vital for your mind and body, it’s good for your soul too. God designed us to enter into Sabbath rest one day per week, but as you know, meals still need to be made. Your family still needs to be fed.

Sabbath Soup includes convenient, seasonal meal plans that take the guesswork out of shopping and cooking. More than just a collection of delicious recipes—including main dishes, breads, breakfasts, desserts, salads, sides, and yes, soups—this is your guide to establishing a weekly rhythm and routine of meal planning and prep that allows you to have a true day off.

Do something good for your soul and experience the peace that comes with a full day dedicated to spending time with God, family, and friends. Savor your Sabbath as you proudly proclaim, “Soup’s on!”

Order your copy of Sabbath Soup: Weekly Menus and Rhythms to Make Space for a Day of Rest here.

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Meet Our Co-Host

 

Tonya Kubo

Tonya Kubo is the illustrious and fearless leader of Kathi Lipp’s Clutter Free Academy Facebook group and the Clutter Free for Life membership program. A professional community strategist, she believes everyone deserves to have a place online where they feel like they belong. Raised by a hoarder, Tonya knows firsthand the pain and isolation that comes from living in conditions others don’t understand. She wants better for her family and her cluttery peeps, which is why she is passionate about the compassionate slow-and-steady approach that makes Clutter Free unique. She lives in the heart of California with her husband, Brian, their two spirited daughters, and one very tolerant cat. Visit tonyakubo.com to find out more about her community work, or email her at tonya@kathilipp.org to discuss the Clutter Free Academy podcast and programs.

Tonya Kubo Picture

Meet Our Co-Host

 

Tenneil Register

Tenneil Register can be found creating, repurposing, decorating, gardening and welcoming guests to their reclaimed barn storefront. She and her husband, Cowboy, established rural roots for their blended family of 7 in their DIY ranch home in Iowa. Connect with her on Instagram for practical ideas to reclaim your home.

Tonya Kubo Picture
Transcript

Kathi Lipp (00:08) 

Well, hey friends, welcome to Clutter Free Academy, where our goal is to help you take small, doable steps to live every day with less clutter and more life. And we are back. We have a three-part series here on sentimental items, how hard they are to declutter, what do we do with them, and maybe just a couple of pieces of advice to say it’s okay to get rid of it and prove that you don’t hate. 

  

the other person who gave it to you or your own life. And I’ve got two of my favorite cluttery experts here. We’ve got Tonya Kubo and Tenneil Register. Hey guys, welcome back to the program. 

  

Tonya Kubo (00:48) 

Hey, Kathi, . 

  

Tenneil (00:49) 

Hey there! 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:51) 

Okay, so Here’s what I want to talk about today Because you guys are such geniuses Tonya about making the hard decisions about getting rid of to Tenneil once you’ve made the decision to keep it What do you actually do with it? And Last week we talked about your kids stuff, which has so much emotional attachment next week We’re to talk about the stuff from people who have passed on 

  

I mean, like we’re just bringing out all the hard hitting subjects right now. But today I want to talk about our own stuff. And I want to talk about why do we hang on to things that is that maybe we know we’re never going to use them. We know that we maybe we don’t even really love them, but we feel such an obligation to keep them. 

  

I’ve had that for a couple of different items in my life I feel like Through a lot of growth and let me be honest from a couple of people passing on I’ve been able to get rid of some things But I just wonder do any either of you have any insight to this? Why do we hang on to stuff even? Sometimes I don’t even think it brings back great memories, but we just can’t seem to let it go 

  

Tenneil (02:16) 

Letting go is scary because we’re wondering what that means about us and what that means about that relationship. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:25) 

Tell me more about that. 

  

Tenneil (02:28) 

So when we’re walking through it and we are still holding on to a physical object, we’re still giving ourselves time to figure it out, figure out the relationship, figure out what it meant, figure out how to grieve, figure out how to hold on. And we find something significant about doing the physical let go. And so we kind of want to know for sure that we’ve done the emotional part correctly if we do the 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:42) 

Yeah. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (02:56) 

physical part correctly. We’re like looking for affirmation. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:01) 

Okay, okay, I totally get that. I have a question for both of you. Are you guys hanger on-ers to your own stuff? We’re not not stuff you’ve been given necessarily, or are you letter goers? 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:14) 

It takes me a while. Like I am in general, my cluttery problem is not that I acquire a lot. I am not a big shopper. I just don’t know what to do with stuff once I have it. So I tend to be a keeper. So like what we have been, you we talk about this all the time. It has taken Brian and I have been married now 16 years and it’s just this year that we’re getting rid of the wedding pictures from our first marriages. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:25) 

? yeah. 

  

Yeah, that’s a hard one. It’s a hard one. 

  

Tonya Kubo (03:41) 

Well, and it’s back to what Tenneil said, because I’m thinking like where I keep those photos is also where all of the prom stuff is. And I don’t know if so this is the thing is this does not hit home with current teens at all because this is not how they do prom. But prom in the 90s was a whole thing of a thing. You paid your money. You got your photo album with the theme on the cover. You got your champagne flutes. Why did they give us champagne flutes? It’s not like we could drink at that age, but they did. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:59) 

Absolutely. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:10) 

And we got a key chain, got all these things that matched the theme. And I remember thinking it was so important to have that stuff back then. And now I look at it and I’m like, what am I supposed to do with this? Like all I can think about is we had one year where the theme was from dusk till dawn. And that’s when the Quentin Tarantino movie came out. So every time I look at it, I go, I remember how excited I was to see that movie and how horrible that movie was. 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:36) 

Okay, there we go. I love that that’s the memory that pops up for you. 

  

Tonya Kubo (04:38) 

So as, right, 

  

why am I still keeping that stuff if that’s the memory that pops up? I’m keeping that stuff because I go, well, when I go to my high school reunion, are other people gonna have it? Are other people gonna talk about keeping it? What does it say about me and my high school years and what I think about all the people I went into prom with if I get rid of this, which is what I really want to do? 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:04) 

Yeah, ? really interesting. How about you, Tenneil? Are you a hangar oner or a letter goer? 

  

Tenneil (05:10) 

So I’m somewhere in the middle. I’ve become much better letting it go. think transitions of life. I do still have first wedding pictures also because I thought that my child would want them, but he doesn’t. So I’m really close on that one too. Tonya, have to tell you though, let go of the prom stuff. I’ve had my reunion. There was one really great thing that somebody brought from the reunion. 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:23) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:25) 

Nope, they 

  

don’t. 

  

Tenneil (05:38) 

It was the school handbook for our very conservative parochial school. And that makes for excellent conversation. So if your key chain’s not gonna make for good conversation, let it go. 

  

Tonya Kubo (05:51) 

Fair enough. 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:51) 

Hmm 

  

really interesting. Yeah, I want to talk about the emotional drivers that sit behind our inability to let things go so Tonya you and I have talked about this for years fear what if I need it someday or the other version of that is what if I regret letting this go and Guilt this was from somebody that was important in my life whether I’m no longer in touch with them or maybe they’ve passed on something like that 

  

And then I think there’s a third one here, identity. Guys, again, I’m bringing up old stories, but I only have one life to live. And so I only have so many stories. But I was a sales rep for years and years and years. And I invested in these leather cases for catalogs. And this was important in my job. 

  

We did not have a laptop to bring around. These were leather cases that we put, you know, the A &A plush and the Carolina candles and all those catalogs in. I would take them into a store and somebody would order something and I’d go home and write up the order. It feels very archaic now. I could not get rid of those leather cases for the longest time because they were expensive. And you know, the year I bought them, I bought them because I was salesperson of the year. 

  

And that was important to me. That meant something to me. And so that was, it was an identity. I didn’t recognize it at the time, but it was an identity thing saying, you know what, because then I went home and I was homeschooling my kids and then I went through a divorce and I was working at a job that wasn’t my favorite. And I could look at those cases and say, okay, but I had it going on 

  

like and maybe I’ll have it going on again. You know, sometimes we keep things not out of love but out of guilt, fear or the need to remember who we were. And I just think it’s so important to really recognize why are we hanging on to things that make no sense. By the way, I no longer have those leather cases. It’s probably been 20 years now. I’m good. But at the time, and I think we all have those things like that. 

  

Tonya Kubo (07:48) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:16) 

We have somebody in our life who says or maybe it’s media. You’ll regret getting rid of that You’ll regret it. So One of the things that Tonya and I have talked about a lot in our group Clutter free for life that if you love it show it so if you if you say that you love this purse But you have it in a box in your garage. I question your love 

  

And so I wanna talk about some ways that we can display things. And one of my favorites is I have a friend, Robin Neal, who we’ve been friends for a really long time. And her father-in-law had passed away earlier the year of this story. And he was famous for his chili recipe. And so she had a butcher block inscribed. 

  

with her father-in-law’s handwriting with the chili recipe. And there’s a great picture that went around TikTok. And I think it had something like six million views. It was crazy. It went crazy of her husband opening up this package and seeing that and what it meant to him. But it wasn’t just keeping the recipe and even just framing a recipe could have been cool, but this took it a step beyond. And when we wanna talk about the step beyond 

  

Tonya Kubo (09:24) 

wow. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:42) 

We come to Tenneil Register. We’d love some ideas for things that maybe they’re not super useful day to day, but can give us some ideas of, I don’t want to get rid of it because it’s important to me. I’ve discovered I’m not keeping out of fear or guilt or false sense of identity. No, it really brings back happy memories and I want it. 

  

Tenneil (10:05) 

Yeah, I want to share a recipe idea too, because it’s always such a favorite. And that is at Christmas time, have a small tree in your kitchen and hang the recipe cards for family recipes like this all over the tree. And if you have grandma’s old utensils or something like that, you can hang it on the tree. Then the rest of the year, you can pack that down into a small little tote and you have 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:09) 

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (10:34) 

At the time of year that you’re gathering with your family in your kitchen, you can pull out these recipes and these little utensils and do a kitchen tree. It is usually everyone’s favorite idea of how to remember grandma. 

  

Kathi Lipp (10:46) 

Okay, I want to spin off on this for just a second because I think we think if we want to put something up it has to be up all year round and I am a very seasonal girl like every spring summer fall winter I’ve got a little tote where I’m pulling things out not just the fall decor. It’s not that it’s the Native American dolls that my friend Susie gave to me that I put in the fall decor. It’s the 

  

Tonya Kubo (10:55) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:14) 

picture that my grandmother passed down to me that I have out in the spring. But I don’t have it out year round because my house would be an antique store. But it’s I love the idea of switching things out. Okay, what are some other ideas to Tenneil? 

  

Tenneil (11:30) 

Yeah, so another one is make sure you’re using the things you can use. like sometimes, you know, that’s like a vase and we’re afraid to use it because it might get broken or something like that. If like you said, if we love it, use it. But also like maybe you don’t put fresh flowers in vases. I use a lot of like sentimental items. I think you might even be able to see one on the video behind me as bookends. So like a vase from China is 

  

Kathi Lipp (11:36) 

Mm. 

  

Yes. 

  

Tenneil (11:59) 

holding up as a book in for my actual books that I need to use throughout the day. And so incorporating those so that if it’s functional, then we’re not setting up a museum, right? And that’s what we want to avoid is having a museum of things. We want to have a home that’s been built over time that’s functional. And so I think asking yourself, how can I use it is really, really the most important question if you 

  

Kathi Lipp (12:04) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Right. 

  

? I love that so much. And I think that displaying something, being surrounded by things you love is such a gift to yourself. And it shows the life you have and the hopes and dreams you’ve had. know, Tonya, do you have any ideas that you could share with us on this topic? 

  

Tonya Kubo (12:50) 

Well, mean, I second what Tenneil says. It’s like, if you can create something functional out of it, I think that’s brilliant. know, the recipe cards. I knew a woman who had her mom’s recipes all framed in the kitchen. And it was such an easy way to decorate an apartment and make an apartment feel homey. And part of it was that her mom’s handwriting in and of itself was a beautiful decor in addition to the recipes. 

  

And I think, you know, I think we need to give ourselves permission to not be connected to the items. Like it is okay that that meant a lot to you 15 years ago, and it can have meant a lot 15 years ago and not mean as much today. And that doesn’t make you a bad person. 

  

Kathi Lipp (13:31) 

Mm hmm. Right. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

I love it. Yeah, you know, what I’ve had to discover is that having, using what I can or have it when I can’t use something, but it’s still precious to me. I was just visiting my friend Sherry, our friend Sherry, and she gave me a little framed sunflower. And that was her daughter who had passed away, her favorite flower. 

  

Like there’s no practical use for it, but I’m not getting rid of it because I love it. And so it has yellows in it. So I put it with some blue little vases that I really like. And sometimes the vases have flowers in them and sometimes they don’t, but a little vignette is, a fun thing. And you can, you can make a vignette out of the weirdest stuff. I, I came in second place in a baby contest when, you know, 

  

56 years ago. I’ve got the little trophy. I it means nothing to anybody But I just like having it on display because I’m like what a weird thing and I love it so, know and sometimes we don’t want to use things because We don’t want them to get broken. We don’t want them to get chipped So we keep them away, but when something feels too precious to use or display I think we have to ask ourselves. Am I protecting it or 

  

Tonya Kubo (14:44) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:00) 

Is it protecting me from dealing with letting it go? Like, am I too afraid to unpack those emotions? And maybe you can’t unpack the emotions right now, but it’s okay. We’re gonna take a quick commercial break and then we’re gonna come back and we’re gonna talk about Tenneil’s favorite subject, repurposing. Okay, so we’re gonna, we’ll be right back. Okay, we are back with Tonya and Tenneil. Tenneil, how do you? 

  

I want you to talk about more ideas for repurposing. Give us some more ideas because you’re such a genius at this. And I want you to give us your weirdest and wackiest ideas. 

  

Tenneil (15:39) 

Oh boy. Well, I was going to start with the plain ones, Kathi, , but we’ll start with the plain ones. So your plain ones is right, like a teacup. If you don’t drink tea from it, but it’s grandma’s teacup, can it hold your rings? Can it hold soap? Right? And even like your little sunflower picture, is it something that should be out all the time or should it come out just during the month of May that you get out the tea 

  

Kathi Lipp (15:44) 

Go f- start there and then build our way up, yes. 

  

you 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (16:09) 

for the soap, know, like that 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:10) 

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (16:10) 

kind of thing, so that you’re going through a process. Wackier ideas is like the things you can hang on the wall. So when you were talking about your leather suitcases, I actually have a bag from my corporate days too that I still love, but I don’t carry it. So it hangs on the coat rack by my front door for like your everyday clutter that you need to hide in a hurry. And it’s just like a hiding place, right? It looks like a bag I carry in and out, but I actually… 

  

don’t, right? And so, grandpa’s, you know, hand rake, if grandpa was a gardener, right, hang that on the wall and use that to hang your necklaces off next to your closet or hang the dog leash on next to the door where you head out, just to turn the object upside down, inside out, spin it round and round until you can find some other form. 

  

Kathi Lipp (16:40) 

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

? 

  

? I need to be thinking about this. Okay, so I’m gonna throw a couple objects at you. This is our game show. And I want you to tell me, okay, so not only do I have one spoon that is precious to me, I have two. One that we found buried on the property here, and it’s from a company called Rogers Brothers. 

  

and we looked it up, it’s from the 1920s. And then I have one of my grandmother’s serving spoons. Like, what do I do with those? 

  

Tenneil (17:41) 

Well, I mean, first of all, are they usable? Like, can you stir your coffee with it? The rogers spoon? 

  

Kathi Lipp (17:46) 

just that 

  

they’re giant and I’m worried would I get poisoning from them but maybe that could use them yeah yeah I would need to figure that out yes 

  

Tonya Kubo (17:52) 

I was gonna say, this lead poisoning? I don’t know. 

  

Tenneil (17:58) 

So a big spoon, one of the ideas we’ve done in the store and people usually love because they usually have one like an old spoon or ladle or something. If you’re able to hang it on the wall and it makes a cup, you can put like a little plant or succulent or something like that. Or you could have your kitchen keys, your keys or whatever, if you need it to be functional. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:09) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

I love that idea. And I love the idea what you were talking about the rake where you could put a dog leash or something like that. I love that idea. Okay, I’m trying to think. I have lots of cards that people have sent me and I get rid of most of them. But what’s an idea for the ones that you want to keep? 

  

Tenneil (18:39) 

Yeah, this one’s not overly creative, but it looks a little better than a bulletin board. I have a screen in my office. It’s like a wood frame that’s a screen. It’s industrial off the farm. And I have clothes pins on it where I can rotate out cards or inspirational sayings. I’ve got a couple of pictures of my grandparents. Just my own kind of teenager pin board in my office. But to keep up with looking bulletin board, it’s actually like an industrial primitive screen. 

  

Kathi Lipp (18:43) 

I’ll take it. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Mmm. 

  

Tenneil (19:09) 

you could do it with an old window screen too. 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:09) 

? 

  

okay, I love that. Tonya, I’m gonna ask you for one in just a second. But, Tenneil, another thing I would be interesting to get some ideas from, if you have somebody in your family, they wore a uniform, you know, like I’m thinking like, you know, firefighter, police officer, they have a badge, they have a hat, like, what are your ideas for that? 

  

Tenneil (19:34) 

Yeah, so some people go full out, right? Like shadow box on the wall, it’s that important. You mentioned last time we were talking about kids, like sometimes it works to get it out seasonally, you know, for that moment of memorial. But I think it’s kind of choosing an item from it, right? The hat, can it be worked into your mantle decor, that kind of thing? Or like I think of a fireman’s jacket. I could see some semblance to leaving that on your coat rack next to the door. 

  

Kathi Lipp (19:46) 

Mm-hmm, yeah. 

  

Right. 

  

Tenneil (20:04) 

just there as a statement kind of thing. 

  

Kathi Lipp (20:07) 

Yeah, 

  

and guys don’t be afraid to look at something like Etsy if you’re not the crafty person because they can take grandma’s china that was broken and turn that into a necklace or something along those lines Tonya jump in here play the game. What’s something that you would throw it to Tenneil? 

  

Tonya Kubo (20:26) 

Something that I would throw at Tenneil, baby teeth. 

  

Tenneil (20:29) 

yeah. 

  

Okay. I’m going to say first of all that I’m pro getting rid of the baby teeth. And I believe there should be a tradition when the truth comes out about the tooth fairy that we give those babies back and the kid can decide like, we want to bury them or what do we want to do? 

  

one for you all that is still a thing in our house and that is a first pacifier. I think at 17 my kids still finds a little joy from knowing it’s in the top drawer of my jewelry. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:07) 

Oh my gosh. You guys, anything that somebody has sucked on? I don’t know. I don’t know. 

  

Tonya Kubo (21:15) 

I didn’t 

  

have a pacifier, my children never had pacifiers, so I have no pacifiers in my home. 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:19) 

? my- 

  

Okay, we went to the hospital in the middle of the night to get Justin his pacifier that he was going to die without apparently. Like, because he didn’t know the difference between, you know, not having a pacifier and me dumping him off at the orphanage. Like they were on the same plane. Okay. Yeah, I love the idea of like, 

  

Tonya Kubo (21:32) 

? 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tenneil (21:41) 

Thank 

  

Kathi Lipp (21:48) 

burying the teeth for the tooth fairy to recycle or something. I love that idea. Guys, I love this so much because our memories shouldn’t live in an attic, they should be in our lives. They should be incorporated into our lives. And Tenneil is so good at this. Tenneil, would love, you you said at the store, what people may not know is you own a beautiful store. What’s it called? 

  

Tenneil (21:52) 

Right? 

  

Yeah, R7 reclaimed and it’s a vintage barn and so we specialize in how to recycle and, you know, reclaim the unexpected. 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:17) 

Yeah. 

  

Yeah, okay at some point what I’m gonna do if you’re a listener and you’re like I have this weird item that I would like to know how to incorporate I’m gonna book another show and what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna bring these ladies back and We’re gonna come up with those weird items. I’m gonna read them off. I’m not gonna give to Tenneil any prep Because she is so creative. She is seen and done everything No 

  

Tonya Kubo (22:45) 

Ooh. 

  

Tenneil (22:49) 

Are you gonna save me at all? 

  

Tonya Kubo (22:53) 

I will prep, I will do homework for you, Tenneil, because I’m the person who threw baby teeth at you, okay? 

  

Kathi Lipp (22:59) 

Yeah 

  

my goodness, I love this so much. Okay, guys, just remember, you deserve to enjoy your sentimental items, not be overwhelmed by them. Okay, thank you ladies so much for being here. Guys, we’re gonna be back in just a moment with my new favorite segment, Stuff That Has Earned A Place In My House. We will be right back. 

 

PART 2 

Kathi Lipp (00:00) 

Well, welcome back to ClutterFree Academy. ? 

  

Today in our third segment is another episode of things that have earned a place in my clutter free home. And I’ve got my friend, Tenneil Register. Tenneil’s part of my team, but also my friend. And if you need your house redecorated, just invite her over and let her sit amongst your house and she will not be able to help herself. That’s just the kind, but she’ll only do it with your permission. Hey Tenneil. 

  

Tenneil (00:27) 

Yeah. 

  

such 

  

an accurate version of me. I’ll be switching, but I’ll wait for permission. 

  

Kathi Lipp (00:36) 

Well 

  

You were you were not rooted at all. I’m like, please please please because here’s the thing I think other people can sometimes see things that you know, you just live with all the time, right? And you think you don’t think about things being in a different way and we were literally moving dressers upstairs from downstairs and You know when I bought this house man, you know things were where they were and I changed a ton of stuff 

  

but some of the stuff I left just where it was because I thought it was cute. But then your house moves and things like that and you just have to figure out new solutions. And that’s one of the things we’re gonna talk about today is figuring out new solutions. there’s very little that I get to influence Tenneil about, but I influenced you and that makes me very happy. And it was so funny. I’ll tell you this Tenneil and then we’ll actually talk about the item. 

  

You know Roger and I were going to a church and we have since left this church so I’m not telling any tales out of school but ? one of the pastors did a whole sermon on like the worst thing that your child could grow up to be is an influencer and I’m like well, okay, first of all, thanks ? But I also think isn’t that what everybody does? We’re trying if you’re a politician, you’re an influencer if you’re on TV, you’re an 

  

Like we’re all influenced and I want to influence people one to not buy things that they don’t need but two if something works for me I want to share about it because it’s made my life better, right? 

  

Tenneil (02:16) 

Yes, and for most of us, at least listening to this podcast in America, we’re probably gonna spend our money on something. So if it’s something that makes your life easier and makes you happy, I love when people share what’s working for them. It just gives me new ideas. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:29) 

Right. And that’s the thing. I don’t want to spend my money on stuff that doesn’t work. And so, so let me tell you how I influenced Tenneil. Now, some of you have listened to the podcast where I was talking about organizing your pots and pans and ? Tenneil I, the day that podcast came out, she’s like, I’m getting that pan organizer. And okay, so I’m going to tell you my experience with it. then 

  

Tenneil (02:34) 

Yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (02:55) 

I want to hear yours. And I don’t know what her experience is. I just told her, Hey, we’re recording this episode. I’ll find out if you liked it or not. But I’m going to tell you what my experience was. my, have a corner cabinet in the kitchen and pots and pans. They were such a pain that my husband who everybody I know, you know, I, everybody knows I, I, I don’t worship him. only worship God, but 

  

Tenneil (03:24) 

Admire. 

  

Kathi Lipp (03:25) 

I admire greatly, but it got to the point where he was setting out to dry the pots and pans on a pretty regular basis because there’s such a pain in the rear to put away. And so he also, he still does this with our, our, ? not Tupperware. I can you tell I’m a child of the eighties. I call it Tupperware, but, yeah, he doesn’t like that either, but that’s very easy to put away. So I bought, 

  

this it’s called ? Muddella eight tier heavy duty adjustable pan organizing rack for kitchen cabinet storage and organization. So I mean, that is a mouthful. But what it does is it’s so you don’t put your pans or your pots inside of each other. They’re each on their own level. And I have to say the amount of people who now put away their pots and pans in my household. 

  

or even people who are visiting ? without being harangued has gone up 100%. Including me, by the way, including me, because I used to avoid it too. Okay, so now I don’t know, this is honest reaction, not that we’re gonna ever lie to you guys, but ? Tenneil, what is your unbiased reaction about this pot and pan organizer? 

  

Tenneil (04:49) 

I love it. So I was so excited because our pot in pan one, I’m like the only one who can do it correctly, right? 

  

Kathi Lipp (04:55) 

Yes, 

  

nobody can do it like mom does it. 

  

Tenneil (05:00) 

And similarly, we tend to leave them out like on the stove kind of ready to reuse because it’s irritating and we cook a lot. So I was super excited about this pot and pan holder and I ordered it and it was super late at night when it was delivered from Amazon. Everyone was like, who’s at the door? And so I start putting it together. So it was a whole family activity of watching me, you know, put this together. Me explaining that I’d ordered it off the podcast. I just, I don’t usually do that kind of 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:04) 

Yeah. 

  

Mm-hmm. 

  

Tenneil (05:29) 

And so they were super intrigued. The guys in my house were really impressed with the design. And I got down on the floor to put it in my cabinet and it didn’t fit because I didn’t measure first. And I was like so bummed. But I was like, this thing though, it makes sense. This thing makes sense. And so I scooted my little rear over to the next cabinet, to my corner cabinet, where I also have like 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:30) 

Yeah, yeah. 

  

Ooh! 

  

? no. 

  

Yes. 

  

Yeah. 

  

Tenneil (05:57) 

piles of things, but they’re a little bit different. They’re like containers that I take cookies in, deviled eggs, tray, strainers stuff like that. And it worked brilliantly in there to stack all that stuff up and each have its own, it’s almost like a slot, its own shelf, right? And I ordered a second one to do under there. And then ? we’re still gonna order another one. We can make it fit our pan cabinet, but our pan cabinet has a 

  

Kathi Lipp (05:58) 

Mm-hmm. 

  

Yeah, 

  

Yes, right. 

  

Tenneil (06:26) 

like a top shelf in it, half shelf. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:29) 

That’s mine does too. Yes. 

  

Tenneil (06:30) 

And so you 

  

need to remove that for this to really do its job, which is okay. I would prefer it be gone in this baby work. 

  

Kathi Lipp (06:38) 

Yes. 

  

So for some reason, this works with my half shelf. It just, mean, yeah, it’s a little, it loses a little space. But what I’ve done is I’ve put my turkey roasting pan behind that, which I only need to get to once a year. And I only need to get to it when my 30 year olds are in the house and one of them can do the crawling. So I’m fine with that. So yeah. So, ? okay. I, I’ve never given, you know, a 

  

a ranking on this portion of the podcast. But for me, this is a 10 out of 10. It solves a huge problem. It isn’t crazy expensive. It’s not cheap, but I also don’t want cheap because I want this to last for a long time. It’s $31 and ? I just got it off of Amazon. We will put the link in the notes ? and you don’t have to give it a 10 out of 10, but what is your ranking for it? 

  

Tenneil (07:32) 

Yeah, for sure for what it did for me, I would give it a 9 out of 10 for the space that it fixed for me and I’d give it a 10 out of 10 if it measured correctly, but that’s on me, not on the product, right? 

  

Kathi Lipp (07:37) 

Yeah. 

  

Okay, 

  

but you know what this is really good to know that you should take that extra three minutes and Measure that space and guys, you know, I’ve talked about how I’ve ordered and I’ll put a link to these two I’ve ordered ? Those a dozen of the tiny measuring tape. So I have one in every room of the house because I That saves me a trip into town to return something 

  

Tenneil (07:49) 

Yeah! 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:08) 

And yeah, so many times I wish it worked better on clothes because like I still end up returning clothes because I don’t know what size I am anymore. But for things in your house, it’s always good to just take that extra second to measure. I bet nine times out of 10 Tenneil, you can eyeball stuff. I bet you. 

  

Tenneil (08:29) 

Yeah, 

  

and when it comes to like furniture and other spaces, I pretty well have nailed that and I measure a lot of stuff. I just didn’t think through. I was so excited about it on the podcast. So, yeah. 

  

Kathi Lipp (08:33) 

Go. 

  

No, of course not. Yeah, exactly. 

  

Okay, friends. So this is called the Mudella eight tier heavy duty adjustable pan organizer rack for kitchen cabinet storage and organization. And so ? I, like I said, love this thing. If you are struggling with what to do with your pots and pans, this is worth trying. As you know, Amazon, you can always return things. 

  

But yeah, this works for us. And I noticed like it’s saying free delivery today, 5 to 10 PM. Yeah, and here’s the thing guys, it doesn’t do free delivery to my house. It does free delivery to my mom’s house. But if I really needed it, we could do it. So I’ve ordered the second one. 

  

Tenneil (09:19) 

No. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:26) 

And yeah, we’re gonna be so organized. It’s gonna make cooking a dream. I’m so excited. Tenneil thanks for sharing my love of pot and pan organization. It makes me super happy. 

  

Tenneil (09:37) 

Yes, it’s the little things. 

  

Kathi Lipp (09:39) 

It’s the little things, that’s true. Anytime you can remove an obstacle from something you have to do is huge. Well friends, you have been listening to ClutterFree Academy, I’m Kathi Lipp, now go create the clutter free life you’ve always wanted to live. 

 

 

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