#678 &#8211; The Great Laundry Debate: Sorting, Systems, and Space-Saving Secrets

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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.

Meet Our Guest

Julie Ubbenga

Julia is a wife, a mom of five, and a minimalist-living coach. Julia is passionate about helping others live a more meaningful life with less stuff. See what she’s up to in her journey of simplifying and making space for what matters at her website.

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. I am here with Tonya Kubo and Tonya, we have a very deep topic today, one that people have big feelings about. We’ve recently done some laundry episodes, but I want to talk about the actual space ? where your laundry is. Now you and I have different spaces for our laundry.

? Yours is in the garage, right? Yeah, I lived for many, years with laundry in the garage. Can I just say it had some pros and cons. I wonder if it does for you as well. What are your feelings about laundry in the garage, your garage being your laundry room?

Tonya Kubo (00:42)

Correct.

? like this is the only time I’ve ever lived someplace where the laundry was in the garage. So ? I don’t have a lot of comparison. I don’t like it being outside of the house, but at the same time, it’s nice not to have the laundry pile inside the house.

Kathi Lipp (00:59)

Okay?

Yeah, I had it ? at one of my homes. Well, actually, growing up, it was outside in the garage. And then the first house I co-owned with my then husband, it was outside. And I liked it not being in the house, but I missed it being in the house. Yeah, OK. So that’s not helpful, I know. But ? yes, yes.

Tonya Kubo (01:40)

? I feel like that’s exactly how I feel.

Kathi Lipp (01:44)

It was just nice that, you know, we could put things out there. There was enough room for like a rolling rack so we could hang things. And my laundry room currently, which you have seen, is the smallest laundry room I’ve ever seen in my entire life. ? I think it was built for when laundry, when washing machines were much, they weren’t as deep. And so, ?

Tonya Kubo (01:50)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (02:09)

You have to kind of slide in there to do things, but you make what you make work, right? And so, yeah. So I recently, ? I like having my laundry space indoors now, especially since we live in such, it can be very, very cold here. And the laundry room can either be a stress zone or a streamlined system.

Tonya Kubo (02:15)

Right.

Kathi Lipp (02:36)

And so let’s spend some time to make it streamlined. Let’s make this happen. we just recently did a post over on my page about laundry where people had very strong opinions, very, very strong feelings. We will talk about that in this episode. So if you’re like, are they gonna talk about it? Yes, we are. But. ?

I want to talk about how we can make that space, no matter what your sorting system is, as streamlined as possible. So I think the most important thing, at least for me, that nothing that is, anything that has nothing to do with laundry has no place in the laundry room, unless you have one of those giant laundry rooms where you can also put in a StairMaster or something.

That has never been my situation. Mine has always been in closets or those kind of things. So you clear the clutter. You know what you need in there. You need things like your detergent, your fabric softener, your color catchers, which if you don’t know what a color catcher is, that’s part of the big discussion going on in Facebook. These are, I found out about these because my mom’s a quilter.

And before you use a fabric to quilt with, you need to wash it to get all the dyes out. But you don’t want that dark red going on to the white polka dot. So you put in, it’s a shout color catcher, and we’ll put that in here in the show notes. And that little piece of absorbs, or I guess it’s a piece of paper, absorbs all that dye. And so your things don’t get messed up.

If you like to wash dangerously like I do, which means mixing colors and things like that, that is a beautiful thing to have. You also want your dryer sheets, your stain removers. We use dryer balls, all that kind of stuff. ? Let go of old empty products. We just recently, okay, my mom said she told me about this like seven years ago and apparently I ignored her. We’re not supposed to use bleach in our septic system.

Tonya Kubo (04:56)

Mmm.

Kathi Lipp (04:56)

?

Because it eats the microbes and yeah, which totally makes sense So we don’t need bleach anymore. So I got that out of there now. I still have a bleach pen I will die with that bleach pen in my cold dead hand ? Because I love Yes, if you see me being buried without that bleach pen You go talk to Roger. Okay, cuz something so some something suspicious. All right and then

Tonya Kubo (04:59)

Mm-hmm.

Okay, good to know.

Kathi Lipp (05:26)

Also, I think it’s time, I’ll never forget this. When we first bought our first house and there was a coat closet, I thought, wait, I could have matching hangers in that coat closet? Because we had come from a tiny, tiny apartment. And I guess it wasn’t the first house I owned, but it was the first house that was kind of big and it was my first coat closet. And my mom’s like, yeah, go crazy. And I bought matching hangers. And there is just something.

about matching hangers for me. You too, Tonya, I can see you nodding.

Tonya Kubo (05:59)

Oh yeah,

no, think, well, maybe not everybody, but yes, matching hangers, I feel like everything just is so much easier to like fit when all, cause all the hangers are the same size, the same length, all of that, that’s part of the matching piece. I love

Kathi Lipp (06:09)

Yes.

Yes, so Roger has white plastic hangers and I have the black velvet covered hangers because those velvet ones skeeve him out and the white ones my clothes fall off on them because all of his shirts are the button-up collar so like we just know what works for us so get rid of anything that it that you don’t need in there hangers baskets

Tonya Kubo (06:27)

Hmm.

Kathi Lipp (06:43)

Laundry gadgets that you thought were going to solve all your problems and they just took up space and then I want you to think about Zones, this is step two. So do you need ? if you’re a sorter? Do you need different bins for maybe whites darks delicates that kind of thing. We have cabinets over our washing machine and dryers so we have some things in there like our lingerie bags and the cleaning products and things like that.

? So you need a sorting zone or you know, I don’t really have space for that So our sorting zone is if we’re sort anything it’s gonna be up in Roger’s closet where we keep the dirty clothes ? Don’t worry. I store a lot of things for him ? the cleaning zone. So all the cleaning products together ? Folding zone again. Mine is too small. We don’t really have a space for folding out there. So this is our very sophisticated syndrome

system, we grab everything from the dryer that doesn’t need to be hung up and we put it on the couch for Moose to then lay in. Because this is one of her chief, chief ? gifts in life is being able to lay in warm clothes. Now, where do you fold?

Tonya Kubo (08:03)

On the bed, on our bed specifically.

Kathi Lipp (08:06)

Okay, okay. That’s a bit. Yes. And that works for you, right? Like what other space are you going to do?

Tonya Kubo (08:10)

Yeah,

yeah, we don’t have a lot of other space and Otto also appreciates a nice pile of clean laundry to lay in as well.

Kathi Lipp (08:17)

Mmm.

Okay,

so has is it Susu is that am I? The new kitten who’s by the way doing great, right? Yes Has Susu discovered the warm laundry pile yet?

Tonya Kubo (08:23)

Yeah, Susu’s the kitten.

Yes, yes, very, very healthy.

Yes, yes. you know, it’s funny is Otto even likes an empty laundry basket. Like they just like baskets. But yes, we we put the laundry on the bed and we just tip the basket over on the side. So it doesn’t topple off the bed because that is really upsetting. And then we came in and he was like tucked all the way in the back, just like perched like a king on top of the pile.

Kathi Lipp (08:40)

Yes, right.

Oh,

I love it. I love it so much. It makes me so happy. Also, you know, all of this may not be contained in your laundry room, but if you have a big laundry room, a hanging zone, so we do, we have little hooks all across and then we have another bar that has S hooks on it that we can use for drying things or hanging shirts, that kind of thing. So that’s been really, really helpful.

We also air dry a lot of our stuff. And so we have a bathroom right next to the laundry room. So I’ll often just hang things from hangers in that bathroom that works for us. And then an ironing zone. So we don’t iron a bunch of stuff. We have pretty much decided unless somebody is getting married or buried, we’re probably not wearing something that’s ironed. But we do have ? up in one of our

Tonya Kubo (09:47)

Hahaha

Kathi Lipp (09:53)

Extra bedrooms, we have an ironing board that kind of thing So I think the important thing is here It may not all be contained in your laundry room But you should have a system of where you are sorting your clothes where you’re keeping the cleaning supplies where you’re putting where you’re folding things Where you’re hanging things and where you’re ironing things if those are all part of your system ? Any any thoughts on that tonya anything that you would do differently or anything that you think about differently on that?

Tonya Kubo (10:23)

No, I think, you know, I mean, ultimately what you’re saying, Kathi is is it needs to function for you, for your family and for the space you have. Like you could never set up your laundry space like mine simply because you’ve got like this much space and like.

Kathi Lipp (10:42)

It’s a it’s

it’s the size of a half bathroom is our our whole laundry room.

Tonya Kubo (10:49)

? really? Is it that big? I feel like it’s much smaller than a half bathroom.

Kathi Lipp (10:51)

Okay, I was gonna say, I was gonna

say if that, yeah, yeah, it’s the size for a toilet in the sink. Yeah.

Tonya Kubo (10:59)

Yeah, like, yeah, like

if you lived in Japan or in the downtown San Francisco. Yeah, super tiny, right? Whereas for, mean, like I don’t have a dedicated laundry room on one hand, but on the other hand, I have an entire garage and my washer and dryer set up against one wall. I could choose to make as much of that space my laundry room as I want.

Kathi Lipp (11:04)

Right, yes, it’s very tiny.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, absolutely. Just know what it is and make sure that everybody in the family knows what it is and then you can go. Okay, so number three, ? toss or store. So get rid of broken or mismatched laundry baskets. Store off-season items like heavy blankets or guest bedding in someplace else. know, make sure that…

Tonya Kubo (11:31)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (11:49)

You know, one of my fatal flaws is just leaving things on top of the dryer for way too long. I’ve been known to, I know, I’m the only one, right? And so just making sure that you’re making it as intentional and useful as possible. Don’t let things linger there. Okay, and then number four, make it manageable. ? you figure out how many loads you’re doing in a week and

Tonya Kubo (11:55)

What? What? No. Shh.

Yes!

Kathi Lipp (12:18)

Can you do one load a day? And I don’t sort my clothes, which is the big controversy. But one thing I do do, and it’s not sorting by colors, it’s sorting by textures, is I’ll do one load a week of things that I don’t wanna iron. Like all of Roger’s cotton shirts, my cotton shirts, cotton pants, that kind of thing. So. ?

Tonya Kubo (12:21)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (12:46)

But I will do that all at one space. So I will go and grab that out immediately. So there’s very little ironing to do. Now you have one person in your family who just does her own laundry. And so does she have a day of the week? What is that?

Tonya Kubo (12:59)

Mm-hmm.

Lily usually does her laundry on weekends, so either Saturday or Sunday, depending. But all of her clothes is like one load.

Kathi Lipp (13:12)

Right, right. And they’re mostly black, right? Yeah. Yes, I’ve met her. Yes. She’s a mini of my kids. Like, yeah, Kimberly ? and Amanda for a long time. Amanda, there was there used to be, I don’t know if there is anymore, a special detergent that’s just for black clothes. And yeah, so that was very important to Amanda for a very long time. Okay.

Tonya Kubo (13:15)

Yes, because you’ve met her.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mmm.

Kathi Lipp (13:38)

We’re going to take a quick break and when we come back, we’re going to talk about organizing your laundry room and some ideas around that. So we’ll be right back.

Okay, friends, let’s talk about organizing this. Now, let me say between decluttering and organizing, let’s talk about a couple of things that maybe you should do. One thing is dust behind your dryer, especially. ? Get down there with a vacuum, really clean that out. Having a long, long reaching feather duster or ? one of those bristly brooms is a good thing.

And then also, if you haven’t done it in a while, cleaning out your dryer duct. So there are kits you can buy online or at Home Depot that is just a big snake to get down there because fires start this way and you should be cleaning that out either every six months or once a year, depending on how often you use it. But if your dryer is not functioning the way it should be, before you call a repairman,

Get that all cleaned out because you can have that so backed up that no air is flowing and it could be a real struggle and it causes a lot of dust in there. So give everything a good wipe down. Get a cleaner that you love. I have a combination of okay, I’m bougie. Let’s just be clear. I am super bougie. I love the smell of grapefruit. Don’t necessarily love the taste, love the smell. And so ?

I ordered Clorox wipes that are a grapefruit smell and I use the method cleaner that is that. So grabbing your roll of paper towels, giving everything a good wipe down, ? wiping the top of your washing machine. like the lid lifted but in there. And then also you should be washing the inside of your washing machine.

Tonya Kubo (15:19)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (15:44)

At least once every six months and so there’s a product for that. There’s a product for everything guys Of course there is I will put that in there, but you just want to clear that out now I’ve noticed also this may help one or two people out there ? When we back when we were using bleach like it wasn’t affecting anything ? It really damaged the top of our washing machine, and so I got some spray paint

that is for ? white enamel appliances. And I took some blue painter tape and I marked off all the things that I didn’t want that color and then laid an old towel across the tub so it didn’t get in there. And now you have to be willing to not use your washing machine for like a full day. But I sprayed that on there so it wouldn’t keep ? rusting and getting degraded. ?

? That’s something to think about with that, but clean that space really really well. You’re gonna feel so good ? And then this is the time to think about could I put some wall-mounted shelves or cabinets for storage in there if I need it a small rolling cart between the washer and dryer is a great like a slimline one ? Over-the-door racks for hanging items or storing cleaning supplies that those are some great ways to maximize space

I’ve also done, in one of my houses, we did an over the door shoe organizer for ? sorting. So we had some cleaning supplies in there, but I would also put things like single socks, that kind of thing. ? And then the next step, label everything. As I get older, I’m a bigger believer in…

marking it up like a kindergarten room and just labeling absolutely everything you need in there. ? And then installing hooks for things like if you’re keeping brooms or mops or reusable bags in there. And then I did something last year that ? I guess it’s been a couple of years now that I’m really glad I did. We’ve got those giant ? containers of laundry soap from Costco and they’re so

Tonya Kubo (18:06)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (18:08)

Heavy and for a while you knew that I had a problem with my thumb going all the way up to my shoulder and You trying to lift that thing was making me be in so much pain So I got these refillable jugs off of Amazon. I’ll put a link in there that are really cute and so I would put most of the soap in there and then I had a couple of leftover smaller containers soap containers and

and I would just fill that up. So it was like three containers, but I stored that, I could get rid of that giant container. None of these were super heavy and it just made everything look 10 % cuter and I’ll take 10%. So using clear jars or label container for things like detergent, dryer sheets, I have my dryer sheets in a little wooden crate. They’re not scented, so I’m not trying to keep the scent in them. They’re unscented.

Tonya Kubo (19:01)

Mm.

Kathi Lipp (19:04)

? has been really, really helpful. ? Anything you’ve done to make your space, I know probably in the garage you’re not so worried about cute, but anything you’ve done to make it more functional.

Tonya Kubo (19:14)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, so we do have a hanging rack, right? Because certain things that we want to hang to dry. So we have a shelf that is over the washer and dryer. And so I like that a lot ? because it makes the laundry detergent, the dryer sheets and everything in easy access. And I keep a little tiny, it’s a very tiny trash can up there to put like the balls of lint.

Kathi Lipp (19:41)

Hmm,

guess.

Tonya Kubo (19:44)

I will share a cleaning tip. It’s a little weird, but I’m going to share it anyway. those of us like the one thing I will say that’s problematic about having your washer and dryer in the garage is you get a lot more dust than you would inside the house. But years ago, somebody had talked to me about taking the ball of lint out of the dryer trap and using that to clean off the top of the dryer because

Kathi Lipp (19:47)

Please.

yeah.

Interesting.

Tonya Kubo (20:08)

It takes

all the lint in the surface desk by static because there’s a bunch of static in there. And so I’ll do that to clean it off and then I wipe it down. But I don’t have like the balls of lint that collect once you get it wet. So that that’s my cleaning tip right there. That’s all I got for you folks. But it’s funny is it’s you know, it’s the only trash can in the whole house that actually doesn’t have trash. It’s just like very light because it just has lint balls in there.

Kathi Lipp (20:13)

Yeah!

Tonya Kubo (20:34)

But

it has been very helpful to us in terms of keeping the washer and the dryer a lot less dusty than they typically would be.

Kathi Lipp (20:42)

That’s nice.

I like that then you feel like you can actually use that surface. I love that so much Okay. Now let’s just talk about maintaining that area So you just got Tonya’s tip wipe down the washer and dryer regularly to prevent that dust buildup ? Clean out the lint trap after every load ? Kim had a roommate who didn’t know you were supposed to do that. She she went on vacation

Kim went on vacation and she comes back and she’s like, guys, this is a fire hazard. So I will tell you, if you take nothing else from this, clean out your vent, clean out your lint trap. Like, please, please, ? And regularly check behind the machines for stray socks or lint. ? We’ve gotten down there with like a flashlight just to see. And I will tell you, I…

Tonya Kubo (21:35)

Hmm.

Kathi Lipp (21:42)

I’m not short, but I’m not tall. I’m a little bit taller than the average American woman. I’m 5’6″. And one of the things that’s really helped me is because washing machines now are built so they’re so, so deep. I keep a pair of barbecue tongs in the laundry room so I can reach that little tiny sock that’s all the way in the back. yeah, that’s…

I that has been very very helpful and I use that to grab things behind it and then Run that cleaning cycle on your washing machine with a wash cleaner. It really really does help Okay, so as we promised we’re talking about the link to the laundry post. So ? a few days ago I Admitted that I don’t sort my clothes and

People kept saying, can’t do that. They’re gonna become so dingy and so dark and your clothes are gonna be so gross. Okay, Tonya, have you ever seen me be dingy in my life? I am not a dingy person, okay? So I reject that in the name of Jesus Christ. now people have very, very big feelings. What were some of the reactions you saw, Tonya?

Tonya Kubo (22:43)

No. ?

Hahaha

you

But how I would sum it up is people have big feelings about laundry. And I think we see this a lot of times with our cluttery community, right? Is so many of us were raised in homes where there is a way, you know, there is the right way and then everything else is wrong and only idiots do it that way. And apparently like laundry brings that side out of everybody.

Kathi Lipp (23:17)

Yes.

It really does. It’s I hadn’t. Yeah.

Tonya Kubo (23:24)

Because I have to,

I just want to tell you, Kathi like, I don’t actually care that much about what you do with your laundry, because you know what, I barely care about what I do with my laundry. But people, people are passionate about how other people do their laundry. That’s what I’m going to say.

Kathi Lipp (23:37)

Yes.

It’s really wild isn’t it? It’s very very wild. So here’s what I’ll say I’m gonna put a link to this in the show notes ? And I think I think you guys are going to enjoy reading that now right after I posted that because people were good I would say they’re getting heated but they were getting a little tiny some people were getting a little tiny judgy and Or they were saying, you know, could never do that. And so

Tonya Kubo (23:53)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (24:12)

This is how I’d like to reframe it for those of us who feel very religious about how we do laundry. If you are doing micro loads, like, you know, I my blues and my purples because, you know, that’s just that’s how I’ve always said and you are not overwhelmed by that. Go off you, you quiet queen. I love that for you. I love that you have so much calm in your life.

Tonya Kubo (24:28)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (24:41)

And I have never experienced that level of calm in my life. And so if you’re looking for ways to maybe change some things up, try washing dangerously. Like I have no problem. If I’ve got a new pair of jeans, I’m throwing a color catcher in there. And that color catcher is going to absorb that. Now, if you’re like, no, I’ve had these kinds of jeans before. They have such a dark dye.

They bleed for weeks. I don’t know why you would still buy those jeans, ? do what’s going to work for you. But that doesn’t mean just because it worked for your mom, it’s the best system. And so I want us to have laundry freedom, Tonya. This is really my siren call.

Tonya Kubo (25:25)

I’m just telling you, Kathi, we haven’t seen this level of controversy since I came out on this podcast about not using a top sheet in my bed. Do you remember that? Yeah, it’s okay.

Kathi Lipp (25:36)

Yeah, okay. I still have a little judgment for you. No, I know it’s very

European. I really do It’s okay. You know what? Here’s the thing Tonya, I never have to sleep in your bed Yeah, so it’s all good. It’s all good Yeah, when I did I will say when we were traveling to new york and we got an airbnb and there was no top sheet on it I I was like, yeah

Tonya Kubo (25:42)

Hahaha

You were like Tonya was

here first!

Kathi Lipp (26:06)

Yes, exactly. This is not for me. This is not for me. This is not for me. ? Okay, guys, we’re going to take a break and we’re going to come back and I’m going to talk about ? something that has earned a spot in my clutter free home. ? We are going to have such a great conversation with Julie Abenga. I never pronounce her name right. I never pronounce the same the twice.

But she said that that was fine. She has a new book called Declutter Your Heart and Your Home, How a Minimalist Life Yields Maximum Joy. And it’s such a great conversation. You’re gonna love it. Okay, so we will be right back.

Kathi Lipp (00:00)

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 guys, if you have been a listener to this podcast for any length of time, you know I am not a minimalist. You know that I might even be described by some people as a maximalist, but I’ve been able to take my maximalism, woo, if that’s even a word, and coexist with it in a joyful way. But I know some of you really desire to live a more minimalist life.

and have I got the guest for you. You guys, her name is Julia Ubbenga and she has this, you guys, it’s a fantastic new book, Declutter Your Heart and Your Home, How a Minimalist Life Yields Maximum Joy. guys, she is all about the joy. Julia, welcome to the podcast. We’re so grateful you’re here.

Julia Ubbenga (01:01)

Thank you, Kathi, It’s wonderful to be here talking with you today.

Kathi Lipp (01:04)

? Yeah, I, you know, like I told you before the show, we don’t have a lot of people on who are talking about decluttering because as a cluttering person, I love to collect other decluttering systems and things like that. But I could not get over your story. And so I’m just, I don’t know that I’ve ever just jumped in and said, hey, tell me your story. But that’s what I’m doing it today because your path to minimalism.

I feel like is really unique but also kind of universal in many ways in what you’ve gone through. So tell me more about that.

Julia Ubbenga (01:38)

Yeah, so I have not always been a minimalist. Pretty far from it actually. I’m an unlikely minimalist, you could say. And my story starts in childhood. I grew up close to my grandma and my grandma loved to shop. She would buy things whether she needed it or not. It was her love language to give people gifts, to give me gifts. And so we’d stroll the malls together and I I soon learned that shopping was fun. It was a way to feel good. It was a way not to feel bad to kind of cover up hard feelings.

And so I carried this mindset with me into my twenties. I started making money. I started spending money and pretty soon I had all this stuff and $40,000 worth of consumer debt. Yeah. So when I thought about this debt, I felt bad, but when I felt bad, I’d go buy something new because that’s what I thought would make me feel good and make me feel happy. And so this cycle, it continued up until the time our second daughter was born. And I was working outside the home as a speech language pathologist at the time.

Kathi Lipp (02:28)

You

Julia Ubbenga (02:37)

but I’d always wanted to stay home with our kids. So that was my dream to be a stay at home mom. And my husband got a promotion at the time and I could stay home. I was so excited, but I had this really idyllic vision of what stay at home mom life would be like. thought, yeah, I thought my daughters and I would be snuggled on the couch, reading Little House on the Prairie, would be giggling over tea parties. In my mind, it was just going to be great. Well, a couple of weeks into the stay at home mom gig, I would not even called myself a stay at home mom. I would have said,

Kathi Lipp (02:51)

right?

Julia Ubbenga (03:07)

A full-time stuff manager would have been a better title because Kathi, that is what I did. I was constantly looking for things and picking things up and cleaning things, tripping over things that I hadn’t picked up yet. It was just all consuming. was exhausted. I was stressed. I couldn’t really be present to the people around me. Like I was there, but I wasn’t really there as distracted and just, I was overwhelmed. So.

Kathi Lipp (03:13)

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Julia Ubbenga (03:33)

A couple months into living this way, I was diagnosed with postpartum depression. And I remember this morning where I was up in the nursery in the recliner chair. I was feeding our baby and I was talking with God, really pleading with God. was like, God, what is going on here? This isn’t what I signed up for. Something needs to change. And I was reading the Bible and a couple of verses from Luke chapter 12. They just jumped off the page at me and they said, your life.

Kathi Lipp (03:39)

?

Julia Ubbenga (04:02)

does not consist of possessions, be rich in what matters. And so I paused right there and I asked myself, was I rich in what mattered? Was I rich in relationships, time for a faith life, time for hobbies that I loved? And no, the answer was absolutely not, I wasn’t. So that planted the seed that something in my life in the area of possessions needed to change. But I didn’t know what, I didn’t know where to go from there. And that same week, I had a therapy appointment.

And at the end of the session, just as I was leaving, the therapist said, Julia, have you ever heard of minimalism? I’m like, you mean houses with white walls and next to nothing in them. And she’s like, no, there’s more to it than that. Look into it. I think you might be interested. So I was curious and I did a Google search there in the car just right after the session and realized that there’s a lot of resources about minimalism. So I started reading books and blogs and listening to podcasts about it. And this idea.

that I didn’t need all this stuff to be happy. And in fact, I’d be a whole lot happier with less of it because then I’d have more time and energy to focus on who and what mattered. It was a mindset shift that was life-changing. And it finally gave me a vision of how to get out from under all this stress and anxiety that I was feeling at the time. So I went all in on minimalism. I started a blog at the time. I called it Rich in What Matters after the Bible verse that spoke to me.

And we let go of 75 % of our stuff over the course of the first year. And then we downsized to an apartment home and got rid of our consumer debt. We built our own intentionally smaller new home. And so yeah, we’ve been living as a minimalist family for six years now, and we have five kids ages 11, seven, four, three, and three months. And yeah, and now I have this book that I’ve written, Declutter Your Heart in Your Home, How a Minimalist Life Yields Maximum Joy.

Kathi Lipp (05:45)

Wow.

Julia Ubbenga (05:52)

Because I want to give other people the tools to live less stuff, to live a lighter life if they feel called to do that.

Kathi Lipp (06:00)

Okay, first of all, birthing a baby in a book at the same time, I give you major props, my friends. I think that there are a lot of people out there who say, this sounds amazing. To not be dealing with my stuff all the time, to not be shuffling it from one room to another, to not spend my entire life picking up and putting away and all of that.

Julia Ubbenga (06:06)

Thank you.

Kathi Lipp (06:26)

What does practical minimalism actually look like in everyday life? What can you give me like one or two practices or mindset shifts that have made the biggest impact for you?

Julia Ubbenga (06:39)

Yeah, that’s a great question. Well, I think that minimalism itself is misunderstood, that it’s about more than just your stuff. So if we’re talking mindset, minimalism is just a tool to live your life with intention. And so it’s about letting go of the things in your life that don’t matter, to make space in your life for the things that do matter. And that does apply to your possessions, but it also applies to your calendar commitments, to your self-talk thoughts, your thought patterns.

So it’s you’re constantly discerning what are you letting into your life? And then if it’s not supporting your life, it’s not aligned with your values, if it’s not serving you, you’re letting it go. And so practically this would look like keeping a calendar that doesn’t have half-hearted commitments on it. ? It would also just mean you’re constantly looking around at your things in your home wondering, this still serving me? Is this distracting me from my present life?

? you know, what matters to me from my kids, from my spouse, is it distracting me? Is it taking my time and my energy and attention? Or is it helping me better connect with them? So I think it’s really just you’re kind of the gatekeeper of your home and your world and just discerning what you let into it.

Kathi Lipp (07:49)

Yeah, I would say as I am on this journey, because it will always be a journey for me. I’m never going to be in a finished space, but this spot where I am more comfortable in my home than I’ve ever been before, but what I’m also noticing is, I don’t know that I’ll ever be a minimalist, but it’s the same questions. Is this still serving me? And I think we all have different levels of

Julia Ubbenga (07:56)

Yes.

Kathi Lipp (08:19)

the amount of stuff around us that makes us comfortable or more importantly uncomfortable at you know the the not disease like a sickness but the dis-ease in our lives because I feel like I’m being suffocated or I can’t find what I need. I would love to know from you what was the overwhelming feeling before you started on this minimalist path?

and contrast that with what does it feel like now. When you wake up in the morning and you look around, what was the feeling you had before and what is it now?

Julia Ubbenga (09:01)

That’s a great question. So I think that before minimalism when I’d wake up the more in the morning and look around I Felt like the home had the upper hand like I would look at a mess and I was like I have no idea when I am going to find the time to even start taking care of that and I would feel stressed and I would feel anxious even ? and So now when I look around and I see a mess definitely we have messes We have five kids, but I see the messes and they’re manageable. They’re easily tidied

Kathi Lipp (09:26)

Right.

Julia Ubbenga (09:30)

They don’t have the upper hand. don’t spark that same feeling of overwhelm in me. It’s more of a mindset shift of where, ? okay, there’s a mess there and I can take care of that in five minutes later when I’m done playing with my kids. And so, yeah, so it’s just this idea that you are feeling good in your home. You’re not overwhelmed by your home and that just helps you become more present to the people around you in your home.

Kathi Lipp (09:42)

Yeah.

Guys, even if your goal isn’t to be a minimalist, what I love about this book is it will help you develop a minimalist mindset that says, I don’t have to keep things out of fear, guilt, or shame. I don’t have to keep things because somebody gave them to me. And here’s what I love. You talk about your grandmother with such love and respect that you knew that that was her love language. And you can also say,

I received that from my grandmother, but I don’t have to carry it forward. And I love that. Julia, I would love, as we are wrapping up here, one or two practical things that somebody can do today to start developing this mindset. Is it a practice? ? What is it that would help somebody get started with this today?

Julia Ubbenga (10:49)

Well, a super practical thing that I love is just getting a quick decluttering win and going and clearing off the front of your fridge or maybe just keeping one or two of your favorite things on it. And the reason I say go tackle the front of your fridge is because there’s a study done at UCLA and in it they found that the average fridge in a home has 52 items on it. And there was a connection between the amount of stuff on a fridge and the amount of clutter in a home. So if your goal is to live a clutter free life,

then clear off that front of your fridge, something you see very often, and you’ll see that. And that can be a reminder that can help you shift your mindset that, hey, I am not gonna live in a cluttered home anymore. I see that clear fridge and I am going to live a clutter-free life.

Kathi Lipp (11:35)

Julia, I love that you and I referenced the same UCLA study. Have you read that book? I love that book so much. Guys, if you don’t know what we’re talking about, I can’t remember the name of the book. Maybe you do. ? If you don’t, it’s okay. I will put it in the show notes. But they went and lived basically with dozens and dozens of families to study clutter in homes around the LA area mostly.

Julia Ubbenga (11:40)

Yes, it’s a great one. Yes, I have it at home. Me too.

hmm.

Kathi Lipp (12:06)

And ? first of all, if you read that book, you’re going to realize you are not weird, you are normal. I don’t care how much clutter you have in your home. If you are below hoarder, you are normal. But also talking about cortisone levels in women who live with a lot of stuff. And Julia, I know for me, and I can already tell from speaking with you that our cortisone levels changed as we decluttered.

I don’t have any scientific proof of that, but the feeling of not being on edge all the time is life changing, isn’t it?

Julia Ubbenga (12:40)

Yes.

It is life-changing. is. Yeah. I think the book is called life at home in the 21st century. Does that ring a bell? Yeah. It just came to me. Yeah. And it is such a life-changing experience to not being on, not to be on edge in your home all the time. And I think that actually makes your nervous system shift out of that fight or flight response that we get stuck in so much. And that has implications for our health, Kathi. mean, stress and nervous system dysregulation can lead to health problems. And so.

Kathi Lipp (12:49)

Yes, yes, yes, exactly. Yeah.

Julia Ubbenga (13:14)

It goes deeper than, yeah.

Kathi Lipp (13:14)

And

we discount those health dangers in women. We know about it for men, but heart disease and from stress is a huge factor for a lot of women. And so I love that we are having this conversation. And while you and I come at it from different levels, the heart is the same. We want you to be at peace in your home. And guys, ?

Julia Ubbenga (13:22)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (13:44)

? This is such a great read and it’s gonna be so if you found Julia inspirational and I know my listeners I know you found her inspirational today. You said I want a piece of that ? Guys, you know this segment things that have earned a space in my clutter free home And this book has declutter your heart and your home how to how a minimalist life yields maximum joy We’ll have a link in our show notes

Julia thanks for being on today. This this book is a treasure. I’m gonna read it again I’m gonna pass it along to a friend who I know also needs to hear your words. I’m so grateful for you today

Julia Ubbenga (14:23)

Thank you so much for having me on, Kathi. It was a fun conversation.

Kathi Lipp (14:26)

And friends, I’m just so grateful you’ve been here today. 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.

#683 – Declutter Your Bathroom Sink Space (Even With Zero Storage!)

Aug 19, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast, tips and ideas

Tired of opening your bathroom cabinets only to find chaos staring back at you? You're not alone. In this episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi teams up with decluttering expert Tonya Kubo to tackle one of the most frustrating spaces in many homes: the bathroom sink...

#682 – Back-to-School Prep: Tips for a Smooth Transition

Aug 12, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Parenting, Podcast

In this episode of Clutter-Free Academy, Kathi Lipp is joined by Tonya Kubo to tackle the often chaotic back-to-school season. They explore practical strategies to help families organize their homes and lives for a smoother transition into the school year such as ...

#681 – Embracing Empty Spaces: A New Approach to Clutter

Aug 5, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Mental Load, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast

Join Kathi Lipp and the creative genius, Tenille Register, as they explore the journey of embracing space over stuff to live a clutter-free life. In this episode, you'll discover Practical strategies for decluttering with purpose. How choosing space can lead to a...

#675 – Why Summer is the Perfect Time to Declutter

by Clutter Free Academy Team | Jun 24, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free For Life, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Overwhelmed, Podcast | 0 comments

#675 – Why Summer is the Perfect Time to Declutter

Listen Now

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.

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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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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!

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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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

#683 – Declutter Your Bathroom Sink Space (Even With Zero Storage!)

Aug 19, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast, tips and ideas

Tired of opening your bathroom cabinets only to find chaos staring back at you? You're not alone. In this episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi teams up with decluttering expert Tonya Kubo to tackle one of the most frustrating spaces in many homes: the bathroom sink...

#682 – Back-to-School Prep: Tips for a Smooth Transition

Aug 12, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Parenting, Podcast

In this episode of Clutter-Free Academy, Kathi Lipp is joined by Tonya Kubo to tackle the often chaotic back-to-school season. They explore practical strategies to help families organize their homes and lives for a smoother transition into the school year such as ...

#681 – Embracing Empty Spaces: A New Approach to Clutter

Aug 5, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Mental Load, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast

Join Kathi Lipp and the creative genius, Tenille Register, as they explore the journey of embracing space over stuff to live a clutter-free life. In this episode, you'll discover Practical strategies for decluttering with purpose. How choosing space can lead to a...

#673 – The Dishwasher Dilemma: Secrets to a Clutter-Free Kitchen

by Clutter Free Academy Team | Jun 10, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Kitchen, Organizing, Podcast, tips and ideas | 0 comments

#673 – The Dishwasher Dilemma: Secrets to a Clutter-Free Kitchen

Listen Now

In this engaging episode of Clutter Free Academy, hosts Kathi Lipp and Tonya Kubo dive into the dynamic world of dishwashing, sharing secrets to establish a daily rhythm that keeps kitchen chaos at bay. Listen in as Kathi reveals her tried-and-true methods for optimizing dishwasher efficiency, maintaining the appliance, and involving the whole family in the process. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by piles of dirty dishes or uncertain about how to best utilize your dishwasher, this episode is your solution. Discover the power of routine and effective strategies to keep your kitchen environment serene and functional. Be sure to stick around after the dishwasher fun for a quick conversation with author Barb Roose about her new Bible study in the book of Matthew that focuses on prayer!

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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.

Meet Our Guest

Barb Roose

Barb Roose is an established author, a speaker at national women’s conferences, and a regular contributor to (in)courage, Crosswalk, and iBelieve. She has written six Bible studies, including Matthew: Pray Like This, Surrendered: Letting God and Living Like Jesus, and Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle plus Finding Jesus in the Psalms and Three other books. She is the host of Bold, Brave & Beautiful podcast. Barb, also serves as a teaching pastor at her home church, CedarCreek Church, with more than 6,000 in weekly attendance. The proud mother of three adult kids, an Army Captain, preschool teacher and NICU Nurse, Barb loves reading and walking. Whenever possible, she prefers to eat dessert first. You can find what Barb is currently up to here.

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 am here with my consummate co-host, is Tonya Kubo. Hey, Tonya. ? Now, I know you have four people living at your house. How are dishes for you guys?

Tonya Kubo (00:23)

Hey, Kathi

? like you would expect with four people living in my house, but at least we have a dishwasher. Not everybody does.

Kathi Lipp (00:37)

Right,

isn’t that it is such I I probably spent five years doing Dishes by hand and so I well, I hate doing dishes I am one of those people that is super super grateful for that dishwasher every single day I think part of my problem for so many years was not having a rhythm. It was like, okay, I would

Tonya Kubo (00:45)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (01:03)

put off doing dishes as long as possible. I think one of things that I used to think deeply was I couldn’t run the dishwasher until every little bit of it was full. And that would mean, you if we went to bed and there were still spaces for a few glasses, I wouldn’t do the dishes and then we’d have breakfast dishes. And then it always felt like I was behind and I hated that feeling. ?

Tonya Kubo (01:06)

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Kathi Lipp (01:31)

I can imagine, now who’s the chief dishwasher in your house?

Tonya Kubo (01:36)

So it has historically always been Brian, but we’ve been, you know, the girls are older. We try to split chores with them. So we had a beautiful system when it was just Brian. We had a pretty good system when it was Brian and Lily, but now it’s Brian, Lily and Abby doing different components. And I really feel like I know that we will be grateful for this later, but right now it just feels like too many cooks in the kitchen. And I mean that pun in every bit.

Kathi Lipp (01:47)

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Yeah,

it’s painful. And I know a lot of people are like, well, it’s just easier to do it myself. It is easier now, agreed. And there will come a day when you’ll be really, really grateful that you raised competent adults who, even though they may not do things perfectly, know how to do them and know the expectation is them. So good job, mom. Good job, dad Brian. We love it. Okay, so today we want to cover setting

Tonya Kubo (02:11)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (02:34)

of a daily dish rhythm, maintaining your dishwasher and getting optimal results because I, for years and years and years, I didn’t know that there was a way to maintain your dishwasher. I thought it was either working or not working. Those were the, you it was very binary. And I now know that there are some things that we can do to make it last longer and make it run more effectively. So I want to talk about that. I

Tonya Kubo (02:36)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (03:02)

Our daily dish routine looks a little bit like this. We usually are unloading in the morning and then filling up during the day. And depending on whether I’m cooking or not, we want run it once or twice. Does that look very different from what you guys do?

Tonya Kubo (03:23)

No, I would say ? it’s about the same, but sometimes I would say probably two to three days a week, I’ve got to run it twice in a single day. Just, yeah, well, and there’s more humans here.

Kathi Lipp (03:31)

Yeah, yeah big cooking days. Yeah Yep,

absolutely. my goodness for sure. Yeah, anytime I’m cooking it’s going to be a you know, and sometimes I’m cook sometimes, you know, we have Leftovers from when I cook we have a lot more leftovers than most people because it’s just the two of us. So ? Those are don’t be tend to be heavy dish days, but I I think it’s really really important

to say, okay, dishes are just a part of life. We need to figure out a routine for them. And we need to make sure that everybody in the house is sticking to the ideal. It’s not the perfect, but ideal for what our house can actually do. So unless you are single and eating a lot of takeout, you’re probably going to be needing to do one load a day. ?

I think, for us, we never get away with not doing dishes in the day. That just is not how we run. And so if I just say, OK, dishes have to be there every single day. And then ? do you guys have any rules for people bringing dishes to the sink?

Tonya Kubo (04:35)

Mm-hmm.

Well, sure, doesn’t mean anybody follows them, Kathi, ?

Kathi Lipp (04:51)

Okay, sure, sure, sure, yes. I understand

that deeply too. What? Yeah.

Tonya Kubo (04:56)

Yeah, you know, it’s the teenager thing.

But for us, you’re supposed to bring, the rule is you bring your dish into the sink, you rinse it out and it goes on the left side. Once it’s rinsed out on the right side of the sink, it’s then put on the left side of the sink. I prefer the dishes to go into the sink. Brian prefers them to be on the counter next to the sink.

Kathi Lipp (05:11)

Mm-hmm.

? interesting. Okay. Yeah, I think next to the side of the sink would kill me.

Tonya Kubo (05:26)

Yep, yep, not gonna say you’re wrong there.

Kathi Lipp (05:26)

Yeah. Yeah.

You can always tell when a blood Lipp is living here, whether it’s Roger or one of his kids, because they put drinks unthrown out. Yeah, they don’t drain the cup. They put it next to the sink. And like, why? Why?

Tonya Kubo (05:37)

Yeah

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (05:52)

Why am I, why are you waiting for somebody else to dump out your Starbucks cup? I don’t understand that. You’re killing me. Now, one thing I have heard is, you know, some people like they load right after each meal or snack. That’s what we tend to do as well. But then I thought this was interesting. One of my friends says that she uses a small bin. I don’t know if it’s on the counter or if it’s

Tonya Kubo (05:58)

hahahaha

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (06:21)

suction to the inside of the sink where she puts cutlery ? until it’s ready to go into the dishwasher. So I find that fascinating as well. I don’t necessarily see the advantage, but I’ve heard of a couple of people who are doing that. So ? do you stay in the kitchen while Roger, ? Roger, I’ve now married you off to my husband. Hope that’s okay. ?

Tonya Kubo (06:27)

Mmm.

Yeah.

Brian might have a complaint or two, but you know.

Kathi Lipp (06:51)

You know, if you’re going to be married off, he might have a complaint, but

you know what? You know, if I if I have to give you something of mine, that’s not a bad deal. ? I tend to stay in the kitchen and put things away while Roger’s doing the dishes. Are you guys separate or are you like body doubling by working in there together?

Tonya Kubo (07:08)

Hmm.

Yeah, so Brian doesn’t want anybody in the kitchen when he’s in the kitchen. Absolutely not. He like, no, that’s not okay. But the girls and I will will tag team because I find for them they feel, you know, it feels like less of a chore if we’re all doing something together. Yeah.

Kathi Lipp (07:16)

? okay.

That’s how I feel too. Yeah, like it’s

not woe is me, here I am, know, Cinderella.

Tonya Kubo (07:34)

Yeah, but

like if you came over to my house and I was cooking dinner, I wouldn’t want you to help me cook dinner, but I would want you to sit at the table and chat with me while I cooked. Like that’s fun for me. But Brian is just like, ? I’m sure there’s another room in this house you can be in. And I’m like, okay.

Kathi Lipp (07:42)

That’s all I need. Yes. Yes.

Okay. Good to know, Brian. Okay.

Yeah. So Roger, like he loves to barbecue because people will come out and talk to him. But if somebody makes a suggestion on how to barbecue. No, not okay. ? Okay. Yeah. I love going to bed knowing the dishes are done. Like there’s a clean slate, we’re starting the day off well. And we do a delay setting on our dishwasher. So it’s running at

Tonya Kubo (07:59)

Mm-hmm.

Mm-mm.

Mmm, yeah.

Kathi Lipp (08:18)

like two in the morning because what that does is it’s not using energy during peak hours. So we’re delaying it by like, you know, four hours because we’re probably he’s probably putting the last things in at around 10 o’clock at night. And that seems to really, really help. ? I do believe as kids get older, a couple of different things. One,

Tonya Kubo (08:20)

oooo

you

Kathi Lipp (08:48)

I believe that everybody should at least be responsible for scraping off their plates. I don’t want to scrape off your food when you’re 17 years old.

Tonya Kubo (08:57)

Mm-hmm.

No, and honestly if your kids go to preschool they have to do it there.

Kathi Lipp (09:04)

Right exactly

You have you seen these videos of the japanese preschools? Where my goodness you guys if you haven’t seen it i’ll see if they’re first of all, they’re the cutest kids in the entire world and They are all scraping off their own thing. They’re all using cleaner to wipe down their tables. They’re they’re sweeping the floors i’m like ? Yeah, had I I wish I would have seen that earlier because I don’t think I believe that my kids were capable of that but now

Tonya Kubo (09:11)

Yes.

Those kids are so cute.

Kathi Lipp (09:34)

They are they were they they’ve always been okay guys We’re gonna take a quick break, and then I want to come back and talk about Maintaining your dishwasher just a couple of things you might not have thought about because I didn’t grow up this way So maybe you didn’t grow up this way. I used to always think I didn’t grow up this way I was the only one and I’ve come to find out it’s much more universal than that right So we’re gonna give you a couple of different things that you can think about

Tonya Kubo (09:57)

Yeah.

Kathi Lipp (10:03)

and we will be right back.

Okay, guys, we have talked about loading and unloading your dishwasher. I will say one other thing that has changed our dishwasher unloading, Tonya, is we got a kitchen island. You know, I don’t know, maybe six, eight months ago. Maybe it’s been longer than that. Well, yeah, anyway. And one thing I love about it is when we’re unloading the dishes, we can stack them there and then just go.

Tonya Kubo (10:17)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Kathi Lipp (10:36)

to where the dishes go, or go to where the plates are. I love it so, so much. ? Okay, but I wanna talk about maintaining your dishwasher. A couple of things to think about. One, ? a weekly quick clean. Now, I don’t necessarily do this weekly, but one thing I do is I peek in there at least once a week and just check the filter.

Tonya Kubo (10:54)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (11:00)

Does around the filter start to look gunky? Is there paper on there from like a jar or something like that? So I will pull that out every once in a while. And then I’ll just kind of look at the seals around the door. I check it every week. I don’t clean it every week. I’m not going to clean something that doesn’t look dirty. Life is not that boring for me. But once I’ve done that, it makes me feel so much better about knowing that it’s going to run well.

Tonya Kubo (11:01)

Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah ?

Kathi Lipp (11:30)

? and then monthly couple of different things one we use ? finish in our our dishwasher just to You know, it’s that final rinse that is really really good in addition do you use anything like that?

Tonya Kubo (11:50)

No, no, we’ll use vinegar in the dishwasher every now and then. We have horrible hard water. And so a lot of times those ? rinse aids and cleaning agents actually just increase the mineral deposits.

Kathi Lipp (11:54)

Okay.

Uhhh, yeah.

Mmm, okay. Yeah, it just doesn’t work for you. Okay. Now I do want to talk about glisten Glisten is a dishwasher cleaner. So look I’m going to try to describe it for our listeners at home It’s just like a plastic bottle, but you take the lid off and it has a wax seal in the in there because you want this for the last cycle that heating cycle of your dishwasher

Tonya Kubo (12:09)

now

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (12:35)

So that wax melts in there and it’s perfectly safe for your dishwasher. But what it does is it gives a deep clean to your entire dishwasher. So I don’t know that I’ve ever talked about it on here. You’ll remember if I have because you have a much better memory than I do. But Roger and I have a tub that we call the once a month tub. And okay, so I’ve talked about it. These are things we want to do once a month in our house. So this is stuff like

Tonya Kubo (12:47)

Nice.

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (13:05)

cleaning, deep cleaning that dishwasher, changing out the baking soda in our refrigerator, Moose’s ? tick and flea treatment, water filters, because we have very healthy water, but terrible tasting water. So we put these, ? these glisten bottles, we buy them three at a time, we put them into that box. And when I’m down to the last one, I order some for the next month.

Tonya Kubo (13:27)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (13:33)

And we just go around the house and we put our plant fertilizer. So it’s something that we want to do once a month or approximately once a month. And it just, we don’t have to remember to do it. We just do it. And so that’s been really helpful for us. Another thing to think about is yeah, running a cycle of the dishwasher with a dishwasher cleaner or a cup of white vinegar. White vinegar is a miracle, isn’t it? It’s just a miracle. Yeah. Yeah.

Tonya Kubo (13:33)

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

I feel like it is, I feel like it is.

Kathi Lipp (14:03)

So ? we just have very tough water up here. So that’s why we tend to use this glisten stuff ? You also want to check the spray arms. So again, I’m not like ? it’s once a month. Let’s check our dishwasher I’m much more loosey goosey than that But if things are coming out of the dishwasher and I’m not liking how they’re looking These are the things I do. So I’ll run the I’ll run an extra cycle with some vinegar

Tonya Kubo (14:26)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (14:32)

I’ll check the spray arms for debris. I’ll check in the utensil tray and racks as needed. then you can, know, yearly maintenance. If you need to research for your brand, what your brand suggests. If you have some hard water buildup in there, I’m not going to suggest it because I don’t want to know, but also check hoses for leaks and cracks. If you’re not getting the performance that you want to.

And then I want to talk about loading your dishwasher because that can really affect the performance. I will also link ? the episode of ? Wirecutter, yes, to this, their whole dishwasher episode and the brands that I, we just like, we like the ? Cascade Extra.

Tonya Kubo (15:01)

Mm-hmm.

Wire cutter.

Kathi Lipp (15:26)

That’s the brand that we really, really, really like for our actual dishwasher. But they also go through with about different kinds that, you know, for your dishwasher might be good. But give dishes spaces so water can get in between there. Use designated areas for specific items. So you want plates where the plates are supposed to go. Bowls, cutlery, glasses.

Tonya Kubo (15:27)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (15:53)

Check to see if you have a wine glass arm all those kind of things and then ? powders gels and pods What we were told by a dishwasher repairman is never use a gel I It he says When I am repairing I always see under their sink what they’re using and it tends to be gels that where their dishwasher has run down worse

Tonya Kubo (16:06)

Mm-hmm. Mmm.

Kathi Lipp (16:21)

Now we use the pods, which is a gel powder combo. you know, so far we’ve had great results, but that’s just something I’ve heard about. Do you do anything to mitigate the water hardness or is you just have to live with it?

Tonya Kubo (16:26)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, we have a magnet thing that goes inside the dishwasher. And so that’s supposed to help the deposits not form. ? But pretty much everybody in my neighborhood replaces their dishwasher every three years. Or they’ve just decided that they don’t need a dishwasher. And yeah, and we can’t use powder because it’ll etch our glasses. Like anything that’s glass gets etched with the powder.

Kathi Lipp (16:47)

Okay.

Really?

Wow, that is serious.

Wow.

Tonya Kubo (17:07)

We can’t use pods because the hard water mineral deposits build up so quickly that the pods won’t dissolve. Every now and then I’m just like, well, maybe we just skip the dishwasher and we’ll just put another cabinet there. And Brian’s like, or maybe we move. And I’ll say, maybe what we need to do is get like a water treatment system because we need something that’s a little bit more than a softener. And he’s like, or how about we move?

Kathi Lipp (17:22)

Yeah!

Tonya Kubo (17:32)

? so I’ve just stopped making suggestions cause Brian seems to think there’s only one solution, which involves me moving and I don’t like.

Kathi Lipp (17:34)

Yeah

No, you’ve pretty much stated you want to die in this house. So can I tell you the most interesting thing I learned from the wire cutter episode on dishwashers?

Tonya Kubo (17:51)

I wanna hear it.

Kathi Lipp (17:52)

You do not want to clean your dish too much before it goes into the dishwasher.

Tonya Kubo (18:02)

Okay, I need to know why, because I do not believe them.

Kathi Lipp (18:03)

don’t really understand

the science behind it, but they said that your dishes need something, your detergent needs something to grab onto. And so you don’t want things that are caked on there. Like you don’t want to put your eggy dish that has been sitting in the sink overnight in there because that’s too much for almost any dishwasher, or detergent.

Tonya Kubo (18:14)

Hmm

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Kathi Lipp (18:32)

It doesn’t want to have to be perfectly clean. So I’ve I have lowered my standards Thank you very much wire cutter and I feel like I’m getting even better results So it may all be psychosomatic. You know what, but don’t don’t yuck my yum. Okay? ? The other thing that’s really important is hot water if you’re not getting the results you need

Tonya Kubo (18:45)

Nice.

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (18:57)

One of the things you may have to do is run the hot water and again, this may be like well duh, Kathi to everybody else I did not grow up knowing this so now I know right or Maybe this is something my mom did and I didn’t realize it but you have to run the hot water for a while and even we have found even if we run the hot water at 10 o’clock and then we set the dishwasher for two It seems to be fine. So ?

Tonya Kubo (19:12)

Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

Kathi Lipp (19:27)

And then most of us are going to need a rinse aid of some kind, the finish or something like that. ? Create a daily rhythm, Maintain your dishwasher. Don’t overcrowd it. And then check with your manufacturer to see if there are any extra tips. You don’t have to have the user’s manual. You can go online and look and see what that is. ?

Tonya Kubo (19:31)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (19:53)

Is there anything you’re going to do differently, Tonya, because of today?

Tonya Kubo (19:58)

you know what? think one thing that I’m going to do differently, aside from making sure that I run the hot water, cause that’s brilliant. But I think that I am going to do more about checking those cleaning arms. Cause I am good about checking the bottom of the dishwasher. That’s where my filter is. But I only think about the cleaning arms when it’s not working.

Kathi Lipp (20:05)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, great.

Mmm, okay, and I We do have a very sophisticated water filtration system, but I still want to find out about your magnet So we’re gonna we’re gonna put that in the show notes because I think that that might be something that would be really really helpful to us guys I want you to just think through your routine Is there something you could be doing that is going to help you out? And by the way guys, we’re gonna be doing some more

Tonya Kubo (20:26)

Mm-hmm.

Kathi Lipp (20:46)

System spotlights. That’s what we did today system spotlight about your dishes ? in a few weeks We’re gonna be doing laundry. So yeah that I’m excited. That’s a two-parter Tonya It’s too much information to contain in one episode. So You guys are going to love it. Okay guys, we will be back in just a minute We’re gonna take a quick commercial break and then I’m gonna share with you ? this week’s

It has earned a place in my clutter free home. You’re not going to want to miss this episode.

*PART TWO*

Kathi Lipp (00:00)

Hey friends, we are back. We are back. this is, this is my new favorite series. Things that have earned a place in my home. Because as you guys know, not everything that I want actually earns a place in my home.

So in order for it to not become clutter. It has to be something I love I use or would buy again and I’ve got a Three hit I’ve got this one checks all three It’s called Matthew pray like this and it’s by my friend Barb Roose and so I want to discuss it today because we’ve got Barb here and Barb

Welcome back to the program. I’m so glad to have you’re a frequent flyer here on clutter free academy And i’m so grateful to have you back

Barb (00:53)

I love coming back and we’ve only been on here for like 15 seconds and I’m already taking notes on what you just said.

Kathi Lipp (01:02)

my goodness, but it’s so true. Okay, so let me tell you why this is be why I’m saying this like I am because I will tell you my prayer life There’s been a lot of stops and starts recently I’m just in a space where prayer and I’ve been here before and here’s the thing God is so gracious and I know I’m going to get out of that space and it’s going to be okay and

And I have to remember that God doesn’t leave me anywhere for a long time. But prayer has been hard recently, and then I get this book and I’m like, well, all right, OK, so God’s giving me a little tool for this time in my life. So I feel like we’ve all had I don’t want to speak for other people, but I feel like we’ve all had these moments when we’re like prayer isn’t working. I don’t even know what to pray.

I think there’s been a lot going on in my life in my world where I just like kind of hold throw up my hands I’m saying God I don’t even know where to start so I would love to hear from you why why this book why now and What? What do you say to those of us who have been struggling?

Barb (02:24)

Well, I, first of all, what you just shared about where your prayer journey is at right now, it has either created this exhale for listeners who are like, that’s where I felt like I’m at. Cause they have been struggling and they want to pray and know that they should pray. And for a variety of reasons, it just hasn’t looked like how they wanted to. So thank you. Because I think more people are there than not.

Kathi Lipp (02:38)

Hmm.

Barb (02:51)

because prayer is this conversation with God. The barrier always has been that we can’t see God, he’s not showing up, we don’t have like this face-to-face, and so there’s so much in life that can happen. A quote that’s meant a lot to me is a Cory Ten Boom quote. She said, prayer, your steering wheel or your spare tire. And yeah, and so there have been many seasons of my life. This Bible study actually is so wild to me.

Kathi Lipp (03:07)

Mmm.

yeah.

Barb (03:20)

because prayer was mostly a spare tire for me. I grew up as a Christian. I knew something about prayer because of how I was taught, but my mentality, my personality, I was a do first, pray later kind of person, which meant, yep, so I was always busy, had things to do, always kind of felt that guilt in the back of my mind because I was like, okay, I’m going to pray, I’m going to pray and something would come up. The Bible study that you have is a testament

Kathi Lipp (03:24)

Mmm.

Yeah, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Barb (03:50)

of how God guided me in his gracious love through from a do first, pray later to a pray first, pray often. And that is we all go through these seasons and these spiritual journeys. And he guided me through that in a way that allowed me to get to where I really wanted to be. A woman who prayed every day about everything without guilt or shame.

Kathi Lipp (04:16)

Okay, so I want to pick up on something you just said because this is my first love of this book is that you don’t guilt us into praying more, it guides you into praying more meaningfully. And ? my goodness, it has been, it’s just an invitation. And so yeah, if you’re in that place where you’re feeling like my prayers are hitting the ceiling or I…

I just I don’t even know where to start so I don’t start but here’s here’s just that my moment of honesty because Here’s the problem a lot of Bible studies sound good on the shelf, but they never get opened, right? I mean, it’s we’ve I have been an avid collector of Bible studies for probably the past 30 years my collection abounds But I feel like this one is actually practical practical and doable. So like

What are those things that made it grabbable and why did you, what was your heart behind this? Who is this for?

Barb (05:23)

This Bible study is for everyone at every stage who wants to get to the place where they want to be a woman who prays about everything every day without guilt or shame. So this can be from the woman who is still trying to figure out who God is to the woman who has been following Jesus for a long time. But the heart of the study is that often our problems or our panic drive our prayers.

versus us actually connecting with God. So I wanted to write a Bible study that was about God and not us. And in doing that, it was, let’s start with where Jesus walks us into prayer. And the Bible study itself is framed around walking through the Lord’s prayer as we study the whole book of the Gospel of Matthew. But I wanted it to be where we felt like we had an active role in prayer.

Kathi Lipp (06:05)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Barb (06:19)

So

my particular Bible study style is very application heavy. I love looking at the scriptures and going, okay, what can we learn about God and how do we apply? So each day of the Bible study is a way to step into prayer actively and creatively because I do not want Bible study to be boring. That would be the kiss of death. God is not boring. His word is not boring. So this Bible study,

Kathi Lipp (06:25)

Mm-hmm.

Right. No.

Barb (06:47)

provides these ways that I wanted to hit all of the senses, the thinking, the feeling, the taste, like hearing all of that.

Kathi Lipp (06:52)

Mm-hmm.

And I think you have, I really, really think you have in this. And I love that it’s just six weeks. I feel like six weeks is so doable, even though it’s kind of a chunky book, I’m not gonna lie. Like when I first picked it up, I’m like, oh, there’s some heft to this. And I also love that I was planning to do the whole study by myself. I’ve already delved into it. And I just had a friend who said,

Need a Bible set. I’m like, you know what? It’s gonna work for the two of us too. So I’m very very excited about that Okay, here’s something I know about you Barb, because I’ve had you on many times You have been here for many a Bible study and I know that God always gives you something like a new revelation a new aha, whatever the light bulb is What was it for writing this book because God changes you in the writing of these books?

I’ve seen it many times.

Barb (07:55)

Well, Kathi, have you ever had something you have been praying for for a long time and you’re like, should I keep praying for it? Why am I still praying for it? What the heck? And that was the journey with this Bible study. I tended to treat God a lot like Amazon Prime. I would have a prayer request and then two days later I would be like, so God, why haven’t you answered this prayer?

Kathi Lipp (08:01)

Yes.

Right.

Yes.

Barb (08:22)

Because

if the Amazon Prime people can deliver my stuff in two days, I believe that God could do it a lot sooner. And so for me, this Bible study was about God kind of working the Amazon Prime mentality out. And other people kind of like God’s a vending machine. have this whole, like vending machines are stocked of all the things we love, the tasty stuff. And so people go to God and go, well, I think I should have this blessing and this blessing and this blessing.

Kathi Lipp (08:29)

Right? Right?

Hmm.

Yeah.

Barb (08:52)

That’s not so much me or other people treat God like customer service where you call God up and you’re like, this is a problem, Lord, you need to fix it. This is a problem. We all have those different mentalities, but mine was learning to trust God’s timing and in allow and allowing prayer to be a part of that journey. So I learned for me, the aha moment was that.

Kathi Lipp (09:01)

Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Barb (09:18)

When I persisted in prayer about the thing that was the hardest for me to hold in my life, what God did every time I brought that matter to him was he was able to give me something I needed more. For this thing that that still is important to me, that I still struggle with to this day, I was feeling guilty as a Christian about

Kathi Lipp (09:35)

Mmm.

Barb (09:46)

continuing to pray about the same thing all of the time. What I learned in how Jesus taught about persisting in prayer is that when we bring it to God, he actually uses that thing as a way to bless us with teaching us more about him. So I have been able to learn more, receive more of God’s grace. I’ve been able to receive more of God’s love. I’ve been able to receive more of God’s strength.

so that I don’t try to take matters in my own control.

Kathi Lipp (10:18)

Yeah.

Barb (10:19)

And so that’s the been the learning blessing, the learning journey for me in this study.

Kathi Lipp (10:26)

You know, I think we all have our prayer peccadillas and what I, yeah, and I, what I know mine is, is prayer tinged with jealousy. Like God, I have seen what you’ve done for others. I want that. And to understand that God knows what is best for me, what is best for his kingdom.

Barb (10:31)

Here, I can deal with

Hmm.

Kathi Lipp (10:55)

Is not always what I have seen others have and so i’m still wrestling with that I still fight with that and I think you know, it’s It’s very interesting Here’s my question. We all have these these prayer struggles. What what does matthew say about that?

Barb (11:14)

Well, this is where coming up a verse that I have focused on. It’s right before Jesus teaches about the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew chapter six, three verses before that, Jesus says, don’t be like the babblers who repeat what they’re praying. And I actually just I want to read it because it has really made such a difference for me. He says when he says that,

Kathi Lipp (11:19)

Yeah.

Barb (11:43)

Let me, okay, when you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. This is what I love. Don’t be like them, for your father knows exactly what you need even before you ask. And I was thinking about this because I’m going to tell the very, very small version of this. This story isn’t in the book, but when I was 18, it was my, it was my first semester of college at Christmas break.

And I had been worrying myself sick because I didn’t have the $300 I needed for book money. This was in 1990. My dad called me downstairs and he wanted me to sit down on the couch and he said, Barbara, do you have enough money for books? And my dad was such a loving, kind man, but you did not lie to Bob Neal. And so my eyes dropped to the brass and glass coffee table that my parents had because it was 1990. And I just.

Kathi Lipp (12:19)

Yeah.

Hahaha!

Absolutely.

Barb (12:41)

right? So I shook my head no and my dad pulled out a crisp $100 bill and he laid it on that table. Kathi, dad had lost his long time career six weeks before I left for university. I still had two siblings at home. My parents were trying to make ends meet and my eyes bucked wide open and he said, that not, is that enough money? And I shook my head no because I couldn’t lie. My dad pulled out a second crisp

Kathi Lipp (12:47)

Mm.

Right.

Barb (13:10)

$100 bill. This is a week after Christmas. Me and I’m going, what is happening? Where is this coming from? Dad said, is that enough? And I said, I shook my head no. He pulled out a crisp $100 bill and laid them next to the other two. I never told my parents I needed $300 in books.

I never talked to them. I simply was stressed out, crying all the time. I’d spent all of my Christmas break working temp jobs. And my parents knew what I needed, even though I was at school two and a half hours away. And they had access to resources and understanding beyond what even I knew. And I think that that’s what happens to us when we think about God.

We repeat our prayers over and over again, but our prayers are driven by our panic rather than our trust. Kathi, how many prayers has God answered in your life that you’ve never prayed?

Kathi Lipp (14:14)

Countless. Countless! That’s the only word. Countless.

Barb (14:18)

And so the point of prayer for us isn’t that we need to ask God for things. It’s that we need to be able to see who God is. And so this Bible study, I said it’s about God, not us. So I’ve structured it around four parts of God, who God is, his character, what God has done, his faithfulness, what God can do, his power, and what God will do, his promises.

And that’s what the study is structured around because God knows what we need even before we ask. We can trust him.

Kathi Lipp (14:55)

that’s exactly why this book is staying in my house. Guys, it’s not just pretty, it’s useful. And for someone like me, who’s trying to keep only what matters, I mean, that is everything. Okay, friends, you can grab Matthew Pray Like This wherever books are sold. We’ll have a link in the show notes. Barb, thank you for writing. Thank you for just talking to us about prayer today. And

If you have stumbled in your prayer life or maybe you’ve been hurt by unanswered or delayed prayers, just know that God has you. God sees you. if you need a, I just pray that this conversation has made you feel held when things are not as you hoped for or planned or expected. Friends,

You’ve been listening to ClutterFree Academy. I am Kathi Lipp. Now, go create the clutter free life you’ve always wanted to live.

#683 – Declutter Your Bathroom Sink Space (Even With Zero Storage!)

Aug 19, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast, tips and ideas

Tired of opening your bathroom cabinets only to find chaos staring back at you? You're not alone. In this episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi teams up with decluttering expert Tonya Kubo to tackle one of the most frustrating spaces in many homes: the bathroom sink...

#682 – Back-to-School Prep: Tips for a Smooth Transition

Aug 12, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Parenting, Podcast

In this episode of Clutter-Free Academy, Kathi Lipp is joined by Tonya Kubo to tackle the often chaotic back-to-school season. They explore practical strategies to help families organize their homes and lives for a smoother transition into the school year such as ...

#681 – Embracing Empty Spaces: A New Approach to Clutter

Aug 5, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Mental Load, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast

Join Kathi Lipp and the creative genius, Tenille Register, as they explore the journey of embracing space over stuff to live a clutter-free life. In this episode, you'll discover Practical strategies for decluttering with purpose. How choosing space can lead to a...

Kathi Lipp’s Clutter Free Academy Facebook Group

#671 – Sentimental Clutter: Finding Freedom in Letting Go

by Clutter Free Academy Team | May 27, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast, Relationships | 0 comments

#671 – Sentimental Clutter: Finding Freedom in Letting Go

Listen Now

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

#683 – Declutter Your Bathroom Sink Space (Even With Zero Storage!)

Aug 19, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast, tips and ideas

Tired of opening your bathroom cabinets only to find chaos staring back at you? You're not alone. In this episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi teams up with decluttering expert Tonya Kubo to tackle one of the most frustrating spaces in many homes: the bathroom sink...

#682 – Back-to-School Prep: Tips for a Smooth Transition

Aug 12, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Parenting, Podcast

In this episode of Clutter-Free Academy, Kathi Lipp is joined by Tonya Kubo to tackle the often chaotic back-to-school season. They explore practical strategies to help families organize their homes and lives for a smoother transition into the school year such as ...

#681 – Embracing Empty Spaces: A New Approach to Clutter

Aug 5, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Mental Load, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast

Join Kathi Lipp and the creative genius, Tenille Register, as they explore the journey of embracing space over stuff to live a clutter-free life. In this episode, you'll discover Practical strategies for decluttering with purpose. How choosing space can lead to a...

#670 – Emotional Decluttering: A Journey Through Sentimental Keepsakes

by Clutter Free Academy Team | May 20, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Mental Load, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast, tips and ideas | 2 comments

#670 – Emotional Decluttering: A Journey Through Sentimental Keepsakes

Listen Now

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.

Links Mentioned:

MUDEELA Pot & Pan Organizer

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

#683 – Declutter Your Bathroom Sink Space (Even With Zero Storage!)

Aug 19, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast, tips and ideas

Tired of opening your bathroom cabinets only to find chaos staring back at you? You're not alone. In this episode of Clutter Free Academy, Kathi teams up with decluttering expert Tonya Kubo to tackle one of the most frustrating spaces in many homes: the bathroom sink...

#682 – Back-to-School Prep: Tips for a Smooth Transition

Aug 12, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Home, Organizing, Parenting, Podcast

In this episode of Clutter-Free Academy, Kathi Lipp is joined by Tonya Kubo to tackle the often chaotic back-to-school season. They explore practical strategies to help families organize their homes and lives for a smoother transition into the school year such as ...

#681 – Embracing Empty Spaces: A New Approach to Clutter

Aug 5, 2025 | Clutter Free, Clutter Free Home, Clutter Free Podcast, Mental Load, Organizing, Overwhelmed, Podcast

Join Kathi Lipp and the creative genius, Tenille Register, as they explore the journey of embracing space over stuff to live a clutter-free life. In this episode, you'll discover Practical strategies for decluttering with purpose. How choosing space can lead to a...