Living Clutter Free Forever - decluttering tips, professional organizing, minimalist living

How one busy mom tamed the clutter monster (and lived to tell the tale) #122

• Caroline Thor - Professional Organizer - KonMari® Consultant

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Ever wondered how a clutter-free home could transform your life?
Join me, Caroline Thor, along with my special guest, Masha Goins, as we discuss the remarkable impact of decluttering even the busiest households. Masha, an online business coach and mother of two, shares her personal journey from chaos to order with the help of my course, "Clutter Free Ever After™."
Learn how starting with your own belongings can inspire your family to join in and see how children taking responsibility for their items can significantly ease the burden on parents.

Our conversation takes a deep dive into managing kids' clutter in shared spaces, with practical strategies that balance maintaining a tidy environment and encouraging creativity. Get valuable tips like providing each child with a small box for their items and making tidying up a fun, routine activity. Masha also shares her plans for organizing her kitchen pantry and emphasizes how involving kids in the process can make a world of difference. Discover how small changes in organization can lead to daily satisfaction and a more harmonious home life.

Finally, we celebrate Masha's success with the Clutter Free Ever After™ course and announce the exciting news that enrollments are now open. Hear firsthand how structured support and guidance can simplify your decluttering journey and bring peace and order to your home. Don't miss out on this opportunity to transform your living space. For more tips and updates, connect with me on Instagram at carothor or on Facebook at carolineorganizer. Tune in for inspiration and practical advice on creating a clutter-free home that works for the whole family!

JOIN CLUTTER FREE EVER AFTER™ HERE 

Listen to Masha's podcast Money Magnet Mama here

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Thanks for listening! For more organizational motivation, support and free resources:
Join my online membership Clutter Free Collective
Join my podcast Facebook group Living Clutter Free Forever Podcast: KonMari® Inspired Organizing | Facebook
Visit my website www.caroline-thor.com
Come and say 'hi' on Instagram @caro.thor
Follow me on Facebook @carolineorganizer

Speaker 1:

Hi there, I'm Caroline Thor, professional organiser, konmari consultant, teacher and mum of three. I started off my life as a mum feeling overwhelmed, disorganised and desperately trying to carve out some time for me amongst the nappies, chaos and clutter. One day, one small book called the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying changed everything and I began to learn strategies for making everyday life easier. Today, I have the systems in place that means life can throw almost anything at me, and I want to share them with you. If you're an overwhelmed mum struggling to keep it together, then this is the podcast for you. Grab a coffee and settle in for a quick chat with someone who gets your reality.

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to the Living Clutter-Free Forever podcast. I'm Caroline, and I am a KonMari consultant and professional organiser, and today I am bringing you a really special episode. It's been a long time since I had a guest on this podcast, and today's guest is super special because not only is she someone that I work with, but Masha Goines has also taken my online course Clutter Free Ever After and has been in my membership Clutter Free Ever After and has been in my membership Clutter Free Collective, and I think it's really interesting for you to perhaps hear from someone who has experienced being part of my courses and membership. So grab yourself a cup of tea and sit yourself down and enjoy listening to our conversation. Masha welcome. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for having me. I love your podcast so much and I listen to it all the time, so I'm excited to be on here myself.

Speaker 1:

Well, I'm excited to have you. I will share with everyone that Masha is actually my business coach. I've worked with you one-on-one and I'm in your amazing group coaching program, hate 100K, so we'll talk a little bit about that later, but that's where I know Masha from. But can you tell us a little bit about yourself, and what does your typical day look like as a busy working mom?

Speaker 2:

Okay, so, first of all, I'm a mom of two little girls they're eight and 10 now and I have a dog and I have a husband and I work from home, primarily. So everything that you have created has been so helpful for me to manage my home, but also my work life, because I'm an entrepreneur and I work from home. Home is like my environment, you know, and it has a huge impact on my productivity and on how I feel, my stress levels, and so, yeah, it's been a phenomenal journey learning from you how to manage all of that. And, in a nutshell, I am an online business coach for heart-centered entrepreneurs who want to create online businesses that allow them to live primarily offline.

Speaker 1:

And what do you think with your girls, with your dog and with your husband? What is your biggest challenge in the home? Is it daily tidying up or is it organization of specific areas? What is it that is causing you the biggest headaches?

Speaker 2:

So initially I think that the biggest headache for me was that we have a pretty small home for American standards and it just felt like things, stuff was just multiplying. You know, every time there was a birthday, the towers, mountains of gifts would arrive. And the kids do have a playroom, which is, I think, a quite American thing to have like a separate playroom, but it's a tiny room, it's not like a basement or anything. We live on a hill, on a rock ledge, so we don't actually have a basement, which is fantastic for, I think, organizing and decluttering, because otherwise you just shove everything in the basement and forget about it. So it forces you not having a lot of storage space really forces you to be more mindful about your things. And so you notice more when there's an influx of things and when those stuffed animals seem to be, you know, multiplying at night.

Speaker 2:

And you know, sometimes I just walk through the house and I'm like, ah, why is there so much stuff everywhere? You know, like, what can I tackle? And I think you really helped me when, first of all, I highly recommend Caroline's course and membership. So if you're just getting started, I think, do the course. It was such a jumpstart for me doing it. I love listening to your voice. I find it super, super soothing and it accompanied me as I started tackling my own stuff, Because instead of focusing on, okay, the kids are like their stuff is everywhere or my husband is, you know, putting this stuff over here. I'm going to start with my stuff. Right, that's the thing that I can control my stuff. And then it was like a wonderful virus that infected everybody else, you know, because I got so into it and they all started noticing, like mommy, what are you doing? You know like, and they got inspired and motivated and so everybody started getting on board and that's been really so fun to see and to experience, to have my kids actually organizing their own stuff.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's huge, isn't it? Because I think so often it's down to mom. It's mom's job to make sure everyone's organized and picking up after everyone and making sure the laundry's put away and all that sort of stuff. And when the kids start taking responsibility, that is life changing. And I love what you're calling it a virus infecting everybody. I always talk about a ripple effect, which sounds much calmer, but I like that. A virus infecting everyone. I'm going to start using that. That's very, very cool.

Speaker 2:

You know we have like negative connotations with viruses. But my Isabella, my 80 year old she, so she says it like this. She's like mommy, I caught your bug, I've got your bug. So one day it's the summer holidays at the moment and ever since they got home from school I was like okay, let's go through your entire wardrobe and clear it out and see what still fits you, because they're growing so fast that clothes, literally, you have to do it regularly. And it was kind of falling on flat. Nobody was interested in going through their closet right. School's out for the summer, we're having fun, we're going to the pool, we're doing all these adventures.

Speaker 2:

But it was really stressing me in the back of my mind. I was like I need to like complete the school year by going through their stuff, and usually it was always me going through their stuff. And then finally Isabella says mommy, I'm bored, what should I do today? And I was like, oh yes, this is it, this is the moment I've been waiting for. I'm like well, honey, wouldn't it feel amazing if you opened your closet door and everything fit you and everything was your favorite outfit? And she's like oh yes, because the other day she couldn't find her favorite shorts and she was getting upset. And then it turned out they don't fit her anymore and she was even more upset. And so she's like, oh, mommy, I get it. And so she she's like I caught your bug. And like five hours later they had turned their room completely upside down. The older sister got into it as well she's normally more organized on her own, um, and they had a blast.

Speaker 1:

And literally the amount of things to me I think it was like two full contractor bags which are these huge, um, I don't know, lawn bags, you know like these black bags, that a lot of stuff was given away amazing, amazing, and I think when they take ownership for that, it's going to have an impact on how they feel about maintaining it, because they've put the work in. Then it's going to be nicer for them to keep it tidy and organized, following on from that Exactly.

Speaker 2:

Because they can see what they have, they can find the things that fit and they can make those. You know they're mature enough to make those decisions where I don't have to say like, okay, this doesn't fit you, let's give it away. And like, isabella had been holding onto this baby Yoda shirt that she had as a toddler and she's eight and she's the size of an 11 year old, so she's not a little girl, you know physically. And she's like okay, it's time to say goodbye. Thank you, baby Yoda shirt. You meant a lot to me, you know. So she did the whole like thanking the garment and it was so cute and she's like I hope the next person really enjoys you as much as I did.

Speaker 2:

You know just this thoughtfulness of being very thoughtful and intentional with our things, because in the consumer society that we're in, you know this whole fast fashion concept of like, okay, you can just buy stuff, new stuff all the time. All the time I really try to encourage more sustainability in the household and personally, like I wear my clothes until they fall apart and at the same time, I love occasionally getting new things that are really joyful, right, like that that passed the the Marie Kondo test of like does this light me up? Yes, it does, rather than like oh yeah, this is fine, it fits Like. I guess I should get it because it's on sale.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, definitely. And this idea that for kids and for the family as a whole, decluttering and organizing can be fun, I think, is something that I really try to bring across to people. And last night, Masha, I experienced this firsthand. We were at a live concert, outdoor concert, with my daughters, who are now 17 and 15. And when they were little, like age two and three, we had a tidy up routine each evening, which was super fun, where I put a song on and they would have the song to throw everything back in the bins and tidy up. And we did dancing and we were singing and it was really fun.

Speaker 1:

And the guy we went to see last night was the singer of their tidy up song. There was pop music and I hadn't said anything and then the song came on and both girls just lit up and looked at me and went it's the tidy up song. And here we are, surrounded by adults at an adult concert from a pop star from like 20 years ago and the joy they had hearing their tidy up song again. It just I took a photo of them as it was going because it just blew my mind. I was like, yes, tidying up can be joyful. It can be something that creates memories that last a lifetime. It doesn't have to be a chore, a punishment we have to tidy up today. So that proved to me last night that it can be something that creates connection and memory.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I love that so much. It can be something that creates connection and memory. Oh, I love that so much and I want to. Actually, I remember you talking about having like a tidy up song and that's something we haven't instituted yet, but I think it's going to be really great, for I want to start doing that and, especially as we get back to school and into our routines and time is so like overscheduled, I think that'll be really helpful to do.

Speaker 2:

But yeah, I think that you know this whole idea of the home environment and everything kind of falling like all of the mental, emotional and physical load falling primarily to the mom. It's also the self-martyrdom, like oh, I'll just do it, you know, rather than like, actually, you know, you're doing them a disservice by just doing it yourself, you know, and these are skills that they are going to take with them for the rest of their life and it's going to make their life easier. I mean, I wish that I had learned this stuff when I was little. It would have helped me so much. And my husband is like naturally extremely organized and tidy. Actually I'm the like chaotic, messy one in the relationship. So I think he loves this new version of me because it's you know it's not perfect, but I'm getting there and I'm tackling different areas of the house without it letting it overwhelm me.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think that's something really important that you've just said. It's not perfect yet and it doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to be functional and enough that you just don't feel overwhelmed on a daily basis. I think we're all striving for what we've seen on Instagram and it's not reality. Someone was actually telling me the other day that they had been filming some stuff for a TV show and it was in this beautiful home and they were focused on, like the kitchen and the dining room table and she said it looks amazing in the shot, but the chaos that was around that space that no one ever gets to see makes us all think these people live in these beautifully curated houses and what's wrong with us that we can't maintain that? But it's not the reality.

Speaker 2:

It's true, it is not the reality for most people, although I do have one friend who that is her reality. Like you walk into her home and she is a Montessori educator, so like everything is spick and span and it's inspiring and infuriating at the same time, but it is her way of, you know, just maintaining order. But also, the interesting thing is that she's quite a minimalist. So in order to do that, get to that level, you have to embrace minimalism, which is not like I'm not a minimalist. I love stuff, I love my books, I love, you know, different tchotchkes that are emotional to me, and so I love your approach of being organized and decluttered without having to say like I want to have a beige home and everything is like there's just one vase on the shelf and we're good, you know, because that's not me and I always felt like I had to be like that in order to be organized.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think when you embrace the KonMari method and you're really clear about we are not looking what we're getting rid of, we're looking what we want to keep, and all those things should spark joy for you, you can have a home full of things that spark joy for you. You're then clear about what you want to let go, because you're clear what you want to keep, and if it's a load of stuff, then we need to create an organizing system that means it's easy to tidy up and put things back, and I think that's the crux to it, that people don't always have that system in place. That means it's easy to put things away again once they've used them, and the whole family know where stuff live?

Speaker 2:

Yes, exactly, exactly and, I think, okay. So I have actually one question for you, and it's a dilemma that in our kitchen area, like our kitchen counter, kind of becomes the hangout place. The kids have their snacks there, they bring their dolls there, their water bottles, like all this stuff, and somehow little piles of their things accumulate on the kitchen counter and it's like this little thing. I love having the clear kitchen counter and spraying it down at night and just feeling like the whole thing is clear. And so I've been thinking what do I do, how can I institute a system that works? And what happens? Like sometimes, when I get fed up, I'll just put it all on a tray and put it on the kitchen table. I'm like all your stuff is on a tray, just go through it, bring it wherever it belongs the playroom, your room, the bedroom, whatever, like but it just the next day it's back because it's part of the things that they're carrying around and playing with, like they play there you know they're little stuffed animals.

Speaker 2:

They have this whole like fantasy world and I don't want to like punish them for it, but I also want to. I was thinking, should I get like maybe like boxes to keep so they can keep some stuff on the counter? But it's organized, what? What are your thoughts on that?

Speaker 1:

it's funny. You should ask this because a client asked me this when I was in her home this week as well, because her kitchen table was strewn with toy cars and things that the boys had bought down, and a book and a cuddly toy, and she's like it always looks like this, and I want it to look clear. I think you're right. We have to acknowledge the fact that the kids need to be encouraged to use their creativity, to use their imagination that a home is a place that they live in as well, and I think that's very different now than when, from when I was, perhaps, a kid, where all my toys were in my bedroom and that was the same at my friends' houses as well you went up to people's bedrooms to play and nothing was ever spread around the living space that was the adult area and the kids' stuff was in the playroom or up in the kids' rooms, and we weren't allowed to leave our toys lying around anywhere else. That wasn't somewhere to play, and I think that's really different now, which I think is great, and my brother and I actually talked about this in the podcast episode I had with him about how different that is generationally now. So, yeah, we have to embrace the fact we've got kids. They are going to make a mess, they're going to leave things lying around.

Speaker 1:

I had actually suggested to my client that she might like to have one box for each boy, like a small container on the table, like that aesthetically for you is acceptable and fits in with like how you would like things to look, that they can be encouraged that before they leave the table they drop their things in the box. That's one thing you can can do and then at the end of the day like perhaps before dinner or just after dinner that they take their box of things and they take it back to their room or the playroom and they put those things away and then it's. It's sort of like they're getting into the routine of, okay, I've brought these things in, but it's my job to take them back again, because even by collecting them together and putting them on a tray for them, it's still work for you and you need to almost get into the habit of reminding them each day and supporting them and saying come, look, we're going to put these things into your box. Let me come with you, let's look where those things go and train it with them a bit, especially your younger daughter. Your older one might manage it, fine them a bit, especially your younger daughter. Your older one might manage it fine on her own already, but your younger one may need a bit of support with it.

Speaker 1:

And then gradually you can start saying okay, girls, can you make sure you drop your things in your box before you leave the table each time? And then it can get to the point where, okay, girls, we've finished dinner, can you just make sure you take your boxes and put them away? And it's not going to be perfect all the time, because you know what life's like with kids and a business. You get the phone call or you get the email and you get distracted and it's like, oh, I forgot to tell them to put their things in the box or I forgot to remind them to empty them away. But I think what's important is to go okay, it didn't work today, but we'll start again the next day. And I'll remind them the next day, cause if we go okay, it's not working, let's just leave it.

Speaker 1:

It's like that diet that we do, where we're really good for like a week or two weeks, and then we break it and we think, oh well, I've, I've eaten the bar of chocolate. Now I might. It's not working. I might as well just carry on eating now. And then we wonder why we've never lost the weight.

Speaker 1:

And it's the same with decluttering and organizing and especially with tidying up the home. We have to keep going at these habits, even if they feel like they're not working, because eventually it does stick. But it takes time and with kids it it's gonna maybe take a bit longer than it would do with an adult. So just plugging away at it, but doing it in a fun way I mean you could do it with music, or you could do it with who can pick up three things and put them in their box, or who can pick up five things and put them in their box, or who can pick up five things and put them in their box, or who can find five things in the living space that are theirs that they can take back to the playroom and turn it into a game, and then they're much more motivated to actually take part in it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think that's a great, great, great idea and I'm going to try to do that and I was kind of leaning towards doing it but I wasn't sure. So now I am inspired and I'm going to get those boxes and I think it visually helps them as well to physically see where's the boundary of where my stuff should be at the end of the night, where's the boundary of where my stuff should be, you know, at the end of the night. And they do things like you know tuck their dolls into bed, they create little beds for them and all of that. So they're aware of like, oh it's the end of the day, so your other stuff has to be tucked away as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, definitely, definitely. Now. I remember when you were doing my online course clutter free ever after and you had a bit of an aha moment when you were doing your closet because you were going through items and you found a couple of scarves that you had completely and utterly forgotten about, that were hidden away. Do you remember these that you found?

Speaker 2:

Oh, yes, yes, yes, Like some Hermes scarves that are really, really valuable. I mean the stuff that I found. You know, I thought I was pretty organized. I don't have a huge closet for a woman, I guess, Like I feel like most of my friends have a lot more clothes Actually, my husband has a lot more clothes than I do but still I had been holding onto boxes and boxes of maternity clothes just in case I got pregnant again, even though that's not part of the plan, and so there were so many things that felt so liberating, so satisfying.

Speaker 2:

That's the thing about doing your course. It kickstarted me in this journey of getting immense satisfaction out of having things organized, and before it was more like a dread or a chore, like, oh, I guess I have to do that, Whereas now it really feels so good. I'm like, oh, I can't wait. Like I treat myself like when I'm done with working with something. I'm like, oh, I'm going to watch, you know, like a replay from your membership, or I'm going to treat myself to a little tidy obsession because it feels so satisfying.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it gets slightly addictive, I think, and I still find this now, even though our home has been KonMari'd now twice once when I first did it and then once four years ago when we moved. I just went back through everything. What you said earlier on in our conversation about needing to keep going back to things, that is really true, and I think there's this misconception that you declutter and organize and that's it. I'm done. It's going to be tidy forever. No, no people. Kids grow. They grow out of clothes, they grow out of toys. They're no longer age appropriate. We have seasons of life, like my husband and I.

Speaker 1:

Four years ago, before we moved, we KonMari'd our book collection again and we thought, okay, this is now definitely what we want to keep. And last week we had some work done and we had to move all the bookshelves. So, of course, all the books came down and we thought, well, before we put them back, we might as well go through them. Today I had three removal boxes of books collected for me by an online sales portal and I have made 120 euros selling books that four years ago we were very, very sure we needed to keep. And so you have these seasons and perhaps now we've got other books that have come in that spark more joy for us than those that did four years ago. So it's like an ongoing process but once you've done it all once, it's much quicker doing it the second time because, one, you've practiced that muscle of what sparks joy for me and, two, you're really clear at this moment in my life this is what I need to support my ideal lifestyle, because you've practiced that so many times.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, and it's not daunting. You know, it's like when you haven't done it, it just it all feels really daunting, really overwhelming. You don't really know how and where to start. And then, once you, you know, get have like a success, um, and I started with my wardrobe, right, I started with my clothes and that was it. And then, you know, I did the linens and I don't know, I think that was the thing that I was most proud of, because it was one of those things where I had linens all over the house in different places and things that literally from college, like sheets that I was, I was like, oh yeah, I remember this in college and I'm like, wait a second, that was a long time ago, why do I still have these sheets? Am I still have these sheets? Am I still using these sheets? You know so.

Speaker 2:

And there were things that they just were like falling apart, where, like, the rubber band on the fitted sheet was like literally disintegrating, and so that was such a great feeling of like getting rid of stuff that just takes up space.

Speaker 2:

You know, like I think sometimes I was having these moments as I was going through the course in the evenings, I would go outside with Vixen, my dog and I would look inside and see like the glowing lights in the house and I thought, wow, you know it's so bizarre, humans, we're just like rodents. We basically like have these little nests and we fill them up with stuff, yeah, and it stresses us out, and then we and that's it. You know, that's our entire life. And then we either like organize it or we don't, or we leave that mess for someone else to deal with when it's our time to go. And that is something that I just you know it was this moment of realization about how it's just like in our habit to accumulate things, and I really so it's that mindfulness. I think you know that you really taught me the mindfulness and also having the system and the strategies.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, I really. I really think you're right about that, and it's. It's so common that our homes have become a glorified storage unit rather than a space that nurtures us and supports us, and that is what I would love for everybody to have a space that they feel relaxed in and that isn't overwhelming them, and that helps the day go more smoothly rather than stresses it out. When you can't find the car keys again or you're. Well, I'm still always looking for my phone. I keep putting it down places and not finding it, but that's just me and my phone. It's a standing joke in our family. So what would you think is perhaps next for you on your journey towards your main or not maintaining Cause? I know you're not completely finished yet yet but what's next for you on your decluttering journey? What are you hoping to aim to do next?

Speaker 2:

so the next thing I really want to tackle is my pantry, like in the kitchen, and there's certain there's certain things. Like I started, I was like, okay, I'm going to do the whole kitchen this summer. And then I started going through you know, the coffee mugs and there Bill and I have like this battle I think I told you about it Like he has these like mugs that he doesn't even drink tea or coffee. But he is like you can't throw my mugs away, you know. And I'm like I'm not throwing them away, I'm giving them away. And he's like, no, you do your mugs, not my mugs. And he's like you have way more mugs than I do.

Speaker 2:

I'm like I know, but nobody uses these. So I'm like, okay, I need to move away from the conflict mugs and focus on other stuff. And the pantry is I have these sliding drawers that he created. Now it's basically just a cupboard with sliding drawers in it and I mean the stuff initially was organized and now it just gets shoved in wherever there's like space. So that is something I want to do before school starts because it's going to make it really easy to make their, you know, lunches for school and snacks and all of that.

Speaker 1:

And they'll be able to get their own snacks ready if they know where everything is and it's all organized. It's years since I made a snack for my kids. They've I train them early. This is where the stuff is. Learn how to make a snack yes, and that's a huge.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, you're absolutely right, and that's a big part of it. And I think also, like, making their lunches is something that I'm going to start involving them in. So it's, you know, because we just always are like, oh, we have to just do it ourselves, you know. But at least that's something that every single day, you look at, you know the pantry, it's like every single day, the microwave is in there and that is going to make a big difference in my daily levels of, you know, satisfaction and joy. And like, the same thing happened with when I did the bathroom.

Speaker 2:

My bathroom drawer was such a hot mess because I had no dividers, I had no little like spaces to put different things, so everything was just jump, ended up jumbled together because it had no separation. And yet it was something that I looked at every single day. So it stressed me out constantly, but I just felt overwhelmed by it and just didn't. And then finally, I did it and I think I did it after I joined your membership and it was so, like, multiple times a day I'm like, ah, look at that. I'm like, amazing, it looks so good. I can find everything. Ah, yeah, my makeup is over here. Look, you know it's like. It's so nice, it's such a good feeling when the things that you use on the daily are actually right where they should be and you have an overview and it's not full of stuff you don't actually need.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you see, a box can change your life, or a divider?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I know, and I did go out. I know you were like don't go out and buy stuff.

Speaker 1:

I did buy these like plastic divider bins and I've been using them everywhere stuff, but I did buy these like plastic divider bins and I've been using them everywhere. So amazing, amazing. So if any other busy moms are listening which I know they are, because that's who's listening very often to this podcast and they feel, okay, I'm in the same boat as Masha. I've been like like relating totally to everything she's been saying. What advice or encouragement would you give them?

Speaker 2:

My advice would be you don't have to do this alone, right? You don't? This is not your fault that everything is getting messy and unorganized. You deserve to actually enjoy sit on the sofa, drink your cup of coffee or tea and read a book in peace, and you deserve to enjoy doing that in your home, whether you're a stay-at-home mom or you're working or you're an entrepreneur, it doesn't matter. And that sense of peace and calm, rather than like, oh, I've got to do this, or I've got to do the laundry right, I've got to do this, the laundry right, I've got to do this. It's going to.

Speaker 2:

If you lean on like somebody like Caroline and do her process, like take her course, it's going to change your life. I honestly feel like it has changed our whole family's life. They all know your voice because I carry my laptop around everywhere and I re-listened to some of the trainings in the course. It's so, so helpful and it's motivating me as well. So I'm like okay, while she's speaking, I'm going to tackle this.

Speaker 2:

So lean on somebody like that, you know, and for me you were that person and I highly recommend it because then you don't feel as alone and you also have strategies to simplify the process, like we make it so complicated and we start with like the hardest thing and then we give up, you know, but you have the system in place in the course of like what to start with and how, and it was so doable, and I'm like, wow, this is actually working. I'm doing it. My gosh, this is fantastic. What's next? Like I wanted to like you know, I mean, my husband, bill was like what's gotten into you? And I'm like it's my client, you know, it's Caroline. I'm like it's fantastic, her stuff is great. But it really does make a difference having that, because then you don't have to figure it out on your own and just like piece it together by like. Occasionally watching a YouTube video like that, for me, has made all the difference oh, thank you.

Speaker 1:

That's really kind of you to say so. It's always fun when I have people that are as motivated as you were in the course, because there is the live element to it. So it means that everyone gets to meet up on the weekly and if you can't be there which very often you weren't masher you can catch up with the lives and on the replays and that's just really fun because then we can all hook up in the Facebook group and find out how everyone's getting on, which I think is really, really motivating. And talking of support and me supporting you, you obviously have supported me in my business journey. So before we finish, can you tell people, in case anyone's listening and they're like oh, I need support for my business, how can people find you and work with you? Masha?

Speaker 2:

So I would say, if you're listening to this podcast, you probably enjoy podcasts. So I have a podcast called Money Magnet Mama and if you're a business owner or entrepreneur or you just want to address some of your money blocks and self-worth issues, then come and check it out. I have a lot of content on there. That's a great place to start, and you can also find me on Instagram at Money Magnet Mama.

Speaker 1:

Fantastic. I will put the link to your podcast in the show notes. It's very funny because you're listening to my podcast and I drive to clients listening to your podcast, so it's like mutual appreciation society going on. It's quite fun. Masha, thank you so much for sharing your struggles and your wins and about your beautiful family. I have so appreciated talking to you today.

Speaker 2:

It's been so fun. Thank you for having me, and I'm excited to say that I am one of your success stories, as you are one of mine, which is so fun, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, masha. Well, I hope you enjoyed that conversation. As you could probably tell tell, we recorded that quite some time ago, in the summer, but as the doors to clutter free ever after are now wide open and I'm taking enrollments for the new course, I thought this might be a good time for you to hear how helpful masha had found clutter free ever after. So if you are interested in joining us for this round, you will find all the links to join in the show notes and I can't wait to support you there until next time. If you've enjoyed this episode, please send the link to a friend you know would appreciate it, subscribe and leave a review. I look forward to bringing you more organizing tips next time, but if you can't wait until then, you can go to my website or find me on instagram, at carothor, or on facebook at carolineorganizer. Thanks for listening and I look forward to guiding you on your journey to find your clutter free ever after.