[00:00:00] Right now your home might be a total mess. Full of toys on the floor, papers piled on the counters, laundry piled up in the corner, and who knows what shoved in your closets. Well take a deep breath and don't let this overwhelm you because when you follow a specific plan of action, you can take charge of your home. One step at a time.
We have to start somewhere, right? And that's exactly why I'm here, to help you navigate your entire home so you can get it working for you. In this first episode, I'm sharing my story of how I turned around my chaotic home, learned how to live with less, and found some peace of mind in the midst of motherhood after losing my own mother and being diagnosed with a chronic illness.
Hey there guys. This is Nicole from the maximizing mama and your listening to the take charge of your home show [00:01:00] on this podcast, I share a realistic tips to help you clear your clutter, get organized and take charge of your home so you can have more time with your kids and more time for yourself.
Hi, everyone. And welcome to the take charge of your home show. I am so, so excited to be in this space with you. And I'm truly honored to be a part of your decluttering journey. And I can't wait to get started. Today, I'm going to give you a little teaser about what you can expect from this show. And why I have decided to add another venture to the Maximizing Momma brand.
But before we dive in, I want to give you the opportunity to get to know me a little bit better. So for those that don't know me my name is Nicole, otherwise known as the Maximzing Momma.
Six years ago in 2016, I had just had my fourth child a month after my mom passed away. And a year later. I was diagnosed with a [00:02:00] chronic illness called Lymphedema that causes my legs and my hands to swell. Because of everything that happened in such a short period of time, my home wasn't shambles.
I had pretty much delayed, grieving over my late mother while my youngest child was still a newborn. And in doing so, I kind of covered up my grief by shopping. I had never really been much of a shopper before. But within a year, we had acquired an unusual amount of stuff. We had a crap load of stuff because we had three kids under five.
And my shopping was causing our clutter to increase rapidly. But I was also having a really hard time managing my household with four kids. I went to the grocery store three to four times a week. We were going to the drive-thru four plus times a week. And I later learned that we were spending a thousand dollars a month on fast food.
I was late everywhere. I went, if I even remembered to show up at [00:03:00] all. And every single night, I found myself counting down the hours until bedtime and begging my kids to calm down just so I could have some time to myself and a little bit of quiet. I was a hot mess and I hated it. I was overwhelmed and unhappy and always snapping at my kids.
But I knew that I couldn't live like that for long. So I started searching for solutions. And since society teaches us that getting organized is the end all be all solution, that's what I did. So I spent months organizing every area of my home and developing routines to help me stay on top of the everyday messes.
But then in 2018, my husband lost his job and we decided to downsize into my late mother's home that I had inherited. The problem was that moving into my late mother's house also meant that we were combining all of our [00:04:00] family's things with my late mother's things, as well as all of my childhood things that I had chosen to hold on to for my entire life.
So after we got moved in, that's when I learned that we had way too much stuff. And that getting organized wasn't going to help at all. So I scratched everything that I had taught myself about organizing and managing a household. And I went all in on decluttering. It took me a couple of years to figure it out.
But now I have decluttered over half the stuff that we owned. And my life is so much more peaceful. I have time every night and weekend to make memories with my family and actually enjoy these precious years. Instead of struggling to get out the door, looking for lost shoes and keys, and wondering what to make for dinner, for the first time since becoming a mom, I feel like I'm finally in charge of my life.
[00:05:00] Now I still do have my moments where my house gets out of control. Just this past year in February of 2022, I sank into a deep depression for a couple of months and avoided all of my household tasks. But the thing is it doesn't stay that way. My house doesn't stay messy and out of control. And that's what's most important to me as I spend the next 10 to 12 years raising responsible human beings.
So in 2019, I started blogging about my journey with decluttering and maximizing my time at home. But to my surprise, the Maximizing Momma grew into so much more than just a blog. It grew into a community of thousands of women who are ready to take charge of their homes one step at a time.
Now, eventually I stopped blogging, but then I found myself longing for another way to share long form [00:06:00] content. And that's pretty much what led me here today to starting this podcast.
Now you may be surprised to learn that I am not a minimalist. As a matter of fact, I like to call myself a maximalist, which is a design term that's used to describe the fact that more is more. I spent my entire life, always wanting more, like more posters on my wall as a teenager, more sentimental items to remember my past, and even more DVDs to choose from.
So my decluttering journey has really been one of learning how to live with less after a life of always wanting more. And I am so passionate about teaching others how to declutter their homes without becoming a minimalist.
Now I was an only child raised by a single woman who worked most nights. So when I started my own family [00:07:00] and became outnumbered by kids, it was like a shock to see how drastically different my home function compared to how my childhood home functioned. And in the six years, since my journey first began, I have learned that millions of women are also struggling with their homes. Because managing a household is not an easy task, is it? I mean, we typically take one year of home economics, but aside from that, they don't teach us how to manage our homes in school. And unless you had June Cleaver for a mother, there's a pretty good chance that you're here with me now because managing your household feels a bit overwhelming. Maybe you were also outnumbered by kids. Or maybe you were never taught how to declutter, because most of us worked. But that's a topic for another day.
So what's my goal with this show? Well [00:08:00] for now, I want to bring you interesting solo episodes, where I share tips and tricks to make your home life easier, better and more peaceful. We're going to be talking about the ins and outs of decluttering, how to get organized, what it's like to be a mom of four with a chronic illness, and what to do when your house is a total disaster.
And I really want to push the limits. I want to talk about things that may be a little sensitive, like letting go of decades, worth of clutter and releasing the things that are holding you back in life. So get ready to dive in as I have some incredible episodes coming that will help you get started with your decluttering journey as soon as possible.
As we approach the end of the year, I will have a handful of episodes released that will help you declutter like a boss when your entire house is a mess. I think that my kids are going to be home for three weeks, from November to December. [00:09:00] But starting in 2023, I will be releasing one episode each week.
Make sure to subscribe to the take charge of your home show so you don't miss a thing. I can't wait to go on this journey with you and help you create a home life that you truly love. Thanks for listening and thank you for trusting me to be a part of your journey to a more peaceful home. Now, go ahead and check out episode one, where I'm diving deep into the three types of clutter and which one you should start with.
This is the first step to taking charge of your home because as you'll learn not all messes are the same. Thank you so much for being a part of this show, I'll chat with you soon
Thanks again for listening to the Take Charge of Your Home Show. As I get this podcast off the ground, I'd love it if you could take two minutes out of your day [00:10:00] to write up a review for this show because it helps me reach more women like you. And don't forget to check out all the links and resources in the show notes.
Or you can follow me on Instagram and TikTok at the Maximizing Momma.
