Working through our distracting thoughts means that we have to deal with the distractions that we have in the physical sense. The ability for us to overcome these physical manifestations may be some of the many reasons why taking care of our physical belongings (or our possessions) can be challenging in many different ways. Taking control of your physical space can also help to take control of ideas that do not deserve to have space anymore in your changing mindset. The owner of Carlisle Home Organizers LLC, Erin MacNamara, provides a plethora of tips that will help anyone to overcome the sense of feeling overwhelmed with home organization, but provides context as to why starting early can have benefits not only to your ability to be organized, but will help you with achieving the best laid out goals that you ever had, simply by changing your living design.

Guest Bio

Erin is the owner and lead organizer at Carlise Home Organizers. She is passionate about helping her clients to relieve stress and anxiety from their daily life through decluttering their home and setting up systems for a more functional life. She also helps her clients to live to their full potential through her intentional life coaching program that she offers.

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Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs

Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

2

determination all converge into

an amazing, heartfelt experience.

3

This is Speaking From The Heart.

4

Joshua: Welcome back to episode

number 112 of Speaking from the Heart.

5

Today, I'm super excited to have

Erin McNamara, who I've known

6

for many years, on the show.

7

Erin is the owner and lead organizer

at Carlisle Home Organizers.

8

She's passionate about helping

her clients to relieve stress and

9

anxiety from their daily life through

decluttering their home and setting

10

up systems for a more functional life.

11

She also helps her clients to live

to their full potential through her

12

intentional life coaching program that

she offers, and I'm super excited to

13

be able to share her story, along with

the reason as to why she is involved

14

with helping with decluttering, and

even home organization for that matter,

15

because when we look at the bigger

pieces of the puzzle that we call our

16

lives, we have to understand that that

environment that we live in, especially

17

with all the people, all the things

that we have, can make such a big

18

difference in how successful we can be.

19

Whether we're able to push through that,

whether we have anxiety or shame about the

20

number of things that we have going on in

our lives, let alone even the different

21

things that we accumulate, makes such

a big difference in the functionality

22

and even the different opportunities

that we have to overcome them.

23

It's really about having that level of

accountability, which we talk about in our

24

interview today, but I love the fact that

there are people out there that not only

25

work on the things that are going on in

our lives mentally, but they also tackle

26

the things that are physically holding

us back, and I think you might be quite

27

surprised to hear some of what Erin has

to say about this overall journey when

28

it comes to not only functional design,

but also understanding that it's really

29

important to get through all the different

things that we've accumulated so that we

30

can live the best versions of ourselves.

31

But with that, let's go to the episode.

32

All right, we're here with Erin McNamara.

33

Erin!

34

Thanks for sharing your

heart with us today.

35

Erin: Hi, Josh.

36

How are you?

37

Joshua: I am doing well.

38

It's been quite a while, and full

disclosure for the audience, I known

39

Erin for over a couple of years now,

and it was really interesting because

40

of our interactions with a Toastmasters

program, which, for my listeners, you all

41

know about what Toastmasters is, and I

encourage you to check it out if you're

42

ever interested in networking and meeting

great people like Erin, so Erin, thank you

43

so much for being part of the show, and I

already let the audience know a little bit

44

about you, but really, my first question

for you is, what got you started with home

45

clearing or home decluttering, because

for some people, they're like, "No.

46

I don't want to do this whatsoever.

47

It's too much work.

48

It's an overwhelming process.",

so I'm curious what led you

49

into getting started with that.

50

Erin: It certainly is an overwhelming

process, and I think that's

51

what drove me to get started.

52

I actually never knew that

professional organizing was a thing.

53

When I got started, I just knew that

I was very overwhelmed in my home.

54

I have three kids and they

were pretty young at the time.

55

I started my business about five years ago

now, so I was just very overwhelmed with

56

the noise and clutter that children bring.

57

I wanted my home to be a place of peace

and it was more of a place of anxiety.

58

I enjoyed me and my kids' time out

of the house, more than I enjoyed our

59

time in the house, and whoever has,

kids of young ages, they know it's a

60

struggle just to get them out of the

house, so that's how I got started.

61

I realized that I was very triggered

by the noise in my home, and also

62

the clutter that my children brought.

63

Joshua: Is there a certain sort of

characteristics that you might say

64

empowers you to be able to do home

decluttering, or help others, because

65

I'm always fascinated by people

that are just organized in general.

66

They come in and like, "Oh, we'll make

this much better.", and then they do

67

their magic, and it does look much better.

68

Are there any sort of things that you

might empower yourself with, or you have

69

some sort of personality type that helps

you to be able to do those sort of things?

70

Erin: I think just knowing the changes

and the relief that I will bring

71

to people's lives is what really

is the driving force behind this.

72

I love getting to know my clients and even

on a more personal level, it always starts

73

out as the issue is too much clutter,

but as we're working through the clutter,

74

there's always kind of underlying things

that need to be worked through in order to

75

rid ourselves of the clutter, so really,

it's just knowing how much of an impact

76

this is going to have on their daily

lives is what's really the driving force.

77

Joshua: As somebody that owns a

business about decluttering, are

78

there things that you do to declutter?

79

Erin: Oh, always, and you

don't just go into your home,

80

declutter, and then walk away.

81

This is just like systems

that have to be maintained.

82

It's really almost a lifestyle

change, but, in other people's

83

homes, try to set up systems that

are easy for them to then maintain.

84

Joshua: What would you say is the

number one thing that causes a lot

85

of issues for people that you work

with when they solicit you for help?

86

Is it something about

the overwhelmingness?

87

Is it something about a particular

type of job that they have to

88

repetitively do and build a new habit?

89

Can you walk us through what a typical

client looks like in your world?

90

Erin: In the niche that I work in, most

of my clients are busy professionals,

91

and they're usually overwhelmed parents.

92

Usually, the mother is

the one that contacts me.

93

I think that the way we're living as

society now, usually we need two parents

94

working full time, and they come to me

overwhelmed because they've worked really

95

hard to build the lives that they are

living and taking a pause in the life

96

that they've created, they've been working

really hard, both in their professional

97

lives and in building their families, and

they get to the point where they've been

98

building so much, and they look around

and they're just completely overwhelmed

99

with the clutter in their house,

and everything that comes with that.

100

When you're adding kids to your

life, that's a huge transition time.

101

Your life changes entirely, and that's

usually what brings people to me

102

is the overwhelm, and just knowing

that they need to change things,

103

mostly for their mental health too.

104

It's hard day to day.

105

Joshua: Yeah.

106

It definitely, nowadays, especially with

the advent of technology, you think that

107

things are a lot simpler to do, but,

in all intensive purposes, it hasn't

108

changed the fact that there's still a

level of work, and it's funny because

109

I've had people that have talked about

some realms of artificial intelligence

110

and being able to exemplify that,

and I've had some monologue episodes

111

in which I've talked about that too,

that, yeah, it can be helpful, but

112

you got to use it responsibly too.

113

Erin: Right.

114

Joshua: But, with what you said about

having kids, which I'm going to take

115

your word for it, being that I'm single,

I have no kids, I totally respect the

116

fact that being a hardworking mom,

or all the moms and dads out there,

117

especially that have responsibilities

of parenting, kudos to you that have

118

to juggle all that, so I'm guessing

that you have all your stuff together.

119

You have a wonderful husband.

120

You have all these kids.

121

You got everything organized

in your life, right?

122

Erin: I've got it all together, Josh.

123

Joshua: You see; I knew it, and I'm

glad that we had you on the show now.

124

Erin: No.

125

Not at all.

126

Not at all.

127

Even looking around my home

right now, it's not ever always

128

picked up and organized and tidy.

129

That's just not realistic for

the lives that people live in.

130

Now, my things do have a home though, so

when things get cluttered and messy and

131

are all around the place, that's the key.

132

Yes, your home will still get messy,

but as long as everything has a place

133

where it belongs, that's the key.

134

It makes cleaning up much easier.

135

So, certainly don't have

it all together here.

136

Joshua: But that makes it really impactful

because, even as a coach myself, I don't

137

have everything together, and I certainly

have my vulnerable weak moments, which

138

you have seen, and you and I have talked

off and on about too, in some capacity,

139

and I think it's just really important

to acknowledge that although we are

140

authorities in these subjects, it doesn't

mean though that we don't have our

141

own problems and that we try to figure

it out and we come up with systems.

142

That's why we're trying

to help out others-

143

Erin: Yeah.

144

Joshua: For some of the

things that we've done too.

145

Erin: I think that's maybe why we are

working in the areas that we're working

146

in, because we've been through the

struggle, and we can understand, and I

147

think a lot of times, when people are

reaching out to me, there's a lot of

148

anxiety and shame and sometimes guilt

that comes with that, but, I've pretty

149

much seen it all at this point and I

really have a judgment free attitude.

150

I think it's the being vulnerable,

and people knowing that you're still

151

a human, and that you don't have it

all together all of the time, you can

152

be sympathetic with your clients and

understand where they're coming from.

153

Joshua: I think that's important,

especially for the fact that, first

154

off, we didn't even mention the name

of your business yet, which is Carlisle

155

Home Organizers, so you're in Carlisle,

Pennsylvania, right up down the road

156

from me, where my business is located

at, and I noticed the fact that you

157

have different packages for people going

from, well, if you only need me for

158

a day or, you know, this many hours,

that's okay, but if you're doing a big

159

move and you're trying to get everything

cleared out, like I'm ready to help you

160

with that, so walk me through a little

bit about how that would work if I

161

have you hired for a big move, and I'm

getting ready to just take everything

162

out and put it into a new place.

163

Is there some sort of stipulations

that you have with that?

164

What is it that you look for with

someone that is getting ready to do that?

165

Do you ask them to be

part of that process too?

166

Do you take care of everything, because

I feel like in organizing, you can

167

show people stuff, but you also want

those clients and those people to be

168

able to take some responsibility to

learn some new habits as well, so I'm

169

kind of curious how that would work.

170

Erin: Yeah, so as far as big moves

go, the earlier someone gets a

171

hold of me, the better I feel.

172

I have a client right now, who's

kind of in the ideal position.

173

This is an elderly client who is

downsizing and getting ready to move,

174

and her son actually reached out to me.

175

He lives out of state, and they

contacted me at the perfect time because

176

she's not moving until the summer,

and now we have all of this time.

177

She's lived in her home for a very long

time, and so it's going to take some time

178

to go through and declutter with her,

so it really also depends on the client.

179

She doesn't have a full time job anymore.

180

She's retired.

181

She's getting older.

182

She's preparing to downsize, so I

get to work a lot of times with her

183

one on one and we get to really work

through the process, because it can be

184

very mentally taxing for some people.

185

Other people, they're just like, "Hey.

186

I need this job done.

187

I don't have the time and energy to do

it.", so in that sense, we shift gears

188

and I categorize the items, and then

I just need them for small blitzes of

189

time, like 15 to 20 minutes, where we

go through and make quick decisions on

190

what's staying and what's going, but the

big key if you have a big move, is, as far

191

as decluttering, getting started as early

as you can in the decluttering process.

192

Joshua: Is there a checklist or something

that you walk clients through as it

193

comes to those sort of expectations?

194

I feel like you have to sometimes work

with people with different ways in which

195

they have in terms of not only the ways

their brain works, but also how they also

196

go about accomplishing those aspects.

197

I mean, for me, I feel like a

checklist would always be helpful to

198

make sure that I'm staying on track.

199

Erin: Checklists are super helpful, so

initially, we set up a 15 minute call;

200

15 to 20 minutes, and I kind of learn

about them, learn about their struggles,

201

learn about what their goals are, and

then as we're working together, I do

202

leave summaries at the end of our session

time, and I leave them homework and

203

goals for them to work through, and I

let them know what we worked on today,

204

what their goals are while I'm gone, if

they have the time to do that, and what

205

our goals are for the next session, so

that just keeps me on track too, because

206

I've got a lot of different projects

going at the same time, but it also

207

keeps them on track in their project.

208

Joshua: Can you tell us about one of your

most successful clients that you've had-

209

Erin: Oh wow.

210

Joshua: And to stipulate this question,

I'm looking for maybe somebody

211

realized what they were doing wrong.

212

They may have been resistant to begin

with, but they turned kind of 180.

213

It doesn't have to necessarily fit

that model, but I'm just curious

214

if you've ever had somebody quite

like that, or something similar.

215

Erin: Yeah.

216

Most of my clients are actually like that.

217

They're hesitant to let go of things,

and then, throughout the process, I'm

218

always kind of waiting for that shift

to happen, and they almost get annoyed

219

with themselves, because this is an

investment when someone hires me.

220

They're investing their time,

their money, their energy.

221

They're really taking that step to change

their life, so when they do that, they

222

kind of get annoyed with themselves.

223

They realize they need to make a switch,

and I love watching that transformation

224

kind of happen going from them holding

on to things, and then that switch

225

happens where they're just like, "Okay.

226

I'm tired of holding on to things.

227

I know what my end result and what

my goal needs to be.", and that's

228

a big thing that I focus on too.

229

What's the goal for your space?

230

What's the goal for your new home?

231

Do you see this helping you in your

new life, so, probably the biggest

232

transformation that I've had though, a

lot of times people ask me if I worked

233

with hoarders, that's like one of the

key questions that I get, and I feel

234

like using the term hoarder I don't

like to use that term a lot because

235

it's pretty serious term, and I can't

really diagnose somebody as a hoarder.

236

I can certainly see hoarding tendencies

and when people need a little

237

extra help working through things.

238

Now, people that are true hoarders, should

also be working alongside a therapist,

239

because there's a lot of trauma that can

come with letting things go and hoarding

240

is usually triggered by traumas, so-

241

Joshua: I have to say there's a stigma

with that too with that word, so I took-

242

Erin: Yes.

243

Absolutely.

244

It's like when people use the term,

like OCD, or something, and they use

245

it a little bit too nonchalantly,

and it's a true condition just like

246

anything that I don't want to use the

word hoarder as something nonchalant.

247

It's something serious and it takes

a lot to work through, so anyway,

248

back to biggest transformations.

249

I think I worked in a home.

250

The hoarder had passed away and his

wife contacted me to work through their

251

clutter, so I think overall, that was

probably the biggest transformation,

252

even just in their lives, and seeing the

ways that their family was affected by

253

the hoarding, and then also visually,

just the transformation of their

254

home once we got through everything.

255

The person that passed away, we

transformed their office into their

256

son's bedroom, and so it was really

amazing to go from a room, quite

257

literally packed from the floor to

the ceiling with things, and they

258

updated the floor, updated the paint.

259

It was a completely different

room, so that was probably

260

the biggest transformation.

261

Joshua: I don't think many people realize

that when you are going through a process

262

like this, it isn't just about what

you, individually, have in terms of a

263

change, like you said, the number of

different people that are impacted by it.

264

Erin: Mmhmm.

265

Joshua: And thinking of that same

example, do you think that kids even

266

have an impact on what they could do

too when it comes to being able to be

267

organized, being able to be efficient

so that they can help their parents

268

out with some of the things, because-

269

Erin: Absolutely.

270

Joshua: And the reason I bring it

up is I noticed on your website,

271

you have something for kids too-

272

Erin: Yeah I do.

273

Joshua: I was wondering if

you could talk about that.

274

Erin: Yeah.

275

I love working with kids.

276

I feel like setting the expectation

in your home is really a key in your

277

kids being successful in their rooms.

278

Now, just because you have a whole

organized home and you try to have

279

systems and maintain things doesn't

mean your kids going to just follow

280

suit and be this little organized robot.

281

That's amazing, but that's

not how it always works.

282

Joshua: Yeah.

283

We don't have robot kids around the house.

284

It's okay.

285

I mean, one day, 30, 40 years in the

future, I think that will be coming.

286

I mean, we already have those

Roombas that come around the house.

287

Erin: Those will be our children.

288

Joshua: It's coming, Erin.

289

Erin: So anyway, giving your kids the

expectation as the full home is always

290

good, but I love working with kids

one-on-one individually, and having them

291

really take ownership for their space,

and really focusing on what they want

292

their room to be; what they want either

their toy room or their bedroom; their

293

own personal space, so I think that's

what is important mostly to focus on

294

with kids, and it really puts them, when

I'm working with kids, I kind of make

295

it so that they feel like they're in

charge because a lot of times kids, they

296

hear, "Oh, this organizer is coming."

297

They have a lot of fear with that.

298

They don't want me to just walk in and

throw away their things, and there's a

299

level of respect that I need to show up

with them, because this is their room.

300

This is their space, and I try to

make that clear from the beginning.

301

I'm here to help you be organized,

and make your room whatever

302

you want to make your room.

303

Just making them feel responsible

and in charge, and then that really

304

leads to later on in their life.

305

It really gives them the tools

to keep their spaces maintained.

306

Joshua: Do you find that kids are a

lot more receptive than adults to being

307

able to do change, or is it vice versa,

because I feel like there's always

308

this traditional thinking of, "Well.

309

The kids trying to do something like this

and try to be organized,, or try to be

310

efficient or whatever the case might be?

311

Hogwash!

312

I have to force them to do that.,

but I have this feeling from

313

what you just shared that you

have a different experience.

314

Erin: Absolutely.

315

I feel like 100 percent

kids are more receptive.

316

Their minds are so young and still

developing and they're so much more

317

accepting to different things, so even

in school, like now it's their time

318

when they're learning and absorbing

so much, and they don't have all of

319

the, I guess you could say traumas.

320

Growing up, we all go through all of these

different things that may make us more

321

resistant to letting things go, but kids,

as long as you focus on the positives,

322

I feel like they're much more receptive

to letting things go, and sometimes, at

323

the beginning, they're really hesitant.

324

They're really nervous.

325

They don't know what this is going

to look like, but when you show up

326

with a positive mindset, it kind of

helps them shift, and yeah, they get

327

rid of a lot more than you'd expect.

328

Joshua: Can you give an example

of what you just said, like

329

can you give us a kid that-

330

Erin: And you know this person.

331

I don't want to-

332

Joshua: No.

333

She's listening now.

334

Hey.

335

Thanks so much friend, I won't mention

your name, but you're now on the podcast.

336

Erin: Yeah.

337

I don't want to mention their name,

but I do like an intake form, and I

338

had this form, and it was for the kids

to fill out, and it was hilarious.

339

I think it was their oldest daughter.

340

She was so resistant to me being in her

space and getting rid of her things.

341

She just was not into it, and the

answers to her questions were hilarious.

342

I'm going to have to, after this

call, go back and pull that up,

343

because it was just so funny.

344

It'd be a funny reminder.

345

That was probably two

years ago now almost.

346

It was so, so funny.

347

She did not want me there though, but by

the end of it; yeah, we had a great time.

348

I even showed her how to

use her sewing machine.

349

Joshua: That's almost like

a home ec sort of lesson.

350

Erin: Yeah!

351

Joshua: You would think like, "Wait.

352

Home organizer, teaching

sewing to a child?"

353

Erin: It did turn into a little bit

off topic, but since I was there, and I

354

know how to sew and she needed some help

getting her sewing machine set up, so

355

when we were done getting her room all

organized, I took the time and showed

356

her how to do that, so that was one of

the key areas of her room was her desk

357

space and having a space to do sewing.

358

Joshua: Erin, I feel that sometimes

just getting started with something

359

like this, people are thinking, "Man,

this is really expensive.", or, "Man.

360

This is a lot of motivation that I have

to pull in in order for this to happen.",

361

and I figure that we have sort of the

same line of work when it comes to that,

362

because I have clients that sometimes

they look at what I'm offering, and then

363

they look at the bottom line of how much

it will cost, and they go, "Whoa, Josh.

364

There's no way I can afford this.

365

There's got to be a better way to

handle this and I can do it on my own."

366

Erin: Mmhmm.

367

Joshua: Even with all these things,

and all these offerings that you have.

368

We're in this spring season and we

often hear of spring clinging, right,

369

so what would you recommend as maybe

some basic tips that some people can

370

do if they don't have the money, or

the resources, or the motivation, to

371

necessarily hire somebody like yourself?

372

What are some just basic tips that

you could help encourage somebody

373

to start with this sort of process,

and maybe after they go through that

374

process, they do decide to hire you?

375

Erin: Yeah.

376

Absolutely, so a lot of the key

areas that people struggle with

377

typically are kitchen, the normal

routines of cleaning your home.

378

The less you have, the less you have to

do is what I like to focus on, so really

379

decluttering, so kitchen is one area and

that's usually an area where you don't

380

have a lot of attachment to things, and

it's going to make a pretty big impact

381

when you are purging and decluttering.

382

You'll have a lot less clutter on

your countertops, a lot less dishes to

383

do, and pots and pans and things that

you just stuff at the back of your

384

cabinets that you don't really grab

often, so that's a good place to start.

385

Another place that people struggle

with a lot is laundry, and there

386

are some people that have a lot of

attachments to laundry, so maybe

387

even starting with your kids' laundry

instead of your own personal clothes.

388

People get so overwhelmed

and it is overwhelming.

389

There's constantly laundry to do.

390

There's laundry in baskets, laundry

in the washer, laundry in the dryer.

391

Especially when you have kids, it's

one of those key areas that gets very

392

overwhelming, so the less laundry

you have, the less laundry you have

393

to do, and I'm not talking about

becoming some super heroic minimalist

394

that's got five pairs of pants or

something, unless you want to do that.

395

Some people do that and that's great

for them, but really honing in on what

396

your lifestyle is, just making those

systems more manageable, so start

397

off with areas that you aren't super

attached to, and will maybe give you

398

the best transformation in the shortest

amount of time, so that will really

399

kind of give you a hit of dopamine.

400

You're like, "Ooh, look at these

changes that are happening.

401

I'm really changing my life.",

and that'll kind of propel you to

402

the different areas of your home.

403

Joshua: When you speak about propelling

people, and even helping others to

404

even focus or concentrate on one area,

I imagine that for some people, even

405

just taking that first baby step, or

even that first incurrence of that

406

thought in their mind that I'm going to

do something radically different in my

407

life for the first time, and it could be

just as small as organizing their house.

408

What would you say to someone that

might feel a little bit overwhelmed?

409

You and I have spoken very openly in

a variety of different forms about our

410

anxiety, sometimes, when it comes to

even what we've personally endured.

411

I have this feeling that you have this

message that you could share with people

412

about what you have been able to overcome,

because of not only helping others to

413

see what they can do to start getting

some of that life that they always

414

desired back in their home, but I feel

like maybe you have something that you

415

could share with some of our listeners

that might be impactful in what you've

416

been able to accomplish with that.

417

I'm wondering if you could share not

only some of the things that you have

418

overcome as a result of opening this

business, because, first off, women

419

owned businesses are on the rise, which

is an incredible thing in itself, so I

420

commend you for being one of those women

champions, and I know that you have a

421

great circle from what I've seen from

afar, of the different people that have

422

influenced you, so I was wondering if you

want to speak for a few moments to those

423

people out there that might be listening

and saying, "I don't know what to do.

424

I hear what Erin is saying, but

I just don't feel like I got

425

it in myself, because I got too

much depression, or anxiety, or

426

any sort of other circumstance."

427

Erin: I feel like so many people have

dealt with depression and anxiety.

428

I know that it's something

that I've struggled with

429

even after I changed my life.

430

You don't just change your life and

then suddenly you're living on the other

431

side in some magical place filled with

rainbows and whatever's magical for you.

432

Joshua: Yeah.

433

There's some kind of magic.

434

I don't know if it's about

rainbows and unicorns.

435

That's for sure.

436

Yeah.

437

I'm looking for them Erin.

438

Erin: So yeah, it's just, I feel like the

key for me was really figuring out what

439

I wanted for my life and living a more

intentional life, and so, even now in my

440

business, I'm kind of making a shift to

helping people live more intentional lives

441

at their core and at their center; getting

to the root of what you want your life to

442

look like, and really, that's what I was

doing when I got started in all of this.

443

When I even was just decluttering my

own home and getting organized, and I

444

don't think that I truly realized what

I was doing at the time, but I knew that

445

the life that I was living wasn't the

life that I thought I would be living,

446

or the life that I wanted to be living.

447

I was just so overwhelmed and filled

with anxiety, and I kind of focused

448

on what I wanted my life to look like.

449

There's a lyric from a song

that goes, oh, it's Vacation.

450

I can't remember who sings it, but if you

don't like your life, then you should go

451

and change it, and that was one of the

songs that really hits home and I think

452

that just looking at your life and getting

really serious, and digging into what you

453

want from your life, and where you want

your life to go, and then backing up and

454

seeing the steps and the smaller goals

that you need to accomplish in order to

455

get to that life is really the key to

all of it, and a lot of times, it starts

456

in your home, but then what can you do

after you free up all of that space in

457

your home; all of that time it takes up?

458

Joshua: That's so deep because-

459

Erin: It is.

460

Joshua: Because for me, it is

about taking those small steps

461

and then you start to see, "Oh.

462

There's actually more small steps I have

to take because I cleared this out.",

463

and then there's a little bit more-

464

Erin: And that can be overwhelming.

465

Joshua: Yeah.

466

Yeah, and even with that being

overwhelming, you start to see that

467

you have that empowerment, that

prospect of actually doing something

468

and making that change that's

systemic for the bigger picture-

469

Erin: Right-

470

Joshua: So it's not just the

small, but also the big things.

471

Erin: All of those small

things lead to a lot of change.

472

Joshua: Yeah, no, that's pretty profound,

and I definitely know that you're

473

working towards that as somebody that

is a life coach that really works more

474

on the side of goal setting and holding

accountability and trying to find new

475

patterns in life, you're working on that

from a completely different angle, and

476

I always appreciate those individuals

that are trying to break through and get

477

those people that desperate attention

that they need to be able to address that,

478

so kudos to you to be able to do that.

479

Erin, I want to leave here with

giving the audience an opportunity

480

to hear a little bit about where

they can contact you, where they

481

can find you if you have a website.

482

I would love to also let people know

too, where they could even find out if

483

they want to hire you, for all intensive

purposes, so I'm going to give you the

484

last few minutes to go ahead and share

all that information with our listeners.

485

Erin: Yeah, absolutely, so I'm

based out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

486

I typically work within a

30 minute radius of here.

487

I'll go a little bit further if necessary.

488

You can find my website at

carlislehomeorganizers.com.

489

I also have a Facebook page called

Carlisle Home Organizers LLC, and

490

then we also have a Facebook group.

491

It's Carlisle Home Organizers

VIP, so we get a little bit more

492

intimate and personal in that group.

493

We have a fun time and kind of

share our struggles, so yeah, those

494

are the platforms you can find me.

495

I'm also on Instagram at Carlisle

Home Organizers, but those are the key

496

social media areas I like to stick in.

497

Joshua: Awesome.

498

All that will be in the episode notes for

any of my listeners that want to go and

499

check out Erin's websites and even her

social media, but Erin, I want to leave

500

the audience with this because I want you

to hear this too, because I think that

501

sometimes we overblow this, "Oh my gosh.

502

We have to make this big profound

change in our lives.", and we often

503

exacerbate what that sort of outcome

is, so we kind of psych ourselves up,

504

and then we don't want to do it because

we psych ourselves up way too much.

505

Erin: Mmhmm.

506

Joshua: But what I like about you,

and what I like about your industry

507

and what you do, is that you break

it down into small little bite sized

508

pieces and you do it for the kids,

too, so that you get in with them

509

early, so they're building good habits.

510

That is so unique and so distinguishable,

and I think that's so important for

511

anybody listening today to really affirm

that they don't have to take these big

512

strides to go and make a difference.

513

It could just be happening right there

in their homes, and it sounds like to

514

me, Erin, that you enjoy not only doing

what you're doing, but also helping those

515

small people that definitely need that.

516

That have that big heart to

be able to do something if

517

they just had the right tools.

518

I think you bring those tools for them,

so for all those reasons, Erin, thanks so

519

much for being on Speaking From The Heart.

520

It was really a privilege to have you.

521

You're one of those people that I

was hoping to get on sooner, but we

522

got you on and I'm really happy that

we got the chance to talk today.

523

Erin: Yeah, me too.

524

Thank you, Josh.

525

Joshua: I want to thank Erin so much

again for being part of the show.

526

Another local business owner here, close

to me, right in my backyard here in

527

Carlisle, and I'm super happy for her

of everything that she's been achieving.

528

I ran into her a few months later after

we did this interview, and she's been

529

absolutely rocking it for everything that

it's worth, so for Erin, I really am proud

530

of you and how far you've come and what

you continue to do, entering into even

531

the coaching business yourself, helping

other people find that manifest destiny,

532

working through all the decluttering,

all the material possessions that they

533

have, and also figuring out what it means

to keep moving forward, but I think that

534

that's the problem that we often have

to face is that we are so overwhelmed

535

when we live in a house, or we live in

an apartment, or wherever we might live,

536

we need to find a safe environment.

537

It's a place that which we can go home

and hang her hat, which we had Alyssa

538

from many episodes ago talk about this

with even her ability from a different

539

place at a different time, being able

to work on herself and what she has in

540

her business, but yet I have to look at

what this going on here and what Erin

541

is sharing today, because really she

asked an important question: Are you

542

too busy to do everything by yourself?

543

If you need that help, you

need to get that help and

544

you need to ask for it today.

545

I think we get so wrapped up in

today's society about wanting to

546

do it ourselves, and yet we keep

saying that we're going to get to it.

547

We're going to get to it.

548

We're going to get to it, but

we never get to it, so we need

549

to get other people involved.

550

If we really want to get it done

in a fast manner that's efficient

551

and also creative, we need to

hire people to be able to do that.

552

We need to work through those different

pauses that we have in our lives

553

so that we know that we can make

it to the other side, and I know

554

that that is the hardest thing that

you could ever do, is ask for help.

555

Even if it means decluttering your own

house, which, for me, I have had to go

556

through that so many times growing up.

557

My mom had so many different types of

things in the house, let alone in the

558

barn, because I grew up on a farm and had

so many other things stored in not only

559

the places that I normally don't think

that we have places that we store things

560

at, but yet, I look at all the things

that I have, what I've had to remove.

561

Is it really necessary for me

to have in the first place?

562

We have to ask the question, even in our

own lives: Does this give space to what

563

we really need to have in our lives?

564

Do we really need to have what

we're looking at right now?

565

Stop giving things rent for

free, because let's face it.

566

Not only is it the things that we've

talked about in today's interview,

567

but it's also about the ideas, the

concepts, the thoughts that inhibit

568

us from being able to move forward.

569

Those are the things that

we also need to declutter.

570

But then you look at it from

a whole other perspective.

571

Do you have any anxiety?

572

Do you have shame?

573

Can you be vulnerable letting somebody

else in your own house, seeing what you

574

have accumulated, whether that is in the

physical sense, or even the mental sense?

575

Some people, when they see the

overwhelming mess that's involved

576

in trying to solve those problems,

might walk away, but not Erin, and

577

you have to remember that it's not

about what you might have going on,

578

and what people might think about

you when they see all this stuff.

579

It's okay to be open to know and

accept that you have a problem.

580

That's the very first step, and there is

a right way to do it, and unfortunately,

581

and I've seen all too often, there is

a wrong way to do it, and the wrong

582

way has always been when people don't

understand why people hoard, why

583

they clutter their houses, why they

have so many material possessions,

584

but even then, why they hold on to

certain thoughts, feelings, attitudes,

585

all come from the fact that we might

have never been able to resolve them.

586

As we even talked about in episode

110 with Harris Eddie Hill,

587

sometimes it involves even trauma,

and trauma in itself, you have to

588

be very careful in what you handle.

589

It is something that is so

valuable to somebody, because

590

they have put that value into it.

591

This is no different in today's

interview about what we put

592

into the physical things.

593

We hold on to those physical things

because they have some significant value

594

as to the reason why we even hold on to

them is a whole other conversation for

595

another day, but when you think about

the fact that these people, these things

596

that they hold on to, are really the

livelihood that they have, and they think

597

that's the only thing they have left,

there's something that is definitely

598

happening, but you need to give it

respect, and I think that's what Erin

599

was really trying to share with us today,

about the matter of which we need to be

600

respectful in a professional sense, even

if it is on a personal level, we need

601

to be professional about why they're

holding onto it in the first place.

602

Being able to work through all those

things, all those different areas,

603

whatever those obstacles are in the

first place, can be so overwhelming,

604

but we need to break them down.

605

We need to come up with a plan.

606

That's what I've always been doing

with my clients, and that's what

607

Erin does with her clients as well.

608

It's truly evident.

609

The things that we're able to

break down so that we can make

610

them into bite sized pieces.

611

We do not go into a problem thinking that

we can resolve everything all in one day.

612

Sure, to be truly efficient, you want to

be able to resolve things in a relatively

613

quick fashion, and maybe even in the

physical sense, you might want to be able

614

to work through those problems in a quick

manner that's not only cost effective,

615

but also involves all the people to make

it relatively painless, but you have to

616

understand that that's only one side of

figuring out how to best move forward.

617

Getting rid of the clutter

doesn't always mean, though, that

618

you have to just get rid of it.

619

It means also instilling new practices.

620

new abilities to be accountable, to

make sure that you never hoard again,

621

you have to be able to understand why

it was hoarding in the first place.

622

You have to find ways in which your

transformation doesn't just come from

623

others, but it comes from inside yourself.

624

That means you have to learn, in a

bigger sense, how to be able to learn

625

new ways, new patterns, new thoughts

about the ways in which you've been

626

holding on, not just to the material

possessions, but also the things that you

627

might be holding on inside of yourself.

628

The one thing that really struck me, and I

think really gets to the core of why many

629

people continue to work on themselves, and

especially for the important aspects of

630

maybe they want to overcome their hoarding

or their organizational issues, is about

631

the kids, and I love the fact that Erin

even talked about taking ownership with

632

your kids of what they want to have

and what they don't want to have, and

633

that you should never underestimate the

power of what kids can contribute to

634

the overall problem, which in itself,

flips on its head a lot of different

635

things that we've talked about in this

show about personal responsibility.

636

Looking at your past and seeing what

might be happening with not only

637

the individuals that you associate

with, but also the children that

638

we identify inside of ourselves.

639

What kind of situation are you giving

yourself grace in every time that

640

you see your kids suffering, maybe

even struggling, with the lack of

641

organizational skills that you have?

642

Are you going to take responsibility

to allow your kids to be able to work

643

through these things that might be going

on in their lives, or are you going to

644

just keep on muddling through, thinking

that it's going to resolve itself, which

645

I've had plenty of clients have that

situation, but yet, when I pointed out to

646

them about the sheer power of potential

that they have inside themselves to

647

be able to work through it, it makes

such a big difference in the long run.

648

What room are you going to work on first?

649

That's really what I

want to leave this at.

650

What are you going to address first

that will help to motivate you,

651

to keep pushing you, to the right

direction that you need to go in?

652

You have to figure out what is really

intentional with not just your life, and

653

what you want to get control of again,

but also on the other side of it, that

654

sometimes, the things that we might even

organize, maybe we even put to bed, might

655

come back, and we need to figure out why

it came back and reared its ugly head.

656

I know that in our environment, it can

be so difficult for us to organize,

657

to feel like we have control of the

situation, to feel like we are able to

658

seek help, but I'm telling you, from

the bottom of my heart, help can always

659

give you that second chance, or maybe

even that third chance, or whatever

660

chance it might be, to keep working on

yourself in a direction that you might

661

have never thought you could ever go.

662

You have that control.

663

It's just a matter of realizing and

waking up of what it is that might

664

be holding you back, and I know

that can be easier said than done.

665

Throwing away things that you really

cherish can be the most difficult thing

666

you've ever done, but I have to say

that when you have people like Erin, and

667

people like me, that will be there to

back you up, just know that it's okay

668

to cry a little, to grieve a little bit

about what you've been through, to be

669

able to know that despite the fact that

you had to let go of something that

670

was really truly valuable, it's okay to

shed a little bit of emotion about it.

671

I don't know how much you might have

holding on inside your heart, or even

672

in your house for that matter, but

whether we're looking at your house

673

from the perspective of your castle,

which in a future episode, we're going

674

to talk about castles, which will be

an interesting topic in itself, but

675

yet, when you're working through your

castle, and you're working through the

676

living situation that you're in, don't

you deserve a little bit of grace?

677

A little bit of opportunity to be

happy, but even more importantly, to

678

be able to estimate the true potential

that you have inside of yourself,

679

because you're doing it not just for

yourself, but maybe you're doing it

680

for your kids, your family members, or

somebody that you really love the most.

681

You need to let go of whatever it is that

might be holding you back, but it doesn't

682

mean that you can do it by yourself.

683

With the right organization, with the

right possibilities to throw out the

684

things that you don't need, and being

able to figure out what it is that

685

you can expect with a best laid out

plan, you're going to be successful.

686

You're going to be able to take on

things that you never thought you

687

could ever do, and oh yeah, maybe

you'll finally let go of some of those

688

old treasures that you might have;

maybe they weren't treasures at all.

689

Maybe they were the broken pieces of

furniture, appliances, maybe other

690

knick knacks that you no longer needed,

and you were just holding on to them,

691

thinking that you did need them.

692

When you start to let go, that means

you're starting to live once again.

693

Thanks for listening to episode

number 112 of Speaking From the

694

Heart, and I look forward to

hearing from your heart very soon.

695

Outro: Thanks for listening.

696

For more information about our podcast

and future shows, search for Speaking From

697

The Heart to subscribe and be notified

wherever you listen to your podcasts.

698

Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz

for more information about potential

699

services that can help you create

the best version of yourself.

700

See you next time.