Mica has five kids, a full-time job, and a refrigerator that never seems to stay organized.

She's constantly shopping, cooking, putting food away, and trying to keep up with a fridge that's being used by seven different people. And no matter how hard she tries, food keeps getting lost, things go bad, and the whole process feels overwhelming.

So we're going to pull everything out, figure out what she actually has, and create some systems that make the fridge easier for the whole family to use.

But as we start digging into the food, we discover that a full refrigerator means a lot more to Mica than simply having enough to eat.

We talk about her childhood experiences with food, why an overflowing fridge can feel comforting and overwhelming at the same time, and what happens when you're so busy taking care of everyone else that you forget to include yourself.

And, of course, we get into the practical stuff too…categories, bins, labels, and what to do when the organizing systems you've created start feeling a little too restrictive.

By the end of our session, Mica has a fridge that feels calmer, a better understanding of why this space has been so challenging, and a new idea for making sure she's one of the people being taken care of.

Because with five kids to feed, there's always room for one more person at the table. Especially when that person is you.

Resources mentioned:

• Why the F#@ Am I Still Not Organized? (free download): https://starhansen.com/podcast/

Have you ever organized a space… only to be left with one random pile of stuff you have absolutely no idea what to do with?

That’s where Sarah is stuck.

After making amazing progress on a hallway closet that had collected years of clutter, she’s left with the final 1%: gift cards, spare keys, buttons, shells, memorabilia, mystery objects, and all those little things that don’t have an obvious home.

And this is the part where Sarah says she always fails.

In this organizing session, we work through that last pile together, and discover that finishing isn’t just about making a few more decisions.

Some things need a home. Some need a system. Some are waiting for a project that may or may not ever happen. And some are tangled up with memories, old wounds, and beliefs about what we’re supposed to save and pass on to the people we love.

Along the way, Sarah realizes why she’s had such a hard time getting to the end of her organizing projects, and practices something she says she’s never really done before: finishing 100% of her organizing project.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why the last 1% of clutter can be harder than the first 99%
• How starting with the easiest decisions can build momentum
• Using short time limits to make overwhelming projects feel doable
• Why objects without homes often point to systems we haven’t created yet
• How body doubling can help us stay with uncomfortable tasks
• How family patterns and past experiences can affect what we’re willing to let go of
• How to handle those truly mysterious leftover items
• Why putting everything away is part of organizing and not something to leave for later

Sarah begins this session believing, “This is the part where I fail.”

But she ends it with an empty floor, and the realization that she didn’t give up, even when she desperately wanted to.

Watch the extended session

Want to see more of the actual organizing process? There’s also an extended, hour-long video version of my session with Sarah on YouTube.

WATCH THE EXTENDED VIDEO → https://youtu.be/oVghlTAoluc

Ready to make space in your own life?

· Download a free copy of my book, Why the F#@ Am I Still Not Organized?, and find more resources, classes, and ways to work with me at www.StarHansen.com/podcast.

Join the Chaos to Calm Organizing Community at www.starhansen.com/community

Lanie has a storage room that’s trying to do a lot.

It holds household overflow, things to sell, art supplies, and all the stuff that doesn’t quite have another place to go. But Lanie wants it to be more than storage. She dreams of creating a space where she can work, make art, and reconnect with a creative side of herself that’s starting to return after becoming a mom.

The problem? Just walking into the room feels overwhelming.

So, we start small.

In this episode, Lanie and I figure out what she actually wants from the space, tackle a few surprisingly complicated categories, and use a strategy I call triage to make progress without having to organize everything at once.

Along the way, we talk about ADHD, why one “simple” organizing project can actually be dozens of smaller projects, the value of a good maybe box, and why sometimes 70% is more than enough.

And as we keep working together, we begin to learn something neither of us expected when we started.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

• What to do when a room feels too overwhelming to start
• How to triage a cluttered space before organizing it
• Why “no new projects” can be a helpful organizing rule
• Making decisions when getting rid of something isn’t so simple
• Why 70% accuracy can be enough to make real progress
• ADHD, time, energy, and the hidden work inside organizing
• Knowing when to rethink the plan

Resources mentioned:

• Why the F#@ Am I Still Not Organized? (free download): https://starhansen.com/podcast/