What does it mean to live more with less? I'm Katie Wells and welcome to the Maximized Minimalist

podcast. If you found yourself caught up in the hamster wheel of modern day motherhood and want to

rewrite the script, congratulations you're in the right place. I'm here to be your guide and help you take

back your motherhood

and achieve a simpler, more joy-filled life. Cheers to being a maximized minimalist. Enjoy the show.

Welcome back to the show, my friend. Today we are diving into a little disgust, but important topic,

clutter shame. Really fast, I want to do a quick listener spotlight

to Emily, who is a brand new listener of the show and has been on a binging spree and left a

really sweet five-star review on Apple Podcasts saying, my kids are three and five months, and the

consistent theme of finding peace to the anxiety really

resonated with me. Thank you, Katie, for making minimalism approachable and so eloquently

tying mental health to physical surroundings. I'm finally at peace with the declutter process

aiming to meet the need for calm in the storm of young motherhood. Emily, thank you so much for taking

the time out of your day to share such a kind and honest review. And my hopes are that me and this

podcast continue to be a consistent, reliable, and empowering part of your simplifying journey.

Okay, friend, let's dive into some realness and major vulnerability coming

your way for today's episode. Years ago, I want you to understand I had so much shame around my home

and around the constant mess and the clutter everywhere. I was one of those people that if guests were

coming over, I would as quickly as I can go through my house like a tornado, tossing things

behind closed doors as fast as I could, and essentially just pretend to have my life together,

when in reality I was living in chaos, both in my mind and in my home. In a lot of ways,

I felt like a phony. I really felt like a fake. I wanted to be perceived by my friends,

...