Ep 50 - 1 Year Podcast Birthday Celebration: Featuring Brittany McLean - Part 2

 

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Welcome back to the Tidy Revival Podcast! Join us for the second part of our Anniversary Episode, where we dive into the heart of our community's magic, reveal transformative #tidyhacks, and glimpse into an exciting future.

Carly and Brittany share standout moments from our vibrant community "The Club." Then, get ready to be inspired by #tidyhacks that have brought peace into our homes. From saying "no" to clever solutions, these insights are bound to resonate. Tune in and join us for a journey of community, revelations, and inspiring moments ahead!

You can listen right here, on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or you can read the transcription below. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

Today I am talking with my content manager, Brittany McLean. This is part two of our conversation. So if you missed part one, I would highly recommend going back to last week's episode so you can check out all the goodness. Let's just go ahead and dive into part two with Brittany.

Honing in on the Vision of Tidy Revival

Carly: Let's talk about some other favorite Tidy Revival moments from the last year because we have the podcast, we're talking about the podcast, and we're recording the podcast right now. But, Tidy Revival started as an in-home service-based business, I still work in-home with clients every week and that is the major chunk of what I do.

But then there are these other things with the club and the podcasts that are more for, I want to say everybody in like a geographical sense. So you don't have to be hyper-local to me to enjoy or take part in these aspects. I don't know if this is a fun fact, but little fact Brittany, her role as content manager is podcast, social media, and a lot of aspects of the club, which do not, I think that I have forgotten about that.

There's a lot of content inside the club where Brittany is creating different graphics and we're collaborating on what we want our Tidy hacks of the week to look like. And just that whole content schedule and getting that out and creating engaging posts every single month. We have a very intentional calendar that goes along with that too.

So she handles a lot of everything that's more again, geographically broad, internet facing, and then anything having to do with things like client reach out, scheduling, follow up. In the home. All of that is stuff that I take care of. Then the third member of our team is an errand runner who I see about once a week.

She runs a plethora of errands for me, from donations to Container Store runs to more specialized donations, getting those out of my garage regularly. So that is our tiny team, and I love it so much. The point is there's a lot more that goes on at Tidy Revival besides the podcast.

So yeah. I'll let you kick this off too after my little rant about what we do.

What are some of your favorite moments from this last year?

Brittany: I am still blown away that it's been a year.

Carly: I know

Brittany: huge, huge, amazing. I remember first starting this and being like, okay, we're going for it.

We have grown so much as Tidy Revival in the past year. the entire time I've been here. The growth and the client and student focus on what is needed, not what I want to put out, but what is needed in this community

Carly: Yeah.

Brittany: Has been so cool to watch and be a part of.

The podcast was a piece of that because so many people had been saying, this is great, put this info out here. We all want more Carly, we all want more Carly.

Carly: peer pressure.

Brittany: The peer pressure was high.

so it's been fun to get to be a part of that and get to see all the conversational stuff that we get to have the relational and getting to see how everything grows and changes and evolves that it's not just let's try this. Everything is so intentional within Tidy Revival as a whole, everything Tidy Revival, you are intentional and you are focused on the person that you are working for, working with, and getting to be a part of figuring out what that is over the last year I feel like we have been really bold. That was a word that just sticks out to me. It's been a year of being bold when maybe a couple of years before that were a lot more overwhelmingly so chaotic it was hard to be bold in life. So getting to be in Tidy Revival and be bold and try new things and then watch them take root is just so cool. That's definitely something I've seen within our social media. When I came on, you had an incredible social media presence already. Following the people, the content was high quality. It was just too much for you. It was, it spread too thin. And so getting to come in and say, I don't have this background.

However, I have the desire to put out your voice. I want to support and get to do that and see how it works. Has been so much fun. The Tidy hacks are kind of what sticks out to me. Oh my gosh. That was so much fun. Think of it. Cause that's what we started on, like when we first, on our first interview, it was like, I want to get into TikTok and Tidy Hacks and sharing the tips, those are the things people are asking for is like, what little keys will help me remember these tips, the tools?

So getting to be a part of the Tidy Hacks, we started on TikTok and have put that out on social and there's so much more than just what we put on social that the idea of getting to really hone in and be like, what is the best? So you get all the info out here on social and then hone it in for the club and simplify even more.

Seeing how the Tidy hacks have got to shift from the reels and the Tik Toks and the things that are really fun to make. So fun.

Carly: So fun.

Brittany: And at the same time, TikTok reels, all that. It can be noise. Like it's a time filler for people. So getting to go into the club where everyone is like, I am here because I need accountability here.

 I need to feel like I'm not alone.

Carly: Yes.

Bringing TidyHacks to The Club

Brittany: getting to be a part of that and bring the Tidy hacks more regularly into the community has been really cool because it is those tiny chunks. I can do that today. Oh yeah, this reminds me, and bringing that into all aspects of Tidy revival it's kind of cool that over the last year the Tidy Hacks have really melded into, they found their spots where it can go out to the world and they can also stay in this community in a way that is so engaging. Just makes it seamless. It's really fun. I love the Tidy Hacks

Carly: I've really appreciated what you've taken because, on the back end, I don't know if this is interesting for anyone else, but I'm just going to tell you what we did.

So we used to have our course community, and then we did a really big survey earlier this year. If you've been following along for a while, you remember this spring we had a big survey where we really wanted to hone in on what our existing audience liked and what they don't like, what they care about, what they don't give shits about.

And from there, take all that data and make some information-based decisions on how to move forward. Because we felt like the course community wasn't necessarily the best use of our energy in the way that it was structured at the time, and it just wasn't growing in the way that we had hoped or planned.

But the world was also shifting and it was created in 2020. So, fair enough. So we decided to move forward with the club, which was basically taking the things that were the most engaging and the most important to folks and letting go of the rest. Taking a bunch of bells and whistles, letting them go, lowering the price point dramatically, and then relaunching it.

we basically took the information that we were given in the course, but instead of having it in that structure, we just made what are the meat and potatoes of what we would give. What are we hoping are your biggest, biggest takeaways from the course? And then instead of taking that, putting them into bite-sized chunks and giving them out weekly doses in this other way.

And you have done a beautiful job of recycling and honing in on that messaging and putting it out there in the club. And it's sparking a lot of conversations. The conversations that are happening in the club right now are bringing up, they make my heart so happy. Because of your point, it really is a place where people know that they are not alone and that everyone in there is going through the same thing.

I'm always really transparent. I started this because of an organization, decluttering, a transformational journey in my own life. So I have been in your shoes and everyone is starting where they start. It's a judgment-free zone. We want it to be a very inclusive, open environment, and people can share where they're at without needing to put on this social media filter of oh, everything, everything's great.

They can be like, I am in the fricking thick of it right now, and you know what? I'm making some progress and everyone is here to cheer you on

Brittany: they're not all in the same stage of life either, which is kind of great that it's not just moms in the toddler kiddo age.

Carly: Yes, yes,

Brittany: it is teachers, it is grandma's. There's even been husbands or spouses, and while we are typically women, the ability for people to come in who are like-minded needing these resources, needing this sounding board yeah. It's really great. What we have honed in on in that group is when you think about the notes you take, like if you're in a class, you take notes and you always write those takeaways, those ah-ha’s, those what's going to help me remember this content?

Yep. And I feel like that is the club now.

Carly: Yes.

Like we have we have it in there, in that one group so that people don't have to go other places. Yep. They can be like, okay, I have a question. I go there. Or, oh look, I got a notification from the group. Oh, sweet. There's a new Tidy hack for today.

It helps quickly stick a little reminder note in your head.

Carly: It's like a concentrated eyedropper.

Yeah.

Or like the sweetener that I use for my coffee where I'm like, I just need just a little, little bit. That's enough. Little dabble. Do ya?

Brittany: Because we know in life we could always be more, do more, want to be more, want to get more done.

Yeah.

I would love my house to be perfectly organized and decluttered at all times. And that's not real life because there are four humans and a dog.

Carly: Woof.

Brittany: Yeah. Not the same.

Carly: Looking around my office right now. Oh my gosh. Brittany, you'll love it. It's just bags of products. And I love it. It ebbs and flows based on what projects are happening. Things have to get returned and coming in, and I'm not going to put this all in my closet if it's literally leaving tomorrow morning. Yeah. It's not happening.

Brittany: That's what I do too. Yeah. But I feel better about it. Now that I have that, it's not, I have my piles.

Oh, I definitely have my donation pile back there—my, yeah. Like we have those, but I don't have guilt about them anymore because I know that, I know what that pile is and I know where it's going.

Carly: Yes.

Brittany: It just hasn't been done yet. 

Carly: Totally.

Brittany: It's less of that, Ugh. As you have seen in the beginning how that corner was really stressful for me because it was a mountain and it doesn't feel like a mountain anymore.

It's a corner.

Carly: Yeah. And it was like a doom pile where you're like, oh yeah, who, who the heck knows what is in that pile? We have to go through it, and then that's kind of like, how long is it going to take? What is in there? Is there anything? That's really pressing that I've just lost in there

if you take those corners and then you times that by 30 or 50 or a hundred or 200, it can feel really overwhelming, but We've all had those moments or those spaces, or. The corners of the closets or the rooms

Brittany: or the tables.

Carly: Yeah. The table. The laundry basket. Yes.

Brittany: That is just so great to be like, yeah, these things became systems without even really being the main reason for it can never be the main focus of your home.

Right. And so organization like as much as I would love it to be. Yeah. Well, I would love to have a perfectly manicured home that was cleaned by someone else, but that's real life.

Carly: Cause then it can kind of turn into an OCD situation.

Brittany: A hundred percent.

Carly: You're like, nothing can be out of place

Brittany: too sterile.

And then we'll get into my background…

Carly: I hear this a lot. All organizers hear this a lot. Your house must be perfect. I'm like, that's not, we're not striving for perfection here. I can't because I promised my therapist I would work on it.

Brittany: Yeah. Right. I have been advised very quickly.

Yeah. That will drive you crazy.

Carly: Yeah.

Favorite TidyHacks at Home

Let's talk about a few specific Tidy Hack type things that have been light bulb moments or things that we've taken from the community that we've implemented at home. Since I keep making you kick it off, I'll kick it off this time.

I went through and looked at some Tidy hacks and I was like, oh my gosh, we do that.

That has been a really helpful thing in our own home. One is saying no when your plate is full. I did that this week. It feels so good when you're like, you know what? I am not going to have the mental or physical energy to do all the things, and that's okay. So if I'm feeling like there's a possibility that I might be tapped out, what can leave?

For example, tonight there's a networking event that I do love, but tomorrow I have an all-day session out of town. So I need to drive, be fully on for a double session day, and then have the energy to drive home afterward. So I'm not going tonight. I'm going to conserve my energy. I'm not going to worry about it.

It's fine. There are going to be other ones. No one will miss me. It's fine.

The G T F O bin is one of my favorite things in the world. And I was telling a client about that. She said if her kids ask her, she's going to call it the get the fluff out. She's going to say, fluff is another word for clutter.

Brittany: I love it.

Carly: I was like, that's so smart. She's no, I'm keeping the label. So G T F O as we all know me, let's get the fuck out. So it's the things that are in your house that you know need to leave. So in my house, it's a couple of items that a friend left. It's some souvenirs from a trip where we haven't seen those people yet to give to them.

It's the Tupperware that needs to go to my sister's house. It's what else is in there right now? A book that needs to go to a family member. These are all real-life things that are in or around the bin because it's overflowing at the moment. and that's fine.

Brittany: Or around, I like that. Cause it does get that way sometimes.

Yeah. It's there.

Carly: I'm like, there's a bin and then there's two more bags next to it. But they're all. Corralled in this spot for the same reason they will be leaving. \ That way when we leave, I know where they are. I don't have to be like, wait, where was that? Is it in my closet? Did I shove it in this other corner?

That's the home. Even though what's in it is kind of revolving. That can be a good type of system to implement for things like library books too. Things that are in and out and in and out. But if you have a spot where they can be corralled, then when you need them, you know where they are.

So that's been really helpful. And then the space rule we use constantly. I think about it like a cat. You know how they say with a cat, like, if I fits, I sit. Well, if it doesn't fit, if it's overflowing from the space in which you want to keep a thing, whether that is your dresser, your closet, or a cabinet in your kitchen if you don't have enough room to put everything away because everything is overflowing, then if we reexamine what is inside and let go of enough so that it fits, I'm not saying your house has to be perfect all the time.

That's, that's fine that it's not. But if things have a home and you're able to put it all away so that when you do want to put it all away, you can. It will change your life. And your whole life. Because it changed mine is how I know that. So, yeah, we use that constantly and it informs a lot of decisions from, whether or not I'm going to keep as many, you know, a certain amount of clothes to how big of a bulk am I buying my paper towels in so that I don't have huge amounts of overflow when I don't use that many paper towels.

Brittany: Or jar jars.

Carly: Oh my gosh. The jars

just got another jar Recently

Brittany: I watched my daughter be like, but you gotta keep this one too yesterday. And I was like, but look at the ones we have. Like, I love that jar. I don't need it. Which one should we trade if we want to keep it? It is like we could keep everything.

Carly: So, you know, I love recycling candles shout out to Fish and Chip Craft Co here in Sacramento. She does candle refills and it's great, but like my empties area has gotten a little bit much, and I'm like, I need to revamp this because how many is enough? How many candles will I really refill at once?

Is it 20? I doubt it. Maybe I just need to recycle some of this. I need to figure it out.

Brittany: And sometimes we sit on that question for a while where it's like, I know that one's coming.

Carly: Yeah. I know that's getting into numbers rule territory, which is on your list, so I'll let you take it away from here.

Brittany: Oh, yes. The numbers rule is one in our family that I think is probably the hardest to follow. We're still working on honing that and that's where it's like some of those are projects that you go, I'm working on. We don't know the number yet.

But I know that's one we're working on. and just That's helped with some of my feelings of anxiety when it comes to too much stuff.

It's like, that's a project and I'm aware of that project. Like that project's coming but I've also been able to let go of things in so much more joyful ways when it's like, yeah, I do love all of these bags. I love 31 bags, the big totes that you carry all the beach stuff with and carry all the stuff to Christmas with. You can fit anything in those bags. I love them. I have so many. Yeah. Like there are things you don't need. And in our family, there's a number, especially with bags. So wherever I go, I never carry or take more than four or more than five of these.

So which ones are my favorite? And then passing on the others has been,

So like, oh yeah, no, I love this bag. It's so cute. who can we give it to because I don't use it?

With the numbers rule, I feel like that is when I pulled in right away. Because I went, I can remember that. Like, yes. There are some things I need a million of. I can't think of what they're off the top of my head.

But yeah, if I could keep having 'em, I'll keep having 'em. But the majority of stuff I feel like we collect over time, a lot of 'em are like the first that you bought and then you're like, oh, that really was 25 years ago. Oh.

Carly: Oh yeah. It's, that's a thing.

Brittany: Yeah. how many of these are collections over time that are huge.

That leads to my other favorite Tidy Hack, keep it if you cry.

Like some things I have because I've had them for a long time and then I'm like, but this one I don't need anymore. I've just held it because I've had it for a long time. they're not special, they're just nice and I'll pass on those things.

It gives me confidence in decluttering things and then, It gives me the modeling for the kids that they're seeing me do it. They're seeing me ask these questions. They're seeing me sit on stuff for a while where I do have piles That I'm in the middle of figuring out.

It shows the kids it's okay to do that. It's okay to be in the middle of a project. You just can't have the middle of your project take over your home.

Where can this sit? because I'm not done, but it's because I'm thinking.

Often I feel like in a home with kids, we're thinking of multiple things at a time.

Carly: Oh, totally.

Brittany: then somebody else’s “thinking about” will come in like, yeah, Kiki, my daughter Kiki is what we call her. She'll come in and she'll ask me questions about things and then I'll leave that project for a second. Getting to show them, oh wait, I'm just going to move this over now I can help you.

Like giving, I'm watching her rearrange her room constantly right now.

Carly: Aw, that's so sweet.

Brittany: It is in the middle of being a little more messy than I would like in that process.

But I'm watching her make these kinds of decisions on her own. So I'm stepping back and going, this is her domain. This is her room.

Let's see how this goes. And then offer support if it's starting to feel a little overwhelming for me.

Come in and go, what things can we work on? How can I help you? I love it here. Can you help? So I can still vacuum.

Carly: Totally, totally.

Brittany: What would you like here? A lot of times it's picking up something to clean and then putting it back because that's what she has her vision.

So often our kids really do have a vision that they're working on. And we just want to clean it.

We want to put it away. We want it gone. And I do, but we live here.

if I'm getting to watch them pick up things and then start to corral them. I'm like, Ooh, look, she's getting that.

It's the pieces and the clicks that for me, the Tidy hacks, I feel like I'm getting to watch them be applied in real-time.

Carly: Oh, that's awesome.

Brittany: I could go on for hours about all those.

Carly: I know. Likewise.

Carly: As we wrap up, I wanted to touch on a couple of things that we're looking forward to in the next year, obviously. So looking forward to seeing what happens in the club and what happens next as we grow. But even more than that, just as the folks in the club grow and as we're sharing and caring and helping and giving advice and listening and cheering, I'm so excited for that.

What are some of the things you're excited about in the next year?

Looking Forward

Brittany: I'm really excited to see, just knowing how much has happened over the year. I'm in this space in life where it's like embracing not knowing what's coming next, not being along for the ride. Because I'm a control person, like in my heart, I like things to fit in their compartments.

And I'm learning that that is not real life.

Carly: Okay. Same, same, same.

Brittany: Yeah. You know, the idea that we are intentional in our moments and then open with where they're going to take us is so fun in life. It's awesome in my role because I'm supporting Tidy Revival, so I get to be intentional in the work that we do today, and then be really excited to see where that vision takes us.

Just knowing how much one year of the podcast was like, that was a, we've grown far more than I could have ever envisioned. Seeing where another year takes us in the club, and getting to see how people are, it's just so seamlessly fitting together that I'm really excited to see where another year takes us.

Carly: Yeah. Same. I feel excited, like now that this year is going to be, I'm like, how many years is this? This year's going to be six years for the Tidy Revival anniversary knowing that my business started with the first client. Instagram, you start with one follower, your newsletter list, you start with, well, in my case, my immediate family and you know, the podcast, you get your first listen and things can grow from there.

You never know where it's going to take you, but it all starts with the same nugget. It's exciting to see where it goes. This year, I have not booked any of these conversations yet at the time of this recording. But these are the folks, these are the conversations that I'm looking forward to having.

So I won't name names. I've had a lot of conversations with people, but it's not booked.

I'm looking forward to having conversations with folks about things like boundaries, gift giving and receiving, and setting boundaries around those early childhood educators and where your kiddo is developmentally, and how that relates to home organization.

Because these are things that I see all the time.

Talking with a friend about how tiny actions lead to big results and more about What happens when you donate things. Giving people resources and learning more about sustainability as far as donations. So these are some of the things I'm looking forward to. They're coming, I'm working on it and I'm excited.

Brittany: Ugh. I cannot wait. It's going to be so good.

Carly: It's going to be so good. And if you're listening to this and you're like, oh my gosh, you know what I really want to know about, just DM us, man. We love to hear from you and we love to hear what you're hoping to hear about because that absolutely will inform future episodes of the podcast and we're open to it.

So yes, DM us anytime

Carly: As we close up, it is our anniversary episode as we've mentioned a hundred times. So we have an ask for you. we would love for you to share the podcast with a friend or on your social media and if you could please leave us a rating and review, we would really appreciate it because this is super helpful for us to grow and spread the word about the podcast, which in turn helps our numbers and as we're looking to grow and have this be a financially viable aspect of my small business, your support really, really helps us in a very tangible way to make that a reality.

So thank you so much in advance and if you find our work helpful, we would love for you to share, rate, and review. Thank you again so much for being here today, Brittany. I really appreciate it.

Brittany: Thank you for having me.

Carly: I know that we will have you back in the future. We will not wait a year next time.

If anyone's listening to this and has behind-the-scenes questions about Tidy Revival and how we do things, feel free to let us know. Maybe we do an ask us anything.

Love it.

We would love to make sure that your questions are answered for a question of the week or a future episode. So we love to hear from you. DM (on Instagram) or you can always email me, carly@tidyrevival.com. We love hearing from you. We love hearing your thoughts about the pod, and thank you so much for hanging out.

If you wanna learn more about how I can help you, feel free to head over to tidyrevival.com to learn how I work with people one-on-one or in our private community. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe so you'll always have access to the latest episode.

We would also love to hear your takeaways. Feel free to tag us on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. The Tidy Revival podcast is written and hosted by me, Carly Adams, and edited by Brittany McLean. Title Song Maverick is by Dresden The Flamingo.

and until next time, remember that…

 
 
 

Links mentioned in this episode

 
 
Tidy Revival PodcastCarly AdamsTidy RevivalDecluttering, Home Organization, Pride