How to set boundaries
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Have you ever stood in front of a bursting closet wondering what to wear? Or maybe you’ve spent 15 minutes searching for your child’s missing shoe, only to find two mismatched and slightly-too-small sandals from last summer as you run out the door.
We’ve all been there, and I think we can agree: clutter doesn’t just take up space. It takes up time. And today’s guest, Emily McDermott, is here to share how you can radically simplify your life and get all that time back and focus on what matters most.
Meet Emily McDermott
Emily McDermott is a wife, mother of two energetic boys, and simplicity seeker. She is also the host of the top 1% globally ranked podcast Moms Overcoming Overwhelm, where she helps moms declutter their homes, heads, and hearts. As a virtual and in-person decluttering coach, she works with moms one-on-one to be intentional about what’s coming into their home, let go of what is no longer serving them, and create systems to maintain a clutter-free life. Emily enjoys writing custom poetry, dancing, and eating peanut butter out of the jar.
Simplify What You Wear
Emily McDermott’s philosophy starts in the closet. She’s radically simplified her wardrobe – meaning everything goes together, everything fits, and she doesn’t own more than she can actually wear. She calls it a “loose capsule wardrobe” – think 10–14 items in each category. The same goes for her two boys, who each have around 10 shirts and 10 pairs of shorts. That’s it!
Why so few? Because fewer decisions mean less decision fatigue.
Emily’s also streamlined her kids’ shoes – just one pair of each type: sneakers, sandals, boots, water shoes. No morning meltdowns or scavenger hunts for missing pairs. And when it comes to laundry? She does a little every day to keep it simple and manageable.
Simplify What You Eat
When it comes to feeding her family, Emily keeps things just as intentional. She meal plans using a “favorites list” of 10 or so go-to dinners that rotate regularly. Grocery pickup saves time, and she batches errands (like Costco runs and recycling drop-offs) to make the most of every trip.
Her favorite tool is a free app called AnyList, which stores recipes, organizes grocery lists, and even lets her share shopping updates in real time with her husband.
Emily also uses ChatGPT as her secret weapon for quick dinner inspiration. When she has random ingredients in the fridge, she’ll ask, ‘What can I make with chicken, rice, and tomatoes?’ It saves her so much time scrolling through recipes online.
Simplify What You Do
Emily organizes her week intentionally with “bookending.” Work happens in the middle of the week, with personal and family time reserved for the edges.
To stay focused, she uses digital tools like:
- Opal, an app that blocks distracting sites and helps her stay off social media during key hours
- Newsfeed Eradicator, a Chrome extension that removes social media feeds entirely and replaces them with inspirational quotes
Simplify How You End the Day
Evenings in Emily’s house follow a predictable rhythm: A kitchen reset, a quick review of tomorrow’s schedule, and a “daily delete,” of old photos, screenshots, and duplicates in her camera roll.
Paper clutter gets handled at the end of the day with a simple inbox tray for mail and school papers. Everything that needs action goes there, and she reviews it later… meaning no more piles on the counters!
She even teaches her boys to make decluttering decisions using a game she calls Love, Like, Maybe, No – a sweet, simple way to help them choose what truly matters.
Emily McDermott on The True Cost of Clutter
Emily shared that clutter impacts far more than just how our homes look. For starters, it eats up time. Think about it: you have to find things, clean around them, and make decisions about them. Even your closet can turn into a daily decision drain – Emily shares the stat that there’s 40% less housework in a clutter-free home. Imagine reclaiming almost half of your time spent cleaning just by simplifying what’s around you!
But clutter doesn’t just waste time. It also affects our health. Emily pointed to studies showing that clutter raises cortisol (our stress hormone). Women in cluttered homes have higher cortisol levels, especially when they feel responsible for managing everything.
Another study found that women in cluttered kitchens were more likely to grab cookies instead of carrots. When we’re stressed by our environment, we crave comfort. My mind is blown by how much clutter affects!
Where to Start When You’re Overwhelmed
So, where do you even begin when your house feels like a mountain of stuff? Here’s Emily’s advice: Start with the most unemotional, unsentimental areas. That means skip the photos, keepsakes, and clothes from ten pounds ago. Instead, begin with your car, the fridge or pantry, and your medicine cabinet or makeup drawer.
Start small – just 15 minutes at a time. Pick one drawer, one shelf, or one area. The goal is momentum, not perfection.
Avoid “aspirational clutter” too – the items that represent the version of yourself you hope to be one day. The craft supplies for projects you haven’t started, the jeans you’ll fit into someday – those can wait.
Reclaim Your Peace, One Space at a Time
Clutter may seem harmless, but it’s silently sapping our time, energy, and peace. When we clear space in our homes, we make room for clarity and calm in our minds.
So maybe today’s not the day you tackle the whole house – but maybe it’s the day you clean out your car, toss expired meds, or finally deal with that pile of papers on the counter. Each small win matters. So get started, and keep going!
📚 Resources from Emily McDermott
Want to dive deeper into Emily McDermott’s method of radically simplifying? Here’s where to find more from Emily:
- Join the Decluttering Tips and Support for Overwhelmed Moms Facebook group
- Connect with Emily on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
- Try Opal and the newsfeed eradicator for focus and productivity apps
- Try AnyList for grocery list sharing
✨ Related Episodes You’ll Love:
- Episode 294: The Real Reason Why Decluttering Feels So Hard (Hint: It’s Not the Stuff)
- Episode 283: Simple, Intentional, and Imperfect: How to Declutter Your Home, Mind, and Schedule with Sarah Horgan
- Episode 281: Start Small, Grow Big: The Surprisingly Small Secret to Finishing BIG Projects and Getting Organized with Tasha Lorentz
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