We can’t predict, but we CAN prepare. We’ve invited Emergency Preparedness Expert Cari Butler to the show to you KonMari your emergency needs to protect you, your home, and those you care most about. Cari is the owner of Emergency Cafe, L.A.'s Premier Emergency Preparedness Concierge Service. She has over 15 years of experience educating and empowering her clients to be prepared and provides personalized consultation services for individuals, families and businesses. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast. Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy Join The Spark Joy Club today! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: How the Universe put all of the resources Cari needed to support her path to becoming an emergency preparedness concierge, which started 15 years ago The three steps to getting started getting prepared: 1) Get your supplies 2) Create a plan 3) Practice your plan -Who needs prepare for emergencies and the different levels of preparedness you can embrace -How to organize and store important items in case of an emergency How to distinguish "what sparks joy" vs. "what should I grab in an emergency" The difference between a grab and go bag vs emergency kit and what is typically in each The essential items that is often overlooked or left out of kits The importance of sharing legacy information Cari’s favorite organization tip: Filing paper into throw away, keep, and file Emergency organization tip: Keep everything together and set a reminder on your calendar to make sure everything in the kit is fresh What's sparking the most joy for Cari: Spending time with her kids as they attend college virtually from home Contact Cari via emergencycafe.com and on Instagram @emergencycafe Download Cari's top emergency preparedness tips here. Exclusively for Spark Joy listeners, enter the code "SPARKJOY10" when shopping on emergencycafe.com Gems: "The Universe knew that this was my path." "The people who hire me are the people that really understand the importance of being prepared." "Bottom line...GET OUT! The joy is going to be that you are alive! Everything can be replaced." "It's fight or flight." The Spark Joy Anniversary Give-A-Way contest prizes! Win one of three bundles consisting of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, signed by Marie Kondo, a fifty dollar gift certificate to the KonMari Shop to select your own Joy Sparking gift, and a two-hour Virtual Tidying Session from For the Love of Tidy! Three lucky winners will receive a bundle of all these prizes! To be eligible for all of the prizes above, all you need to do is head over to: www.sparkjoypodcast.com/itunes for detailed instructions on how to leave a review via iTunes. Once there, follow the Apple Podcast instructions to leave us a rating and review in iTunes to help us reach more ears, minds, and hearts. Most important step: Send an email to: contact@sparkjoypodcast.com letting us know you left us a review and what screen name you left it under. This will act as your official entry. Don’t forget this step! It is the only way we can officially log you as entered into the contest. Submit your star rating and review by November 24, 2020. We’ll announce the winners during our season finale “Best of” show that will air on December 1st. **Contest runs from September 1 to November 24, 2020.* Winners will be announced during our Best of 2020 show on December 1, 2020*** You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Cari Butler.

We share four reasons why it’s hard to let go and tips to help you release your possessions that are not serving you anymore with confidence and gratitude. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast. Join The Spark Joy Club today! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: What's sparking joy for Karin: Blankets made from recycled sari fabric What's sparking joy for Kristyn: Cataloging 550 clothing items in my closet using the Stylebook App and her TEDx Talk: Confronting Your Online Order History is the New Self-Care Four common reasons it's hard to let things go: Because it's sentimental Because just in case I need it "someday" Because I don't want to be wasteful Because it's valuable Emotions that surface that prevent us from letting go: guilt, shame, fear, anger References to Spark Joy episodes: Ep 21 | Book Review: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning Ep 55 | Digitizing Your Sentimental Items with Bonnie Shay Ep 42-44 Sell Your Clutter series Ep 143 | Quarantine Friendly “Someday” Projects for Today! Thank you to our newest Spark Joy Club members, at the Joy Sparker Level: Rachel Maloney Brian Crimmins Join over 200 serious tidiers who are making 2020 their very last year of being disorganized. We welcome you to extend conversation around taking action, living, and maintaining a tidy lifestyle. The Spark Joy Anniversary Give-A-Way contest prizes! Win one of three bundles consisting of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, signed by Marie Kondo, a fifty dollar gift certificate to the KonMari Shop to select your own Joy Sparking gift, and a two-hour Virtual Tidying Session from For the Love of Tidy! Three lucky winners will receive a bundle of all these prizes! To be eligible for all of the prizes above, all you need to do is head over to: www.sparkjoypodcast.com/itunes for detailed instructions on how to leave a review via iTunes. Once there, follow the Apple Podcast instructions to leave us a rating and review in iTunes to help us reach more ears, minds, and hearts. Most important step: Send an email to: contact@sparkjoypodcast.com letting us know you left us a review and what screen name you left it under. This will act as your official entry. Don’t forget this step! It is the only way we can officially log you as entered into the contest. Submit your star rating and review by November 24, 2020. We’ll announce the winners during our season finale “Best of” show that will air on December 1st. **Contest runs from September 1 to November 24, 2020.* Winners will be announced during our Best of 2020 show on December 1, 2020*** You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Luke Reynolds, author of Even More Fantastic Failures!, shares stories of successful people whose past challenges positively impacted their path to success. Luke is a passionate believer in the power of stories to transform lives—especially stories that help us understand that we all fail and flounder sometimes. Luke has been a public-school English teacher at both the secondary and middle school levels, and he currently is an assistant professor of Education at Endicott College. He completed his PhD at Boston College and focuses on teaching, writing, and reading as three crucial paths towards compassion, kindness, and connection. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast. Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy Join The Spark Joy Club today! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Luke tells us about his book, Even More Fantastic Failures, and how he decided to write about how failure can define our later successes. We discuss how failure can be an important part of learning who we are and what we want in our lives. Learn techniques to learn from past failures in order to get on a path to success while tidying. Hear Karin’s favorite story in the book about President Obama. How to use failure and setbacks to get back on track. Learn about the universal experiences of failure that Luke found in common with many of the people he writes about. Luke’s favorite organization tip: Luke recalled the story of Alan Naiman. Alan Naiman was a very modest and humble person, but saved all his life to leave a legacy of millions of dollars to his favorite causes. “Focusing on small moments and simple acts of love and connection can make a big difference in the world and create a profound legacy.” What's sparking the most joy for Luke: “Luke is grateful for his very organized wife! He says he can always tell when she’s been in a room, because it always feels better for her being there. (Wow, what a compliment!) Learn more about Luke and his latest book release, Even More Fantastic Failures, at LukeReynolds.com And, exclusively for Spark Joy podcast listeners, Luke is giving away a copy of the hardback edition of his book! To win, be the first to email contact@sparkjoypodcast.com with “Even More Fantastic Failures” in the subject line. Gems: “I know there’s a lot of failure that happens that redirects someone to getting where they want to be.” “Even when people achieved some great thing, it didn’t mean that the struggle is all over.” “All of that path, all of that letting go, prepared us for what was really for us.” “Nothing is wasted, it all matters.” The Spark Joy Anniversary Give-A-Way contest prizes! Win one of three bundles consisting of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, signed by Marie Kondo, a fifty dollar gift certificate to the KonMari Shop to select your own Joy Sparking gift, and a two-hour Virtual Tidying Session from For the Love of Tidy! Three lucky winners will receive a bundle of all these prizes! To be eligible for all of the prizes above, all you need to do is head over to: www.sparkjoypodcast.com/itunes for detailed instructions on how to leave a review via iTunes. Once there, follow the Apple Podcast instructions to leave us a rating and review in iTunes to help us reach more ears, minds, and hearts. Most important step: Send an email to: contact@sparkjoypodcast.com letting us know you left us a review and what screen name you left it under. This will act as your official entry. Don’t forget this step! It is the only way we can officially log you as entered into the contest. Submit your star rating and review by November 24, 2020. We’ll announce the winners during our season finale “Best of” show that will air on December 1st. **Contest runs from September 1 to November 24, 2020.* Winners will be announced during our Best of 2020 show on December 1, 2020*** You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Luke Reynolds.

Spark Joy Club member Jennyfer Vargas-Fernandez joins us from Texas to share her KonMari journey. We’re shining the light on all of the tidying progress our Club members have made while listening to Spark Joy Podcast and leaning on the community. Jennyfer Vargas-Fernandez has been a member of The Spark Joy Club since January 2020 and has worked with a KonMari Consultant in Houston, Texas. Her goal in joining The Club was to finish her KonMari tidying journey, once and for all. Jennyfer is a Labor and Delivery Registered Nurse in The Woodlands, Texas. She is currently working on her Master of Science degree in Nursing Administration. She is married with two daughters ages 9 and 2. She enjoys spending time with her family, bike riding, and singing. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast. Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy Join The Spark Joy Club today! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: What motivated Jennyfer to get tidy How Jennyfer managed her family, KonMari event and work on the front lines of the pandemic The most important tools Jennyfer depended on while completing her tidying festival Why hiring a KonMari Consultant to meet her mid-way through her journey worked out very well for Jennyfer! She worked with Ashley and Jane at Simply Maven. Ashley is featured in Episode 69 of Spark Joy Jennyfer's favorte episodes of Spark Joy: 69, 74, and 131. Jennyfer’s favorite tidying tip: “Do it now!” What's sparking the most joy for Jennyfer: “Riding my new bike!” Parting words of wisdom: “Don’t be hard on yourself. Go ahead and get that help!” Gems: “We just filled everything up and said GO GO GO!” “I had a closet full of clothes that I had just never worn before... it was quite a shock to put it all on the bed and see how much was there.” “I renamed my junk drawer to my everything drawer because of Kristyn!” “What really kept me going was the influence it had on my kids.” The Spark Joy Anniversary Give-A-Way contest prizes! Win one of three bundles consisting of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, signed by Marie Kondo, a fifty dollar gift certificate to the KonMari Shop to select your own Joy Sparking gift, and a two-hour Virtual Tidying Session from For the Love of Tidy! Three lucky winners will receive a bundle of all these prizes! To be eligible for all of the prizes above, all you need to do is head over to: www.sparkjoypodcast.com/itunes for detailed instructions on how to leave a review via iTunes. Once there, follow the Apple Podcast instructions to leave us a rating and review in iTunes to help us reach more ears, minds, and hearts. Most important step: Send an email to: contact@sparkjoypodcast.com letting us know you left us a review and what screen name you left it under. This will act as your official entry. Don’t forget this step! It is the only way we can officially log you as entered into the contest. Submit your star rating and review by November 24, 2020. We’ll announce the winners during our season finale “Best of” show that will air on December 1st. **Contest runs from September 1 to November 24, 2020.* Winners will be announced during our Best of 2020 show on December 1, 2020*** You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Jennyfer Vargas Fernandez.

KonMari Consultant Ivanka Siolkowsky shares how her love of minimalism and environmentalism intersects with KonMari and her mental health advocacy. Our guest today is Ivanka Siolkowsky. Ivanka is a former Elementary School Teacher whose life was transformed when she began learning the many benefits of minimalism and organization! Although she was always considered a tidy individual, after decluttering, and applying minimalism to her surroundings, it was as if the pieces of her life puzzle all fell into place. It is because of these life-altering improvements that Ivanka decided to become a full time Professional Organizer - to help others find that same inner peace in their daily lives! She is a Master KonMari Consultant with The Tidy Moose, which is based in Toronto, Canada. How Ivanka went from KonMari reader to trainee practically over night Spark Joy podcast episodes about minimalism: 7, 34, 39, and 119 Ivanka's take on minimalism and how it shows up in her work and life How Ivanka's shopping habits weighed down her mental health and was the catalyst for a year of no shopping How Ivanka determines the number of things to keep in her home and an inspiring TEDx Talk: "How many towels do you need?" Ways Ivanka adopted a zero waste lifestyle over the last two years and her favorite recycling tip The blogger that fit a year's worth of waste in one jar How organizing her classroom had a direct impact on Ivanka's mental health and her student's ability to learn What's sparking the most joy for Ivanka: Practicing gratitude Ivanka's favorite organizing tip: Organizing in rainbow order (red, organge, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) What's sparking the most joy for Ivanka: Practicing gratitude Touch base with Ivanka on Instagram: @tidymoose Gems: "Not just surrounding yourself with things that spark joy, but surrounding yourself with only the things that you need." "There is a huge physical weight having these items around." "I really had to focus on what joy meant to me, not who I was trying to impress." "The less you have the less you have to focus on organizing and keeping organized." "Only 10% of what we donate ends up on the floor of the donation center." "The more I do it the better I feel and the more money I have in the bank." "When I work with my clients I'm really trying to help them get their life back from a mental health standpoint." "I've got everything that I need and nothing that I don't." The Spark Joy Anniversary Give-A-Way contest prizes! Win one of three bundles consisting of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, signed by Marie Kondo, a fifty dollar gift certificate to the KonMari Shop to select your own Joy Sparking gift, and a two-hour Virtual Tidying Session from For the Love of Tidy! Three lucky winners will receive a bundle of all these prizes! To be eligible for all of the prizes above, all you need to do is head over to: www.sparkjoypodcast.com/itunes​ for detailed instructions on how to leave a review via iTunes. Once there, follow the Apple Podcast instructions to leave us a rating and review in iTunes to help us reach more ears, minds, and hearts. Most important step: Send an email to: contact@sparkjoypodcast.com letting us know you left us a review and what screen name you left it under. This will act as your official entry. Don’t forget this step! It is the only way we can officially log you as entered into the contest. Submit your star rating and review by November 24, 2020. We’ll announce the winners during our season finale “Best of” show that will air on December 1st. **Contest runs from September 1 to November 24, 2020.* Winners will be announced during our Best of 2020 show on December 1, 2020*** You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Ivanka Siolkowsky.

KonMari Consultant Kadra Pixton joins us to share how she tidied her family of seven with the help of another consultant, which inspired her to become one herself. Kadra loves helping overwhelmed families transform their homes into peaceful spaces that facilitate connection. She is a Certified KonMari Consultant as well as Mama to 5 young daughters ages 3-10. She is a writer, an artist, and she loves exploring nature near her home in the Pacific Northwest. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast. Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy Join The Spark Joy Club today! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: How Kadra’s home went from a “disaster” to Joy Sparking! Managing the challenge of 5 children, a job and a busy home. Kadra’s work with a KonMari consultant using the Marathon Method-doing the tidying festival within a very short amount of time. Why Kadra decided to become a KonMari consultant. How Kadra brings joy to her clients in unexpected ways. Kadra’s tips for tidying with kids. How to set a spatial limitation on kid’s belongings. Kadra's favorite organizing tip: Everyone should have a power spot. Create a space that you control and maintain. If you have a space that’s just yours, a small spot that energizes you, it can begin to spread throughout your entire home. What's sparking the most joy for Kadra: Simplicity-the pandemic has forced us to KonMari our time and our relationships. We have become more thoughtful about the time we spend and who we spend it with, because we had to. It has helped us think more clearly. Kadra's parting words of wisdom: Make the investment in yourself-find an accountability partner OR better yet, consider a life-changing experience with a KonMari consultant. You can find Kadra on Facebook and Instagram Gems: “We did the KonMari marathon 7 hours a day for 9 days with a KonMari consultant!” “There’s a lot of fear over not having enough lately, but if we focus on abundance and love, we will have what we need.” “It’s important for the parents to do the process first. Because then you will understand the method more and will be less likely to get overwhelmed.” The Spark Joy Anniversary Give-A-Way contest prizes! Win one of three bundles consisting of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, signed by Marie Kondo, a fifty dollar gift certificate to the KonMari Shop to select your own Joy Sparking gift, and a two-hour Virtual Tidying Session from For the Love of Tidy! Three lucky winners will receive a bundle of all these prizes! To be eligible for all of the prizes above, all you need to do is head over to: www.sparkjoypodcast.com/itunes for detailed instructions on how to leave a review via iTunes. Once there, follow the Apple Podcast instructions to leave us a rating and review in iTunes to help us reach more ears, minds, and hearts. Most important step: Send an email to: contact@sparkjoypodcast.com letting us know you left us a review and what screen name you left it under. This will act as your official entry. Don’t forget this step! It is the only way we can officially log you as entered into the contest. Submit your star rating and review by November 24, 2020. We’ll announce the winners during our season finale “Best of” show that will air on December 1st. **Contest runs from September 1 to November 24, 2020.* Winners will be announced during our Best of 2020 show on December 1, 2020*** You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Kadra Pixton.

Melissa Rappaport Schifman, author of Building a Sustainable Home joins us to discuss the impact a green home has on our health, wealth, and soul. Our guest today is Melissa Rappaport Schifman. Melissa is the founder of Green Intention LLC, where she writes, speaks, and advises clients on healthier and more sustainable homes and workplaces. She has her MBA and MA in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and two daughters. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast. Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy Join The Spark Joy Club today! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Melissa's personal and professional green home journey How Melissa defines green building and sustainable home The benefits to moving into a more sustainable home environment on your health, wealth, and soul Busting the myth that a sustainable home always costs more - the longer term impact of green living on our lives and the planet The lifestyle and mindset change required to live more sustainability and how it intersects with getting organized The aspects of a sustainable home that you'll never see Melissa’s favorite home improvement tip: Filter your water. What sparks joy for Melissa Decarbonizing her home. EXCLUSIVELY for Spark Joy listeners: email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com with interest in receiving a copy of "Building a Sustainable Home" and a 30 min. cost benefit analysis with Melissa to think through a sustainable home improvement project Gems: “If we don't take care of the earth we don't get to drink, eat, or breath." "Start with your own home. It's the one thing you have control over." "Every action does make a difference." "For our health, our wealth, and our soul." "Clean water, clean air, and clean house." You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Melissa Rappaport Schifman.

*Spark Joy podcast is THREE years old! * In celebration of our anniversary enter to win one of three prize bundles of three great gifts each to mark this major milestone. Win one of three bundles consisting of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, signed by Marie Kondo, a fifty dollar gift certificate to the KonMari Shop to select your own Joy Sparking gift, AND a two-hour Virtual Tidying Session from For the Love of Tidy. Enter before November 24, 2020 for your chance to win! Details on how to enter below. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoy_podcast. In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Spark Joy podcast has been downloaded over 2.3 million times! At this point in our first year, we had just hit a quarter of a million downloads, last year we hit 1.5 million, so this has been quite a year for growing our audience. Not only is Spark Joy two years old, but this is also our 148th episode! Thank you to our listeners for all your support and encouragement. Our goal for the show remains to introduce guests to our audience who have interesting perspectives and inspiring journeys related to organizing and living a life of joy. So far, we have interviewed nearly 110 guests and presented over 44 episodes focusing on KonMari specific topics. This year, we have also presented four episodes related to the pandemic on staying safe, healthy and managing during this difficult time. We are so grateful to be able to help each other during this time. Last year we launched The Spark Joy Club on Patreon and the response has been amazing! We hoped our listeners would consider joining, but we never imagined we would now be 200 members strong, supporting each other along their tidying journeys. A special welcome and Thank You to our newest Spark Joy Club members: Christine Mundis Tina from Berkeley Sarah Laubacher Katherine Grosskopf Kelsey Ross Talia Saunderson Inken Brough Thank you for your support! The Spark Joy Anniversary Give-A-Way contest prizes! Win one of three bundles consisting of Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up, signed by Marie Kondo, a fifty dollar gift certificate to the KonMari Shop to select your own Joy Sparking gift, and a two-hour Virtual Tidying Session from For the Love of Tidy! Three lucky winners will receive a bundle of all these prizes! To be eligible for all of the prizes above, all you need to do is head over to: www.sparkjoypodcast.com/itunes for detailed instructions on how to leave a review via iTunes. Once there, follow the Apple Podcast instructions to leave us a rating and review in iTunes to help us reach more ears, minds, and hearts. Most important step: Send an email to: contact@sparkjoypodcast.com letting us know you left us a review and what screen name you left it under. This will act as your official entry. Don’t forget this step! It is the only way we can officially log you as entered into the contest. Submit your star rating and review by November 24, 2020. We’ll announce the winners during our season finale “Best of” show that will air on December 1st. **Contest runs from September 1 to November 24, 2020.* Winners will be announced during our Best of 2020 show on December 1st, 2020*** You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Scout Sobel joins us to discuss mental health and creating a life that sparks joy while facing symptoms that work against your serenity. Scout started Scout's Agency with an emphasis in podcast PR. Most of her clients are women and she loves helping them find their voice in podcasting and other media. This did not come without her own trials and tribulations. Scout has been living with a severe case of bipolar disorder for 14 years. She once was unable to hold a job, go to school, or function in today's society. These experiences led her to host her own podcast, SCOUT, a podcast about mental health with a dose of entrepreneurship. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast. Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy Join The Spark Joy Club today! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: Scout’s journey to entrepreneurship and branding in podcasting and other media spaces with an emphasis on helping others find their voices in her PR business Learn about Scout’s mental health diagnosis. You’ll learn about bipolar disorder: what it means, and what it doesn’t How just looking for help can start the journey toward wellness, even if you aren’t feeling much hope in the moment The ways that Scout brings joy into her work life How organization has helped Scout make her work life work How to find a good therapist Scout’s favorite tidying tip: “Look at something in your life, it can be anything, and ask yourself the yes or no question, ‘Does it bring you joy?’ if it doesn’t, it’s out. Set that as the standard for your life.” What sparks joy for Scout “I have been able to connect with women and have conversations around things that really mean something to people while also connecting with other women who are out there doing incredible things and spreading incredible messages.” You can find Scout on Instagram: @scoutsobel And be sure to check out her podcast: Scout on Apple Podcasts Gems: “Everything goes into a calendar. Every little thing: every call, every task, every email I need to send..I don’t want to have to remember anything at all and I don’t want to think about what I have to do until the day before.” “I just write, write, write until I can drive the negative energy out of me.” “Be clear on what your goals are for the future.” “This is your life, these are the cards that you are dealt and you can take responsibility for your recovery.” You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Scout Sobel.

Tara Latta shares how working with For the Love of Tidy for 17 hours enhanced her KonMari tidying experience and instantly impacted her health, relationships, and career. Tara Latta is Kristyn's client, a For the Love of Tidy Graduate of Tidy. They've tidied for 15 hours over a four months plus a recent two hour Virtual Tidy used to address sentimental items. We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast. Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy Join The Spark Joy Club today! In this episode, you’ll enjoy: What initially inspired Tara to head down the KonMari path and find a "magic bullet" organizing solution What led Tara to move from DIY decluttering to hiring Kristyn/For the Love of Tidy Tara's small space (1,000 sq ft Chicago high rise) and her favorite storage boxes Tara's vision and anchoring word "spacious" How reframing Tara's narrative around paper help free her to complete the process Moments where Tara felt blocked or ready to give up, that were remedied by finding community in The Spark Joy Club, Reddit, Discord, and Saya Hillman's Cross it Off Day The questions Tara would ask herself when she felt overwhelmed: Is there too much clutter out for this round of sorting? Is the workspace clean? Am I maintaining the categories that are finished? New habits that emerged after decluttering How KonMari impacted Tara's relationship with her weight, family, and career path What it was like to tidy with a KonMari Consultant in-home and virtually as Tara transitioned to quarantine at home Tara's advice for those on the fence about hiring a professional home organizer to help them dig out and choose joy What sparks joy for Tara Summer in Chicago! Tara's apartment and journey was also featured in Bloomberg: Purging Your Stuff Is the New Conspicuous Consumption Gems: "Because I had started KonMari and stopped at the paper category several times over the years, I accepted I really needed support and accountability." "The process took me nine months, so I like to tell people I birthed a home of joy." "Everything has a home and everything I see brings me joy." "There is space within the space." "As you let go of items that not longer serve you, you make the physical and mental space to become who you want to be." "Every session I felt motivated and inspired with nuggets of wisdom and customized ideas of how to sort through and organize my belongings." You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of TidySpecial Guest: Tara Latta.