Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all the stuff? Appointments, clutter, shopping, groceries, ballet, and summer camp registration. Every ball in the air leads to pretty tired arms. In this episode, we break down the struggles modern moms face when it all gets to be a bit too much. Sabrina is talking with Renae Fieck about how to simplify and declutter our homes and our heads. Renae is a mom of 3, an occupational therapist, and advocate for moms who desire more grace, space and rest within their lives. She has found strength beyond her own to navigate life's struggles.
Multiple miscarriages, life with 3 kids, working mom life, stay at home mom life, and a husband with a brain tumour and seizures. She now has a passion to connect with other amazing women and inspire women to uncover their own worth, live in the rawness of life, and let go of the constant chaos. She is the host of the annual More than Mom Summit, The Great Clutter Clear Out Challenge, and the podcast The Charis Project: Grace and Intention For Everyday life.
As a recovering multitasker, and overachiever, Renae has been lead through challenges that made her reevaluate the pieces of her life that were not fitting. She found that commonly, overworked moms try to do everything we were able to do before kids, after them. Struggling when comparing to other moms and women on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram and not being able to measure up to the collective Supermom phenomenon. We talk about the highlight reel frequently here, but Renae sees the complication of wanting to be a Supermom that wants to have the perfectly decorated life, the coordinated outfits and a craft room to rival Martha Stewart. When we understand that this is unachievable and unrealistic, we remove the burden of performing.
Struggling with motherhood, a traumatic brain injury, the mounting stress of balancing every need for her family, Renae faced the mounting disappointment of her life not following her intended journey. Taking inventory and investing in her personal growth, she built her community of postpartum moms around her for support. A journey of personal development and wellness lead her to declutter her space and her home in order to declutter her mind and her relationships. By simplifying the junk in the way, she culled all the items that stopped serving her. Little things that accumulate over years of accepting items that fit at the moment, but don’t serve our overall wellbeing.
By examining the parasitic expenses, both with our time and our money, we can analyze our habits and interrupt the ones that no longer fit our ideal. Learning to let go of the things we hold on to for the “somedays” gives us room for the items we need now. The dusty guitars, golf clubs and the collection of jeans that no longer fit, are ready to be released. When you are ready for them in your life, you can welcome them then. Renae helps families break down the emotional needs when we sort through our overwhelming clutter. Breaking it down into one area and one task a day or week can remove the pressure of fixing everything at once.
The culture of instant gratification that has been building in our modern Amazon-fueled society has created a spending habit that ends with clutter we don’t really want or need in our homes. When we practice intentional gratitude, we shift the perspective from immediately satisfying that need to acquire, to practicing active gratitude for the things that truly matter. When we focus on gratitude, we simplify the wants and grow appreciation.
Each year, Renae hosts the More than Mom Summit, which is a month-long program to inspire, grow and collaborate with women and moms while navigating their journey to simplification and appreciation. Her goal with each summit is to provide a space for us to share our authentic real stories. By holding conversations about the real struggles and...
