^{This transcription was automatically generated. Please excuse grammar errors.}

Diana Rene: 0:06

You're listening to The Decluttered Mom podcast, a podcast built specifically for busy moms by a busy mom. I'm your host, Diana Rene, and in 2017, I had my second daughter and it felt like I was literally drowning in my home. Okay, not literally, but I felt like I couldn't breathe with all of the stuff surrounding me. Over the next 10 months, I got rid of approximately 70% of our household belongings and I have never looked back. I kind of feel like I hacked the mom system and I'm here to share all the tips, tricks and encouragement. Let's listen to today's show.

Diana Rene: 0:50

Hello and welcome to another episode of The Decluttered Mom podcast. I'm actually recording this the day before it comes out, and so it is September 1st when I'm recording this and I feel like, for whatever reason, this feels like a big day to me in the scope of the year. It almost feels like a January 1st redo in my eyes and it's funny because it's not the beginning of the fourth quarter where it would feel like, you know, because the fourth quarter is what December, november, october, right, yes, I had to make sure I was thinking of that correctly. Um, it's not the beginning of the fourth quarter where you would think like, okay, this is like the final part of the year. I think it's because my kids are back in school. We had kind of a false start to fall where it was like kind of cool outside I actually could wear a hoodie outside and feel comfortable for like three days, and now it's back up to like 95 degrees. But I just think that September 1st for what? For all those reasons, uh, just feels like the kind of beginning of the end of the year and it's just kind of a reminder of like what did I start this year out wanting to do? Who did I want to be? Who did I? What things did I want to accomplish? What did I want to optimize in all parts of my life? But for this podcast specifically, like within the home, what did I want to do? Have I done that? And if not, then September 1st is nice, because it's not like December 1st, where you only have one month and you have a major holiday to figure out in the meantime. Right With September 1st, you have September, you have October, you have November and you have December. So it feels like a good amount of time to still get done what you set your mind out to at the beginning of the year and, for whatever reason, didn't get done.

Diana Rene: 2:55

Because life happens right, and I've been thinking a lot about this lately because my so when I was 17 years old, my dad passed away from cancer, and so he was 48 when he passed away, and he passed away on an August 3rd. It was a few weeks before my senior year of high school, and so grief is weird, right. Like people have asked me in the past, like do you get really sad on that specific day on August 3rd? And I would say like in those beginning years, like the first few years a hundred percent, like it was just. I think it was so symbolic and the grief was so fresh and I was young, you know. So, yes, but by this point that was 2001, which is crazy to me to say out loud, but that means that it's been almost 25 years, um, and I'm 41. So like I've lived more of my life now without him that I did with him, which is crazy.

Diana Rene: 4:03

But what gets me now is random moments. So like now, when, like, august 3rd hits, it's more of just like a celebration of him and my family, all we all get a piece of pie or ice cream because those were his favorite things. So, no matter where we are in the world, you know, we all do that and it's just kind of our way to honor him and also like have that point of connection with each other. So we do that and my mom and I will sometimes just talk about stories and things we remember and things like that. But that actual date has not been something that is like super I don't want to say important, but I can't think of the word.

Diana Rene: 4:47

It's in the small moments, like. It's in the moments where, like, a family member gets married or my daughter has this really big sports moment, or, honestly, if she just says something really funny, because he was really funny and I'm like sometimes I think like, oh my gosh, that's something my dad would have said. And I'm like sometimes I think like, oh my gosh, that's something my dad would have said. And so it's in those little moments where I miss him and where I think about him and I think about that loss, right, but all that to say is that he was 48 when he died and I remember, you know, I was 17. And so I just remember all the adults in the rooms all talking about, oh, he was so young, like I can't believe how young he was. And 17 year old me was like he was not young, he's old, like 48. That's old, because to a 17 year old's not old, and that's also like insane to think about that, like that's only seven years from now. That's wild.

Diana Rene: 6:01

And so it reminds me that time is limited and when it comes to the things that we want to get done, the things that we want to do, the way that we want to live while we are here, it just kind of puts it in perspective more for me, like this, honestly, like even turning 40 was really weird for me because because of this, and every birthday is just like more of a reminder that, like he didn't know when he was 41 that this was going to happen when he was 48. It was semi-sudden he had cancer and it was a three months from the time he was diagnosed. Three to four months, I guess I should say three to four months, from the time he was dying. Three to four months, I guess I should say three to four months, from the time he was diagnosed until the time he passed. So it wasn't like sudden, like something happened that day, but you know, it was sudden on as far as like the broad scope of things. So he didn't know, like when he was 41, what would happen when he was 48. And like we never know Right, and so I think that it's just given me more perspective as far as I can't wait forever to do the things that I want to do, am too swamped with all the stuff I don't want to do and I'm too busy with things I don't want to do or things that, like I, I do want to do or have to do or anything like that.

Diana Rene: 7:39

I don't have time in my life to leave my legacy. You know, to be able to like spend the time that I want to with my kids, and I don't want to. I want to be able to like have the people around me have memories that are important, and I think that, without getting like to, I should have put like an alert on. This podcast episode is like warning Diana will have an emotional vulnerability hangover after recording this, but I just, I just think that what I'm trying to say is that we never know what our time is going to look like, and it's really easy, when we set goals, to think that we have forever to do them, and that's just. That's not the case for anyone, right? Whether someone tragically loses their life young, or whether they live to be 111. Either way, the time is limited, right? And so what can we do to make sure that if we have something that we really want to do, we get it done?

Diana Rene: 8:55

And so, with it being September 1st, what I'm going to do, and what I would love for you to do, is to just sit down, like sit down with a piece of paper or go for a walk. Sometimes I get my best ideas when I'm just walking and I'm not listening to like a podcast or anything like that. I've been doing that a lot lately. Just go for a walk and just think about what are the things that, like I really started this year excited about I really wanted to accomplish, and where am I with those things? Am I 10% better in that area or did I completely forget about it and actually backslide in that area? What are the things that are important to me that I really want to make sure I get figured out and then come up with a plan, because you have four months until the end of the year and that can feel really good to actually get that goal accomplished in the timeframe that you originally set out, which most people in January, you know, have goals that they want to do this year and so you still have time to do that.

Diana Rene: 10:06

And I think it's just a. It's fun to kind of trick our brains when we have these like uh, I mean like because, think about it, you can do anything anytime, right? Like you can wake up on a random Thursday in the middle of a month and be like, okay, I'm starting this today, but when there's a fresh start as far as like the first of the month, and then add to it that September 1st was on a Monday, like that's amazing. It just you can trick your brain into being like, okay, this is the beginning of something, and so use that to your advantage, use that to fuel you to actually start this new thing that you were excited about at the beginning of the year. Whatever it is, this doesn't necessarily have to be in the home, but just anything and lay out the steps that have to be done in order to get it done by the end of the year. And I think that you could surprise yourself. And if you're feeling down about not accomplishing something at this point, there's still time and that's kind of exciting, right.

Diana Rene: 11:14

And so, again, this is kind of a weird episode for me. It's not my normal, it's just been really on my mind over episode for me. It's not my normal, it's just been really on my mind over, honestly, since I turned 40, which is, you know, over a year ago. But it's something I just keep coming back to and I probably always will at this point the stage of my life, because it is such a weird thing for me. But I just am constantly reminded that like I can't just take time for granted and just think, oh, I'll just get that done eventually, because we just never know, and I want to make sure that I am a good steward of my time. I want to make sure that I'm using it to my advantage instead of letting it just slip on by. And so I think it's just a good reminder for me and I wanted to share it all with you, and I hope this was helpful for you. I hope this was encouraging, maybe inspiring, to you.

Diana Rene: 12:11

I'd love to hear if you could send me a DM on Instagram. It's at thedeclutteredmom. I love getting DMs about the podcast because anytime I talk on Instagram, I get like instant replies and it's like a conversation back and forth. But when I am talking on my podcast, it feels like I am just speaking out into a black hole and I'm never. I mean like I obviously know people are listening because of download numbers and things like that, but it's not the same because there's no immediate conversation happening. And so I love it when I get DMs about the podcast and I'd love to hear your thoughts. I hope you have a great week and we will see you next week on The Decluttered Mom podcast.

Diana Rene: 13:00

Thanks for hanging out and listening to The Decluttered Mom podcast. Thanks for hanging out and listening to The Decluttered Mom podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world if you could write a review or share this episode with a friend or your Instagram stories. And if you're on Instagram, be sure to follow me at thedeclutteredmom and send me a DM to say hi. I'd love to hear what you thought about today's episode. I hope you'll come back next week and hang out with us again.