Episode 36: Decluttering Your home for your sanity with shivani rao
In this episode, Hannah welcomes Shivani Rao, a busy mom working in the fast-paced Bay Area tech industry, to talk about how she manages stress and avoids burnout through intentional home organization and decluttering. Shivani shares her twice-yearly condo sweeps, her smart use of mind maps and digital tracking, and how participating in Buy Nothing groups has helped her build community and minimize clutter.
Key Takeaways
Decluttering twice a year, during season changes, creates a major reset for both home and mental clarity.
Creating a mind map of your home and listing every space that can collect clutter helps remove overwhelm from the process.
Using a simple "donate, trash, keep" system streamlines decluttering decisions.
Shivani recommends donating through Buy Nothing groups for higher emotional ROI compared to selling items.
Weekly mini-decluttering (like Shivani’s Sunday morning routine) keeps clutter from building up.
Inventory management can include digital notes tracking the last use of items, making decisions easier over time.
Building a system for acquiring fewer new items is as important as decluttering old ones.
Quotes
"It’s required. I can either live with clutter and be stressed, or declutter and have more peace."
"When money is involved, people act entitled. When gifting through Buy Nothing, there’s gratitude and community."
"Mind mapping my inventory turned something overwhelming into something manageable."
"Time is as valuable as money. Negotiating on Facebook Marketplace wasn’t worth it for me."
Resources Mentioned
Buy Nothing Project (Facebook Groups and local chapters)
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This episode of Destress the Nest is sponsored by Heron House Management.
About Heron House Management:
Heron House Management is a virtual house management service that takes the stress out of your busy life by taking on your mental load and managing your To Do list. We provide fractional virtual house management for busy families at 5, 10 and 15+ hours/month.
Meal planning, signing up for kids activities, scheduling doctor's appointments, finding a house cleaner, planning your kid's birthday party, getting quotes for that home renovation project, or scheduling a monthly date night with your significant other and so much more. We do it all!
