Maximized Minimalist Podcast

We spend years helping kids with ADHD succeed in school, but are we actually teaching them how to function independently once parents, teachers, and accommodations aren't there to help?

Michael McLeod is an executive function specialist and the founder of GrowNOW ADHD, and he believes ADHD support needs to go beyond reminders, accommodations, and getting through the next assignment. With more than 20 years working with kids and families, Michael shares how parents and educators can help children build the self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, and problem-solving skills they need to manage real-life responsibilities independently.

In this episode: → How executive function gets built through relationships and experiences rather than reminders, accommodations, and worksheet strategies → The four skills kids need to manage real life: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, and problem solving → The difference between getting your kid through the next homework assignment and preparing them for the years after school

📩 Check out Michael's Website & Resources: https://www.grownowadhd.com/

🧡 Want personalized 1:1 help in your own home this January? Join the free Inner Circle waitlist to apply a full week before anyone else: →https://www.katyjoywells.com/innercircle-waitlist-682206?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=show-notes&utm_campaign=ic-jan-2027&utm_content=1028-shownotes

Potty training can be stressful! The standoffs, the accidents, the power struggles and more. Andrea Olson, founder of Go Diaper Free, has helped over 100,000 families take the pressure out of it, with fewer diapers and a fraction of the stuff the baby aisle says you need. In this episode she walks us through what actually works, what you can skip entirely, and how to start from wherever you are right now.

In this episode:

→ What elimination communication is, and how it works

→ Where the "wait until they're ready" advice came from, and what happens when families start earlier

→ The potty training supplies you actually need, and the ones you can skip

→ The simplest way to start this week, even if your first try didn't stick

→ How to share this with your daughter or daughter-in-law without overstepping

Find Andrea:

📲 Follow Andrea on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/godiaperfree/

🩲 Tiny Undies → tinyundies.com

📘 Go Diaper Free, the EC book → godiaperfree.com/thebook

📗 The Tiny Potty Training Book → godiaperfree.com/ptbook

🎧 The Go Diaper Free Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-go-diaper-free-podcast/id663607202

💛 Courses, books, challenges and Q+As → godiaperfree.com/community

🎯 Take the free Decluttering Style Quiz + get your custom 3-step action plan → home.katyjoywells.com/quiz

📩 Join the Internet's Most Fun Declutter Newsletter: Ready, Set, Simplify → home.katyjoywells.com/simplifynewsletter

🧡 Join Clutter Cure Club: The Only Membership Designed to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free For Good → home.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub

📕 Order My Book, Making Home Your Happy Place → home.katyjoywells.com/declutterwithouttheoverwhelm

📲 Follow me On Insta → instagram.com/katyjoywells

You know that feeling when you're standing in front of a closet full of clothes and somehow still thinking, "I have nothing to wear"?

In this episode, we're talking about why a packed closet can make getting dressed way harder and why buying one more "perfect" piece usually doesn't fix it.

I'm sharing what my much smaller 90s closet taught me about creativity, why we've been taught how to shop but not how to style, and how constantly consuming other people's version of "cool" can leave you with a wardrobe that doesn't actually feel anything like you.

And if your closet feels overwhelming because you're not sure what to keep or why letting go feels so hard, take my free Decluttering Style Quiz! In just two minutes, you'll discover your clutter type and get a customized 3-step action plan to help you move forward.

Take the quiz at home.katyjoywells.com/quiz

🍽️ Join Nakita's free class, How to Prep 9 Family Dinners in 30 Minutes → https://nakita-attard-vassallo.mykajabi.com/prep-9-dinners-in-30-minutes-registration-expired-katy October 19th and 22nd at 11:30am Eastern / 8:30am Pacific. Seats are limited and there's a replay if you can't make it live! What's crazy awesome about this is you'll actually make the meals in your kitchen, right along with her, and walk away with 9 prepped dinners in 30 minutes! (YES, for real!)

If you've ever stood in front of the fridge at 5 o'clock with zero idea what you're feeding everyone, this conversation is for you.

Nakita Attard-Vassallo makes the case that dinner is not just "one tasks". It's actually a BUNCH! Deciding, planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning which is exactly why weeknights can feel as heavy as they do.

In this episode, we walk through every lever you can actually pull here, because a go-to meal rotation, meal planning, meal prepping, batch cooking, and freezer meals are all solving different problems. Nakita breaks down what each one is really for, so you can pick the approach that fits your life instead of forcing yourself into somebody else's Sunday. We also get into her shortcuts, what she keeps on hand so she's never starting from zero, and the easiest possible entry point if you want to start this week.

In this episode: → Meal decision fatigue, and why systemizing a recurring decision beats making it again every single day → What each approach actually solves: meal rotation, meal planning, meal prepping, batch cooking, and freezer meals → The weeknight shortcuts Nakita swears by, and the ones that cut the most time → The pantry staples and freezer basics that mean dinner never starts from scratch → The simplest place to start, even if three hours of batch cooking on a Sunday sounds like a hard no

🍽️ Join Nakita's free live class, How to Prep 9 Family Dinners in 30 Minutes → https://nakita-attard-vassallo.mykajabi.com/a/2148312762/McToTgYz October 19th and 22nd at 11:30am Eastern / 8:30am Pacific. Seats are limited and there's a replay if you can't make it live! What's crazy awesome about this is you'll actually make the meals in your kitchen, right along with her, and walk away with 9 prepped dinners in 30 minutes! (YES, for real!)

🎯 Take the free Decluttering Style Quiz + get your custom 3-step action plan → home.katyjoywells.com/quiz 📩 Join the Internet's Most Fun Declutter Newsletter: Ready, Set, Simplify → home.katyjoywells.com/simplifynewsletter 🧡 Join Clutter Cure Club: The Only Membership Designed to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free For Good → home.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub 📕 Order My Book, Making Home Your Happy Place → home.katyjoywells.com/declutterwithouttheoverwhelm 📲 Follow me On Insta → instagram.com/katyjoywells

If you've ever felt like you need to duplicate yourself just to keep up with all the appointments, meals, laundry, and mental gymnastics of running your home, this conversation is for you.

Kelly Hubbell, founder of Sage Haus, wrote down every job it takes to run her household and it came out to more than 20 hours a week (!!!!)

In this episode, Kelly breaks down exactly what a house manager is, why this kind of support isn't reserved for wealthy families, and how you can start small with just a few hours per week. It's help that lifts both the mental AND the physical load off your plate. I'm actively exploring this for our family, and after this conversation, I think you might be too.

In this episode:

→ What a house manager actually does (and how it's different from a cleaner or a nanny) → Handing off a task vs. handing off ownership, and why the second is MOST helpful → How a house manager works for families at every income level and life stage → Real costs, and budget-friendly ways to start with just 6–12 hours per week

Book a Free Call with Kelly's Team & Learn More → https://bit.ly/homemanagerinfo

🎯 Take the free Decluttering Style Quiz + get your custom 3-step action plan → home.katyjoywells.com/quiz

📩 Join the Internet's Most Fun Declutter Newsletter: Ready, Set, Simplify → home.katyjoywells.com/simplifynewsletter

🧡 Join Clutter Cure Club: The Only Membership Designed to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free For Good → home.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub

📕 Order My Book, Making Home Your Happy Place → home.katyjoywells.com/declutterwithouttheoverwhelm

📲 Follow me On Insta → instagram.com/katyjoywells

If your closet feels frustrating and you can't figure out why, this episode might be the reason. I was recently quoted in Real Simple Magazine on this exact topic, and the data in your closet right now is the freshest it'll be all year. Seven specific things to look at before fall hits, Let's GO!!

🎯 Take the free Decluttering Style Quiz + get your custom 3-step action plan → home.katyjoywells.com/quiz 📩 Join the Internet's Most Fun Declutter Newsletter: Ready, Set, Simplify → home.katyjoywells.com/simplifynewsletter 🧡 Join Clutter Cure Club: The Only Membership Designed to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free For Good → home.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub 📚 Order My Book, Making Home Your Happy Place → home.katyjoywells.com/declutterwithouttheoverwhelm 📲 Follow me On Insta → instagram.com/katyjoywells

The mental load is real. But lately I've been asking myself a question: is all the content online about the mental load - actually helping me - or is it making me *more* resentful?

That question got even louder after I recently broke my toe (OUCH!!) and suddenly couldn't do all the things I normally do around our house.

Today I chat about what I noticed when my family stepped up, the surprising reframe that's helping change the way I'm looking at home responsibilities (and how I talk to my kids about chores), and why I'm being much more careful about the stories I let myself rehearse about the mental load.

If you've been feeling a little too familiar with resentment lately, I hope this one offers a refreshing perspective that I know I certainly needed, too. <3

Reel Inspiration I mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc6tu7ZBgvC/?stkn=MXdleXpvcXprMWppNg==

🎯 Take the free Decluttering Style Quiz + get your custom 3-step action plan → home.katyjoywells.com/quiz 📩 Join the Internet's Most Fun Declutter Newsletter: Ready, Set, Simplify → home.katyjoywells.com/simplifynewsletter 🧡 Join Clutter Cure Club: The Only Membership Designed to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free For Good → home.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub 📚 Order My Book, Making Home Your Happy Place → home.katyjoywells.com/declutterwithouttheoverwhelm 📲 Follow me On Insta → instagram.com/katyjoywells

If you've ever set up a gorgeous organizing system only to watch it fall apart two weeks later, Cas is about to explain exactly why! We get into landing zones, fridge organization, her paper system, command centers, a kitchen setup trick that's all about moving your feet less (trust me on this one), and her famous "crap catcher" bin, which might be the most genius thing I've heard all year! Fair warning: you're going to want to reorganize something the second this episode ends, enjoy!

🎯 Find Your Organizing Style: Free Quiz from Cas → clutterbug.me/what-clutterbug-are-you-test 📩 Join the Internet's Most Fun Declutter Newsletter: Ready, Set, Simplify → home.katyjoywells.com/simplifynewsletter 🧡 Join Clutter Cure Club: The Only Membership Designed to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free For Good → home.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub 📚 Order My Book, Making Home Your Happy Place → home.katyjoywells.com/declutterwithouttheoverwhelm 📲 Follow me On Insta → instagram.com/katyjoywells

Here's something that *genuinely* surprised me when I started decluttering years ago: only a SMALL percent of what's sitting on most kitchen counters is actually CLUTTER. The rest is something else entirely...which is exactly why clearing it off never seems to stick. In this episode I'll walk you through what's really landing there and exactly what to do with each one, so your counters can finally stay clear for longer than a day! We chat about: 🩺 The medical misdiagnosis that made me realize we do the exact same thing to our homes 🔍 The four main categories that land on all of our counters (and why only one of them is true clutter) 🧺 My favorite habit for the biggest pile, the question I ask every client about their countertop appliances, and where to put the mail so it never reaches your counters Enjoy! 🫧 Aqua Tru Water Purifier → https://home.katyjoywells.com/aquatru (use code MAX for 20% off) // Get 1:1 Support From Me and Finally Declutter Your Home! Join The Waitlist: https://home.katyjoywells.com/innercirclewaitlist 🎯 Take the free Decluttering Style Quiz + get your custom 3-step action plan → home.katyjoywells.com/quiz 📩 Join the Internet's Most Fun Declutter Newsletter: Ready, Set, Simplify → home.katyjoywells.com/simplifynewsletter 🧡 Join Clutter Cure Club: The Only Membership Designed to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free For Good → home.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub 📚 Order My Book, Making Home Your Happy Place → home.katyjoywells.com/declutterwithouttheoverwhelm 📲 Follow me On Insta → instagram.com/katyjoywells

Does the thought of decluttering feel exhausting before you've even started? Do we *really* need marathon weekends and big purges to do this "right"? And how do you make actual progress in a season where getting dinner on the table already feels like a lot? I'm answering all of it in today's episode, plus the exact questions and strategies to use so you can keep making progress, even on the days you've got nothing left.

🌬️ AirDoctor Air Purifier → home.katyjoywells.com/airdoctor (use code MAX for $250 off) 🧡 Join Clutter Cure Club: The Only Membership Designed to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free For Good → home.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub 🎯 Take the free Decluttering Style Quiz + get your custom 3-step action plan → home.katyjoywells.com/quiz 📩 Join the Internet's Most Fun Declutter Newsletter: Ready, Set, Simplify → home.katyjoywells.com/simplifynewsletter 📚 Order My Best-Selling Book, Making Home Your Happy Place: A Real-Life Guide to Decluttering without the Overwhelm → home.katyjoywells.com/declutterwithouttheoverwhelm 📲 Follow me On Insta → instagram.com/katyjoywells