Sometimes the system stops working. Sometimes the house gets completely disrupted. Sometimes your laundry fairy is temporarily unavailable. And sometimes… you just need everyone to GTFO of the house so you can finally clean in peace. 

In Episode 57, we’re talking about our personal toolboxes for getting through the seasons when routines fall apart, motivation disappears, and the systems that used to work suddenly don’t.

We’re embracing fall as the real reset season—a chance to clear out what isn’t serving us, make our homes more functional for the months ahead, and create systems that actually work with our brains instead of against them.

We talk about:

• Why fall might be a more realistic reset point for families than January or spring
• Giving yourself permission to say “new system!” instead of “I’m failing”
• The power of making a huge project ridiculously small
• Creating systems around the way your family actually behaves, rather than how you wish they behaved
• Our experience with the Dubbii body-doubling app
• The magic of deadlines for getting our ADHD brains into gear
• Why sometimes you just have tostrike while the iron is hot
• “Don’t put it down, put it away”
• The “get it off my desk” rock
• Why one thing is better than none
• The “might as well” approach to getting little things done
• Flexible meal-planning systems that don’t require committing to Taco Tuesday forever
• The importance of identifying the actual barrier before trying to solve the problem
• And, of course, Producer Tim’s contribution to the toolbox: Eee-Wee.

Because sometimes it is what it is.

And sometimes the best thing you can do is work with what you’ve got, make it smaller, try a different system, and take the shame out of the equation.

Our Toolbox

The Home Edit Workbook — Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin
A structured way to work through different spaces and belongings, with an emphasis on editing as well as organizing.

Lazy Genius — Kendra Adachi
Especially helpful: make it smaller. If the problem or goal feels too big, shrink it until it feels doable.

Struggle Care – KC Davis. A reminder that care tasks are morally neutral. Your ability to keep up with them doesn’t measure your worth.

Dubbii
A body-doubling app created by Rich and Rox, designed to help people get things done alongside others.

Finch
A self-care and habit-building app that turns taking care of yourself into a little game—with an adorable birb involved.

FlyLady
A classic resource for breaking home care into manageable routines and small chunks of time.

And if none of those work today? Try something else tomorrow.

No shame. New system.

What’s in YOUR toolbox?

What is the weird, wonderful, unconventional thing that helps you get stuff done?

A special playlist? A cleaning uniform? A timer? A deadline? A particular basket? Body doubling? A five-minute challenge? A green “get it off my desk” rock?

Tell us what works for you!

Find us on Instagram: @mamasgonnamakeitpodcast

Email us: [email protected]

And as always, thank you to our Podfather, Producer Tim. ❤️

Eee-Wee.

Recorded in the Such-N-Such Media Studios at Liberty Plaza in downtown Winston-Salem, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media. Theme music is by Doug Davis.

Love what you hear? Donate in any amount to support our podcast or via LinkTree in bio coff.ee/mamasgonnamakeit