Season 3 Ep.22: Transforming Choas into Calm

Control in the Chaos: A Mom's Guide to Organizing with Heart

Tara Bremer: I call organizing some healthy control especially as a mom, there's just so much not under your control. Is the baby going to have a blowout? Are they going to take a nap? Ah. Are we going to have a meltdown? We don't know, but I can have mastery over this junk drawer right now. I'm doing this right now, and I think that's a good thing. People might be like, that's controlling. Yes, it is. I would like to have autonomy and control right now.

Introduction: Welcome to The Ladies Who Lead podcast. This is a community of women supporting women. Tune in every Thursday to hear from SK Vaughn as she catches up with ordinary ladies doing extraordinary things. We will cover topics like diversity and inclusion, gender pay gaps, thought leadership, and respect in the workplace. We want to celebrate with you and hear stories of success and hard lessons learned. Whether you are a lady who leads in the boardroom or a lady who leads in your community this is the place for you. Let's do this.

SK: Tara is the founder and owner of House Peace and has been bringing peace into homes for over six years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Purdue University. She brings its knowledge of the human condition, behavioral psychology, and habit formation to every home she visits, all with a judgment-free mentality. Tara puts her experience to the test every day with her own family. As a wife and mother of three, you're going to absolutely love hearing about really creating organizational structure in your home and transforming that chaos into calm. Well, I'm so excited to have Tara with us here today. Welcome to the podcast.

Tara Bremer: Hey, SK, thank you so much for having me.

SK: Great. Well, I always kick off the episode with how are you surviving and thriving this week? And so while you're thinking through yours, I'll start first. So I am just surviving in this, the season of kind of getting back into a routine, trying to kind of reestablish how I want to show up every day. I think we just got past kind of the new Year's resolutions of it all, and I'm looking around and I just feel like I live in chaos a little bit. So trying to just find my own way forward in a lot of different ways, whether it be work or my personal life, it's just been pretty hectic and just a lot of moving parts and pieces. And then I'm thriving because we're just coming off of Mardi Gras, and down here, it's a fun time, it's a big time, and I love an excuse to dress up and throw a party and have fun. And we just wrapped up having some friends over, did a big brunch, and it was just a really special time to bring everyone back together again who we don't normally get to connect with and see. So that was just a really special time just to really love on the people. I have such great friends, and so it's really special we can all get together like that. And so that's how I'm surviving and thriving this week.

SK: What about you?

Tara Bremer: Well, first of all, that's so fun. Side note, I'm from Louisiana mostly. I'm from a lot of places, but I grew up in Shreveport, so not down by y'all with the real Mardi Gras, but we do other Mardi Gras stuff, so that's super cool that that's a part of your year. And my daughter's name is Evangeline. Does that mean anything to you?

SK: I'm sure it probably should, but.

Tara Bremer: May not being in mobile, but Evangeline. There's evangeline parish in south Louisiana, and there's the story by Longfellow called Evangeline. It's a poem about a woman who leaves her home and has to establish a new home. And so my daughter was adopted from China, and so the name just has a lot of meaning for us. So, anyway, that's my sort of Mardi Gras connection to you.

SK: I love that I'm going to have to dive deeper into that later. I'm very intrigued just by the whole story of it all. And that's so special that that's your daughter's name.

Tara: Yeah.

Tara Bremer: Okay, so how am I surviving and thriving this week?

Speaker C: Well, let's just be super real this week, and it's only Tuesday. I quadruple booked myself tonight.

SK: Oh, man.

 Tara Bremer: So it all has to work like clockwork. And three out of the four things will work. The fourth, I had to punt, so that was annoying. I have a family like a sibling dinner every week with my siblings that live in town, and we recently changed from Monday to Tuesday. Kind of forgot. So I have all these plans tonight and I'm like, sorry, siblings, I'm going to need to reschedule. So, that's surviving. Also, my husband's out of town, so also surviving has three kids, but thankfully they're big. And I said, please don't play piano. Or yell at each other while I'm recording. Thank you. And they can do thriving.

 Tara Bremer: This is a really fun time of the year for me because we're still the beginning of the year and we'll talk about my business, but doing home organizing is amazingly fun during New Year's resolution.

Tara Bremer: Season, that's what I'll call it. Business is great. People are really interested, people are writing articles about what we're doing, and it's just fun. We're doing a bunch of fun collaborations with content creators and things like that. So winter and spring is just really fun for my business. So I'm thriving in all that right now. I love it.

SK: Well, I'm so glad that you chose to be on the podcast tonight, out of all the things that you have going.

Tara Bremer: Oh, gosh, I wasn't going to cancel on you.

SK: Well, I appreciate it, but, definitely understand being overly scheduled, especially this time of year. So thank you for taking the time. And, yeah, it sounds like you've got a lot of moving parts on the work front, too, which is equally as exciting. And also, I'm sure, trying to just figure out the flow of things with all of the moving pieces and parts of it all. So that's exciting. I can't wait to dive in more about all of the pieces of the business. Speaking of Tara, tell us a little bit more about your background and really what led you to your current role today?

Tara Bremer: My background is actually in counseling and psychology. I got my undergrad in psychology from Purdue university, then a few years later went to seminary at, a small little seminary in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Actually, it's Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, called moravian seminary, and got my master's in pastoral counseling track. My career track was I wanted to be a professor and, I wanted to have a private practice as well, like part time.

Tara Bremer: So I was just kind of plugging away at that. And then I unexpectedly got pregnant and. Had kids and I took a break and just never went back to the counseling and psychology world. Though it is my first love, I'd love to learn. I love to read.

Tara Bremer: So I keep my foot in the door in whatever way as I can. But when I had kids, I realized , especially when I became a mom of three, three is the tipping point. I don't know.

Tara Bremer: Do you have children? Not yet.

SK: We have a black lab mix named Mayfair.

Tara Bremer: Okay. All right. Well, for me, and maybe everybody's got their own capacities, but for me, three. Was a tipping point. And I realized how I needed an outlet. And I had been blogging about organizing my own house and took my own.

Tara Bremer: Pictures, things like that, and I thought, you know what? I bet somebody would pay me to do this. So I named the business, started it, put it out on Facebook, and actually. Put it out like I first started networking with adoptive moms of chinese kids in Birmingham.

Tara Bremer: It was a very niche group that I was in and I was like, hey, guys, I'm doing this. And those women are the first ones. Who ever hired me. And some of them are still my Clients and that's been pretty special to kind of keep up with them. But yeah, so I don't quote unquote.

Tara Bremer: Use my degrees for counseling psychology, but there's just such a TLC required or that we offer for our clients that it's in play every single day. I love thinking about people's personality types.

Tara Bremer: I'm very, biased. I like the enneagram. So I think about what someone's Enneagram type might be and how can I best serve them in their house based on that. So I'm not doing therapy. I joke that we're doing therapy for the house, but if I know someone's an Enneagram seven, like fun loving and ready to get onto the next fun, thing, I'm probably not going to organize their cords within an inch of. Their lives because they're not going to maintain that. Now, if they're an enneagram one, kind. Of a perfectionist, they would probably like that. So I would do that for them. But most of our clients have had something, some compelling reason for their house to become disordered or cluttered or even hoarded. we work with hoarders now and.

Tara Bremer: Then, and so it is a privilege. To get to walk with people and love them a little bit because they've probably had adapt in the family or maybe there's some mental illness going on. There's just always something. So we try to use our hearts and our hands.

SK: I love that. I think that's great. This is kind of a full circle moment, but I, was going to see my therapist this year and I was like, I'm really just nervous about meeting with you because I want you to like me. And I feel like this is me opening up my drawers in my house and everything on the outside looks spic and spam and perfect. But when you start digging into the drawers and opening up the closets, you realize I'm just shoving a bunch of stuff in there, right. And hoping for the best. And so to me, this kind of seems like an opportunity where you get to help people find hope as well as healing within their own home, which I think is a really special thing.

Tara Bremer: Thanks. That's a really great metaphor because therapy and organizing people who have us into their homes are often really embarrassed and I try to do everything I can, like, on social media and just prepping. People, like, hey, we've seen it all.

Tara Bremer: Your information is private. It's going to be okay. Like, I might wear gloves if I have to, but that's super rare, by the way. But we've seen it all. You honestly can't really shock us anymore. I say that, but now something's going to happen. Are you into the enneagram, by the way?

SK: I am, yes. I'm an enneagram three.

Tara Bremer: Oh, yes. I knew it. So I was going to write it down. I didn't want to tell you what I thought you were. I was going to write it down and show you that that's what I thought, but I didn't have a pen fast enough.

SK: Yeah, I'm a three also.

Tara Bremer: Nice.

SK: Hey, threes unite.

Tara Bremer: That's right. Driven. You want people to like you.

SK: Oh, I want to be my therapist. Best client, like always. Yeah, it's a challenge. I'm like, you will like me by the end of this.

Tara Bremer: Oh, yeah, 100%.

SK: It's like, challenge accepted. And it's like, wait, I don't think that's how this is supposed to work.

Tara Bremer: No, I know.

SK: So, you kind of touched on this a little bit, but I'd love to dive deeper, and know what truly inspired you to want to go into this space and really create House Peace. I mean, you definitely touched on this,  but what do you feel like just really motivated you to want to do that, apart from maybe that career transition in your life and the initial contacts that you made?

Tara Bremer: I mean, back to becoming a mom of three So the way I became a mom of three is my two sons. My two olders are my biological sons, and then my daughter is the third, and she was adopted from China at 19 months. So the way she came into our family is not typical biologically. Three is a lot of people. Three is a lot of kids for me.

Tara Bremer: Then you've added on complications like, she's a toddler, doesn't speak English, doesn't eat american food, and has had trauma. Just the nature of adoption is trauma. And then me kind of thinking, I got this, and all of those things combined meant it was extraordinarily difficult. I was super stressed wanting to be the best mom that I could to.

Tara Bremer: These kids, the boys included, and just being my shortcomings and feeling completely helpless. I gained a ton of weight. I went on Lexapro. I, ah, had never been on any medicine before, and, it was just a very hard time. And truly House Peace came out of a stress relief. I was like, so no one in my home, meaning the children, no one listens to me, and no one's paying me, and no one tells me I'm pretty or smart. It's like the most thankless job. I think most moms would agree it's pretty thankless sometimes. As an enneagram three, I just really wanted something that was for me and someone paying me.

Tara Bremer: That is affirmation. Someone saying, I never thought of that, that's affirmation. Someone saying, I, want you back. All of that felt good to me , and I felt like I could really help them. I think I have a wing, too, and my test says balanced wings, but I can tell when I'm winging real too. I want people to live a better life, too. And if I can help you in this one little niche area, I would love that. There's a lot of things I'm bad at. We could talk about that, but I can do efficiency, and workflow and paring down. So really, at first it was kind of a hobby business, and then I'm like, this matters way more than a hobby.

Tara Bremer: This is like my life's work. So that's how it started.

SK: No, that's really interesting that you point that out, because I would think that I myself would feel the same way. Just needing something to really hold on to and to have some ownership in and to feel a little bit validated in what you're able to create for others. And so I could see how that could be really just the starting point of something so much bigger. And so thank you for sharing that, first off and for that level of transparency, because I'm not a mom yet. we'll see where the road takes us. But a lot of young moms that I speak with are very much on the struggle bus of just trying to get through the day and also find some sense of normalcy and, something that probably feels a little bit more like they have a piece of.

Tara Bremer: Thank you. I call organizing some healthy control, because , especially as a mom, there's just so much not under your control. Is the baby going to have a blowout? Are they going to take a nap? Ah. Are we going to have a meltdown? We don't know, but I can have mastery over this junk drawer right now. I'm doing this right now, and I think that that's a good thing. People might be like, that's controlling. Yes, it is. I would like to have autonomy and control right now. Especially with that one drawer right. If I can tackle that one thing, I can check it off my list.

SK: What does creating organizational systems in a home mean? And how can it be maintained? Because I always hear that phrase thrown around like, it's a system. work within this system, work within this framework. What does that really mean? And then how can people actually carry it forward beyond just the first time that you come to help them?

Tara Bremer: This is a great question because I think people get intimidated by the word system. But to me, a system means, you know what you have, you know where it is and it's labeled. That's it. I don't think it's any more complicated than that. Now, there's lots that goes into that. Such as, most people have too much stuff. They just do most of our jobs. I'm going to say 95% of our jobs. We are getting rid of stuff. Meaning the client is like, we don't make anybody do anything they wanted to do, but they're like, should I get rid of this? Or, I don't want this. I don't want this. So we take donations like crazy to the thrift store on our, clients behalf because it's all too much. People are like, I tried this system, I tried this.

Tara Bremer: Well, no system is going to work if it's just too much. There's that. So we got to downsize, we got to declutter. But the main thing with a system is that you know what? You have so many people, they don't.

Tara Bremer: Even know what shoes they have because they're scattered or they don't even know, oh, I had this book once, but. I like to say, let's get the friends with their friends. So let's put all of our books together. Let's put all of our shoes together. All the crafts are together, so we can see our inventory, and we're going to contain them in whatever pretty way. And I do love the home edit. They're real big on systems, and they've got a line at Walmart that I like to use in my clients funds. So, yes, let's get some pretty home edit stuff, but we're going to label. It so that everybody in the household is on.

Tara Bremer: So I think this is especially applicable if you've got help at home. So maybe you've got someone who cleans for you or does your laundry, or maybe your mother in law watches the kids. We want everybody to be on board with where things are. So I'm super big into labeling. I have an embarrassing number of label makers.

SK: Okay, it's not embarrassing. I bought one this year, thinking I was going to label some stuff. It has not gotten out of the box yet.

Tara Bremer: Let's open it up. Just make a label. Yeah. I'm eager and ready.

SK: It's so overwhelming. It's like, where to begin, right.

Tara Bremer: I, think that's the thing, is to take the small space if you're going to do it yourself. Like say you do the junk drawer, I just like to do that because everybody has a junk drawer. So say you get some cute little. Clear drawer organizers from Walmart or wherever and gather all the things that you need in there. So you need some pens and some stamps and whatever. And then once you have the configuration set, get the label maker out and I label those drawer organizers within the drawer. Some people are like, that's dumb. And I'm like, but you will forget. Humans forget and we're distracted. And so it just reminds you like, oh, right. I decided that the pens were going to go here. Here's where the pens go. You can also change it if it doesn't work, but just try a little tiny area. And if you have trouble getting started, I like to tell people to make. If you need a body doubler, you need a person. A good, like, ADHD strategy. If you need a person with you, ask a friend over, say, hey, girlfriend. Can you come over? And I'm, getting us Starbucks coffees. And we're going to turn our phones off and we're just going to work on this for like an hour and it makes it fun and it's like. She doesn't need to do anything, she just needs to be in there, and if you do need advice, she's there and she loves you and she's going to tell you the truth. Be like, yeah, that thing, you don't need that I think that's what's so powerful about House Peace is people are paying us to be there, so they're super invested , and there's just power in that appointment time. And you can do that on your own, too. Like I said, invite a friend. I wouldn't do it with your mom or maybe not your sister, just depending on your relationship, but a good friend.

SK: Yeah. You need that hype girl to help you out.

Tara Bremer: Yeah.

SK: Or House Peace What is your approach or process when working with a client? So step one to step 20, what. Is kind of that first initial conversation look like and how do you really. Kind of go there with the client. And understand kind of maybe their organizational style as well as maybe they really care about the storage bins and the containers, how do you walk that out with them?

Tara Bremer: I think it's really important to get to know our clients on a personal level because any success as far as maintaining is going to depend on what they're capable of what's their life like? So we do an intake form that's On my website, and we ask a lot of questions, like, what do you do for a living? In fact, it's funny. Everybody answers the questions. One person was like, I don't see how this is relevant. I was like, okay, I just want to know what you do, but I'll ask their personality type, if they care to share it, or how many kids. What are some special circumstances? I have it like, it just a blank box that if there's special circumstances, put them in here. And it's so interesting what people will say, like, I'm coming out of this weird extra special thing from COVID and it's their story.

Tara Bremer: So we start there and then we talk to them. I think people would really love to get a quote from us immediately, like. If this, then that. But it's just unfortunately not plug and play like that. It's not very straightforward because of the circumstances. So we call our clients or text. And they send us pictures, and we. Ask about what's going on. How do you feel about purging? What's your budget? How can we maximize your budget if it's a concern? And, yeah, we just really try to. Get to know them as much as possible. I have, like, a cheat sheet that I send to my team. It's an enneagram cheat sheet that actually. I had chat GBT help me with. And, it was something like, I think I put in there, something like. how would you help organize for each enneagram type? And it's so fun. It's so fun. I mean, I could have figured it. Out myself, I'm sure, but it saved me a lot of time.

Tara Bremer: I'm kidding, by the way, but saved me a lot of time to do Chat GPT And so my girls can reference that, too. Even if someone is not into the enneagram. Like, oh, I see that you're a fun loving person, so you're going to.

Tara Bremer: Want some looser categories of things so. That you can just throw those cords in the container and you don't have. To worry about it. But enneagram one, she's going to want. To wrap tight, all lined up, and that's fine. that's great. We also try to take into not try, but we do. We take into consideration someone's profession. So I told you, I think that. Everybody has too much stuff. well, yes, but also, everybody has a thing. So, for example, one of my first. Collaborations I ever did was the woman down the street. Her name's Natalie McMyler, and she at. The time had a boutique, so fashion was her thing, and her closet had lots and lots of clothes. And an average person, I would have. Been like, we got to downsize this because we were kind of jamming the hangers in there. But for her, that absolutely is her thing. So, okay, that's the thing. We're going to honor the thing. We're going to make more space for it. We're going to take stuff that doesn't need to be in here out, so there's more room for the clothes.

Tara Bremer: That's perfectly appropriate. I'll use my family as an example, too. My husband's, a geologist, a geological engineer and a percussionist. And let me tell you that rocks and drums are bulky hobies and require. A lot of storage. If I could only show you, there's a cabinet over here to my left.

Tara Bremer: It's about five foot tall, and it's like an antique thing. It's got shelves in it, and it is covered up in beautiful rocks and gems and minerals. You would die. It's so pretty. And it's all things that he has found. Like, he doesn't buy rocks, he finds. Them, goes on trips to find them and stuff. So geology is his thing. So we're going to honor the thing. Like, we're going to have this piece of furniture here for that. So maybe reading is your thing. We're going to have it in bookshelves. But maybe if reading and fashion and Geology and percussion and all these things. Are your thing, there's just simply not room for that. So most people don't have that many hobbies.

Tara Bremer: So it's really cool to try to get to know someone's hobby and say. Okay, yes, this matters to you. I call it treasure, reverence. Let's revere the treasure. But all this other stuff, we don't need to worry about. So, like, for me, I like clothes. Fine, but I, wouldn't say I'm into fashion. I have a very capsule wardrobe, minimal. Colors, and that's fine. And my hanging closet is, like, three foot wide.

Tara Bremer: But I have an entire office that actually used to be a sewing room. But we've kind of, changed it over the years. And my son's got, like, a maker space. Well, not everybody has a home, office. Or maker space, and that's fine, but I'm not going to have, like, a huge wardrobe. I know they're not related, but we just can't have all the things. But we can have some things.

Tara Bremer: Does that make sense? Yes, absolutely. I think that's a great way to kind of put it in perspective for people because I think it's so easy. To just be like, I want it. All and I need it all. But it's also like, well, let's focus in on the individual. I think that's what customizes the experience and makes it really personal for not only your company, but the individual who's welcoming you into their home. So I think that makes complete sense.

SK: Yeah.

Tara Bremer: And so we schedule the job, we come in. Usually there's almost always two of us on a job. It just depends again on budget and time. Some people are like, I can't handle two people. I just want one. It's just too overwhelming to have two. And other people are like, can you bring the biggest team possible? Because I want to get this job done. And we do the job, we do the work, we take the donations away.

Tara Bremer: Sometimes we give homework, sometimes we schedule to come back. It just kind of depends. And we follow up with them and. Ask how things are going And, our clients, I feel so privileged to say this, they love us and they keep having us back. And I noticed a big change in. New jobs about a year and a half ago, meaning there weren't as many new clients. It was like, and a lot of other business owners said around that same time , but it never impacted us. Because our repeat clients keep having us back. So not as many new, but tons of repeat. And I'm super thankful for that. A happy customer is worth everything.

Speaker B: Yeah, and sometimes we befriend our clients. I follow some of them, on Instagram and yeah, we end up really loving them. Yeah, well, obviously they love you back, so that's an even better feeling.

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SK: With House Peace coming in to help kind of organize. Like with your team, with these repeat customers that you're finding, are they usually doing smaller little projects over time in their home, or you all usually coming in and having to overhaul the whole thing and then having to come back again to reorganize the same big project again?

Tara Bremer: We don't have to do that. Typically every once in a while someone. Will say, oh, yeah, you did. My home school room a couple of. Years ago, and it needs a pretty good touch up. Like that makes sense because the ages of their kids have changed, the curriculum has changed. But a lot of our repeat customers, it'll just be different spaces and they're just ready to tackle something else. Sometimes we also do packing services, so.

Tara Bremer: We've packed people up and unpacked, and so a lot of our repeat clients, we've moved to them more than once. And that's pretty fun because we get to see their new space and help them set up the systems that we already put in place that were working for them. but in a new place that might need some tweaks or whatever.

Tara Bremer: So it depends. I can't honestly think of anybody who said, oh, I haven't maintained, can. You come in and fix this? Most people are able to keep it up. That's good. I feel like that would need some cheat sheets to keep me. I guess the labels will help.

Tara Bremer: We want it to be intuitive and easy. Some people just love a system we'll talk about like paper filing. Okay. I have a friend who, she just loves a paper filing system. She's got like ten categories and she'll. Do needs attention now. Needs attention in a couple of days. This is lifelong. Blah, blah. It's so minute. But she loves it. But I would not do that for 99% of people. It's just too much. So if you've got a paper problem. We need to first reduce, get rid. Of stupid junk mail and magazines. But I like a single inbox. This is just stuff that needs attention. And we're going to go through it once a week. It doesn't have to be hard. I think that's the thing, is we just want to overcomplicate things and we don't need to do that.

Tara Bremer: Yeah, love simplifying it.

SK: So, out of all the things that you organize, what has been your favorite spot or space in a home you just can't wait to get your hands ?

Tara Bremer: Oh, boy.

Tara Bremer: I like bathrooms because I like working with products and drawer organizers and making things work and fit so that people know what they have, because so many. People have backstock of, their favorite. Skincare that was on sale or whatever, and packaging is always pretty. And, yeah, that's a fun space. But I'm going to tell you something really weird. I know it's weird. I love helping hoarders, so that's not a particular space, but it's a space. That's gotten completely whackadoo and out of hand. This is not for everybody. Not everybody on my team wants to do jobs like that, but I have a real soft spot for people with hoarding tendencies. I think just my background in mental health, I used to work at the psych hospital and just worked with a lot of people who had OCD and paranoia. And things like that. Hoarding is a mental illness, and I think there's a misconception that they choose this.

Tara Bremer: They're choosing to keep disgusting things or choosing to keep too much, but it's as out of their control as ADHD or diabetes, in my opinion. So I like that wing, too loves to come in and talk to them and look them in the face and say, this is a problem, and we're going to fix it. Right now we're doing it, and I like being able to kind of connect them with people in their community who can help and make sure that they're doing okay and checking on them. I don't ever want to think that. Me organizing a hoarder space and organizing, that's not what we're doing. We're cleaning out. It could be seen as a band aid, but I don't want to be a band aid.

Tara Bremer: I want to serve, and so I always ask questions like are ah, you seeing your doctor? Do you have a social worker that checks on you? Is there a church that you go to? Trying to make sure I'm not the. Only one that's aware of what's going on? So that's pretty precious to me. Yeah, absolutely.

Tara Bremer: It's a special space to be in and to be able to help people in that way, I think is super encouraging and great to hear.

SK: So, thinking about the company as a whole, you've made a lot of moves. It seems like in the last couple of years, I know that y'all are here in mobile. I think I saw on your website you're in New York, what is kind of like your growth strategy in terms of adding new team members onto your company? And what does that really look like from a growth perspective?

Tara Bremer: I would love to tell you that I'm super strategic and I think of cities that are growing and could use us. And I do a little bit, like, I really want to be in Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville is exploding. We do some jobs up there, but I would like to have someone. There, but I'm not that strategic. I'm a little bit of an opportunist. Okay. So when I see an opportunity, I recognize it quickly and I act quickly. So I'll tell you what's going on. This is brand new information. Nobody else really knows this. Okay. Last week, I was in Nashville for several events, and I also tacked on a job, I said on, Instagram, hey, I'm going to be in Nashville. Does anybody need any work? And a longtime follower is like, yes, me. So I booked a job with her. And I needed an assistant. So I asked around for a local. Assistant and a friend of mine was. Like, yeah, my sister, her name's Meredith. Like, great, Meredith, let's onboard. You just do this one time, one, off job.

And she was amazing. And she has a background in healthcare. And customer service, and she's just good with people. And so while we were on the. Job, I was like, hey, client, if. You need more work after today, Meredith could help you. And she was like, that's great. And I was, maybe, maybe, maybe you want to work for me. And she was like, yes, I do. And so it's just gone from there. So now she's soft launching house East Nashville right now. Like today, I met with her on the phone. We'll do a harder launch when I have time to get my website updated and all that. But she's highly qualified. And one of my qualifications is you have to be willing to market yourself. And talk about what you're know. You have to put yourself out there because I'm not there in other cities, so I can do all this stuff in Birmingham. And that's where, our biggest business is. I go to Atlanta sometimes to do some work with the girls there. I go to New York sometimes, but. They have to be the ones that are like, putting it on Facebook, as. Annoying as Facebook is or staying in. The mom's group, like, hey, I'm doing this now. Do you know anybody? And here's a business card. So, the more I grow, the. More important that marketing savvy is. And some tech savvy as well. So, yeah, I'm not strategic. I'm an opportunist.

SK: Well, you heard it here first. I feel honored. Yeah.

Tara Bremer: You're behind the curtain right now.

SK: Well, I love that. That's exciting news. And congrats for soft launching in Nashville and all the great stuff that's coming down.

Tara Bremer: Yeah. Thank you so much.

SK: So you touched on this a little bit earlier about kind of containers, but what are your go to retailers when sourcing containers? And do you use the same types of containers or brands from home to home? The reason I ask this is because, I'm like a weirdly particular container person, and that's technical term for those who are listening. But I'm just curious, where do you source and where do you look for those?

Tara Bremer: This is really important because we're doing such a volume of work and like I said, going to repeat clients homes. That I don't ever want to buy. Something at Aldi where I don't know. If it's going to come back. Yes, sometimes Aldi has pretty containers, but. It'S not sustainable because I can't get. More, the client can't get more. And I want our clients to be able to access stuff. So we do big box, we do a lot of Walmart because of the home edit line. And they've got some good kitchen stuff, too. That's not home edit. And a lot of target. And Target has some newer stuff under. The label bright room that's very similar to the home edit items. I don't use it as much because it's a little more affordable at Walmart. And then for maybe a little bit higher end job, we'll do the container store because they've got more niche products, like something super know, something dumb like sugar packet organizers. Like, I wouldn't put that in most people's towns unless a higher end Enneagram 1 may want. So I want people to be able to replicate it.

SK: I think that's good to know because I think it's hard to figure out. For me, at least. I think a mental block is. I hate to say this because it sounds terrible, but I'm going to say it. It's like measuring and making sure that you're getting the right dimensions with the containers. And to me that's like the biggest mental block because I'm going to have to measure that thing at least three times to get it correct and then figure out the configuration. And then I'm just already over it. At that point, I hadn't even started organizing.

Tara Bremer: Let me help you. Let me help you. Ready? I'm, going to hold your face. And say, it's okay. I never measure. I never measure. Unless, it's like the only time we really measure is in New York City apartments where the shelf depth is weird because it's an older place, but. In the suburbs and stuff, pretty much. Anything you're going to get is going to fit in some way. Now, if you're wanting a super tight junk drawer or super tight makeup, or it does need to fit. Exactly, yes, absolutely measure. But most of the time, that's not necessary. I put door liner, I like duck brand, smooth top, easy liner from Walmart, white draw liner in a drawer. And sometimes you might have to put some adhesive on there to get it to stay. But then once you put the makeup. In or the junk or whatever, those. Drawer organizers aren't going to move. And it's okay if they're not, an exact fit. It definitely depends on the person, but. So far, no one has been like. Hey, there's half an inch in here, and I'm just a little confused about what to do with this. Half an inch. No one said that. So if that offers you any freedom.

SK: I love, that. That's great advice. Speaking of advice, what advice would you give to your younger self looking back today?

Tara Bremer: Truly, I would say caring so much. About what everybody else thinks is not. Serving you at all. Yes, we need to care some. This is what etiquette is for. This is what hospitality is for. We need to care some. But letting people stand on your shoulders. These little invisible people who, by the way, aren't really saying these things, but. We think they are, like, critical stuff. Those are called saboteurs, and they're in. Our brains, and we need to tell. Them to be quiet and not listen to them. We can examine ourselves and say, oh. I heard a little bit of criticism. Or a mean comment on Instagram, is it true? And have some sort of foundation here. To be like, okay, yeah, that's not true. Now off it goes. I'm, offloading that. That's off the balance beam. I don't need to think about that anymore. But my younger self, even, not that much younger. Like my younger, unhealthier self, I have. Let fake people who I think are real speak into what I do with my day, even, and that's a waste. It's a waste of time, it's a waste of energy. And they probably don't care about you anyway. This person isn't actually thinking about you. As much as you think they are. Like, to a younger person, I would say you're more beautiful and capable than you know.

Tara Bremer: You're never going to be younger than you are now. And don't waste it. That sounds so dumb. I feel like I'm some sort of. Motivational speaker, but I really mean that.

SK: I agree. I think that's an important one to note, because I think you can look back and you're like, I think sometimes at least I can speak for myself. I, feel like I'm always like, when I get to this stage, I'll have this. And when I do this, I'll be here. And then I think if you look. Back, you're like, wow, that flew by really quickly.

Tara Bremer: Yeah. Being in the present, it's such a big deal. It's so hard. I mean, I just took an improv class. This is so random. I took an improv class with my. Brother recently, just like, an intro. And one of my biggest takeaways from that class was, you need to be in the moment. If you're thinking about a screw up you just did or trying to think of the next funny line, you're not there for your partner. So you're in a scene, right. And your whole job, the whole. Yes. And you're trying to make them look good, so they had an idea, and you're like, yes. And. And then they're going to do the same for you. We're making each other look good, and you can only do that if you.

Tara Bremer: Are in the present. And I just like, God, that is such a metaphor for life. Like, be here, make each other look good. They're going to make you look good be here. See what's going on right now, not. Worrying about what you're about to say, or what you've already said.

SK: So this is my last question, but favorite question. And I think it's really interesting because every person I have on has a unique perspective, and I think that's what makes the question so special. How would you define success for yourself?

Tara Bremer: I think that probably the most important aspect of my life is my mothering, my role as a, mom. And my kids are 1214 and 18. And for me, I feel successful in that. They like me, they respect me, they want to hang out with me, but they also don't. And I want a long term relationship with my kids. And so have I screwed up all over the place? Yes. Have I apologized today for things that. I've done or said? Yes. But I really like my kids. I like, who they are. And that feels successful to me. I'm not trying to say this is all, because of my efforts. It is the grace of God. It's my husband. It's all the people that pour into their lives, teachers, all these things. But I do feel like they are on their path to have a successful know. My son, he's about to graduate high school, and he's going to go away. To Indiana to, you know, there's a. Thing, right where people are like, are you just falling apart right now? And I'm like, I'm not. I know that I will cry. I know that I will miss him like crazy. But what's the alternative? That he doesn't get to go fly? No, I want him to fly. And it's all going to be okay. This is the next right step for him. I'm not saying it's the right step. For everybody, but I just feel pretty good about where he's headed.

Tara Bremer: Okay, so business success. Unfortunately, I'm very numbers driven. So I like my metrics. I like seeing what were our gross receipts every year. And every year they've gone up. And how many people do I employ. That has gone up? How many jobs, have we done all these things? So I do look at all those. Numbers, right or wrong, and I also. Really care about the metrics on social media a lot. Instagram is my main place where I market us, and it's a creative outlet as well. So, yeah, the follower count matters to me. There's people who will push back on that and say, well, that's just vanity. And I'm like, well, I'm an enneagram three, so you're right. Yes, it's vanity, but it's information for me. It's data for me. More importantly, I, do have people in my life. I have a business mastermind. I have business kind of associates. I have, friends who we talk about business with. And these are the. Yes. And friends who are like, I see you. I see what you're doing, and I love this. And they'll say something specific, and I screenshot those things, and I keep them. In a folder, and that feels successful to me. When my guest and friends notice something. That I'm doing, that's good, and I. Do the same for them.

Tara Bremer: Like, hey, I saw you got a new logo. I love that. It's gorgeous. The colors are so pretty. And that's the kind of friend and. Business associate I want to be. So that's who I've surrounded myself with, too. So I don't know, that's a very long answer for how I define success, but that's where I'm at today.

SK: Yeah, no, I love that. And I think that, first off, I think it's great to have metrics. And I geek out over numbers too. It's so funny that you mentioned the baby metrics because literally that's like what I do for a living is coach people to not worry about those things and to worry about things. But I'm like, but they're nice too.

Tara Bremer: Something for me. There is credibility in my follower account. There just is. I forget. I think I've got 20,000 followers on my business account and I'll go speak to the high school seniors on senior day and I'm like, okay, kids, pull out your phones. I know you've all got them on you. And follow me on Instagram because you're going to learn some things about life and I want you to tell your mom about me. And they're like, whoa, Ms. Tara, you got 20,000, and all of a sudden they'll listen. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it does give credibility. Just in the same way that being on someone's podcast gives credibility or being in Southern Living online, that gives credibility. So those are very nice icing things. Like icing on the cake, for sure.

SK: I really just going back to, success from a family perspective, I don't know. I really resonated with what you said because that to me is going, I feel like, to be the shift in my life in the very near future. And I just don't want to raise a-hole kids. I want to raise good human beings who care about the world and want to make it a better place and leave better than they found it. And that just, to me, really struck a chord because I think there's something really special about wanting to have that relationship beyond just I'm the parent and this is what I say. I think that there's something really beautiful and genuine about being able to have those real connections with the family that you love. And sometimes you choose family, sometimes they're your chosen family .

Tara Bremer: So, I think those goals are really good, and if I were you, I would go write those down. you said it so beautifully.

SK: Oh, thank you. Well, Tara, it has been so much fun. I've absolutely loved getting to connect with you, hear your heart, and also learn a little bit more about your incredible business and all the ways that it's thriving. Before we close, I always ask, what is your shameless plug? How can our friends, and listeners find you online?

Tara Bremer: Find me online on Instagram at House Peace. That's all the business stuff is like before and after. Pictures and tips and tricks and a little bit of the psychology. You can follow me personally, which is at, Tara B. Bremer. And that's where I do a little bit more behind the curtain, some funny stuff and my family and we're building a tiny house and getting that ready to Airbnb. And I don't know, it's just kind of a fun outlet there. My website is House Peace. Net. If someone is interested in finding out more about the business and how we work, all that, like frequently asked questions. And all that there.

Offering: I am, going to be offering. A course, a class soon, like a boot camp in March. I have not announced it anywhere, but. It's called Closet peace. So if you're interested in following me. I will talk about it there on Instagram. And you can also sign up for my newsletter. It's the link in bio and ah. Everything I do on every platform, we compile into the newsletter so you won't miss anything. And so if you're stressing about your closet, we'll have this like five-day boot camp. It's going to be so fun. Coming up in mid-March. Oh, we might have to do that alongside you. That'd be fun. That would be super fun. Totally. Well, perfect.

SK: Well, thank you so much, Tara. appreciate your time and please come back.