Dr. Jessica Peck: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, PreBorn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time, she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword BABY or visit preborn.com/AFR hello, and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show, prescribing hope for healthy families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner, and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends, and welcome to my favorite time of day on, one of my favorite days of the month. If you're listening in. No, it's not Friday. It's actually Monday. It is Monday, right? Yeah, it's Monday, which, if I'm honest, is not my favorite day. But it's going to be a great day because of my guest today. I'm so excited to introduce my guest to you today. If you feel a sudden urge to clean out your kitchen junk drawer to go and check your linen closet, yes, you would be right. It is another episode of the Declutter Diaries. We're talking to Kathi Lipp today. Listen, I know this series has been very popular with our listeners. We have gotten so many letters about this series. Just saying it has been so helpful. And we know that is because clutter is not just an annoyance. It's not just a task. It's not just something that we have to do. It's not something on our to do list. It is something that deeply impacts our family. It impacts our health, our mental health, our emotional health, our relational health. And I have shared with you that this is something I am really struggling with. So if you've been following along, then you know that I have. I've had a lot going on this year. My family has faced a lot of challenges. There's been a lot of unexpected things in my schedule. But I'm very happy to report to you that my Christmas tree, my last Christmas tree, is, in fact, down. I did take it down. I did not go into May. I've never been past February. And somehow it sneaked past me to April. But it is down. And I still do have a coat closet. And my own closet looks amazing. Sleep slowly. I'm reclaiming these spaces.

On today's episode of the Declutter Diaries, we tackle all things paper

But today, on, today's episode of the Declutter Diaries, we're tackling all things paper. And I just want to say it out loud, because we were promised a paperless world, right? That's what we were told. Everything's going to go digital, everything will be streamlined, everything's going to be so much more organized. And yet here we are, drowning in permission slips, insurance forms, sticky notes, which I may or may not have a pile of right here. But that's okay. Those are essential for me to do my job. But we've got passwords that we've scribbled on envelopes and that one mysterious pile on the counter. I have a big pile right next to me that I did show to Kathi before we started the show. No one claims, but everyone contributes to paper did not go away. It doesn't feel like. It still feels like it's multiplying. It's having children, it's having babies all over my house. Paper babies. And it started a small community in my kitchen, on my dining room table, on my nightstand. It's not just the paper. It's what is represented on the paper. I put the paper aside because it's decisions, it's responsibility, it's mental load, it's things that are to do. It's not just a form. It's remembering. Which medication, which contact, which allergy, which deadline, which appointment, which form have I filled out? And especially for those of you who have more than one kid and you're filling out the same form multiple times, like, oh, my goodness, I've started. I did learn how a hack for that, though, by the way, is that I would just fill out one form and white out the kid's name and then make a copy of it and then write their name back on it. I don't know if that's. Yeah, I. I'm not recommending that. I'm not saying that as a strategy. I'm just saying that worked for me. But the truth is that quiet administrative weight is one of the most exhausting burdens we carry, because who's going to tackle that pile of paper? But what if we've been looking at it all wrong? What if it's not about being more organized and finally conquering the paper? It's just about learning to be more intentional. What if it's not a chore? It's a practical way that we love our family? Well, now that seems a little bit impossible to me. But I can't say that I don't want that. I really do want that.

Jessica and KathI Lipp talk about springing into systems with decluttering

And so that's what we're going to talk about today, is springing into systems. We're going to spring into systems. You like how we did that in a way that actually brings peace and not pressure. And I'm so glad to be joined by someone who has helped thousands and thousands and thousands move from overwhelmed to simple life giving systems. I'm talking about author, speaker, decluttering expert, sort of, you know, my confidant and advisor, Kathi Lipp. Kathi, welcome back. We're so glad to have you here.

Kathi Lipp: Oh, Jessica, first of all, this is. This is also one of my favorite days of the month. Just because we get to talk about this. It really is. I look forward to hanging out with you and Stephanie and Richard and everybody on the team because, your heart is to help, and we help in very different ways. But I think so much of what we're both bringing to this is preparation is a form of protection. So, you know, whether that is, you know, doing preventative health things, you know, putting your seatbelt on is pre. Is preparation and it's protection. Right. And so is doing a lot of this decluttering. So you know where the NyQuil cold and flu is so that you know the right. Okay.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Just how many of us have not been up in the middle of the night, like, rummaging through your medicine cabinet trying to find the right medicine? You're so relatable.

Kathi Lipp: Confession time. We had our kids here a couple of weeks ago, and my daughter was coming down with a cold, and she's like, mom, do you have any medicine? And I'm like, oh, have I got medicine? And I hand her one and she goes, I would like one that didn't expire in 2020. Mom. I don't know how that one snuck in because I had redone it. But you so. But I was able to find the right one for her and help her out. And that's what we want for our families too. We want to be prepared, but we also want to make sure we can find our preparation when we need it. And paperwork is a huge part of that.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Kathi, let's dive into it and let's deliver on what we said, that we can reframe paperwork as an act of love, as a way to serve our families rather than a dreaded church. You say absolutely with such a confidence. Help me. Bring me there. Drag me kicking and screaming. What do I need to do to reframe my mindset to that?

Kathi Lipp: Yeah.

Having a place to put all your health information is very important

So I want to start with health. You know, I'm on with doctor, Nurse, Mama. So that's where we're going to start. Okay. And I needed, recently, you know, this I had an emergency, and I went to the er, and they couldn't find anything wrong with me. Two nights later, I'm back in the er, and three hours later, I am under a knife. And. Yeah, so, you know, and everything's fine. I'm 100% recovered from it. I'm so grateful for modern medicine. I can't even tell you. you'll be impressed by this. I had a gallstone the size of a pingpong ball.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I am very impressed by that.

Kathi Lipp: Like, that is.

Dr. Jessica Peck: That is a horrific. Kathi, I'm so. I bet you feel a lot better.

Kathi Lipp: I feel so much better, I can't even tell you. And Roger knew, first of all, we live very rurally. you know, we haven't been to the ER before, but he knew where it was because we had actually thought that through. He had my paperwork, he had my driver's license. Like, all that kind of stuff he was able to grab and go. And, you know, a lot of my health stuff now is online. You have my health and things like that. But I knew that, and I've had to do the same for Roger. We went to a different er. This was probably five years ago. I, didn't know you could get gallstones without a gallbladder, but we found that out in a very painful way for Mr. Roger. And so, But knowing where those things are, not having to guess at the last minute, being prepared, knowing his allergies, knowing what diagnoses he's had before, knowing what medications he's on, having the insurance card, you know, I just was able to grab one little binder, and we left. And one that helped him. But you know what? It also helped me to be relaxed and know that he was taken care of. And so you don't have. If you've got my health or something, a lot of that is prepared for you. But sometimes you get things in the mail and you need a place to put them. And, you know, our desk is great for the moment, but then trying to find that. So one place to keep those records, one place to understand where to find things. And, my poor kids, when they became adults, they're like, when do I have to take that over? When do I have to be responsible for that? And I'm like, you know what? When you feel comfortable, it's okay. But I just think that each of us needs. I'll call it a family, health snapshot. Just, is there a medication that you're on? That's an important fact for people to know Is there, is there, like we said, a diagnosis or a list of surgeries? Things that people would need to know scattered all over the house. It doesn't help. But if you have one folder, one binder, that's going to go a long way and you may never need it, and wouldn't that be nice? But one, you have a place to put it, I think that's really important. Even if it is a bucket. I one time one of my friends says, there, ah, are filers and pilers, right? And she goes, I'm just a piler. And I know that about myself. So if you're a piler, get a tray that you're like, all my health stuff goes here and I don't have to worry about it. And until something comes up and I can just grab what I need. If you're a filer, then you have a file for it, even if it's just a plastic file that you put all that stuff in. And maybe once a year you go through. We just did that yesterday, where we went through a bunch of paperwork. I love throwing things away. It's my favorite thing in the whole world. But for some reason it's hard for me to do. Just as the mail's coming in, what if I need it? You know, we all have those things. And so doubling down and saying, okay, I'm just going to put it here. And then, because we all have that, I'll just put it here for now. But if you're here for now, is something you can grab and go. I think that's really important.

Dr. Jessica Peck: My here for now is now a pile of paper that's up over the top that keeps falling out every time I move it. But you know, Kathi, I want to sit on this, on this medical idea for a minute because you're right. You're talking to me and you're singing my song and telling me what's important. Here's the interesting thing and how this really plays out, because you had that here. Here's kind of how the difference can go. So. Because I love that you call him Mr. Roger makes me think of Mr. Rogers, which I think of him like that. Like that kind, caring, you know, just stabilizing, like, yeah, taking care of everything. But thinking about Mr. Roger walking into the emergency room and having that paper, your allergies, your insurance, your past medical history, any medications you're taking, and he hands that over and great, now he's fully present with you. Now he's sitting with you. He's not worried. Did I Forget the allergy. What are you. What are you allergic to? I don't want to bother you. You're in pain. Oh, I'm sorry about that. Wait, I'm gonna make sure that got. I got the insurance, right? Oh, did I tell him about this? Did I tell him about that? No, wait, I forgot something. I'm gonna have to leave. Walk down the hallway, go back down to the desk, wait my turn, you know, do all of this again. That takes away time that you're there. So this is how all of this lack of organization, everything. Forgive me for using the medical term pun, Kathi, but it all bleeds over. It all bleeds over to relationship and how the actual day goes, you know, and then you get frustrated. It can it. Then when there's increased frustration, there's increased stress, then you're going to start worrying about, you know, the relational tension. Like all of those things. Like it is all absolutely related, isn't

Kathi Lipp: 100 is. And do I want panic or presence from Roger when he's taking care of me? And, you know, he. He was worried enough just because I passed out in the middle of our room, and he's like, I think it's time for us to go to the er And I'm like, you know what? I actually agree with you this time. But, you know, he would get me into the car, we grab our stuff, and he could be fully present there with me, and that's what I want. And by the way, because we have kept track of our paperwork, two weeks afterwards, when I get the bill from the hospital, and it says that we owe $33,000, you know, at first, there's the initial panic, and I'm like, okay, I know that can't be true. I know that can't be true. And so we have all of our paperwork. We know where to go online to figure things out. And they're like, oh, yeah, we. Our systems fit that out before. I'm like, your system needs to calm down, because the last thing somebody needs

Dr. Jessica Peck: after surgery, it's a heart attack.

Kathi Lipp: Right. Exactly.

So, guys, we're living in this mix of digital and physical

So, guys, we're living in this mix of digital and physical. And, you know, that physical stuff that is landing in your mailbox and the digital stuff that is on the apps and in your inbox. And yeah, we. We were. Like you said, we were promised a paperless society. Now we just got things that are competing with each other. And so to be able to simplify that and say, is this just something that the app already has? Can I throw this away? Or is this Something different I need to pay attention to. and to get as much of that paperwork shredded and recycled as possible that you don't need so you can concentrate on this small amount that you do.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I love it, Kathi, because it's so true. I mean, how many of us have looked for a screenshot that we saved of something or a picture that we took of a paper that we're trying to find? It's not that we don't have the information. We don't have the information in one place that's organized. And when it comes especially to your family's health, all of that scattered information is creating unnecessary stress. But a simple system can bring some clarity and confidence and calm. So when we come back, we'll keep talking about this. What should you put in a family health finder? And we're also going to talk about school forms. We'll be right back.

An ultrasound provided by preborn helped Candace hear her baby's heartbeat

Candace talks about finding out she was pregnant. Thankfully, an ultrasound provided by preborn allowed her to hear her baby's heartbeat. The sonogram sealed the deal for me. My baby was like this tiny little spectrum of hope and I saw his heart beating on the screen and knowing that there's life growing inside, I mean, that sonogram changed my life. I went from just Candace to mom. Thank you to everybody that has given these gifts. You guys are giving more than money. You guys are giving love. Preborn currently has clinics that do not have ultrasound machines. Would you consider a leadership gift and sponsor a machine today? These life Saving machines cost $15,000 more than most centers can afford. Your donation will save countless lives for years to come. Dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby or go to preborn.com/AFR Praise by Brandon Lake, Chris Brown, and Chandler Moore/Elevatio I'll praise when outnumbered and praise when surrounded cause praise is the water my enemies drown in as long as I'm breathing I've got a reason to praise the Lord oh my soul Praise m the Lord oh my soul I praise when I feel it I praise when I don't.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is praise by Brandon Lake Chris Brown and Chandler Moore. And I will praise when I feel it and I'll praise when I don't. And a lot of times when I don't feel like praising it is when I'm battling clutter in my home.

This is another episode of the Declutter Diaries

This is another episode of the Declutter Diaries. And I'm back with Kathi Lipp, who has just been so great. We will tell you how you can join her Facebook page for free. She lets all of my listeners in for free and how you can Even join a subscription service if you want to. You can get a copy of her books. She's been so helpful and this is a long journey. She was just encouraging me as we were talking before the show started because I've just been on this journey about a year and four months now, trying to get control. I love clutter, y'. All. I love holding on to stuff. I have trouble making decisions. I am a clutter queen. I am. I admit that. Here is my diary entry. But she's been helping us and I really see progress. There's been so many great tips that she's had and ways that I have changed the way that I. I do clut. I don't have big project days anymore that my kids dread. Honestly, it's just 10 minutes every day. What can I clean out every day? What's sustainable? What's going to work for me? And today we're talking about paperwork. And we can't solve all your paperwork problems just this 47 minutes, but we can help you move forward. So, Kathi, one of the things that you brought that we were talking about is have organizing our health and medical information. You can see how this would absolutely appeal to me. Let's talk about this family. A, one page family health snapshot. How can we get our health information? put it in a place. Because I'll tell you, like my parents who have kids with chronic illness, man, they are on it like they do it. But, you know, there's the most of us, we're just not that on top of it. And it creates stress when we go encounter the health system because we're trying to find everything everywhere.

Kathi Lipp: Absolutely. You know, it's in a thousand different locations. And so one of the things that Roger taught me about, all of this is to have a single source of truth, one place where you put all that information. So for your kid, you know, of course, you know, their birthday off the top of your head, all that kind of stuff, maybe not under stress.

Dr. Jessica Peck: You wouldn't, you wouldn't believe how many people, you ask their birthday on the spot and they're stressed and they're worried about their kid being sick or whatever and you forget it.

Kathi Lipp: Yeah, it. Okay, you know what? We're going to give that to him. you know, one of the, My favorite things is in an emergency, you're not going to rise to the level. You know, you're not going to exceed your expectations. You're going to fall to the level of your preparedness. So, you know, we all think that we're going to be a hero in those circumstances. But, yeah, we lose our minds. We can't remember. I'll never forget. Just. I, was buying makeup one time, and I was going through all my stuff and, some. The person checking us out said, hey, do you want to join our club? Because you could get X number of dollars. And they asked Roger what, my birthday was. And he said, Roger, he said, April 16. And I'm like, that would be your first wife. So

Dr. Jessica Peck: everybody's running to write down the birth date.

Kathi Lipp: but you know what? I have an unbirthday celebration every April 16th where Roger takes me out to buy a little outfit, we go out to dinner. He's been paying for that mistake for 20 years now.

Dr. Jessica Peck: So things work together for good, for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. That is probably a gross misattribution of scripture, but we'll go with it. I love it.

Kathi Lipp: But, you know, to have that one single source of truth, and it could be one document that has, you know, my information, my husband's, my kids, but, you know, it's under each heading and that you can just scroll and you have a link to it on your phone. You have a link to it, but it has insurance numbers, your group ID numbers, your doctor's phone number, and your doctor's email address. Like, all of that information. And let's not just talk about, for, you know, an emergency when you go to the er but let's talk about school forms or if you're doing extracurricular activities. They. They need all that stuff. So having a school info master doc where you've got emergency contacts, you know, pickup authorizations, dietary notes, if you have that all in one document, it's going. Because again, some schools are still. You're still filling it out with a pen and paper. Other schools, it's online. But to have that information in one place and I think your idea of whiteout is brilliant.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Thank you.

Kathi Lipp: It. I can't tell you. I can't tell you how unreasonably angry it made me to fill out four sets of forms that were almost identical. M for our four kids.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Right.

Kathi Lipp: That's so frustrating. So I say whatever mom hack you need to do. But, I think having that one single source of truth is going to save you so much time, so much energy, and so much angst.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I agree. And so I'm envisioning. I mean, you could use AI easily. This would be actually a great use of AI to create some template 100 to put all of those things on there. What, what are their allergies, their health history? And Kathi, you know, I shared with you, I, we recently had a, a family situation where there were people in a car accident and there was multiple people in the emergency room at one time. Like to be able to have this information, to say, okay, here's this person, this person, this person. I mean, I can just see this as so helpful. So what medications are you on, is what recommendation I would have there? Like, what is your past medical history? What medications do you currently take? What medications are you allergic to? And what is your, you know, insurance information? If you just started with, with that, I mean, that would be so incredibly helpful. But also, even having your primary care provider's name and number on there is really helpful because if you do go to the emergency room, it's great. It makes it easy for me to pick up the phone, for me to get records, if I need to get records or, you know, all of those kinds of things. I think that is really, really helpful to have that there.

The end of the school year brings avalanche of paperwork for parents

And Kathi, you know, you mentioned these, the school paperwork and just the avalanche of things that come with that. I, mean, there, there's a lot of papers that come, that come with that. So what is the, what is, is there any other tips that you have? I know we've talked a little bit about work and stuff like that, but this is the time where everything that's been up on the bulletin board for the last year is going to come home. All the folders with the stories they've carefully written for the last year, that all comes home. Somehow in a digital world, we're still going to be inundated with paperwork at the end of the year. So we're what, how do we survive it and stay sane?

Kathi Lipp: A couple of ideas. One thing that you can do is with that avalanche of papers, especially with younger kids, can you pick out 10 papers that you would like? If you were to look back on third grade, this would be what you want. Maybe it was your Thomas Jefferson report, or maybe it was the picture. You know, in California we do the mission projects. And so the picture that you have of your mission project, so keeping all of that together, but to let the child decide, and if mom wants to keep a couple of things that were important to her, I think that that's great. But most of it can go by the wayside, you know, coloring pages in first grade. Most of us are never going to look back at those kind of things. But if you just had, ten pages. It's like, this is a great snapshot. And you just put it in the folder and we've talked about this before, to have one banker box for each kid and can just do grades kindergarten through 12. And here's a representation. So it's curated, it's not accumulated. That's what we want. An accumulation means nothing. But when it's curated, this is a snapshot. And by the way, your kid's probably not going to want to take that their first 10 years after graduating, from high school. They're just not. But at some point as they start to have kids, they might want to look back and pick a few things. I think another thing, and this is less about paperwork, but I'm going to bring it back to it, is we want to. We're not trying to raise great kids, we're trying to raise great adults. we want them to be great kids on their way to adulthood. But when going to, when you're having to fill out those medical forms, you know, 17, 16, 17, 18 is a great transition to. Let's your kids start filling those out so they can start to say, oh, yeah, I do have a Social Security number. Oh, yeah, they, what pharmacy do we use?

Dr. Jessica Peck: Mom.

Kathi Lipp: Okay, what insure, you know, where do I put insurance? I, the, the stories of what do I fill out for gender, you know, what do I fill out? Because they, they don't know that that means male or female. They just don't, you know, because they've never had to fill out forms like this before. And, also, they may not even know how to do the, you know, the, the month, day, year. We don't know what our kids don't know until they're put into these situations. So to be able to say, hey, I'm going to have you fill this out. But I am here. And by the way, here's your page of information with your Social Security number and your doctor's number. And so you're going to be able to find all of that on here. And if you have any questions, know, and the next time it's going to be even easier for them to submit that for school or sports or, whatever club they're in. And by the time they go to college, they're going to be able to do this without a bunch of angst.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh, Kathi, I am all about this because let me tell you, I've been in pediatric primary care for 30 years now, and I can't tell you how many kids are now on the phone with their parents, you know, the first time they have to fill out all those forms and it's like, like, mom, do I have an appendix? Did I lose any of my paired organs? Like, they, they don't know. You know, they. And I. One of my favorites was I had one who filled out the form. It said, who to call in case of an emergency. Who's your emergency contact? And this, this, this patient put 91 1, which was really funny. Who to call in case of emergency. They never filled out a form before. Right. Like, it's like, that's supposed to be your mom, honey. Like, that's your mom. Probably is going to be the person that we call, or somebody else who is close to you and taking care of you. I think having that one sheet, that one pager go with them and have them practicing that when you're there is really great. The other thing I think is really, really helpful is having them about that 16, 17, 18 year old, or even younger, if you've had precocious kids, like, you know, my oldest probably could have taken this over at the age of, I don't know, three or so. because, you know, oldest tend to be more responsible. But, we talked before, Kathi, about. I love what you said about curated, not accumulated. Because if we save everything, then what happens is. You've talked about this before. We've talked about this in a previous episode. All of a sudden, you know, they're 18, they're 22, they're out of college, they're moving out on their own, whatever they're doing. And you're like, here's all your stuff. You have to take it. And they're like, great, what do I do with this? But if it's something they've had a part curating and creating, I feel like that's going to be much more m. Meaningful rather than that empty place where you're like, oh, I've saved all this for you. And they're like, really? Thanks. Okay, that's great. And now they feel obligated to take care of it for you. So tell us more about that, about, curating that mindset.

Kathi Lipp: Yeah, yeah. I think having something like a blue folder, and this is your adulting folder. And, we're going to make sure that you have ever, if you're going off to college or maybe you're going straight into the workforce and maybe you're living at home, maybe you're not, but we need to start transitioning you to. And I, you know, I talk a big game I'll let you know. My 30 year olds are still on my phone plan, but let me tell you why. Because I told them, guys, we're switching phone plans, you need to get off. And so they came back to me with a proposal because they said, for us to go on our own plan is going to be like $150 a month. But for us to stay on your plan is 35. And I said, you are welcome to stay on the plan. Here's the deal though. I never want to ask you for money. If you send it to me the first of the month and I never have to think about it, you can stay on that plan until you no longer want a cell phone. But if I have to remind you of it, yeah, no, I, I don't want that role in your life anymore. Those kids have never missed a payment. Oh, they have, they have occasionally called and yeah, they have occasionally called and say, can I be five days late? I'm like, yes, as long as I don't have to remember it. And they, I, it, it's. I don't do a lot of parenting as well as I would like to. That was, that was good. And so to say, hey, here's the information for your phone plan. You know what, you may not need this right now, but eventually you're. And I don't also, I don't think, you're. I'm not always available to answer those questions that you're going to have when you're sitting at the doctor or the dentist or something like that.

Kathi Lipp: Having a grab and go folder can help emergency preparedness

So let's move to the next thing. And I think having that grab and go go folder to just be able to say, hey, if there's an emergency, this is what I have. Or I have a way, you know, helping them log into their, My Health portal so that they can, can find those kind of things when they need to and not just waiting for an emergency.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I love this. You know, I'm thinking of another application where I'm here, I am a pediatric nurse practitioner. I, I didn't think of this, you know, so clearly. But I'm telling you, my kids are going to have one by the end of the day because I think of a situation where my oldest went to college, my oldest kids, you know, go to college and then all of a sudden they've got something going on. They need to go to the emergency room. Who's taking them? The room roommates taking them now. Does the roommate know anything? No, but how far away am I? Like I'm going to try to, you know, do all of this by distance, but to be able just to share their papers and give this to them, you know, to alleviate roommates of that kind of responsibility. I just can think of so many ways that we can help transition kids and set them up for success, to be organized in their own lives. And, you know, we always, Kathi, we always want our kids to do better than we did, to have more than we did. And for those of us out, there clutterbugs, if you're a clutterbug like me, this should be something that we're thinking about, too, is helping them to be more organized. And so when we come back, we're going to continue talking about it. How do we prep without panic? And we'll talk some more about this grab and go folder. And Kathi, I'm going to ask you some more about that decision fatigue that sometimes comes along. I've been thinking if you that as you've been talking about that and some of the decisions we have about papers. But we'll be right back with more of the Declutter Diaries with Kathi Lipp. We'll see you right on the other side of this break.

The early church fathers viewed the scriptures as divinely inspired

Dr. Carl Trueman: Here's Dr. Carl Trueman from the American Family Studios documentary the God who Speaks. The early church fathers viewed the scriptures as divinely inspired. Often they would use the image of a, musical instrument, as if scripture had been written in the way that, say, notes come out of a flute when it's played by a flute player, as if the writer was the flute and the spirit was that which was creating the tune. Certainly they regard scripture as authoritative. When you look at the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, they're very happy to quote scripture and consider that to have closed down the argument. So obviously, the Apostolic Fathers rooted tremendous authority in the actual words of scripture itself, which implies they had a very high view of its inspiration. Visit thegodwhospeaks.org Dusty Bibles by Josiah Queen We Got Dust on our bibles Brand new iPhones. No wonder why we feel this way. Hey. How you been? It's been a while and I'm just checking in. I miss the way things used to be back, in 2017. And I, just miss my friend. Hey, I've been fine. I've been struggling to find some peace of mind. It's the problem of a nation. And in our generation, we're too busy. We can't find a time. Are we busy or is it all a lie? we got dust on our Bibles Brand new iPhones no wonder why we feel this way we walk with our,

Dr. Jessica Peck: welcome back, friends. That is Dusty Bibles by Josiah Queen. I hope that the Bible on your shelf at home are not dusty. I hope that there's not a lot of clutter. But I don't know about you, I struggle with clutter.

Declutter Diaries with Kathy Lipp focuses on managing post school paperwork

We are back with another episode of the Declutter Diaries with Kathi Lipp. And today we're talking about that after the post school paperwork avalanche that comes in and all the papers that come in. But no matter what life stage you're in, there are practical applications. We all have an accumulation of paperwork that happens in our lives. And so far Kathi's given us two great ideas. One is to create a, A one fact sheet. Well, one page sheet to talk about your medical history. Just what is it that is on there? All of the essentials that you, if there's an emergency or someone who's helping you, or just so many times that this would be helpful that you could have everything organized in one place and you're not looking in your wallet for your insurance card. And the screenshot that you took of, the, you know, the medical record thing that you had, having, getting control of that and having all of that organized because as we said, it really impacts your relationships when you're in the care environment. It allows you to focus on the person that you're taking care of instead of trying to scramble everywhere to get the paperwork. She's also given great ideas for curating that school work that comes in. If you've got that, just helping kids to choose their own exhibits, making it curated, not accumulated.

Jessica: Kathi, I wanted to talk a little bit about decision fatigue

And Kathi, when we came back, I said I wanted to talk a little bit about this decision fatigue. Sometimes, especially with paperwork, it just stacks up and each, each envelope, each paper, it represents a decision. This is something that you've taught me that has really changed the way that I look at things. Whether it's, it's a decision is maybe on the surface as simple as keep or throw away or, or am I going to buy this or am I not going to buy this? Or do I have the money for this bill or do I not have the money for this bill or do I write this person back or not write this person back? I mean there's, every piece of paper is a decision and I think like, you know, I'm looking at this big pile on my desk right now and then I look at it and it's this huge pile and I just think, ugh, I, don't want to deal with that. How can we give us some more Tips. I want to revisit that a little bit about this whole decision, you know, analysis, paralysis, and how that impacts these piles of papers we have.

Kathi Lipp: Yeah. So I want you to think about, and you know this way better than I do, how this stresses out our nervous system. When we see that pile of paper over there. We know that there are a bunch of delayed decisions sitting in that pile of paper, things that we need to do that we are going to be stressed out about. And we're. We're scared to go to that pile because we're afraid to find out what we have or haven't done. And I'll just tell you, as somebody, for most of my life, put things off as long as I could. I need you to know that my life is so much more peaceful. It's so much more in control because I do one thing, I call it. I call it kicking the ball back into play. So I'll give you an example. We had, some papers and some mail that came in while we were traveling. And I got through all of that. One of them was a renewal of Roger's, driver's license. We happen to have the money to be able to do that. So I was able to do that right there. Now, what's going to happen in three weeks? I'm going to totally forgot. Have forgotten that I did that. And I'm going to be so pleasantly surprised that Roger has a renewed driver's license, because, Jessica, I'll tell you, I remember going through airport, tsa, and Roger's license had expired by two days, and we almost missed our flight. Right? And of course, he was carrying the tech bag that had all the wires and switches, like, they had to dust everything down, all because his driver's license had expired. And so now, like, I have a piece, knowing that it is now somebody else's job to take care of all of that. At the dmv, we also had another situation where we have a, tax bill, and we knew it was coming, and we're putting money aside for it. We still have a little bit of money to go, go. But what I've done, how I've kicked it back into play, I've put it on my calendar to say, hey, you know, on this day is when we're paying that tax bill. So it's not something out there that hopefully I've taken care. No, there is a plan for it. So any piece of paper that is sitting around, can you kick it back into play or, you know, kick it down the road? A little bit, yeah. What's the next thing that needs to be done on that? And then. And I'll also say, if you are married, or maybe you are taking care of your parents, paperwork, or maybe your kids, that's when you need to schedule a time to sit down together. So I went through our paperwork yesterday, and then I invited Roger in. I'm like, I need you for about 15 minutes of decisions. And so we went through, and he's like, I'll take care of this one, and I'll take care of this one. And I took care of a couple, and it didn't matter whose response. You know, Roger would normally renew his driver's license, but that's something I could have done. And there were a couple of things that only he could do. But we're a team, and we're kicking the ball down the road together to get this stuff done, and now it's not hanging over our heads. And I am so grateful for that.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, I have to admit, Kathi, you know, saying, yeah, come sit down for 15 minutes of decision. Like, I would suggest, like, maybe making cookies or something before you do that. And then you can sit and have a treat. But. But you actually, you do propose this. You say that it's good to be organized, to have a regular administration date, you know, where you sit down. You just described it beautifully, that you're partners, that you're both working on this together. But having a regular date and having someone make those decisions with you, I can see how that would be really, really helpful. Like, okay, do we want to. Do we want to buy this insurance plan, or do we not, you know, or do. Are we going to. To, you know, sign our kid up, for this sport, or are we not? Like, because here, I have the flyer here. I mean, all. I can just think of so many decisions there. What advice do you have for, for looking at that, at that regular date to make that. To. To go through your paperwork?

Kathi Lipp: Yeah. Okay, so for us, it's Mondays. Money and munching. So we have treats. We have. Yes. Yeah. Well, you already came up with it, but, yeah, that's what we do. And Jessica, it really does only take about 15 minutes. Because if you're going through stuff like, Roger's kind of the insurance person here, but I'm kind of the medical person here. Like, we. We all have our lanes, right? And so, if there's a question, and I think when you sit down together. Yeah. Some of those are going to take more than 15 minutes because you have to discuss what, you know, if you're switching insurance or something like that, that warrants a discussion. But sometimes I just need one little bit of input from Roger and I can make the decision or vice versa. And so I think having that 15 minutes and saying if with this 15 minutes, though, we don't have to worry about this for the rest of the week. We're not worried. Are we behind on, things. We're not worried about whether our insurance is up to date. We're not worried about those things. It is. It's a gift. It really is.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I love this idea because I think it kind of takes the pressure off too, because sometimes, you know, I can think of when I. I catch my husband, like the mail comes in and then I just want to ask him right then, but maybe he's just walked in from work and he's not in a headspace where, you know, he really wants to talk about, like, like kilowatt hour prices or whatever it is, you know, having that designated time. And I am all for the snacks, I think, yes, bring on all the snacks. Like, let's sit down, make it a little date, make it fun and have that. And I'm already seeing too, you know, you're talking about having like, this form for all your medical stuff. I can think it would be really great just to have a master document. Actually, my husband and I did get some, like a. There's a company that helps you get organized with all of, like, your paperwork. And because we're thinking that, you know, we're getting older, we're like, hey, we should, like, be responsible, right? Like, at some point you feel like, okay, who's the adultiest adult in this family? Like, oh, wait, there's not many. Too, too many people older than us. Like, we should probably be the adulty adults here, right? But, you know, having that master document of when does your. When does your registration expire? Like, when does your insurance expire? When does your, you know, your electric plan renew? And just going through that, I can see how that would make it so much easier to go through the bills that come in. If you do them once a week, it shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes. Maybe occasionally it does, but, you know, sometimes that's how it goes. So I, I just, I think this is all really helpful.

How can parents talk to their kids about being prepared for medical emergencies?

So let's go back to what we started with. This is kind of grab and go folder. Like, let's talk it, let's say one more time what that is and how we can talk to our kids about that, knowing that they can take confidence in being prepared.

Kathi Lipp: Yeah, I having. And ah, you know what I'm going to do in our Clutter Free group later on this week? Oh, I'm, before I forget, a, checklist.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Tell people how to get. Tell m. People how to get into that. Kathi, real quick, before you go on any further. Tell people how to get into that.

Kathi Lipp: If, if you go to. If you go to Facebook and you just look for Clutter Free Academy, it's called Kathi Lipp's Clutter Free Academy. Ask to join. Say that you're coming from doctor, Nurse, Mama, we're going to let you in there and I, About. I'll give you a form that is just some d. You may, your family may not need everything that's on that form. That's okay. Fill out what you can, one page per person. And to be able to say, hey, kid, here's your Social Security number, here's your insurance group number. Those things are going to be so helpful to how you're still doing it for them. It's the information that you need. Where are they updated on, all the things from the doctor? Knowing all of that is going to not only empower them, but it empowers you as a parent as well. And to have it all in one place is going to make your life so much easier.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Okay, so it's. Your signal was cut out just a little bit there. I'm going to repeat this to make sure everybody gets it. You go to Facebook and you go, look for Clutter Free Academy. It's Kathi Lipp's Clutter Free Academy. And you're going to post for them there a templated worksheet. Is that what I heard you say?

Kathi Lipp: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Talk to kids about emergency preparedness without making them feel anxious

Dr. Jessica Peck: Okay, all right, fantastic. Because I think this is a really great thing to sit down and just think, okay, what do we need to be prepared for in case of emergency? and, and talking to kids knowing that they're prepared for that kind of thing is really helpful. It's great because you can do that without making them feel anxious about it. Because if you don't like talk about it now, then when you're trying to run around and find everything in the moment that can feel. That can feel really anxiety inducing. And maybe, Kathi, as we get into the summer months, maybe one of the thing we can talk about too is emergency preparedness too, because there is a certain clutter that comes along with emergency preparedness too. I live on the Gulf coast, so we have hurricane season all the time. So it's like, okay, these things that I don't need, but I should need, like, how can we get organized with our emergency preparedness stuff? Maybe that's something we can tease and talk about a little bit later.

Kathi Lipp: Jessica, I don't know if. You know, I wrote a whole book on this called Ready for Anything. So I'll send it to you and I'll send one to Stephanie so we can all prepare. Okay.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Okay, that sounds really, really great.

Declutter Diaries focuses on helping families become more organized

Well, any other invitation that you to want to give to our listeners for what's going on in the Facebook group? Any other. Any other surprises, tidbits, teasers, spoilers?

Kathi Lipp: Yeah. So we are. We are working on, some bathroom clean out right now. So that has been really good. Let's not take that me m. You know, you're not even supposed to be, putting patient in your bathroom because the steam and the heat and all that can affect it.

Dr. Jessica Peck: But that's true.

Kathi Lipp: So let's. We're staying on top of things like our makeup clean out. did you know you're supposed to replace your mascara every four months? Just little hints that we need to know to keep ourselves safe. Preparation is love. It really is. It is. It's protecting our peace.

Dr. Jessica Peck: It is protecting our peace, one of the most practical forms of love. And. And, you know, maybe we're not all going to get perfectly organized in just this month, but you can create just enough structure that your family can breathe a little easier. We talked about this last time. Is another lesson that's really been sticking with me is trying to clear off and find one space in your home that you can have physical connection. Check out any of our prior episodes of the Declutter Diaries because these are. We're talking about systems that give you peace of mind. And we're not just talking about decluttering our spaces. We're talking about strengthening our systems to be organized. Organized to be ready to meet any need that our family might have to decrease that psychological strain, that mental stress that comes along with do I have what I need when I need it? Well, until next time on the next episode of Declutter Diaries. We'll be back in May, and we'll be talking some more about all kinds of things. I'm really excited to continue. We will do that. We'll talk about end of school survival. And in the meantime, may the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. I'll see you right back here tomorrow. We'd like to thank our sponsors, including PreBorn. PreBorn has rescued over 400,000 babies from abortion and every day their network clinics rescue 200 babies lives. Will you join PreBorn in loving and supporting young moms in crisis? Save a life today. Go to preborn.com/AFR the views and

Jeff Chamblee: opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Declutter Diaries. Are you overwhelmed with paperwork, medical records, and other important documents? Jessica talks with Kathi Lipp about systems that will help you tame the chaos of paperwork and how we can have the peace of mind of knowing where our important family documents are located.

https://kathilipp.com/