Tidy Tidbits

In this solo episode of Tidy Tidbits , Tidy Dad shares the story behind a video of his untidy living room on a random Thursday morning, and why he left the mess behind. In a world of perfectly curated homes and unrealistic expectations, Tidy Dad offers a reminder: Your home doesn’t need to be always tidy. It just needs to be easily tidied. He explores how the messes in our homes often tell stories...

“Must be nice…” “If only I could…” “She has it so easy.” “Did you hear what they have?” We’ve all thought it. Maybe we’ve even said it out loud. That little twinge we feel when someone else has something we want. A bigger house. A better job. More money. More freedom. A life that looks just a little bit easier than our own. Inspired by the book Envy , this episode explores why we compare ourselves...

Before the gifts, decorations, and toys start piling up, let’s make a little space. And no, I’m not suggesting a massive weekend decluttering spree. Instead, I’m sharing three categories that actually make sense to declutter right now , not just because they’ll free up space in your home, but because other people are looking for these items now. In this episode of Tidy Tidbits , we’re talking abou...

In this episode of Tidy Tidbits , Tidy Dad welcomes bestselling authors Jo Piazza and Christine Pride to discuss their new novel, I Never Knew You at All , a thought-provoking story about secrets, betrayal, family relationships, forgiveness, and the consequences of uncovering the past. Together, they explore why we keep secrets, whether protecting someone can justify withholding the truth, and how...

Want to read more books but can’t seem to find the time? Between work, parenting, and never-ending to-do lists, making time to read can feel impossible. In this solo episode of Tidy Tidbits , Tidy Dad shares how he makes room for books as a father of three, full-time NYC public school teacher, and marathon runner. From his five-minute morning reading routine to swapping bedtime scrolling for a goo...

What if the goal isn’t to finally finish your to-do list, but to accept that you never will? In this episode, I’m talking with Jess Ekstrom , author of Making It Without Losing It , about the never-ending to-do list, why accomplishment rarely gives us the feeling we expect it to, and how to decide what actually deserves our time and attention. I also share my word for the year and ask Jess: Is tha...

The planning. The decision-making. The meals. The work. The parenting. The exercise. The endless list of things you’re somehow supposed to fit into one day. In this solo episode, I’m taking my own advice from Tidy Up Your Life and revisiting one of my favorite ideas: Stop Doing All the Work. When life feels like too much, there are three ways to lighten the load: eliminate it, share it, or outsour...

Tidy Tidbits #77 - How to Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need In this episode, I’m talking with Eric Atlas, the author of Saying No to New: Why New Things Are Stealing Your Time, Money, and Happiness―and How to Take Back Your Life . His book is about the psychology of understanding why we want new things and how to make better informed decisions about the things that we bring into our home. It’s not...

It’s been a messy week. We made the switch from Pennsylvania back to NYC, I officially started year 19 of teaching, and our three kids started back to school. In this episode, I’m sharing three simple things I’m doing to make the transition feel more manageable: tidying what I can control, putting on my own oxygen mask first, and asking what actually matters to our family right now. When life feel...

This episode is sponsored by Plantifique. Emily and I both turned 40 years old this summer, so quality skincare has been on the mind. Plantifique is a female-founded, Korean-developed skincare brand built on one idea: feed your skin barrier, don’t fight it. You can head to plantifique.com/tidydad and use code TIDYDAD20 for 20% off an order + a FREE gift. What should our kids be eating? Should we b...

I was standing on a beach in Bermuda in my butterfly swim briefs when my sisters broke the news via text: Dolly Parton had passed away at the age of 80. Butterflies had always been a symbol for Dolly, and for my 40th birthday, my sisters had given me a Dolly “Cup of Ambition” mug, a nod to her iconic song “9 to 5.” There was something especially poignant about learning of Dolly’s death the same we...

What does tidying up your life have to do with becoming a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ? Apparently, more than you might think. Tyler Moore (Tidy Dad) shares how a childhood tradition of watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Kentucky eventually led to attending the parade with his own kids in New York City, becoming a Ronald McDonald balloon handler, touring Macy’s Studio,...

Building on Episode #70, “Back-to-School Isn’t a Day, It’s a Season,” this episode is focused on the routine I’d address first. It’s small but surprisingly complicated: getting out the door and then getting everything put away when you come home. Using strategies from my experience as a teacher, school administrator, and dad of three, I’m sharing my simple routine framework that actually works. Th...

In episode #55 of Tidy Tidbits , I asked, “When was the last time you actually used a cookbook? Not your phone. Not a blog post. A real, physical cookbook with a spine, pages, and a table of contents.” Ever since then, my family has been cooking from Caro Chambers’ cookbook, What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking , almost every day. Her brand new cookbook, Make It Fast , is filled with simp...

In this episode of Tidy Tidbits , Tidy Dad (Tyler Moore) shares a simple mindset shift that’s helped him navigate nearly two decades in education, as both a teacher, an administrator and a parent. Whether you have school-age children or you simply feel the shift that comes with a new season, this episode offers a calmer approach to one of the busiest times of the year. Instead of adding more back-...

Six months ago, I started a simple 30-day experiment: no checking social media or news between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m. That one change created more time, more mental space, and eventually led to another experiment: moving my workouts to the early morning. But jumping straight from sleep into an intense workout wasn’t easy, so I added one more habit: a short morning yoga practice while my coffee brews....

What if the traditional path to homeownership isn’t the only path? This week I’m joined by my friend, fellow Astoria Queens neighbor, and host of the Second Home First podcast , Katie Cline. Katie and I both rent our apartments in New York City as our primary homes, while owning vacation properties outside the city. We talk about the realities of owning and managing short-term rental properties, a...

This week I’m joined by bestselling author Jo Piazza to celebrate the release of her newest novel, The Parisian Heist . Our conversation starts with a simple question: Is it ever okay to steal? From there, we dive into the real-life story of Jo Van Gogh, the woman responsible for transforming Vincent van Gogh from an overlooked artist into one of the most celebrated painters in history. We also ex...

It’s time to order the paperback version of the “original, whimsical, and altogether practical,” Tidy Up Your LIFE book! In print August 4th. Grab your copy of Tidy Up Your Life today ! Tidy Up Your Life is about more than organizing your home. It’s about building routines and systems that help you navigate the inevitable messes of everyday life. Today’s episode is about one of those messes: teach...

Our family started our summer break this week! Whenever life changes and transitions happen, I think it’s worth asking: How do we stay connected? This spring I took twelve graduate credits to move up to the final salary step as a teacher. One of my courses focused on building classroom culture, and it made me realize something. Teachers spend a lot of time thinking about how to help students talk...

If you’ve been craving a little more quiet, a little more stillness, or a reminder that you don’t have to keep pace with everyone around you, this episode is for you. While walking the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain I occasionally pulled out my phone and recorded voice memos. This week on Tidy Tidbits , I’m sharing some of those audio recordings with my personal reflections, complete with th...

This week, I’m turning 40! We’re also celebrating major family milestones, including one daughter graduating from kindergarten and another graduating from elementary school. As Father’s Day and summer break approach, I’m reflecting on this season of life, and revisiting the idea of Surthrival , the space between surviving and thriving. If you’re navigating a surthrival season of your own, this epi...

In this episode, I’m joined by Darby Saxbe, PhD , the author of the new book Dad Brain , which explores the science and psychology of modern fatherhood. It’s a fascinating book about the ways fatherhood changes men, challenges them, and reshapes identities in ways we don’t always expect. If you’re a dad listening, you need to read this book. And if you’re a mom listening, you need to read this boo...

After finally taking down a giant birthday balloon arch that had slowly turned a corner of our living room into an unexpected clutter magnet, I found myself considering, “What does it actually mean to be organized... enough?” Inspired by a recent contribution to Real Simple magazine, I’m sharing practical, realistic strategies for organizing common problem areas, shaped by how our family organizes...

In this episode of Tidy Tidbits, I’m sharing a simple three-part framework for organizing school papers and artwork in a realistic, functional way. We’ll talk about how to decide what to let go of, what to keep, and how to create systems that honor your children’s creativity without letting artwork and worksheets take over your home. Mentioned in this episode: * 5-tier paper file system * File sto...