Let's Get Organized...with 'The Home Edit' Creators

Published Jan 6, 2025, 5:00 AM

New Year, No Clutter!

Let's Be Clear kicks off 2025 with Organizational Experts Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, co-founders of "The Home Edit."

They join guest host Trista Sutter to offer advice on decluttering our homes AND our minds!

Plus, all about the lives they are transforming as hosts of the new "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on ABC.

This is Let's Be Clear with Shannon Dorny.

Hi, everybody, this is Trista Setter. I was the original Bachelorette back in the day, and I am so honored to be able to.

Host So Let's Be Clear podcast.

I was just asking who's done it in the past, and I am just so honored to be one of the new names to be able to co host this podcast. So and I am so excited today because I am a huge organizational junkie, Like I love organization, and I was a massive Extreme Makeover Home Edition fan back in the day or Extreme Makeover fan, I guess I should say, because that's what it used to be called before Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and then Jillian Harris, a friend of mine, was on the show. Anyway, I I'm so excited about talking to these two guests today. Cleia and Joanna are the Home edit and they have so many great ideas about organization and I think it's perfect for the new year. So I'm really excited to be able to welcome Clia and Joanna to the podcast.

Hi, Trista, great to meet you.

AI you do okay, Well, I'm so excited to talk. My name is Trista and I don't know if you know my name or anything about me, but.

Yes, you're so cute.

Well we are family now because ABC is family, and you know I'm an ABC Girl, bachelor, bachelorette, and welcome to the ABC family. I'm so excited to welcome you and to be on this podcast today. Let's be clear with Shannon Doherty, and I am honored to be able to host. So I want to back up to when you got the call for the show, like, tell me how that went down, because I feel like that's so exciting.

So I'll say that we started having conversations well before we actually got the green light to film the pilot, and I'm telling you, in those conversations, every single time Joanna.

Was like, do you think that this is this is really going to happen, I was like, there's no way. It's just not going to happen. There's like chance not, It's just not a thing that's going to happen, right, Like this is not baked in reality.

No, And She's like it's just not And I was like, oh, okay, Debbie Downer.

But like and then like the conversation started feeling more real and then there were conversations about maybe starting casting, and still.

I was like, I believe it when I see it.

I mean, it's coming out tonight, and she's like, I don't know, I don't know if it's going to act.

But when we actually got the call that this was in fact happening there, you know, there are two calls that got the call for the pilot and then the green light for the whole series pick up.

I mean, yeah, no, it's insane. We're like, wait what And then we're like, are they do they know? They're sure they know that we don't know how to build a house, Like has that been made clear?

Yeah, like, full disclaimer, we don't know what we're doing with building a house.

So for pretty much anything that you.

Know that they need, unless it was an organizing thing, we're just going to show up and be ourselves and like you let us know if you need anything more from.

Us, right, Yeah, And it worked out. So that's how it went.

I mean I would say it worked out. Is this something that you guys dreamt of?

Like watching the show and did you did you know each other back when the other show was on? Oh?

No, so okay we met.

Now that it's twenty twenty five, This is our ten year anniversary.

This year we can say that, we can officially say that.

And we did not know each other before we went into business together. We met at a blind lunch date, a blind friend lunch date, and got up as business partners. So these last ten years have been jam packed with you know, starting a company, adding to the company, doing all sorts of different things that do not just involve organizing a home anymore, you know. There we have so much going on in our business, and every day has been spent plugging away since the minute that we met.

And truly we could not have drunk this piece. No, absolutely not. Who dreams this big? Right?

Not us?

Certainly? Yeah?

Crazy, yeah, but everyone should, right because hello, yes, dreams are coming true.

Well you can just manifest it apparently, I don't know, I mean it is it is really time, pretty wild how where we've ended up. Literally, even just as today, sitting right here, I'm like, I can't believe the show is coming out tonight. You know, I'm still not dreaming this big, That's right, I'm still like you should.

You should, especially as organization people.

I feel like so much of organization also is mental and I know that seeing the you know, the trailer for the show, that a lot of what you guys are doing with the show, kind of like the reboot two point zero, whatever you want to call it, a lot.

Of it is.

Is dealing with people's emotions, you know, their sentimentality of things, and that's heavy. Tell me about tell me about that in the reboot and the two point zero version of the show, and what you guys are including now.

Because they did bring us in as hosts and we're clearly not contractors, we brought our organizational lens to the show. And so what we did differently with this family or with all the families is go through their items and show what's serving them and what's not serving them and try to help make it form decisions on how to move forward in their next house.

What we do, which is different in this reboot than the previous iteration, we set up something called an edit zone where we were move all of the contents of their previous house and set it up in a giant space, room by room, so we can actually walk the family through all of their things from the kitchen to their bedrooms and so forth, and like Joanna said, make informed decisions about what is moving forward into their new home and what is no longer serving them. And some of what we discover along the way is really emotional, it's really challenging, or it's been something that's really held them back from moving forward that they didn't even know was a problem.

A lot of people are held back by their things, but some people are really paralyzed by their things, and they're not even aware of how much those items are holding them.

Back, right, And I think that that's what we bring to the show, is that editing process, and that the lens that we have for you know, these families were not just in need of a new home necessarily, which they all are deserving and need that, but they were really needing a lens in their life of a lot of baggage, like emotional, physical, a lot of it. And I think that, you know, going through this process, it's such a richer experience and such a richer story I think for people to watch.

Yes, so powerful I saw the I don't know if it's in the trailer or whatever preview if you want to, if you want to call it, that of the edits own and to see your entire house all laid out has to be like overwhelming, like overwhelming, so thank god they have you to go through it and someone to help. But how can how what's the advice you would give to you know, the normal trista setter, Joshmo, you know, on on getting through that without having a massive space to lay everything out.

Yeah, So unless you have the help or the space, not advise this, Do not.

Do this yourself.

What I would do is kind of the actual opposite, which is start really really small. We always tell people as small as you really can, like oh, the drawer, because once you get your feet wet and the system is actually easy. The system is the same no matter what space you're organizing. But you want to start where you can really comfortable and see the project all the way through from A to Z. And if you start insay, a closet or your whole house, right, you will never see it through.

You're just gonna like buy and be in the corner.

So you have to start extraordinarily small and start with the edit in that little space.

Right, Like if you're just doing a drawer in the kitchen with kitchen utensils, you can take all that out and lay it on the counter and make smart decisions like do I need to have three lemon juicers, you know, or whatever it may be. And then you know, you figure out your containment in the drawer, you add it back and donate whatever you're you know, purging, and I think that you can then take that and be like, Okay, I can do a cabinet. Now I can do something slightly bigger. I can start maybe with a dresser, drawer or you know, something to get your feet wet and to understand the process. And then with time you can be like, all right, maybe I'm ready for the pantry, maybe I'm ready for my closet. And you always want to make sure to leave yourself enough time, because nothing's.

Worth when you're at thirty minutes before you camp the can.

Yeah, when you unload everything and then you're just gonna shove it back in without having done any People done.

That before, like started a big project right before you know you have to leave and it's just and then you just shove things back in, right, so you don't have time.

Totally. The other advice totally do is that.

The editing and the organizing don't have to be done in the same minute. Yes, they're kind of separate. I mean, they're they're coexisting partners, but they're two separate actions, and so it can be overwhelming if you're not really comfortable to do those two things at the same time. So you can always do the editing and then come back for the organizing.

Each one is powerful, right, Like in the kitchen utensil example, if you edit out the you know, the juicers and the squeezers or whatever you're you don't need more of whether whether or not you even use them at all. You can do that edit without getting like the drawer organizers and without doing kind of the organizing containment piece in the drawer. Yet you could just do the edit and then work on you know, the organizing separate.

Yeah, totally.

What are things that most people that you find your clients get stuck on, you know, like they get to a part and they're like, Okay, here's where the paralyzation starts.

I can't move forward.

Mostly it's in the closet, I think, because that brings up so many life decisions. I mean, like think about the pit versus the kitchen. You're not that attached to an olive oil. Most people are not, you know, I.

Mean some people, if you would guess the majority of people are not attached to a lemon juice, right, Like if something's expired, it's they're really ready to move on. But now people don't consider their genes to be expired.

And it's like brings up a lot of issues like what if I have another baby and I what if I can't fit into this paragon?

Like it brings up.

All maybe I want to fit into this paragon, so I don't want to get rid of it.

Right, So there's so many different life decisions that come up, like bigger conversations that I think people it makes them so anxious that they just they don't want to see or deal with it.

It's hard even for me.

And I ended out in my closet probably I would say once a month, like a really yeah, yes, And it's amazing. Every time I go through, I'm like I find more pieces that I'm like, you know, I didn't wear it that season.

There or a lot of guilt too with closets and people, you know, have a lot of guilt that they spent money on something they didn't love it. Every time they put it on, they don't they never really loved it and so it's just sitting there collecting dust.

And they thought like they liked the idea of it. I mean that's what I run into.

We all do, even the two of us. But you know you've got to you've got to see see yourself through and you got to cut your losses.

Yeah, don't double down now. Now it's collecting dust and you paid for it. So it's like now you're doubling down.

Mistake. Right, you can sell most of your closet items too.

Or donate them to Yeah, exactly love them, you know, don't double down on a mis feeling.

Getting rid of exonerating yourself with the guilt is a big piece.

Yeah, So what's that? What's that key component? You walk in your closet, you want to edit and you have all this sentimentality.

What is the key?

Like, what is the key to helping us get through our closets and actually be able.

To take Okay, So you have to ask yourself why why are you wanting to do this anyway?

Like what's the impetus for you to do this declutter? Is it so full?

Does it make you anxious? Like what's what's what's the reason that we're doing it? And then you have to bring yourself back there and remind yourself in the process why you're doing this to begin with, and that it's an opportunity and it's not a chore.

Right, this is an opportunity.

I mean for me, I you know, I keep things pretty minimal in.

My house except for my closet.

And you know, I like to say, like, maybe give myself an excuse, like you know, we're on TV all the time, Like I go to events, I need to have clothes.

I need an option for this and for that.

But the truth is, my closet can get tight if I don't do an edit, if I if I am consuming without purging, it's a problem. And I like clothes and I like shoes, and you know, it's it's it's a My closet is a sticking point, even for me. And I'm pretty ruthless, so I I am, and but so I understand how people feel when it comes to getting rid of things, because you know, I could look out a sweater and think of an outfit that I could wear with it. But I also need to start being realistic with myself. And you know, sweater weather is for a certain amount of time of the year if I didn't wear it once, you know, and we live in Nashville, so.

Like we actually have sweat weather. This isn't just la.

So if I didn't wear once in all that time, why am I still thinking that I will.

The other tip I would say for people too, is that the closet is such a valuable real estate. So like, say, okay, I don't want to get rid of my wedding dress. I did, by the way, but but I understand we.

Dress, Yeah, I did.

I gave it to my My mom was like, we'll save it, and then I don't know if she has it or not. But anyway, oh yeah, I just say I understand people wanted to get rid of your wedding dress or keep it.

Let me say that. Let me say keep.

It, yeah, because I don't think most people will get rid of it.

It's fine. But you have a small closet.

Your white dresses are usually pretty big and bulky, so you have a lot of space in prime real estate in your closet every single day.

Well, you wouldn't hang it in your clothes.

A lot of people still do, and that's what they run into problems. If it's sitting there, I'm saying. What I'm saying is take things out that are sentimental.

That I've ever run into someone with a weding dress in the closet.

Yes, people have buddy dresses hanging in their closet and are folded up right.

On top of it. Well not, I mean usually it's observing box. Yes, but it doesn't have to be in that space.

Right, Well, we can take our marital dispute elsewhere. It's also a good time to.

Point out that the wedding was not Your wedding dress.

Was not to me, you husband, husband the other right, yeah, right, Sometimes that's a misconception.

Right now, I'm like offending beause you got wedding wedding dress. I can definitely sound like that. And I have a husband. I have a husband and a separate dress. I mean I love her. I love her too. It's not I wouldn't, but I just didn't. Yeah, yeah, we just did it all.

Yes, And and I have to not like you guys are obviously very close and all of the rainbows, like your rainbow Christmas trees are inspiration. I freaking love them.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

The rainbow Christmas tree tradition started pretty early in the home Atic Ecosystem. Yeah, yeah, that was a long time ago. I remember my first rainbow tree like it was yesterday.

Do you still have it all the stuff or did you edit it?

Oh? No?

Well, over time, I like to do a different type of rainbow tree every year, and like.

Slight different variations.

Now we have an incredible team that works at the Home Edit and they put together spectacular rainbow tree. You know, they do like one last year it was all different rainbow velvet bows, and then this year we did a rainbow.

Flower tree, and then and a candy tree. We had a flower tree at the HQ. Yeah that was right.

So they do like over the top crazy Christmas trees, but just for my own personal home, you know.

One the first year, I.

Think I did it mainly just with like you know, Christmas or I'm sorry, colorful rainbow ornaments. And then those ornaments grew to a different ornament collection, and then it was a mixture of like bulbs with different shapes and fruit and all sorts of things. But but yeah, our team makes the most over the incredible trees.

Gorgeous, so much fun. I love color. If you can't tell this is so anyway, Okay, I have a very important question. Okay, headbands, how many head bands do you have?

Scene them out?

And actually I edit them quite a bit and donate them because she does.

I really you know, I land so much space, right and because you want new ones?

Yeah, and I want new ones, and I have to applied by my own rules. Is editing out things so that there's enough space where things are not tight.

That's how I am with shoes. I am at this point. If I want to buy a pair of shoes, I have to edit a pair of shoes.

I am at a one in one out. Yeah, And that's how I am with headbands. It's bad. It's it's we're on the one in one out at this point. Yeah.

Oh my gosh. I love it.

Like I would love to see your space, That's what That's what I feel like everyone wants to see is your spaces, you know, your closets, to see what we can aspire to, you know published, so.

People, mine's coming out yeah, but my way good.

I think the end of September mine came out out. Yeah, it's an architectural digest.

You can see.

Well, that's amazing.

That's another huge win, Like like at that year, the year you're having and twenty twenty five.

I know you can. You can definitely tell that my closet is full. It's full fall that's your thing.

Yeah, full, Okay.

I like clothes and shoes.

I mean, don't we all? I?

Sam, Sam Sam same? Okay, Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Tell me what was your favorite part of filming?

Okay?

So the family that is in episode one, the Warren family, It's so funny. Right before we came on, I was starting, I got a text from Gail, the mom.

And I was texting her back.

She's still obviously a huge part of our lives. We love this family. We love all the families, but it started with the Warrens. Yeah, and you know, they're just the most incredible, deserving family. When we were doing the edit zone process us with them and actually you know, walking them through all of their things, there was a real transformational moment that occurred.

And that was the.

Moment that we called our husbands and said, you and the kids need to get on a plane and come to Austin and witness what we're witnessing because this is changing our lives, not just their lives.

And I'm forever changed and I need you to be a part of this.

So they did. They dropped everything and came to Austin. It was just the most credible incredible still is. Yeah, we're still in touch, and I mean Sill was thinking about it.

They're this family, I mean all the families to clear this point, they're all incredible and so deserving.

But it started with the Warrants. That was the first episode.

We found and it just has They all have such lasting impressions on us.

Yeah, and that's your favorite part, just being able to connect with the families, in connection with.

The family and working with our team and the incredible crew that's on the show. I think all of those we have amazing. We have an amazing team of designers and contractor. Wendell and Arion are on the show with us, and meeting them we had just.

It's the word family is really what comes to mind, because it's not just the families that were all here to support and work for, it's also a family with our crew, a family with our team, a family with Arion and Wendell. Everyone came together in such unison and it was truly the most I mean it sounds so cliche, but it was just the most life changing, life affirming situation I've ever in my life been a part of. I've never ever had anything so transformational to me happened. And you know, we've had a lot happen in our in our lives, but this show, being able to film, the show, being a family all together, being with the families that were that we're here to build a.

Home for It's just I don't even have words for now.

I don't either. It's just been incredible, what an experience. We're just the luckiest people.

Yeah, Okay, Leah, you talked about this past year has been you know, hard or heavy. I can't remember exactly the word that you used, but you've been very open about your health journey.

Can you share how you're doing now?

And yeah, so I in November, I was two years.

Since my last.

Since I ended chemo and radiation, So two years of being cancer free or what doctors like to say no evidence of disease, which it's like no one can just say the words cancer free.

I'm like, okay, but like can we just can we call it that?

But you know, so two years out, I am still I'm my cancer. My breast cancer was hormone positive. So for people who understand that world. My cancer essentially feeds on hormones, which means I've had a great long couple of years of hormone suppression. I have removed my ovaries, I got a new forectomy about six months ago, and I still take medication, multiple medications, twice a day every day, and I will for the next several years. I think I'll be on certain medications up for another ten years or so. So it's definitely been a process. Not having not being an active treatment is still it's an amazing thing to not have active treatment, but treatment still remains, and it's a long, long process, and I don't think that a lot of people understand that that it's you know, there's still a very long tail when you have cancer.

So but I am really fortunate.

That because of my specific diagnosis, I'm able to take I'm eligible to take some of these medications. Not everyone is, so I consider myself lucky in all regards.

Really. I also have just hopefully.

Finished my last reconstruction surgery that was just in November, so still very recent that that may marks my seventh surgery since being diagnosed. So you know, again it's still all a process.

It's ongoing. Just because.

Just because you stop, you know, your radiation treatments and your chemo treatments, does not mean that you know you're out of the shadow of cancer by any stretch. And I definitely I like to remind people of that. For anyone that has friends and family who were going through cancer treatment, they're likely still not completely finished. And I think it's important for people to understand that.

Yeah, agreed, Thank you for sharing and being so open about it. I'm sorry for all that you've been through and and hope that you know you are able to continue to use the medications and and be healthy.

Oh I'm trucking. I am not. Yeah, I promised you.

Good, good good.

That's powerful, Joanna. How is it like being the best die of somebody going through something.

So heavy like that? How is it?

You know?

I my husband has lime disease and in it it's really hard when the people that you love are are suffering and you know, facing something so so medically heavy.

You know how?

How what's the advice that you would give to people who are trying to be there for their loved ones? How can you best be there for them? What has what have you found was a way that you were able to help Clea through.

That's a good question. I think everyone's so different on what they need, you know. It's just so it's so frustrating and upsetting because you can't take away I you know, I'm not an oncologist. I can't like do anything like I can't give her medical advice like I I'm just like on the journey with her in the way that I am. And it's just it's so hard not to be able to just take the disease away myself, you know, I just want it to be done, and it's so unfair. And you know, I feel that way about so many people, you know, faced with these terrible illnesses. I mean, the thing I know about Clia is that she is a powerhouse and like, no one's going to get in the way. If she has our mindset on, you know, conquering something, there is nothing that's going to stop her. So it was never I never had the worry because I just know who she is and I really wasn't worried that this was going to be it. I just hate it to see her suffering in any with anything holding her back from her like absolute potential at that time. So I don't know if that answers your question, but I you.

Know, I don't.

I don't know if I was that helpful. I just I was just I just hated watching her having to navigate this.

Yeah, well I will say, yeah, you were helpful. But I think it's really important. People ask all the time how they can be there for other people going through treatment, And the truth is, everyone is so different. You need to meet them where they are, and you can't help someone with thinking. You can't help someone in the only in the way that you would want to be helped. You really have to understand how they want to be helped. And some people need people around them.

That's that's how.

I was, Like, I was really afraid of being lonely. That was like always on my mind, and I needed people around me.

And a lot of people have.

A completely opposite take a completely opposite view. Some people, you know, they might need rides to chemo appointments.

They might you know.

Other people are like, I just need to be alone and I don't want anyone extra there.

You know, everyone's needs.

Are are different, and I just think it's really important to get to understand the person that you're trying to help. Not just well, my feeling is like I want people around, so I'm going to make sure to do the same for other people.

That's like, not really the way it works.

Yeah, that's such good advice. And now you have a whole new family to get you through the hard times. We're going to wrap up, but I would love for you to share how everyone can watch you guys and this new amazing show.

Oh my gosh, please watch us.

Let us know what you think and how much you love the families too as we do. You can see it on Thursday nights on aby C Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

At eight pm seven pm Central, and streams next day on Hulu.

Amazing.

Congratulations guys, I am so excited to watch.

I wait, let us know what you I know I need to know.

Oh, I will be watching.

Thanks for coming on the Let's Be Clear podcasts.

Thank you so much. Nice to me too.

That was so much fun.

Oh my gosh. I love them.

I think that they are such a light in this world and in helping people edit and declutter and organize, I truly feel and call me crazy, but I truly feel like they're making people's lives better. I feel so much better more sane, able to tackle the world, able to dream big when I am organized, and I love everything that they're doing. I cannot wait to watch the show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I was a massive fan back in the day, just massive fans, So the fact that it is coming back with a reboot essentially and they are truly transforming lives and not just homes just oh hits my heart strings. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, and thanks again for allowing me the honor of hosting the Let's Be a Clear podcast. Have a good one.

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