A few weeks ago, fellow Bay Area small business owner and mom of 3, Jess Dang, reached out via email to introduce herself. She is the creator behind an incredible meal planning service, delivering sanity for busy families battling the “what’s for dinner?!” nightly dilemma AND the host of her podcast, Cook Smarts.

It’s always a complete honor to be asked to speak on any topic regarding organization – it’s my passion and wish to help as many families as possible in their efforts to simplify. But this interview sorta blew me away. I’ve been invited onto podcasts before – all humbling experiences and enjoy spending time with the host. But Jess was different – in advance, she sent me a list of questions like no other. Her questions were real, deep, fun…something we each relate to and all battle with.

I was SO fired up about her thoughtful, intentional questions – many of which were polled from her Cook Smarts community / listeners.

Then came our interview time together. Immediate sparks flew. And we ended up running much longer than her usual podcasts. Just too much good stuff!

Look at this cutie!…

Who wouldn’t want to spend nearly an hour talking to this happy friend?!

When you have a chance, definitely read her about story! She was even a contestant on The Next Food Network Star!

Some of the questions / topics we covered in our 50+ minute chat…

My tips for organizing 3 of the most painful kitchen topics: spices, tupperware and kids items

Organizing tools I prefer for kitchen spaces

How I got started as a professional organizer

My overarching philosophy on organizing

Small things you can do today to make an immediate impact in your kitchen

One of my favorite questions Jess asked was about the “after” photos I share of spaces I organize. She said one of the reasons she loves the SO Instagram account is because it doesn’t feel unrealistic. That is THE BIGGEST compliment anyone can share with me because it’s always my goal and aim. I will always share the real behind any space….and not every “after” shot is beautiful perfection. It’s real. Because we are real and we live in our homes. We use our pantries. We spend most of our time in the kitchen.

“When I look at some professionally organized photos, I just don’t feel like they’re real life. Like they had to exclude a lot of pantry or fridge items to make them picture perfect. But with your photos, I’m convinced this is someone’s actual pantry and not just a snapshot of only the perfectly uniform items but everything still looks really neat. So how do you do that? How do you organize a pantry to have it house all the things a person who cooks actually needs and owns but still make it look nice and uniform? And how do you help a client keep it that way?”

I answer this is detail on the podcast!

Again – my favorite part of our conversation.

And now you are able hear it all…the podcast was released last week and excited to share it AND HER with you today! Definitely worth listening to while cleaning or decluttering / organizing at home this weekend.

You can listen to it here on the show notes page. Or you can listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Be sure to check out her other great interviews as well.

Most importantly, if you’re in need of a great meal planning service, you absolutely need to check out her website with all the details. Whether you’re looking to save time, spend less, get out of your dinner rut or learn how to cook better OR handle a knife, she has all your goals covered! Including what to do with those leftovers.

See some of her sample menus here. These are a few of my favorites!…

Thank you so much, Jess, for inviting me onto the podcast! Grateful to call you a friend!

Hope you guys are having a great start to your weekend. I feel like every day is Saturday or Sunday…anyone else?

Back soon guys!

xx,

Sam