Welcome to Beyond Organised!

Have you ever felt like you're constantly busy but never productive? Like you're stuck in a hamster wheel, running yourself ragged but never getting anywhere? You're not alone.

Mel Schenker, life coach and founder of She's Organised, kicks off the Beyond Organised podcast by sharing her personal journey from chaos to organisation and the surprising lessons learned along the way. As a wife and mother of four young children, Mel opens up about her struggles with household management, time organisation and the relentless pursuit of perfection that eventually led to a breaking point.

What began as a simple desire to get organised transformed into an obsession with perfection, culminating in a moment that changed everything: screaming at her children over wet toilet paper, a reaction that terrified both them and herself. This raw moment of realisation serves as the foundation for the podcast's mission—understanding that organisation is merely a tool, not the end goal.

Beyond Organised promises to explore far more than just tidying techniques. Future episodes will dive into parenting, relationships, work-life balance, faith, purpose, health, self-care, finances and more—all those aspects of life that truly matter beyond the containers and color-coded systems. With planned expert guests and Mel's own insights from years of learning (plus time and money spent on courses, books and mentoring), this podcast aims to help listeners create lives that feel fulfilling and purposeful.

Subscribe to Beyond Organised and join Mel on this journey of discovering that the goal isn't just getting through the day—it's building a life you genuinely love living.

Chapters

• 0:18 Welcome to Beyond Organised
• 1:12 My Disorganised Beginnings
• 4:54 The Cycle of Burnout
• 8:16 My Breaking Point Moment
• 13:18 What to Expect From This Podcast
• 16:12 Organisation is Just the Beginning

Transcript

Mel: 0:18

Welcome to Beyond Organised, the podcast that's here to help you simplify your life and amplify your purpose. I'm your host, Mel Schenker, life coach, founder of She's Organised, but, more importantly, a wife and a mom of four little kids. If you're feeling overwhelmed juggling a million things and just want a little more control over your everyday life, then maybe you have just found your next favorite podcast. Before we dive into all the tips and tools and strategies, I want to take a moment with this episode to talk a little bit about me, if that's okay, and about what you can expect with Beyond Organised. So grab your coffee or, if you're anything like me, maybe it's your third for the day and let's jump right in. So a little bit about me.

Mel: 1:12

I am someone who, perhaps like you, is trying to keep it all together without losing my sanity. To be honest, I haven't always been disorganised. In fact, chaos and I have been best friends for way too long and every now and then she rears her ugly head. I have worn a lot of hats. I have worked in leadership roles in insurance, coaching teams, starting a business and, of course all too familiar navigating the roller coaster of motherhood, which I'm sure most of you can relate to. I know a thing or two about juggling, but I also know a few things when it comes to overwhelm and burnout, the late nights which I still have, by the way, with a baby who's waking me every hour at the moment the mental load and the feeling of running on empty. I know all too well, but it wasn't always this way. Let me take you back a bit. Let me take you back a bit. I got married in 2013.

Mel: 2:30

I was full of excitement and hope and feeling like an adult for the first time. You know that feeling when you feel like you've got it all figured out, only to realize you're weighing over your head. Yeah, yep, that was me. I thought I knew what being an adult looked like, but the reality hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't know how to run a household. I was clueless about cooking anything beyond the basics and, to be honest, even those were questionable. The laundry was piling up, the house was a constant state of mess and, even though the bills were paid on time, I had no clue how to actually manage my money, our money, I should say. I couldn't figure out how to keep on top of it all. Yeah, it was a time that I'm glad I'm past.

Mel: 3:27

Have you ever felt like, no matter how hard you try, you just cannot seem to keep up, like you're stuck in this hamster wheel, running yourself ragged but never getting anywhere? That was my life, even before kids, so you can imagine what it was like once kids were in the picture. I know. ell,. Well the time management. I thought I was good at it until I realised I was just constantly exhausted with nothing to show for it. I convinced myself that if I just tried harder, I'd eventually get it together. But trying harder only drained me more and I still couldn't see the fruit of my labor. I was constantly busy but never productive. I had no routines, no system, no idea how to balance anything. Self-care look, when it comes to that, you can forget it. I'm sure you can relate Like you're always running on empty, telling yourself that you'll take a break once everything is done, but everything is just never done. So then you're feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and, honestly, like you're failing. But hey, beyond it all, I'm also just a regular person. I love music. I would say that I was a musician because I haven't really done much over the years, but I love my rock music. I am also a qualified engineer, audio engineer, which I haven't even really used up until this podcast, so at least that's not going to waste.

Mel: 5:17

I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to some of the TV shows. My favorite is Timeless and I really wish they had continued that on, because I just love all that kind of stuff. Um, the Office, oh my goodness. I've watched that way too many times. So any Office fans out there come here, shout shout and um, look, any superhero movie or TV show I'm in. So I have no idea if you're like this and maybe I've just lost a few of you, but this is a little bit about me.

Mel: 5:53

I also love to paint by numbers and don't get a lot of time to do that at the moment. So just doing more of my adult colouring books and just anything to help, you know, switch my brain off for a little bit. But you know, if you really want to like, bribe me, lamb salad from my favorite local restaurant would definitely do the trick. Or chocolate honestly chocolate, anyway. So, more than anything, more than this stuff, I have a real heart for helping people create a life they actually enjoy living, not just one that looks good from the outside, but one that truly feels good on the inside. That's why I do what I do, because life isn't just about getting through the day. It's about creating a life that feels lighter, more joyful and more aligned with who you are.

Mel: 6:51

You know that feeling when you're so desperate for a solution that you just try anything. Yeah, that was me in the early days. I bought every gadget and applied every life hack I could find, thinking they'd be the answer. I read productivity books, downloaded apps, got new planners and calendars anything that promised to fix my pain. Have you ever bought something convinced it would change your life, only for it to end up gathering dust in a cupboard somewhere, like I've got a whole cupboard full of those.

Mel: 7:35

I thought the problem was that I just wasn't trying hard enough. So I kept pushing myself, but no matter what I did, I was still overwhelmed. I was exhausted from running around in circles trying to keep everything together, but I was crumbling on the inside. You know how sometimes you feel like you're doing all the things, you're ticking all the boxes. Nothing actually feels right, like. No matter how many tasks you complete, the to-do list never gets any shorter.

Mel: 8:13

Yeah, it's the story of my life. I thought if I could just find the right tools, the right method, the right anything, everything would finally click into place. But most of those things didn't Surprise surprise. There's just so much out there and I just got more overwhelmed in the clutter of information. So, in a nutshell, I was drowning and I couldn't ask for help. I didn't want to admit that I was failing again.

Mel: 8:48

So I did what I always did I tried to fix it on my own. I bought more gadgets, tried more hacks, hoping to finally get on top of my life, but it still didn't work. I thought balance was about doing it all. So I tried it all, but the more I tried to balance everything, the more unbalanced I felt. I was stuck in a cycle of burnout and I just couldn't see a way out.

Mel: 9:18

So a few years ago sorry, a few years into my marriage, I started to learn more about how to organise my life and I will share that story with you another time. And up until a couple of years ago, I learned so much and had come such a long way. In fact, I got to the point where I became so organised, particularly around the house, that I was aiming for perfection and didn't even realise it. I wanted to share this story with you, if it's okay, because some of you are uh wanting to get more organised, but some of you already are organised, but maybe struggling with perfectionism. So, um, yeah, I just want to share this uh u with you so you can see where I've come from. So I'd

Mel: 10:19

been on this organizing organising life me. for quite a number of years at this point me. spent all day cleaning and I was in the kitchen cleaning and I heard some water running in the powder room. Down the hallway I walked in to see my second and third children playing and splashing in the water and wetting the toilet paper and having the time of their lives.

Mel: 10:53

But what might've been annoying realised some was a moment that was a breaking point for me, a moment that was a breaking point for me. So what did I do? I snapped. I didn't just yell, I screamed. I organised didn't know where it came from and it scared me. It scared them more. The sheer terror in their eyes is, yeah, still shatters me. I'm not a yeller. I've never yelled at my husband, my family or my friends, but that day I did. I'm not just yelled, I mean the Organising second it happened, I broke. The second it happened, I broke. I sobbed for an hour afterwards, apologizing over and over again. That image of their little faces looking up at me in fear Still something that I'm processing and dealing with today. Just from that one moment.

Mel: 12:13

But from that moment I realized I'd taken it all too far. I'd convinced myself that if I just could keep everything perfect, I would enjoy life more. But Organised that moment I'd forgotten the very reason why I wanted an organized life in the first place. Maybe for you it's not yelling, maybe your breaking point is silence, the moment you shut down completely, maybe it's withdrawal, when you stop engaging, stop reacting or stop caring. Whatever it is, you know that moment, the one where you realize something has to change. Organizing is a tool. It , h organising structure and order in our lives, but it should never take over to the point where it becomes part of the problem. When you use it well, it creates freedom, but when taken too far, it just creates another stress you'd rather not have. So that's the balance.

Mel: 13:21

I've spent the last couple of years learning to navigate and guest share with you on this journey. So, on a happier note. What can you expect from Beyond Organized? Well, it's mainly me sharing my experiences, my thoughts and the strategies that have helped me in my life. Yes, I've learned a lot over the years things that will help you as well and I've spent the last 12 years learning, training, growing, falling down and sometimes reluctantly getting back up again. I've bought countless books, courses, resources, everything to learn, productivity, finances, investing, decluttering home, organizing, leadership, personal development. Honestly, if it could help organising me improve my life and yours, I have probably consumed it. I've also spent tens of thousands of dollars on coaching and mentoring, just so I can be a better coach for you. But despite all this, I'm still walking this journey. I'm figuring out all these things along the way and as I learn and no doubt stumble, I'll be sharing those lessons with you too, and no doubt stumble, I'll be sharing those lessons with you too. But let's be honest do we ever stop learning? I know I probably won't, until the day I die, and maybe even beyond that too.

Mel: 15:10

So over the coming months, I have some really cool organising guests, speakers lined up who can cover a range of topics to support you and help you on your life journey. Most of the topics I will be diving into myself, but my guests that I will be having on will add an extra level of expertise to help on the subject. So, subjects like fitness and postpartum mental health all the things that aren't particularly my forte but would love to be able to support you on in your journey. Um, some of the stuff that I'll be covering, um with this podcast uh, pretty much everything that goes beyond the organizing like organizing is a starting point. These are all the things that matter beyond it. So things like parenting and relationships, work-life balance and productivity, faith and purpose, health and self-care that's a really big one that even I'm still working on. Money, finances, investing, I mean, you name it We'll be covering all sorts of things.

Mel: 16:11

At the end of the day, as I said, organizing is just the beginning. The real goal is creating a life that feels fulfilling, aligned and purposeful, one where you're not just getting through the day but actually loving the life you're building. So stay tuned for the next podcast, where I'll be diving a bit further into balance and what it actually is, and it's not what we've been told it is. But yeah, I'm gonna. But yeah, I'm going to uncover some truths about balance that will hopefully set you free and I can't wait to share it with you. Remember, organizing is a tool to live the purposeful life beyond. I look forward to seeing you next time. Bye for now.