"I Turn My Underwear Inside Out" – Secrets on Decluttering, Lifelong Friendships & Finally Getting Organized

Empty Nesting Just Got Real: From Inside-Out Underwear Hacks to Life-Changing Decluttering, Deep Friendships & Raising Kids Who Actually Work Hard

In this laugh-out-loud yet deeply insightful episode of Plate & Ponder: Empty-Nesting with Jen & Chris Fenton, the hosts sit down with power couple Geoff Suddleson (Uber Agent & Partner at United Talent Agency) and Amy Suddleson (Founder & CEO of The Nimble Nest), along with their incredible daughter Maddy (UCLA Theater & Film standout and Delta Gamma legend).

From the raw, honest trials and tribulations of empty nesting to the surprisingly emotional relief of finally decluttering and letting go of excess “stuff,” this conversation is packed with practical wisdom and real talk. Amy reveals exactly how she turned Geoff’s travel chaos into streamlined, stress-free systems (yes, the legendary “turn your underwear inside out” trick finally gets retired). 

The group dives into why longtime friendships and deep relationships are the real secret to human flourishing, how to teach your kids the value of hard work and money, and why getting organized isn’t just nice — it’s life-changing. 

Plus, a hilarious special appearance by Kaylie Fenton, who casually admits she was sitting in the studio the entire episode… but definitely wasn’t paying attention. 

Whether you’re in the thick of empty nesting, about to launch your last kid, or simply craving honest conversations about midlife, family, friendship, and finally getting your life (and suitcase) together — this episode will make you laugh, nod your head, and feel seen.

Listen now if you want practical empty nesting tips, decluttering motivation, friendship wisdom, and parenting lessons that actually stick.

#EmptyNesting #EmptyNest #EmptyNester #EmptyNestSyndrome #Decluttering #GetOrganized #DeclutterYourLife #FriendshipGoals #HumanFlourishing #ParentingAdultChildren #RaisingIndependentKids #TravelOrganization #MidlifeReset #Podcast #PlateAndPonder

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Here we are live at Playton Ponder Empty Nesting with Jenna Chris Fenton. Uh tonight we got a special, special group of guests. Um it is the Suttleston family. Um Brooklyn, but we're gonna have Brooklyn on on her own special episode someday, so that's gonna happen. Um, but we do have Madeline Suttleston, we have Amy Suttleston, and we have one of my longest time friends, Jeff Suttleston, and all of them have become very close friends, not just of me, but of the most famous part of this podcast. Who is that?

SPEAKER_04 0:34

I love I'm back.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Uh she's back, that's Jen Fenton. Thank God she's back because everybody loves her way more than me. But please follow, download, enjoy, engage, do all that kind of stuff on all of the podcast platforms you listen to. And remember, we are in 73 countries around the world. The last one we picked up was Ukraine, and let me tell you, everyone in the Ukraine that's listening to us feels a little bit better every day, even though this war still drives on, because we bring lots of happiness to them, don't we?

SPEAKER_04 1:07

Let's get into this, shall we? Okay. I would love to, you already introduced the subtle sins, but I think we need to go way back and really explain the relationship with the subtlesins. And Maddie, what do we always say? Maddie's the oldest daughter. Maddie, what do we always say about the relationship? Like, how would you describe us to somebody that like one of your friends?

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Um I describe Jen and Chris as my parents if my parents die.

SPEAKER_04 1:38

Exactly. So Kaylee and Dylan would go to Jeff and Amy if we died.

SPEAKER_03 1:44

And Brooklyn and I would go to you guys. Exactly. So we're parents if your parents died. Yeah. And Kaylee and Dylan are my siblings if my parents die.

SPEAKER_04 1:53

A hundred percent. But I I feel like that's a really close relationship. I mean, we've known each other for well, Amy and I have known each other for 26 years. Jeff, how long have you known Chris?

SPEAKER_01 2:04

So uh let's see. We met around Thanksgiving in 1994.

SPEAKER_04 2:14

So I was still I was still in high school.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

Okay. So Chris.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

Well, I I seeked you out because I saw you in Die Hard 2.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

No, it was Die Hard 3, and it had Die Hard 3. But here's the thing, it hadn't come out yet. Because I had just returned from production again around Thanksgiving, and my dear friend who I grew up with, Evan Wender, who we've talked about on the show.

SPEAKER_04 2:38

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

All right, all right. Applause for Evan. That's it. Evan uh said, Listen, I'm I'm having a football game, flag football game, with a bunch of guys that I'm in the mailroom with at William Morris. Come hang out. So I went and I hung out, and it was a uh a group of uh interesting guys, and there was Chris. And it was like it was like it was like a slow, you know, it was like in a movie, slow motion. Were you running to each other?

SPEAKER_04 3:10

He does have very pretty eyes.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Well, first of all, um Jeff, we are we are on the air, and you got to speak a little quicker, okay? You are Oh, oh, sorry, sorry. But let me just tell you something. You are a talent, you're a talent agent, you move quick, you move fast. That's never been bring it on the air, baby.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Speaking quickly has never been my problem.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Um well we clearly it is now. We want to keep people super engaged here at one speed, but um that description needs a 1.25 just for a little bit, but like let's let's quicken it up. Right, Amy? You're gonna speak fast and you're gonna speak into the mic. So fast. But let me tell you something. This relationship has been like a blessing, to say the least, right?

SPEAKER_04 3:48

When you say, Oh, absolutely. I mean, first of all, uh on top of knowing each other for as long as we've all been married, our kids have grown up together, we've gone on family vacations together, we've shared baby nurses. Amy celebrated her birthday at our wedding, right? I think I think And you had a cake for me. We did have a cake, yeah. I mean, that's we we were we were close always. And I remember we got to Jeff and Amy's wedding though a little late.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

Yeah, we did get there a little late. I think our it was back before Uber.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

I was also late to the wedding.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Yeah, the I believe the car pulled up right in the right in the ceremony.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Yeah, into the circle where you guys are getting married.

SPEAKER_05 4:27

Jen did say to me, who the hell starts their wedding on time? Like you ask people to come at a certain time, and then you're gonna start like 15 or 20 minutes later, and I'm like the one person where it was called for this time, and we're getting started at this time. It's true.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

You know what? I actually remember too when you first met Amy, you were like, hmm, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 4:45

Is that true? Yeah. Are you just making shit up?

SPEAKER_02 4:47

No, it's like when you met Tori Spelling the first time, you did the same thing. You gave her the stink eye.

SPEAKER_04 4:52

Wait, do people think I give them the stink eye though? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

You did get a stink eye. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 4:59

You know what? I'll I'll own it. It's okay. I'll own it.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

At least Amy didn't have to think about it.

SPEAKER_04 5:05

You know what? That's true. I appreciate the honesty, and you just went right in for the kill. And that's that's why we're friends. We are very blunt and we are very honest with each other. We've never minced words. We we tell it like it is. I think we call each other when we need that like hard kick in the butt when it comes to life. I mean, even when it comes to to death, as as sad as that sounds, it's sort of like the okay, I know you're sad. Now pick yourself up and you know, get your big girl pants on and let's move on and what needs to be done.

SPEAKER_05 5:34

And I think like with the parenting stuff, I'll always call Jen just to have like another sounding board or hey, should I be doing this differently? And I super like value everything that's me and tell me.

SPEAKER_04 5:47

Well, because Maddie is older, so I've had the luxury of kind of riding your wind, right? You've you've learned even moving kids into college, right? I learned from you because you did it a few years ahead of us.

SPEAKER_03 6:01

Well, even going off of that, I feel like I have a great relationship with both my parents, but when I was struggling with things and didn't feel like I could go to my mom, you were the like other motherfuckers. And I love that.

SPEAKER_04 6:12

That was that was so special, and I love that. And that's that's the point. Sometimes your kids can't talk to their parents, but they can talk to the uncles or the aunts or the close friends, and we always say, like with Kaylee and Dylan, um, just talk to somebody. If you can't talk to us, that's fine. I'm not insulted that it's not me. I just want you to talk to somebody.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

I'm sort of loving this. There's just a lot of love in the air right now. I mean, I gotta give it a a little bit of a an applause.

SPEAKER_04 6:41

Um Jeff, I have a question.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

Yeah, please.

SPEAKER_04 6:44

So did you want to be an actor or did you just fall into it?

unknown 6:48

What?

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Oh, he didn't just fall into it. His first role required him falling downstairs. No.

SPEAKER_04 6:56

But how did you get cast in diehard?

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Oh, it was it was a big casting issue.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

It's a very funny story, and I will say this quickly. So at one point. Uh first job out of college, I was uh John McTiernan's production assistant on Die Hard with a vengeance. Uh the Was that the one at the airport? No, it was the one in New York City with Sam Jackson. Oh uh there was stop with the hand.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

No, he's going fast enough.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

He's going fast enough. Uh there was a there was a little bit of a snafu, and they needed somebody to to to play an extra both in New York and then matched in South Carolina. They didn't want to pay an actor to go down there, so they picked someone off the crew. It's really not that uh Can I look at you at IMDB?

SPEAKER_04 7:42

Like if I pull your name up, it won't come up.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

I am Can I just say I am on IMDB, but for for production assistant work, not in my for my amazing acting.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

Well, what's insane though is that our friend Evan Wender, our mutual friend who we gave a shout out for, he um actually had laser discs um that uh you know people uh like very advanced way of watching movies back in the early 90s, and we were able to slow it down to watch Jeff Suttleson. I'm pretty sure you were falling down a staircase. Oh, you got tased.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

I got stabbed in the neck or something with but it wasn't but it was pretty amazing. I thought it wasn't like you were gonna get discovered from that whole thing. Oh yeah, no, it was uh it was not gonna happen. He didn't happen. By the way, it was my second it was my second acting role.

SPEAKER_03 8:29

He didn't get discovered, but there was a behind the scenes documentary of the opening scene of Die Hard where it's the big explosion, and there was one take, and I took a film class last year, and they showed us this whole like documentary behind the scenes. With your dad in it, there's a shot of a guy like full frame, he's just squatting. You just see his bare like not his barrel. Squatting potty? No, like just like in like problems, like ready position, like ready for the explosion to happen, and everyone started laughing in the class at like this like just full shot of the guy just like did you have squatting? It's my dad. I didn't realize it at first, and then I told my dad, and then I found the clip again, and he was like, so that was me. And I was like, a lecture hall of 90 film students that you still I started hysterically laughing at. That is awesome.

SPEAKER_04 9:20

Kaylee, have you ever had a situation like that?

unknown 9:23

I'm sorry, I'm not listening.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Kaylee is not listening. That is that's are you over there scroll? What is it? Rot scrolling, what do they call it? Scroll rotting, doom scrolling. Um, anyway, that Kay Kaylee did uh give a shout out there saying she wasn't listening. So um, Amy, when you first met Jeff, were you aware of his fame?

SPEAKER_05 9:45

I wasn't. That's not what attracted me.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

Oh my god, you're so Yoko Ono right now. You knew who he was.

SPEAKER_05 9:51

Yeah. No, I didn't. You know, I've never been a Hollywood person. I don't know who Why did you move to LA though? I thought I wanted to produce TV shows really only because I'm so organized and I loved the idea of organizing all these people into one place and making something happen. And then as soon as the show got canceled, I was like, what do you mean I don't have a job? And then I was like, I'm not staying in this business. It's an I'm not cut out for it. And so then I married Jeff.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

Well, wait, how did you guys meet?

SPEAKER_05 10:23

We were fixed up on a blind date. I knew that by the Howards.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

Wow. I thought it was like on uh Tinder or something. It would have been Jay at that time for sure. Farmers only? Yeah, yeah, so that's where I found that.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

We were we were one of the last couples that you that that it that did it didn't happen that way. We did it old school.

SPEAKER_05 10:45

Yeah, it was like everyone after us all met on J Date.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Because it wasn't long after Jen and I met, right? Right, because we we dated. You were definitely dating before I met Amy, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:56

But I think it was in our first year that we were dating that you guys started dating. Sounds about right. And then you guys got engaged before us. Yes. Right, and married before us. I think you got married about a year. What how how many years will you guys be this year?

SPEAKER_05 11:11

Uh 23.

SPEAKER_04 11:12

23. Okay, and we're all four. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Next a week from today. What do you guys think? It's our anniversary.

SPEAKER_04 11:17

And what are you gonna do, Jeff?

SPEAKER_05 11:19

What are we gonna do, Jeff?

SPEAKER_03 11:20

I I mean I'm choosing to be out of the house.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

I thought you I thought you guys are going to Spain and Italy. Well for my 50th. That's celebrating our 50th. But can't you do the double? Like, I mean, I'll suggest that Amy, this is for the double. I don't know. You can talk about double.

SPEAKER_04 11:34

I don't want a ball for the double. I'm feeling really uncomfortable. My dad listens to this.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 11:41

I'm sitting next to my dad. I less. Love ya.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

All right. Here's what I want to um I think we should talk about. Number one, this is an empty nesting podcast, so a lot of people listen to us just uh because it's relevant to their lives. But on top of it, um, there are kids in their lives that find relevancy to some of the kids that we have on here, even though Maddie's not really a kid. But Maddie, where do you go to school? Like, give us a little bit of the color of what's going on in your life.

SPEAKER_03 12:07

I go to a little school called the University of California, Los Angeles. Here in Los Angeles.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

I'm sorry, as a professor of USC, I have to give this ad trombone.

SPEAKER_03 12:18

Well, but she's a kids take classes at USC. Sober? Hmm. So yeah, so I just go to, I don't know, maybe just the number one public school in the country. Facts. Number one most Instagramable campus. Uh number one. Yes. I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

If you're a pro-Palestinian, most applied to school in the world.

SPEAKER_03 12:40

Most applied to school in the world, number one dining hall food.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

True. Really?

SPEAKER_03 12:45

How many dining halls do you have? Uh we have Do you have a ton? So many. We have three that are like actual dining halls, but then there are a ton that are like you order and then pick it up, and it's it's all just really, really good.

SPEAKER_04 12:56

You know, that's what I feel like Tulane is missing because whenever I talk to I mean, it's just even McGill, none of these schools have great dining halls. Although TCU, I hear TCU's got great, great food.

SPEAKER_03 13:08

I don't know, but UCLA, the food is so good. You live off campus now, right? I live off campus now. I lived in the dorms for a year, then in my sorority house, my sophomore year, and then I'm now in an apartment for the next two years.

SPEAKER_04 13:22

Are you on the dining plan now, or because you're in your own apartment, nobody does that? That's not cool.

SPEAKER_03 13:27

No, I mean you can get swipes into the dining halls, but I get my groceries and cook for myself. You have a really large campus. It's huge. Do you have a car on campus? I have a car, but I don't really need it to get to class.

SPEAKER_05 13:44

It's actually- then why have you gotten five parking tickets on campus?

SPEAKER_03 13:49

Well, that's because I decided to balance an internship while also being in school and had to go straight from my internship to class. And sometimes I didn't get to my car quick enough. And that's okay. You live and you learn. And like my mom or my grandfather always says, something that can be solved with money isn't a problem, it's just an expense. Oh, I like that. Wow, that's like a tattoo.

unknown 14:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

We should put it on our forearm. Yeah. Yeah, it's a big one. But um, I'm now going into my senior year at UCLA, um, studying musical theater.

SPEAKER_04 14:30

Which is so, so you like this.

SPEAKER_03 14:33

I could have coined this when you were three years old. Which is funny too, because when I applied to college, I told my parents I wanted to apply for either theater or film, and my dad, being in the industry that he's in, said he's famous, remember you don't need to study film and theater to have a career in it. Correct. And it's harder to get into schools for that. So I initially didn't apply to UCLA for that. I applied for World Arts and Cultures, which I thought would be a combination of all different types of arts. Um, it was not what I expected it to be. I um was not it wasn't for me. Called it World Farts and Cultures. Um just I just knew I didn't want to get my degree in being a blue-haired barista, so I decided to That's probably good.

SPEAKER_04 15:19

Yeah, I'm sure your parents appreciate that.

SPEAKER_03 15:21

Yeah, so then um I switched to musical theater, which um I think is more of like a purple haired barista switch.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

I haven't heard that term, blue haired.

SPEAKER_05 15:30

It's a big application process. It was a lot. Yeah, no, this is not an easy thing.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

Yeah, I think what's the blue-haired barista term? Like, I I that's a pretty coin artsy for artsy people.

SPEAKER_03 15:41

Just like the most like woke, artsy, which like no hate, but I don't really for me. I um it's not my it's not my truth. So uh I I applied. I had to do um two singing videos, two monologues, really dance, two essays, a resume, an interview.

unknown 16:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:06

Um it's really strenuous. Yeah, and I got in with I wasn't like I I always thought it would be easier to transfer in once you'd already gotten into UCLA, it's easier to switch your major. But what I found out since getting into the program is this is the first time in I think maybe 10 years they've taken uh a quote unquote junior transfer into the program. It's amazing. And it's interesting because I actually just had a friend who's a year younger than me and he applied and he goes to UCLA. Did he get in? No. And I was I he didn't get in, and I just found that out and was like, I don't know what I did, but like it's it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. And I've I had a professor tell me that they rarely accept UCLA students because of the idea that oh, once I get into the school, it'll be easier to switch my major, but it's still like UCLA theater is in the top 20 programs in the entire world, like nationally.

SPEAKER_04 17:02

And when kids graduate, what are some of the jobs? Do they go to Broadway? Do they go to SNL? Like what tell me what they definitely aren't baristas, they're definitely not blue hair baristas.

SPEAKER_03 17:13

Oh maybe maybe they are to pay bills while doing there have been people who I think have gotten on Broadway. No one that I know, especially because I just switched in, but um, I think it's definitely building actors for more dramatic theater, like plays and musical theater as well, which is not really what I want to do. So I've I haven't seen anyone go the route that I want to do, but um but you can be the first. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Um and what about being an influencer?

SPEAKER_03 17:50

Me? Yeah. I don't know what I would influence because I I think I would do the opposite.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

I'm a de influencer. Um isn't there there's probably an influencing role for that, don't you think? Like if you became the best influencer.

SPEAKER_04 18:05

So I think influencing, that was so not like our world. It's more of our kids' world, but is it still like a big deal?

SPEAKER_02 18:14

You influence me.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

Uh well, because we're married.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

Oh, okay, you're right.

SPEAKER_03 18:18

I don't really you know, this is a funny story that my dad's gonna love that I'm going to share. No, no, it's not about Is it an earmuffs? No, no, no, no, no. Um I feel like I'm the wrong person to ask about like influencers and peep like Alex Earl and all of those people. I just don't know a lot about it because I'm more focused again on the older comedians and people at SML. You've always been an old soul. I'm an old soul. You 100% have been. I I don't really like I I'm watching Love Island, I watch Dancing with the Stars, I keep up in that sense. I'm not watching YouTube or following these influencers on like TikTok or Instagram.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Kaylee, are you listening?

SPEAKER_03 19:00

But uh so I just finished my internship at UTA where it was very hard. Uh I did have a little help from my father who works there. Okay, but you know what? Maybe that helped get you in the door, but you had to stay there and you did that on your own. This is true. And I had very good reviews at the end of my my time. Didn't that make you feel good?

SPEAKER_04 19:23

It did feel good. And now, Jeff, as the dad, tell me. I mean, there's probably a little bit like, I don't know, do I don't do I want people to know that she's my daughter? I want her to make it on her own. But then when she gets these, you know, resounding reviews, you're probably like, yeah, shit, that girl's my girl.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Well, look, the the bottom line is she'd been coming to the office since birth, so uh there was no hiding it. And it was fine. And and I was thrilled that she got the internship and she took the internship seriously. And from day one, it was clear she took it seriously. She was different than than many of the other interns. And I think mostly because she understood what the environment was like, and so I give her a lot of credit for that. And and and the feedback on the back side of it has been genuinely pretty incredible. And here's the thing she wants what she's chasing a dream, and I support that, but I did say to her if you want to go for something that's incredibly difficult, you need to know every aspect of the business. I love that. So this internship was incredibly crucial, in my opinion, for her to understand the global scope of interesting.

SPEAKER_04 20:32

And this is an exact reason why we trust you guys as friends and as parents if we died, because that's something that I'd want you to say to my kids too. I mean, it's it's a real, it's a real look at the world. You're supportive, but you're also giving the groundwork of you need to know what you're getting yourself to.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

Didn't this uh this situation with our respective kids, doesn't it run out at 18? And we're so we're kind of Yeah, it does.

SPEAKER_04 20:56

It does.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

Brooklyn's the only one that's inside.

SPEAKER_04 20:58

Brooklyn's the only one.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

I think it sort of ran out because you've said if anything ever happens to us, we gotta all go down together, right?

SPEAKER_04 21:06

Well, okay, this is a question.

SPEAKER_02 21:07

I mean Well, let me ask one other question. Did the parents uh of Maddie um call to ask for promotions within a first couple weeks, or did they stay um unhelicopter or parenting-ish?

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Um I went by pretty much daily to find out when her next promo No, I in all in all honesty, um I very much stayed out of it. I I sort of ran the other way, so to speak. Medicine. You weren't a helicopter parent. And um I I th there were there were moments where I had this level of fear of God, she's really immersed in in this crazy universe. And the feedback I would get from Maddie about all the craziness made me realize she gets it and she's totally fine inside this environment.

SPEAKER_03 21:56

So I was just gonna say going off of that the Back to the creators and all of that mumbo jumbo that I just don't understand. There was one day when I was in the office and I was basically a mailroom intern the majority of the time. So I was, you know, delivering mail, and the assistants treat the interns like crap. So there is a hierarchy. Oh, absolutely, there's a hierarchy. And I just I don't take it personally or anything. I kind of just think it's funny, and I just do what they tell me to do, and then I come back and I laugh about it. And one day this girl comes into the mail room with this big box and she says, I need you to charge every single thing that's inside this box, but you can't use the chargers that comes with the devices. And I was like, Okay, like what is this? Is this like a puzzle? She goes, It's it's the chill pills. And I was like, the who? The what? And she's like, The chill pills? And I was like, I I I don't know what that is. And she's like, Okay, I'm really, really worried about you. And I was like, uh, okay. Um, so what can I do? She's like, you need to open the box and you need to charge all 50 of these, but you can't use the charge, whatever. And I'm like, okay, and what is a chill pill?

SPEAKER_04 23:03

And she's like, Did you have to look it up?

SPEAKER_03 23:05

Well, I she wouldn't like she she was like, First of all, I'm really worried about you. Do you follow Alex Earl on Instagram? And I was like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 23:12

Like, for those that maybe who may be not familiar, um, she hosts a very, very famous podcast, and she's an influencer. Yes, call her daddy. No, that's Alex Cooper. Sorry. Oh, look at that. Okay, well, no, no, okay, see, and now I'm totally anticipated.

SPEAKER_03 23:29

But off of that, so I was they they have some feud, Alex Earl and Alex Cooper. There's some big feud between the two of us. See, I'm not daddy. And I know that. I do know that, but um, she's like, you don't know like Alex Earl and the chill pills. I was like, I don't know what that. I'm so sorry, I don't know what that is. And she's like, she literally like had it all over Coachella, like, I'm really worried about you that you don't know what this is. And I said, uh, as a joke, because I knew Alex Earl and Alex Cooper were in this feud, I said, uh, well, you know, I'm more of I'm more of an Alex Cooper fan. Like, just to sort of like be like, I still know some pop. And she goes, Wow, now I'm really, really worried about you. How old was this? She's probably what, like three years older than me? She's not that much older than me. And then so I had this whole How many followers does she have?

SPEAKER_02 24:15

Is it like crazy? I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 24:17

Oh, Alex Earl or Cooper? Oh, a lot. Like, I know who both of them are, but I'm not constantly checking them up on social media.

SPEAKER_04 24:24

You know what's right? Can I I just want to interrupt for a second because I want to bring Amy into this conversation. Um, what's interesting. Okay, I'm enjoying listening.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

What's interesting is by the way, before Amy cut comes in, I do want to, Maddie. Um, you're in a sorority, right? Do you want to give any sort of shout-out to your sorority and any of your peeps? No.

SPEAKER_04 24:43

That's okay. That's okay. But I just I want to talk about influence, and I I hope Amy doesn't get mad at me for asking. But Amy, um, she has a business and she actually creates content that show off what you've done with your clients. So it's so interesting that you have a daughter who might not even be all that into it, yet for your job, for your occupation, you're actually creating the content that we would consume on a date. Like I sit there and sometimes I do doom scroll and I go through all, you know, all of the videos that you've posted. So it's so funny that, you know, here your daughter's like, no, I don't, I don't want anything to do with it. Yet you you definitely use it for your business.

SPEAKER_03 25:23

She tried to hire me to run her social media and I did not do a good job.

SPEAKER_05 25:26

So, Jen, I love that you're saying that, but there's one caveat. I pay someone to do it. Do you really? I don't do it. I thought you did it on your own. No, I no, I started doing it on my own just for like a post of a picture, right? But I think what I realized about myself is when I'm on social media or when I'm creating content for social media, I'm not in the present. And so I can't focus on a job or a client or a situation and be trying to think about planning out the next video or whatever. And the truth is that's not how the nimbleness gets clients. So you get them through word of mouth, right? Absolutely, like 100%.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Like you got a great following, by the way.

SPEAKER_05 26:06

It's not a great following. And the truth is, if I posted on stories, if I posted on stories and did all that, I'd be a part of it. But to me, it's not like a the main priority. So I have a fabulous organizer that works for me. She has a marketing background, she's super she has the cutest voice, she's super creative, and I'll just say to her, hey, can you please do this? So I think, and I do think that Maddie and I both are probably the same in that we really try to be present, and I think it's hard to be present and be mindful and then be doing all this stuff on the side. So but I I don't really do it myself.

SPEAKER_02 26:42

You know what's cool though is like uh we we get asked all the time for people that have guests, uh like we we get these publicists that reach out and they're like, hey, um, my client is big into dog food and you talk about your dog, can they get on the show or whatever? It's sort of interesting. And I'm just looking at your Instagram right now. The Nimble Nest TM trademark, by the way, um, is a Los Los Angeles-based luxury boutique organizing in lifestyle company, lifestyle company, right? Transforming the chaos of clutter into creatively reimagined spaces. That's pretty cool. I like that.

SPEAKER_03 27:19

She was on a TV show.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

I well, and and by the way, it's very visual like your Instagram. I love it. It's like under what is it? The nimble desk. Perfect. Yeah, I like following it. I didn't realize it wasn't all you. I was like, wait, she's way more creative social media-wise than anybody I know.

SPEAKER_05 27:34

No, I mean, I have a team of people who work for me, and honestly, it's not where I want to be spending my time. I rather be fielding calls and talking to people who are interested in the services and what's like the craziest thing.

SPEAKER_02 27:46

Like, so have you worked okay, so we're empty nesters, right? So we got well, not really. Uh you have one one daughter still at home, but um she is gonna be out of the house when how many? Two more years. Two more years.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

We we we we see the uh finish line ahead of us for sure.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

The finish line is coming. I might be back before uh oh, that's called a boomerang, right? Yeah, I don't uh we'll we'll we'll talk about that. You can always move in with us, Matt.

SPEAKER_03 28:11

I probably will. That's a good idea.

SPEAKER_02 28:13

We have plenty of room here. Kaylee doesn't want to come back. She she wants to come back. Kaylee's looking to live on the East Coast in Delaware or something.

SPEAKER_05 28:20

Whenever I stay here.

SPEAKER_02 28:21

Yeah, Maddie, you said you're going to New York.

SPEAKER_05 28:24

We'll see. Who's paying for that? Thank you, Chris.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

That's why, that's why we'll see.

SPEAKER_02 28:28

That's that's an expensive move.

SPEAKER_03 28:30

But um, anyways, SNL is just begging to have me, so.

SPEAKER_02 28:33

Ooh, that would be a good gig, though. Gotta say. Yes, it would. Um, so as empty almost empty nesters, like you probably work with empty nesters that are trying to like, I don't know, downsize or reorganize, or like it's just been chaos for 18 years and now they're trying to figure out how to fix it up. Like, what like is there a good story in that?

SPEAKER_05 28:53

Is there a kind of I mean I think what I've come to realize is just people start to recognize just how much stuff they have and a little bit of like how pointless it is. So I think as we're helping families with young kids setting up systems for all their schoolwork and their art and all that crap and collection that we start to have over the years, because what happens is as these kids move out and they're off to college, they're not taking those things with them. And then when they're going into their adult life and getting married, they don't want any of this stuff with them. So I think it's just like really helping them downsize, understand what their priorities are, what things and assets of that they own are important to them, and creating a new life and I don't know, just this next chapter design for them.

SPEAKER_02 29:39

But how hard is it living with Jeff? Does he does he organize everything too, or are you guys opposites?

SPEAKER_05 29:45

You know, no, I always joke, Jeff is the yin to my yang, but the truth is I am the organized one, but he follows the plan. So he he follows the labels and the the rules, the organizing rules.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

Really?

SPEAKER_05 29:59

Yeah, he's great at it.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

When you're on a business trip though, do you like let it all just go to hell?

SPEAKER_01 30:05

No, absolutely not. I I have become a little bit more OCD about my daily life as a result of what I've learned living with Amy. Seriously? Oh, absolutely. 100%.

SPEAKER_05 30:16

But wait, I'll tell you that when Jeff and I were dating, he I was invited to their Hawaii trip, right? So we had been together maybe six months, and I was nervous about traveling with him because I know how I like to travel, very organized. I mean, I wouldn't call myself OCD, but I have some OCD tendencies. And we walked into the room, great room, beautiful hotel, and we immediately did the same thing, which was unpack, put our things away, hang up our shirts, you know, figure out our sides of the sink, and it was it was like perfect because I wanted the right side of the sink, and we didn't even have to discuss it. His stuff was already on the left, and I was like, yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

Wait, do you actually use drawers like when you're on a trip? Like, so I never We both do. I think just in the last year I started using a drawer in a in a hotel room, mainly because Jen got so upset at me for all the time where I don't take anything out of my bag, I just leave it there, and then once I wear it, I just throw it into a corner of the closet, and then that's just where it is.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

If we're traveling to multiple places, I do some version of that. If we're going and landing at one spot, I absolutely completely unpack. Everything goes in a space, suitcase goes in the corner, and that's how it is.

SPEAKER_05 31:33

And dirty clothes go in the suitcase.

SPEAKER_03 31:36

I've taught this to my kids. What? Yes. But wait, you have one side. You put all of your dirty clothes on one side so that at the end of the trip you zip up that side with all the dirty clothes, you put the clean clothes on the other side with all the other things, and that way when you get home, it's so unzip the dirty side and you throw them in the line.

SPEAKER_05 31:52

But wait, the Settleston family's.

SPEAKER_02 31:54

But wait, is that after you've worn them all inside out, too? Because that's you get two wears out of it.

SPEAKER_05 31:59

Oh, we don't underpackers.

SPEAKER_02 32:01

No, not even with underwear.

SPEAKER_05 32:02

But we do have a two-day rule. I think if you're going somewhere for two days, no one laughed at that one.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

All right, it's fine.

SPEAKER_05 32:07

I think if you're going somewhere for two days, you'd I don't we I don't think either of us like really fully unpack, but if you're there like longer than two days, yes, we hang stuff, we use drawers.

SPEAKER_03 32:17

Well, yeah, even when we were traveling through Europe in that Airbnb, we had that like hallway closet. We were there for what two nights? We still put all of it. Oh, I feel like we always just put our stuff in the closet.

SPEAKER_05 32:27

But the other thing too, if you want like a really good trick, so yes, we use the suitcase for dirty clothes, but then what we do is I since I have both the girls, I'll have them separate their darks and lights so dirty.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

Whoa, what happened? Whoa, oh my gosh, you just uh unplugged your microphone. That's sort of interesting. Maybe somebody out there did not want the secret told about what you do with the uh the you got it? It's a uh it's a plus and a minus. There you go.

SPEAKER_05 32:56

We pack on, we live, it'll it'll be our little secret.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

Okay, so go on. Wait, I want to hear about the darks and the lights.

SPEAKER_05 33:06

So all the darks for both the girls are together, and all the lights for both the girls are together.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

I'll give uh an applause for that.

SPEAKER_01 33:12

That seems way more complicated. Thank God when you're going on vacation, you're thinking this detailed.

SPEAKER_02 33:17

Yeah. I am. For me, I'd be like, that's too much information. Like, honestly, I don't even know what to do with that. Um, I will say that uh I I I mean, I at least I've gotten to the point where I'm sort of okay, maybe I don't turn my underwear inside and out, maybe I bring enough underwear with me to make it through. Um and then I have figured out there's some hotels that you can count on getting the uh dry cleaning or the wash done within 24 hours if you need that. We've never done that. It's it's doable. Like if you really want to travel light, it's a good way to do it. But you gotta be a trustworthy hotel because a lot of times it takes longer than they say it's gonna take.

SPEAKER_01 33:58

We as a family three years ago went to Europe. We went to London, we went to Paris, Rome, Florence.

SPEAKER_03 34:04

And we saw underpants.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

Fifteen days on the road, all carry-on. No, wait, we did 15 days all carry on.

SPEAKER_05 34:14

It was the worst. I look back at pictures and I was like, wait, I'm wearing the same thing that I was wearing sooner.

SPEAKER_02 34:19

Wait, how did you did you guys do any wash or we did?

SPEAKER_05 34:22

We in Rome we had a beautiful Airbnb that had what you refer to as a washer wash. No, and it's a dishwasher too. Pretty much below of it all. And it doesn't dry, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

That's hilarious. Yeah, no, we um I mean with Dylan and when Dylan and I would go like on the East Coast for like 23 days, it was all how do we do this? How many coins do you gotta bring?

SPEAKER_04 34:43

Because we would stay in motels and you have to and that is the antithesis of our daughter who brought 65 pounds of bathing suits to Costa Rica. Yes, yeah, that was that's my girl.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

That was like a total like I'm I had to like pick up that bag and was like, wait, you're going to Costa Rica, it's all bikinis, and it literally feels like this is overweight.

SPEAKER_05 35:03

I'm but did you see how good her Instagram pictures looked? She was stunning. Right.

SPEAKER_03 35:09

So I'm glad I'm just not on social media that I just didn't see it and Maddie missed it.

SPEAKER_02 35:15

No, but Alex Earl saw it.

SPEAKER_03 35:16

I know, but I commented and I liked it and I reposted and I shared it in spirit.

SPEAKER_02 35:21

Oh my god, did you see the repost on the nimble nests?

SPEAKER_03 35:24

Yes. I'm gonna repost Kaylee Plate and Ponder.

SPEAKER_04 35:26

Yeah, oh Plate and Ponder. We gotta We should get a cross promotion going. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:31

What if you hire me to run your Instagram? No, no. I like it.

SPEAKER_04 35:35

Well, I think we may need to be in 74 countries. Maybe one, maybe if we pick up one more country. My niece just moved to Poland. Madagascar, we're coming for you.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

Oh, I don't know if we're in Poland, actually.

SPEAKER_05 35:46

So my niece just moved to Poland. Really? Yes. This could be our go-to. We'll have Plate and Ponder Krakow.

SPEAKER_04 35:53

Ooh, I like it. I like it. Well, on that note, should we go have dinner? Because we really are here to have a family dinner on Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 36:01

Yeah, so I will say this has been pretty awesome, but we gotta have like part d, part to, part cat.

SPEAKER_05 36:07

We'll come back with Brooklyn.

SPEAKER_02 36:08

We we would love that.

SPEAKER_05 36:09

We wouldn't need her own.

SPEAKER_02 36:11

Really? Well, now let me ask you this. Do you want like a Stranger Things leadout? Do you want something like a little more G Love special sauce? 80s Dance. Oh, that's like an Austin Powers. Oh, that's like a little more 70s, I guess. But anyway, that'll do. So, hey, why don't you guys say goodbye one more time? Oh, it it has been a real pleasure. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_05 36:31

Thank you for having me. I love you guys. Love you guys. You're so hot.

SPEAKER_02 36:37

Wait, who is?

SPEAKER_03 36:39

Everyone.

SPEAKER_02 36:40

Oh, wow. Okay. So uh to Maddie Suttleson, Amy Suttleson, and Jeff Suttleton, and my co-host, who everybody listens to more than me, Jen Fenton. You are listening to Plate Ponder Empty Nesting. Oh, and um Bruin too. You are listening to Plane Ponder Empty Nesting with Jen and Chris Fenton. We are in 73 countries. We're looking for number 74. Please follow, uh, download, enjoy, and uh DM if you want to come on the show someday. Uh, you can be our next guest. Thank you. And until next time, love you.