How to design your home to support your thyroid and Hashimoto’s with HGTV’s Sabrina Soto

You might be wondering, what does a designer have to do with Hashimoto’s? But  oh, so much, because so many of the symptoms we deal with when we have thyroid issues and autoimmunity, so it’s that fatigue, the brain fog, the overwhelm, they’re not just physical, they’re emotional  and environmental too. And  what’s around us matters just as much as what’s happening inside of us. And that’s exactly why I’m so excited for today’s guest, the amazing and inspiring Sabrina Soto.

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She’s a designer, she’s a TV host, and now the creator of the Sabrina Soto Show,  where she brings together design, wellness, and mindset in a really, really beautiful way.  And Sabrina really bridges that gap  and the connection really between what’s happening in our mind,  what’s happening in our body, and what’s happening in our environment. And so  I’m so excited to have her here. Sabrina, welcome, welcome. Thank you so much for having me. I feel like we’re going to have a really, really good chat.

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I’m so excited.  So for  anyone living with Hashimoto’s or thyroid issues, this conversation I think really hits home because so often it can feel like we have so many things we want to do and yet they feel out of reach because our energy, our focus, you know, even our sense of calm isn’t always there  and we want to make changes, right? But we don’t always feel like we’re ready or maybe even capable in the moment. And Sabrina, your story is just so inspirational.

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We have to start there. Can you take us back to that moment when you were sitting a Baja Fresh,  that moment that changed so much for you? It’s so funny. So I, for people who don’t know what the heck we’re talking about, I was on Kathy Heller’s podcast a few months ago, and I told this story.  And I told Kathy afterwards  that  I have been on podcasts, obviously, before, but this story resonated with so  many people  because I think

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All of us at one point or another have been there. So the story is  I was working in real estate. I was newly married to a good guy. I had a good house. I had a good job.  I had a good amount of savings. Everything was good on paper  and I was sitting, you know, it was lunch rush. We it was a lunch break in this job that I had and I was standing in this line that I was in a lot.

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in Baja Fresh getting my lunch burrito and something  overwhelming came over me. Like I don’t belong  here. I don’t belong  in this lunch rush. I don’t belong in this life like this way. Like something just felt off. But from the outside looking at my life you would think I had it all. Like  I should have just been happy with status quo. Just like there was,  everything was going quote unquote right.

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But I just knew at that moment that I wanted to do something different. I just didn’t know necessarily  how I was going to get there. But I just knew in this life, this wasn’t enough for me. And if I stayed in that just accepting things as is, I would have regretted it.  And I didn’t even want to say it out loud to anyone because I didn’t want to seem ungrateful or that I wasn’t happy. I didn’t want to say it to my then husband.

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And that night  I remember my friend Erin had kept telling me about this documentary, The Secret, that her dad had told her about. Now this was  before it was on Oprah. This was before, like it was even a book. It was this documentary that you had to pay $4 and I think 95 cents to watch on your computer. And I watched  that night and everything in my life changed the next day. I got, I was woken up early and I started living my life

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as if I was going to  have an opportunity to do something creative on TV. And I just didn’t know what it was before, but lo and behold, I found on Craigslist the next day a job offering that was looking for a designer who had TV credit. Now, that’s a whole other story. Like I had no business responding to that  ad, but I was like, you know what?  I have nothing to lose at this point. And I was so,  I don’t wanna use the word desperate because I wasn’t,

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desperate, but I was  inspired to change something in my life. Long story short, that next day ad that I responded to was my first HGTV show, Get It Sold. Which is just amazing.  And like you said, you didn’t necessarily have TV credit. Like,  how did you even  say yes to that? Like, how did you, what went through your mind? You’re like, I’m going to respond. I think that I was

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really well I had been on TV before but doing host stuff here and there I’d never done design stuff in the capacity that they were expecting someone to host a show but I just felt like I’m just gonna throw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall and see which one sticks and I was in such a mindset of and I don’t know have you ever watched the secret the documentary yeah okay so also

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with like with you back in the day when you had to pay for it. this was 2006. So we’re talking 19 years ago. Yeah, that’s when I watched it.  Yeah, I remember just feeling this  knowing that I had control over my life when before I watched the documentary, I felt like everything was out of my control and I was just sort of privy to whatever opportunities were  given to me instead of it just sort of

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woke me up and shook up my belief that no, it’s not about what everybody else is bringing to you. It’s what you believe you’re worthy of and creating sort of moving around your life knowing that these opportunities are coming. So that next day I started working out. I started looking at wardrobe to be on TV. And again, like no one was calling me, but I just had this.

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overwhelming, overwhelming feeling that something was coming. And I just knew it was going to come. didn’t know when I didn’t know how I didn’t know through  which avenue, but I knew like when it comes, I better be ready. And so I started getting ready.  Wow. That’s so interesting. So yeah, they haven’t called you back yet, but you started doing all of the things  after  you’ve replied to that ad, right? Yeah. Yes.  That, and I think that is so

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I just think that’s so important, right? Because what we put out  to the universe, right? Like is what we get back. And so if there’s something that we want, you know, it’s not just saying, okay, I’m here. I’m going to pull this thing that’s over there to me, but it’s like, have to be there, be it, right? Like, which is exactly what you’re saying.  So then what happened? You started doing that. You’re working out, you’re looking at your wardrobe. out. I’m eating differently. I am looking at wardrobe to see what would look good on camera.

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my then husband thought I had gone crazy because no one’s calling. And I was still working. I was still doing that job that was making me quote unquote good money, but I was not happy. I was so not happy in that job. But I still knew that I had a mortgage to pay, I had bills to pay, but I started just kind of getting excited about new opportunities that were about to come. And 16 weeks later,

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I was on set filming  the show.  before that, me putting, know, replying to that ad on Craigslist in the 16 weeks, I got an audition.  I had a lot of phone calls with the production company  and I also had to make a huge move. So I lived in LA at that time, I do again now, but that show was filming in Washington, DC. So I had to move, uh which was a big leap. You know, it was a huge…

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change. I had to leave my you know partner my husband at the time I had to leave our house I had to  move to a city where I didn’t know one person but  I like I just didn’t care I was so happy it was my whole life changed my whole life changed but I know a lot of people are listening to this who are dealing with health issues there’s a whole other category that you’re dealing with  of sometimes you have all of the

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plans in the world to  wake up the next day and feel like,  tomorrow’s gonna be my Monday. I’m gonna get started. And  then sometimes you feel  such low energy that you can’t get out of bed, just frustrated because you almost feel like your body is failing you. And like,  I know that feeling because of  things that I’ve dealt with in my health, but I also have a friend, a really good friend of mine who deals with Hashimoto’s and she, like I hear her.

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frustration a lot so Also know that there’s no  Set time that you have to get things done you know, like it’s okay to push things off like there’s no deadline  and Things could happen  Behind the scenes even if you do kind of stay in bed, know for hours at a time Like there are see when you plant seeds though the whatever you’re planting

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it’s growing underneath the soil. just sometimes can’t see it, but there’s always progress that’s happening behind the scenes that you just aren’t privy to.  Absolutely. That is so true. And I think that if you’re living in the way  where you know what you want, or at least you know,

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Aspects away when sometimes we don’t know exactly what we want, but we know certain things like we want to have more energy, right? We want to have a certain type of job or a certain type of life, or even just we have certain interests that we want to be able to do more. Like we want to maybe go on more trips or go skiing or whatever it is. Even if you’re tired, just kind of knowing those things. I love what you’re saying that you’re planting those seeds. And if you, and even if when you are resting, right? Like.

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We talk about this a lot. There’s nothing wrong with rest. You’re not lazy if you’re resting. It’s actually so important for our nervous system, right?  So then  if  we can, as we rest, right, we can listen to  things that are inspirational about an area, right, that we’re working on.  Okay, so think about it this way.  You’re 100 % right. We  are in a society that is the go, go, go, boss babe mode all the time, you know? And yeah, sure.

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But what you’re saying like,  what can you do? Let’s say you do have a day of rest that you just don’t have the energy to go, go, go and get in your computer and start creating emails. Let’s just say it’s a day of rest. What can you do listening to empowering podcasts like this,  reading a book that maybe you wouldn’t have the time. it’s  not a make it a win-win situation. You’re resting and you’re feeding your mind and soul with

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good information. And if you do read a book and then you want to take a break and watch it, you know, something, some rom-com, that’s okay too.  Right. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I think so much of it also  kind of resonates in terms of your story too, right? That you started doing things before you felt ready, before the opportunity was even there. So  what can people do? Let’s just say they, they want to do,  um,

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you know, have more energy to be able to exercise more, right? To be able to go on a trip or even maybe change their career like you did.  But they’re feeling like they’re tired  and  they can’t quite, they may not even know exactly what it’s, can’t quite grasp it. What are some little things that they could do to sort of get into that mindset? Okay. Well, this, I mean, I could, whole, that could be a whole other like podcast because I do feel like

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women especially, are drained of energy from so, we are pulled in so many different directions. So I would first do an audit  on where you’re actually spending your energy.  And I bet whoever is listening, there is someone in your life or something that you’re doing that you’re spending energy on that is sucking the life out of you.  And you know, it sounds cutthroat.

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But if we were really aware of how important our energy is, we would be a little bit more, we would safeguard it more.  And I had to do this last year of like really looking at my friendships, really looking at my relationships, really looking at my habits  and figuring out where I was screwing up in a sense. Like  where I was really allowing things in that didn’t need to have space.

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So that’s like a good, easy thing to do. And then, you know, also taking care of yourself and your nervous system, also taking care of your home. We talked about, you spoke about this early in like the intro, but you would be surprised how your home can suck the energy out of you. And it shouldn’t be that way. Your home should be a sanctuary. Your home should hold you and nurture you. And unfortunately, I have been through

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hundreds, not thousands of homes throughout my career. And I see that a lot of people are letting their home just drag them down and suck the life out of them. And, my gosh, that is so big. And I definitely want to get into this in detail because I think so many people can really benefit from this. So we were talking about the nervous system, right? And how important it is and it’s such a key to healing. so much of what’s happening in our home, like you said, is going to suck the life out of things and affect our nervous system. So,

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What let’s start with, you what does it mean to have a nervous system design? I know you talk about that and how can we start? And then I have lots and lots of follow up questions for you. In the middle of writing my book about this, about how your home is a tool in your well-being. And it could be small things for me. I like to be warm and cozy. So I’m talking to you right now. I have cozy slippers on and I’m wrapped in a heated blanket.

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because I love being warm and cozy.  So I sit at this desk, this is my work desk, and I sit here a lot. I’m writing a book, but in order for me to feel supported  with textiles,  I have these things. Now, this is my personal preference. For everyone, it’s gonna be different, but taking care of thresholds. So when you walk in the front door, do you have a pair of cozy slippers, if that’s important to you, to switch out of  your work shoes? Do you have clutter waiting for you? Junk mail piles.

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Or,  you know, do you have like a really  pretty plant or a picture of your family that makes you smile? It’s those small little touches throughout your life, throughout your home that can either drag you down or lift you up. And it’s about making those small little shifts. It’s the smallest thing of like making your bed every morning. It takes a few minutes, but people, studies have shown that people are way more productive throughout their day if they make that change.

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And then when you get to bed that night, you feel proud of yourself that you’re coming home to, you’re going to rest, feeling productive, feeling  organized. Cluttered homes, especially with women. UCLA did a study years ago that shows like cortisol levels went up, especially with women when they’re around clutter and chaos. So the kitchen counters were all guilty of it. Those piles of mail that you haven’t gotten to.

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taking the time to start creating small little systems throughout your home to make your home work for you and not the other way around. Yeah. So let’s talk about some of those systems because I think that could be so helpful. So you mentioned mail.  think probably almost everyone listening, myself included, I actually just did a system for mail, but for years I did not have one and it drove me nuts. Now.

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Would I tell you, oh, Sabrina, my mail drives me nuts? No, because I was not even something I realized, but yeah, it’s everywhere. And the way my kitchen is set up, the counter is just kind of this place that everything ends up. And  oh my gosh, the claret, like it really drives me nuts, but it wasn’t, I don’t think I was able to even articulate that, oh, it’s the mail that was doing it. It was like, oh, there’s the kids stuff and this and that, but the mail was really like the center and then everything sort of stemmed from there. So.

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What are some systems that people can  use for that? I have the easiest fix for mail.  OK. Your mailbox is outside for the most part. Some people have like a little slot in their door, but for the most part, people have their mailbox somewhere outside. What else is outside is your recycling bin. So  when you get your mail, all that junk mail that you don’t need,  do not even bring it inside the house. Literally go walk over to the recycling bin and put it outside and then.

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You know, maybe one day take your time to take yourself off of the mailing lists of stuff that you don’t want so that you don’t even get it anymore. But just that small little change of like it doesn’t even make it into that because what ends up happening is that you you grab it in a pinch. You put it in  on your kitchen counter and then every day it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. And then you have to sit through  all of these things to get to your bills and the things that are important. So.

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It’s just about those small micro changes to make your life a lot more manageable. That’s really, really smart because, yeah, I mean, I bring mine inside all the time, but the garbage cans are right there. It’s right there. But then also like doing paperless bills like e-bills, know, so you’re having less to deal with. It’s like, how can we make our lives a little bit less stressful? Yeah. Now with your mail, do you have a system where you have like

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Incoming mail and then mail that’s going out. Is it organized or how do you do that?  I have well,  I do the junk mail I get it out and then I’ve gotten myself off of a lot of mailing lists But obviously still stuff still comes in  I just bring in the stuff that needs to be dealt with and I’ll put it on my desk and that pile Cannot make it by like Saturday. It’s got to be taken care of  when I get take care of that during the week is dependent on me and my schedule but

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come Saturday morning, those bills are paid and everything is taken care of.  I also have a, like, I’m notorious for to-do lists  and I sometimes end up transferring to-do lists from one notebook to another.  And now I have this system that if it makes it into the second list and it takes less than five minutes to do, I just get it done.  That’s really smart.  Now, what about kids stuff? So,

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You know, for us  who have kids, there’s  handouts and permission slips and like so many things that come in their backpacks.  Do you have a system for that? Because for me, that also ends up on the kitchen counter and for so many other people too. Yeah, it’s  that’s OK to have piles like for each kid of the permission slips in the homework that has to get done. But everything should be again taken care of by that Friday because all the homework needs to be turned in for the most part. Permission slips need to be returned. So.

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We don’t want to walk into our weekends with chaos.  So it’s about just getting those things done. But like, yes, our kids come with stuff. One thing I love as a mom are baskets. I love a basket. I love trays and baskets, trays for days. I love baskets  because you could just throw everything in there and each kid could have their own tray too  to make it easier to organize.  That’s great.  Now, what about other places in the kitchen?  You know, there’s so many different

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things where, you know, we can have obviously drawers and shelves and everything else. But  for especially people who are dealing with health issues, it is important that we try to eat healthy, that we cook when we can,  but it’s hard to do when the kitchen isn’t organized.  tell us more about that. Cause I’m sure you have  lots of systems and lots of ideas there.  don’t have a huge kitchen.  I have to make sure that the stuff like I have to pare down a lot of my stuff. I don’t have.

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room for a million gadgets.  But I do, because of all the clients that I work with, realize that people have just too much stuff in their kitchen that they’re not using  spices that are like years old.  So I would maybe even one week and tackle kitchen chaos. um And it’s okay to have a junk drawer.  One junk drawer. It’s okay. we, yeah, just one. uh But in the kitchen, it’s about creating.

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space that feels fun to to Cook in and if you’re just it’s like you open your spice doors. Everything’s like all over the place There’s stuff that’s old there’s stuff that’s spilled  like it doesn’t feel fun to create in a space like that So it’s about getting organized in that space first, but I just feel like in kitchens especially it tends to be a catch-all for a lot of different things but first like clearing the clutter  like first and foremost and

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I think it’s really nice to have like a little, if you’re dealing with like health issues and you have a lot of supplements, having a special like little cabinet for all of your supplements and medicines too. Yeah, that’s definitely a great idea. I have one. It’s not little. It’s not me either. I have a huge one too. It’s actually in my garage. And it makes me, like all my medication kind of supplements and powders and all that is, it’s like one, it’s like sitting right here. Actually, I’m looking at it.

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I love it because  I love opening up this metal cabinet and having all of my supplements just there. And I feel like  it’s where I go to feel healthy. You know, I don’t know. It’s just to me, it’s like a mind thing, but I just love that it’s all in one little place and it’s like organized. And I feel like if I’m feeling low energy, I can go in there and look at which supplement I should take. And it just feels nice and inspiring. You know, that’s great. It’s inspiring. You have that choice too.

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Yeah.  cabinet’s gotten smaller now. I have Thyrolove, which is like a one-all for Hashimoto. So I have less things, but I still had so many other things before. So I have that. And then I have my other side where it’s like, I’ll just pick and choose what I need that day. So I do the same thing too. Fun. I love it. um Now, what about  how we’re organizing our pots and pans  and, you know, some of the other things? Like,  is there a way that you find is easier or is it kind I mean, I’m assuming it depends on everyone’s kitchen, but is there,

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just certain types of  processes that you use that can make things a little bit easier with cooking. Yeah, I think a lot of people have  like arms,  being able to reach, they have a lot of pots and pans that they never use. So put the huge pot that you use for the turkey on Thanksgiving  or the huge like chili  bowl or a pot that you use once a year, put those away.

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The stuff that you’re constantly using that small little like egg pan and the small little saucepan put those like at  you know where you could reach them every single day because if you’re constantly having to  Fight with the stuff that you’re not using,  know It’s just seasonally  to get the stuff that you need It just becomes again another hurdle that you have to go to like we’ve got enough stuff going on in our life So really organized stuff that you really need every day

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to be at arm, you know, at eye level and, know, to be easy to access. And the rest of the stuff can go either in like the upper cabinets or in your garage, if you have one. Yeah. That’s a great idea. I think there’s so much decision fatigue too, that people have to deal with that just having what you need right there helps so much. Now in terms of just generally decluttering, I mean, I think we all need to do that. We all want to do that.

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but then it’s also making time for that. So is it something that you suggest people make time and make a day? Is it something that they can maybe hire out just to kind of help make the process easier? If you can afford it, 100 % hire it out because life gets in the way, things take precedence to organizing, but when you have somebody who can look at your stuff with fresh eyes and help you through that process, it’s amazing. If you can’t do that, then…

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you know,  making it easy on you. For instance, like sometimes I have a lot of clothes. I have a lot of clothes because I have like stuff that I wear normally like for my everyday. But then I have like TV clothes that are so bright. Like it’s not anything I would wear to go to Trader Joe’s.  So  I sometimes when I’m getting dressed,  no matter what, like I’ll look at something that  is way old, doesn’t fit me anymore. I just don’t like. And I have this hamper that is in the corner. It’s like a basket.

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that I throw things in  and every two weeks I take that, put it in a nice bag and take it to be donated. So it’s not about like organizing, it’s just throwing it in. It’s just throw it in and then I don’t go through it again. I just put it right to donating. Cause  I think a lot of people go through that again. They’re like, well, maybe I’ll wear this to a luau.  And maybe I’ll wear this. Yeah. It’s like, no girl, you’re not going to wear it to a luau. Just donate it to somebody who’s going to use it. Yeah.

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Yeah, that definitely happens to me. And I think also what sizing, you know, sometimes we’re like, oh, you know, we’re in different stage of our life, or  maybe we’ve gained, we know like, I’m going to keep these skinny jeans. So I think,  um, you know, that could be helpful, but I think there are a lot of things we think we’re going to wear,  but we don’t.  Yeah. Yeah. For sure.  Um,  now  what about  in terms of, ah when we think about the nervous system and we think about

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our wake up routine and our wind down routine, which is so, so important.  And  is there anything that you would recommend in a bedroom in  a way to make us wind down better?  I  love the five minute journal.  like love, love, I wish I would have invented it. I love it so much. Are you familiar with it? No. Okay. So it’s really a journal that you can fill out in five minutes, hence the name.

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but you start your morning with the things that you’re grateful for and then what can make today great. And then at the end of the day, it takes minutes.  I have it on my nightstand and it’s like,  just write  what great things happened that day, what could have been better? And it’s just a wonderful way to like  revisit the day and force yourself to be grateful for things.  I absolutely love that. Obviously being off your phone, but

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But you know, it’s easier said than done. But of course, being off your phone at least an hour before you go to bed is ideal. It’s just, we, a lot of people just don’t do that. So I’m being realistic here. But winding down  in a space that’s uncluttered, even,  you know, like when you have a lot of clutter  on a chair, laundry that’s piling up, things that are  visible in your bedroom, it actually causes your cortisol levels to go up too. That just causes stress and restless sleep. So,

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Just making sure that your bedroom is a place for rest and relaxation and not for  laundry and clutter on your nightstands and stuff that you have to get done. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Now, is there something that you want to make sure you don’t have in your bedroom?  I will definitely clutter. Clutter even underneath your bed. People are like, well, I don’t see it. It’s like, no, actually the energy, is awful. So.

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Clutter, getting rid of that  in your bedroom especially. I mean, it’s just so important. Having like cozy textiles. And if you can’t afford  like  new linens, even just a really soft pillowcase, something that you lay your head down every day, know, just even making the small little changes,  clearing out your nightstands.

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And then studies show that the TV shouldn’t be in your bedroom. But I know a lot of people just are like, no way. I don’t care. I need it. I am not a TV watcher, so it’s not in mine. I don’t have that. But I know a lot of people need to go to sleep to TV. But maybe just paring it down a little bit before a bed would be helpful. I love reading. It puts me to sleep. But I mean, if you could try it, would love it. I mean, I would love for you to at least try it one night. Yeah.

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For sure. Now, do you have  favorite type of lighting for the bedroom? Because  overhead lighting can be really harsh, especially right before bed. What do you use and what do you recommend? I am not a fan of fluorescent lighting. The daylight bulbs, I can’t  stand them when I see them in a bedroom.  It just feels so clinical and it’s like a hospital room. So soft white light all the way dimmable.  if you can’t do it, if you could buy them on Amazon, like a dimmable switch.

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to put your nightstand lamps on soft white bulbs and like, and be able to dim them a hundred percent. Perfect. Yeah.  Now what about um light boxes? How do you feel about those? What do mean by light boxes? So like uh that simile dawn or dusk? Yeah. I don’t have one. I’ve been dying to try them. So do you have one at your house? I do. I do. I like it.  I would wanting to try it. I saw

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There’s two things when I when wanting to try that and also the alarm. Have you seen the ones? So I have one of those, though. I have to be honest. It’s kind of big and it’s a contraption. My husband got it for one of my birthdays in the past, and it kind of just felt too complicated. But it looks really cool. I just have one that like I look at in the morning just to kind of get some sunlight if there’s no sunlight outside, like through that in my eyes. But I do have the whole alarm in the whole set. um

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Oh my gosh, but you know, looks so cool online. you know, light is so important. We are so inundated, especially with our phones, like the blue light coming off of our phones, which is why I said to try to get off your phone as much as possible.  with our circadian rhythm, with all of the different, like that’s why it’s important to get the sunlight into your eyes in the morning, you know? So if you can  wake up with sunlight and not  draw like the blackout curtains,

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That is, it’s really great for your wellbeing and for your, you know,  your health. I know a lot of people just don’t like that to be woken up. They don’t like to wake up with sunlight, but if, you know, I don’t like to have these really strict rules for people. Everyone is different, but if you could make small little micro changes to allow more of the natural elements in.

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like the real daylight in in the morning instead of these harsh bulbs. Like you don’t need fluorescent bulbs in your home, especially not at night. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I actually have my husband open the shades. So he likes things pitch dark. Like he puts stickers  over like the light of like, you know, any little thing, like any, I mean, we’re trying not to have electronics in the room, but whatever is there that has like the light, even like on the air purifier, like we cover that with a shirt and like,  like he can’t sleep. so over the years.

32:05

He’s kind of trained me to sleep in pitch dark. So now it’s actually a funny story. think I’ve told this before, but if we go on vacation, he’ll take like black garbage bags to like lie in the windows because like I can’t sleep like this. that guy. He’s that guy. He’s that guy. Um, and I think I’m becoming that girl just over the many, many years. Like I’ve like been trained to sleep in the dark. However, I find with this, it’s a lot harder to wake up because

32:30

in the past, like, I mean, we’re going back to like, you know, 20 something years in my twenties when I lived in New York city and like before him and I met, you know, there’s a lot of light. And so it didn’t bother my sleep then, but in the morning it was so much easier to wake up because it was just this natural light. Now I do sleep really well, but you know, if one of the kids come in or the alarm goes off, I’m like, is it? What day is it? What’s happening? It’s like five o’clock in the afternoon. Yeah. So he gets up before me. So he will actually like,

32:57

gently open the shades just a little bit to allow the light in and that really, really helps. uh Or that’s also where those like the simulating dawn lights can help as well. Not the fluorescent ones, of course, but. Yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah. But the sunlight is so important. I think  for people with thyroid issues, but really any health issue, there’s so many little things that you’re saying. And I think we really underestimate, you know, how much the little things can really make a difference. And, you know, I think the clutter especially is just

33:26

Like it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it is such a big deal. It’s just so much noise for our nervous system. 100 % and it’s like what you just said, like we don’t even notice. You know why? It’s we’re so inundated. We’re so, um, just like there’s so much going on in our lives. There’s so much between social media, our phones, our emails, our this, the, the, kids schedule, your schedule, like where it’s,

33:54

It’s so much that’s going in that we’re like, oh, I’m okay. I’m not that stressed. But I think we’re just used to carrying the weight that we  just kind of forgot how heavy it  is.  just because you think it’s not affecting you,  it is.  I’m sure your listeners know how important our mental health is to our physical health. It all boils down to that.  And so if we can make our lives a little bit more manageable.

34:23

you’d be shocked how much you just like, we’ll start to feel better physically.  Yeah, absolutely.  I know one of the things that you say is,  you know, a lot of the transformation really starts with intention.  And, you know, I think it kind of just  comes into this, that intention of decluttering our lives, you know, our house, but also, and you mentioned like,  looking at friendships, you know, looking at other things like

34:52

what is draining our energy? And I think that’s so important. Yeah. mean, I’ll give you an example is just like the friendship that I was talking about earlier. It’s I would be on the phone sometimes for half an hour a day listening to venting and gossiping and BS. And then I would get off the phone. I’m like, well, at least it’s not my BS and it’s not my like. But what I didn’t realize is I was like carrying that load.

35:21

You know, just unknowingly, I was carrying this like  stress.  And I’m not saying, of course you have to be there for your friends sometimes, but if it’s like this constant  badgering of your energy, constant like weighing down,  and it’s  a one-sided relationship, you need to realize like it is affecting your physical health. Whether you wanna admit it or not, it is. Yeah,  and I think for so many… uh

35:46

people, women especially. And then if you add thyroid issues on top of that, a lot of people with thyroid issues, not that I’m generalizing, but I guess a little bit,  you know, we tend to,  um, in addition to being empathic, you know, we also are sometimes afraid to say no, right? Because what would someone think? And I don’t want to be that person. And you know, we give, give, give. And you know, part of that and really suppressing our own needs and our voices where some of the thyroid issues come in in the first place.  But I think it’s hard for people to

36:16

They might realize it, but it’s hard for them to make those changes. Do you have any advice on that? If they know a friendship maybe isn’t serving them, how do we kindly move away from that? I know. I have a friend of mine, name is Terry Cole. She writes about this all the time. She actually wrote a book called Boundary Boss. Oh, I love Terry. I love Terry so much. think that, you know, I’m a recovering people pleaser.

36:42

and also, you know, high functioning codependent woman. I understand  it’s because we’re so used to giving, giving, giving and being the martyr. Like, oh, you know, everybody gets it before us. We’re always eating the burnt toast.  And that when we start to shift that and create boundaries and start saying no when we want to,  it feels really weird and it feels selfish.

37:05

and it feels like we’re being bad friends or bad moms or bad sisters or bad daughters or fill in the bad, right?  It’s not that it’s, you know, it’s  just because we are so used to being the giver all the time that just, that it’s a new feeling and it feels bad. And yes, people are gonna be disappointed. And you know what? Too bad.  Too bad because you know who’s been disappointed for the last 10 years? Me. I disappointed myself and it’s time, you know, it’s okay.

37:33

Yes, it might be a little bit of a learning curve for yourself and for the people in your life But I promise you sooner or later it’s it’s gonna work itself out and you’re gonna feel so much happier now  I’m writing I mentioned I’m writing a book and I don’t have as much time to talk on the phone just to catch up with my friends  and  You know, it was weird at first because I don’t have the time but it’s like

37:59

Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize how much time I was giving away of myself too. So it’s about creating priorities and your priorities should be yourself and your family. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, it’s also thinking about what your time is really worth. So I love that you’re saying that I remember talking to one of my coaches about and she’s like, you need to treat your time like it’s like $10,000 an hour or more. 100%. Yes. Oh, yes. All day long. And whatever you make an hour, know, whatever

38:28

So, you know, it’d be great if you make $10,000 an hour. Bravo, girl. But if you are on the phone for half an hour listening to your friend vent every single day, how much time, how much are you really giving away there? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And I love what you’re saying that it’s like, yeah, people might be disappointed, but guess what? Like you’re the one that’s been disappointed your whole life probably. And it’s time to put you first. Yeah. And in putting yourself first, it’s such an amazing, um,

38:59

sort of snowball that starts because you put yourself first, you feel better, your self-esteem starts going up, new opportunities start coming into your life, new friendships start coming into your life, new connections, new this, new that, you more energy, you feel better, now you’re getting out of bed, it’s a win-win, I promise you. It might feel icky at first, but just keep going.

39:18

Yeah, for sure. I mean, that’s really the basis of manifesting, right? Like you start doing the things and you feel good. You Emily Fletcher talks a lot about this. It’s like, feel good, place the order, feel good, place the order.  And like, that’s how it goes. um Now, what about  doing things before you’re ready? Because I know that was such a big part of your story, right? When you were saying that you had that moment, you applied.

39:41

And then you went and you didn’t actually know that much about design back then from what you shared. But yet you did it anyway and you learned  on the job and you figured it out, which is,  mean, just thinking about that, honestly, like I feel like I have a pit in my stomach because it feels so scary. like we all should do more of that.  I’m writing about it now. I’ve never told this story before. The truth of what  really happened during those years of my life. um can’t wait for you to read the book because it is it’s a story that

40:11

anybody who reads is going to be like, holy baloney. Like, if she can do it, then I can fill in the blank. Here’s what I, without giving the story away, without like, I want everyone to read it, but here’s the gist.

40:28

The fake it till you make it needs to happen in your life. and,  when you get the opportunity, you need to work to keep it. So,  yes, you are going to feel  so uncomfortable when you get an opportunity. You’re like, I am not qualified to do this. Yeah, you’re probably not. So what are you gonna do about it? How are you gonna educate yourself? How are you gonna get yourself to the point that you  are

40:57

qualified and that is by doing. So  I say this can be possible. I don’t recommend it for surgeons or doctors.  Right.  You’re not fake it till you make it there. But if it’s something creative, it’s something that you feel like you’re just not there yet. Just put yourself out there. I promise you if you do the work, if you put in the work, you  will fill those shoes sooner or later. It is going to be hard work.

41:27

because it did take me a lot of lack of sleep and just staying up really late, busting my ass to get  to the point that, yes, I was faking it, but at least I was  putting in the hours.  Yeah, was not easy,  but I’m  so glad that I didn’t give up on myself.

41:52

And so am I. And so are so many people that you have helped and inspired and transformed. Now, this book that you’re writing, when is that going to come out? December of 2026. I had no idea how long it takes for books to come out. So the manuscripts due on Wednesday. Oh, gosh. So I’m like, I’m happy that I’m taking a break to talk to you and your listeners because I needed like a mental little break. But

42:21

It’s so exciting and it is my passion to be able to talk about the  connection between home and mindset and manifesting your best life because I promise you who’s ever listening to this, if you feel stuck, if you feel like you want to make a change, you just don’t know how to.  It’s not about the overnight, oh, that thing changed my life. It’s like, yeah, that happens in movies, but it’s about the micro changes every day that really change your life.

42:49

Yes, it happens once in a while that it’s this huge overnight success, but that’s really  not for the most part true. It’s taken me, I mean, my first HGTV job was in 2006 and I’m coming out with my first real book that I’m so like, it’s my passion. So 19 years later, it’s not overnight.  It’s not overnight. Right. But it’s all those steps. They all let up and they’re, you know, they made you.

43:16

what you are, who you are. And like, I’m getting married in December to the love of my life, like my dream dream partner. And I’m going to be 49 this year, you know? You’re never too old, it’s never too late, you’ve never missed out on, you’re never, you know, getting into something that’s over saturated, it’s been done before. It’s like, I’m sick of people saying that because the guy who started the girl, like the person who started Lyft,

43:45

could have been like, no, Uber’s already there. It’s like, there’s room. Just do it differently.  Set  yourself apart from how everyone else is doing it. And there’s no other you in this world. There’s only one of you. So true. So true.  So Sabrina, you’re such an inspiration. This has been so helpful. Thank you so much. Now, how can people  find you,  learn more about you, connect with you, tell us about your new show, which is amazing. I love how you combine it all.

44:14

The Sabrina Soto Show is streaming now on Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Hulu, Roku, Tubi, DirecTV, and Samsung. So you can find it everywhere.  And then um I’m always on social media, Facebook and Instagram. I read my DMs, so DM me. I love reading DMs from people who listen to my podcast. My podcast is Redesigning Life.  And then my new book will be out in December. So hopefully you’ll have me back on so I can talk about it. Oh, my gosh. Absolutely. I can’t wait.

44:44

Thank you so much for being here. so appreciate it. It’s great. We’ll talk soon.