Behind the Stories
From Giggle Fits to Tidy Tips
December 11, 2024 
The red recording light stared at me, pulsing. Tears streamed down my face as I laughed uncontrollably. I tried to pull it together — breathe in through my nose, breathe out through my mouth. But I couldn’t make it stop.
 
Over the course of several months I’d developed anxiety-induced giggle fits while sitting in the anchor chair of my campus news station. I’d been in this position before and every glance at my co-host made the giggling worse.
 
“Breathe in. Breathe out,” I muttered to myself while trying to read the copy on the teleprompter.
 
One minute to commercial break.
 
Two more stories to read. With no hope of composure, the giggle fit continued.
Then the red recording light turned off.
 
“You’ll never make it in this industry,” my college advisor said, running out of the studio booth during the commercial break. “If you ever did that at a real station, you’d be fired.”
 
My jolly self was no match for delivering hard news, especially stories about heinous crimes, like the one I’d just laughed through.
 
The writing was on the wall. My jolly self was no match for delivering hard news, especially stories about heinous crimes, like the one I’d just laughed through.
 
In college, I was all in as a journalism major, balancing writing for the campus newspaper and being an anchor on the campus TV station, with a side job at the campus safety office where I fielded complaints about parking tickets.  Journalism felt like my future (I've been manifesting my “Today Show” debut for years!), but when I began to greatly disappoint my college advisor at the campus TV station, and after my campus newspaper editor told me I “had to choose between studies and deadlines,” I realized it might be time to make a change.
 
Growing up, my dad was a teacher. I always enjoyed working with kids, and it felt like the creative, dynamic career I wanted. And it would be okay to laugh. I switched majors, studied education, and got to teach abroad in China, Belize, and Bulgaria. Eventually, my path led to Columbia University in New York City, where I got my Masters Degree in Comparative and International Education. I continued teaching for years, was named Teacher of the Year for my school and then district, and eventually become a school administrator. After a mental health breakdown, I decided to return again to teaching. That was nothing to laugh about. 
 
With tow young kids at home, I realized that professionally I needed to tidy things up. That shift taught me the importance of evolving, even when it’s scary.
 
 
I realized that professionally I needed to tidy things up. That shift taught me the importance of evolving, even when it’s scary.
 
 
A few years later, I discovered an unexpected pivot: Tidy Dad.
 
In 2019, Emily and I launched @MooreLiving on Instagram after moms in Emily’s online parenting groups started buzzing about the tidying extraordinaire Marie Kondo’s new show “Tidying Up” on Netflix. People loved the concepts, but weren’t sure if it would work for families in small spaces with kids - like us! Our plan was simple — show how we made our NYC apartment work for a family, and maybe inspire our friends to stop moving to the suburbs. My sister-in-law helped us film our first post, which was a video tour of our closets.
 
A few weeks after that first post, I thought, “Why not host in-person events for families?” I’m a teacher, I’m a dad, and I thought, “There are things best taught in person!” Emily and I spent several weeks preparing for the first event. I even made a fancy flyer for the event in Canva. We advertised the workshop on Instagram and I was excited because lots of local families in our neighborhood expressed interest!
 
I packed my supplies, brought some seltzer water and refreshments, but at the workshop we had one attendee — my sister-in-law. We took some photos of her enjoying the event, and used them to try again!
 
We posted the photos on Instagram to advertise our next in-person workshop, and a few weeks later we hosted our second event. That one drew two families (including a few kids). Still not quite the crowd I’d imagined
 
I realized that maybe parents were too busy to actually come to an in-person workshop, so I decided I would go to them! I advertised in-person organizing and offered free consultations. I went into apartments, looked around, shared my tips, and left them saying, “You’ve inspired me, I think I can do this myself.”
 
Enthusiastic (but unpaid), I realized I needed a new approach.
 
I went into apartments, looked around, shared my tips, and left them saying, “You’ve inspired me, I think I can do this myself.”
 
 
A friend suggested rebranding. “You use #tidydad a lot in your posts. Why not make that your name?” It was punchier, clearer. I took the advice, rebranded, and started showing off our apartment organization systems through photos and videos posted online. It reminded me of my college TV station days, but I was in charge of the story. I could write the scripts and have fun and laugh while doing it! People asked great questions, and I felt a spark.
 
But Instagram’s character limits for captions frustrated me. I wanted a place to share even longer stories, practical advice, and deeper content people could revisit. That’s how my website thetidydad.com was born. A friend helped me launch my website — a full-circle moment back to my journalism newspaper writing roots. The blog led to freelance writing opportunities for me, including writing for Simplify Magazine and Cubby at Home from Apartment Therapy.
 
 
In a way, my request being denied was the start of a journey to tidy up my life 
once again.
 
Today, I still love sharing as Tidy Dad. I continue to teach at a public school in NYC, and I continue to share ordinary (and sometimes extraordinary) stories from my life, and how we’re continuing to make our small space work for our family. I share Tidy Tips of what works for us in our space. Owning my story has shown me that there’s beauty in the ordinary and strength in the unexpected pivots. We all have stories worth sharing, and the world is better when we embrace them fully.
 
In some ways our life in NYC is a mirror for people from all around the world. They see themselves in our struggle to make one bathroom manageable, trying to embrace the mess of career, family, and having time at the end of the day to feel like a human. There’s beauty in the ordinary.
 
The biggest lesson? We all have stories worth telling. When we embrace our quirks, own our pivots, and share our journeys, we might inspire others to do the same. This journey has even led me to write my first book “Tidy Up Your Life”, and it is being published by Penguin Random House. A dream come true!
 
I never could have imagined back in college that I would get to combine my journalism and education background to create video and photo content, write blogs, write a book, AND teach. Maybe I should send my latest Tidy Dad “sizzle reel” to my college advisor. I wonder if she’d be proud of how far I’ve come. I might even give her something to laugh about! 
 
 

Writer’s Notebook Invitation: Owning Your Story
  • What is one part of your story that you’ve struggled to embrace? Write about how that experience shaped who you are today.
  • Reflect on a time you pivoted from one path to another. What fears did you face, and what did you learn from the process?
 
Happy Writing, Tyler (aka Tidy Dad) 
P.S. We're less than a month away from Tidy Up Your Life hitting the shelves! 
I'd be honored and grateful if you'd snag your copy now! 

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