This week, we’re sitting down with Kate Strickler, the creator behind Naptime Kitchen, author of “I Just Wish I Had a Bigger Kitchen,” and mom of four kids ages 10, 9, 7, and 4 in Charleston, South Carolina. Kate shares what it’s like to squeeze an entire content business into a four-hour window while her youngest is in preschool, work on a walking pad because sitting makes her brain “bounce all around,” and have anywhere from five to fifteen neighborhood kids cycling through her house on any given afternoon.
In this conversation, Kate opens up about building Naptime Kitchen from the “olden days” of square Instagram posts with Nashville filters, learning that her mom’s habit of roasting 12 garlic cloves “just to have” was actually a superpower most people were never taught, and writing a deeply personal book while still showing up online every day. We talk about the collective star chart that’s wildly outperforming every chore system they’ve ever tried, why her husband took over all school communication when she started working more, and why these feel like the golden days with her kids.
What We Cover:
Why she describes her days as fluctuating, full, and fun, waking up at 5:40am to strength train before the house wakes up, and the bed-making habit she can’t skip because she passes through her bedroom 50 times a day
What it’s really like to run a content business in a four-hour window between preschool drop-off and pickup, why she does her best work on a walking pad, and the erratic “chicken with my head cut off” energy she’s learned to thrive in
How advertisements actually work for a content creator, filming for brand deadlines first and then deciding whether to take people along for something random like cleaning shower grout, and why some days look completely different from others
The surprisingly effective collective star chart for Dude Perfect tickets, where any kid earning a star counts for everyone, and the Saturday morning chore system thats paying out.
From Nashville-filtered square photos to a published book: how Naptime Kitchen started with long-form captions, and how she decided she was ready to write her book.
How Mahjong became the protected hobby she didn’t know she needed, going from “I will not be there” to spending $500 on tiles, and teaching her kids to play with simplified rules at the kitchen table
Connect with Kate:
Instagram: @naptimekitchen
Website: naptimekitchen.com
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This was a great interview! Loved hearing how Kate navigates the "big kid" era
I really loved this interview. I’m an avid listener of the pod and follower naptime kitchen. This was such a treat to have two favs in one place!