Creating A Happy Home

[00:00:22.600]
back to the Y ‘all Are Crazy podcast. I’m once again so excited to be with you guys this week. We’ve got a fun topic, one of my favorites.

[00:00:30.900]
What is your favorites?

[00:00:32.900]
Homes.

[00:00:35.300]
What kind of homes? Happy homes. Happy homes. So today, you’re gonna be doing a lot of talking. This is really your gift. I’ve learned to, you know, embrace it and whatever, but this is your strength, you know, creating happy spaces, homes.

[00:00:52.200]
You know my favorite things to do it’s kind of funny. I can set up a home like this Yeah, a room and yeah, I just I love creating spaces I love setting up homes. I think that’s why Airbnb’s have been so fun For me to do because I love the aspect of setting up a home Giving it a theme and then like Hospitality toward that home.

[00:01:18.000]
Yeah, and I think one of the reasons you wanted to talk about this is There’s a lot of folks out there that don’t know how to set up their home or don’t set up their home Like there’s no intention behind their Oklahoma Grassfed Beef home or each room or the spaces and what they want that space to be right and so you know that happens to be something you’re good at and you know wanting to share with people of

[00:01:40.400]
How do you do that? Because how many wives and women have you seen that said, you go into Lista House and they have nothing on the walls, no decor, and they’re just like, I just don’t know what to do.

[00:01:51.400]
I think my tip on that is always just do it. It’s literally just a little nail in the wall and a hammer. Oh. I know that drives you crazy. Here’s the difference between us, and I know so many of you can relate.

[00:02:04.700]
Oh, they’ll relate.

[00:02:06.300]
And a lot of women tell me the same thing. I literally don’t measure anything. I don’t have time for that, and I don’t care enough.

[00:02:14.900]
No measuring tape, no level.

[00:02:16.700]
But here’s the thing. I can hang up a gallery wall of photos in five minutes. If you were to do it, would they be more level?

[00:02:25.400]
Yeah. Oh, yes.

[00:02:26.300]
Would they, but would it take five hours?

[00:02:28.500]
At least.

[00:02:29.300]
Exactly. That’s the difference, and that’s who we are.

[00:02:33.400]
And we joke sometimes because you’ll hang something super heavy and just put a nail in the sheetrock. You know, and it’s like, there’s no way that nail is going to hold that heavy Oklahoma Grassfed Beef thing. You know, whether it’s a deal to hang coats on or whatever.

[00:02:46.800]
I can either do it or I could wait for you.

[00:02:49.700]
True. And sometimes it’s just better to get it done. It’d be a lot longer. So I just will come behind and take whatever needs to be reinforced and I’ll just reinforce that. But you got everything else done.

[00:03:01.600]
Yeah. Have you ever seen those videos that is like a wife walking by with a hammer or a tool kit? It’s like a way to make your husband nervous.

[00:03:13.700]
She’s acting like she’s going to go do whatever that thing is and probably break something. And then the husband that wasn’t wanting to get it done just gets it done for the sake of…

[00:03:22.800]
Magically. It’s like, I’ll just take care of it. So anyway, the point of that is just do it.

[00:03:30.200]
Just hang it up the worst -case scenario is you have to move things around right you have to change things and that’s okay But don’t let the fear of what you could do wrong keep you from doing anything.

[00:03:43.100]
Yeah So what are some things that you do maybe in our home to create a happy home?

[00:03:49.700]
I Think it’s so important to Fill your home with things that make you happy literally that they’re gonna make your kids happy that when you walk through You’re going to smile for me one of those things and you know because you love me is houseplants. Oh Yeah, this is fake See I worry is this gonna catch on fire you know you got fire about the fake plant You know fine, but it does look pretty so but at our home at our home I use real house plants because I’m there to water them every week when I’m not in a space

[00:04:24.100]
Even like our Airbnbs, I don’t do real plants because someone has to water those. And if we have a guest that books it for three weeks, it’s gonna die. So that doesn’t work well. But in your home or maybe your office space, somewhere you’re gonna be all the time, I love real plants. They purify the air, they look pretty, and I just think they bring life to a home. I mean, this is proven, okay? This is not like me making this up.

[00:04:49.500]
You’ve read books on it, it’s proven.

[00:04:51.000]
I really have. So house plants are a huge thing for me. Something else I love is family photos, especially over the years. They just make me happy. You can look at your family over the years.

[00:05:03.500]
Yeah, and I love taking family photos.

[00:05:06.000]
Well, this is the thing. Someone, usually the husband, is not gonna wanna take the family photo, okay? They’re not gonna wanna go on the day every single time.

[00:05:14.800]
But you know what’s so funny is you never want to take the family photo Yeah, but then you are the first one to brag on the family photos every time he’s like have you seen our family photos? Yeah, isn’t this so cool? It’s like uh -huh.

[00:05:29.300]
Yeah, but in the moment. I don’t want to do it or you’re like hey this Saturday We’re doing family photos, and I’m like dad come it There’s a you know a million other things that rather do than that. I mean that’s what comes into my mind You know over the years. I’ve gotten better. I still Wrestle with those demons sometimes, but it’s you have to make your spouse do it because it’s worth It’s worth it a hundred times You know we’re looking at some of them here on the wall from years ago and seeing our kids and how they’ve grown And it’s like you know it’s neat to look back on on that kind of stuff, and if you never take the photos You have nothing to look back on right you know so yeah you have to take the photos.

[00:06:05.400]
It’s worth it

[00:06:06.400]
Some people don’t want to spend money on family photos because if you hire a photographer They cost money right a lot of women also tell me they don’t want to because they have to coordinate outfits You want your family to let match and look good. Oh, yeah, you know as a man in Oklahoma Grassfed Beef You don’t think about that. We have family photos in about two weeks now, and I’ve already got our family photos coordinated and bought right so You and you just have to do it. You just have to do it There’s just no way around that spend the money hire the photographer buy the coordinating outfits Yeah, you can get them on good sales I bought our boys all matching shirts from Atwood’s the other day on the clearance rack 50 % off and they’re gonna wear these to church and other things afterward. They’re like button -up nice shirts

[00:06:52.600]
But I’m looking for deals so that when I find them I snatch them right So and then like you’re gonna you already have your clothes and I try to coordinate with what you already have Yes, I don’t have much so and like I’m like, I know he has a Navy So and that’s intentional. I don’t want a bunch of options for me, you know Making decisions is hard not hard for me But like I think deeply on stuff so I don’t want to waste my mental energy trying to figure out what I want So I’m slowly whittling down my wardrobe where I just wear pretty much the same few things every week I don’t have to think about it and that’s what you like what I like and I like variety and fun and flair and I like to choose what I wear each day and

[00:07:34.000]
Have a have a variety. Yeah, we’re different in that way.

[00:07:38.300]
Imagine that so what’s another tip for?

[00:07:42.100]
Creating a happy home that you think is important Another tip I have is to fill your home with like inspirational quotes on the wall and around you Maybe Bible verses hung up here and there things like that or it seems small But they make a big difference have Bibles laying around have a bookshelf full of books to choose from One of my favorite things to do is light a candle every night. I think candles create ambiance they create peace and They obviously smell good and make your house smell good. So I also really like diffusers So essential oil diffusers are a big deal to me I think they smell good and they just fill your home with cleanliness and great smells. So I smells mean a lot

[00:08:28.800]
Another thing that I have really started loving lately and the kids make fun of me and you make fun of me is my porches.

[00:08:37.200]
Oh, yeah.

[00:08:38.500]
Because, well I’ve gone overboard, but.

[00:08:41.700]
Slightly.

[00:08:43.500]
Where we are in life right now.

[00:08:44.700]
It’s one thing to have rocking chairs and end tables but when you got a bunch of animals now, or porch animals.

[00:08:51.900]
I have officially become an old woman.

[00:08:53.200]
It’s like the peacock just takes it over.

[00:08:56.000]
Just too. That peacock is beautiful. Oh my gosh. So it started with the porch goose. What it started with. And I got a porch goose and I named her Lucy and she dresses for occasions and so she’ll wear whatever is seasonal.

[00:09:09.800]
And right now we’re so she doesn’t dress you dress her.

[00:09:13.500]
Let’s make sure this thing’s plastic or whatever Yes But she wears she wears what I put on her So right now she dresses in football and she retired because I’m supporting our kids with a wig Oh, yes, she does have braids. I can’t at the game the other day I took her to the game to the football game and this little boy walked up to me and said is her hair real She’s a cement goose. No, but she does have a personality I guess so Anyway, oh gosh this I take this goose to the games or sometimes to embarrass our kids. Yeah, because

[00:09:53.300]
It embarrasses them, but they love it. They will never tell you that but I just own it and I carry it around and it’s just Hilarious and it’s become a thing, but that’s been fun after that I got a peacock at Hobby Lobby and it’s metal and it’s like bright and beautiful and I have a frog right now He’s wooden and I have some ducks and anyway, I really want a lawn deer So someday that’s gonna happen No My kids like I said, they laugh they make fun, but also they’re gonna remember that stuff forever Yeah, they’re gonna remember mom and her porch animals and it’s just a memory Well, and you might you know look at it at one way, but I know like when I when I pull up sometimes and I

[00:10:43.000]
Actually, with the first time I look at it, I start cracking up laughing. Now every once in a while I don’t pay attention to it. But then I do, and it does make me laugh.

[00:10:53.200]
You know what I’m like. Sometimes you say you look at that goose and you think of me.

[00:10:58.500]
I do. But hey, laughter’s part of being happy, right?

[00:11:02.900]
So creating that happy home. You gotta create that. And I know that’s silly and frivolous, but honestly, things like that are things that make your home fun, your kids are gonna remember, they’re gonna laugh at, and it’s just like a fun thing to have as a family. Something else that is a really big deal in our house that I love is just the importance of celebrating birthdays and occasions. I feel very strongly that we should celebrate.

[00:11:32.100]
birthdays and people in our life because I just you know, God gave us this life He gave us one life and I just love celebrating. Yeah, you do So you laugh because from my birthday, it’s not a one day. It’s a week long Oklahoma Grassfed Beef Yeah, and I like to plan it out so that I do things for my birthday that I get to feel happy about Yeah, you do It’s not a birthday for you.

[00:11:58.500]
It’s a birth week, right?

[00:12:00.300]
And a lot of times it’s like that for our kids. This is Briley’s birthday our 13th birthday next month, right? So I’ve already got it planned out like we’re gonna go on an overnight stay with her and my mom and me And my niece and we’re gonna go have a girls time Well, I’ve already got that planned and then on Sunday We’re gonna have a little birthday party for her at the venue and this is what we’re gonna do But then those are not on her birthday. Those are like the weekend before right so on her birthday, which is a Tuesday That’s kind of hard. I set her orthodontic appointment up

[00:12:32.100]
that day so we’re gonna be going into town anyway I’m like it’s your birthday let’s make that your orthodontic appointment day so get your braces tightened and then we’ll go have lunch and I’ll you know go shopping so it’s gonna be a fun birthday yeah because you know I just think especially just your 13th birthday that’s a big one girls maybe it’s a bigger dear to girls too yeah maybe I just think make them special like it’s worth it and if you are a person that loves birthdays but nobody like wants to celebrate yours one of my favorite things to do is on my birthday like the day of I maybe I’ll even go by myself and go shopping and just do things I love to do because

[00:13:16.800]
It’s kind of an excuse to be like it’s my birthday.

[00:13:19.800]
I’m gonna do something fun today Yeah, well, I think that’s good and the kids love that, you know You do that and we do that together as a family and celebrate their birthdays. Sometimes multiple days, you know and That creates good Memories and moments for them, right? And that’s what life is about is the moments, you know So that’s good and then talk about like the importance of keeping a clean house Well, I love keeping a clean house.

[00:13:47.800]
I like our home to be tidy. Sometimes I’m over the top on I’m not I wouldn’t say I’m OCD. I just can’t sit down until our home is picked up and how I want it Is it easy to keep a clean house with seven kids? It’s not easy at all. It takes what is the word? We’re using this entire

[00:14:03.800]
Podcast is intentionality. It takes a lot of intentionality.

[00:14:08.500]
Oh man seven kids.

[00:14:10.100]
It’s it’s tough to keep a house clean I mean, it’s almost just a never -ending all -day everyday thing Some things that I think really help with it is having well, first of all getting rid of most of your stuff, right? Only having stuff that Serves you for our kids, you know They don’t have many toys The boys have one basket of toys in their room, which is like trucks swords A few things they can get out and drive around if they want that’s it And then they have you know books, right? That is really it everything else. They play outside We have a swing set. We have a trampoline and we’ve got land Yeah, so they play outside most of the time for us like we just don’t have a lot of Extras, I would say we have everything you need But I like it to be a space where you know where things are

[00:15:03.300]
And you feel like you can breathe and you’re not overwhelmed.

[00:15:06.400]
And so for us having a family of nine, right? Keeping a clean house is can be challenging, but it’s very important And so it’s kind of a multi -person effort to do that It might be you know, some of the kids helping clean you’re cleaning all the time You know, sometimes I’ll vacuum and do some dishes You’ll hire a cleaner to come in every once in a while and deep clean We have babysitters that watch our kids a few days a week and they’ll clean too while they’re there Yeah, you just got to set the right expectations with that.

[00:15:40.300]
Yeah plan our current babysitter She comes over a couple of days a week and while she’s there with the boys She does laundry and helps me out with that So that on those two days like laundry is done and put away that is such a help to me And she also does dishes and she’ll run the vacuum cleaner

[00:15:58.600]
So such a help to me to have just that helping hand. Our daughter’s 13, almost 13 now, so she can help with dishes and things around the house. And like you said, I like having a deep cleaner come in occasionally and do a deep clean for me so that I know everything’s clean well. But that takes intentionality to plan those things and set those expectations.

[00:16:22.100]
Yeah, but that helps really bring your family, I would say, peace and happiness and amongst a chaotic life, if your house is good and clean and tidy and a good space for you to come to, it just kind of centers you, you know?

[00:16:38.100]
I think so. I mean, and it may be something your kids don’t even recognize. They may doubt your kids are sitting around being, or our kids are sitting around being like, I really like having a tidy house.

[00:16:49.300]
Yeah.

[00:16:50.000]
But I do think that that makes them feel a sense of

[00:16:56.600]
Peace a sense of like my world’s okay because my home is okay, right?

[00:17:02.500]
So that’s important I have one thing to add to the happy home podcast episode about your wife No, it’s about mama’s happy That is true. If mama’s happy if mama ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy no, but For me, it’s it’s my my little corner in the bedroom. Oh, yeah, right It’s my Oklahoma Grassfed Beef space within a space it’s a leather chair and books, you know and That’s my little zone in my lamp, you know, that’s your zone.

[00:17:37.800]
That’s my zone Yeah, and you can create zones like we are living in a small cabin right now

[00:17:43.600]
but you have your zone in one corner of the master bedroom, and I have my zone in another corner of the master bedroom where I have my desk set up and it’s more of a feminine look.

[00:17:53.400]
Yeah, so for the fathers out there that are like, man, I don’t have time to read my Bible. I don’t have time to read books. I hear that all the time because they’ll ask me questions or maybe advice and I’ll give them some answers. How do you know that? You know, it’s like, well, I’ve read, have you read this book and this book? They’re like, no, you know, and it’s like, well, how do you have time to read? And a lot of advice I’ve gotten over the years is if you create a space where you read, you will read more because you’ve created the space, you know? And so for me, that’s a leather chair with a little bookshelf and I’ve got the books I’m reading at the moment there, my Bible.

[00:18:31.100]
A Bible recap deal the the deal I’m working through right now It’s all there and so I look at it every time I go into the room I know at certain times of the day, I will go to that area and read I have that scheduled and it just creates a It almost like draws you in to want to go do that, right?

[00:18:50.000]
Yeah, they say that even when you’re reading your Bible like have a space every day That’s where you go and you haven’t have a basket or a bag Whatever a bookshelf with everything on it.

[00:18:59.600]
So you just sit down and it’s there Yeah That’s like a hot habit tip that I learned several years ago and one of the books and people talk about it on Podcasts is if you’re wanting to get into reading and you need to read a thing is very important Create a space and create a time and that will help you get into that habit in that routine.

[00:19:17.600]
That’s right Yeah, I love that good good job dad A little add -on there for the dads for the moms something that I love to do They call it putting your house to bed at night

[00:19:28.800]
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this tip.

[00:19:30.600]
I just go to bed, you know, at night. It’s nighttime and I just go to bed.

[00:19:36.100]
But once again, before I can sit down, these things have to be done. I’ve got two things to share on this. First of all, if your kids are going to school the next morning, you need to get everything set out the night before. Do not wait till the morning of or it’s gonna be chaos, it just is. So before bed every night, I lay all our kids’ lunch boxes out and I start them. I put the things that aren’t cold for their lunch boxes in them. So the next morning, all I have to do is put inside the things that are cold and zip them up.

[00:20:07.300]
And you lay out a lot of them. You lay out their clothes on the bar.

[00:20:10.000]
Well, that’s the next thing is I lay clothes out. So our big two, they pack their own lunches and pick their own clothes out. They’re 12 and 11. But our littles, like they still need help. And so I will lay out lunch boxes, do that, and then I lay clothes out with socks.

[00:20:26.000]
And so the next morning all they have to do is walk in the living room put their clothes on put their socks on Put their lunch box in their backpack and then I fix their hair for them every morning on their way out the door Yeah, and then we say a prayer together every morning. That’s our routine That’s what we do and by doing all that it allows me to not have to Get up as early because they get on the bus at 7 right and it allows them to be able to sleep in As long as possible because if they know all they have to do is get up Put their clothes on put the lunch in the backpack It’s ready to go, right? But if that wasn’t all done and they were running around grabbing things at work, it’s stressful It’s like where’s my socks? Where’s my shoes? Where’s this? I’ve done that before it’s not fun So do that the night before make sure all the homeworks in the bags the permission slips are signed The snack cart money is there like have it all done. So as far as putting the house to bed at night this means like

[00:21:22.800]
Emptying your sink getting everything in the dishwasher I love to spray some good smelling stuff on the countertops and the table and wipe those off. Yeah, and I like to have you know, maybe I run the vacuum cleaner Something that drives me crazy is I like to put the throw pillows on the couch how they should be Before I sit down at night. I don’t like blankets thrown everywhere pillows thrown everywhere So before I sit down, I put the throw pillows on the couch. My candles lit Blankets are folded and put away. I can look at my kitchen and my table and it’s wiped down and I can chill Yeah, I could not go to bed if that stuff’s not done.

[00:22:04.100]
It’s true

[00:22:05.000]
And that helps because if you’re always living five minutes late and you haven’t laid out the kids clothes the night before or their lunches the night before and you just create a scramble in the morning, man that just starts your whole day off wrong. And I have employees that do that. They set their alarms too late. They don’t prepare the night before. You know what I mean? They wake up at the last possible minute and then they’re rushing to the Oklahoma Grassfed Beef office and if they’re late they get in trouble. And then their whole day is kind of just, you know, you’re just playing from behind all day. And so putting your house to bed at night just sets your morning up for a lot better.

[00:22:46.400]
Set your coffee pot to go off the next morning.

[00:22:49.800]
Every night I set the coffee pot. I got the timer. You know I get my water bottle with the electrolytes put that in there. It’s next to the coffee pot. And so I mean in the morning I mean that thing’s going off before we wake up and that’s you just wake up and the coffee’s ready.

[00:23:04.600]
Honestly, these things seem like a lot of work, but honestly, they give you peace because things are how they should be. Something else I love to do, creating a happy home, is, and it’s a little more challenging during sports season and things in the evening, but when you come home from work, I like to have a peaceful atmosphere. Yeah, you’re good about that. It’s been easier when the kids were little. It’s a little harder now with them being involved in so many things, but when you come home in the evenings, I like for it to be clean. I like for supper to be almost ready or ready and waiting, and I like to have candles lit. I like it to smell good. I like it to just, I like for you to not come into chaos most of the time. I mean, sometimes, because life happens, but I try.

[00:23:54.700]
Be intentional about you coming home to a home.

[00:23:58.200]
They’re happy to come home, too Yeah, and that helps me out a lot I mean with I know for me and my personality if that helps a ton Because if I you know I don’t know if you come home from work and then you just it’s just almost like a chaos and stuff’s array And then it’s just like here you go. It’s just like in you. You don’t have any like wind down time for me That’s important.

[00:24:20.400]
I just need a minute, you know to be home and change clothes and just you know I mean get ready to be home and unload the day kind of a thing and you’re really good at creating you know that I like to do that That helps that does something else I like to do to start my day off just as a woman is I just think we all feel better when we put Makeup on for the day or like fix our hair a little bit change clothes

[00:24:46.600]
I don’t wear makeup every day, especially if I’m gonna be home all day, but if I am going out to do anything, I mean, I just put a little bit of makeup on. Like put yourself together for the day. I think when you do that, you’re gonna feel better. You’re gonna feel more put together. It’s gonna make you a better mom, a better wife, better at your job and what you do. Like just put yourself together each day. I have so many women I tell you that tell me, like, I can’t believe you have seven kids and you look like put together. And it’s like, well, that’s what I like to do and it makes me feel better. And I’m not a woman who spends an hour getting ready.

[00:25:26.900]
Thank goodness.

[00:25:27.800]
I don’t do that. I don’t do the fake eyelashes. I don’t do a lot of the stuff that takes time.

[00:25:32.800]
Right.

[00:25:33.800]
But.

[00:25:34.700]
I mean, I can put on a full face of makeup, my jewelry, fix my hair, put my, I mean, 20 minutes. I can do all that. So like, it doesn’t take a lot of time, but it does take intentionality to do that each day. And I think that’s part of having a happy home is just feeling good as a mom and as a wife. And I think if you’re just in sweatpants with your hair in a messy bun every single day, you’re just not gonna feel your best and you’re not gonna want to create the home atmosphere that you can.

[00:26:11.300]
And a happy home isn’t like, I think too, it doesn’t really matter what your home is. You know, it doesn’t mean you gotta have a big old nice fancy home, no. I mean, we’re living in an 1 ,800 square foot cabin at the moment that we bought last year that connected to the ranch that we got nine of us in that thing. Right. You know, it’s a tiny little home, but we make it a good space for our family, you know?

[00:26:33.000]
And I think we’ve lived in a very nice home very nice homes and we’ve lived in small homes. Yeah lived in Like we’ve said homes with no heat blow and sand out the vents I mean we’ve lived it doesn’t have it’s not the home is right is the essence of this It’s not the sticks and bricks.

[00:26:52.800]
Yeah, it’s the home right and and I think we’re a product of our environment So creating good environments that you spend time in in your day and your homes you spend a lot of time there It’s important to create those spaces that are that are good healthy spaces for your environment, right? Makes you better. Like if you were to come to my offices, you’d see motivational stuff all over the walls like everywhere You’d see trophies. You’d see motivational like it just it creates a Environment of like in my world. I wanted to create an environment of excellence. No excuses You know achievement like

[00:27:30.200]
And so all that stuff’s all over the walls everywhere. You can’t walk in there and not feel that you know Well, that’s creating a winning environment there I think in your home with the things we’ve talked about today creates a happy environment for you know The mom and dad and the kids and the kids don’t know it when they grow up. They’ll realize it Yeah, you know and they’ll want to emulate what they had Yeah So that’s our hope because we want our kids to grow up in a home feeling loved feeling encouraged inspired And then want to go do that for themselves someday yeah, and it’s important because we talked about in the last episode about life being hard and Throwing a lot of things at you and life being difficult and having to overcome things well, if your home is kind of that home base if you will of You know a place that makes you happy or has peace or whatever That just it helps keep you grounded in the crazy world that we live in You want your kids to come home to a home they feel?

[00:28:28.000]
peace in and That they want to come home to wet wives You want your husbands to have a home that they want to come home to and I think that a lot of that has to do with intentionally like Making it look good not having Stuff everywhere. Yeah, like keeping your laundry caught up keep you know Just keep keeping your home a place where you want to be in your family wants to be right.

[00:28:55.500]
That’s good stuff Good stuff.

[00:28:57.200]
I hope this was helpful I hope this was a week that you guys took some practical tips of like small things you can do To make your home better to make it more peaceful to make it a place that you love to be I love homes I love every aspects of homes

[00:29:12.600]
We love families and we want families to be stronger.

[00:29:17.000]
Absolutely. That’s the goal.

[00:29:18.500]
Yeah, strong families are the goal.

[00:29:21.400]
Yes, families staying together in their homes.

[00:29:25.600]
Yes, have a great week.