February 1, 2026 • 41 mins
How does a Real Housewife keep five dogs, three kids, white sofas and cream carpets looking spotless without harsh chemicals or losing her mind? In this episode of The Edit, Elle Lovelock from Home Beautiful sits down with cookbook author and Real Housewives of Sydney star Krissy Marsh to unpack her no‑nonsense home cleaning tips, smart hosting rituals and the heart-first philosophy behind her Double Bay family home.
Krissy reveals why “a home is only a home with the people in it and the connections you have,” and why she’ll always choose a welcoming table over a ‘trophy’ interior. From fridge audits and Tuesday night dinners for 20, to chemical-free cleaning hacks using bicarb soda, vinegar and essential oils, this is a masterclass in creating a calm, beautiful, low-tox home that still feels luxe.
You’ll hear how Krissy keeps white sofas guest-ready with clever fabric choices and throws, why she swears by top loader washing machines, and the surprisingly emotional story behind the custom artwork that captures her family’s life in one frame. Along the way, Krissy shares candid stories from her idyllic but imperfect Queensland childhood, raising teens, and hosting epic dinners where “there’s always a meal on that shelf” and everyone pitches in.
If you’ve ever searched for natural cleaning products, eco cleaning hacks, or stress-free entertaining at home, this episode is for you. Expect practical cleaning tips, mindset shifts and laugh-out-loud moments from one of Home Beautiful’s most loved home tour stars...
...plus inspiration for living room styling, where do you start? Our trend expert, Paula Cincotta from Oz Design, gives unique insights into quality furniture, care and interiors that are genuinely family-friendly and easy to create in your home.
Moments you'll hear 🔊
Krissy’s three-ingredient cleaning hack
“There’s probably three ingredients you need to clean the entire house: bicarb soda, vinegar and a bit of lavender.”
Why she dresses kids in white
“I pride myself on having white whites… It’s so much easier to clean.”
The fridge audit you’ll want to copy
“Fridge audit is just the best… There should always be a meal on that level.”
What really makes a home
“A home is only a home with the people in it and the connections you have.”
Thank you for listening ❤️
before you leave...
🗣️ Get in touch
What did you think? We are a brand new podcast and would love to hear from you as we build this together. Join our friendly Home Beautiful community and DM us on Instagram
👀 See more
Real Housewives of Sydney homes (including Krissy, Nicole O'Neil and more!)
The cleaning secrets of Real Housewife Krissy Marsh
🙏 Our special thanks for making 'The Edit' our new home:
Luxaflex - our beautiful 'studio home' curtains
Oz Design - furniture Australians love
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
This is an r Media podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This episode is brought to you by Luxeflex, transforming homes
with beautiful, functional window coverings designed to change your life
and lifestyle. Today's podcast episode has been styled by oz Design,
a company with over forty five years experience in showcasing style.
(00:32):
When you're having people over, how do you keep the
calm among all the chaos?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
It is a lot of planning. And I'm a big planner.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Like you're saying to someone, I would start planning for
Christmas in March. I do think stick to what you're
good at as well. Like I laughed the other day,
I had friends over, and they've probably been coming to
our house for twenty years. I thought, oh my gosh,
I'm probably serving the same thing.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
I did the same thing.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
It's not broken and everyone loves it.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Why try and fix it exactly?
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Go had this beautiful white shirt on and I was like, oh,
is that new? She because no, I've had it for
ten years.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
And then it was like ding ding ding, how how
tell us how?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Well? I'm just sitting there and I'm looking at it,
going is she like bullshitting me? Here?
Speaker 3 (01:14):
It's the fact that you're welcoming them the home exactly, so.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I'm never paranoid or worried about what I put on
a table.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Have you ever wondered how people with white sofas have
five kids, pets and red wine without losing their minds?
Me too. We've got the queen of white sofas and
home cleaning today, We've got Chrissy Marsh, real housewife of
Sydney and home Beautiful favorite. Her home is a divine
(01:46):
Chrissy Marsh is someone I know we already adore for
her unpridled level of honesty. She's a devoted mum, cookbook author,
proud dog lover, and yes, a self confessed clean obsessive
of whose white sofas somehow survive five dogs, teenagers and
a revolving door of guests. We're going inside Chrissy's beautifully
(02:09):
lived in Double Bay home to talk about cleaning, comfort
and control, what she actually does every day, the shortcuts
she swears by, and how she keeps things christine without
making her house feel precious. This is the edit and
I'm Elle Lovelock. I hope you enjoy your Welcome to
(02:39):
the Edit, a brand new podcast from Home Beautiful Chrissy
Mush welcome to the edit our Home Beautiful podcast. It
is an absolute.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Pleasure to vodcast in vodka.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
I wish now.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
I'm famous for the Skinny Bitch vodka fresh liamon soda.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
That's my drink.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
That's a good recipe.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
I'm interested already, We'll make it.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
We'll put that in the show notes. Recipe perfect but welcome.
Sadly without vodka, but welcome Tea Screw podcast. We were
welcomed into your home a little while ago and did
a gorgeous photo shoot and I just have to say
the team reported back that you were the most wonderful
host and they had such a great time in your home.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Well, I'm used to having a video crew in the
house from the Real Housewives of Sydney. And one thing
is it's not always vodka. I make a really good
lemon ginger tea. So we filmed the episode not episode
season three of Housewives in winter. So the crew would
arrive at the door and basically, you know, they set
up in your home for the day and everyone's a
(03:50):
little bit cold, and I'd have the tea brewing and
it's got to be fresh, so I've squeezed the lemon.
Then I grate the ginger, and you don't just slice
the ginger because then you don't eat ginger. So you've
got a grated so then you eat it. That is
a good And they have big dollops of Manuka honey.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
And are you just already want to come in? Yes,
I knock on the door.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
This hot water is lovely but doesn't really compare exactly.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
There's lots of little treats when you come to my place.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Something we did learn when we're at your place is
that you actually love to clean. Yes, And I'm I'm
curious because I will say, someone in your possession and
on TV as you are, you don't strike us as
the type of person who needs to clean, So I
wonder why.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Look, I'm not strapping on an apron twenty four to seven,
you know, I wish I could say that, but you've
got to clean when you've got five dogs. But it's
also the fact that I don't believe in any chemicals
in your home, so probably about you know, over thirty
years ago, I really realized how harmful so many of
(04:56):
these chemicals are.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I can walk into a house and.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Know that they've used windecks, and I'm not sensitive I
don't have allergies. You know, our firstborn was you know,
he's twenty three, and for me it was about creating
a safe environment for them.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
But it was even before that.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
It was probably that I was a bit stingy. I
always say, I always say I like to freeze the
end out of the toothpaste. I literally like, whenever I
get a quote for something, when that really means like
you're getting the last little bit out, I actually do
cut the end off as well. People roll it. I'm
like rolling you get another three tooth cleans, I'm serious,
Do you do it?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
No, I'm a roller. Well, I get the end of
the tooth rush and I will force it now up
the tubes. And that's not good to missing.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
You're missing at least three ones. Okay, so you can't from.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
The bottom about that much. And then you'll get one
out of that, then one out of the next one,
and then one out of the table.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
You're missing three.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I'm going to give it the money you could have
saved over the years doing exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
My son's on the last dregs of his toothpaste, and
we'll do it with his first We'll see how.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
My kids it does.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
My husband's head, and when when the old one's just
sitting there, like come on, I think, look, there's probably
five ingredients you need and that can that can clean,
or really, if you want to get technical, probably three
ingredients to clean the entire HOUSEPI calve, soda, vinegar, and
(06:17):
you could really do two.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
But then I mix it up a bit.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
So I do a and I'm happy to share these recipes.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Please do as well.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
But I do it like an all purpose spray, which
is a bit of vinegar and a lot of water.
And if you look at most of the cleaning products
you use at home, with all the chemicals, the majority
ingredient is water, so you're basically paying for water that
you get out of your own tap.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
So the all purpose spray has.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Eucalyptus oil, lavender, vinegar and water. Ah. And then you know,
to clean toilets and things is just a matter and
showers it's putting bi carved down first and then you
put the vinegar in and it up like a science experiment.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I mean, just.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Talking about this just gets me excited, like seriously, like
people don't realize how easy all this is. And it's
so cost effective, like so cost effective, so It wasn't
like I decided one day, Oh, I'm not going to
have any chemicals in my home at all. Yeah, I've
sort of been slowly weeding the ban and it's probably
been you know, I still couldn't give up, you know,
(07:24):
the Vanish whitener.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Oh, I love it.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
This girl had this beautiful white shirt on and I
was like, oh, is that new? Because no, I've had
it for ten years.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
And then it was like ding ding how how how
tell us how?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Well? I'm just sitting there and I'm looking at it,
going is she like bullshitting me? Here? Is that?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Like?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
The shirt was a golf shirt because we went and
played golf, and it's the cost It is white, white
blot and I like pride myself on having white whites.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
And I have two boys and a girl, and everybody
from little kids. Why are you dressing your kids in white?
I'm like, it's so much easy to clean.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
You're just so good. I agree, well swapping and she
actually went back. Which I remembered I used to use,
was the sunlight soap. Yes, so the sunlight soap, just
rub it in and the stains and then soak it
and then you basically just then put it through the wash.
I always use a bit of vinegar. I never use
(08:18):
any fabric softeners. They just ruin your towels and make everythinking. No,
if you want a bit of fragrance, you just put
a little bit of lavender into the vinegar. But makes
the towels the fluffy and doesn't coat them. It makes
them last so much longer. So anyway, I'm sounding like such.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
A dag now, No, no, I'm here for the dag.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
So my husband is there, he's got this grease and
I'm like, oh my god, I've just ordered the sunlight.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
I'm going to give this a crack.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
So I did it the first time and like, the
grease just didn't move, and I'm like, oh, this is
just not right, very disappointing, Like let me go back
to my vantage my chemicals and kiss.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
But then no, it actually did. I went back.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I left it probably an hour, went back and did
a bit of knuckling, yes, and not scrubbing because ruins
the fabric. Don't ever scrub okay with a scrubbing brush
or anything like that. Yep, you know you're not going
to go too hard on your knuckles. Yeah, unless you're
you know, Muhammed Ali.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
So yeah, it was good.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
It was Yeah. So that was sort of my last
piece of my chemical free home puzzle.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
And so besides the chemical free, is it a satisfaction thing?
Is it cleaning for me?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Is It's not like I sit there and I'm a
clean free because you know, having five dogs and three kids,
I'm certainly not.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
A clean free. But I think a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Of the times you need to do things yourself, or
you need to show people how you want to clean
or how you want things to be cleaned. We moved
to China and I spent probably and I'm not joking,
maybe about thirty hours with her just showing her my
natural cleaning products. And then sometimes they'll like hate it,
and they'll sneak something else and they're walking and.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Can you sniff it out?
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Oh? Straight away, I'm like, here's used wind X. Someone's
used wind X today. And that's the other thing with
a lot of fragrances, you know, I mean, everyone's discovering
this now and my kids have literally thought I've been
a freak for the last fifty years.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
You were really ahead of the trend.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Yeah. I like to think that, And also, like with organics,
with seed oils, it sort of goes a lot further
down the path. And you know, I'd always be fanatical
on these things. And I never had sodium laurel sulfates
in shampoos, which is.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
The foaming agent. So a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
That you think, oh my gosh, it's such a good shampoo,
it's got so.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Much froth in it. It's actually not so things like that.
I've always been and the kids are.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Always like, oh, mom, you know, And now they're like,
oh my gosh, mom, you know. And I'm like, if
you're gonna have butter, you have full cream butter. If
you're going to have yogurt, you have full cream yogurt.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Like no loafat no, It's simple. Yeah, this whole low.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Fat thing and this, you know, people so conscious about
what they're eating. We've you know, since low fat came in,
We've never had more obesity in the world.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Chrissy had some really unexpected cleaning tips with the sun
Light coming up with some incredible stories of Prissy's time
in China back in a bit. When it comes to
creating a home that feels calm, beautiful, and uniquely yours,
light plays a key role. Lux Offlex offers a range
(11:18):
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(11:39):
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we go on, here's what a leading expert from OZ
Design has on their radar for.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
The new year.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Think of it as your trend mood board. So let's
get into that in more detail with color. So colors
such as grays, the really crisp white, those were quite popular, you.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Know they still are, but they're probably too safe now. Yeah,
they're probably on their way out.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
I suppose.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
And look, you can still use those as your basis, yes,
but I think it's important to start to layer and
start to add the comfort and warmth that is on trend,
that is directional and it can be as simple or
as easy as a cushion, a throw rug, a new
piece of art, a new quilt cover on your bed.
It doesn't need to be necessarily a whole change.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
The big piece. But let's talk about some of the
big pieces. What colors are you seeing coming in in soface?
Speaker 5 (12:48):
So we're seeing a movement away from those grays and
beisas to beautiful, rich, warm oatmeals. We're seeing loads of
gorgeous khaki greens, mustards, terra cottas and look, we really
think that shift will start to continue and move into
mockas and chocolates, burgundys. And look, you may not take burgundy,
(13:11):
say as an example, and put it on your sofa,
but it could become the perfect accent chiep for you.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Absolutely. And let's talk about color as comfort. You were
referencing this before. These colors they're warm, they're embracing, They
really are comfortable.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Yeah, and look, they make you feel happy. I think
you know when you go to you gravitate to something
that's warm and earthy. You feel a bit centered with
it and you feel a bit relaxed with it. So
it sort of enables you to walk into your home
and feel a sense of oh, I'm here, this is
how I like to live, this is what I like
to look at and feel comfortable in. And you know,
(13:48):
for me, the home is really an extension of your personality.
So I sort of think that how you see yourself
from a fashion perspective is really how you want to
present your interior to your family friends.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Absolutely. We say that so often. Show me a person's wardrobe,
and I can tell.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
You absolutely, absolutely, And I think you've got to not
be scared of color. I think you've got to embrace it,
and if you are a little bit friend of it,
do it with small pieces. Just do it in a
way that you know, it's a beautiful new marble tray
on a coffee table, or it's a simple small vase
that you add to your bedside table, or it is
(14:25):
just a refresh of cushions and you're taking away the
colors that were there for summer and you're adding a moodier,
deeper tone in for winter.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
I have to admit I have a cushion wardrobe. Me too,
Me too, what's in your wardrobe?
Speaker 5 (14:38):
My husband is a lot at all happy with it
because it's sort of what I've done is I've got
one set of inserts, so I then just literally will
take those out and I'll sort of take summer away
and bring winter in. He's still waiting for the perfect
insert that doesn't give him feather pops, you know, when
he's lying down at night. But yeah, for me, it's
about just having a variety. I sometimes I look at
(15:01):
my spare bedrooms and go, wow, do we really need
seven cushions on their head?
Speaker 2 (15:05):
But it makes me feel good, so I like to
do it exactly. And also you are also the home
Whar's biers. Yes, so yeh yeah, So it's your job.
Speaker 5 (15:14):
Absolutely, it's my job to make things look fabulous and
to sort of bring to life pieces that you know
will look wonderful in anyone's interior.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Big thanks to pull It for that inspir Now back
to the chat. So how old are your kids?
Speaker 1 (15:32):
So Billy's twenty three, Niko's twenty one, and then Milana's
just turned eighteen.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
And are they at home with you living elsewhere? Yes?
I wonder do you teach them you're cleaning yeah tricks
because they'll need to know wondash.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
They did it?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
More?
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Oh yeah, look, I mean we're certainly not living in
a perfect household where the kids pick up and do
whatever they want. There's always a fight on who's going
to feed the dogs and then my daughter's.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Like, why'd you get by dogs?
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I said why, I ask why? I had three kids
as well. So but look, yeah, obviously now they see
the reasoning behind this because I think, you know, we
are in the world of information. Yeah, and it has
got to do with cleaning products. It has got to
do with the foundation of your home. You know, what
are you setting as your foundation? And when I did
(16:22):
my cookbook, it was all about you know, I couldn't cook.
You know, I moved out of home when I was
My parents moved back to Queensland and I was down here.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
It's sort of you know, I moved out quite young.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
I think I was nineteen, and you know I didn't
know like not that my mum never showed me. I
mean we were always showing how to iron a shirt.
We're always shown to clean and cook, well, look massively cook.
I couldn't really do much more than a you know,
a taco with a thing of plastic cheese, which I
am still love the plastic cheese. Do you like plastic cheese?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I don't mind the slice of plastic cheese, you know,
the onees. No, you don't do a dipputy wrapped. Oh yes, yeah,
tell me a little bit more about your childhood home
was what was that?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Like? That was incredible and like it's almost embarrassing now,
I think, especially with housewives, it's embarrassing when you've had
an idyllic childhood. Yeah. When I say idyllic, I lived
on twelve acres, which isn't a massive farm. We lived
about twenty minutes outside of Brisbane.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
We grew up with horses.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
My sister was Queensland show jumping champions, so we literally
I was on a horse before.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
I could walk.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Really, yeah, you know, we had five dogs. I had
a cat called Wally that ended up having kittens. We
used to do Jim Knnes every weekend. And that's you
asked before we started. You know, when did I start
modeling and when did I start doing this?
Speaker 3 (17:45):
It was literally at two years of age.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
We were the Kardashian Star before the Kardashian.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
My mom likes to think she was Christiana, but we
literally four.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Girls all growing up in Brisbane, all started modeling with
June Danny Watkins. Oh that iconic. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
I loved that woman more than anything.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
What she did for femininity and for women is such
a great you know, and also putting Australia on the map.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
She was massive in.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
China, was she.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Yeah, I didn't really big.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
And look she I don't know what age she ended
up passing, but she was quite old.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
And I actually saw it the week before and she'd.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Just come back from China, so she was very very
active right until for.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
The listeners, let's share who June is.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Okay, Well, if you were standing beside this woman, she'd
probably rub your elbow and check whether your skin was dry.
So June Deli Vodkin was the founder of one of
the best modeling agency and deportment schools in Australia.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
I don't really know.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Anyone else that had a deportment school like hers. And
then she ran a very successful modeling agency as well.
So yeah, we started working with her, so you know,
it was a I worked with her from when I
was two. It's probably my longest standing job and I'm
modeled pretty much. Well, I moved to Sydney and ended
up changing agencies when I moved down here because she
(19:10):
didn't really have a presence down here then. But yeah,
she was an amazing and to work with my sisters.
You know, we were doing Myers and David Jones campaigns together.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Oh that is gorgeous and a lot of contrast.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
So I was boy and a girl in one in
one shoot. I mean that wouldn't be allowed these days.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
That's versatile.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
No, they talk about transgender all in one day because
the boy didn't show up and it was the seventies
and my hair was sort of long and they then
put it up in pigtails and in the one campaign.
I'll have to send you the photo.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
It can do anything. Yes, it's quite a contrast to
be living on would you call it a farm? It's
definitely yeah. It was yeah, and with horses and then
to me to be modeling, what was the influence? And
that was your mum into it.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
We we got picked for campaign with our horses.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
So my older sisters were picked to do a land
development campaign with the horses. And then miss Dally Saurus
and sort of jumped on the bandwagon. But I remember
the day that I got the Just Jeans commercial and
it was a national campaign.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
So it was it was big time.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I just turned fifteen and you know, Mum picked me
up from school and where I jumped in the car.
Mum goes, well, you're not riding this stuff and I'm
like yes, and she said, oh, you've got to go
for this audition. And there's some jeans in the back
of the car, so it actually got changed in the
back of the car the way to the audition. And yeah,
it was really exciting. It was my first really big
(20:41):
national campaign and it was filmed on a hot tin
roof and I had twigs out the top of my
hair in Queensland, which was ridiculously hot in summer.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
In big jeans.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Oh my gosh. So you had a real sense of family.
What did your home feel like?
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I think for mum Mum lost her mum really young,
so she was always, you know, always very welcoming, like
Christmas for us. This year we say it's a small Christmas,
but there's nineteen and we always Mom would always say,
you know, strays make a Christmas, you know, So anyone
that's around that's you know, it might be out from
England or might you know, not have someone would always
(21:19):
invite them.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
But our home wasn't. That just wasn't for Christmas. That
was pretty much all year round.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
And that is what is that what drives you?
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Now?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, and I love it like I love the fact that,
you know, I always said to my mom. You know,
even when I got married, I said to my husband,
look if I can't have kids, you know, for me,
that was something that was really important. I don't know
for everyone, kids aren't for everyone totally, but for me
it was. So I always said to him, you know,
I'll adopt. I'll do whatever it takes. I always wanted
(21:48):
to have that home full.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Of kids and feed like I love the feeding.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
I love the gift of food, but I love the
connection you know that food makes.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
I mean, I know.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
All my son's friends inside out because of that connection.
And I find that that is for me. Like my daughter,
you know, coming away from the school is thing.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
And she's like, oh my god, Mum. You know, I
can't thank you enough.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
I said, I can't thank you enough, you know, because
to be a part of that is such a gift.
It's really amazing. And yet you know, it was a
huge amount of work, but it's so fantastic. You know,
I can't remember all their names, but hopefully, she said,
our dinners. I will.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
But you know, that's what a home has got to be.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
A home is only a home with the people in
it and the connections you have, you know, and we
certainly don't have a perfect home, and I didn't have
a perfect upbringing. You know, my mum screamed at my
dad and you know, through tea leaves on his head,
and you know, Mum smashed the window with a basketball.
But I'm sure it wasn't a basketball. I'm sure she
was throwing something at Dad. So I'm not saying, like,
(22:53):
you know, my childhood was perfect. You know. It wasn't
like there was money flowing out the doors, but it was.
It was always amazing. Everyone was always welcome, You always
felt safe, You always felt good. And I think regardless
of you know, financial means or you can always create
some of that within a home. People are happy with
a roast chicken from the corner shop, you know, and
(23:17):
a thing of hot chips and a salad you might
throw together.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
It's the fact that you're welcoming them the home exactly.
So I'm never.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Paranoid or worried about what I put on a table.
So I think people place too much emphasis on things
have to be perfect. You know, some of my best
dinners when you know, I I made a roast and
it was a roast beef and it was actually pulled
it out of the freezer and I hadn't really checked it.
(23:43):
And look, this admittedly is quite some time ago.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
I have moved on a little bit since then. But
I kept cooking it and cooking it because it was
so rare, and it was a corn beef, so it.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Was never going to go rare.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
So I just ran and got two chickens and no
what even knew.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
They thought I'd cooked them.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
I pulled them out of the oven on a tray.
You know, faked.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Do you make it exactly?
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Don't?
Speaker 1 (24:04):
You don't have to. I had the New Zealand consulate
in China, and I know I'm jumping all over the place,
but this is my personality.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
And in your life there are so many different people
coming into it. I actually have a question about when
you're having people over, how do you keep the calm
among all the chaos.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
It is a lot of planning.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
And I'm a big planner, Like you're saying to someone,
I would start planning for Christmas in March, like it's
because I just love the whole idea of the menu
and is it going to change? And it never does
and it's always the same. I do think stick to
what you're good at as well. Like I laughed the
other day, I had friends over and they've probably been
coming to our house for twenty years. I thought, oh
my gosh, I'm probably serving the.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Same thing I did the same thing.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
It's not broken and everyone loves it.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Why try and fix it exactly?
Speaker 1 (24:50):
But I'm a big believer in getting obviously ordering the food.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
I never go. I hate shopping.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
People go I want to touch my hate shopping. Yeap,
They're like, I want to look at myes. I want
to look at my rocket. Now, if I go online,
I have it all delivered. Everything's washed before it goes
into the fridge, regardless of whether I'm entertaining or I'm
not entertaining.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
And that came from China.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
So you think, if you want to go pull out
an apple, every time a kid wants to pull out
an apple, you gotta wash it. If everything's washed, and
it's a chore before it goes into the fridge, and
it's a big chunk out of your time.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
But then that's it for the week.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
It's done.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Anyone can pull a salad out, anyone can do anything,
and it's all clean.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
You don't have to worry.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
So you have so many people coming through your home,
I have a question shoes off or shoes on in
the house.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Gosh, look, I would love to think in an ideal world,
i'd say shoes off, but that's just not realistic in
our home when I've got five dogs and they're running everywhere,
and they're constantly going all over the house. And I
do am a big believer. Like when we lived in China,
it was non negotiable exactly because of bird flu. Because
(25:59):
of all these things, everyone just does it, so everyone's
used to it. Whereas I look at my dogs are inside,
I've got cream couches. The dogs are sitting on the couches,
and everyone goes, oh, how do you keep them so clean?
Speaker 2 (26:10):
How do you keep them so clean?
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Throws?
Speaker 1 (26:12):
And I also use outdoor fabric inside.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
It's a lot of time, so clever, and.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
You've just got to be into mopping the floors, and
really the best way, regardless of whether you've got wood
or whether you've got tiles, or regardless of any flooring,
you've got just a capful of vinegar. Even on marble,
people go, oh, the y acidity. I'm like, nah, And
a capful of lavender, really hot water.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
What about other habits or rituals you have in the house.
Are you a bed maker? Are you fine with things
being a bit more relaxed.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
No, I'm pretty much everything's got to be you know, made,
Beds have got to be made every day. And I
don't really like washing sitting in the basket either. I
love a continual load. I'm not that person that's like, oh,
Wednesdays we do washing, or Thursdays we do washing. It's
a continual thing. I mean, there could be three dishwasher loads.
(27:09):
I've always had two dish washers in every home. We're
just redoing the home in Sydney and it'll probably have
close to six dishwashers. I think non negotiables for me is,
you know, dishes in the sink overnight.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
I really hate that.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
A few glasses from leftover from a wine or a
skinny bitch.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Is finely human.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
No, like dirty, dirty stuff in the sink. That's a
non negotiable for me. You know, dirty bathtubs is a
non negotiable because I love a bath. I love a
good soak in the bath, and the last thing I
want to go is going to have a bath and
then it's all the grim and work.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
That's a non negotiable.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Hair hare in any drains or that I'm fastidious about
cleaning drains. What I have now is front loader washing machines,
and I hate them and the dirt and all that.
You don't have a looking signs. It's revolting. So in
(28:07):
I'm doing up three homes, believe it or not, at
once next year, and I'm getting all top loaders. And
everyone goes, oh, it wrecks your clothes, it agitates them
too much and stuff nup.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
But to you, it feels clean.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
And you see what's in those I know people go
all they're better for the environment, they're this or that,
but no, so that's one thing I really hate, and
like in the sink. You know, I don't believe in
syncorators because I'm a bit of an environment environmentalis.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yep, do you have a fogo bin?
Speaker 1 (28:35):
No?
Speaker 3 (28:35):
What's photogo?
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I said? It's food and organic?
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yes, we do something we do so our council is great.
They actually allow you to put food scraps in the
green bit.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
So I love that.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Coming up Chrissy's revelation on her phobias and a fridge
on it like you've never heard before. See you in
a bit. This design is all about making your home
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(29:12):
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Speaker 3 (29:31):
The other thing is food waste.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
For me, I am fanatical on like, if there is
that much of a tomato left, I will reuse, rehouse, reperse,
going in a source. And the kids are all like that,
They've been taught that literally great leftovers, Like they all
take their lunches the next day, so nothing is ever wasted.
Food waste to me is just the worst thing ever.
(29:54):
I'd prefer to stick it in a freezer for later,
or that's something for me, that's just one. It's a
ma a waste of money. That's where the biggest amount
of money ever. So I'm constantly fridge orditing like that
is what really gets me excited.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Talk me through your fridge order.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Fridge order is just the best.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
What is that look, So the fridge there's always non negotiables,
so leftovers are or always on one level.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
So everyone knows level. You can always get a meal.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Anytime of the day you come to my house. You
can go to that level and there will always be
a meal. Except today I must say I went in
there and there was like two old pastors because I've
been away and it's like, oh, but.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
That level there should always be a meal.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
It might even just be like you know, ham or
turkey and that you're able to make a sandwich with,
but there will always be a meal on that level.
Then I always have all the dairy together, so on
all the cheeses in one section, so you always know
then all the sources. My other pet hate is if
you open something there's actually a name for it. My
daughter says, I've got this fox broots pan something. Now
(30:54):
where you open, We'll have to.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
Look it up and find out.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
But it's basically you've got to use something to entirety
before you order another. Whereas I love supplies, I think
I must have been in you know, some famine some
time in another life, because I really love having.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Supplies it all start.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
But I hate having to opened that to me, Like
there's this great brand called Bippi and it's all natural.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Oh I love, yes, yes, but the chili oil.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
They'll have four of them open around their house and
I'm like, oh my god, three Sabasco sauces.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Like no, So that's a real no go for me.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Like, do not do something until and like you know
with the eggs, once you get the old eggs, this
is the fridge order. You know, the old eggs have
got to go on. The new eggs have got to
go underneath exactly. Also with the veggies, and that one
will get shifted over to one side and then the other.
But the fridge ordit's basically looking at what you've got,
(31:51):
what you need.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Pantry ordered is this different? It is?
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Fridge order is every Monday pantry Udit is more a
someone will ask me for something and I'll go on
a deep dive and then if I can't find it,
then the whole pantry gets audited. So I found out
I was a Celiac only about a year ago. Oh gosh, yes,
So anyone goes, oh my gosh, it must be so hard.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
No, Michael cried, SNITZI. I do everything, but everything.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Now in the pantry, and the kids don't even notice
the difference.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
So it's all GF or gluten free.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
My husband went GF when he found out I was Celiac,
and everyone's like, oh, now you are very much pussy
whipped like. He looks like, oh, you know, I'm just
doing it for her. I'm like, oh, it's so embarrassing.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
All right, Christy. On the edit, we have a segment
called the Mystery Drawer, which will know about because we
asked you to bring something in it something that.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
I didn't quite get it.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
It doesn't have to be a thing. It could be
a story. It's something that we and the listeners may
not know about you, something from your home. So what
have you brought today?
Speaker 1 (32:54):
Well, I was looking at my underdrawer and I thought, well,
that's just inappropriate. So exactly, No, what I've brought in
is this. It's a painting that I just had done
recently and it felt so much to this painting, so
it's an artist by I actually commissioned.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
This is beautiful.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
So the painting will go in our new home, directly
at the back of the dining room. So this is
our house in the middle there. Yes, so you'll look
and see so that the artist is called Kate Burg
and she's very famous for doing animals. Ye. So I've always.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Loved a giraffe. I'm tall.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
I find them, you know, quite a majestic creature.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
They're really I've always loved them.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
So when she's sort of asking me, I was like, yep,
it has to be the giraffe. And then my husband
is the tiger really represented his strength. So she came
out first and sort of met with us and said,
you know, what do you want this painting to be about?
And my husband's mother had passed away and she loves
the rainbow laurakeets and they were featured in there. Then
we've got a turtle that lives in our house with
(34:05):
our five dogs. He actually lives in a pond and
he's called Terry, so he's there under the phone, the turtle.
My boys are big fisherman, and you'll see there's a
bowl from China which represents our time in China, and
the lucky red envelope yes, and the fish on the
bowl is sort of owed to our fishing. We've got
fishing boat Kuwahwa, which is named after my husband's mother
(34:27):
that passed.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
So everything in.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
The painting, the two frill neck lizards. Oh, there's a
frill neck lizard. And then there's a water dragon. The
water dragon we had in China.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
What about the three mere cats? Any idea on learns?
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Would they be your cheeky children's Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:45):
She had them scattered all over the painting, and I said, nap, nap.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Our family are always together.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
And they are on the home.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
Yeah, so it was nice.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
She ended up grouping those. She wrote me a letter
Kate about this whole painting and how it all came
to together, and I actually was crying at the end
of it. There's the Queen of Spades, so we love
to card game, and the worst card in the pack
is the Queen of Spades. She's worth thirteen points. So
all of our family always play that, so we had to.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
And who's holding the Queen of Spades?
Speaker 1 (35:17):
The wise old owl? So you know it was It's
just a really beautiful painting and I know exactly where
it's going to fit. Where do you want to put
in the new So in the new house, we have
a dining room where we do Tuesday night dinners.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
Oh yeah, that's perfect.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Yeah. So sometimes you know, Tuesday night dinner might be five,
sometimes it's twenty five. Yeah, so it'll be beautiful, you know,
with all these little elements in there, so something that
means a lot. But we we very much work with
the artist and changed a lot around so it really
feels like it's a family painting.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
A family painting for a family space.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
So, Christy, you have people through your home all the time.
I know that you love to clean. Tell us what
are your top tips for keeping calm in the house.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
In the caps, I think the good thing is basically
keep it simple. You know, do decide on what you're
going to do on what days. Don't try and do
it all at once, and you know, don't be afraid
or embarrassed if the house isn't perfect, because that's what
a home is.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
A home is not meant to be perfect.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I don't prefer people to feel welcome then to have
some you know, trophy that I'm trying to show to
the world. I think keeping those cleaning products, you know,
those key three ingredients, the bicob soda, the vinegar, bit
of lavender. You can do everything in the house with,
you know, mixing up, getting some old water bottles, mixing
up those sprays, and you can use them on the floors,
(36:44):
on the windows, basically.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
You know, vinegar and hot water you can use on anything.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
So keeping it simple, the more you take away from
your life in terms of those products, and you think
of the money and having to shop for them. So
really simplifying things and saying, you know, all sheets are
changed rather than on one day, say okay, well this
child's sheets get changed on this day, this one, this day,
so you're not trying to do everything all at once.
And look, I ran my own business for fifteen years
(37:10):
and I was pretty much gone from you know, very
early morning till you know, quite late in the afternoon.
And I think you've got to just put things in
chunks and expect that life is never going to be perfect.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Nothing is always going to be done. Like the washing, like.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
It's that continual thing. You know, you put one dishwasher
load on, there's another. You know, that's what running a
home is. A home isn't like there's no dot points.
There's always going to be another dirty sock, There's always
going to be another dirty shirt, There's always going to
be something else. So You've just got to really be
relaxed about that and try and stay organized. Like I
plan on a Sunday night the entire week. You know
(37:45):
what I'm going to do, what's going to happen around
the house, So you do have a little bit of
a plan. It doesn't always go to plan, but.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Not left just takes you feel good.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
And I think that's a lot of you know, people say,
I'm so anxious if things aren't perfect, I'm so anxious.
You know, people use that word, but I think a
lot of the time those feelings are because it's not
planned and you're grabbing the groceries at the last minute,
and you're grabbing food at the last minute. You know,
really having that plan the week out and you know
some nights you know I might plan to you know,
(38:14):
do a spag bowl. No one's coming home, you still
make that spag bowl. Then there's a meal, you know,
always having that meal in a freezer, on the meal shelf, yes,
on the meal shop, but also in the freezer.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
It's a big, big tip.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
So you know what, life isn't perfect, it's not meant
to be perfect, and you know, give yourself a break
and get people involved. You know and bute people out
for dinner. I have have people bearding mussels, peeling potatoes,
you know, and that makes people feel comfortable, makes people
feel useful. You're not sitting there like a chick with
your head cut off, going oh do this.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
I've got to do that, And they're not sitting there
feeling awkward.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
It's just we actually, can you pull the chest tonight?
Speaker 2 (38:49):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Actually, yes, Sally.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
Can you make sure everyone's got a champagne tonight? Can
you be on white wine? Can you be on red?
And yeah? Can you help me bring out some plates?
They love it Tuesday night dinner. They're all there ready.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
To carry their plates and carry them out. They feel useful.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
Then I feel like they're just coming over and you know,
watching me run around.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Just keep it simple, get everyone involved, have a plan.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Yeah, and also say to your kids before people arrive, listen,
this is who's coming to dinner, or this is who's.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
Going to be arriving at the house. Go out and
welcome them.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I mightn't be there, I might be doing something in
the kitchenes, So prepare people. Don't just expect your kids
to be fabulous and go and greet people and that
they don't know, you know, tell them like, this is
what I expect of you tonight.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
I expect these are guests in our home.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
I expect you to be doing this.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Yes, yeah, Oh Christy, you have been the guest here
and we've loved having you on the show today. Thank
you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
I really enjoyed it too. Sorry.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
If I've jumped around.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
A lot, help, that's what keeps it exciting.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
We might have to break them down into just cleaning
episodes and just you know, so we don't jump around
so much.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Well, I really look forward to having you back.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
What's your tip?
Speaker 2 (39:55):
My tip is similar. I'm a list maker. Yes, I
like to have the framework, yes, around anything, whether it's
to do with the home, or work or plannings anything.
But if you have the framework, it leaves room for
the chaos.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
True.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
I like that.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
I might say that's fine. Thank you for having me pleasure.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
There are so many pearls of wisdoms there. The more
you take away from your life, the simpler it is.
Make sure you use every last tomato, don't waste food.
And Chrissy's obsession with toploaders. I have had the best
insight into Chrissy's world I hope you have too. You'll
find Chrissy's favorite tips and links to our Home Beautiful
(40:39):
feature on her Double Bay home, in the show notes,
and on our website home Beautiful dot com dot au.
We'd also love to hear your own cleaning dilemmas and whims,
so send them in. This episode is brought to you
by Luxeflex, transforming homes with beautiful functional window covering designed
(41:01):
to transform your light and lifestyle. Thank you to Oz
designed for our Beautiful set. Come and visit the experienced
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Speaker 1 (41:16):
This is an Our Media podcast
This is an r Media podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This episode is brought to you by Luxeflex, transforming homes
with beautiful, functional window coverings designed to change your life
and lifestyle. Today's podcast episode has been styled by oz Design,
a company with over forty five years experience in showcasing style.
(00:32):
When you're having people over, how do you keep the
calm among all the chaos?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
It is a lot of planning. And I'm a big planner.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Like you're saying to someone, I would start planning for
Christmas in March. I do think stick to what you're
good at as well. Like I laughed the other day,
I had friends over, and they've probably been coming to
our house for twenty years. I thought, oh my gosh,
I'm probably serving the same thing.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
I did the same thing.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
It's not broken and everyone loves it.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Why try and fix it exactly?
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Go had this beautiful white shirt on and I was like, oh,
is that new? She because no, I've had it for
ten years.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
And then it was like ding ding ding, how how
tell us how?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Well? I'm just sitting there and I'm looking at it,
going is she like bullshitting me? Here?
Speaker 3 (01:14):
It's the fact that you're welcoming them the home exactly, so.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I'm never paranoid or worried about what I put on
a table.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Have you ever wondered how people with white sofas have
five kids, pets and red wine without losing their minds?
Me too. We've got the queen of white sofas and
home cleaning today, We've got Chrissy Marsh, real housewife of
Sydney and home Beautiful favorite. Her home is a divine
(01:46):
Chrissy Marsh is someone I know we already adore for
her unpridled level of honesty. She's a devoted mum, cookbook author,
proud dog lover, and yes, a self confessed clean obsessive
of whose white sofas somehow survive five dogs, teenagers and
a revolving door of guests. We're going inside Chrissy's beautifully
(02:09):
lived in Double Bay home to talk about cleaning, comfort
and control, what she actually does every day, the shortcuts
she swears by, and how she keeps things christine without
making her house feel precious. This is the edit and
I'm Elle Lovelock. I hope you enjoy your Welcome to
(02:39):
the Edit, a brand new podcast from Home Beautiful Chrissy
Mush welcome to the edit our Home Beautiful podcast. It
is an absolute.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Pleasure to vodcast in vodka.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
I wish now.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
I'm famous for the Skinny Bitch vodka fresh liamon soda.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
That's my drink.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
That's a good recipe.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
I'm interested already, We'll make it.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
We'll put that in the show notes. Recipe perfect but welcome.
Sadly without vodka, but welcome Tea Screw podcast. We were
welcomed into your home a little while ago and did
a gorgeous photo shoot and I just have to say
the team reported back that you were the most wonderful
host and they had such a great time in your home.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Well, I'm used to having a video crew in the
house from the Real Housewives of Sydney. And one thing
is it's not always vodka. I make a really good
lemon ginger tea. So we filmed the episode not episode
season three of Housewives in winter. So the crew would
arrive at the door and basically, you know, they set
up in your home for the day and everyone's a
(03:50):
little bit cold, and I'd have the tea brewing and
it's got to be fresh, so I've squeezed the lemon.
Then I grate the ginger, and you don't just slice
the ginger because then you don't eat ginger. So you've
got a grated so then you eat it. That is
a good And they have big dollops of Manuka honey.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
And are you just already want to come in? Yes,
I knock on the door.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
This hot water is lovely but doesn't really compare exactly.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
There's lots of little treats when you come to my place.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Something we did learn when we're at your place is
that you actually love to clean. Yes, And I'm I'm
curious because I will say, someone in your possession and
on TV as you are, you don't strike us as
the type of person who needs to clean, So I
wonder why.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Look, I'm not strapping on an apron twenty four to seven,
you know, I wish I could say that, but you've
got to clean when you've got five dogs. But it's
also the fact that I don't believe in any chemicals
in your home, so probably about you know, over thirty
years ago, I really realized how harmful so many of
(04:56):
these chemicals are.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I can walk into a house and.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Know that they've used windecks, and I'm not sensitive I
don't have allergies. You know, our firstborn was you know,
he's twenty three, and for me it was about creating
a safe environment for them.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
But it was even before that.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
It was probably that I was a bit stingy. I
always say, I always say I like to freeze the
end out of the toothpaste. I literally like, whenever I
get a quote for something, when that really means like
you're getting the last little bit out, I actually do
cut the end off as well. People roll it. I'm
like rolling you get another three tooth cleans, I'm serious,
Do you do it?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
No, I'm a roller. Well, I get the end of
the tooth rush and I will force it now up
the tubes. And that's not good to missing.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
You're missing at least three ones. Okay, so you can't from.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
The bottom about that much. And then you'll get one
out of that, then one out of the next one,
and then one out of the table.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
You're missing three.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I'm going to give it the money you could have
saved over the years doing exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
My son's on the last dregs of his toothpaste, and
we'll do it with his first We'll see how.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
My kids it does.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
My husband's head, and when when the old one's just
sitting there, like come on, I think, look, there's probably
five ingredients you need and that can that can clean,
or really, if you want to get technical, probably three
ingredients to clean the entire HOUSEPI calve, soda, vinegar, and
(06:17):
you could really do two.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
But then I mix it up a bit.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
So I do a and I'm happy to share these recipes.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Please do as well.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
But I do it like an all purpose spray, which
is a bit of vinegar and a lot of water.
And if you look at most of the cleaning products
you use at home, with all the chemicals, the majority
ingredient is water, so you're basically paying for water that
you get out of your own tap.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
So the all purpose spray has.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Eucalyptus oil, lavender, vinegar and water. Ah. And then you know,
to clean toilets and things is just a matter and
showers it's putting bi carved down first and then you
put the vinegar in and it up like a science experiment.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I mean, just.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Talking about this just gets me excited, like seriously, like
people don't realize how easy all this is. And it's
so cost effective, like so cost effective, so It wasn't
like I decided one day, Oh, I'm not going to
have any chemicals in my home at all. Yeah, I've
sort of been slowly weeding the ban and it's probably
been you know, I still couldn't give up, you know,
(07:24):
the Vanish whitener.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Oh, I love it.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
This girl had this beautiful white shirt on and I
was like, oh, is that new? Because no, I've had
it for ten years.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
And then it was like ding ding how how how
tell us how?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Well? I'm just sitting there and I'm looking at it,
going is she like bullshitting me? Here? Is that?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Like?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
The shirt was a golf shirt because we went and
played golf, and it's the cost It is white, white
blot and I like pride myself on having white whites.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
And I have two boys and a girl, and everybody
from little kids. Why are you dressing your kids in white?
I'm like, it's so much easy to clean.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
You're just so good. I agree, well swapping and she
actually went back. Which I remembered I used to use,
was the sunlight soap. Yes, so the sunlight soap, just
rub it in and the stains and then soak it
and then you basically just then put it through the wash.
I always use a bit of vinegar. I never use
(08:18):
any fabric softeners. They just ruin your towels and make everythinking. No,
if you want a bit of fragrance, you just put
a little bit of lavender into the vinegar. But makes
the towels the fluffy and doesn't coat them. It makes
them last so much longer. So anyway, I'm sounding like such.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
A dag now, No, no, I'm here for the dag.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
So my husband is there, he's got this grease and
I'm like, oh my god, I've just ordered the sunlight.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
I'm going to give this a crack.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
So I did it the first time and like, the
grease just didn't move, and I'm like, oh, this is
just not right, very disappointing, Like let me go back
to my vantage my chemicals and kiss.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
But then no, it actually did. I went back.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I left it probably an hour, went back and did
a bit of knuckling, yes, and not scrubbing because ruins
the fabric. Don't ever scrub okay with a scrubbing brush
or anything like that. Yep, you know you're not going
to go too hard on your knuckles. Yeah, unless you're
you know, Muhammed Ali.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
So yeah, it was good.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
It was Yeah. So that was sort of my last
piece of my chemical free home puzzle.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
And so besides the chemical free, is it a satisfaction thing?
Is it cleaning for me?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Is It's not like I sit there and I'm a
clean free because you know, having five dogs and three kids,
I'm certainly not.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
A clean free. But I think a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Of the times you need to do things yourself, or
you need to show people how you want to clean
or how you want things to be cleaned. We moved
to China and I spent probably and I'm not joking,
maybe about thirty hours with her just showing her my
natural cleaning products. And then sometimes they'll like hate it,
and they'll sneak something else and they're walking and.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Can you sniff it out?
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Oh? Straight away, I'm like, here's used wind X. Someone's
used wind X today. And that's the other thing with
a lot of fragrances, you know, I mean, everyone's discovering
this now and my kids have literally thought I've been
a freak for the last fifty years.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
You were really ahead of the trend.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Yeah. I like to think that, And also, like with organics,
with seed oils, it sort of goes a lot further
down the path. And you know, I'd always be fanatical
on these things. And I never had sodium laurel sulfates
in shampoos, which is.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
The foaming agent. So a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
That you think, oh my gosh, it's such a good shampoo,
it's got so.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Much froth in it. It's actually not so things like that.
I've always been and the kids are.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Always like, oh, mom, you know, And now they're like,
oh my gosh, mom, you know. And I'm like, if
you're gonna have butter, you have full cream butter. If
you're going to have yogurt, you have full cream yogurt.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Like no loafat no, It's simple. Yeah, this whole low.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Fat thing and this, you know, people so conscious about
what they're eating. We've you know, since low fat came in,
We've never had more obesity in the world.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Chrissy had some really unexpected cleaning tips with the sun
Light coming up with some incredible stories of Prissy's time
in China back in a bit. When it comes to
creating a home that feels calm, beautiful, and uniquely yours,
light plays a key role. Lux Offlex offers a range
(11:18):
of custom window coverings that don't just elevate your interiors.
They help you control a space with light. From soft
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with quality craftsmanship and thoughtful design. Discover how lux Offlex
(11:39):
can transform the way you live and enjoy your home
every day. Visit luxeflex dot com dot au to explore
the full collection, or visit your local showroom today. Before
we go on, here's what a leading expert from OZ
Design has on their radar for.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
The new year.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Think of it as your trend mood board. So let's
get into that in more detail with color. So colors
such as grays, the really crisp white, those were quite popular, you.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
Know they still are, but they're probably too safe now. Yeah,
they're probably on their way out.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
I suppose.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
And look, you can still use those as your basis, yes,
but I think it's important to start to layer and
start to add the comfort and warmth that is on trend,
that is directional and it can be as simple or
as easy as a cushion, a throw rug, a new
piece of art, a new quilt cover on your bed.
It doesn't need to be necessarily a whole change.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
The big piece. But let's talk about some of the
big pieces. What colors are you seeing coming in in soface?
Speaker 5 (12:48):
So we're seeing a movement away from those grays and
beisas to beautiful, rich, warm oatmeals. We're seeing loads of
gorgeous khaki greens, mustards, terra cottas and look, we really
think that shift will start to continue and move into
mockas and chocolates, burgundys. And look, you may not take burgundy,
(13:11):
say as an example, and put it on your sofa,
but it could become the perfect accent chiep for you.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Absolutely. And let's talk about color as comfort. You were
referencing this before. These colors they're warm, they're embracing, They
really are comfortable.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Yeah, and look, they make you feel happy. I think
you know when you go to you gravitate to something
that's warm and earthy. You feel a bit centered with
it and you feel a bit relaxed with it. So
it sort of enables you to walk into your home
and feel a sense of oh, I'm here, this is
how I like to live, this is what I like
to look at and feel comfortable in. And you know,
(13:48):
for me, the home is really an extension of your personality.
So I sort of think that how you see yourself
from a fashion perspective is really how you want to
present your interior to your family friends.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Absolutely. We say that so often. Show me a person's wardrobe,
and I can tell.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
You absolutely, absolutely, And I think you've got to not
be scared of color. I think you've got to embrace it,
and if you are a little bit friend of it,
do it with small pieces. Just do it in a
way that you know, it's a beautiful new marble tray
on a coffee table, or it's a simple small vase
that you add to your bedside table, or it is
(14:25):
just a refresh of cushions and you're taking away the
colors that were there for summer and you're adding a moodier,
deeper tone in for winter.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
I have to admit I have a cushion wardrobe. Me too,
Me too, what's in your wardrobe?
Speaker 5 (14:38):
My husband is a lot at all happy with it
because it's sort of what I've done is I've got
one set of inserts, so I then just literally will
take those out and I'll sort of take summer away
and bring winter in. He's still waiting for the perfect
insert that doesn't give him feather pops, you know, when
he's lying down at night. But yeah, for me, it's
about just having a variety. I sometimes I look at
(15:01):
my spare bedrooms and go, wow, do we really need
seven cushions on their head?
Speaker 2 (15:05):
But it makes me feel good, so I like to
do it exactly. And also you are also the home
Whar's biers. Yes, so yeh yeah, So it's your job.
Speaker 5 (15:14):
Absolutely, it's my job to make things look fabulous and
to sort of bring to life pieces that you know
will look wonderful in anyone's interior.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Big thanks to pull It for that inspir Now back
to the chat. So how old are your kids?
Speaker 1 (15:32):
So Billy's twenty three, Niko's twenty one, and then Milana's
just turned eighteen.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
And are they at home with you living elsewhere? Yes?
I wonder do you teach them you're cleaning yeah tricks
because they'll need to know wondash.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
They did it?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
More?
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Oh yeah, look, I mean we're certainly not living in
a perfect household where the kids pick up and do
whatever they want. There's always a fight on who's going
to feed the dogs and then my daughter's.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Like, why'd you get by dogs?
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I said why, I ask why? I had three kids
as well. So but look, yeah, obviously now they see
the reasoning behind this because I think, you know, we
are in the world of information. Yeah, and it has
got to do with cleaning products. It has got to
do with the foundation of your home. You know, what
are you setting as your foundation? And when I did
(16:22):
my cookbook, it was all about you know, I couldn't cook.
You know, I moved out of home when I was
My parents moved back to Queensland and I was down here.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
It's sort of you know, I moved out quite young.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
I think I was nineteen, and you know I didn't
know like not that my mum never showed me. I
mean we were always showing how to iron a shirt.
We're always shown to clean and cook, well, look massively cook.
I couldn't really do much more than a you know,
a taco with a thing of plastic cheese, which I
am still love the plastic cheese. Do you like plastic cheese?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I don't mind the slice of plastic cheese, you know,
the onees. No, you don't do a dipputy wrapped. Oh yes, yeah,
tell me a little bit more about your childhood home
was what was that?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Like? That was incredible and like it's almost embarrassing now,
I think, especially with housewives, it's embarrassing when you've had
an idyllic childhood. Yeah. When I say idyllic, I lived
on twelve acres, which isn't a massive farm. We lived
about twenty minutes outside of Brisbane.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
We grew up with horses.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
My sister was Queensland show jumping champions, so we literally
I was on a horse before.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
I could walk.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Really, yeah, you know, we had five dogs. I had
a cat called Wally that ended up having kittens. We
used to do Jim Knnes every weekend. And that's you
asked before we started. You know, when did I start
modeling and when did I start doing this?
Speaker 3 (17:45):
It was literally at two years of age.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
We were the Kardashian Star before the Kardashian.
Speaker 3 (17:51):
My mom likes to think she was Christiana, but we
literally four.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Girls all growing up in Brisbane, all started modeling with
June Danny Watkins. Oh that iconic. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
I loved that woman more than anything.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
What she did for femininity and for women is such
a great you know, and also putting Australia on the map.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
She was massive in.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
China, was she.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Yeah, I didn't really big.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
And look she I don't know what age she ended
up passing, but she was quite old.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
And I actually saw it the week before and she'd.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Just come back from China, so she was very very
active right until for.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
The listeners, let's share who June is.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Okay, Well, if you were standing beside this woman, she'd
probably rub your elbow and check whether your skin was dry.
So June Deli Vodkin was the founder of one of
the best modeling agency and deportment schools in Australia.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
I don't really know.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Anyone else that had a deportment school like hers. And
then she ran a very successful modeling agency as well.
So yeah, we started working with her, so you know,
it was a I worked with her from when I
was two. It's probably my longest standing job and I'm
modeled pretty much. Well, I moved to Sydney and ended
up changing agencies when I moved down here because she
(19:10):
didn't really have a presence down here then. But yeah,
she was an amazing and to work with my sisters.
You know, we were doing Myers and David Jones campaigns together.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Oh that is gorgeous and a lot of contrast.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
So I was boy and a girl in one in
one shoot. I mean that wouldn't be allowed these days.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
That's versatile.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
No, they talk about transgender all in one day because
the boy didn't show up and it was the seventies
and my hair was sort of long and they then
put it up in pigtails and in the one campaign.
I'll have to send you the photo.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
It can do anything. Yes, it's quite a contrast to
be living on would you call it a farm? It's
definitely yeah. It was yeah, and with horses and then
to me to be modeling, what was the influence? And
that was your mum into it.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
We we got picked for campaign with our horses.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
So my older sisters were picked to do a land
development campaign with the horses. And then miss Dally Saurus
and sort of jumped on the bandwagon. But I remember
the day that I got the Just Jeans commercial and
it was a national campaign.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
So it was it was big time.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I just turned fifteen and you know, Mum picked me
up from school and where I jumped in the car.
Mum goes, well, you're not riding this stuff and I'm
like yes, and she said, oh, you've got to go
for this audition. And there's some jeans in the back
of the car, so it actually got changed in the
back of the car the way to the audition. And yeah,
it was really exciting. It was my first really big
(20:41):
national campaign and it was filmed on a hot tin
roof and I had twigs out the top of my
hair in Queensland, which was ridiculously hot in summer.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
In big jeans.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Oh my gosh. So you had a real sense of family.
What did your home feel like?
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I think for mum Mum lost her mum really young,
so she was always, you know, always very welcoming, like
Christmas for us. This year we say it's a small Christmas,
but there's nineteen and we always Mom would always say,
you know, strays make a Christmas, you know, So anyone
that's around that's you know, it might be out from
England or might you know, not have someone would always
(21:19):
invite them.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
But our home wasn't. That just wasn't for Christmas. That
was pretty much all year round.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
And that is what is that what drives you?
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Now?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, and I love it like I love the fact that,
you know, I always said to my mom. You know,
even when I got married, I said to my husband,
look if I can't have kids, you know, for me,
that was something that was really important. I don't know
for everyone, kids aren't for everyone totally, but for me
it was. So I always said to him, you know,
I'll adopt. I'll do whatever it takes. I always wanted
(21:48):
to have that home full.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Of kids and feed like I love the feeding.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
I love the gift of food, but I love the
connection you know that food makes.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
I mean, I know.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
All my son's friends inside out because of that connection.
And I find that that is for me. Like my daughter,
you know, coming away from the school is thing.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
And she's like, oh my god, Mum. You know, I
can't thank you enough.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
I said, I can't thank you enough, you know, because
to be a part of that is such a gift.
It's really amazing. And yet you know, it was a
huge amount of work, but it's so fantastic. You know,
I can't remember all their names, but hopefully, she said,
our dinners. I will.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
But you know, that's what a home has got to be.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
A home is only a home with the people in
it and the connections you have, you know, and we
certainly don't have a perfect home, and I didn't have
a perfect upbringing. You know, my mum screamed at my
dad and you know, through tea leaves on his head,
and you know, Mum smashed the window with a basketball.
But I'm sure it wasn't a basketball. I'm sure she
was throwing something at Dad. So I'm not saying, like,
(22:53):
you know, my childhood was perfect. You know. It wasn't
like there was money flowing out the doors, but it was.
It was always amazing. Everyone was always welcome, You always
felt safe, You always felt good. And I think regardless
of you know, financial means or you can always create
some of that within a home. People are happy with
a roast chicken from the corner shop, you know, and
(23:17):
a thing of hot chips and a salad you might
throw together.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
It's the fact that you're welcoming them the home exactly.
So I'm never.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Paranoid or worried about what I put on a table.
So I think people place too much emphasis on things
have to be perfect. You know, some of my best
dinners when you know, I I made a roast and
it was a roast beef and it was actually pulled
it out of the freezer and I hadn't really checked it.
(23:43):
And look, this admittedly is quite some time ago.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
I have moved on a little bit since then. But
I kept cooking it and cooking it because it was
so rare, and it was a corn beef, so it.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Was never going to go rare.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
So I just ran and got two chickens and no
what even knew.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
They thought I'd cooked them.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
I pulled them out of the oven on a tray.
You know, faked.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Do you make it exactly?
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Don't?
Speaker 1 (24:04):
You don't have to. I had the New Zealand consulate
in China, and I know I'm jumping all over the place,
but this is my personality.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
And in your life there are so many different people
coming into it. I actually have a question about when
you're having people over, how do you keep the calm
among all the chaos.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
It is a lot of planning.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
And I'm a big planner, Like you're saying to someone,
I would start planning for Christmas in March, like it's
because I just love the whole idea of the menu
and is it going to change? And it never does
and it's always the same. I do think stick to
what you're good at as well. Like I laughed the
other day, I had friends over and they've probably been
coming to our house for twenty years. I thought, oh
my gosh, I'm probably serving the.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Same thing I did the same thing.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
It's not broken and everyone loves it.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Why try and fix it exactly?
Speaker 1 (24:50):
But I'm a big believer in getting obviously ordering the food.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
I never go. I hate shopping.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
People go I want to touch my hate shopping. Yeap,
They're like, I want to look at myes. I want
to look at my rocket. Now, if I go online,
I have it all delivered. Everything's washed before it goes
into the fridge, regardless of whether I'm entertaining or I'm
not entertaining.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
And that came from China.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
So you think, if you want to go pull out
an apple, every time a kid wants to pull out
an apple, you gotta wash it. If everything's washed, and
it's a chore before it goes into the fridge, and
it's a big chunk out of your time.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
But then that's it for the week.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
It's done.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Anyone can pull a salad out, anyone can do anything,
and it's all clean.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
You don't have to worry.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
So you have so many people coming through your home,
I have a question shoes off or shoes on in
the house.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Gosh, look, I would love to think in an ideal world,
i'd say shoes off, but that's just not realistic in
our home when I've got five dogs and they're running everywhere,
and they're constantly going all over the house. And I
do am a big believer. Like when we lived in China,
it was non negotiable exactly because of bird flu. Because
(25:59):
of all these things, everyone just does it, so everyone's
used to it. Whereas I look at my dogs are inside,
I've got cream couches. The dogs are sitting on the couches,
and everyone goes, oh, how do you keep them so clean?
Speaker 2 (26:10):
How do you keep them so clean?
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Throws?
Speaker 1 (26:12):
And I also use outdoor fabric inside.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
It's a lot of time, so clever, and.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
You've just got to be into mopping the floors, and
really the best way, regardless of whether you've got wood
or whether you've got tiles, or regardless of any flooring,
you've got just a capful of vinegar. Even on marble,
people go, oh, the y acidity. I'm like, nah, And
a capful of lavender, really hot water.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
What about other habits or rituals you have in the house.
Are you a bed maker? Are you fine with things
being a bit more relaxed.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
No, I'm pretty much everything's got to be you know, made,
Beds have got to be made every day. And I
don't really like washing sitting in the basket either. I
love a continual load. I'm not that person that's like, oh,
Wednesdays we do washing, or Thursdays we do washing. It's
a continual thing. I mean, there could be three dishwasher loads.
(27:09):
I've always had two dish washers in every home. We're
just redoing the home in Sydney and it'll probably have
close to six dishwashers. I think non negotiables for me is,
you know, dishes in the sink overnight.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
I really hate that.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
A few glasses from leftover from a wine or a
skinny bitch.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Is finely human.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
No, like dirty, dirty stuff in the sink. That's a
non negotiable for me. You know, dirty bathtubs is a
non negotiable because I love a bath. I love a
good soak in the bath, and the last thing I
want to go is going to have a bath and
then it's all the grim and work.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
That's a non negotiable.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Hair hare in any drains or that I'm fastidious about
cleaning drains. What I have now is front loader washing machines,
and I hate them and the dirt and all that.
You don't have a looking signs. It's revolting. So in
(28:07):
I'm doing up three homes, believe it or not, at
once next year, and I'm getting all top loaders. And
everyone goes, oh, it wrecks your clothes, it agitates them
too much and stuff nup.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
But to you, it feels clean.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
And you see what's in those I know people go
all they're better for the environment, they're this or that,
but no, so that's one thing I really hate, and
like in the sink. You know, I don't believe in
syncorators because I'm a bit of an environment environmentalis.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yep, do you have a fogo bin?
Speaker 1 (28:35):
No?
Speaker 3 (28:35):
What's photogo?
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I said? It's food and organic?
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yes, we do something we do so our council is great.
They actually allow you to put food scraps in the
green bit.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
So I love that.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Coming up Chrissy's revelation on her phobias and a fridge
on it like you've never heard before. See you in
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(29:12):
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Speaker 3 (29:31):
The other thing is food waste.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
For me, I am fanatical on like, if there is
that much of a tomato left, I will reuse, rehouse, reperse,
going in a source. And the kids are all like that,
They've been taught that literally great leftovers, Like they all
take their lunches the next day, so nothing is ever wasted.
Food waste to me is just the worst thing ever.
(29:54):
I'd prefer to stick it in a freezer for later,
or that's something for me, that's just one. It's a
ma a waste of money. That's where the biggest amount
of money ever. So I'm constantly fridge orditing like that
is what really gets me excited.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Talk me through your fridge order.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Fridge order is just the best.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
What is that look, So the fridge there's always non negotiables,
so leftovers are or always on one level.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
So everyone knows level. You can always get a meal.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Anytime of the day you come to my house. You
can go to that level and there will always be
a meal. Except today I must say I went in
there and there was like two old pastors because I've
been away and it's like, oh, but.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
That level there should always be a meal.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
It might even just be like you know, ham or
turkey and that you're able to make a sandwich with,
but there will always be a meal on that level.
Then I always have all the dairy together, so on
all the cheeses in one section, so you always know
then all the sources. My other pet hate is if
you open something there's actually a name for it. My
daughter says, I've got this fox broots pan something. Now
(30:54):
where you open, We'll have to.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
Look it up and find out.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
But it's basically you've got to use something to entirety
before you order another. Whereas I love supplies, I think
I must have been in you know, some famine some
time in another life, because I really love having.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Supplies it all start.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
But I hate having to opened that to me, Like
there's this great brand called Bippi and it's all natural.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Oh I love, yes, yes, but the chili oil.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
They'll have four of them open around their house and
I'm like, oh my god, three Sabasco sauces.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Like no, So that's a real no go for me.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Like, do not do something until and like you know
with the eggs, once you get the old eggs, this
is the fridge order. You know, the old eggs have
got to go on. The new eggs have got to
go underneath exactly. Also with the veggies, and that one
will get shifted over to one side and then the other.
But the fridge ordit's basically looking at what you've got,
(31:51):
what you need.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Pantry ordered is this different? It is?
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Fridge order is every Monday pantry Udit is more a
someone will ask me for something and I'll go on
a deep dive and then if I can't find it,
then the whole pantry gets audited. So I found out
I was a Celiac only about a year ago. Oh gosh, yes,
So anyone goes, oh my gosh, it must be so hard.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
No, Michael cried, SNITZI. I do everything, but everything.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Now in the pantry, and the kids don't even notice
the difference.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
So it's all GF or gluten free.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
My husband went GF when he found out I was Celiac,
and everyone's like, oh, now you are very much pussy
whipped like. He looks like, oh, you know, I'm just
doing it for her. I'm like, oh, it's so embarrassing.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
All right, Christy. On the edit, we have a segment
called the Mystery Drawer, which will know about because we
asked you to bring something in it something that.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
I didn't quite get it.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
It doesn't have to be a thing. It could be
a story. It's something that we and the listeners may
not know about you, something from your home. So what
have you brought today?
Speaker 1 (32:54):
Well, I was looking at my underdrawer and I thought, well,
that's just inappropriate. So exactly, No, what I've brought in
is this. It's a painting that I just had done
recently and it felt so much to this painting, so
it's an artist by I actually commissioned.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
This is beautiful.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
So the painting will go in our new home, directly
at the back of the dining room. So this is
our house in the middle there. Yes, so you'll look
and see so that the artist is called Kate Burg
and she's very famous for doing animals. Ye. So I've always.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Loved a giraffe. I'm tall.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
I find them, you know, quite a majestic creature.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
They're really I've always loved them.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
So when she's sort of asking me, I was like, yep,
it has to be the giraffe. And then my husband
is the tiger really represented his strength. So she came
out first and sort of met with us and said,
you know, what do you want this painting to be about?
And my husband's mother had passed away and she loves
the rainbow laurakeets and they were featured in there. Then
we've got a turtle that lives in our house with
(34:05):
our five dogs. He actually lives in a pond and
he's called Terry, so he's there under the phone, the turtle.
My boys are big fisherman, and you'll see there's a
bowl from China which represents our time in China, and
the lucky red envelope yes, and the fish on the
bowl is sort of owed to our fishing. We've got
fishing boat Kuwahwa, which is named after my husband's mother
(34:27):
that passed.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
So everything in.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
The painting, the two frill neck lizards. Oh, there's a
frill neck lizard. And then there's a water dragon. The
water dragon we had in China.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
What about the three mere cats? Any idea on learns?
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Would they be your cheeky children's Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:45):
She had them scattered all over the painting, and I said, nap, nap.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Our family are always together.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
And they are on the home.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
Yeah, so it was nice.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
She ended up grouping those. She wrote me a letter
Kate about this whole painting and how it all came
to together, and I actually was crying at the end
of it. There's the Queen of Spades, so we love
to card game, and the worst card in the pack
is the Queen of Spades. She's worth thirteen points. So
all of our family always play that, so we had to.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
And who's holding the Queen of Spades?
Speaker 1 (35:17):
The wise old owl? So you know it was It's
just a really beautiful painting and I know exactly where
it's going to fit. Where do you want to put
in the new So in the new house, we have
a dining room where we do Tuesday night dinners.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
Oh yeah, that's perfect.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
Yeah. So sometimes you know, Tuesday night dinner might be five,
sometimes it's twenty five. Yeah, so it'll be beautiful, you know,
with all these little elements in there, so something that
means a lot. But we we very much work with
the artist and changed a lot around so it really
feels like it's a family painting.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
A family painting for a family space.
Speaker 1 (35:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
So, Christy, you have people through your home all the time.
I know that you love to clean. Tell us what
are your top tips for keeping calm in the house.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
In the caps, I think the good thing is basically
keep it simple. You know, do decide on what you're
going to do on what days. Don't try and do
it all at once, and you know, don't be afraid
or embarrassed if the house isn't perfect, because that's what
a home is.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
A home is not meant to be perfect.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
I don't prefer people to feel welcome then to have
some you know, trophy that I'm trying to show to
the world. I think keeping those cleaning products, you know,
those key three ingredients, the bicob soda, the vinegar, bit
of lavender. You can do everything in the house with,
you know, mixing up, getting some old water bottles, mixing
up those sprays, and you can use them on the floors,
(36:44):
on the windows, basically.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
You know, vinegar and hot water you can use on anything.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
So keeping it simple, the more you take away from
your life in terms of those products, and you think
of the money and having to shop for them. So
really simplifying things and saying, you know, all sheets are
changed rather than on one day, say okay, well this
child's sheets get changed on this day, this one, this day,
so you're not trying to do everything all at once.
And look, I ran my own business for fifteen years
(37:10):
and I was pretty much gone from you know, very
early morning till you know, quite late in the afternoon.
And I think you've got to just put things in
chunks and expect that life is never going to be perfect.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Nothing is always going to be done. Like the washing, like.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
It's that continual thing. You know, you put one dishwasher
load on, there's another. You know, that's what running a
home is. A home isn't like there's no dot points.
There's always going to be another dirty sock, There's always
going to be another dirty shirt, There's always going to
be something else. So You've just got to really be
relaxed about that and try and stay organized. Like I
plan on a Sunday night the entire week. You know
(37:45):
what I'm going to do, what's going to happen around
the house, So you do have a little bit of
a plan. It doesn't always go to plan, but.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Not left just takes you feel good.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
And I think that's a lot of you know, people say,
I'm so anxious if things aren't perfect, I'm so anxious.
You know, people use that word, but I think a
lot of the time those feelings are because it's not
planned and you're grabbing the groceries at the last minute,
and you're grabbing food at the last minute. You know,
really having that plan the week out and you know
some nights you know I might plan to you know,
(38:14):
do a spag bowl. No one's coming home, you still
make that spag bowl. Then there's a meal, you know,
always having that meal in a freezer, on the meal shelf, yes,
on the meal shop, but also in the freezer.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
It's a big, big tip.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
So you know what, life isn't perfect, it's not meant
to be perfect, and you know, give yourself a break
and get people involved. You know and bute people out
for dinner. I have have people bearding mussels, peeling potatoes,
you know, and that makes people feel comfortable, makes people
feel useful. You're not sitting there like a chick with
your head cut off, going oh do this.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
I've got to do that, And they're not sitting there
feeling awkward.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
It's just we actually, can you pull the chest tonight?
Speaker 2 (38:49):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Actually, yes, Sally.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
Can you make sure everyone's got a champagne tonight? Can
you be on white wine? Can you be on red?
And yeah? Can you help me bring out some plates?
They love it Tuesday night dinner. They're all there ready.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
To carry their plates and carry them out. They feel useful.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
Then I feel like they're just coming over and you know,
watching me run around.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Just keep it simple, get everyone involved, have a plan.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Yeah, and also say to your kids before people arrive, listen,
this is who's coming to dinner, or this is who's.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
Going to be arriving at the house. Go out and
welcome them.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
I mightn't be there, I might be doing something in
the kitchenes, So prepare people. Don't just expect your kids
to be fabulous and go and greet people and that
they don't know, you know, tell them like, this is
what I expect of you tonight.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
I expect these are guests in our home.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
I expect you to be doing this.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Yes, yeah, Oh Christy, you have been the guest here
and we've loved having you on the show today. Thank
you for joining us.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
I really enjoyed it too. Sorry.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
If I've jumped around.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
A lot, help, that's what keeps it exciting.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
We might have to break them down into just cleaning
episodes and just you know, so we don't jump around
so much.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
Well, I really look forward to having you back.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
What's your tip?
Speaker 2 (39:55):
My tip is similar. I'm a list maker. Yes, I
like to have the framework, yes, around anything, whether it's
to do with the home, or work or plannings anything.
But if you have the framework, it leaves room for
the chaos.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
True.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
I like that.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
I might say that's fine. Thank you for having me pleasure.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
There are so many pearls of wisdoms there. The more
you take away from your life, the simpler it is.
Make sure you use every last tomato, don't waste food.
And Chrissy's obsession with toploaders. I have had the best
insight into Chrissy's world I hope you have too. You'll
find Chrissy's favorite tips and links to our Home Beautiful
(40:39):
feature on her Double Bay home, in the show notes,
and on our website home Beautiful dot com dot au.
We'd also love to hear your own cleaning dilemmas and whims,
so send them in. This episode is brought to you
by Luxeflex, transforming homes with beautiful functional window covering designed
(41:01):
to transform your light and lifestyle. Thank you to Oz
designed for our Beautiful set. Come and visit the experienced
team in store and see the collection for yourself.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
This is an Our Media podcast
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