Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Kay cats up, well things little food for yourself life.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Oh it's pretty bad.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Hey, it's pretty beautiful. Thing beautiful that for a little more.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Family's exciting. A said he k cut your kicking with
four Thing with.
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Amy Brown, Happy Thursday.
Speaker 5 (00:33):
Four Things fam Amy here asking you shall receive. So
many of you said that you missed some of the
OG style four Things episodes where I cover four totally
different things, and that's what I've got for you today.
So you'll hear Walker Hayes singing you know, first thing,
second thing, third thing, fourth thing, in between everything, which
shout out to Walker for writing and singing the theme
(00:57):
song for the podcast that you hear at the beginning.
I don't know if some of you listen to that
or you kind of maybe skip a little bit, but
it's just such a fun song.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
And there you go.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
That's a little intro letting you know that it's OG
four Things style going down today. And we'll go ahead
and get started.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
First man, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:17):
All right, let's do four things recommendce haven't done this
in a while, but it's four things that I'm really
enjoying right now that I want to recommend to you.
And I'm still on my fiction book kick, and I
was recently at the airport and I always go over
to the section of the little snack stores or the
bookstores that they have there where they have the top
ten best sellers in the country, and there was a
(01:37):
Colleen Hoover book there at number seven. It's called All
Your perfect So I grabbed it and it looked interesting,
and I read it on the flight, not the whole thing,
but most of you know, what I could get done
on my three hour plane ride, and it.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
Was so good.
Speaker 5 (01:52):
I will finish it as soon as I can get
some more time to sit down and actually read. But
there's no way I think it was a number seven
best seller at this moment. I think maybe the bookstore
had a little mix up or something, because I was
telling a friend, Yeah, it's a new Colleen Hoover book.
It just came out, and then she's like, what I
thought her latest one was called something Else, and I
googled it and All Your Perfects came out in twenty eighteen.
(02:15):
So I have no idea what was going on with
the airport bookstore sorting system for the top ten best sellers,
but I highly recommend that book if you have not
read it yet, and I am still listening to an
Emily Giffen book that I started recently called All we
Ever Wanted. I bounce back and forth between books that
I'm actually reading or books that I'm listening to on Audible,
(02:38):
and I'm really enjoying All we Ever Wanted. The only
problem is sometimes I get characters very mixed up in
the different stories that I'm consuming, So you just kind
of have to be aware and careful of that. The
next thing that I'm going to recommend is finding time
for yourself. Now, for some of you, that may not
look like a getaway trip, which for me that wasn't
(02:59):
necessarily something that was easy for me to do. But
what is something that you can do for yourself? Is
it taking a walk? Is it going on a coffee date.
I'll actually just read to you something that I put
in my Instagram stories about my trip and the song
that I talk about, because I made a little video
reel of some of the highlights from my trip and
(03:20):
I accompanied it with Steve Moegler's song make a Little Room.
And here's what I wrote, I'm in a season of
life that caused thoughts to flood my head last minute
that there was no room for me to leave and
enjoy this trip. Well, I'm sure glad that other thoughts
won Thank you therapy, and that it was not only
possible to make room but necessary. Everyone I spent time
(03:42):
with filled up my cup. So my encouragement to you
is this, make a little room for something that is
just for you. Friends can join, or maybe it's alone time.
I had some time alone on this trip too, and
it was a good combo. Doesn't have to be a trip, though,
Make room for a walk, a coffee date, girls' night.
What it looks like for you, just do it. So yeah,
(04:04):
my second recommendation is to make a little room for
something for yourself. Now, the next thing I want to recommend.
Third thing is Bob's Red Mill oat crackers. They have
a classic flavor and a rosemary flavor, and they are
both amazing. I first tried them at my friend Gracie's
(04:24):
house for a little girls night that she had. It
was me and Gracie and our friend Ali Fallon, and
she made this cute little cheese board with cookies and
fruit and nuts and obviously cheese and crackers, and the
crackers were so amazing. Before we left, both Ali and
I were like, show us a box of these crackers,
we need to go find them, and then I found
them at my public's So they should be easy to
(04:46):
find and I highly recommend that you get them. They're
great plane, They're great with a cheese, your favorite cheese.
They're great if you want to dipplem into some hummus.
My son even likes them, and he is kind of
hard to please at times. And then the fourth thing
I want to recommend is in the beauty side of things,
and it is Rihanna's Finty Beauty Contour stick that they
(05:08):
have a few different shades. You're going to have to
pick the one that is best for your skin tone.
But I have really enjoyed it. My friend Mars, she
does makeup for a lot of people here in Nashville,
and that was something that she sent to me to get.
I asked her for a list of things that is
good for me to just have on hand. She does
my makeup occasionally if I haven't a ven or different things,
(05:29):
but sometimes I can't be with her and I am
not very good at makeup.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
I've never been one.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
To collect a lot of different makeup that doesn't really
excite me. I get nervous about how to put it on,
what to put on, and the different combos. But she
sent me a list and the Finty Beauty Contour stick
was on there. And that's one thing that I've been
using for the last couple of months that I really
enjoy and pretty much use every day, even if I'm
(05:55):
going for a minimal look with just my Intelli shade.
Sunscreen situation, well it's my tinted moisturizer, but it has
SPF in it, so we'll call it sunscreen situation.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
So there you go.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Okay, four things recommends. I hope you like all that stuff,
or maybe at least one of them is something helpful
for you.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
All right.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
For this thing, my friend Ali Fallon is here and
you put up an Instagram post recently where I thought, oh,
I want you to come and share it with the
podcast because I thought it just came from such an
honest place, and originally I thought you would do this
on that way, which is my podcast. It's dedicated to
disordered eating, eating disorder, recovery, body image stuff. But we're
(06:47):
going to put it here because I think it's just
going to resonate with so many people.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
I love it, so.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
Ali, I'll let you take it away with the posts
that you put up, like when the thought came to
you and when you started implementing it into your life
and how you see it playing.
Speaker 6 (06:59):
Okay, So basically, in the last two years, while the
world has been in lockdown, I've had two babies back
to back very quickly, and it has really shifted the
way that I experience living life in my body. I
don't know if that sounds like very ethereal to say,
but for all of my life, I've just had like boundless,
(07:21):
endless amounts of energy, and so exercise has been one
of the ways that I've helped myself to like expend
some of that energy without having a ton of anxiety.
So I've always been like a more exercises better kind
of a gal. Like I have like done two days
and been a part of sports and wanted to go
to a yoga class six days a week. And I
was a distance runner for a while and that really
(07:43):
really worked for me for a period of time in
my life. But after having two babies, the way that
I experience life in my body is like so much
of my energy is accounted for and I just don't
have a lot to give to exercise, and so for
a long time, I was kind of like.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Trying to figure out how was how was.
Speaker 6 (07:59):
I going to come back to exercise, how was I
gonna make this a part of my life?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
And suddenly it just hit me.
Speaker 6 (08:05):
I was like, I don't have to make exercise be
the way that it was for me before.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Where it was like always like more is better.
Speaker 6 (08:11):
Exercise can just be going on a walk with my
baby strapped to me, or it can be you know,
just like having a dance party with my two year
old in the living room. You know, like exercise is
anything that I do where I move my body and
get my heart right up that feels good in my body.
And so it was like this epiphany for me that's
like so simple but has been really profound for me
(08:32):
in the way I experience it that I don't have
to do an exercise in order to get an outcome.
I don't have to like train for a ten k
or train for a half marathon or train for a marathon,
which is the way that I've that's been my relationship exercise.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
For my whole life.
Speaker 6 (08:44):
Or I don't have to be like do you know
what'd be really cool is if I did yoga every
day and I was like cut, you know, like I
have like like a six pack or whatever, or like
a flat stomach. It doesn't have to be that doesn't
have to be my motivation behind the exercise. I can
actually just exercise in a way where it feels good
in my body to do the thing that I'm doing.
And so it's so simple, it's like almost stupid, it's
(09:06):
so simple. But I've been doing this and it's really
changing my relationship to what I think is exercise, and
it's actually helping me to come back into touch with
my own body. And rather than being in this like
almost combative relationship with exercise where I'm like I'm going
to go, like get a really good workout in it's
like I'm going to go do something that sounds like
(09:26):
really fun in life giving and like feels actually good
in my body.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And that's exercise.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
And each day it might a look different, and.
Speaker 6 (09:33):
Every day it's different, and some days I want to
like go a little harder genuinely because not because I
want to like break my record from the day before
or something, but genuinely because my body's asking for that
on that day, and then on days when my body
feels a little more tired, it's like exercise might just
look like taking a quick walk around the block after dinner.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
So it's stupid, but it's really.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
Profound at the same time. I love stupid but profound things.
Those are my favorite.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I know.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
I don't think it's stupid at all.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
I think it's something that people need to hear, especially
in a culture.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
You may not be a mom, but you might.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Feel this pressure to have to do this certain type
of workout just because it's what you've always done, or
it's what you think your body needs and you're willing
to sacrifice other things to do that, or maybe you
are a mom and you feel the pressure from this
bounce back situation that so many women have to go through.
I have never been pregnant, so I don't know what
(10:32):
that feels like. But I see people post about how, oh,
it's so nice to not play into society's game of
having to bounce back.
Speaker 6 (10:41):
That's a real pressure that society puts on us. I mean,
I think to quickly lose the baby way after you
have a baby, And it's been very healing for me
and liberating to just try to enjoy and you know,
for someone who has been I have a lot of
thin privilege and have been thin my whole life, and
it's always come fairly easy easily to me. And like
I said, I'm always been super active, but after having
(11:02):
two babies, it's like you watch your body do this thing,
you watch it expand and give life to someone else,
and then to try to stay in that and celebrate
what your body has done instead of quickly being like
how quickly can I get back into my old genes?
It's actually it's a discipline of its own, a different
kind of discipline than it was when it was like
(11:22):
I gotta, you know, get my work out, my hour
long workout in today and really like crush it out there,
and you know, when I go for my run or whatever,
that's one kind of discipline. And this kind of discipline
is like, what if I can just allow it to
be okay that I'm a different pants size than I
was then, and maybe someday I'll be the same pant
size again, and maybe I won't be. And it's really
(11:44):
like almost taking that off the pedestal and letting my
body just do what it needs.
Speaker 5 (11:48):
To do, and that frees up so much time to
show up for yourself and the other people in your life. Yeah,
mainly you're my children, your children that you just brought
into the world. I need you, Yeah, because I fear
that if I had gotten pregnant when I wanted to,
I was so not in a healthy space mentally that
(12:11):
I know I would have put that pressure on myself
for sure, because that's what you just saw as the.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Normal thing to try to do.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
And I love your self awareness as always, and so
this is coming too from someone within privilege, and I
have to recognize that a lot on outweigh because we're
speaking to such a variety of different people, and there's
no way I can know what everyone has been through
or what they're feeling. And by society standards, there's this
some people are like, there's no way, no matter what,
(12:42):
that's not even possible for me. So luckily, we're starting
to break down this image that society has put up
in front of us for decades, which it's evolved every decade,
it kind of changes a little bit, but there's still
it's still mostly thin type figure.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
But we're slowly.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
Starting to rip up those magazine pages just metaphorically, rip
by rip, We're getting there.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Did you see Victorious Secret Angels and Demons?
Speaker 5 (13:10):
No? On Hulu? No, I just recommend you go see it. Okay,
it really has nothing to do with what you're saying
here right now. But I grew up seeing the Victoria's
Secret ads, and you know, in the nineties, so much
of what we saw. I just bring this up as
an example of what we see in magazines and what
we see on covers of what women are quote unquote
(13:30):
supposed to look like in their underwear. We don't look
that way, I know, And I.
Speaker 6 (13:36):
Think that's the crazy thing is, even even with the
thin privilege that we have to acknowledge that what happens
in your brain because of the images that are fed
to us is so messed up that like, no amount
of effort or energy or whatever I try to do
could ever make me feel like I live up to
that standard. So when we celebrate a variety of bodies
(13:58):
that don't look this one way, it's like we all win,
even those of us who would have otherwise fit into
that paradigm.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
It's like it freeze.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
It liberates all of us to be to celebrate every
part of our body, even the cellulate and even the
you know, like the stretch marks all over my belly.
Now that I've had two children, and every part of
my body, even the parts that I would have otherwise
been like, you know, well, I got to hide this
or cover this up or fix this.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
And a lot of companies are starting to do that
and have been for several years now. But you learn
in the documentary the Victoria's Secret was one of the
last to jump on board. They didn't want to. It
was run by men, and they're like, no, no, this
is our fashion show.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
These are the women we have walking out there.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Oh and by the way, we want to attract teenagers
now and get them in as customers, and this is
what they should aspire to look like as young teens.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Yeah, and they didn't what they.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
Were like, Okay, if other companies want to have all
different types of bodies and shapes and sizes and people
and things and whatnot.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Go for it. But that's not Victoria's Secret.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
And now they've had a comp rebrand and they are inclusive.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
To all types. So it was just interesting to see
that that's a lot of it's just because men were
running big companies in marketing and that's what men thought
they wanted to see.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
So, I mean, I try to remind myself too that
whenever I have a moment of like insecurity about my body,
that that has been fed to me so that someone
can make money off of it. It's like whatever urge
that I have to buy this thing to fix this
or tuck that or whatever. Like, you know, it makes
(15:32):
sense that men are running Victoria's secret. I didn't even
know that, but that makes perfect sense to me.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Because well, they like to say they had women CEOs
over certain departments, but there.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Was a big umbrella and at the top of the umbrella.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Is the men when we're making the money off of.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
To be like, oh no, we have this woman CEO
over here and this woman over here and this woman
over here. But even those women were answering to men. Yeah,
so I don't know, just show recommendation and is an
Instagram follow recommendation. You can follow her at Ali fallon
a ll y f a lll oh inn.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Did I get it right?
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:09):
That's very good.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Sometimes my spelling, I'm like, did I forget an?
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Now?
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Did I do an o?
Speaker 5 (16:13):
So, but Ali has a lot of encouraging messages and
videos that she puts up. She loves for people to
be able to just tap into themselves and if they
have a story inside of them, she wants to.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
Get it out of you.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
So she's very encouraging in that way. But also you
just sometimes when you have a thought about what you're
working through in your own life, you throw it up there.
And you were on a walk with you know, your
baby in your little what is that.
Speaker 6 (16:40):
Called the baby born carrier? Okay, baby born.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Carrier, and you were just walking and saying, Hey, this
is what I'm doing to honor my body today, and
it is perfect. This has what's been working for me
because I also knew you before you had kids, and.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
We were we were, yes, we were at yoga every day.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Every single day, sometimes that morning.
Speaker 6 (17:01):
Which you know what the other thought I had about
this is like, let that be okay, if that's what
served us for that time in our lives, like that's wonderful.
But if it's not working for you anymore, And that
was the point I was trying to make with the
Instagram post. It's not like stop working out so hard,
you know, but the point is like, if pushing through
(17:22):
is no longer working for you. If it's not serving
you anymore, here's another way to try that has been
serving me lately, and maybe it would.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Serve you too. You're evolving. I'm evolving.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
I'm allowed to evolve because you.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
Know, if you're not evolving, you're dead.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Well, some people might not be dead, they just might
choose not to evolve, which you might as well be dead,
because then you're just stuck, unless you think your life's
awesome that way. I don't know, but I am so
thankful for growth and yes, challenges and hardships and different
things that have stretched me and pulled me in lots
of different directions because ultimately I've been through enough to
where I can look back and see, Okay, wow, this
(17:58):
is what I learned from that. This was made possible
because of that. Yeah, all right, thank you, Allie.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Thanks for having me go.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
Third thing, all right, the struggle is real getting out
the door on time, even for myself, but also if
you're a parent with kids. But I have a list
of things that you can do that'll help you get
out of the door on time if that's something that
you're struggling with, especially now that school is back in
and there's just a lot more activities. There's a lot
(18:26):
going on in life, and it's just harder to get
it all together. So whether you have kids or not,
these tips are going to apply to you. I'll just
start with the adult side of things, like how to
help get us out the door on time. Preparing the
night before is so key. And I say this from experience.
I used to just kind of wing things and be like, oh,
I'll handle that in the morning, But there is so
(18:48):
much now that I prepare for the night before, like
including laying out my clothes, what I'm going to wear,
and then put your things where you can find them,
like your car keys. I can't tell you how many
times I've gone to get in my car and I'm
already late and I'm trying to leave and I don't
know where my car keys are. So that's something you
can all prepare, like the night before. Do you want
(19:08):
to go ahead and get your coffee set so that
that is brewed and ready for you again, having your
stuff laid out, having your bag ready to go, figuring
out if you're taking your lunch, what are you going
to pack, get up early if you can, and to
that point, go to bed early if you can. And
I know sometimes if you're trying to put kids to bed,
it can be a struggle. I know with my son,
(19:29):
I have to personally stay in his room until he
falls asleep, until I can sneak out, and sometimes that
can take a really long time, and then I've already
kind of fallen asleep in his bed, so then I'm
super groggy, and then I have to go back downstairs
and try to take care of some of the stuff
that I need to take care of. But just try
to plan and get ahead on that as you can,
so that you can go to bed early. Some way
(19:51):
you can wake up early and get a better start.
Speaker 7 (19:53):
Of the day.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Allocate for some extra time. Pat it like, if you
need to be somewhere at a certain time, go ahead
and tell yourself you need to be there ten minutes
early and that is your strict time, and then hopefully
magically you'll be exactly on time. Plan for little things
to go wrong, that's never.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
A bad idea.
Speaker 5 (20:11):
And then get yourself ready first if you can. If
you're trying to get kids ready, maybe you get up
and get that extra time to get yourself ready.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Then you're good to go.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
And then you focus on then and then lastly lose
the news, internet, TV, social media, phone, etc. Don't get
lost in that. We all know, don't pick up your
phone first thing in the morning. It's a time suck
and it's not just a good space for your head.
And something I really enjoy doing in the morning is
my three minutes of journaling. You can jot down things
(20:42):
that you are thankful for, or you can set a
timer and do three minutes of free flow writing. I
love that so much, and I use my four Things
Gratitude journal for that. I just taking up a full
page of my four Things journal actually times out to
exactly three minutes. I don't even really have to set
a timer anymore because I know if i'd free flow
the length of that page, Boom, I've got my three minutes.
(21:04):
And that's something that helps start my morning off. And
then on the kids side of things, if you have kids,
something that helps in our household is using the two
choice method. Like if I'm trying to figure out what
my son wants for breakfast, but we've got to get
out the door, I don't just say what do you
want for breakfast and rattle off all these options or
I don't leave it open ended. I say you can
(21:24):
have oatmeal or you can have eggs, and then normally
he's like, oh, okay, fine, I'll have oatmeal, and then
that keeps it pretty simple. Or if there's a clothing situation,
you can wear this, or you can wear this, or
even better, let them pick out their own clothes if
that's an option, and just don't make that a thing.
You know, pick your battles, keep things playful. Like the
(21:46):
more you can make it fun, the easier it is
to motivate your kids to do it. Like this article
from pure Wow says, pretend the stroller is a spaceship,
or do a race to see who can get their
shoes on the fastest. I do that with my son
and a shit. If I really need him to get
the shower and he is refusing, I'd be like, I'm
going to set a timer. I've got to go take
a shower too, and let's race and see who can
(22:07):
get done. And normally that works for him. It's like
a little sneaky tactic.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
That we use.
Speaker 5 (22:13):
Make a schedule that works for them and make sure
they know it. The night before, I've printed out stuff
that we keep on our counter for our kids so
they know what they have going on the next day
and there are no surprises at all. And then by
the door you can create a little storage space for
each kid to designate their backpack, their shoes, their socks.
(22:35):
My friend Mattie Nelson posted on Instagram the other day
that she actually moved all of her daughter's hair stuff
down to the kitchen. Instead of trying to do her
daughter's hair upstairs and then trying to get out the door,
she just does it right there in the kitchen and
then boom, they're ready to walk out. And then she
also moved their socks and shoes into a bin in
their mudroom entryway area, and that way they're not running
(22:58):
back upstairs to get a pair of stars. Boom, they're
just right there. So hopefully these are some tips that
are going to help you get out the door on time.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
They're very simple.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
I'm sure you've thought of a lot of them already,
but sometimes we just need that friendly reminder to take
initiative and do what we need to do to try
to be on time, because then we will feel more
relaxed and less stressed. All right, for this thing we're
(23:39):
going to talk about dreaming and having a vision for
something and then watching it come to fruition. And I've
got Chris and Lorianne Vodou on right now and they're
going to share their story their journey. Y'all are both
former military and now you've embarked on a completely different
(24:00):
career path in the civilian world. And I love that
when I go to your website, the first words that
I see are we are on a mission to change
the world. And so I thought y'all would be the
perfect guests to come on to talk about having a vision,
having a dream and watching it actually come out into
the world. And I actually have some of your products.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I use them. I have them in my laundry room.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
Y'all are the founders of Sheets Laundry Club, and I
just think your story is awesome and I love what
y'all are doing, and I think that y'all will be
encouragement and hope to a lot of people listening.
Speaker 7 (24:33):
Thank you, Thanks for having us.
Speaker 5 (24:35):
Amy, And so why is it important for you to
change the world with what you're doing?
Speaker 3 (24:39):
You know, we served in the military, you know for
twenty seven years combined, and for us, I think it
was serving our country, and we were passionate about that.
We love our country, love what we did for our country.
When we were retired, we really struggled with what we
were going to do that made an impact in society.
I mean, I wasn't content with just getting the job
that paid bills, so we explored business opportunities. We started
(25:04):
a brick and mortar business for about four years. We
did a lot of charity work with it, and through
that process we just happened to meet one of the
investors that helped us get sheets laundry Clubs started, and
he understood that I had a disability from flying. I
have permanent lung damage from all the plastics and dioxygans
and trash that was being burned overseas in Iraq. So
(25:24):
flying for me, I'm a black Hawk pilot. That's what
I was doing in the Army, and it wasn't really
an option for me once I retired, and I had
to figure out real fast what that next chapter in
life was.
Speaker 7 (25:34):
We have kids, and we have bills we still had
to pay.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
And I'm a big believer that dreams can become a reality,
that you have to work harder than everyone around you
to make that dream of reality. Nobody's going to hand.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
It to you.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
So that's kind of the basis of it was. It
was a dream for me, and Lauren would probably attest
to you. I probably talked to one thousand people, and
maybe three out of those thousand people thought it was
a good idea. You know, I'm coming from helicopters and
now I'm going to a business and laundry detergent in
an area that I have no experience or background then.
And here we are today, you know, three years later,
(26:09):
and I know more about laundry detergent than I ever
thought I would. I love everything about what we're doing,
and I think year to date, we've you know, eliminated
over a million plastic containers from entering the landfills in
the ocean. So so far it's been a big win.
Speaker 5 (26:23):
Share with others what are y'all doing to change? What
are y'all doing that's different. I'll let you take it
away because y'all know better than me. I know, because
I again I have your products. But I want y'all
to share with people how you're able to save all
that plastic.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
A lot of it Amy is just bringing awareness to everybody.
You know, I'm sure when you first saw our sheets
you were like, what is this? What do I do
with this thing? Does it go in the dryer, does
it go in the washert I don't know what to
do with it? And so, you know, education is definitely
the biggest one of the biggest challenges in here is
because people don't see it as laundry detergent. They're used
to that liquid, They're used to that bottle, and so
(26:57):
getting people to understand that you can get your clothes
just is clean, if not better, with natural ingredients without
the plastic. I mean, just getting them to try one box,
one travel pack is huge because that's still one less
bottle that is going into the landfills being burned. But
I mean there's other changes that we've all had to
(27:18):
make here at Cheets Slaundry Club.
Speaker 7 (27:19):
I mean, we drink canned water. We don't drink bottled water.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I have outlawed bottles in my house, like you cannot
break you cannot bring at a plastic bottle into the house.
Speaker 7 (27:29):
You know. My sun is huge on I'm sure as
your kids are too. You know, the sweet drinks.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
So it's like if they want a Gator Aid, well
then you're going to have to use the powder gator
aade because they're not bringing a plastic.
Speaker 7 (27:39):
Bottle into the house. We use reusable paper towels.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
We do everything we possibly can to eliminate plastic from
our lives as well as in the office here, but
just getting it out there, plastic is a huge problem,
not just for us humans, but definitely for the animals
in the oceans anywhere. I mean everywhere there's turtle eating plastic.
You can see pictures of monkeys playing with plastic bottles
that are left in the rainforest areas.
Speaker 7 (28:05):
I mean, it's just it's everywhere.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
Well, Chris, obviously after what happened with you in Iraq
with plastics, this is something that is a huge passion
of yours and so how did you bring it from
passion vision, dream stage to an actual business.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Yeah, going back to the starting process, it was it
was really for me to follow my dream and figure
out what roadblocks were going to be in the way
for us. It was obviously a lot of finances, so
we had to find that investor. So we use limited
capital resources in the beginning to really develop a product
that which the sheet is a dehydrated liquid detergent we
(28:44):
dehydrate on a roller at one hundred and forty degrees
and turn it into a dissolvable sheet. It was finding
an investor that actually believed in that concept that we
could do that. So we spent a better part of
a year on a very limited budget just developing products.
Three products just to start that were in the plastic
free space. Then we sent them off for testing too
(29:05):
a laboratory in Ohio, And as soon as the investors
saw that these were cleaning as well as the synthetic
liquid detergents on the market and that we could be
priced competitive, that three out of a thousand turned out
to about nine hundred ninety seven out of a thousand,
and then it was a laundry list of people that
were interested and being affiliated with what we were doing,
(29:26):
which presented its own new challenges then, because before you
couldn't get anybody believe in you, and now everybody's wanting
to be a part of it, and you can't sell
your whole company to a thousand people.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Yeah, I like what you did. There too, a laundry
list of people.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
It's probably not he didn't mean to do it, of course.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
I love the sheets and to just give, like y'all
have explained so that people understand. It does look like
a dryer sheet, so it could be confusing, especially if
you're not used to it. But then when you realize, like, oh,
I throw that in the wash and it dissolves and
becomes the soap and it does everything that something out
of a jug would do if I was pouring.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
It in there.
Speaker 5 (30:01):
But y'all also have these in washed scent boosters that
I'm obsessed with, particularly Sandbar that's my favorite scent.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
That's the yellow one, Yellow one.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
And my son recently started playing football and his stuff
just stinks. You know, twelve year old boy playing football
multiple times a week, and I can't keep that bangling enough.
Like I'm trying all the time just make sure he's
clean and smelling good. And I really think because of
the scent boosters, he's good to go.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
I'm happy to hear that. I mean, it's one thing
to sell a product, it's one thing to sell a
product two or three times, and that's always been the goal,
is to have a product that has efficacy behind it
and works. So we're obviously thrilled to hear that. You're
happy with it, and obviously so are hundreds of thousands
of other people so far. So we're definitely making an
(30:55):
impact in the world. And it's people like you that
are helping us get the word out not only about
sheets Laundery Club, at about the plastic crisis and the
dump truck full of plastic that enters the ocean every
thirty seconds.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
Oh yeah, that's crazy to think about. And I personally
just love supporting military former military in any way possible.
And I also love y'all's mission and what y'all are
doing and that you're determined to make a difference and
you're not just doing it as like, oh look at
this cool business idea that could probably really take off.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
You practice what you preach.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
I mean, this is a hardcore You're not even allowing
the gatorade bottles because I was thinking, my kids love
gatorade too, but what would I do? And then you
know you have a solution. Oh yeah, there's powdered gatorade,
and we'll make it that way and then we'll put
it in our own reusable juge. So when you're first
implementing that type of lifestyle, though, because I can imagine
for some people if you've never been big into recycling
(31:47):
or eliminating certain things that are just obviously very convenient
for us and have been so acceptable for so long,
you know, would you recommend just baby steps and don't
just one bite at a time at this because to
me it could be overwhelming. Of course, I would love
to live exactly how y'all are living, but I know
I've got to take probably small steps to get there.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Yeah, I mean, it's not gonna happen overnight, really, honestly.
We started with the canned water because I was like,
you know, plastic bottles, not just laundry jugs, but the
plastic bottles we drink every day. I mean you see
it all the time, you know, and one day there
are as many plastic bottles that can go around the
earth like seven times used or thrown away. So that
(32:27):
was my first step was I found the canned water.
And then the second step I was like, you know,
we need a reusable bottles. Are you know our metal
drinking canteens or whatever you want to call them, and
so that way we're not using a bottle. We fill
it up out of the sink or the refrigerator or
you know, the filter filtered water and we just keep
using that. And then next I kind of went and
looked into my pantry and looked at some things that
(32:49):
I could do better, like our trash, our trash bags.
I mean, trash bags are plastic. They don't buiot a grade,
you know. So I was like, what are we gonna
do with this? Because I can recycle all my boxes
or my bottles, but they're just going to go into
a plastic bag and that's just going to sit there.
Speaker 7 (33:04):
So what's the point.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
So now we use biodegradable plant based trash bags as well.
And then I went to, you know, the reusable paper towels,
you know, when I'm not cutting down trees, I'm using
you know, I get them on Etsy and I just
put them on the regular paper towel rolls, just roll
them up, and just when I need a one, I
just take it off. And then we've got a little
a bin in our laundry room that we put them
(33:26):
in and we wash them all together.
Speaker 7 (33:28):
And you know, it's like, like you said, it was
baby steps.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
I have other projects that I'm trying to figure out
how to get away from plastic. We can't always do it, unfortunately, Chris,
and I do know that, you know, plastic is cheap,
and it's baby steps, So hopefully one day what we're
doing will push others into the same direction.
Speaker 5 (33:46):
Oh absolutely, And I think one way for people to
start too is even looking at their laundry detergent, maybe
trying out sheets as an option, sheets, laundry Club, because
that's a way where you know you're making an impact
in that cabinet. And then now, I had not thought
about the trash bags at all until you just said that,
So I'm thankful you gave a little rundown there of
(34:06):
different things you started to swap out, because my next
round of trash bags that run out, I'm going to
try to find a different kind, I think. I just
it's creature of habit, like I buy the what you know,
the same trash bags I've been buying for years, and
I never even thought to think about using a different
kind that wasn't a plastic trash bag.
Speaker 7 (34:26):
Because they're not out there.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
They're not on the grocery shelves where people go and
buy their laundry detrigent and you know, their milk, bread, cheese.
Speaker 7 (34:33):
You know, it's not there.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
It's not something that's advertised as hey, let's do this
to make a different So you know, we're hoping that
being in some major retail stores will help along with
you know, our voices to help those bottles stop being
sent out.
Speaker 5 (34:48):
Well, that was my next question, Chris, Where can people
find Sheets Laundry Club. Obviously going to sheets Laundryclub dot com,
but where else?
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Yeah, so we're on a sheet Saunderclub dot co. Amazon.
We don't have a full selection on Amazon, but we
do have the basic laundry sheets there. We're also in
all the hairsseter locations on the East coast and in
all the Myer locations, continuing to expand out west throughout
the year. But those are the two confirmed retailers that
we're in. And you know, if we kind of back
(35:18):
up on that, my goal when we started this I
three years ago in Harris Theater, I said, Laurian, one day,
our son is going to walk down this aisle with
our grandkids and he's going to say Grandpa changed that.
You know, they're all they're all cardboard now and he
revolutionized the way laundry detergent was done. My goal was
in twenty years to be on a railed retail shelf
(35:41):
being Harris Theater in twenty four months after I said
that our products are sitting right next to Tide in
seven generation. So it's it's huge for us. And the
goal is, with no pun intended, is to turn the
tide on plastic pollution. That's really what we're trying to do.
And I'm hoping that we can force change and massive
one of the biggest industries in the world, which is
(36:02):
the laundry market. We can turn a Tide on that
and change, revolutionize and show companies like Procter and Gamble
that there is a demand out here for sustainable alternatives.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
Well, I definitely got goosebumps when you shared that dream,
and that twenty four months later, you know it's it's happening.
And so hopefully that'll just be encouragement to anyone listening
right now that has a vision, that has a dream,
and maybe they're telling a bunch of people and people
are shooting them down and not believing in them. And
you know, one day you might get people that believe
in you. And sometimes it takes just believing in yourself first.
(36:35):
And so yeah, you know, y'all had each other in this,
and I just think it's cool that y'all are practicing
what you preach.
Speaker 4 (36:41):
You truly believe in this. You're truly all about making
a difference.
Speaker 5 (36:45):
And I would love to hear four things gratitude from
y'all if y'all would like to do that real quick.
But since there's two of you to hit the four,
we'll just divide by two. So Chris, you take two things,
and then Lauren you can take two things.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Okay, I'm not taking Instagram, Chris, because you're not on Instagram.
You do more Instagram than I do.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
You know, I'll start with my Instagram then while you're
thinking about it. So I'm a big fan of Jason Momoa.
Full disclosure, I'm on Instagram. I think I have nine followers,
so I'm not necessarily popular. I do follow Amy and Bobby,
but I think I have nine followers. The business side
obviously has a lot more than that. But Jason Momoa
(37:26):
to me, he's a good face for the plastic revolution.
He just started a plastic free water company, which you
can find those on Amazon. Not a sales pitch for Jason,
But not only did he do movies you know that
are in the ocean with Aquaman but he is. He's
a true believer and a true spokesman for the plastic crisis.
(37:47):
So I love following him in his feed and kind
of just watching what he's all about.
Speaker 5 (37:51):
Your Sheets Instagram is also just Sheets Laundry Club, so
that's easy to remember if people want to go check out.
That's an easy way to see all the awesome things
that y'all are doing as.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
Well, which I didn't even set y'all up for.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
I guess maybe Instagram, a book, a TV show, and
a drink. Is that what y'all are going to do?
Kind of what the game I do sometimes? So you
just did the Instagram, all right, So Laura and you
go next with whichever one you want to take.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Chris isn't a huge reader, so I think I'm going
to take books away from him. You know, as a
wife and a mother and you know, running this company
alongside my husband, it is hard to read books.
Speaker 7 (38:24):
I don't have much time.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
But you know, the books that I can come back
and I say, and I know this is going to
sound a little cheesy, but and honestly right now I'm
blinking on the author, but it was the love Languages
book for both, you know, married couples and for kids.
It kind of helped me and Chris you know read
them as well, I think, but it really kind of
helped us, you know, come together closer as a family
(38:46):
because we knew how to get to each other. So
it wasn't just giving flowers. It wasn't just you know,
taking the family on a vacation. It was you know,
taking out the trash when you're not asked to, or
you know, for my son, it was to sit down
for five minutes and play a video game with him.
Speaker 7 (39:02):
So I think if it weren't for.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Those two books, I would definitely not be doing so
many things, little things that really a lot of people
take for granted, but you know, your significant other and
your child especially, really it really gets them right here
and it brings you together.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (39:20):
The author behind that book is Gary Chapman.
Speaker 7 (39:22):
Yes, yes, yeah, on Focus for the Family. Yes.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (39:26):
It is definitely cool to figure out your love language
those around you, just so you can better understand people.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
So what do we Who's going to take the TV show?
Speaker 3 (39:36):
I'll do the TV shows. I do watch TV more
than I do read books, So TV shows for me,
I'm a big history buff and I love the history channel,
so in my son those too. So for me, it's
the making of America, the food that builts America, all
of the history channels that kind of go back to
the start of America, whether it's you know, the Vanderbilts,
(39:58):
whether it's McDonald's Vusburger Game, Dominoes Versus Pizza Hut. I
love to watch the story of how it's really where
we're at today, fifty years ago, one hundred years ago,
of how these two companies and a few founders had
a quirky idea that everybody thought was crazy, which was Dominoes.
I think I was actually Pizza Hut. You know, these
guys made this pizza and nobody's going to buy this,
(40:19):
you know, and then eventually it started selling. These Dominoes.
Guys said hey, I've tried this, let's build this. And
one thing led to another and Pepsi and Coke.
Speaker 5 (40:27):
You know.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
It's stories on all of these companies and the rivalry
that they've had over the last anywhere from one hundred
and fifty years and how this all started, you know.
So for me, I really enjoy watching those and I
kind of think where we're at kind of relates and
I'm hoping one day that I don't want to be
on the History Channel, but I'm hoping that we change
that an industry to where, you know, we're a small
(40:50):
part of a revolution in the plastic space for laundry detergent.
Speaker 4 (40:55):
Love that and making me want to check out the
History Channel. Have you all seen that documentary on McDonald's.
I can't even remember what it's called now, but how
the brothers that started it?
Speaker 1 (41:05):
Or was it?
Speaker 4 (41:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Yeah, the two brothers he got pushed out.
Speaker 5 (41:09):
Yeah, it's very interesting. So, yeah, documentaries are always good. Okay,
so what do we have left?
Speaker 7 (41:15):
Food and drink? I think I'm going to go with
tacos and margarita's.
Speaker 2 (41:18):
I mean to come on, I mean, yes, yes, yes,
I mean you can't go wrong with either one.
Speaker 5 (41:25):
Okay, well I can back that and then I know
y'all are coming to Nashville soon, and I have a
margarita and taco recommendation. You need to go to twelve
South and you have to go to Bar Taco and
every once in a while. I don't know what determines,
I mean, maybe because it's summertime. What determines when they
have this secret lobster taco on the menu, but most
(41:47):
of their tacos are about two dollars three dollars, but
the lobster one is six. But it is the best
taco you're ever gonna eat. I kid you not, but
it's worth it. So I recommend you go to Bar Taco.
Hopefully they have the lobster at the very it'll be
at the bottom of the menu and it'll say something.
Speaker 4 (42:08):
Like super secret lobster Taco, even though it's right there.
Speaker 5 (42:13):
And then order just their classic margarita or if you
like it spicy, they can do a little jalapino. And
it's just it's a cool place to hang out and
especially if you can get a table outside. You can
also people watch all the people walking up and down
twelve South shopping and you'll.
Speaker 7 (42:29):
Hand things, so we'll just hand out travel packs. Yeah,
welcome by.
Speaker 4 (42:34):
Hey, I'm totally excited.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
We'll check it out for sure. I'll shoot you a
DM when we're done and tell you how how much.
Speaker 7 (42:40):
We liked it.
Speaker 4 (42:41):
Awesome.
Speaker 5 (42:42):
Okay, Well, thank y'all so much for coming on to
share your story and remind us that dreams do come
true and it.
Speaker 4 (42:50):
Takes a lot of hard work.
Speaker 5 (42:51):
I know that y'all have worked incredibly hard, but the
fact that it truly was something that came from within
and it's a passion and y'all are putting it out
there into the world and you are making a difference,
and it just shows that, yeah, you can.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
You can have a dream one.
Speaker 5 (43:05):
Day for your kids or your grandkids to see your
stuff on a grocery store aisle and it really will
come true.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
Yeah, that's absolutely The only person to tell you know
is yourself. So just just keep driving on and find
a way around the roadblocks that come ahead.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
Love that.
Speaker 5 (43:19):
Well, y'all are awesome, Thanks for coming on, and yeah,
I just encourage people to check out sheets laundryclub dot com.
Speaker 4 (43:26):
All right, hope you have a good day.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Thanks and thanks and having a great day.