Do you long to invite people into your life but feel like your house just isn't ready? Maybe you're mid-project, mid-clutter, or mid-life chaos, and the thought of having someone over feels overwhelming. If that's you, this episode offers the permission and practical strategies you need to start practicing hospitality right where you are.

What You'll Discover in This Episode

Sue Donaldson, author of Never Alone: Stories of Invitation and Connection, joins Kathi Lipp to share how she maintained a life of hospitality even during a 13-year home remodel—complete with Tyvek paper windows and mice running down the hall. Her stories will make you laugh, tear up, and most importantly, feel empowered to open your door.

The Difference Between Hospitality and Entertaining

There's a crucial distinction that changes everything: entertaining focuses on impressing people, while hospitality focuses on meeting their needs. When we understand that hospitality is about the guest—not our perfectly styled home—we're free to invite people in regardless of our circumstances.

Why Planning Creates Freedom

Sue Donaldson shares how simple preparation (like keeping frozen cookie dough logs ready) allows her to focus on guests rather than frantically preparing. When the food and basics are planned, you have the mental space to truly connect with the people at your table.

The 15-Minute Company-Ready Plan

What can you realistically accomplish when a friend texts that they're stopping by? Sue Donaldson and Kathi Lipp break down the essentials: clean bathrooms and kitchen counters, folded afghans, fluffed pillows, and coffee brewing. That's it. Your guests truly don't notice the 15 things you wish you'd gotten to.

Hospitality Beyond Your Home

When your house simply isn't in a hosting space, there are beautiful alternatives: porch hospitality, third-place connections, offering to sit together at church, dropping soup on a friend's porch, or simply texting "I can pray right now." Connection doesn't require a dining room table.

Key Takeaways

• Hospitality is a commandment—and God provides the strength when we obey
• The more you practice hospitality, the more at ease you become
• Your 15-minute prep is more about making YOU comfortable than impressing guests
• Chocolate helps make a friend (keep frozen cookie dough ready!)
• Create the invitation that matches who you are right now

Whether you're in a season of renovation, health challenges, or just everyday chaos, you can still live a life of invitation. Your imperfect home might be exactly the place someone needs to feel seen and welcomed.

Do you ever wake up to a sink full of dishes, no plan for dinner, and a morning that feels like it's already behind before it's begun? You're not alone. For those of us who struggle with clutter and chaos, mornings can feel like an uphill battle—but what if a simple 15-minute routine the night before could change everything?

In this episode, Kathi and Roger Lipp dive into the concept of the "closing shift"—a short, intentional nighttime routine designed to set you up for success the next day. This isn't about deep cleaning or overhauling your entire home. It's about crisis prevention: doing a few small things tonight so tomorrow doesn't spiral into chaos.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• What the closing shift is and why it matters for cluttery people
• Five simple tasks that take just minutes but make a huge impact
• Why "out of sight, out of mind" works against us—and what to do about it
• Dopamine-friendly tweaks to make boring routines actually enjoyable
• How to use habit stacking and room mapping to save energy
• Tech tips like alarms and shared checklists to keep you on track
• Why systems that only work at 100% energy aren't really systems at all

The Five Closing Shift Tasks

Kathi shares five go-to tasks for an effective closing shift. You don't need to do all five—just pick three that fit your life:

• Load or unload the dishwasher – An empty dishwasher in the morning is like winning the lottery
• Prep food for tomorrow – Pull meat from the freezer, check ingredients, or prep a salad
• Do a 10-item put-away sprint – Clear items that have been "hanging out" too long
• Start a load of laundry – Towels, sheets, and basics can wash overnight
• Set up breakfast or coffee – There's nothing better than waking up to coffee that's ready to go

Making It Fun: Dopamine-Friendly Tweaks

Let's be honest—there's no natural dopamine hit in the closing shift. Nobody claps when you wipe down counters at 9 PM. But Kathi and Roger share creative ways to make it more rewarding:

• Reward yourself afterward (Roger's reward? Mario Kart!)
• Play energizing music during your routine
• Use a sticker chart—yes, even as an adult
• Make it a game: Can you unload the dishwasher before your oatmeal timer goes off?

Key Takeaways

This is not cleaning—this is crisis prevention. The closing shift isn't about having a perfect home. It's about being kind to your future self, saving money (no drive-through coffee!), and starting tomorrow from a place of calm instead of chaos.

Remember: If your system only works when you're at 100%, it's not a system—it's a fantasy. Build routines that work even on your tired days, and give yourself grace when you need to restart.

Do you walk in the door exhausted, drop your keys somewhere random, and then spend the next morning frantically searching for them? You're not alone. The daily scavenger hunt for keys, wallets, and important mail is one of the most common—and fixable—sources of stress for anyone battling clutter.

In this episode, Kathi Lipp and Roger Lipp get refreshingly honest about what's working in their home and what still needs improvement. They explore why those of us who struggle with clutter often resist boring systems in favor of exciting quick fixes—and why that approach keeps us stuck in crisis mode.

What Listeners Will Discover

• Why "boring systems" are actually the secret to lasting clutter freedom
• How dopamine-seeking behavior sabotages our best organizing intentions
• The three components of an effective landing pad system
• Real examples of what's working (and what's not) in the Lipp household
• How to pair unpleasant tasks with rewards to build lasting habits
• A simple script for walking in the door that takes seconds but saves hours

The Landing Pad System

A landing pad is simply a designated spot near your entry where everything that comes in and goes out of your home has a place. Kathi Lipp and Roger Lipp share their wins—like the hook system inside a cabinet for keys and the staging chair for outgoing items—plus their ongoing struggle with mail management.

The key insight? Systems don't have to be perfect to be helpful. They share their real-time brainstorming session for solving their mail problem, complete with choosing a location, setting a weekly processing time, and—critically—pairing the task with a treat.

Key Takeaways

• Boring systems prevent daily emergencies - Like flossing prevents expensive dental bills, a landing pad prevents the morning panic of lost keys
• Reduce resistance - Put your organizational systems in the natural flow of movement through your home
• Pair hard tasks with rewards - The "Monday Munchies" approach ties an unpleasant task to something enjoyable
• Out of sight is out of mind - For clutter-prone people, avoid containers with lids for items that need regular attention
• Create a script - A simple routine (hang keys, sort mail, done) removes decision fatigue

Whether you're starting from scratch or fine-tuning an existing system, this episode provides practical, doable steps to create a landing pad that actually works for real life—not just for Instagram.