Erin and Ben Napier on Oversharing, Spring Cleaning and How They Take Time for Themselves

Erin and Ben Napier are companions in life, love, parenting and enterprise, which makes them an authority on communication, teamwork and dedication. They star on the hit HGTV present Dwelling City the place they renovate historic, turn-of-the-century properties of their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. We chatted with them about all the pieces from caring for wooden flooring to how they show each other they care.

How do you talk with one another when there’s battle, whether or not it’s about work, parenting or your romantic relationship?

Erin: “We inform one another about stuff that we don’t even must learn about. He’ll inform me if there’s one thing demanding happening within the woodshop, a construct that they have been actually enthusiastic about, the components the place it didn’t are available, or it’s not going to work out the best way they hoped it could and that places him in a funk. Then I do know that he’s not being funky in the direction of me about one thing. We all the time simply know all the pieces that’s happening in our life, after which that approach, you know the way to offer somebody grace in the event that they’re having a nasty day and since now we have to be collectively 24 hours a day, we work collectively, we reside collectively, we dad or mum collectively. We have now to know all the pieces that’s happening.”

Ben: “We simply overshare and over-communicate on all the pieces.

You’re very busy parenting and working a enterprise. What time do you’re taking for yourselves?

B: “I get up at 4:30 within the morning, usually 4:30 to 7 AM, I learn my Bible, compensate for information, work out, drink a gallon of espresso, and that’s my time. Erin, I might say that your time is after I go to sleep.”

E: “He falls asleep earlier than me each evening, and that’s after I learn books. I wish to learn at bedtime, however our time is all the time as soon as the ladies are in mattress. We have now about two hours collectively to verify we nonetheless are us. We’re watching Ted Lasso proper now. I feel we’re the final individuals in America to look at. A extremely pretty strategy to finish the day.”

B: “We all the time finish our day collectively, and I begin the day by writing a be aware to Erin each morning, and now I write one to Helen additionally.”

What’s the final little factor you probably did for each other to point out how a lot you care?

E: “He all the time writes me a letter, and I make his espresso the evening earlier than, I arrange the coffeemaker.”

B: “I obtained to go to a Duke basketball recreation per week in the past. It was one in all Coach Okay’s final residence video games. The following to final residence recreation. My brothers, my dad and I are all large Duke College basketball followers, my dad went to Duke. It was a dream come true, but it surely type of fell on a extremely arduous weekend as mother and father and shoulder that in order that I might go.”

E: “I used to be excited he obtained to go. I imply, it’s Coach Okay, and it’s his subsequent to final recreation. I might by no means forgive myself if I didn’t let him go and have a ball and try this.”

B: “The turnaround was that we have been taking Helen to see Frozen on Broadway the following day, so Friday evening and Saturday evening mixed I slept like 5 hours and had two of the toughest days so far as journey and what you have been doing. I used to be actually excited, but when one thing had occurred and Erin wanted me to remain, or she couldn’t deal with conserving the ladies, then I wouldn’t have been capable of go, in order that was a giant one which got here up lately.”

How is working a enterprise collectively and parenting collectively comparable and totally different?

E: “After we run our enterprise, now we have companions, our greatest associates are companions in that, and also you all the time should be aware of everybody else’s experience and failings. While you’re parenting you must be aware of what your children could also be going by developmentally, so their experience and failings, so it’s actually fairly comparable. Our backgrounds are very comparable. The best way our mother and father did it was very comparable, and we’re making an attempt to retrofit the best way our mother and father did it in a world the place there’s now social media and TV you could watch something on it anytime.”

B: “And mother and pop are on TV.”

E: “All of it takes huge work, that’s it, that’s the key.”

B: “For anyone. We’re all parenting in a completely totally different world than our mother and father parented it.”

What are some spring cleansing ideas individuals might not already know?

B: “An enormous one for us is that we stress wash our home exterior. It lets the ache maintain up a bit of bit longer and retains mildew from increase.”

E: “While you see spots which are beginning to present their age, you possibly can go forward and patch it up earlier than it turns into an issue. And once you’re doing it, I might all the time suggest tucking outdated towels across the doorways.”

B: “Particularly in the event you reside in an outdated home.”

E: “Particularly if in case you have wooden flooring as a result of taking good care of wooden flooring is seemingly intimidating for lots of people.”

Why do you suppose individuals are intimidated by taking good care of wooden flooring?

B: “That’s one thing that has all the time baffled me after we’re speaking about doing wooden flooring in a home, and the house owner can be like, ‘properly, we fear in regards to the upkeep of these.’ So really, Swiffer WetJet Wood ($28) is particularly designed for cleansing wooden flooring. There are a number of merchandise on the market that you should utilize, however that is what we use in our home. It’s nice.”

E: “It’s actually fast, particularly when you might have little children. WetJet Wooden is so helpful, and it’s tremendous fast. So significantly better than dragging out a bucket and a mop to wash when the toddler spills a cup of juice.”

What drew you to a partnership with Swiffer WetJet Wooden?

B: “It’s a product we really use.”

E: “Since we obtained married. Our first condominium was a loft in downtown Laurel, and it had these 10-inch extensive wooden flooring. And that was the primary homemaker factor I might do was Swiffer the flooring.”

B: “It was one of many first issues we purchased so far as conserving our home up. In order that’s one factor that we’ve been actually aware about with having this platform that now we have is aligning ourselves with manufacturers that we really use and consider in.”