1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,000 I don't like to have it out there on the couch, so I 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,240 typically place it on my freshly made bed. 3 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:12,520 I'm Ronnie and you're listening to Clean With Me, the podcast 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,320 where I walk you through cleaning your house step by 5 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:17,920 step. Thanks for joining me in today's 6 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,120 episode. I am going to talk you through 7 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:24,800 an afternoon or before dinner reset. 8 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:27,640 Let's get right into the episode. 9 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,440 It's time to gear up for your cleaning session. 10 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:37,280 Now is the time to freshen up. I realize that this afternoon or 11 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:42,360 be before dinner reset could be in preparation for somebody 12 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:45,080 getting home. Whether you're preparing to go 13 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,880 pick up the kids from school or they are, you know, driving 14 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,600 themselves home or your spouse is getting home from work, this 15 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,600 is probably a time time where you would want to freshen up. 16 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,960 So I want you to take a few minutes to do that if you have 17 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,760 not already done so. Another way you might want to 18 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,040 gear up for this cleaning session is to get your house 19 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,840 smelling fresh. I recently purchased a new wax 20 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,360 for my wax warmers. Or maybe you want to light 21 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:21,320 ascended candle or open some windows and let some fresh air 22 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:22,880 in. Sometimes letting in some 23 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:28,160 sunlight can energize you if if your day got off to a slow 24 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,280 start. I don't know about you but 25 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:37,320 sometimes on my days off I kind of lays around all morning and 26 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:44,040 get off to a slow start and I need that burst of energy you 27 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,120 can get from a caffeinated drink. 28 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,360 A little bit of sunshine. A combination of both. 29 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,800 OK, maybe you need to make yourself some coffee or tea, or 30 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:57,360 maybe you need to take out the trash. 31 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,400 And if you're new to the show, I realize that I can talk faster 32 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,120 than you can do things. I'm not expecting you to do all 33 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:08,160 of these, I'm just giving you some ideas so that you'll get up 34 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,160 off of the couch or bed. You know, whether you needed to 35 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,640 freshen up for the day or take out the trash. 36 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:19,800 That's another way to get your house smelling fresh if you if 37 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,880 you have some forgotten trash that needs to go out. 38 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,920 I like to take out the trash during my afternoon routine 39 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:31,600 because I like it to be empty when I start cleaning the 40 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,320 kitchen and preparing dinner and things like that. 41 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,320 I'm going to need a place to put trash. 42 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:42,440 And at our house, we take out the trash everyday. 43 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,080 OK, we fill up that bag pretty quickly. 44 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,760 But if you have extra room in your trash, sometimes it's a 45 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,800 good idea to gather up the smaller waste baskets from the 46 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,840 bathrooms or the living room or bedroom and dump those into that 47 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,360 larger kitchen trash. And then take the trash out. 48 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,040 You're getting some sunshine and fresh air. 49 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,160 And then come back in and reline it. 50 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,960 And of course, wash your hands. I'm going to give you a couple 51 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,880 more minutes to do whatever you needed to do to gear up for the 52 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,080 afternoon or before dinner reset. 53 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,520 While you're doing that, I'll give you a little plug for the 54 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:26,040 bonus episodes. I just released a bonus episode 55 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:31,160 for financial supporters. That's a real time morning 56 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,240 cleaning routine. What I mean by a real time 57 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:40,920 routine is that's when I put on a headset and actually clean 58 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:46,160 while I'm talking to you. I basically take you with me on 59 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:51,720 my little cleaning mission and yeah, you can clean along with 60 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:56,880 me in real time, so to speak. Some of you like those and, and 61 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:01,960 most of the bonus episodes are not real time episodes, but I 62 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,880 like to throw those in there for the people who like them. 63 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,640 And it kind of gives you a little sneak peek into exactly 64 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,360 what I do when I'm cleaning my own house. 65 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:21,040 So be sure to check that out. There are links in the episode 66 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:26,160 notes or if you're listening on Apple or Spotify, the option to 67 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:32,080 unlock those subscriber only Clean With Me Unplugged episodes 68 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,720 is probably already being advertised to you. 69 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,800 Or you can visit cleanwithmepodcast.com. 70 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,040 I also have a Patreon account and you can listen right in 71 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,040 Patreon. OK, the next thing I want you to 72 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:50,400 do is a laundry switch because in that morning routine episode 73 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,280 that some of you may have already heard if your 74 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:57,760 supporters, I had to start a load of laundry. 75 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,840 So now it's time to switch that laundry from the washing machine 76 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:05,600 into the dryer. Sometimes I set a timer after 77 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:10,640 starting a load of laundry, or sometimes it just becomes part 78 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:16,000 of my routine to do the switch. For example, when I worked a 79 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,760 full time remote job, I often started a load of laundry in the 80 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:21,640 morning. I wanted to get my machines 81 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,960 running. If I had any dishes that carried 82 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,400 over, I'd either wash them by hand or get them into the 83 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:32,320 dishwasher and start that. And I would start some laundry. 84 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,640 And starting laundry was more common than starting the 85 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,600 dishwasher because, you know, we try to get to dish 0 at night 86 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,280 and, you know, start our mornings with a clean kitchen. 87 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,960 But in that morning episode, I have you empty your drying rack 88 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:49,960 and I have you start a load of laundry. 89 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:55,400 So when I was working from home, I would routinely do the laundry 90 00:05:55,400 --> 00:06:01,920 switch on my lunch break. Whereas now that my schedule is 91 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:05,360 a little bit different, on the days when I'm at home, I'm more 92 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,400 likely to set a timer to remind myself to do the laundry switch, 93 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,040 especially if I'm doing multiple loads in the same day. 94 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:16,840 But I want all these episodes to kind of coincide with each 95 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:18,400 other. So if you already did the 96 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,440 morning routine and started a load, now it's time to do that 97 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,520 laundry switch, OK? And if you have clothes in the 98 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:32,160 dryer that are clean, you can place those on your freshly made 99 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,840 bed or wherever you like to place your clean laundry. 100 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,440 I think the key is putting the clean laundry somewhere where 101 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,400 you're motivated to fold it, whether that's your living room 102 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:47,680 couch or the bedroom bed. I don't like to have it out 103 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,520 there on the couch, so I typically place it on my freshly 104 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,960 made bed, and then I routinely fold and put away the laundry 105 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,640 before I get on to the bed to watch TV in the evening with my 106 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,240 husband. And obviously you probably have 107 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:07,640 at least one day a week where you clean for at least 45 108 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:13,320 minutes to an hour. But these daily routines will 109 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:18,880 keep your home looking tidy and functioning and make those 110 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:25,200 longer cleaning sessions easier. OK, so that's why from time to 111 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:29,880 time I create episodes that are morning routines, afternoon 112 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,200 routines, and then the less common evening routine. 113 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,520 But I'm planning to record one of those next week for you. 114 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,720 But right now I'm assuming that you're cleaning either in the 115 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:46,480 afternoon or early evening and just preparing for that end of 116 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:50,440 the day stuff, whether it's a spouse coming home, kids coming 117 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,640 home, or just getting dinner started. 118 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,520 And obviously, if you work full time outside the home Monday 119 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:02,720 through Friday, you're not necessarily doing this in the 120 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,840 afternoon, but you might be doing it quickly right before 121 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,600 you start dinner, or this could be your day off. 122 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:13,680 But for stay at home moms especially, the afternoon 123 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,320 routine is often when they get the bulk of their housework 124 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,920 done. And in case you're new to the 125 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:24,360 show, I'm something in between. I work at a school two days a 126 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,120 week. I work from home a little bit as 127 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:31,800 far as doing this podcast of course, but I'm also a stay at 128 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,520 home mom a lot of the time. So I have what I call housewife 129 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:40,640 days where I'm home and focusing on housework. 130 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:45,560 The next thing I want you to do is quickly pick up your house. 131 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:49,960 I'm talking about a 5 minute pickup where you just rush 132 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,800 around the house picking up anything that's out out of 133 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:55,840 place. That visual clutter is going to 134 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,000 get you down. It's going to make it look like 135 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,760 you haven't done anything all day, even if you have. 136 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:07,360 OK, and sometimes we tend to have a block against picking 137 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,800 things up, but getting started is half the battle. 138 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,520 OK, so whether your dog shredded a stuffed animal in the living 139 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,840 room and you're picking up fuzz, or you have pizza boxes on the 140 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:27,320 coffee table from last night, or kids toys and your kids are 141 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,840 taking a nap and you need to pick up after them because they 142 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:35,840 aren't there to help. Or maybe you threw clothes on 143 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,880 the floor when you were frantically trying to pick out 144 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:42,680 an outfit for something, and this picking up is mainly going 145 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:47,160 to happen in your bedroom. Or maybe somebody made a mess of 146 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,600 your bathroom. Maybe they left dirty laundry on 147 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,520 the floor, or towels in one or more bathrooms. 148 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,120 Maybe you are picking up after other people who should have 149 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,440 been putting things away at the time. 150 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:03,600 But no use crying over spilt milk. 151 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,360 You're getting it done now. And you can always make 152 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:11,480 suggestions and chore charts and things like that. 153 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,920 But I'm assuming this is your personal cleaning session and 154 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,800 that you're picking up the entire house for the next few 155 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,960 minutes. And maybe there is a bedroom of 156 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:23,800 a preteen or teenager where you're just going to shut the 157 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,640 door and not worry about that room. 158 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,120 Or maybe you want to get it picked up. 159 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,400 Maybe you want to make sure that there aren't dirty dishes 160 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:39,200 molding in someone's room. I'm a firm, firm believer in 161 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,760 walking into every room of the house every day, clearing any 162 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,520 dirty dishes. And you know, if you're planning 163 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:50,040 to vacuum the whole house, picking up, picking up the 164 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,400 floor. So I want you to be picking up 165 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,760 the floor throughout your house. You know, putting things in the 166 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:02,240 hamper, shoes in the closet, just randomly putting things 167 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:07,360 where they go and getting your carpet or floor vacuum ready. 168 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,840 And of course, also bringing any dishes to the kitchen. 169 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,520 You know, maybe there's a dirty coffee mug on your night stand 170 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,960 or a dinner plate in your kids room. 171 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,080 And I don't believe in letting small children eat in their 172 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,160 rooms. Except sometimes I would make an 173 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:28,040 exception if they had a friend over, like pretend I'm a cool 174 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:32,000 parent for a day or whatever. But once they get, you know, a 175 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:38,080 lot older and they're teenagers, I kind of teach them that eating 176 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,240 in their room is a privilege. But if I have to keep clearing 177 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,800 their dishes or reminding them to clear the dishes, they're 178 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,200 going to lose the privilege. So they tend to take those 179 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:49,480 dishes to the sink. I'm going to give you a couple 180 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,600 more minutes to pick up your house, of course, once you've 181 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,560 picked up the floor. And I'm talking about living 182 00:11:55,560 --> 00:12:00,800 areas, hallways, bedrooms. And I realize if your house is a 183 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:04,320 total disaster, you might not get everything picked up, but 184 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,880 you'd be surprised what you can do in just a few minutes. 185 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:12,240 But once the floor is clear and any dirty dishes or cups are 186 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:17,320 taken to the kitchen, the next step would be to pick up the 187 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:22,920 couches you know to to remove to clear off the upper surfaces. 188 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,560 Remove anything that doesn't belong on your coffee table, in 189 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:30,280 tables, other pieces of furniture, straighten those 190 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,560 couch cushions and throw pillows. 191 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:36,960 And doing a quick pickup is also a great thing to do as part of 192 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:41,600 your evening routine as well. Going to bed with your house 193 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:46,400 picked up and your dishes done can definitely set you up for a 194 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:50,000 great day. But whether you have young 195 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,800 children who are home during the day and, and you're cleaning 196 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:58,200 during their nap, or your older kids kind of made a mess when 197 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:02,000 trying to get out the door for school in the morning, or you 198 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,480 just have some residual mess to clean up from yesterday. 199 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:11,080 Hopefully you're getting it all picked up now so that your home 200 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:17,160 will be vacuum and or sweep ready once you are done with 201 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:20,400 that pickup. Of course you're going to want 202 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:25,480 to vacuum or sweep starting at the front entrance because these 203 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:30,160 afternoon resets are often done in preparation for somebody 204 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,280 getting home. It's, it may be a self-imposed 205 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,280 deadline. I'm not saying that somebody 206 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,040 told you you better have his house clean before I walk in, 207 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:44,360 but you want that person to see that you've been productive and 208 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:49,040 you also want them to feel relaxed when they walk in. 209 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:54,480 OK, When I go to work those two days, my husband has the house 210 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,480 clean when I walk in. He's not working right now, but 211 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:03,760 when he was working I would be the one to want to get the house 212 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:07,440 cleaned before he walked in. And here's a thought. 213 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,720 Let's say you're a stay at home mom or maybe a part time working 214 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,520 mom and a lot of the housework falls to you. 215 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:20,960 One of the reasons for getting that stuff done before he walks 216 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:26,040 in is the fact that you might be asking him to clock on. 217 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:31,840 You might be asking him to take the baby or prepare dinner. 218 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:36,040 I don't know what your division of Labor is, but you want to get 219 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,920 a lot done so that your spouse will do their part. 220 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:44,000 For example, when I was working from home and my husband was 221 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,680 working outside of the home, kind of during this recent era, 222 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,640 he had more of an office job where he was typically in the 223 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,640 office or out on a truck. It wasn't super strenuous. 224 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,320 You know, once he was in upper management, his job wasn't as 225 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:04,000 strenuous and he would often get home a little earlier and just 226 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,720 start making dinner. So I would take a little break 227 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:12,600 in the afternoon and make sure that I had the kitchen cleaned 228 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,240 up and kind of the front entrance, you know, front room 229 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,400 and entryway tidied up. And then I would, you know, have 230 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:24,040 something out for him to make. You know, I would have thought 231 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:25,560 out something earlier in the day. 232 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:28,520 I'd have some meat out on the counter for him to cook. 233 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:34,040 Because nobody wants to come home, clean up a messy house and 234 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:36,960 then start dinner. So if you need someone else to 235 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,840 start dinner, can you at least have the house clean before they 236 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,520 walk in? Do you see what I'm saying? 237 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:44,760 I realize you might be cleaning and cooking. 238 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,800 Remember I said when he had a less strenuous job he'd come 239 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,200 home and cook half the time or whatever, But when he was 240 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:57,280 working outside, a physical job out in the heat, I would clean, 241 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:01,960 I would cook, and he would do stuff like that on Saturdays. 242 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,040 Every situation is different, every couple is different. 243 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:09,560 Be vacuuming and sweeping and you might not have time to do 244 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,320 your whole house, but at least the front entrance, the main 245 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,040 living area, the kitchen, whatever those key areas are, 246 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,000 and maybe the master bedroom is a key area. 247 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:23,200 My husband likes me to vacuum the master bedroom pretty 248 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,400 regularly because we have a sliding glass door and sometimes 249 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,440 the dogs track in stickers. So vacuuming that bedroom is 250 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,560 just as important as vacuuming our living room. 251 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,160 Let's face it, sometimes there are those few things that your 252 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:40,680 spouse is hoping you do and you know him well enough to know 253 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:44,040 what they are. OK, maybe the meal is a 254 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:48,200 priority, but you want to for your own benefit. 255 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:50,760 Even if he doesn't care about the state of of the house, for 256 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,440 your own benefit, you want to be able to start cooking in a clean 257 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,560 kitchen and then you're more likely to clean as you go and 258 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,720 everything else. So whether you're cleaning 259 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:05,640 partly for someone else's benefit or just for yourself, 260 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,160 you want to start the evening with with a clean kitchen, 261 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,760 whether you're ordering takeout or cooking or asking someone 262 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,720 else to cook. I didn't really ask him to cook, 263 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,400 but I would thaw something out that was kind of one of his 264 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:21,880 meals because there are things he cooks and there are things I 265 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,480 cook. And if I didn't want him to 266 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,079 cook, if I was like he cooked last night, I don't want him to 267 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:30,000 feel like he has to cook again. Then sometimes I would start 268 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,240 something during the afternoon break and I just move my laptop 269 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,800 into the kitchen to kind of keep an eye on the food. 270 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,640 That's one of the nice things about working from home. 271 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,320 Working from home definitely has its pros and cons though, 272 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,760 because people, you have some flexibility, but also people 273 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,840 expect more of you and you're kind of going, what would you 274 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:54,440 expect me to do this while I was at work somewhere? 275 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,040 If not, why are you expecting me to do it while I'm on the clock 276 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,000 at home? But there is that flexibility 277 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,680 when you're able to take your breaks at home and maybe walk 278 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,480 away from your computer now and then in between breaks. 279 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,280 But it it definitely has its drawbacks. 280 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:13,960 Sometimes you know, people are too noisy or again, they expect 281 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,560 too much of you. But one of the great things 282 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,640 about working from home is the ability to start dinner or at 283 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,280 least get the kitchen ready for your spouse to start dinner. 284 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,640 OK, hopefully you got some vacuuming and sweeping done and 285 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,160 some key areas. If not, keep working on it. 286 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:33,000 Some of you might need to do a few dishes. 287 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,720 You want to be at dish 0 when you start cooking. 288 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,920 And you might be thinking, well, as long as I get the dishes in 289 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,480 the sink and get them soaking and I wipe down the surfaces, 290 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,800 I'm OK. Or I really just need to start 291 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,520 dinner. So I'm, I'm going to start the 292 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:49,800 meat and I'm going to start some water on this to boil. 293 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:54,120 Now, arguably you can wipe down your stove and make sure it's 294 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:59,840 sanitary and plop something, you know, in a pan, you know, plop 295 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:03,360 that Taco meat into the skillet and start Browning it. 296 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,160 Or if you're making spaghetti, start boiling some water for the 297 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,120 pasta and Browning the meat. Or, you know, however you do 298 00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:15,520 your spaghetti, you could start those things and then clean, but 299 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,840 it's just going to feel so overwhelming. 300 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:19,640 And sometimes you have to do it for your sake of time. 301 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,240 I get it. But ideally you want to get 302 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:27,320 completely down to dish 0, all the, all the surfaces tidy 303 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,600 because there's just a psychological thing when you're 304 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:32,160 cleaning in a, in a clean environment. 305 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,600 And obviously no matter what you need to clean in a sanitary 306 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:38,640 environment. I'm just kind of trying to talk 307 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:43,080 you out of having something soaking in the sink and just 308 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:50,000 wiping down surfaces or just cleaning the prep area and the 309 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,080 stove and, you know, maybe having one counter full of dirty 310 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,480 dishes or something. I'm trying to talk you out of 311 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,000 that. I realize sometimes you're 312 00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:59,480 pressed for time. You have a time limit. 313 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:01,520 Dinner's got to be ready at a certain time. 314 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,560 Well, start your afternoon routine a little bit earlier, 315 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:09,520 because if your kitchen's perfect when you start cooking, 316 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,880 you're going to clean as you go, and it's going to be so much 317 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:19,840 easier after dinner because most of the work is going to be done 318 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,600 before you even serve the meal. OK, I'm going to give you a 319 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,560 couple more minutes to wash any dishes. 320 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:29,680 Maybe you're just doing a quick reload of the dishwasher and 321 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,760 getting that running OK Pause the episode if you need more 322 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,440 time. Typically there aren't a lot of 323 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:43,160 dishes in the afternoon. A lot of times what I do though 324 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:47,400 is I put a few things into the dishwasher and I put a little 325 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,960 post it note on the dishwasher that says dirty. 326 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:53,200 That way after dinner I can finish loading the dishwasher 327 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:55,640 and run it. Sometimes I I just submerge 328 00:20:55,640 --> 00:21:00,640 those lunch dishes and wipe my surfaces and start cooking and 329 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,280 worry about the dishes afterward and then everything goes into 330 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,760 the dishwasher at the end. You know, especially on a busy 331 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,880 day like today, the lunch dishes are probably going to be in the 332 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:14,760 sink or something when I cook. But whenever possible, I like to 333 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:19,120 hand wash those lunch dishes because it's usually only a few 334 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:22,840 things. OK, A lot of times lunch can be 335 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:27,560 served on a paper towel if it's quesadillas or sandwiches or 336 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:30,160 something like that. And then you don't really have a 337 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,680 lot of lunch dishes. Maybe it's just one skillet you 338 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:36,160 used if if you've, if anyone even eats at home. 339 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:41,200 OK, make sure you wipe down your countertops, your cabinets, your 340 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,360 stove top, your tables and chairs. 341 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:48,000 Clean out your sink or at least one side of it if you have 342 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:52,160 something soaking. OK, and if you're ahead of the 343 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:56,360 game, you can always do a weekly deep cleaning task, Something 344 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:59,560 like cleaning out your refrigerator or microwave or 345 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,880 organizing the pantry or mopping the floors. 346 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:08,120 Maybe you swept your kitchen floor earlier and your kitchen 347 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,040 is super clean and you have time to mop it. 348 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,880 OK, or maybe you want to just quickly dust your living room 349 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,920 furniture. Or maybe you want to just binge 350 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:22,240 the show and after this like listen to a bathroom deep 351 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,240 cleaning episode. But for a lot of you, you just 352 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:33,880 wanted to get your laundry switched over and your kitchen 353 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:39,280 pre cleaned to prepare for dinner and your front entrance 354 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:43,640 and living area picked up, your bedroom picked up, things like 355 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,520 that. Maybe it's time to just freshen 356 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:52,200 up a little bit and relax so that you're not flustered when 357 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,720 your kids or spouse get home. Or maybe you're freshening up to 358 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:57,920 go pick somebody up from school or work. 359 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:03,480 If you don't have anywhere you got to be and nobody's getting 360 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,400 home just yet, I encourage you to binge the show. 361 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,280 I also encourage you to subscribe to bonus content. 362 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:14,680 For a very small monthly fee, you can unlock even more 363 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:19,960 cleaning motivation and be on the full program, so to speak. 364 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:23,200 If this episode's helping you, you're going to want to get on 365 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,640 the full program. Special thanks to those who are 366 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:31,760 already supporting the show by subscribing to Clean With Me 367 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:37,960 Unplugged episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or via a 368 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,880 Patreon subscription. But even just listening to these 369 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,040 free eisodes helps me. I appreciate each and everyone 370 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,880 of you. And as always, happy cleaning. 371 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:48,480 I'll talk to you in the next episode.