Hi everyone. I'm Ronnie.
And I'm Jessica. And you're listening to Clean
with me. The podcast where we walk you
through cleaning your house. Thanks for joining me.
It's time to. Gear up for our.
Cleaning session. I hope everyone had a happy
Thanksgiving. I know we.
Did we visited both? Sides of our family out in
California, and now we're back and we're back to.
The. Usual routine other than
finishing up some laundry from the trip, It's time to.
Gear up for your. Cleaning session.
Maybe you're like me and you need to.
Heat up your wax. Warmer so you can dump out the
old wax and put in some fresh new wax.
Or maybe you want to light a candle?
I'm still doing a pumpkin spice scent and I definitely want to
get something Christmassy. While we were out of town, my
middle daughter. Erica put up our.
Christmas. Tree for us so.
I'm ready to switch to a Christmas scent in my wax
warmer, but. Just use whatever wax you have
or whatever candle you have. And maybe take out the trash,
Run the garbage. Disposal if your kids have a
habit of. You know, dropping things in
there and not not running it or someone else an adult in.
Your house does that. Just whatever you need to do to
get your house smelling. Good, that's.
Often a good. Place to.
Start. And of course, you may want to
start some laundry. OK, I definitely.
Ran my washing machine already once today and I'm planning to
do it again. However, the theme of this
episode is small habits that can help.
You keep your house. Tidy and clean and help you stay
on top of. Housework.
Like laundry and dishes as well. May 1 of the points I wanted to
make. Was.
That you may need to get out of the.
Habit of. Washing and drying several loads
of laundry in the same. Day if you don't.
Fold them and put them away. I've been guilty of this off and
on and so I'm going to try once I get caught up on all the trip
laundry and everything I'm going to.
Try to get back. On the wagon, which I do now and
then of the one load a day start to finish.
Wash dry. Fold and put.
Away because. It's not very overwhelming to
fold and put away one load of laundry, but even 2 can feel a
little overwhelming, especially during this busy time of year.
That part may not resonate. With you, but we all.
Struggle in different areas and kind of what?
This episode is about. Is preventing things from
building up in all different areas and some of these may not
be an issue. For you but.
Some will. And of course, like in every
typical cleaning talk through, I'm going to.
Talk you through some housework. While I make these points about
ways that you can improve right now and even going into the new
year. For a lot of us.
You know, once Thanksgiving's over, it kind of kicks off the
Christmas season and we're starting to think about
shopping, making handmade gifts, possibly we might have extra
social events that we're attending and things like.
That so it's important to do those little.
Things. To keep our heads above.
Water and avoid having to do a marathon cleaning session.
Now, that having been said, I am going.
To release another 2. Hour bonus episode this.
Week. That would be great.
For just a day when you have some extra time because even
during this busy season. Typically, we all have.
One day a week, or we can put a couple hours into our house if
we really want to. And that's what I'm trying to
help you do with those bonus episodes.
So that your house. Gets a good once over and some
different topics I'm going to. Cover that were requested.
By financial supporters are cleaning your pet areas and also
doing some basement work. Not all all of us have a
basement, so I'm going to say basement.
Or garage. Because some of us, you know,
our garage is kind of the equivalent of a basement as far
as where we store things. OK, hopefully by now.
You've geared up for your. Cleaning session Your house is
smelling good and you've. Started a load of.
Laundry if you need. To if.
You need to do more, like maybe freshen yourself up and get.
Dressed for the day. Maybe pause the episode.
The next thing I want you to do is gather up dishes from around
the house. This may or may not.
Apply to you. But some of us might have.
A cup. Or a bowl on the night stand.
A mug on an end table. Dishes in teen in a teenager's
room. Definitely not allowed, but
sometimes they don't follow the rule and clear those.
This may not apply to everybody, but another thing that you can.
Gather up even if you are good about.
Taking. Dishes to the kitchen.
As soon as you use them, you could gather up other items that
you want to wash, for example a. Toothbrush holder that you're.
Running through the dishwasher or some children's.
Toys. Some waterproof.
Children's toys that you want to sanitize in the dishwasher.
Have you ever noticed? There's always somebody.
Sick at Thanksgiving if you go. To a large.
Gathering, it just never fails. I think when we got there my mom
was mentioning she had a slight cold and I was.
Like, OK, well, I'll. Admit my youngest son seems to
have you know. A slight cold, but.
Then at at another gathering we went to, everybody seemed to be
in good. Health.
But we interacted with a lot of people.
And I guess a lady who my husband shook hands.
With who was a girlfriend of a relative.
We heard the next day that. She woke up.
Violently I'll that night and then like a day later my husband
got real sick. So we had our RV so luckily he
had a place. To kind of convalesce when he
wasn't feeling well and I brought a little food out to him
and stuff like that. But there's always.
Germs, so maybe you need to sanitize something and once you.
Get all those. Dishes or other items that you
want to wash to the kitchen, It's time to kind of get set up
for doing. Dishes this could.
Mean emptying a drying rack or emptying your dishwasher and
then reloading it with those easy items that don't need to
be. Scrubbed.
You know, basically doing an empty reload and run of your.
Dishwasher. Or it could.
Mean pre rinsing and getting that first sink load soaking.
Or it. Could be a combination.
Of both if you use both a. Dishwasher and hand wash.
You might want to get some pots and pans soaking and do your
empty preload, reload and run. And as always, if you.
Are in a mode where you're keeping up on dishes and you're
not going into. This episode with a backlog of
dishes to wash. Great.
Give yourself a. Pat on the back.
You're ahead of the. Game you can use this time to do
more work in the kitchen there's almost.
Always something you can. Do in the kitchen.
Whether it's. Wiping down cabinets, walls,
organizing your pantry, organizing your cupboards,
cleaning out a junk drawer, washing out your wastebasket,
cleaning baseboards, sweeping, mopping.
I mean, the Sky's the limit. There's just so much to do in a
kitchen as far as deep cleaning chores.
So I encourage you to stay in the kitchen during this segment,
but for. Those of you who.
Are getting your dishes. Started.
We're going to come back and finish the kitchen.
A little later, after we've. Straightened up the front room
and entryway, but for now. Just get those dishes.
Started and while you're doing that, I want I want to give you
a few. Pieces of advice for.
Kind of simplifying your household routines during this
busy season and. Always.
Ideally these would. Become lifelong.
Habits for you. So one thing I want you to keep
in mind. Is that whether you do certain?
Things weekly or daily is going to be unique to you, but it's
important to kind of decide on what needs to be done.
Weekly versus daily. And sometimes when you're
deciding to do something weekly. It's because you do.
It far less than weekly. A lot of household.
Chores need to be done. Either daily or weekly.
Obviously there are deeper. Cleaning chores like cleaning
out a closet, cleaning out the garage, detailing your stove
hood, washing windows, et cetera that don't need to be done
weekly. But this show?
Is mainly about kind of the daily and weekly grind, so some
things you might not be doing at least weekly could include
cleaning your bathrooms. Or you may be.
Cleaning the bathroom once a week or once every two weeks,
and it's kind of a. Disaster by the.
Time you get to it and if somebody.
Asks to use your. Bathroom in the meantime or just
if you're using it, it is less than pristine.
So with. Bathrooms I recommend a weekly
deep clean, but I also recommend daily touch.
UPS. With my whole house.
Approach. Even though you're not cleaning
your. Whole house, every day.
I recommend walking into each room of.
Your house every single day. So let's let's say that this was
a day. Where you were listening to a
Clean Your Bedroom episode. I would still.
Recommend doing an empty reload and run of the.
Dishwasher giving your countertops a swipe?
Doing a. Little touch up in your
bathroom, sanitizing the toilet, wiping down the sink, those
types of things. Some of these.
Little daily habits. May only take a minute or two
and can be incorporated in with your daily routine.
You know, or like just a 5 minute.
Pickup of your outer areas or your bedroom floor so.
Definitely think about what you want to do weekly and also what
you want to do. Daily to prevent buildup because
for a lot of us, we get. Overwhelmed with the buildup,
and that could be with laundry, dishes, or even just, you know,
surface cleaning. Throughout your house.
Hopefully by now you've. Gotten your dishes started?
And you're ready to straighten up your entryway and front room.
And if your entryway and front room are already looking good,
of course, pick another. Area to focus on.
Maybe you have a second living area in your room, like a family
room that's further into your house or maybe your bedroom
needs. Work.
And it needs a lot of. Work.
So you want to dedicate this time but.
For a lot of. Us, the entryway and front room
would be the next step. You might have more.
People stopping by this. Time of year and I know in.
Today's culture, we don't stop by.
Unannounced as much. However, when we were out of
town, my husband and I were running around and we had just
gone to lunch with some family members.
My husband just started heading to a friend's house and I.
Quickly realized where we. Were going when I realized what
neighborhood we were in and I said did you call him or text
him to let him know you were coming and he's like Nope.
And I kind of. Thought about the fact.
That my husband has been stopping by this guy's.
House for years. Dating back to before we had
cell phones, so he's just in the habit.
Of doing this so we. Go back to the hometown and he
just does the same thing shows. Up at the guy's house.
And the guy seemed a. Little surprised he's like.
Oh man, my hair's messed. Up.
So definitely people like to get a text.
In most cases. Before you just show.
Up on their doorstep. But maybe if?
You're like this guy, people just show up at your house.
Because they've been doing it. For years, but.
Even if you're not expecting a friend to drop by or a neighbor
to knock on your. Door.
What about just? Enjoying your Christmas
decorations, keeping that front entrance and living room clean
can provide a more festive atmosphere and allow you to
enjoy. The.
Decorating you may have already done.
No judgment here if you're not super into decorating.
But we've put a few. Decorations up, not many.
I need to go out in the garage and check.
To see what else I. Have because in addition to
putting up the tree, which my daughter did for me, I also.
Put a few. Things around the house, and I
haven't really looked through those items yet, but I did put a
couple items on the piano. I hung something on the front
door. I don't go all out.
Some of you might be setting up like an entire Christmas
village. All the more reason to keep your
front room clean and keep the focus on your.
Decor. But I'm a little bit minimalist,
I think, when it comes to decor. If I'm having guests from out of
town, I tend to do more. But I'm not sure whether we're
having Christmas here. Anyway, hopefully I've given you
some motivation to straighten up your front entrance area.
Maybe you have some clutter on your launchpad, whether you're
like me and you have a piano in the living room or you have some
other little shelf unit or table there and it's got stuff on it
that you know doesn't belong there.
Obviously in any living room or family room, you want to clear
off, you know, clear up. Clear the floor. 1st and then.
Clear off your couches. Straighten your couch cushions
and throw pillows. Make sure that there isn't any
clutter on your end. Tables or other surfaces.
You want to do all that picking up, and then of course you want
to dust, and you may even need to dust your blinds or a window
sill. Music.
Hopefully you got your. Front room and entrance area
straightened up. Don't worry.
About sweeping and mopping or vacuuming.
Just yet, I. Recommend doing that at the end
of the. Episode Just.
Kind of giving your floors a once over at the end.
You can always put on some of your favorite songs.
To do that. But for now, let's quickly
straighten up your bathroom, whichever bathroom needs the
most attention. It could be your guest bathroom
if you're wanting to kind of focus on the front part of the
house and you have more than one bathroom.
Or maybe you just know your master bathroom really needs
attention. People have been dropping
clothes on the floors or you've got makeup and other stuff.
Spread all over the counters. You know where you need to work,
but do a quick straighten of a bathroom.
This is not a bathroom deep clean.
We'll get to that. Later in the episode, but during
this part of the episode, I'm just wanting you to.
Get your house tidied up so that.
You can have some instant gratification and feel.
Like you're ready for. Someone to stop by?
Or even just for your spouse to walk.
In and get a great first impression.
OK, since we often have a. Lot of work to.
Do in the kitchen, it's time to. Head back.
To the kitchen. Maybe you need to start another
sink load if you hand wash your. Dishes or if your dishwasher is.
Running and you have some stuff to hand wash.
But a lot of you are ready to start.
Tackling surfaces. Maybe you need to wipe down your
cabinets, or maybe this is just kind of a minimum day where you
want to clean your stove, your countertops, your table, and
maybe wipe down your appliance fronts.
OK, again you can do your sweeping and mopping.
After the episode. Maybe create a?
Spotify playlist where you. Listen to certain songs.
While you're. Sweeping, mopping and vacuuming.
I like to have. Earbuds in while I'm listening
to a. Podcast.
So that I can focus on what's being said and do the more.
Tedious aspects of the housework.
But then when I'm cleaning floors.
I like to just. Blur some music.
On a Bluetooth speaker. And do that and often that's
when I'm kind of delegating like, hey.
Pick this stuff up before you know I.
Get in there to vacuum. But I realized that you might
not have any help with this cleaning session, so you might
be on your own anyway. I will often start with
detailing the stove. You may need to remove some
burner covers like. If you have.
Those you know gas stove, you may need to remove those.
Grids that go. Over your burners and get in
there and really scrub. Maybe you need to get an.
SOS pad or some other type of? Steel wool pad and really scrub
in there and maybe you need to wipe down.
You probably need to wipe down. The.
Control panel of your range oven combo, whether you want to
remove the handles or just wipe them down, but you you want to,
you know, spray down your stove top and scrub.
I have a glass cook. Top, but you may.
Have a gas stove where you remove those bars.
Or you may. Have an electric stove where you
actually remove the burners to clean the trays, but.
Let's get that stove looking. Good.
And give those countertops a swipe OK and of.
Course, it's important to put everything away before you
start. Spraying it makes.
It a lot. Easier to clean when you don't
have a bunch of. Obstacles.
And I do have certain things that I move from one place to
another. For example, when I'm spraying
and wiping down my kitchen island, which I include in the.
Countertop category I will. Often move.
Things over to the. Dining room table if I.
Have a loaf of bread there or fruit basket.
I'll move that stuff over to the dining room table and then I can
return it after I'm done wiping down the.
Surfaces so while you're. Doing whatever needs to be done
in your kitchen. And of course, you might want to
spray the front of your microwave the front of your.
Refrigerator the front of your. Dishwasher, the front of your
oven. Wipe those down.
That's important to making your kitchen look clean, is wiping
the fronts of those large appliances.
And of course, you wipe down your small appliances while
you're wiping down the countertops.
You know what needs to be done in the kitchen, even if I didn't
mention it. Just keep.
Working in your kitchen while I talk.
But I wanted to give you a few more tips another one is making.
The bed each day. And notice I'm not saying each
morning because that's not feasible for everyone, some of
you. Get out of bed.
And there's still someone sleeping in the.
Bed, whether it's your spouse or a toddler.
So it's not feasible for you to make your bed as soon as you get
up. Others like that.
Time honored tradition of letting your bedding air out
where you kind of open up your bed.
This works for. Maybe a stay at home mom.
Who's there all day? And wants to just make the bed
at the end of the. Day just before your.
Husband gets home. I give you permission to do
that, I mean. I think the.
Important thing is when your spouse comes home to and it it
could. Be you could.
Be the man and that's could be your wife coming home, but our.
Statistics show. That 97% of you are women, so
that's. That's just who our listener
base is, but. When your spouse comes home to a
freshly made. Bed.
It's super. Welcoming, and it doesn't matter
if you just made it. Or if.
It's been made since the morning, so some of you, you
know, might want to make your bed every morning.
Others it might be. Part for others.
It might be. Part of your.
Routine that you do at the end of the day or just in the middle
of the day some other time. You've got to do what works for
you. But making the bed?
Each. Day makes it so much more
welcoming. To crawl into that.
Freshly made bed and that's also the time of day when you're
making the bed where you kind of remind yourself to wash your
bedding if if needed and washing your bedding once.
A week is ideal, but if it's. Less often, you know.
So be it I. Realize there are busy.
Seasons of life, but shoot for once a week on that.
We're talking about weekly. Versus daily shoot.
For making your bed daily, washing your bedding once a
week. Another thing I want to
encourage. You to do is.
Put things. Back as you use.
Them This is the biggest thing that makes a house.
Look tidy. Obviously wiping down surfaces
is important. Too, but the.
First thing people notice. About your house is.
Just whether it's generally. Tidy.
And this is easier than you think.
Because there are probably already areas of your life.
Well, I don't want to get too profound.
Not areas of your life, areas of your home.
That. You do this in OK, maybe you.
Always take your dish. To the sink and rinse it off and
put it directly into the dishwasher.
Or you always just wash your dishes.
Immediately after a meal. Great.
But you might have another weak point.
Maybe when you try on outfits and you're getting ready to go
somewhere, you. Just.
Drop them all over. Or maybe you leave all your
makeup strewn all over your bathroom vanity when you're
getting ready. Maybe you?
Pull a load out of the dryer. And don't fold it and put it
put. It away.
Before the next load comes out. We all have areas.
In which we can improve. OK, so.
You've got to. Work on putting things.
Back as you. Use them because I guarantee
that there's something that you're doing wrong in this area.
This is not to. Judge you at all?
I'm just trying to help you pinpoint what you can improve on
in this area. And you might be saying, Ronnie,
it's every area. I I leave my dishes out.
I I don't. Fold.
And put away laundry. I.
You know immediately if. I.
Am looking at a cookbook. Or whatever, I will leave it
out. On the kitchen counter for a
week. No judgement.
Here. I'm just helping you.
To. Pinpoint some problem areas.
I want you to think about which things you leave out when you
use them, whether it's ingredients in the kitchen,
whether it's laundry. Whether it's.
Clothing and shoes, whether it's crafts, games.
Other other things that you use like I always had the rule.
That if my kids play a board game, they've got to put it.
Away, right away, just for practical.
Reasons I didn't want them losing the pieces OK and I'm not
saying that you can't have like a game of.
Chess or a jigsaw puzzle perpetually set out.
You know, on your coffee table or one end of your dining.
Room table that. Could be your routine, but
that's something intentional, that's something you want to do.
There are probably things that you leave.
Out that you really. Wish you wouldn't leave out
after using them and that's what I want you to think.
About there because. Again, the first thing that you
notice about someone's home. Is whether?
There's clutter around. It's even if it's been a while
since they've cleaned their surfaces.
The clutter. Is what you notice OK?
Another thing is since things will be inadvertently left out
or you may be cleaning up after other family members, kids, a
significant other, another extended family member, even a
roommate, stop leaving A room empty handed.
OK, so let's say you're sitting in your living room watching TV
and you get. Up to use the.
Restroom or you're moving? To.
Finish your movie in the bedroom on a different.
TV Look. Around grab anything that
doesn't belong in that room and. Put it away.
Just. Stop leaving a room empty
handed. That will work wonders.
Even like the thing where I'm talking about like dishes on the
night stand. You know when you go to the
kitchen to refill your water? Glass, grab that ice cream bowl.
From your night stand. Take it with you to the.
Kitchen OK, just keeping things in the right rooms can work
wonders and also I recommend following the 60.
Second rule be working. In your kitchen while I talk.
But if something's going to only take 60 seconds to do, just do
it right then and there. Because all those 62nd.
Tasks can add up. To.
You know a huge cleaning session later on if you don't take care
of them. Right away and sometimes.
We think when. People's houses are perpetually
tidy that it? Just means they love to clean,
but what if it means they don't love to clean and they're saving
themselves work later by just being tidy in their day?
To day activities. I already mentioned you might
want to stop doing several loads in one day if you're not putting
away your laundry. Now having a laundry.
Day works great. For some people.
If they like to fold. And put away several loads in
the same day. But if that's not working for
you, you may need to change. Funny story, we have a little
bin in our room for clean laundry that comes out of the
dryer if I don't fold it. And put it away.
I dump it into. That bin My husband's pet peeve
is finding dog hair on the clothes.
Early yesterday morning, I opened my eyes and.
Saw that the dog was actually. Sleeping in that bin on top of
the laundry. Then I heard my husband kind of
moving around, you know, waking. Up or whatever.
And I see. The dog just.
Quickly jump out so she knows she's not.
Supposed to sleep there, she has a bed, but yet.
She was sleeping on that clean laundry.
So there's another motivator to keep your clean laundry, to put
away your clean laundry immediately instead of leaving
the pile that your dog can lay on if you have a dog.
Or a cat. Same thing.
Might. Might.
Apply to cats. OK.
And deciding on. Weekly versus daily.
Can apply to pet. Chores too, like what if?
You're not picking up. After your dog very.
Often. What if you made going out to
the yard and scooping poop a daily thing?
You need that daily vitamin D anyway.
You need to get outside even in the winter time, and that can
prevent you from having just a marathon pooper scooper day.
Where there's a. Bunch to pick up, you know, once
a day or. Right after the dog does its
duty, so to. Speak could be better, could be
a better routine for you. Same with cat litter.
Ideally you want to scoop it once or.
Twice a day. So that you're not just having
to go on a treasure hunt, scooping up a bunch of.
Piles. It might be less overwhelming,
or maybe you only want to do it at a certain time of the.
Day, because you don't. Really like doing it close to a
meal or something like that. Or or with.
Picking up after the. Dog, it could be that your
backyard. Is kind of muddy so you don't
want to do it when you're in your good clothes so maybe the
morning's not a good time for you but maybe just before sunset
set would be a better time you've.
Got to do what works for you. But the point is breaking down
some of these tasks into bite. Sized daily or weekly?
Tasks even picking up. After the Dog Weekly.
Might work for you. Of course, if you have kids.
Playing in the backyard. You've got to pick up daily.
So that they don't step in something OK.
Do what works. For your family, here's another
big one, Changing the time of your final kitchen clean.
If. You're always telling yourself I
really need to start cleaning the kitchen before I go.
To bed, but you're. Maybe watching a movie at the
end of the night in bed and. You've already got your.
Water and you're not heading back to the kitchen and you're
just not finding the motivation to do it.
Maybe your final kitchen clean should happen right after
dinner. So that's.
Something to think about. Sometimes we keep telling
ourselves we're going to do something and then we don't.
But. It's like a kid.
Who has homework over the weekend and tells themselves
that they don't mind doing a ton of homework at 8:00 PM on Sunday
night? Really.
Future. Them wants them.
To do a little bit. Of it on Friday afternoon and
maybe a little bit of it on Saturday and not save it all
till the last minute. Same with dishes, except as an
adult you might just leave The Dirty dishes overnight.
You know that can attract pests. You know it's going to be
harder. To.
Wash those dishes When everything is dried on, caked
on. It's going to be disheartening
to start your. Day with a backlog of dishes.
I'm not trying to guilt you or anything, I'm just saying if
it's not realistic for you to go in there late at night and
you're just not doing it, do a final kitchen clean right after
dinner. If somebody does, and maybe you
were telling yourself, well, somebody might get a bowl of ice
cream after that. Yeah, worst case, there's a
bowl. Of ice cream or there's an ice
cream bowl that someone just filled.
With water and. Left in the sink.
That's a lot. Easier to clean the next morning
than the entire dinner mess. OK, another thing you want.
To I feel like. That's probably the most
important point of this episode is doing a final kitchen clean
and deciding what time is. Ideal for you 'cause you got to
go by what you're. Willing to do and what you're
actually going to do. And last but not least, regular
decluttering is important this time of year.
You're. Probably changing from fall to
winter as. Far as your wardrobe, as far as
your kitchen. Tools and things like that.
So you may want to evaluate. Which?
Fall items you did not use and maybe purge them.
You know what did you not use at Thanksgiving?
As far as? Serving dishes and things like
that. Or which fall outfits?
Did you not wear because you tried them on and you didn't
like how they looked? OK regular decluttering every
season and even more often is ideal.
Decluttering should be a way of the life.
The one in, one out rule. You know, I just got a bunch of
new clothes, but I had gotten rid of stuff right before I got
the new stuff, so. That worked out well.
Anyway, I hope you got a lot done during.
This episode I'll be. Making a super long bonus
episode soon? Special thanks to those who
support the show financially. That's how you gain access to
bonus episodes, and you're not really going to get our full
program without those bonus episodes.
Obviously the first baby step. Is just listening to our regular
episodes and cleaning along. But if?
You really want to revolutionize your housekeeping?
You've got to subscribe. To the bonus episodes and if
you're like me, you need those two hour sessions and not all
bonus. Episodes are two hour.
Sessions, but I'm making a lot of those.
Lately and I'm. Going to be talking.
About pet chores and. Basement or garage organization
and cleaning in the Upcom coming bonus episode.
So don't miss that. Thank you so much for listening.
Even just listening to our show helps if you can't support us
financially. Please give us five stars and a
positive. Review wherever you listen to
podcasts. And as always, happy cleaning.
I'll talk to you soon.