1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,480 Thanks for joining me in today's episode. 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:07,400 I'm going to talk you through a morning routine that will help 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:12,760 set the stage for a clean house all day long. 4 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:15,080 Let's get right into the episode. 5 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,120 It's time to gear up for our cleaning session. 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,640 Maybe you need to freshen up for the day. 7 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,160 Put on something comfortable yet presentable. 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,440 Run a brush through your hair, wash your face, or even put on a 9 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:31,400 little makeup. Whatever makes you feel ready 10 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,520 for the day. Now's the time to do that. 11 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,840 Another thing that people like to do when gearing up for a 12 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:43,640 cleaning session is straighten up the immediate front entrance. 13 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:50,080 Those 10 feet by your front door or sometimes people want to get 14 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,760 their house smelling fresh. And if you take out the trash, 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,840 that'll get your blood pumping and get you outside and get some 16 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:00,720 sunlight on you. Or maybe you just want to light 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:05,120 a candle or put some fresh wax in the wax warmer. 18 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,480 If you're new to the show, this is the podcast where I literally 19 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:13,440 talk you through the process of cleaning your house. 20 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:19,280 I'm going to be creating a new intro soon since my daughter 21 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,520 Jessica is no longer on the show. 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,640 If you haven't already noticed, she has left Clean with Me and 23 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,760 she'll be focusing on her spin off show that she's had for a 24 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,120 while now and it's Cleaning with Jessica. 25 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:39,000 So if you like true crime and you like these cleaning talk 26 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,640 throughs, be sure that you're also subscribed to Jessica's 27 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:47,480 show Cleaning With with Jessica. But I'll be creating a new intro 28 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:52,120 for my show soon. While you're gearing up for your 29 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:56,000 cleaning session, I'll just give you an update on something 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:01,240 that's going on at our house. My 18 year old son has joined 31 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:03,560 the Marine Corps. Yes, that happened. 32 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,040 So he's still in high school. So he's in what's called the 33 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:11,240 delayed entry program. He's also in the early college 34 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:16,080 program, meaning he's going to be graduating with both a high 35 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,080 school diploma and an associate's degree. 36 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,160 But he's in the delayed entry program for the military because 37 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:24,840 he's going to leave after graduation. 38 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,960 So he has little meetings that he goes to with the other guys 39 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:35,280 who are waiting to go to basic training this summer and he's 40 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:41,400 super excited about it. So that's definitely a surprise 41 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,640 for us. And we're we're proud of him, 42 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,960 but we're also a little nervous about it, I guess, which I think 43 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,320 is natural. He's a super smart kid. 44 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:51,960 He scored really high on the ASVAB. 45 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:56,600 He has his choice of careers that he can choose from in the 46 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:58,800 military. Hopefully by now you've done 47 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:03,080 whatever you needed to do to gear up for your cleaning 48 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,040 session. The first thing I'm going to 49 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:11,160 want you to do is make your bed. And I know some of you might be 50 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:13,920 saying I can't make my bed in the morning because someone's 51 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,440 still in the bed. I go sleep with a toddler or I 52 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,920 get up before my spouse does. OK, if there's someone still in 53 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:24,720 the bed, you have my permission not to make the bed. 54 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:31,280 But making the bed in the morning is definitely a good 55 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,440 habit to get into if it's possible. 56 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,360 And obviously you can come back later when everybody's up and 57 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,160 make the bed, unless you head off to work while people are 58 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,160 still sleeping and then someone else can make the bed or it can 59 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,480 get left unmade. I get that. 60 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:51,720 But for most of us, we can make our bed in the morning and it is 61 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:56,240 definitely a springboard task because it instantly makes your 62 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:01,840 room look better. And then it also kind of does 63 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,360 something magical where it makes you want to straighten up your 64 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:05,480 room. It makes you want to pick up 65 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,720 dirty laundry off the floor and makes you want to clear that 66 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,600 coffee mug off the night stand. And it just helps get you 67 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,519 started on cleaning your room. Don't take this in the wrong 68 00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:19,079 way, but show me someone who does not make their bed in the 69 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:22,480 morning and I'll show you someone with kind of a messy or 70 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,080 cluttered bedroom. Just it is what it is. 71 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,680 I'm sure the exception proves the rule, but usually people who 72 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,640 make their beds keep their room tidier. 73 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,880 So there's your little pep top there. 74 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,480 If it's been over a week since you've washed your bedding, you 75 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,120 might want to strip your bed and put your fresh set of sheets on 76 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,240 it. And you know, even your 77 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:49,600 alternate comforter. We even use an alternate 78 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,600 comforter when one of them's in the wash or sometimes I just 79 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,360 make the bed with just sheets, wash the comforter and put the 80 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,760 same one on. But I like to have a complete 81 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:05,200 set of everything ready and, but if this is not a day that you're 82 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:07,320 washing your bedding, it's only going to take you about 60 83 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:11,600 seconds to make your bed. Whether you're changing your 84 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,280 sheets or quickly making the bed. 85 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:17,800 Once your bed is made, I want you to spend a couple minutes 86 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,920 straightening up your room. I want that to be part of your 87 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,280 morning routine. Although you may be listening to 88 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:28,960 this at any time because you'll find that morning routines and 89 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,960 evening routines are similar in a lot of ways, except for the 90 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,520 bed making part. So if you're listening to this 91 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:38,920 in the evening, maybe ignore the part about making the bed unless 92 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,680 your spouse is about to come home from work and you want to 93 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:46,040 have the bed made so it's nice and welcoming for that person, 94 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,680 but the ship might have already sailed as far as making the bed. 95 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:56,000 If you're going to bed soon, I get that, But spend the next 96 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:01,040 couple minutes straightening up your bedroom, whether someone's 97 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:05,320 just dropping clothes on the floor, you or your spouse, or 98 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:09,480 maybe you're a little neater than that, but you're draping a 99 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,440 lot of laundry over a chair or something. 100 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,400 Let's put that stuff away. Let's make sure that the shoes 101 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,720 are in the closet, in the shoe rack. 102 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:23,920 Let's deal with those handbags and tote bags. 103 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,040 By the way, if you're getting ready for work right now, I'll 104 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,680 just tell you my little routine because I currently work part 105 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:33,680 time. Some of you know this, but in 106 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,520 case you're new to this show, I currently work part time as a 107 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:41,200 substitute teacher slash teacher's aide and I normally 108 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:43,520 only work Tuesdays and Thursdays. 109 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,960 I'm not counting this podcast as work because it's definitely a 110 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,080 labor of love. Arguably I could call it working 111 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:51,760 from home, but it's a labor of love. 112 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,120 It's what I love. So they say if you do what you 113 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,000 love, you'll never work a day in your life. 114 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,840 But sometimes you have a part time job on top of that anyway 115 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,240 and don't feel like you can't relate to me if you work full 116 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:09,720 time or you are a full time homemaker. 117 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,680 I've done it all. I've worked full time, part 118 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:16,200 time, just cared for my family and kids, which isn't a just 119 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,920 because it's a lot. But anyway, when I'm getting 120 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:23,480 ready for work, I will put my tote bag and my purse on the 121 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:28,920 piano bench as I'm placing items in those bags to get ready to 122 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,200 go. That's that's my launchpad, so 123 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,760 to speak. Your launchpad by the front door 124 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:37,320 might be a bench or a little table. 125 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,680 Mines the piano bench because we have a perfect spot for a piano 126 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,480 in our entryway. I noticed it when we were buying 127 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,680 the house. And so our piano is there in the 128 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:52,200 entryway and the piano benches where I put things that are 129 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,040 heading out the door immediately. 130 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,640 Sometimes something that's going to head out the door at a later 131 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,200 time will go on the back of the piano. 132 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,880 It's an upright piano, like a package I need to take to the 133 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,840 post office tomorrow would go up on top of the piano. 134 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,840 That's also where I keep the key basket where we put our keys 135 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,120 when we walk into the door, in the door. 136 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,880 I highly recommend having either a key rack, but you hang keys 137 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:21,480 on, or a key basket and it should be out of reach of any 138 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:23,560 toddlers who might lose your keys. 139 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,360 And also some kind of a launchpad area for things that 140 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:29,760 you're taking with you when you head out the door. 141 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,640 So if you're getting ready for work or something, maybe put 142 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:39,760 your tote bag and your purse and keys and whatever else out there 143 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,760 at the launchpad. Because I'll put everything out 144 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:46,320 there while I'm getting ready for work so that I don't have 145 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:51,800 any panics at the last minute. And then I'll go make my lunch 146 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,880 and then put it into the tote bag that's already there and 147 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,840 whatever. So anyway, just a thought on 148 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,480 launch pads. By now you've probably 149 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,360 straightened up your room and made the bed. 150 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:11,280 It doesn't take that long, so let's talk about getting your 151 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,520 machines running. OK, you guys know that I like to 152 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:20,360 get both machines running, maybe 3 machines running even. 153 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,880 But the first machine I'm referring to is your washing 154 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:25,800 machine. Maybe you need to switch the 155 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,320 laundry from the washer into the dryer and start a new load. 156 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:32,960 Or maybe both your washer and dryer are empty and you want to 157 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:39,240 just start a load of wash. OK, that could be your first 158 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:45,000 machine. And definitely set a timer about 159 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,640 doing a laundry switch. And if you're heading off to 160 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,880 work outside the home, I do not recommend starting a load of 161 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:52,920 laundry right before you leave unless there's going to be 162 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:58,200 somebody to switch that load. OK, but some of you want to 163 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,240 start a load of laundry. If you don't need to start a 164 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,400 load of laundry, you can use this segment of the episode to 165 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:10,680 straighten up your laundry area. OK, whether it's a laundry room 166 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:17,200 with dusty shelves and random items on the floor or it's an 167 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:23,320 area of your garage and you need to vacuum the rug that's in 168 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,040 front of your washer and dryer because I hope you have a rug. 169 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,640 If you do laundry out in the garage, I think I think you 170 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:30,160 should have a rug. That way you can go out there 171 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:34,760 barefoot and if something falls, it's not on the bare garage 172 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,480 floor. Just a thought, but when I had a 173 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,760 washer and dryer in the garage, I had like throw rugs in front 174 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,520 of the washer and dryer. Maybe your washer and dryer is 175 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,760 in your kitchen pantry. We had that at one house and I 176 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:53,040 know some of you across the pond, your house is designed 177 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,240 with a washer and dryer in the kitchen as well. 178 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,720 So that's a thing at this house. We have one of those typical 179 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:04,440 laundry rooms that is on the way out to the garage, and our 180 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,720 laundry room is pretty small, but there's room for a hamper 181 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,720 and there are shelves above the washer and dryer, which I love, 182 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:12,680 a place for the detergent and whatnot. 183 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:17,480 So that's super convenient. But hopefully by now you've made 184 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:24,240 your bed and you've started to get your load of laundry going. 185 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,800 More important than laundry though, is putting away your 186 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:33,720 clean dishes, and this could give you a chance to make your 187 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:38,720 coffee or tea or heat something up in the microwave or boil some 188 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:41,760 water for your oatmeal. I don't know what your morning 189 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:46,160 routine is, but what I've been doing lately is when I go to the 190 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:52,800 kitchen and start my little coffee Brewer, I put away the 191 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:57,680 clean dishes that are in my drying rack and dishwasher. 192 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,600 And there's a temptation when I walk into a clean kitchen to 193 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:06,240 kind of give myself a mental pack up pat on the back for 194 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,800 getting down to dish 0 the night before going to bed with a clean 195 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,080 kitchen. But it's important for me to put 196 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:16,360 away the clean stuff that's been air drying overnight. 197 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:22,240 Not just because having stuff in the drying rack could be look a 198 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,800 little cluttered if especially if it's going beyond the drying 199 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,960 rack and there's a towel next to it with even more dishes. 200 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:33,640 Because all the clean stuff might even be in the dishwasher 201 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,880 and it's out of sight. It's because having that stuff 202 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:41,640 put away makes it easier for you or someone else to wash dishes 203 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,120 as they use them. Whether your system is rinsing 204 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:48,880 things and placing them into the dishwasher or just hand washing 205 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:53,400 them and placing them into the drying rack, it's more likely to 206 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:59,960 happen if you separate the whole putting away step from the 207 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:03,480 washing step. It's just so much easier. 208 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,600 You're going to be amazed. People don't want to be playing 209 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,880 dish Django when they wash their dish and try to find a spot in 210 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:12,560 the drying rack. They also don't want to be 211 00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:15,560 guilted into putting all the clean dishes away just so they 212 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:19,360 can wash their cereal bowl. Trust me, trust the process. 213 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,280 If there's nothing in the drying rack, nothing in the dishwasher, 214 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,880 people are going to wash their dishes. 215 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,240 And even if they're not, you can't control others. 216 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:33,440 It it's probably going to work, work on you because you're the 217 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:36,840 one who cares about cleaning, because you have clicked on this 218 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,920 podcast. OK, you're probably the primary 219 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:44,160 cleaner at your house, or at least the home manager. 220 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:48,360 I'm the one creating the spreadsheet of who does what. 221 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:54,040 But that having been said, when it comes to your spouse, who you 222 00:13:54,040 --> 00:14:00,040 are not necessarily assigning chores to, they are more likely 223 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,480 to clean up after themselves if you make it easy for them and 224 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:08,480 you leave a clean environment for them to begin with. 225 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:13,840 So that's where getting down to dish 0 the night before comes in 226 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,920 and then emptying the drying rack and dishwasher in the 227 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,800 morning. And I know some of you are 228 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:21,880 feeling a little bit overwhelmed. 229 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:25,600 You're thinking, wait a second, I have dirty dishes to wash. 230 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:28,920 That's OK because another purpose of the morning routine 231 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,200 is to clean up anything that did not get cleaned up during the 232 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,880 evening routine. Life happens. 233 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,640 Sometimes we drop the ball with the evening routine. 234 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:42,080 Life isn't about just never having a dish in the sink and 235 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,480 being perfect. We're going for progress over 236 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,760 perfection. We're going for having a good 237 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:54,320 routine on most days, and facing a dish after in the morning 238 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,800 should be the exception and not the rule. 239 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:02,280 OK, but if you're new to the show, don't worry, baby steps. 240 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,200 We're going to give you time to do some dishes in case you have 241 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,720 dishes that carried over from the night before. 242 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,320 But you really don't want to bring today's mess into 243 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,960 tomorrow, so keep that in mind going forward. 244 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:22,280 Again, sometimes it's OK when something unexpected happens and 245 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,880 you have to just you know, you get home late at night and just 246 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:29,240 crash, but you really want to have a good evening routine so 247 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,480 that your morning routine can be quick. 248 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:36,520 This is supposed to be a quick morning routine that helps you 249 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:39,880 start your day, but I'm still going to make it a 30 minute 250 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,760 episode because some of you have some dishes that carried over 251 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,800 from the night before and I get that. 252 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:50,600 So put away those clean dishes and then if you have dirty ones, 253 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:55,360 start that first sink load, get the pots and pans soaking. 254 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,560 Load the dishwasher with the small stuff. 255 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:01,280 If you have a dishwasher that you use, cups, silverware, 256 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,440 plates, bowls. If not, pre rinse those items 257 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,560 and get them soaking in that first sink load. 258 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,040 And then you know, make sure you have the the dirtier items 259 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,160 soaking as well. Once the water cools down a 260 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:17,120 little bit, hand wash some stuff. 261 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,400 Or if you're like me, you get everything you can into the 262 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,200 dishwasher, especially the small stuff. 263 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,960 And then you hand wash those big pots and pans. 264 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,880 When I think of it, I get them soaking before I load the 265 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,200 dishwasher. But if not, I just might have 266 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,640 more scrubbing to do. And if you're home all day, you 267 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,560 might be able to leave something to soak until the afternoon. 268 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:44,200 Those of you with little kids, you might want to rest a little 269 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,760 bit during the nap, but sometimes you get up for a few 270 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,840 minutes during that nap and you do a quick afternoon routine. 271 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:56,480 Or if you're like me when I was doing a 40 hour remote position, 272 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:01,480 you might do an afternoon household routine on your lunch 273 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,640 break. If you're working on a computer, 274 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,560 you can probably just randomly eat while you're working. 275 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,839 I mean, you know it's probably rude to eat during the Zoom 276 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:13,240 meeting, not that I've never done that, but you're kind of 277 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,720 not supposed to eat during the Zoom meetings, but when you're 278 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:21,160 just working off camera, you can just quickly heat something up 279 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,319 and eat it. I recommend just eating while 280 00:17:24,319 --> 00:17:28,560 you're on while you're working on the computer, or maybe take a 281 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,200 10 minute break if you want to walk away and eat at the table 282 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:35,800 or something. But during your lunch break, I 283 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:41,440 recommend exercising a little bit and doing a more doing an 284 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,840 afternoon routine. As far as doing something 285 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:49,800 protect productive around the house, I was typically doing a 286 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:55,800 laundry switch, washing some dishes, and then ideally going 287 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,680 for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. 288 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:01,240 That didn't happen as often as washing dishes did. 289 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:06,640 I now have a treadmill. So if I was still working at 290 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:11,600 that remote job, I would do this thing called exercise snacks. 291 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,800 This is a little off top topic. Just be working in your kitchen. 292 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:18,040 If you're caught up on dishes, of course, organize your pantry 293 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:20,200 or wipe down surfaces or sweep and mop your floor. 294 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:21,800 There's always something to do in the kitchen. 295 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:25,640 Be working on your kitchen. But there's a thing now called 296 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:31,880 exercise snacks where they're saying if you're home all day, 297 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:36,680 it's good instead of just having like, let's say a 30 minute 298 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:42,360 walking session, breaking that up into little mini breaks where 299 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,640 you get on the treadmill for a few minutes throughout the day. 300 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:50,560 Or if you don't have a treadmill, you can do squats or 301 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,840 diagonal push ups off the countertop. 302 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:55,600 I mean, you know, lifting small weights, whatever type of 303 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:59,360 exercise that you want to do, obviously you want to get some 304 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:01,600 cardio, you want to get some strength training. 305 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,600 That part's not important. It's not what the show's about. 306 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:08,040 But I'm really big on doing something on the lunch break 307 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:11,240 other than eating, because you can eat any time in my mind. 308 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:15,800 So that's the way I did it. And there was an afternoon 309 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:17,920 routine where I switched the clothes from the washer to the 310 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,480 dryer and wash dishes. And it made such a huge 311 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:22,840 difference. And I'll tell you why. 312 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,720 During that era, my husband would get home at like 3:30 or 313 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:31,240 4, and if he came home and the kitchen was clean and I had some 314 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,320 meat thawing out on the countertop and I hadn't texted 315 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:39,280 him saying what I was making for dinner, he would definitely just 316 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:43,360 take action and cook whatever he saw that I placed on the 317 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:46,080 countertop. And a lot of times I place, you 318 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,880 know, the side dish ingredients. I just have everything kind of 319 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,600 out and the dishes would be done. 320 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,360 Remember I talked about separating the step of putting 321 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:58,880 away the clean stuff from having to wash dishes. 322 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:03,480 How about separating the step of cleaning the kitchen from 323 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:05,520 cooking? Because if somebody's going to 324 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:08,880 cook dinner after work, they certainly don't want to clean 325 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:10,320 first. OK. 326 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:12,960 And it could be you that's having to do that, or it could 327 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,280 be someone else, could be your significant other. 328 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,800 So we kind of alternated nights. It wasn't right, like 329 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,040 officially, like, it's your night to cook. 330 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,120 But if I didn't feel like cooking, I'd clean the kitchen, 331 00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:27,280 put out the ingredients. If I did feel like cooking, I'd 332 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:30,240 text him like, I'm making such and such tonight so that he 333 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:32,760 wouldn't just jump the gun and make something else. 334 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,040 So anyway, or he might text me like what? 335 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,480 What are you planning on making anything for dinner? 336 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,280 Because I was thinking about making such and such anyway. 337 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,240 Hopefully you have gotten some kind of dishes done. 338 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,000 If you're facing a disaster. No judgment here. 339 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,720 Pause this episode and phone a friend or listen to some music 340 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,760 to do more work in your kitchen. But this is about a morning 341 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,360 routine. The next step is to open your 342 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:02,960 curtains or blinds in your outer area. 343 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,200 This could be your entire downstairs. 344 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,440 It could be a front room. I don't know the layout of your 345 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:12,600 house, but I want you to let some light in and that's going 346 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,120 to help you feel energized. And it might also kind of shame 347 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:20,880 you into picking up your house faster because people, passers 348 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,200 by, can now see into your home. OK, I'm half kidding there, but 349 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,240 maybe I'm not. My mom is the type of person who 350 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:33,200 is mortified at the idea of being put on display, She calls 351 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:35,560 it. So if that's you and you have 352 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,000 blinds, you can kind of tilt them upward to where you're 353 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:40,600 letting the light in. You're feeling energized. 354 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,920 You're seeing the dust around the room that you need to, you 355 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:46,680 know, clean. But you're not on display 356 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:50,120 either. That's an option, but I 357 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:54,200 definitely encourage you to open the curtains or blinds and let 358 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,440 in some natural light. You're going to feel a lot 359 00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:59,640 better. And then I want you to do a 360 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,480 quick 5 minute pickup of your house. 361 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,800 Your mess might be concentrated in one area. 362 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:13,600 You might have a perpetually clean living area, an entryway 363 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:18,960 but kind of a disaster bedroom, or you might have clutter evenly 364 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,280 distributed throughout your home. 365 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:27,440 The important thing is to spend the next 5 minutes picking up 366 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:31,360 and some of you might be thinking, there's so much to do, 367 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:34,840 I'm overwhelmed. Just stay in motion for 5 368 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,080 minutes and you will get a lot done. 369 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,320 You'd be amazed. A lot of the procrastination 370 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,480 that happens when it comes to housework happens because we're 371 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:52,000 overestimating how much time it's going to take for us to do 372 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,400 the thing that needs to be done. So be picking up. 373 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:00,320 It could be your outer areas, it could be things that people 374 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,840 dropped in a bathroom, clothes, towels. 375 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,600 It could be sweeping a mess under a high chair that a 376 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,880 toddler made. It could be picking up foam from 377 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,240 the stuffed animals your daughter's dog shredded the 378 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:22,600 night before. It could be clearing jackets off 379 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,160 of a chair that you've draped way too many things over in your 380 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,600 bedroom. It could be picking up a 381 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,480 toddler's toys. It could be a lot of things. 382 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,080 But definitely teacher toddlers to pick up. 383 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,560 They should be involved in that process when possible. 384 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,600 But there are times where we're picking up after our kids when 385 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:45,640 they're little, obviously. So let's keep plugging away at 386 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:50,280 picking up the house. Speaking of the curtain thing, 387 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:58,920 when we lived at our house in Fort Worth, our backyard was 388 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:05,000 positioned in such a way that several two stories, numerous 2 389 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:10,840 story houses had a view overlooking our backyard. 390 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:15,080 Like from there, the windows on the backs of their houses, they 391 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,320 could look down into our backyard. 392 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:22,600 My family of origin, meaning my, my siblings, my mom don't like 393 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,800 the idea of like neighbors looking at them all the time or 394 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,120 these privacy invasions. So I remember, you know, 395 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:32,440 standing in the backyard with my brother and he's like, wow, 396 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,120 there's like 20 houses that have a view right into your backyard. 397 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:39,360 So that was, that was kind of funny and I hadn't even really 398 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:44,360 thought about it much, but I do like it that at this house I 399 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:48,200 have a cinder block wall around all of the houses in our 400 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,160 development are one story. And then I have a tall cinder 401 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,880 block wall around the yard that serves as our fence, but it's 402 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:59,920 like six to seven feet high depending on where you're 403 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:04,640 talking, and it's pretty tall. And so it feels pretty private, 404 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,800 like nobody has a real direct view into our backyard. 405 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:12,680 So if I run out there in a nightgown, chances are nobody's 406 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:15,440 going to see me. But anyway, I guess the reason 407 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,640 I'm saying that is because I do have some sheer curtains in the 408 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:24,040 dining area, and I feel like that's fine because those 409 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,080 windows are not on the front of my house. 410 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:31,200 They're on the side in the back, and of course I have proper 411 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:35,120 coverage in the bedroom, especially because I have a 412 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:39,360 darkening drape over my sliding glass door in the bedroom. 413 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:45,440 Our back door in our room faces the east, so we definitely had 414 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:50,000 to get a black darkening drape so that that sun didn't wake us 415 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,440 up early. These days I'm waking up before 416 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:57,640 the sun comes up anyway though, so I'd probably be all right 417 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:01,440 without those, but I definitely don't want anybody to be able to 418 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,360 see in my bedroom. Obviously on a bedroom you want 419 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:06,760 you want proper coverage. That's not where you have the 420 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:11,560 sheer curtains usually. So anyway, I'm hoping you got 421 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,880 your house picked up. The last step is just wiping 422 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:19,480 some surfaces. Maybe you need to dust. 423 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,560 We talked about letting light in so that you could see the dust. 424 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,920 Maybe you need to dust your coffee table, end table, other 425 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:32,040 surfaces in your living areas. Or maybe you need to give your 426 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:39,760 countertops a swipe or wipe down some surfaces in your bathroom. 427 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:44,680 A great morning routine after you get ready is to wipe down 428 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:48,360 your vanity area and mirror, maybe give the toilet bowl a 429 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:50,920 swish. Just kind of some maintenance in 430 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,840 between. Deeper cleans can happen with 431 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:57,400 these morning routines. And I was talking about an 432 00:26:57,400 --> 00:26:59,880 afternoon routine. If you're home in the 433 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:03,680 afternoons, think about what you want to do in the mornings 434 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,120 versus the afternoons. A lot of times the afternoon 435 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:08,880 routine is kind of a follow up to the morning routine. 436 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:13,800 Like if you start some laundry, you do the laundry switch, or if 437 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:18,240 you put away clean dishes before breakfast, maybe you're cleaning 438 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,080 up the breakfast dishes on your lunch break if you didn't have 439 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,360 time to do it when you were getting people off to school. 440 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:25,960 I realize not everybody has school aged kids, but it's just 441 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,360 an example. The key to a clean home is 442 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:32,960 tidying up, washing dishes, things like that at different 443 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:36,960 points in the day instead of just at one point because then 444 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,640 it becomes overwhelming. So whether you have a morning, 445 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:45,880 afternoon and evening routine or just a morning and evening, do 446 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:50,280 something that works for you. Hopefully you're wiping surfaces 447 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,160 while I'm talking. By the way, special special 448 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,240 thanks to our financial supporters who unlock bonus 449 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,440 episodes by supporting the show financially. 450 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,640 Your financial support means more than you know, but I also 451 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,280 understand that not everyone can do that. 452 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,800 That's OK because just listening to this show helps. 453 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:15,680 Be sure to click follow on whichever app you listen on so 454 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,200 that you don't miss upcoming episodes. 455 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:23,320 I'm super excited that I interviewed Dana White of A Slob 456 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:28,040 Comes Clean the other day and the episode is coming out 457 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:32,640 Monday, February 3rd. I'm super excited about that, so 458 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:37,440 don't miss that episode. By the way, this episode was to 459 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:41,240 replace the audio of an episode that had a lot of musical 460 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,680 interludes. Going forward, I'm only going to 461 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:48,080 put the musical interludes in the two hour bonus episodes. 462 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:52,360 And as far as bonus episodes, I'm going to be alternating 463 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:56,560 between two hour bonus episodes and one hour bonus episodes. 464 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:01,760 The regular episodes are typically going to be in the 20 465 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:06,640 to 35 minute range, whereas the bonus episodes are going to be 466 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,920 one to two hours long. Going forward, I hope you got a 467 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,880 lot done during this episode. I appreciate each and every one 468 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,040 of you. And as always, happy cleaning. 469 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:18,000 I'll talk to you soon.