1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,360 I'm Ronnie and you're listening to Clean With Me, the podcast 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,360 where I talk you through cleaning your house. 3 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:15,080 I had a dream last night that someone was let in through my 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:21,560 bedroom patio door and ushered into my master bathroom. 5 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,720 I had seen it on a security camera and was trying to picture 6 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:31,480 whether or not my bathroom was clean enough for guests, so I 7 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,200 took that as a sign to have you clean your bathroom. 8 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,960 In this episode, a lot of you are listening while cleaning 9 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,120 your kitchen, so we're going to do that too. 10 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,880 It's time to gear up for your cleaning session. 11 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,800 Maybe you need to freshen up for the day and get dressed into 12 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,280 something that's comfortable yet presentable. 13 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,160 Run a brush through your hair, wipe the old makeup off from 14 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,840 under your eyes, or wash your face and put on a full face and 15 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,080 makeup. Whatever it takes for you to 16 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,040 feel ready for the day, now's the time to do that. 17 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,160 And of course, some of you might want to light a candle, start a 18 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,360 wax warmer, take out the trash to get your house smelling 19 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,000 fresh. While you're doing one of those 20 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,960 things that I just mentioned, I'll just let you know the theme 21 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:22,720 of this episode and its change starts with you. 22 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:27,840 A lot of times we make excuses that other people in our 23 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:32,320 household are messing up the house, our spouse, our kids. 24 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:37,280 And I get it, that definitely can be an obstacle. 25 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,080 But in this episode, I'm going to encourage you to stop waiting 26 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:44,760 for your spouse to change. Obviously with kids could be a 27 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,920 discipline issue, and I'm real big on having chore lists for 28 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,920 kids and consequences and rewards and all the things. 29 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,000 But when it comes to other adults in your house, people 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,280 change when they want to change, and they're also heavily 31 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:05,200 influenced by those who they spend the most time with. 32 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:10,320 So when you turn over a new leaf in your house, I know people 33 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,200 aren't automatically going to do exactly what you do, but they 34 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,480 are going to do better in a clean environment. 35 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,640 If you don't believe me, just test it out. 36 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,880 The first thing I want you to do is gather up dishes from around 37 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:25,800 the house. Just make sure all your dishes 38 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,680 are in the sink or next to the sink so that we can be as 39 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,560 efficient as possible when cleaning your kitchen. 40 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,680 The next thing I want you to do is make sure you have the proper 41 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,640 tools. New day, new rag, folks, get a 42 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:44,080 clean dish rag. Make sure that you have other 43 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:46,000 tools that you like to use handy. 44 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,920 Maybe you like to use a sponge that's abrasive on one side, 45 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:53,480 soft on the other. Maybe you like to use a scrub 46 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:59,320 brush with a handle or even one of those dishwashing wands where 47 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,200 you can put dish soap in the handle. 48 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,880 Gather up your favorite tools. And then the next step, of 49 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,920 course, is to put away clean dishes. 50 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,640 OK, this could mean emptying your dishwasher. 51 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,960 It could mean emptying your drying rack. 52 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:22,480 It could mean clearing off a drying pad or a towel where 53 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:27,280 you've laid out clean dishes. Let's get all of those items put 54 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:28,800 away. You might be tempted to skip 55 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,680 this step, but don't you need to be able to quickly set things 56 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,080 down after you wash them? And if you're like me, you're 57 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,600 going to put some things in the dishwasher and you're going to 58 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,920 hand wash other items. Or if you're completely 59 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,480 overwhelmed today, you could always do 2 dishwasher loads. 60 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,000 OK, that's kind of an emergency measure. 61 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,080 I'll, I'll talk about another emergency measure too. 62 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,560 But the first thing I want you to do once you've gotten 63 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:02,120 everything to the kitchen is get any difficult items. 64 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:07,200 Soaking that pot, that pan, that cookie sheet with burnt on food 65 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,920 residue. Let's get some hot soapy water 66 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:16,760 into those pans and get them soaking while we move on to 67 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:22,160 washing the easier stuff while you're getting those more 68 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,080 difficult items soaking. And of course, as always, if 69 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,760 you're caught up on dishes, just be cleaning the surfaces in your 70 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,000 kitchen. But for a lot of you, you're 71 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,760 getting those difficult items soaking while you're doing that. 72 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,160 I just wanted to talk about something that you might be able 73 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:43,720 to do here in a few minutes, and that's letting a sink load soak 74 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,280 with a dishwasher pod in the dishwater. 75 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,000 This is a shortcut that I do from time to time. 76 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,440 And then you come back an hour later and you don't have to 77 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,720 scrub. I haven't done this in a while, 78 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:03,240 but it's just one of those emergency techniques when you're 79 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,560 short on time and you need to go do something else for a while 80 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:08,760 and then come back to the dishes. 81 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,000 I'm talking about those days where you're facing a dish 82 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,840 shaster. OK, you you know what that means 83 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:18,800 If you've been listening to the show for a while, it's where not 84 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,480 everything fits in the dishwasher or can be hand washed 85 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,400 in just a couple sink loads. But once you've gotten those 86 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:29,680 difficult items soaking, you might want to quickly straighten 87 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,680 up your countertops. This gives you a quick win and 88 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,080 could possibly improve the view from the front door. 89 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,800 I'm really big on good first impressions. 90 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:47,600 If someone else in my family walks in, I don't want to look 91 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,160 like I haven't done anything when I have. 92 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:53,560 So that's why I clean in an order of priority. 93 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:57,280 That starts with the view from the front door. 94 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:01,200 This isn't a living room or front entrance episode, but if 95 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,160 there's a glaring problem by your front entrance, you might 96 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,880 want to take care of that. But as far as my kitchen, the 97 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,920 kitchen island can be seen from the front door and one corner of 98 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,720 the countertop, and there might be a part of your kitchen that 99 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,400 can be seen from the front door. I like to get that part of the 100 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:25,360 countertop cleared off quickly. Maybe there is empty food 101 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:31,000 packaging there, or maybe people are just putting their backpacks 102 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,320 and other miscellaneous items on the countertop. 103 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:39,800 Let's get that cleared off for a streamlined first impression 104 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:46,280 when you look into the kitchen. But once you've done that little 105 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:51,400 bit of straightening, it's it's time to either load your 106 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:56,440 dishwasher or start that first sink load. 107 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,200 And for me, starting the first sink load would be pre rinsing 108 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:07,160 the silverware, the bowls, maybe the cups if it's not too much 109 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,440 stuff. I don't like to overload the 110 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:15,160 sink, especially with breakable items with fragile glasses and 111 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:17,520 mugs. I will often get those soaking 112 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:19,280 kind of like with the pots and pans. 113 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:23,880 You know when you get that ring of coffee or chocolate or milk 114 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:29,320 in the bottom of a glass or mug, a little bit of dish soap and 115 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,200 some hot water in the cup can go a long way. 116 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:37,840 So I'll get those soaking while I get the bowls, plates and 117 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,720 silverware into the sink if I'm hand washing. 118 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,560 OK, I realize some of you are loading a dishwasher. 119 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,040 Some of you are hand washing that small stuff. 120 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:51,960 So just be working on dishes, whatever that means for you. 121 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:57,000 But if you do need to do an additional sink load and it's 122 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,760 time for us to move on to the bathroom a little later in the 123 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:05,360 episode, you can always put the remaining items in the sink with 124 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,360 hot water, a little bit of liquid dish soap, and a 125 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:16,320 dishwasher pod for a super soak. That is going to get the stuff 126 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,200 virtually clean already without any scrubbing. 127 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:23,720 And then you can come back and rinse those items off like an 128 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,840 hour later. And in that situation, I would 129 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,400 recommend setting a timer because this episode is not 130 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,200 going to be an hour long, setting a timer to get back to 131 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:33,480 it. So just be plugging away on the 132 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:36,799 dishes, whatever that means for you, even if you need to leave a 133 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,320 load to soak and then set a timer. 134 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:44,080 I talked about this in the last episode, but the important thing 135 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:48,280 when leaving things to soak is that you're coming back to them 136 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,760 later in the day. You don't want to, excuse me, 137 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:54,680 You don't want to leave them overnight. 138 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,720 You don't want to always have something soaking where you're 139 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,560 just in a perpetual cycle. You want to get down to dish 0 140 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:05,520 before you go to bed every night, or at least on most 141 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,360 nights. Obviously, nobody's perfect and 142 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,000 life happens, and sometimes there are things that are more 143 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,120 important than getting the dishes done before bed. 144 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,920 But I want that to be the norm for you. 145 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,000 And if it's not, that's OK. You've come to the right place. 146 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,880 I'm going to help you establish those habits while you're 147 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,240 working on dishes. I'm going to give you a little 148 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,920 marriage tip. I already touched on the fact 149 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:39,000 that you shouldn't wait for your spouse to change before turning 150 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,240 over a new leaf as far as your housekeeping. 151 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:47,160 And I'll also add to that you don't change someone's behavior 152 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:51,920 by nagging them, especially in this delicate balance called 153 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,360 marriage. What I would recommend, and 154 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:59,520 don't get me wrong, my husband is probably a better housekeeper 155 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:02,240 than I am. So I'm I'm not talking about 156 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:03,440 him. That's a disclaimer. 157 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,600 But I know a lot of you have messy husbands, so that's who 158 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:11,240 I'm talking to right now. And obviously this works in 159 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,600 other areas besides just cleaning. 160 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,440 So I do know what I'm talking about here. 161 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:21,080 You want to reinforce positive behavior. 162 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:24,120 OK, Your spouse is not your child. 163 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:25,920 You don't give them consequences. 164 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,080 You don't nag. But what you do is you reinforce 165 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,680 positive behavior. And I feel like this is 166 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:36,920 especially true with most men when they've done something that 167 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:43,120 they view as extra or out of the norm for them. 168 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:48,560 They are expecting affirmation for that and I realize you might 169 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:52,040 not be getting positive. You know affirmations when you 170 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:55,240 clean. And sure your spouse should walk 171 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,440 in and tell you the house looks nice, but he might not. 172 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,320 But then when he does something like does the dishes, he's 173 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:05,160 expecting you to notice it and comment on it. 174 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:07,600 OK. People are self-centered, it's 175 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,520 human nature. I'm not saying it's right or 176 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:15,200 fair that he's expecting you to react when he cleans and then 177 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:18,320 when you clean it's just it treated as the default or 178 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,920 something. I'm not condoning that. 179 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,240 But we're talking about goal oriented behavior. 180 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:30,160 If your goal is for him to do more without putting a strain on 181 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,920 your relationship, commenting on what he does is going to help. 182 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:39,120 And let's face it, people are heavily influenced by those who 183 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:43,720 they spend time with. So if you're commenting, hey, 184 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:47,840 the house looks nice, oh you did dishes, thank you. 185 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,920 He's more likely to say those same things to you. 186 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,160 Like I like I said, change starts with you. 187 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:00,800 And before you come at me, would you want to be nagged or 188 00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:05,160 criticized or told that you're not doing something right? 189 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:10,080 Or would you want someone to comment on your efforts when you 190 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,200 do the thing they want you to do? 191 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:16,280 Do you like it when your spouse walks in and says, hey, the 192 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,440 house looks nice? Wow, you've been working hard. 193 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,080 And maybe that doesn't happen very often, but those times when 194 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,400 he does something, if you comment on it, then he's more 195 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:32,160 likely to do the same for you. Or at the very least, he's going 196 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,320 to want to clean more to get those words of affirmation. 197 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,680 Obviously, I'm making generalizations here and this is 198 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:45,920 not necessarily going to work for you exactly how I think it 199 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,920 is. But with this podcast, chew up 200 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,840 the meat, spit out the bones, I throw things out because some of 201 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:56,120 it might resonate, some of it might help you. 202 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,560 By the way, if you do happen to be listening on Spotify, I've 203 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:04,760 discovered a new feature on there where I can create polls. 204 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:09,160 So when you click on the episode, take the poll. 205 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,840 It only takes a second to to answer 1 multiple choice 206 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:19,200 question, so I'll probably address this topic in a poll. 207 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,920 Some of you like these tidbits on marriage and some don't. 208 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:23,920 I get that. Don't give me a bad review. 209 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:28,760 But you can respond in a Spotify poll or you can e-mail me at 210 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:34,360 cleanwithmepodcast@gmail.com. And sometimes I do get reviews 211 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:39,240 where they say stick to cleaning this and that, but keeping your 212 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:44,560 house clean is a family affair. And if you have other people in 213 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:47,400 your household, that does come into play. 214 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:51,880 And some people do want help with navigating these 215 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,960 situations. And I'm not saying that there's 216 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,280 not a time or place to say I would love it if I could get a 217 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,520 little bit of help with the dishes. 218 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,720 And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying not to talk about the 219 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,040 division of Labor and who does what. 220 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:11,160 These conversations do need to happen, but I've read a lot of 221 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,480 marriage books and it's more effective to express something 222 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:18,560 as a desire. Like I would just love it if I 223 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,160 could come home once to a clean kitchen, something like that, 224 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:27,600 rather than nagging or criticizing, you know, use those 225 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:32,480 I statements. And as far as kids, it's always 226 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,800 good to have them clean before moving on to other activities. 227 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,160 And kids prefer a chore list rather than you just asking them 228 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,840 to do things on a whim. Of course, as a parent, you can 229 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,160 do that. Hey, I need you to clean this up 230 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,440 while I'm gone. With teenagers especially, I've 231 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:51,800 got to go take care of something. 232 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,920 I need you to clean up the living room, or I need you to do 233 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:56,720 these few dishes I didn't get to. 234 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:00,320 Yeah, that's a thing. But I found that my kids 235 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:04,000 appreciate it much more if I just say, check the chore list 236 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:05,880 and do your chores while I'm gone. 237 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,240 They tend to like that better because I've put a lot of 238 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:12,120 thought into the chore list and it's more fair than these orders 239 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,760 that I might just bark out. It's divided up in a certain way 240 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,120 already. I put a lot of thought into it 241 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:20,880 once, I mean, once every few months because I change it up 242 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,120 often. But it's, it's easier because 243 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,120 it's, it's like it's the list telling them what to do instead 244 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,000 of me. And they tend to like that 245 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:29,880 better. Maybe that would work with a 246 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,240 spouse, but I don't put my husband on the chore list. 247 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,360 It's just not, not the dynamic in our relationship, but it 248 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,640 might be in yours. Your husband might be like, if 249 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,240 you could just put what you want on this chore list, it'd be 250 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,560 easier to make you happy. I can't read your mind. 251 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,600 Sometimes people just want to know what you expect. 252 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,080 So don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that your husband 253 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,120 can't be on the chore list after you've had this conversation 254 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:57,440 about a division of Labor. I'm also not saying that he has 255 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:02,320 to help you with any particular chores because everyone has 256 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:07,840 different situations as far as who works more, who likes doing 257 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:12,160 what, who's good at what. But in general men tend to like 258 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,440 things like vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping more than things 259 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,320 like doing dishes and whatnot. So if your spouse is dirtying up 260 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:26,200 the kitchen, he might he might prefer kind of a system where he 261 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:30,720 pre rinses his dish and places it into the dishwasher rather 262 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,320 than dishes piling up and then you're asking him to do the 263 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:36,840 dreaded task of washing the dishes. 264 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:39,920 That's how I do it with my kids anyway. 265 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,040 And my husband tends to just instinctively clean up after 266 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:47,120 himself in the kitchen, but I know not all husbands do. 267 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,160 A lot of you are still plugging away at those dishes. 268 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,320 But of course, for those of you who are ahead of the game and 269 00:16:53,320 --> 00:17:00,760 did not have any kind of pile up today, you may want to start 270 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:04,319 wiping down your kitchen surfaces from the top down. 271 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,800 Or if you're in a state of overwhelm, this might be just a 272 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,040 day where you're going to give your countertops and stove top a 273 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:13,240 swipe. You're going to wipe down your 274 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,280 table and chairs if they're sticky. 275 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:20,200 You're going to clean out your sink once the dishes are done. 276 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:25,560 And then after you've cleaned your bathroom, sweep the kitchen 277 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:30,440 and bathroom floor and then mop both floors in one fell swoop. 278 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,400 But I'm going to give you just a few more minutes in the kitchen, 279 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,680 whether that's to finish the dishes and give the countertops 280 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,280 a swipe or to do more detailing of surfaces if your dishes are 281 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:47,520 done at this point. And then we're going to head to 282 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,480 a bathroom. So sometimes getting your kids 283 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:56,880 and husband to do more around the house can mean just settle 284 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:03,000 things like showing appreciation and expressing desires. 285 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,120 I wish I could wake up to a clean kitchen. 286 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:08,560 I wish I could come home to a clean kitchen, things like that. 287 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:13,080 But other times it involves sitting down and having the 288 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:17,240 conversation and formally dividing up the labor. 289 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:21,200 You know who does nobody in the family like doing dishes? 290 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,920 Or do you like doing dishes but you hate sweeping and mopping? 291 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:30,160 I mean, the best way to divide labor is for everyone to do what 292 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:33,080 they like. But sometimes there are a few 293 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:37,080 tasks that nobody likes to do, and that's where it can get a 294 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:39,440 little bit tricky. Somebody's got to do it. 295 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:44,400 But I do think of a spreadsheet with columns for different days 296 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:49,600 and people listing what's expected of them on those days 297 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,000 can work wonders. That's how I do it with my three 298 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,120 teenagers. My husband and I work as a team. 299 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:58,920 Basically. We both do the remaining items 300 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,280 that are not on the kids spreadsheet. 301 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:06,680 And I have put myself on the spreadsheet in the past, but I'm 302 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:11,720 no longer doing that because I don't think it's the kids place 303 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:16,080 to hold me to something like, hey, mom was supposed to clean 304 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,080 the kitchen today or whatever and she asked us to do it. 305 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,040 So yeah, I'm going to keep myself off of that list going 306 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:28,120 forward. But in reality, we don't usually 307 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:29,760 have the kids cleaning the kitchen. 308 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,760 In my opinion, the important thing is that by the time your 309 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,960 kids are older teenagers, they have done all the things like 310 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,600 they know how to do dishes, they know how to clean the kitchen, 311 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:42,640 they know how to sweep and mop, they know how to deep clean a 312 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,520 bathroom, etcetera, etcetera. But that doesn't mean that that 313 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,240 needs to be their chore on an ongoing basis. 314 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:55,920 We just have a rule that when kids dirty a dish and it's not, 315 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,400 it's not the official dinner that my husband or I cooked, 316 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,720 that they washed that dish from start to finish. 317 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:08,640 Basically, they help keep the kitchen clean, but either my 318 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:13,280 husband or myself washes the lion's share of the dishes and 319 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:15,840 does most of the kitchen cleaning tasks. 320 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,160 But they've all had times where cleaning the kitchen and doing 321 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,800 dishes was on their chore list, so they've learned to do it. 322 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:28,040 Making a chore list for kids is the easy part, but the division 323 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:33,560 of Labor labor between spouses can be tricky due to a lot of 324 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,920 things. Cultural norms, the family that 325 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,960 they grew up in. I think one of the reasons why 326 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:45,200 my husband is so good about cooking and cleaning. 327 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:50,080 He grew up with all brothers so there wasn't some kind of a 328 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:55,000 gender role issue where these chores were getting assigned to 329 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:01,000 the girls or something. And my sons see a dad who cooks 330 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,680 and cleans. Everyone should clean up after 331 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:10,680 themselves and be willing to take on some of the 332 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,200 responsibilities around the house. 333 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,160 And it can vary, you know? Maybe you just want your husband 334 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,520 to pick up after himself and take out the trash. 335 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,160 Or maybe you're both working a lot and you need a lot more from 336 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,600 them. But remember that change starts 337 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,720 with you. Reinforcing positive behavior 338 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:35,160 and other adults is far more effective than griping or 339 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:37,200 punishing. OK, hopefully I've given you 340 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:39,320 enough time in the kitchen and you've got it done. 341 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,960 Other than the floors. As always, use this episode how 342 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:44,640 you want. Some people are just doing 343 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,120 general housework while they listen, and some people are 344 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,720 trying to clean along, but I always gear the show towards 345 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:54,800 someone who is cleaning along. In case you are, and I feel like 346 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:58,360 a lot of you are, that's a question for a future poll on 347 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:02,160 Facebook, Spotify, or Patreon. I plan on doing more polls for 348 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,240 you because I like to hear from you. 349 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,120 Let's head to the bathroom and before you even start that pre 350 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:14,080 clean that needs to happen where you remove all clutter, I want 351 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,760 you to get your toilet bowl cleaner into the toilet bowl. 352 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,240 Whatever product you use to clean the inside of your toilet 353 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:25,240 bowl, get that in there. Grab your toilet scrubbing brush 354 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:29,520 and scrub the bowl, but then let that product sit. 355 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,320 Maybe you even want to reapply more product after you've given 356 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,920 the toilet bowl a swish. But you're going to let that 357 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,440 toilet bowl cleaner do its work while you clean the rest of the 358 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,720 bathroom. And it only takes a minute to 359 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,400 get that toilet bowl soaking. But then it's time for that pre 360 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,480 clean. You might have bath mats or rugs 361 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,640 on the floor that need to be taken to your laundry room. 362 00:22:55,480 --> 00:23:00,000 You might have random items. Your family might be a work in 363 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,800 progress. They might be dropping towels or 364 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,560 clothes on the floor. You might have even been the one 365 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,920 to drop that stuff. So you might have to pick some 366 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,560 stuff up off of the floor. Definitely have a policy of 367 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:15,360 whichever bathroom is your guest bathroom that nobody should be 368 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:18,480 leaving anything on the floor. And let's face it, nobody should 369 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,880 be leaving anything on any bathroom floor. 370 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,240 But if you're gradually trying to improve your household 371 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,960 habits, start by keeping that bathroom, that guest bathroom, 372 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,160 perpetually clean. And I'm not saying you have a 373 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,720 dedicated guest bathroom, but for me, I'm talking about the 374 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,400 hall bathroom. That's also my kids bathroom. 375 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,760 I don't really care if my husband drops something in the 376 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:44,400 master bathroom floor, but it makes me crazy when kids are 377 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,520 leaving shoes and clothes in that hall bathroom, which is 378 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:51,240 also our guest bathroom. Maybe you need to, maybe you 379 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,560 need to clear off your bathroom countertop. 380 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,480 If this is your master bathroom, you're more likely to have some 381 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:03,360 things spread out. Curling irons, flat irons, 382 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,640 crimping irons, waving irons, all the things. 383 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,200 You need a place for those and you're probably not using all of 384 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,760 them every day. Our everyday items and that I 385 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,880 keep out in the master bathroom are a blow drying brush. 386 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,120 My teenage daughter likes to come in my bathroom and use a 387 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:23,200 blow drying brush. I went through a phase where I 388 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,240 was using it but passed it on to her. 389 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,920 I don't have any guilt when I buy things and get tired of them 390 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,360 because I've got all these daughters that can take them on. 391 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,840 But I don't use that very often. But I do use a wide curling iron 392 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,200 just to kind of shape my bangs. Like I'm not curling my bangs 393 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,840 80s style, but I'm particular about how they hang. 394 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,560 So I use a really large curling iron for that. 395 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,600 And so those two items are usually out. 396 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:53,280 And then I have a basket underneath that has kind of a 397 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:57,680 waving iron, a smaller barrel curling iron, and a couple flat 398 00:24:57,680 --> 00:24:59,440 irons. But when I'm cleaning the 399 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,800 bathroom, they all get put into that basket that's in the 400 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:04,760 cupboard. It's like a miniature laundry 401 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:06,600 basket. It looks like a laundry basket, 402 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,000 but it's small. I put all those items away. 403 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,440 So when I'm talking about clearing off your vanity, I'm 404 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:15,480 talking about things that don't belong there, but also things 405 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,720 that do things that you do keep there on a regular basis, like a 406 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:24,000 soap dish, your toothbrush holders, your toothpaste, that 407 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,640 little dish where you put your rings. 408 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:32,400 Let's move all of that aside somewhere so that you can click 409 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:34,640 quickly. Clean the surfaces. 410 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:37,840 I feel like one of the reasons that we procrastinate on 411 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,840 cleaning the bathroom sometimes is the pre clean part. 412 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:45,080 It's not really cleaning the surfaces and it's like that in 413 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:48,320 every room of the house. For me, cleaning the surfaces is 414 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:52,120 no big deal, but what can make me feel overwhelmed is if I let 415 00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:56,560 an area get cluttered. And you may be different, you 416 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,600 may dread cleaning the toilet. But if you've been listening to 417 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:03,040 this show for a while, you know my solution for for people who 418 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,520 have an aversion to cleaning the toilet, get some gloves. 419 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,400 OK, they could be disposable gloves or reusable, whatever 420 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,880 you're more comfortable with. And you know, get one of your 421 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,800 old, get one of your old COVID masks to cover your nose and 422 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:20,720 mouth or tie a bandana around your face. 423 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,520 If you don't like getting up and close and personal with the 424 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:29,560 toilet with your face exposed, that can kind of go a long way. 425 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:34,680 And obviously this this pre soak of the toilet bowl can also go a 426 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,520 long way and sanitizing that gross part of your toilet. 427 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:40,800 Not that the rest of it isn't gross. 428 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:45,000 I also really like cleaning the exterior parts of my toilet with 429 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,760 disinfecting wipes, but I know that can be expensive. 430 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,600 You can also use a separate cleaning product and paper 431 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,800 towels to do that same thing for cheap. 432 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,600 And of course some of you are using reusable rags. 433 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:02,000 I just can't fathom that. I like to use disposable stuff 434 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:06,000 when cleaning the toilet, but we're going to get back to the 435 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,280 toilet later. Clear off your vanity, pick up 436 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:13,480 everything off of your bathroom floor, and then it's time to 437 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:19,720 scrub the countertop part, scrub out the sinks, you know, using 438 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,600 your favorite bathroom cleaning products or just whatever you 439 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,440 happen to have on hand. And then you're going to end 440 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,240 with the bathroom faucets and the mirror. 441 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:34,560 Something that I'm super excited about is the way I'm cleaning my 442 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:39,520 larger mirror in the master bathroom lately in my kids 443 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,480 bathroom. And it's on their chore list to 444 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,680 clean that bathroom. So it doesn't usually fall to 445 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:44,960 me. But when I'm cleaning that 446 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,480 bathroom, cleaning the mirror is not a big deal. 447 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,480 I'm just spraying some glass cleaner and then quickly wiping 448 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,560 it with a micro fiber wipe or micro fiber cloth. 449 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,080 There's not a lot of lighting in that bathroom. 450 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,720 I mean, there are lights, but there's no natural light coming 451 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:06,040 in. So even if someone does a less 452 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,360 than perfect job cleaning the mirror, you're not going to see 453 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:13,360 those streaks or anything because there's not a window 454 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:19,000 with natural light coming in. However, in my master bathroom, 455 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:23,080 there's a huge mirror and then there's a window above the tub 456 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:28,640 that lets a lot of natural light in so you'll see the streaks if 457 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,240 it's not done perfectly. And I'm not being a 458 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,640 perfectionist here, it it looks awful if the mirror is not 459 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,520 cleaned right. And I also can't even reach the 460 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:42,520 entire mirror. What I've been doing is I take 461 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:49,480 the Swiffer mop from my kitchen and instead of attaching the the 462 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:56,160 pre moistened mop pad I attach a clean dry micro fiber cloth to 463 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,080 it. But you could also stripe strap 464 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:02,040 that micro fiber cloth to any type of mop with rubber bands or 465 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,680 something if you wanted to. But it it works well with the 466 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:12,000 Swiffer type thing that's designed to just wrap a pad 467 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,240 around and then you kind of push it in with your fingers on the 468 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:16,440 back. Some of you know what I'm 469 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:20,320 talking about. But I basically spray that huge 470 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,800 mirror with glass cleaner. I don't have to be able to reach 471 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:28,600 the top to do that. And then I'm using this mop with 472 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:33,080 the micro fiber cloth attached and I and I just literally mop 473 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,080 the mirror. It's so effective. 474 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,160 It's so quick. You don't know how happy I was 475 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:44,440 to discover that I posted a video of how that works and on 476 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:52,160 my TikTok and also kind of a slideshow thing of it on my 477 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:55,680 Instagram. My TikTok is clean with me pod 478 00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:00,480 and my Instagram is Ronnie S. If you're already using those 479 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,480 apps, I'm not asking you to start using social media apps 480 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:05,760 you're not already on. But I throw it out there because 481 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,560 some of you are on those apps and of course, my Facebook page 482 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,840 is Clean with Me podcast, and I think I even did a reel about 483 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,880 mopping the mirror. So if you're following me on any 484 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,960 form of social media, you're going to get the visual on some 485 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,080 of the things I talk about. And I plan to post more visual 486 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,560 content in the near future. So once you've cleaned your 487 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:31,120 countertop, your sink, your faucets, and your mirror, of 488 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,080 course, pause the episode if you need more time. 489 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,120 I don't know how messy your bathroom was or how big it is. 490 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:41,600 It's time to clean the exterior parts of the toilet and then 491 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:45,800 scrub that bowl one last time. And if there's still some type 492 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,120 of a water line, like if you have extremely hard water, there 493 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,400 could still be some discoloration in your toilet 494 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:55,920 after you scrub the bowl. You can use a pumice stone to 495 00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,400 get rid of that line. And no, it doesn't harm the 496 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,120 finish. It's designed for that. 497 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,720 It was kind of funny when I was buying that pumice stone on a 498 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,960 handle in my grocery store, the grocery checker was like, does 499 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:13,760 this work? Or does this damage the inside 500 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:15,440 of the bowl? I've been thinking about buying 501 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,120 one of these, but I'm afraid to use it. 502 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,760 And in my mind I was thinking, how did you know I'm a cleaning 503 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:24,000 podcaster? But of course, I told her, you 504 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,200 know, it does work. And it says right on the package 505 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,040 that it it won't damage the porcelain or whatever. 506 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:33,720 And usually getting in there with a disinfecting wipe is good 507 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:35,440 enough. But of course, you can remove 508 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,240 your toilet bowl lid for effective cleaning around the 509 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:41,640 hinges and stuff. And when you're cleaning your 510 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:45,560 toilet and you get down to where you're cleaning the exterior 511 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:50,360 part of the bowl, the base of it, make sure you're scrubbing 512 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:53,400 the floor around it. The best time to clean your 513 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,840 floor and baseboards that are right by the bottom of your 514 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,280 toilet is when you're down there cleaning the toilet. 515 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:03,680 Because let's face it, your mop is not going to get in there as 516 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:06,920 good as you're going to get with your bare hands while you're 517 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:10,160 down there, or gloved hands if that's what you're using. 518 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:14,920 And you know, on this show, I don't talk a lot about scrubbing 519 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,200 the shower and the bathtub because I encourage you to kind 520 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,840 of combine that with maybe your leisurely shower or bath on the 521 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,920 weekend. However, when I'm deep cleaning 522 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:29,400 my master bathroom, I do deep clean the shower doors. 523 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:33,000 If you have clear glass shower doors, they're going to take a 524 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,760 little bit of extra care, especially if you have hard 525 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:39,640 water. So when I'm in that bathroom 526 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:46,520 cleaning, I like to spray the inside and outside of my glass 527 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,800 shower doors. I'll get a glass cleaner that 528 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:55,000 contains white vinegar or I'll use a spray bottle with vinegar 529 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:59,040 and water because that helps to get rid of those hard water 530 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,560 stains. And sometimes I'll scrub with 531 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:07,400 something abrasive, you know, a little scrubby pad and then I'll 532 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:11,080 spray it again and then wipe it with something soft like a micro 533 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,440 fiber cloth or even a bathroom squeegee. 534 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:19,760 We have a rule that when someone uses our shower, they have to 535 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:23,320 wipe down the inside of it with a squeegee. 536 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:27,240 You could also use a micro fiber cloth for that or you can do 537 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,280 both. But we can tell when somebody 538 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,160 takes a shower and doesn't use the squeegee. 539 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,000 Often when we're gone, one of the kids will decide to use our 540 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:41,120 shower and not use the squeegee. But they've, they've gotten 541 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,200 better about it. But once in a while, somebody 542 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,240 doesn't. One time my husband was like, 543 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:48,640 somebody took a shower in here and didn't use the squeegee. 544 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,080 And I'm like, well, you know, it wasn't me because I'm the one 545 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,440 who made that rule. By the way, he doesn't like it 546 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:57,640 that I make a lot of rules that apply to him. 547 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,200 So always tread lightly with your significant other. 548 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:07,440 Since you're going to scrub your shower or bathtub in another 549 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,080 step. I like to separate that from the 550 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:13,600 bathroom cleaning product process, and I think one of the 551 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:16,560 reasons that I do that is because it does help you avoid 552 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:21,639 procrastination on cleaning your toilet, vanity and sink, which 553 00:34:21,639 --> 00:34:25,000 are the dirtier parts of your bathroom and the floor. 554 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:27,920 You're not going to procrastinate as much when you 555 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:32,239 separate the task of scrubbing your tub or shower floor or 556 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:34,520 shower walls. That's going to be done at a 557 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,080 different time, so you're not going to feel overwhelmed with 558 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,400 this big bathroom cleaning project. 559 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,679 I do have some episodes where I have you do that, but I 560 00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:46,199 recommend just keeping some cleaning products in your shower 561 00:34:46,199 --> 00:34:49,480 or tub and cleaning as you're getting in or getting out. 562 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:54,320 So on that note, you're going to end with your bathroom floor. 563 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:58,880 You're going to sweep and mop your bathroom floor. 564 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:03,280 If it's a big bathroom, if it's a smaller bathroom, you might be 565 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:06,480 able to kind of combine that process. 566 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,160 That's my favorite thing when I'm cleaning my kids bathroom 567 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,920 now and then I'm I let's I'll be honest, I'm usually cleaning 568 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:17,440 that bathroom when I'm expecting guests because they do a good 569 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:22,280 enough job on a weekly basis. But when I'm expecting company, 570 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,560 I want that guest bathroom detailed by an adult or at least 571 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:29,640 by my 18 year old son who has more experience than the younger 572 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:35,280 ones at detailing a bathroom. But I will often just grab a pre 573 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:39,360 moistened Swiffer mop pad. I get the generic ones or the 574 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:41,960 Swiffer, doesn't matter. Just pick your favorite scent 575 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:48,840 because that's really effective on my shiny bathroom tile and I 576 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:51,880 do it in the same way. I like to describe it as when 577 00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:55,440 you're wiping off the countertop after you've made toast and 578 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:58,440 there are some toast crumbs that you don't want to brush onto the 579 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,200 floor. You're kind of grabbing them up 580 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:03,280 in that damp cloth while you're wiping down the countertop. 581 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:08,880 That's kind of the technique I use in a tiny bathroom when I'm 582 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:12,760 combining the step of sweeping and mopping and doing it with a 583 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:16,600 cloth, a damp cloth or pre moistened pad. 584 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,680 In a pinch, I've been known to clean that floor with Windex and 585 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:24,280 paper towels, but I really like using those pre moistened mop 586 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,440 pads and I'll even go a step further and wipe the bathroom 587 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:33,080 baseboards with those. By the way, your bonus task in 588 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:36,320 the bathroom, should you choose to accept it before you mop your 589 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:40,200 way out of the bathroom, is to wipe down your switch plates, 590 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:45,240 door knobs, the part of the door that people touch a lot, outlet 591 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:51,000 covers with a disinfecting wipe or pre moistened mop pad or 592 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:55,080 whatever else, a rag, whatever you use while you're finishing 593 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:57,520 up in the bathroom. I just wanted to say special 594 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:02,400 thanks to my financial supporters who support the show 595 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:07,560 either on Apple Podcasts, Patreon, which you can do 596 00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:11,560 straight from Spotify if you have a Patreon account or 597 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:15,160 Breaker supporters Club, which there's going to be a link in 598 00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:17,440 the episode description for that. 599 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:21,160 And if you happen to be watching on YouTube, only a few of you 600 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:23,280 are doing that, but I appreciate you. 601 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:27,240 There'll be a link to clean with mepodcast.com and when you go 602 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:31,400 there, you'll find links to the different ways to support the 603 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:35,600 show and of course, gain access to the long bonus episodes. 604 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:39,040 But even just listening to this show helps. 605 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,520 So even if you're not able to pay for bonus content or you 606 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:46,840 don't want to, I understand. Just please click follow or the 607 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:51,000 plus sign on whichever platform you're listening on. 608 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:54,680 By the way, in Monday's episode, we're going to be doing dishes 609 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,320 and then cleaning your bedroom, so don't miss that.