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Yay for Adulting Podcast - Episode 6 - Spring Cleaning, pt 1
9 Plays7 days ago
Spring cleaning without the shame spiral. In part one of our Spring Cleaning series, Lisa And the Yay for Adulting panel define what “spring cleaning” means in real life, talk about where people get stuck (starting, staying focused, or finishing), And share the few supplies that make it easier to begin. Simple tools, simple systems, And one small cleaning action you can try this week.
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Transcript
Confessions of Cleaning Avoidance
00:00:00
Speaker
Okay, so what's one cleaning task you swear you're going to do and then avoid at all costs? oh Unfortunately, bathrooms. I hate cleaning the bathrooms.
00:00:15
Speaker
Unfortunately, Richard has taken over that job, and he does a very meticulous job of it. We have two and I'll look for him and I'll say, you still first bathroom? You know how small it is, right? This is a two bedroom house.
00:00:36
Speaker
But if that's that that's if you can get someone to do a chore you don't want to do, that's a win-win. nice All of it.
00:00:54
Speaker
sir Um, I, my biggest fear in cleaning is that I'm going to pick up something, set it down and I'll never see it again. if i do have my partner to do the dishes, which is great.
00:01:09
Speaker
I don't like doing them because ice so spend a lot of money on my nails and all that of hot water loosens up the glue and then they fall off sooner. but
00:01:23
Speaker
ah But for my office, ah everything is everything is in piles and it's stacked in bins. But when it comes time to actually sitting down to do something, i'd then have to go through a bunch of bins to find what I'm looking for.
00:01:41
Speaker
So i I try to put that off so I don't lose anything on the off chance that I might want to work on one particular item. And I don't want to spend 20 minutes looking for it.
00:01:55
Speaker
For me, one chore that I do a avoid and put off is going through mail and papers. Mm-hmm.
00:02:07
Speaker
I don't want to throw them away right away. i will you know want to recycle them or shred them or whatever needs to be done. But it's one of those things where it seems like, oh I'll take care of it later and just end up with massive piles wherever a pile of papers and meals can go.
00:02:24
Speaker
So they're shoved on a shelf. They're shoved under the dust. They're shoved in the dust. They're just like, if you could see stacks of papers everywhere, pretty embarrassing. Your room is a fire hazard?
00:02:37
Speaker
Probably. We have a shredder. have the recycle bin. It's just one of those things, like, I'll get to it. And then you just end up with paper mountains.
00:02:48
Speaker
So...
00:02:50
Speaker
Yeah, not my favorite thing to do. For me, my least favorite a chore that I try to put off as much as possible is laundry. yeah because of fact Especially when you live with other people, knowing when it's available is a coin flip at best.
00:03:09
Speaker
So sometimes I'll just wait like one or two weeks until I think, okay, the hamper is overflowing. i have to go and throw all that into the washing machine.
00:03:21
Speaker
and then have to wait and hope I don't forget about it like in another hour or so. So to put in the dryer. And hope that that's free because sometimes my previous roommates had just left their clothes in the dryer at times.
00:03:38
Speaker
So yeah, then that's another hour. And then I had to take it out of the dryer, put it back in the hamper and fold all this that and put into their assorted drawers. Just so much time having to wait and not forget about something that I'm not interacting with.
Introduction to 'Yay for Adulting'
00:04:02
Speaker
Welcome back to Yay for Adulting. I'm your host, Lisa, and today we're talking about spring cleaning without the shame spiral. We'll keep it practical so you can steal a tip or two and use it the next time you clean.
00:04:14
Speaker
Joining us to today is our multi-generational panel. Let's do quick intros. Mom. Hi, I'm Mom, the famous baby boomer. Montalee.
00:04:26
Speaker
I'm Montalee, Gen X. Shannon. Hi, I'm Shannon, Gen X. Joseph. I'm Joseph of Gen Millennial.
00:04:40
Speaker
Thanks, everyone. Let's jump in. Before we get in too deep, I want to get us all on the same page or chapter. When you hear spring cleaning, what does that mean to you?
Spring Cleaning as a Fresh Start
00:04:52
Speaker
Deep cleaning, declutter, maybe a reset, or i move from one pile to another pile. It means refreshing the house, clearing up the dust, dirt, clutter, so that it looks different from the day before.
00:05:15
Speaker
It's a process.
00:05:18
Speaker
Spring cleaning means opening the windows, airing the place out, because you've been hibernating for the last four to six months, especially in the northern northern climates, and just picking things up and putting things away that, you know, you've been walking over since...
00:05:38
Speaker
October, when you had all your Halloween stuff out, or or Christmas when the family was over. It's all just, it is, it's a refresh. it's It's starting over fresh so you don't carry over all of last year's nonsense into into the coming year.
00:05:56
Speaker
Despite the fact that it's April, it doesn't matter. Spring cleaning is, it's ah it's a mindset. Mm-hmm.
Challenges in Cleaning Motivation
00:06:07
Speaker
Yes. it For me, it's it's an opportunity to reset. It's an opportunity to look at, okay, what didn't work for me? I have all this clutter. I didn't maybe particularly stick to the habit that I wanted to from last year.
00:06:23
Speaker
so Almost like a New Year's resolution, but not really. It's like a spring cleaning. That's why I call it an opportunity two to reset, to rethink, like, okay, what do I really need? What do I not really need?
00:06:37
Speaker
What can i dispose of, donate, donate? Just so I can clear out my space, start kind of new-ish, at least more organized, and hopefully improve from last year so it won't be a complete repeat for next year's Spring Training Reset.
00:06:59
Speaker
I see spring cleaning as a way to take stock of what all we have, what ah needs to go out, what can stay for the rest of the year.
00:07:10
Speaker
a nice little defrag, if you will, of just like oh figuring out what you will need to bring into the next, for the rest of the year. And what needs to be cleaned, what has been ah lounging around a little bit too long and needs to go out.
00:07:25
Speaker
And if things just need to be organized in a different way to be easier to access.
Essential Cleaning Tools
00:07:40
Speaker
All right. So I am hearing refresh, reset, and organization. That helps a lot.
00:07:50
Speaker
Now that we've got our definitions, let's talk about the first step, because that's where most people get stuck. Most people don't avoid cleaning because they're lazy. They avoid it because the task feels too big and their brains can't find the first step.
00:08:04
Speaker
So for the panel, what's the hardest part for you? Is it starting, staying focused, or finishing? For me, it's starting and I haven't started yet and it's the middle of April. but Gosh, I downsized and I thought this should be easy, but there's still stuff to do.
00:08:29
Speaker
And I think my office probably looks like Shannon's office. It's a fire hazard. It's so starting is the hardest for me.
00:08:40
Speaker
And you only say it looks like Shannon's because you can't see mine. oh oh okay. You can only see a selectivity of mine. Just what's behind me. And what's behind me is procedure is still it's still cluttered. But then there's the other 300 square feet that you can't see.
00:09:03
Speaker
and even in July when I took time off, I put up new shelves and I said, this is great. I have new places to put things. And then, but it ah just meant that the stuff that I had to move to put the shelves in has not been put away because i don't have a place for it.
00:09:21
Speaker
But for me, it's It's finishing. i can I can get to a point where i can't take it anymore and i will start picking up and and and in and organizing.
00:09:35
Speaker
But then I will get to a point where i don't want to finish. Because starting another bin means there is another hour to go through.
00:09:49
Speaker
So as with all of my issues in life, Finishing the project, it's the hardest part.
00:10:01
Speaker
okay Yeah. As I look around my organized chaos, I would say it's starting for me. I will get to a point where i think, where I'm like, all right, I i can't.
00:10:17
Speaker
The chaos is overtaking the organized part and I can't find what I'm looking for. But it's hard for me to get started on certain things. The day-to-day cleaning, no problem. Just because having three boys, it can get a little gross. So that, like, staying on top of regular cleaning, no problem.
00:10:36
Speaker
But the big clean out the closet, organize the papers, like, for me, that, it's hard to get started. It's definitely hard for me to start as well, because I will look at something okay, and my brain will try to figure out how much time will this take, and like how much of a block of whatever i'm going can I dedicate to, whatever, until...
00:11:01
Speaker
And along with like other things going on in like you know my day-to-day routine. So that throws them off my brain. And so unless I have a specific day set aside for just cleaning, then I will just never start it in my brain. Because my brain will be like, well, this could take anywhere from an hour four hours. And I won't know until I start doing it. Because once I get into a rhythm and flow, it's easier for me to keep going. But if I'm trying to figure when to start, that's the hard part. Because I don't know when the time v block actually is yeah
00:11:36
Speaker
Or I may add on another part to the starting challenge is also our friend called procrastination, which I will you know put it off. I'll do another. I'll find another time. I'll get to it eventually. It's that procrastination. So it's like, you know, I got a little time. Let me do it. No, I could always find 50 other things.
00:11:55
Speaker
More important to go on to the papers to do and push it off a little bit. So. yeah Right. 50 things more engaging than having to pick up something and put it back into this other thing. Exactly.
00:12:10
Speaker
Damn, with friends like these. and
Technology and Family in Cleaning
00:12:40
Speaker
She carries.
00:12:52
Speaker
sheki
00:12:59
Speaker
So half the battle is not having to hunt things down. The spray bottle, the rag, the vacuum, the broom. So what are your non-negotiables? The top three things you'd keep in a cleaning caddy.
00:13:11
Speaker
Some of the top things I have are things that you mentioned earlier, but microcloths, those are good for dusting any surface.
00:13:25
Speaker
And multipurpose cleaner, Awesome is the one, it's my go-to. And a broom and a dustpan.
00:13:38
Speaker
it's It's one in the same. Broom slash dustpan, so that's my third. ah For me, ah i I need to have a vacuum, which is right behind me at the moment.
00:13:54
Speaker
I was doing some woodworking and I had shavings everywhere. And that was super important. I have um a rake, a floor rake, a carpet rake, because we have two cats.
00:14:08
Speaker
And the vacuum is nice, but you know we we also both have, we have two cats. We have long hair. There's there's there's hair everywhere.
00:14:18
Speaker
So it's helpful. Vacuuming is nice. it's it's it's It's therapeutic. It's aerobic, but it's not it's also not getting up everything. So i will I will vacuum and then I'll rake and then I'll vacuum again.
00:14:39
Speaker
So my vacuum, my rake, and then i have a stack of used baby diapers that I received from one of my free groups.
00:14:50
Speaker
well what Let's maybe re rephrase that. Cleaning clothes. There we go. I just thought of rolled up pampers. rush There we go. um i just i'm like There's a free quarter here.
00:15:05
Speaker
Understood.
00:15:09
Speaker
Understood. Nobody comes. That's how I keep people out of my apartment is I use use diapers. It's a twofer. And then nobody comes by. we're Around the horridius of the house. just just Just around the perimeter. You could use diatomaceous earth, but I find that use baby diapers actually is better for keeping away company.
00:15:35
Speaker
of the So my... So we... So there's the vacuum, there's the rake, and then I acquired a stack of cloth baby diapers from my free group.
00:15:51
Speaker
And those are great for dusting, they're good for ah sopping up spills, And they're good for um just generalized cleaning. I can use i can use an all-purpose cleaner and I can use a cloth diaper. and that way I'm not using up paper towels or I'm not using up dishcloths.
00:16:14
Speaker
um those are Those are the, so and I have a stack of them and I have them and and in almost every room. They're in the linen closet, they're in the kitchen. There are a ton in the office.
00:16:29
Speaker
for my various paint spills and water spills. So multipurpose cleaner, I think it's it's a, for me, it's a given. I always have that. But if I don't, if I can't, I shouldn't be able to not find the vacuum because it should be right here or the rake. But if I don't have clean,
00:16:56
Speaker
ah baby cloth diapers, then i personally can't feel I can get started because then I have i have nothing i have nothing to clean with. remember sir Just burn it down. Forget it.
00:17:06
Speaker
Burn it down and start over. Throw the whole thing away. Throw the whole apartment away. oh so So i I'm going to separate like supplies and tools versus my my helpers, which include both my children and technology. So in cleaning is where I embrace technology.
00:17:29
Speaker
So the robot vacuum that also mops. Its name is Clean Latifah. She's very good at what she does.
00:17:40
Speaker
Love her. ah Also, with the cats, having the robotic, the automatic litter box, highly recommend. Totally worth it.
00:17:54
Speaker
For the washer dryer issue. So our washer and dryer, they're connected to wifi. So I get notifications when, you know, somebody's doing laundry, when it's five minutes, if it's been sitting in there too long. So that is helpful.
00:18:07
Speaker
So using technology that way and using the kids to offer some of those chores. So outside of that, My go-tos would be um another one for the microfiber cloths. They're so a versatile. You use them for the glass, for the mirrors. You can use them for like this other surfaces that you're cleaning with and you can wash them. So, you know, like, you know, not creating extra trash or paper towels and stuff.
00:18:32
Speaker
hown that and then a cleaner all-purpose cleaner I like one that smells really nice there's one that has like this specific beachy um tropical scent which is very nice so that was one I like and then the third one I'm gonna say is a glass cleaner because you can't if you do try to use your all-purpose cleaner on your glass and your mirrors it's gonna be a mess so All-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, microfiber are in my cleaning caddy.
00:19:08
Speaker
For me, my three, well, I'm going to combine two into one, will be the cleaner and paper towel combo, you know, with your multi-purpose cleaner and using a bare towel. I know some people here would you use other methods by just sticking with it try and chew a paper for towel.
00:19:25
Speaker
And then i my second tool will be a vacuum cleaner. Either the hand vac we have, the stick vac we have, or the Roomba we have. And then finally, a trash bag to put all the all video used paper towels and the used or full vacuum sacks into. or And whatever trash that have to pick up at the time as well.
00:19:49
Speaker
That is a key part of the cleaning process. And really all of these are great. You got a vacuum and a broom and a dustpan, a basic spray with a few rags, or secondhand clawed diapers.
00:20:04
Speaker
You can handle most cleans. Simple Caddy is one of those small upgrades that kind of makes the whole thing easier to repeat. And that's a great place for us to pause for part one.
Conclusion and Preview of Part Two
00:20:16
Speaker
Alright, adultlings, that's part one of our spring cleaning series. Today we covered the stuff that sets you up to win, what spring cleaning even means to you, what makes you get stuck, and the few supplies that make starting easier.
00:20:30
Speaker
So a huge thanks to our panel, Mom, Montalee, Shannon, and Joseph. Thanks for keeping it honest and making it practical. In part two, we're getting into the emotional stuff and the real life stuff.
00:20:42
Speaker
Decluttering and letting go. The general clay the general cleaning rule general cleaning rules we've inherited. And what good enough looks like when you're busy and tired.
00:20:56
Speaker
So I want you to pick one small win from today and do it this week. One surface, one bag, one timer. See you in... As always, progress over perfection.
00:21:09
Speaker
We'll see in part two.