[00:00:00] Hello, it’s Leah Remillet and this is The Balancing Busy Podcast. Today we are answering the question, can you actually have a clean home and a busy life? Is it possible to have a home that feels good and clean and tidy, and laundry is done and, and dishes are in the dishwasher, or even better yet in the cupboards and have all the other things going on?

[00:00:59] So this is the age old question and today I am chatting with my friend Becky of the Clean Mama, and I’m so excited for you to hear this interview. And I was like, okay, I wanna know in your house, what does that look like? Cuz I love hearing these examples and I mean, Becky. She is truly the Clean mama, her entire company, her line of cleaning products, her, her systems, her books, everything as around keeping a clean house.

[00:01:27] So it was so, so fun chatting with her and, and hearing everything that she’s gonna share. And here’s what you’re gonna get in this episode. You’re gonna learn that you can keep a clean. With just a few minutes a day that you don’t have to be overwhelmed. You don’t have to wait until everything is in disaster mode that we can start right now and that we can work with what we have.

[00:01:53] And in addition, this episode comes with some amazing companion principles. So this is one episode where you for sure wanna go to the show notes so that you can get, she’s gonna talk in the episode about, Daily five her system. We have that printable for you. And I have access to a bunch more for you and it’s all in the show notes, 

[00:02:15] ,

[00:02:15] So you are absolutely going to want to go to the show notes for this episode, and you can get there directly by going to 22 dot balancing busy podcast.com. So episode number two two dot balancing busy podcast.com. Okay, let’s jump into this.

[00:02:37] Leah: Becky, welcome to the Balancing Busy podcast. It is so fun to be chatting with you again and to have you here 

[00:02:45] Becky: today. I am so excited to be here, Leah. Thank you. Yes, 

[00:02:49] Leah: we go way, way back. Before we started recording, we were trying to figure out, okay, when? When was the first time? We think it was 2015.

[00:02:57] When did you start your. 2009. Okay. Okay. So we started the exact same time actually. Cause I started in 2009 too. Okay. So we found each other 2014, 2015. And it has been a long time and you have just grown and done so much. So I’m so excited for this catch up session because there’s a lot of questions I wanna ask you.

[00:03:20] Like, I’m like, okay, I wanna know how you’re doing this. So I’m, I, I know that I’m. So much value out of this, but so is everyone listening as well? So I wanna just start by asking you to tell us about, introduce yourself, tell us your story, tell us who you are as the clean mama and, and all the 

[00:03:38] Becky: things. Yeah.

[00:03:40] So I’m Becky. You can call me Becky, or you can call me Clean Mom. I respond to both . , I started belonging in 2009. 

[00:03:51] It was like the recession, that’s kind of where things grew out of for me. And, I kind of started essentially hustling. with my blog and I started as someone that was sharing cleaning tips. That was like baseline where I started. I love sharing cleaning tips with my family and my friends, and I just decided, I’m just gonna pretend I’m talking to them and do it on a blog.

[00:04:24] even though I didn’t really know what a blog was, I figured it out. I started on Blog Spot. So if you’ve been blogging for a long time, I started 

[00:04:31] Leah: on 

[00:04:31] Becky: Blog Spot . You know, you’ve heard a blog spot and then you realize that, yep, that was a long time ago. , but it was kind of fun and exciting at the same time because you, nothing was like perfect . , it was a fun, a fun time. I, um, I started on Etsy, so that was where I initially was selling things.

[00:04:55] I started selling home keeping PDF documents. No one was doing it. I was the first person on Etsy to do that. And now there are gazillions of people, people that are explaining PDF documents, but at the time my husband was like, you’re, you can’t sell something that doesn’t exist. Like no one’s gonna buy that.

[00:05:19] And I was like, well, let’s see. Let’s try it out. And then like people. Finding out like a different way to clean using my cleaning routine. And that was just kind of from 2009 until about 2013, it was kind of like rinse and repeat the same thing over and over again. 

[00:05:39] I, was approached by a publisher in 2013 and wrote. Quit my job. That was my full-time job while I was blogging. And then at that point just kind of went like, let’s see if I can do this. And that was where it all kind of like took off, I guess you’d say. 

[00:06:00] Leah: So, and you obviously have you, you have done it and you have done it well.

[00:06:04] I mean, it is amazing you. The book and products and, and, and your routines that, that people swear by. It was so funny. So I did a podcast recently and I was asking, or I was prepping for a podcast and I asked like, Hey, give me your, um, favorite tips for keeping a clean house when you don’t have time. And several people comment.

[00:06:29] Saying that they love Clean Mama. And I was like, I love Becky. So I’m, I’m giving the people what they want and observing them you, so that they can, they can hear the tips.

[00:06:39] Okay. . I wanna, I wanna ask you a question that maybe you don’t get asked as often, which is why, why do you believe in having a, a clean home? Why does it matter? 

[00:06:53] Becky: Yeah, and this is gonna be different for everyone. I, if I were to choose a universal, like all encompassing phrase or feeling about it, it would be you need a clean home so that you can come home.

[00:07:10] Or if you’re, if you work from home or if you’re outside of the home, if you work in your home, like whatever it is, you want to be able to have that haven. You wanna be able to relax. You don’t want all the extra things that can feel like muddled and make you overwhelmed. And I think that the, the main thing with a clean home is that it just feels good.

[00:07:35] It, and to know what to clean and when to clean. And know that you don’t have to clean your entire home all in one sitting or one day. Like you can have a clean home all the time, or most of the time with just a couple minutes a day in a routine. Um, that works. And I think that that is, to me, it just takes that overwhelm away.

[00:08:01] When sometimes I get pushback like, cuz there are people that you don’t, not everyone’s gonna wanna be a clean person or have a clean home, that’s totally fine. Like everyone can do their own thing obviously like, but if you are someone that is frustrated by your clutter, you don’t know when was the last time you cleaned your bathroom or when you changed your sheets, but you really wish you.

[00:08:30] Like you weren’t just doing those things when they got too bad or too out of like, I can’t stand it anymore. 

[00:08:37] Leah: Not control that you have to do something. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, totally. 

[00:08:40] Becky: And you don’t, you don’t wanna have like a, um, I don’t know, like a revenge cleaning session, , like, you don’t, like if you just want to have a clean house most of the time.

[00:08:54] It’s okay to know like, this is the best way for me to keep it clean most of that time. And I think that that’s, I mean, that’s a really long roundabout answer, but if you wanna feel less overwhelmed and you wanna feel like comfy and cozy and at home, in your home, which we should feel like that’s why it’s important.

[00:09:18] Yeah. When I do get pushback, I will usually say, okay, that’s fine. You like, you don’t have, like, do whatever you wanna do, but go choose one area in your home, one surface. It could be like a little teeny tiny coffee table. It could be your kitchen table, a kitchen counter, your desk, whatever it is.

[00:09:36] Completely clear it. Put all those things in a laundry basket, wipe it clean, and then just sit with it. And see how that makes you feel, because chances are that’s gonna make you feel calm. It’s gonna take some of that pressure off and you’ll see why, like you aren’t noticing that clutter or that dirt or whatever.

[00:10:00] But when you remove it, you notice that that was kind of overwhelming me. You, you don’t really see it or feel it until you know that it’s like you can kind of see the before and after for your. 

[00:10:14] Leah: I completely agree with that. I, I find that personally I love having a clean home because I just feel more at peace.

[00:10:21] I mean, I would really say I, I correlate a clean home with a peaceful home and everything just feels brighter and better and more uplifting. I also know that when I walk out of my office, right, I work at, I work at home, I close the door. I’ll come out of my office and I look around and, you know, there’s dishes in the sink and the entryway is, is a mess and all these different things.

[00:10:48] It, it makes me feel defeated even though I may have had an incredibly productive, amazing workday, but if the house is in chaos, I feel just a little sense of defeated. In fact, I’ve, I’ve really started taking it to the next level of trying to constantly minimize and get rid of things. Let’s just be honest.

[00:11:08] Anything’s easier to clean when we have less stuff. Everything is harder when we have too much stuff. And I remember hearing, um, I think it might have been Marie Kondo, I don’t remember who it was, but someone said, even taking the, the stickers, like the pricing off of the products, like in your shower. And I always think about that because even just those extra things, distracting us without even knowing that they are.

[00:11:35] I don’t know, it just, it stood out to me and I like, it’s so funny. I literally will notice the stickers and be like, oh, I gotta get that off. If, if somehow one has been left on, I maybe have even taken a sticker or two off of someone else’s things at their house for them, just cuz I figured I’ll just do this while I’m sitting here.

[00:11:52] Um, okay, so the question I am dying to ask you is you run a company that. Has really grown, and I’m sure it takes a lot of time, and you are the clean mama. So how are you running your company and balancing, keeping your own house clean? Is it always clean? Are there times when it, it slips through the cracks and, and, and on your regular, how are you doing?

[00:12:25] Becky: Yeah, I, um, could easily have someone clean my house for me, , but that doesn’t like, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but why, like, it is easy for me to keep it clean when I have a system for it. So I think that the main thing, and there are five of us in this house, I’m not the only one cleaning or picking up after myself.

[00:12:50] Like it. The whole family to, to do that. Now my kids are, I haven’t, one in elementary and two in high school. I mean, they’re older, but I have definitely been through all the stages and I mean, yeah, it might be annoying to step on blocks and Legos, but I will tell you a teenager’s room is a whole different animal,

[00:13:16] So I mean there’s like, just definitely it’s different. So. . But the way that I manage it is I do, I do the Clean Mama routine myself. The what I tell the other people to do, I follow that. Uh, today is dusting day. I have had, uh, back to back day of things that I’ve been getting, like working through just for my business.

[00:13:39] I have not dusted today and. That is fine. I might just later today, probably not. I mean, in all reality, I probably won’t because I know what I’m up against the rest of the day. But I have a day built in, that’s Friday. That’s my catch all day. That’s the day that I catch up on any tasks I didn’t do. But if I don’t get to that on Friday, I just do it the next Tuesday.

[00:14:07] Like, I mean, , it comes back around. And the thing that you’ll under, you’ll see in if, if you are doing a routine, um, is that you can catch up really easily if you are doing something almost every day. So the main thing to me are my daily tasks. Those are the things that make the biggest difference and move the needle the most in my home.

[00:14:32] So those are, and those are things you’re probably doing, but it’s like making your. and I don’t make my kids beds. They make their own beds. And if they don’t make them, they don’t get made. I mean, that’s just, you know, like, yeah. What it is. Um, we do like a, every day I deal with clutter, so I’m either like, picking things up, putting things away, directing my kids to do the same thing, um, and bringing in mail, opening that up.

[00:15:00] I mean, there’s like little things that you do all day long, all through the day. Or you can stack it and get it done all at the end of the day. But it’s, um, I do a load of laundry every day, at least one. That’s a huge thing for me, just from a maintenance standpoint. So like, load a load of laundry from washer dryer, fold, put away every day.

[00:15:25] My kids do their own laundry. I mean, we, there are, there are things that you can do that really help to keep your home clean. Um, and those daily tasks are those things. Wiping the counters, cleaning up the kitchen. Those are like those little things that give the house like it’s clean. But now, unless someone’s doing a white glove test, no one’s gonna know I didn’t dust today,

[00:15:50] You know, it’s not, it’s those like putting the things away that you took out. Those are the things that are really going to, you know, help that. Now I, I am like the main person for my business. I’m the only full-time employee. I have people. I contract out and work for me, but I’m not like it is me and I have, I’ve had to figure out how to really balance that, that home and work component.

[00:16:25] And for me, I find that if I can do the cleaning first thing in the morning, that’s when I’m most effective and can get the most done. I like exercise. Do my cleaning. Take a shower, get ready, go to work in my house, . 

[00:16:42] Leah: Okay. I like that. I love hearing how different people do do it, right? Because sometimes it just sparks to like, oh, I never thought about that.

[00:16:49] I could clean up at the beginning. Right? Like, you know, it just gives us other ideas. So, okay, so how do you deal with two different things? One, how do you deal. The stuff that gets left places or does that just not happen in your house? Cuz I would say, if I’m being totally honest, one of our biggest things in our home is we’re not necessarily getting to the cleaning.

[00:17:14] I mean Yes. Cleaning the kitchen, things like that. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . We’re just trying to like, get everyone to put their stuff back away. Mm-hmm. , right? Yeah. So, so how do you deal with that and how do dinner dishes work at. 

[00:17:27] Becky: Yeah. So putting things away that is still reminders. Like, Hey, put your shoes away. Hey, put, pick this up.

[00:17:35] , I will, if there’s things like one of my kids leaves socks everywhere, I will like take ’em and I will just throw ’em in. Said person’s room, . Yep. And then they have to deal with them. I will. Just because I’m not gonna sit like they’re at school. I’m not gonna. All day looking at pure socks that are like strewn wherever, you know, 

[00:17:59] I am not like someone that I’m not yelling or like harping on them to. and the kids to get their stuff cleaned up. I’m more of a gentle reminder and, you know, remember to do this and do that and I mean, they, they’ll do it. But I think that the, it’s, it’s just like, uh, it’s a constant.

[00:18:22] Reminder a constant battle. And it’s the same with myself, I mean mm-hmm. and my husband. I mean, I still, if I am not consciously doing it, I will leave my makeup or my hair stuff, whatever on my bathroom counter. Like it’s something I’ve always done and I have to like, put it away as I’m doing that. But if, if I were to be in a.

[00:18:44] I would just leave it out and run. I mean, it’s, I don’t know. It’s, it’s just one of those things that I think that we, um, just recognizing that, and just saying like, I, I mean, one of my daily tasks is to wipe the counters that includes the bathroom. So I’m like doing a quick wipe of the bathroom counters that helps me to make sure that there’s nothing on those counters so that it’s easier.

[00:19:09] I love going into a bathroom when the counters are clean versus. It past like, like a towel on the counter, a toothbrush, like whatever it is, it just, it’s better to have it picked up and put away. It takes like seconds, but we, we do have clutter, or things left out and it’s just like a, I don’t know, like a, it’s not a battle cuz it’s not like we’re fighting it or we’re fighting about it, but it’s just, Always reminding, like, I’m always reminding myself, I’m always reminding the kids like, we’re, it is what it is.

[00:19:46] It’s, I think it’s human nature, um, and just something you just kind of work on. And by taking care of it daily, it definitely helps. Now, kitchen dishes, kitchen counters, putting the dishes away. We, so we do, I mean, there’s a couple different things. So I’ll start with the morning. I will unload the dishwasher while my coffee’s brewing, and then that way the dishwasher is empty.

[00:20:14] So when the kids have breakfast, they can put, they can make themselves breakfast, they can put their dishes right into the dishwasher rather than stacking it on the counter for me after they, after they go to school. , mm-hmm. . So they’re dealing with their dishes. Um, we have a couple different schools of thought in our home regarding like rinsing the dish.

[00:20:37] Some people like to rinse, some other people don’t. So I mean, I make sure that someone’s taking care of that in some, some way. Um, as for dinner dishes, everyone clears their own dishes. My husband and I will usually just kind of work together to load the dishwasher up, um, just because we do a better job and we can get everything in, whereas the kids will just kind of throw it in.

[00:21:06] It’s done, but they do clear their own table, their spots, wipe off the counters, um, you know, sweep, vacuum if needed under the table. I mean, that’s kind of, we’re kind of all in on that pitching in and, and just 

[00:21:20] Leah: getting it done. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Okay. I love that. Yeah. So we do, um, where I’ll, I’ll call out reset the, So if we’re all leaving a room, we’ll just do a quick reset and, you know, put the pillows back, throw the blankets in the basket, clear, you know, any food, dishes, run ’em up to the kitchen.

[00:21:38] So that has really helped, but that has not transcended to if they’re by themselves, right? Mm-hmm. , then everything, you know, kind of gets left. And, um, so, and then as far as the dinner dishes for us, we still haven’t quite mastered how to do that. We, there’s, there’s kind of a thing of. , the person who who cooked doesn’t have to do the dishes.

[00:22:01] Then we changed it to the person who cooks also does the dishes. They just do all of it for that day because there was a lot of, um, a lot of problems coming around, messy cooks versus less messy cooks and certain members of the family feeling it was not fair that they had to clean up after siblings who are very, who use a lot of dishes.

[00:22:20] Um, so we’ve been, we’ve been trying to figure that all out. But I will say, so the other. Hi. I’m walking into our room right before going to bed. My husband’s like, what are you thinking? And I was like, it was one of those where, you know, your thoughts just go super random. And I was like, well, this is what I was thinking.

[00:22:37] I was thinking, time management tip. Rinse your dishes as soon as you’re done and it will save you 30% time. And then I told him and confessed, I completely made up that statistic. But I think I’m probably right because there’s a huge difference between being able to rinse a plate or a bowl or a cup, whatever it is.

[00:22:55] And even if it just sits in the sink or dropping it into the dishwasher versus. letting it cake on, and now you have to spend, I’m assuming, at least 30% more time because you need it to soak and you’re trying to scrape it out. So yes, trying to find these, these little, these little hacks that are gonna save us time, help us.

[00:23:14] Feel more clean, feel like we we’re on top of things more so rapid fire. How do you stay? Well, I think you shared with us how you stay, stay on top of the kitchen. Everybody does it together. You unload the dishwasher every morning, and then that allows everybody to start with an empty dishwasher. So they’re supposed to be placing as they go.

[00:23:34] Do I have that right? Yep. 

[00:23:35] Becky: Okay. Yep. And then the. And then it like, the worst part about that though is at the end of the, like let’s say not all the dinner dishes fit Uhhuh, so then it’s like rinsing, and then we’ll stack those on the counter. So then sometimes I’m loading in the morning after it’s unloaded.

[00:23:53] Okay. But you know, like you make it 

[00:23:55] Leah: work . Yeah, yeah, totally. Totally. Okay, so then laundry, you’re doing a load every day yourself. And then the kids also do their own. . 

[00:24:07] Becky: Yes, and sometimes I will, most of the time what I say is, does anyone have laundry? Or they have a specific day that we do laundry. Like I’ll usually do my husband’s on Monday, mine on Tuesday, and then my oldest Wednesday, middle Thursday, youngest Friday, I do sheets and towels on Saturday.

[00:24:24] So I’ve, we’ve got like a little bit of a rhythm there for that. I will put my kids’ clothes in, wash it, dry it, put it in the basket, and put it in their room. And then they fold it and put away, put it away. How good are they folding and putting away? Do they do it? They’re good because I am on top of it.

[00:24:42] Okay. But I, when, like, if I ever find a bath, sometimes I will find a basket or my youngest will. So, Like, decide that the clothes are dirty instead of clean. Yes. To put them away, if that makes sense. 

[00:24:57] Leah: I, oh, that makes, I have a youngest wore that too. , you 

[00:25:02] Becky: never wore this. Like, why are we washing it again now?

[00:25:06] It’s so wrinkled, you know? Yeah. So I mean, it’s. We’re working through those things, but 

[00:25:14] Leah: it’s so good to just know that these things happen even for you because Yes, I am so familiar with where I’m like, wait. These were clean. I know you haven’t worn all these, you put them right back into the dirty clothes instead of like taking care of them.

[00:25:29] So I am so familiar with that. So we have, where we have a schedule, it’s posted on the laundry room door. Everybody has a day. So I’m Monday and Tuesday, and then that’s my husband in my laundry. And then one of the kids has Wednesday, one has Thursday, and then our, our youngest who has really, really busy like sports and school has Saturday.

[00:25:50] So that theirs can, can get done. And then, um, and I haven’t quite figured out as well, like the towels and the sheets. So maybe I need to make Friday be like my towel sheets date, maybe. That’s, that’s what, that’s what I’m doing. Okay. What about your gathering places like, you know, the, the place where everybody drops their shoes and their bags and their, their stuff?

[00:26:10] Like how do you, how do you keep that one? 

[00:26:13] Becky: Yeah, so we have a beautiful mud room with a built in, with three baskets. So each kid has their own basket. For their shoes, but the shoes still end up on the floor. . Yes. So I mean that, and that’s like, I will like put your shoes, I mean, I will say it, before they even go to bed, I’ll be like, someone needs to go pick up the mud room, put the shoes away.

[00:26:37] Like, yes, 

[00:26:38] Leah: it’s so, okay. So the most embarrassing, one of my most embarrassing home moments, this isn’t even one of, it, is the most embarrassing home moment is, um, our house in actually in like 2015, uh, had these double glass doors and we had this, this coat closet that opened towards the glass doors. And, you know, the kids, they throw in their backpacks, they throw in their shoes, but they never, the things were never moving back to their bedroom.

[00:27:06] So it would overflow to where you couldn’t close. Well. One particular day, my mother-in-law stopped by to drop something off. She opened the door, placed a a bag inside the door, and then closed the door. Well, we hadn’t, we had forgot to lock the door, but the alarm was on and no one was home. So she had no idea that she had triggered the alarm.

[00:27:26] And so the police come, they looked through our glass doors. They see all of the things spilling out of the coat closet. Yes. They assume that there has been, 

[00:27:36] Becky: Disturbance come into 

[00:27:38] Leah: the house, like look through the entire house. They’re like, Nope, they’re just messy. I was mortified. I was absolutely mortified,

[00:27:47] So ever since I’ve had a very strict rule that the coat closet has to be able to close, you are not allowed to like just keep this. Stuffing things. The, the problem is, again, that idea of like, you know, they just kept putting more and more and more until it’s overflowing. So every once in a while I’ll like, call out.

[00:28:03] Okay. Everybody has to take five pairs of your shoes and go bring them back to your rooms or, right. Like when we, when we said you get, get too much. So, okay. Oh, this has been, this has been so good. So what is your least favorite? Short, do you have 

[00:28:19] Becky: one? Yep. Bathroom. Okay. I’m not a, I’m, I not a fan of cleaning bathrooms, which is why I do them on Mondays to make sure that they get done.

[00:28:29] If nothing gets done during the week, like, I always try to make sure that those bathrooms get clean just because Yeah. , 

[00:28:36] Leah: that’s, that’s your Yeah. But I do, 

[00:28:38] Becky: that’s your thing. Okay. Yep. That’s my nemesis is the bathrooms, you know, and in, in all honesty, I, I really enjoy cleaning. It’s cathartic to me. I, like, I enjoy the process and I, um, have found that it’s just like one of those things I really like doing.

[00:28:58] So I am not someone that like, hates it or dreads it or like, Like, relaxing and like, just kind of, I like to like putter around and, and clean. It’s, yeah. Okay. 

[00:29:12] Leah: What are your tips for the person who, who doesn’t love cleaning like they do? Yeah. It’s, they, you know, for them it’s like, oh, do you have any tips?

[00:29:20] They’re like, Hey, try this, this can make it a little more, a little more enjoyable. Yeah. So 

[00:29:25] Becky: if, if you’re not someone that likes to clean or if you are unmotivated, like on any given day that you know you need to do something, there are a couple things I, I will like, call my sister, call my mom, and start cleaning while I’m talking and.

[00:29:41] It’s interesting that like you kind of shut off the, what I’m doing while you’re talking and you can kind of move through things pretty quickly. I have found, um, I’ll also, I’ll listen to a podcast, I’ll listen to, um, Like a good playlist and some music kind of get pumped up that way. Um, I sometimes will time myself, give myself like a handful of chocolate chips if I finish.

[00:30:07] Like, I mean, I like play games with myself too, just to make myself do things. I think, um, one of the most effective things is to say like, how long do I think this will take me? And then let, let’s see if I can beat that. 

[00:30:22] Leah: Or I do that all the time within my business all the time. I mean, no, I really agree with you.

[00:30:27] Like this works. Yeah. I will. Like, I’ll, I’ll make my agenda of what I need to accomplish for the next day. I’ll time block out how long I think each task takes, and then if I beat the task, I get to have that, whatever’s left on the timer for whatever I want. Like that becomes my, my bonus time. So I really, I really love this idea of utilizing that when we’re cleaning to like, I’m, I’m gonna see how much I can get done in, in 30 minutes.

[00:30:52] I do that with our family. So I’ll say, okay, we’re doing a power clean, and I set in a timer, you know, anywhere depending on how much time we have, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, sometimes up to 30. And it’s amazing because. Uh, you put all of us just for 15 minutes. Well, there’s five of us. Mm-hmm. , right? And we’re getting some serious cleaning done in 15 minutes.

[00:31:13] I just assign everybody an area. Like, I’m like you, bonus room, you upstairs, bathroom and, and entryway. You family room, you kitchen table you right? Like, I give everyone a job and I said, go and, and it’s amazing how much we can get done. So I really, really love that tip of. Making it fun for yourself. I really think in anything that we’re doing, whatever feels like a chore, whether it’s real chores like cleaning the bathroom or or other tasks that need to be done, let’s couple it with something that feels like a reward.

[00:31:44] So whether that’s a really great audiobook or talking with someone or a literal treat, you know, reward or whatever it might be. I love that. I think that’s so, so great. Oh, thank you so much. This has. So, so good. So, okay, my last question for you is, if someone is like, okay, Becky, I have very, very little time to clean, but I want to, I want to feel like I have a clean house.

[00:32:11] What is your best tip for them to be able to, to feel like they have a clean house when they, uh, just feel like they have almost no time to make it happen? 

[00:32:23] Becky: Yeah. Start with my daily tasks. So even if you just choose one. Like, and start with that. So like, making your bed. So do that every day for a week.

[00:32:33] Just make your bed, make your bed, make your bed every single day. And then the next week, uh, add something else. So make your bed and do a lot of laundry and do that every day. And then just keep building with the daily tasks and those will transform your home in like a un. Not at all. What you’ll, what you’re expecting it it to do.

[00:32:58] Just those little things. They’re very, they’re simple. You’re probably doing them, but being mindful that those things are getting done each day is going to really help, help you to maintain your home and keep it clean. And then you can start adding other tasks on top of ’em. But those five daily tasks are like definitely the ticket.

[00:33:21] to getting 

[00:33:22] Leah: started. I love that. And I love the idea of stacking them one at a time. So, you know, we have this tendency to go all in and then we get a little overwhelmed. So instead, start with one, get that into your routine, then stack the next one. Bring that into your routine. Yeah. And it’s gonna feel like, oh, but I just, I, I need to do this.

[00:33:40] I’m gonna do it all at once. Okay. But then if we end up fizzling out completely, we’re no, we’re no better than we started. If we just stack one by. Then we can really see that progress. I love that. That’s so, so good. Oh, Becky, thank you so much for being on the Balancing Busy podcast and getting to chat with you again.

[00:33:58] You are just such a gem and um, I’m so grateful for you. So 

[00:34:02] Becky: thank you. Oh, thanks for having me. It was great to be with you again, Leah. Absolutely.

[00:34:08] Wasn’t that an incredible episode? I think my biggest takeaway is just. Knowing and realizing that if Becky has clutter, sometimes has trouble with getting certain kids to, um, put said clean laundry away. I am doing okay too. But what I’m really excited about is trying to just find those little needle movers that can make a little bit of a difference.

[00:34:32] And I’m going to personally start by trying to do the sheets and the towels on Fridays. Often feel like trying to cram all of it in Monday and Tuesday is a little bit tricky, so when I don’t make it, I’m going to move those to Friday and I’m gonna give that a try. We’ll see how it goes. I also really like the idea of getting someone sweeping.

[00:34:56] Vacuuming underneath the table and in the kitchen while we’re doing dishes. I’m gonna try that one too. So what are you going to try? What are you gonna take from this episode and make actionable just something small? 

[00:35:06] Remember, in order to balance busy, what we’re looking for is needle movers. And we take these little needle movers one by one. You pull one from this episode, you pull one from another episode from somewhere else, and you stack them. And over time we find that we are doing less but better. Thank you for being part of this episode.

[00:35:27] Please take a moment, write this very second, jump into your preferred platform where you are listening to this right now. Scroll in, find where you leave a review, and please take a minute and leave a five star review and just a couple sentences about why you enjoy this podcast. That helps me so much and it means the world, and I would just be so grateful if you would take two minutes to do that for me.

[00:35:52] Okay? I will see you next week on the Balancing Busy Podcast.

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