WEBVTT - Spring clean without losing your weekend

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to spring clean without losing

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<v Speaker 1>all your free time in the process. When the weather

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<v Speaker 1>turns nicer, many people like to open up their homes

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<v Speaker 1>and freshen things up. We're not living in the era

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<v Speaker 1>when this was about airing out soot, but still the

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<v Speaker 1>impulse to spring clean is strong. This is especially true

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<v Speaker 1>this year, when many of us are spending way more

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<v Speaker 1>time in our homes than we're accustomed to. In normal times,

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<v Speaker 1>you might keep walking past that streak on the wall

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<v Speaker 1>in your kitchen and continue on to everything else. This year,

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<v Speaker 1>there's nowhere to escape. Of course, the trouble with this

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<v Speaker 1>is that housework, like email, can expand to fill all

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<v Speaker 1>available space. Consequently, this year, in particular, we need to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out how to spring clean without consuming all our time.

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<v Speaker 1>It will probably not surprise you that I think this

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<v Speaker 1>calls for getting organized instead of just grabbing a spray

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<v Speaker 1>bottle and paper towels and going for it, or, as

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<v Speaker 1>one friend of mine posted on social media, rage cleaning

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<v Speaker 1>and actually throwing all her family's dirty dishes in the trash.

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<v Speaker 1>Make a list of projects that will have the most impact.

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<v Speaker 1>These are actual discrete projects. Maybe it's finally putting away

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<v Speaker 1>all the junk on your stairs or kitchen island, or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe it's wiping all the streaks off the windows. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know, but make a list and then next to

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<v Speaker 1>each item, state what done looks like. The kitchen island

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<v Speaker 1>is done when everything is off of it except for

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a centerpiece and the counter is wiped down. If

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<v Speaker 1>you're talking window cleaning, count how many windows you have.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have twenty windows, this project is done when

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<v Speaker 1>twenty windows are clean. Or maybe you break it into

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<v Speaker 1>upstairs and downstairs windows. Name may object that housework is ongoing,

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<v Speaker 1>which is true. There's an old phrase that housework is

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<v Speaker 1>never done, but most households that have at least some

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<v Speaker 1>system for the ongoing stuff. Eventually you empty the dishwasher

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<v Speaker 1>and take out the trash. Spring cleaning is better focused

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<v Speaker 1>on the other stuff that isn't part of routine household maintenance,

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<v Speaker 1>So ideally these projects can in fact be done at

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<v Speaker 1>least until some point a little farther in the future

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<v Speaker 1>than tomorrow. Anyway, make your list, ask any other household

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<v Speaker 1>members for feedback. They may wish to add projects. They

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<v Speaker 1>may decide that some projects aren't necessary, in which case

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<v Speaker 1>probably they should take on different projects, divvy them up

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<v Speaker 1>ideally based on who volunteers. If you are often the

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<v Speaker 1>taskbuster in your house, you can win people over by

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<v Speaker 1>noting that this is the list. You are all agreeing

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<v Speaker 1>to it, which means that you won't suddenly appear later

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<v Speaker 1>telling someone to turn off the video games and go

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<v Speaker 1>wash the windows. Then assigned times for getting these projects done.

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<v Speaker 1>You have to know your household here. Some families do

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<v Speaker 1>best taking a few designated hours on a Saturday. Others

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<v Speaker 1>do best letting people choose the time as long as

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<v Speaker 1>it is done by Sunday night at eight pm. But

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<v Speaker 1>with a limited list you can start seeing progress quickly. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>the house may not wind up looking like something out

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<v Speaker 1>of a magazine, but with all of you living in

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<v Speaker 1>there seven that's unlikely to be the end result. Anyway.

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<v Speaker 1>If you choose a few projects and focus your efforts,

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<v Speaker 1>they will get done, and then you can relax and

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy your free time too. If you have a system

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<v Speaker 1>for spring cleaning, I'd love to hear about it. You

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<v Speaker 1>can let me know at before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Two