Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast - Melissa Maker - Easy AND Efficient Cleaning Tips | Clutterbug Podcast # 161

Episode Date: February 20, 2023

Get ready to be motivated to clean! Melissa Maker, the QUEEN of cleaning, joins me in today's podcast.  She shares her best, easiest and most efficient cleaning tips and tricks to get your home sparkling!    Let's make cleaning fun again!    You can find Melissa's YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/cleanmyspace You can find Melissa's AMAZING Microfiber cleaning cloths here: https://www.makersclean.com/   You can find more Clutterbug content here: Website: http://www.clutterbug.me YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@clutterbug TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clutterbug_me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clutterbug_me/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Clutterbug.Me/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, Clutterbugs, welcome back to the Clutterbug podcast. I'm really geeked about today's interview. I'm fangirling just a little bit. Today we have Melissa Maker from Clean MySpace and she's the queen of clean. Let's be honest, the queen of clean. She has, of course, over 2 million subscribers on YouTube, an incredible website full of so much information. She also founded a microfiber cleaning. called Makers Clean and she's the author of Clean My Space, The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster and Loving Your Home Every Day. And I just learned, I'm very surprised that she actually doesn't love cleaning. So maybe not a naturally organized or a natural clean person. And here she is doing this incredible business. Hello, Melissa and welcome. Hi, Cass. It's, it's, uh, it's, uh,

It's so nice to be doing this podcast with you. And congrats on all of your success. Thank you very much. I've been watching you for so long. I love seeing how much you've grown. And just the world is appreciating your knowledge into this. So I was really surprised. When you started this, are you saying you didn't love cleaning? Not only am I saying I didn't love cleaning. I'm saying I didn't love cleaning. I'm saying I still don't love cleaning. It's it's imprinted in my DNA. It's just not natural to me. I don't love doing it.

I don't get a high, like a natural high from it. I mean, I love the idea of a clean space. I just don't like the idea of carving out the time, that taking the time, that doing the work. I'm just like a naturally very lazy person. This makes me feel so much better. I'm like a senior. cat like really that's that's the inside of me i'm like a senior cat and i just want to like be on a chair

all day chilling being someone prepare my meals for me yes same joe i mean truthfully i i love doing things it's just cleaning does not bring me joy the act of cleaning has never brought me joy so that's why i always have found it to be a struggle that's why i decided to start my cleaning business back in 2006 and then Chad, my husband, who I know you know, he and I, you know, he and I had been together since I started this business. We only started dating three months before. So he had always been like a nice handy advisor. And he said, let's make YouTube videos so that we can help other people like you and we can help our website do well. And that's that's the Genesis story here. And the whole M.O of the entire Clean MySpace brand has always been to help people who struggle with cleaning,

like me. I love that. And I want to learn from someone who it doesn't come naturally to. I want to learn from someone who learned in the trenches, the real way to get it done. And that's exactly what you're doing. And you actually started a cleaning company. So you kind of like, you had to learn to do it fast and efficient or your business, your livelihood. Like, it depended on that. So I know that you're an expert, right? Like, that's how you know you've, you've learned the secrets and the tricks. And that's what I want to talk about right now because, listen, I also don't love cleaning. And I try to look for every shortcut I possibly could. But I know I'm missing spaces. I know I am. As I stumble across things all the time, like light switches, door knobs that are like gross and have fingerprints. But because you've done

this for so long and you have staff that you train to clean, can you let us know of a space that you think we might be neglecting that could have an impact maybe if we just gave it a little attention. I'm putting you on the spot here. No, you're not. Cass, come on. I think about this stuff 24-7. If you wanted to put me on the spot, you'd have to ask me like a really awkward personal question, and then I'd be like, dot, dot, dot. This, I got this one. So listen, as someone who cleaning does not come naturally to, and then as someone who had to learn how to clean professionally,

I always joke, like, I had new eyes installed, you know, and when you're a professional cleaner, like your eyes change, the things you look for change. And anyone who is, you know, versed in their line of work is the same way. So for me, you know, now when I walk into a space, my eyes know exactly where to look to see if something is clean or something has been neglected. Because as a professional cleaner, if I see those spots and I clean those, then the client is going to know and that's going to make the difference. So the things that I would recommend for people to check out is anything that is either above or below their sight line. because we tend to clean what we can see and we tend to avoid what we can't.

So I loved your point about points of contact, the doorknobs and the light switch plates. I feel like we spent the last three years during the pandemic talking all about that. So we can just ignore that. But what I do want to point people to are the ceiling corners, areas, you know, if there's crown molding, areas above your door, like I'm in Chad's office. right now I'm looking above his door and I know, you know, if anyone runs their finger along the top of their door frame, they'll probably get a generous line of dust. Oh my God. I don't think I've ever done my door frames, Melissa.

Okay. It's okay. I'm sorry. Cass, I want you to do a reel on this afterward and then I want you to tag me in it and show me what you find. It's going to be gross. Anyone who's listening can do that. And I think Cass and I will have a real good time.

And if I'm feeling brave, maybe I'll do the same in my house. But baseboards are the other place cast. Like a lot of people, you know, it's the up and the down. And it's those ceiling corners and it's those baseboards that are easy to ignore. But that's where things tend to build up. Yeah, I need to do both of those things. The top of my bookshelves, you're right. I don't think, I can't even remember the last time I've really dusted super high like that.

And one thing I did realize years ago was the kickplate in a kitchen. wholly it was gross down there underneath the cabinets there was splattered food and I was like stop it and then Melissa I won I wiped the door of the um the you know the dishwasher that you open up the seal oh yeah oh yeah that's that's a real yeah that's a real moment in your life where you're like I am a disgusting person. Yeah, it really is. But what you can take comfort in, Cass, is like everyone's dishwasher door, unless they are cleaning it on a very regular basis, looks exactly like yours.

Yeah, that's true. But I like your point of, I realized, I noticed in my own life in my business that a lot of people do get clutter blind. So when it comes to their organization, they see things all the time and they kind of become blind to it. And I think you're right. The up high and the up low, we're not noticing. So we're going to become blind to that. But if it's covered in dust up on the top of your door jams and you're walking by, that could be blowing down. So I want you to think about this too. Dust falls from the top to the bottom. So as dust gets kicked up, it's always looking, it takes the path of least resistance.

And it's always looking for the easiest, closest place where it can settle. And, you know, that's why I say, the surfaces that we see on a daily basis we can clean. But, you know, those areas up high, they get really dusty. And because we're not checking them regularly, it builds up. Okay. I love that. I'm going to go, I'm going to go high. I have to quickly interrupt Melissa's amazing cleaning tips to thank today's podcast sponsor, Cozy Earth. Cozy Earth has incredible bedding that feels like luxury. They have pillows, sheets, blankets, and more. I actually love. They're my favorite sheet set. They're bamboo sheet set. It's temperature regulating super soft. And I've washed my sheets obviously so many times. And every time I

wash them, I feel like they get better. I'm pretty cheap, you guys, but I love treating myself to luxury sheets. It's been a few years now that I've been using them. And I tell you, this is such a treat. There is nothing better than crawling into bed with soft, gorgeous, cool sheets. And that's what you're going to get from Cozy Earth. That's why they've been named Oprah's favorite things because they are honestly incredible. Right now, my listeners have an exclusive offer 35% off the entire site when you use the code Clutterbug. So go to cozyEarth.com and use that promo code Clutterbug today. I have my favorite clean I'm just, can I, I recommend this. So you got, do you hate this? Do you hate this swiffer dusting wand? Are you a wet duster? You like microfiber. I know you do because that's your business. You sell them. Is, is this a waste of my money? Tell me the truth. I'll chuck it right to the trash. You're the queen. It's a swiffer dust or a waste of money. Okay. It's funny because I saw you post about this the other day on Instagram and I was like, Cass, we need to have a PC, if I have a conversation about this. She's like, it's.

It sucks. It sucks. So love the concept. Hate the execution. Okay. Okay. I'm hearing a bendable duster is great because it's flexible and it gives you the additional mobility for those who can't see me. I'm raising my right arm fully right above my head. So we're limited cast to as high as we can get. And you know, Chad is a full taller than me. I'm five foot four. So he does a lot of the high cleaning jobs around here. But just from a mobility aid standpoint, having that extra arm from your cleaning wand is helpful. What I don't like about the particular product that you just showed is, A, that it's disposable. So in any disposable product that we are dealing with, you're not going to get the same kind of technology that you would get from a quality reusable product. So of course, you know what I'm going with this. You know, microfiber really is king or queen. Royalty dominates whatever you want to say.

It really does in the cleaning space because it is so clingy. It's like that clingy relationship just won't let go. And that's great for dust. So that's number one. And it comes in a multitude of different weaves. So I always say look for, you're going to laugh at this, but it'll make perfect sense. what I call a Grover arm. Okay.

Yeah, like the Muppet, right? Like Giver, yeah, like sicken out his arm, you know, and it's flexible and bendy. That's exactly what you want because you can remove the padding with the thick, large strands of microfiber. You can wash that and reuse it many times. And because the microfibers need so well, if you buy a good quality product, it will grip on to dust and hang on to it, whereas the product that you are using, sometimes hold on to it, sometimes sweeps it, and it falls down, sometimes doesn't do anything at all. So that's why.

And any time cast, like I tell anyone to do anything when it comes to cleaning, I'm always going to give them the easiest, most efficient way to do it. And I don't like to work any harder at cleaning. And that's why I say let the tools and the products do the work for you. If you have a tool that's not amazing, then you're working harder. And I don't like that journey for you. Okay. And I'm spending money. You're right. I have to come always buy these replacement swiffer things. So you're saying I could get the same better clean, but the same ease of use with microfiber, which I love. I have some of your microfiber cloths and I love them. They're amazing. I need to upgrade. Okay. You've shamed me. I'm listening. It's getting chucked. No, I haven't. Shaming you. Oh my gosh.

definitely not clean shaming you. No. Oh my God. It's either way around. Someone could clean shame me. I want to work smarter, not harder. And so I love that advice. And speaking of smarter, not harder, I do something I call the spray and walk away technique because I'm very lazy. So I spray in the bathroom and I leave. And I, I, you call this dwell time. Yeah. This telling you. us tell us about dwell time yeah so spray and walk away i feel like i've also used that um prose before because it is so poetic it's beautiful right you can put it to music you can oh my gosh there's so many things you can do with that line it's great um also i have another one just as an aside less is more when mopping the floor discuss but anyway yeah we can do that one after but yeah lots of cleaning

rhymes i've had lots of time to think about this but the spray and walk away method, dwell time, whatever you want to call it, is the way that cleaning professionals get their job done properly for a couple of reasons. First of all, cleaning time is money in the cleaning business and in any business. So you want to maximize the amount of time that you're spending in any given space by getting great results. You just don't want to spend any extra time having to get those results. So by spraying the appropriate product, meaning it's appropriate for the job hand. It's appropriate for the surface. On to that particular surface, generally following package instructions. A lot of us don't do that. So checking that out as well, it would be really important.

And then letting it do its thing. So a product is designed to work beautifully. If only we would let it. And it's us that gets in our own way. So a product needs three to five minutes, sometimes five to 10 minutes, depending on what the product's designed to do, to break down whatever dirt is on the surface. So I'm leaving mine on for like 15 minutes, sometimes longer. Is that wrong? No, it's not wrong at all. Listen, but Cass, I imagine you live in a relatively clean home. So if you're a professional cleaner and you're going into a home and it hasn't been clean in like a year, like you know, you see some of those TikToks and it's like those extreme cleans, right? So that's when you would need an extraordinary amount of dwell time for the product to do its job.

Typically, for a home that's maintained on a somewhat, and that could even be generous, on a somewhat regular basis, you don't need 15, 20 minutes. A product can generally do its thing in three to five. You can always test it first, just, you know, by doing like a small patch test and seeing, has this done its job yet? If it has, proceed. If not, you can leave it. Now, the one thing that I want to point out about dwell time is that a product is only going to work if it's wet. So sometimes people spray it and then they come back and the product is dried and they think the product is not the job and they have to wipe it. No. So what I say is like you got to hose it down. Like when I go into a bathroom or if I'm cleaning a back splash, it is dripping like dripping wet. And I'm checking it

to make sure. Yes. Checking it to make sure that it is wet. And if it is, is wet, it is working. So keep that. It's working. I love it. We can make a song about that too. We should come up. We should come up with, I was going to say a CD.

Wow. Yeah. With a hits Spotify album. Yeah. Spotify. Right. Of MP4s. Because we are young and hip.

Oh my God. Oh my gosh. It's hilarious. No, I love that. Absolutely. I did that part. out. No, we're leaving it. It's amazing. I love it. Okay, so, um, tell me the truth about disinfecting because I heard that you, to really disinfect a space, I heard this from you. It's got to sit.

And yet there's these Lysol wipes that are like, boop, boop, bo, doop. Are they doing stuff? So I've actually had calls with, um, Clorox and Lysol about this very point. Um, during the pandemic, I did a program with Clorox, actually. And I said to them, like, please help me parlay this to my audience in the clearest way possible so that they understand. And this is what they said. They said, you have to use the wipe wet on the surface. And it has to look wet for the prescribed amount of time required for that product to do its job. So if it's dry, you got to go back with the wipe and you got to wipe it again. So for me,

you know, my take on disposables, I think disinfectants, frankly, unless we're dealing with a global pandemic, should be used judiciously. And that's because I believe that bacteria give your body a bit of a challenge. You know, I don't think we have to live in these perfectly sterile environments. So we have disinfectant in this home, but we don't use it all the time. unless we absolutely have to. And when we have to, we follow the package instructions. I think this is my favorite thing you've ever said, Melissa, because I do think people over disinfect, over bleach, over harsh chemicals. And if they're not leaving it wet, you're right, they're just doing it for nothing and you're inhaling all these fumes. And like, that's not the secret to,

like a stronger, more chemically cleaner. I don't think is the secret to a clean. in the house. No. It's understanding what the product is designed to do, understanding when and where you need to use those products, and also where you can sub in DIY products, which you know I love and I know you love. I love the DIY cleaners. It almost like makes me feel proud of myself while I'm using them. Does that sound weird? When I make my own cleaner, I'm more motivated to use that cleaner. I don't know why. Yeah, I think it's because we know we're saving money. So I think that's exciting. And I think it's also like we've, it's like a micro accomplishment. It's like you've mixed up this solution that's getting the job done. I got this. Like I can do everything. I can even make my own

cleaning product, you know. It's like a little, it's like a little craft project that then you get to use. it's kind of like a craft and you know for me when i finish when i get to the end of the bottle i'm like yeah every single time because i'm like i'm not going and spending five bucks on another bottle of those and or another bottle of that and and i think it's so good to make your own stuff save money and find that balance for you in your home of integrating DIY products as well as those required storebought products knowing how and when to use them yes and you have great, great recipes. So tell people where they can find your recipes for your DIY cleaners that are the best. Thank you. So on our website, cleanyspace.com, we have a selection of

ebooks and printables, one of which is our 50 DIY, 50 DIY cleaners or cleaning recipes. And yeah, it's it's just a little wealth of knowledge. right there. It's great. You also have an e-book for the three-wave system that I've had so many people raving about and talking about because as a professional cleaner, you have to clean efficiently and quickly. And so you've coined this three-wave system and it works. Okay. This is how professional cleaners clean. It's the secret. Please share it with my listeners if you don't mind. I will. So when you think about a wave in a sports stadium, you know, everyone's like raising their arms and it goes around and it happens flawlessly. So that's kind of where I got the idea of the wave system where it's

just like this flawless, you know, round the circle or round the room experience that happens three times. And each wave is broken down into very specific components that have to be done during the cleaning. The rules with the waves are you always use the same starting point. We make it easy. We say pick the door. You always work section by section just like in a stadium, right? You're always working in a section or the waves going around by a section. And you're working from the top to the bottom, which is not like what you would see at the stadium, but you catch my drift. And that's because dust and dirt always falls from the top to the bottom. Wave one is tidying and organizing. So I'm not saying this is the time to declutter.

This is not the time to declutter. This is when we're tidying a room. But if you see things that are out of place, this is the time we're going to put them in place. You're going to take anything that doesn't belong in that space, garbage, items that belong elsewhere, and you're going to put them at the foot of the door just to get them out of the room. Once the room is tidied, then it can be cleaned. And that is wave two, where we do our cleaning or polishing or dusting or disinfecting. are shining, whatever it is that you're going to be accomplishing during wave two,

that's when you get it done. And then wave three is floors and emptying any of the garbage. So the idea is by the time you get to wave three, and by the way, you don't vacuum or mop in a circle. There's a separate technique for that W pattern. You always mop or vacuum yourself out of the room instead of into the corner. So I always say just orient yourself to the opposite corner of the exit point of the room when you start wave three, which sounds technical, but say it in your head a couple of times and it will really make sense. And that's it. That is it for the three wave system. It sounds simple because it is, but it works. I'm feeling motivated to clean right now. I don't know if you're listening, but I'm feeling like I want to put on an apron

and do a little cleaning right now. It's been a while since I've done a full deep clean. And that's what that feels like to me since I've done the vacuuming and the mopping and the dusting all in one fell swoop. And so I know I'm missing things and I'm certainly missing high and missing low. And this sounds like if I'm doing the wave system, it's going to be fast. I'm staying focused. I'm not leaving the room. I'm methodically cleaning, which is how professional cleaners do. And I don't think as a everyday cleaning our own home, we're not doing it that way. we're not because we're just we're just looking for functional we're looking to get the job done when i clean now and it's like you can't unlearn how to clean this way once you do it um what's great

for me is like i said i have those eyes installed so i can now do a wave in a room and i know and i think i write about this in my book like i nod my head in the yes position so sort of nod your head up and down as you scan and you're just looking. Is there dust? Are there fingerprints? Is there a streak? Is there a spider web? What do I need to deal with right here? And then you can just kind of like cartoonishly grab all your tools and your arms flopping around and moving. And like when I'm cleaning and you know what's funny cast? Like when I'm being filmed, it is not what I look like when I'm really cleaning because I have to be cognizant that my back is into the camera and that my hair's not in my face. Like they're just, and you know because you're on camera.

You know, it just, it doesn't look the way it looks when it's really happening, which is also so frustrating for me because I really want people to see that, but like you have to respect the cameras and the audience who are going to be watching you. But when I am cleaning like that, it is fast, it is efficient. The job gets done. Boom. And rarely do I feel proud of myself for cleaning. But let me tell you, when a room is done, I'm just like, damn. that was good. Yeah, that's so sad. I feel the same way when I do take the time to do it right. It is satisfying. And I have to, I have ADHD. We've talked about this so many times, but I have to go to zombie land, I call it. So I need to shut my brain off and let my body methodically do the cleaning.

So it's audio books, it's podcasts, it's music. It's, it's something to shut my brain off so I can just go to town. But I'm not doing the three wave system, which, I'm going to start doing today. Do you also distract your brain when you clean? Yeah, I call it brain candy because I find cleaning so utterly boring and painful and unenjoyable. I just, I have to give my brain some candy. So for me, it's podcasts. Okay. I love that. Okay. And so we're totally on the same page that it is cleaning sucks. But man, is it worth? Absolutely sucks.

Like I would get that tattooed on me. It really does suck. The queen of clean. Clean by space. Cleaning sucks. I'd be hilarious. But it does suck. But it's so worth it.

Do you know what sucks more than cleaning? Having a dirty house. No kidding. No kidding. And, you know, to me, when I walk into my home and it's clean, my whole vibe changes. is when I walk into my home and it is messy or dirty, my mood, my energy, everything about me shifts. So when I'm really struggling to find the desire to clean, I do it for future me and future Chad and future Riley. You know, I want to make sure that they are happy.

And oh my gosh, I don't know how your kids are, but Riley is like half the time. she's like, mom, like the other night, she wanted to quote unquote film a YouTube video and clean the bathroom. Great. She had a great time. The other half of the time, she's like throwing her jacket on the floor, leaving her clothes and underwear everything. And I'm just like, no, we put this in the hamper. We hang this in the closet. And then I stop myself because I don't want to be bossy mom. I want to be like setting a good example mom. I want to be, you know, living in a clean house mom. So I'm trying to navigate that myself now. Yeah, it's a whole, I don't want to be my mother.

So my mother nagged me to clean all the time, which made me go the opposite way and really resist cleaning. And I was like, I'm not being my mother. I'm not being a clean freak. But I know the benefits. So I don't want to nag my children. I have a 16 year old daughter who's very like a little rebellious right now. She's going through that phase. So she's, her room is so gross.

Listen, Melissa, it's so gross. But I've gone in there. with her permission, without her, and just got rid of the trash and wiped down the surfaces and I mopped and I cleaned. And she said to me, I feel so much better in this space. So I don't think I'm going to nag her. I don't know. I'm not a parenting expert. But I feel like nagging her to do it hasn't been helpful. I have to show her the benefits. Right. I think that sounds right. Like my mom, and I actually wrote this, I think at the very beginning of my book, my mom used to say that crossing the floor of my bedroom was like an Olympic event. And when people, like, I did not see a point of folding and putting laundry away. I had no problem wearing wrinkly clothes to school.

Like, I just did not care. And, you know, frankly, I can put those blinders on to this day. Like, I can see past a mess. No problem. It's like a life skill that I have developed. as, you know, many of us have developed our own skills. And my, like, my mom too and my parents are great, but like, you know, there's, there was, cleaning was not a fun thing growing up.

And I realized, like, how can I find a way to show my daughter that cleaning is important and meaningful work and will make her happier? But it's not something that she has to dread. And, you know, I, so I really watch my language around her. I will happily say publicly that I hate cleaning. But when we're at home, I always talk about how cleaning shows our house that we love it, that we love each other, and that we know how to take really good care of it so that we can be proud of our beautiful home. Like, that's the kind of language that I'm using. And again, she's young. She's 4, 25 in a couple weeks. So that's where she's at and I'm just trying to encourage her. But I wouldn't be surprised if she like most other

teenagers, including your daughter, goes through that same gross stage. And eventually when she wants to have friends or partners come to her room, like it's going to have to look a little bit better. And she's just going to have to, you know, step up. Exactly. I mean, they're going to be fine. If you have kids and you're like, they're so messy. Listen, Melissa and I were so messy. And look at us now. They will figure it out, but we can model. Only 50% disaster. 50%. I'm like, I'm like a, yeah, I'm a little, I'm a recovering super slob and I fall back sometimes. I'm a recovering slub too. Sure. Yeah. Great. It's good. But I do want to model to my daughter that it is

part of self-care. And that, that's the truth. That's something I didn't realize. Just like showering and taking care of yourself, brushing your hair, taking care of your home. It makes you feel better. It just, it does. It makes you feel more productive. It makes you feel happier. It less stressed. And it seems like a daunting thing that's, I always thought it's going to take forever. I don't want to spend my weekends like a neurotic person cleaning. But that's not what it has to be. It really doesn't have to be an all encompassing all or nothing thing. I'm glad that you say that because I think that was a misconception for me. me. And when I think about it, it's because that's what it was like growing up. Like, we would spend

half a day on a weekend, the whole family cleaning the house. And I was like, insert square word here. This insert swear word here. Like, I was not having it. And I was like, this is lame. I hate my family. Like, it just sucked. Like, it just sucked. And that is not the way that my parents intended it. and that is not the way that it is for me today. Because like you say, I've just found routines. I've found ways to squeeze it in. And I will say, fortunately, I have a partner who is great at tidying. We understand each other's strengths.

We understand each other's weaknesses. And we do our best to work together. And when we are in concert, our house looks fabulous. And when we are not, our house looks messy. So, you know, with Chad and I, we're honest about where we're at. And sometimes if he knows I'm having a really hard time, he will clean the kitchen top to bottom as an as like an active service, as a love language, is an act of love. And it's just, it's a kind thing to do. It's a real gift.

So I appreciate that. And I also know he's having a really hard time. I can reciprocate by doing that and it goes a long way as well. So, you know, cleaning is so much more deep rooted than just if your house looks clean or not. It infiltrates relationships. It infiltrates, you know, pride that you feel in your home where your mood is, how you are socially. I mean, there's just so much that it connects to.

that it can seep into if you are not careful. Yes. Yeah. I feel that so hard. I feel like when my house, when I'm making it a priority, that doesn't mean I'm spending a ton of time on it. But when I'm actively like keeping up on it, every other area of my life is better. Does that make sense? I'm happier with my husband.

He's happier with me. My kids seem less stressed. I just feel I have I have breathing room in my life and it's insane how a house can have that impact and I think my mother knew that on some level she knew that but she was going about getting it the wrong way she was overcomplicating over cleaning and being really neurotic and kind of but at the end of the day what she was looking for was that piece yeah and I think it's a visual representation of being on the ball, right? Like, if you have a clean home, it, yeah, like I got this in line. I have everything in line. And I was chatting with someone one time and they said a really interesting thing to me. And that was their mom had said, I wish I cared less about cleaning when you were growing up and more about spending quality time with you. So I think that is also an important thing to keep in mind. If we're not careful with how we implement the cleaning routines at home, it can affect relationships.

And a clean home is important, and we can achieve that. But maintaining those relationships and finding joy in our day and not usurping a clean home for great relationships with our family and friends, that's something to be mindful of too. Absolutely. You're right. It's a fine line. we can have our cake and eat it too. We can take shortcuts. We can allow things to get messy sometimes when family time trumps, but we can catch back up by working smarter, not harder. And that's what

you're all about. That's what your YouTube channel is about. That's what your website's about. That's what your cleaning tools are about. It's finding those shortcuts so we can have our cake and eat it too. So we can have a clean house, but not dedicate our lives to cleaning. So thank you. Oh, Cass, thank you. This was a very lovely conversation about the topic that neither of us like. We hate it. We hate it. But we see the importance. So tell my listeners, they need to run over to you, how they can find you. And tell us more about your cleaning tools because I want to get some better tools that aren't the ones I just throw in the trash when I'm done with them. Oh, okay. Well, so we have a website called Makers. So it's makersclean.com or for our Canadian friends, makersclean.cafein. Where you can go and find a variety of different microfiber cleaning cloths.

We have one of our newest products is a scrub sponge. So instead of using like a smelly sponge that sort of gets discolored and gross, this one can actually be machine washed and it lasts and lasts yet. It's really awesome called the scrub square. We have a variety of different microfiber cloths. We have our makers mop, the taco-shaped mop, and oh my gosh, we have like, whoa, we have a lot going on with makers this year. But the thing I want you to know about makers clean is that I started it because when I

started my YouTube channel back in ancient times when you and I both started our YouTube channels, I would talk about cleaning with microfiber. And everyone would say, but where do I get those cloths? The ones I have from the dollar store or from the home store just aren't the same as what you're saying. They're not performing. And I realized I have access to janitorial supplies and different wholesalers. So that's why we started makers clean to bring professional quality microfiber to consumers. We've tested, like for our first round of cloths, which is our core product lineup, we tested over a hundred different cloths before we found the Goldilocks version.

So I'm very proud of that. Like we've worked very hard to find amazing stuff. And then we've expanded into a bath line. So we have like these beautiful luxury face cloths and towels. And the lovely thing about microfiber is it's super durable. You can wash it hundreds and hundreds of times. It feels great. It cleans well.

It absorbs well. And it doesn't get smelly. And that's something that people freak out about. And it just doesn't happen. It's incredible. So, yeah, if you haven't tried cleaning with microfiber, get on it. It's great. I've tried your particular cloths, which I have to say are better than the leading competition one that I spent too much money on in a multi-level marketing party that I once went to.

I don't want to name names, but Melissa's are better. Oh, thanks, Cass. I mean, obviously I think they are too, but that would sound really biased. They're better. They're better. Well, thank you. This was amazing. I'm literally, want to go clear. I am. I'm going to clean my house right now. Oh my gosh. I'm proud of you. Thank you. I'm not going to go clean after this conversation, but I'll think about you. I'm feeling motivated. I'm putting on an apron. I'm going to listen to a podcast and I'm going to get some three wave cleaning done. So thank you. Thank you so much. You guys go to clean my space.com or go to clean my space on YouTube. Check out more of Melissa and get inspired to clean your house today too.

Thank you guys so much for listening and I'll see you guys next time.