Life with Nat - EP21: The cleaning episode

Episode Date: June 30, 2024

Nat and her sister in law Linny chat all things cleaning. A relaxing, fun episode to ease you into your week! Enjoy. X Please subscribe, follow, and leave a review. xxx You can find us in all places here; https://podfollow.com/lifewithnat/view INSTA: @natcass1 A 'Keep It Light Media' Production Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: [e-mail] SHOW INFO: Life with Nat - it’s me! Natalie Cassidy and I’ll be chatting away to family, friends and most importantly YOU. I want to pick people's brains on the subjects that I care about- whether that’s where all the odd socks go, weight and food or kids on phones. Each week I will be letting you into my life as i chat about my week, share my thoughts on the mundane happenings as well as the serious. I have grown up in the public eye and have never changed because of it. Life with Nat is the podcast for proper people. Come join the community. ♥️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Visit BetterHelp.com today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com. Hello and welcome to Life with Nat. I am joined by Aunty Linny. You'll remember my sister-in-law Linny from our grief episode. So that one was a little bit difficult and, you know, quite a severe topic, but people absolutely loved it. But she's here with me tonight because Linda is the original Mrs Hinch.

And I'm not just saying that. Not as glamorous as her though. More glamorous. More glamorous. How are you? I'm good, you? Yeah. Baking though, isn't it? It's very hot. I can't keep talking about how hot it is because I've done that three times now. It's very boring. It's like being in a sauna though.

I know. That's good. Might shed a few pounds. I know. Emma's not joining us tonight oh that's a shame um her response was this please feel free to say emma isn't joining us because she fundamentally refuses to acknowledge that the need for cleaning exists and i'm sure there's going to be a lot of people say much the same but each to their own you've got a couple of people since i put a video on saying we were going to do the cleaning ep we've had a couple of um questions i thought we'd start with oh god i'm not a professional cleaner i hasten to add you're better than a professional

cleaner though before we get into the tips can you remember when you started cleaning? How did it naturally progress? I'm going to get morbid again. No. Sorry, guys. I don't mean to, honestly. I was kind of forced. Right. So when my, I mean, I was younger when I lost my mum, as you know,

and we spoke about in the grief episode. So when mum was around, around I did like you've just said to Eliza clean your room but I did nothing at all and I'm going back a long time when you know women were stay-at-home mums doing housework blah blah blah my mum worked and my dad had an expectation that I should help her I did nothing and my mum would just say look just sit there whilst I'm doing this and dad I think you're helping me when I lost her then obviously I kind of I was it was all men at home very male-orientated environment and I kind of just wanted to live in a my mum was a clean tidy lady yeah didn't have a glamorous home it was very basic but it was always in order always in order clean

I mean there was a you know we were a family of six so and I guess it must have so you just took it on I took it on not wanting to take it on Natalie and I can't say as a young girl I enjoyed it but I think where it really probably stemmed from was when I bought my first house. Yeah. I'd worked hard to buy my home. I was so proud of it. And I just wanted it to look nice. Yeah. And I just think it's either.

And it's just evolved from there. And now, ironically, I'm in a job where we talk about cleaning a hell of a lot because we have tenants moving in and out of properties on a daily basis. Yeah. So I bet you've seen some states in the past could write a book literally write a book i mean like you just don't know i know because of all privacy and whatever we can't go too far into things but you must tell me an image of possibly the worst place that you've walked into after it being rented oh no i don't think i could i don't you have to see it to believe it i was looking at it and i couldn't believe it that people the way people live it shocks me and look i'm not saying genuinely guys i'm not saying that we've got to spend our lives dusting hoovering cleaning bathrooms because it's hard work it's hard graft and yes life's too short and we should be out

there having fun and do it but for me it's a hygienic thing when I walk into my home I just feel that it relaxes me knowing everything's in order it's clean it's tidy my bathrooms are clean but see my clean is different no I was gonna say you could leave your home I reckon you could leave your home for three weeks even a month, and people could walk into it and they'd think it had just been cleaned. They would think that. Yeah.

But I do that subconsciously. I don't go, I'm not that person. Well, you know. No, because it's a skill because you will be. Yeah, it's a skill. Whenever I come over, you'll chat away, but you'll be dusting. It's like you do housework without thinking about it. Yeah, I think I do.

But for me, it goes deeper. It's not that superficial clean, dusting, hoovering. No. This is where I think people go wrong with cleaners. They'll have a weekly cleaner, my children included. They have a weekly cleaner, my children included they have a weekly cleaner something obviously i don't have and the weekly cleaner does the same clean every week absolutely does the beds bit of hoovering no that's you're doing it wrong you see that's what you should

what a cleaner needs to do for you is rotate the clean so one week she's doing your window ledges and doing the dusting. This is what I'm saying to you. If people heard you say window ledges, that's just, sometimes that just never gets done. Wash machine dispensers, wash machine seals. Yeah.

Jet washed the patio yesterday on my day off. Lovely weather though. Oh, it was smashing. Did you do it in your bikini? Jet washed, well, I wouldn't do that to my neighbours, but I was though. Oh, it was smashing. Did you do it in your bikini? I wouldn't do that to my neighbours, but I was in a flimsy little dress. Jimbo wouldn't mind. Yeah, I see

dirt that people don't see. Yeah, you do, yeah. I don't know. I feel it has just evolved over the years I enjoy it I don't find it a chore so it's like anything isn't it when you do if you do a job that you enjoy it's not a job as such no it's easy but you'll do things like I'll ring you and you'll say I've just pulled all the sofas out taking all the cushions off oh yeah love doing you like doing that just as I'm getting older I'm struggling with pulling of heavy furniture.

But, oh, God, that for me... Now, how many times do you do that a year? I would say I do it at least... Now that I've got the grandchildren, probably a little bit more because it's amazing what you can find under there. I would say I do it not that often, Natalie. Every four months. Every quarter? Yeah quarter yeah yeah three times a year yeah yeah that's quite a lot though yeah some people never pull out no their sofas i probably don't once a year

if that and there's nothing wrong with that it is for me it relaxes my mind having a tidy home I can't focus like the children used to say we'd all be sitting watching a tv program yeah a film we'd be into a film all curled up on the sofa and then I didn't realize I was doing it and then I'd get up and start doing something I know and because I'd noticed a smear on a bit of glass or a mirror and I'd get up and just click and they'd be like, what are you doing? Why have you just done that? I don't even know I'm doing it.

Because that's troubling me. That smear is distracting me from watching. I'm not one of those people. If someone said to me, I'm just going to pop round, I wouldn't be like, oh my God, I've got to run round like a lunatic. You don't have to. It's like a show home. But it be like, oh, my God, I've got to run round like a lunatic. You don't have to. No. It's like a show home.

But it's still a home. Oh, God, yeah. I just hate the thought that you people. No, it wasn't like mummies, was it? No. So I thought we'd have to touch on my mum's. God rest her soul. God rest her beautiful soul.

Now, when I used to go to your mum. Yeah, you was on edge. Edge? With three children. Can you imagine? Bless her. She'd go, come round for lunch on Sunday. And we'd pile into the car, all family of five, three young children.

And I loved going to your mum's for her roast and her apple pie. But all those ornaments, expensive ornaments, everything immaculate. you'd walk in and just smell of Lenore it was but I was a bundle of nerves yeah but your bless your mum she would say stop fussing leave them alone they're okay don't worry yeah yeah but I knew how how how house proud she was she was to a different level though, wasn't she? Because am I right in saying, I mean, I think mummy used to wash her neck curtains once a week. But your mum used to have a different pair of heavy curtains.

She'd always buy her curtains in Marksies because they'd go in the wash. Yep. And she'd have like two or three sets because she loved to change the look of her room. Her scatter cushions yeah her duvet cover yeah her curtains her nets but your mum was a heavy smoker yes remember so for her and your house never smelt of smoke never smelt of smoke ever ever ever because she was washing every day oh no it was quite your mum was to a different level to me. Quite remarkable, really.

Yeah. So I suppose I was thinking today about the ep and thinking, when did I, what am I like as a cleaner now? I think I have relaxed a lot, very much so. This house is filthy. No, it is. Like you said, superficially, it looks fine, but it needs a proper deep clean.

Proper deep clean. But I have relaxed because you get busy and I have got that little bit now. If I want to sit down, also I'm doing the other podcast where I need to watch loads of telly so I have to sit down and watch the telly

there's more things in my life that I need to be doing but you have to prioritise it's got to prioritise it but it again you have a house

which there is such a huge difference between two adults living in a home yeah and throwing children or adult children

young children Well also, Joanie, I mean Joanie today, look, look at her. She's off now for another three days.

She's got chicken pox. Just found out she's got chicken pox. So your whole routine goes out the window. You can't do anything bless her little heart. So that's that really.

That's a game changer. But you just have to get on with it when you've got kids and also Joanie is one of those kids. I'm sure listeners, you will agree with me. She's seven, but every room she goes in, she'll open the cupboard. She doesn't shut the doors.

Everything comes out. Nothing gets put away. And I find that now she is at an age where she should play with something and put it back, but she just doesn't. It's a nightmare. So I spend my whole day getting the house to a state of just what it looked like before you go to bed, which is just putting blankets away, teddies away, pens away,

closing things, board games away. I just find it very hard work where you feel like you're not achieving anything. It's just always exactly the same. I don't think, oh, I've done all my fridge years or I've done. Anyway, I've got a few messages that I think we should get to. Okay. Natalie says, hello, Natalie. Another Natalie. Hi, Nat. This is Nat. My hubby and I used to smash through the cleaning together. And since he passed away almost four years ago, he was only 43. I struggled to motivate myself especially with a messy teen that undoes the work I have just done I work from home too so once I finish I

just want to get out for a bit best piece of advice I saw was to get a timer put the music on and blitz through a room works a treat loving the podcast I listen on the dog walks and I have discovered off the telly too it's like having company on my evening plots so thank you very much but yeah it's funny isn't it so she used to do the cleaning with her hubby so that was my next conversation i want to be honest here how many men do real housework controversially i'm sure there are a lot that do their own in a house proud. I'm sure there are. But within my circle, not a lot of deep cleaning gets done. Now, my Mark, he's very good.

If I go to work, if I'm busy, he'll chuck some washes on. He'll do a bit of cooking. He'll run the hoover around but in terms of deep cleaning a bathroom mark's never done that no david no no again i think there are i have friends that do you yeah i've got a friend that her husband will deep clean the bathrooms and he's meticulous because that's all he has to focus on right this is again the difference between a woman and a man doing a job and sorry for all you men out there but it's like when a man cooks yeah all he's got to focus on isn't he he's enjoying it he's cooking

a wine whereas when a woman's cooking or certainly when i used to get the opportunity to cook because you know your brother loves cooking i'd be thinking, I've got to put that wash out. Oh, I've got to go and pick up so-and-so from school. Oh, I've got to go and strip my bed still. So whilst I'm cooking, I've got hundreds of others. And that's the same when you're cleaning. A woman's cleaning, she's rushing her way around the house because she wants to try and get as much done as possible.

Whereas a man, you give him a task and say, go and do the bathroom. Those that do do it, that's all they've got to focus on. And then that's how you end up with your deep clean. That's why, again, the skill of cleaning is dedicating time during the week. Yeah. There hasn't got to be a lot of time where you do a room or a wardrobe or a bath or a shower enclosure. People will think you're nuts, a lot of people. Really?

Yeah. Have a listen to this. Liam's been in touch. Go on, Liam. Got some lovely videos from Liam to show you. Hi, Nats. Loving your podcast. Love it, love it, love it.

Look, right, my tip, well, I want tips, is how do you clean TVs? Just how do you do it? I smear it, so I really don't clean it. I haven't cleaned it for a year. But any tips on how to clean TVs would be most welcome. See, the fact that Liam's even noticed that his TV needs cleaning is so impressive. Yes, Liam. You look so happy.

I'm so happy. Over to you. Well, you can buy special cloths that don't scratch. You certainly never, ever put a product on a TV screen. Are they the thin blue ones? Yes. Similar to what you would use to clean say your phone screen yeah or even your glasses well i have this problem and my screen's filthy i can never get it

right and the screen protector spray because i bought the cloth and the spray together so i don't put any products on my screen no i think that's the best way forward so you do nothing you just use a dry cloth. I use a cloth. Yeah. And there's no smears on my screen. Right, Liam. Got to get yourself one of those telecloths, electrical cloths. With no product on at all. I don't use product.

No. Another little video. We've got a tour of Liam's house. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay. we've got a tour of liam's house oh really yeah okay this is non-related to cleaning but i thought i have to share it so my husband is very disciplined and yesterday he actually went out and got a meal deal which is unlike him because we usually prepare our food and um

included in it was this like rather small cookie dough brownie well I had my wrap and then you know I had mine in three mouthfuls but what he's done is he's saving it so he had about half yesterday and then I've noticed it's gone down a bit so he's obviously had some just as he's got up as part of his breakfast and then he'll come back from work and he'll probably have a bit of that after or save it for the morning i mean me is gone in three mouthfuls talk about discipline chocolate i eat it straight away i mean you're with me well i thought we've got a comment on that because i think that is amazing if i open something it's called willpower if i open something it's gone if I'm eating something it's gone

I see people open a packet of walkers have a few crisps and fold the packet over it's never going to happen to me do you save food ever? do I save food? no you know

say you open something like that what Liam was showing us was a cookie dough like one of those little miniature cakes you get in Marks or Tesco with a meal deal No, you know, say you open something like that. What Liam was showing us was a cookie dough, like one of those little miniature cakes you get in Marks' or Tesco's with a meal deal. It's unlikely I would be saving a tiny... It depends what it is, I guess. I mean, I'm not a person that opens a packet of chocolate biscuits and has to eat them all.

No, I'm not either. So, you know, or if you open a... Large bar of dairy milk and they say I can only have... I'd have to eat it all. I can't just have three bars. I could do the three bars. Yeah. So I haven't got that.

You know, when people open a big box of dairy milk chocolates, they say, I couldn't do that. I'd have to eat the whole box. No. No. No. So, I guess, listen, it's... What about Elliot telling the story where you put your toenails into the

mullet yogurt pot I was crying I was crying again I was being hygienic I know you were not chucking them on the floor I had my pot of yogurt next to me that I'd finished with and I'm not expecting it she's a clown that was so funny when i listen to that she was so funny um yeah i hope you well on this lovely sunny day hot as it is not on a boat what i'd like to know if anyone can give me a tip on how to clean i don't know what you're gonna look at my hallway is just one big doormat and it has that doormat stuff in it it's just that's my hallway and it's just one giant doormat and i cannot for the life of me get it clean hoover or there's bits in it and it will not hoover any tips i would really love it and it's sad to be asking this on such a lovely day but hey life of a mum thanks i take care bye so michelle's whole hallway

is like a large doormat yeah so she's got the i've forgotten what they're called how ridiculous um yeah she's got the doormat material yeah but then you can't clean them all you can do with those is hoover them like betsy likes to wee on mine so i have to replace it but obviously it's a little square of course in front of the door yeah that you can't clean them how about with can't steam clean them you can't do it no no the only thing you can do with those is hoover them how about getting a hairbrush and brushing them you can do but you just need a good hoover and hoover it no they're not you can't clean them you can't steam clean them you can't the only thing you can do with it once you've hoovered it is spray it with a bit of febreze just to freshen it up a bit you can't they cannot be

cleaned they're not designed to be cleaned they're designed for you to wipe your feet on them and then over a period of time you pull them up and replace them well there you go michelle sorry michelle might have to get a new one yeah i'll get some cut some carpet down or wood flooring or i don't know a bit of it depends what yeah if it's a little porch hall entrance yeah a little bit of vinyl would be all right, wouldn't it? Yeah, a bit of vinyl. Lino, that sort of thing. Absolutely, yeah. Easily wipeable. Yeah, absolutely, yeah. They're not designed to be cleaned. No, fair enough, fair enough.

Get groceries delivered across the GTA from Real Canadian Superstore with PC Express. Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points. Visit superstore.ca to get started. Let's see what Lucy has to say. Hi Nat, it's Lucy from the Midlands. I wanted to say just how much I absolutely love your podcast. It's genuinely one of my favourite things. As soon as you started asking for stories about cleaning, I thought I'd share mine. I used to clean for a couple

who were obsessed with sex and sex toys and used to frequently leave out vibrators their lube even expected me to pick up a condom no in the floor and I wish I was joking I'm really not I was told once that they were waiting for me to go and collect a special parcel that had been left outside their front door for them and when it was brought into the house the following week they left it on the side and it was just a box of anal lubricant so there we go that was lovely now i have to say something thank you for that but I don't know how people think that's acceptable

when you know you've got a cleaner coming round well the one time I had a cleaner yeah and I've only had a cleaner I had her for about a year or so years ago I was clean before she came around yeah so I certainly wouldn't be leaving yeah again. Again, this is, you know, having someone in your home. Yeah. It's invasive and, yeah, clearly people... But some people don't care. Absolutely not. I know a lady who cleans and she says when she gets there,

they have genuinely not washed up for the week. Because they know she's going. But for a week. Yeah. Everything she's going. But for a week. Yeah. Everything is just on the sink. Terrible. I just couldn't, I couldn't go to bed. And that was another reason I struggled with having a cleaner.

Yeah. Because cleaners can be ill, can have emergencies at the 11th hour. Of course. So, and I would still obviously maintain my home during the week. Yeah. But, you know, if you knew the cleaner was coming on Monday, you might not, you know, I don't know, do the, clean the bathroom because you know the cleaner's coming. Yeah. And then when the cleaner wouldn't show because she's ill or had to take a child wherever.

You've lost cleaning the bathroom. That would give me, yeah. So for me, that whole concept of, yeah, not being in control of that was not good for me. And do you know what? Cleaning, you've got to admire people that do it. It is a huge business. Huge, yeah. It truly is.

And really, really hard work. Shout out to all the cleaners out there. And blimmin' hard work. Hard work. You know, all our end of tenancy cleans. Yeah. I mean, predominantly it's men that do them because you need to really, because as you've just said, or this lady just said,

we go into properties where tenants have lived there for two, three years. And never cleaned it. They've never cleaned it. Like, literally. Oh, my goodness. So you've got to have some strength behind you to get that property back up to scratch. Yeah. Let me ask you about the washing, washing machines. Mine were filthy, black, all that black stuff.

The mould in the seals. You know, I've pulled out a towel and it's covered in black stuff. Oh, gosh. So all of them have been done or what have you, but I forget to do it and it just builds up. What do you do if you find a tissue? So all of them have been done or what have you, but I forget to do it and it just builds up. What do you do if you find a tissue? So I don't make it up when I put it on Instagram. It's every three weeks I'll do a black wash and a tissue's in there.

I get it out, shake it off and just have to put it back in. Sadly. Yeah, there's nothing. Well, no, because it's disintegrated and worked its way through every bit of dark clothing that you've got in the washing machine. I thought you might have a really special tip for me. No, I mean, no. Sometimes I have just put it out to dry and then give it a good shake, but it's not ideal. Just check the pockets, unfortunately, because if they can't do it, you've got to do it. I know, but I don't want to do it.

No, no, no. Because I've got enough to do and people can't even just check a pocket. I'm washing it. I'm going to iron it. I'm going to I don't want to do it. No, no, no. Because I've got enough to do. And people can't even just check a pocket. I'm washing it. I'm going to iron it. I'm going to put it away. I'm not ironing, actually. Have you got an ironing lady? No, I haven't.

I just don't. I just don't want ironing. You don't iron? Laura irons for me. Oh, right. Sometimes. She'll do a bit of ironing, which is lovely. And yes, if I need, you know, dress ironing, shirts ironing, but most of the stuff comes out, goes on the line or the dryer, I shake it all out and then I just hang it up.

Don't iron it. I mean, to be fair, again, there's an art to that. Especially if you put stuff in the dryer. In the winter months, I sort of put a stuff in the dryer if you in the winter months if i sort of put a lot in the dryer because of my hay fever also and speed a lot of stuff goes in the dryer so if you put things in the dryer and you take it out straight away and you fold it properly you get away with a lot of ironing i think so a lot of this is just it is all i mean i'm making it sound really easy and i get it because when you've got young families and a

social life and you're working which i have have all those things, maybe not the young family, although I have. Well, you have. Grandkids. It's all about, it becomes really overwhelming if you let it build up. I don't have a cleaning day. Back in the day, I used to have a cleaning day. I don't do that ever. I never dedicate a day to cleaning i will just do an hour here half

of that an hour there a couple of hours you know if i'm free on a saturday afternoon that's a good tip i think i don't do because it's overwhelming and it's boring you think you've got to do it all day long so you know that's coming yeah yeah so if you just do little bits here and there, it's incredible how you, and I do, I'm a genuine believer of the deep clean. You just can master the deep clean and then just keep on top of it all, then you're there. Like doing your cutlery drawer out once a year. Yeah.

Then that's done. You're done. Although people probably never do their cutlery drawer. If you went downstairs and saw my drawers, no, they really all need doing. Oh, no, they do. They all need doing. Unbelievable. It's a boring task, but I see I don't find it boring.

No, you enjoy it. Yeah. Do you not enjoy it? I thought you enjoyed it. I do. I do enjoy it. I do. Just I haven't time for it.

I just haven't had time. I haven't time. I think I'm out of habit of it. Yeah. So I haven't done it for ages and I've not missed it. And I sort of think, well, I'd rather not do that now because there's loads of other things to do so no one cleans yeah I've got oh but you've got the cleaner okay but again she's doing the the bits the on top bits everything needs doing but now I've got a little bit more time, I will start doing a bit more. I already have.

I feel like the house feels like mine again. Would you say that someone isn't house proud if they're not clean and tidy? Do you deem someone not to be house proud? I would say for me, my biggest problem is stuff, which is strange because I have a lot of stuff. So I will have a lot of stuff so i will have a lot of stuff around so i'm not a minimalistic person but all my stuff has a home so if i were to walk into a house and there was you know toys all over the floor and coats thrown over the

banisters and i I don't know, things that aren't meant to be where they're meant to be, which is quite obvious that they're not meant to be there. Do you know what I mean? But again, I don't... Piles of washing up for me. I don't know how people can go to bed without washing up. People do.

I could never. See, for me, I feel like if you're going to someone's home and they've got stuff everywhere, as long as their house is clean, I don't think that's a problem. Whereas I'd rather everything be all the way in baskets and cupboards. And nothing's actually clean. And have a bit of dust. It's the stuff that gets me. That drives me to a brine.

Yeah. Funny, isn't it? We're all different. Emmeline said, it's a lovely name emeline hi nat i learned the hard way that you can't mix bleach and harpic together was cleaning my toilet and ran out of bleach so poured some harpic over the top oh my lord did i panic the smell was insane i thought i was going to pass out i did it minutes before my friend was turning up for a play date with the kids and I had to put her off an hour while I aired out the house.

I can smell that smell now and I don't advise it. Loving all your topics on the pod. You're amazing. M. Well, there you go. It must have done some sort of chemical reaction. But, again again products can cause so much damage if you don't know what you're doing if you're mixing products that you shouldn't

mix it can be very costly you go on this is funny because i've got a little message here afternoon nap i can't believe you're cleaning on a hot day like this but i suppose somebody has to do it um and i like it that you're taking one for the uh for the girls on this podcast my worst ever cleaning uh disaster was when i had my brand new kitchen fitted and ordered a big american fridge freezer it arrived it was lovely and i kept staring at it and touching it um and then a couple of days later i thought I need to get them dirty finger marks off the fridge so I followed the hack on social media that everyone was doing with the baby oil and there I was merrily wiping it down and then realized that I was using a metal scourer instead of a cloth so I have one

door that is completely full of swirls and the other door is OK. So I tend to dim the light in that part of the kitchen so that I haven't got to look at it. Anyway, keep on doing what you're doing. Have a lovely, happy, sunny day. Lucy from Braintree. Oh, Lucy. We've both got our head in our hands here. That is so unlucky.

So bad. You always use baby oil, don't you, for your fridge? You told me to do that. Stainless steel, yeah. All your stainless steel stuff. Baby oil. But I don't use scouring. Imagine having a brand new fridge.

Well, I know how upset I was after two months of my lovely fridge downstairs. And I looked at the bottom, there's dents all over it oh yeah Elia did that on my brand new Golf I was washing the car and she wanted to join in I went well go indoors and get a sponge she's come out and she's

going for it and then I've noticed she's got the abrasive side of the sponge and she's cleaning the car so it happens she's got the abrasive side of the sponge and she's cleaning the smoke scar. So it happens. It does happen. It happens, but yeah, that's an absolute shocker.

Oh, I'd be devastated. And there's nothing you can do about that other than dim the light. Dim the light and hope for the best. Listen to this message from Sue. Hi Nat, it's Sue. Sorry about the croaky voice, I've had a cold for a fortnight. Oh, bless you.

So I have a cleaning story. I was trying to clean my bathroom ceiling with a cloth and bleach or whatever, standing on the edges of the bath with bare feet, and I slipped, fell in slow slow motion felt like slow motion bashed my chin on the edge of the bath cut it open bruised my ribs and it was absolute nightmare I had about six hours in A&E having my waiting to have my chin um, sewn up. Anyway, love your podcast. Massive fan of you. Keep up the good work.

Love you. Bye. Oh, thanks, Sue. Can I ask, though, what was she doing cleaning the ceiling with bleach and a cloth? That's quite hardcore. My guess is, and I'm only guessing here, she might want to put me right, maybe a little bit of mould spores in the bathroom, on the bathroom ceiling. Sue, let us know if there's some mold spores because why otherwise because yeah my guess if she's using

bleach that's what she's trying to do she's trying to clean the mold a little bit of mold which happens in bathrooms condensation but yeah you standing on the edge of the bath we've all i've done that when cleaning the window that's what i do and i often i'm doing it and i'm thinking i was to fall now this could be careful you've got to be so careful i always remember um when i first joined the office that i'm in now going to do a checkout at a property oh my god it was frighteningly bad i mean really frighteningly bad she'd moved out they'd moved out it was horrific i'd never seen it like it it's quite new to the job so it was a bit of an eye-opener what sort of stuff

i know what you're saying but can you they just got up moved out they obviously had a dog there that had just clawed at the patio doors so the patio doors were just covered in mud carpets hadn't been hoovered probably in about five years the bath the bathroom the bath you would not get in the bath and have a bath filthy yeah i mean like yeah just black yeah do you think they put their dog in the bath no i think they put themselves in the bath and just never cleaned it bath upon bath a family it was a family that lived there and she was a head mistress of a private school no and i always remember when i spoke with her about it saying that we've really got to get cleaners in and she said darling housework is a waste of life there's far more important things to do and that's resonated with me because i'm like she's actually got a point yeah but not to that extent you can't even feel i have yeah you've got

to have it's not hygienic but god it's you know people are going to have such different opinions on this no of course of course libby says i try and clean a little bit every day correct but dirt magically reappears cleaning is never ending don't it, but I wish I had a cleaning fairy. And I get that completely because she's absolutely right. As fast as you dust, it reappears. As fast as you sweep those floors, they need sweeping again. The washing baskets are just permanently full up. When you've got kids, absolutely.

It is a bankless, relentless task. But it's what you, you know, if you stayed in a hotel and you went into a hotel room, you'd want it to be nice and clean, beds freshly made. And it does make you feel good. Oh, good for you. I agree. It does make you feel good.

I mean, I wonder how many people get into an unmade bed. How often do people strip their beds? There's a... Well, I can go two weeks now. Not in this weather. No, I was going to say in two weeks now not in this weather no i was gonna say in this weather in this weather but mark isn't a sweaty person at all yeah neither am i i think it all depends on the person but that's a you imagine so here you're a family of four yeah so that's three beds yes three beds that you've got to strip i mean if you're clever you'll rotate it so you do one one

week no they all get done at the same time no wonder how can you ever keep on top of that that's a lot of stripping the beds remaking the bed and then someone's always staying so the spare bed gets done on the same day as well yes that's why it's virtually it's a relentless and i mean i as you know i I iron everything. I know you do. Do you iron your bedsheets? No. I love them when they're ironed.

They look so good. And when I get into them, you feel like it's that hotel bed. But I just don't. I can't do that. And I don't think many people do. Probably not, but I think some do. But you told me hack, and i've never done it but haven't you before plugged your iron in and iron them once they're on the bed i do that when i so i will make my bed i'll strip my bed remake it put the wash on yeah and i press i do press my bed linen

but then when i make the bed up if it's a bit creased where it's been folded up in a in a so those sorts of creases you're talking about do you see what i'm talking about this is the level we're talking about i thought you'd not iron the sheets and then you'd gone over the bed with a steamer no it's the crease but you can't do that there's nothing wrong with that but it's the creases now i like those creases because it looks like I've ironed it. I'm quite happy. I like those, if ever I do it. But you don't, so you don't have those creases. No, unless I've got loads and loads of washing,

I will sometimes treat myself to the ironing lady. Yeah, I mean, again, I think that's... Sometimes. But I do then find that a waste of money. Again, I struggle. And I think it must be amazing to just hand your ironing over and get it all back the following day, all done. But I couldn't justify paying to do that.

And then 24 hours later, half of it's already back in the wash. I know, but it's your time. Someone would say to you, it's your time. Of course. But you'll watch the telly, you're Someone would say to you that it's your time. Of course. But you'll watch the telly, you're ironing or you'll be on the phone. And that's the other thing. That's the other thing. If you can do something whilst you're doing your ironing or your housework,

you kind of do it without realising it. I love to be either on the phone, now I listen to the pods, or I'm watching EastEnders whilst I do my ironing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's, then I don't. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. And your time just goes. See, I've never, when I watch the telly, again, I think it's how you're brought up.

Mum and Dad, the day was over. Your working day was over and you sit down and you watch the telly. So that's what we do. We'll sit and we you watch the telly. So that's what we do. We'll sit and we'll watch the telly. Whereas if I brought the ironing board in and you're right, I could probably iron all my bedsheets and be much happier than I am now. Yeah, see, Maria will do that. She's a tape because she's watched you do it.

She's watched me do it. So she'll watch her programs whilst ironing. You've got to do what works. Absolutely. Kelly said, hi Nat, I'm absolutely loving your new podcast and I've been listening at my work as I'm a domestic cleaner. Buzzing that I've got an excuse to send you a message. I think it's either your thing or it's not.

I've always had it somewhere in my jobs. I was a dental nurse before I had my baby and generally sterile cleaner, but over COVID had to learn to surgically clean. After mat leave, decided to just go it alone as a cleaner. I can't be arsed with people anymore and haven't looked back. So many people want a clean house and there's so little time that there's a massive gap in the market.

So I'm filling it. Keep up the good work, Kelly. Shit, Kelly. Good on you, girl, because she's absolutely right. It is a huge business it is yeah more than you realize it's yeah there's huge money to be made in that business and because no different to cars being validated and cleaned back in the day no one paid to get their car cleaned it's interesting though isn't? Because as much as there's a huge market,

some people will never, never be able to afford a cleaner. No, because again, it's, but even if you can afford, it's one of those, because it's one of those tasks. Yeah. That most people, if they put their mind to it, can clean. Yeah. Therefore, the thought of having to pay for someone to do something you can actually do yourself, I guess. It's a little off-putting, I suppose.

Well, if money's short, Natalie, and in this day and age, the cost of living being what it is, a cleaner, one could argue, is a bit of a luxury. I was going to say, I think your luxuries go first, don't they? Yeah. So I would imagine your cleaner. Your ironing lady. The window cleaner.

But again, with the window cleaner, I'm slightly, because I am that person that climbs out my daughter's bedroom window and stands on the extension and cleans the window frames. But not many people can do that. You love cleaning a window frame. Yeah. Don't you? Because no one does that.

Who cleans their window frames inside and out? If you were to go outside and look at my frames. I'd rather not. Don't.? Because no one does that. Who cleans their window frames inside and out? If you were to go outside and look at my frames. I'd rather not. Don't. I don't need to get someone around. So your window cleaner is a necessity because you can't, you know, unless you're in a ground floor bungalow, you're not going to be able to get to all your windows.

No. So I get that. But, yeah, there are things, like your car. I mean, I very rarely, internally I clean my car. Externally I take it to the... Yeah. But that's, again, now in this day and age, really, that's a luxury. But then remember, people live in flats.

They don't have the facility to be able to do... That's right, with the water, the soap, bringing it up and down. It's a massive business. Any type of clean. And the professional cleaners, you know, as in people that are doing the end of tenancy cleans or communal buildings, it's a huge, huge business. Once this comes out, I would love to hear from people.

If you are a cleaner, domestic or corporate, whatever you do, I'd love to hear how you feel about cleaning your own home. If you've been cleaning all day long that's your job do you go home and clean yours to the same standard or do you not clean your house i'd be really interested to know about that i bet they don't do you not think it's like a builder he'll have a half and you know he'll he's building all day long every day yeah we'll go home and his extension is half done. Yeah. It's that, you know, hairdresser, you know. He's coming home from work.

The last thing he wants to do is... Cut anyone's... Cut anyone's hair at home. But, yeah, it'd be interesting to... It'd be interesting to find out. Of course. This one's from Kate. Hi, Nat.

It's Kate. this one's from kite hi nat it's kate i um i've only recently got myself a cleaner two hours a week best thing i ever did i actually feel like a new woman you can hear my washing machine going crazy in the background i'm sure anyway the whole point is my cleaner's due in about an hour and a half. And now I'm like, oh, shit, I need to actually tidy so she can clean. So this happens every single week. I'm running around like a mad woman. And then she comes in and probably thinks, why am I even here? So, yeah, it's one of those things things I feel that I'm probably tidying more than I did before but at least she's getting into the corners that I've probably missed for far too long so now I'm a happy chappy all right loving the podcast cheers bye oh thank you Kate and that's

where a cleaner's worth every penny because for her for this lady it's just giving her a bit of light relief the pressure's off yeah she knows someone's going to come in do the heavy jobs maybe the bathrooms the kitchen and it's just so true and you feel like you're getting a bit of your life back yeah so just you're freeing up yeah i'm sorry, guys. In this episode, you might hear some outside noise. I've had to crack the window open. Because we're melting.

We're melting in here. So you might hear the odd pigeon, the odd motorbike. It's just ambience and it won't happen all the time. But apologies for the noise. It's all gone downhill this podcast fee said i used to be that bad with cleaning every time my children were in the kitchen they had to mop themselves out or shimmy around the kitchen on a tea towel i'll stop it having a nice house can turn into a way to control your life if things are not good in other areas. I iron the quilt cover every day while it was on the bed,

cleaned the en suite main bathroom and downstairs loo every day, polished mirrored cupboards all before we left the house. If I could go back, I'd change everything. I miss so much of their growing up. Now I do a normal vac once a week through the house or just a Dyson over the kitchen floor. I don't iron my quilt cover anymore new life and i'm so happy lots of love thanks for being determined to get your own

podcast because i absolutely love it that's from fee yeah you can't let it rule your life you have got to put things into perspective and you've just got to do what's right for you and i do think the children have been a big part of that because if Joanie says, please, can we play post offices on a Saturday morning, I will sit and do that because before I would not do that. I'd be upstairs doing the bathrooms, doing whatever, and I think, do you know what, it can wait because that time with her, I won't get back.

I think as well it can become a little bit obsessive but for me now it'd be interesting to see if other women agree with this or men when you if you're not going to work say and you are a stay-at-home mum and you pack the kids off to school or or they're still at home with you because they're tiny I found that that's because I was spending a lot more time cleaning to fill my day because there's only so much going to the park or going shopping or meeting a friend for coffee that one can do yeah so I'd fill my time doing and then you become yeah obsessed by it and then literally someone walks through the, you're kind of paranoid about them making any form of mess because you spent all day cleaning.

So it's interesting to know if people have gone through that same emotion where when they're, like for me now, because I go to, I'm at work, it's different. You're not there all day. Just, I guess you see more. Yeah. You've got more time to spot dirt or find dirt or find things to clean. I understand that because, you know, when I have,

I'd say if I have quiet periods in my work life, my house is a lot tidier and a lot cleaner because I've got more time to do it. Whenever I used to speak to you, you'd be like, oh, I'm going to have a couple of hours at home, I'm just going to do my lounge out, I'm going to do... Yeah, because you're filling your day with stuff and it's something I do enjoy doing. So you are right about that but now

what you just said really resonated with me because when I'm not completely on top of the house and there's a few things higgledy-piggledy I don't care who comes round I'm not really bothered if it's messy and I do feel more relaxed definitely

it's an interesting one it's good more relaxed definitely it's a yeah it's an interesting one it's good to have other people's feedback on this so i don't think we're on our own no i don't think so and again there is no right and no wrong no do you do the bins at home what as in the age old question who does the bins in the house dave takes the bins out, unless he's away. Mark takes the bins out unless he's away. Just wondered. Because it's an old-fashioned thing that, and it blokes do the bins, but... I'm just chucking that question in because it's a funny one.

And Morgana obviously did a sketch of me putting the bins out, you know, she put the bins out. Why did she do that? What was that all about? The whole idea of the sketch was Natalie Cassidy wasn't working anymore. So every time you saw her doing something very mundane, just checking me byro, see if they worked. She was brilliant.

It was brilliant, wasn't it? She was more like you than you are like you oh dear the cracker it was a good one here's a little message from emma hi now it's emma from bister um i've just seen your instagram post about cleaning i've got to say i fucking love it oh um i like you i'm always cleaning i've got two toddlers that are two and a half and four and a half. So obviously they make quite a lot of mess. And my husband contributes as well. I tend to clean on a Sunday evening. My husband goes out and plays paddle.

The kids go to bed and I just get my clean on, put some tunes on, podcast and clean. There's no point trying to clean when the kids are around because it's like um trying to brush your teeth and eat oreos isn't it it's just fucking pointless um oh mrs hinch wow where do we even start i bloody love her but yeah it's yeah it's beautiful here today the washing's out two loads of washing on the line i'm working from home and i can't get enough of it if anything it's just easier if the kids aren't around because the house stays clean why is it impossible to keep it clean once you've cleaned anyway love the podcast love you lots and I might speak to you soon take care thank you so much Emma but it's interesting again I wonder how if any

this is something your brother does so he'll'll come home, he takes off his shoes, and he just leaves them, like, literally in the hallway. What does that? Why don't they just put them on? Where they go? Yeah. Don't know. Or what about this one?

I get home from work, I go upstairs, and the wardrobe door's, like, wide open. And then I do it intentionally, I shut it down, I go, Dave, wardrobe door's open, do you need anything out there? Oh, yeah, I took my suit out there this morning. Why haven't you closed the door? Why don't they close the doors? In the evening, when we go to bed, I find that we've got marks is a mirrored two mirrors

there's one always open what is that i don't know there's a lot of people who confess to not shutting cupboards and doors which blows my brain actually it really blows my brain because it's not really a lot of effort no you just open it and then you take your stuff out and you just close it again. Rob Beckett talks on his podcast about leaving kitchen cupboard doors open. Yeah. No, but that's mad. No, your brother. Really?

Yeah. Oh, no, Mark, don't do that. I mean, the only reason the fridge door doesn't get left open is because it beeps. Otherwise, I reckon that would be left open too. It's the strangest thing, isn't it? So what? Say you're where your tea is in the corner. Yeah.

The cupboard door, he'll get a mug out and leave the door open. Yeah. Well, that I can't believe because he's meticulous about things. No, I'm telling you, it happens. Crazy. It's funny, isn't it? If I were to leave the shoes by the back door, we have a basket where the shoes go.

If I weren't to collect the shoes from the back door, where the little mat is, I'd probably have 15 pairs of shoes there by the end of the week. They don't go back in the basket. What about coming home from work? Like when I come home home from work i get changed so my clothes go in the wash yep or if it's a jacket it doesn't go in the wash i'll hang it up i'll hang it up not your brother gets flung over the banister

yep but who's putting that suit away then? I don't put his suit away. Does he do it later? He'll say, I haven't been upstairs all day. So because he hasn't been upstairs all day, he's not been able to put the suit away that he took off the previous day. I see. It's, yeah. It's just people's ways are so funny, aren't they? See, for me, I just don't, it't it takes as is as quicker to put it in

the wardrobe than it is to no i know i'm with you yeah just interested to know other quirky things that people's husbands or wives do we're like we're having a go at men here no no we're not well we are a little bit that That's all right, though. We're allowed. Here's a lovely message from Sarah. Hello there. Cleaning I quite enjoy. It clears the mind after a crazy day. I work from home, so a 30-minute whip through.

I class as my drive home that I don't get, so I can let go of the stresses of the day. I hate, hate, hate when I have spent a whole day cleaning and one by one they all come home and all the work is undone. Honestly, my daughter, who is incidentally 26, leaves a bloody trail of stuff behind her every day and she actually calls her Gretel on occasion. Washing is my pet hate.

I have a minimum of three loads a day on and have to be on the line for half seven in the morning. I am absolutely convinced there is another family living in my home I haven't had the pleasure to meet yet because the washing is ridiculous. Five adults in a house can create lots of washing. Tell me about it. You remember those days?

Oh, my goodness. I used to iron every night without fail. How many, when you think back, was it eight adults? Well, there was eight of us, but not constantly at mine. The kids and their partners. And, yeah, it was after work, potentially there could be eight of us for dinner. But I would religionally, now when I think back, how did I do that?

I don't know, you did it. I used to spend every evening ironing. I had to, otherwise then it would just pile up. But why didn't I just get an ironing lady? Well, because you find it a waste of money. It's not something that you wanted to do. But I literally would iron every evening without fail. I used to do at least one wash every day without fail.

For years that went on for. I've done five washes today. Oh, my goodness me. Five. A couple of very small ones, but because they're colours or whatever, and I just chuck them on a 20 Express because I like the basket empty. Yeah. So that's a bit of a waste of a washing tablet, but I do do that.

I want to get to the end of the day where they're empty. I know, your basket's empty. But the beauty is, you know, you're not ironing all that. Well, actually, you say that. The stuff over the last few days like you've said if you come down now and have a look it's all piled up i've sort of thrown it over the side it's not piled in a great big messy pile but i've not done what i usually do i haven't hung it all i was busy yesterday i had people here doing another job i just i was washing and

then chucking it washing it and chucking it. So all of that when he dined in. Fancy it? I wondered where you were going with that one. I was sort of waiting for a... I like just popping... No. Fair enough. Here's a message from Lindsay, which I think will resonate.

Hi Nat, it's Lindsay from Cornwall just uh reference your cleaning you wanted some comments in my house I do the cleaning my husband does the renovating that's fine but what does annoy me and what I do have a problem with is when I've just cleaned the kitchen and then he wants to come along and make his lunchbox and his sandwiches and there's crumbs everywhere or the other thing when I've just cleaned the bathroom and he decides he's going to do a full you know head shave face shave honestly I know there's others listening to this feeling the pain. Thanks, Nat.

Love in the pod. Oh, Lindsay, thank you for that. I've got the answer for you. I bought Mark, I promise you, Christmas one year. It comes in a little... That thing that catches... Yeah. You know what it is then?

Yeah, I think Mark told us about it. It's in a little box. It was just a stocking filler. I think I got it out of Tiger Tiger, you know, one of those shops. It is marvellous and he uses it. Does he? You've got the two suction things, you know, clear little suction things that go on the tiles in the bathroom.

One that end, one that end. It ties around your neck. and it catches all the hair does all the fit don't get me wrong you still get a few hairs it's not immaculate but it's not fit the whole sink isn't filled with hair and it takes forever if you've got a clean sink highly recommend there you go so imagine a barber's sheet because i don't think i've explained it barber's sheet, because I don't think I've explained it, a barber's sheet which sticks each corner to the wall, ties around the neck. Trying to picture that scene. I might try and get Mark to put it on

so I can post a picture of it for everybody for the episode. But how many of us have done the, no, you can't have a shower, I've just cleaned it. All the time. All the time. We're mad. It is mad. I even say to Eliza, if they're running from school,

Joanie will say, I need a poo. I'll go upstairs. I've just done the downstairs toilet. Go upstairs. Go outside. Like Betsy does. Yeah, just use that bucket down there. Oh, dear.

Morning, Nat. I'm just seeing your Insta post about your cleaning exo thought i'd drop you um a note to say cleaning yeah i'm more of a shove everything in cupboards and hope it looks good girl you know people that clean their fucking skirting boards every week and at the top of their cupboards. I mean, I have the utmost respect for them. Honestly, I do. But it's just too much hassle. I want to, my house to look clean, which I hope it does but don't ever open my fucking cupboards because things will just

probably fall out and knock you out and knock on the head and it's like I like to think of myself as a swan like very calm and cuddly on top but like paddling like man to stay float underneath kind of how i go in all of my life really cleaning yeah everything also wanted to say absolutely loved you on you loose women you looked beautiful loved the red lipstick you came across very natural um just you're amazing keep doing what you're doing okay lots of love um from from the Swan, Paula, from Hertfordshire. Bye now, take care. Oh, thank you, Paula, for that. Something was wrong with your phone.

It was a bit clicky. Not that I'm moaning about that, but I'm just letting you know, you know, to listen to it, you know. I don't know what Linda might have thought about your message there. For someone who cleans the skirting boards every week. I do clean the skirting boards and on top of the kitchen cupboards and the filter in the washing machine. But as I said, each to

their own. There is no right or wrong way whatever floats your boat. I think whatever you're comfortable with. Absolutely. If you can go sleep at night and you live in filth. Which is something else I can't do sleep but that's a whole different Oh you miss the old napping episode But sleep

You don't sleep much at all But that we should do I think At some point I think the women who listen Would love a little episode I'm not quite there yet Probably going into perimenopausal soon

But I think it would be lovely Maybe to get you Maybe one of your friends Or something along And have a little menopause ep Yeah, because that's a huge subject Perhaps I could get in touch with the lovely Penny Lancaster She does a lot of work on menopause

Oh yeah, she does And obviously I did the sewing bee with her So she could be a really nice one to have along for that with me and you Yeah Because she's a real advocate and does a lot of work for it Yeah, I know she does So maybe we can get her on Zoom or something

she'll probably like that and note that down babe right I'm going to end thank you so much for tonight oh no thanks for having me again Natalie it's really nice to see you

lovely to see you but we do have to do something so I'd love I want to come on a walk with you soon yeah 100% we'll do it it's really

we can walk around the house and do a bit of cleaning to the window ledges thank you honestly it's been lovely I'm so sorry

you've probably lost about half a stone I hope so because well you don't bloody need to but it's been so warm in here so that's another

I'm seeing it as a detox room throughout the summer I might have described it it's warm in here, though. For everyone listening, I've just looked around at my plant. I've got a large plant that one of my friends bought me.

It needs a drink. It needs a drink. It needs a dust and I'm shitting myself here. Leigh-Anne, I hope you have a lovely rest of the evening. You're not going home to iron now, are you? No. No ironing tonight? No ironing tonight.

Remember, there's only two of us at home now. Life has got a little bit easier. Although, as you know, I like to help the girls as much as I can. I think put your feet up because you've got two babies tomorrow all day. Oh, indeed. So you're wonderful, everything you do. Oh, thanks, darling. The way you work, the way you keep your home,

the way you look after your grandchildren. I just look at you, watch you, and if I can be half the person you are, I'll be happy. Oh, that's really sweet. I mean it. I really mean it. That's very kind of you. Thank you, darling. I hope you've really enjoyed this ep.

It was a relaxing, chilled one, talking about a little bit of cleaning. I've really, really enjoyed it. Me and Linny will be back soon, talking about another subject, I'm sure. The thing is, you see, I get my family on and you want everyone to do it, but people do have lives. They're not sat at home waiting for me to ring, so I have to sort of coax them into it. I'll treat her to a new Mr Muscle tomorrow.

I'd quite like that. The polish? Not the man? So funny. Until Thursday, everybody. Have a great week. not the man so funny until Thursday everybody have a great week I hope you keep happy keep healthy

and I'll speak to you then cheers hi this is Chris McCausland and this is Diane Boswell and we've got a new podcast haven't we Di we do what's it called?

Winning. Isn't. Everything. Every week, me and Diane, we're going to be having a little catch up on the back of Strictly, aren't we, Di? We are. I've missed you, Chris. I've missed you, too. We're going to talk some nonsense, so why not tune in?

Available everywhere you get your podcasts.