House cleaning as a sport. It’s a strategic mindset for business endurance and success. House cleaner training includes a sport like routine of an elite athlete.
Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru, and 29-time marathon runner says house cleaning is a sport. You have to have a plan. A routine where you eat right, sleep, budget your energy and budget your fuel. You have to pace yourself for performance.
The preparation and practice will make you a savvy cleaner and build confidence.
Today’s sponsors are My Cleaning Connection and HouseCleaning360.com
Listen: House Cleaning as a Sport
Watch: House Cleaning as a Sport
Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer.
Question: House Cleaning as a Sport
House cleaning as a sport. What? House cleaning is not a sport, it’s just house cleaning, right? Or is it?
I was in a conversation the other day and a house cleaner asks me if there were essentials that a house cleaner had to know. “What are essentials for me starting a cleaning business?”
Answer: House Cleaning as a Sport
That is an excellent question and it brought me back to the fact that I’m a marathon runner. I’ve been running for years and have completed 29 marathons that are 26.2 miles each. I’ve run dozens of half-marathons that are 13 miles each, and I’ve run one ultra, which is a 50-mile marathon. There are many similarities from marathoning to house cleaning so my “essentials” are in working your house cleaning business like a sport.
You Don’t Show Up and Wing it – in any Sport
And you wouldn’t show up for a marathon and wing it. It’s just not wise. You don’t run that kind of distance without the right shoes. And you need training and sleep. As you train you to need carbs because that distance takes a toll on your body.
It’s a long-term race and you have to budget your energy if you’re going to last.
All right, so there’s a lot of training that’s involved, and one of the reasons that I love marathons is because of the strategy behind it.
House Cleaning is Like a Sport – You Need a Strategy
There’s also a strategy behind house cleaning, and house cleaning is similar to a marathon in that you just wouldn’t show up to a house and wing it.
There’s training. Vocational training. Physical training. And like in running, you have to budget your energy for your work of the day.
Easy Day – Hard Day in Every Sport
In running we break up our workouts. Easy day, hard day. The easy day may be a three to five-mile run and a hard day maybe a 5-12 mile run with weight lift included. The easy day allows you to recover from the hard day.
The same rule applies to house cleaning. You will have easy houses and hard houses. Balance them out so you have time to recover from the hard houses.
Every Sport Needs Compression Packs
In running if you tweak out your back or your knees, you use muscle relaxing gel a heating pad and you wrap your joints.
As a house cleaner, you also have to have a compression pack program. It may not be muscle relaxing creme but you need to learn to take care of your joints.
There is a lot of moving, bending, twisting and arm movement in house cleaning. And if you are not careful, your back, knees, hips, elbows, and shoulders will take a hit.
Low Impact Exercise is a Complimentary Sport to House Cleaning
Your physical body is your biggest and most important cleaning tool. So, it’s paramount to your health and the health of your business to take care of you.
With house cleaning, there’s a lot of wiping countertops and cleaning mirrors. And vacuuming back and forth is a movement that will work your shoulders.
So, an essential for house cleaners is daily stretching. Yoga every day is a wise choice. Swimming is awesome. Weight lifting is spectacular for strength building. Stretch bands are also excellent physical therapy to keep your shoulders and elbows in sync. That strengthens your legs and your back and your core.
Rebounding on a Mini Trampoline – Core Building Sport
I use one of these little mini trampolines. I’ve been using them for the past twenty-five years. I’ve never been without one. I’m a big fan that every house cleaner needs one. When you get home from a day of cleaning and your body aches, and your back is out of whack – jump.
You don’t have to jump high, but just a few minutes on the mini trampoline in front of the TV will realign your spine and work out the kinks.
The oxygen that gets flowing resets your lymphatic system and while you jump you’ll strengthen your core.
I can’t say enough good things about my daily jump time. It rocks.
If you spend 20+ minutes jumping you’ll notice it’s great for your butt, your abs, your quads, neck, and shoulders. It hits all the muscles you use when you clean.
A Routine is Essential to Your Business Success
Every athlete, even amateurs know that having a routine builds consistency.
Going to bed near the same time teaches your body to respond in rhythm. Eating about the same time each day does the same thing.
If you’re all over the board with your eating and sleeping patterns, your body will always be playing catch up. Instead of feeling rested you’ll be tired and groggy.
Are You an Elite Athlete or a Wannabe?
If you are treating yourself like an elite athlete, when you go to clean houses you’re in a different league. Because a lot of the house cleaners out there are winging it.
Many of them stay up too late, watching TV or partying with friends. And they expect that the next day they’ll show up to clean and just fly by the seat of their pants. And they are not on their A game.
When they get fired, their customers will be looking for a house cleaner who can perform consistent results at each cleaning.
You can perform consistent results by having a routine.
Consistency is a Strategy for Any Sport
If you study any successful athlete, you’ll see that they practice basics every day. Day in, and day out they repeat the same behaviors. And over time they produce consistent results. If you practice the basics every day you’ll find that even on an “off” day, you’ll be able to show up for house cleaning and deliver consistent results.
House Cleaning is a Competitive Game
And you have control over you. You don’t have control over other house cleaners or maid services, but you have control over you. If you treat yourself like your company’s biggest asset you’ll find that soon you’ll be in a league of your own.
Okay, those are the essentials you need to know to compete in the house cleaning arena. That’s my two cents for today and until we meet again leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.
About the Show
Learn how the show came to be, interesting facts about the show host, and other frequently asked questions about the show.
Resources For This Episode
Angela Brown’s Energy Boosting Smoothie Recipes – http://bit.ly/2zmoQ4m
Fit Simplify Resistance Loop Exercise Bands with Instruction Guide, Carry Bag, eBook and Online Workout Videos, Set of 5 – http://amzn.to/2oO2DaI
Super Exercise Band 7 ft. Long Resistance Bands. Flat Latex Free Home Gym Fitness Equipment for Physical Therapy, Pilates, Stretch, Yoga, Strength Training Workout. In Light, Medium or Heavy Tension. – http://amzn.to/2oMnjjc
Creating a Business Plan for Dummies – http://amzn.to/2CZc4sH
Business Plans for Dummies – http://amzn.to/2tfb6cr
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SAVVY CLEANER – House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com
HOUSECLEANING360 – Referral database of the world’s most prominent home service providers and the homeowners they serve. https://housecleaning360.com
MY CLEANING CONNECTION – A hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com
