Cleaning Business Life
Cleaning Business Life is the podcast for cleaning business owners who want to build a profitable company without sacrificing their entire life to do it.
Hosted by industry leaders Shannon Miller and Jamie Runco, the show brings real-world conversations about pricing, hiring, leadership, systems, boundaries, profitability, and sustainable growth.
With more than 240 episodes rooted in actual cleaning-industry experience, you’ll hear the lessons, mistakes, hard decisions, and strategies that business owners rarely talk about publicly.
Whether you’re starting your cleaning company, stuck inside the daily operations, or ready to grow into the CEO role, you’ll find honest guidance to help you charge more, earn more, and stress less.
No hype. No surface-level advice. Just real cleaning-business conversations from women who have built the businesses themselves.
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Cleaning Business Life
CBL Episode #73 - Stay Strong & Injury-Free: Essential Fitness Tips for Cleaning Professionals
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Kimberly's dog is about to welcome a litter of puppies, and that's just the beginning of our lively discussion on staying healthy while keeping homes spotless! Join Kimberly Gonzalez and me, Shannon Miller, on this episode of Cleaning Business Life as we share our personal stories and expert tips on how to maintain your physical well-being amidst the rigors of cleaning. We dive into the unique challenges faced by those of us who are shorter in stature and reveal our secret weapon against injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome: stretching. You'll also hear about my own cleaning days when I was more physically fit and discover why yoga is not just for relaxation but a crucial part of prepping for those demanding cleaning tasks.
But that's not all—we're taking a deep dive into the importance of good posture and hydration. From shoulder stretches to wrist exercises, we provide practical tips to integrate into your daily routine, cautioning against certain moves like cat and cow stretches in clients' homes. We even bring in contemporary figures like Jennifer Garner to highlight the timeless significance of good posture. By the end of this episode, you’ll be equipped with simple yet effective habits that can elevate your cleaning routine to a "business clean" level while keeping you fit and healthy. Subscribe, share, and get ready to enjoy a cool, fit summer with us!
Thanks for tuning in to Cleaning Business Life — the podcast for cleaning business owners who want to build a profitable, sustainable company without burning out.
Hosted by Shannon Miller and Jamie Runco, each episode pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to start, grow, and scale a cleaning business — covering pricing, systems, leadership, boundaries, and the real conversations most people avoid.
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Because in life — and in business — clean is just the beginning.
— Shannon & Jamie
Stretching and Staying Healthy While Cleaning
Speaker 1Kimberly . You look like a train wreck . You're like a train wreck , kimberly .
Speaker 2For those of you who don't know , Kimberly's dog is pregnant and there is a potential for 18 puppies , so if you're looking for a golden retriever , I would definitely reach out to her . Yeah , she is . I didn't know that people could carry litter and people I didn't know dogs could carry litters . That are 18 .
Speaker 1I thought 12 was a lot , but 18 is even we'll see , I was thinking eight or nine and then like that comes out and she's laughing and I'm like , what are you laughing at ? That's when she broke the news to me and I'm like , oh my gosh , this is nuts . But we do go through a rigorous like process , like we're going to go through a rigorous process to make sure that they're going to really good homes , because I love my bubbies .
Speaker 2Definitely super important . Well , welcome to Cleaning Business Live . Today we're diving into an important but often overlooked topic , and it is the importance of stretching and staying healthy while cleaning homes . Whether you're a professional cleaner or just someone who loves a tidy space , this episode is for you . I imagine I got the tagline right this time Reading and comprehension . Sometimes it's great and I'm like what . Other times it's not .
Speaker 1I know I like the title . I was doing I'm like stretch it . I was thinking that song you know like stretch it , was it ? Oh , the push it song , push it , push it real good . And I was like stretch it , stretch it real good . And I was thinking like the whole 80s style , with a little band on their head and when I was writing this and they had the little you know like little bands on and the whole eighties like tight wristbands for you know leotards and I was like the whole time I was writing that that was pictured in my brain .
Speaker 2Oh , my goodness gracious . Well , for those of you who don't know , my name is Shannon Miller and I'm your host . I'm , with Kimberly Gonzalez , my co-host , and this is a stretching episode for Cleaning Business Life . I didn't tell already , it's you got to take care of yourself . Nobody else is going to take care of yourself but you . When I was cleaning way back in the day , I was pretty trim and fit . It's a great weight loss . Cleaning is a contact sport . Whether they tell you or not , you will get to . I have a photo somewhere of we were messing around one day in front of the mirrors and I like flexed all of the muscles on my back and it was ripped all the way down . They're like , what do you do ? Go to the gym ? I'm like , no , I just clean houses . I was like posing , and they're like you could just be like a weightlifter . I'm like , yeah , you could totally see all of the muscle .
Speaker 1Now it's not that way now , but you could , you should have done that with like for one of your promo pictures . Have a mop and you're , all you know , flexing and you've got your back muscles and you're like hello Definitely .
Speaker 2Mrs Clean , mrs Clean . I could be the Mrs Clean . I could , it could be , it could happen , I could have some success with what I'm working on in the background and maybe I'll be the next Buffy Buffed , right , mrs Clean .
Speaker 1I could enter in competitions and flex my muscles . They should have competitions for that . Cleaning competitions for the buff like being buff from cleaning .
Speaker 2Totally Typically , though I've only seen , it was when you're younger .
Speaker 1When you get older , everything sags .
Speaker 2Gravity plays a detriment into how your appearance is for sure . So , yes , cleaning might seem like it's a simple everyday task and exercise , but it's actually quite physically demanding , wouldn't you agree ?
Speaker 1Yes , I do , I can remember , and especially if you're short like me , like I'm five foot one , so all you short people can relate that trying to get into a garden tub to clean and you're stretching and you're doing all this stuff , there is poses that we probably have made up because we're stretching different ways as us short people .
Speaker 1It is , it's physically demanding . You go home and you're tired and I think the biggest thing is really just stretching . Um , I've had three hand surgeries um , for carpal tunnel , trigger finger , and I've had three on my right hand and I've had one on my left hand . So , yeah , it was bad and so this is important and I really started taking care of my body after that and stretching , because if you don't stretch especially your arms , your shoulders people don't realize . You know you do a lot of work with your shoulders when you're cleaning and when you don't stretch beforehand it can really mess up your body .
Speaker 2You have to get the oxygen and the blood flow into the muscles , which ultimately gives you the energy to make you go Right . So we won't even get into the physiology of health or any of that other stuff . Yeah , we don't want to . We don't want to talk about , you know , the time that I wanted to be a fitness coach , whatever . I am not that person anymore . That was when I was like in my 20s . I didn't have any children anymore . That was when I was like in my twenties . I didn't have any children . My body was much firmer . I didn't understand all of the dynamics . You see , all you youngins , what you have to look forward to , right , it's an interesting dynamic . Hold on for just one second . I got a call that I want to make sure that .
Speaker 1I keep working on it . So , just like any other activity , you guys , it's so important to increase flexibility . So when you guys get ready to stretch , make sure that you guys are stretching , because you've got high like shelves that you have to reach , you've got low corners , you can really pull muscles . I love doing yoga in the morning . It helps me just stretch my body . Granted for granted , I have two golden retrievers . So when I try to do yoga , my yoga is not always a good , soft , peaceful flow between dogs running underneath me , licking my face , smelling my butt , licking armpits . That is my yoga experience .
Speaker 2Oh , my gosh , my yoga experience as well . Well , but I have two little kids that are like why are you doing this ? Why ?
Speaker 1are you upside down ? Can I go under you and over you ?
Speaker 2what's going on ? Why is she doing that ? She never does that any other time . Can I have a mat too , can I ? Oh no , don't stick the scissors in the mat . This is like you know . You know , so there's . It's nothing like the serene pitch that you see in every advertisement for yoga studio and everyone's like , oh right , but at least attempt to um , it's for me , it's yoga , or um , what's that new thing or new or not new ? It's the bar workout . Have you ever done one of those ?
Speaker 1Um , it's the . Yeah it's . We actually just had one open up in Loveland . It's like a Pilates , but it's a bar Pilates thing .
Speaker 2A R R ? E ? Right , that's the correct spelling of it , and it's . They make it look like it's going to be like a class and it's hard .
Speaker 1It's hard work . I've watched it and I'm like , nope , I don't want to go . There's also the yoga . That's the hot yoga . Have you done that one ?
Speaker 2I'm always . I actually like hot yoga . It detoxes you . The only thing I don't like is sometimes , especially closer to the holidays , they pack the bodies in . So you're doing hot yoga and the bodies are next to you and you're slick and sweaty . I won't tell you about the experience I had with this and I'm like he is really close to my behind and we won't talk about that . My face is turning red . So , yeah , but you can . The hot yoga is great when it's a regular size room . When they're trying to get too many bodies in there at once , I totally get it because they get paid by the bodies . It makes it a little not so pleasing when you have other people slicking their sweat off on you on accident because it's your . You're removing the toxins for your body and you're really stretching . So if you want a good stretch , I recommend hot yoga . And it's not for everyone because it is hot , so if you can't process the heat very well , that's me , I'd be .
Speaker 1I barely . I get dizzy , just barely . You know , getting up too fast . I can't imagine trying to do hot yoga and do all these poses . I'd be passed out on the floor .
Speaker 2Right , so don't do that . But stretching is really good for you , whether you do it like in the 80s movies where you see the armbands and the headbands and the tube socks and they got the short shorts on and they're doing their thing , richard Simmons , you remember Richard Simmons , richard Simmons , or the 20 minute workout . How many times did we have to see ?
Speaker 1TNA shots while they circled around those three women . One thing I know I always do is the hamstring stretch . That is big for me . I before I , when I get up in the morning and before I went to jobs or even when I would get to the job , sometimes I would just put my hands and I would take my hands flat and I would stretch all the way and try to reach my hands flat to the floor and then I would like spread my legs and then try to go under and try to like stretch even further and that was that really helped with my like back of my hamstrings , because my hamstrings would always get tight from like obviously short people problems stretching and standing on my toes and when you stretch your hamstrings it stretches your lower back and those hip doctors so and then you have less back problems and your you know your back's not hurting , so you got to keep all of that move .
Speaker 2If you don't use it , you lose it . I mean , I don't remember who it's like that little lady who said where the beef ? I don't remember who the person who came up with that tagline is , but it's true .
Speaker 2If you don't , you will lose
Importance of Stretching and Posture
Speaker 2it . And stretching every day is super important . Whether you do that in a group atmosphere or individually , or yoga with your dogs and your kids , just get it . Try to do it at least daily , especially if you're going to have a physically demanding job . And then it increases your flexibility , blood circulation , it prevents injuries and it makes you feel better . It kind of releases endorphins when you're kind of all loose and ready to go and you can do whatever weird ritual you have without you know the homeowner looking at you like why are you shrugging your shoulders and wiggling all around ?
Speaker 2and you're like , yeah , I'm just working out .
Speaker 1Yeah like I gotta get myself pumped up for cleaning . I know I do a shoulder shut like shoulder stretch . I do a shoulder . I can't say that fast .
Speaker 2It's the baby buggy and the baby buggy bumper . I can't remember what that is . Pick a pepper . I can't do it anymore .
Speaker 1Okay , the shoulder stretch . I know for me my shoulders and I know a lot of women . We put a lot of our stress in our shoulders . So I know for me I am always and those of you guys that are watching you can see it I always take my shoulders and I always feel like my shoulders are like by my ears and I have to tell myself in my brain relax your shoulders , you're okay .
Speaker 1But you get a lot of tension when you're in your shoulders because you're doing a lot of work vacuuming , dusting , when you just different things , when you're cleaning , when I clean the sinks , you know you're doing the movements .
Speaker 1So what I like to do is you can go up against the wall and I don't know if you've done these before , shannon , but I've gone up against the wall and I put my elbows on him and then I like stretch that way and then I like lean , so I'm like at an angle and I stretch and then go out and I just try to stretch my arms and I do the same thing with my hands . I do a five hand palm and I put it on there and I really just try to stretch my wrist and then my shoulder , because your shoulder or your shoulders , what I've learned from my um , my physical therapist , that your muscles stretch all the way from your shoulders , all the way down to your wrist . So when you get carpal tunnel , it's because you need to start stretching your shoulder area right , it's a lot of um examples you look up online .
Speaker 2We're not really describing the code , right it's ? We're not really describing the exercise as as best we can . So when we're mentioning something , please look it up on Google or Bing or whatever you're , because I mean we can go ahead and show you , but it's not going to be the same as if you look .
Speaker 2So , hamstring stretches , shoulder stretches you could probably get away in a client's home if you're , you know , doing the mental capacity of trying to figure out what you're going to do . But I do not recommend doing cat and cow stretches in a client's home because they'll be like , what are you doing ? And you're like , yeah , cats and cow , and cat and cow and cow , and I probably have it backwards , but that's fine , um , so yeah , you have to get on your hands and knees and you're like on all fours and you're .
Speaker 2It's like a table right , you're arching and then crunching in your belly and then arching your back and you're not down where dogs either , while you're there right and it's don't do it fast , because you could um your muscle , freeze up and then you could go oh , the cat and cow got me , right , right . So these are exercises you could do at home before , or you know , don't do the cat and cow stretch inside a client's home , and if you do , I want to see photos .
Speaker 1Homeowners have their little videos , like the little videos and they're like zooming and moving . They're watching . You do cat poses in there and cow poses .
Speaker 2Right . And then maintaining good posture also helps . Way back in the day they used to teach young ladies , before they went out into society , etiquette . It was a big thing to have etiquette . I don't know if we have a lot of etiquette anymore , um , but learning how to have etiquette and then making sure that you are being good with all of that stuff , um , and good posture is part of that . So standing up straight , I mean you'd always have the teacher stand up straight . Stand up straight . Way back in the day when I trained with Mrs Fiona because I wanted to be a professional ballerina she was French and you didn't slouch at her . She would ding you with the stick . That's what I called it . There's an actual formal name , but I was traumatized by the stick , so I just still to this day call it a stick . But you , you know , if you're standing up straight , you know , chest out , shoulders back , you're holding that core muscle and your core muscles are so important for you .
Speaker 1Core muscles is so important for your back because if you don't have good , strong core muscles , it's can't have . Your back is going to start hurting , because it helps support your whole trunk area right . I've like have you um , so I watched . I followed Jennifer Gardner on , like her little mini trampoline .
Speaker 1Yeah , she's like she does like these little home cooking shows and like she's just cute , like I just think she's adorable and she's like whatever happened to a good posture these days ? She's like we're going to do a lesson on posture . So she was like going out to the garden and she was showing how to do posture . She goes . We do not put our shoulders in , we go out . Whatever happens to going out , our shoulders are out , and it was just so cute how she gave that little lesson , which is true , because I think we're in a day and an age where we have our phones and we're like hunched over with our neck all the time and so we forget yeah , we get humps and you're hunched over like this all the time , and so it's like we have to really work on being aware of , like our posture .
Speaker 2Yes , Standing up straight is very important , and not being crunched over looking at your phone all the time . Um is also an interesting dynamic as well . You don't want to . You could have . I've seen people have to have um , the . I don't want to call it a hunchback , but it's a bump that grows there from your muscles not being stretched the opposite way .
Speaker 2Your head is 14 pounds , ladies and gentlemen . So when you're going forward or when you're going back is when you realize how heavy your head is , especially if you're doing wall washing or ceiling washing . That's when you really know how heavy your head is because you're moving your muscles and your shoulder muscles . Then you're like this head is just like I'm looking up here . I'm looking up here , so don't do that to yourself . Make sure that you're you have good posture and , yes , Jennifer Garner's videos are pretty funny and then lifting with your legs and not your back . This is great if you're young and sprightly , you don't really have a lot to worry about until you end up hurting yourself one time . But when you're older , you do want to lift with your you know your legs and not your back , and you want to make sure that your core muscles are intact . They have those little waist trimmers . They're good at keeping your muscles warm . They're great for losing weight , if that's what your goal is , but keeping your it reminds you to stand up straight so that you have good posture .
Speaker 1See , look at that , I'm already going like this where we're talking Posture . But I got , I'm going to sit on my hand . I could force myself to have good posture .
Speaker 2So , yeah , having good posture is very helpful on so many levels . It really can help you with a lot of things in life , not just for cleaning and then taking breaks try not to do everything at once and short breaks to rest and stretch again . Um , this is a gray area , so you can't necessarily stop what you're doing inside a client's house to stretch and rest . So , um , that would be done in between homes If you were really tight . It can cause a little bit of havoc , like why is this cleaner on my floor stretching their hamstrings ?
Speaker 1I'm just taking a five minute mini break .
Speaker 2So don't do that , but do do stretch . If you do it either before you are done with your day , is very helpful . I found that when I was cleaning a lot and I went to go do yoga , because my wrists would be sore by the end of the day , I would just do mostly core and lower body . I would not do any upper body because my wrists were already , you know , done for the day . So you've got to make sure that you're being aware of your body and taking taking breaks is important , outside of the client's home , of course .
Speaker 1Yeah , I always did stretches on my hands . I always like take my fingers in and across them and go out and just really stretch like that way on my shoulders , and I do a lot of this stuff in the car . So before I'd go to my next client , Right .
Speaker 2And then staying hydrated and magnesium . I cannot emphasize that enough . I take powdered magnesium . So if you're a person who cannot digest magnesium in the traditional pill method , powdered magnesium . So if you're a person who cannot digest magnesium in the traditional pill method , powdered magnesium is great . Follow the directions so you don't give yourself a magnesium flush . For those of you who do not know what that is , you'll have to look that up , because I'm not going to describe any of that here .
Speaker 1We all know what a magnesium flush is . That gives a hint .
Speaker 2A flush . So , yeah , that's not good , but you magnesium daily really is a game changer , um , and it helps you recover , it keeps you calm , um , it helps you recover better and , um , it is actually a mineral that we're all deficient in because of our diet .
Speaker 1So um , I use a lot of um . My friend , she has her own line of , uh , natural , like beauty , like skincare products , and she's's like . I have a magnesium cream that she gives me so I put it on my wrist or I put it on my muscles when I'm sore . I put it on my feet at night to help me sleep . So we all know that feet absorb stuff . But yeah , it's definitely magnesium and water and making sure that you're hydrating and just snacks , like throughout the day , just to keep you like good snacks , not no twinkies or ding dongs or what are they stay away from the sugar and , yes , I've used the magnesium spray and I've had really good results of that as well .
Speaker 2It has a little bit of a bite to it , so if you're not used to it , you know it's with any product . Just , you know , it's like getting a facial right , um . So , yeah , it works great . And stay away from sweets and caffeine . Um , I have someone who I love very dearly who had really bad kidney stones this last winter and kidney stones are entirely preventable and if she just drank water instead of the energy drinks she almost died , almost lost her kidneys . She's like pretty young , she's in her 40 . I love this person to death and we had to have a very kind of conversation about lifestyle changes . It's just like you know you got to not stay away from the sugar , stay away from the energy drinks , I know you guys love your coffee , but Extra umph B100s work great too .
Speaker 2You can put them underneath your tongue .
Enhancing Cleaning Routine for Health
Speaker 2That's all the mothering talk I'm going to give you guys today . I'm not trying to be mothers . We're both mothers , so you know are incorporating stretching and maintaining good posture and staying hydrated , you can make your cleaning routine not only more effective but healthier for your body , and then you can really go like I like I'm business clean .
Speaker 2Oh my goodness . So thank you for joining us on this episode of cleaning business life . If you have found these tips , be sure to subscribe and share and download , and all that jazz .
Speaker 1Thank you guys for joining us . I hope you guys are having a great summer . Stay cool If you guys are listening and we'll catch up with you later . Bye , everybody .
