Last updated on September 3rd, 2023 at 08:07 am
Nat and Julie chat about the challenges of after school messes and organizing life with twins, thanks to our friends at Tub O’ Towels. This was a Facebook live recording.
Tackling After School Messes and Organizing Life with Twins
Nat: Well guys, today we are talking about after school messes for the twins, and for yourself, and even for your pets. I am Natalie Diaz, the big cheese at Twiniversity. And if you look at the person on that side or this side (I don’t know which way she will actually appearing)
Jules: That side.
Nat: She’s on that side. That’s Julie Burt Nichols, of the famous Nichols of Chicago. They are a very regal bunch actually. Well it’s the Burts I know better.
Jules: The Burts are a very regal bunch.
Nat: And although they never have to clean their own houses, because they are super-Chicago royalty. Sadly that’s only in their heads.
Jules: That’s reallyonly the patriarch and the matriarch, not I. I have to clean my own.
Nat: Not you, your mom doesn’t clean her house own house?
Jules: She has a cleaning lady.
Nat : Does she really? She always did even when you were little?
Jules: Doesn’t everybody’s parents have a cleaning lady?
Nat: Well my mom does now, because she can’t bend to clean the bottom of the shower. And I don’t want to do it.
Jules: I feel like the baby boomer generation, they all have cleaning ladies, because they have like money and they…
Nat: Wait time-out. So your mother, when you were growing up, you had a cleaning lady?
Jules: No not growing up. Now she does.
Nat: That’s what I mean.
Jules: It’s a luxury.
Nat: Because you were the cleaning lady, when you were growing up?
Jules: No.
Nat: No? No, you didn’t have chores?!
Jules: No.
Nat: WHAT!?!
Jules: No we didn’t have chores.
Nat: I feel like there was or should be like some slave labor laws…
Jules: We had a live in and I think she helped with cleaning.
Nat: Are you serious?
Jules: Yeah mom hired some girl, eighteen year old out of high school. She watched us at before and after school.
Nat: I’m doing this all wrong. I’m doing everything wrong.
Jules: (laughing) I really don’t know we clean our house. I have no idea. I think we actually probably didn’t have a cleaning lady, that like our family all used probably. We’ve had a cleaning lady as long as I can remember. When I would say probably by junior high we did.
Nat: You had a cleaning lady by junior high?
Jules: Yeah we did.
Nat: We didn’t. We just cleaned our house, me and my sister were like responsible for doing everything. We did have like assigned chores. And we did not only have to do things on the weekends but we also had to do things on the weekdays after school. Which is why when we were thinking about like back to school. Everybody’s talking about back to school and lunch boxes and while we’re talking about that stuff too. Guess what, the reality is that those kids that come home that have to do that diorama of you know a prehistoric, you know, whatever that thing is called in the shoe box that’s a diorama isn’t it?
Jules: Yeah, a diorama, yeah.
Nat: That’s the glue, the paint, (my favorite is the glitter glue, that’s like my, that’s my nemesis), and of course the sharpie. These kids make messes. So today we’re going to talk about cleaning up and organizing and getting off on the right foot, and if you haven’t already it’s only too late if you don’t start now. So the first thing that I want to say to everybody that’s watching; tell us right now are you kids in school? Are your kids in preschool? I’m curious to know where your kids fall into the timeline, because that will help us direct this conversation better. But even more importantly than our conversation today, we’re so excited because we are brought to you by brought to you by.. My sister always used to think that it was Brock. Brock to you by… Tub O’ Towels. And you’re like, Nat “what the heck is Tub O’ towels?” Jule, Vanna White it for us. Ah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah! So I had no idea what’s how the towels was up until about a year ago, right Jule? Jule, that’s them it should be a Halloween costume.
Jules: My second head.
Nat: Arrgh! You’re a pirate. Arrgh pirate Tub O’ towels. So Tub O’ towels has previously been in much more of like the grease monkey end of the world. So if you have (you know) or if you’re a grease monkey yourself and you work on cars it’s been like in the automotive universe and it’s like a staple of the automotive world because it’s so exceptional at cleaning up grease. But wait there’s more, so how the heck did I find out that this company exists?
Well once upon a time, we have a great friend her name is Ashley, and she worked over at another company that we were partnering with. I loved her when, it was another partner of ours, we loved her to bits and pieces, she ended up leaving there and going over to Tub O’ towels. And when she was at Tub O’ towels she was like “Hey listen, this is great for moms too”. And we’re like, “Is it great for moms? Everybody says that…” And she’s like, “No, I’m gonna send it to you.” So she sent me a bunch. Did she send you a bunch too Jule?
Jules: Um, hmm.
Nat: She sent us a bunch and I was like “okay”. I don’t know I’m skeptical about anything. I’m skeptical about everything.
Jules: You are very skeptical.
Nat: I am. But you know, Jule, honestly we get like a lot of companies pitch us a lot of different products and sometimes they’re just total crap, right? But you never know. Sometimes you find good ones, and guess what, hold it up Jule, Tub O’ towels was a good one.
Jules: Yes!
Nat: You liked it? Yeah, I was sold the minute that we got, when I got them because of the way that they smell.
Jules: They do smell really good. They smell
Nat: Citrus!
Jules: ..lanolin aloe vera and vitamin E.
Nat: But they smell like oranges.
Jules: They do.
Nat: I am very scent-stive. Thank you. And so the products that I use in my house
Jules: I’m cleaning my desk.
Nat: are typically first practical use, secondly scent-based. Is that wrong of me?
Jules: No.
Nat: I just know like if I’m gonna be cleaning my kitchen counter in two hundred times a day or wiping off my dining room table a lot and especially during the time when they were like little and you were wiping down like high chairs and stuff I was very sensitive to the way that stuff smelled. And I don’t like very chemically smelling products and tub O’ towels totally isn’t. So the way that it’s used in the grease monkey world is… my father-in-law by the way when I started working with these, my father-in-law’s like, “Why do you have these?” And I’m like, “What are you talking about?” He’s like, “These are for the garage.” And I’m like, “Are they for the garage Roger? Are they? Cuz they’re not anymore.” Because what grease monkeys would do is they actually use them for their hands to get the grease off of their hands did you know that?
Jules: Did not.
Nat: So my father-in-law always uses them for his hands because he’s constantly working on his car.
Jules: I’m cleaning off my laptop off while we’re talking.
Nat: Huh?
Jules: I’m cleaning off my laptop.
Nat: Oh good, you do that. Now wait a second look Jule, so now this is the wipe, but wait Julie, you ready? Watch this different size.
Jules: If it’s out of the big thing it’s that size.
Nat: Yes.
Jules: These are the big size wipes size size 10 by 12 and then these are the 7 by 8. I didn’t realize.
Nat: I like these better because I could do my entire stove. But let’s talk about after school messes because I think that’s why we’re really here. I’m excited. I really can’t see like what the comments that are coming up I want to open that up oh we have a lot of people with us. It froze, I don’t know, I didn’t know. Guys, I didn’t know. Welcome to Twiniversity! So what we’re gonna do is let’s talk first about homework cleanup. Jule, now homework cleanup for you is different than homework cleanup for me. Because we instead of having art projects every single day we do have a lot of projects but they typically don’t involve as much glue as they once had. And if you don’t know my twins are 13 years old, I have boy and girl twins. I know you’re like, “NAT but what were you six when you had your twins?” Totally I was, right Julie? That’s what I tell everybody sometimes I just can’t believe it babies having baby guys. That’s how it goes. And Jule your boys what are 19 now?
Jules: Pretty much yes. They are going to be six.
Nat: Yes, Halloween here we go. Halloween birthday boys is what is what’s happening there. I’m excited. Jule were, was any of the nurses dressed in the hospital when you were there for Halloween? Like anybody wearing caddy or anything?
Jules: Don’t remember. Wasn’t paying attention. Almost had a November 1st baby. So don’t I don’t know, maybe.
Nat: You don’t even know what was happening?
Jules: I was a little bit preoccupied.
Nat: Just a smidge. So now that the boys, when they come home from school what’s been their after school routine? Let’s, let’s, I want to run through a day of kindergarten.
Jules: Okay so the boys take the bus home. So I have to be out there waiting for them, but luckily our bus stop is right outside our door. So then we come inside and as we are walking to the door I literally say to them, “Take your shoes off!” immediately because they have to put them in the closet because the dog will get them.
Nat: No.
Jules: And she still gets them because if I don’t yell at them to take them off immediately and follow up and make sure they do she will get them. So and shoes are cheap.
Nat: Yes we know.
Jules: So also what I’ve set up on the inside of our front hall closet, so we have like kind of an old school house it was built in the 50’s and it still has things like cork boards and like boards where you can put the hooks in it. So we have all these hooks on the inside of the door so I set up a station where they can hang their backpacks and then they can hang their hoodies or jackets and then they just have to throw their shoes in the floor. So that’s the first thing we do is that we have to get all their crap in that front hall closet and then I have to (hang on a second stuff and )then I have to take their lunch bags out of their backpacks so that I can then clean out their lunches. And that’s when I pack their lunches for the next day.
Nat: You pack already the minute they get home?
Jules: Yes, because if I don’t do it, it will be the morning and I will curse myself.
Nat: I curse myself everyday and still…
Jules: You know it’s only the first month of school so we’ll see what happens come January.
Nat: Yah, that’s me in March. Yeah so then they’re literally getting like a yogurt in a cheese stick. Maybe like good luck guys.
Jules: So then we don’t have homework.
Nat: Thank goodness.
Jules: I don’t have homework in kindergarten. It’s like a thing at their school. So they, they so far has not taken home, anything that they need to finish. So that’s lucky for us. They probably will some day. Where it’ll be like they they have told us that oh you may have it where it’s a project that you need to finish that they’ve already started.
Nat: Now when they get home do they ever do like coloring and stuff at the table or like you don’t have anything scheduled after they get home.
Jules: I have nothing scheduled at home because they have had such a full day of scheduling that I want them to be able to decompress, have a snack, you know they love their TV, so they’ll watch TV. You know they they have two recesses at school every day, so yeah. Because they are morning, they don’t have whole day kindergarten, they have half-day kindergarten. So their kindergartners in the more in the afternoon and their morning is a part district program at the school. So they have a lot of recess during that time. So I know they’re getting enough activity and so we do spend a good amount of time just kind of like chilling, talking, vegging, watching TV, and snackage. But the problem is with the snacks is that they are always fighting me for wanting to sit and watching TV while they eat and I want them to sit at the table, if it’s a if it’s a messy snack.
Nat: Well I’m gonna give you a few Tub O’ towels applications.
Jules: Yes! Really, okay.
Nat: Okay, now just so you eat you know, now Julie and I work together every single day for about 15 hours a day because that’s what it feels like. So although Julie’s in Chicago and I’m in New York City it’s literally as if we’re in the next cubicle. We have figured out a way to take this whole working in two different cities, Jule, I don’t feel it, I think you feel it more than me. I feel like I really do see you every day I know when we see each other in person you’re like I haven’t seen you. I don’t ever feel that I feel like I always feel connected to you.
Jules: Well I feel I look shorter when I see you.
Nat: Yes, that’s the world, the whole world. I was looking at a picture of me from the cruise from last week, oh my god I’m huge.
Jules: I’m not even 5-3, so like when I see Nat every day like this I feel like we’re the same height.
Nat: Yes and when we get there..
Jules: I’m like, “Oh my god, I’m so short.”
Nat: I love being tall though. I really do. I don’t feel bad about it.
Jules: Oh it’s prize time!
Nat: Well, they didn’t tell us. Guys you got a shout-out prize time. Like guys it’s time we got ten prizes.
Jules: Marnie I cut my hair.
Nat: What happened about cutting?
Jules: Marnie asked me, “Julie is your hair pulled back or did you get a cut?”
Nat: No she cut it and my my kids and my husband loved it so much that, literally, Jule right, every time Anna sees you she’s like, “Julie I love your hair so much.” She gets so… Look at it, look at it. She did it guys. She’s living the dream. I want to do that but I’m afraid, I’m so afraid. I really am…
Jules: But then people wouldn’t be able to tell us about, right?
Nat: I think I want to. I’ve wanted to for a very long time, but then I love my hair so much. But I just hate taking care of it. Though I really don’t take care of it, this is really what it looks like I’m just gift it’s a gift from god.
Jules: Thank you Marnie. She said it’s beautiful.
Nat: It is beautiful.
Jules: Let’s get to the first prize.
Nat: Well what is the first prize that we’re giving away? Julie, take it away.
Jules: You will win a prize pack where you get one of these big honkin 90 count of the ten by twelve wipes. You will get a 40 count of the 7×8 wipes and I don’t have them here they’re actually in my car. Twelve individual packet that are like singles where you can just keep them in the car. Nat has them. Perfect.
Nat: They’re my favorite. Please hold.
Jules: Oh.
Nat: The coffee. Something just made me sneeze in my coffee.
Jules: Oh God that’s horrible.
Nat: I felt it coming on. Why you don’t drink coffee out of a pint glass?
Jules: So what do they have to say to win?
Nat: What, my life is a mess.
Jules: My life is a mess.
Nat: My life is a mess. Just say, “My life is a mess.” and you will be entered to win our first prize pack of our Tub O’ towels extravaganza. Okay so for reals, let me tell you how I would use these. All right, number one your doorknob and the handle of your door like the the hinge of your door from touching it, not from actual dirt but from hand grease, especially if the kids are like super greasy because these are not answer bacterial wipe. And we do have to let you know they are not antibacterial wipes they are just strictly unbelievably, unbelievable cleansing wipes. I would make sure, I do the hinge of my door and the area around the doorknob because when I go to grab it you get it gets gross. So that’s the first place that I would clean it. Next thing is if parents for like, if you’re listening and you’re like I can’t put hooks up because I’m a renter or I can’t put hooks up whatever remember that there’s those 3m command hooks and some of them could hold up to 50 pounds, that’s not a joke. So if there’s no excuse to not have hooks by the door to have kids start getting used to putting their own jackets on the hook this will set up a lifelong of good organized habits. So we have the same thing too even in our tiny little entryway here in New York City you could literally like when you walked through the hallway your body would be touching the coats but it was so critical to make sure that the kids did that, otherwise I would be picking it up I would be moving it around and be whatever. Now let’s talk about those shoes for a second.
Jules: Yes.
Nat: You know when your kids, I know you just said shoes are expensive and I do feel like this is turning into a weird infomercial which it wasn’t supposed to be but I have, since I have been using Tub O’ towels for so long now I know how I use it. And I actually use it on the outside soles of my shoes I have Skechers, so Jule I have these white Skechers. Right?
Jules: I’m using these around my house right now, you see.
Nat: I just used it on my bathroom door right before we started. I’m like oh they’re open I can’t control myself. I use it on everything. So on the white part of your kids’ shoes and now I am NOT like somebody that’s like, “Oh my God, my kids shoes have to be so white” like this is what’s happening, I personally know that as an adult I feel a little gross when like I’m representing myself at like, a media event and my shoes are super nasty. But I’m not gonna start like throwing my shoes in the wash, if you take these Tub O’ towels, which is the truth, and you clean the outside rim or even like the bottom of the sneaker like where it’s like the plushy part, it’ll get it right, it’ll take off all the dirt, because it takes up the dirt. So this also is gonna be fantastic for Oh Daniella won! I think that Ashley’s on with us and she’s congratulating Daniella. That’s how I saw. But especially during the fall when kids are gonna start tracking in more mud and they’re more, their shoes are super nasty. This is not totally crazy. You may want to keep a bin of these by the front door, and you could do it like as soon as they come, and you can wipe down you know the floors they come in so nobody’s tracking anything. You also do, I’m sure you already have it, but do you have a really good mat on the inside of your house?
Jules: Funny you should ask because my dog keeps eating it.
Nat: Oh God okay. So yes, here now we, this is not the first time Julie, in my professional world that I’ve heard this you could buy a thistle rug. So buy, it so it’s like you know like the bottom of a broom, there’s like the little thistles. You could buy a rug of that my dog is terrified of that. She doesn’t like the way that it feels on her feet and on her face so don’t think, like don’t give up, because if you if you do have a rug by that entryway hallway it is gonna make it a lot better than tracking crap.
Jules: Right now I just keep buying then at Walmart because they’re like 15 bucks. And we have to take it put it up when she’s by herself in the living room.
Nat: Okay but look Jule if you’re spending $15 on a rug and you’re changing it four times a year, you buy one rug for $25 on Wayfair or something.
Jules: Yeah.
Nat: Just try it. And plus I just ….
Jules: If I step on the thistle rug with my bare feet is it gonna hurt?
Nat: No it doesn’t hurt at all. It doesn’t, I swear to you it doesn’t hurt. But buy it on Amazon so if you prime it and then you hate it you could return it.
Jules: Okay.
Nat: But I like the thistle because it’s also super easy to clean. I just pound it out. Now how I found out about this is we had a regular rug like you’re saying that Milly ate. But are you really making a list?
Jules: I’m writing thistle rug.
Nat: Okay so this is how we found out it wasn’t my dog that was ruining the rug, it was my husband. Because I would tell John, “Babe like go and like pound the rug outside” right because that’s a very like man job go and pound this on a rock. John would pound the rug so much it would make it fray. Who does that? Who does that like who, who takes the rug out as if, like I don’t even know what happened. The amount of rugs that this man ruined by just pounding it over our staircase. By the way we’re horrible tenants don’t .
Jules: We have a question. Marty wants to know I have textured walls can I wash my walls or will they fall apart?
Nat: No they won’t fall apart because these are not made of cotton. Where if you use other cleaning wipes, they’re made of cotton so when you wipe the wall it takes little fibers with it, because of whatever these are made of (and Ashley if you’re there tell us what they’re made of) because they’re almost made like material. But look there you can even hear it by the way. They’re super stretchy and they’re unbelievable they will not, like that took a lot, I actually did rip it. I actually don’t think that I’ve ever ripped it, but that took definitely some strength, and this is trying to see if I could pierce it with my nail just. But it’s not easy. I’ve had many cleaning wipes and also I have bought some like super like no frills cleaning wipes. Big mistake because I end up using four of the no frills cleaning wipes, or I could use one of these. Now here’s the other thing, I don’t think Ashley tells us that we could do this, but when I’m using this to clean up if it get super nasty I actually go and rinse it out, and I use it like a lot. You don’t do that? Oh Jule, I rinse them out all the time. Especially when I’m cleaning the stove, so they’re so they’re so durable.
Jules: You rinse it and reuse it?
Nat: I don’t know if Ashley will ever tell us to reuse it and I’m sure the company would be like no you’ll have to use 90 of them. But I’m gonna tell you that I personally, like I’ll clean the outside of my instant pot, I’ll clean my entire stove, the outside of the microwave, the inside of the microwave on one Tub O’ towel.
Jules: Nice!
Nat: I can’t believe you’re not doing that. I don’t know if I’m cheating cleaning.
Jules: I’m cleaning everything in this
Nat: You’re cleaning everything you can’t control yourself. Alright, so…
Jules: I’m not a cleaner. I’m not clean, I’m a dirty person. I don’t know, does anyone relate to this? NAT you’re a cleaner. You like cleaning. You kind of like find, I think you do you see…
Nat: I only like cleaning when I’m stressed. Which is my life.
Jules: Right. So me like, just having a pile where I’m like I know that what I need is in that pile and it could just sit there. I’m cool with that. But yeah I don’t really like I have to like actually plan when I’m gonna clean because I don’t like it.
Nat: No when I get super stressed out, even when they were little, I have to keep busy. And usually it’s when I’m like fighting with my mother, which is pretty much all the time now. That’s our new status as parent. But Jule, here do not clean the TV.
Jules: I won’t.
Nat: Okay, this and glass it doesn’t work. Well Marnie, I don’t I actually don’t dust. I actually use these to dust. I am I dust it just sweeps up the dust this is like like new I’m not even joking.
Jules: So this is from Target, this is just one of those like things that has the cubes and my kids have all their schmutzie hands. It looks like new.
Nat: How do you know that you could, like, I would have to… Like when I get something, I use it for everywhere. Alright so, Jule forget about it. Do you have a wall? Go use that on the wall and watch what happens.
Jules: Should I use a new one?
Nat: No, use the same one. Don’t use a new one yet, you’re not even close to it. No go by the light switch. Go by the light switch. Clean the area around the light switch. I told you guys! So I live in a constant state of stress.
Jules: Really?! No, I’m like, okay.
Nat: No, guys you don’t understand we went to Tub O’ towels and we were like can we do this for you, because we’re like we’re, I’m obsessed with them. They are now in Amazon basket on the regular. Show us the Tub O’ towels and how filthy you are. Please I’d like to…
Jules: There was black marker under here. I just got it off.
Nat: I have used my Tub O’ towels to take off sharpie off my wall, nail polish off my table, I have never not had success. Can I give you a weird tip about light switches and something we do weirdly in my house? Whenever we paint our house, and which has been like a few times, on the back of the light switch in the room that we painted we actually write down the number and the type of paint we used. So that we ever had to paint again we have like a secret time capsule.
Jules: I just keep my leftover paint in the basement.
Nat: I don’t have a basement Julie don’t rub it in.
Jules: This room is so disgusting.
Nat: Well that’s because the dog and the kids are there. By the way I love how, now we have we had actual things that we wanted to talk about. No, now it’s just like Julie’s like, “I have to clean everything. I don’t like cleaning except when it’s with Tub O’ towels.” Ashley are you happy what you did to Julie and I? So yes, I also loved that so many stress cleaners out there, I’m watching all of my stress cleaners, holler! But I think we, can I give away a prize now from us?
Jules: Yeah.
Nat: These guys listen, we have some really, I made some great things. I discovered this company called Cydia 5 on our
Jules: We’re on Facebook live.
Nat: So what? Where are we going? What do we do? Stay on with us all day. So we’re gonna give away a Twiniversity sticker pack, that’s mailed from yours truly. I will even give you a post-it with my lip prints and my autograph on it. But nothing will show up because my lipstick never comes off, so that’s always… Julie’s doesn’t either because she’s lips and I’m just super covergirl and that’s what happens. But here’s the stickers you’re getting you’re getting a Twiniversity Podcast sticker.
Jules: Woo!
Nat: Thank you! I wanted some response from that. You’re getting a super, you’re getting a Twiniversity car decal.
Jules: I have one of those on my car!
Nat: So that was if you have a white car if you have a like, need not apply you’ll never see it.
Jules: No I put it on my window.
Nat: I put mine on my actual car. And then you’re getting a mini Twiniversity sticker. I want to show you where mine lives, are you ready? This is where my mini Twiniversity sticker lives. On my phone.
Jules: I want one.
Nat: Do you have those Jules? Did I send you those yet?
Jules: No.
Nat: That’s my Mabel’s label right, because I use Mabel’s. I’ll send them to you today. Look and there’s my life
Jules: I’m gonna see you in like a week, two weeks.
Nat: Yes! We’re going to Vegas. I’m gonna have to take some Tub O’ towels to clean the hotel room, because that’s how I roll. So you will be winning a Twiniversity prize pack of stickers, so if you want to win, you should, no Tub O’ towels this time, although I’ll throw in one of these because I don’t want to share though Ashley. Um, just say stick it to me. Stick it to me man. That’s it. We’re gonna have more Tub O’ towels giveaways, don’t worry about it. Alright so we talked about the entry of the boys and now you’re gonna go from the welcome home monkeys, to the next section which is going to be snack time.
Jules: Yes.
Nat: Tell us about our snack time. Give us a run-through and we’ll see if we can fit some Tub O’ towels into your world.
Jules: Sure I always try, I always have the thought, oh I should put their snack out before they get home. Never happens.
Nat: Millie would eat it anyway.
Jules: Yah, Millie would eat it. That’s my dog by the way, not a, she’s back there.
Nat: We could see her. We see Mills.
Jules: So yeah and even if I were to put something else out there they would probably be like, “I don’t want this”. So I’ve just really been just being like, “what what do you want?” Okay I’ve been trying to keep it simple, but one of the things that they really love is ants on a log. So now I’m actually pretty quick to throw together.
Nat: Mm-hmm
Jules: And I don’t, if you don’t know what ants on a log are I will tell you, it’s a celery stick with peanut butter and little raisins on top.
Nat: I thought it was cream cheese, I wasn’t sure. Now that makes more sense..
Jules: Oh you know I forgot about that you could do it with cream cheese, that is an alternative version. Also bumps a log, ants on a log same kind of deal. So that is a very standard snack or will do fruit, but they really do like something sticky with it. So if it’s like cut up apples they’ll want to have a container full of peanut butter because they can’t have peanut butter at school. So that’s like a nice afternoon snack, so I try to make them sit at the table, but then they’re always fighting wanting to go into the playroom and watch you while they eat their snack, but then that makes for more mess for you. I know you can try to get them to clean up which is always a struggle.
Nat: You know what would be an easy way Jule? On Amazon they sell little 1 ounce containers they’re like disposable containers so they sell them for like restaurants. I don’t ever go to like a restaurant and you get like dressing or like a side order of honey mustard or whatever in.
Jules: Like a ramekin?
Nat: It’s kind of like a ramekin, but what a top. What I used to do when the kids were little, is I would buy a pack of those on Amazon (and Laura if you could throw up a link to that so people know what I’m talking about) they’re little 1 ounce containers. I would buy the giant thing of peanut butter from Costco and I would make individual containers so when the kids got home.
Jules: Okay it’s like when you get a salad to go and they put the salad dressing in it? Okay.
Nat: Correct. Correct, but I found that when you buy the containers of peanut butter like that they’re so expensive.
Jules: Yes.
Nat: So forget it man. You could do like 50 of those tiny containers. They’re very inexpensive. And then also, because I’m totally crazy, I used to get fresh ground peanut butter because at the time when the kids were little it was literally the same prices like Jiff. So at Whole Foods they have like the grinder, and I don’t know why it was so inexpensive then. But I would grind my own peanut butter, there. And then I would put it in those tight containers once I got home I would do like a tablespoon and say again
Jules: Congrats Cheryl.
Nat: Congrats Cheryl! But that is another little after-school hack so they may… you could do the celery cut up you could do the peanut butter cut up and that way you don’t have to prepare the snack. They could go in the refrigerator and they could get their little snack packs.
Jules: You know Sarah have a nice comment that I wanted to, I do this part of the way. “I keep two small baskets in the fridge and two small baskets in the pantry. These have various snacks and drinks. When they get home they can pick one snack and drink. I refill the baskets on the weekend.” So I do that on the weekend for my pantry, but I don’t do it in my fridge. But maybe I should.
Nat: You should definitely. You could also do a shelf that is in your kitchen or something that’s, in your kitchen, and that is just the snack thing. We have a drawer in the kitchen that’s just a snack drawer.
Jules: Yeah we have a good self in the pantry. Anything on the bottom is free reign. Like they can get anything you want. Which is basically like bags of pretzels, chips, etc, yeah and different kind of like cereal bars.
Nat: Now it’s important to have a system like that when the kids are little, but it’s gonna be even more important to have a system like that when the kids get older and have friends over, because then when friends come over, like whenever people come over to our house they just know where the snack drawer is. Just go to the snack drawer and there’s a variety of snacks in there because I buy like the big variety packs. But if I’m, if I am in like a money crunch time I buy the giant bags of whatever it is and I put them into zip locks. I’m sorry it’s my carbon footprint I know blah, blah, blah. Don’t yell at me but I would buy the quart sized bags and fill them with tortilla chips with a big thing from Costco. So there’s that.
Now another thing with the Tub O’ towels is a you place that I use it ,and I really do by the way guys, I swear to you I am not kidding you, this is not like an ad for them, it’s the area around the handles on my kitchen cabinets. And also the lip, like there’s if you have a lighting rail. I am shocked at how filthy the underneath of that lighting rail was because if I’m cooking.. Say again.
Jules: Lighting rail, what’s that?
Nat: So I have this piece that’s under my cabinet that’s like a little wooden ledge and it covers the light underneath my cabinet, because I have a light like stuck underneath my cabinet. I don’t know why, when they did in my kitchen that’s just like I don’t know even if we ordered it.
Jules: That’s nice.
Nat: But under there I don’t realize that when, I’m when I’m like cooking and stuff stuff splats up. I also have cherry flavored coffee medicine stuck to my kitchen ceiling, right now. It’s still there. Yes.
Jules: I seriously feel like everyone has that stain. We have like a grease stain on our ceiling and I’m like I have no idea how it got there. It’s been there since we’ve lived here because we had the place painted before we moved. But I I have no recollection of this happening, it’s just like the mystery grease stain on the ceiling that just gonna be there.
Nat: Well you could take your Tub O’ towels and put it on the edge of a broom handle and try to clean the ceiling. See I couldn’t control myself. (Babe, you look so nice. We’re talking about Tub O’ towels here.)
Jules: What you could do is you could jerry-rigged this. Take a lamp.
Nat: Don’t make fun of me. I don’t need I don’t need this abuse. I have…
Jules: What about a grabber? Do you have a grabber?
Nat: I don’t have a grabber. I would love a grabber.
Jules: I have two grabbers.
Nat: Why?
Jules: My favorite tip for pregnancy is that it got to a point where I was so big I could not bend over to get things and squatting was like an Olympic event to pick things up so I used to grab her to pick things off the floor. And I realized, wow, I’m like 5’2” this grabber is really handy to grab things on a top shelf.
Nat: You know I learned from our podcast with Mary Ann that that grabber shouldn’t just be used during pregnancy but you should have used it for six months post. Because we could still get diastasis, which I didn’t know! I thought like it ended at the end of pregnancy did you know that?
Jules: No.
Nat: You didn’t listen to the podcast?
Jules: No I didn’t get to that one yet. I was doing the other one.
Nat: I ruined it. That was a spoiler! Spoiler.
Jules: Spoiler. What coming up?
Nat: On my gosh, Jules. Spoiler.
Jules: Don’t tell anyone people in our next podcast is gonna be. [Music]
Nat: Cheryl says the refrigerator handle refrigerator handle. Definitely, definitely. Oh Kelly, I’m totally the MacGyver I am a hundred percent a hashtag mommy MacGyver is what I am. I don’t believe in using
Jules: Bye baby. I love you.
Nat: I will always use stuff for it’s real reason but then I will find another way to use it and I blame my tiny living. Because before tiny homes were thing, I’ve been living in one since birth. In New York City this is the same square foot is like most of those tiny homes. So I don’t have a..
Jules: It’s like that commercial. Remember that commercial that was a couple and it was like they were on a game show. That they were on tiny house and they were like knocking into each other and like, “I just want an omelette”.
Nat: Was that a real commercial or was that one of those like secret GEICO’s things?
Jules: Yeah, a GEICO thing.
Nat: Yeah, I don’t know, I live in a tiny house so I have always found ways to use one item with with a multiple variety of uses. That’s just how I roll. Okay so now going back to our Tub O’ towels, I want to tell you that glue, Sharpie, not joking, marker, (Crayola of course comes off because it’s washable but if you don’t use the washable like let’s say we buy the ones from Dollar Tree those are washable kids by the way), crayon also comes off. Um, what else comes off the table? The glitter, I have to say it’s but that has nothing to do with the towel. That just has to do with that it gets into the ridges of the wood of my table glitter. I hate so much.
Jules: I hate glitter.
Nat: I cannot stand it and when the glitter. you were glitter crazy voice is
Jules: I have two boys, so far I’ve been able to avoid glitter.
Nat: I can’t take it anymore. I’m Jule what time is it?
Jules: It is 40 after
Nat: No, I was saying Julie it’s prize time! I know, you had no idea.
Jules: I feel like I’m gonna get in trouble if I say prize time.
Nat: Well I don’t know I feel like we have to give them a hint, if I said, “What time it is?” I now fear that they would be like it’s 1241.
Jules: Time to get ill?
Nat: Always, it’s always time to get ill.
Jules: What time is it, isn’t there like flava flav thing you’re supposed to say?
Nat: What’s the time? It’s time to get ill. That’s the song. Beastie Boys.
Jules: Right?
Nat: Yes, I think it is. Oh my gosh.
Jules: Anyway it’s prize time. We’re gonna be another prize pack from Tub O’ towels. It’ll be the 90 count, the 40 count, and the 12 packs of the singles.
Nat: So exactly what you see behind me.
Jules: What do you have to say?
Nat: It’s time to get ill kids. It’s time for lunch is what Liz says. It’s time for lunch. I’m gonna eat after. I don’t know what I’m going to eat today. You guys are you…
Jules: I mean did you hear that Weight Watchers is now WW. I think I hate that. Is that like prince-like now we’re just like naming things.
Nat: I think I literally hate that idea.
Jules: I know.
Nat: I don’t think I like this WW business at all. What’s a little…I hate change.
Jules: Still live?
Nat: Yes, I’m still going live. I know you can’t tell because when I’m working with Julie this is exactly what it sounds like, so my kids are confused. My kids are home from school today it’s like a weird day off for a teachers conferences. Could you go buy yourself soup outside? Sure, I think it’s raining though, so think about that. Some ramen?
Jules: I want some ramen.
Nat: Sure, Jule wants some ramen. She doesn’t eat ramen cuz she doesn’t want the egg in it. She wants like wonton soup she’s so boring. No, you know what you have to do too? Guys don’t tell anyone about this. Johnny. Anna you need to go outside and buy Evan a birthday present. Money? I’m sorry you don’t get allowance in our house. You do have to work for us because well I pay your rent, and your health insurance, all your food bills, your tuition, all your clothing bills, I pay the vet bills for the dog, for the guinea pig, I buy your guinea pig food. I bet you.
Jules: By the way Gabi I also love Prince. You know that I wasn’t dissing Prince. Rest in peace.
Nat: No, why?
Jules: You know because then he was the symbol.
Nat: Wait I don’t I don’t have it here. I hope my sister’s not watching. I bought her stickers that go on her nail that is the Prince symbol.
Jules: Yes, she the biggest Prince fan.
Nat: Don’t tell her, that’s her birthday today. Alright this little thing, “You and I are sisters, always remember that if you fall I will pick you up after I finish laughing.” And the story of that is my sister tore her akeli, achilles tendon and she’s laying on the floor and I’m laughing at her and saying yeah you moron. But she literally ruptured her Achilles. So this is my symbol of that. (Do you need me babe? You’re okay? Okay.) John was back I don’t know why he was back in action he was printing, I don’t know what he was printing.
Jules: So let’s talk about dogs and cleaning.
Nat: Pets! Pets in general because I don’t just have the dogs I have the pigs.
Jules: Right. So yeah, not actual pigs.
Nat: No, thank God. Although I’m sure that’ll be next because my daughter’s Dr. Dolittle. And when,
Jules: Come on pig!
Nat: she literally… And what did we have this summer? We had pets snails this summer. We had a frog. We had, of course, the pigs. I say when the pigs when she’s being bad I’d threaten to let the pigs loose on the lawn so the hawks swing by. Is that horrible of me? And I say, “Circle of Life”! And I hold the tiny pig up. “It moves us on….”
Jules: How about the bears? The bears like guinea pigs too.
Nat: No, I don’t want the Bears, I’m afraid of the Bears. So pig stains. Pig stains. The pigs pee all over the place. We put them on the floor, clearly, we don’t have to keep anything in the grass, but the Tub O’ towel is… my dog still happy pees. So Betty my hundred, my hundred and nine pound rescue jerk of a beast, that’s really the best thing in the world, she’s still happy pees. And if you don’t catch it she sits in it and then her tail splashes it all over the place.
Jules: It’s like a windshield wiper.
Nat: It totally is. She doesn’t want to be a vet, she wants to be an artist. She just wants to have a lot of animals, Kate she’s just super crazy. Congrats to Ashley by the way! So pets stains also are fantastic they absorb pretty good it depends on how much pee, dog pee there is. Sometimes I do have to get a secondary one, but if it is not like if it’s an extra giant pee I might use a paper towel and then use this to clean up then gets rid of the scent off my floor and it makes my house smell like citrus.
Jules: Actually clean.
Nat: So for us that’s what happened. Ahh, Marnie’s dog doesn’t have a tail. Marnie don’t give me ideas. Here’s where I get the scissor. I would never do that by the way. I don’t want anybody thinking like animal abuse with me sacrificing the pigs of the gods and cutting off my dog’s tail. I am a total animal lover too, but really like when she doesn’t it bothers me that she’s like, “I want these pigs! I want these pigs!” We have two pigs Patty, named after Patty LaBelle because she has wild wild hair. And then Maggie named after Margaret Keane the artist that made the big eye paintings. Not like sprinkles and you know whatever fluffy.
Jules: That’s the cat Dwight murdered.
Nat: We could go into a whole time about The Office. (Please steal money from me. That’s okay. Don’t go crazy. You got buy Aunt Viv a present. Really, I have to talk about things…) So pets stains are a big one. (Stop it Anna.)
Jules: For us it’s window sill because the dog looking out the picture window. Yeah a lot of dirt on the window sill.
Nat: Well that’s her feet. You cannot use this, I would not use this on your pets paws.
Jules: No, no, no.
Nat: There are specific wipes if you want to clean your dog. But I do have to tell you something that I did with mine the other day. I did wipe down her tail with all the pee on it with the Tub O’ towel. I don’t believe that that’s the recommended usage, but I couldn’t… It was everywhere. It was the windshield wiper of dog pee. (No I don’t want anything from outside. Thank you.) It was super. (Actually could you wait and I’ll tell you, I’ll give you a list of things we need outside because I need heavy cream.) That’s none of your concern, is my heavy cream.
Jules: What are you gonna make the heavy cream? I want to know now.
Nat: Well because I’m keto, I use it for my coffee. I use literally like a teaspoon of it to get my color so it doesn’t take me.. I’ve gone keto guys. Don’t judge me. I don’t want to hear it. It’s a lot. Alright so we’re gonna wrap it up with one more prize time.
Jules: Yeah, prize time!
Nat: We love prize time! We’re gonna give away another prize pack. Let’s do three Jule. You want to give away three different prize packs?
Jules: Sure.
Nat: Okay and so what you have to say is thank you Tub O’ towels. Feel free to tag Tub O’ towel so that it goes over on their page, so they could see the twin moms love us. But go ahead and just say yes we love Tub O’ towels. We really do love Tub O’ towels. I have not had a cleaning product coming to my life since the kids, like previous to the kids being born, that has really changed the way I clean. It has eliminated cleaning wipes. It has eliminated cleaning spray. It has eliminated a good portion of paper towels because I would get a paper towel and my cleaning spray and then wipe down. But I will tell you that if you’re gonna use this on any surfaces that food is going to touch, please make sure that you wipe it down with water after because these products although the products are very great they are not food grade. So if you’re gonna use them for the top of the highchair or if you’re gonna use them for teething toys everything has to be rinsed. Right. I also would not recommend you have your children use these towels because honestly they smell so good I wouldn’t want them to put it in their mouth. Okay. So if they are little kids. If they’re bigger kids, I would say six plus, definitely let your kids start wiping things down. Let your kids when they’re responsible enough to understand the cleaning products are cleaning products and that you know it’s not a great idea to touch your face.
Jules: Yes, it says with eye contact you have to flush with water.
Nat: Yeah we have, thank god we have not had that happen.
Jules: Another reason to keep them away from your kids. But we’re gonna do three prize packs of the Tub O’ towels, right?
Nat: Yep so laura is gonna choose three winners. She is behind the curtain today which is very, very exciting. Also another thing is, is if you’re like you know you’re trying to like buy local right. Like everybody’s talking about local. While this isn’t local depending on where you live, but all the Tub O’ towels are all made within the United States. Okay. Which is pretty good because now there’s all like these new tariffs some stuff which is gonna probably raise the price for things. Not something we are gonna have to worry about.
Jules: Cleveland, Ohio.
Nat: Not only do they bring us Drew Carey, not only is it the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it’s the home with Tub O’ towels. It’s just too exciting. I love that everybody’s making more. I love you guys. I love doing this Jule and I feel like we should do more of these, because it’s fun. I hope that Tub O’ towels isn’t like, “You know Nat, we appreciate you but maybe you and Julie shouldn’t have had a discussion about windshield wiper pee the whole time.” But it’s fun. Listen you know let me how do you make cleaning fun. You can’t. Cleaning stinks! But it doesn’t with Tub O’ towels.
Jules: This removes duct tape.
Nat: It does?
Jules: And adhesives! There’s a whole thing on the back that tells us the list of things.
Nat: I never tried it for adhesive.
Jules: Bug and bird messes.
Nat: I have, let me tell you, I have used it for the grease that’s the underneath of my stove. You know like where your microwave vent is. I don’t know if you have a microwave.
Jules: Oh, yeah.
Nat: This is super disgusting. Also if you have a an instant pot, which guys you know I’m obsessed with mine the way. I made cauliflower soup last night in my instant pot.
Jules: How was it?
Nat: Oh what, my cauliflower stew? It was it, oh my god it was fantastic. Johnny just ate it for breakfast.
Jules: Oh my god.
Nat: And by the way it was the kid that requested cauliflower soup because that’s how good my cauliflower soup is. (The secret is nutmeg.)
Jules: Nutmeg? But don’t tell anybody, it’s a secret.
Nat: My grandmother, my grandmother always made cauliflower soup and she’s good..
Jules: Sticker removal!! I’m sorry but there’s a sticker on the floor in my bedroom on my hardwood floor now.
Nat: Don’t leave just now. You could do it in a second. Bird and bug messes. Now I don’t like it for windows and I have used it on the car window for a bug mess but I did need to clean something over that. So I did mean that you could use it on leather, vinyl, metal, hello stainless steel, how are you? By the way on stainless steel it’s fantastic. So I don’t have real stainless steel, I have stainless steel look on my appliances. You know what I mean. So I saved myself god only knows there and I seem like the frugal-est person in the world. Julie knows that I am actually very frugal, but I bought the stainless steel look. And when I used to use, like if I don’t use a stainless steel product or something, like that it always left the lines. This never leaves the lines. So I could do it on the refrigerator. I actually don’t have a stainless steel fridge because the refrigerator that we have I cannot buy another refrigerator because nothing else will fit in that space. When this kitchen was made it was made for like, we bought this refrigerator and they measured it. They no longer make refrigerators of this size. So I have to keep having this repaired.
Jules: Yeah, I have, it’s gonna be the same deal for my washer and dryer. Because the ones we have now we had to buy because they fit down our stairwell.
Nat: Oh my gosh.
Jules: They were the only ones in the entire store, of this huge, huge appliance store. And I had to buy two different brands. And one of them was from Australia. I’ll never get a new washer and dryer.
Nat: Do what you gotta do. But with the stainless steel. Also you could pull, I actually don’t, even though my kids are 13, I do not leave the knobs on my stove.
Jules: We used to take them off.
Nat: Do you know why I do that? My dog. My dog will jump up to see what’s cooking because she, she actually hasn’t done that in a long time. But I can’t run the risk of it and we have a gas stove I cannot risk it. So because I don’t have the knobs on it’s actually really easy to clean. That’s a cool thing. So if you could use it take off the knobs you could use a Tub O’ towel to clean the knob. You could use it to clean under the knob but don’t do this, be like I’m gonna have a cleaning day. I don’t recommend that anybody cleans like that. That’s the worst. That that’s like my least favorite time of my life. Just clean for two minutes every day while you’re sitting there waiting for the oatmeal to boil clean one knob. While you’re sitting there you know waiting for the macaroni and cheese to boil just clean the the underneath of the microwave. There’s no rush to do anything. And I think that people get very overwhelmed by cleaning because they’re like, “I have to clean”. Don’t. You know Julie, but honestly just like I if you do it in bits and pieces. And you know the other crazy thing I’ve now, as a mom of 13-year-old, that’s how my kids clean. That’s not a bad thing. So I taught them like we’re not gonna be like, “dude we’re cleaning” It’s like everyday five minutes. If we all do five minutes that’s 15 minutes of cleaning between me and the twins. We get a lot of stuff done. Yeah, but I have used these Tub O’ towels on my painted walls, my vinyl plank floor that we have I don’t have actual wood floors anymore, I’ve used it on my wood table, in the car. Oh that’s the best! In the car on the ledge, on the little cup holder, which gets a lose that as like a snack tray, it’s disgusting. If you have the middle console that goes where your cups are in, like right like if you have like a center console, but because clean inside the cups.
Jules: Sara, Kimmie, and Rachel won.
Nat: Sarah, Kimmie, and Rachel won. Congratulations to all of our friends. We really wanted to bring a little bit of sunshine into your day. I know we really were the worst of talking about after school stuff. But the moral of the story is we’re all going through it. We’re still trying, we’re faking it so we make it. That’s how we do things. Whether your kids are 5 years old or 45 years old. We still have everyday things to do and I am so excited that my father-in-law Bruce greasemonkey, who basically validated this product for me by saying, “Why do you have that?” I don’t like people tell me I can’t have something. It’s not just for you guys. It’s like when Singleton’s tell us, “Oh do you use that for your twins?” Yeah we do. That’s my smoke alarm, that I have to change the batteries. Call John. It went off like four times yesterday. The funniest part is it’s smoke alarm we don’t even use. I have supplemental smoke alarms because I’m so afraid that in New York City, that like my neighbor is gonna have a fire and then it’s gonna come through my building. So in addition to us having them in our bedrooms, I have them on the wall closest to the other buildings.
Jules: Ohh.
Nat: No, I’m not mad. This is not how it’s gonna go for me, I have so much safety equipment because for $30 it last you a lifetime as long as you…
Jules: Did I tell you what I bought? I bought I want one of these things, I didn’t even take out of the box yet. But it’s um in case you’re choking and you’re alone. You could put it on your face and it’ll help you get the food out of your throat for like $80.
Nat: I have to go I have to buy that right now. You know I won’t let the kids eat food when I’m not in the house. You know that. Like they’re not allowed to eat food like if I am teaching a Twiniversity class and there’s gonna be like, right they’re 13 they could be alone in the house. But if there is a few if there’s like a few minutes between when my sister’s coming and between when the kids are there they can’t eat. Because I’m so afraid of them choking. Okay now here you want to hear something crazy. As a crazy Catholic, so I’m a crazy Catholic guys by the way. So as a crazy Catholic there would be one day a year in church where you would go in and get your throat blessed. So as a little girl, wait there’s more. So as a little girl… and if you’re Catholic by the way shout out to all of us and I’m not saying we’re crazy whatever. I always feel like I have to give like disclaimer so nobody judges me. But you would go to church on this day and I can’t remember what the Saint was, but they had these candles and they would tie them together with a ribbon, and then they would bless you like this, and they would like say some prayer. Julie you want to know why I’m nuts and why I don’t want my kids to eat alone in the house. It’s because I was too busy getting my throw blessed, my whole life because I was afraid… of God Jen Roth is here. What up Jen? Jen wasn’t getting her throat blessed either. Did anybody else get their throat blessed? Please. Thank you! I love it, shout out to all my other throat blessers.
Jules: You Have a saint for everything.
Nat: We literally do. What else you want a saint of the rubberband and a little architectural sculpture I’ve been making during my whole live feed. How do you like it? Do you like it?
Jules: This has taken a turn.
Nat: Everything takes a turn. Well thank you Tub O’ towels for sponsoring Julie and I’s conversation about literally everything, from cleaning off the whites of your shoes to getting your throat blessed. One more thing I want to interject, my new favorite term in our house is sky raisins. Do you know what a sky raisin is?
Jules: I don’t know. I’m afraid to ask.
Nat: Does Millie catch flies?
Jules: Yes.
Nat: Right, they’re now called sky raisins in our house. (Timeout. Go back in your room I’ll be done in two seconds. Because first of all I could see your stomach, that’s totally unacceptable. Go change your skirt. Go change your shirt.) That’s how it’s done.
Jules: But Millie also tries to catch steam with her mouth.
Nat: I know! That was my favorite. Alright Tub O’ towels. No, thank You Tub O’ towels. They’re thanking us. No, no, no, no, no thank you. Sometimes, we want to do this once a week. We just want to have random discussions of which are behind me. Because by the way they’ve been up for three days, since you guys send me the package. So now not only are you sponsoring this live feed, but you’re also partnering, I love my house because I’m living in the Truman Show now. But you guys not only have revolutionized my cleaning routine, but that of my mother’s, that of my sister’s. Because they’re so generous they send me a case the towels and typically I store stuff in my hallway. This I won’t store in my hallway because I’m super afraid that they’re gonna rob my Tub O’ towel, my neighbors. My sister is like, “Why do you have these giant boxes in the house?” I’m like, “Because what if Christina takes it?” My neighbor, who’s whatever, she’ll never watch it. She has no idea what I do for a living, but she’s she’s something guys. She’s something alright. She has a surfboard outside of her door right now.
Jules: What?! Where’s she surfing in Manhattan?
Nat: I don’t know, Julie. And then let’s say you traveled, how are you getting it on an airplane? How are you getting that in a car? No.
Jules: A surfboard, probably.
Nat: Alright, I’m gonna go yell at my daughter. I’m gonna go I’ll call you in a few minutes. Guys, thank you so much. Jules say thank you to Tub O’ Towels.
Jules: Thank you to Tub O’ Towels.
Nat: Thank You Ashlee and the whole Tub O’ Towels team. I love that saying so much. We’ll see you later alligators. Thank you so much for joining us. Until next time, this is Julie and Nat, from the Julie and Nat Show. See you later sky raisins.
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