Практика Shadowing: Talking About Housework in English | Easy English Podcast for Beginners - Изучайте разговорный английский с YouTube

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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Everyday English Academy,

where we make English simple and enjoyable.

I'm Sarah.

And I'm Mike.

Hello to all of our wonderful listeners wherever you are in the world right now.

So, Mike, anything interesting happen this week?

Sarah, I had the most stressful moment of my life on Wednesday.

What?

Are you okay?

My mom called me and said,

I'm coming to your apartment in one hour.

Uh-oh.

I looked around my apartment and I thought,

this is a crime scene.

What did you do?

I threw clothes into the closet.

I wiped the kitchen counter with my sleeve.

I hid dirty dishes in the oven.

You hid dishes in the oven?

Mike, I do the exact same thing when someone visits.

Really?

You?

Yes, but I usually throw everything into my bedroom and close the door.

So you just move the mess from one room to another?

Exactly.

The living room looked perfect, but my bedroom?

Don't open that door.

See, this is why housework is so important.

If we just did a little bit every day,

we wouldn't need to panic clean.

Panic clean.

I like that.

That's when you clean very fast because someone is coming to your home.

Yes.

Your heart is racing.

You're throwing things everywhere.

You're wiping surfaces with whatever you can find.

That is panic cleaning.

And I think many of our listeners know this feeling.

If you've ever panic cleaned,

tell us in the comments.

So I think today we need to talk about this, right?

Housework, chores, all those things we have to do to keep our homes clean.

Yes, and this is such a practical topic,

because we all do chores,

even if we don't like them.

And there's actually a lot of useful English in this topic,

words you can use in real conversations every day.

Exactly!

So, today we're going to talk about common chores,

share our cleaning habits – the honest version – and help you learn how to talk about housework in natural English.

And later, I'm going to confess something about my cleaning habits that is… honestly a bit embarrassing.

Ooh, I'm already curious!

But first, let's talk about the basic chores.

Mike, what chores do you do regularly?

Well, the one I do the most is probably the dishes.

I cook almost every day,

so there are always dishes to wash.

Same.

And here's something interesting for our listeners.

When you wash dishes, there are actually a few different steps.

Oh, that's true.

First, you usually scrub them.

To scrub means to rub something hard to remove the dirt,

like when you have dried food stuck on a pan,

you really need to scrub it.

Yes.

You use a sponge or a brush and you scrub,

scrub, scrub until it's clean.

And sometimes if the food is really stuck,

you need to let the dish soak first.

Soak.

That's a great word.

To soak means to leave something in water for a long time so the dirt becomes soft and easier to clean.

I'll let the pan soak for a while.

That's what I tell myself every night.

And then I forget about it until the next morning.

Mike, that's not soaking.

That's just avoiding the dishes.

Hey, I call it strategic soaking.

Sure.

And after you scrub, the last step is to rinse.

To rinse means to quickly wash something with clean water to remove the soap.

Right.

So the process is soak if needed,

scrub the dirt off, and then rinse with clean water.

Three simple steps.

And honestly, it's not that bad,

but I still hate it.

What about laundry?

Do you do the laundry often, Sarah?

I try to do it once a week,

but sometimes it piles up.

Ah, to pile up.

That's when something keeps growing because you don't deal with it.

More and more clothes on the chair, on the floor.

Yes!

Dirty clothes pile up so fast.

You think, oh, I'll do it tomorrow.

100

And then suddenly you have a mountain of clothes.

101

And it's not just washing them, right?

102

you wash clothes, you have to fold them.

103

To fold means to make the clothes neat and flat so you can put them away.

104

Folding is the part I always put off.

105

Put off.

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Good one.

107

To put off means to delay doing something.

108

You know you should do it, but you say, later.

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I'll fold the clothes later.

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And then later becomes next week.

111

I think everyone puts off folding clothes.

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It's a universal thing.

113

Oh, and what about stains?

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That's another laundry word.

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A stain is a dirty mark on your clothes that is really hard to remove.

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Like when you spill coffee on a white shirt.

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The worst.

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I got a coffee stain on my favorite shirt and I can't get it out.

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Or when you eat pasta with tomato sauce and you know what's coming.

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Red stain, game over.

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Okay, what about floor chores?

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Because this is where it gets interesting.

123

Oh yes.

124

So there are three main ways to clean your floor.

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The first one is to sweep.

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To sweep means to clean the floor with a broom.

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You know, that long stick with bristles at the bottom?

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You push the dirt into one place and then collect it.

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I sweep my kitchen floor almost every day, especially after cooking.

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There are always crumbs everywhere.

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Crumbs are those tiny pieces of food that fall on the floor,

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like when you eat bread or cookies.

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Crumbs go everywhere.

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The second way is to vacuum,

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and this one people either love or hate.

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I actually don't mind vacuuming.

137

The vacuum cleaner is that noisy machine that sucks up dirt from the floor and carpets.

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I hate the noise.

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It's so loud, but the result is nice.

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Do you vacuum often?

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Maybe once a week.

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Sometimes less.

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Don't judge me.

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And the third way to clean floors is to mop.

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To mop means to clean the floor with a wet mop,

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that stick with a flat,

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wet head on the bottom.

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You use water and soap to wash the floor.

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I mop my kitchen and bathroom maybe once a week.

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It makes such a difference.

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The floor feels completely different after mopping.

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It really does.

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But here's my problem with mopping.

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The floor is wet after,

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and then you walk on it and leave footprints everywhere.

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Yes.

157

You mop the whole kitchen and then you realize you're trapped.

158

You're standing in the corner because the floor is wet and you can't walk on it.

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Every time.

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So you just stand there waiting for it to dry.

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Dry means when the water goes away.

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No more moisture.

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Wait for the floor to dry before you walk on it.

164

Exactly.

165

Okay, listeners, quick question.

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Which floor chore do you do the most?

167

Sweeping, vacuuming, or mopping?

168

Tell us in the comments.

169

Now, there are some other chores we should talk about, like tidying up.

170

Yes.

171

To tidy up means to make a place look neat and organized.

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It's not deep cleaning, it's more like putting things back where they belong.

173

Like picking up clothes from the chair,

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putting books back on the shelf, organizing the remote controls.

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The little things.

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I need to tidy up the living room before my friend arrives.

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That's basically what I did when my mom called, but in extreme speed.

178

And then there's wiping.

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To wipe means to clean a surface with a cloth or a paper towel.

180

You wipe the kitchen counter,

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the table, the bathroom sink.

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I wipe my kitchen counter after every meal.

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That's one thing I'm actually good at.

184

Oh, wow!

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Congratulations!

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Hey, it's something.

187

And what about dusting?

188

To dust means to clean surfaces like shelves,

189

TV stands, and furniture to remove dust.

190

Dust is those tiny, tiny particles that collect on surfaces over time.

191

You know when you see a layer of grey powder on your bookshelf?

192

That's dust.

193

And the thing about dust is it comes back so fast.

194

You dust everything on Monday,

195

and by Friday it looks like you never touched it.

196

So true.

197

It's like a never-ending battle.

198

And there's one more I want to mention.

199

Declutter.

200

To declutter means to remove things you don't need to make a space more organized and clean.

201

Oh, I love decluttering.

202

It feels so good to throw away old things and make space.

203

Really?

204

I find it so hard.

205

I look at something and think,

206

but maybe I'll need this someday.

207

Mike, you don't need a broken umbrella from 2019.

208

You don't know that.

209

Here's a good tip for our listeners.

210

If you haven't used something in one year,

211

you probably don't need it.

212

Just let it go.

213

That's easy for you to say.

214

I get attached to my things.

215

That's called being a hoarder, Mike.

216

A hoarder is someone who keeps everything and never throws anything away.

217

I'm not a hoarder.

218

I'm just careful.

219

Okay.

220

Let's talk about something fun.

221

Chores we love versus chores we hate.

222

Oh, this will be interesting because I think we're very different.

223

I think so too.

224

Okay, I'll go first.

225

I actually enjoy doing the laundry.

226

There's something satisfying about fresh, clean clothes.

227

Interesting.

228

For me, laundry is okay, but I hate ironing.

229

Ironing is when you use a hot iron to make wrinkled clothes smooth and flat.

230

I don't mind ironing.

231

It's kind of relaxing.

232

You just stand there and press.

233

Relaxing?

234

Standing there pressing one shirt for ten minutes?

235

That's torture.

236

Okay, okay.

237

What chore do you actually enjoy?

238

Don't laugh, but I like vacuuming.

239

Wait, you said you hate the noise.

240

I hate the noise, but I love seeing the results.

241

Those lines on the carpet after you vacuum, so satisfying.

242

You're a strange person, Mike.

243

What chore do you hate the most?

244

I hate mopping.

245

The bucket, the wet floor,

246

waiting for it to dry.

247

It takes forever.

248

See?

249

We really are different.

250

But you know what?

251

I think the chore you hate the most is usually the one that piles up the most.

252

Hmm.

253

That's actually true.

254

Because if you hate it,

255

you put it off and then it gets worse.

256

Exactly.

257

Like for me, I put off mopping,

258

and then the floor gets so dirty that when I finally mop,

259

it takes twice as long.

260

It's a vicious cycle.

261

A vicious cycle is when a bad situation keeps repeating and getting worse each time.

262

I hate mopping, so I put it off,

263

so the floor gets dirtier,

264

so mopping takes longer, so I hate it more.

265

That's my life.

266

Because which chore do you hate the most?

267

Okay, Sarah.

268

I have a confession.

269

Oh.

270

Is this the embarrassing thing you mentioned?

271

Yes.

272

So, sometimes when I don't want to do the dishes,

273

I eat straight from the pan.

274

You what?

275

If I make pasta or eggs,

276

I just eat them right from the pan.

277

That way, no extra dishes.

278

Mike, that is actually kind of smart, but also terrible.

279

But there's less washing, less scrubbing, less rinsing.

280

Problem solved.

281

Okay, I have a confession too.

282

Sometimes I put clean clothes back in the laundry basket because I don't want to fold them.

283

What?

284

So you wash them again?

285

Maybe.

286

Sarah, that's worse than my pan thing.

287

We're both terrible.

288

But honestly, I think everyone has lazy chore moments.

289

That's normal.

290

Okay, let's talk about something useful.

291

How to talk about chores with other people,

292

because this comes up a lot in real life.

293

So true.

294

Like if you live with someone,

295

a partner, a roommate, family,

296

you need to talk about who does what.

297

Right.

298

You can say, Can you do the dishes tonight?

299

I'll vacuum tomorrow.

300

Or it's your turn to take out the trash.

301

Take out the trash means to bring the garbage bags outside to the bin.

302

And if your roommate is not doing their chores,

303

you can say, Hey, the kitchen is a bit messy.

304

Can we tidy up together?

305

That's polite.

306

You're not attacking them.

307

You're saying we instead of you.

308

That helps a lot.

309

And if someone asks you to help,

310

you can say, Sure, I'll wipe the table if you sweep the floor.

311

That's teamwork.

312

Dividing the chores so it's fair.

313

And honestly, chores are much more bearable when you do them with someone else.

314

Bearable means you can handle it.

315

It's not fun, but it's okay.

316

Yes.

317

Cleaning is more bearable with good music.

318

That's so true.

319

I always put on my favorite songs when I clean.

320

It makes everything better.

321

Oh, and here's another useful phrase.

322

If your home is really messy,

323

you can say, this place is a mess.

324

We need to do a deep clean.

325

A deep clean.

326

That's when you clean everything.

327

Not just the surface.

328

You clean under the sofa,

329

behind the fridge, inside the oven.

330

Inside the oven where you hid your dishes?

331

Okay, I deserve that.

332

But yes, a deep clean is a very thorough cleaning.

333

Usually people do it once a month or before a big event.

334

We're having a party next week,

335

so I need to do a deep clean this weekend.

336

And if you want to ask for help politely,

337

you can say, would you mind helping me with the dishes?

338

That's very natural and not aggressive at all.

339

Or you can make it fun.

340

Let's put on some music and clean together.

341

It'll be faster.

342

See?

343

Chores don't have to be terrible.

344

A little teamwork, a little music,

345

and suddenly it's not so bad.

346

All right, Mike, I think we covered a lot today.

347

We really did.

348

Let's do a quick recap.

349

We learned scrub, soak, and rinse for washing dishes.

350

Pile up when things keep growing because you don't deal with them.

351

And put off when you delay doing something.

352

Stain, a dirty mark that's hard to remove.

353

And fold to make clothes neat after washing.

354

Sweep with a broom, vacuum with a vacuum cleaner, and mop with water.

355

Tidy up means to organize and make things neat.

356

Wipe means to clean a surface with a cloth.

357

Dust to remove those tiny particles from surfaces,

358

and declutter to remove things you don't need.

359

So much useful vocabulary in just one topic.

360

And now we want to hear from you.

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Write in the comments.

362

How often do you clean your home?

363

And which chore do you hate the most?

364

Write one or two sentences in English.

365

For example, I vacuum every weekend,

366

but I always put off mopping.

367

Easy.

368

Or you can say, I did a deep clean last weekend and now my apartment looks amazing.

369

See?

370

You're already using the vocabulary.

371

We read every comment.

372

And honestly, reading your comments is the best part of our day.

373

It really is.

374

And if you enjoyed this episode,

375

please subscribe to Everyday English Academy and give us a like.

376

Share this with a friend who is learning English.

377

Or a friend who needs to do their chores.

378

Perfect.

379

Thank you so much for spending time with us today.

380

Keep practicing, keep learning, and maybe go tidy up a little when this episode is over.

381

We'll see you very soon in the next episode.

382

Stay clean, stay cozy, and keep going.

383

Bye, everyone.

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Goodbye.

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