The Weekly Wrap: March 8, 2026

We had a cleaning team come over this week. It's an expense I find valuable because I loathe scrubbing the shower. But I laugh because we always clean for the cleaners. It seems silly, but if we want the cleaners to be able to do their best work, we need to straighten up our space before they arrive.

At first, I was frustrated that I had to go through every room in our home and neaten things up. After a few sessions, I realized this was a great way to stay on top of things. Now, I look forward to tackling piles I've been ignoring or tossing things that have been sitting out. The cleaners arrival is a hard deadline that forces us to just do stuff already.

It also gives me a chance to reconsider where we keep things. For example, we line the bottom of our countertop compost bin with gently used paper towels. (It makes it easier to dump out the contents.) Previously, we kept these paper towels folded underneath the compost bin itself. During one cleaner visit, they thought the paper towels were meant to go out with the compost and tossed everything. For future cleaning visits, I moved our paper towel pile into a cabinet. Turns out, that was a better place for it! Now they live there permanently.

Also, I'm slower to put to stuff back out after the cleaners are done. This has helped me realize we need less "stuff" visible on a normal day. It's a way to calm the space and allows us to reconsider what we need readily available.

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• You can judge a baguette by its crust. [WaPo - gift link]
• Teaching kids the importance of civic education. [Now What]
• The stay-at-home dad in literature. [The Atlantic - gift link]
• Who determines what is canon? [Infophilia]
• The point is to slow down. [The Chronicle of Higher Education - may be paywalled]
• These sculptures are balloon animals. [Colossal]

• The lawsuits are going to happen from all of this... [Up First]
• Improving research by putting it to the test. [Planet Money]
• Vaccine changes in the US have a global impact. [Short Wave]
• The problem of longitude. [99% Invisible]
• Casting directors have earned the Oscar. [The Kitchen Sisters Present]

• This brought me an absurd amount of joy. [saraandspot]
• I got a good chuckle out of this. [creationsross]
• We've reach the point in Breaking Bad where Walt has reached his full villain status. Bryan Cranston is astoundingly good in this role. The way he physically carries his evolving emotions is impressive. Also, Aaron Paul deserved every accolade he won. I can't believe it's taken us so long to watch this show. [Netflix]

• I wanted a fast lunch meal pre. Green goddess white bean salad promised and delivered minimal work. I opened a can of beans and a bag of broccoli slaw and tossed those in a bowl. Then I whipped up a sorta green goddess dressing with items from our fridge. Mixed it all together and done. I split this into three portions but it would have been better as just two. [Eating Well]
• It takes longer to peel shrimp than it does to cook 15-minute pesto shrimp. I love easy meals! We served the shrimp mixed into some pasta. Unicorn shaped pasta to be exact. That was a nice addition of whimsy. [Eating Well]

• I don't recommend products often because everyone has different tastes. But I can't help but scream about how good our Made In frying pan is. (This is not a paid placement! I just love it that much.) Our last non-stick frying pan was something we randomly grabbed from Target. It was fine. When the wear and tear got to be too much, we decided to upgrade to Made In's Ceramiclad non-stick. Live. Changing. Not only does it heat evenly, it's a breeze to clean. I've had stuff that looks fully burnt on swipe off with some water and a light brush with a sponge. These pans aren't cheap, but I'm not going back. [Made In]