FlyLady

I love organization but don't do well maintaining it.   Recently during my computer time, I found a blog that mentioned another blog - http://www.flylady.com/.

I started taking the Baby steps there a few weeks ago - well I guess it's been a month.  It's been good for me. I always feel like I have way too much to do.  But her main point is "I can do ANYTHING for 15 minutes."  - even the stuff I hate. 

So the first day we shine our sink.  We just took a towel and wiped down the faucets and sink at the end of the day.  Then she added one more thing - the swish and swipe in the bathroom.  So I've done these things every day since I started - well, maybe I've missed a day or two.  It sure has helped.  DH mentioned the other day that he's never seen the bathroom looking so good.

Of course, because I shine the sink, I can't leave dishes in the sink.  We don't have a dishwasher, so there is always a dish or two or TEN left after dishes are done and they've always sat on the counter.  Well, her advice is to put a tub under the counter for dishes.  Now, to remember that they're there. :) 

So my counters look better than ever.  Still have to teach the kids to use the tub under the sink.  I did have to move my cleaning supplies, but that's o.k. Baby A is crawling now and would have found that sooner or later. :)

Anyway, I feel much better about my house.  We set the timer, not always, sometimes we just watch the clock and clean a room for fifteen minutes.  Flylady.com always has the current zone that we are working on so I don't even have to remember where to work.  She tells me. 

My house is cleaner and more picked-up than ever before and just in time too, because we have soccer practice four nights a week for the rest of the month.  Some nights it's two kids at two different times, overlapping.   But I came home last night to the table set and supper ready and the house looking fairly good for some of the kids being left at home for over two hours.

Setting out our clothes the night before helps too.  The 27 Fling Boogie is fun.  You should have heard my kids laughing as they did it.  You'll have to check out the website to find out what all these things mean.  Then there is the 5 minute room rescue.  Lots of ways to make cleaning up a little more desirable.  Just 15 minutes is nothing. 

Now when the laundry is done, I try to run over and fold the clothes while I keep the kids on task and then send them for a break from school to put them away.  I always felt that it wasn't fair to them to have them put clothes away more than once a day.  But I've changed it around and told them it's a break from their school and they don't seem to mind that at all.

Things are looking better at my house because of this lady. 
Steph