A few years ago, I heard about a program called Flylady that several other triplet moms used to get themselves organized. It is a free website where you sign up and receive emails with daily tips. But also - they have a comprehensive website that has helped me create things such as packing lists, grocery lists, things to do before vacation, and things like that. I never officially 'joined' to receive the emails, but visited their website occasionally and learned a lot. Well, now I am at a point that we need to do SOMETHING DRASTIC, so I have decided to move forward and learn more about the Flylady program.
I am posting this here, hoping that you will all be my cheerleaders and hold me accountable for coming up with a program that works. It is my goal to be organized by the holidays. Remember, I am very list-oriented. I like things to be structured, scheduled, with a system in place. So - that's my plan!
To get started, I found a list for the first 31 days HERE on FlyLady's website.
Check out that link to see the complete info - I have just listed a basic overview here. I will continue to post helpful hints and lists that I find on their site.
Day 1 - Go shine your sink
Day 2 - Get dressed to lace up shoes (hair & makeup)
Day 3 - Do what we have already done
Day 4 - Write these things down
Day 5 - Write down what you hear (negative thoughts)
Day 6 - Hot Spots! A Hot Spot is an area, when left unattended will gradually take over. When you walk into a room, the hot spot is the first thing you see. CLUTTER ATTRACTS CLUTTER. Do you have areas like this that continue to grow if left alone? Does the rest of the family see this as a place to put things when they do not want to put them where they belong? Get rid of that pile, find the surface underneath, and stop the Hot Spot from becoming a raging Clutter inferno!
Day 7 - Pick out your clothes - Tonight before you hop in bed; I want you to pick out what clothes you are going to wear tomorrow.
Day 8 - Get a 3-ring binder and put paper in it - Today I want you to find an old three ring binder and just put some paper in it. Then at the top of one page write Morning Routine and on the top of another page write Before Bed Routine all in pencil. This is a working document; do not allow your perfectionism to interfere with the process. Now you can write your simple routines on each page.
Day 9 - Declutter a few minutes at a time
Take 15 minutes each day to declutter an area, You cannot organize clutter - you can only organize the things you love!
I've included my tips on how to declutter. Put your home on a diet.
When to Declutter: Decide how often you are going to declutter a zone. Do a little every day - use a timer. But be warned - this can become compulsive! Once you get started you will want to clean like a banshee! Don't burn yourself out! Only do small amount at a time. The house did not get dirty overnight and it will not get clean overnight. When you set the timer you can only do two sessions at a time. This goal may seem unattainable right now, but you can do it in little pieces. In a couple of months, the whole house will be decluttered.
Decluttering Equipment: You will need garbage bags, boxes, magic markers, and a dust rag. Label the boxes "Give Away", "Throw Away", and "Put Away". Line the "Throw Away" box with a plastic garbage bag.
Set your timer: for 1 hour (or 30, 15, or 10 minutes - it doesn't matter how long). Just do the job as fast as you can and do not pull out more stuff than you can put away in that length of time. This means just one drawer, one closet (or even one shelf in one closet), one magazine rack, or digging under just the furniture in the zone. Not all of them at once!
Start at the entrance to the room: Then, work your way around the room clockwise. Do not skip a spot. Whatever happens to be next, just do it.
Declutter Away! With boxes at your feet and dust rag in your waistband, start off by cleaning out and getting rid of the things that do not belong in this room. Put garbage in the "Throw Away" box, donations in the "Give Away" box, and stuff that goes somewhere else in the "Put Away" box. Don't worry that you do not have a place for everything right now. By the time you finish you will. That's a promise from FlyLady!
What to declutter? Things to ask yourself as you get rid of your clutter:
Do I love this item?
Have I used it in the past year?
Is it really garbage?
Do I have another one that is better?
Should I really keep two?
Does it have sentimental value that causes me to love it?
Or does it give me guilt and make me sad when I see the item?
Cleanse this room of everything that does not make you SMILE.
Get rid of the garbage! When the "Throw Away" box gets full, pull out the garbage bag, close it, and put it in the trash can, the pickup truck, or wherever you keep your garbage. Put a new garbage bag in the "Throw Away" box and keep on Flying until the timer goes off.
Donations: When the "Give Away" box gets full, seal it off, and put it in your car. The next time you are out, you can donate to the area thrift shop. Do not save your clutter for a yard or garage sale, you will be blessed by giving it away. The value can be deducted on your income tax. Remember you are trying to get rid of clutter - not relocate it somewhere else in your home. Now, grab another box, label it "Give Away", and get back to work.
"Put Away" Stuff: When the "Put Away" box gets full, take the box in your arms and run around the house (good thing you have shoes on - right?) and put the items in the room where they belong. If they have a place, put them there, if not put them in the room where they logically belong. By the time you have finished you will have a place for everything and everything will be in it's place.
Timer Goes Off: When the timer goes off, you have to put away all the boxes, but first you have to empty them all. Go as fast as you can.
Day 10 - You can do anything for 15 minutes - This is all about getting started and giving ourselves permission to stop when the timer goes off. You cannot restart the timer either. This is not a race to finish in 15 minutes either! The timer helps to keep us focused on what we are doing.
Day 11 - Add an inspirational page to your control journal - writing down some of your favorite inspirational phrases. Write them down when you see something that touches your heart.
Day 12 - Delete all the emails from FlyLady
Day 13 - Pick one of Kelly's missions and do it - Hunting dust bunnies, diving for treasures between your sofa cushions, "unmentionables" from under beds, closets, and dressers. Each day during the week, Kelly will add a new mission for whatever zone we are working in.
Day 14 - Read an essay that Kelly wrote (on website)
Day 15 - Make your bed - every morning when you wake up
Day 16 - Read an email from FlyLady - look in your inbox for an email from me. It can be a Morning Musing, a testimonial or an essay. Just take a few minutes and read over it. You never know what I am going to discuss.
Day 17 - Set a specific bedtime and stick to it
Day 18 - Read FlyLady's 11 Commandments (print & write in Control Journal)
1. Keep your sink clean and shiny.
2. Get dressed every morning, even if you don’t feel like it. Don’t forget your lace-up shoes.
3. Do your morning and before bedtime routine everyday.
4. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked by the computer.
5. Pick up after yourself. If you get it out, put it away.
6. Don’t try to do two projects at once. ONE JOB AT A TIME.
7. Don’t pull out more than you can put back in one hour.
8. Do something for yourself everyday, maybe every morning and night.
9. Work as fast as you can to get the job done. This will give you more time to play later.
10. Smile even when you don’t feel like it. Its contagious. Make your mind up to be happy and you will be.
11. Don’t forget to laugh everyday. Pamper yourself, you deserve it.
Day 19 - Read the Testimonial (from website)
Day 20 - Include laundry in your routines - Laundry doesn’t take long to do when we don’t procrastinate about one of the five steps: Sort, wash, dry, fold and put away. It only takes a few short minutes. When you include laundry in your routines everyone is blessed.
Day 21 - Check out Ask FlyLady - Each day(Monday-Friday) our WebDude Lee puts up an Ask FlyLady Question and I answer it.
Day 22 - Where is your Control Journal? I want you to realize that a Control Journal is just a place to put your routines, basic weekly plan, your zones and other information. With a Control Journal you have a place to keep important items without them getting lost in your numerous hot spots Steps to build it
Day 23 - Set your afternoon routine
Day 24 - Swish and swipe - Morning Routine:Swish and a Swipe. I swish the toilet with a toilet bowl brush and I wipe down the counter tops and sink with a rag and put away all the things I have gotten out. This takes all of two minutes to keep our bathroom ready for anyone.
Day 25 - Learn how the routines developed
Day 26 - Look at the bottom of any FlyLady email
Day 27 - What's for dinner? You can do it as part of your before bed routine for tomorrow or as part of your morning routine for today. Write this in your Control Journal.
Day 28 - Eat good food, drink water, get plenty of rest
Day 29 - Set time to enjoy the Weekly Pamper Mission
Day 30 - Check your calendar for next month's events (create basic weekly plan)
Day 31 - I am so proud of you!
OK, so its a start - what do you think?
2 comments:
I know all about Flylady. I have never been good at following her but I helped a student use her website once who really needed some structure with house cleaning. I still get the emails in another email account but it got too much to go through! LOL
good luck with it. Shine your sink!
Kim,
I understand how you feel. My schedule is also crazy and I would love to have my house de-cluttered by the holidays. I might try the 15-30 minute approach. Good Luck with it and we will keep each other posted on our successes.
Anita
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