And then we were ill again... and taking control of the CHAOS
I had plans you know, but the Most High had different plans it seems. We have all been ill again. I'm usually the worst because of my immune system and my husband, who has a strong immune system is usually the one that stays clear or just sniffles a bit.
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Being ill always gives me time to think and rethink things. I run on 'must-get-these-things-done' fumes most days. I think a lot of mamas (and papas) can relate to that feeling.
Rediscovering Flylady
This time around, I came across the Flylady system again online. I remember trying it and looking into it all back in 2008 or 2009. The first baby steps and the whole, sometimes very American approach, did not jive with me. There's just something about a lady aiming to help you keep your house clean while she insists on you wearing shoes INDOORS, that doesn't sit right with me as a Scandinavian. Also, I've never had mountains of paperwork pile up so going through an inch of paper every day, nah, not for me. Oh and let's not forget the shine your sink concept that involves a ton of cleaning products.
Needless to say, I walked away from it before my first month as a Flybaby was up - and I think that was a mistake!
Ending the CHAOS
Flylady attracted me with her system to battle CHAOS, which she defines as Can't Have Anybody Over Syndrom. Lately, we've had some surprise visits which has been lovely but has left me feeling a little embarrassed about the state of my home. I've gotten out of most of my weekly and monthly cleaning routines over the summer and going back to having lectures again has not made it easier. I would love to get my home back to a state where I never mind people popping in unannounced.
Skipping the baby steps
Since I know the baby steps and just how little most of them resonated or even applied to me, I'm diving in at the deep end. I'm not overwhelmed with the state of our home. I would just like some better cleaning routines. That's why I'm going to dive into the zone cleaning right away this time. I'm going to take the rest of the week to rest and really get well. I have my work trip planned and I don't want to be sick during it. But once I get back from that, I want to dive into the zone cleaning. It's 15-20 min. a day so I should be able to fit it in.
Planning it all out
I'm a planner, you know that by now, don't you?! I'm going to work on some zone cleaning sheets for myself and dividing the zones in a way that makes sense. The Flylady system seems to be built for people in large homes and not in tiny flats. I don't have nearly enough rooms and we don't have a car etc. which makes some of the zones almost empty. I will try to rearrange them so I don't have a ton to do on kitchen week and nothing to do on car/purse week.
I'm sure you will be surprised to hear this...I have not used the Fly lady method!
HAHA, yes I'm so surprised! You were the one I was sure would have ;)
Never tried her system but still get the emails. Have a filter on them to go to their own folder. Had to create a system just to deal with the flylady emails (10 a day)...lol
What I remember Its best to develop small daily routines to deal with tasks that left unattended can soon become overwhelming if not dealt with.
Always on the lookout on how to improve, keep things clean, and involve my kids so they learn good habits. I am my own worst enemy as I procrastinate or let others do it for me. Heard a great piece of advise that i need to adopt which is see a mess, clean the mess.
Always best to clean your own mess immediately.
Absolutely. It's like the two-minute rule if it takes less than two minutes to do - do it now. Speaking of which, I just spotted a job that falls under that rule. Off to do it right away!
@lturner says she does a lot of what flylady recommends, especially getting ready in the morning, ready to go at a moment's notice. Here in the US we do wear our shoes pretty much all day. I find that if I don't, I spend an amazing amount of time looking for my shoes, which never seem to be where I left them last. With four little ones around, things mysteriously move around to unknown locations.
Cleaning the house throughout the day, rather than all at once makes things much easier. We do a house cleaning on Friday, but it only works if things are generally being cleaned throughout the week.
Oh, so good to hear it working for her.
We keep our shoes by the door and my little man knows they can't go anywhere else. Our indoor shoes though... They end up in separate rooms magically all the time.
It's been a long, long time since I read FlyLady's advice, but a few things stuck with me, mostly the philosophy of doing things constantly in small ways to keep the crazy under control. I do actually get dressed down to my shoes every morning - I have shoes that I generally just wear in the house and I do that because my ankles aren't good and it helps my back tremendously. I find that if I don't make sure and get completely ready before breakfast, I feel out-at-the-edges and not quite on top of what's going on for the rest of the day.
While our house is not large, it's big enough to have a few critical zones. The kitchen, the bathroom, the kids' bedroom, our bedroom and the living area. As time is going by, I'm honing my organizational skills so that different zones really can be quite clean in a few moments. Honestly, the minimization of "stuff" is the greatest asset; but second to that is having a method and a reason for why things go where they go.
I also take the advice about cleaning the sink, etc., as a reminder to myself that cleaning can be done constantly in small ways more successfully than in large cleaning projects once in a while. Wiping out the sink constantly to keep it clean every morning keeps the house in better shape than doing a thorough scrub once a week (and for me, this just involves a quick wipe down with hot water and then drying most of the time, not using a lot of chemicals/cleaning projects. Often the sink just needs to be rinsed and dried to look shiny and clean).
Flylady in my mind is really about preparedness and keeping things to bite-sized increments so the housecleaning can actually get done.
Now if only I could get a good handle on keeping the ceiling corners dusted...for some reason I haven't conquered that one.