flylady

[mamaley]

ok, i give in. i'm going to try it again. only this time i'm going to actually do it!

i was talking to my neighbor who's sil did it, and she has 4 kids and now a spotless house. it inspired me :LOL

anyone else want to try it?

www.flylady.net

i've decided to not get the emails, for now anyway, because they just overwhelm me.

right now i'm taking baby steps (gawd, now i'm speaking the lingo...) and am only doing my before bed routine, plus making bed, getting dressed (to my flip flops!) and occassionally shining my sink

i'd also love to hear how others made this work, how they started out (slowly or if they just jumped right in) testimonials, whatever.

[fourgrtkidos]

Really, there is a site for this?! I need it. Count me in. Should we call ourselves the housekeeping impaired tribe? Kidding, well kinda. I'll look at the site and check back.

[fourgrtkidos]

Okay. I went there. Very practical info and directions. I'm going to shine my sink now. No bleach for me though.

[mamaley]

yes! housekeeping impaired tribe. much more pc than slob.

and no bleach for me, either

[SpiralChrissy]

Count me in. I love the Flylady. I used to get her posts before and found it very helpful. I'll sign up again and join you. Lord knows, my house could use the help!!
Chrissy

[Dr.Worm]

This is GRRREAT! I was going to do this a long time ago too but was overwhelmed. But I am also going to try again...starting with the kitchen sink.

[fourgrtkidos]

Somehow this thread getting moved to personal growth insults me. Is no one else's house messy?

[Staceyhsmom1]

I just signed up for the emails for the second time a few weeks ago. I need help!!!
I do what I can and don't get hung up on 'not following' her rules and I am no longer overwhelmed about the emails, I just delete them, lol
So far.....

I only do laundry on Mon/Wed/Fri and this is working and is nice to have no laundry on the weekends

I have been keeping my sink clean all day long most of the time

I bought her feather dusters and have used them, lol

I make my dh lunch when I clean up dinner, no more early wake-ups for me or empty stomach for dh

And I am now a fond beleiver in 'any' housework blesses your home!

Slowly, other habits are coming too, like thinking where I would put something before I buy it! lol

But I do want to do her routines and such, they are habit forming and really help.

Did you know she has based lots of her ideas, especially about clutter, on feng shui, that really inspires me to stick with her too

[mamaley]

that's cool that she uses fung shui in her plans! i was wondering about her whole thing with the number 27...

i fell asleep last night nursing dd in bed and didn't do my before bed routine. so this morning the house looks like a wreck we're going out for the day, and then i'll clean when we get back. it always helps me to recharge and get away for a little bit.

i think that for me the before bed routine is key. it puts me in a better mood in the morning to wake up to a semi-clean house. but i'm trying to actually make it into a routine before i go any further.
although, i am wondering when i can start decluttering...

[QueeTheBean]

OK, that website is WAY TOO big for me--I don't even understand what it is all about. You have to join? You get emails? What do the emails say? I am sorry to be so dumb. I don't get this at all. Can someone summarize it for me?

Thank you.

[mamaley]

Quee, I know what you mean. If you click on flying lessons, there's more about it there, but it's still not a specific step-by-step plan when looking at the big picture. Look at Flying Lessons, and then the Table of Contents. That's helped me some.

I'll share what I'm planning to do, and would like to hear what others are planning to do:

I'm starting small...baby steps, as she says, with just a bedtime routine and a morning routine. I'm going to do that, and only that, until it becomes habit. After that, I'm going to add something else, like decluttering. Maybe i'll join at that time. I'm not joining yet, because all the emails overwhelm me.

Does that help at all? Maybe someone else will have better advice than i.

[sofiabugmom]

Count me in! I just signed up for the e-mail reminders.

Best to all,

JA

[minicooper]

me too me too

tho... what's the big deal about having a clean shiny sink??? can i just make sure my dishes are done? lmao

[mamaley]

welcome all

minicooper, :LOL i hope this doesn't throw me off in some way, but i equate shiny sink with nearly-empty sink. my before bed routine is much more important to me (says the woman who has only done them twice!).

[earthmamafor3]

Can I jump in too? I have 4 kids too and suddenly I cannot handle anything anymore. My house has never been this out of control and it creates more chaos and takes so much time. I spent hours looking for some footie/shoe thingys to put on the baby, I am late so often b/c I can't find what I need. We never have clean clothes and I must have at least 12 loads sitting all over my basement floor!
I looked at flylady once and too got so overwhelmed by the webpage I freaked out and left. Dh and I are trying to get some organization done this weekend, but the baby will not stop fussing, I cannot do anything without her completely attached to my body somehow and even then she is fussing sometimes. UGH
Ok mamaley, I think we gave birth a day apart after being overdue too! and here we are again so this means to me we are destined to be friends!

OK, I am going to follow your suggestions and go look again and try it. sighs* wish me luck

[Aura_Kitten]

i tried that awhile back and it worked for.... about a week.



i'm so horrible at housekeeping.

good luck to everyone here.

also check out Regina Leed's stuff... i think the Get Organized articles are still over at iVillage (if that's still around) ~ worth googling. the Get Organized challenge helped me way more than flylady. i have no idea why.

[mamaley]

Ok mamaley, I think we gave birth a day apart after being overdue too! and here we are again so this means to me we are destined to be friends!

:LOL yes we are!

[CerridwenLorelei]

mamaley

check out some of the older flylady threads too if they are still around

I haven't done all of my houseblessing today -in too much pain but I got a lot done and dh even helped a little bit
Am sending the older two to put away dishes and have the other side soaking in vinegar water
clean sheets on the bed, mopped floor and tub soaking in cleaning stuff
other things still need doing but maybe later or tomorrow -as long as I have my timer!!

[Overproducktion]

Can I jump in too? I have 4 kids too and suddenly I cannot handle anything anymore. My house has never been this out of control and it creates more chaos and takes so much time. I spent hours looking for some footie/shoe thingys to put on the baby, I am late so often b/c I can't find what I need. We never have clean clothes and I must have at least 12 loads sitting all over my basement floor!

OKAY!! You are my twin Earthmama!!! :LOL I also have 4 kids, and lately, I've had the same feelings. But with flylady, I get overwhelmed with the emails, and the website. I too am going to try agian.

[Melissa S]

I started flylady a few months ago but got sidetracked by bed bugs and now I'm just concentrating on what was 40 bags of laundry (every fabric item needed to be done, stuffed toys, blankets, etc...). Before that I really liked the de-cluttering. It's really freeing my mind. In the midst of this home disaster I was able to re-arrange my room yesterday and fling a bunch of stuff. My dressers are claen of clutter and I have candles out for atmosphere, turning my bedroom into a retreat. That was so worth it! I don't follow all the e-mails to I tee but I have supper dishes done at the end on the day more often and I am now able to keep up with my regular laundry. I'm a major procrastinator and flylady is helping me with that. I now have a morning routine again as well. After all these bags of laundry are done I can't wait to start reading my reminders and assignments again.

Melissa