OMG! FlyLady

[TypicalSituation]

So, I happened upon FlyLady. I thought to myself "Hey this is great. I really could use a little push in the right direction.". Well, I am thinking I am in over my head. In the less than 24 hours since I signed up they have sent me 17 emails! Yesterday they said "baby steps" but today I keep getting emails telling me more and more stuff to do and especially more stuff to read. I cleaned my sink and got dressed and have cleaned off my desk (my own doing) but now I am trying to read all of the emails and I am worried. Is there something else out there like this but not so *pushy*? I am feeling so overwhelmed.

[kewb]

I am a proud flylady drop out.

I do, however, on occasion do the 15 minute clean up and attempt to keep my kitchen sink clean and shiny.

There is another less pushy one but the name is escaping me right now.

[proudmamanow]

what's the less pushy one? I joined too 'cause I needed it and it has helped, but I'm also feeling snowed under & about to get discouraged....

[dharmama]

I hear ya. I tried the fly lady web site and VERY QUICKLY unsubscribed. I felt like I needed to create an organization system to manage all the stupid e-mails. :

BUT.....

Recently I bought her book and that has been a WONDERFUL resource for me. I take it at my own pace and it is making a huge difference in my home and my life!!

[zoomom]

I felt the same way! If I was trying to get her tasks done, I wasn't at the computer to get her zilliion emails! You can change it so you only get the notifications once a day or never, you could go to her site/group when you had a few moments. I'm a drop out- last week I bought the motivatedmoms checklists after reading about them here (thanks mamas ) I find it much easier to have a list to work from, if I have extra time I can work ahead and if not...I can catch up later!

Good luck, I did really good the first week of Fly Lady after that...downhill and fast!

ETA: I also enjoyed the book...I did take a few things away from her system that work for me!

[momto l&a]

Her e-mails are enough to drive a person

[jessjgh1]

FlyLady in the 'digest' version is still overwhelming but better than getting all of the emails. You can look at the emails and website to see how the work is supposed to flow and the the methods are useful.

There is an overwhelming amount of mails and commentary. Then there were the tear jerker testimonials. And sometimes I wanted to tell the person that it is nice to have a clean house, but GOODNESS, the other people in your life need to take part, too.

I customized my own reminders until my computer crashed and have not started again (I know, I AM a geek & anal, so that was a fun waste of time for me).

I also am a slippers person and the "Must wear shoes" drove me crazy! But it does make me feel better when the sink is clean.

LMAO

Jessica

[thismama]

OMG Flylady! I got to about day 2. My two year old and I scrubbed the crap outta my kitchen sink, and the next day I got dressed right away. But that was it. Here I sit, at 11am, in my PJ's. Thinking about having a shower.

Oh yeah, and my sink is full of dishes and water spots.

[lilsishomemade]

Yes, I hate all the emails, also. Really, what gets to me is all the testimonials. They send so many!! I used to just delete, until I got to where I was just deleting the reminders, also, and just unsubscribed.

[kewb]

Motivated Moms-that was the site I had heard about. Thanks PP.

[Leilalu]

yep

I got motivated moms, but honestly haven't start using it yet.I'm kind of to the point now where I just knoiw everything that needs to be done and do bits and peices here and there.

[sapphire_chan]

With Flylady, when you get an email do one of three things.
1. Get up and do the task right away
2. Make a note to do the task at a specified time.
3. Delete the email.

You'll find that a lot of the first emails are actually just introductory stuff and stuff that you can find on the website. Also, there are certain emails that are sent everyday, you don't need to re-read them every time.

The idea behind the huge mass of emails is that a lot of people who use Flylady are internet addicts who need to be reminded to get up away from the computer to do things.

People who already have a good working system tend not to like flylady as do people who have issues with control. And then there are people who get overwhelmed by all the emails in the beginning.

www.mymessyhouse.com has some good information about developing routines.

The thing that drove me away from Flylady was all the emails in response to all the people asking for permission to not wear shoes. Sheesh, you don't want to wear shoes, just don't wear shoes, don't whine to some internet lady about her telling you to wear shoes.

[SaraMama]

Yep, as the pp said - just delete them. Especially in the beginning just do her babystep reminders and nothing else. If you need a little inspiration read one of her essays or one of the testimonials, but if you get too many - just delete them!

[TypicalSituation]

Ok, I unsubscribed and got the motivatedmoms planner. Much easier. I printed out the page and taped it to my desk! That way when I am sitting here looking at the boards, I can see it out of the corner of my eye. Thanks ladies!

[abclan]

yes, the emails were a lot for me too.
But, I liked the overall "system". I have the book and that's really all I've needed. I've been off the wagon for awhile but when I feel like I need to get my life back together her systems work well.
Just take what you like and move on . . . s

[Village Mama]

I didnt mind the system so much but I couldnt figure out how to customise it to my time zone... I was getting the go to bed email at 6pm and waking up to12 emails every morning....- another flylady droput

[tinuviel_k]

I, too, am a FluLady drop out. She made me insane!
I've started using Motivated Moms this year, and I LOVE it!

[Ravin]

try www.mymessyhouse.com

[ShannonCC]

You don't need to be in the right time zone for Flylady (aside from the silly "go to bed" email). My sister said she couldn't do Flylady because she works so she wasn't home when the emails came in. I think she thought since I was a SAHM and have "nothing to do" I was sitting at the computer all day long, checking my emails every 5 minutes to see if a Flylady email came in You are just supposed to use them as reminders. It doesn't matter when they come in or what time of the day you see them, just deal with them when you have the time. They are supposed to jog your memory. One says laundry so you think about what you have to do with laundry that day (start a load? move to the dryer? fold and put away?) do it, and then hit delete. One says dinner so you think about what you are having for dinner that night (so that dinner time doesn't come and you can't think and order take-out) then hit delete. They don't have to be done at a certain time.

Having said all that, I do think Flylady is too confusing. The site is, ironically, too cluttered and when you join up, it's not immediately clear what you are supposed to do. I love the basic plan and it WORKS for a lot of people, me included, but getting there is harder than it has to be. I think maybe it works for me because I have been subbing and unsubbing for years now so just by osmosis I know what to do

For me, the backbone of it is the control journal. With the help of Flylady's nudging, I have made a list of things that need to be done in the house and a schedule of what days to do them. It gets too overwhelming (for me) to think I have to clean "the house". This way, I can look at a list and see oh, it's Tuesday, I clean the upstairs bathroom" or whatever. Once I make the list there's no thinking involved. I need that.

So if buying a pre-made list (like motivated moms) works for you then go for it I will admit it literally took me years to fine tune my list, but I'm happy with it and like that it fits my house exactly (no rooms mentioned that I don't have, no chores that I think are over-kill, etc).

Of course, the hardest part is that you then have to actually DO it I haven't done much this past week and it shows. Not as bad as it used to be, but still.

Funny about the testimonials though. I totally ignore her reminders, but I read most of the testimonials. They inspire me to get off my butt and do something I wish I could sign up for them and dump the reminders,

[TypicalSituation]

I understand about the being a sahm and having "nothing to do" all day! I actually got a ton of stuff done yesterday. It feels good to check stuff off of my list. An added bonus is that my dh SAW everything I did yesterday on the list and was in awe. I didn't get some of it done because I was doing stuff that wasn't on the list. So, I figure I will just do it today. I did write down the extra stuff I did yesterday and check it off. I am amazed that "clip children's nails" is actually on a list. I do, however, need to do just that today. Woo Hoo! I do feel motivated! My house looks quite nice now.