Anyone want to try Flylady for 31 days with me? - Page 4

[KatSG]

hi, everyone. i signed up for flylady a few days ago then found this thread. i have to say upfront: i'm not going to follow this routine to the letter because we already have some family routines that i'm not willing to change, namely that my husband cleans the kitchen! it's our deal since i do the groceries and the cooking. flylady just sent me an email that said if i'm not shining my sink and drying it off all day(i think that last part is pretty OCD, myself!) then she doesn't know why i'm even doing this, which i got a chuckle out of. but whatever works, right? i also shower and get dressed after breakfast and that works for us.

what i need is a routine. just the assurance that i will get to everything, eventually, or at least know what i didn't get to if i get sidetracked with life. laundry is my biggest problem, the other is just random clutter not in its home. i also need to drink more water and get to bed earlier!

i want to get a routine posted for both my husband and me. i know he won't do the emails, but i think i can introduce this system for the both of us. anyone else doing this?

[judejude]

Well, shining the sink all day is rediculous, IMO. I make sure it is clean before I go to bed now - that's my "shine your sink" bit.

I feel like keeping up on it all day is a waste of time. Now keeping up on the dishes - that's a good idea, but the shining the sink thing - ya right. Once a day is plenty.

[antannie]

judejude, keep at it. I just started the flylady thing but a year ago when our daughter was coming to live we started decluttering and are still going through layers but we can actually see the end in several rooms now. I have trouble stopping at 15 minutes now because I CAN see the end and I want it NOW not in 6 months. It is hard to be patient about it!

Shining the sink is a joke in our family now so we do it just for fun and boast about it. But I did notice that when the sink was clean that dishes on the counter didn't seem right and so last night at 11pm I washed the pots and pans from dinner that we hadn't done and tidied up even though I was tired and I was so glad this morning. My kitchen has stayed clean for a week which is unheard of in my house.

[judejude]

Originally Posted by antannie

judejude, keep at it. I just started the flylady thing but a year ago when our daughter was coming to live we started decluttering and are still going through layers but we can actually see the end in several rooms now. I have trouble stopping at 15 minutes now because I CAN see the end and I want it NOW not in 6 months. It is hard to be patient about it!

Shining the sink is a joke in our family now so we do it just for fun and boast about it. But I did notice that when the sink was clean that dishes on the counter didn't seem right and so last night at 11pm I washed the pots and pans from dinner that we hadn't done and tidied up even though I was tired and I was so glad this morning. My kitchen has stayed clean for a week which is unheard of in my house.

thanks I'm keeping at it - just in my own way I guess. As long as it still works.
BTW, I'm jealous that you have sheep
We want to move to the country in the summer.

[antannie]

well sheep are a lot of fun and a lot of work too. I have difficulty balancing my time between house/farm/paidwork/making and selling my wares/being a mum/partner.

The snow should clear in a few days and then I will be back to feeding in the mud and rain, fencing beofre the brush grows up and getting ready for shearing/lambing. So I am really focusing on the house right now. It does help to know there are a bunch of us dotted across the continent and further? tossing and shining.

Off to earn my living even though I want to declutter my hallway.

[antannie]

The snow did not clear! We have a ton more. So I think it is a sign to declutter another zone. I will start my studio today as it is piled high with fleece and roving and I need to make room for my new floor loom (storing it for our guild lucky me)

I have noticed that the 5 - 15 minute spurts are really making a difference and I noticed my family is now more likely to keep the newly decluttered areas clean.

[judejude]

Well, we finally got some real snow, and that has screwed up my wearing shoes thing. Yesterday I only worse shoes for half of the day because once I went outside there was snow all over, so I had to quick put on my slippers.

I'll have to come up with a new system, since going outside and then back again is way too messy now, and the wearing shoes thing really does keep me going.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

How's everyone doing with Flylady? For some reason, I'm really enjoying it. I went and started my Control Journal, tried a couple of Kelly's missions, and have even started working on my weekly schedule. My house is already running much more smoothly.

[antannie]

i've been doing Kelly's MIssions But this week it is mostly bathrooms and I have already done them...decluttered and scrubbed. So I just keep doing the 15 miute things and putting out hot spots amd keeping the kitchen clean * days now!

[AngelBee]

Originally Posted by judejude

Well, we finally got some real snow, and that has screwed up my wearing shoes thing. Yesterday I only worse shoes for half of the day because once I went outside there was snow all over, so I had to quick put on my slippers.

I'll have to come up with a new system, since going outside and then back again is way too messy now, and the wearing shoes thing really does keep me going.

Having the same shoe issues

judejude....get a timer! I LOVE mine!

And I am ALL about tackling this 10 mins at a time. Sometimes that 10 mins is all I get done!

[KatSG]

Flylady would scold me today---I did too much laundry. But really, it was neccesary. I felt like we were being taken over by fabric. And we had snow today so there was nothing else to do. And I feel so much better now. With diapers, we need to do more than one load a day so now I won't get behind doing one or two loads a day.

I also picked up several time today instead of just letting it go, which is what I usually do. I figure, why bother? It's only going to get messed up again. But this way I didn't feel like I had to clean up a mess before I could start something else (like in the kitchen). It was already done!

And you know what? I'm not hating the emails. They're helping.

[judejude]

Originally Posted by KatSG

Flylady would scold me today---I did too much laundry. But really, it was neccesary. I felt like we were being taken over by fabric. And we had snow today so there was nothing else to do. And I feel so much better now. With diapers, we need to do more than one load a day so now I won't get behind doing one or two loads a day.

Well, I did a couple loads yesterday and I'm still behind. When I am all caught up then maybe I can stick with one load a day, but I have to do something with the piles in the basement first.
Also, is one load a day supposed to take care of EVERYTHING or just the usual stuff? I mean therre's only 3 people in our family,but I have no idea how many loads we would actually have to do per week if I kept up on it.
I have a pile of stuff in the basement which contains stuff like rugs, blankets, other linens, pillows, etc. This is the stuff I put off because I can do without it if I have to. Plus a lot of it is stuff that you can only put one or two things in the washer at a time so it takes a lot of loads to just do a few things.

[judejude]

Originally Posted by AngelBee

Having the same shoe issues

judejude....get a timer! I LOVE mine!

And I am ALL about tackling this 10 mins at a time. Sometimes that 10 mins is all I get done!

I see you are near me Ya, I gotta figure out this shoe thing now, with the snow. We have 2 dogs so I am letting them in and out all the time which takes walking on the porch, which does have some packed on snow on it.

I'm not sold on the timer thing. I just can't get excited about that. I think I'm scared to try it or something. Maybe I'd rather not feel rushed and do a 20 min., slower paced thing, than a fast 10 min. or something - I don't know.

[KatSG]

I don't do the shoes at all. It means nothing to me. I usually wear my shoes in the house anyway, so it's not a big motivator for me.

But the timer...I love it! I hate folding laundry more than anything. Today I set the time for 5 minutes and just went down and folded and stopped when the timer went off. I got a lot done! (That's what lead to the all out attack on the laundry pile.) But I can see now that I can get a lot of clothes folded in that short amount of time so I know I can keep that up.

[cheenya]

I'm going to join, even though its really late. I've decided to really try flylady again this year. Right now that means working to keep up with the dishes and the laundry. I'm improving. Babysteps, right

[judejude]

Originally Posted by cheenya

I'm going to join, even though its really late. I've decided to really try flylady again this year. Right now that means working to keep up with the dishes and the laundry. I'm improving. Babysteps, right

It's never too late
I've been doing it a couple weeks maybe and I'm still on baby step number 8 or something Still improving though

[nichole]

questions

i will read this thread when i can but for the mean time

do you have to pay to do this?
can you do this with a preschooler and 3 mo?
i am going nuts w/ all the clutter especially after christmas but

i think i do pretty good to take a shower and provide hot meals plus wash a gazillion dipes and cloth everything else. when the baby naps, i spend all that time playing with ds1. i basically have one free hour in the morning to do what i need to do: 1 load of laundry, make breakfast, dishes. in the evening i put the kids to bed right after dinner which takes forever and if i'm lucky i'll have them asleep to hang out with dh for maybe 30 mins. what do you guys think?

[judejude]

Originally Posted by nichole

i will read this thread when i can but for the mean time

do you have to pay to do this?

It's free!!!

can you do this with a preschooler and 3 mo?

absolutely!

i am going nuts w/ all the clutter especially after christmas but

i think i do pretty good to take a shower and provide hot meals plus wash a gazillion dipes and cloth everything else. when the baby naps, i spend all that time playing with ds1. i basically have one free hour in the morning to do what i need to do: 1 load of laundry, make breakfast, dishes. in the evening i put the kids to bed right after dinner which takes forever and if i'm lucky i'll have them asleep to hang out with dh for maybe 30 mins. what do you guys think?

Well, even if you are doing well now, I can't imagine anyone not benefiting from flylady. At the very least she will help you do things faster so you have more time to do other things....and I don't mean do them faster, as in, you have to do more work - it's about more organization so you really have more time, but get even more work done.
No matter what she could help you get things de-cluttered. It's especially good for mom's with limited time or who have little ones because you do all your decluttering in 2 min, 5 min, 10 min or 15 min. You never take on some big, all day job.
It's awesome and you find out how much you can get done if you just do 5 min. at a time, here and there.

You should at least try it.
Read "Baby Steps" http://flylady.net/pages/begin_babysteps.asp

[levar]

Originally Posted by KatSG

...
i want to get a routine posted for both my husband and me. i know he won't do the emails, but i think i can introduce this system for the both of us. anyone else doing this?

Hi! ME ME ME!! I started FlyLady back in 2000 or 2001 when she first started her website I think? Since then I've been very on again off again. I LOVE the ideas, just not so sure one the actual order of things.

I dont clean my kitchen sink daily, or even my kitchen or dishes. : I clean my bathroom sink and bathroom!!

My routine is feed everyone and get everyone out the door to work and school THEN I clean myself immediately followed by the bathroom. My best friend hooked me onto the idea of using those lysol wipes and disposable toilet swishers. So when I am done with the bathroom I put everything away. Then I use a used wash cloth to scrub the "ickies" off the counter and a used bath towel to dry the floor, etc. Then I swipe down all with a lysol wipe or two and give the toilet a swish. If I do NOTHING else in a day (which happens) I try to do that so that if I am "stressing" about housekeeping I go hide in the bathroom and look at how clean it is. (And, it is small FYI so I dont take long to clean it.)

I also have never ever managed to actually get the whole darn house tidy let alone clean? So to me that seems like "too much" for reality. I go back to FlyLady often and go back to my notebook often. I am also a BIG fan of books "Confessions of an Organized Homemaker" and "Confessions of a Happily Organized Family" and "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" which are recomended on the FlyLady.org website now.

I am "joining in" to this challenge because we just cleaned out the office for the first time in 2+ years but SO much stuff just got moved to the garage that I am annoyed.:

[nichole]

ok i'm in...one step at a time right? i was just saying that i use every free minute, not that i'm doing good and dont need help!

i think the shining your sink thing is a turn off for me b/c i'm not a night person. i'm usually in bed shortly after the kids but i'll find a way to sneak it in there.

thanks