The Fly Lady

From one of my friends, "Oh and thank you for doing fly lady. As I was wallowing in my pit of a home wondering how I would ever keep my house clean, I remembered this little fly lady that you always had on your computer. It has changed my home."
Over the years I have tried lots of different things to keep control of the home environment. I'm huge on children and youth doing their part in the home. And not wimpy little things leaving the rest to Mom. Real chores, consistent chores. I found that the easiest way, to avoid the greatest conflicts (there will ALWAYS be conflict among children) was to have one person clean a room for a week. Then on Pass Off day, they have to deep clean that room so it is perfect for the person who comes in after them. They have to clean first to that new person's expectations and then to mine. Soon all learn what is expected.

But even with that sort of plan, and it has worked forever for me, there was still problems that really, only Mom, or direct supervision from Mom, could control. I would purchase books on organization (they're all nearly the same) and if I learned ONE thing from the book, I felt it was worth the purchase price. But getting a grip on some thing was still out of reach.

Then somehow, and I don't remember how, I discovered The Fly Lady. Everything changed for me and has remained so for years. Now, when things are out of hand, I know EXACTLY why, what part of the program I have been ignoring. And I can make a conscious decision to continue ignoring it for some important reason, or return to it and know that soon everything will be back on track.

Check the site out. It is free. You will receive volumes of emails every day with the program. JUST DELETE what you don't want, every single day, don't curse the abundance of email, it is really worth it. After all these years, I delete everything. But canceling is not an option. This is one of those things that I need in my face daily because of my very busy life.

When you start the program, she is serious about babysteps. When I started, there was an email from Flylady that stated if you dejunk your home in a few days, you'll burn out and end up right back where you started. Go slow. It took me three months to dejunk my home. I'm the kind to get in and get it done fast. But I followed her suggestion which was to take THREE MONTHS! Sounds unbelievable, but she's so successful, why not follow the pattern of success?

Now, I have it down, even if it doesn't always get done (play rehearsals, illnesses, surgeries, new babies etc.) I'm going to post here the basic plan. I've pared it down from Flylady's babystep list. For the complete list, visit her website. For complete definitions and how-to visit her web site. To really fly, visit her web site and sign up.

How Long Does It Take? (after dejunking period)

FIFTEEN minutes - Morning Routine, Control Journal, Dinner
TWO minutes - Hot Spots
FIVE minutes - Room Rescue
FIFTEEN minutes - Declutter
FIFTEEN minutes - Zone
FIFTEEN minutes - Organize/Cleaning
FIVE to FIFTEEN minutes - Kelly’s Mission
FORTY-FIVE minutes - Bless Your Heart

Modified Flylady Baby Steps.
For full program, go to www.flylady.com, and register to receive the emails. There will be lots of emails every day. Just delete what you aren't ready for. Each Day, add one new thing, AND keep up the others!

Day 1 - Shine Sink
Leave NOTHING in the sink, EVER! See Flylady.com for complete instructions

Day 2 - Get Dressed
Clothes, Hair, Face, Shoes, make bed, leave bathroom clean. see flylady.com for swipe and swish instructions

Day 3 - Hot Spots
Set timer, 2 min at a time, may take several days to get all hot spots working. Each day, keep up on previous hot spots, and start a new one. flylady.com for definition and instructions

Day 4 - Bedtime routines
Shine sink, hot spots, check calendar, tomorrow's clothes,

Day 5 - Daily Habits
Check Calendar, file/toss Paperwork, develop and follow Routines

Morning Routine:
1. Make Bed
2. Get dressed, hair, face, shoes
3. Leave Bathroom clean, Swish toilet bowl, swipe sink
4. Scriptures and Prayer
5. Check today's calendar
6. Put out Hot Spots for 2 minutes
7. What's for tomorrow's dinner?

Before Bed Routine:
1. Shine Sink
2. Lay out Clothes for Tomorrow
3. Put out Hot Spots
4. Check tomorrow's calendar
5. Scriptures and Prayer
6. What's for dinner?

Day 6 - Declutter
15 minutes per time, set timer, when timer rings, quit. You can do this several times a day, or just once a day. Expect decluttering to take 1-3 months to finish entire house. flylady.com for additional instructions

Day 7 - 5 Minute Room Rescue
Set timer. For 5 minutes, tackle whichever room is the worse room in the house. When that is finished, start on another. May take a month to finish one room, but then keep up is a charm.

Day 8 - You Can Do anything for 15 Minutes
Set timer, work for 15 minutes. Set timer, play or rest for 15 minutes. Repeat as often as you want, but work and rest in equal time.

Day 9 - Weekly and Daily Events
Kelly's Mission (10 min. project)
Blessing Hour
27 Fling Boogie
Car Boogie
Purse, Bags, and Totes Boogie
Paperwork
Do one per day. You will find these at www.flylady.com and in the emails.

Day 10 - Laundry
Every morning, place load in machine. Dry it, put it away. One load per weekday. At night, check laundry to be sure all is finished and put away.

Day 11 - What's for Dinner
Weekly plan meals. Weekly shopping from a plan.

Day 12 - Fly Zones
Zone 1: First few days of the month until the next Sunday: Entrance/front porch/dining room
Zone 2: First full week of the month: Kitchen/back porch/laundry room/pantry
Zone 3: Second full week of the month: Main bathroom/extra bedroom/kid's rooms/craft room
Zone 4: Third full week of the month: Master bedroom/bath/closet
Zone 5: Last few days of the month from Monday until the end of the month: Living room/den/TV room.

That's my shortened Baby Step list for beginning the flylady program. This program is excellent no matter what brain language style you are most comfortable with. It is especially helpful for the optional mom, the busy mom, and the supervising Mom. Everything is in small increments, manageable.

On the website you will find sections on laundry, on home schooling moms, moms with young children, working moms, just about every type of help and support you need for managing the working part of home making.

Better still, even if you don't do the program perfectly, what you do will still bless your home.