Saturday, June 12, 2010

Cleaning house the Flylady way!

At some point, I suppose I should clean up the house today,  It's so challenging to find time to get things done these days - by the time homeschooling done (the formal part) and I've gone to work and come home I'm wiped out. 

The only program I've found that remotely works for me is Flylady.  Her motto?  You can do anything for 15 minutes!  Now *somewhere* here I have a timer that I bought from her.  It is amazing how much you can do in just 15 minutes.  My 3 bedroom townhouse takes less than 2 hours to deep clean, IF I spend a full 15 minutes on each room.  The kids learn quick that they can focus on 15 minutes per subject (longer if they're into it, but at least 15 minutes). 

I can focus on writing if I just get started and write for 15 minutes - or brainstorm ideas for blog posts.  I have lots of ideas, but I have a hard time putting them into action.  By focusing on one thing for 15 minutes, I can get more done in less time.

The other half of her program that I'm implementing is routines.  Making a habit one month at a time.  I'm finally getting into the habit of making my bed - although my mom tried for years to instill that one in me.  Routines help the kids so much, by simply making it easy for them to remember what they need to do next.  If it's bedtime, we get a bath, pajamas on, teeth brushed, straighten up rooms, kiss from Mom (along with prayers etc), and go to sleep.  I'm working on leaving my home tidy before bed - sink shined, dishes done, garbage out, and living room straightened.  Then I don't wake to the demoralization of a wreck first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, training my adult daughter has been more of a challenge than training the little kids (sorry, Krista).  I didn't have Flylady when she was little, so I'm hoping that as I get the routines in place, I'll also start getting more help.  It feels worse to leave a mess in a clean area than it does to make more of a mess in a messy area. 

Here's hoping!

1 comment:

  1. I love Flylady! I'm still a long ways from having things be a routine for me, but I feel like I can still make progress, a baby step at a time... "Housework done imperfectly still blesses your family!"

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