Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Attempting to FLY


So, a few weeks ago I was feeling pretty down about everything - my messy house, my lack of exercising, my overspending, my amazing ability to lose things like library books and debit cards, etc, etc.
It was just after Labor Day and I decided to look into something my sister had done a couple years ago - the FlyLady way of doing things. I'm sure many of you have heard about her and you may love her way of doing things or you may hate it. She has you put housework, errands, etc into an everyday routine. An every day part of your life. I had a part of me that rebelled against this. I am not a person who really likes to have every part of my day scheduled. I like to go with the flow. I like to be flexible. On the other hand, my current schedule (a day for each major chore - laundry, mopping, bathrooms) was obviously NOT working.
I looked into it more and what I loved about it was that she is SO against perfectionism. She understands that no one is perfect. In fact, a few days into it, I read what FLY stands for - FINALLY LOVING YOURSELF. This is something that I needed. It really put me in the right direction and I can say that the past couple weeks my house has been cleaner than it has been in years. I always wondered how in the world people did it - kept their house clean with 2 little kids running around all day. The thing that stuck with me was ROUTINE. Simple things like cleaning the toilet and countertops in the bathroom after I get ready for the day, folding the laundry right out of the dryer & putting it away, running the dishwasher at night and putting them away in the morning, keeping my sink shining - these have made a huge difference for me. There are still some things she promotes that I haven't bought into 100% - like I HATE wearing lace-up shoes all day. They're hot and annoying and I'd rather go barefoot. I also try to workout and do my scripture study in the morning, so I don't immediately get ready for the day the second I get up, but I feel like it's coming together pretty good. I'm just really starting, but I have hope that if I make this part of my ROUTINE and if I don't beat myself up if I slip here and there, then I CAN do it! My main problem before was that I was caught in an endless cycle of letting things get dirty, using all my energy to clean it perfectly, and then being so tired that I let it get dirty again and the cycle continued. Staying on top of it is a lot of work, but SO WORTH IT.
I'm sure there are a lot of "DUH!s" out there from those of you that are already on top of it and didn't need anyone to help you get there, but I did need a wake-up call and some guidance and I'm happy right now to not live in CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) :)

8 comments:

Patricia Potts said...

Hi Heidi,
Please don't look at my sink right now...but...I really did do better when I was doing fly lady. Thanks for the reminder. I miss seeing you guys. Love, mom

Gardners Glad Tidings said...

No duh's here. Just an AHA! And where can I get the fly lady? The funny thing is I always thought you totally had the schedule thing, perfect house, happy kids thing down?! You're amazing!

Lena Baron said...

I Love Fly Lady! I have her featured on my website under Family Health. Good Luck! Just compare yourself to yourself and move forward.
Love ya!

Unknown said...

fly lady....this seems real good and something a working mom i Sweden could use for sure.....shining zink!!! Do people have shining zinks all the time???...*shaking my head amazed*

Kristen said...

Very inspiring! I love that FLY stands for Finally Loving Yourself. Clever. Good luck, you're awesome, book or no book!

Unknown said...

I didn't know about the "fly" but my mom has always tried to teach me those things, but I still don't do it! Good for you!

Heidi said...

Good for you. I'm going to look into it. I just have been sitting around everyday looking at my messy house!

Marianne said...

I read the book last year and lived in complete order and peace for a few months. It was fabulous. Unfortunately, I'm one who slips into old ways pretty quickly. I need to read the book again!