As promised, I went home last night and added the 5 minute room rescue into my daily routine. My God what a difference it makes! Okay, so only a tiny bit of the clutter has gone, but it sure as hell notices, and means its not such a mammoth task to put everything into its proper place because there is only 5 minutes worth of stuff in there.
I won't be home tonight 'till gone 8, so I won't attempt to add another baby step into the routine today, but looking forward to tomorrow - woohoooo - got my cleaning mojo back!
Wednesday 31 October 2007
Tuesday 30 October 2007
Slacking Off
Since my last entry, I haven't really done much. I've done the daily things that need doing, but nothing that has made a difference, and it notices.
My OH said the other night, "have you noticed how much happier we have been since the house has been tidier?" and it's true - it's amazing the difference it can make.
Tonight I am getting back on track, and will add the 5 minute declutter into my routine.
Last night my OH and I blitzed the kitchen - our son's highchair has been looking a bit suspicious for a while so we pulled it apart, de-skanked it and washed all the straps - it looks as good as new. I also took all the toys that were overspilling the downstairs-toy-box upstairs, where they are now overspilling, but that's a whole 'nother issue! While the highchair was out it gave me a good opportunity to scrape down the walls... its amazing the places Weetabix can find itself, and how solid it is!?
Anyway, the kitchen looks fab and uncluttered. All we need now is to get the new table and chairs and we're halfway there woohoo!
The room of choice for my 5-minute declutter is the living room. There is so much to go through in that room, and I think that might be why I didn't make the effort with getting it done last week. Hey ho, it's only 5 minutes. Wish me luck!
My OH said the other night, "have you noticed how much happier we have been since the house has been tidier?" and it's true - it's amazing the difference it can make.
Tonight I am getting back on track, and will add the 5 minute declutter into my routine.
Last night my OH and I blitzed the kitchen - our son's highchair has been looking a bit suspicious for a while so we pulled it apart, de-skanked it and washed all the straps - it looks as good as new. I also took all the toys that were overspilling the downstairs-toy-box upstairs, where they are now overspilling, but that's a whole 'nother issue! While the highchair was out it gave me a good opportunity to scrape down the walls... its amazing the places Weetabix can find itself, and how solid it is!?
Anyway, the kitchen looks fab and uncluttered. All we need now is to get the new table and chairs and we're halfway there woohoo!
The room of choice for my 5-minute declutter is the living room. There is so much to go through in that room, and I think that might be why I didn't make the effort with getting it done last week. Hey ho, it's only 5 minutes. Wish me luck!
Wednesday 24 October 2007
Baby Step 9 - 5 Minute Room Rescue.
Today I am adding a 5 minute room rescue into my evening routine - Flylady says to do it in the morning, but its already a rush in our household in the morning, so will stick it in my To Do list for the evenings. Basically, for 5 minutes going round your room of choice doing a declutter with 3 boxes - 1 for items which don't belong in that room, 1 for items to chuck and 1 for items to give away. Once the 5 minutes is up, put the things from box 1 into the correct rooms, box 2 into the bin, and box 3 to the car ready to take to the charity shop. Sounds like fun!
Go to Bed!
I now know the importance of going to bed early. Yesterday I came home from work, put my son to bed, and wanted to do nothing. I was trying to work out why... I have been so motivated recently, what has sapped it? Then it came to me; the night before, I hadn't gone to bed until 11.30, and my son woke us at 6am. Six and a half hours is obviously not enough sleep for me!
The advantage of being up so early was that I got a lot of my evening routine (emptying & loading the dishwasher and washing machine) done before I went to work, meaning I didn't really have anything that absolutely needed doing, so I took it easy and went to bed at 9 o'clock! Hopefully now that I am well rested tonight will be a different story!
The advantage of being up so early was that I got a lot of my evening routine (emptying & loading the dishwasher and washing machine) done before I went to work, meaning I didn't really have anything that absolutely needed doing, so I took it easy and went to bed at 9 o'clock! Hopefully now that I am well rested tonight will be a different story!
Monday 22 October 2007
Fly Lady Folder
I've decided to make my folder online, that way I can view it wherever I am - sometimes when I am eating lunch at my desk I like to read what I have in store for when I get home.
You can find my folder here.
You can find my folder here.
Baby Step 8 - Routines
Wow, this clean sink really has put a whole new perspective on things. Because my sink is so shiny, everything else near it needs to be sparkling too - no more leaving loose change on the side Mr Fly-lady, no more leaving dishes out until the next morning. I left for work today feeling utterly positive, knowing that before I left the house the dishwasher and washing machine were both on, one less job to do when I get home tonight.
The two hotspots I mentioned in my last entry no longer exist - the pile of paperwork has been filed, and the chair in the entrance hall is gawwwwn! Yesterday my other half, son and father in law went out together, so I used the time to sort through everything in the entrance hall. I put together a shoe rack to go in the cupboards hidden away, sorted through the drawers, and threw out a massive 2 black sacks full of junk, which is a milestone for me as I am a massive hoarder! Our entrance hall looks excellent now even if I do say so myself and my other half is over the moon too - he said though that now it makes the kitchen look cluttered!! The downstairs is nearly sorted now - not entirely - we still need to 'do' the kitchen, but I would no longer be afraid to have people over... as long as they didn't go upstairs that is!! You know what else? I might be crazy but we went to my in-laws for dinner. After dinner everyone else was sitting around on the sofas, and I just knew my stairs were there at home, needing to be hoovered and I was wasting time, so I drove home, hoovered the house, then went back!! This is something the old me would so not have done!
Because downstairs has been transformed in a week, it has spurred me on and I am determined that the rest of the house will soon follow suit. Today I have ordered some toy storage for our living room (my next room of choice), and a new door mat for the front door - a new beginning.
The babysteps over the past couple of days have again been pretty simple, and things I was already doing (must have read ahead of myself somewhere!)... putting clothes out for the next day - WHAT a difference this makes! As my other half ran round this morning looking for a clean pair of work trousers, I was dressed, got our son dressed and was putting on my make up - it makes it so much easier! When the steps have been simple I have been giving myself another little task to do - tonight I will be shining my mirrors and glass, because now (because of my hard work yesterday) we have a full length mirror you can actually see the whole of you in without the view being blocked!
Baby Step 8 is where I up to officially, and so also tonight I will be making up my Fly Lady folder to put my first page in - my Flylady routine which is become more and more habit now.
The two hotspots I mentioned in my last entry no longer exist - the pile of paperwork has been filed, and the chair in the entrance hall is gawwwwn! Yesterday my other half, son and father in law went out together, so I used the time to sort through everything in the entrance hall. I put together a shoe rack to go in the cupboards hidden away, sorted through the drawers, and threw out a massive 2 black sacks full of junk, which is a milestone for me as I am a massive hoarder! Our entrance hall looks excellent now even if I do say so myself and my other half is over the moon too - he said though that now it makes the kitchen look cluttered!! The downstairs is nearly sorted now - not entirely - we still need to 'do' the kitchen, but I would no longer be afraid to have people over... as long as they didn't go upstairs that is!! You know what else? I might be crazy but we went to my in-laws for dinner. After dinner everyone else was sitting around on the sofas, and I just knew my stairs were there at home, needing to be hoovered and I was wasting time, so I drove home, hoovered the house, then went back!! This is something the old me would so not have done!
Because downstairs has been transformed in a week, it has spurred me on and I am determined that the rest of the house will soon follow suit. Today I have ordered some toy storage for our living room (my next room of choice), and a new door mat for the front door - a new beginning.
The babysteps over the past couple of days have again been pretty simple, and things I was already doing (must have read ahead of myself somewhere!)... putting clothes out for the next day - WHAT a difference this makes! As my other half ran round this morning looking for a clean pair of work trousers, I was dressed, got our son dressed and was putting on my make up - it makes it so much easier! When the steps have been simple I have been giving myself another little task to do - tonight I will be shining my mirrors and glass, because now (because of my hard work yesterday) we have a full length mirror you can actually see the whole of you in without the view being blocked!
Baby Step 8 is where I up to officially, and so also tonight I will be making up my Fly Lady folder to put my first page in - my Flylady routine which is become more and more habit now.
Wednesday 17 October 2007
Baby Steps 3, 4, 5 and 6 - Hotspots.
Baby Steps 3, 4, and 5 are things about thinking and reading. While I understand changing your thought patterns is very important, I don't want to stop when I am on a roll, so fast forwarding to step number 6 as it's the next step to physical work within the house.
Flylady recommends sticking post-it notes around the house to remind you to do things, but personally I don't want to add to the messy look of the house and am quite good at remembering my daily routines:
Get dressed to my laces, check my calendar for the next day, lay my clothes out for the next day, shine my sink and go to bed at a reasonable hour.
The next thing to add to the routine, baby step # 6 is Hotspots - Flylady points out that there are often areas where people leave things to build up, and if they aren't sorted out, the little hotspot turns into a big raging inferno, so put it out before it gets that chance. Every day just spending 2 minutes on these hotspots apparently makes a difference.
My hotspots are the chair in our entrance hall which gets coats and bags dumped on it, and the kitchen side and table which get paperwork dumped on them. I look forward those little fires fizzling out.
Flylady recommends sticking post-it notes around the house to remind you to do things, but personally I don't want to add to the messy look of the house and am quite good at remembering my daily routines:
Get dressed to my laces, check my calendar for the next day, lay my clothes out for the next day, shine my sink and go to bed at a reasonable hour.
The next thing to add to the routine, baby step # 6 is Hotspots - Flylady points out that there are often areas where people leave things to build up, and if they aren't sorted out, the little hotspot turns into a big raging inferno, so put it out before it gets that chance. Every day just spending 2 minutes on these hotspots apparently makes a difference.
My hotspots are the chair in our entrance hall which gets coats and bags dumped on it, and the kitchen side and table which get paperwork dumped on them. I look forward those little fires fizzling out.
Tuesday 16 October 2007
Baby Step 2 - Get Dressed To Your Laces
This is baby step number 2 "Today I want you get up and get dressed to lace up shoes when you first get up in the morning. This means fix your hair and face too.
In order for us to change ourselves we need to remind ourselves of what we are doing. I did this with yellow sticky notes throughout my home to guide me through my day. This was the beginning of my home control journal.
I had little notes on my bathroom mirror to remind me to get dressed to shoes. When you see the many reminders in your inbox from Yahoo; just think of them as yellow sticky notes. You don't have to do them yet; they are just there as a little reminder. Read the subject line and you will be absorbing the flow of them.
Do not allow those voices in your head to say this can't possible work with so many emails. Then when you hear those voices say I don't have time. Set a timer for 2 minutes and just read a little and then delete at will.
Shine your sink before you go to bed."
This is something that I do every day anyway (the getting dressed and ready immediately), and because I am on a roll decided not to let this mean I can have an evening of rest, but must sort something else out for 15 minutes. Flylady thinks that 15 minutes on something is long enough - and I agree, it makes it manageable, doable and not some big mammoth boring task.
So, for my home-made baby step number 2 I am going to tackle the growing pile of paperwork on the kitchen side.
Disclaimer: Once again, a gentle reminder the kitchen was not decorated by us and not a reflection of our taste in any way!
In order for us to change ourselves we need to remind ourselves of what we are doing. I did this with yellow sticky notes throughout my home to guide me through my day. This was the beginning of my home control journal.
I had little notes on my bathroom mirror to remind me to get dressed to shoes. When you see the many reminders in your inbox from Yahoo; just think of them as yellow sticky notes. You don't have to do them yet; they are just there as a little reminder. Read the subject line and you will be absorbing the flow of them.
Do not allow those voices in your head to say this can't possible work with so many emails. Then when you hear those voices say I don't have time. Set a timer for 2 minutes and just read a little and then delete at will.
Shine your sink before you go to bed."
This is something that I do every day anyway (the getting dressed and ready immediately), and because I am on a roll decided not to let this mean I can have an evening of rest, but must sort something else out for 15 minutes. Flylady thinks that 15 minutes on something is long enough - and I agree, it makes it manageable, doable and not some big mammoth boring task.
So, for my home-made baby step number 2 I am going to tackle the growing pile of paperwork on the kitchen side.
Disclaimer: Once again, a gentle reminder the kitchen was not decorated by us and not a reflection of our taste in any way!
Baby Step 1 - Shine Your Sink
To start with, Flylady sends you a list of things to be done each day which will take no more than 15 minutes. There are 31 'baby steps' to get you going and understanding the plan. The first baby step is to shine your sink. Not just with a cloth and a bit of water, but the Flylady way.
My sink before:
My sink after:
Pretty shiny huh?! The hard part is going to be tea-towelling it after every time we run water in it. Not sure if my other half will be able to keep that up!
I also managed to finally pack away the steriliser that's been sitting next to the sink, unused, for a good few months. I'm feeling positive and glad I decided to do this.
Disclaimer: The kitchen was not decorated by us, but the previous owners, and is in no way a reflection of our taste!!
My sink before:
My sink after:
Pretty shiny huh?! The hard part is going to be tea-towelling it after every time we run water in it. Not sure if my other half will be able to keep that up!
I also managed to finally pack away the steriliser that's been sitting next to the sink, unused, for a good few months. I'm feeling positive and glad I decided to do this.
Disclaimer: The kitchen was not decorated by us, but the previous owners, and is in no way a reflection of our taste!!
Monday 15 October 2007
Something Needs To Be Done
So, the house is a tip. Piles pile up, mountains get built, and seem to big too climb. Something needs to be done.
I have only had my own house for just over a year - this whole concept of keeping a whole house clean while looking after your child and working full time is new to me. Something needs to be done.
That something comes in the form of Fly Lady, an online group which gives you a challenge each day within your house to do, in small manageable chunks. You join the group and they send you emails each day to let you know what your task for that day is.
I've started this blog so if I am having a day when I think "what's the point", I can come here and (hopefully) see what changes have been made, and to motivate myself.
I have only had my own house for just over a year - this whole concept of keeping a whole house clean while looking after your child and working full time is new to me. Something needs to be done.
That something comes in the form of Fly Lady, an online group which gives you a challenge each day within your house to do, in small manageable chunks. You join the group and they send you emails each day to let you know what your task for that day is.
I've started this blog so if I am having a day when I think "what's the point", I can come here and (hopefully) see what changes have been made, and to motivate myself.
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