Last week, mom came over for a bit and showed me a new app she had just downloaded on the recommendation of the beautiful and amazing Christine. It broke down chores into daily/weekly/monthly routines. Everything was bite-size, organized, and easy to follow! It looked perfect. So I immediately searched my app store to find it, but tragically the app was only for mac and my android couldn't use it. Sad sad day.
But, as we searched, we came across Fly Lady. She also has an app, but it is for android~ and guess what else~ it is free! Perfection! You can look over her methods and see if they would work for you here.
I love her approach because it breaks housekeeping down into nice small chunks that aren't completely depressing and overwhelming. She starts by dividing the house into different zones, for instance: the kitchen is one zone, the bedrooms another. Then she allocates a certain number of days each month to each zone. So by the end of the month, you will have worked in each area of your house. And the wonderful part is you only spend five to fifteen minutes per day! So do-able!
I certainly downloaded that app as quick as I was able. And things that were seriously never getting done are actually getting done around here! Things like dusting the top of fans or clearing off the top of the fridge.
She even has some extra little tips that have really helped me. For instance, yesterday I cleaned out my fridge. I usually put this off because the thought of emptying that entire thing of the good, the bad, and the ugly moldy mess, then taking out each shelf, drawer to wash, and washing the inside is so overwhelming that only a huge energy reserve plus an entire day of Nothing Else will enable me to do it. Which means, never ever ever does this happen. So you can imagine it did sound nice when she recommended simply spraying the shelves down, one by one as you clear them. Although skeptical at first, I can say that it went significantly quicker than it ever has before and the end product looked quite nice. I also did not get half way through the project and contemplate driving to the airport and buying a ticket to Barbados. Score!
Another thing she will do is encourage you to treat yourself, light a scented candle, set up some flowers, read a magazine. Easy to forget when there is a little munchkin requiring constant attention, but those little things make you feel human and grown up and like a person again.
So here are a couple pictures of some baby steps around here:
1. If you opened our TV side-cabinets, they were crammed full of DVD's we never watched, CD's we never listened too, and various pieces of junk that did not belong there at all. No before picture, but here is the post:
2. Last night, I decided to tackle our junk drawer. How can it be possible to fit this magnitude of stuff in one drawer? I found so many things I had no idea were there including a firework (yes! maybe we will have to set it off for Kateri's birthday in a few weeks) 4 flashlights, five lighters, three large lighters that you would use outside, 4 or 5 packs of gum, multiple toys, 6 or 7 rolls of tape, several screw drivers and much much more. Here is a photo of some, only a portion, of the contents of that single drawer.
How did we fit all of that into one drawer? I honestly do not know! But we definitely purged and organized and put things where they ought to go, and here is the end result:
I think I will purchase another organizer. It seriously does the soul so much good to see the junk drawer looking like that! And now it's functional, beyond just a place to stuff things I don't know where else to put!
3. We have been trying to figure out a good way to handle bills, coupons, and receipts. These things tend to get shoved in out of the way places during quick clean ups and subsequently forgotten, then taking more time as we search for them in all the hidden out of the way places. So we have been on the lookout for an easy way to keep them organized and give them a place to go. Yesterday I found this at Marhsalls:
At first I was planning on using something more vertical, but I opted for this one. This is why: we will put the bills right on the top which means that they are always visible until paid! Inside the drawer we will store receipts on one side and coupons on the other. Good because they are hidden!
So those are a few of our baby steps! We have a long way to go but we are on our way!
What are your methods for organizing/keeping the house clean? Any favorite tips?
it was a revelation to me when I realized that “playing with toys” had become “dumping out toys”, as if that was playing. If playing=dumping, then that game can be played with 5 toys, or 50 toys or 500 toys. (playing that game with 5 toys is way easier to clean up after) For my sake, i started limiting toys by only allowing a few out at a time. And truly, I only put this in practice with Lucy--I think I kind of gave up with the others, as if it was hopeless--but I was too old to want to live in a toysRus again! Plus, put the play back in playpen--keep only the very most special toys in the pen and no where else, so the play pen is the fun and special place. Once the kid sees the playpen as desirable you are gold.
ReplyDeleteAunt Betty~ I never thought about it like that! I am definitely going to do that and put a bunch of her toys away. It sounds so much simpler, and I bet she will enjoy the toys even more (especially considering switching them out will bring at least a bit of novelty to it all!). We have been thinking of getting one of those fences to make a sort of play-pen around a couch, so that I can feed the new munchkin and Kateri is contained right there . . . Thank you so much for the advice!!
Delete