My Day to Day Schedule

Okay, now that I've posted my cleaning schedule, let's talk about my work schedule. As I said a couple days ago, I'm a writer. Which means, I work from home. Also, I'm recording my books on audio, so I can only do that when everyone is at work or school.

After stressing about never being able to get things done, I decided to make myself a day to day schedule. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't always stick to this one hundred percent. There are days when my mom calls and we head out for some thrift store shopping and breakfast. Or maybe there are unexpected errands that fall on my lap. But, barring unforeseen activities, I've tried really hard to stick to this to ensure there's enough time for everything.

Of course, this schedule won't work for everyone. Maybe you have toddlers that take naps at a certain time. Maybe you work outside the home. Maybe your spouse works from home or you homeschool your little ones. Whatever the case, make a schedule that works for you and stick to it. I've had to, on occasion, set an alarm on my phone to ensure I don't get distracted with one project.

This is the schedule I made on Photoshop and printed out. It's currently hanging in my Cave. (My little space where I work).

It's a little hard to see, but here are the time blocks:

8-9-:30 Walk, Breakfast, and Shower. In this allotted time, I try to walk no less than twenty to thirty minutes. This is also the time I make sure I look somewhat presentable. lol I'm trying to wear makeup daily, but anyone who lives in a colder climate knows how dry it is right now. Between my skin refusing to keep any form of foundation on, and my eyes constantly watering (along with my nose), I've had to adapt my makeup accordingly. (No liquid liner most days)

9:30-10:30 Daily cleaning chore (this goes along with Thursday's cleaning schedule)

10:30-Noon Marketing, Promotion, Emails. Okay, this was is a hard one to stick by because I get messages and calls throughout the day and end up having to run back to my laptop. I'm trying to break myself of it and stick to this time slot, but anyone who works for themselves knows how hard it is to get your name out there.

Noon-12:30 Lunch. Again, hard to stick by because I tend to forget to eat. I'd love to say it's a writer's curse, but I think it's a woman thing!

12:30-3:30 Writing Time! At this chunk, I force myself to sit at my laptop. I might not be able to punch out 3k words, but as long as I'm doing something related to my books, I feel like I've accomplished something. Even if it's editing or plotting.

3:30-5 General Housework. At this point, my daughter has come home from school. I use this time to pick up the house, vacuum, dust, etc. for any rooms not assigned for this day. The deep cleans are saved for their specific day, but daily cleaning is how I keep up on the tornado...I mean, family.

5-7 Dinner and Cleanup. This is prep, cooking, and cleanup for dinner. We sit down at the table every single night for dinner. And since we don't have a dishwasher, all dishes are washed by hand. On the weekends, however, I make the kids take turns doing them to give me a break.

7-Bedtime Family Time!!! This is when we watch TV, movies, talk, etc. It's also shower time for the daughter. Again, I try really hard not to work during this time, but since my husband sometimes works odd shifts, my daughter is on the basketball team and goes to church on Sunday nights, sometimes I'm home alone and use the time to work a little more.

10:30 Bedtime We can all have a good laugh at this one. Okay, sometimes I'm in bed by 10, but I rarely go to sleep before around 11:30. Between reading in bed and mild insomnia, I don't sleep well. Although, I've recently begun taking melatonin and I think it's actually working. I feel like I'm falling asleep sooner and staying asleep longer.

So, there's my daily schedule. Like I said before, this schedule won't work for everyone, but you can adapt it to your lifestyle. It definitely eliminates stress of feeling like there's too much to do and not enough day to do it in.

My Cleaning Schedule

As promised, I'm trying to blog more regularly. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum.

Now, while this schedule works for me, please remember we all have different needs, different families, different lives. If this schedule doesn't work for you, tweek it to your liking. Switch the rooms around. Alternate days. But, make sure you find a schedule.

Before I start, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite tools for housework. (I am not paid for these endorsements. These are actual items in my personal arsenal and I'm willing to post pics to prove it. lol)

I love this duster! It bends so you can use it on your ceiling fans and you just pull the sleeve off and throw it in the washing machine. You can find it here.

I bought the pack of different colors so I could use them for different rooms. I use green in my kitchen, yellow in the bathrooms, and blue is for dusting and polishing all the other rooms. You can find them here.

I used to run a housekeeping company and have used so many different types of vacuums. This is the one I ended up buying years ago and I still love it. I only have carpeting in my bedroom, but I can use it on my hardwood floors to get up the dog hair and dust particles that a dry mop would miss. You can find this here.

Okay, as far as the cleaning detergents, I make my own. I'll post the recipe for it below, but you can always use what you have on hand or your favorite store bought brand.

All purpose Cleaner

-1/2 cup of white vinegar

-Several drops of lavender and pepperment essential oils. You can also use lemon and bergamot if you prefer a citrusty scent

-1 tbs Dawn dish detergent

-Spray bottle

-Enough water to fill the bottle

I use this formula to clean everything, including my mirrors and windows. Used with the microfiber cloths, it won't leave streaking. It smells lovely and cuts through grease and grime as well as any store bought detergent,

On to the schedule:

Monday - Bedroom

Change and wash sheets

Dust all furniture

Make sure all meds and jewelry is put away and no clutter is on the floor

Reorganize the bottom of your closet (where all our shoes get tossed after a long day)

Vacuum/sweep and mop floor

Tuesday - Kitchen

Move all items on counter to the side and deep clean counters

Wipe off top and sides of fridge

Clean out inside of fridge

Wipe down outside of cabinets

Sanitize trash can

Sweep and mop floor

Wednesday - Bathrooms

Scrub down tub and shower walls

Scrub inside of toilet with toilet brush

Sanitize outside of toilet, including the sides near the floor

Remove items from sink and deep clean surfaces

Polish mirrors

Dust any wall decor

Sweep and mop floor

Thursday - Living/Family Rooms

Fluff pillows and fold all blankets

Dust all furniture (use oils is real wood)

Whisk/vacuum under cushions

Clean under sofas (where all the discarded socks and missing pens seem to land)

Sweep/Vacuum and mop floor

Friday - Outside/Office/Misc

Office - Sweep front and back porches (this is where most of the dirt comes from)

Pick up any trash in the yard

Water plants and weed (seasonally)

Office - Clear clutter from desk

Dust desk

Sweep/Vacuum floor

I also use Fridays for groceries and errand running

Saturdays and Sundays I tend to rest a little, but I still keep up on the general messes and dish washing. Since we don't have a dish washer, all dishes are done by hand. On the weekends, I make the kids help with some of the housework, including meal dishes.

So, there's my schedule. I actually got the idea from Nicole over at The Retro Housewife Life. If you haven't already, make sure you check out her darling blog!

Day 1 - 1950s Housewife Experiment Take 2

This morning started out fairly well. I got up, showered, did my hair and makeup and proceeded to make coffee and breakfast. Promptly after breakfast I got to work. Now, while most housewives of that time generally cleaned about 3 hours (their homes were also smaller than ours) they cleaned every day. Since I've let some of my household chores slide a little this cleaning is taking me all damn day. Did I mention I have three teenagers home from school today and tomorrow?

While I originally started out cleaning the basement to some fabulous Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett records, that eventually ended when the first child decided they wanted to watch TV. Okay, cool. Whatever.  I just proceeded to clean, and finally moved upstairs. Have you ever heard the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I think that title works perfectly for mothers. I seriously can not tell you how many times I cleaned the exact same mess, the exact same room, until I finally exploded. The oldest boy had the audacity to ask me why I was mad. I just glared at him, sweating rolling down my forehead, while he munched away on pizza and dropped crumbs all over the table I had just wiped down and the floor I had just swept.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. I broke my own rule at one point and popped onto Facebook to vent. Mothers who lived in that time assured me it was nothing new. However, my best friend's theory is that mothers were able to beat their kids back then. Either way, I can't see my grandma allowing my mom and uncles to constantly make a mess as she cleaned.

Now, on top of trying to be the perfect vintage housewife around three kids I'm also dealing with a now three-legged cat. She was originally a stray who appeared one day and refused to leave. I really didn't want twenty more barn cats so I had her spayed. Well, either some kind of a predator got a hold of her, or she got into the engine of a car and the car was started. Either way, this is Grace now.

*Grace the Wonder Cat has her own Facebook page if you'd like to keep up with her recovery.*

I don't know if you can tell by this pic but she has massive damage to her right hip and rear end, damage to the left side of her face, cuts along her back, and had her right front leg amputated. So, on top of dealing with my normal day to day life, and attempting to live life as close to the genuine 1950s housewife, I've had to play nurse to this little girl. In case you haven't guessed yet, she will now be an inside cat.

I've tried several times to download the pics I've taken through out the day, including pics of my homemade chicken and dumplings I made from my 1954 Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook.

Sorry for the horrible pic. Took it with my phone,

I had my doubts as not only was this my first attempt at making chicken and dumplings, but it was from an old cookbook. There were so few ingredients for the dumplings, yet they were delicious since they were boiled in the broth made from stewing the chicken.

Sorry I can't post a pic of the actual meal. Stupid laptop! When I figure out where I'm going wrong I'll post, I promise.

Now, on to the rest of the day...I'm freaking exhausted! I swear I'm limping and my back is so sore! The only time I sat today was to fold laundry. Other than that I was on the go non stop. Oh wait, that's not true. I had to sit while driving to find a police officer to unlock my daughter's handcuffs. Yes, you read that correctly. My darling daughter threw her key in a huff, and her brother didn't know that when he locked her wrists in those damn metal contraptions, We were able to get one wrist out with soapy water, but the other was way too tight.

So there's my first day in a nut shell. Not really a failure, but not exactly a success...not in my eyes anyway. My makeup is smeared, and my hair went crazy hours ago. Tomorrow I'm babysitting my nephews for a few hours so I'll just pretend I'm going to my bridge club or whatever they did with the other ladies back then.

Night, y'all. My poor booty needs rest!

Flylady Challenge: Day 1 Results and Today's Schedule

I tried. I really did try. However, anyone who has a scatter brain knows how easy it is to get distracted. Yesterday was 1 hour home blessing day, and we were supposed to sweep our entry ways (front porch, or in my case front and back porch). Do you realize how many times I picked up the broom to clean the porch only to find something else that needed to be swept? *sigh* I did shine my sink twice, but ended up leaving something soaking in the sink overnight. And, I got up and got dressed to shoes yesterday morning, but I didn't bother putting on any makeup. I hadn't planned on leaving the house and with as much dusting as I was doing it would've just ended up running down my face.

Yeah, something like this.

 

 

In the meantime, I continued putting up and out more Christmas decorations, and being as the habit of the month is Pampering ourselves, I took time out to sit down and paint Christmas decorations with my daughter. I remember doing this kind of thing with my mom when I was little and wanted to share the joy with my girl.

 

Today we are supposed to keep shining our sinks, no new habits added yet. And here is today's mission:

 

Zone 1: Mission #2 Tuesday 

 We are going to have a multi room mission today, it might take you longer than 15 minutes to do it, so set your timer for each room and FLY through it!

For the Front Porch, Entrance and Dining Room, put out the fires that are burning in your hot spots. Get rid of the pile of shoes by the front door, get rid of the pile of junk mail and put away the magazines and school papers that are piled on the dining room table.

They are smoldering so get to it!

 

If you're anything like me you have a pile of shoes, socks, bags, and other various things lying around. I'm also notorious for hoarding paperwork. No, you'll never see me on the Hoarding shows, I'm not quite that far, but I'm always afraid to throw anything away for fear I'll need it later. So, today, we need to go hit these hot spots, of course only spending 15 minutes on it, and hopefully put out some "fires" before they are too far gone.

 

By the way, did you get dressed to shoes? I'm having a really hard time getting used to wearing shoes in my house as I feel they track dirt through the house, and being as we have hard wood floors, I fear they will scuff or scratch my beautiful flooring. I've dedicated a pair of shoes specifically for inside, but sometimes I've had to clomp out in them. At least I have rugs at every entrance! lol

 

Happy Flying.

 

Are you following along? How did you do yesterday? Any better than I did? (I hope. lol)

 



New Challenge Starting Monday, December 2

Have you ever heard of the Flylady?

If the answer is no, you need to go check the site out. The system by the Flylady is for SHEs (stressed home executives). There is a day by day, week by week, and month by month schedule for not only getting your house clean, but most importantly clear of clutter. In this method you go about building routines and habits by doing certain things every day, and you only spend 10-15 minutes a day on certain tasks. This type of thing is supposed to get your house in tip top shape and help you avoid CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome). Oh come on, you all know what that is. You get a phone call that someone is going to stop by to visit so you run around like chickens with your head cut off, hiding things in bedrooms, scooping all that junk on your counter into a basket, etc. I refer to this as the Flight of the Bumblebee cleaning.

This is what I hear while running around cleaning as fast as I can with sweat running down my back!

 

 

The Flylady is big on starting where you are and you are not behind. So, having said that, I'm going to attempt to start each day with the flight plan of the day, and implement things such as the control journal.

 

 

Here's the funny/fun part....I'm going to post a Vlog of myself on here each day, first thing in the morning, and after I've (hopefully) accomplished the daily habit and the flight plan for the day.

Any chance I'll look like this at the end of the month?

 

 If you join me in this you HAVE to start from Day 1, no skipping ahead because you got so much done for the day! lol Who am I kidding?! You all know I'll probably still be doing other housework/yard work while following this schedule.

 

See you all Monday morning! And have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Day 1 - Crappy first day...sort of

Started out at 5:50 instead of 5:30 this morning. I set my hair in foam rollers after my shower last night but my hair was still wet this morning, so no Doris Day curls. No dress for cleaning this morning; unlike popular belief, women didn't wear pearls and heels when cleaning their home. Those who did don dresses in the home wore what is referred to as a day dress or house dress.

Not exactly sexy.

However, a majority of women cleaned their homes and worked their gardens in trousers. I'm in search of a good pattern for a pair of traditional trousers, but as of right now I only have jeans. (Refuse to wear my good slacks to clean this house!) Because I only have tennis shoes or heels I chose the former to clean in. Normally, on my day to day ritual, I prefer to be barefoot. Shoes collect and drag dirt through the house so it bugs me when my family clomps through in their shoes.

Having said all that, I did make the face and hair presentable:

Complete with updo, liquid liner, and red lips!

However, ummm, yeah.....not so much with the clothes:

Not exactly June Cleaver (if you look behind my right elbow you'll see I laid out my husband's change of clothes for after work, just like a good wife is supposed to *wink*)

Okay, so I got up early, made breakfast, did my face and hair, and...well, got dressed. Hey, at least I got out of my pajamas before noon. After the kids were out the door (which I did the good mommy thing and walked them to the door and waved them goodbye. They asked me not to do that again.) I proceeded to do the dishes and off to clean I went. I seriously cleaned for nine hours straight. I found dirt in places there shouldn't be dirt. How in the world do you get walls so dirty? I mean, really? I have teenagers, so it's not like they're coloring on the walls. There were actually streaks going down the walls where someone walked down the hallway dragging their hands along my beautiful butter cream paint! WHAT?! Why? *sigh* And why in the world can kids (and men) not know how to change a toilet paper roll? AND, if the trash can is right beside you throw the trash in the can, not beside it. Oh, oh, and did I mention I found candy wrappers ON TOP of the entertainment center? I am exhausted! 

Okay, I'm okay, I got it together. About noon I decided to make myself some coffee (hello caffeine withdrawal) and of course used my percolator. I put the grinds in the canister, filled the pot with water and turned on the burner. Last time I was out at the chicken coop one of my hens was laying so I went back out to retrieve the egg.

Here's what I came back in to find:

I don't know when but apparently something fell below the burner and caught fire while I was outside. Luckily it went out on its own instead of me walking in to a kitchen fire! Emergency avoided, on to the coffee...right? Ha! It turns out I don't remember how to use a percolator.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to look like this:

Ummm, isn't the coffee supposed to stay inside the pot?

After a few minutes of looking at this bubbling mess and scratching my head I gave up and poured myself a cup. There was more grinds than coffee. At that point all I could do was chuckle, pour the mess into the sink (the same sink I had diligently and dutifully scrubbed out, mind you) and went to my trusty back up:





 Notice the red lips on the mug?

*sigh* I have to admit, today did not go the way I had hoped. Tomorrow WILL be better, dammit! I can say my house looks and smells great, but after a while I had to actually return to the 21st century and sit down after dinner and rest of my feet. They were damaged months ago and were really killing me after hours on them. Dinner has been made, dishes are done, laundry is COMPLETELY caught up (seriously! There isn't a single piece of clothing in the laundry room! Happy dance!) and now I'm here talking to you. There is my disaster of the first day of my version of the 1950s housewife experiment. Not exactly June Cleaver, but I tried. Honestly, the hardest thing today was fighting the temptation to get on Facebook and update everyone with the failures and successes of the day. I really didn't miss television, and I loved that I didn't get many calls or texts today. My phone usually goes nonstop, so the quiet was great! Oh, how I miss you all!


*I almost forgot, everyone knows I'm terrified of spider, right? Well, I was at the front door cleaning my hardwood floors and something above my head caught my attention...a spider! I grabbed my handy can of spray and sprayed the demon spawn. FOUR MORE came crawling from the doorway and the jam! I have a theory - they were all waiting for me to walk below them and they would all jump on me at the same time, causing a heart attack. They would then rule the house! That's my theory, anyway.*

I already live the life of a traditonal housewife, soooo.....

Why not do a 50s housewife experiment? I think we need to lay out some game plans before we start. Here's what the "rules" were of the time and how they will be altered in my home:

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

- I already do this, but for the experiment I will stick to cooking from scratch and use very little, if any, prepared foods.

Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

- I don't know about putting a ribbon in my hair, but I will follow this one.

Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

- I assume they meant happy, or I'm sure there would've been some very happy men in the 50s!

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.

- Definitely something I need to stick to.

During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

- Already do this.


*  Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
- As our kids are teenagers they're usually doing their own thing anyway. However, I will make sure they're cleaned up and presentable, as well as make sure they keep the bickering down.

Be happy to see him.
- Always am, but I think I'll greet him with more than just 'hey'.

Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

- Didn't we cover this already?

Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

- Ha! That's funny! Luckily for me, my husband is an extremely supportive person and has never subscribed to the whole caveman mentality!

Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

- Yeah, yeah. Got it.

Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

- If he's out all night he better have a really good reason for it. Did women really look the other way when men came home in the middle of the night reeking of women's perfume?

Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

A good wife always knows her place.

- I'll just comment on these four as a whole. I got it. I'm the wife, he's the husband. Make him comfortable and happy, yada yada.

Yes, that's really me.

On to the daily aspects of my day to day life:

- I WILL still use my vacuum cleaner. I have two dogs, a cat, a very large lizard, three kids, and I have a head full of very long hair. The vacuum is a necessity.

- I will forgo my automatic coffee maker for my beautiful vintage percolator. (suddenly I feel tired.)

- I WILL still use my washer and dryer. I have three teenagers, two of them boys. Clothes get dirty FAST here!

- There is no way I can walk to the stores. I live in the country, so I couldn't get the shopping done in time to be home for the kids.

- I will NOT be getting up before my husband to make him breakfast; husband gets up at 4:30 in the morning and I have issues with sleep as it is. However, I will set the coffee maker for him, have breakfast premade for him in the refrigerator, and I already make his lunch for him every day.

- Now, I will be getting up a little earlier than I already do so I can make sure I'm cleaned up, dressed, hair and makeup done, and cook breakfast for my darling monkeys.

- I don't own a dishwasher so I'll still be doing dishes by hand.

- I will make a menu weekly and fight to stick to it.

- I do plan on following the traditional wife's daily and weekly cleaning schedule, with the exception of spending an entire day on laundry, then ironing.

- Facebook, Internet surfing, text messaging, and Iphone use will be limited to updating this experiment and blogging. If you want to talk to me you need to call me. If you email or text me you need to include a mailing address so I can respond by mail. My phone will stay on as I have a special needs child whom I need to make sure can reach me in case of an emergency, and my family live all over the place and will need to contact me. However, I will limit my use of the phone outside of the home to emergencies only. If I don't answer I'm not home. If it's an emergency call back or text me the problem.

- No time suckers like television. I don't really watch tv with the exception of Sunday nights (The Walking Dead) and Wednesday nights (Revolution). I do tend to keep the tv on throughout the day for background noise, so I will stick to the radio/ipad and try to listen to as much 40s/50s music as possible. (My inventory isn't that large)

- If the husband/family is watching television I will find other things to do such as darning socks, mending clothes, sewing, quilting, or other housework.

- I will wear a dress or skirt as much as possible. I don't own an extensive wardrobe, so I will save the "cuter" outfits for errand running.

- There is NO WAY IN HELL I will make the traditional meals of the 50s! Have you seen those gelatin molds?

- I will attempt to host at least one get together with a friend or a small group of friends and play the good hostess.

That's all I can think of for the moment. I haven't quite decided exactly how long I'll attempt this experiment, as I just never know what the universe will throw my way. I can't see this changing my life all that much as I already stay home, clean, and cook all day long. lol But, the distractions of the Internet and Facebook have always been something that gets in the way. Yeah, I know it's totally up to me to walk away from these things, but COME ON! Anyone who plays on the computer knows how addictive it can be!

So there it is. I'm HOPING to start tomorrow, although I haven't really done much preparation. Hey, the day is young. I can still get things going for husband's breakfast and lunch as well as getting my clothing for the week. Tomorrow I will post my weekly and monthly schedules, as well as photographic proof of my appearance of the day (even if it was major fail). Feel free to join me in this quest.

Almost There!

The kids go back to school tomorrow and I'm ready to start my old and new routines! Originally, I would get up at 6am, wrap my robe around my cold body, then go about waking the kids up and making coffee. I would stay in my robe and/or pajamas for half the day, usually only getting dressed before I had to run errands, or just before the family got home. After the kids were gone I would make myself some oatmeal for breakfast (I have fructose malapsorption and lactose intolerance, so I'm limited on what I can eat), and wash dishes while the water was boiling. Eventually, my bed would get made and some cleaning would get done in between writing and/or researching.

No more. No more will I hang out looking like Mrs. Frumpalot for the whole day. That does absolutely nothing for my self worth, nor my self-esteem. Starting tomorrow, I will brush my hair and teeth before waking up the kids, and will "get dressed to laces" including my hair and makeup.

Along with my physical appearance, I've been compiling my daily routine list and forming a control journal to keep myself on track. Have I mentioned how much I love the Flylady website? FLY stands for "finally loving yourself". In her way of thinking taking care of yourself and your home is something we all deserve, not something to strive for perfection. We are right where we're supposed to be. I love that way of thinking. Instead of giving up before I even start because of feeling overwhelmed I can jump right in where I am at the moment. Yay for not feeling like I don't measure up to someone else's expectations!

I have a game plan!!!

Okay, so this is the second post of the day. I've done so much since my last post, and still have so much to do to get my home where I want it. I've heard of people doing just fifteen minutes a day to keep their homes up, but they don't live with my kids. They have dirtied the same room three times now, so I've put them to work.

I came across a website some time ago and revisited it today. It's called flylady.net. The way these women do it is by forming routines, or habits. They're big on "not being behind, but starting right where you are". Their program splits up the home into zones, and you work on these zones throughout the week, while doing your usual upkeep of the home. In other words, your home gets a deep clean every month, rather than just your typical spring cleaning.

Another huge focus is getting dressed to lace up shoes as soon as you get up. In other words, get up, get dressed all the way to your shoes (including hair and face) before starting anything else for the day. Now, I don't know about doing my hair and face first thing in the morning, but there's no reason I can't get dressed, brush my hair and teeth and have my shoes on before I start my coffee or wake up the kids. I mean, really, how long does it take to throw on some clothes and run a brush through your hair. Granted, we start our day at 6am, but that's no excuse for looking like a slob every day!

Okay, so there's my game plan. While I'm working the steps on Flylady.net, I will also tackle one project every day. I have so many projects that need to be done, anything from socks to be darned (yes, I do this. I see no reason to throw them out if the elastic is still good in them), to walls that still need to be painted. We've lived in this house for over a year and I still haven't finished painting.

Here's the deal: I will post a pic of what I'm wearing and what project I've tackled every day (or at least I will try to. I do work from home as a published author, and writing must be done in order to get paid). I will also post what I've accomplished on the Flybaby list for the day. I hope you will join me in reclaiming my life!

Have a great New Year's!