FLYing High

I mentioned FlyLady in my "mission statement", as my friend Callie dubbed my first post. Today I want to share some of her methods and what they've done for me.

First things first, when you start following Marla's (FlyLady's) system you become a FLYbaby.  FLY stands for "finally loving yourself".  FlyLady's motto is jump in where we are and do what you can, don't try to catch up (which I have to admit is hard sometimes, but if you try to catch up you will probably get burned out and it won't work for you).  She insists you start small until you've established good habits, then work your way into the routines (it's not overwhelming at all if you follow her advice!) it's all about babysteps, babysteps, babysteps!

Once you establish good habits you begin working through the routines that she posts online, which are often in a specific zone (master bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, etc), most of them take less than 15 minutes a day, and if they take longer you can just stop when fifteen minutes is up!  The best part is there are online support systems for those who follow the system (I use the facebook support page), and you can share your triumphs and follies with other FLYbabies like yourself (who often have tips and praise for you when you need it).

This system is so focused on being reasonable and on the big things in life: time for yourself and your family.  It has made me realize I am not alone in my battle against clutter, sentimentalism, and time!  It reminds me to take time to pamper myself, to make myself relax and do something just for me...even if it is read a book and have a cup of tea, or something simple to just take a second away from it all.

I started using the system when I moved to Pennsylvania, and I have gotten rid of so much clutter (things that do not fit/do not wear/duplicates of things/paper clutter)!  I went through my bathroom and found I had probably ten (or more!) tubes of lotion!  I promptly gave away the ones I would not use and organized the others from smallest to largest and started using them.  I will NOT buy anything until I can see feasibly running out in the next week, lol.

I have even begun implementing the FlyLady cleaning style into my laboratory at work and it is making a HUGE difference in everyone's ability to find what they are looking for as well as have enough space to do their work.  And it just looks brighter and more organized, which makes me

What About You?  How do you like to pamper yourself after a rough day?  What do you do to keep your living space nice for yourself/guests?