Several years ago, I stumbled upon FlyLady.net.  The concept of Marla’s cleaning and organizing tasks was wonderful, and something I wanted to attain.  But I wasn’t in the right place in life to really stick with it so I didn’t.  For the last several months, I’ve been feeling very overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that surrounds me in my home.  Maybe it’s because I spend more time at home than I used to (due to a combination of having a baby and being stuck inside during the winter), or maybe I’m just realizing that we really don’t need all that extra junk.  We’ve actually been enjoying setting out an empty box and filling it with items to donate.  Then, when the box is full, we call the Children’s Cancer Society and they come and pick it all up for free.  So getting rid of the junk is great, but it just wasn’t satisfying enough.  I was still feeling overwhelmed because I couldn’t keep up with cleaning and tidying.

Last week, I decided to look up the Fly Lady again.  According to the “flight plan” for February, we are to commit to de-cluttering for just 15 minutes each day.  I can totally do that!  And so far, I’ve managed to stick with it.  In fact, my kitchen counters (a very common breeding ground for clutter) have remained clutter-free and CLEAN all week long, and the organization is now spreading all over my house.

Last night, we had a really long night… we were up all night with Ryder who is suffering from his first ear infection.  This morning was a hectic maze of doctors appointments and other daily tasks, and normally, this kind of day would leave me dreading the moment when Ryder woke up from his nap.  There’s always more to do, and not enough kid-free time to get it done.  Today, however, was different.  When he woke up, I was calm and content because I could look around my house and be pleased with what I saw.  It’s nowhere near perfect… but 15 minutes a day really does make a difference.  My home is already at a point where I could calmly and proudly answer the door if a friend dropped by unannounced.  How cool is that???

So if you haven’t already checked out FlyLady.net, I’d strongly encourage you to do so.  If you’re like me, you’ll soak in everything she tells you, and then let it manifest in whatever way best fits your home and your lifestyle, even if you don’t follow it to the letter.  But I guarantee you’ll see positive changes very quickly.

In Fly Lady vernacular, FLYing means Finally Loving Yourself… loving yourself and your home and your family enough to get everything in working order and stop living in CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome).

I’m finally FLYing!