# Flylady's weekly home blessing hour...



## RedTartan

Can we talk about this? I cannot wrap my head around flylady's weekly home blessing hour. Here's what flylady.net says is the blessing hour:

**********

The Weekly Home Blessing hour is the time FlyLady spends slipshod cleaning her home. No detailed cleaning required; vacuum the middle of the floors only!

FlyLady sets her timer for 10 minutes to work on each of 7 tasks:
Vacuum
Dust
Mop
Polish Mirrors and Doors
Purge magazines
Change Sheets
Empty all trash

This takes approximately one hour; some tasks take less than 10 minutes. 

*********

There is no way she is getting any of that done in 10 minutes unless she's doing it at a dead run! I can't mop my kitchen floor in 10 minutes. I can maybe sweep it and get the water ready in 10 minutes. I can't vacuum my livingroom in 10 minutes (let alone my entire house.) Change sheets? Again. I can't change my king size bed, let alone four bunk beds, in 10 minutes. Dust my house in 10 minutes? LOL!

Am I missing something? I love the idea of cleaning zones for once a month cleaning, but her idea of getting all the weekly cleaning done in a hour is ridiculous. Am I right? And there's no way my kitchen floor is making it a month between cleanings. I might be able to get away with a DAILY home blessing hour...


----------



## GrayDay

Like you the monthly cleaning zones really work for me, but the weekly housework in an hour seems impossible.

I prefer to take the extra time and sweep or mop my entire floor etc. If I'm going to invest the time to sweep and get the water for the kitchen floor, I like to know the whole thing is clean for the week.

I diligently stuck to the FlyLady routine a few years ago, and it just didn't work out for me. To be honest, I enjoy doing housework that blesses my family, and I like it to be a job well done (though not obsessive). Trying to get things done well in a short period of time became frustrating. I felt like I was always behind because I wasn't keeping up with the schedule. I was rushing around, and I lost the joy in what I do for my family.

FlyLady does have some good ideas, but I had to decide to incorporate those ideas into the schedule that works best for me. Manage my time, but not be so caught up in getting something done that I forget to enjoy the moment at hand.


----------



## RedTartan

GrayDay said:


> ...I felt like I was always behind because I wasn't keeping up with the schedule. I was rushing around, and I lost the joy in what I do for my family.
> 
> FlyLady does have some good ideas, but I had to decide to incorporate those ideas into the schedule that works best for me. Manage my time, but not be so caught up in getting something done that I forget to enjoy the moment at hand.


THAT'S exactly how I feel too. I think Flylady is an empty nester. With just her husband and herself around, I can see how it may be possible to have a WEEKLY home blessing hour. I have four very active little boys I homeschool and a husband who works from home. My house is full of people using it all the time. 

I think I need to work on my own daily to do list. You know, like "Wash on Mondays, Iron on Tuesdays" but not.


----------



## Ardie/WI

That Flylady stuff gets on my nerves!

Been keeping a home clean for 47 years and all it takes is organization--not flying around like a fart in a windstorm!


----------



## Jenn

Maybe she's writing for folks who feel they have no time for it to give them permission to 'fly[ing] around like a fart in a windstorm' and thereby have a bit of clean instead of none.


----------



## newfieannie

like Ardie said. she gets on my nerves.! i dont like schedules anyway never did! awhile ago i finished cleaning all my glass in my living room and tidying up a few dishes in my china cabinet. took me most of 3 hours. right now i'm just going to relax for awhile and drink a backload of tea and a couple of cheese scones.~Georgia.


----------



## RedTartan

I do like her zone cleaning. The idea of focusing on a different area each week really appeals to me and works well for me. In a house as active as mine is I'm finding that I do need an hour a day to keep the basic cleaning caught up. I also have to do 2 loads of laundry per day or it sits around mildewing. Here's my daily schedule in progress. I'm trying this one out to see how it works for me. Once I get in the habit of doing this, I'll add the 15 minutes of zone cleaning.

Monday: Clean sheet day. Vacuum and pick up bedrooms.
Tuesday: Bathrooms
Wednesday: Garden upkeep
Thursday: Grocery & Dusting
Friday: Mopping (kitchen, bathrooms, mudroom)
Weekend: Projects, Animal housing chores, & more Garden upkeep


----------



## debik70

I have to say I love the Flylady system. I really needed this. At time I would feel so overwhelmed that I wouldn't do anything. Now I realize I don't have to be perfect and neither does my house. It's clean and I can have people over now. I find the zones and structure very helpful. If it takes you longer than an hour for the home blessing so be it.


----------



## hoggie

I find flylady to be a slightly mixed blessing.

A few years ago I followed it religiously, and it was FANTASTIC. I DID have to rush to do the home blessing (and I live in a small apartment). But I did the run around and the place did "clean itself" after a while. It seemed so effortless. Then I had "flu" for to weeks and the routines fell apart. I never ever managed to pick them up again. I have finally started again this month and am starting to feel it happen again. The kitchen and entrance hall are tidy and clean - and I know by the end of the month I will feel able to "open the door to anyone".

I do feel though that it is a system that needs to work for "you". To me the days for the various chores (errands, clean out car etc) just didn't fit. So I swapped them around to suit myself. Sometimes life would "happen" and the home blessing didn't all get done - so I would finish it the next day or so. 

I think if you are a naturally organised person, it would proably drive you nuts. If you are obsessively tidy, or (like me) obsessively untidy , then it is a good system. Once you ahve the system under your belt you can change it around as much as you like.

I know I struggled ot do my bed in 10 mins - and I am GOOD at beds - so people having lots of kids must really struggle. I guess the best bet is to have them do their own - even the youngest kids can strip their own and put their own pillow cases on?

have fun 

hoggie


----------

