# FlyLady



## Country Lady (Oct 2, 2003)

I'm wondering how many of you follow www.flylady.com for your cleaning. How does it work out for you?


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

*sigh*

FlyLady is one of my on-going failures. I start her. I fizzle out. I start up again. I fizzle out...
But I have to say, anytime I'm starting up again, I always go back to FlyLady. She just makes the most sense, for me.


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## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

I just started for the second time - I'm on Day 5 of the Beginner Baby Steps. The first time it didn't work out for me, but this time I think it will, especially since DH is totally on board with the most important part - the shiny sink. It's so weird how the shiny sink *really* works! Once I saw that I could actually keep the kitchen sink (and worktops) clean all the time for a few days, I really started to believe that it might actually be possible to keep the rest of my house clean too! 

I also really like the fact that you don't have to think about what needs doing, because the emails tell you what to work on today, this week, this month. I found myself thinking today "I'll have a lot of work to do when FlyLady tells me to start on the basement/utility area because it will mean I have to actually organize all my cases of canning jars! But I don't have to worry about it this week, because this week we're working on the master bedroom."

Jan


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

I love flylady! I found her emails very motivating.


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## Lynn Bodoni (Feb 10, 2008)

I tried it, and it didn't work out for me. For one thing, if I'm cleaning, I'm cleaning. If I'm on my computer, it's because I either want to play on it for a while (and can't really get up every couple of minutes to do a chore) or I'm working, and REALLY can't drop everything and do a chore. I know what needs to be done. My problem is finding the energy to do things. I have medical issues.

Her chirpy attitude annoys me, too. She sounds like a kindergarten teacher, and I've never responded well to that, even when I WAS in kindergarten. Now that I'm an adult, I really don't appreciate that tone. Just entirely too cutesy for me.

However, I've heard from other people that she and her system work quite well for them, so it's very much "your milage may vary".


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## Tilly (Oct 16, 2007)

I pick and choose what I want to follow on her program. I unsubscribed to the e-mails because they made me feel like a failure. but that was just me. I really do like going on her website when I feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start. Then I just jump in with whatever they are working on.

Tilly


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## Country Lady (Oct 2, 2003)

Thanks Everyone. Your different viewpoints have been very informative.


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## redbudlane (Jul 5, 2006)

There is a really neat organizer at http://simplemom.net/daily-docket You can use it for household chores, errands, etc.

I have found that keeping my kitchen as cleaned up as humanly possible (with 3 boys in the house all day every day) helps me keep the rest of the house in better shape. Unfortunately, I put in a white sink because I thought it would be prettier than the stainless steel. It it impossible to keep it looking clean! I'm saving for a new SS sink asap.

Don't think about laundry, just do it. We assign a laundry day to each family member and the boys are expected to do their own unless I happen to be in the mood to help fold it. Wipe down the shower while you are taking one. Wipe off the bathroom sink when you finish brushing your teeth in the morning. Put things away as you go, don't pile. This is my worst habit.


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## Lynn Bodoni (Feb 10, 2008)

One of my friends is really into Flylady. She ordered the book off the website, and was disappointed to find that all the info she just paid for was available on the website.

I will tell you this, Flylady and the Sidetracked Home Executive sisters base their systems on a tickler file system, and you can do the same thing. For a home maintenance tickler file, many systems use 4 X 6 cards, rather than 3 X 5.


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## ejagno (Jan 2, 2008)

Lynn is absolutely correct. For those of you that get sidetracked having to check the computer for instructions, find her instructions not suitable to your situation or get annoyed at the sassy tone she projects then set up a file of your very own using index cards, monthly and daily dividers and a box to put them in. Go room to room and using just plain paper write down every single thing that needs to be done in this room to get and keep it in optimal condition. Decide whether this should be done daily, every other day, bi-weekly, weekly, monthly, quarterly and so on. Include any special instructions on this card.
Example:
*Vacuum Living Room Bi-Weekly(Fri.-Mon)
Dust carpet with Lavender Essential Oil/Baking Soda freshener
Pre-treat any spots prior to vacuuming
Don't forget to vacuum under area rug on Mondays
Empty the vacuum cleaner catch basin and return to closet.*

Now each Monday I pull this task, complete it then file it under Friday since this is the next date that this needs to be completed. It is such a great feeling to move these tasks because even on a rough day it's nice to know that something was accomplished, no matter how small. If you cannot get the task completed then at the end of the day simply move the card to the front of the next scheduled date on Friday and this will be the first task you work on then. We are not robots and we are not perfect but this certainly helps to keep us focused and on task.
The idea is that you don't have to keep all of these details in your head and at any given point should you fall ill or delegate chores then everything is written down for whoever is assuming the task. These little things seem trivial because we do them so often but the truth is, we often get busy and overlook the same details repeatedly then we get frustrated because we work so hard yet something relatively insignificant such as vacuuming under the area rug has turned into sod under there.

This tickler file is your command post and should contain every single task needed from dr.'s appointments to having the chimney cleaned professionally. My oil changes, meal plans, personal projects, Christmas preparations and bill paying is also included. I don't use the cards but I do use my daily planner as my tickler file. Now I don't forget to change the a/c filter anymore which use to cost me a minimum of $186 to have the unit cleaned from this simple neglect of changing the filter. 

Every day I open it up to todays page and I know what needs to be handled without worrying if I'm forgetting an appointment, a task or someone's birthday. I have a separate one for gardening that details what tasks are done each day so that I can stay on top of it doing it in small bits instead of spending weekends breaking my back to do it all.


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## Country Lady (Oct 2, 2003)

I finally have a tentative control journal which I started on Monday. Of course half the day yesterday was spent taking care of a necessary appointment, so I'm already behind with my journal. However, I feel good that I have a written plan to work from.


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## shellbug (Jul 3, 2005)

I love FlyLady, but I never get very far. Apparently cooperation is a dirty word in my house. I get my nice shiny sink and then I can't get everyone to not put their dishes in it!!! I get distracted by all the emails too and have bought a FlyLady Book. I have trouble with the decluttering because I always think I will need that stuff (and sometimes I do!). Of course, picking up entire yard sales of stuff off the side of the road and dumpster diving don't help keep clutter down either. While you are sorting through all of the stuff to see what you need to keep/sell/donate/recycle, etc. it can be a big mess!!! My DH won't help at all, and if I have a certain activity (purse cleaning or whatever) scheduled, he wants me to stop and do stuff with him. Of course, I work full time and he is home all day, so I don't know why I should be the one doing all the cleaning, but that's the way it goes at my house.
Shellbug


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## luv2farm (Feb 15, 2008)

I have followed her system off and on for years.....I just cant keep up, and I end up putting unnecessary stress on myself and my family. But, I do like the general principle of her program. The problem I had was, she didn't "assign" a week to clean the barn or the chicken house. There is no daily time to milk, gather eggs, feed the stock. If ALL I had to do was what she listed........I'd be doing great and could keep up with her.


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## House faerie (Apr 29, 2007)

Plus, I have youny folks who take turns each night w/ the dishes and sink... that throws things off...


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## Country Lady (Oct 2, 2003)

I don't have outside animals to take care of, but we have a large place to keep up, so I have to spend a lot of time outside, other than making my flower beds pretty. I've been trying to follow FlyLady's plan, but I haven't kept up either, but the house looks so much better than it did, therefore, it makes me feel better. I plan to keep attempting to follow FlyLady as best I can.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

Maybe someone can come up with a FlyLady schedule that fits homesteaders?


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## Lynn Bodoni (Feb 10, 2008)

luv2farm said:


> I have followed her system off and on for years.....I just cant keep up, and I end up putting unnecessary stress on myself and my family. But, I do like the general principle of her program. The problem I had was, she didn't "assign" a week to clean the barn or the chicken house. There is no daily time to milk, gather eggs, feed the stock. If ALL I had to do was what she listed........I'd be doing great and could keep up with her.





Sonshine said:


> Maybe someone can come up with a FlyLady schedule that fits homesteaders?


 You'll have to tailor her system to your particular needs. For instance, add in a daily time to feed the stock and gather eggs, and a twice daily time to milk. Divide your house and barn zones into five sections, just as she has divided her house into five zones.

Go look at my previous post about tickler files.  Make up a tickler file system that works for YOU. I have found it useful to post a note on my kitchen door of daily stuff that HAS to be done. For instance, I MUST take my medications, do at least one load of dishes, and finish up one load of laundry. If I'm caught up on laundry, I pick a random task and do that instead. Random tasks are things like cleaning out my purse, straightening my library (I tend to pull books out, read them, and then stick them back in the nearest bookshelf, instead of where they belong), and little things like that.

Anyway, get a bunch of file cards and a box that fits them. I recommend 4X6 cards, 3X5 is just too small for a lot of stuff. Write down what you need to do, how to do it, and how often you need to do it. Here's a couple of examples:

Dishwasher Daily (with a larger family, 3Xday)

Unload dishwasher. Load with detergent. Scrape dirty dishes, arrange in dishwasher. If no one is going to take a shower anytime soon, turn it on.


Laundry Daily (or more often)

Separate laundry according to color and care. DO NOT put red items in with the whites. Select the largest load, or whatever needs to be cleaned first. Set washer according to temperature, care (sturdy cotton vs. delicate knit), and fill level. Use lowest fill level first, allow empty washer to fill and add soap. Let agitate a bit so that the soap is distributed. Add laundry, reset fill level, add bleach if needed. Let cycle run. Transfer to dryer (or hang to dry), setting heat and care as needed. Remove PROMPTLY from dryer, and hang up or fold before the wrinkles set in. For towels, washcloths, and socks, set laundry basket beside husband who has his rear parked in front of the TV, and let HIM deal with it.


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## Lynn Bodoni (Feb 10, 2008)

Also, you have to remember, FlyLady is designed and aimed at mostly suburban stay-at-home moms, who aspire to be happy homemakers. She isn't really aiming at people who have outside jobs, or who are homesteading. She mostly doesn't work for me because I DON'T want to be a happy homemaker. Sure, I want a clean house, and I'll work for it, but DON'T EXPECT ME TO BE HAPPY ABOUT CLEANING HOUSE. Cleaning house is just about at the bottom of things I want to do. I only clean house because the alternative is worse.


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## Sarabeth (Sep 14, 2008)

I also have several friends who swear by flylady. When I first heard the whole "She changed my life" thing I decided to check her out. 

I appreciate what she is saying, and that she makes it easier for the 'average' stay at home (not homesteader). But I too found it a bit overwhelming. 

What I did take from flylady is this: *Remember to thank yourself for the little jobs. Think of them as a present to yourself. What I mean is this: when I do get the sink shiny, and keep the counters clean, when I go into the kitchen I say 'Thanks Sarah! Looks great!' 

Also, something I always used to do (sometimes I still slip!) is go to bed with the kitchen messy. Then I would spend at least 20 minutes the next morning cleaning up yesterday's mess (mornings are hectic enough with breadfast/school etc). I try to remember to consciously thank myslef in the morning when I wake up to a clean kitchen. I say 'Thanks Sarah! You just gave yourself a present of 30 minutes today!' I know it sounds cheesy, but it does help me stay on track. The daily emails were too much for me though, and I'm not sure I'm ready for a file system yet either. I am trying to be content with the clean kitchen and bathroom for now. I will say that when those two rooms become part of a regular routine, it doesn't really seem like such a chore, and I do have a few more free minutes in the day.

Oh, that's the other thing I do is clean (or try to) the bathroom while I'm doing stuff in the bathroom in the morning. When I'm brushing my teeth, put away stuff left of the counter (dh's deodorant/glasses, etc.). While dd is going potty, be sure towels are hung up, close shower curtain, hang up bathmat etc. When I'm done, spray the mirror and sink and wipe them out and wipe off counter. It doesn't take any extra time, and when I walk out of the bathroom, it's clean (most days!) Keep a bottle of cleaner and rags or paper towels under the sink. 

Ok - enough wisdom from me! Good luck.... 

Sarah *


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## Cookie Monster (Apr 5, 2008)

I find Fly Lady to be the gentle kick in the hind end to get me to do all those things I hate to do. But it's all about routines. I used the system to get me to do a few things daily... like a load of laundry, doing the dishwasher first thing in the morning, getting myself "dressed to shoes" (harder than it sounds sometimes!), thinking about what's for dinner in the morning so I put stuff out to thaw, and giving the kitchen a good wipe down. 

Also, I use her weekly prompts, like cleaning out the car, spending an hour on Mondays to dust, vacuum, deep sweep, clean mirrors, toss out newspapers and magazines. 

Once I get these things to be a HABIT, I'm pretty good. But I need the motivation to make them habit. I don't follow her strictly, but I'm glad I stuck with her to make a few habits. It makes my life much easier and my house much more livable. Others can do these things themselves...I need to be told. I was glad to find the flylady Web site because it was an easy way of being told to get up and go do something.


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## Lawbag (May 10, 2005)

I try every so often to follow the program, but then I fall off the wagon. I need to really work on adapting it to the "work outside the home full time, go to grad school part time, try to homestead and have lots of inside and outside animals" lifestyle.

I think that the most important thing that anyone can learn from the Flylady is that "housework done incorrectly still blesses your family." This has become my mantra because I tend to be a perfectionist and if I can't do housework perfectly, I tend to not do it. So I take babysteps, my house isn't perfect, but every little baby step taken helps.


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## Caitedid (Jun 2, 2004)

Lawbag- That's my mantra too. Even if the kitchen floor is filthy again 5 minutes after I mop, it's still cleaner than it would have been. I find the "I can do anything for 5 minutes" to be INCREDIBLY helpful. I find that with a lot of my projects around the farm I put them off because I think it will take a lot of time, so either they get worse and actually do take a lot of time, or I plan on it taking half an hour and it takes less than three minutes. We're going to start doing her missions more regularly here, and I do the kid's missions too. Caite


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

Lynn Bodoni said:


> Also, you have to remember, FlyLady is designed and aimed at mostly suburban stay-at-home moms, who aspire to be happy homemakers. She isn't really aiming at people who have outside jobs, or who are homesteading.


I tried Flylady towards the end of last year. Day one was fine - got the shiny sink. Day 2 was weird. Dress to laced up shoes in the morning? Er, I've already been out to feed the chickens and in a few minutes I've got to get to work - of course I'm wearing shoes! A lot of things are not geared toward a working, homesteading person.

Just recently I thought I would start it again. But now we are remodeling and we don't have a kitchen sink (seriously). I couldn't stop laughing when I read the website again. But still, there are good tips on there.


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

I use a version of Motivated Moms ( http://www.motivatedmoms.com/ ) modified to work for our household.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

r93000 said:


> I use a version of Motivated Moms ( http://www.motivatedmoms.com/ ) modified to work for our household.


I downloaded her page a day, half-sized planner (with Bible readings) and have to say it's going swimmingly! I like the check boxes and if something doesn't get checked, it doesn't get checked :shrug:

I froo-frooed it up with some clipart (pre-printed on my pages, then print the planner over top) because I figured out many moons ago things are more fun when they're pretty to look at. 
It's sized right to clip right into my Day Runner (which has a cute little quilted cover I made last year). I printed her planner on the front of a half-sheet of paper. 
On the back, I've printed an Emergent Task Planner from the Printable CEO. Between the two, i have space to track everything I need to be doing in a day.

I've kept it up for about a week, and it's been super!


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## r93000 (Mar 9, 2009)

ErinP said:


> I downloaded her page a day, half-sized planner (with Bible readings) and have to say it's going swimmingly! I like the check boxes and if something doesn't get checked, it doesn't get checked :shrug:
> 
> I froo-frooed it up with some clipart (pre-printed on my pages, then print the planner over top) because I figured out many moons ago things are more fun when they're pretty to look at.
> It's sized right to clip right into my Day Runner (which has a cute little quilted cover I made last year). I printed her planner on the front of a half-sheet of paper.
> ...



Awesome! I really like ours since I'm a list maker  Plus the kiddos can do many of the daily "chores" and check them off on their own! I've used it for a little over a year, so I've been able to eliminate some things and add others that need doing on different schedules. I also used the same style of plan to make laminated check lists that I hand on the back of bathroom and bedroom doors, so that the kiddos have an easy reference to be sure that they did everything in order for it to be a "clean" room :happy:


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