FLYlady &1950's woman.

Day 7.

Well So far so good!

I have been following the FLYlady's babysteps religiously for a week. My house looks great and I feel so proud of myself! I've added the extra 15 minutes declutter to my every day routine also and it's all combined to make our house more of a home. There's no more stressed out Mummy when hubby comes home from work and the kids are even getting more attention. 

I know that should someone just pop over my house that I would not be too embarrassed (ok so I do want to shampoo my carpet before any VIP turns up but my family doesn't care about that sort of stuff!) My sink is shiny (one or two dishes next to the sink is acceptable and much better that a full days worth like it used to be!), my kitchen bench is wiped down and the clutter is kept to a minimum by my "hot spot" cleaning everyday. My table has only our water bottles on it and a lovely bunch of daisy like flowers. My desk is not overflowing with "to do/read/put away" stuff and the lounge room is free of mess.

In the interest of complete disclosure tho, I have stopped wearing lace up shoes for the last 2 days. I am however wearing some slip on shoes and being vigilant in that I don't take them off till I knock off (after the kids go to bed and the only thing I have left to do is have a shower and shine my sink!). My feet just couldn't handle the heat. I mean is 40 degrees C today c'mon! I think that FLYlady is right about the theory behind lace up shoes, that it makes you do just that little bit more than usual - rather than kicking your shoes of and end up sitting down all arvo. However I think once the habit is made, shoes are shoes - as long as you pretend that you can't take them off easily it wont matter (as long as its not thongs- aka flip flops - I think thongs affect your psyche!

Not bad considering that I have a 5.5yr old and a 2.5yr old at home full time (school starts full time in a week for my 5.5yr old! WOOHOO), I've got pregnancy nausea bouts kicking me along with the first trimester fatigue (no- its more than tiredness - its fatigue - think about it - I'm growing a WHOLE NEW PERSON!) and I have a cold.

Also while decluttering this week I have managed to put together 15 shopping bags of clothes, shoes and assorted bits and pieces to donate to the local charity box. My old clothes will do someone a heck of alot better than cluttering up the bottom of my wardrobe! 

So in 7 days I have managed to change my life. I'm more positive than I've ever been, I feel proud of myself, I feel I've done some good to a deserving charity, my kids and hubby are happier & I feel virtuous & worthy of respect! Yey for me!

FLYlady

Today is day 2 of my attempting the FLYlady program.

Last night I took the first step with "SHINE YOUR SINK". It looks fabulous. I was very proud of myself. I was up late doing it - but I did it. My sink is so shiny I can see my blurry self looking back at me!

Today I followed step 2 "GET DRESSED TO YOUR SHOES". I have to admit having read the purpose behind it made alot of sense and gave me that old feeling "well duh - why didn't I think of that?" Tonight I will maintain my shiny sink.

You see I've been looking online for months on how to be a better "50's Housewife" and I've been doing better than ever before. But.....I've found that occasionally I let it slide. So I was looking online for inspiration and guidance to keep me on track.

One of the ways I've been doing better is by keeping and maintaining my http://organizedhome.com/  Household Notebook/folder. It's helped me keep ontop of all the outings I've had to make (in combination with my awesome IPHONE - more on that later), the chores for the day & the meal planning/grocery shopping. The daily planner I now use is here .

My IPHONE's calender has been great for reminding me (thank you alarm/reminder function) for checking and making appointments when I'm not at home and it even makes my computer beep at me when I have to get ready for something. This week tho, I will also be adding the Cozi Calender to my Iphone as recommended by FLYlady.  I love that its an individual & a family calender, holds shopping lists that you can check items on and holds as many To do lists that you want. The best part is that I can be anywhere and check &/or edit those things while hubby can  log on at work and do the same thing.....he can also see that I've made an appointment he needs to attend or the list of things I want him to pickup on his way home.

FLYlady so far has really impressed me with her logical approach to making this easier. Nuggets of wisdom abound the site such as:
Make it a habit - so you don't have to think about it (something I'll need when I'm sleep deprived with bubs #3).
Start slowly so you don't discourage yourself - learn only 3 things at once.
Don't be hard on yourself - your only human.
You'd be surprised at how much you can do in 15 minutes!!!
Being a perfectionist can be whats holding you back from a happy home - you'll honestly feel better if its done wrong than if it's not done at all (when it comes to cleaning).
CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) is something I want gone from my life and ....
Clutter makes it harder to keep it clean - time to declutter & how!

OK so by now your probably wondering "WTF is a FLYlady"? Well simply its the lady who created the systems nickname (she likes fly fishing and considers herself a lady) but it also describes some of the things you start to do as you develop more and more positive habits. You take "FLYing Lessons" (Finally Loving Yourself) as you achieve more habits you can feel more and more proud of yourself! Something most of us could use!

So this is my gauntlet. I've thrown it down for myself. I started yesterday with something very simple - I made my sink shine. Today I got dressed to my shoes (check out her website for why shoes) and will keep my sink shiny. Tomorrow I will do the same. I will make positive habits a part of my life!

What are you doing to make your life the way you want it to be?

Quick Update.

Not in order - here is a quick view at my last few months.
1.       Had a great Christmas. Was spoilt rotten and spoiled my kids rotten too. We refuse to apologise for being consumerists. Did spend time making sure we appreciated the holiday spirit and the meaning behind the tinsel tho.
2.      Was crazy busy! Finally calmed down recently but I've been too fatigued/nauseated to make use of the free time so haven't managed to keep my house to the way I like it. Very embarrassing.
3.      New Years was great! New years resolutions made. Small BBQ with my Dad and Sam's brothers was nice. Was not impressed finding the Nintendo Wii full of coins tho!
4.      Travis has been put on Dexamphetamines for ADHD and is responding wonderfully. If you don't believe in either - I don't want to hear about it! We've seen GP's, a social worker, a paediatrician, a clinical phsyc, an Occupational Therapist, tried soooo many other "programs" and well meant suggestions over the years. We will keep trying tho and hope that one day he'll out grow the condition or his need for meds. If not - we'll still love him and try to be the best parents we can be. In the meantime - at least he can sit still long enough to get a decent education!
5.       I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant according to the doc (I bet you guessed that when I said I was nauseated didn't you!). Scan to follow in a week or so. We are thrilled and don't mind what sex the baby is - we just want them/it/he/she/jelly bean healthy! I'm due around the 10th of September 2011. This will make 3 kids out of the 4 that we eventually want to have. I'm doing ok but can't wait till the 2nd trimester begins and the nausea, fatigue & dizzy waves pass and I start to look pregnant.
6.       My nephew was born on Christmas Eve........Fox is amazing and we all adore him. I have to beg and fight for cuddles. Imzadi is handling it quite well (in no small part to Jo's wonderful guidance/parenting).
7.      I love Kaz Cooke. What can I say? The girl just tickles my funny bone in a way that has me rushing for the bathroom. She brings funny to a subject that no one else dares to while being unbiased, informative and reliable!
8.      My daughter just put the kitten in her dolly's shirt ......hmmmm better go help him out....

Love you all!
xoxoxoxo