Still Flyin'...I promise!

Well, it's been a crazy couple of days, and they're only going to get crazier these next few weeks. I meant to post on Thursday, but I was packing. Friday, DH and the two younger kiddos drove out to spend the evening with DS1 and his Boy Scout troop at camp. They had dinner for the families that could make it. The camp was wonderful and I was absolutely thrilled that DS was having a blast at camp! This was his first extended time away from us and he had been SO apprehensive all summer. We stayed (at a hotel, lol) overnight and picked him up yesterday morning. It was actually on the other side of the state from us, so we made a day of it - explored a bit.

I did leave hot spots in the kitchen after we got home, nor did I shine my sink. I'm not feeling well and I think I may need to get checked today. We are leaving for 2 1/2 weeks of vacation in 4 days, so I need to get well! Hopefully, at some point today I'll feel up to cleaning those up. The counters won't be bad, but I have TWO bags of dirty scout laundry that I refuse to wash with our regular loads, ICK.

Time to get the house moving and get ready for church.

Have a great day and keep FLYing!!

Day 9 - How am I doing?

I woke up this morning feeling the need to really take a good hard look at how my baby steps are going. Today is Day 9 - declutter a few minutes at a time. Since I have been doing major decluttering already, I think I'm good here. Flylady says to do it just a few minutes at a time. I'm waaaaaay more than a few minutes, but I'm not doing it all at once. A few minutes here and there, throughout the day, has made a WORLD of difference in my kitchen!

Next, I'm moving into the dining room. My main struggle with this room is papers - school papers to be exact. I have got boxes of papers stored along the wall. I'll show you some pix in a bit. It is so hard for me to part with anything that has belonged to my kids. I have just about nothing from when I was growing up (long story that I'll share sometime). It has bugged me for a long time, I'd love to see some of my drawings from when I was little - or even photos! I have so little. As time has passed, however, I became acutely aware that our stuff (papers, toys, clutter) was controlling us and that feeling is far worse than not having any physical connections to my past. My connections are in the here and now - my babies (13, 10 and 5) and my sweet & wonderful hubby! THAT is who I live for now, not the past, not something I have absolutely no control over. I can control, and beat, the CHAOS!!

So, how AM I doing? Here's where I should be baby steppin'...

Morning Routine

- Get up and get dressed to lace up shoes; fixing your hair and face
(I've been good about getting dressed to shoes, I'm getting better at doing my hair & face)
- Looking at your posted reminders in the kitchen and bathroom
(I actually look forward to FLYing as I'm waking!)
- Reading 2 minutes of reminders
(Yep-I'm good here, I'm not just deleting them, lol)
- Recognizing the negative voices and changing them; YOU ARE FLYing NOW!
(This will take continual work, my above post has been quite enlightening for me-I actually learned more about myself as I typed it)
- Put out your Hot Spots for 2 minutes
(I am loving tending my, now clear, hot spots!)

Before Bed Routine

- Keep your sink shining
(I'll give myself a 97% on this, I know I know....)
- Lay out your clothes for tomorrow
(Yes! It has helped me to move it to a better time in my day)
- Put out your Hot Spot
(Youbetcha!)

Not too shabby!! Now to finish my Morning Routine....have a great day!

Here goes...an official "before" shot...

Well, but first how about the final "after" picture from yesterday! Heh heh - YES, Bernice, we do actually use the breadmaker. I'd just move whatever was in my way just long enought to run the loaf. ?!? WHY ?!? It is SO nice to actually be able to use the counters!! Now to find a cute little countertop lamp so I can repurpose the teddy bear nightlight...



Ok, here you go...oh dear... (blushing...)

BUT, with a little effort, lookie:

In the process of excavating I unearthed three disposable cameras and four rolls of film waiting to be developed. It should be interesting to see how old these really are!

Yes, the bread has a home, but since I'm currently battling sugar/pavement ants I'm leaving that cabinet empty. Check out my funky (formerly ALL white) discolored toaster - I was married in '91 and this still has "made in West Germany" printed on it! I'll be so sad when I have to replace it. I would love to house most/all my appliances in cabinets, but that will take some major purging of cabinets and right now I'm focusing on the visible problems. I'd just like to be able to invite someone in the house and not be horribly embarrassed.

There was one other hot spot to the right of the stove, but I was on a roll yesterday and started clearing it. I have probably only 1/2 hr left and it will be good to go! DH has his own hot spot, but I'm not going near that. After almost 18 years I know to choose my "battles" wisely, lol.

Later today I'll start working on the DR table. I'm not sure I'll get up the nerve to take a "before" picture or not....

Have a good day!

Day 8 - Found my binder!

Well, today, Day 8, is time to get a binder and put paper in it. Oddly enough, I knew exactly where my Flylady binder was! It's ready to go with paper & sheet protectors, but the daily lists need some updating. I've already put Monday in and as I make a current list for each day this week I'll add a copy to my binder. Even though I usually update my Word file directly I know I'm the low man on the totem pole when it comes to computer time, lol.

Now to not obsess over the Weather Channel as my DS1 is camping with the Boy Scouts and I know they just got thumped with some thunderstorms.
:-(

I should have taken a "before" picture

This is actually the "after" shot. This was one of my ginormous hot spots in the kitchen. I still have a bit of work to do here, but I can see (and use) the counter! The only spot that was clear was the path to remove the coffee pot (me, minus morning coffee, equals not pretty, lol). I will continue to work on this and share the offical after pic when I get there. I am so thrilled with how much work I got done!!

Stay tuned-I'll try and get up the nerve to take a before picture of my next kitchen hot spot. (please be kind.....)

Day 7 - Picking out my what?!?

Hmmm...so today is Day 7. Flylady's advice is to lay out my clothes the night before. That's another one I've never been very good at. Well, I was when I was working outside the home, but now I'm "just" a SAHM. My uniform is pretty much the same every day - cruddy tshirt and shorts/pants/sweats. The cruddy tshirt is clean, mind you (and folded!), but I have stained so many shirts, I don't ever wear anything "good" around the house anymore.

I guess I should still lay them out, right? The day that I really need to have done this is Sunday mornings as we're trying to get the family out to church. Oh my....I just had a lightbulb moment. Sooooo, if I get into the habit of laying out my clothes every night, then come Saturday night I'll be more apt to actually DO it. There's no particular urgency to do it the other 6 nights, but they are what will help me establish the foundation, the HABIT.

I think I'll try a little spin on this - I am going to move my "picking out my clothes" to my morning routine, rather than leaving it for the evening. I'm so focused on getting the kids to bed at night that I really need an abbreviated evening routine.

Days 4, 5 and 6

Well, since I already have my reminders written down I guess I get to fast forward a little bit. I keep a file on the computer that I update each day. I find it a little more "fun" to highlight an item that I have completed rather than cross it out. It's easier to use seasonal colors that way, lol!

Hmm, nagging voices. I've had a LOT of nagging through the years - and it's always been my voice. It's really been quite difficult to change-but I'm working on that. Funny, as I've gotten older it's been easier to see that those people that keep a "perfect" house have clutter in other, unseen, parts of their lives. Other than my house, I am really quite happy with my family and my life!! Well, there is the body clutter, but that's a WHOLE other post for another day....

I need to remember that Christ died for me-He thinks I'm worth it! As always, I must trust in Him!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Now here is one of my major stumbling blocks - hot spots! We are all SO BAD about them. Since I'm working on clearing out those unwanted visitors in my kitchen, today I will clear one hot spot from the kitchen counters. I've already worked on quite a bit, but I have 3 piles to go. I will not get overwhelmed, just one pile today. Heh heh....clearing piles makes me smile....it rhymes!