Making a Routine That Works

I meant to post this yesterday, but here it is today. Let's talk about actually creating and implementing your cleaning routine.


I recommend the Flylady because she tackles what the major issue is first. CLUTTER. Without addressing the clutter issues in your home you will have a hard time maintaining any semblance of order and it makes every task take 30 minutes longer.

Now I'll admit her website is REALLY overwhelming so let's just break it down a bit. I recommend taking some "Mommy Time" at your local coffee shop or happy place to sit down and figure all this out.


As overwheming as it may be print out the following from the Flylady website:

Zone Cleaning Lists 
Weekly Checklist
Before Bed/Morning Routines


With these things, start a Housekeeping Binder. I actually keep mine in my coupon binder. You can put your grocery list or to do list in it and any other useful household information. It sounds a tad ridiculous, but if you have these in a special place that you can get to easily, you will check it often, I keep mine on top of the microwave, or by my wall calendar in the kitchen.


Start asking yourself:


"What areas give me the most trouble?"
"What do I hate/love cleaning?"
"What doesn't apply to me?"
"What do I need to add?"
"What can I get rid of?"


Go through each list and modify as needed. Reprint with your changes and make sure you are being REALISTIC! Then get started!

What I love about the Flylady is that you can jump in wherever you are. We are in Zone 4 right now, the master bedroom. You can start today by just doing your 15 minute decluttering sessions a few days this week. Learn to declutter here.

Once you get a few rooms decluttered (this will take a few weeks) you will start to notice that rooms stay cleaner longer and it's easier to get the rooms in order.
 
There are definitely weeks where I fall behind, but it almost always ends in a Crisis Cleaning session to get me back on track. My life is SO MUCH easier, when I just stick to my plan. I have more time with my children and more time to do the things I enjoy.

I hope these past two days haven't been too boring, and I hope that everyone can get on board with this :)

ADITLO - A Day In The Life of ME - Clean House Version

When I was preggo with Isabela I was active on a mommy message board and we used to do ADITLO all the time, mostly about our kids. I thought this would be a fun way to demonstrate how my cleaning routine works and hopefully it can help you figure out a routine that works for you. 

I know I tend to stress a "routine" for your housework. Sorry if it's overkill, but it works! I'm going on my second year of being a SAHM and this makes life EASIER. I share because I hope some mommy out there "get's it" and starts to enjoy life, instead of being stuck under a mess with their kids (no fun!).

So I have been really diligent with my routine so there isn't much mayhem and destruction to see...go figure...hope this helps!

7:00am - woke up to a very clean kitchen! Except for one pan (seriously needed an overnight soak) my kitchen was SPARKLING this lovely morning.

I check my weekly checklist and Zone plan daily to see where I am and plan what I want to accomplish.

Got my dishes put away in preparation for washing breakfast dishes.

Bed gets made and I shower and get ready for the day.

 It's only 8:45 and I realize I have over an hour till Pilates and the kids are fed AND dressed. It's a miracle!

 I was a slacker and didn't finish folding laundry last night. It stays on the bed so we can go play! (Don't forget to make time for fun!)

 More coffee for mommy :)

We play and then pack up to go to the gym! Because we were outside, the kids couldn't make a mess, but I will usually make sure the main living areas are tidy before I leave.

My floors need sweeping, but I clear away any toys before I head out.

 I toss some diapers in the wash before I head out as well :-/

11:30am - home and ready for lunch!

Lunch mess! Not too bad today (i'll try for more goo next time)

Let me interject here a note about the importance of cleaning the kitchen after EVERY MEAL. Believe it or not, I got this from Kate Gosselin. Even considering I handwash my dishes it took me less than 10 minutes to tidy the kitchen including sweeping the floor. Doing this after even the small meals, make the cleaning the kitchen in the evening a BREEZE!


While I tidy, the kids play together, also helps Isabela burn off some energy before she goes down for a nap.

1:00pm - Bela is down for a nap, but she decides to be a party animal for 45 minutes. Usually Lenny sits down and does a shapes or numbers worksheet, but he is still bouncy, so Lenny helps me sweep and dust my room, my zone task for today.


1:45pm - Lenny is down for a nap and I continue dusting the picture rail on the wall and around the windows. I plan to paint the trim this week...we'll see, haha!

 Sometime after 2pm, it's mommy time! Sneak peak at my latest project other than my quilt :)

 An hour and a half later, I'm done with sewing for the day and get my laundry put away. Woohoo.

The kids get up and we make a quick trip to Walmart and head home for an easy dinner of frozen Kashi pizzas (super good!) and salad.

Dinner Mess

I get the kids bathed and turn on their alphabet music CD so they can dance while I get the last bits of mess from the day cleaned up.

There wasn't much of a mess this evening because my kids slept till 4pm! Was hoping for some serious mayhem to show and an amazing after...no such luck.

 Before

 Before

 After

After

And my favorite part...

A clean kitchen!

It usually takes me about 15 minutes to go around the house and tidy things up. It's usually just toys and things so no biggie.

This was such a smooth day and the routine is REALLY starting to pay off for us. I am getting MUCH more time with the kids. We had time after baths and cleanup to play and watch Uncle Josh play in the Prayer Room :)

Lenny loves to watch "Ugle Josh play the ditar."

 If you made it this far, bless your heart! I hope this shows how following a method can make life easier with less time spent cleaning and more fun with the kids and family.


So how do you make a method work for you? Keep an eye out for my next post, which will be all about creating a routine that is PRACTICAL and works for your family.


Now go de-clutter something! And have an awesome day!

Good Habits to Change Your Life

When I first became a stay-at-home mom I was thrilled for the simple fact that I would be home enough to keep my house as orderly as I would like to.  I had visions of spending naptimes happily scrubbing grout with a toothbrush and every surface being free of dust and grime. Well, that dream went quickly out the window as it became apparent very quickly that two kids can WRECK a house in 5 seconds flat. This made for a very frustrated and upset mommy.

Now we know that we can make things fabulous 15 minutes at a time, but what about the rest of the time?  Are our bad habits continually creating the chaos we live in?  

One of my favorite things about the Flylady method is her Babysteps.  Adding one good habit everyday for 31 days.  Two of these habits completely changed my house and they seem insignificant, but I promise...they work!

Make your bed!  Seriously, your mother was right, you need to make your bed every morning.  Now I purposely moved the camera a bit to the right so you can see the clothes and stuff on the floor.  My room isn't perfect this morning, but the bed is made and the orderliness of the bed sort of overpowers the stuff on the floor.  This way, when I go to straighten my room later, it is much less overwhelming.  Does that make sense?

 

 SHINE your sink and keep it clear!  Your sink is not the dish collector.  I used to (on lazy nights) put all my dishes in the sink nicely stacked, intending to put them in the dishwasher the next morning.  The next morning I wake up to a cluttered sink that I can't use and an all around mess.  Plus, you are making a lovely breeding ground for bacteria (ew).  It takes 3 more seconds to put items in the dishwasher and if you have to put things in the kitchen quickly, put it on the counter.  I am much more likely to put away my dishes if they are on my counter staring at me.  You would be AMAZED at how clean your kitchen will stay if you do this.  TRY IT!

 

Now here is a little praise report (haha).  A few weeks ago I organized my tupperware.  I thought this was a futile effort and that it would be trashed again in a week.  Well over a month later and its still tidy!  Taking an extra 5 seconds to properly put my tupperware aware instead of opening the door, throwing stuff in without looking and moving on, has made a real difference.  Taking a couple extra seconds to do thing properly means LOTS of extra minutes for Jesus time, hubby time, or time to watch all those Tivo'd episodes of the Real Housewives :)

Now don't wait! Start TODAY.  Check out the baby steps link above, you start by shining your sink :)  Make it an awesome Wednesday everyone!

Crisis Cleaning

So yes, another post on cleaning.  So why do I post a lot about cleaning and organization and post photos of my messy house?  Well,  I have TWO toddlers and toddlers are messy.  But, I have found things that help me keep my house under control and I want to help and empower other mommies, wives and people in general to take charge of the clutter and mess.  This isn't about a perfect home.  It's about enjoying the space you live in and being ABLE to do that.

I had the perfect opportunity yesterday to try out the Flylady's Crisis Cleaning Routine.  Between my son being sick and being cooped up in the house more than usual...the house was definitely a bit limbed in.  It usually only gets this bad on the weekends when no one does what they are supposed to do.

Yes, there are two pieces of drywall in my living room.  Will someone please send us a shed or garage?

So let's talk about crisis cleaning.  This is perfect for when you have guests coming or you just have gotten a little behind and got a major mess brewing (or already brewed).  Follow the Flylady's instructions TO THE LETTER.  I have a hard time with getting side tracked and trying to deep clean everything (never leave me alone with bleach and a toothbrush).  It is very important to follow the instructions.  I'll talk you through what I did.

GET DRESSED TO SHOES!

Seriously!  This is important.  You aren't going to get revved up for the day hanging in your jammies.  

Starting in the kitchen, set your timer for 15 minutes and start by shining the sink and work your way out from there.  Unloading dishwasher, clearing counters, etc.  Stop at the timer and go to the living room.

Start your timer again.  Clear things that don't belong, remove trash.  Carry a little trash bag with you and a basket for items that go in other rooms.  You can put those away in a little bit.

If you need to, go back to the kitchen for another 15 minutes.  I actually didn't need to so I used the extra time to go back in the LR and DR and sweep.  If you need the time in the kitchen, don't sweep.

STOP!  Take a break!

Take a 15 minute break and marvel at what you have accomplished!

Move into the bathroom next, wiping counters, swish the potty, pick up laundry (DONT get sidetracked and start a load,, you can do that later).

If need be go back to the LR and continue straightening.  You can do the intervals every 15 minutes, taking a break every 45 minutes as long as you need to get the job done.  BUT, I promise if you have already been following the Flylady, it won't take that long.  It took me 45 minutes to get things in line.

Look!  All clean!  You can do it too!

And look! It's a mess again! Haha! I'm using my spare time to tackle the laundry I was lazy and didn't fold...we all have our days, but at least we can hop right back on board and make it a good one!

Tackle a mess at your house today :)  De-clutter a corner, clear off a desk.  ANYTHING can be done 15 minutes at a time :)

Just Do It!

Yesterday I hurriedly finished my daily chores and took a quick peek at my Weekly Chore List.  If you follow the Flylady you know that this is just a list of things that should be done in each room weekly to keep things clean.  I noticed that it was Thursday and I was REALLY behind on it.  So I had a choice.  The kids were still napping so I could either A) sit on my bum in my sorta clean house and try to do everything on Friday.  Or B) Get it done, out of the way.  So I chose B, considering a few of the things (cleaning out my freezer/fridge) haven't been done in a loooong time.

While I was cleaning out my freezer and thinking of how much easier this would be next week since I was getting it good and clean now, I had a thought.  I am the ultimate procrastinator, always have been.  How often do we sit and look at the same pile of junk whether physically or figuratively and keep thinking "tomorrow, next week, when my kids are older, when I have more energy, when I have more time, I don't have time..." the list goes on.

Well here's the kicker...sometimes you just have to DO IT.  Tired, with misbehaving children, and out of time.  And I am not just talking about cleaning.

Example:

After Isabela was born I was determined to lose the weight.  Having my kids pretty much back to back had totally wrecked me and left me pretty chunky.  I made a choice to make my health a priority and in doing that making my kid's future a priority.  Isabela was about 2-3 months old when we signed up for the YMCA and I began going 4-5 times a week.  It has been a slow and difficult process, I did it with no crazy diets, no fad supplements and I am nearing my target weight.  It feels REALLY good because I did it when it would have been easier to sleep in, my kids were cranky, when it took an hour just to get out of the house.  It is really something to be proud of.  Today, I feel amazing and have even started running again, something I haven't been able to do in ages.

Sometimes we as moms need to muster up a little girl power, get off the couch and say, I am AWESOME and I can do this! I'm not going to let my messy house rule my life, I am going to do something great for myself and I am not going to feel guilty about it!

Think about the accomplishments that have gotten you where you are.  I NEVER toot my own horn, but here I go.  I am a full time mom, a full time college student, I have a 4.0 GPA and have been on the President's list every semester, I have a blog (even if no one reads it),I love working out, I have lost probably over 35 lbs all by myself,  I have awesome kids and a great husband and a mostly clean house (thanks to the Flylady).  These are all AWESOME things.

Let's all determine to say "I'm going to do it NOW" everyday to one thing that we have been putting off.  Today, mine is mopping the bathroom floor.  It can be that small or something big like strapping those kids in the stroller and walking a mile.

We aren't promised tomorrow and I want to spend everyday being able to cross off something on my checklist and the one that God has for me.  

Life isn't about all the big decisions, it's really the small ones we make along the way that mold us and take us to the big decisions.  So off I go...gonna mop that bathroom floor.