FlyLady Ezines 2019

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

From the day we were born, as women we were told we could have it all; Career, family, home, and a satisfied life. No one gave us an instruction manual. We were just expected to do it all; bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. We did well with the first child we did everything the right way. But as the other children came along we began to lose control of our lives. We could no longer be perfect so we just gave up.

We were suffering from what I like to call Perfectionism Procrastination Paralysis. Henceforth known as PPP Syndrome.

Payroll FlyBabies who suffer with PPP Syndrome have several issues plaguing them.

A is for Arrogance, yes this is a characteristic of perfectionism. Our perfectionism keeps us thinking; this is too simple; it can't possibly work.

B is for Beaten Down. We have suffered for a long time. We have worried about what people think. We suffered in silence thinking we are the only one who didn't know how to keep house.

C is for Consistency. This is the one characteristic that we have but we don't know how to use effectively. We have been consistent at living in CHAOS. We have been consistent at ineffective habits. It is time to use this to our advantage.

D is for Decision. We are not good at making decisions. This is why we need someone, anyone to just tell us what to do.

E is for Eliminate. With our inability to make a decision we have trouble eliminating the clutter from our homes.

F is for Finish. Our perfectionism wants us to finish anything we start. This is how we have been taught. We can't help this but we can learn a new way of thinking. This is our home.

G is for Good. Good enough is good enough! Our perfectionism wants what ever we do to be perfect. You know how we can hyper-focus on scrubbing tile with a toothbrush. Don't let this paralyze you.

H is for Habit. That has been our problem, we don't have habits established. We don't know how to establish habits. We are here to help you.

I is for initiate. We have to get started someplace. Our arrogance says that what good will shining my kitchen sink do for his messy house. Go shine your sink! Then practice keeping it clean and shiny for a whole month. This is how you consistently establish habits.

J is for Jump. Jump in where we are. You are not behind. This is at the bottom of everyone of our emails. You don't have to see the top of the staircase to take the first step.

K is for Kind. Please be kind to yourself. You have been beaten up by others for a very long time. Please don't do this to yourself.

L is for Laugh. We have to learn to laugh at ourselves. This light-hearted attitude is contagious. Your family is going to think you have been kidnapped by aliens. No longer are you going to upset when an accident happens. You will be laughing and teaching the children how to clean it up. Be sure and video the clean-up.

M is for More. We don't need more stuff! We have enough. Less is more! Remember this when you go to store to buy more tubs to put your stuff in.

N is for Now! Stopping waiting for the right time to get started. Now is the time to let go of our perfectionism.

O is Overwhelmed. When we get overwhelmed, our brain shuts down. This is why we need to practice doing one thing at a time. Multitasking is not a virtue.

P is for Priceless. The feel of CHAOS leaving your home is priceless. Don't give up on this feeling!

Q is for Quickly. Just as your home did not get messy in a day; it is not going to quickly get clean. We have to take babysteps to insure that our habits can be strung into routines. Speaking of routines...

R is for Routines. Each month we practice a new habit. As these habits become automatic; it is easy to piggyback a new habit onto the established one. This is how we build routines.

S is for System. The FlyLady System can help you if you will follow our messages and don't allow your perfectionism to get in the way.

T is for Timer. A timer can help you get rid of your Don't Wannas! When you can't get started, then set your timer for 2 minutess, 5 minutes, or 15 minutes; and do a countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLASTOFF!

U is for Unite! Unite with other FlyBabies in our Facebook Community. Come together and help one another.

V is for voice. Your inner voice can be your worst enemy. Quiet those voices from the past. Someone said those ugly words to you. You are just repeating what you have heard.

W is for wrong. There is no wrong way to do things. There are inefficient ways but anything worth doing is worth doing wrong. I like to think about this as "Hit a lick at a snake!" Just do something. Anything is better than the nothing that you didn't yesterday.

X is for eXcited. I had to let go of my own perfectionism to come up with this one. Excitement puts a smile on your face. That smile tells your head that you are happy. Happy releases endorphins that make you feel good. If you make it fun, it will get done.

Y is for yesterday. Forget about yesterday! It is gone and you can't bring it back. All you have is the now and tomorrow. Your procrastination causes tomorrow to never come. Focus on the present. Do what you can today and don't worry about the past. The past will keep you stuck.

Z is for Zealot. Became a zealot about FLYing. Your home will soon be the place of peace you have been dreaming about. All it takes is a little doing! Don't get hung up by needing to know all the details before you get started. Before you know it you will telling others how you got your home in order.

Are you ready to FLY?

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

I have a big surprise waiting for you the next time you go shopping, junk store hopping, or even Yard sailing(I didn't spell this wrong). When you come home and you have nothing to show for your shopping trip. You are going to be so shocked with yourself. The truth of the matter is, you could not find anything you loved enough to junk your home up with it. I promise. Your new found clutter free areas are calm and clean. The thought of putting junk back into those places is more than you can bare. You are getting very picky about what you buy for yourself and your home. If, you don't believe me now, just wait and see. You are going to surprise yourself.

Another bonus to our decluttering is the respect for money. You will not spend a dollar here and a dollar there for something you don't absolutely adore. Why should you take someone else's clutter to your home. You have given away better stuff than that. I have said this time and again. With the money you save, by not buying just any ole thing, because it is cheap, then you can get you something that brings a smile to your face. I'm not saying not to buy something because it is at a yard Sale(I spelled it right this time), What I mean is if you love it and can't live without it, then by all means you should have it if you can afford it.

There is another bonus to decluttering, many of you have found this out. You find money, savings bonds, gift certificates and coupons. Money is usually in a large bowl or jug, just loose change. One bowl alone can weigh 40 pounds! When you redeem this for cold hard cash, you will see just what your clutter can be worth to you.

I don't recommend having yard sales, unless your neighbor is doing it today. LOL Our yard sales never happen. You know I am telling the truth. So unless you have access to one in the next few days, donate your clutter to a good cause. You will be so happy you did. Besides getting the clutter out of your home( this makes us very happy), we are helping others. Whenever we give of ourselves, we get back more than we have given. You all know this is true. We just need to do it more so them feeling comes around more frequently.

So get back in those trenches and throw out some more clutter. You will be so surprised at the bonuses you will receive from your gift.

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

Why do we allow our perfectionism to creep in even when we are only going to do 15 minutes worth of decluttering? You know what I am talking about!!! That nasty little voice in your head that says, "I don't have time right now to declutter!"

I can't stand those words. They are the foundation of perfectionism and procrastination.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME" IS A LIE!!!! We all have the time! It is how we use it that makes the difference!

Do you want to know why we won't allow ourselves to declutter for 15 minutes? This is not the way we have always cleaned! We couldn't just clean off a shelf in our closet; we had to pull everything out into the bedroom floor so we could see an empty/perfect closet and start over! Do you see how this perfectionism monster hurts us every day? When was the last time you made a bigger mess cleaning out the closet than it was in the closet. In our SHEness it was taking over our bedroom. At least when it was in the closet; you could shut the door. Our perfectionism paralyzes us.

This is why I want to teach you how to clean out an area without it being an all day or all week disaster that you have to kill yourself over. I watched a Born Organized person clean out a drawer once. I was just blown away by how she did it. She dumped it in the floor. I almost died. That was an even bigger mess that made me crazy. I remember an email I got once from one of our FlyBabies. She was on a message board for housecleaning and she asked how to dust her bookshelves and books. The Born Organized person on the message board told her to take all her books off of the bookshelves and dust.

This is what she did. I got the email that said HELP!!!! What do I do now, the books are everywhere. I had to tell her that dust does not get under the books and to use a feather duster to get behind them and on top of them. Eventually I talked her through putting the books back one shelf at a time. My sweetie would die if I messed up his library by pulling them all down at one time.

SHEs will follow directions but only to the point that they get overwhelmed. Then they toss their hands in the air. I don't ever want you to feel this way. I want to empower you with your little timer. It not only gets you started, but it tells you when to quit. We have a rule that we cannot pull out more than we can put back in an hour. Most of us have busy lives and sacrificing an hour for cleaning out a closet is such a waste of precious time.

I want you to be clutter extractors not a one woman demolition team. This means go in a pull out things from your closet and put them in a give-away bag or the trash. You will need a box and a garbage bag to do this. Your 15 minutes is not complete until the trash is in the garbage can and the give-away box is in your car waiting to be dropped off.

Do not allow your perfectionism to get in the way of your new way of decluttering! You will not make a bigger mess decluttering this way. The clutter will go away without you having to live in total CHAOS while you do it.

Go set your timer and extract the clutter from a drawer. Even those of you at work can do this in your work area.

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

This question has been asked of me several times today. I have heard everything from I don't want my kids to be slobs to I don't want them to expect me to wait on them hand and foot.

Today FlyLady Liz played a game with her four year old son. She videoed him as he raced around his room putting things where they belong. I took the little videos and edited them with some cute music. He had a ball. Check it out!
I have told you many times that I cannot preach what I don't practice. This goes for you too.

Why in the world would your children want to keep their rooms clean, when the rest of the house looks trashed?

You cannot tell them to clean their room with yours looks awful.

I have also told you when I make mistakes. I am human. You all seem to relate to me when I have the same problems that you have. Your children will appreciate your honesty as you do mine.

I want you to have a family meeting and tell your family that you have not set the example for them that they need as far as your housekeeping skills are concerned. Apologize to them. Ask for their help and tell them you want to change and you have found this bossy woman to tell you what to do. Explain how our routines work. Share your dreams for your home and your family.

When you finally set a Flybaby example for your babies, you will begin to see the whole family pitch in, because a clean and tidy home frees everyone up to have friends over without embarrassment. Your children will be so proud of their Mom and themselves. I promise this will happen. Babysteps.

Here is the God Breeze that filled my sails today.

Dear FlyLady,

My 10 year old son agonizes over his room. I shared what I was just starting to do with you ladies and invited him to become a "Flybaby" with me. We went into his room and decided that his nightstand would make a great "kitchen sink". We did our first hotspot together yesterday. He chose the clothes on his floor. Tomorrow he will follow our morning routine and has decided that his dresser top will be his next hotspot. We will put the rest of his room in 30 gallon Rubbermaid containers and tackle them one by one. He's excited that he doesn't have to clean his room all at once. I told him "it didn't get that way in a day, and you won't have to clean it up in a day".

I can't begin to tell you what a relief it is to not have to pressure him to get his room clean in one full swoop. I feel free and the guilt has lifted.

BTW, when I first made my sink clean and shiny I found areas to clean on the drain area that I never knew existed before - LOL! I was also able to take that monstrosity of a dish drain off the counter and shove it under the sink. Thanks, FlyLady, for the sink full of soapy water idea while making dinner. Dishes are done in no time. Why didn't I think of all this before?

FlyLady here:

What a revelation!! Two generations of Flybabies under one roof.
Talk to your family, don't yell and fuss. Set your example and work together.

It's Time to FLY,
FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

Today I want you to sit down and spend a few minutes counting your blessings. The testimonial from earlier today got me to thinking about our blessings and what we take for granted.

If you have not been exercising then what is stopping you! You are healthy and can move yet you don't! Count your blessings.

You have food in the pantry yet you don't fix good things for your body! What is stopping you! You can eat well because you have food! Count your Blessings.

You don't spend time with your family because you are too busy. Don't waste another minute on things that are not important! They won't be here or be little forever! Count your blessings.

I know you can think of other things to be thankful for. One morning as I started to write this I was watching the CBS News Sunday Morning Show. There was a man who was thankful for breast cancer. He told us that it gave he and his wife their lives back.

There are blessings in everything if we will look for them instead of feeling sorry for ourselves.

My niece called me once. She was born on my birthday. She is a SHE and won't slow down and listen but on this day she did. She had gotten up out of bed and went church for the first time as an adult; all by herself. At the time she was 27 years old. As she sat and LISTENED to the sermon she got the message loud and clear. If you don't stop and live today and quit worrying about tomorrow you are never going to find peace and happiness. Then I read to her this message I have been writing and the words to Why Not Today! We both cried.

Jump in and start now; Here are the words to Amy's song Why Not Today!
We play it at the end of everyone of our radio shows! It is our theme song!
Don't wait another minute to start counting your blessings and living today!
{{{HUGS}}}

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

Our precious little princess inside of us just really wants to be loved! She has tried so hard for acceptance and most of her life she has been told in many different ways that she was not good enough. Eventually the little child just gives up!

Did this happen to you? Were you forced to wash dishes over and over? Were you told to clean your room only to have your mother or father come in and do it for you by throwing your stuff away? Can you see how we rebelled against this lack of acceptance? We quit trying. We knew it would never be good enough so why bother.

I just want to hold that precious little child and tell her that she is loved and show her that she is good enough and is worthy to have a home that blesses her. We have had housework was used a punishment. No wonder we didn't want to do it. I have gotten emails where a FlyBaby found herself standing at the sink sobbing. She wasn't even upset. She was just crying. Now I am not a psychologist or a doctor but do you think she could have been having a flashback with a traumatic incident from her past. I have never thought of that before. She said she used to be punished with washing the dishes.

What did we have done to us! What have we done to our children because of that! We have the ability to re-parent ourselves. The hardest part is letting go of our perfectionism is saying "Good Enough" is "Good Enough"! This goes against everything we were taught! Everything we were tortured with and everything we have crammed down our throats from the first day we were born.

Our poor little child within us tried so hard to live up to those unrealistic standards. Even when we did our best it was never "Good Enough"! We may not have been told that in words but their actions would speak much louder than the words that were never said.

Perfectionism is a parasite that feeds off the love we didn't receive. It establishes residence in its host the first day that little child gets crushed. From that day forward perfectionism has its hold on us. Then we pass it on to our children. My goal is to rid our bodies of this vicious cunning chameleon-like parasite and keep it from taking root in our children and grandchildren.

Perfection is something that we are taught is supposed to be a good thing! When you look hard at it, you can see that it is a disguise that either makes you give up before you start or it pushes you to exhaustion. That little child only wants to be loved so she just works and works for that praise, only to have her little bubble burst. Then she says why bother because it will never be good enough.

Are you ready to expel the perfectionism Parasite and not infect others with it? It starts with forgiveness. Our parents had this done to them too. We can stop it right here and right now!

One babystep at a time!

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

Our procrastination usually only ends up biting us in the bottom. Do you remember the last time you ran out of toilet paper and you did not replenish the supply? You were the one who was left hanging.

Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I noticed that there were only a few sheets left on the roll and there was no spare on the back of the toilet. If I had gotten up during the night, I would not have had enough.

This is when the "Do It Now" Principle kicks in. The hard part of this principle is recognizing that you are about to procrastinate. There is an actual thought process that occurs when we begin ignore something that needs to be done.

We say out loud or quietly to ourselves, "I don't have time right now!" We may even be keeping score or playing the martyr. "Why am I the only one in this family who can see that the toilet paper needs to be refilled.

I actually have a good answer for why you are probably the only person in your family who will refill the toilet paper holder. Are you one of those people who has fussed about how the toilet paper was put on the roll? You know the age old question; over or under?

Well if your perfectionism caused you to fuss about how a family member did this; you are the one who made the decision that your way was the right! You lost all your help when you fussed that one time. (the same goes for folding towels)

Here are some tips to help you not have to drip dry!

Clean out under your bathroom sink to store extra rolls
Make storage of extra rolls a decorative feature (Pinterest has ideas)
Put toilet paper on subscription with Amazon to be delivered monthly
I removed holder and put a pedestal by the toilet.
Proper toilet paper hanging depends on if you have a cat.
Don't store open rolls beside toilet if you have little boys. Target practice
Put a sweater organizer in hall closet to hold extra. (my solution)
Praise your family when they refill the holder
Bite your tongue when it is not done to suit you!
Always have a backup package in storage.
Check your supplies weekly when you make a grocery list


When you get rid of the clutter, you are really blessing you. It only takes you a couple of minutes to replenish the toilet paper. So there is no excuse for not doing it.

This week we are taking the 2 Minute Challenge. Make a list of five things that need to be done. Then set your timer for 2 Minutes. Do one item for 2 minutes and then rest. Even if you don't get finished it is better than it was.

Join the rest of the world and jump in for 2 minutes. There are really no more excuses!

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

This past Sunday, I noticed a scar on my knee. It has been on my knee since I was 4 years old. It is one of my first memories. The accident was before children were supposed to be strapped into car seats. Daddy had to slam on the brakes and I landed on a coke bottle. I remember blood and a hospital ER with stitches. I was a victim of a UFO!

UFOs are Un-tethered Flying Objects in your car! Yes you know the ones I am talking about! Our cars are usually the last frontier when it comes to getting organized. When I was a small child I was hurt by bottle in our car. I still have the scar to show for it. Think of it this way when you are riding in a car going 55 mph if you have to stop abruptly everything in the car becomes a missile.

Think about being hit by a baseball or a bottle that was thrown at that speed.
Here is the worst thing about UFOs in your car! You are embarrassed for anyone to ride with you. I know because I am just like you! My car has been clear of clutter on the inside for almost two years. There is no telling how many accidents have occurred because a bottle rolled out from under the seat. Then it got under our foot or brake and we reached down to get it.

So how do we stop from cluttering up our cars? We have to establish simple habits that will keep the clutter eliminated.

1. Don't eat in your car. If you do, then bag up the trash as soon as everyone is finished. The bag the fast food came in is a great bag to hold the trash. When you get out of the car, find a trash can.

2. Every time you get home empty the car of things you put in it before you left. Not only will this keep your family safe from UFOs but it will deter thieves. When there is nothing in the car there is no temptation to break a window. My purse was stolen from my car once when I went into a funeral home to pay my respects.

3. While you are filling your car up with gas; play a game with the children to pick up the trash in your car. Then throw it away. They can hand it to you through the car window after you have filled up.

4. Keep things in your trunk, confined in zippered bags or under a cargo net in your van or SUV.

5. Establish a day for blessing your car. Fill it up, Clean it out and Shine it up!

We do it on Fridays. We have some simple tools for this; FlyLady MultiWand and Rubba Scrubba. Rubba Scubba sweeps the floor and seats, Duster does the dash and console. Our purple rags get the windows sparkling. That is if you put them in your hand and use them.

Don't put your family's safety in jeopardy because you don't think you have time. Think of it as Swish and Swipe for your car. Daily maintenance takes less time than a whole day clean up to get ready to go somewhere with strangers in your car. Be sure and keep UFOs contained in the trunk or glove box.

It's Friday time to Clean Out Your Car Day!

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

Many of you want peace and you want it NOW! I am here to tell you that this peace does not come all at one time. But if you will begin right this minute and commit to keeping your sink clean and shiny, I believe with all my that this peace will show up sooner than later.

We live in an instant gratification society. You know that feeling of posting a picture on Facebook or Instagram and waiting for the likes to appear or checking the comments every two minutes. Anything worth doing is worth doing wrong. My sweet darling gave me this quote many years ago from his Geometry teacher.

I know in our perfectionism we don't understand this. We were taught to always do things right or not do them at all. The actions of doing SOMETHING is much better than nothing. We can learn from our mistakes. What we have been doing is evidently not working or you would not still be reading our messages. I know you want to find this peace.

When I first started to get organized; I made an elaborate Control Journal! It could not be contained in a 4 inch thick three ring binder. It probably weighed five pounds. I even made a zip-up cover for it. I was OCD about it. I spent more time on building it than I did doing things in the house. In other words I was talking the talk and not walking the walk. You might say I loved the idea of an organized home and I was lying to myself.

I guess that is the real definition of insanity; believing your own lies. I had to make this big mistake so I could warn you about this pitfall. My Control Journal has evolved into a simple Control Journal; handwritten on notecards in a 4x6 tiny photo album. This is one of the reasons I made a Control Journal for you; so you would not obsess like I did.

It all started with Post-it Note reminders on my bathroom mirror and kitchen window. This is what we have to do to get our own attention. I remember putting a note on my dashboard to remind me to fasten my seatbelt. Yes I am old enough that I remember when it became a law.

Needing reminders does not make us stupid; just the opposite. We are smart enough to realize we need their help. I love getting the reminders again on my smart phone. I am so happy I set them up on Twitter and Facebook. If you don't have a smart phone; you can use a Google Calendar and have the reminders pop up on your desktop or tablet. We have a list of reminders in the Flight Plan that comes into your inbox each evening. We also have an App for iPhone that has reminders.

It could take a few minutes to set them up but I think they will help you and worth spending a little time today to do this. Another way to get our reminders if you have a smart phone is to sign up for our Twitter account.

I want for you what I have! Peace!

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

The storm is a brewing in the Caribbean; but it is in your head too. That storm has caused our thoughts to blow wildly in every direction and they become a vicious cycle that plays havoc with our head, homes, families, and your business.

Have you ever lost your wallet and began searching for it in a frenzy? You know this feeling of not being in control and running around. The Frenzy started before you lost your wallet. The frenzy is the reason you lost your wallet in the first place. That frenzy is the storm in your head. My goal is to teach you how to calm this storm before it destroys your life, home and business.

We are such control freaks. We don’t want anyone to know that our thoughts are not under control. If people really know how chaotic your thoughts were they would know you didn’t have it together. This is why some of us can keep it together at work and our home suffers. There are others who can keep their home looking nice but their thoughts are still turmoil. The constant churning of their thoughts; keeps them feeling out of control (which they are).

I can give you all the tools to calm the storm on the outside but if you have not controlled your thoughts you are not going to feel the peace that comes with your routines. In fact you may even sabotage that peace because it feels so strange. After all we have prided ourselves in being able to juggle many balls at one time. This is not virtue; it is a cover up so that no one will really know what is going on inside your head. You think this makes you look organized when really it is only making you look like you have it all together so no one will question you.

That storm that is going on in our brains is fueled with self-doubt, perfectionism, guilt, martyrdom and shame. We are not prepared to deal with this storm so we ignore it. In fact it feels normal to us. We have always been this way. We have pushed and pushed trying to do more and more and all we ever do is get further behind and racing to catch up. We have to stop the race and get off of the track to be able to see what we are going to ourselves.

My greatest frustration comes from not being able to articulate this to you in words what will allow you to see what you are doing to yourself. I just want you to be still for a minute. This means to stop your brain from spinning and calm yourself down.

Back to that wallet being lost; that frenzy we are in causes us to make many mistakes. It is only after we stop ourselves that we are able to find it right in front of our own eyes. We had been overlooking it because when that frenzy takes over our heads we lose our senses. We can’t think, we don’t see, we are not listening and we are on guard that no one knows this is happening to us. It is our perfectionism once again but this was happening before you lost the wallet.

When I start feeling this way I have learned to recognize it pretty fast. My body has been calm for a long time. I have my routines in place to prevent this from happening to me. Occasionally this feeling will come up. Now when I am feeling like I don’t know what to do next. I stop all that I am doing and spend 5 minutes making a plan. It is when I am not prepared that this feeling happens. I take those 5 short minutes and take my foot off my accelerator and quit fueling the storm. When you remove the fuel the storm or fire will go out. HEY we can think straight instead of a vicious cycle of swirling thoughts.

It may be hard for you to recognize this storm because your life has always been in turmoil. This is why I gave you the 11 Commandments. I want you to begin to experience moments of calm so that when you are in a frenzy you will know how to get back to that moment and use it to quiet the raging winds and waves that are causing you to lose your mind.

Be Still and the peace will come. Quiet your mind by sitting down. The more you get in a hurry the worse the feeling is going to be. Slow down and set a priority to what has to be done. Do one thing at a time! Not 15 things. You can do this.

We have to get back to why you are in this frenzy in the first place though. Establishing simple routines is going to help you be prepared for the storm when it does come. These routines give you the tools to stop the frenzy before it starts. Are you dressed to shoes? Have you laid out your clothes for tomorrow? Have you eaten today? Have you had your water? Have you taken a break today? Do you have the TV on, stereo and the computer? Has the noise become more clutter in your home that keeps you from having to hear the storm in your brain?

Find your QUIET place! Take a time out for you to calm yourself and focus on what needs to be done next; Not the 15 things that are spinning in your brain. This is what you do with your quiet time; Prioritize those 15 things on a piece of paper and then you have a plan. Start with first things first and move down your list. The five minutes you spend in your quiet place will calm this storm and give you the tools to stop the wind from blowing to the land of CHAOS and Frenzy.

You can do this. Quiet yourself!

Are you ready to FLY with a plan for preparedness in any storm of life?

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

We want a home that hugs us! But where do we start? This has been the underlying question that causes us to procrastinate. I have an answer.We start with shining our sink. That is the absolute first habit to establish is keeping our sinks clean and shiny.

Then we declutter. That's when the question comes up again, "Where do I start?" I have been thinking about this and sometime we get the cart before the horse.

Here is the reason we have to address our clutter issues.

1. Clutter waste time
2. Clutter makes our house look messy
3. Children pull out everything; less to pull out = less mess
4. Too many clothes makes laundry hard to do and to put away
5. Clutter causes us to feel overwhelmed tired. It zaps our energy.
6. We want peace in our lives and with clutter around there is no peace.

Back to the question of the day; Where do I start? Chicken or the egg syndrome once again; do I declutter the flat surfaces or the cubby holes. I have the answer. BOTH! Now don't get upset! We are not going to do it all at once. I am going to walk you through this one babystep at a time.

The reason your flat surfaces are piled high is because you do not have a place for the items in your hotspot. The easiest way to save time is to have a place for everything and everything in its place. Didn't your Granny teach you that? Our problem is that we don't know where to put anything because all of our storage places are cluttered.

Here is my story: I have telephone and computer stuff in lots of places. When I need something I spend a lot of time searching for it. I had to decide where I wanted to keep my geek toys. For me that had to easily accessible when I wanted something. I decided that I would keep them in a Rubbermaid sweater bin that would slid under my extra bed. But wait! My memorabilia was in one of those bins and the other one was full of tote bags and zipper bags. Here is what to I had to do.

I chose my cedar chest to hold my keep sakes. It had a pillow, two sweaters, a small comforter and other memorabilia; the pillow got donated along with the two sweaters and the comforter is being washed to give to a precious little girl.

That made room for the bin of keep sakes. I picked up the bin and just poured it into the cedar chest. I didn't get sidetracked by sorting this box of magazines and other papers. That was not my goal. Now the bin was empty. I was still collecting all the geek toys into one place. I took the othernRubbermaid sweater bin and pulled out all the totes and zippered bags. Put them all in one bag and declutter the ones I don't like. I placed that in the top of my closet with my other tote bags and purses. Now I had two bins empty. I took the declutter items to the car and put the trash in the garbage can.

Now I was ready to start sorting my geek toys into one bin. With my trusty declutter kit right beside me; Give away, Put Away and Throw away. Now laundry basket is empty. The Rubbermaid bin is labeled and ready to roll under the bed and I have one empty one. See how easy this is. Now I am going to give you a step by step list to get started.

I started by thinking about everything having a place and everything being in its place. As a result of just collecting my geek toys, I have consolidated my memorabilia, my purses and tote bags and I have one empty storage container.

NOTE: Before you start this make sure you are dressed to lace up shoes and you have a done our morning routine. Then put on some fun music. Our Up Kind of Day CD has a lot of peppy music.

Where am I going to put my stuff?

1. How often will you use it- this determines where you put it.
2. Hard to get to or easily accessible (I needed easily accessible)
What is living in that space now?
3. Is it clutter that can be donated? (Much of it could be donated to make room)
4. Can it be put in another other place with like items (I used my cedar chest)
What are you going to put the items in?
5. Rubbermaid bin (under bed storage or tote)
6. A Basket (my laundry basket for collecting geek toys)
7. A decorative storage device out in the open (cedar chest)
8. A Storage bin that seals to protect items from moisture and rodents. (Rubbermaid sealed bins)
What do you do now?
9. You will need a Declutter Kit: A give-away, put-away and throw-away bin or bag.
10. You will need a timer , note card, marker and tape. Once you decide you label it.
11. Set a timer for 15 minutes and begin collecting your caches of like items in a laundry basket.
12. Set a timer for another 15 minutes and empty the place you want to put your collection.
13. Declutter things that need to go away and throw away the trash.
14. Don't just throw it in the floor put it where you want it to go.
15. Don't get hung up on wanting to organize those things. Just consolidate them for now.
What's next?
16. Set your timer for 15 minutes.
17. Place the items you have been collecting in their new home. As you put them away declutter the broken items and duplicates.
18. Put the container where you want it.
19. Gather up the trash and throw it away
20. Take the give-away items to the car
21. Pick up after yourself
Now what?
22. Set your timer for 15 minutes and
23. Fix yourself something warm and comforting to drink.
24. Put your feet up and celebrate that you got rid of clutter, consolidated your stuff and found a place for it! I am so proud of you!

I have been corralling my little stash and dash caches of computer and telephone gadgets. What do you need to corral? Clear out the holding area and let's herd our stuff together. Everything having a place and everything in its place; makes for a peaceful home.

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

November is our menu planning month. We have been getting a head start on our menu planning. If we plan our meals then we can save money and time. We can even double our recipes and freeze the extra for meals to use in December. Plan and save.

Do you have meals or just a recipe that you make that brings back memories for you? When I was 11 years old, my father taught me how to make spaghetti with a meat sauce from scratch. This one meal taught me how to brown hamburger meat, chop onions, green peppers and boil water for pasta. What else do you need to cook? It was a lesson that served me well.

After I married, my in-laws taught me to make other basics for meals. My sweet Mother-in-law Elizabeth, started planning each meal around the starch on the plate. She could fix potatoes a million ways. One of her favorite ways to cook potatoes was country fried potatoes.

How many ways can you think of to fix potatoes? Ready, set, go! Most of these Robert and I came up with on our own. We did cheat and Google it. I found one potato dish I had made but didn’t know the name.

Baked potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Boiled potatoes
French fries
Oven wedge fries
Hash browns
Country fried potatoes
Potato salad
Twice baked potatoes
Smashed potatoes
German potato salad
Potato soup
Au gratin potatoes
Scalloped potatoes
Criss-crossed potatoes
Home fries
Potato skins stuffed
Potato pancakes/Latkes
Hasselback potatoes


I love how you can divide these into three groups according to how they are cooked.

Baked in the oven
Fried in a skillet
Boiled in a sauce pan


Many of the types of potatoes can be made from leftover baked potatoes. Did you know that you can use your slow cooker to make baked potatoes? This will keep your kitchen from heating up in the summer.

There are two type of potatoes; red and white.

White potatoes are flaky. The texture is exactly what you need for baked potatoes and mashed potatoes. Red potatoes are good for potato salads because they stay firm. They also work well for hash browns and country fried potatoes.

The secret to fluffy mashed potatoes is not to over process them. I have a gadget that makes the best mashed potatoes ever. It is called a ricer. You probably have one in your utensil drawer. A friend gave the ricer when she was moving. I never dreamed I would love it so much.

To make my attack mashed potatoes; I boil five pounds of medium sized round white potatoes. I like to boil them unpeeled. After about an hour of boiling, you can easily peel them without wasting so much of the potato. I allow the potatoes to cool. If you put them in cold water the skins will come off fast. Then I put them through my ricer. I make this recipe for Thanksgiving Dinner once a year.

The reason I call them Attack Mashed Potatoes is because they real butter, cream, cream cheese, and sour cream. So that I am not in a hurry on Thanksgiving Day; I make them a few days ahead of time and freeze them. They freeze well because they have all the dairy in them. I put them in a high sided casserole dish and put grated Parmesan cheese on top. You could put them into smaller dishes or freezer bags so you could have mashed potatoes whenever you wanted them.

I love leftover mashed potatoes. You can make lots of things with them; potato soup, potato pancakes, topping for shepherd’s pie, and twice baked potatoes. They can be stretched a long way too.

Now if you have potatoes that are beginning to sprout, don't throw them away; cut them into pieces with an eye on them and plant them in a pot. It won’t be long till you will have your own new potatoes with very little work. There is nothing better than little new potatoes in a pot of fresh green beans.

Enjoy building your meals around a simple potato.

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

Every once in a while we just need to circle the wagons and get back to normal! Do you know what normal is? Many of us don't. We have struggled in CHAOS most of our lives and that normal is scary.

I have had my house in order for several years. Travel sometimes turns our home upside down. Well not entirely bonkers but my insides are not as calm as I like them to be. Here are some things I do to find my happy place.

1. If I begin to feel antsy then I need to address what is happening.

2. I stop right where I am begin my day all over.

3. I ask myself about my morning routine. What step did I skip?

4. Today it is putting in a load of laundry. We all have laundry after we travel.

5. I ask myself did I take my supplements. NO because I have procrastinated about putting them together.

6. Did I drink any water today? I forgot again. Setting my other timer for 30 minutes to drink my water.

7. Then I look around the living room to see which of my hot spots are on fire. All of them!

8. I make sure I am dressed to shoes and then I set my timer for 15 minutes and get started.

9. After the timer goes off; I come back to my computer to finish writing my little essay.

10. I then set my timer for another 15 minutes to finish my essay.

11. My timer keeps me from feeling out of control. I could not make it without it reminding me.
Do you ever feel like this? Use your timer to help you. I can't believe the difference it makes in my mood and in our home. I am off to play FlyLady Bingo. I am making a list of several things that need done and numbering the list. Robert made me some wooden tiles but you could use popsicle sticks or even pieces of paper. I set my timer for 15 minutes and pick a number. I love this game.

Are you ready to FLY with your timer by your side? Make it a game and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish.

FlyLady

[SAR01]

Dear Friends,

I have cooked every day this month. I have made the commitment to cook meals from the food we have in our freezer and pantry. My slow cooker has been used four out of the first five days of November. Most of us have a slow cooker stashed someplace in our home.

Nov 1 - Chicken Pot Pie (Stovetop iron skillet and oven)
Nov 2 - Chili (Slow Cooker)
Nov 3 - Surprise Chicken, Brown Rice, Broccoli/carrot medley (slow cooker and stovetop)
Nov 4 - Pizza (Sauce was made in slow cooker)
Nov 5 - Pot Roast (Slow Cooker)


Just the name of the Slow Cooker calms me down. It means you can't get in a hurry when you cook. I was thinking about Sunday's meal two days ahead of time. That is when I took my frozen roast out of the freezer and placed it in the refrigerator to thaw.

CHECK OUT MY VIDEO BELOW! When I got up on Sunday morning, I started to put together my pot roast. I start by putting a cup of plain flour in the ziplock bag that was covering my roast as it thawed. It is important that raw meat juice does not spill in my refrigerator. To that Ziplock bag, I add black pepper, salt, red pepper, and garlic powder. Then I shake the roast in the bag. In my trusty iron skillet I heated some olive oil to brown my roast on all sides. After it was browned I placed it in my slow cooker. Next to make the gravy to go over it.

I took my sturdy spatula and scraped the bottom of the skillet. I needed to add more oil to brown more flour to make the gravy base. I dumped about 1/2 cup of flour in the oil and started stirring it around. I had a quart of broth standing ready to add to the browned flour. One of my favorite ingredients is Better Than Bouillon. If you don't have this a bouillon cube will work too as well as beef broth. A package of gravy mix will also add flavor too. A roast is only as good as the gravy. I taste it to see if it is just right. If I need to, I add soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. When it gets to the right color and taste; I cut up an onion into thin wedges into the gravy.

Then I pour my gravy over my roast and wash up my precious iron skillet. Two hours later, I added 6 whole small unpeeled red potatoes, 5 large carrots peeled and cut into three pieces, and 1/2 a cabbage. We like biscuits with this meal. This roast cooks for 8 hours on low in my slow cooker.

I have a few rules that I live by in my kitchen. They keep my kitchen from exploding!

Don't cook on high heat!
Don't leave the kitchen with water running
Clean up as you cook
Start with an empty dishwasher
Start with a sink full of hot soapy water
Put ingredients away as you use them
Throw trash away immediately
Wipe down counters as you cook
Wipe up spills on the floor as they happen
Don't get in a hurry!


Find your slow cooker, go to a thrift shop and acquire one, or order one from Amazon. They are inexpensive! I like a 6 to 7 quart one because I cook with leftovers in mind. Let's use this wonderful tool to help put dinner on the table. It will relieve your guilt if you will fill it up and turn it on.

With your menu plan and groceries in your home; you can always be ready to answer the question, "What's for dinner?"

FlyLady

[SAR01]