Learning to FLY, Baby Steps

My goal now that the 2 older kids are back in school is to learn to FLY. No, no, not airplane flying or helicopter flying, not flying by the seat of my pants, but FLY CLEANING. Now if you are a clean freak then this isn't for you, but if you live in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) then I encourage you to check it out and think about joining me on this FLYing adventure.

FLYing means Finally Loving Yourself. I am learning that my house is a direct reflection of how I view myself. When I look around and see the chaos/clutter it speaks volumes as to how I see myself and how much I don't value myself. OUCH!! That hurts to type but it is a true statement and one that I am vowing to work on now that we are back to a 'normal' routine.

It all starts with Baby Steps. The messy house didn't happen overnight (well, sometimes it does, but generally not) so it isn't going to get cleaned overnight either. Today's Baby Step is Shining the Sink. This is going to take some time to get used to this new habit but I know that overtime it will just become a natural part of my life and lead to conquering future Baby Steps.
The FlyLady system is all about establishing little habits that string together into simple routines to help your day run on automatic pilot.

So today I shined the sink before the kids were even out the door for school. All the dishes were loaded and started, extra dishes washed and dried, and the sink cleaned and wiped downed. And then the cleaning bug kicked in. By the time we walked out the door at 7:40 I had taken my first Baby Step of shining the sink, picked up all the clutter in the living room and hallway, assited the kids in a general bedroom cleaning, wiped down the bathroom counters and picked up the dirty clothes to get them ready for my first load of laundry, made the beds and put my sneakers on for the day. Heck most days I am lucky if I get a shower before we head out the door let alone get all of this done. The kids were even pleasantly surprised to get to turn the T.V. on for 15 mins since I NEVER allow them to watch T.V. in the morning on school days. We were that far ahead of schedule that I worried they would get bored and mess up all the work we had done if I didn't allow them to be entertained by mindless cartoons for a few minutes.

I thought for sure that by the time I got home from school the bug would have worked it's way out of my system and I would be more then content with what had been accomplished already. Well, much to my surprise the bug was still in full force and I got the vacuum cleaner out and conquered all carpet areas of the house. Then the kitched called my name again and I decided to vacuum around the perimeter of the kitchen and under the table. Then the fans, vents, and A/C input vents were screaming to be cleaned. I feel such a great level of pride in getting so much done before 9:00 (and had my sister not called me I would have had it done by 8:30, but I love talking to her so it was worth it.) :)

Now I intend to take a step back and admire what I have finished and take a little more time getting myself comfortable with the FLYlady system and see what is in store for me tomorrow.

Care to join me in FLYing lessons? or maybe just be my cheerleader? Leave me a comment and let me know. And as always, I hope you have a blessed week and now happy FLYing. :)