We all love receiving gifts: The thrill of the surprise of what is in the package; opening it up. Wouldn’t you like to receive a special gift every single day? This is the gift that keeps on giving.
Your routines even simple ones can give you a great big present every day. There is nothing better than waking up to a home that surprises you each morning because it is CLEAN! I am still in shock when I walk out of my bedroom each day.
This is the finest gift that I have ever received and the best part is I gave it to me! You know you deserve to have the thrill of this gift and it is so simple. But most of the time we are too busy beating ourselves up to take the few minutes to do our simple routines. We don’t have time! We think! Every single minute of every solitary day is spoken for. In our perfectionism we don’t think we have time for anything new.
My question to you today is why did you join our group if you were not willing to do the babysteps?
All I have ever asked of you is to get up each morning and get dressed to shoes. Do a 3 babystep before bed routine that only takes a few minutes, go to bed at a decent hour, declutter your home for 15 minutes a day and shine your sink!
You really do have time: your perfectionism tells you that you don’t have time! Let’s look at how much time we are actually talking about.
Getting up and getting dressed to shoes-15-20 minutes
Before Bed Routine:
Lay out clothes for tomorrow -5 minutes tops
Brush teeth- 2 minutes
Shine your sink-1 minute once you have done it the 1st time
Go to bed at a decent hour-0 minutes
Declutter your home -15 minutes
_____________
Less than 45 minutes
Now 45 minutes at one pop may be too much to ask for but all I want is 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes to declutter and 15 minutes at night before you go to bed. You can do anything for 15 minutes!
You are already getting dressed just not when you first get up. This starts you off on the right foot. Unless you have to go to work, but I’ll bet even if you do go to work that you wait till the last minute to get dressed. Try it you may be surprised by the difference it makes in your day. You may not be late to work any longer. This is the first gift you can give yourself: A stress free start to your day.
Shining your sink may seem like a useless task that nothing can be gained from. If you feel this way then you have not felt the pleasure of that sink greeting you in the morning. You see it doesn’t matter if your sink is stainless steel, porcelain, or 30 years old. It is not your reflection that makes you smile it is the fact that there is not nasty water and dirty dishes shaming you each morning. I have been getting up to my shining sink for four and a half years and I still smile each morning at my sink because it smiles at me first. This is a present I love to open every day.
Doing your before bed routine of laying out your clothes and getting ready for bed may not seem necessary after all, you are already going to bed. What is the laying out your clothes for anyway? Why can’t I just wait and pick them out in the morning? Because having them picked out and ready to go does not allow you to PROCRASTINATE about getting dressed. You have NO EXCUSE any more. A before bed routine is the most important habit of the whole day. It is a gift that you wrap up in the evening and you get to enjoy the opening in the morning.
Are you still refusing to go to bed at a decent hour? Oh you feel that this is the only time you have to yourself! Well staying up late is robbing you of your health, patience and love. Not getting enough rest and trying to function on only a few short hours of sleep is not good for you, your marriage or your children. Go to bed at a decent hour and give yourself the gift of FLYing!
I have had many people ask me what the most important part of the FlyLady program is: This is hard to say but if I had to only pick one gift for you to give yourself it would be to go to bed at a decent hour because if you will do this you will be Finally Loving Yourself. If I can teach you that you need your rest then your home will come together. You will no longer be dragging around living off of adrenaline. It all starts with you.
I know you joined our group looking for the magic solution to getting rid of the CHAOS in your home and life. The gift is there for you to open if you will only let go of your perfectionism and start with our simple babysteps.
No one is going to give you this gift but you. If you don’t take care of you then who will?
FLYing is like opening up a present every single day! Are you ready to FLY?
FlyLady
