Dear FlyLady, 
I want to thank you for changing my life. I have been with you since the beginning, through a very difficult marriage that ended in divorce, a period of loneliness and feeling like a failure but finding out who I am, being myself and LOVING MYSELF and being true to myself…into a blessed second marriage. I have left the list and returned, fallen off the wagon and climbed back on a few times. I have learned to NOT let stinkin’ thinkin’ get to me and that I can’t do it alone but I’m not alone, I have FlyLady and the whole Crew to back me up!
Here’s my Top Ten and I hope it can help other FlyBabies too:
1) Before Bed Routine. This is the one that really changed my life! Shining my sink led to me doing the dinner dishes right after dinner so I’d wake up to a clean kitchen. My day starts in my kitchen so having it be a welcoming space made a huge difference in my outlook for the day! Checking my calendar and laying out my clothes ultimately led me to my college major, you see I am attending college now to become an early childhood education professional with a second major in elementary education. I was always able to wear appropriate clothes and now if I had to be somewhere or not. If not I was able to stay at my youngest daughter’s preschool and help them for the morning session…which led to me discovering that I adore working with kids and wouldn’t rather be doing anything else!
2) The FlyLady Calendar this is a crucial tool for me and mine! I schedule my days around many things, working from home, college, my family, our farm and the two BTR shows I never miss: FlyLady and Friends and Saving Dinner! On Wednesday I can get my daily missions done in the morning, listen to the SD while eating lunch, do my school work for the day right after, then spend the afternoon and evening with my hubby and kids having dinner, playing board games, going for a walk…whatever! It makes a huge difference knowing who has to be where, when, what’s for dinner, and if we have nothing planned.
3) The FlyLady Duster. First FlyTool I ever bought and it changed my life!! Dusting became fun and made a world of difference. Living on a farm which is also on a dirt road, well, in the spring and summer with the windows open a lot of airborne dirt and dust comes through the screens and settles…so know I dust every morning and again before bed lol but I never worry about brushing up against something!
4) The Ultimate Timer. Saved my life!! I always thought things “took too long!” Finding out that I could do all the breakfast dishes, by hand, for five people including the mixing bowls and pans in 10 minutes REALLY changed my life. I stopped wanting a dishwasher (lol) and bought myself…
5) The FlyLady Days of the Week Dishtowels. I sometimes lose track of what day it is and having the towel out each night reminds me in the morning before I look at the calendar to do my daily double-check. The kids love them because they know what day it is and often play ‘rock, paper, scissors’ to see who gets to help Momma dry dishes, shine the sink and put out the new towel! They get really excited when Friday’s towel ‘flips’ to Saturday because Saturday is ALL about family. We do a quick 5 minute room blessing in each room, each taking one job like clearing a hot spot or putting things in the Put Away basket. After that we put away anything where it belongs, load up the car, and go do something fun as a family. We have gone swimming at the Y in the middle of winter and ice skating at an indoor rink in the summer just to add variety and surprise. It’s always great! Most often though the kids vote on a type of food, we go shopping for the ingredients, pick out a movie and stay in for dinner. Always a blast!
6) Swish and Swipe. As a kid my dreaded chore every Saturday was cleaning the bathrooms…why me I always asked and it was because I was the smallest, I could get behind the toilet and sink easiest! Boy did I HATE cleaning the bathroom~~but now I do it every morning, and sometimes after my son has been in there my youngest daughter, who’s 8, will come out and go “Momma, I need a rag, HE made a mess in the POTTY!” and swipe the sink down herself.
7) My Control Journals…yes, plural! I have the holiday ones, I even made ones for my kids. We have the Home Journal, the Momma Journal, my oldest daughter’s nickname is Peanut, she calls hers The Peanut Planner and has Peanuts character stickers on it. My son calls his the SuperJosh Book and my youngest daughters nickname is Muppy (she loves the Muppets) and has all kinds of Muppets stickers on hers. These have a simple morning routine, easy before bed routine, a five minute room rescue reminder, and a monthly calendar page with family stuff and their own things on there. They check the big calendar each night and these little pages are more of reminders than anything else. More than once I’ve heard the kids say, “yeah, but I put my friend coming over that Friday on the BIG calendar, you forgot. You’ll have to ask Momma.”
8) FLY! 11 Songs to Help You Shine Your Sink and Soothe Your Soul CD. I got this the day it came out and it makes a HUGE difference in my mood being able to play it. Will love this CD forever!
9) My Morning Routine…seems a little late on the list but that is mostly because I don’t even think of it anymore, it truly has become ROUTINE. It keeps me going! Up, showered, dressed to shoes, feed pets, brew a coffee, start a load of laundry while it’s brewing, let the dog out, drink my coffee and eat my English muffin with it, get the kids up and started on their day…it all flows so easily and I don’t have to look at my CJ anymore to see what I’m supposed to do next, I just do it~
10) The incredible Peace of Mind, Soul, Heart and Home I’ve gotten from FlyLady, the Fly Crew, and other FlyBabies through their testimonials over the years!
Thanks for EVERYTHING!!
Love,
A FlyBaby in Maine where we got 14″ of snow last night…off to Rubba Sweep my Jeep!
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FlyLady here: Do you have a Top 10 to share with everyone. Send them to me, FlyLady@flylady.net with TOP TEN in the subject line. I would love to post a new one each week.
