Dear FlyLady,

I have been a FlyBaby for several years and will never forget the euphoria of first finding you. I was at the end of my rope, drowning in clutter from having two kids under two and recovering from a year of illness.

Thanks to you I went from CHAOS to peace in just a few short months. I had so much joy in having people over (both planned and unannounced guests) and marveled in the feeling of being proud of my home instead of ashamed. Then we got pregnant with our third and moved to a home that was slightly newer but equal in size. We welcomed our 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th babies over the following 6 years, and began homeschooling…still in a 3 bedroom home.

Needless to say things aren’t perfect here. The surface tension still gets pretty deep at times but I’m so blessed to have your constant encouragement telling me I’m not behind, that I can do anything for 15 minutes.

Laundry is a big deal here and I hope my system can help someone else. I have a small laundry room for all 8 of us but we make it work. We do 1-2 loads a day and that allows me to take Sundays off.

One thing that has helped me a ton (even when it’s backed up) is that I sort the laundry by person, not just color. Each child has a “laundry partner”. Every laundry partner group has their own hamper and an assigned day for their laundry. This way the laundry is essentially sorted by person or location BEFORE it goes into the wash.

I’m no longer running all over the house to put things away – since putting away is my least favorite step. I have 1 pair of children on M/TH, one T/F, and the baby, my hubby and I are W/Sat. (The math doesn’t add up since two kids are the same size and wear the same clothes.) Then towels, rags and sheets go in their own loads. Folding and putting away are never overwhelming or take up too much space sine I only have a few stacks no matter the load.

Once things are folded they go into dishpans that are labeled with each child’s name (stored on shelves) for them to put away. My oldest two help the younger two put theirs away.

Our laundry sure backs up but it only makes a hill, not an entire mountain range and I don’t feel overwhelmed anymore! Thank you so much for helping me break things into baby steps to bless my home and family.

It sure doesn’t feel like six children live here!

Fluttering on,

Alicia

The Old Calendar Saved His License

Dear Precious FlyLady,

I felt that all your subscribers should know what happened to me recently. I have been a member of your “clan” for over 10 years, and I love your wonderful advise, uplifting emails, and especially your calendars and have used them, and saved them for years.

Recently, my son got a summons for a speeding ticket that he had not paid. It was from a county about 2 hours away and supposedly occurred 2 years ago. I looked it up on my old FlyLady calendar that I had saved, and saw that it was the same date and time when he was taking the SAT in the county where we live. So there was no way he could’ve been 2 hours away in that county to receive a speeding ticket. And at age 16, in the State of Georgia, that means he would lose his driver’s license, and by the time the summons arrived he was off at college, living in off-campus housing, and his car and driver’s license were both vital to his education.

Keeping my old FlyLady calendars saved him because I then contacted the SAT administrators and was able to prove his attendance and save his driver’s license. If I hadn’t had the SAT notation on the calendar, and if I had not kept the calendar, we would never have known where he actually was on that day and what he was doing. NO WAY could we have proved it to the State otherwise.

Yippee! His license his safe, and he is continuing his education. BTW he is attending seminary and hopes to be a minister and his real passion is overseas missions. Bless his sweet heart!

Thanks for all you have done to make our lives more blessed,

Carole in Carrollton, GA