Dear Flylady –

I have taken some time recently to think back over the course of a somewhat rough year and find myself needing to thank you for your influence.

No, we’re not fully decluttered. My DSO has issues getting rid of anything and everything. But, oh what an improvement in our lives. The kitchen is mostly decluttered (with just a few of his old mail piles). The cabinets have clean dishes, the sink is shining, and there is healthy food in the pantry. My nightstand is clear of clutter so I don’t knock stuff to the floor if I reach for the box of tissues and our bathrooms are swished and swiped. We don’t generate enough laundry for a daily load — but there is no Mt. Washmore. Life is pretty good.

But, to me, the biggest change in the course of the year has been the result of your menu planning habit. We have had a year of eating freshly prepared meals six nights a week for a whole year!! Gone are the days of eating out four or five nights a week, or eating a lot of frozen dinners. We try two or three new recipes a month; we eat what is plentiful, healthy, and seasonal; and we cook to minimize heat in the summer and maximize it in the cooler months (think lots of roasted veggies). My new favorite breakfast for the cold weather is baked oatmeal, made ahead once a week or so, and always available in the refrigerator for breakfast (for me) or a before bed snack for DSO (just a quick trip through the microwave and it is piping hot).

So bless you and yours. I can’t thank you enough for the difference you and your flytools (purple rags, rubba scrubba, dish scrubbas, clog cannon, dryer lint cleaner, etc.) have made in our lives.  So bring on 2014!