More of a Ministry than a Home Rescue Program

Dear FlyLady,

I just wanted to thank you for your Daily emails, missions and inspirations. For some of us your program is more of a ministry than a home rescue program. I identified so much with today’s testimonial. I struggled for years to maintain my home – through chronic illness, running a business from home and cleaning up after 3 dogs and a DH.

I read your book years ago, and just couldn’t get the new habits in the baby steps to stick. Then in February (last month) I looked around and realized that I could not allow myself, DH and DDgs (Dear Dogs) to continue to live in this unorganized mess. The stress and feeling of being overwhelmed were too much to bear. So I started small. My dishwasher has been broken for a few months, and I have been doing dishes by hand. I do my best to get them done twice a day, but sometimes it’s only once in the evening. And that’s okay; I don’t beat myself up about it. I just make sure that the kitchen is clean BEFORE I go to bed, so I can have a fresh start in the morning.

I am sure you can imagine the crazy amount of dog hair I clean up with 3 dogs. This was a real problem for me previously. I would sweep it up every few days, but it just never seemed enough to maintain it. With your zone system and daily routines I have been able to tame it! I still have a few areas that I am working on, slowly but surely. I am sure you can imagine the amount of mail and paperwork I have to organize for both the house and a business, and it is staggering. I am working on putting a system in place for the current incoming paperwork and slowly getting the old paperwork under control. Thanks to your “baby steps” mantra, I have hope that I will soon have it well under control!

And I still have a significant amount of decluttering to do in certain areas. But I do have to say, it is very motivating to get rid of it when you have to move it to clean or dust!

In closing, I really just want to thank you. Not only for the Flylady system and tools, but for helping so many of us create a haven of cleanliness and serenity that we didn’t have before!

Sincerely,
Chesapeake Bay Flybaby