“You are never behind. Jump in where you are.” – FlyLady

FlyLady has divided the home up into 5 different zones. Don’t worry if you think you have more than 5 zones in your own home (we all do!); follow FlyLady’s Zones. Her zones will hit on all the major living areas of your home. Each week, we work in a different zone. Each month, we repeat all the zones. In a few months, you will notice that the main parts of your home will look great. Then you will be ready to tackle some of the “other” areas of your home! Want to learn more about zones? Read the FLYing Lesson about Zones!

May Zones

These are the zones for May; mark your calendars! The bolded zone is the one we are in this week.

• Zone 1: The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room (May 1 – May 4)
• Zone 2: The Kitchen (May 5 – 11)
• Zone 3: The Bathroom and One Extra Room (May 12 – 18)
• Zone 4: The Master Bedroom (May 18 – 24)
• Zone 5: The Living Room (April 28-30)

How to Begin

When you first start decluttering, cleaning, and organizing your zones, you are encouraged to spend 15 minutes per day decluttering in the current zone. That’s it — BabySteps! Set your timer for 15 minutes and clear out those things that you don’t use or love. Flybabies, don’t forget to keep working on your Morning and Before Bed Routines — do them everyday! (See the FLYing Lessons for more information about this.) Once you have a good start on your routines, it is much easier to do the zone work.

Read about this week’s zone.

Go to the launch pad to see today’s mission in the flight plan!

Before you start, review the rules of zone cleaning:

1. Be fully dressed to shoes before you start.
2. Your daily cleaning chores should be finished and preferably weekly vacuuming done.
3. The room has to be fairly straight.
4. Do not pull out more than you can put back in one hour.
5. Clean one drawer or one pile at a time.
6. If you do not know how to declutter, read the FLYing Lesson on How to Declutter.
7. Be consistent. Do a little every day. Don’t try to accomplish this in one day; you will burn out and will hate this system. BabySteps!
8. Set your timer and work for 15 minutes. That’s all. It did not get junked up in one day, and it won’t get clean in one day, either. It will take patience and BabySteps. You can do this.

Kelly’s Missions

After you have started decluttering in a zone, you may be ready take a look at Kelly’s Missions. These are fun! Kelly will send you on a mission in the current zone. You never know where you will end up (or what you will find) when you do one of Kelly’s Missions!

FlyLady’s Detailed Cleaning List

Once you have decluttered the zone (this may take a few months to actually complete —there is no rush here!), then you are ready for FlyLady’s detailed cleaning list. You will be amazed at how easy it is to do detailed cleaning when the clutter is gone! What is more amazing is how easy it is to keep it clean when your routines are in place. As FlyLady says, “The house practically cleans itself!”

We also have printable detailed cleaning lists (in PDF format) for each zone.

FLY Spot

We’re in Zone 4: The Master Bedroom. Examine your comforter or bedspread. Is it dirty or simply not smelling fresh? It’s time to wash it or take it to the dry cleaners! If your washer is not large enough to handle this task, make an appointment with yourself to drop off your comforter to have it cleaned or take it to the laundromat. You will love slipping beneath the covers when your comforter smells fresh and clean!