Dear Friends,

You may need to see immediate results in order to establish your routines. In other words. If you have a clean room to start with, you will be able to keep it that way. Be warned, I don’t particularly like this method, but it has worked for some of us. Let me explain. The reason I don’t like it, because I am afraid you will burn out.

In 1999 for Thanksgiving, our family was coming to our home. Now I had been establishing my routines all year long, but I still had a couple of major HOT SPOTS, My extra bedroom/craft room. I hired a born Organized Friend to come and help me organize my craft closet. She and I worked all day on this one room. Then we did a swift vacuum and dust of the rest of the house and we were ready for company. This was Monday before Thanksgiving. The next week after Thanksgiving, I asked my Born Organized Clerk to my board of County Commissioners, how she kept her home clean. She told me it was very simple(yes simple for a BO person, but for a SHE it is much tougher) PICK UP AFTER YOURSELF, IF YOU GET IT OUT, PUT IT AWAY. IF YOU MESS IS UP, CLEAN IT UP RIGHT THEN, AND THIS WILL KEEP YOU FROM HAVE A MESS PILE UP.

The funny thing is, the week before I had been doing just that, so I could keep the house clean for company. I had purposefully picked up after myself and the house was gleaming as a result.

So if you are having trouble establishing routines, then try a Crisis Cleaning day with a friend. Pretend that company is coming or better yet, plan a party so you will have to do it. It is amazing what you can do in a crisis and if you have to manufacture one then it is no less amazing.

Get the majority of the work done. Declutter as much as possible and put things away in their own spot. You may need someone to help you decide on those spots for you. I always do better when the place is already established. I will put it back, but picking the spot was paralyzing to me. Get some help. DH or a Friend, whoever, but just do it.

You may only be able to do one room a day. Go for it, once a week or do it in a few days. You will be so happy that you did. This might just be the key you are looking for. If the less stressed way has not been working, then go for the mad marathon cleaning day. Once you have a couple of areas the way you want it, then you will have more energy to keep it maintained with your routines.

Just because it is clean, does not mean you can sit and do nothing. That is how it got trashed in the first place. Write down your routine now before you do your Crisis Cleaning so that you will know what to do the next day. Your routine should consist of:

1. RISE AND SHINE

Make your bed as soon as you get out of it, unless DH is still there.
Go to the bathroom
Shower and clean the bathroom while you are there
Fix your hair and face
Swish and swipe the bathroom. Its clean and ready for anything.
Leave your bedroom with a load of laundry in hand; put it in the washer.

2. KITCHEN

If you did your before bed routine it is clean; just empty dishwasher
Make coffee and start breakfast
Feed the critters
Feed family

3. THINK ABOUT YOUR DAY.

Check your calendar
Make your To Do List
Thaw something for dinner
Checkbook (bring down your balance)
Reboot the laundry (put in dryer)
Hit the hotspots. If you did your before bed routine there will not be any.

4. NOW THINK ABOUT YOURSELF

Take your vitamins and medications
Sit down
Eat breakfast
Morning Meditation (GIFT) God, Imagination, Focus, Thanksgiving
Now reward yourself with some computer time. Check your e-mail.

It is time to FLY,

FlyLady

What are you waiting for? Procrastination hurts you!

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