Dear FlyLady,

If there’s one routine that has really gotten itself in place for me, it’s laundry. It’s on a schedule which makes it easy to get done.

As soon as I get up, on my way to plug in the coffee pot, I carry the day’s laundry to the washer and get it going. Within 45 minutes, while I’m doing some Bible meditation, it’ll be ready for the dryer, and within an hour ready to be taken out.

If there’s no time to fold it then and there, it gets laid out to avoid wrinkles, and right after breakfast it’s folded and put away.

What gets done on what day is also on schedule: Monday: darks; Tuesday: lights; Wednesday and/or Thursday, other items as needed; Friday, sheets and towels because I love to start the weekend with fresh linens on the bed and fluffy towels in that shiny bathroom on Friday night

This is such an ingrained routine in my life, that it’s almost dangerous for me to do the wash at any other time of day, since I’m likely to forget that it needs rebooting into the dryer or the folding process.

Blessings.

NJ FlyGirl

Rebecca here: Our habit for August is working on Laundry. A load a day keeps CHAOS away!  

Do you have a story or tips that will help other FlyBabies with this habit? Please send them to FlyLady@FlyLady.net with Laundry in the subject line.

My 15 Minute Light Bulb Moment

Dear FlyLady,

I just HAD to write in!! I had been agonizing,the problem was my little writing desk in the living room – it was used as a dumping ground by both myself and my husband. Every time we cleared the table for dinner (or as a Before Bed- Hotspot Fire Drill), we would put anything that didn’t have a place on that desk. Bills, letters, staplers, light bulbs, pieces of string…. You know what I mean!

Then, one anti-procrastination Wednesday, I decided to do just 15 minutes of work on that desk – I didn’t have to finish, I just had to do those 15 minutes (I don’t know how long it took me to realize that, after years of “I have to get that desk cleaned up all the way….). So I got started. I sorted the junk from the important stuff, put staplers and things in the top drawer, organized the top drawer, put papers in my “To Do” section (Control Journal), other papers in my “To File” drawer (which I am now working on every Desk Day), dusted and polished the desk, and put a pretty candle on it…. I couldn’t believe it when I saw I still had a minute left on the clock!! It took me literally YEARS to realize how quickly I could organize this desk.

Of course there are still “To Do” things in my Control Journal now, but at least I know where they are, and I am consistently doing one “To Do” every day (it’s my new habit for March). And the filing really isn’t that much work either, once you throw out all the unnecessary paper junk…. Unbelievable!!

The reason why I am writing you, is that I just KNOW how many FlyBabies have struggled, and still struggle, with some areas in their homes. To all of these lovely FlyBabies out there I would like to say: just GET STARTED!! You DO NOT have to finish it, just do 15 minutes – you’ll be surprised what a dent you can make in the mess!!

And finally: thank you for all you do, FlyLady and crew! I am expecting my first child in April, and I feel confident now that my home will be in order (it mostly is now, but there is always more decluttering to do!) when the baby comes. And of course I’ll be teaching my child the power of 15 minutes, and not beating yourself up!! If I can help my child love him/herself, then I have done my job as a FlyBaby mom.

Happily fluttering with a heavy belly,

FlyBaby from the Netherlands

FlyLady here:  No one ever truly believes what they can accomplish in 15 minutes until they do it for themselves!! For years we have heard every

excuse under the sun of why timers and 15 minutes will not work – then

we get the testimonials that tell us how much a timer and 15 minutes

has changed their lives!