Dear FlyLady,

Hey. I’m 14 years old and my mom has come across your site. She loves it. But right now I’m typing this with anger. My mom used to be fun and not a neat freak. I want her back. She has literally gone crazy. Any more of this and I will run far away. Please block our ip address or something from your site. I haven’t been with friends in a week because she wants me to clean every second. Please..

Reluctant Kid

My Dear Young Friend,

Please don’t run away. Your Mom has gone a bit overboard which is our tendency when we find something that really does work for our home. I am sorry that she is cleaning all the time. That is not how FlyLady works. We want her to shine her sink, get up in the morning and get dressed to lace up shoes immediately and then do a simple morning routine. During the day we just want her to declutter for 15 minutes.

We teach our ladies to take babysteps and not get overwhelmed. I do not want your mom to crash and burn. Doing too much too fast. Establishing simple habits will be the foundation to keeping your mom from turning into a cleaning crazy woman. If you want to keep your mom off you back I have a Control Journal that will help you. I hope she reads your email. I have changed your name.

Now if you are a mom and you are resemble this commentary from a 14 year old then I want you to think twice. I understand that 14 year olds can blow things out of proportion. This kid is not the first family member to complain about a change in the lady of the house.

You joined our group; not your husband or your children. You are the one who wants to get your home in order. You can choose to do this by yourself or you can become a cleaning raving crazy woman. It doesn’t have to be this way! Single parents and military parents FLY all the time. You don’t have to clean all the time. Take babysteps. Set your timer! Pace Yourself! Most of all, please don’t make your family despise the FlyLady.

We want to make cleaning house fun! We do this in lots of ways! When you make it fun it will get done. The best way to get teenage kids excited about decluttering is to use money as incentive. This is the only time I ever recommend having a yard sale. You can get your kids excited about selling their stuff. Let them do it; do not do it for them!

In the long run; you will be happier if you are not nagging or playing the martyr. Set the example in love and before you know it, your family will be following your lead.

It is much easier to KEEP house than it is to CLEAN house.

FlyLady