Member Tips

“My mother in law gave me sound advice. She said that if you accomplish just one thing each day, besides taking care of all of the demands with an infant, you are a success.” – a member

“Whenever baby (seven months) goes down for a nap I do a room rescue. All toys get put in the toy basket, blankets and dirty stuff get taken to the clothes hamper. This takes less than five minutes.” – FlyLady

“My 10 month old baby girl loves it when I feather dust! She thinks that thing is so funny, especially when we take it outside to bless the world! It makes dusting a treat, not a chore! Thanks for all you do!” – Flybaby in Atlanta, GA

1. We’ve been flying since last August when I was pregnant with dd#3. During my pregnancy, I wrote out VERY detailed morning, afternoon & evening routines. I was blessed to have my mom & sister (fellow flybabies) here for the week after the birth and they were able to follow my routines without even asking questions (so important when one is suffering from “mommy brain” LOL!! They also did the home blessing before they left so I would have a whole week before that needed to be done again. I also taught my dh the home blessing routine & he was able to help out too! I used those precious first few weeks to just enjoy our new baby & everyone else was able to keep the routine going. It was also great when people asked what they could do, all I had to do was look at my control journal! 🙂 This has been my easiest baby yet! 😉 Thanks, Flylady!

2. I joined a month before I had my daughter, who is 5 months now. When I had my son 5 years ago, my home and life were chaos for the entire first year. But this time around things are a bit calmer…as long as I take 15 minutes to do my evening routine. When that routine is done, I go to bed and wake up happier, and things are done. Even with a newborn, no one ran out of underwear. Thanks a ton for the help.

3. I can’t tell you how invaluable FlyLady has been to me, especially since I have an 11 mo. old DD. I am listing just some of the benefits that my daughter enjoys because I am a FlyBaby:- Wake up time – I am a payroll SHE, starting work at 7am approximately 40 minutes from my home… translation… DD has to be at day care at 6am. Sound early? Not compared with my 4:00 wake up time to allow for shower, getting dressed, my morning routine and then waking the baby at 5:00 to PLAY and have breakfast. We get to play in the morning because I am ready to go before I even go get her. Sometimes I haven’t taken my vitamin yet but usually that’s the only thing. Her clothes are ready, my clothes are on already. Her bag is packed as much as possible the night before… it almost seems like too much to believe – who ever thought that a 5:00 baby and mama could be such a serene picture.- Drop off time – When I drop my daughter off in the morning I have a couple of extra minutes to chat with the day care provider and feel like we really connect. This is because when I go to the bank on errand day I get the singles that I need to pay for parking and they are already folded for the “Pay Here” slot and in my glove compartment. I also fill up my car twice a week (I hardly ever have it below a half tank anymore), so I never have to do that in the morning either. Basically… I’m just not as rushed. Also, I make sure to pay my day care bill every week and so I never have to sneak out!

4. Pick up time – DH takes care of this every day and they just play and play and play… go for walks… then I get home and again… I’m ready to play. I usually get home from work in my play clothes, meaning that I bring some clothes to work with me and change before I leave so that I can hug my daughter as soon as I walk in the door – no matter how covered in sticky she is. (I stay in my play clothes until I change into my pajamas during my night time routine) we play with her toys and sing the clean up song when we put them all back.- Dinner time – A breeze. Since I have been planning my menus and doing larger cooking projects on the weekend I am basically just heating food up during the week. I can sit and eat with my dd (and usually my husband sits with us too! unless he has school that night) I feel comfortable offering her anything from my plate – it is all healthy food and I know what is in all of it. Because I’m a FlyBaby – my table is clean and ready for us to eat. We talk about our days and discuss what our plans are for tomorrow – what we need to get ready.. etc.- Bed time – Just a great, great time. We lay out her clothes for tomorrow, do a spot check through the house together and see what we can do before she goes to bed. After she goes to bed I check my evening routine and see what I haven’t hit yet… I get a good nights sleep with my husband… looking forward to a great morning with her tomorrow again.

Because I’m a FlyBaby – my table is clean and ready for us to eat.
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my kitchen sink is shiny and ready to give her a “disaster recovery” bath at any moment
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my floors are cleaner and I am far more comfortable with letting her crawl around on them.
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my small house has less clutter in it, leaving more room for her to play
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my stroller is ready to go by the back door almost all the time and I have the time to take her
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my dd has clean sheets in her crib every week (I was not doing this before FlyLady)
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my dh has been making the bed every morning for a week! (It IS catchy!! and I get less of the “Don’t I have any jeans?” questions… he knows where they are because his drawers are labeled, mine too and hers too!)
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my dd’s high chair is cleaned after every time she uses it!!! I took the cloth padding off and am just using the vinyl – easier to keep clean.
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my dd has clean clothes to wear every day, every minute.
Because I’m a FlyBaby – my head is free of so much clutter, I have more of it available for myself, my baby and my husband and my work (I fly at work too.)
Because I’m a FlyBaby – I just seem to have more of everything. FlyLady is just helping me in more ways than I thought that anything could. Thanks so much and have a great day, Flying in Boston

5. Using the Zones really helped me. When you are tired (and who isn’t with a baby?) you tend to go around and around in circles with housework, stopping every five minutes to do something with the baby. With Zones, I could just have the baby on the floor or bed and work around him. I kept more focused, he could see me, and having a list meant I could just stop for him and restart where I had left off, instead of half-doing a dozen different things. Secondly, FLYing made me realize that it was wrong to fret about the housework when I was breast feeding. I came to see breastfeeding as my down-time, time for me to sit down and relax with a book or drink. And if I were tired, it was fine to have a nap — I deserve to look after myself! And so do you! – Sydney, Australia

6. I’ve found FLYing with an infant to be more challenging than I expected. The timer that had been my best friend now seems to be mocking me. 15 min of uninterrupted time? Ha! I’m eager to read others’ suggestions, but here’s what’s working for me.- I shower every day. Even if I have to wash myself one handed while holding the baby.- I do the best I can with my routines, using my Checklists to remind me of what I have accomplished on those days when it seems like I’m not getting anything done.

7. I wear my baby in a sling or carrier facing out to the world. There’s so much for her to process when she gets to watch me do my thing. She’s learning about the world AND she gets tired out and sleeps well. (At least 1/2 the time I try to lay down when she sleeps.)- I use my timer to remind myself why I’m doing what do: to bless my family. At least every 15 min I stop to smile with my baby. Even if I don’t really feel like smiling, it makes her happy…and that does make me smile for real!- in VT

8. Don’t forget to take your “me time.” I try to take a little every day. Just some time to read. Three to four times a month I go out and work on my children’s scrapbooks, one of my “SHE” hobbies. How selfish of me to go out and take time to create precious keepsakes for my babies. (Hee, hee) I enjoy the adult conversation and the time away. Flybaby twin mom in Florida

9. We’ve all heard the advice to rest when your baby rests! This is important! Now that my baby is sleeping well at night and I don’t need to actually nap with her, I still make sure to take “me” time when she naps. If I need to get things done, too, then I’ll set the timer for 15 min. and tend to myself first! That way, whether she naps for 1/2 hour or 2 hours, I know I got my rest and recharge time. – VA Flybaby

10. I have a 7 mo. old son who has Down Syndrome. We have a very busy day program of 48 activities we need to do with him. This is for his growth and development, so it is very necessary that we complete it everyday. In order to keep up with this, I have put each activity on a 3×5 card and have two top cards; one that states: Activities already completed and the other one says Activities to be completed. I put a rubber band on each one and we move the cards to the completed pile as we complete them. Every day we just put the cards back to the one that needs to be completed without looking at what may have been left out. This is more encouraging than checking it off a list…less intimidating. We have benefited greatly from FLYing because we have to take every window of opportunity while Elliott is awake to work with him. We have had to find out what activities work when…like tummy time activities when he doesn’t have a full stomach. We try to catch him at his best before he gets fussy so we both benefit from the time together and not just accomplish the activities with a crying baby. Since we home-school I hand out different cards to the older children for them to do with Elliott. The variety makes it fun for them and it doesn’t get boring. As for the housework, using the FLYlady system, there isn’t much to do! I have tossed so much that there isn’t any clutter. That shiny sink has spread its joy throughout the whole house! I am far from perfect and I feel great to be FLYing! My favorite FLYlady quote is: “Housework done incorrectly (I also add incompletely) still blesses your family!” FLYing in Upper Michigan

11. My tip with infants: focus on morning and afternoon routines–they keep you fed, in clean clothes and with a reasonably picked up house. I am a Flybaby of a couple of weeks. I am taking baby, baby steps because I am a first time mom with an 8-week old. We are getting to know each other and learning our own schedules. Before I started FLYing, I sat in my family room and nursed while staring at dirty dishes, newspapers everywhere, in my robe (anytime of day), with bad hair and fuzzy teeth, freaking about what we’d eat–talk about stress! And, I hardly ever got a nap because I’d run around like crazy whenever my sweet Naomi napped. This came to a climax when I cut my finger badly while cooking–it was 11 am, and I was in my jammies, no shower for 3 days, scary hair, teeth un-brushed. House a disaster, blood going everywhere. Forget about having the neighbors over for a social call, I didn’t want to call anyone to help me while I bled everywhere because my house was too messy!Now, I am JUST focusing on doing the morning and evening routine. It is 3 p.m. here, and I’ve been dressed, with makeup and hair since about 9 (right after my babe’s first morning feeding). My sink is shiny, my kitchen is cleaned, laundry in progress and we’re having spaghetti with broccoli, roasted red peppers and Parmesan for dinner. I had a 45 minute nap and have spend some quality cuddling time with Naomi. I don’t always get 15 minutes to declutter, but I feel very successful just by doing the morning and afternoon routine. The decluttering will come as baby nap-times become more predictable. This is a MAJOR change from my normal SHE self, who would be doing nothing because I was overwhelmed! – Colorado

12. This is my tip for flying with infants and preschoolers. Prepare dinner before 10AM. The bewitching hours seem to be when it is time to cook dinner. So, it is wise to prepare that casserole, chopping, cutting, cleaning, etc. before 10AM in the morning, so one can devote time to DK while putting food into oven or turning off a crock-pot.

13. I have been flying with an infant since August. Well, actually I think I’m more fluttering than flying. My biggest issue has been LAUNDRY!! I don’t have a laundry room..washer and dryer are in the garage so you know that has been my “excuse”. I hated to do laundry because it was scattered about the house mainly in my bedroom in piles etc. Well, a few weeks ago I had my breaking point. I thought something has got to change laundry is controlling me. So….I bought a huge trash container with a lid went about the house collecting all the laundry put it in it and that day I spent all day doing laundry. Ever since the laundry has been caught up. I do two loads a day once in the morning and one in the afternoon. Once I figured our where to put the dirty laundry and committed myself to my laundry routine…it has been a huge release and accomplishment for me. Flying in Oklahoma

14. I have 2 pre-school DDs. When the first one and more so the second one was born, it was a huge struggle just to get organized enough to make it out of the house some days. I started by making a list of what basics I needed in the diaper bag to be able to go out, I plasticized it and attached it to the diaper bag. That way no matter how tired I was I could be sure that I’d not go somewhere without wipes, a soother, or a snack for the older child. Absolutely set your clothes out the night before and get dressed completely every morning. No one needs to like what they see in the mirror more than an exhausted new mother; it will help your attitude immensely. Set your clothes out the night before, because depending on how your baby slept you might be too tired in the morning to figure it all out. I have sat for long periods on the floor of my closet when I was too tired to decide what wear. I have left the house in slippers because I forgot to put on my shoes. I hadn’t heard about Flylady at that time, but I did discover that basic routines were essential to sanity, especially reviewing tomorrow’s calendar the night before. What I did, and still do is walk through each errand briefly in my mind; that way I’d remember the little things that make the day go better. Will you be somewhere for long? Take toys and food. Is the place you are going cold? Take an extra sweater for baby. Is it far? Check that you have enough gas, and if not put it on your calendar. Putting myself mentally at my destination helped me get it right. One key to flying with infants is to let go your preconceived ideas about what it was going to be like. I knew I was going to be a SAHM for a while and I pictured how much free time I’d have for sewing, etc., how I’d visit my friends and their babies, how perfect my house would be. Once the baby came I quickly realized that all that was essential or possible was sleep, taking care of my child, and preserving the basic sanity of myself and my DH, which included healthy but easy meals and a restful but far from perfect house.

15. What I do is on Sunday nights I pack my ds bag for the week. I make sure the sitter has enough diapers, and wipes. I then pack his lunch and breakfast for the rest of the week as well. Everything is ready to go in the a.m. so all I have to do is grab and go. I usually make his bottles in the morning so they taste fresher and last longer as well. I’ll put in the amount of formula that is needed and in the morning while I’m eating breakfast the water is boiling and the rest is ready.

16. I am the proud Mom to a 3 ½ month old DD. Based on an idea I read in a past testimonial I do a weekly Baby Blessing in addition to my Weekly Home Blessing. I usually bless the house on Thursdays so we are all ready for the weekend and do the Baby Blessing on Friday along with any Weekly Home Blessing items I may have missed on Thursday. The Baby Blessing consists of washing all of DD’s soft goods, crib sheet, Boppy cover, play mat, changing pad cover, blankets, you get the idea. I also detail clean her changing area. We have a built in counter in our upstairs hallway where we keep all diaper changing items together. It makes diaper and clothing changes much easier because everything is within easy reach. We keep baby laundry under control with a laundry basket located right under the changing area. It is quick and easy to just throw the dirty baby laundry into the basket. We have a diaper champ right next to the changing area to take care of soiled diapers. Since we have a three-story home and the changing area is on the top floor I get a ton exercise each day. Who needs a Stairmaster when you have an infant and two flights of stairs?Finally I switch around the wall cards and small stuffed animals I have up around her nursery and changing area to give her new items to look at while she nurses, plays and has her diaper or clothing changed. DH wanted to share that just having the FlyLady system in place makes everything so much easier! Many thanks to the entire Fly Crew!!! “Exercising, even walking for only 15 minutes a day, is a big energy boost for me. It is what it takes for me to get off my Franny and get moving!” – Learning to FLY in Utah

17. First, I suggest that you work with your hair stylist to come up with a wash and wear hair style. Mine is short and layered. All I have to do is put a little gel in it, brush it into place, and let it air-dry. I can dress it up with a hair drier and curling iron for something special. But for every day, my hair style takes less than one minute, which gives me more time to complete my morning routine. Secondly, my child is my timer. As soon as he goes down for a nap, I do my 15 minutes of decluttering. Then I’m free to shower, hit a hot spot, or just rest. When my child is awake, I try to do 5 minute fly-by’s. That way, I don’t get too busy with something that I have to abandon if he needs my attention. I’m a SAHM, but I do my home blessing like I’m a payroll SHE. I do something in the morning and something in the evening every day. It’s much easier finding small blocks of time than one entire hour to bless my home with a baby in the house! I also play a lot of music in the house. If I’m singing and dancing around, my son thinks I’m playing with him…even if I’m doing the dishes, feather-dusting, or pushing the vacuum. My house is very lived-in, but it’s much tidier and more importantly, safer for my child, since Flylady came into my life. I am so grateful!

18. I have been a stay at home Mommy ever since my sweet little cutie fly was born, but I used to be a teacher. One of the things that really worked for my 4th graders was having an agenda on the chalkboard of what we were going to do and when. I made brightly colored magnets that had all of our usual subjects, lunch, recess, clean-up, specials, “together time,” jobs, assemblies, etc. that I could just place in the correct order each day. The kids loved knowing what was up ahead, and we were all better organized for it, especially me! Since I have been home, I have adapted my magnet agenda to fit my new, but wonderful life. I made tiny little magnets with my routines on them: “Dressed, hair, make-up, SHOES,” “Make Bed,” “Unload dishwasher,” “Scrub toilets,” “Shine Sink,” “Work in the Zone,” “Charge Cell Phones,” “Plan Dinner,” “Make Dinner,” etc. You get the idea. I have two columns on my decluttered fridge. The first one is where all the magnets start out as “To-Do”. The second one says “Mission Accomplished!” I move each magnet as I finish each job. My goal is to get as many magnets moved over to the second column before my husband gets home from work. For me, the cleaning part of FLYing with a 9 month old mainly happens when she is napping, as I don’t want her to be around cleansers and too many dust bunnies. However, I find that she loves it when I put her in my backpack carrier and vacuum the carpets and put things away. I am hoping that since she is seeing me do it from a very early age that it will help her learn her own organizational skills. We can hope!!! Thanks! A Flybaby with a Cutie Fly in OH

19. I have 3 weeks to go before the birth of my third child, and have spent some time pruning my routines ready for the new arrival. Thanks to Flylady I have released my guilt about stopping cleaning for a while, and I won’t start again until my family and myself are ready. After all, it is more important that we all have a little time for each other and are as unstressed and calm as possible. New babies are great, but also very hard work and stressful, so what I have decided to do is to concentrate on scaled down daily routines and stop all zone cleaning until I feel things are back on an even keel again – this could be months, but so what? My family is more important! Thanks Flylady. Here are my new emergency/newborn routines:

Morning routine:
Get dressed to shoes
Straighten bedrooms ready for day
Check appointments/commitments/to do list (keep this as small as possible!)
Plan meals/shopping – do we need anything? Do vegetables need peeling for supper? Should the crock pot go on?
Check laundry situation – is there washing to do/hang out? Do any nappies need washing?
Clear up breakfast dishes and kitchen
Swish and swipe bathrooms
This routine might take all day, but I’m prepared for that!

Evening routine:
Get clothes out for tomorrow
Get things ready for tomorrow eg sports bag, changing bag, school lunches (I’ve got a weekly event list pinned up to help me remember what is needed)
Check laundry situation – is there washing to do (I put it on timer and have it going overnight then it is ready to be hung out next day), or nappies to wash?
Shine sink
Open post, check phone/e-mail messages
Try to spend 15 mins doing something for you, even if it is just a cup of tea with husband and a chat over evening news.

I’ve abandoned trying to do my WHBH (weekly home blessing hour) in one go and have split it up, I try to do one 10 minute job a day. If anyone calls and offers any help, I can give them some of the cleaning jobs which I’m ignoring for now. The only other things I try to do are to do one room rescue a day, usually at bedtime, and to clear one hotspot too. Hopefully this should have us flying through the next few months!I also have a pre-feeding routine prepared and pinned up, as I have a toddler and anticipate problems when I’m feeding the baby.

WHB Routine:
Have I got a drink/snack for myself and for toddler?
Are the stair gates shut so I know he is safe?
Has toddler got something to do, eg book, video?
Have I got something to do, eg diary nearby or phone, shopping list etc?
Is baby’s bed ready for afterwards just in case he/she falls asleep?
Is the potty nearby?I’m hoping that a minute or two paying attention to these things before feeding will make it all much less stressful and avoid toddler going and flooding the bathroom, blowing up the kitchen etc! – A Flybaby in UK

20. I am a SAHM and I found with 2 little ones, breaking up my Home Blessings over the week like the payroll shes do is a great help. It can be really hard to find a whole uninterrupted hour to dedicate to Home Blessings, but as we all know you can do anything for 15 minutes and that goes for little ones entertaining themselves, even if they fuss, it isn’t going to hurt them for such a short time. I also, for memory purposes, try to come up with a system by the days of the week. Mon is Mopping, Tues is Tubs (scrub them), Wed is Washing (sheets etc.), Thurs is throw out the trash, Fri is feather dusting , Sat is shine the glass (mirrors and what not) and Sunday is shine the sink (thoroughly to start the week of right). This way I just have to know what day of the week it is (sleep deprivation may make this one tough lol) and I know what to do for that day. Flybaby in WA

21. I have 3 boys, but have only started to fly right after my youngest was born. While my now 1 year old ds was a baby. I would feed him first thing every morning. Then I would put him back in his bed and turn the mobile on. I found I could make my bed, get dressed and do my make-up, during this time. At first it was a race, but as time went by I found I had plenty time left over. While folding laundry, I would place my baby on a quilt and put the baby gym near him, I found I could still talk to him, while folding my laundry. For breast feeding moms a basket filled with nursing pads, cloth diapers, the remote control, the cordless phones, pacifier, and a water bottle is a must. I kept it near my favorite chair, so it would be in reach when I needed it. This could be filled with other things for bottle feeding mom too. I also kept a basket with powder, wipes, diapers, and small bags in the living room, so I could change my baby while working. This way I wasn’t forced to go to his room, I could just change and go back to my other job and not get sidetracked. Also Flylady is made for new moms. 15 mins of work is easy to do and still have time to cuddle with your baby. I kept mine in a carrier or sling and would do my 15 mins of work. Planning dinners are very important. I rarely felt like making dinner after taking care of my toddlers and baby all day. If you have easy dinner fixings on hand or use the crock pot, your sweetie can help clean up when he gets home. Plus if you plan out your dinners and do a quick shopping list, you can have anyone go to the grocery store for you. – from Austin TX

22. I have an infant and a toddler and I use my timer to get my toddler dressed. She loves to see if she can beat the timer. I am an organized perfectionist – and used to try & do my routines when my baby was asleep (which was rare, so they never got done – of course, this was pre-Flylady). Now, I involve her in doing things – it might seem like it takes longer to get done than if I were to do it alone, but it gets done (so what if it takes 20 minutes instead of 7, I rarely found 7 minutes when she was so sound asleep that no sound would disturb her *and* I wasn’t tired). She loves helping, knows that she can have me play with her once the work is done and is growing up to detest messes. We have come from having toys strewn all over the floor to playing with one toy at a time & putting it in its place in a matter of 2 months. Moving into a house has also helped me clean my sink every night (previously, I would be too scared to wake her up with the noise of the dishes or running water, so I would leave everything till the sink was full and it *had* to get done) In the morning, she loves to run and check on my shining sink before doing anything else – that has been a major motivation for me. Except for knives and glass items, she helps me unload the dishwasher too. I can’t wait till my 2nd baby grows up & they ‘fight’ over helping me with the work – well, I prefer calling it home play time. The biggest tussle is surely going to be over who gets to mop the kitchen floor! I’m glad to say I have gone from CHAOS to CHEER (Come Home Everyone, Every time I’m Ready) in less than 2 months & with 2 in tow. JC in NC

23. Just thought I’d pass on an idea for keeping my baby’s clothes in order. In his closet I keep a large baby gift bag (recycled from the many we received when he was born) to put his out grown clothes in. If I try to dress him in an outfit that no longer fits it can immediately go into the bag to be handed down to a friend or given away to charity. This way his dresser isn’t full of clothes that don’t fit! I also save time by not resorting out-grown clothes. The gift bag is a great size as it doesn’t take forever to fill and I can get rid of it as soon as its full. I wish I had thought of this with my first two! Flybaby in BC

24. Don’t save all of the baby clothes. Just save a few you really love. I was surprised when I found most of the clothes had stains, when I finally found them. Storage causes those old spit up and other stains to resurface. Yuck!

25. Even if your baby can’t have a library card at 6 months of age, you can get one. This way, you’ll be able to have a big lot of baby and children books to vary bedtime stories. And moreover, you’ll be able to read and read again any book about parenting and babies without buying them, and putting them away and so on… no more baby books clutter ! And as soon as baby will grow and learn to like books, he’ll love to come with you and choose books at the library.

26. Well, she’s not really an infant at 14 months, but she’s not a pre-schooler either. We have a number of small baskets with her toys and books in our living room. I find it only takes a couple of minutes to clean up behind her when everything has it’s place. She also really enjoys the easy access to her toys. And our living room basically stays fairly organized.

27. I have had to be pretty creative to stay on top of things during the infant/toddler stage. One tip that helped a lot was to go through the whole house and box up everything that is non-essential and put it away until they’re older. For example, the coffee table has nothing on top of it – no tablecloth, no decorations, no magazines, no plants. The end tables have a lamp only. The top of the TV armoire is bare. This makes dusting and cleaning much easier and keeps everything away from baby’s prying hands and mouth. Toddler toys are always everywhere during the day. At day’s end, I make a quick sweep through the house with a small laundry basket, gather them up, and dump them in the toy box. Presto (less than 5 min) and husband and I have a nice, clean house to relax in. We moved dd’s toy kitchen into our breakfast area – so she “cooks” while I cook. She’s not underfoot (dangerous in the kitchen), but she’s where I can see her, and she’s not in front of the boob-tube. While she sleeps, I pick up her room and get it ready for tomorrow. With my routines in place, I’m ready for her when she wakes up. And off we go!

28. My FLYtip for flying with infants…my old college buddy and I were both expecting at the same time last summer. We both had older children and were each expecting a child of the opposite sex (i.e. I had an older daughter and was expecting a boy. She had an older son and was expecting a girl.) Though we live several states apart, we agreed to swap hand-me-down clothing. She sent me her son’s baby clothes for my new baby son, and I sent her my daughter’s. It was wonderful. For the cost of shipping, we both had years worth of clothing for our babies. My son is nine months old and when he grows out of a size, I just go to the garage and pull out that size worth of clothing. I have up to 3T! While this does require some storage of sizes in plastic containers in the garage, as soon as he outgrows them they are GONE and FLY out of the house. Saving on baby clothing is something that I would urge every FLYperson to do. Why spend a fortune on clothes that are worn for a few months? And my son has always looked great! (Note: I do NOT recommend garage sales as those bring out the SHE is all of us and invariably you buy other “must haves.” Focus on swapping with friends and/or going to used clothing stores.) – FLYing Valley Girl in California

29. I’m flying with an 11 mo dd, and the best thing I ever did was create safe zones so she can play safely while I do a little bit of work. Making sure the gates are up and toys are down she can do her thing and I can do my thing. She loves cleaning out the cabinets/closets/drawers/pantry with me. And Mom always takes breaks for hugs and playing together! Now that my house is picked up all the time, it doesn’t take much time anyway. 🙂 = Flybaby in IL

30. “This little tip goes way back to pre-flylady days! During the first nap of the day, I’d make the beds, reboot the laundry, defrost dinner and make a salad or prep some veggies. It really lessened dinner stress–my babies always seemed to be crying at 5:30!” – a member

31. My trick for getting time for myself is starting the laundry when my 6 mo old starts her nap. It is sort of a white noise for her (the washer is in a closet adjacent to her room). Then, I do my thing while the washer does it’s thing. Then the same with the dryer. This is great incentive to do laundry every day. I have two tricks for saving money, and they are both great for my baby girl. The first is, of course, breast feeding. The second trick for saving money is using regular diapers. I do use diaper covers, but not All – in – Ones. I just have a small flip-lidded trash can to hold them. I use the plastic grocery sacks to line it. I throw a little baking soda or carpet deodorizer in the bottom to keep the smell down, and I wash them every other day or so. On nice days, I hang them outside to dry. The sun takes away any stains that might be on them. I love being able to just pass by the baby section in the grocery store. Flybaby in Wilson, NC

32. A sling is my best friend! I have several that I use with my baby, who is now almost a year old. When she was a newborn she would go to sleep in the sling while I did whatever I needed to do. Now, when she needs to be close to me, she rides on my hip. I can do just about anything I need to do, and she gets to stay close to mommy. – Flybaby in Indiana

33. I have an infant and a toddler. So to help keep my infant son’s socks separate and not lose any (something made from only an inch of material is easy to lose), I put his socks into a mesh laundry bag and throw the whole thing into the wash. When finished I just dump those socks into the drawer and start filling up the bag again with the next load.To save time in the kitchen, I make double batches of many meals and freeze one and serve the other. I am never without a back-up meal in the freezer. This is very helpful when there is usually a baby in my arms demanding attention.

34. I just read that you are going to be focusing on children this up coming week and I wanted to let you know how I manage to FLY with a 2 1/2 year old and a 9 month old. It’s challenging for sure and each day is different, but the way that I can get things done is by handing my daughter a wet face cloth and she washes the walls. It doesn’t matter if I am doing laundry or dishes or cleaning a room. She loves walls, if I didn’t give her a face cloth she would find a pen, pencil, or crayon, sometimes even a stick. This way I praise her non stop for being mommy’s Big helper my walls get a daily cleaning and I am still spending time with her so I can clean whatever is next on my list. Once the walls are done or she is tired of them then there is the windows. (LOL) Flybaby in Alberta

35. As a foster-mom who has taken care of eight children under one in the last four years, here’s some of the tips I’ve learned:Get a diaper bag with compartments, and keep it permanently packed. I keep diapers, wipes, diaper cream, plastic bags, extra harness (in case of shopping carts or public high chairs without them), change of clothes, snacks (pack things like Cheerios in small Tupperware containers), and formula. For formula, I pack the bottles with the water pre-measured in them, then pack pre-measured formula in a separate container. Just dump in and mix, and I can leave it permanently packed. By giving everything its own space I never have to search for things, can check what’s low for repacking in a flash – make it part of your nighttime routine, and never have to worry about whether I have the right things packed for this excursion. Keep a small diaper bag with toys in the car. That way there are not loose toys everywhere, and you always have one available for emergencies. It will slide nicely under the seat along with a pack of diaper wipes. As part of your nighttime routine always check your supply of clean bottles, bibs and blankets. These are not things you want to be dealing with at four in the morning! Your baby’s playtime is the best time to fold laundry. She can play happily while you sit on the floor next to her, singing songs and folding your laundry. That way she’s extending her wings, you are still involved, and your house will thank you!

36. This may sound silly, but it works. I could never seem to get to folding the laundry, I used to do it after she went to sleep for the evening. One day I decided that laundry should be fun, especially since I have to do it regularly and often!I bring the laundry basket upstairs to the family room. I place my little one in her Exersaucer. I fold the laundry in front of her and tell her the name of each piece of clothing. I use the shirts, towels, and sheets to play peek-a-boo! I play a bit, fold a bit. I save the last item for an extended game with lots of silly faces just for giggles. It works!

37. Here are a few ideas for how to Fly … I should know, since I have 8 month old twin girls!

38. Do baby laundry every day, so you stay on top of it. Have one laundry basket just for baby stuff. I actually use three baskets…one for me, one for DH and one for the girls.

39. Pick up toys at the end of each play session. That way, they don’t pile up all day long and you keep on top of it.

40. If you have a dishwasher, get a little basket to hold nipples and the rings that hold them on the bottles. Buy enough bottles so that you can load up the dw and run it every night.

41. Make your formula at night before you go to bed, and fill up the bottles. Then in the morning it’s one less thing you have to do (or in the middle of the night, for that matter…)

42. Keep a box handy for outgrown clothes. Label it 0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc. When the box is full, tape it up and take it to your attic or basement right away. Go through the drawers every couple of weeks to keep things moving.- Invest in a package of cloth diapers. They are great for spit ups and also for dusting, polishing mirrors, drying sinks, etc.

43. If people offer you things you don’t have room for or don’t need, DO NOT accept them! This is hard to do, but you can be polite about it. Hope this helps! Flybaby “Ohiotwinmommy”

44. Dear Flylady and Crew: I remember way back before I even knew of your existence–how I would search the web for a way to get myself organized and into routines. (I found a few, but they weren’t exactly what I wanted–I wanted someone to tell me what to do and when) A friend of mine told me about you and I am forever grateful to her! I am not quite set in my routines, but I take pride in the things that I have accomplished since the beginning of the year. My son was born in October, and during my pregnancy I didn’t ‘fly’ much. I used it as an excuse to be lazy. I am ashamed to admit it. But all that doesn’t matter now! What matters is I am taking Baby steps and I know that it doesn’t have to be perfect, and I can ‘jump in’ to whatever zone we are in. I know I am flying because when I made my bed the other morning my daughter (2 1/2 mind you!) said, ‘Mommy Flylady would be proud, you made bed!” LOL I was in purple puddles. I am ‘training’ her now to make her bed–which of course looks nothing like a made up bed, but I just gush and tell her she did great and Flylady would be proud of her too! I know in time, as she gets older it will get better! (It is so cute to look at a ‘made up’ bed through the eyes of a child!) My daughter also has a kiddie table in her room and I told her if she keeps it clean she can have a vase with fake flowers on it. That vase is on her table more often then not! I even have caught her sitting at the table and smelling them! LOL My kids are my treasures and I am so happy to ‘bless’ them and my DH on a daily basis. You are a GodSend! My Mom would have loved your system, but I am pretty sure she is smiling from Heaven. Thanks for everything! Flying with my treasures~ in Ohio

45. I have a 1-year-old dd who is my pride and joy. One thing I’ve learned with her is the importance of having routines — even before I knew about FlyLady! We both thrive on a predictable eat-play-sleep pattern which repeats throughout the day. What I’ve found especially important is taking time for myself while she naps. For a while I would try to get things done like cleaning, but I learned that I really needed that quiet time each day to pamper myself, to do something that I couldn’t do while she was awake. It’s really helped me keep my sanity on those hard days. Despite the temptations to be a supermom and play the martyr (Why do we do that to ourselves?), it’s amazing how much I enjoy motherhood more when I have that “me time”! – Flybaby in VA