Thursday, March 10, 2011

The "Fly Lady"

This might just change my life.....


My cousin shared with me about the "FlyLady". Basically, she sends you daily tasks for de-cluttering and cleaning your home. 15 minute chores along with the daily "Sink shine". This might just be the most creative invention ever!!!

Here is an example for this week. We are in Zone 2: The Kitchen

Zone 2: Mission #1 Monday

Dear Friends:

Your mission for today should you choose to accept it: Scrub down
your counter tops, I don't mean to just wipe a rag across them! I
mean you get some hot soapy water and you wipe down the counters from
front to back and side to side. Yes, you have to move the stuff on
the counters to do this. DON'T take everything off at one time and
then plan to put it all back again, I promise you will get
sidetracked and then you will all email me crying that it is all my
fault!! LOL! You just move your toaster (or coffee pot or whatever
this is an example here! :>) ) over to one side and wipe down the
counter, then move over a foot or so, move aside what is there and
wipe down some more and so on. We are not marathon cleaning the
kitchen here, just getting all the crumbs and junk that seems to
build up behind and under things.

Have fun! Don't obsess! Enjoy!

Kelly

Zone 2: Mission #2 Tuesday

Dear Friends:

Well it is day 2 in the Kitchen, are you ready?

Today we are going to de-clutter our leftover, food storage, plastic,
Rubbermaid, Tupperware, Glad-Ware, etc. containers! Do you have excess
lids? More bowls than lids? Stained and/or Melted? Do we even need to
talk about those old margarine, ice cream and sherbet containers?

It is time to let go of this clutter. I am not telling you that you
can't keep any containers, I am telling you to get rid of the ones
that have no lids, stained and the ones that keep getting shoved in
the back because it just isn't a size that works for you.

I don't know what a reasonable number of containers to own is, that
is a personal choice that has to be made on how you cook, store and
the size of your family. I just know that if you haven't de-cluttered
these items in the past 6 months it is time to really go through them
and start tossing!

A quick hint that is helpful, take a large zip top plastic bag to
store the lids in, this keeps them together and keeps them from
spilling all over the inside of your cabinet.

Spend 10 minutes doing this, don't get sidetracked and rip apart your
cabinets and drawers. One thing at a time.

Have fun!
Kelly

Zone 2: Mission #3 Wednesday

Dear Friends:

What a fun and exciting mission that I have for you today? LOL!

Let's take a close look at the gadgets and small appliances. The
toaster, can opener, coffee maker, microwave etc. The small
appliances that you use on a regular basis. When was the last time
you cleaned out your toaster; opened up the bottom and dumped the
crumbs? How dingy or dusty is your coffee maker? Do we even want to
talk about the blades on the electric can openers? How about the
outside of the microwave?

Wipe them down and make them shine. I am not telling you to drag out
every small kitchen appliance you own and to scrub them. Just wipe
down the fingerprints, dust, drips, dried food particles on the most
used items. Make sure you unplug these items before you clean them!

Don't obsess, set your timer for 15 minutes and have fun!

Kelly

Zone 2: Mission #4 Thursday

Dear Friends:

We are still tackling the kitchen this week!!! What do you think I
have in store for you today? LOL!

This involves old toothbrushes and elbow grease! Yes you guessed
it! Grab those toothbrushes and some general purpose cleaner and
scrub those faucets on your kitchen sink. It is amazing how much
gunk can build up around the seals and edges.

Have fun, this is a quick mission that shows instant results!

Kelly

Zone 2: Mission #5 Friday

Dear Friends:

We are in the last day of the kitchen zone!

Let's take a look at the cabinets! Take a few minutes to check them
out, I bet you will see that they need a little sprucing up! Just
wipe down the outside surfaces. You will be so surprised at what a
difference shining those cabinets will make!

There is no "right" way to do this. Depending on what your cabinets
are made out of is what you will use to wipe the cabinets down. A
wood soap, a general purpose cleaner, or just soap and water. A
slightly damp cloth will work as well.

Don't obsess and have fun with this! Look around and see how your
kitchen shines!!!


So...by the end of the week, you kitchen should be ALL clean and organized. It makes you do the stuff that needs to be done that you really don't want to do! But...I have found that because of these "daily" goals....its much for enjoyable, and it doesn't take me as long as I thought!
You can take the challenge and sign up for the free emails as well at FlyLady.net

How AWESOME is this?!?!?!

4 comments:

  1. Seriously- this is awesome, thanks for sharing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have been doing this on and off for a couple of years. I have been consistently doing it since our house has been on the market, and it makes it so much easier to get it all done. Have you read her book "Sink Reflections"? It is really good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi there! I am working on a list of blogs about FlyLady. I'd love to have your blog on there too! In case you're interested, you can find the list here:

    Add your blog by clicking here!

    Simply hit the 'Add your link' button at the end of the post and follow the instructions.

    ReplyDelete