OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

[Elsie150]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

BABYSTEP AND TASK FOR JAN. 4

Okay I will admit it I am not going to put sticky notes on my mirrors to remind me to shine my sink, get dressed and work my zone. I did start a control journal and I leave it open until I have done everything listed there. Task for Wed is super easy. If you messed up the area you cleaned Tues. then clean it it...that is a hotspot. I will take the 15 minutes to work in the zone some more. Set your timers and drink some water! WE CAN DO THIS!

Day 4

So far we are;

- Getting Dressed to lace up shoes - Keeping our sink shining - Reading 2
minutes of Reminders

Your next thing is to write these things down on a sticky note and post
them on your bathroom mirror and above your kitchen sink. This is the
beginning of your Control Journal. The little notes help us to remember
the habits we are trying to establish.

TASK

Dear Friends:

Today you are to take 15 minutes and get rid of any hotspots that
have started to simmer in the entrance area of your home. You know
where they are! LOL! What will surprise you is that it will
probably take less than 15 minutes!

Have fun!

Kelly

[Elsie150]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

Mandilee and Kat..you two are doing great!! Wednesday is an easy day so I know you won't have any problem.

How is everyone else doing? Keeping up? Using Wednesday as catch up? Noticing a difference yet?

Every bit you do makes a difference and lightens your burden a bit. Got a trick to share?? Here is one. I always have a box on the go now for the thrift store and when it is full I drop it off when I am going to town. Less is more!!!

I flinged 3 little tealight holders. Pretty little things...very decorative...but not used and not needed....so into the box they go!!

What did you fling today?

[Elsie150]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

Oh Oh...no one checking in?? Have you all given up or are you so busy cleaning you have no time??? I slacked a bit today but everything is still under control. Didn't fling anything today.

[Elsie150]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

Thursday Jan 5

BabyStep Day 5

- Getting Dressed to lace up shoes - Keeping our sink shining - Reading 2
minutes of Reminders - Looking at our posted reminders in the kitchen and
bathroom

Are you hearing any of those nagging negative voices popping into your
head? I want you to take a piece of paper and write down what you hear
then I want you to turn those ugly words around and say something nice to
yourself to negate the ugly words that they said.

Task

Dear Friends:

Let's go into the dining room and get down and dirty with the cobwebs
and the dusties. Look up and look down, get the dust off the
baseboards and the cobwebs out of the corners in the ceiling. While
you are looking up, check out your light fixture: does it need to be
dusted?

Take 5-15 minutes to take care of this! You will pleased that you
did!

Kelly

[kkat55]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

Oh Oh...no one checking in?? Have you all given up or are you so busy cleaning you have no time??? I slacked a bit today but everything is still under control. Didn't fling anything today.

I'm here, I'm here!

Sorry, I didn't post on this thread last night (I was here, but forgot); I ended up going to bed early because I started getting my headache back (from earlier in the day).

You can put a check by my name for Wednesday. I took care of everything when I got home since it didn't take long.

It does make you feel better to know that things are neat and in order in case anyone drops by. I felt really yucky while we were remodeling...and hated for anyone to see it!

[wannabethintoo]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

Wanna you can do this!!

It is all about the babysteps. So today you had to keep your sink shined (for me this means keep it empty)..get dressed to the shoes. Do your normal morning cleaning (for me this ain't much..then I wonder why everything is so cluttered?) and then do your task for the day. Today was entrance way...does that mean that you have to organize the whole thing? NO! It means set your timer for 15 minutes and work and when the timer goes off then you are done! You don't have to do more. You will get to it the next time we work in that zone. My trick that I am doing is I am adding the areas that we have tackled to my morning routine and keep whatever part I did get done done.....that way when we are in the area again I can work on a different part.

Babysteps...15 minutes...you can do it!! What do you say??

Ok, I'll give it another try. I guess I need to explain things to my husband and daughter 'cause they are not helping the situation.

[wannabethintoo]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

[QUOTE=Elsie150]
I flinged 3 little tealight holders. Pretty little things...very decorative...but not used and not needed....so into the box they go!!

[QUOTE]You got rid of knick knacks?

[wannabethintoo]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

Task

Dear Friends:

Let's go into the dining room and get down and dirty with the cobwebs
and the dusties. Look up and look down, get the dust off the
baseboards and the cobwebs out of the corners in the ceiling. While
you are looking up, check out your light fixture: does it need to be
dusted?

Take 5-15 minutes to take care of this! You will pleased that you
did!

Kelly

Well when I look up at the ceiling in my dining room, I see big holes. We had a toilet overlow upstairs a few days ago and the ceiling is ruined and needs repair. So this room is kinda is dissarray right now.

[wannabethintoo]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

My huge problem is that I can't get rid of anything. Does anyone have any tips in this area? Besides of course: Just get rid of it!!!!!!!

[kkat55]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

My huge problem is that I can't get rid of anything. Does anyone have any tips in this area? Besides of course: Just get rid of it!!!!!!!

Hum...I'm the same way. When I moved from Louisiana I still had a lot of my Mom's and Dad's things (hard to part with). A lot of things are still in storage at my in-laws...but now that we are just about done here (remodeling) I know I need to go get all that stuff, but have nowhere to put it. So, I'm going to have to part with some of it (sniff).

Sometimes when I have to do this kind of stuff (with other things). I'll take three things out and say to myself, "Which one is the most important to keep and which one is the least?" Then I put the least one in a bag for Goodwill and I'll do that a little at a time. A while back I did the thing where you walk through your house and pick 15 things that you need to get rid of or that you don't use. I did it by the hardest, but things are a little neater. Some of that stuff you never miss. Other things I put in those large plastic totes and hide away in a storage room.

I hope everyone is having a nice day!! It sure is nice to walk in the door and everything looks neat and clean!!

[Elsie150]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

Kat...don't get overwhelmed with it! Just one box at a time. Even just one a day or weekend if you have to do it that way. That stuff is not your Mom and Dad!!! It isn't. Most of it will be just stuff. Some of it stuff that they wouldn't keep if they were decluttering. Limit yourself to a few things that were their favorites or hold a special memory for you. Or take a picture of it and put it in your album with some journalling beside it. Remember babysteps!!

Wanna....I am a hoarder...so I know what you are going through. Believe me when I tell you that the more you get rid of STUFF..the easier it becomes. The more....freeing. Now don't think that I am done...there is still a lot I need to get rid of and still a lot that I am not willing to part with...but it is getting easier.

Again it is about babysteps. To start with I always have a box on the go for the thrift store. Use a small box so it takes up less room and it fills up faster and then you can get it out of the house faster. I also have another box for relatives and if I am willing to part with something big or something that I think someone else I know might want I email them or phone them and ask and if they want it it goes into that box until I see them. If not then it goes into the thrift box. If it is too big for the thrift store or something they don't take then I get online and freecycle it. That is a group for my area that you post your giveaways and they come pick it up. For some reason...for me...if I know it is going somewhere instead of the trash then I find it easier to part with. Last year I decided I would have a yard sale so as I was going through stuff I put price tags on it and put it in boxes. We had a community yard sale and all I had to do was pull the stuff out of the boxes. We did it for 2 days. Then the last half of the second day I put a free sign up and people could take what they wanted and then after it was over I offered it to a neighbor who like to do yard sales and the rest went to the thrift store. Well almost all of it...I couldn't part with the craft stuff...so that is back in boxes in the house and will be yard saled at my Mom's. After that if it still doesn't sell I will let a friend of mine pick what she wants and the rest will be donated to the school.

You don't need to get rid of all your Knick Knacks. Keep the ones that give you joy. But if you have a lot really look at them...do they bring you joy or do they just add to your workload or clutter? Keep your favorites and put the rest in the thrift box. There will be less to clean and less to dust and it will look less crowded and it will show off your treasures better.

I did sit the kids down and talk to them about what I am doing. And got them to help. I told them that it is going to take some time but when we are done it will be easier for them to find their stuff...easier for them to keep their rooms clean and they will be able to have friends over. And it will be okay when people just drop by. I know that I am doing them a favor by teaching them now so that they will not have to go through this in their own homes. And also they will not be burdened with it when I die....LOL...might take me that long to part with stuff...LOL!!

DH is more than willing to help with the getting rid of part. We will have to see how it works out with him picking up after himself in the already cleaned parts. We will talk. He is working right now which is kinda good as it lets me and the kids get a routine going.

I am concentrating on the areas that is the task for the day. So area's I have already cleaned are the first areas I check to make sure they stay clean. Another thing that is really helping me is that I batch cook. By that I mean I buy the big family packs of meat and cook them all up and then put them into smaller packages that hold enough for one family meal and put them in the freezer. So then I can pull them out and they just need reheating. Very quick...less mess...easier clean up.

Don't give up Wanna...every bit you do will make your life more easier. I think that part of my weight lose success is attributed to being able to get rid of some of the clutter in my house. Things still are crazy around here but it only takes an hour or two to get things ship shape for company now rather than days...as long as they stay upstairs....LOL! We are remodeling downstairs on one side and the other is the dreaded storage area...you know...where you just huck the stuff in and don't look at it. It's BAD!!

So I say...do the task today anyway...it will be the cleanest hole and will look better than if you didn't. Set the timer for 15 minutes and if you are done the task then maybe tackle half a shelve in the cabinet or clear the table off. But do something rather than be overwhelmed and doing nothing because that just keeps the piles growing bigger.

Okay..if you made it this far you are probably dying of thirst so go drink your water!!

[Elsie150]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

For Wanna..
http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Declutter.asp

[wannabethintoo]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

For Wanna..
http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Declutter.asp

Thanks Elsie. You're the greatest. I'll give it a try. I really have to get rid of stuff.....a lot of stuff.

[Elsie150]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

You're welcome. Don't worry Wanna...I have a lot of stuff too to get rid of. Just remember you aren't going to get it all done this week...it tooks years and years to get to that stage and it is going to take time to get back under control. You can do it. Every little bit helps!! :^)

[kkat55]

Re: OT:FlyLady Challenge/January

Do we have any cute graphics to put in our siggie lines about the Flylady Challenge? (Or we could call it the Baglady Challenge -- hee hee -- just kidding)