I'm really glad Laurel told me about the FlyLady, so I thought maybe someone else could use this information too... (I'd almost feel guilty if I didn't share this.)
I became a "flybaby" one month ago. That is, I signed up to receive FLYmail--daily email messages--which appear on the surface to be a nuisance but really are helpful (almost subconsciously).
Until recently, my house was typically in a state of CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome), but I think I may have turned a corner on this. I realized that when Neil's mom, sister, and grandma came over for a brief visit yesterday. Basically, I didn't have to do anything extra to make the house look presentable. It was all fine--not super clean or anything--but just fine, and not embarassing!
Over the past month, I've learned some great lessons from the FlyLady. For example, housework done poorly (or, partially) is still better than not doing any housework at all. Also, routines are the key to staying on top of everything (my brain has been trying to resist this concept, but it's finally getting through).
My preference for big jobs such as decluttering/organizing an entire room or filing cabinet would be to set aside a big chunk of time, like a whole day, to tackle the job. I think I've finally accepted that that is simply not my reality, and I'm learning that I can make progress by working on it for just a few minutes at a time--babysteps. That's probably the biggest lesson I've learned from the FlyLady: one really can make progress on a big project by working on it for just five, ten, or fifteen minutes here and there.
P.S. I love the message at the bottom of every email: "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?"
