Following FlyLady's BabySteps: Day 4
Do you keep a cleaning journal?
We are adding sticky notes to our arsenal today. The FlyLady uses sticky notes to introduce the idea of a Control Journal.
"I want you to realize that a Control Journal is just a place to put your routines, basic weekly plan, your zones and other information. With a Control Journal you have a place to keep important items without them getting lost in your numerous hot spots." - FlyLady
Not surprisingly, there are steps on FlyLady.com to make your own Control Journal. Nineteen of them to be exact. I clicked on the first one, just to see what it had in store. It said, “Control Journal BabyStep 1.” OH MY! More BabySteps? Will they ever end? I quickly clicked the back arrow on my browser, not wanting to read more about it. I was getting ahead of myself, something FlyLady says frequently not to do.
Of course, if I decide that I don’t want to make my own Control Journal, FlyLady will sell me one for only $12.95. HERE is how she makes her money. She sells tools to help follow her system. I knew there was a catch somewhere. Good for you FlyLady, I knew you couldn’t be doing this completely out of the kindness in your heart. Oh, I can’t fault the woman for wanting to make a living. Actually, some of the items in her shop have quite entertaining names.
- FlyLady’s Rubba Scrubba
- FlyLady’s Rubba Sweepa
- FlyLady’s “I’m So Proud of You” Pencil
- FlyLady’s Office in a Bag
I might want a Rubba Scrubba just to be able to say to my husband, “Hey hon, can you run downstairs and get my Rubba Scubba.” I can imagine the confused look in his eyes. Speaking of my husband, my friend and I are both starting to see changes in our family as we progress in our adventure…
DAY FOUR - WRITE THESE THINGS DOWN
I was up at 6:30 this morning, I but still did my new morning ritual: roll out of bed and get myself ready shoes and all. Then I went downstairs to admire my shiny sink. I ushered my daughter onto the bus and then set out to write my token sticky notes. It was kind of an absurd thing to do considering I had already done what they were directing me to do. But like a good FlyBaby clone, I did as I was told.
I still had one thing left to do for the day, which was check out BigTent. I logged in and starting reading the FlyLady news. To be honest, it wasn’t very overwhelming to me. I read a few articles on cleaning and some testimonials. I even decided to do one of the cleaning projects suggested for the day. The fact that I took the initiative to do so really told me that I’m feeling more motivated.
I checked in with my friend around mid morning. She was doing as well as me. At this point, we are both convinced that this program may actually be able to help us.
She found an amusing quip when doing her reading on BigTent:
Nothing says I LOVE YOU like a Clean toilet to throw up in when you are sick! - FlyLady
What an interesting perspective. It made me laugh, that’s for sure.
We’ve both noticed our families are taking note of our peculiar behavior. Both of my kids have shown concern that I’m wearing my shoes in the house. My four year old even tried to take them off me this afternoon. My daughter saw my sticky notes when she got home from school and asked, “Are you ever going to do anything besides shine the sink?”
My friend’s daughter had been standing back silently observing, and now she wants to help. Good thing FlyLady sends out e-mails to help get kids involved.
BUT our husbands…Oh my! Now first of all, let me say, that my husband is aware of that I am doing the BabySteps. He doesn’t know what they are, but he gets what I’m trying to accomplish . Her husband hasn’t the faintest idea.
My husband told me the other night that he was afraid to use the sink, for fear he would mess it up. He was joking of course. Although since those words came out of his mouth, he has not left a lick of a mess in that sink at all. I told my friend I envisioned him dumping the milk from his cereal bowl down the toilet in an effort to keep the sink clean. She said she could just see him, hovering over the sink, about to pour the milk in, and retreating to the safety of the bathroom to dispose of the milk.
She texted me later that day to tell me that both her daughter and her husband put their dishes directly in the dishwasher. We laughed thinking they must of assumed her sticky note was for them.
Later that evening her husband put his dishes in the sink again. Shocked at the oddity of him doing that simple task, we poked fun at the fact that he may be worried she is about to require I trip to the local loony bin. We could imagine his thought process as he walked up to the sink shaking his head.
What is going on with her? Has she lost her ever loving mind? She’s completely obsessing about keeping the sink clean, but the rest of the house remains basically untouched. Is that sticky note for me? I better not put this cup in the sink or she just might completely lose it. Hmmm, I’ll put it in the dishwasher, and then go make sure I have the number for the hospital on speed dial, just incase.
All in all, Day Four was a success. We’ve even seen some changes in our families thanks to the small efforts we are trying to make. Neither of us anticipated our families help on that first day when we shined our sinks. FlyLady’s 10th commandment is “Smile even when you don’t feel like it. It is contagious. “ I guess a little housework is contagious too.
I’m feeling so good about what we are accomplishing, I can’t wait to see what is in store for Day Five.
