Following FlyLady's BabySteps: Day 16, Day 17 and Day 18

When my friend read the task for Day 17 her exact words to me were, “Did you look at tomorrow’s task yet? It could be problematic.” Oh no, I thought, we had been doing so well since our first BabyStep. I didn’t want any kind of snafu this late in the game.

Wondering what the task was, I ran out to FlyLady’s website to see for myself. FlyLady wanted us to choose a bedtime and stick with it. My friend was right, that could be a problem. Neither of us were known for going to bed at a normal hour. I’m sure both of us have been asked many times, “Do you ever sleep?”

In trying to stay in the spirit of FlyLady’s BabySteps we decided to choose our own task for Day 17. We could tell by reading the accompanying text that the general idea was to do something to take care of ourselves. FlyLady makes it very clear that it is not only important to take care of our homes but take care of ourselves. The term FLY stands for Finally Loving Yourself. So we decided to think of something simple that would achieve the same objective.

In today’s society our lives are hectic. Its easy to neglect our own needs and focus primarily on the needs of others. But, there are many quick, easy painless ways to take care of yourself.

• Drink Your Water - Drinking 6 - 8 glasses of water a day helps you stay hydrated, regulates your body temperature, and transports vital nutrients to your cells.
• Take A Walk - Get outside and take a brisk 15 minute walk around the neighborhood. The exercise is good for you and you can also get a dose of Vitamin D, a nutrient that many of us are lacking.
• Eat Breakfast - After a long night of sleep, a healthy breakfast will increase your blood sugar levels and give yourself the energy needed to take on the day.
• Take A Multivitamin - Ideally you should be getting your nutrients through the food you eat, but by taking a multivitamin you ensure that your body is getting all the vitamins and minerals needed to function properly.
• Nap - A short 20 minute nap in the afternoon can help recharge your energy, reduce your stress, and help you relax.
• Take The Stairs - Avoid the elevator or escalator, and get some exercise for your calf muscles by taking the stairs.
• Eat Your Fruits And Veggies - Instead of reaching for that candy bar, grab an apple or some carrot sticks to help you reach the recommended 6 -9 daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
• Write In A Journal - Take 15 minutes a day to write down your thoughts. Journal writing can be not only a place for self discovery but also a form of stress relief.
• Floss - Keep gingivitis and gum disease at bay by spending a few minutes daily flossing your teeth. Click HERE for some great journal writing prompts
• Do Something Less - We all have those nasty little habits that we know we shouldn’t be doing. Instead of completely forgoing them, do them less. Less caffeine, sugar, salt and nicotine can benefit you with out the stress of giving them up completely.

Since we both knew we couldn’t do the assigned task for Day 17, we picked one from this list. Does that make us FlyBaby failures? I think not! FlyLady is teaching us that its important to take care of our homes and ourselves and by at least doing something small for ourselves we are still FLYing.

DAY 16 - READ AN EMAIL FROM FLYLADY

Day 16 fell on a Saturday, so it is good that the task was simple. My friend and I both have found that its easier to do our BabySteps during the week when the whole family isn’t home. Plus our work isn’t demolished as quickly with fewer people around.

We were both already reading the e-mails from FlyLady, so to add that to our list of things to do was easy.

I took advantage of the fact that my daughter wasn’t in school to have her do a 5 minute room rescue in her own room. As a child with ADHD, she has problems organizing things. Her room is always in a state of disarray. I knew she needed my help. Our weekdays are to busy for me to expect much from her, so I knew I needed to work with her on the weekends. We went up into her room and worked together to see how much we could accomplish in the short time allowed.

After only 5 minutes, there was truly a noticeable difference. She felt good about herself, and her room looked better. For me the added bonus was I could actually keep her attention for 5 minutes. She has ADHD and can get side tracked when doing tasks very easily. Of course, it wasn't long before her and her brother had demolished it again, but it was somewhat clean for a little while. That is one thing my friend and I have noticed, we don't mind when our kids mess stuff up when we have only invested a short amount of time. We just shrug, smile and move on. They're kids...its what they do.

DAY 17 - SET A SPECIFIC BED TIME AND STICK TO IT

If there was a day that we were going to fail on our FlyLady BabySteps, today was the day. I was feeling miserable due to a cold, and my friend was nursing a tooth ache. We were not in good shape or in good moods.

We had already decided that we were forgoing the FlyLady task of setting up a bed time for ourselves. Instead we chose to drink more water. It was something that both knew we were slacking in, and it kept in the spirit of taking care of ourselves.

Even though I felt like death warmed over, I again dragged my daughter into my FlyBaby web, and I forced her into her room to work on her closet. My son, not wanting to be left out, joined us and we got rid of clothes that didn’t fit, trash that never made it to the bin, and got the whole closet done in 15 minutes flat. FlyLady was right, you can do anything in 15 minutes.

Our biggest lesson today was that we could do it. It didn’t matter how bad we felt. The time involved was minimal enough that even on our worst days we could still take the time to do what needed to be done. Our rooms were rescued and our sinks were shining. We were FLYing high…and not because of meds. I will admit though, I did not wear shoes today. I got dressed, but I was so miserable sick that I wanted to be able to lay down at a moments notice….and once my BabySteps were done, I did.

DAY 18 - READ FLYLADY’S ELEVEN COMMANDMENTS

I had already found FlyLady’s Eleven Commandments on her website, so I felt that I was starting off Day 18 ahead of the game. My friend and I were sure that her reading assignments were just a way to get us used to our routines. FlyLady really does make it clear that she doesn’t want us to get overwhelmed.

The great news was we were rocking our routines. My friend had a very busy day filled with appointments, and she still managed to get everything done.

“Even though I had a crazy crazy day...still did get into the bathroom, rescued the toy room...AGAIN....and hit my hotspots quick. I did a quick 27 fling boogie, but only really had time for that before I was back out. In addition to the master bath, I also threw out all the stuff in the powder room that is unnecessary...drank my water today.....hmmm...what else... think that's about all I managed to do besides reading the commandments.”

I got everything done too. Although, sorting through paperwork to shred, file or deal with is really not my favorite way to spend 15 minutes.

Day 16, 17, and 18...complete!

It is amazing to see the transformation in my home over the last 18 days. My friend feels the same. FlyLady’s BabySteps are really working for us. Its no wonder that hundreds of thousands have been doing things the FlyLady way.