Following FlyLady's BabySteps: Day 1
“Do you feel overwhelmed, overextended, and overdrawn? Hopeless and you don’t know where to start? Don’t worry friend, we’ve been there too.“ `~FlyLady.
WOW! Is she talking to me? I knew that something needed to be done with the chaos and clutter that had ensued in my house. It was overwhelming. Just looking around my house sometimes depressed me. Toys, clothes, and shoes scattered everywhere. The never ending piles of laundry. Unopened mail on the counter. Oh, and that’s not even to mention the little piles everywhere, a fruitless effort to make the house look somewhat put together. I’m a stay at home mom for goodness sakes, keeping house was part of my job. But, I can't get motivated. I am clueless of how to even begin, so I do nothing.
Then last night, a friend and I were talking about the state of disarray of our households. Like me, she is a stay at home mom who can’t keep up and feels overwhelmed at the prospect of even starting. She told me she was thinking about following FlyLady and her BabySteps. 31 days of small steps to help you regain order in your home.
“I know that you have become overwhelmed by your home and the chaos that you have been living in. We are here to help you and it doesn't cost you a dime. Keep in mind that your home did not get this way overnight and it is not going to get clean in a day. We are going to teach you how to take BabySteps and establish little routines for getting rid of your clutter and maintaining your home. This system will work for anyone; it doesn't matter if you work outside of your home, stay home with children, retired or work at home. You can do this, you have just needed someone to pat you on the back and give you a great big hug to get you started. “ ~FlyLady
It sounded promising, but I was skeptical.
After some discussion, we’ve decided to embark on these BabySteps together, a support group within the support group that FlyLady offers. After completing Day One and actually feeling the sense of accomplishment that the FlyLady promised, I decided to report on our adventure here on HubPages. Are these 31 days of BabySteps going to work for us? I have no idea, but I’ll be sure to report on it either way. I will say one thing though, knowing myself and knowing my friend, if they work for us, they will work for anyone. So here we go….
Is your sink clean and shiny?
I honestly failed to see how shining my sink could set me on the path to a de-cluttered house, but according to FlyLady, “Don’t listen to those voices that tell you that its not going to help your messy house. This is exactly where I started and this little habit has changed my life! Take this BabyStep in faith and go do it.”
Ok, so she read my mind. I’m committed to doing this no matter how skeptical I am about it. I shall go forth and shine my sink.
Armed with Windex, bleach, and various scrubbing tools I threw the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and removed the dish rack from the sink. Oh my! The grunge that had built up under the dish rack was really quite disgusting. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had given the sink a good scrub, but the few ladybug carcasses that littered the bottom of the sink told me that it had, no doubt, been awhile.
Trying to follow FlyLady’s instructions, I filled the sink with hot water and added some bleach. Since I’m not a complete conformist, I filled both sides of the sink. I actually chuckled a bit as I realized I was already rebelling against FlyLady’s sage wisdom.
I returned an hour later to finish the job, and I realized my friend had texted me. There was a picture of her shiny sink.
“You’re the only one who is going to understand how good this makes me feel so I had to share.”
I did understand, and it looked awesome.
Not wanting to be the slacker in this house cleaning adventure, I started scrubbing my own sink. The side where I do dishes was easy to clean. The side where the dish rack was…well…it was riddled with something I could only describe as scum. My husband’s D.I.Y. silicone calking around the drain extended beyond where it should, and what I hope was only mold was growing under it. I used some elbow grease though, and had it taken care of in no time flat.
After drying the sink and making it shine, I took a step back and admired my handiwork. Not to bad, I thought to myself. I quickly snapped a picture and sent it to my friend. I then picked up the soap dish that sits on the sink and realized that maybe, just maybe I should have cleaned that first. Yuck. Green slime was caked to the bottom of it. There was no way it was going back on my shiny clean sink. So, I cleaned the soap dish and put it in its rightful place on the sink top. Day 1 complete!
My friend and I are both pretty proud of our sparkling clean sinks. I’m sure the June Cleaver types out there would roll their eyes at us for feeling a sense of accomplishment for such a small task. Well bully for them. We can’t all be perfect.
Looking around at the clutter that surrounds me, I do realize what a long way I have to go. I feel a sense of skepticism and accomplishment at the same time. I haven’t even had the nerve to look at what FlyLady will ask of me on day two. Dear Lord, what if she asks me to clean my fridge? Or even worse the bathrooms. BAH! I cringe at the thought. I am determined to give it a shot for the 31 days though, I know have great support since my friend and I are embarking on this together. We are looking at it as both an experiment and adventure. So tomorrow we will tackle Day Two, whatever that may hold in store for us…Until then.
