The Fly Lady

Carrie introduced me to the Fly Lady. Who in the world is the Fly Lady? She's Marla Cilley, and she's created a whole system of household maintenance, cleaning, de-cluttering, etc. The Fly Lady is big into routines, starting small, only tackling what you can handle in a given amount of time, and encouraging others in similar situations. I was definitely feeling overwhelmed with all I had to do around the house, had a new baby, wondering where to start, etc., and then I found her Beginner Baby Steps. It really did help change the way I worked around the house! I now have some routines in place that make the whole day run more smoothly. Even such simple habits as cleaning up all my dinner dishes the night before, washing 1 load of laundry every morning, and "getting dressed to the shoes" have really transformed my job as a home economist. I didn't "join" because I didn't want more emails in my inbox, but I checked her home page out daily for a while. In addition to the Baby Steps, there is a focus for the week (a particular room in your house) and daily missions to do in that room (such as cleaning out the cobwebs, dusting, whatever). There is also a habit or routine of the month to focus on. It's amazing what a difference a few small changes make. You don't need to make them all at once either, just start with one! Another thing I really took away from her website is the importance of re-evaluating my existing routines occasionally--thinking outside the box and figuring out what works for me and my family in any given set of circumstances. I do things very differently now with a toddler and twin infants than I did with only one infant at home, but I still use routines and try not to bite off more than I can chew!