Derailed.

This is my problem. I get excited about a new project, and then I miss a day, and then one day turns into a week, and then... derailed.

So now it's been a few months since I was on the Flylady plan for cleanliness. My shoes? Not tie-up. My sink? Not shiny. My house? Decidedly not clean.

I'm pondering starting over.

FlyLady Day 3: Signing Up

Day three is another fairly simple one. In addition to the shiny sink and lace-up shoes, I just had to join the flylady website. I'm now signed up for emails and have looked around the site. There are some useful looking control journal pages, and the emails look like a mixture between motivational/daily affirmations type stuff and useful info/"Flight Plans." I think they'll be helpful when I'm a little further along in the process, but right now? I'm just keeping that sink shiny.

FlyLady Day 2: Lace-up Shoes

Day two of the FlyLady plan calls for (in addition to keeping the sink shiny) getting dressed first thing in the morning, complete with lace-up shoes. This is unfortunate, as I much prefer my slip-on shoes. It seems like it shouldn't really be a big deal, but I understand the point behind it. I feel like I need to follow the instructions to the letter, for now, anyway. Perhaps when my cleaning habits are well-established I'll feel empowered to make my own footwear choices.

Anyway, no big deal. Shiny sink? Check. Tennies? Check.

I dread the part of this where I actually have to start cleaning...

FlyLady Day 1: Shiny Sink

The first day's task over at FlyLady.net is to clean and shine your sink. Done and done.

Keeping it clean may be the bigger challenge. She suggests keeping a clean towel next to the sink and rinsing/drying it out every time you use it throughout the day. That seems... unlikely. However, I have enlisted my husband's help, so I'll give it my best shot.

Here are the before and after photos, as promised:

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Learning to FLY

Ever heard of FlyLady? I'm making her my new life coach -- at least in the realm of housekeeping. She's got a 30-day plan to get started, with the idea being that you start with baby steps, and then by the end of the month, your habits are established. I'm hoping that by blogging about it every day, I can keep myself on track to do the full month of cleanliness.

Day one is pretty simple. All you have to do is clean and shine your kitchen sink. It's quite the process, actually. Part of it involves leaving the sink full of bleachy water for an hour, which is what is going on as I type. When I'm finished, I'll post the before and after pictures.

State of CHAOS

Why, hello, Internet. It's nice to meet you.

I'm one of those nice anonymous people out there who has decided that starting a blog might be a good way for me to help keep track of my own goals. I'm not really anticipating gathering a crowd of readers. I'm not sending this link to anyone I know, so I'd actually be pretty surprised if I had any. But, in case someone out there does stumble upon this blog, perhaps I should introduce myself.

I'm C, a housewife and stay-at-home mom living in flyover country. I have a young toddler boy and a husband, both of whom I love desperately. I also live in a state of chaos... as in, "Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome." See, I'm not an organized person. I'm not a tidy person. It's not in my nature to pick up after myself... and it's REALLY not in my nature to follow my even less tidy husband or even less tidy than that son around and pick up after them. I sometimes will insist on eating out for dinner because the counters are covered with stuff and it would take too much energy/time to clean it up AND cook. Every time we want to have someone over, it takes a whole lot of cleaning to make the place even semi-presentable. When someone comes to stay with us, it takes even more to get the upstairs in halfway decent shape. I'm embarrassed by it, but it's so overwhelming that I hardly know where to start. On those rare occasions when the house is looking okay (usually after my parents leave from a visit), it never lasts more than a day or two.

Today is one of those times. My folks left this morning, and while things aren't perfect, they're mostly not horrible. I like it. I'd like to keep it that way, but I know it won't last unless I make a major change to my lifestyle. I think now's the time to make that change.