Tabrett Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I tried Fly Lady, but after about 1 week I couldn't handle the massive amounts of emails I was receiving. I have so many junk emails already, more was making my head swim. I need something to help me figure out how to clean my house. I do ok with keeping the living room and kitchen/dinning rooms straightened, vacuumed and mopped. My clothes are clean and put up and I keep my dishes done daily.The guest bathroom is fine. After I have done these thing, I am pooped and don't feel like doing any other house work. My and the kids bathrooms are scary!!!!! I need to clean the bedrooms and wash the sheets. I need to keep the kids rooms straight and dust the house. I need to wipe the doors around the handles and dust the baseboards. The windows need washing and the carpet needs to be steam cleaned (my MIL lets me borrow her steam cleaner). I need to get the toys put in the play room on a daily bases. I need to clean under the couches and beds. When does one do the thing mentioned above. Is there a system for getting all of this done on a regular bases? I didn't have a problem when I had only on or two kids, but with four, I am over whelmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanamom Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 When does one do the thing mentioned above. Is there a system for getting all of this done on a regular bases? I didn't have a problem when I had only on or two kids, but with four, I am over whelmed. The Motivated Moms planner is working great for us... we use the week/page option. Here is a sample page. I put it on the front of the fridge each week for all to see; the kids help me with the chores and check off the jobs they do. The site is: http://www.motivatedmoms.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I have one target area/day. Monday - living & dining etc (open floor plan so it gets done all together) Tues - bathrooms Wed - kitchen Thurs - dd's bedroom (she helps; includes washing bedding) Fri - ds's bedroom (he helps; includes washing bedding) Sat & Sun - my bedroom/garden/my office/basement/seasonal chores I vacuum/sweep the living areas daily - big dogs, cat, foster rats which chuck bedding out of their cage..... I do laundry pretty much continuously. I also straighten daily & wipe the bathrooms, kitchen etc daily. The once a week cleaning for the given area is a more thorough good cleaning (cleaning the cupboard doors, stove etc.) which usually takes about an hour or less, & then I find with just small touch-ups, it lasts the week. I don't have knick knacks & we don't live in a very dusty place so I don't actually dust much. When we have a bad week, are really busy, or get sick, I find it is usually possible to skip some things or do what I call a 'quick & dirty' attack where I just blitz an area for about 5-10 mins. I have a pretty high tolerance for clutter & when it overwhelms me, I just dump everything in a bin & shove it in a child's room to sort later in the week. Hope that gives you an idea for something that might work for you. I don't like to spend too much time cleaning the house; I prefer to just LIVE in the house :D & I've found this routine keeps the cleaning to a minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 The Motivated Moms planner is working great for us... we use the week/page option. Here is a sample page. I put it on the front of the fridge each week for all to see; the kids help me with the chores and check off the jobs they do. The site is: http://www.motivatedmoms.com/ Do you have to start with a clean house to do this program or will your house become clean following the program. A silly question-I read on the sample that you wipe out the bathroom sinks on a daily bases. Is this to include wiping off the bathroom counter or is that done on a rotation? My bathroom counters are a mess and if it told me to wipe out the sink, I would just wipe out the sink and not the counters. KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 I have one target area/day. Monday - living & dining etc (open floor plan so it gets done all together) Tues - bathrooms Wed - kitchen Thurs - dd's bedroom (she helps; includes washing bedding) Fri - ds's bedroom (he helps; includes washing bedding) Sat & Sun - my bedroom/garden/my office/basement/seasonal chores I vacuum/sweep the living areas daily - big dogs, cat, foster rats which chuck bedding out of their cage..... I do laundry pretty much continuously. I also straighten daily & wipe the bathrooms, kitchen etc daily. The once a week cleaning for the given area is a more thorough good cleaning (cleaning the cupboard doors, stove etc.) which usually takes about an hour or less, & then I find with just small touch-ups, it lasts the week. I don't have knick knacks & we don't live in a very dusty place so I don't actually dust much. When we have a bad week, are really busy, or get sick, I find it is usually possible to skip some things or do what I call a 'quick & dirty' attack where I just blitz an area for about 5-10 mins. I have a pretty high tolerance for clutter & when it overwhelms me, I just dump everything in a bin & shove it in a child's room to sort later in the week. Hope that gives you an idea for something that might work for you. I don't like to spend too much time cleaning the house; I prefer to just LIVE in the house :D & I've found this routine keeps the cleaning to a minimum. Will you just come live at my house, Supermom?:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyWImom Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 The Motivated Moms planner is working great for us... we use the week/page option. Here is a sample page. I put it on the front of the fridge each week for all to see; the kids help me with the chores and check off the jobs they do. The site is: http://www.motivatedmoms.com/ Fly Lady didn't work for me either! I felt like it was too complicated. :D I like the looks of this, with the daily/weekly list that you can put up and check off. Has anyone else done this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty Mathy Mom Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 If you want to try to stick with FlyLady, you can get all of the FlyLady messages in one daily email. You have to log into your Yahoo Groups account. Click on Manage beside My Groups. Then click Edit My Groups. You should get a screen where you can set your Message Delivery. Change it from individual emails to daily digest. I struggle with housekeeping. I like the Motivated Moms planner because it tells me exactly what to do, but I like the FlyLady way of building routines and getting rid of clutter. I found that doing the baby steps from FlyLady is the best way for me to get back on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest janainaz Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I do kitchen, bathrooms, vacuuming, kids rooms, bed making, laundry, etc. - all of it - daily. BUT, every week I do a couple major chores - out of the ordinary stuff. Last week it was vacuuming my fabric window treatments - they were covered in dust, I took everything out of the garage, went through it, swept and hosed it out.... stuff like that. I just do a couple out of the ordinary things a week - sometimes it's just cleaning out the junk drawers and organizing the rest. But, if you stay on top of just basic housework every day, do tubs, floors sheets, refrigerator once a week (except for sweeping and spot-mopping) and take on one project a week - you can get 4 major things done a month. One other thing that helps is to de-clutter and get rid of ANY junk you have around your house that you don't need. It makes it much easier to open a closet or cupboard and find room to put stuff and be organized. I'm not Martha Stewart with all my stuff tied in a pretty bow on the shelves, but I go through our stuff really well every six months and get rid of stuff we are not using (toys and clothes especially!). Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Do you have to start with a clean house to do this program or will your house become clean following the program. A silly question-I read on the sample that you wipe out the bathroom sinks on a daily bases. Is this to include wiping off the bathroom counter or is that done on a rotation? My bathroom counters are a mess and if it told me to wipe out the sink, I would just wipe out the sink and not the counters. KWIM? There's a space for you to add in your own "things to do", in addition to what they're laying out for you. If there's something else you needed to add in, on a regular basis, you could do it. If you want to give me a kickback (tee hee), you can click through to my blog, in my signature link, and order a Motivated Moms planner from there. I suggest it frequently, in blog posts, for folks who don't do well with Flylady. (I think Flylady is a great idea...but having it tied to the computer is troublesome, IMO. My other suggestion would be to go through the Flylady site, thoroughly, and make up your Control Journal (or whatever it's called, I can't remember) with a printed out schedule of what they're suggesting...but if you need something already done up...Motivated Moms just might be better. It will get you going, and the blank spots for you to put your own things can eventually give way to you making your own, more personalized list, if you desire it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 If you're interested, near the top of Flylady's home page she has sneak peak of the week. You can check there and get the zone and all the missions for the week. Then you don't have to do the horrible e-mails. I quit Flylady, too. The emails were too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PariSarah Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 I made up a chart in Word format, with a list of chores and how often I thought they should be done. (Weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly.) Except for the big yearly chores (like cleaning out the shed or whatnot), everything was broken down into reasonably small chunks. I laminated it, and used wipe-off markers to mark what had gotten done. Ds had to do any two chores per day, and on days I was home, I tried to do at least two, plus cooking. Dh usually did two or three on days he was home, plus dishes. And then once after lunch, and once after dinner, we did a 15-minute straighten--everyone has to run around the house for 15 minutes putting anything and everything away. Whoever did a chore from the checklist checked it off, and if we didn't get to something one week (or month, or quarter), we tried to get to it the next. That was enough to keep the house clean enough for people to come over, although if we were having overnight guests, we usually had an hour or so of work to do before they arrived. I think I still have the list somewhere, so if you want it, PM me with your email. You can use it as a starting point for your own list--you might need to change the air conditioner filters more often or some such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E_Edgerton Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 www.howtocleanstuff.net Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in Oregon Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 (edited) but, the fly lady control journal works pretty well. It's not that expensive and you use page protectors so you can change things around when you need to and you don't need to re-order every year. This replaces the need for the emails, as well. I did not order the "Office in a Bag", just the "Control Journal" (49 pages) and put them in a binder. http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_CJ.asp Edited November 10, 2008 by Linda in Oregon added more info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 The only thing from Flylady that actually worked for me was their *Swish N Swipe* routine. I took one day and got down and dirty with my downstairs bathroom...the clutter there was just awful. I had bought a bottle of spray cleaner and a set of cheap bar towels that would only be used for the bathroom and put that under the sink. Once I got the room thoroughly purged of all junk and unnecessary stuff, and got it really sparkling clean, the Swish n Swipe took over. It takes 2 minutes each morning, right after I get dressed. You basically start with spraying the mirror, then the countertop and sink, then move to the toilet where you spray the seat and clean around the floor if needed. You keep a holder next to it with old shampoo and a toilet brush and give it a quick swish. Then you're done, and the bath is sparkling and smelling clean all day. Even if the rest of my little house is cluttered, my bathroom is fresh and I feel happy~ Ginger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Learn the Flylady system, make your own control journal- one that works for you, personally, your house, your lifestyle and personality, and follow that. I get my Flylady emails sent to a separate folder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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