Flybaby Babysteps

Dear Precious New Member,
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.
The voices that you hear in your head keep telling you that you are
behind and you have to get it all done now! We are going to quiet those
negative voices that are beating you up constantly and replace with a
loving gentle voice that tells you that you are not behind and you can do
this one babystep at a time!
Please do not get impatient with the process. Everything we do is going

to help you replace those voices that put you down. We are here to lift
you up and celebrate every little accomplishment.
Your very first babystep is to go shine your sink. Don’t listen to those
voices that tell you that is 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. Here are the directions for shining
your kitchen sink.
Day 1
Go Shine your sink.
http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Shine.asp
Shine Your Kitchen Sink

This is your first household chore. Many of you can't understand why I want you to empty
your sink of your dirty dishes and clean and shine it, when there is so much more to do. It
is so simple. I want you to have a sense of accomplishment. You have struggled for years
with a cluttered home and you are so beaten down. I just want to put a smile on your
face. When you get up the next morning, your sink will greet you and a smile will come
across your lovely face. I can't be there to give you a big hug, but I know how good it
feels to see yourself in your kitchen sink. So each morning this is my gift to you. Even
though I can't be there to pat you on the back, I want you to know that I am very proud of
you.
Go shine your sink! - FlyLady
Shiny Sink 101

Many members have asked "How do I clean my sink until it shines?". So, just for you, we
have posted FlyLady's "Shiny Sink 101" essay. Here's to a great shine!
Note: Follow this procedure the first time you shine your sink. You do NOT need to
follow this method everyday. Just keep up the shine with a little window cleaner.
Dear Friends,
I want you to smile from ear to ear when you gaze upon your shiny sink.
I have heard every excuse in the world. Even old sinks can look new again with a little
elbow grease.
Here is how you do it:
BE SURE AND RINSE WELL BETWEEN EACH STEP OF THE WAY!
1. Take all the dishes out of the sink.
2. Run some very hot water into the sink. Fill to the rim. Only do one side at a time.
Then, pour a cup of household bleach into the hot water. Let it sit for 1 hour.
Now, pull the plug with a pair of tongs. If you don't have tongs, then scoop some
of the water out of the sink into the other sink and use your hand to pull the plug
(wear gloves and don't get the bleach-water on your clothes).
3. Rinse your sink well.
4. Use some cleanser (Comet, Ajax, or Baking Soda) and scrub your sink. Ensure
you rinse ALL of the cleanser from the sink.
5. Take a sharp edge and clean around the rim of the sink, just like you would clean
dirt out from under your fingernails.
6. Clean around the faucets too. You may need an old toothbrush or dental floss.
7. Now, get out your window cleaner, I use Windex, and give it a good shine.
8. If you still don't like the way it looks, then you could try some car wax. Just know
in your heart that you have cleaned it very well now and it doesn't have to be
perfect. Our perfectionism is what got us in this situation in the first place.
9. Every time you run water in your sink, take your clean dishtowel and dry it out (I
lay out a clean one, every night with my before bedtime routine). Before you know
it, you will be doing this everytime you leave your kitchen. The rest of the family
will too. No more water spots. You will have a clean and shiny sink.
10. Don't have a fit if someone doesn't take as much pride in your sink as you do. It is
very easy to fix. You have already done the hard part. You will never have to go
through this process again. Daily maintenance will keep it looking this way all the
time. Nasty hurtful word are not as easy to repair. Just be sure and tell your
family what you are trying to do. They will think you have gone crazy.
11. If you don't have a dishwasher, don't worry. A dishwasher is just a dirty dish
disposal. Clean out a place under your sink and put a dishpan in there. Teach
your family, that instead of putting their dirty dishes and glasses in the sink, place
them into the dish pan. Get into the habit of putting your dishes away as soon as
they have been washed and are dry. No more leaving the dish drying rack on the
counter or in the sink. Put it away under the sink when you have finished. If your
old one is nasty, you may want to soak it in the sink full of bleach water at the
same time you soak the sink or go buy a new set.
12. To insure that your family remembers this, put a note in the sink. It will get their
attention and remind them where to put the dishes. Be patient! They have never
been taught either. It is going to take some practice.
Now if you have a stainless steel sink, I recommend all of the above directions with one
extra instruction added: after you soak your sink, rinse well, and use SOS pads to scrub
it. This will buff the finish. It will look like new.
If you still can't get it to shine after the Windex, put a light coat of lemon oil or olive oil
on it. I mean just a tiny bit on a cloth and rub it. This will make you smile. Some people
have had very good results from Bar Keepers Friend.
Go Shine Your Sink!

FlyLady
Last note: ensure you don't mix cleansers like Comet, etc. with Windex (or other
ammonia based cleaners), you can create dangerous gases! It is worth repeating: rinse
well between each step.
After you do this; you will keep it shiny by drying it out after each
time you use it and making sure when you go to bed that it is shining so
it will make you smile in the morning. This is how I get to hug you each
day! That shiny sink is a reflection of the love that you have for
yourself.
Our FlyLady system is all about establishing little habits that sting
together into simple routines to help your day run on automatic pilot.
You can do this!
Day 2
Today I want you get up and get dressed to lace up shoes when you first
get up in the morning. This means fix your hair and face too.
In order for us to change ourselves we need to remind ourselves of what

we are doing. I did this with yellow sticky notes throughout my home to
guide me through my day. This was the beginning of my home control
journal. I had little notes on my bathroom mirror to remind me to get
dressed to shoes. When you see the many reminders in your inbox from
Yahoo; just think of them as yellow sticky notes. You don’t have to do
them yet; they are just there as a little reminder. Read the subject line
and you will be absorbing the flow of them. Do not allow those voices in
your head to say this can’t possible work with so many emails. Then when
you hear those voices say I don’t have time. Set a timer for 2 minutes
and just read a little and then delete at will.
Shine your sink before you go to bed.
Day 3
Today you are doing what we have already done. -Getting up and dressing
to lace up shoes -Keeping your sink shining -Reading your reminders for 2
minutes.
Then I want you to read something on our website. This will help you to
understand more about what we are doing and how together with our
reminders, essays and testimonials you are going to see changes in your
home and attitude.
http://flylady.net/pages/FlySpecial_FlyLifeLines.asp
A Letter From FlyLady

Dear Friends,
We are so happy that you checked out our website. Many of you are searching for the
magic pill that is going to change your life and your home. I know you are tired of living
in clutter and CHAOS. The trouble with a magic pill is that it doesn't work unless you
take it.
There are many of those magic pills collecting dust on your bookshelves. Your intentions
were honorable, but the whole process overwhelmed you. Then you just gave up. Now
that you have found FlyLady.net: Don’t sit back and expect to see changes unless you are
willing to swallow the pill.
The website is not the pill! Our pages are a resource for you. This is all that it was ever
intended to be. We have the system outlined on the website, but the real medicine comes
from my messages that you receive in your email inbox. Each day I send out attitude
adjusting essays! Yes, it takes a few minutes to read them, but what have you got to lose?
I know you have spent hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars in your quest for a
clean home. Here I am offering you the medicine, for free. Don't act like the stubborn
child that has clinched his jaw shut refusing to swallow the cure that is going to make
him well. What are you afraid of? A few emails in your inbox or change? We send out an
average of 10 emails a day.
Kelly’s Missions are posted on the website along with the announcements and other fun
interaction with our members, but you are not going to receive my messages on the
website. Neither are you going to have access to the archives to read them online. This
system has helped tens of thousands of people. Many members lovingly refer to it as FLY-
Washing. It is the messages that will eventually retrain your mind and spirit, and your
home will come together.
There have been some of you who have purchased our tools in the FLY Shop in hopes
that they will be the cure. I don't want to disappoint you, but if you don't have the
messages to go along with the tools, you will not know how to use them, and they will
soon be collecting dust along side all those books in your bookshelves.
I want all of you to FLY and it is going to take much longer if you sit back and refuse to
swallow the pill.
FlyLady
Here is a testimonial that was a God Breeze this morning:
Dear FlyLady,
I could write pages and pages, but I'll try to keep it short and to the point, because I'm
sure you get jillions of e-mails.
I just have to tell you what a God-send you are to my life. I have several Home
Organizational books, and all of the SHE books, and I have both the flipper set up and
the index file set up for many years, but could never get either one to work for me. I
always felt sooooo overwhelmed and stuck with what-in-the-world to do first, when I did
have the whole day to clean (cause everybody knows you need the whole day to clean),
and ended up watching TV, or going shopping for more stuff to escape all the other stuff I
had piled at home. Anyway, you know the story---you have hit me right-on with the
procrastinating thing and being a perfectionist, everything you have described is me!!
I JUST KEPT THINKING: "IF SOMEONE WOULD JUST TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT
TO DO TODAY AND WHICH ROOMS ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO CLEAN, I THINK
I COULD DO IT." I would ask my dh (who by the way is bo, of course), and he would
answer, "Oh, huh, I don't know."
I found your website 14 Oct 01, and have only did baby, baby-steps. I LOVE LOVE
LOVE your daily reminders, it keeps me aware and more focused than I have ever been
in my life (I'm 56 years old) thinking about the routines and the zones. The people who
quit because of too many e-mails apparently, either aren't in a big enough mess, or have
no desire to improve their homes. In fact, I am very disappointed when I check and there
are no reminders from FLYLADY in my in-box!!!! I get my reminders at work.
I am a payroll SHE, working long hours, but I have made some progress (just like you
said, it started with cleaning my kitchen sink shiny clean, and your sentence saying "we
have beat ourselves up for so long for not being able to do anything" was key to my
attempt to FLY, and when I read that Finally Loving Yourself was the meaning of FLY, I
cried, because that is what all this means---it's a big change getting off my FRANNY!!
And, that too is so wonderful of you: encouraging us to exercise for 15 minutes a day
(and I was doing none, and I'm supposed to because of high blood pressure).
You address so many things that are important in our lives, so anyway, I kept wondering
why you didn't address finances more, because of being such a great procrastinator (and
I know a lot of us SHE's are in the same boat), I am in financial ruin often, not paying
bills, wasting money on dumb things to make me feel better about myself, just not paying
attention to my money. Your message "Are Your Ducks in a Row?" yesterday answered
all my questions on finances, and you are right on every point (and I even have some of
Suze Orman books).
I just think you are a GENIUS for developing all this for us SHE's, spending so much
time on us, and for FREE. I can't thank you enough. I am soooo glad that there is
someone who understands me and how I function (or dis-function) about EVERY LITTLE
AND BIG THING in my life (thank God for giving you that insight)!! And how I am so
happy to be given directions at last!!
God bless you FlyLady!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOU AND YOUR GREAT BIG
HEART!! You are an answer to prayer.
Day 4
So far we are;
- Getting Dressed to lace up shoes - Keeping our sink shining - Reading 2

minutes of Reminders
Your next thing is to write these things down on a sticky note and post
them on your bathroom mirror and above your kitchen sink. This is the
beginning of your Control Journal. The little notes help us to remember
the habits we are trying to establish.
Day 5

minutes of Reminders - Looking at our posted reminders in the kitchen and
bathroom
Are you hearing any of those nagging negative voices popping into your
head? I want you to take a piece of paper and write down what you hear
then I want you to turn those ugly words around and say something nice to
yourself to negate the ugly words that they said.
Day 6 - Getting Dressed to lace up shoes - Keeping our sink shining -

Reading 2 minutes of Reminders - Looking at our posted reminders in the
kitchen and bathroom - Recognizing the negative voices when you hear them
and changing the words to be nice to you. That is what FLYing (Finally
Loving Yourself) is all about.
Today we are going to learn about Hot Spots. We all have them. Here is a
link on our website to read the definition of a Hot Spot.
http://flylady.net/pages/FLYFaq.asp#hotspot
What is a Hot Spot?

A Hot Spot is an area, when left unattended will gradually take over. My favorite analogy
is of a hot spot in a forest fire, if left alone it will eventually get out of hand and burn up
the whole forest. This is what happens in our homes. If left unattended, the hot spot will
grow and take over the whole room as well as making the house look awful. When you
walk into a room, the hot spot is the first thing you see. Your eyes are locked on it. Over
the years my hot spot has migrated. As a child it was a chair in my bedroom. I would pile
it to the ceiling. Right now I have two hot spots in my home: the dining room table and
the bed in the extra bedroom. The dining room table is a staging area. We put the
unopened mail there, as well as any thing that needs to go to the basement. Some times
you cannot see the top of the table. This is the first thing I see when I walk into the
kitchen. Granted, the pile has only been there since last night, but if I don't deal with it
first thing in the morning, it will collect many more items by evening. CLUTTER
ATTRACTS CLUTTER. The Bed in the extra bed room is just the same. I use it as a place
to put things that don't have a home. Do you have areas like this that continue to grow if
left alone? Does the rest of the family see this as a place to put things when they do not
want to put them where they belong? It is our job to NIP this in the bud. Get rid of that
pile, find the surface underneath, and stop the Hot Spot from becoming a raging Clutter
inferno! - FlyLady
Now I want you to set your timer for 2 minutes and let’s practice
putting out your Hot Spot. You don’t have to work till you have finished;
just do what you can in 2 minutes. Put your bills in one place. This will
keep you from having to search for them.
Day 7

minutes of Reminders - Looking at our posted reminders in the kitchen and
bathroom - Recognizing the negative voices; change them and FLY! - Put
out your Hot Spot for 2 minutes; just pick one.
Today we are going to add a new habit to our before bed routine. Tonight
before you hop in bed; I want you to pick out what clothes you are going
to wear tomorrow. You can lay them on a chair, on a shelf or hook in the
bathroom or on a hanger on your closet door knob.
Day 8
Here you are; you have been FLYing for a whole week. I am so proud of
you. Let’s review your new habits. I am going to break them down into
what you do each morning and what you do each evening.
Morning Routine
- Get up and get dressed to lace up shoes; fixing your hair and face -
Looking at your posted reminders in the kitchen and bathroom - Reading 2
minutes of reminders - Recognizing the negative voices and changing them;
YOU ARE FLYing NOW! - Put out your Hot Spots for 2 minutes
Before Bed Routine
- Keep your sink shining - Lay out your clothes for tomorrow - Put out
your Hot Spot (I have to do this twice a day) It makes me smile in the
morning!
Over the last week we have introduced you to our reminders and the basis
of our routines. As you establish these habits it will become easy to add
another habit for you to practice.
Today I want you to find an old three ring binder and just put some paper
in it. Then at the top of one page write Morning Routine and on the top
of another page write Before Bed Routine all in pencil. This is a working
document; do not allow your perfectionism to interfere with the process.
Now you can write your simple routines on each page.
Day 9
Here is what we are already doing; Look in your Control Journal; leave
the sticky notes up to help remind you. It takes us 28 days to develop a
new habit. These are just BabySteps on our way to a new way of living.
Morning Routine
YOU ARE FLYing NOW! - Put out your Hot Spots for 2 minutes
Before Bed Routine
morning!
Today we are going to learn how to declutter our homes a few minutes at a
time with some fun tools that I know you have been wondering about from
the reminders you have been reading in our emails. Making it fun will get
the job done!
http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Declutter.asp
How to Declutter
Taking 15 minutes each day to declutter an area, using the 27-Fling Boogie, and clearing
your hotspots are among some of the most powerful tools you can use to create a more
peaceful home. Remember: You cannot organize clutter - you can only organize the
things you love!
I've included my tips on how to declutter. Put your home on a diet. If this is difficult for
you, try reading one of my favorite books, "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" by Karen
Kingston.
1. When to Declutter: Decide how often you are going to declutter a zone. Do a
little every day - use a timer. But be warned - this can become compulsive! Once
you get started you will want to clean like a banshee! Don't burn yourself out!
Only do small amount at a time. The house did not get dirty overnight and it will
not get clean overnight. When you set the timer you can only do two sessions at a
time. This goal may seem unattainable right now, but you can do it in little pieces.
In a couple of months, the whole house will be decluttered.
2. Decluttering Equipment: You will need garbage bags, boxes, magic markers, and
a dust rag. Label the boxes "Give Away", "Throw Away", and "Put Away". Line
the "Throw Away" box with a plastic garbage bag.
3. Set your timer: for 1 hour (or 30, 15, or 10 minutes - it does't matter how long).
Just do the job as fast as you can and do not pull out more stuff than you can put
away in that length of time. This means just one drawer, one closet (or even one
shelf in one closet), one magazine rack, or digging under just the furniture in the
zone. Not all of them at once!
4. Start at the entrance to the room: Then, work your way around the room
clockwise. Do not skip a spot. Whatever happens to be next, just do it.
5. Declutter Away! With boxes at your feet and dust rag in your waistband, start off
by cleaning out and getting rid of the things that do not belong in this room. Put
garbage in the "Throw Away" box, donations in the "Give Away" box, and stuff
that goes somewhere else in the "Put Away" box. Don't worry that you do not
have a place for everything right now. By the time you finish you will. That's a
promise from FlyLady!
6. What to declutter? Things to ask yourself as you get rid of your clutter:
o Do I love this item?
o Have I used it in the past year?
o Is it really garbage?
o Do I have another one that is better?
o Should I really keep two?
o Does it have sentimental value that causes me to love it?
o Or does it give me guilt and make me sad when I see the item?
Cleanse this room of everything that does not make you SMILE.
7. Sing this song: "Please release me, let me go" as sung from the stuff's point of
view. It needs to be loved by someone and if you don't love it - GET RID OF IT!
8. Get rid of the garbage! When the "Throw Away" box gets full, pull out the
garbage bag, close it, and put it in the trash can, the pickup truck, or wherever
you keep your garbage. Put a new garbage bag in the "Throw Away" box and
keep on Flying until the timer goes off.
9. Donations: When the "Give Away" box gets full, seal it off, and put it in your car.
The next time you are out, you can donate to the area thrift shop. Do not save
your clutter for a yard or garage sale, you will be blessed by giving it away. The
value can be deducted on your income tax. Remember you are trying to get rid of
clutter - not relocate it somewhere else in your home. Now, grab another box,
label it "Give Away", and get back to work.
10. "Put Away" Stuff: When the "Put Away" box gets full, take the box in your arms
and run around the house (good thing you have shoes on - right?) and put the
items in the room where they belong. If they have a place, put them there, if not
put them in the room where they logically belong. By the time you have finished
you will have a place for everything and everything will be in it's place.
11. Timer Goes Off: When the timer goes off, you have to put away all the boxes, but
first you have to empty them all. Go as fast as you can.
Add a 5 minute room rescue to your Morning Routine.
Day 10
Morning Routine
YOU ARE FLYing NOW! - Put out your Hot Spots for 2 minutes - 5 Minute
Room Rescue (pick any room in the house) set your timer and go!
Before Bed Routine
morning!
We have already been using our timers for 2 minutes and now 5 minutes.
Today we are going to learn the power of just 15 minutes. You can do
anything for 15 minutes. This is all about getting started and giving
ourselves permission to stop when the timer goes off. You cannot restart
the timer either. This is not a race to finish in 15 minutes either! The
timer helps to keep us focused on what we are doing.
Now set your timer for 15 minutes and go gather up all the trash you can
find to throw away and put it in the garbage can outside. Then set your
timer for another 15 minutes and sit down and put your feet up and read a
favorite magazine till the timer goes off.
Day 11
Morning Routine
YOU ARE FLYing NOW! - Put out your Hot Spots for 2 minutes - 5 Minute
Room Rescue (pick any room in the house) set your timer and go! -15
Minutes Decluttering each day. You can’t Organize Clutter!
Before Bed Routine
morning!
Today we are going to add another page to our Control Journals. We are
going to call this our Inspirational Page. On this page I want you to
spend 15 minutes writing down some of your favorite inspirational
phrases. Some of mine are; You can do anything for 15 minutes, Housework
done incorrectly still blesses your family and You can’t organize
clutter; you can only get rid of it. I know you have others that you
love. Use this page as a place to write them down when you see something
that touches your heart.
Day 12
Check your Morning Routine in your Control Journal
Check your Before Bed Routine in your Control Journal
Keep the sticky notes up to help remind you to look at your Control
Journal. Can you believe that you have been FLYing for 12 days? I am so
proud of you! BabySteps will get you there.
You have your basic routine started and these are what you do for now. Do
not try to do too much too fast; you will just crash and burn. Continue
to take BabySteps to build your Control Journals. Do not allow your
perfectionism to take over. We are building our routines and our Control
Journals one habit at a time.
Today I want you to delete from your inbox all the emails from FlyLady.
Now don’t cringe. They will all come back around and I write something
new every day.
Day 13

Today I want you to find one of Kelly’s Missions and go and do it. They
are fast and easy! This is going to introduce you to how we break our
home into zones so that we never have to spring clean again.
http://flylady.net/pages/FlightPlan_Missions.asp
Kelly's Missions: Where Will You End Up Today?

You never know where you will end up, or what you will find, when you tackle one of
Kelly's Missions! Perhaps you will be hunting dust bunnies in places you never knew
dust bunnies lived, or diving for treasures between your sofa cushions, or maybe flinging
"unmentionables" from under beds, closets, and dressers. You just never know! Each day
during the week, Kelly will add a new mission for whatever zone we are working in. Have
fun! Are you ready to FLY with Kelly?
FLY Spot Alert for the Week!
"FLY Spots" are one of those hidden places where clutter seems to accumulate without
us even realizing it! Spend 15 minutes in a FLY Spot, and you will be amazed at how
much clutter you find!
This week's FLY Spot: Welcome to Zone 5- the Living Room. Since we have a full week
in our zone this month, we are really going to be tackling some clutter! It's time to toss,
toss, toss. This week's Fly Spot Alert is going to call for the help of your children. We are
going to get rid of old video games! If your children no longer play them and are bored
with them, they are just taking up space and being clutter. So, spend some time going
through them and get them gone. There are tons of great things you can do with them.
You could trade them out with their friends. Or sell them on Ebay for cash for something
new. Or even take them to a video game store and trade them for store credit. Get some
more use out of them! And have fun!
http://www.flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Shine.asp
You can't organize clutter; you can only get rid of it! - FlyLady
Note from FlyLady: I am so sad to have to post this message, but we cannot figure out
any other way to handle this...so here goes....Please do not copy any content from
FlyLady.net and post it on other websites or forums. This includes Kelly's missions,
FlyLady's essays, and information from the FLYing Lessons. All material on FlyLady.net
is copyright protected. If you wish, you may put a LINK from your site to the information
on FlyLady.net. Thank-you for your cooperation.
Thursday's Mission!
Dear Friends,
Today we are going after the neglected areas of our living room/family room. Grab a
feather duster or dust rag and go after the tops of door jambs, tops of pictures, molding,
windows, corners of the ceiling and the tops of your curtains. OH my it is amazing at
what gathers higher up! I happen to be rather short, so I often forget to look UP! LOL!
Now do not get obsessed and start tearing the room apart. Just look up and dust! If you
have something with a long handle it makes this easier. A tip for those of you with high
(Cathedral)ceilings: get a long section of small diameter PVC pipe and drop the handle
of your feather duster in it, secure it with a strip of duct tape and start dusting away!
PVC pipe is readily available in any home improvement store.
Have Fun!
Love,
Kelly
Wednesday's Mission!
Dear Friends,
For today you are to take 5 minutes and dust the decorative items in your living room.
The picture frames, lamps and knick knacks, this is a detailed dusting. Turn on the music
and move quickly, you will be amazed at how fast you can to this!!!
Don't overthink the mission, just do the mission! Have fun!
Love,
Kelly
Tuesday's Mission!
Dear Friends,
Today we are back to the Living Room!
Let's have a detailed vacuuming session. This means to vacuum the room, making sure to
get up against the baseboards and to get under the furniture. Please be careful that you
don't hurt yourself trying to move furniture. If it is too difficult to get under the couch or
chairs then just try to get as close to the base of the furniture as you can. Don't forget the
corners!!
Have fun and don't get sidetracked!
Love,
Kelly
Monday's Mission!
Dear Friends,
This week we are in the Living Room Zone and I want each and every one of you to go
into your living rooms and stand there. While you are standing there I want you to look
around you and look at the flat surfaces (end tables, coffee tables, tops of
tv's/entertainment centers, bookcases, mantles, etc)
What do have on these surfaces? Are they the same decorative things that you have
always had? Do you really love them? Are they cluttered up with too many things? Too
many ducks, bunnies,candles, cows, precious moments etc? I am not condemning those
things but asking you if they still bring you joy and do you still love seeing them in your
living room? Or are you just used to them.
What about the piles of magazines and papers? Do you NEED those? You would be
amazed at how much neater your living room will appear by just removing a few things.
How much easier would it be to dust these areas without all that stuff?
Your mission is to get rid of the stuff that is cluttering up your living room. Take 5
minutes to let go of some things. I am willing to bet that more of you will find you do
want to get rid of some things because they do not bring you joy and you are just used to
them being there.
Have fun!
Love,
Kelly
Here is what we are doing so far. We are practicing our Morning

Routines, decluttering for 15 minutes a day and doing our Before Bed
Routines.
Day 14
There is tons of information on our website. I do not want you to get

confused. Today I want you to go read an essay that Kelly wrote. Most of
us are calendar challenged. Kelly has a way of making it so easy for us
to understand.
http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_UsingCalendar.asp
Kelly's Guide on How to Use a Calendar

Dear Friends:
One of the biggest tools that you can have in your journey to PEACE is a calendar. It
doesn't matter what kind, it can be a wall calendar, a planner, whatever as long as you
have one.
One of the first things that we tell you to do when starting our system is to establish
routines and a basic weekly plan, this is why we had all of you go through the control
journal exercises in the past few weeks. A calendar is the next step towards FLYing. A
calendar should be a tool that keeps you and your family informed as to what is going on
in your lives. If you are using a personal planner I still recommend that you have a family
calendar that is located in a central location of your home so that all family members can
see what is going on. This is what will save you from forgotten games, events,
appointments and...disappointments!!! Your family counts on you to keep them going,
using a calendar will help not only you but all of your family as well.
Once you have established routines and a basic weekly plan, you know that you are to sit
down once a week to plan the next week, we call this desk day. This is the day that you
look at your calendar to see what is happening the following week for your family.
The kicker is that if you don't have a calendar, than you have to rely on your memory to
tell you what is going on for next week, well I think we all know how well that works!
LOL!
So how do you use a calendar?
• Family Events: Take the time to sit down and fill in birthdays and general
information that is consistent for your family; this will save you from ever
forgetting a birthday or anniversary again! This is where you look at your
calendar on desk day to see if there any cards or packages that you need to buy
and or mail.
• Schedules: When you receive a schedule of events from anything that a family
member participates in FILL IT IN ON YOUR CALENDAR IMMEDIATELY!!
Examples are : school calendars, sports schedules, boy scouts, dance classes,
church schedules, etc. When you get them write them down! Don't leave those
schedules in a hotspot or the car! If you absolutely can't write them down that
minute than take a paper clip and clip it to your calendar or put it in the pocket of
your calendar to pull out and enter the information on the calendar when desk
day comes around. This will allow you to know what events you can and cannot
attend because you will be able to see if you have a schedule issue.
• Invitations: When you receive an invitation in the mail DON'T throw it in a
hotspot or a pile of mail. First ask yourself if you want to go to the event, if you do
than go to your calendar and see if the date is a good one for you or the person
that has been invited. If you have looked at your calendar and know that you can
attend, you write it down immediately! If the invitation requires an RSVP than
take care of that right away. (By the way if you don't want to go to the event or it
is something that doesn't work into your schedule then RSVP if required or throw
the invitation away!)
• Appointments: When you schedule an appointment for Doctors, dentists, barbers,
whatever, look at your calendar FIRST! Then after you have scheduled them
WRITE the appointment down so that you will not schedule yourself into a
conflict. When you are using a basic weekly you will have a day that is more
convenient for running around. Try to set up most of your appointments on your
errand day, you can make this decision.
Some calendars and planners come with stickers that save time and space by having them
with pictures and/or words that you can help use to schedule things. If you have those
USE them. They are little tools to assist you in your planning. If you have a sticker that
says Dentist: than use it than you only have to write in the name of the person that is
going to the dentist and the time, the sticker will tell you that it is a dentist appointment.
Visual aids that will help you!!!! Colored pens, stickers, hi-lighters. Be creative!
Ask any Born Organized person that you know, they use calendars, planners and even the
electronic date keepers. If you want to really FLY, using a calendar is a must! As I said
before, it can be whatever calendar you choose: The wall calendar, a pocket planner, a
desktop calendar, it does not matter as long as you use it!!!!
We want you to FLY! We promise that using a calendar will help you to FLY! Be
consistent and dedicated about this and it will work for all of you!
Happy Planning!
Kelly
Day 15 Check Your Control Journal Every Morning and Evening
You are starting on our third week of FLYing. Each day you are going to
your Control Journal and using your sticky notes to remind you along with
the reminders that you are getting in our inbox. Our habits are coming
along nicely and we are seeing changes in our attitudes and our homes.
On our new week of FLYing you are going to add Making your bed to your
morning routine. If you will do this as soon as your feet hit the floor
you are less likely to forget it.
Day 16
Check Your Control Journal Every Morning and Evening
Today I want you to look in your inbox for an email from me. It can be a
Morning Musing, a testimonial or an essay. Just take a few minutes and
read over it. You never know what I am going to discuss.
Day 17
Today I want you to think about what time you are going to bed each
night. Set a specific bed time and stick to it. You need your rest. Put
this on your Before Bed Routine.
Day 18
Did you know that we have Eleven Commandments? You may want to print
these out or write them in your Control Journal.
http://flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_11commandments.asp
FlyLady's Eleven Commandments

1. Keep your sink clean and shiny.
2. Get dressed every morning, even if you don’t feel like it. Don’t forget your lace-up
shoes.
3. Do your morning and before bedtime routine everyday.
4. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked by the computer.
5. Pick up after yourself. If you get it out, put it away.
6. Don’t try to do two projects at once. ONE JOB AT A TIME.

7. Don’t pull out more than you can put back in one hour.
8. Do something for yourself everyday, maybe every morning and night.
9. Work as fast as you can to get the job done. This will give you more time to play
later.
10. Smile even when you don’t feel like it. It is contagious. Make your mind up to be
happy and you will be.
11. Don’t forget to laugh everyday. Pamper yourself, you deserve it.
Day 19
Here is another inspirational testimonial that is the first page of my

book, Sink Reflections. Your home can be this too. You are taking the
babysteps to get you there.
http://flylady.net/pages/TimeFLYs.asp#thing1
Time FLYs When You are Having Fun!

Are you having fun with this? Or does it feel like you have been grinding away at your
home for hours and hours (or maybe even days)? When was the last time you took a
break? You know, as overwhelming and big as conquering the CHAOS in your home may
seem, remember: baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. And don't forget about those breaks
- those golden opportunities to step back, celebrate what you have achieved and share a
good laugh with yourself and your family and friends!
FlyLady recommends that everyone take a fifteen-minute break every hour to sharpen
your axe and refocus. One of her favorite sayings is "Laugh everyday, even if it is at
yourself".
So grab a glass of water, take a deep breath, sit down in a comfy spot, and join us as we
take a quick peek at some of the wonderful treasures FlyLady's members have shared
with her.
• May all our homes be our own private Bed and Breakfast!
• Ode to FlyLady by Lisa Easterling
• FLYing High by Rainbow Goddess
• A Tale of Clutter by Konnie Kabboord
• What's Your "FLY - Q"?
May all our homes be our own private Bed and Breakfast!
From FlyLady - One morning, I was working out on my treadmill, talking to Kelly on the
phone, and reading your email messages (yes - all at the same time LOL!)…when I came
across this message. I start to read it out loud over the phone to Kelly…
"Dear Flylady
Wanted to let you know about the wonderful B & B my husband and I stayed at this
Memorial Day weekend. The small but simply furnished kitchen was well stocked with
delicious healthy snacks and meals. Homemade waffles with blackberries were served
from a beautiful clean kitchen. The living areas and bedrooms were furnished with fresh
plumped pillows, lovely matching sheets and down comforter and scented candles
everywhere. The bathroom - ah ...bubble bath, lotions and fresh white towels. The library
was stocked with books, magazines and yoga videos…."
Kelly and I were both getting excited - where was this wonderful sounding bed and
breakfast? We always keep our eyes peeled for pampering opportunities - especially ones
we can share with our spouses….I continued to read…
"…Best of all, my husband and I spent time together with no interruptions, chores or
traffic. Okay - you guessed it ... thanks to you - this is my home. Thank you, thank you."
The tears started flowing, even Kelly was speechless Thank-YOU to the sender - this
email made MY day!
Top of Page
Ode to FlyLady by Lisa Easterling
"Get out of bed!" the lady said,

"And leave it nice and neat!"
Just mid-snore, I hit the floor,
And, grumbling, shod my feet.
"Just who is she to pick on me?"
I snarled with attitude.
"She's barking me right up a tree!
That woman's just plain rude!"
I wandered out, in full-fledged pout

And met the sun's first rays,
To squint and blink at the shiny sink
That quickly met my gaze.
Shading my eyes I realized
That I'd begun to smile;
Could I admit her pushy grit
Was teaching all the while?
I lightly groomed my living room,

A task I once had feared;
Admired a shelf despite myself,
While inwardly I cheered.
I thought of times I'd groaned and whined

When Mentor-Mail was read,
But my stubborn pride just couldn't hide
The truth in all she said.
I find my life has much less strife,

Now that FlyWays are my own;
I don't refuse to wear my shoes
Or neglect my weekly zone.
My smiling more with every chore

Delights my family;
It's slowly dawned that gal has spawned
A peaceful heart in me.
And as I grow, how sweet to know

This doesn't have to end.
I owe so much to her tough-tender touch;
I love my dear FlyFriend.
Copyrighted by Lisa Easterling 2000

Used by permission.
Top of Page
FLYing High by Rainbow Goddess
Rise and shine

It's a brand new day
Don't pee yet
Make that bed right away!
First, to the bathroom,
It's "shower to shoes"
These are the first
of my FlyLady cues.
My bathroom is swiped,
I can now start my day
I'll start with the laundry,
it's the FlyLady way!
Glancing around,
I see no Hot Spots
Now, I'll get to
feeding the tots.
I look at my PODA
I'm free for awhile
I 'll sip down some coffee
In grand FlyLady style!
The kids are now gone
and my sink is shiny.
On to the dailies
before I rest my heiny!
The House work seems endless
and sometimes I get blue
then FlyLady says
"I'm so proud of You!"
So off I go
No Franny lives here
When I think of FlyLady
I shed a tear!
I now have a system
I'm able to cope
Thank you, FlyLady
For giving us hope!
Used by permission.
Top of Page
A Tale of Clutter
I like to have a tidy home

a pleasant place to be,
one I might be proud of
for friends of mine to see.
But my home took on a cluttered look
which filled me with despair,
I had collected far too much
and things were everywhere.
Then I tried to clean my home
it was a futile try,
the clutter was frustrating
and I'd give up with a sigh.
So to rid me of frustration
and my home of its hodgepodge,
I boxed up all this clutter
into the garage.
But there to my discouragement
this story does not end,
the garage could not contain these things,
the car would not fit in.
Then one day on the internet
a solution came my way,
I met someone named "FlyLady"
who had these words to say--
"Go label three large boxes with words
- Trash - Keep - Give away,
and You Can Organize Your Home,
Get Started Now Today!
Just take 27 items,
and dispose of them this way,
don't let things clutter up your life
and live in disarray.
And if you will do this every week,
very soon you'll see-
Your home will be the tidy place
you wished that it might be."
by Konnie Kabboord June 4, 2001

God Bless FlyLady!
Top of Page
What's Your "FLY - Q"?
Answer the following questions:
1. I can do anything
a. If they pay me enough.

b. For chocolate.
c. And I will, too, eventually.
d. For 15 minutes.
e. Better than anybody. That's why I have to do it all.
2. FLY means
a. Finally Loving Yourself

b. Frustrated, loud (and) yelling.
c. Fat, Lazy You
d. Feta, Lime and Yogurt (makes a great salad dressing!)
e. Never having to say you're sloppy.
3. The most important routine of the day is:
a. Evening Routine. Get ready for tomorrow today!

b. Coffee, yawn, coffee, yawn.
c. Breakfast, kids, yelling, clean-up, yelling and more yelling. (That'll learn 'em)
d. OMG it's the in-laws! Don't just stand there CLEAN something! (Too late!)
e. Supper, kids, yelling, homework, yelling, baths, more yelling, bedtime. TV. (grumble)
4. Wednesday is
a. The middle of the week.

b. Not even CLOSE to Friday.
c. Er....what month is this?
d. Anti-Procrastination Day.
e. Named after Woden, the Germanic Deity of Wisdom,War, Victory, Poetry, Healing and
Leeches (Good grief, in the same day? Woden must have been a woman...who knew?)
5. In the morning you
a. Roll over and go back to sleep.

b. Chuckle softly and roll over and go back to sleep.
c. Give your DH a jab with your elbow then roll over and go back to sleep.
d. Reach for your snooze button, knock over last night's water into the open drawer
drowning the TV remote, a crossword, the latest romance novel *blush*, your
medication, and three dusty Rolaids. Roll over and go back to sleep--you have all day,
you can get to it later.
e. Get up, make your bed, do your hair, make-up, and dress to the lace-up shoes.
6. The first thing you do as a Flybaby is:
a. Roll over and go...wait...that was the last question.

b. Shine your sink.
c. Realize that in the bug world, a flybaby is a maggot. (Gross! Um...)
d. What was the question?
e. Go like blazes and try to do everything at once so you can start "Flying" with a clean
house. Which causes you to
f. Crash and burn.
Award yourself 10 points for each correct answer: 1. (d); 2. (a) 3. (a). 4. (d) 5. (e) 6. (b)
Award yourself another 10 points for reading this far.
Subtract 8 points if your recognize yourself.
Add 7 points if you smiled.
Subtract 4 points if you cheated and looked at the answers! (Oh, for shame.)
Never mind the points! Just give yourself a huge hug and FLY.
FlyBaby Lynda
Day 20
One of the many reminders that we send out has to do with our laundry;
when you include laundry in your morning and evening routine this makes
getting up and getting dressed much easier. Laundry doesn’t take long to
do when we don’t procrastinate about one of the five steps: Sort, wash,
dry, fold and put away. It only takes a few short minutes. When you
include laundry in your routines everyone is blessed. Nothing says I love
you more than clean underwear!
Day 21
Today I am going to show you something else on our website. Each

day(Monday-Friday) our WebDude Lee puts up an Ask FlyLady Question and I
answer it.
http://flylady.net/pages/askflylady1.asp
Ask FlyLady!
If you would like to Ask FlyLady a question, send an email to AskFlyLady@FlyLady.net
with Ask FlyLady in ths subject line. Please keep in mind that only questions chosen to be
posted here will be answered due to the large volume of questons submitted.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Calendar Magnets...
Dear FlyLady,
Can you recommend magnets that would hold the wonderful calender up on the
refrigerator? I can't hang mine on the wall and there is no room in our kitchen for a
bulletin board. I tried a few different types last year and the calender still kept sliding
down to the floor. Would appreciate any recommendations you could send my way.
All the best,

Mary in Chicago
Dear Friend,
One of the best ways to hang our calendar on a refrigerator is with a magnetic bulldog
clip. Use two of them on the top to hold it in place. We need to keep our calendar so that
we will see them and use them. If you hide them, the family will not know what is going
on. Have you ordered your new calendar?
Staples #1 Magnetic Bulldog Clips
http://flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_calendar.asp
- FlyLady
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
I'll be behind...
Dear FlyLady,
I've been a flybaby for about a week, and now we are going on vacation for a week.
EEEEK! What do I do??? I'm going to miss out on my daily missions and new
assignments. Well, not miss out. Actually they will be getting cluttered in my inbox. I've
been so happy and energetic since starting your program. I hate to go on vacation,
because I feel like I'm just getting started, and now it's going to be on hold, and when I
get back I'll be behind. So, how do I handle this... what do I do? Thanks so much!
Trying to fly in Florida
Dear Friend,
The easiest way to handle your subscription when you are on vacation is to get a Yahoo
User ID.
Here is an essay that Dana put together; she is the queen of Yahoo.
Obtaining a Yahoo User Id is very easy. Go to http://www.yahoogroups.com or

http://groups.yahoo.com to register. Once on that page, click on "Click Here to Register"
which appears under New Users. Yahoo will walk you through the process step by step.
You will need to come up with a "handle." Have several in mind since their are thousands
of YahooGroups users and your first choice will probably be taken.
Another great feature about having a Yahoo User ID is that you can reset all your
subscriptions to all your groups at the same time when leaving on vacation. You can go
to http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups , click on Email Preferences, click on Edit my
Groups and then with two clicks set all your groups to No Mail. This is a great timesaver
when you are rushing to leave for a trip.
Having a Yahoo User ID gives you access to the calendar at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flyladymentors, access to the group chat section, and also
allows you to vote in our polls.
Have questions? YahooGroups has a very detailed help section. If you have any questions
about obtaining and using your ID, go to http://www.yahoogroups.com or
http://groups.yahoo.com and click on HELP in the upper right corner. It will take you to
this page, http://help.yahoo.com/help/groups and you will be able to search for answers
to your questions. Please use this service BEFORE contacting the FLY Crew because it
will allow us to focus more time on FLYing issues and less time on technical questions
that can be answered through the Help section at YahooGroups. With thousands
bouncing, it is vital that you attempt to help yourself before asking assistance from the
FLY Crew.
Thank you for your cooperation! We truly appreciate you taking a few minutes of your
time to take care of this! :)
Dana
- FlyLady
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Redo control journal...
Dear FlyLady,
How do I redo my control journal when the one I have doesn't work?
I tried to do too much I think, I wasn't doing ANY routines, but I made this whole fancy
plan for each day... should I just trash the whole thing and start over?
Dear Friend,
This happens to many of us in our perfectionism. We do too much by making list after list
and then we get overwhelmed by it.
Yes I would put it all aside and start fresh with simple routines. Here is an essay I wrote
to kick off our new year and starting fresh.
Dear Friends,
Here it is a brand new year with all the promise of a fresh start that comes with it. At
FlyLady we have learned that new beginnings can happen any time we choose and it
doesn't take a new day, new week, new month or even a new year to start over. That
doesn't change the fact that we still love new beginnings and starting fresh.
And even though we don't like New Year's resolutions we still make goals for ourselves.
This is a healthy thing to do. The other night at the bowling alley a dear friend ask me if
there was anything I had not done in my life that I really wanted to do. This was a very
tough question for me. I am a very happy person and I get to do every day what God put
me on this earth to do. There is not much better than that! So I thought about it for about
ten minutes and came up with something that seemed very strange to my friend.
I told her I wanted to see a volcano, a glacier and the Grand Canyon up close one day.
That was all I could think of at the time. One day I will see them but if my life were to end
today; I would not feel sorry for myself because I had not seen them. I have no regrets
about anything. Every decision I have made in my life has ended up being a good one
even if at the time it was not. I learned from my mistakes and did not pine away my future
by beating myself up over past mistakes. None of us are perfect and the sooner we
understand this and quit punishing ourselves for this lack of perfection the better off we
will all be.
Perfectionism keeps us stuck in the past so we are unable to function in the present. Let's
take that perfectionism bat your are beating yourself up with on a daily basis and use it
to hit home runs. Each time you see perfectionism throwing you a curve ball; turn it
around and hit it back to where it belongs; Out of sight and out of mind! Perfectionism is
the Body Clutter we all have to face.
Last night we watched a movie; Batman Begins. Yesterday I told you all to do the Body
Clutter Mission in chapter 13. Batman and the mission were both about facing our fears
head on and using those fears to propel us to a new level of understanding about
ourselves and the world around us.
Fear is the opposite of love! In fact I believe that it is worse than hate. It is hate disguised
as something else. When we uncover our fears and bring them into the light of day; we
are acknowledging that we don't have to be perfect and that our fears do not make us less
than. Fear of failure is nothing more than a lack of love for you and your abilities.
I got excited about my New Year message to you and called my sister Paddi to read it to
her, I had gotten to the last sentence and she said you have to hear what I am reading.
Now let me tell you God is working overtime! Talk about a God Breeze! Here is the email
that she was reading while I was writing.
Dear FlyLady,
I have subscribed to your website for several years now. I have purchased most of your
supplies and read the reminders, emails, etc., daily. I have actually shined my sink a few
times but have never progressed. Do you think I might have a serious problem with
procrastination?
However, as I was reading chapter 3 in the Body Clutter book, (you guessed it, I have
about 150 lbs of body clutter to lose) I had an ah-ha moment. On the question regarding
do you feel pretty; I realized that my thinking is that if your weight is as out of control as
mine, there is nothing you could do to feel pretty. So I quit even trying. But being
overweight does not mean that I couldn't find something to wear that looks nicer than
baggy slob clothes, it does not mean I couldn't polish my nails, actually use the tooth-
whitening kit I purchased in Sept. 05, I could apply all my make up and style my hair, I
could carry a nice purse. In conclusion, I had a false belief that nothing would make me
attractive if I had any weight on me. Talk about self hate!
Also, I think you will find humor in this one. In chapter 4, excuses, I realized that I am
actually using the excuse that I must have some unknown medical condition unknown to
mankind (as well as my doctor's) that is causing my obesity. Never mind I am a RN and
know better.
I hope this year is a better year for me, as my one and only resolution is to love myself. I
seem to be stuck with this problem and I think it is keeping me from following your
program.
Thanks for all you do,

figuring thinks out in GA
FlyLady here again: Now I can't stop crying. She is not the only one who is stuck! This is
why we are going back to basics. Last year we took one habit a month and practiced that
habit till it became automatic. This year we are going to continue doing the same thing,
but we are going to build upon that habit with a FLY-1-2-3 Step Dance.
Our minds love repetition. It frees us up to not have to think we can just do! So let's think
of our routines as this FLY Dance. 1-2-3 and a 1-2-3!
Let's begin with our Before Bed Routine. Here is how we can condition ourselves to think
about things.
Before Bed Routine:
1. House- 1-Shine Sink, 2-Pick up-Put away Hot Spots, 3-Run Dishwasher
2. Tomorrow- 1-Check Calendar, 2- Lay Out Clothes, 3- Put items to take with you on
your launch pad!
3. ME- 1- Get ready for bed- wash face, floss teeth, brush hair, 2- Reflect on your day(Go
ME!),celebrate and be thankful, 3- Go to bed at a decent hour.
Are you beginning to see how this can help us to do our FLY Dance in Three babysteps?
It is as easy as 1-2-3!
Now for the Morning Routine!
1. Rise and Shine- 1- Make bed, 2- Get dressed; shower, face & hair, clothes and shoes,
3-Swish and Swipe the bathroom. http://flylady.net/pages/FLYFaq.asp#swish
2. Today 1-Check Calendar, 2-What's for Dinner, 3- Where is my Laundry
3. ME- 1- Eat and Drink water, 2-Take medication, 3-Take a break for your morning
meditation.
Is it beginning to make some fun sense? Or shall I say FLY Sense! We are going to dance
through our day with a 3 step routine of 1-2-3! When you find our website you have
usually been searching for magic way to get your home in order. There are no magic
pills to any of this. If we can make it fun; it will all get done. We are going to find
ourselves dancing through our day to the beat of FLY drummer.
The funny part about all of this is you did not ever dream that taking care of yourself had
anything to do with your home. Well it seems that you are the foundation to your home.
When you feel good and are happy the rest of the house follows your lead. Imagine that!
You set the tone for your home. If you are fussy the family will be fussy! If you are
relaxed this will trickle down to the family too! If you are loving yourself you are setting
the example for your children to live by.
Taking care of yourself so you can take care of the world will change your life and the
lives of generations to follow. Because Finally Loving Yourself is all about your self-
esteem! You can't teach what you don't know. If you want more love in your life; you must
start by loving yourself and that cup will overflow with love for others and it will come
back to you. We get to plant the seed and it will take root in everything around us. We
will be the shining sink of our homes and because of this unconditional love we have for
ourselves, it will beget that love in our children. This may actually be the key to solving
many of the problems of society.
I have said many times that if I can teach you to FLY (Finally Love Yourself); then your
home will come together and the clutter and CHAOS will leave! I don't know what it is
that God has in store for you, but I do know that it will be made clear to you if you will
only open your heart to the love that you deserve and it comes from yourself. Think of it
in threes; God loves you unconditionally, You love yourself and that love continues to
bless the world through the people you touch with your life!
There is no greater gift to the world than taking the love God gives and loving yourself so
that you can fully love others! It is as simple as 1-2-3!
In this brand New Year let's take our mottos from the previous years and put them into
practice.
Be nice to me in 2003
Less is more in 2004
FLY to Thrive in 2005
and for this New Year's Motto;
Simple Routines are the trick in 2006.
I chose this motto because I do not want you to make your routine so big that they are not
doable and you allow your prefectionism to cause you do nothing. Keep them simple and
they will be easy for you.
The word trick can be fun! In the dictionary I found a meaning that seems to fit my idea.
#5 A special skill; a knack: Is there a trick to getting this window to stay up? I want you
to find that loving yourself by using simple routines is a special skill that can change your
world. It is just this easy! By doing simple routines to relieve the pressure we put on
ourselves; we are FLYing!
Don't wait another day! You can do this. I am also getting back to basics too by grabbing
a pad of Post-It notes and putting them along the dance steps of my day. Think of them as
the foot prints on the floor to learning a new dance. I am posting them on my bathroom
mirror and on the window above my coffee pot. One color for my morning routine and
another color for my before bed routine. This is exactly how I started building my habits
in 1999. It worked for me and it can be the trick for you too!
Let's have some fun in the new year! Get out your calendars and every night celebrate by
giving yourself a sticker for doing your Simple Routines each morning and evening!
Are you ready to FLY?
- FlyLady
Monday, July 28, 2008
Keeping up...
Dear FlyLady,
I am a SAHM who is living in CHAOS - I was a BO until I had children 4 years ago, and
now I am full of mind clutter! :) My friend told me abotu your site when I asked "how do
you do it with 4 kids (under 5yrs old) when I barley manage to do it with two!"
I started the shining sink before bed about a week ago; Love this tip! I am still working
on the getting dressed to the shoes and laying out clothes the night before - with two
toddlers I am lucky to get showered before 3pm! Anyhow, I have some questions about
getting started....
I love the daily missions - and I do them.... however, my question is how do I keep up on
the daily/weekly stuff when Im adding all the other added 'missions"? like mopping the
floor? laoding the dishwasher? daily laundry?
Also, do you have these missions in a calendar format? or a "to do" format? so that I can
plan ahead some extra time to do these if needed the day before? If I knew I was going to
clean the kitchen floor on Thursday, I wouldnt worry about it on Tuesday knowing it was
only two days away.... Does this make sense?
If its explained somewhere, could you please send me the link as I must not have seen it
when I first joined..
Thanks for all you do!! Johnnie
Dear Friend,
You are jumping ahead. Let go of your perfectionism and jump in where you are. Your
focus for now is to take care of yourself by getting up and getting dressed to shoes first
thing in the morning. You can do this; first things first.
Have you been doing your 31 Beginner's Babysteps?

http://flylady.net/pages/begin_babysteps.asp
One other thing I have noticed about the timestamp of your email. It says 1:52 am. That
is very late. The most important thing for you to do as the Mom of four babies is to sleep.
When you deprive yourself of that much needed commodity; you are depriving your
babies of a mother who can think, act, react and smile all at the same time.
Without sleep you are as ill-behaved as your babies when they do not get their nap.
Dear Friends,
Kelly and I often quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when we are answering emails. Here
is his exact quote that we usually paraphrase.
"To take the first step in faith, you don't have to see the whole staircase: just take the first
step."
We get emails wanting us to adapt our messages for Payroll SHEs, FLY Guys, Retired
members, Stay At Home Moms, Work at home Moms, Single members, Single parents,
people with MS, children . . . . . . The list could go on forever. Every one is an individual,
each person believes that their situation is different and therefore our messages are not
geared toward them. I get pretty tough with them, because I see their perfectionism
rearing its ugly head. "I need everything laid out in the perfect order for me to see the
whole picture, beforeI can start!" Well this is not only whining but hog wash as we say in
the south. Here is where we paraphrase Dr. King's statement; You don't have to see the
top of the staircase to take the first step!
Many of you are new members and already feel behind. If you haven't ever read the
bottom of all of our messages, please take the time to do this right now.
You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where
we are. O.K.?
We get questions that say when do I start doing a home blessing hour and should I be
doing my zones yet? Now listen very closely. There is no timetable for this system. We all
advance at our own pace. All we ask is that you do these things when you start!
1. Shine your sink! That means now! Not next week or never. If you have not done this yet
then why are you even reading my message: This is your very first homework assignment.
If you are going to ignore this, then go ahead and unsubscribe, because you are not
ready to try something different. We will still be here when you are willing to take this
first step up the staircase to peace. I don't care if you can't see how shining your sink is
going to help clean up your messy house. Just quit thinking and start doing! Step out in
faith and do something for a change instead of arguing with the computer! You all got
our welcome letter and another "31 BabySteps message". That is if you bothered to read
them. They WILL help you.
2. Lay out your clothes for tomorrow! What is so tough about this? I put them on a hook
in the bathroom or folded up on the shelf. This keeps you from procrastinating about
"what am I going to wear". You don't even have to think.
3. Then when you get up in the morning; get dressed all the way to shoes as soon as your
feet hit the floor. Now this does not mean you can go make coffee first. When you get into
the kitchen, I want you fully dressed ready to greet your day and your shiny sink!
4. The only other thing we ask you to do is to declutter for 15 minutes a day. Yes we can
do anything for 15 minute. We have lots of fun ways to do this; 27 fling boogie, Hot spot
fire preventions or just set a timer and start gathering up the junk mail and trash. This is
not rocket science. Did you know that you can do anything for 15 minute. Oh you don't
have 15 minutes! Yes you do if you break it down into 5 minute segments. Keep in mind
that you cannot organize clutter! All you can do is get rid of it. So start flinging it out
your door. Remember one of our 11 commandments; Do not pull out more than you can
put back in an hour.
These are your only requirements when you join our little cyber-family. As you start
building your routines upon this foundation, you will be taking one step at a time toward
the peace that we have found. You don't have to see the top of the staircase to take the
first step! Follow our lead and you will be FLYing before you know it. Oh and quit
jumping three steps at a time. It took me nine months to establish a full routine. I felt that
it was like giving birth to a new life. Your routine are always evolving too. Get a
binder/notebook and write out a simple routine for your before bedtime and another
simple one for your morning. Use a pencil! Put it in a sheet protector. As your routines
grow, you will be building your control journal one sheet at a time. Do not obsess about
this. It is just a binder to hold your routines.
So take those babysteps up our little staircase! It is so peaceful at the top! With each step
you will be sprouting your wings.
Are you ready to take the first step?
- FlyLady
Day 22
Have you been procrastinating about building your Control Journal? I know
that perfectionism can rear its ugly head and keep us stuck. If you just
can’t seem to get yours together; I have made one for you. It is in our
FLY Shop
http://flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_CJ.asp
All the babystep directions are on the website too. Just click on the
link underneath FlyLady’s feet.
http://flylady.net/pages/cjmain.asp
Control Journal
Building Your Own Control Journal
"I want you to realize that a Control Journal is just a place to put your routines, basic
weekly plan, your zones and other information. With a Control Journal you have a place
to keep important items without them getting lost in your numerous hot spots." - FlyLady
The Control Journal is your own personal manual for listing and keeping track of your
routines. You can use a notebook, a binder, or even a scrapbook, it doesn't matter - it just
has to work for you. You may even want to divide it into two or more books - one that you
leave at home, the other that you take with you when shopping, etc. FlyLady uses a
notebook with plastic sheet protectors so she can use a dry-erase marker to check off the
completed items. She also color codes each section and the zones so they are easy to find.
Make your journal special for you - think of it as a positive thing. FlyLady has a zippered
pouch for family pictures. She also carries stamps, post-it notes, change, paper clips,
money, her credit cards, and drivers license, library cards, etc. in the pouch. On the
back-side of FlyLady's journal, she has phone numbers for her husband in case of an
emergency and a very special poem that her husband read to her.
You cannot build a control journal overnight. It takes awhile, and even when you think it
is done, you will find that you may change your routines once in awhile to make them
better and more efficient. Go slow - build a control journal that works for you! These are
the steps to help you build your own control journal. Work on only one at a time, they
don't necessary need to be done in the order given. Work on the section that interests you
today.
• Step 1
• Step 2
• Step 3
• Step 4
• Step 5
• Step 6
• Step 7
• Step 8
• Step 9
• Step 10
• Step 11
• Step 12
• Step 13
• Step 14
• Step 15
• Step 16
• Step 17
• Step 18
• Step 19
If you have tried to build your Control Journal and have gotten bogged down by
perfectionism, we have designed a pre-made Control Journal for you. You can see it at
http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_CJ.asp
Day 23
Today we are going to add another routine to our day. I like to call this
our get home from work routine or get home from school. Whatever you name
it; it is your afternoon routine.
Make a new page in your Control Journal for your Afternoon Routine. As
with any of your routines; you will have to adapt to fit your family.
Your Control Journal is your guide for babystepping your way through you
day.
Day 24
Check Your Control Journal Every Morning, Afternoon and Evening
One of the things that make our home always ready for company is the fact
that our main bathroom is clean. Each morning as part of my Morning
Routine I do something I call a Swish and a Swipe. This means I swish the
toilet with a toilet bowl brush and I wipe down the counter tops and sink
with a rag and put away all the things I have gotten out. This takes all
of two minutes to keep our bathroom ready for anyone.
Add Swish and Swipe to your Morning Routine
Day 25
You have only been doing your routines for 25 days now. I am so proud of
you. Keep in mind that you are not ever going to be perfect and we don’t
expect you to be. In fact we don’t even like that “P” word. Right now you
have your routines written down in your Control Journal. It will help you
to practice them each day. These habits are not automatic yet; so you are
still going to have to use your Control Journal, sticky notes and our
reminders to help you establish your habits. Another tool you have is
your calendar and stickers. We love giving ourselves a sticker when we
are establishing a habit. I know that I have thrown a lot at you in the
last 25 days but don’t give up now. Every time you do your routine you
are one step closer to developing your habit and running on automatic
pilot. Today I want you to read how I started developing my routines one
habit at a time. It took me several months to do this and here I am
expecting you to get it in four weeks. Well here is the deal; I don’t
expect you to do this in one month. Be nice to yourself and don’t beat
yourself up. Your consistent babysteps will get you there.
http://flylady.net/pages/WhyFly_PersonalTest.asp
FlyLady’s Personal Testimonial - December 25, 1999

It won't happen overnight.
As the end of the year is drawing near, I find myself reflecting on the past year. Last
Christmas, I was a newbie to the board (SHE’s in Touch). My experience had been with
the 3X5 card system that Pam & Peggy developed back in 1977. A year prior I had found
the website, by doing a search for Pam and Peggy. I stopped posting after a couple of
days. Last year when I found the website again, I got hooked. My cards were filled out
and I sat them on the counter and didn't open the box. Then I decided to just change one
little thing about my life. So I wrote out a goal of keeping my Kitchen Sink clean and
Shiny. That was all I wanted to accomplish. Much to my surprise, I got several extra
benefits. Because of wanting to keep my sink clean, I unloaded my dishwasher so I could
stash dirty dishes. With the sink clean, I wanted the counter to be clean too. Then when I
cooked, I cleaned as I prepared the food. This was all the first month of the year. How
could I top that?
My next goal was to not pile my dirty clothes on a chair or in the bathroom floor. I
watched my Dear Husband. When he got home he hung up his clothes. When they were
dirty he would put them in a basket in the closet. He had a basket for colored and one for
whites. He would sort as he discarded them. Then I watched him take off his socks, he
would turn them right side out. I knew when I did laundry that his socks never needed to
be turned. Mine always did. After a month of putting my dirty clothes where they belong,
I had quit piling my clothes on the chair, cedar chest, and the floor. Our bedroom looked
great. Also the laundry was being done when there was a basket full. I had extra benefits
from this goal too. Clean bathroom, (no clothes on the floor), a clean bedroom, (no
clothes lying on the furniture), I was getting a system for doing the laundry, and my socks
were right side out! What could be better?
The March goal was to do my before bed routine. This was the best gift of all. Every
night I would take 15 minutes and pick up and put away everything that was out of place.
Even if it didn't have a place, I would put it out of sight. With this simple task our house
would look nice all the time. You have to remember that I was not doing my cards. I had
a list of things to check before I went to bed. This list did not include personal hygiene,
only home care chores. The extra benefits from this goal was a house that looked clean
all the time. Even though it was dirty underneath. I also could not go to bed without
doing this routine. Another benefit was I started to see islands of clutter that I would
clean, because my home was looking nice and I wanted it to look better.
In April, my goal was to do my daily home care chores. Now you have to realize that I
was not doing daily chores or weekly, but our home was beginning to take shape. I had a
routine and I was doing it everyday. So I developed a morning routine that addressed
everything that I needed to do. Personal grooming as well. I made my list in the order
that I wanted to do them. As I proceeded down the list I would check off everything that I
had done. I also had a check list of all the chores that I wanted to make sure got done. I
did this every morning. The extra benefit was my house was getting cleaner and I was
only doing 15 minutes at night and 30 minutes in the morning. I was dressing every
morning and putting on my shoes. Our home was so clean that I didn't see the need to do
Weekly chores. LOL. But I felt bad that I was not vacuuming until I could not stand it any
more. I still had those small areas that were bothering me, but I was clearing them out
one at a time.
May's goal was to do my weekly chores. To do this I needed a cleaning day, so I set up
my weekly plan. Monday was cleaning day, Tuesday was my free day, Wednesday more
cleaning, Thursday was errand day, Friday was office day and a special day to be
romantic toward my Sweet Husband. I divided the cards into cleaning, errands and other
things that needed to be done each week. I did my weekly cleaning chores every Monday
and I followed my weekly plan. The extra benefit was I set up my zones and started to do
them, too. With the zones set up, I started to clean with a purpose, one area at a time. The
house was becoming a home, I was working the plan and the plan was working for me. I
was proud of our home. DH was loving it too. In the mean time my friends on the board
were helping me to stay on track. When I shared with them what I was doing, that I had
set up routines, weekly plans and zones, I offered downloadable copies to anyone that
would e-mail me. I sent out over 100 copies. It was helping me to help them.
During June, my routines were set in stone. All I had to do was tweak them just a little. I
added personal hygiene to my before bed routine, along with laying out my clothes. My
morning routine only needed minor adjustments, such as check book balancing
(subtracting the checks from the balance) and a morning meditation. I had come a long
way in 6 months. I was feeling very proud.
The first 6 months of the year was tough for my family. My mother had another stroke
and I had to go to court to get permission to handle her affairs. In July the Judge granted
that petition and I moved Mother to NC to be near me. I had been keeping my home clean
as well as doing my new job of county commissioner, working 30 to 40 hours a week and
I was still keeping my head way above water. I had even surprised myself. It was easy.
July and August were crazy. Several trips to Tennessee to clean out mother's home, so we
could sell it. And I flew to Portland to the First SHE Conference. It was wonderful getting
to meet all of my old friends from the board. My routines were still working for me. Our
home was clean even without me being home. Does that tell you something about who
was messy in my house? Not my DH. During August I offered to help find mentors for
newbies on the board. Last count there were 50 pairs of mentors and newbies. This
helped many people learn about the system.
During September and October, my routines were the glue that held my life together.
My home was spotless, all the clutter was gone, except for the garage. I had
systematically removed all the clutter without killing myself. How had it happened? It
was the zones that helped me to focus on that area. Toward the end of each month, I
would make a list of everything that was bothering me in our house. Then I would divide
it into my zones. Putting things to buy on my errand day and house chores on my
cleaning day and appointments for household repairs to be made on my desk day. At the
end of a month, my home was better, because I had done the things on my to do list.
November was Thanksgiving, and I had all our family here. My house was perfect so I
didn't have to kill myself cleaning to have people over. I did hire a friend to help organize
my craft closet and sewing room. Now the cooking was all that needed to be done. I used
the same system. I made a list of everything that I needed to have a great meal and the
menu. Then divided the list into errand/grocery day, home chores, things to cook ahead
and other things to buy. I even made appointments for my oven. So I would not be rushed.
The whole day was wonderful. Best of all I was relaxed. I wonder how that had
happened. It was the system that Pam and Peggy had taught me and for the last few
months I had been doing what I was supposed to. The routines had become a part of my
life, as important as brushing my teeth and taking a bath. I could not begin my day
without doing the things on my list. I didn't even have to look at my list anymore. I was on
automatic pilot.
Since Thanksgiving, our home has stayed in great shape. I realized the key was putting
things away when I finish with them. That was my goal for December. To pick up after
myself. You would be so surprised at the effect it has had on the total time that I spend
doing my morning and before bed routines. It is almost like they do themselves.
This last year has been the beginning of my new life as a Learned Organized SHE. This
doesn't mean that I don't get sidetracked anymore, it means that if I do, I have the time to
take a side road and before you know it, I am back on my regular path, without the guilt
that used to accompany a trip into sidetracked land.
By telling this story, I hope that I can impress upon you that this is not an overnight fix.
We have been sidetracked all of our lives. We have to take one habit at a time and build
on what is working. What worked for me may have to be altered to fit your family, but
there are a few things that will remain the same. You have to get up and get dressed
every day, do your morning routine and your before bed routine. All the while keeping
your kitchen clean and your sink shiny. I want for you what Pam and Peggy's system has
given to me, Peace of mind, Pride in my home, and a passion for living.
The last three weeks have started you on your new path to Learned Organization. Some
of you have found that it is working, while others still need to jump in and do the simple
things and quit making excuses. Next week we will start. 1999 is lost forever, 2000 is in
our near future. We have to forget about the things we haven't done and focus on what
we can do today.
Here is to wishing you a productive New Year!

FlyLady
Now go give yourself a gold star for doing your Morning Routine.
Day 26
It takes us a month to establish a habit. I set it up this way because I

knew that I would miss a day here and there and I didn’t want to throw
the baby out with the bath water. That was how I had always done it with
my perfectionism. If I missed a day I gave up; well I factored in this
part of our personalities into our FlyLady system. This is why we take a
whole month to establish one habit.
Today I want you to go look at the bottom of any email that I have sent
out. The first sentence is what I want you to look at and incorporate
into you FLYing!
Day 27
Today I want you to think about what you are fixing for dinner before
6:00 pm rolls around. You can do it as part of your before bed routine
for tomorrow or as part of your morning routine for today. Write this in
your Control Journal.
WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
Day 28
Many times when we can’t seem to get going it is because we are not
taking care of ourselves by eating right, drinking our water or getting
enough sleep. As part of your routines I want you to remind yourself to
eat good food, drink your water and get your rest.
Day 29
We have worked very hard this past month. I hope that you have become
familiar with our email FLY Washing system and you are seeing some
progress in your home. It took me nine months of building my routines one
habit at a time to get our home running on automatic pilot. Please do not
beat yourself up over this. Anything you do today is better than it used
to be! Celebrate each accomplishment and enjoy the process. Before you
know it you will be having more time for the things that you love to do.
Right now I want you to look at the bottom of our homepage and find the
weekly Pamper Mission and read it. Then think about when you are going to
do it. You may have to put it on your calendar to really make it happen.
Day 30
Look at your calendar for next month. Does anyone have a birthday? We
forget to send cards and purchase gifts. Put this on your errand list so
you can to buy cards and gifts on your errand day. To learn more about a
Basic Weekly Plan; You don’t have to start doing it yet. Just think about
it.
http://flylady.net/pages/FLYFaq.asp#weeklyplan
What is a basic weekly plan?

You are not going to get your home totally decluttered in one month! It is an ongoing
process. We have to work at it in small quantities of time and area. We must not pull out
more than we can put back in a few minutes. We are an all or nothing group of ladies. I
am the one of the worst. I want what I want and I want it NOW! Well it is not going to
happen with our homes. The problem we have had in the past is that we get it clean and
we can't keep it that way. How many times have you spent days cleaning, only to find
yourself up to our eyeballs in clutter the next week? I don't want to know! My main goal
with this one list is to instill in you the tools to keep it clean. Routines are those tools This
is why I reinforce them every day. With routines, the Do-it-Now Principle, and keeping
your sink clean you can maintain the areas that you are decluttering. It is important that
the routines become automatic. The routines work to keep the house from piling high, In
your homes we are trying to find a place for everything and put it there. That is what we
are doing with the Basic weekly plan., deciding on a day to do things and sticking to it. I
never knew how much this would help my lack of organization. Knowing that I do my
shopping on Thursday, my cleaning on Monday and my desk day on Friday allows me the
freedom to schedule things according to the day. When you know what the day is, you
know what has to be done. It is another way to be on autopilot.
Day 31
Don’t get bogged down by wanting to know everything about our system. As
your clutter goes away you will find that you will have time to do the
zone detailed cleaning, weekly home blessing hour and some of the fun
things we do in our email and on the website. You don’t have to see the
top of the staircase to take the first step or the 30th step; you just
need to keep FLYing!
I am so proud of you!

Flybaby Babysteps

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Dear Precious New Member,

Please do not get impatient with the process. Everything we do is going

Go Shine your sink.

Shine Your Kitchen Sink

Shiny Sink 101

Here is how you do it:

BE SURE AND RINSE WELL BETWEEN EACH STEP OF THE WAY!

1. Take all the dishes out of the sink.

3. Rinse your sink well.

Go Shine Your Sink!

In order for us to change ourselves we need to remind ourselves of what

Shine your sink before you go to bed.

A Letter From FlyLady

Here is a testimonial that was a God Breeze this morning:

- Getting Dressed to lace up shoes - Keeping our sink shining - Reading 2

- Getting Dressed to lace up shoes - Keeping our sink shining - Reading 2

Day 6 - Getting Dressed to lace up shoes - Keeping our sink shining -

What is a Hot Spot?

- Getting Dressed to lace up shoes - Keeping our sink shining - Reading 2

Before Bed Routine

Before Bed Routine

Add a 5 minute room rescue to your Morning Routine.

Before Bed Routine

Before Bed Routine

Check your Morning Routine in your Control Journal

Check your Before Bed Routine in your Control Journal

Check your Morning Routine in your Control Journal

Check your Before Bed Routine in your Control Journal

Kelly's Missions: Where Will You End Up Today?

FLY Spot Alert for the Week!

Don't overthink the mission, just do the mission! Have fun!

Today we are back to the Living Room!

Have fun and don't get sidetracked!

Here is what we are doing so far. We are practicing our Morning

Check your Before Bed Routine in your Control Journal

There is tons of information on our website. I do not want you to get

Kelly's Guide on How to Use a Calendar

So how do you use a calendar?

Day 15 Check Your Control Journal Every Morning and Evening

Check Your Control Journal Every Morning and Evening

Check Your Control Journal Every Morning and Evening

Check Your Control Journal Every Morning and Evening

FlyLady's Eleven Commandments

3. Do your morning and before bedtime routine everyday.

4. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked by the computer.

5. Pick up after yourself. If you get it out, put it away.

6. Don’t try to do two projects at once. ONE JOB AT A TIME.

8. Do something for yourself everyday, maybe every morning and night.

Check Your Control Journal Every Morning and Evening

Here is another inspirational testimonial that is the first page of my

Time FLYs When You are Having Fun!

Ode to FlyLady by Lisa Easterling

"Get out of bed!" the lady said,

I wandered out, in full-fledged pout

I lightly groomed my living room,

I thought of times I'd groaned and whined

I find my life has much less strife,

My smiling more with every chore

And as I grow, how sweet to know

Copyrighted by Lisa Easterling 2000

FLYing High by Rainbow Goddess

Rise and shine