Dear Friends,

What routines do you have firmly in place?

The ones that stick even when your world seems upside down are your habits.

We all go through seasons of change in our lives. I went through the season of life of being newly married to parenthood. There were many changes in those years. There were some routines that I had established at that time, and there were a lot of things I was not doing.

We continued having children, and with each child, new routines were forged. Schedules were changed to accommodate nap times and bedtimes.

What I saw was that young children liked routines and predictability.

When I started following the FlyLady, there were certain routines that I was already doing really well, and there were things that I struggled to do on a regular basis. I did not jump right into all of the routines at once.

There are some of you who are reading this who feel overwhelmed with adding in new routines and decluttering. That is okay. You just need to start with one thing and build from there over time.

The FlyLady has you practice one habit a month, so you have a pretty big grace period to work on your routines.

The FlyLady wants you to start with shining your kitchen sink for a month. As you practice this routine, and it becomes a habit, you can just jump into the current Habit of the Month.

In October, we declutter paper. This is an excellent habit for homeschoolers to practice. In November, we will work on menu planning. This habit saves us money and time.

The routines are practical, and they work no matter what season of life you are in. If you have small children at home, you will practice some of the habits with them. If you have older children, you will include them in blessing your home. They will also practice some of the habits with you, like getting dressed down to the lace up shoes.

Throughout the summer and this fall, we have been through a very difficult time with our family. Even on the hardest days, my routines stayed firmly in place. I am so accustomed to my routines that I don’t think about doing them. I just do them one thing at a time. This gave me much peace on a day that felt less than peaceful.

The only times I skip parts of my routines are the times when I am so sick that I cannot get out of bed. I keep my routines basic with what The FlyLady suggests. Each part of the routine has a purpose. There is no fluff.

If you are having a lot of change in your life, practice the routines until they are habits. It will help you have a feeling of peace.

Have you decluttered paper this month? After you finish reading this, spend 5 minutes tossing paper. Then check on your kitchen sink.

It’s anti-procrastination day, too. Share with me something you are going to do that you have been putting off.

Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe windows and mirrors.

My menu plan for Wednesday is chicken and rice.

Have a blessed day!