What am I asked about decluttering?

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Welcome to week 3 of the month! This is the week where you choose an additional area to declutter besides the main bathroom. I will have some ideas below for you if you don’t have a second area picked out. But if you have a room that is filled with clutter, I want you to spend 10 minutes a day getting the clutter out.
If the room you are decluttering depresses you, I want you to take items out of the room and then deal with them. You do not have to sit in the room to declutter it.
Here are you missions for the week:
Zone 2 Missions: The Kitchen
Monday – clean around the toilet in your main bathroom. Go around the house with a small trash bag and toss items for 10 minutes.
Tuesday – wash your bathroom trash can. Go around the house and find items to donate.
Wednesday – Toss empty bottles and expired items from the medicine cabinet. Go around the house and put things away.
Thursday – Shine bathroom sink. Go around the house and toss clutter.
Friday – Mop the bathroom. Do a 27 Fling Boogie through the house. (For the 27 Fling Boogie, you will find items to toss, donate, and put away.)
Set your timers for 15 minutes and then take a break when it goes off!
Weekly Menu Plan
Monday – Chicken and a Salad
Tuesday – Pizza and a Salad
Wednesday – Soup and Sandwiches
Thursday – Breakfast for Dinner
Friday – Take out
Enjoy your week! Keep your routines simple.
“Will I ever be finished decluttering?”
This question has been asked of me many times. My response is the same, “As long as you bring new things into your home, you are going to need to declutter.”
Decluttering daily is something that needs to be a part of your routine. Mail is delivered. Packages arrive. You go shopping. Your children make things. People give you things. The list can go on and on.
A few people were discouraged when I told them that I still declutter daily. It’s true. It’s often not a lot of stuff that I declutter, but I either throw things away daily when I clear a Hot Spot, or I put things in the “to be donated” box. Some things from the Hot Spot end up getting put away.
If you have a lot of clutter in your home, you need to get rid of two things for each new thing that comes into the house. You also need to declutter for 15 minutes a day. You will need to work with your children on decluttering from their rooms, too.
If you have an area in your home that really bothers you because of the clutter, I want you to focus on that for a couple of days and start seeing a difference. You have to throw things away. You have to donate things. Once you start getting clutter out of your house rather than just finding a new place for it, you will love seeing areas cleared up.
Many of the ladies I mentor find that they maintain areas very well once they have decluttered it. It gives them peace and joy. They do not let the clutter back into those areas.
You do not have a lot of extra time in your days to declutter. Use your timer for 15 minutes a day. You can spare that much time. You spend more time than that on your computer or phone. You can budget 15 minutes a day to declutter your way to peace.
The first step to change is the hardest step. Take it today.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wash the sheets.
Your Zone Mission for Monday is clean around the toilet. Then go through the house and find things to toss.
My menu plan for Monday is chicken and salad.
Have a blessed day!

Are you ready to toss expired items with me?

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Happy Friday! Are you feeling good about what you accomplished this week? If you have not been able to get to everything on your list, I want you to stop beating yourself up about it. You are doing fantastic!
Several years ago, we had 6 children at home, and life was hectic. I felt like I had conquered the world if I got through the daily routines! Some of you are in that season right now. Your routines should be your primary goal for the day, and anything else is icing on the cake.
Your list that you have written out (or in your head) is a goal list. You are not going to complete it in a day or a week or a month. Start celebrating your accomplishments when you complete steps to the things on your list.
Your routines are your foundation. They are what helps guide you to a decluttered home. I am sitting here tonight with two things on my list that I wanted to do today besides my routines. One of them was to write to all of you.
The other one is to study for a test I have tomorrow. I put a priority on my writing, so I could focus on the studying afterwards.
Yesterday, my husband was looking for something in the pantry. As I joined him to locate this item, I found a canned food item that I knew I had had for a while.
Take a look at the expiration date on this canned food item.
Yes, you are reading that right. It expired in 2014! I had no problem tossing it. Tell me what you find in your pantry today when you do search for expired items!
I always want to share the things I am doing, so you know that I am right there in the trenches with you. I have great days, and I have days when I get the bare minimum done with my routines.
Today’s Zone Mission is to declutter expired items from your pantry.
Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.
My menu plan for Friday is take out.
Have a great weekend!

Short on time? Don’t skimp on your routines.

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
How is your week going? We are moving along in my home this week with homeschooling, caring for my home and family, and my real estate business. I can’t think of a better way to care for my home than The FlyLady system.
Even when you are having a busy week, you can find 5 minutes to do a little decluttering. You can find 10 minutes to do one home blessing. You can find 2 minutes to swish & swipe your bathroom.
If you are new to The FlyLady system, here are my top 3 things that make the biggest impact on my home —- shine my kitchen sink, make my bed, and get dressed down to the shoes.
Some of you might be having a rough start to your day, and you don’t feel like you have accomplished anything. Do those three things, and you will feel like you accomplished a lot. You will smile when you walk into the kitchen and see a clean, shiny sink. When you walk into your bedroom, you will smile when you see your bed made up.
Being dressed down to the shoes automatically signals your brain that you are ready to take on whatever the day brings your way. Think with me for a minute on how you feel when you stay in your PJ’s all day. Now, go get dressed and stay aware of how you feel throughout the day.
If you are a seasoned follower of The FlyLady, I want to hear from you. Tell me what one routine has had the biggest impact on you and your home.
Your Zone Mission today is to wipe the front and tops of the stove and fridge. Give the microwave a quick wipe, too.
Your Home Blessing for today is to toss paper and magazines.
My menu plan for Thursday is a surprise.
Have a blessed day!

Hot Spot Fire Drill in the Kitchen

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Good morning to you! I pray your week is going well. Sometimes things are tough, and I wanted you to know that no matter how little progress you think you are making, it is better than nothing at all.
Today you are going to do a quick Hot Spot Fire Drill in the Kitchen. Use your timer and really go after those clutter spots on your counters. Toss. Toss. Toss. Find a place for things that you do need to keep.
Take a look at the appliances on your counters. Do you have some that are not used very often? The only thing that I do not use often that has a space on my counter is my Kitchenaid. It is too big and heavy to move. Otherwise, I only keep the appliances we use regularly.
We have designated storage places for the pots and pans. I have a rolling cabinet that holds my cast iron. The lighter pots and pans stack easily in my lower cabinet.
If you have appliances that someone gave you, and you are not using them, you can bless someone else with them. You are not obligated to keep something that is just taking up space and not useful to you.
When we got married, we were gifted with many kitchen items. Over the years, I found that some of them were quite useful, and some of them were not as useful. When I did my kitchen renovation last year, I found things in the top of my kitchen cabinet that had sat there for 28 years. I donated these items.
The less stuff you have on your counters, the better your kitchen will function for you. Purge without guilt.
It’s also anti-procrastination day! Do something you have been putting off.
Your Zone Mission today is to do a hot spot fire drill in the kitchen.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe windows and mirrors.
My menu plan for Wednesday is soup, sandwiches, and a salad.
Have a blessed day!

Lesson #1 – Shine Your Kitchen Sink

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Today’s mission takes you back to the beginning of the Baby Steps with the FlyLady. You are going to Shine Your Kitchen Sink.
If you want the step-by-step directions from the FlyLady, you can read it here. This is a good thing to do at least once a month with the details listed in the article.
Each night, I wipe my sink out with my dirty dish towel from the day, and then I lay out a fresh towel for the next morning. Since I am cleaning up the water spots daily, I don’t need to do a deep clean often.
The times when I have needed to do a deep cleaning of the sink have centered around renovations in the kitchen. So this is your encouragement to wipe your sink dry each night.
Some of you have different surfacing on your kitchen sink. I have a metal sink, but I have used and cleaned a porcelain sink. They are a bit different in their care. But I can say that I have used baking soda to clean both types of surfaces successfully.
Another thing I do for my kitchen sink and drain lines is to sprinkle baking soda in the drain once a month, and I follow that will white vinegar. This gives your lives a little cleaning action as the two things combine and make a chemical reaction. Kids love this!
This mission should not take more than 15 minutes unless you have dirty dishes to deal with first. So dive in and shine your sink! Each night check the sink before you go to bed and wipe it down. It will make you smile in the morning when you wake up to a clean and shiny sink.
Your Zone Mission today is to shine your kitchen sink.
Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.
My menu plan for Tuesday is sloppy joes and a salad.
Have a great day!

Loving Your Kitchen No Matter What the Size

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Do you love your kitchen? One way to help you love your kitchen, no matter if it is small or large, is to keep your counters and surfaces decluttered.
The flat surfaces in the kitchen are huge clutter magnets. This limits how much space you have to prepare meals, and it also makes your kitchen seem smaller than it is. I know the discipline it takes to declutter the extra stuff from your counters.
Here are you missions for the week:
Zone 2 Missions: The Kitchen
Monday – clean the small appliances that are on your counters – toaster, coffee maker, microwave.
Tuesday – Shine your kitchen sink.
Wednesday – Deal with your kitchen hot spots.
Thursday – Wipe your stove, fridge, and microwave.
Friday – Declutter expired items from the pantry.
Set your timers for 15 minutes and then take a break when it goes off!
Weekly Menu Plan
Monday – Chicken Stir Fry
Tuesday – Sloppy Joes and Tater Tots
Wednesday – Soup and Sandwiches
Thursday – Dinner at my mom’s house.
Friday – Take out
Enjoy your week! Keep your routines simple.
How many of you homeschool in your kitchen? Many of us use our kitchen as our homeschool space. Some of you have school rooms or other spaces, but the majority of homeschoolers that I have talked to over the years uses their kitchen for at least part of their lessons.
When you kitchen serves double duty, you have to be vigilant with putting things away where they belong. That means you have to designate spaces for books, pens, pencils, craft supplies, and more. This can be a challenge depending on the size of your kitchen.
Our kitchen is open to our dining area, and I have a cabinet beside of my table for our school materials. This has made a huge difference for our homeschool. Each person has a place for their books and materials. I have a place for my teacher materials.
After we use a book, it goes back in the cabinet. If I need to grade something, they hand it to me. I do my best to grade papers daily. If I let it build up, it becomes overwhelming.
If you don’t have a cabinet for storing your homeschool materials, come up with a way that makes it easy for your children to get their books out and put them back independently. I helped my children with this in kindergarten and first grade, but it was something I needed them to be able to do one their own.
If you are sharing space in your kitchen with your homeschool, work on your school items, too. Reign in the books and materials that tend to cover all of your flat surfaces.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wash the sheets.
Your Zone Mission for Monday is to clean the small appliances that are on your kitchen counters.
My menu plan for Monday is chicken stir fry and salad.
Have a blessed day!

Happy March 1! Let’s talk about the habit of the month.

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

 
Dear Friends,
Happy March 1! This month’s mission is one of my favorites because it is one that really helps me feel good about myself. It gives me energy, and I am able to leave the house at a moment’s notice.
The Habit of the Month is to get dressed down to the shoes first thing in the morning. A few of you just rolled your eyes at me because you and your children like to be comfortable at home and wear your PJ’s and fuzzy socks all day.
The benefits of getting dressed first thing in the morning are many. First, you are ready to leave the house if something pops up. With children at home, things happen. Accidents occur, and sometimes you just have to gather everyone up and walk out of the house and get in the car.
More than one time, I have had to do this very thing. I have a place for my car keys and my pocketbook. So it is easy to leave the house when something happens.
Several years ago, I helped take care of my in law’s when their health was failing. They live on the other side of the creek from my house, so when something came up in their care needs, I got phone calls. There were times when I literally stopped in the middle of a school lesson to go to them. Being dressed down to the shoes was a necessity for me and my children.
Another big benefit to getting dressed down to the shoes first thing in the morning is that you feel more energetic when you are dressed in regular clothes versus PJ’s or sweat pants. Getting dressed down to the shoes signals your brain that it is time to get busy.
Some of you like to have a relaxing day at home on occasion. That is a personal preference on your part, and if you or the children are sick, then declare a restful day and wear your comfy clothes. But if someone is terribly sick, you might want to get dressed in case you have to go to the doctor’s office.
We just don’t have PJ day in my home unless the person is completely on bedrest.
If you don’t get yourself dressed down to the shoes first thing in the morning, I want to challenge you to do it for a week. Lay your clothes out the night before, and when you get up the next morning, put on your clothes immediately.
Your zone mission today is to declutter in Zone 1 – The Front Porch, Entryway, and Dining Room. Pick one of these areas or do 5 minutes in each. You know what you need to do in Zone 1. Set the timer and do it!
Today’s Zone Mission is to declutter in Zone 1.
Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.
My menu plan for Friday is take out.
Have a great weekend!

Moving Furniture and Decluttering

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
It’s the last day of the month, and it’s the last day in Zone 5. Today, I want you to move your living room furniture around and detail vacuum. If you have time, pull the cushions and vacuum the furniture. Enlist the help of your children for this mission, if they are big enough to help.
After you move the furniture around, look at the room and see if there is another way to arrange the furniture in your living room. This will give it a new look.
Sometimes you can move furniture or accessories from one room to another and give your room a make over. Staging rooms is a lot of fun, and as you declutter and use the things that you love the most, you will enjoy these missions more and more.
How many of you have Family Rooms and Living Rooms? When you have both, you can alternate your zone missions from month to month between the two rooms. If you can do the mission in both rooms in 15 minutes, that is another tatic for getting the missions done.
Tomorrow, we are going to spend 15 minutes in Zone 1, and that includes three areas. Keep that in mind as you are going about your day. Have a thought process on what you will focus on in Zone 1. I want you to see progress without burning yourself out trying to do too many things in a day.
How are you doing with your homeschool year? The winter sometimes seems long when you can’t get outside often and enjoy the outdoors. If you are feeling a little burned out with homeschooling, schedule a field trip soon.
Another way to re-energize yourself is to have an outing with some homeschool mom friends. Just talking to others who are in the trenches, too, will help. This year has been different for me, and I have not been able to participate in my local homeschool group like I have in the past. I miss it.
Did you release clutter from your home in February? That was our habit of the month, and hopefully, you have found a way to bless others with your excess.
Your Zone Mission today is to detail vacuum the Living Room or Family Room.
Your Home Blessing for today is to toss paper and magazines.
My menu plan for Thursday is BBQ, sides, and a salad.
Have a blessed day!

Focus on One Thing

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Happy Anti-Procrastination Day! We are coming close to the end of the month, and we have today and tomorrow for our missions in the Living Room. Use your timer and write down one thing you would like to work on that you have been putting off.
Writing things down on paper helps you keep your focus. You can write it on a sticky note, on a piece of paper, on your calendar, on a white board, on a chalk board, or really anything that puts it in front of you.
The act of writing it down also puts it in your head in a different way. It helps you more than you think, but the key is to not have a lot of things on the list. That’s why I said to just write one down. In your perfectionism, you want to write 10 things down.
The goal I have for you is to help you establish the habits of decluttering, detail cleaning a little at a time, and doing your home blessings. When you get these firmly in place, caring for your home is a breeze.
Then you have more time for the fun stuff with your family. Teaching your children these habits are important life skills that they need. So many young adults go to college and move out with few skills.
You want to teach them a variety of skills around the house — no matter if you have boys or girls or both. In my home, everyone knows how to cook, do dishes, wash clothes and move them to the dryer and put away. They also know how to do routine maintenance inside the house and outside.
If you do not have a control journal to help you keep track of home care, I encourage you to look at them on the FlyLady’s site. They really do help you keep track of things. She has both a printed version and a digital version.
Your Zone Mission today is to declutter items that you do not need in the Living Room.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe windows and mirrors.
My menu plan for Wednesday is soup, sandwiches, and a salad.
Have a blessed day!

Dusting the Bookshelves

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 
 
Dear Friends,
Today’s mission is one that I don’t want you to empty all of your bookshelves over. Today we are detail dusting the Living Room, and most homeschoolers have bookcases in the Living Room.
Here is how I deal with my bookcases when it is time to detail dust them. I simply dust over the tops of the books, and then I dust in front of them. I work my way from top to bottom. It is very rare that I empty a bookshelf.
There are occasions when I have done some painting, and I moved furniture around. Then I would empty my bookcases. One year I decided to declutter the books that filled one bookshelf. I did it one shelf at a time over a period of a couple of months.
Your tendency is to get a little perfectionistic when you are detail dusting. You want to take everything down. So the goal for those of you who want to do that is to only allow yourself to pull out the things you can deal with in an hour or less.
Ideally, your zone missions should take 15 minutes or less, but I do understand that are projects that you need a little longer to do. Moving around a lot of stuff in a room can take longer than 15 minutes, but I don’t want you spending all day doing this.
Dusting can be a team sport, too. Include your children, even young children can use a small rag and dust near you.
Your Zone Mission today is to detail dust in the living room.
Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.
My menu plan for Tuesday is sloppy joes and a salad.
Have a great day!