Show me your decluttering progress

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Happy Friday! We have been decluttering in the Master Bedroom this week. You deserve a peaceful place to rest. I hope you are pleased with the progress you made this week. Email a picture of your progress to me at Tami@TamiFox.com.
The boys and I are wrapping up our fourth week of this homeschool year. We have had fun, and we have learned new skills.
We are working with a different style of doing our school work using an App on a tablet. We have enjoyed the change, and as the teacher, I like how I review their daily work and check grades. Everything is done within the app. I have a subscription fee for it, but it is worth it for me.
What are you using this year for your homeschool? 
Over the years, I have used the unit study method, and I have had years we used just textbooks. Some years we used a mix of DVD’s and books. I love the variety and freedom I have to choose what works for my family. We are not a one size fits all type of family, and I love that I can choose curriculum based on our needs.
What are you doing for supplemental activities this year? 
On social media, I have enjoyed seeing the different ways my homeschool friends have started their school year and the activities they are enjoying. I am a part of a homeschool group and a homeschool field trip group. Both of these groups plan monthly events, and it gives me some variety in my school week to have a field trip planned.
If you have not started your school year, don’t worry about those of us who started earlier. Each of us has our own rhythms and ways of doing things. I like having some flexible time in the fall when the weather is cooler to take off a day here and there. I also like being finished with my school year before the end of May. But I have had years where it was better to start my homeschool year after Labor Day.
Enjoy your weekend and do something as a family.
Today’s Zone Mission is to declutter items from the top of your dresser.
Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.
My menu plan for Friday is take out.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Quick Tips on Decluttering in Your Bedroom

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Do you need to do a quick mission in your bedroom today? Here are some pointers to help you break it down and move quickly to bring order to your bedroom.
Piled Up Clothing:
Do you have clothes piled in the corner? Chairs and treadmills in the bedroom are a clutter magnet for clothes. Usually your clothes spend more time on the treadmill than you do. Spend a few minutes putting your clothes away.
Covered Up Flat Surfaces:
Are your flat surfaces piled full? Take a look at the piles. What you can give away or throw away? What needs to be put away? Get it down to the bare essentials. Put away the things that do not have special meaning to you.
Corners Filled with Clutter:
If you have things piled in the corners, find a place for them or get rid of them. Sometimes we get so used to seeing things in the corners of our room that we quit “seeing” them. Look at your room with fresh eyes. Spend a few minutes clearing your corners of the clutter that lurks there.
Think about how you feel when you walk into a hotel room or a vacation rental. Until you unpack, it has clear surfaces. Do what you can to recreate this in your bedroom. If you have cleared off surfaces, you can dust weekly. If your surfaces are piled high, you probably are not dusting in there regularly. It’s time to evict the dust bunnies!
 Under Your Bed:
Do you use the underneath part of your bed for storage? Consider not keeping anything under your bed or only a few things. It will be easier to evict the dust bunnies each month when I tell you to clean under your bed.
Make Your Bed:
Look at your bed. Do you need to freshen up your linens, bed cover, or pillows? Adding a few throw pillows can give your bed a new look after you make it each day. If you are slacking on making your bed daily, resolve now to make your bed as soon as you get up each morning. I get up before my husband in the mornings, and I make my side of the bed as soon as I get up.
Cluttered Closet:
Open your closet. If it is cluttered up, start decluttering a few minutes at a time until it looks better. I do not want you to pull everything out and sort. I just want you to flip through your hangers and pull out whatever does not fit or that you don’t like. It might be one thing, and it might be ten things. Do not tell yourself to hang onto it if you have held onto it for years waiting to lose weight to fit into it. Do not feel guilty if it still has tags on it. Bless someone else with it, if it does not fit.
You can make your room a haven of rest. Use these tips for some quick missions to bring peace to your bedroom.
Today’s Zone Mission is to toss your worn out or ill-fitting undergarments.
Your Home Blessing for today is to declutter paper and magazines.
My menu plan for Thursday is a cookout with our homeschool group.
Have a great day!

Have you been procrastinating decluttering?

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
When you need to do something that you don’t want to do, what’s your natural response? Procrastination. Some of you have things on your list that you have been avoiding for a long time. I talk to ladies each week who have goals, and each week they work on a goal that they have neglected for a long time. Some have avoided doing something for years.
Today, I want you to take one step on whatever you have been putting off. They say that the first step is the hardest. I would add that sometimes the subsequent steps are hard, too, but keep at it. It’s worth it!
Paper clutter is a big one that gets put off. You don’t want to make a decision on what to do with the paper. Some of you have papers from your parents or grandparents. If it is not a historical account for your family history, you could start letting it go. If you took care of their estate, you might have some papers you have to hold onto for legal purposes, but for the most part, you are likely holding onto papers that just need to be tossed.
The FlyLady says to use the OHIO method in decluttering paper. Only Handle It Once.
Your closet is another area that you don’t want to declutter. You are holding onto clothes, and you likely have sizes that do not fit you. It’s time to let those go. A few years ago, I decluttered the clothes I had in storage. One dress that was in there was from 1986 or 1987.
Your zone mission today covers your Master Closet. Spend 15 minutes pulling things from the closet that don’t fit or that you don’t wear. Put them in a black trash bag and donate them this week. Don’t leave them where you can see them or pull stuff back out. Put the bag in your car. Put a note on your dash to remind you to drop it off.
If your children’s clothes are out of control, spend a few minutes each day purging with them. If you have several children, just work on one at a time. Include them in this purge. Work through their closet and dresser drawers systematically. Do not spend 8 hours at once doing this. That will lead to burn out. You want to have a system that is sustainable. Decluttering clothes a little at a time each month will help.
Some of you have friends and family who bless you with clothes for your children. You are not obligated to keep all of these clothes. Keep some of them and pass the rest onto someone else.
Your goal is to bless others with your abundance this week. Tell me how many bags of clothes you donate.
Your Zone Mission today is to spend 15 minutes decluttering clothes.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe windows and mirrors.
My menu plan for Wednesday is chicken tacos with a salad.
Have a great day!

Download Your Homeschool Teacher Control Journal Today

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Happy Plan and Play Day! It’s been a while since I shared the link to The FlyLady’s Homeschool Teacher Control Journal and Homeschool Student Control Journal. Both of these will help you as you embark on your new school year. Best of all, both of these are available as a digital download on her site, and they are free!
The Homeschool Teacher Control Journal contains tips on organizing your homeschool area, tips on decluttering, the importance of daily routines, and ideas for daily homeschool and home routines. There are pages to help you develop your daily routines.
The Homeschool Student Control Journal is written to your student. The FlyLady will walk your child through developing daily habits. She goes over the Before Bed Routine, The Morning Routine, and the Afternoon Routine. Then she provides pages for them to write down their routines based on this.
The FlyLady also gives ideas on how your child can divide their bedroom up into zones, and each day of the week he or she can work on one zone for 5 to 10 minutes.
If you would like to have a little encouragement to start off your school year, you can listen to a recording of a talk that I did with The FlyLady a couple of years ago in Richmond, VA. We talked about how You Can Homeschool and have an Organized Home.
Here are the links you need for these resources:
Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.
Your Zone Mission for today is to purge costume jewelry, scarves, and belts.
My menu plan for Tuesday is soup and sandwiches. Veggies and salad for me.
Have a blessed day!

Decluttering Your Way to a Bedroom Makeover

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
This week we are going to declutter and detail clean in our master bedrooms. This is also a great week to give your children specific tasks in their bedrooms. You can declutter your way to a bedroom makeover by getting rid of the things that you aren’t using.
Here are you missions for the week:
Zone 4 Missions: The Master Bedroom
Monday – Dust walls, ceiling, and flat surfaces in MB
Tuesday – Purge Costume jewelry
Wednesday – 27 Fling Boogie – Closet Purge
Thursday – Toss old underwear
Friday – Declutter and dust the top of your dresser
Set your timers and then take a break when it goes off!
Whenever I ask on social media about the routine people struggle with daily, I get the most responses about the Before Bed Routine. This routine sets you up for a successful start to your morning, and it can be started right after dinner. That is when I start mine.
Before Bed Routine:
1)      Check the calendar and weather
2)      Lay out your clothes
3)      Put things at the launch pad that you will need the next morning
4)      Shine your kitchen sink
5)      Wash your face and brush your teeth
6)      Go to bed at a decent hour
Here’s your recap of the Weekly Zone Missions.
On Monday, get out your long handled duster or FlyLady multi-tool and dust the bedroom walls and along the ceiling. Then dust the rest of the flat surfaces in the bedroom.
On Tuesday, go through your jewelry box and declutter any costume jewelry that you have not worn in the past couple of years.
On Wednesday, do a 27 fling boogie in your closet. Donate anything that you have not worn in a year or more.
On Thursday, declutter worn out underwear and worn out socks.
On Friday, declutter the top of your dresser and detail dust. Only put back the things that you love.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wash the sheets.
Your Zone Mission for Monday is to dust along the ceiling and walls of the master bedroom.
My menu plan for Monday is country style steak and gravy. Salad for me.
Have a blessed day!

Start your school year off with a game.

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Happy Friday! Where did you declutter this week in addition to the missions in your main bathroom. Many of you have already shared pictures with me, but if you have not, please send a picture to me at homeschool@flylady.net.
Today’s zone mission in the main bathroom is a quick one. Get out an old toothbrush and scrub the faucets. If there are any other little things you want to do in the main bathroom, spend 5 more minutes decluttering or putting things away.
You other zone mission is to vacuum the guest room. If you don’t have a guest room, you can pick another area to vacuum. Or you can roll this mission into your Friday Home Blessing and do your floors. We sweep and mop on Fridays in my home.
If you are gearing up to start your school year, spend a few minutes gathering your thoughts. Do some lesson plans for your first day of school. Decide if you want to do pictures to celebrate the first day of school. Print out any signs you might want to use. It is less stressful if you do some pre-planning before you dive into your first day of school. You don’t have to plan a whole school year, but it is a good idea to plan the first day and see how things go.
A fun way to start your school year could be an event or field trip. You can do a scavenger hunt with clues and have them discover where they are going that day. It doesn’t have to be a complicated or expensive event, but I know my children have enjoyed it when we started the school year off with a field trip.
If you have some local homeschool moms, why not plan a mom’s night out for September. Go for coffee and dessert and enjoy some fellowship with other homeschoolers. It helps you to have support and fellowship in your homeschool journey.
Remember that Friday is date night, and if you have not had a date with your husband in a while, do something tonight.
Finish up your missions and enjoy your weekend.
What are you doing for family fun day this weekend?
Today’s Zone Mission is to scrub the bathroom faucets and vacuum the guest room.
Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.
My menu plan for Friday is take out.
Have a wonderful weekend!

How do you store your homeschool books?

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,

When you get a few homeschoolers together, the conversation usually goes to what curriculum do you use? Then, my next question is, “How do you organize it?”
I am an eclectic homeschooler. Our homeschool curriculum is chosen with care depending on the student’s skill level and interest level.
My children are hands on learners, and I have one who is dyslexic. So I cannot buy boxed curriculum sets. I have found materials that work for a variety of children, and I have had to find specific materials to help my son learn to read, spell, and write in a way that worked with his dyslexia.
My kitchen is the main homeschool area, but you can also find my children spread out around the house doing school work. They use textbooks, workbooks, and the computer. So there are a variety of things that are pulled out for each school day.
Part of their training has been to get materials out for one subject at a time and put those books away before getting out the next subject. I check them right before they put them away. I do not have piles of books and materials scattered all over my house. When it is time to do school, their materials are in one place.
We each have different set ups for organizing our school books. I have a cabinet with doors that close. I love this! Before I had the cabinet, I used heavy-duty plastic crates for each student.
Some of my friends use rolling carts with drawers to organize. Some use file cabinets. Some use plastic tubs with lids. There is no shortage of ways to store your books.
Tell me how you organize your books.
Today’s Zone Mission is to toss old cosmetics and do a 27 fling boogie. Focus on finding 27 things to give away.
Your Home Blessing for today is to declutter paper and magazines.
My menu plan for Thursday is taco soup and a salad.
Have a great day!

My Daily Routines Bring Peace and Calm to my Home

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

 

Dear Friends,
Today I received a question, and it is probably one that some of you have been thinking. “How do you stay motivated to do your routines when you are doing the same thing every day?”
What I have found with my daily routines is that peace washes over me as I do my daily routines. There is security in knowing what the next thing in my routine is. There is a calmness in my mind when I don’t have to fret about what to do. There is joy in my spirit because I have let go of CHAOS and have embraced the routines.
Each morning, I am greeted by my shiny sink. It might not last long as the working folks in my house grab breakfast and pack lunch. They might leave a coffee cup for me to rinse and put in the dishwasher. I am thankful for their jobs, and they are trying to not make a lot of noise as they get ready for work. A few cups in the sink from them means that they have left for work and enjoyed a cup of coffee first.
Right after breakfast, I am usually in the laundry room assessing what needs to happen next. Sometimes there is a load of wash that needs to be moved to the dryer, or there might be a load of towels to fold. Most of the time, I just need to start a load of laundry. The routine of doing laundry is not difficult, and yet many people detest laundry. They get hung up (pun intended) somewhere in the process. Most of the time they stop as soon as they take it out of the dryer. Living out of laundry baskets is not peaceful.
Decluttering and blessing my home through vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, and mopping bring me peace. I like checking things off my routine list just like you do. I let perfectionism go and just do the best I can with my home blessings. They are not done perfectly, and that is okay. They are done. I hear from ladies who have not vacuumed or mopped in months. I talk to ladies who dust once or twice a year. These can be done in minutes if you just jump in and do them.
I am not bored or tired of my routines. I embrace them and love them because they bring me peace and calm.
Your Zone Mission today is to wash the bathroom rugs and do a 27 Fling Boogie. Focus on putting things away today.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe windows and mirrors.
My menu plan for Wednesday is homemade pizza with a salad.
Have a great day!

Using a BINGO Game to Declutter

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

 

 

Dear Friends,
It’s Plan and Play Day! This is a great time to work on your homeschool lesson plans, menu planning, or paying bills. Spend 15 minutes on one of these tasks, and then reward yourself with 15 minutes of something you love to do.
Most Tuesdays, I spend an hour playing FlyLady BINGO online with the FlyLady Premium members. It makes decluttering fun, and when you are done, you can see the progress you made in a short amount of time. Here is a way you can play it at home:
First, I will assign a zone to each letter in the word BINGO.
B – Zone 1 – The Front Porch, Entryway, and Dining Room
I – Zone 2 – The Kitchen
N – Zone 3 – The Main Bathroom and One Other Area
G – Zone 4 – The Master Bedroom
O – Zone 5 – The Living Room or Family Room
Next, write these down on five note cards. Put them in a bowl or basket. Turn on some upbeat music, and get your timer out. You can do 5 minute missions for a 30 minute game, or you can do 10 minute missions for a 50 minute game.
Draw one card at a time, and spend your designated time in that area. You can declutter by putting things away, throwing things away, or putting things in your give away box. The goal is to take care of the hot spots in each of the zones and have fun at the same time!
If you play this game just once a week, you will find that you have less and less to do each week. You can include your children, too. Send them on specific missions to get rid of clutter and trash. You could assign the BINGO letters to different areas of their bedrooms.
You could use cues such as pick up your floor, clean out from under your bed, declutter from the tops of your dresser, toss the trash from your desk, change your sheets, pick up the stuff from the bottom of your closet, pull out any shoes or clothes that don’t fit.
If you need to clean a large area, such as a basement or garage, you can use the BINGO game there as well. Just pick 5 things to do in those areas and assign one thing to each letter. You will have fun, and you will know that there is an end to the game.
When you finish, reward yourself and your children with a fun activity.
What area(s) do you need to declutter today?
Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.
Your Zone Mission for today is to check your bathroom supplies and do a 27 Fling Boogie and put away 27 items.
My menu plan for Tuesday is Soup and Sandwiches and a salad for me.
Have a blessed day!

Tossing Perfectionism and Clutter from Your Home

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Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
What area in your home needs decluttering? This week we are decluttering and detail cleaning in the Main Bathroom and another room in your home. The FlyLady has missions suggested for you in your Guest Room.
If you do not have a Guest Room, you can choose another room for these missions. We are going to do one 27 Fling Boogie per day Monday through Thursday. On Friday, we will do the flooring in that room.
If you are new to the 27 Fling Boogie, it is simply a way to put a value on the number of items you are tossing or giving away. Find 27 things to throw away, and don’t get picky about it. Let it go! Then, another day you will find 27 things to give away. Another day, you will find 27 things to put away. Don’t let your perfectionism hold you back!
Here are you missions for the week:
Zone 3 Missions: The Main Bathroom & The Guest Room
Monday – Clear off Hot Spots in Bathroom;
27 Fling Boogie in Guest Room – Toss Clutter
Tuesday – Check Bathroom Supplies;
27 Fling Boogie in Guest Room – Put Away
Wednesday – Wash Bathroom Rugs;
27 Fling Boogie in Guest Room – Give Away
Thursday – Declutter Old Cosmetics;
27 Fling Boogie in Guest Room – Give Away
Friday – Scrub Bathroom Faucets;
Vacuum Guest Room
Set your timers and then take a break when it goes off!
If you have a lot of paper clutter, the 27 Fling Boogie is a great game to help you toss a lot of paper in a short amount of time. Seeing paper leave your home gives you instant gratification, too!
Here’s your recap of the Weekly Zone Missions.
On Monday, you are going to clear the Hot Spots in the main bathroom and toss 27 things.
On Tuesday, your mission is to check your bathroom supplies and put away 27 things.
On Wednesday, you are going to wash the bathroom rugs and find 27 things to give away.
On Thursday, go through your cosmetics and toss old items and find 27 more things to give away.
On Friday, your mission is to scrub the bathroom faucets and vacuum the guest room.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wash the sheets.
Your Zone Mission for today is to clear off the Hot Spots in the bathroom and toss 27 items.
My menu plan for Monday is BBQ. Salad for me.
Have a blessed day!