Thursday, September 21, 2017

How I Keep Our Home Clean


Some of you may have heard of the FlyLady method for home management.  I never had until just a few weeks ago.  The methods I use are very similar, but in checking her out I found quite a few little tips and tricks to incorporate that are making a HUGE difference at our house.  I'm sure a lot of you already know these things, but for those who don't I thought I'd share what I do and the tips I've gleaned from her to keep our home clean, organized and me a happy camper!

We both do zone cleaning.  I do daily zones while she does monthly ones.  My home is rather small so daily zone cleaning really works for us.  You may find her technique works better to do zone cleaning on a monthly cycle.


Like her, we only work in 15 minute increments.  You can seriously get a lot done in 15 minutes.  Since there are 3 of us (3 times the mess) that equates to 45 minutes of cleaning.

Everything is spread out into daily, weekly and monthly tasks so we don't ever feel overwhelmed, which can easily happen if you have a busy schedule like we do.  The key is to not overtask yourself to the point you become overwhelmed and give up.  The FlyLady and I completely agree on this one.


I recently picked up two things from her method that I've added and I can't believe the difference that has made:


What does that mean? Click on the link above and it will tell you.  I can't believe what a difference this one daily task has done for me and it is infectious.  It affects my girls too.  I gave my kitchen sink a thorough scrub and I maintain it every day.  When we go to bed it is clean and empty which makes getting up and starting my day in the kitchen amazing.  It has really made that big of a difference and it literally affects how we approach the rest of our home as well.  It really is that amazing.


I started tagging my hot spots!

What is that exactly?  There are certain spots in our home that no matter what I do are ripe for piling up with crap.  It makes me crazy.  So rather than repeat myself over and over again, rant, yell or carry on like a crazy person I stick a post-it note on the wall and it works!  I can hardly believe that it does, but it really does.  And as a result the girls and I are much better about setting stuff down.

Tomorrow I'll go over my task schedules with you but for now I challenge you to shine your kitchen sink!  Let's see if that one simple task transforms you the way it did me. 

I bet it does!



8 comments:

  1. I love the FLyLady...I follow her suggestions for keeping my house clean and organized. I've used an egg timer for about twenty years...but I set it at 20 minutes per room...a tip I learned from my sister-in-law, who cleans homes professionally. My kids always called me OCD mom...but , it kept the house clean and kept me from loosing my mind! (five kids and a messy husband...yep....losing my mind was easy)!

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    1. I'm so glad you've heard of her. I am really impressed with how little time it actually takes to keep a house clean. The key, for us, is to keep everyone on board and doing their part.

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  2. Right now my kitchen is a wool dyeing zone...everything food related is stored away until the room is scrubbed and bleached...mostly eating sandwiches, fruit and fresh veggies...otherwise the sink is clean and shiny when I leave for work...so nice to come home at midnight to a clean kitchen sink...I clean part of my shower daily...with hard water it's necessary to keep up...as always, you are doing a wonderful job with the girls!

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    1. Thanks Kelley, you always say such nice things. It sounds like you've been really busy with the wool. I love your site and seeing what all you do. If you don't mind I want to post a link on the facebook page.

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    2. that would be wonderful...thanks!

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  3. Flylady is awesome. I don't go to bed with out a shiny sink. I find that I love my sink shiny all the time so much easier to just get in there and cook and no dreading the mornings. Another one I keep up on is the laundry. My mother in law thinks I do laundry all the time but in all reality it's probably only 3 times a week. I wash, dry and place on my bed to fold. Then if I get side tracked with the folding I know it has to be done and put away by bedtime. Plus the bed is made EVERY morning. Even if I have a bad day healthwise those three things help me to feel on track and like something got accomplished.
    Take care.

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    1. Those are my three things too! I make my bed the instant I get up and we do laundry 3 times a week as well. That way it doesn't get overwhelming and no one runs out of clean socks and undies. :)

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