I started “fluttering” with Flylady over a year ago. I’m still barely fluttering–certainly not flying–and I’ve taken plenty of nose-dives along the way.
But one thing has stayed with me. I’ve started developing little habits–some official “FlyLady” habits, others my own–that go a LONG way toward maintaining personal order.
First, I ALWAYS lay out my clothes every evening and I ALWAYS get fully dressed (all the way to shoes) when I first get up in the morning. With my clothes all on, I feel ready to get started on my day–and am less tempted to do something like, well, crawl back in bed to read a book! Also, setting out my clothes the night before leaves me with that much less early-morning stress–especially on those days I sleep longer than I intended and find myself in a time crunch to get to work or classes.
Second, I always make my bed the moment I get out of it. Actually, I tend to make my bed before I even get out. I pull up the covers, make sure they’re relatively straight, and then slide right out. All I have to do is straighten a bit and tuck in any loose corners and I’m ready to go. Keeping my bed made means I feel like I have some order in my life–even when everything else is chaos! Instant sanity saver.
Third, I always close my closet door as soon as I’m done in the closet. It sounds like a simple thing because it is a simple thing. But it has enormous effects. With that simple act of closing the closet door, I have established another oasis of order (or at least seeming order) within my room. It enables me to rest in peace!
Maybe these particular habits aren’t for you (although once you give them a try, you might find yourself hooked!) Maybe your habits should be preparing lunches the night before or wiping out the sink after you brush your teeth or keeping mail off the kitchen table. But, regardless of what YOUR specific habits end up being, I can almost guarantee that developing simple daily home habits can help you along the way to peaceful, productive living. They certainly work for me.
Check out more “Works for Me Wednesday” posts at We are THAT Family.
I have flown off and on for many years – I am back with my wings on!! I don’t do everything but keeping my kitchen clean and laundry done along with my bed made, dressed to the shoes each day has brought so much joy and happiness in our house. It is crazy but it is true! Happy flying!
I also love flylady. Iknow friends get tired of me suggesting little hints and tips, but it is amazing how such a little thing can make such a big difference. My thing is the clean sink.
I can just tell days that I do, from days that I don’t.
Oh, if we only had closet doors…
staci