Anti-Procrastination Day!

I've been trying to put into practice the housekeeping principles my mother taught me as a child and teen. Wow! About time, huh?! But seriously, many of us "learn" these things from our mothers, but until we actually have to "do" them all on our own, scheduling the time for them along with everything else in our lives, we don't really see how much of a challenge it can be to master the art!

Flylady is a great blueprint for housekeeping. It's very helpful to get email reminders that your fridge needs to be cleaned out--somehow we become blind to it!--or that the mopboards/moulding in your house need a wipe down. Though I'm an average height, I still seem to need the reminder to look up and see the cobwebs in the upper corners of the room!

Doesn't that spill on the fridge shelf just give you a wonderful appetite?! Yuck! I can't believe I actually took a picture inside my fridge!!! But yes, this is the ugly truth that I needed this Flylady reminder (below) today!

Who's going to join me in cleaning out the fridge and clearing out some unused kitchen gadgets today? I also have some other "procrastination spots" in the house I want to hit today... the forementioned cobwebby corners I always seem to "ignore." How about you?

Thanks to The Stay at Home Missionary for directing me to Flylady through her helpful blog!

Flylady.net Email Reminder:
It Is Anti-Procrastination Day...
We are diving into the refrigerator!

Grab your trash can and take it over to the refrigerator and throw open the door. First, toss out any leftovers that have gotten pushed to the back and have now started to turn into a science project. Second, check the fruit/vegetable drawers and toss what no longer is appealing to eat. Third, check the meat and cheese drawer, check the expiration dates on your items in there and toss what needs to go. Fourth, check out the doors of the fridge, toss the empty condiment jars and bottles that always seem to magically go back into the fridge when empty, LOL, but when full get left on the counter. Last, grab a damp rag and wipe down the shelves.

Do not take every single thing out of your refrigerator and then take the shelves out to clean them. Just wipe them down. How many times have we decided to tear the fridge apart and three hours later we would rather move out than ever do it again?!

Don't let yourself get sidetracked!! Have fun and enjoy your sparkling refrigerator!

~ Flylady Kelly


Decorating on the FlyZone
This week we are in Zone 2-The Kitchen.

This is the time of the year we begin our holiday baking and gift giving.

Let's work on retiring those unused, unloved kitchen appliances by blessing others with those "smart" gadgets that we still have not figured out how to use, as well as decluttering our junk drawers. Spend 15 minutes doing this.

If you have not used an item for over 6 months, chances are you will not in the next 6 months.

You may even find that you "freed" up some space for the items you douse. No more "mad searches" for that spatula in the middle of your stirring!! LOL

Have FUN and Happy Holidays!!!

~ Flylady Laura

http://www.flylady.net/

Haven or Haywire?

Is your home a haven for your family, or does it look everything's gone haywire?

I have to admit there are times my home looks more like the latter. There are times when we have sickness in the household, or things get extra busy, and we get behind on things. But, I'll bet you're with me when I say that I truly want a home and haven--not just a house. And the Bible teaches us women to be "keepers at home" (Titus 2:5) and to work "willingly with [our] hands" (Proverbs 31:13).

Writer Emilie Barnes inspires me. Her book The Fifteen Minute Organizer has many good organization ideas and lists to help keep the home. I confess that I tend to be a perfectionist in that if I can't do a project completely and perfectly in a given timeframe, I won't even start it. This keeps me from accomplishing a lot of things that I need to do, and becomes a plain old excuse! Emilie's title reminds me to ask myself, if I just spend fifteen minutes right now on something, what could I accomplish?

My blogging friend, Monica, is bringing us some ideas, starting January 15, with her "Make Your Home a Haven" challenge. Click
here to find out more about her idea.

By the way, making your home a haven isn't just about organizing or cleaning--though that's a big part of it. There's some fun stuff in there too!

Here are some fun ways I like to create a haven:
-Light candles around the house on any given evening. (Don't forget to blow them out before bedtime!)
-Purchase pretty napkins from the dollar store. Use them for supper on an ordinary night.
-Use bubble bath that you've been saving for... when?
-Just before your family comes home, spray your favourite Febreze scent throughout the house. -Use linen spray on your bed sheets just before your husband comes in for bed. (He may poke fun at your "girliness," but, I assure you, he appreciates your effort to make his house a haven.)
-Be sure your house shoes/slippers (and your husband's too) are next to your bed before you turn in. You'll love the feel of them when you get out of bed in the morning!

Comment and tell us a special way, or two, that you are making your home a haven for your family.