Mission Organziation HELP?

ok, Ignore the dirty fingerprints on the wall, and the fact that I can't hold the camera straight LOL here is my calendar :)

Janis

That calendar's pretty neat, Janis! We have a Mt. Washmore, but it's on top of our dogs' big crate in the bedroom. I always mean to take the laundry downstairs when it fills the laundry basket, but sometimes I don't have the baskets of cleaned laundry folded and put away just in time...LOL

Thanks GW (if I know your name I've forgotten it sorry ) We have some piles of stuff in the bedroom too, but a big problem right now is we had a storgae room off the back of our bedroom that we kept winter clothes in, in the summer, and vice versa, and my craft stuff, baby stuff.... and during the remnants of the hurricanes last year, the roof fell in (what a mess) and the room is almost done, but can't put the stuff back in it yet. So its scattered everywhere. I have 5 laundry baskets. Never have any empty. Right now there are 1-2 downstairs, 1 in my room with stuff of jeffs in it, 1 in the kitchen full of clean towels, and 1 someplace else LOL Who knows. I almost bought a new one yesterday and managed to convince myself I didn't need it LOL

Hopefully the calendar will fill up with stickers quickly. I'm really thinking once the kids fo to school, it will get beter, my routines are much easier during the school year.

Janis

Oh, what an ordeal! I've often thought about our huge firs and sycamore when a bad storm rolls through. *shudder*

scary stuff isn't it? The hillside behind us is completely covered in dead and dying Elm Trees. We can't do anythyng about them. because the root systems are the only thing holding the hillside in place. Its a no win situation, but so far we have been lucky

Janis

Cool! A SMALL club on DG. I think my biggest complaint abt Flylady.net is the absence of message boards like this one. Comradery and support are really helpful especially for me when I start to feel so overwhelmed. I see that others are in similar boats and I feel so much better. Thanks, Janis, for the calendar recommendation. I too thought that was a lot to spend, but you think it's worth it, huh?
Ok, so has anyone bought the feather duster yet?
~Rachael

Rachael,
I bought both the feather dusters, and a timer, the lanyard for my keys, 2 t shirts, and a lapel pin oh and the silicone bracelet. LOL I'm an addict. The dusters ARE nice, but I definately don't feel the need nor have any desire to dance around with them like all the testimonials say LMAO I LOVE my timer. Before I bought it, I had a kitchen timer that you could set for up to an hour (sort of like an egg timer i guess) that just went "ding" when it went off. It doesn't matter where I am in the house when my FlyLady timer goes off, I hear it. I also track it that way, my kids especially the 14 DS is good at taking it and not bringing it back. He is probably getting one of his own this christmas.
IMO, the calendar is definately worth it. Especially if you have kids that do different stuff.... I put my elementary kids school schedule on the calendar.... like Mon and Wed one week is Art, next week is Music, et cetera. That way I know whar day phys ed is, or art and dress them accordingly. I use a different color for each of them. The "homework calendar is just a cheapo. I let them help pick it out, and they pick their stickers. I need to go back to doing chore charts for them. Kinda like a control journal, except I hang it on the fridge for them. Oh, I bought the control journal and office in a bag too. The control Journal was so much easier to put together like that instead of from scratch, it didn't seem so monumental, I guess. I (try to) keep all my bills and bank statements and the receipts for Tori's SSI in in my office in a bag. That way it is all together. It does work better than a pile on my desk. My desk and kitchen table are my WORST hot spots. I spend alot of time at my desk (too much time) and my kitchen table is a catch all. Right now there are gardening supplies and baskets on it. Oh and newspapers....I make my own paper pots, so I save papers and tear them into pieces for the pots, throwing away all the colored pieces. I can keep the unfolded pots in a grocery bag, and when I'm watching TV, I tear the pieces LOL Then I can start putting them together late winter. They only take a minute or so to fold and staple, so I can make a grocery bag full in an evening easily. http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/polachic49.html
Here is the link thats shows the paper pots I make.
Ok, DH is on his way home.... early for a change LOL so I'll bbl, he goesto bed around 9

Janis

Does her calendar offer anything one couldn't do just printing up a spacious calendar at home? Aside from the stickers, I mean.

other than that it is 17 months, August 05-Dcember 06, nothing, but I haven't found one with spaces this big :)

Janis

About what are the dimensions of the paper its printed on, 11x17 folded over?

Well, I signed up today (@FlyLady) and am now an official FlyBaby!

WTG Darius "

Kimberly, its 14 wide by 22 inches long. The squares (well rectangles) are almost 2inches by a little over 3 inches.

You can get it w/o the stickers for $15

Janis

Hey you guys, I do FlyLady also. I have some big tubs labelled 'other room, outside, donate and laundry' and when a room gets out of control, I bring them in and start flinging (not glass of couse) I also bring in the trash can. It is amazing what you can do in 15 minutes. When the 'other room' bin is full, I go around and put the stuff in the room it belongs in. Eventually everything ends up where it needs to be, but I am not there yet, so that is in theory only :)
Their are regional groups on Yahoo where you can chit chat with flybabies in your area. I joined mine for a while, but they all seemed like stay at home moms trying to push Tupperware or PartyLite in their messages and I just didn't fit in.
Don't laugh, but I maybe go into my kitchen once a week. So, I don't shine my sink everyday because I rarely see it.
My major obstacles are:
1) Dog Hair and muddy pawprints. My babies stay in the back foyer when we are gone and dh put an a/c unit in the wall for them. The only place to put it was above the doggie door, so it drips and makes a puddle, they walk through it in and out, and leave a trail. I put a towel their inside and Daisy always drags them outside to lay on. I have to figure out some way to divert that water away from their path.
2) My name is Rachel I am a good-deal-aholic. Only 50 cents for those socks? I'll take a pair of each color. A whole pack of good pens for $1!!! I really need 100 more pens! Are those baskets really 75% off? I need a dozen of those to put my new deals in! Woohoo, I hit the jackpot, now, I'll just sit all of this in the dining room until I have time to put it where it goes. Now I just get queesy looking at my dining room and shut the door. I feel like I would need dumpsters labelled 'other room, donate, etc' outside the window in there to get started.
I know little by little I will get there, but I wish it would come sooner!
Rachel

Rachel, could you fashion an aluminum tray beneath the A/C and have a drain which takes the condensation out of the way? That would take care of part of the headache right there.

Howie and I want to do a "Clean Sweep" for our basement sometime when the weather starts to cool down. What isn't needed/can't go back in the storage area is donated or sold. Thank God for Freecycle -- people come pick up the stuff. http://freecycle.org

Rachel,
boy do I know the feeling, and I wish I had read this 3 minutes ago LOLOL. I just bought 2 magnets I don't need on eBay cause I wanted a wallet and with 3 items you got free shipping, and the magnets cost less than the shipping would have been. Does that make any sense?
My biggest obstacle is getting off my FRANNY. I get comfy in front of the puter, and time just flies. The next thing I know its time to start dinner. And I don't even need internet to do that. I wasted like 2 hours the other day playing free cell.

My mom is a clutter enabler. She gets these huge bags of clothes given to her by the women she works with, then she brings them to my house and my sisters, and "Oh this would look so cute on you, go try it on" My mom is also a yard sale queen. She stops at every one she sees. Now I won't complain about the baskets she has been getting me (I do mainly container gardening and am starting to use baskets instead of planters, they are so pretty and cheaper too) but everything else OMG LOL.
I belong to 2 local (sorta) Flybaby groups but post there very seldom. I belong to a Flygarden group too, but since I found Daves I'm here mostly.
Someone up there ^^ a ways said they like this forum better, the BB type than the emails, and I agree. Its nice to post and get an answer and know someone is out there right now who is in the same spot of CHAOS that you are. As a child, the house I lived in was spotless. I never remember anything on the living room floor, or crunchies on the kitchen floor. Geez, I started wearing shoes cause God only knows what is on my kitchen floor :( My moms house is still pretty neat and clean. I know why, she brings me all her clutter LOL I go into peoples houses and it doesn't even look like anyone lives there, and I think..... how do they do this? I've got 4 kids, boys 3 and 14 and girls 6 and 8. 90% of my "cleaning" is picking up after them!!! Clothes toys, cups food ground into the floor. Man. I'm not whining, but I just don't get it.

Another big problem here is road dust and cat hair. We live right on the road (our front door is maybe 10 feet from the pavement) and we are out in the country, so its dusty all the time.

I did really well at flying for a good while, that is why I know it works. My now 8YO DD was diagnosed with a brain and skull abnormality last June, and things fell to pieces. My life went from my routines to dr appts, meeting neurosurgeons, and so much time on the internet learning all I could about her condition and what we could do. After surgery she was so sick, she got meningitis, and a stomach perforation, and we spent over a month in the hsopital. I have never gotten back into my routines. I had her home from school all last year because she was healing from the surgery, and she had been so sick, she could barely walk when we got her home. Our life was therapy and homeschooling.

So I have done really well the past week, I have to shine my sink yet tonight, but Iwill before I go to bed. I am really hoping that things fall back into place once school starts. My youngest starts head start this fall, so all my babies will be in school (insert tears here, I've had a baby at home pretty much for almost 9 years, I'm gonna be lost) and I really hope to really FLY then.

Well, I will quit rambling now. Sorry

Jnais

I can relate to how stuff can just gather and become overwhelming! Thing is -- and we all know this is true -- getting rid of the clutter in our lives frees us. There is such freedom in getting rid of stuff and simplifying! Why do we hold onto our junk?

Just found this thread...thanks, BetsyBug. I moved here from Miami from a house I had lived in for 5o years....talk about sorting! LOL I live in a tiny mother-in-law apartment in my son's house (bless his heart), and did a great job of picking and choosing what would fit here. I limited myself to 500 favorite books for my new bookcases. Now if I could just stay out of the book buying business, I would be OK. *grin*

My problem is my clothes. I retired from working in an office where the men wore suits and the thermastat was set on zero. So, in spite of living in the tropics, all my clothes were of the "fall of the year" variety. Now I live in shorts and T shirts, but can't seem to let go of those clothes! I really don't know why. Occasionally I try to sort through them, but end up with a tiny bag to go to Goodwill and the rest just go back into the boxes. *sigh*

Any suggestions?
Pati

Pati, I can totally relate! I am a stay at home mom with a whole closet full of office attire. I too have a hard time getting rid of them. "That's a really nice _______!" I recently donated a bunch of suits to a program that helps women get off of welfare and into the work force. They teach them how to interview and provide them with the right clothes, etc. I felt really good about it. Now if only I can part with another bagful of clothes... Baby steps!

Thanks RachelBee. That is a very worthwhile suggestion. I suppose people could be convenced that matching cardigan sets and heavy slacks were an option in this climate. Of course, if they got a job in an office with men in business suits they would be back to pick some up! LOL
Pati

Hi all, I forgot to 'watch' this thread. Kimberley, I have pictured in my head different ways to fix that air conditioner, but I don't know how to fashion anything. I am not so handy with tools. This morning, I put a bucket there with a brick in it. Not very attractive, but more so than muddy paw prints on my floors.
Janis, my mom is an enabler also, but she is messier than me, so I get her overflow lol. I think those people with clean houses and a half dozen kids have either 4 arms or a secret cleaning lady they don't mention lol. Seriously tho, it is all they do. I was a day nanny in my early 20's for a rich couple with 4 kids. I was watching the kids while they went to dinner one night and I thought I heard the garage open in the basement, but no one came upstairs. I waited a few, got up my courage and snuck downstairs. It was after midnight and she was down there vacuuming out her mini van! They had gone in his car so I assume it wasn't an emergency vacuuming situation, she was just obsessed with clean. I am not a clean as you go type of person, so I am pretty sure that is my problem.
Pati, if you want to donate the clothes, maybe you can find a women's organization up north that will pay postage? It is almost that season in the north, so you could also sell them in lots on ebay and make yourself some money. Or combine the two and sell a coupe of lots to pay postage on the rest?

I am usually a private person who acts like she doesn't hear the doorbell, but I am desperate to get this place cleaned up. I can't believe I am thinking about doing this, but I would be willing to (deep breath) post a picture and updates of my dining room excavation. I am going to start as soon as my nephews leave (their nicknames are 'Cane and 'Nado for a reason) this weekend. Where should I do that? The decorating forum? I would be changing styles for sure lol. I feel like by posting pics I would be so ashamed I would have to make progress to redeem myself. Flylady will help me keep it clean, but I need something drastic to get it there in the first place. Rachel

Post a pic of your A/C situation. Someone (Darius?) I'm sure will have some good suggestions for it. Maybe the handyman forum?

Rachel,
I posted my laundry pic here, and believe it or not it has gotten worse. Sigh.... I have done my sink the past 4 nights, and am ready to do it tonight. I didn't do todays mission, but I had such a headache and arguments with the kids all day. I am counting down the days for school to start. I plan to do my dishes and my sink, put the last load of clothes for today in the dryer and go to bed. I NEVER got to bed before midnight, but with school coming I have to. I will be getting the girls on the bus at around 8 AM, and that is WAY too early for me. Add to that the fact that both of them have hair down to the middle of their backs, and want something different done to it each day.... I don't mind putting it up on opony tails and stuff, I even got them a topsy tail (boy are the pony tails cute) but my 6 YO is so tender headed, and her hair just mats up, its horrid. Brushing her hair is like a dreaded chore, I would rather clean the bathroom LOL It is so beautiful tho, and so silky. We are discussing getting it cut but its gonna break my heart.

Ok, so today was not too bad. Watered all the plants, did some laundry (not folded tho) made a nutritious dinner, and managed not to maim or murder anyone. Although I am now on the most hated list at my kids dentist office LOL I had an appt card for my 14DS, and when we got there, they said he wasn't on the schedule. So I had to reschedule. Wouldn't be so bad but its a 25 minute drive, and the way gas prices are, I can't afford wasted trips.
Oh well
Talk to you all tomorrow :)

Janis

Well I managed to kinda make my bed this morning. I usually never make the bed except for when I change the sheets, LOL. Then after a shower, I got fully dressed, even with laced hiking boots which I wear most of the year. Downhill after that... although I did wash the dinner dishes and shine the sink. Put away my folded laundry from last week. It's a start.

BUT, having shined the sink yesterday, AND cleared the clutter off the kitchen counters, I have to say it sure felt good when I walked in there this morning!

I'm not quite ready to lay out all my clothes for tomorrow, nor have breakfast ready to go. But since I'm retired, there's no schedule, just my 15 minutes.

This message was edited Aug 15, 2005 9:56 PM

Darius,
Making my bed is a hard one for me. I guess its cause no one ever sees it except me and Jeff. About the only time mine gets made is when I change the sheets too. Really need to work on that. I jsut I"ll have to pick a sticker for it LOL My calender will be all stickers before long, but if it works, then who cares :) I do try to get my clothes out every night, and during the school year I always have the kids out the night before. I do lunches the night before too. Makes it alot easier to get them ready to go. I make Jeff''s lunch at night too, but I'm not about to get up at 3 AM to make him sandwiches LMAO. My problem is even if my clothes are right there, I usually just crawl outta bed in my tshirt and undies, and go digging for a pair of sweat pants or shorts. I guess maybe I need to hide them from myself. I am so addicted to my sweat pants tho. I buy them hugs, so they are comfy, and wear them year round (but I do not wear them out, except maybe in the yard to look at my flowers in the AM) I would die before I wore them out in public. I do keep my shoes on 95% of the time, but they aren't lace ups, they are my birkenstocks. I don't mind cheap clothes, t shirt and jeans don't haveto be name brand, but since I discovered Birkenstocks, I don't wear anything else. I even wore them in the cold weather with those stupid socks that have the toes in them like gloves LOL I have 5 pairs of slip on sandals and 2 pairs of clogs. I have a pair of reeboks someplace, but even they make my feet hurt now.

Just remember BABY steps. You'll add more to your routines as you are ready. The last thing you want to do is burn out. I know, I've done it MANY times. Remember too, that if you can't do 15 minutes for whatever reason, 5 is better than nothing. I'm working really hard onthe 30 second rule that I read about on a FLYBaby email group too. If it will take you 30 seconds or less to do something, do it now instead of later. 30 seconds isn't gonna make a diference in your day :)

Hugs,
Janis
PS if any of you want a bueddy during the day to encourage you, I'd loveto have one. I'm on MSN, Yahoo and AOL messenger. DMail me your ID and I'll send you mine :)

Janis

At my house, you can tell who got out of our bed last... On days that I get up first the bed gets made, 'cuz my DH does it! Honestly, he would be a MUCH better housekeeper than I will EVER be. LOL I've done a rotten job this week of keeping up with anything at all, housework-wise, and I would LOVE a buddy! :-) I'll D-mail you as soon as I send this, Janis. :-) I love the mental picture of you in your Birkenstocks with toe socks! LOL

I hate wearing shoes and I will not wear them in the house, Flylady or no Flylady. I like the rest of her ideas, though. I haven't bought her official calendar because for the last couple of years I have gotten a great calendar from my DH as a Christmas present with separate columns for each person in the family and room enough to write on. I LOVE it! It's a "Mom's Family Calendar" by Sandra Boynton. If they stop making those, I'll ask for a Flylady one instead. :-)

~ Marylyn

I want one of those calendars!!!! Does he buy it online, or locally? I'll definately have to look. I have my Flylady calendar here hanging right beside my desk, but I really need one in the kitchen too.

I went out to Karoake with a friend in January, and wore my Birkies and a pair of blue striped toe socks LOL They probably have 6 or 8 shade of blue stripes. I know people think I'm nuts but they are so comfy. I pretty much have to wear shoes here, especially if I'm doing laundry. Our basement is wet, pretty much all of the time, and I'm sure not walking in that muck!!! LOL

I'll add you to my messenger as soon as I get your DMail
Talk to you soon
Janis

I'd take a picture of it for you, but my DH took the camera to St. Louis with him on a business trip. Here is a link to it at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-images/076113719X/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all/002-4314861-6556831?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books

Hey all - the last few days have been "downhill" for me to - but I'll get back up on that horse. I came home to a diabetic cat having an "episode" yesterday - so last night was mostly making sure she didn't go out on me. That corn syrup trick really works. Don't know why she does this occasionally - no diet change or insulin change - guess it's just one of those things.

Just remember - baby steps - and make it your routine - no shoes, fine! Personally - I can live with an unmade bed as long as the bedroom is in CHAOS.....and DH has a fundamental dislike for making a bed (you should hear the stories from him Mom about it during his childhood!) But - am getting my clothes ready the night before - saves me time. And I DO like that clean sink.....and DH even noticed that the dishes weren't piling up. So - making progress.

Well - better get to work.

M.

Confessions of a bedmaker:

Everything in my house can be in total meltdown, but my bed HAS to be made. I usually have to make it around the cat, but I do it before I leave the room. In the years I worked I left the house before my DH got up and I made my side of the bed! I don't know why I have this obsession, it certainly doesn't apply to any other house cleaning chores. I have even resorted to the old "hide-the-dirty-dishes-in-the-oven" when company was coming on short notice.
Pati

Marylyn I know the book kiosk in the Katy Mill's Mall sells them, as well as the BAM outlet across from the Armani X shop.

Also if you like birks you'll love Mephisto brand shoes.

Hey Pati, come make my bed LOL My mom makes hers EVERY AM too, no matter what. I just can't get into doin it. I will I'm sure.
I DID get up and get dressed to the shoes. Ok, I admit, I slept in a tshirt and bra, and just pulled my jeans on, but I'm dressed darn it LOL

Sleep and I are having huge arguments. I have in the past couple years developed insomnia. I can't fall asleep, when I do, I'm awake every hour, and when I get up in the AM, I feel crappy. My doctor put me on Trazadone for a while, it either did nothing for me or the next dosage knocked me out for hours and hours.... like 16-20 at a time!!!
So he has me on Lunesta now. I toook it for a month, cause it is supposedly non-habit forming, and went without it one night last week. I was awake ALL night!!!! Needless to say, I don't believe that it isn't habit forming, and I started taking it again. The drawback of it is that I have the most funky dreams I have EVER had. A couple nights ago, I had a dream I was dating a guy off of my DH's favorite soap opera for men, WWE!!!!!! Last night was weird dreams too, they are every night it is so strange.

Well, the game plan today is to get to the PO and mail a couple seed trades, and a plant trade, maybe go to the store ( I have the kids fun fun) It may wait til tomorrow when Jeff is off for his DR appt.

I also want to get started on folding this laundry.... cause I got to figure out what the kids have that they can wear to school. I can't get any new school clothes until next pay. That is 4 days after school starts :(

Pati, I don't do the dishes in the oven, but I do "hide the clean laundry in the master bedroom" LOL

araness, Mephisto? Are the in the same price range as Birks? That is the only thing I don't like about them. Well, that and the fact that my feet are so narrow, and even the narrows are too big. If I can't get straps that adjust they fall off my feet. I have a brand new pair here that I had on my feet one time, but they are just too wide and the strpas don't even touch the top of my foot. I was gonna resell them on eBay but I didn't keep the box, and I'll never get out of them what I paid :(

I bought a pair of wides by accident, but they are clogs so I"m just gonna wear them with thick socks. They are emerald green velvet LMAO I love em. I also got a pair of cowhide clogs. I'm not right LOL
Well, I need more coffee and to get busy

TTYL
Janis

I am probably the queen of disaster homes - my own mess plus whatever one of my kids has asked me to store 'for a day or two' . I live around it until I realize I'm going under and can't find anything.

Then I do a four hour clean up stint. For years I made my living cleaning other lady's houses. Usually they were signed up for four hours a week. So I figure that four hours is my pace.

Here's a before look at my kitchen.

I hafta admit, that the first pic is the way it's most apt to look. Tho I took the pic because I figured I'd let it get the worst ever.

DD ~'Spin has swooped in and my kitchen has disappeared altogether. Literally! I'm undergoing a complete remodel. I think she assumes that with a brand new 'modern' kitchen I'll suddenly start keeping things cleaned / straightened up ROFL

So here's four hours later. In my old kitchen. and that's as straightened as it mostly gets.

Oh Blooms - if I get to come visit you when we're in Moab - I'm gonna feel so at home = LOL!

Janis, you sound like me with the sleep. Have you had a sleep study done? I say run, don't walk, to your phone and have your doctor refer you to a sleep clinic. I forget how many times I quit breathing during my study, but they put the CPAP machine on me the first night, something they don't normally do until the second study at this clinic. When I use the machine, I awake more refreshed. Right now I need to get a new mask, and I feel the difference in not using it.

Blooms, I'd feel at home, too.

I hafta admit, last year when ShirleyMD was in town I avoided having her come to my house because of the total mess - having met her at the Kentucky RU - I know now she would have forgiven the mess.

So whether it's messy or not, you're welcome to visit when you're here.
After reaching the ripe ol age of 66 without changing my ways I really doubt the new kitchen will make that big a difference. She has actually suggested I might get rid of a few of the things I NEVER use. LOL

The rest of the house resembles the kitchen. It's a matched set all the way thru the place. It's worse right now because all the things that 'live' in the kitchen were carried into the bedrooms and dropped on top of the collected debris that already lived in them. Here's a pic of what my bedroom looks like these days.

Was it a contest ? did I win? ROFL hahaha

Thanks Kimberly, I hhave to go to the DR with Jeff tomorrow, I'll ask while we are there.

Ok, guys here is my kitchen. I have made progress in it, that is what is scary. My floor is SOOOOOOOOOO gross, but I can't get down and scrub it like it needs. I have a swiffer Wet Jet, and a regular Swiffer with the wet pads for it, I'll try that today.
I shined my bathroom sink a little bit ago when I was up there with Bubby. I need to sweep and mop the bathroom too, having the cat box in there just sucks :( I'll take pics of all my rooms and post them, maybe then I'll get some motivation LOL
Without further ado, my kitchen

Janis

LOL do I get smacked if I post what a post flylady kitchen looks like?

I think Mephisto's might be a little higher than Birk's, I'm a bad person to ask since we have a local store that sells Birk's and Mephisto's for super cheap. I think the most $$ pair of Birk's I've seen has been 25.00 or 30.00.

AAUUUURRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH

I paid 130 plus shipping for a pair :(

Please post a "post flylady" picture... we need something to aspire too LOL