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Why I Have Left Flylady

I’ve left the Fly-nest. Flylady has been an infinite help since I joined her list back in 2002, but the time had come for me to move on.

Why I Joined

I joined back in 2002, when I was very close to delivering my first child, and deep in the nesting phase. My house was very cluttered, and parts of it were not the cleanest, and I felt I needed help if I was going to manage working, having a baby, and maintaining a house. I was tired of spending all weekend every weekend cleaning the house, just to see it trashed again within a few days. I wanted someone to say “do these 10 things and your house will be clean and will stay that way.” Flylady was the closest thing I found to the answer to that question.

Raised by a perfectionist mother, I had fallen into the trap of cleaning nothing because I didn’t have time to do it “right”. So by the time I got around to clean it, it took major effort to get the dirt to move. Plus I was a clutter bug, holding onto things that might be useful someday, or because it was a gift . I needed help to get past this, although I didn’t realize it at the time.

What I Learned

Flylady taught me that little bits of effort add up to big things. In 15 minutes a day, clutter can be cleared away. In 15 minutes a day, I can keep my house picked up and clean.

I learned that just because something doesn’t look dirty doesn’t mean it can’t be cleaned, and waiting until things look dirty only results in my having to expend a lot more energy to clean them.

I learned to break things up into smaller chunks. Overwhelmed at the thought of “cleaning the kitchen”, I was able to clean the kitchen by cleaning the counters, straightening drawers, etc.

I learned to break my home down into areas and dedicate time on a monthly basis to each of these areas. I learned to write the cleaning tasks down, and mark off when I last did them, so nothing gets neglected for a long time.

I learned to customize Flylady’s system for myself, with her encouragement.

I learned the importance of daily lists, both for myself and my daughter. During the medical emergencies I have had to face in the last five years, these lists allowed me to do the basics, or turn over care of my daughter to someone else without tons of instructions.

Why I Left

I knew it was time to leave the nest when I was deleting all the daily emails from Flylady without reading them. I was still keeping up with the system without the reminders. The reminder emails were firmly ingrained, and the testimonials on the system were often product hurrahs or ads for other people’s businesses. Not that I think these products or businesses are bad: quite the contrary, I feel that Flylady takes very good care to recommend only the best. But I had grown tired of the barrage of email.

What This Fledging Means

I am continuing to follow my personalized version of the Flylady system. I have my binder with household information, and I do 1 hour and 15 minutes of “zone” cleaning a week (not necessarily every day), plus my weekly bathroom/kitchen/floor treatment. I use my timer and my lists to clean, and I adapt the system to my own house and needs.

Over the next few months, I will share the details of how I put together my personalized system.

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Photo by booleansplit

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