Following a routine

Have you heard the Phrase "A Clean Home is a Happy Home"? This saying can be applied to any room of your house be it the kitchen, the dreaded "kids bathroom", your crafting room/space or your living room.

I've always been one to organize things- everything in it's place and a place for everything (it's a common phrase I say at home). I never had a problem with becoming overwhelmed with house keeping things until our move from Texas to Virginia. The move was terrible, the packers did the worst job in recorded history on packing all of our items -that is until the movers from South Dakota to England but that's another story. My husband couldn't take time off to help me with the unpacking and organizing of the house I was left on my own to complete the task. The boxes weren't labeled correctly so I was unable to locate items that I needed- such as the iron -which I found a few days after I really needed it in a box full of Lego's and a bucket of red Texas dirt -no joke. I promptly tossed the old one and went out and bought a new iron. But the real catch here is that the people who packed up our belonging mislabeled just about every single box they packed which left me surrounded in utter chaos. I had things strung out of every single box- which became very overwhelming. A friend recommended The FlyLady and I've taken her concepts to heart and have added a few of my own along the way.

I loved how The FlyLady broke it down in simple easy to do steps. I remember reading a quote from her "your home didn't get this way overnight and it won't get clean in a day". But for me and the cross country move it had gotten this way overnight. With her insight I was able to pace myself and not let myself feel overwhelmed. I've recommended her website to dozens of military spouses over the years. She's helped me get through every military move since 2000. By having check lists and pacing myself, I've gotten through our military moves. With another big move in my future, I know that the FlyLady will help me to stay focused.

Make a routine for yourself and follow it. If you don't know where to start then check out the flylady's baby steps page, it's got some great information on how to get yourself back on track. I can spend 15 minutes or less in any room of my house and have it be what I like to call 'company ready'. Keeping the bathrooms clean has been a snap since our son left home for college ;-) Oh yeah, it's obvious who the little piggy was in this house. Any room that boy of ours walked into was left in total chaos. But I digress...Make a routine and follow it, it's as easy as that. Maybe (and it's only a suggestion) it would help if you got others in the house to follow a routine and to pick up after themselves as well. I never could get that boy of ours to conform, I have happiness in knowing that he's changed- now that he has a girlfriend ;-)

Purge items from your home regularly!

Being stationed here in England has made this easy for me and it's all because there are more charitable organizations out here than one can shake a stick at! All of which have "charity shops" that generate money for their cause. Okay the other part is that at any given week I get a bag shoved through my mail slot from one of the many different fore mentioned charitable organizations looking for donations ...not for money like back in the states, but GOODS!!! Talk about making this easy for me! American Charities could use to learn a thing or two about this kind of funding raising. I can take the bag and fill it, leave it on my door step and poof! There goes the clutter of unused items from my house! FREE Pick up of my unwanted goods (another things American charitable organizations could taken note of, and gas is more than double the cost here than it is back in the states). This week it was 2 bags of clothing and shoes. Next week who knows what it could be. I have integrated this into my reduce, reuse, recycle program/habit. I will miss these British charities when we move back to the states and the weekly pick ups. Hence I will have to re-establish a new routine for donating unwanted/unused items. But until then I shall purge as I go through each room and set it aside for the next charity bag that comes through the mail slot!