There’s a fly in my soup
March 31, 2007 – 4:41 pmI have come to the startling and unfortunate realization that quitting my job, and thus having more time and energy, has not translated into the clean and organized house that I had expected. Despite the fact that I do have more time, I’m still just as unlikely to spend it flitting about, cleaning, dusting, and humming Broadway tunes.
Where does all the time go? And where does all the dust come from? And how is it that a house can go from clean to a full-on pigsty in a matter of hours? These are the questions of life.
Which is why, when a friend suggested FlyLady, my curiosity was piqued. FlyLady, in case you haven’t heard of it, is a sort of a nine-step program for the perpetually unorganized, the inevitably cluttered, the hopelessly undomestic.
The FlyLady program promises to transform even the most hopeless homemaker into a new and improved, highly organized and efficient, very much on-top-of-it-all, thin and beautiful YOU. All you have to do is faithfully integrate small changes into your daily routine, thereby creating new habits of success. Sign me up! It almost sounds too good to be true (eh hmm)
Step 1 is to clean your sink… really clean it… and then keep it clean, always and forever. According the the very enthusiastic FlyLady, “We are learning the first step to our FLY Dance! 1….2..3..Before we know it we will be waltzing through our day with a beautiful smile on your face!” Ummm… are you kidding me? Who talks like this?
Yes, it’s true… the FlyLady’s enthusiasm can be a bit much. I even think she might have a few screws loose. But the system makes sense, and there are thousands of fans who swear by it.
So why is it that, here at the end of week 1, my sink is not clean?
Oh, I started out well. I scrubbed and shined like it was going out of style… even getting out the rubber gloves and scrubber brush. There was no lack of motivation on this end. But day 2 went by, and day 3, and the sink started to get dirty. And, well, I really did intend to keep it clean, but other things kept coming up.
And here I am, at the end of week 1, a FlyLady flunky. How depressing.
But they say admitting you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery, right?
Maybe I’ll try again another day. For now, I’ll stick to wishing for a magic solution and bemoaning the fact that there is none. There’s a certain level of enjoyment in wallowing in misery, really.
***
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Mother. Coffee drinker. Information seeker. Skeptic. Creative. Dreamer. Schemer. Absolutely Bananas.
By Undercover Angel on Mar 31, 2007 | Reply
Don’t feel so bad. I flunked the Fly Lady program too. Shining the sink wasn’t what didn’t work for me - it was the getting myself ready to go out from head to toe first thing every morning - some days I just don’t feel like wearing makeup and I absolutely detest wearing my shoes in the house…
Also - I found the periodic emails during the day telling me to get up and clean my hot spot, etc to be bit much.
By www.nolanotes.com on Mar 31, 2007 | Reply
I am actively NOT cleaning up at this very moment! If you find a magic cure, please share!
By Jennifer on Apr 1, 2007 | Reply
Oh my goodness, Jenny! I’m posting on my terrible housekeeping abilities on Monday. I’ve sort of implemented a Fly Lady like thing…without any success.
By Heather on Apr 1, 2007 | Reply
You’re better than me. I never even attempted FlyLady so that I could even claim to be a flunky. It isn’t that I hate housework, though I don’t exactly love it. But gesh it’s frustrating when I clean a room and 40 minutes later the Heir and the Spare have destroyed it already. It causes problems with my motivation to do it again.
By SuburbanOblivion on Apr 1, 2007 | Reply
Add me to the club of Flylady dropouts!
By Crunchy Carpets on Apr 1, 2007 | Reply
LOL…yeah the cleaning the sink thing has held me back…
and yeah the freaking dust!
By Mamma on Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
I so desperately wish I was a domestic dominatrix, but it’s just not in my blood. I like too many other things instead.
By Karen on Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
I agree, it was the shoe thing that got me too. It made it seem as though the key to a clean house was self-respect, like if I had some personal dignity and would just put some shoes on like working people, than I’d have the self-discipline and mindset to treat it like a job and do it…all my other jobs have come with paychecks and threat of being fired, it wasn’t the shoes that made the difference…also I’ve quit those jobs too and I’ll probably quit some more in my lifetime. The housework can’t fire me, nor can I quit, yuck.
By Procrastamom on Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
I do use Flylady’s method to clean my sink once in a while (the bleach and water method) because it’s really easy to just fill the sink and leave it for an hour. But the rest of her program? Uhm, HELL to the N-O! I think a lot of that advice is geared to those people who live like the weirdos on My Messy House or whatever that British show is called. You know, the one where people live with piles of garbage stacked in corners. They’ve never even washed a dish and they let their birds fly freerange all over the house and crap on everything in sight. I think it’s geared for those people.
By Jen on Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
I tried Flylady too but I wasn’t able to get into it. I think maybe if there was a program where someone came to my house and yelled all that “helpful” advice in my ear, that might help me to get things done. Or if someone came to my house and actually did all the stuff for me. But as it stands, Fly lady was a no-go for me. I am not blessed with the domestic gene.
By Lisa on Apr 3, 2007 | Reply
Join the group Jenny! I quit my job a year ago in January 2006, with the lofty goal of getting my house organized. I looked into the FlyLady program and backed away when I saw the “getting dressed - down to the shoes” item.. I can happily live in my jammies all day long.
Last week I spent about 22 hours cleaning my daughter’s room.. the rest of my house is another story! If someone dropped by, I would have to hide! My biggest motivator for cleaning is to plan a party.. then I go into a frenzied cleaning spree.
By nicole on Apr 4, 2007 | Reply
I’m with you. I stopped working and somehow now my house is messier. I think it’s the plastic toy garbage adding to the clutter. I’ll avoid Fly Lady. I know I’d fail.
By moodswingingmommy on May 3, 2007 | Reply
Another FlyLady dropout here. FTR, I think she’s nuttier than I am. Unless I have somewhere to be, I’m usually in my jammies until about 2 pm. I ditched her after she clogged up my inbox. What is up with the 15 emails a day?!
By Colleen on May 20, 2007 | Reply
I, too, am a flylady dropout. That whole sink thing… really depressed me that I couldn’t even keep a sink clean. And I didn’t think that making sure I had on slippers counted for step 2 either. When I signed up I had every intention of trying. Thought it might give part of my “stay-at-home motherdom” some more purpose. Guess not.
By Katie on Aug 12, 2007 | Reply
I’ve been doing flylady for four weeks and I like it. But, I have a problem with depression, so that might be why. I could never stay in my pajamas until 2pm. I’d spiral into some serious depression. I have no choice but to find ways to get up and keep moving. The flylady system has been good for me. I have my house nice and organized, and I don’t have piles of clutter piling up at the foot of the stairs or on the dining room table. Just wanted to throw in a good experience with the fly. Also, you can opt to have the multiple emails sent in one big email at the beginning of the day. That’s what I do…
By chilihead on Sep 1, 2007 | Reply
I have tried FlyLady three times so far. I have noticed from the online comments at various places–including FlyLady’s–that it usually takes about six tries before you’re really on board. Hmmmm. Not sure I have that kind of commitment. I think I hear a nice comfy chair calling my butt.
By Anonymous on Sep 2, 2007 | Reply
HELP! HELP! HELP! Can you really “unsubscribe” to FlyLady?????? I have tried 3 times with no success. She is CLUTTERING UP MY EMAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!! How can you possibly get anything done if you have to read all of those annoying emails. Oh, sorry, house still a mess but I did read 50 emails a day on how to clean it up! Duh!!! I’m so excited every day to see 30 new emails!!! Wow, I am so popular with my friends. . . NOT!!! It’s FLYLADY, YIKES. . . run for the hills. More annoying emails. How can I get off her subscription?????? She’s cluttering my inbox and my life! HELP! HELP! HELP!
By Barb on Oct 21, 2007 | Reply
The comment from Anon really helped. I thought about getting the Fly Lady e-mails,because I thought I would just skip advice like putting on shoes etc.and use the info. that might help me. It’s bad enough to receive that many e-mails every day,but to not be able to unsubscribe? I don’t need that in my life.
By Anonymous on Nov 14, 2007 | Reply
Hmmm… The best thing I learned from doing the fly lady is that you can’t clean clutter - you have to throw it out. I like her regular 27 fling boogie where you toss stuff out in the garbage on a regular basis! Clutter is a reflection of an inner imbalance - your outer environment speaks about your inner environment - that’s why I think so many mom’s who quit jobs that PAY and have interaction with other ADULTS to stay home with CHILDREN start having clutter problems! The clutter is a reflection of the inner saddness over a loss of FREEDOM and the utter hopelessness of trying to keep a house clean when you are the ONLY one picking up - WHAT A BITCH!!! That’s why I just throw the crap out and every time I toss something I chant to myself - “I’ll never have to pick this up again.. TA DA!!!”
By M. Fox on Jan 8, 2008 | Reply
I just can’t believe how many of you don’t like Flylady’s program! I’ve been doing it since Christmas and I am so much happier! And it’s not just for people who live like pigs. I just didn’t have control over my house. The laundry would pile up and take me 2 days to do. Doing anything for 2 days straight is depressing. And the thing about getting dressed and wearing makeup is KEY. I would sometimes find it was 2pm and I hadn’t had a shower! NO MORE! I take that shower every morning and just throw the screaming child in with me! It’s very liberating. I now have so much more time for OTHER THINGS. I do not feel like I spend all my time cleaning now! Give it another try. And as for the email, just DELETE and it will no longer be cluttering your inbox. There’s also a way to sign up for one email a day that is like a summary.
Yesterday, after my home blessing hour, I literally had nothing to do. I watched tv and worked on crafts. Who does that? I do, thanks to Flylady. Also, a neighbor stopped by and when he walked in, the first thing he said was “Wow, it looks nice in here!”
What an awesome thing to not only not be terrified that someone will drop by, but be able to let them in gladly when they do!
I think all of you who “failed” put too high of expectations on yourself and thus were dissapointed. Just start with one or two steps. Before you can have a clean house you must DECLUTTER. So spend your first few weeks doing nothing but keeping your sink shiny and throwing out all your junk! Then it becomes much easier.
By Anonymous on Mar 5, 2008 | Reply
Fly Lady rocks. People dropped over for dinner last night because I had already cleaned the house and planned the meal!
I have time to sit in the backyard and sip wine with a fellow mom while our kids play!
Baby steps. Definitely not perfect, but sorta enjoyable.
Also, no shoes for me. No emails either. Just pop onto the site when adivce is needed.
By Christine @ Serenity How? on Mar 31, 2008 | Reply
You’re not so bad. At least you tried. I’m such a dork I couldn’t get past the phrase “fling boogie” without laughing hysterically.
I still can’t do it. It makes me think of the phrase and I’m toast. If toast laughs like an idiot.
By erica on Apr 20, 2008 | Reply
I put my FlyLady subscription on Daily Digest. That way I only get one e-mail per day. Sure…you don’t get the constant prompts to do particular things, but honestly, you aren’t actually checking your e-mail each time anyway. Well, I hope not!