FLYlady

Well, most know we sold our large 5 bedroom home just before having our 3rd baby, this past May in order to afford me working very part time and being home more. We now live in a 3 bedroom home, with just one living area and a small kitchen. We had already gotten rid of lots of "stuff" that we didn't need before moving, however discovered that wasn't enough. Clutter seemed to overtake us, the amount of toys was outrageous, and enough Christmas decor to decorate several houses. So in a recent yard sale we sold some excess furniture items, some toys, and a whole Christmas village that would take up half of my living room. It's nice just not having those items taking up precious space. The kids came to understand they prefer a clean room, makes it easier to play, and clean up with a new system we came up with, they have 3 large tubs under their beds, one with barbies, my little ponies and items of that nature, the second with Molly's geotrack train set, the other with dress up and pretend items. The only other toy they have in there is a doll house that folds up nice in the corner and a small tub with it's people and furniture lives under their bed as well. The other kids room drama we had was the closet, it's a small one and their clothing collection was just as out of control as their clothes, so we kept only the best condition clothing and passed on the rest that was not torn or stained to charity, and all of their clothes moved to my closet, making room in their closet to store games, books, and building items (tinker toys, Lincoln logs, and the mega blocks will move out of my family room tomorrow to join that collection. So I now no longer have unnecessary laundry, and everything they have has it's place. Tristen's room is still a work in progress, as she still sleeps in my bedroom. My true house cleaning breakthrough came when I some how through reading of a blog came across www.FLYlady.net, this ladies site focus' on routine, and starting out small, and with the Kitchen sink of all things. So for the past 3 days I've had a clean sink, gotten completely dressed w/tennis shoes, and started a quick clean of my bathroom every morning. Since I have 2 bathrooms, Chloe and Molly have received a lesson in what to do, and they are responsible for the quick clean of their bathroom, and boy are they proud. Both girls have also taken to learning how to wash and dry dishes, dusting will be their next chore once I have completed my decluttering process. Stephan and I never really had set chores growing up, so had no real management of cleaning a home ingrained in us so it's been a battle of how to keep a house clean. So far so good, I think the baby steps help, and my girls prefer a clean house.

Stephan and I have also been sacrificing our childhood "stuff" He has sold, baseball cards, magic cards, that where taking up a load of space. I am letting Chloe and Molly pick one of my Anne Geddes baby dolls I'll pick one for Tristen then will sell off the rest. Those dolls gone and I'll have a whole shelf in Tristen's closet. It's amazing how good it feels to get the house work under control and to wake up in the morning to the coffee brewed in my clean kitchen!!

So for any of you who are struggling with the same cluttery stressful mess, try this out it may just be your light at the end of the tunnel in the house cleaning world.

http://www.flylady.net