CynthiaWVirginia
Posts: 1915
Joined: 2/28/2010
From: West Virginia, USA
Status: offline
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Thank you, bamabbwsub. I had misplaced Fly Lady years ago when my old computer crashed.
For those of us who tend to be workaholics, Fly Lady has been a blessing; it helped me to set limits on myself and on my need to do something perfectly or not at all. Yep, I'm the type who gets on hands and knees with a toothbrush and scrubs the baseboards even behind the toilet and bathtub, where nobody else can see. This kind of behavior is what made me destroy both of my knees. The year I got my house, I'd spend most of the daytime outside taking care of my huge yard (planted fifty something dwarf and semi dwarf fruit trees, and around two hundred bushes and lots of blackberries and raspberries) and veggie garden...then I came indoors and scrubbed walls from top to bottom, scrubbed baseboards, etc., and painted and painted and painted. Stopping sometime after midnight.
During my last two chemos, Fly Lady helped keep me sane. Sure, everything looked like it had gone to hell in a handbasket but...I could count the times I did Fly Lady that day and feel some sense of satisfaction over completing each one. It cut back on the depression.
Cartoonish and upbeat? I needed that. Heloise, etc., was full of good ideas but I'd might run off on a cleaning frenzy and destroy myself, collapsing in a heap without energy to get off the couch for days afterward...then feel like shiite for being so lazy and getting *nothing* done. Much better to break things up into small chunks and make myself be satisfied by that.
I didn't make a binder, but put a dry erase chart on the wall. It stopped me from re-dusting the lightbulbs, yanno? It helped me stop avoiding getting something done because I didn't have the time or energy to do a good job. I didn't read the mail sent to me when I signed up for it except on rare occasions, mostly I just kept with that 15 minute thing, and once the ball was rolling, sometimes I'd do two back to back.
Another thing I should mention is that I have PTSD, and it's unfortunate that egg timers were one of my triggers. Could. Not. Get. Over. That. Not even with years of therapy. Anyway, I'd bought a cute lil hamburger timer to use during homeschooling. It had been retired but I dug it back out for Fly Lady. Between the cuteness and positive reinforcement of having done many Fly Ladies...the sound of egg timers ticking have no power to trigger panic attacks. Yay!
With yard work, I had to push myself until I dropped. In the house, Fly Lady kept the work limited so that it seemed like a contest with myself and not really like work. I needed this. Um, maybe I should mention my carpal tunnel in both wrists, lol. It helped with this as well. A movie then a Fly Lady. An hour of internet time and then a Fly Lady. Another benefit is that I would give myself 15 minutes...and something in me wanted to see how much I could possibly get done in those 15 minutes.  When doing dishes, I would often be finished in 5 or 7 and then think, "my 15 minutes aren't up yet, what else can I do?" and squeeze in cleaning the cat litter, the microwave, or dusting the countertop and everything on it. Instead of slowing down and gearing up for the long haul, each Fly Lady was a race.
This reminds me. The kitchen and other garbage cans need scrubbing out...and I also need to rearrange stuff in my deep freezer. Doing the yucky stuff isn't so bad if it only takes 15 minutes.
It doesn't have to work for everybody AND I can sneak some Heloise, etc., into it whenever it's convenient. I never read about the clean out your car while the gas is filling up in the tank. My knees are too sore for all that but at least my boy can kill two birds with one stone. 
Anyway...thanks for finding Fly Lady for me.
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RE: Fly Lady - 
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But wow, what a process. I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than go through all that. I can appreciate that you have a system that works for you and your sharing it. Personally, I'll stick to sweeping the floor and using a wet rag to spot clean and hiring someone once or twice a year to do the heavy duty cleaning.... I just hate cleaning. Very few things can make me more miserable than that. I'd rather spend my time working at something I love and making the cash to pay someone else to clean. I'm happy, I feel a great sense of accomplishment finishing a fun project, the other person makes some money, and the place is clean. 
Vinegar and water for the solution. 
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