I'm back.

Yeah, ok, so it's been almost a year since I've posted, but hey, I warned you from the beginning that I have a hard time keeping up with this type of thing... But along with spring and the new baby (5 weeks old already!!!) I've been bitten by some kind of bug that's making me want to change the way I do things. Mainly it's been the state of my house, it's been getting on me for a while now but lately I just feel like I've had it up to HERE with all the mess and clutter everywhere. I think the final straw was in the first couple of weeks after the baby was born, and all my wonderful and dear friends brought me dinners... I had to welcome them into this horrendous mess and even through the sleep-deprived haze I really was quite embarassed that they should see my house at its worst. So I signed up for the email list at http://www.flylady.net/ since I'd heard of the FlyLady but not tried the program myself. So far so good! Since April 1st, my bed has been made before breakfast, and the sink clean and shiny every night before I go to bed! I'm doing the dishes as they're dirtied and have written out routines for myself for each day of the week, so I know that everything will get taken care of, but I won't get overwhelmed. I've identified the "Hot Spots" in my home and have cleaned off half of them (and kept them clean!) The last couple of days I've even been able to accomplish a few other tasks, like polishing my beautiful dinner table, decluttering the dining room, and cleaning out the car. Today I tackled the pantry, threw out a whole bunch of food that expired in 2005 (did you know that soda goes bad??), and reorganized the shelves. I was able to clear enough room at the bottom of the pantry to put brand new receptacles for trash and recycling - no more looking at the trash can in the kitchen or tripping over the recycling bag on the way to the laundry room! Woo hoo! :) I've got Hannah (age 5-1/2) involved too; she makes her bed first thing, she puts her dirty dishes in the dishwasher herself, and if she wants to take off her socks and shoes after school she has to do it in HER room, not my living room anymore! In a month or so I'll teach her how to do a "5-Minute Room Rescue" and we'll start getting her bedroom into order as we move many of her toys in there (and out of the living room, as most are a choking hazard for the baby). Best of all, I really feel like this is a change I can KEEP! :)