Shining Sink 365 Day 56

So for today I am going to talk about the rooms that some of us have in our homes and some of us may not.  These are the office, craft  room, toy room spare room, and other rooms like this.  For me the office is the hardest one to keep clean.  We have one room that is my husbands office and then my office is a desk in the dining room.  I find that if the kids put one paper on the desk it seems to grow and then I have a hot spot that is burning out of control.  A hot spot is a place where you drop things and that needs to be go through and things put away.  I do not have drawer in desk so I think that makes it harder so I have had to come up with neat ways to organize my desk I have a video on this and I will link it here.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMCu1oCHfKE  What we need to do to start in this space is get out your give away put away and toss bags and quickly go threw the things on the desk and then move to the cabinets and the drawers then look at the floor empty the trash and then things should be looking better.

A craft room is just the same as the office move quickly and things will be looking up in no time.  The spare room may be a room that you keep extra clothes in so you may have to do it just like you do the bed room but make this room warm and inviting for guest that may come to visit.

Now the toy room that is a different ball game all together.  I just did a over haul of this and there will be a video of the after to come and some pictures that will be linked to that but lets just say get lots of trash bags and give away bags ready and do not keep more than you have space for.  I have three shelves and the things that my kids have must fit on the shelf and things have a place they are not just thrown on the shelf.  You will have to find what works for you and your kids and this will have to do with their age to.  Good luck I know that this is a hard area to organize and it took me almost 7 years to get the right system down and lots of help from my husband.  Take it slow and easy and these rooms will be clean in no time

For more information check out the flylady at www.flylady.net

Shining Sink 365 Day 55

We are still decluttering for a few more days.  We have more main areas in our house to look at.  Well really there is only one more main room and then some optional rooms.  Okay so the last main room is the bed room or bed rooms this will depend on your home and your needs.  In the bed room there are several places to declutter the closet the dressers the under the bed and if you have a vanity in this room this area to.  So get out your bags and start where you feel is the easiest for you for me this is dresser.  Do this just as we have done in the other rooms.  Keep Toss and Give away fill the bags and take the give away to the car and trash out then put the things in the keep bag away if there is not room to put it away rethink what you have in this space.  You can not keep anything that will not fit in the area.  Now the under the bed is a little different lets keep little to nothing under here.  I need this space to keep the out of season things but I keep them in two under the bed totes.  These are the only things that I have under my bed.  That is it.  It will be easy once you dive in.  You can do this and it will not be as bad as you think.  And look at it this way there will be less laundry to do when you purge the clothing.  :-)  Happy Decluttering.

For more information check out flylady at www.flylady.net

Shining Sink 365 Day 52

I want to start by saying I am going to move my post to morning post and they will be on a one day delay.  It is getting to be to much on me to write a blog and post the picture at night while I am trying to get the kids in bed and my BBR done.  Thank you for following me and if you like these blogs please click follow and you will be updated when a new post is published.

Now for the blog.   We are going to continue to declutter and today we are going to look at our hall closets.  I have two one as soon as you come in my front door and one in the hall outside the bathroom.  I am going to look at both of these today.  Lets look in these closets and get rid of the stuff that we no longer love or need lets toss the trash and put everything back in orderly.  I like to use organizing tools in these area.  I have over the door organizer hung on the closet rods.  I also like to use the small clear shoe size totes.  Play with this and have fun.

For more information check out flylady at www.flylady.net

Shining sink 365 Day 50

I want to start by saying I am sorry about the lack of a blog yesterday I was very distracted and forgot all about posting yesterday.  I want to go ahead and get right into the area of decluttering today  We are going to work on the Living Room.  There is not a lot of decluttering to do in this room there are only two main areas to look at and they are both small and easy so I want to address both of them in this blog.  The first area is the tables lets look and see what is on them is there trash that needs to be thrown away and is there mags that need to be purged.  Do this quick.  Next lets move on to the nick nacks are there to many.  Lets go through them and see if we need to get rid of a few.  Go through these quick and see if we can purge any.  This is a small task so let get going.

For more information check out Flylady at www.flylady.net

Shining sink 365 Day 48

I am sorry for the long break that I took I have been gone on vacation.  We went away for the weekend to a farm show and time away for Valentines Day.  I am home now and it is time to get back to decluttering for the month of February.  I think that this is going to be our last day in the dining room.  I only see one more place that need attention and that is your pie safe/china cabinet.  I have a pie safe that has a glass cabinet on top and two shelves behind doors on the bottom your maybe different but you can do the same thing.  I like to start at the top and work my way down.  I grab my three bags, give away put away and trash.  Take everything out and sort it into these categories once you have them sorted wipe down the shelf if you have anything glass go ahead and wash it before putting it back in then move on to the next section till it is done.  Put the give away bag in the car and then take the trash out.   This is when I like to dust this cabinet so that it looks shining.  Good luck and happy shining.

For more information check out flylady at www.flylady.net

shining sink 365 day 43

Day 43 is here and we are going strong today we are going back to the kitchen for a day we are going to declutter the counters let's look at the counter and see what's on it let's attack the piles makes you piles that you need to put away get out your bags that we used in the pantry and put the trash you find in let's not use the put away let's make piles and go threw them let's see what we love if we do not love it or uses it put it in the give away bag.   Once you have gone threw the piles put the give away bag in the car.  Now let's look at the appliances that you have out if you do not use them every day or regularly let's put them in the cabinets a clear counter will make your kitchen look better.  Once your counter is clear let's wipe them down with soap and water.  Now your kitchen is shining.   Enjoy it.

For more information check out the flylady at www.flylady.net

Shining Sink 365 Day 42

I want to start off by saying I forgot to put the day label on the sink for today.  Now for the decluttering.  We have been decluttering the kitchen for the last few blogs and our kitchens are looking good.  Now we need to move on to the dinning room so that we are not getting the clutter back in the kitchen.  Is your table covered with stuff.  Is it piles and piles lets dig into the piles and see what is really in the piles.  Do these things belong in your dinning room or do they belong in other rooms.  A lot of times when my table gets cluttered I look at it and find that there are a lot of things that belong in other rooms like the kids rooms or the office.  What i want you to do is to make piles for each room then take them to that room and put the things away in that room.  Things that you do not know where it goes you need to find a place for so if you can not find a place to put it then decided if you really need it.  You can not have things you call Misc. you have to make a decision and find a home for it.  So today will be a easy day.  Attack that table and lets get the table cleared.  One last tip is to put a pretty bowl or dish maybe some flowers in the middle of the table so that you will not junk it up.  If it is pretty you have a harder time dropping things there.  Happy decluttering.

For more info check out flyleaf at wee.flylady.net

shining sink 365 day 36

I showed you my upstairs kitchen and I am showing it to you again tonight.  I have been working hard on Decluttering my kitchen so I can do a remodeled and I have finally done this.  February is a month of Decluttering so let's get busy let's open those cabinets and see what we really need.  Do you need 10 spots bottles and four sets of China?  Take a good look in the cabinets and see what can be tosses or donated. 

For more information Check out www.flylady.net

shining sink 365 day 35

For today I wanted to change things up and show you my upstairs sink.

shining sink 365 day 34

I don't really have a lot of tips to share with you so for tonight its just a picture but if you have a issue that you are facing and would like to hear my thoughts on it please leave it in the comments and I will address them in future post.

As always check out www.flylady.net for more information. 

Shining sink 365 Day 33

First I want to say that I am going to be taking the weekends off from blogging but not my shiny sink so I can spend that time with my family.

Now for today's tip.  I want to tell you how baby steps get you out of chaos and have you feeling at peace and not stressed all the time.  When you start your baby steps you will start to see a change it will be slow and you may think that you should be doing more but I want you to remember this that flylady says "your house did not get messy in a day and will not get clean in a day."  So pace yourself remember that you have to take it slow and steady and take your breaks so that you are not burned out.  You do not have to start them on the first of the month if you are not working on the baby steps now please do this today start right now with these baby steps so that your home will be in order in no time.  Here is a link to flyladys baby steps starting with day one. Baby steps  Now I want to tell you a little bit of what I have found has happened to me since starting the flylady baby steps.  I find that my house is not out of control, I have the tools to do the job, I feel at peace with my home, I am not yelling at my kids as much because they know what their chores are and when they need to do them.  These are just a few of the things that have happened to me since I have started.  Please time it slow and stead and you will have a shining house just like your shining sink.

For more Information check out www.flylady.net

shining sink 365 day 31

Flylady taught me how to fly but to keep us going we need friends to keep us on track that is the same for me.  I have a group of friends that we call the hen party.   We had one lady who was the leader who kept us all on track and had no problem telling us to keep up and get moving. She passed away earlier this month.  This has been very hard on all of us we miss her funny jokes and wise words.  She was so encouraging and keep us moving.  She would even call and tell us its time to get up I have not heard from you when she knew we had things that had to be done.  She gave us constant reminders to make to do list, to drink our water, to shine our sink, and always reminded us what day it was such as who plan and errand so on and so forth.  We have all cried together but there is one thing we have all agreed on we have to go on we have to keep moving and believe that she is watching down seeing our progress.  We have lost a great leader but we must keep moving we must go on.  She made us feel safe to post our before pictures and help us know where to go to get it back in shape.  She posted the baby steps for us to follow every day.  She was a great woman a great leader she will be missed but her memories will live on in the work I do.  Rip April sidner

Shining sink 365 day 28

I was trying to think about what to talk about today with everyone today and I came up with this TIME MANAGEMENT.  Yes that is right time management so now you are thinking how does time management go with shining your sink well here it is if you manage your time in a good manner than you will be able to have the time to shine your sink before it is to late at night.  My disclaimer is that what works for me will not work for everyone and this is just how I have found that I can manage my time to allow more time for me in the day.  I want to stress how important that it is to do your routines.  When I say routines I mean morning routines, afternoon routines, and before bed routines.  Everyone's routines may be different but I follow along with flylady as I do with most everything that when comes to cleaning.

My morning routine looks like this:
~Get up and get dressed to shoes
~Make the bed
~ Wash face and fix hair
~Swish and swipe the bathroom
~Breakfast
~Clean up kitchen from breakfast

My Afternoon Routine:
~Set out meat for supper
~Have lunch
~Clean up lunch dishes
~Do a walk though picking things up and putting away

Before Bed Routine:
~ Wash dishes/ shine sink
~ Lay out clothes
~ Check calender for the next day
~Make a to do list for the next day
~Go to bed at a decent hour

I feel like when I do my routines that I have more time in my day I am getting things done any my routines do not take that long at all.  My routines take a total of 30 minutes max.  I have days that I do certain things this also frees up my time.  I am not spending time thinking about what has to be done.  I know that on Mondays I do a WHB, Tuesdays I do meal planning and bill paying, Wed I do projects that I have been putting off like for tomorrow I am going to work on my touch up painting in my kitchen, Thurs is Fridge clean up and deep cleaning,  Friday is errands and grocery shopping this is also date night, Sat is Family fun, and Sunday I renew myself and save the day for church.   Now during the week I make my list and try to stick to them as much as possible.  I will do my best to get things done before lunch on the top half of the list taking a few 15 minute breaks to have time for me and the things that I want to do like knitting.  Then after lunch I work on the second half of my list and I want the list done by the time that the kids get home from school so that I have time for after school activities and home work.  Then I always schedule supper to be started by 5 if I do not have something already made.  We eat at 6 and bath at 6:30 so the kids can be in bed by 7.  This is my me time I have the rest of the night for me to relax and unwind.

So as you see scheduling my time and sticking to my routines ensures that I get my sink shining in a timely manner and that I still have time for me.  So set you routines and pick what days you need to get things done on and you will be well on your way to having a good schedule for time management.

For more information check out flylady at: www.flylady.net

shining sink 365 day 27

Today I want to talk about how a shiny sink makes you feel.  When your sink is shining you can feel at peace and know that you have the tools and room to cook supper make tea or coffee.   Just about anything.   Say you get a stain in your favorite shirt and need to soak it if your sink is clean and shiny you can easily put it in the sink to soak.  Now add in doing a whb and your home is feeling clean and fresh.  You have clean sheets on the bed that is made.  That is my shiny sink in my bed room.  The trash is emptied and that makes your house smell better.  The clean mirrors and windows make it nice to look at your self because there is not tooth brush splatters or dental Floss home runs.  Your floors are clean and you don't stick to them.  The kids can play on the floor and you don't fear what they are going to put in their mouth.  The dust has been removed from the house so you can breath better.  The magazines have been purged and so there is less to pick up.  When I walk in a room after I have done a whb I smile and look at the room like the shining sink in the kitchen.  It makes things easier give me more time to do other things around the house and more time to spend with my family.   It's Monday whb hour day so jump in and let's get the whb done so you can smile at it like the shining sink.

For more information check out www.flylady.net

shining sink 365 day 23

My sink is shining bright tonight and I am proud.  I do want to tell you that there will not be a post for tomorrow as I will be of town I will blog about my trip but there will not be a shining sink post tomorrow.

So for today's tip I want to tell you a little more about flylady that I love.  You can clean your house in one hour with the flylady program.  Now before you yell this is not possible I want to tell you about the weekly home blessing hour. The whb is a hour of speed cleaning I t can be done in any order.  There are 7 things to do for 10 mins each but they will not take the fill 10 mins on some of them.  Here is the list:
1. Change sheets
2. Clean mirrors
3 . vacuum
4 . Purge magazines
5. Mop
6.dust
7 . take out trash

So here is what how I do it I take the sheets off and put in the washer then head to the bathroom and wipe the mirror and bathroom window then I move to the next bathroom and do that mirror.  I normally try to wipe down the glass doors at this time.  Next I toss old magazines.  By this time the sheets are ready to go in the dryer so I swap them over.  I then grab the vacuum and run through the bedrooms and if I have time left I hit the kitchen and living room floors with it.  Next I grab the trash and run it to the barrels so I don't have to take it access the floors then I dust the house.  You can do the entire house with a feather duster in 2 mins but I get the polish and do a little more detailed dusting.  Then I mop quickly.   After that is done I grab some water and sit for a minute to rest and admire what I did.

You may need a little coaching to get you through this so flylady has made a radio show to talk you though this and you can check it out here http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flylady-tools/2008/04/08/weekly-home-blessing-hour

Also check out www.flylady.net

shining sink 365 day 22

For today I want to talk about the shining sink in the bathroom.  Do you think about this sink as a shining sink.  I do.  Part of your flylady baby steps is to swish and swipe the bathroom.  This is very simple and will only take you 2 mins. Here is how you do it pour some soap in the toilet any soap at all then take some Windex spray the sink and counter top then take a towel it can be a old hand towel that you are going to toss in the dirty clothes basket really it is not that dirty wipe down the sink and counter then swish the toilet with the toilet wand.  Next take the towel and and tip the seat and under the seat.  That is it you are done and your bathroom sink is shining.

Shining sink 365 day 21

Today I want to talk about your before bed routine (bbr) and how shining your sink effects this.  Here is what my BBR looks like each night.  Wash dishes and shine sink, lay out clothes for me and kids, baths for everyone, check my calender, and go to bed at a decent hour.  (For me this is 10pm.)  Why is this BBR important you may be asking, well this is the biggest routine of your day and the most important it sets you up to start the next day on the right foot.  If I do not get anything else in the day done I do my best to make sure that the BBR is done every night.  I did not start with all of this and I want to encourage you do start this way to.  Start with your dishes and sink.  Do this for a month then add your next step I think that laying out your clothes is the next most important thing in the BBR because you are not searching for clothes in the morning when you are in a hurry to get out the door or start your day at home.  I like to go to the gym every morning so I lay out two sets of clothes work out clothes and clothes for the day when I get home to change into.  I think the next important is checking your calender so you make sure that you are laying out the right clothes and then you will want to make sure that you know for sure what time you need to be out the door.  I am a SAHM so I do not have to leave the house every morning but I do go to the gym every morning after the kids get on the bus but when I check my calender I make sure that I am able to go at this time or if someone has a appointment that I will need to run out to or need to keep home from school for.  A very big one for everyone is going to bed at a decent hour because this insures that you are night tired the next day and just going through your day half asleep.  Sleep is very important for your health and we can not take care of others if we are not taking care of ourselves.  We are flying and flying is more than just the way we clean our home FLYing stands for Finally Loving Yourself.  You have to be a little selfish and take time to take care of you so that you can take care of others.  If your cup is running over you will be able to pour into others.  Flylady has a spot in her book where she talks about this she use the example of your car running out of gas.  If you do not take a few moments to take the time to fill up your car with gas you will run out of gas on the side of the road and have to spend more money to pay a service to bring you more gas or inconvenience someone in your family to bring you some.  You miss your appointment and  waste there time to.  If your body is running out of fuel you are going to break down and end up at the doctor or even worse the hospital.  So please take time to go to bed early and give the BBR a chance you will see a change in how easy it is to fly when you get your routines in place.

Check out flylady at www.flylady.net

shining sink 365 day 20

Are you having a problem shining your sink when your house is still such a mess?  Maybe it is time for a crisis cleaning.   Crisis cleaning your saying what is that.  Well a crisis cleaning is 45 mins of fast pace cleaning  with no breaks.  Here is how it goes you start with the kitchen and do 15 mins in the kitchen then you move to the living room and lastly the main bathroom.  A fun game that flylady likes to play is to act like you have your mother in law coming to visit and you need the house clean.  Here is the way flylady puts it on her page.

FlyLady has also created a podcast you can listen to on BlogTalkRadio where she walks you through the process. Listen to FlyLady’s Crisis Cleaning podcast on BlogTalkRadio here.

Get dressed to shoes, have your hair fixed and face washed and makeup on (if you use it). Don’t question this — just do it. Put on some good working music. Not too fast, just slow and steady. Peppy, but not aerobic. Light a candle that has a good scent or put on some spices on to boil on a very low heat.Set a timer and spend 15 minutes in the kitchen. We are going to start in our kitchens, because as the kitchen goes, so does the rest of the house. If your sink is not clean and shiny, then shine it first, then you can fill the sink up with hot soapy water and start to clear off the left and right counters. Empty the dishwasher. When the timer goes off, stop what you are doing and go to the living room.Set the timer again and do 15 minutes of cleaning off the coffee tables or picking up toys or newpapers.Concentrate on one thing, not all of it. Get a laundry basket and put the things that don’t belong in the living room in the basket. Take a garbage bag with you, too. Start throwing away the trash. Don’t get caught up in the guilt we have about recycling this stuff. Just bag it up for now. As you get your home in order, there will be plenty of time to recycle. For now, we are focusing on getting the home presentable. You can’t do this if you are hyperfocusing on sorting and recycling, so get over this perfectionism attitude. When the timer goes off, head back to the kitchen.In the kitchen, set the timer for 15 more minutes and continue to work on clearing the counters. Don’t get sidetracked and attempt to clean out a cabinet. We’re only doing surface cleaning here. We’re making your home presentable, not perfect.Now, take a break and walk around and look at what you have accomplished in just 45 minutes. Set the timer for 15 minutes and drink a cup of tea or coffee or whatever you love and just relax. When the timer goes off, you are back in work mode for 15 more minutes.This 15 minute session is in the bathroom. Clean the bathroom sink first, swish the toilet, then pick up towels and dirty clothes and put them in the hamper. Once again, don’t get sidetracked and start a load of laundry. You need a clean bathroom before you need clean clothes! The laundry will come later.When the timer goes off, you are back in the kitchen for 15 more minutes. After the counters are cleared, sweep the floor and wipe down the countertops and appliances. We can do anything in 15 minutes! Keep working until the timer goes off. Then you go to the living room once again. continue to pick up and put away. Once everything is in its place, vacuum and dust.Every 45 minutes, take a 15 minute break. Rotate around the house every 15 minutes. Do you understand this?

Source: http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/flying-lessons/crisis-cleaning/

Now that you know how to crisis cleaning and a pod Cast to walk you through it go now go go go.
 

shining sink 365 day 19

As I am starting to feel better I am finding the time to be out with my family more.  I decided that this was time to go and spend some time with my mom dad brother and all my family.   We went for lunch then I spent some time with my hubby.  I was able to shine my sink today and I wanted to share one small tip with you today after you do your dishes take a windex bottle spray your sink then wipe clean.  This will have your sink shinning bright and you will see your smile in it.  Shine on

For more information check out the flylady.net website.

shining sink 365 day 17

I am fighting illness at the moment so doing the dishes did not happen yesterday.  I have strep throat so it's nothing major but like everyone else I know what it is like to not feel good and be able to get up and do the dishes.  Like some others out there I do not have a husband that will help with the dishes or laundry.   He is very old school and thinks that is a woman's job.  I know I know but he works really hard every day to give me the chance to be a sahm.  I feel I owe it to him to keep the house clean and not to ask for help.  I guess we are both a little old school.   Today I'm feeling a little better so I decided I was going to do the dishes so I would feel better.  Now don't get me wrong I did not do a sweep of the house for all the dishes I just did what made it to my sink and I left them to dry.  I am still feeling weak so I'm not going to push it I will tend to myself and do a crisis cleaning when I'm up to full power again.  I know this blog is short today with no real tip I'm sorry but I must lay back down for more information on shining your sink or crisis cleaning check out this site www.flylady.net