Learning to Fly

Well since I can't be anything but me, and I'm just a real type of person, I'll just be real :)

Since I started homeschooling it's been hard to keep things balanced. I can either be organized and good at homeschooling, or I can be a good housekeeper and healthy cook. Doing both is like a complicated dance routine.And, since this is the first year of homeschooling, I've changed things up many many times, simply trying to find what works best for our famliy.

So last week I decided to go to Flylady's website. I hadn't been there in quite awhile, and she has lots of videos on there. The videos are really helpful and encouraging to me, to hear her southern voice of comfort telling me I don't have to be perfect LOL. She takes you through the year adding a good new habit each month. So, for January, shining up the sink is the habit you are learning. And she means just shining the sink, as in, put the dirty dishes on the floor if need be to get to the sink to shine it that first time.

So I did, which wasn't easy because my sink is not only white, it's made out of some type of plastic so it's really hard to get stains out. (yay for manufactured homes) I filled it with hot bleach water for an hour (on both sides) scrubbed with baking soda, sprayed bleach directly on it, windexed the faucet, went and bought some comet and scrubbed it and bleached it again. Still has stains. Oh well, it is clean! I've been making an effort each night to get it completely empty and scrubbed. This means that the dishes are getting done faster than before and I try to leave the kitchen as spotless as I'm able, depending on how the day goes.

Our house is in need of a gooooood declutter and spring clean. All those jobs that don't get done like straightening and cleaning out cabinets, tossing old toiletries etc., culling out TOO many clothes and so on, it's getting to the point where it has to be done. I don't clean our shower very often either, and it needs it. See, I'm just  being honest, because no one can be everything. A perfect clean home used to be important to me, like to the point I was obsessed. Thankfully that got replaced with a better attitude over the years.

It's important to me to have other fulfilling pursuits and to have time for them. I would rather spend 30 minutes knitting or sewing or reading than dusting the miniblinds.Not that I don't ever dust, it just gets done when I realize it is very needed. But, I need a better system and to create some better habits.

This week I plan to tackle some these tasks. The first and biggest one is the girls' clothes!!!!!!HOW can 4 little girls create such mountains of laundry???? Currently they share a large laundry hamper, and even if I'm washing their clothes 3 times a week, it is usually overflowing. I've paired down their clothes, but I think it's going to have to get done again. And let's not talk about socks...

Two of my daughters have dressers in the closet. So I'm planning to get rid of those and buy some plastic drawer things from walmart or target. Then, I can stack them on top of each other and they can each have two. (the closet is very big) I also plan to have a plastic tub for each of them to put the overflow of clothes into. Then, if we are behind on laundry or something and they don't have any clothes, they can get some out of their plastic tub. Maybe it'll work. Another part of the plan is teaching them how to do their own laundry from start to finish- they know how to sort clothes, put them in the washer and fold them, but not the other stuff.

And so, I regret to say a house tour will have to wait until I can get things nice again. You know how it is, it's like inviting the world into my house so it's gotta look like I want it! Soon though, very soon....