The FlyLady didn't invent the principle, but she made it vastly popular. The original system was copyrighted by SHE, Sidetracked Home Executives. They suggested that one keep an index card system with tasks that should be completed daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, bi-annually and annually. It was a good system but slightly more complicated than the FlyLady system.
The home is divided into four separate zones, and you concentrate on one zone each week of the month. During that week you determine what tasks you wish to get done. You decide if these are tasks you wish to do monthly or every other month, or less often. If you do these tasks a little at a time over a three-to-six-month period, you can eliminate the need to do a major fall or spring cleaning entirely simply because you stay atop the normal work that is required to keep the house really clean. You also determine what each zone encompasses.
Most months have four full weeks and one week that is divided between two months. I use those 'extra' days at the end of each month to work on a Fifth zone, which I have determined will be my shed or pantry/freezer. You might choose to use that fifth zone to clean your car or focus on a holiday or garden or junk room. That's up to you.
In my home, zones are as follows, based on how my home is arranged. For me, it's the easiest way to manage the house.
Zone 1: Kitchen, Back entry, Laundry
Zone 2: Living Room, Dining Room, Front Entry
Zone 3: Beds and Baths
Zone 4: Porches, Patio
Zone 5: Shed. Pantry and Freezer Inventory and tidy.
What I do in each of those zones is determined by how often I think those tasks should be done. You might wish to do some tasks more frequently or to add additional ones. I'm just giving examples here of what I might do. It's not a comprehensive list at all.
Zone 1: Monthly: Wipe down cabinet doors. Wipe down appliances. Clean the entryway doors. Wipe down decorative objects/dust. Mop floors.
About every three months: clean inside appliances (not including the microwave, that is done more often). Clean under large appliances. Wipe down walls.
In laundry, use duster to get under washer and dryer (also my leaf blower does an excellent job of moving dust out from under these. I slip it down behind the washer or dryer and blow it out towards the front of the appliance.
Clean tops and sides of washer/dryer. Empty lint bucket.
Zones 2 and 3: Dust. Clean ceiling fans. Vacuum upholstery. Wash pillow covers. Clean doors (interior and exterior).
About every three months: clean baseboards and along carpet edges. Wipe down windows. Wipe down walls. Clean under heavy furnishings.
Zone 4: Sweep floors. Blow dust off furnishings. Wipe off tables. Wipe any decor items clean. Remove accumulated clutter and dead plants.
Zone 5: Sweep or vacuum space. Straighten. Declutter. Put away items that are out of place.
In the shed this often means pulling out seasonal items, so they are easily gotten to when wanted. I also try to gather a pile for donation or trash.
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2 comments:
AHH, Terri, thank you for the trip down memory lane. I remember SHE and spending MUCH time and thought setting up the index cards. I don’t remember using them much, though! I was, at the time, VERY frustrated with my home. There were six children: I was driving the older three to and from school, homeschooling the fourth, and we had just adopted an infant from Korea. I was teaching Sunday school, taking kids to sports, etc. Husband was gone a lot with his job, and the house had many deficiencies that made me feel as if, no matter WHAT I did, it never looked any better (and m-i-l was constantly ready to remind me if I forgot LOL) I remember the most important thing I learned from SHE was to be a ‘Two Minute Manager’. That was a life changer for me…..that one could clean a tub and sink while waiting for water to boil, etc. Later I found FlyLady and found her system more useful (maybe my workload had lessened).
Fast forward to now….just the two of us, a ‘stay at home as much as possible’ lifestyle, we pick up after ourselves, and the house is decorated/set up just as I had dreamed (though I used to say that when we got older we’d only have a couple of big pillows to sit on and no furniture that needed dusting, vacuuming etc….NOT - I didn’t, in my youth, factor in MOBILITY as one gets on in years.)
Thank you, Terri, for breaking down how you’ve made this system work for you. You have such the ‘heart of a teacher’ and your example is always encouraging!
The sun came out in central coastal California today! Our mountain neighborhood is littered with fallen trees and mudslides but we can hear the machines working to clean up. Our property has done well and the chickens are laying…Spring is on it’s way!!!
Thank you!! This was very helpful!
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