Tag: shine your sink

Baby Step #10: The Power of 15 Minutes

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I can do a lot of things for 15 minutes, easy. I can scroll Instagram for 15 minutes. I can work in my garden for 15 minutes. I can read a really good book for 15 minutes. I can cuddle on the couch with my family and watch 15 + minutes of a fun show.

Get it? We really can do anything for 15 minutes. The enjoyable activities are a piece of cake. Cleaning, picking up, tidying, well, those aren’t so fun. There is power in 15 minutes. Grab a timer. It’s really not that long; but we can get a lot accomplished.I’ve been building from the 2 Minute Hot Spot:

  • Wednesday’s Hot Spot: My Living room ledge
  • Thursday’s Hot Spot: Kitchen Table
  • Friday’s Hot Spot: Kitchen Table

I’ve also been building from the 5 Minute Room Rescue:

  • Wednesday: Master Bedroom
  • Thursday: Master Bedroom
  • Friday: Livingroom

Next, I added the 15 Minutes Declutter to my Evening Routine:

I can’t Clean or Organize Clutter. So Decluttering for 15 Minutes a Day is the first and essential step to getting my house to feeling of clean and calm I desire.

Like I said in a previous post, I spent a few hours Decluttering my Master Bedroom a few weeks ago. I still have spots I need to tackle, though.

I lump my Master Bedroom and Bathroom together because I consider it one space. On Friday, I set my timer for 15 minutes and tackled the space under my bathroom sink. I have a small 3 drawer caddy that I quickly went through. That has extra floss, tooth paste, razors etc. I didn’t have much to purge there. Next to the caddy I had empty cleaner bottles and various other bottles I didn’t need. There were a few other things I could toss as well. In 15 minutes the space was emptier and looked much more organized. (Not the pile of “who knows what” it looked like before.)

Spoiler Alert: Decluttering never really ends. It’s kinda like laundry. Sorry to burst any bubbles. It was a hard pill for me to swallow; but once we see Decluttering as an ongoing process, we can make it a habit and a way of life Once we declutter, surface cleaning becomes so much easier. Or so I’ve been told.

Decluttering Tip: Have a trash bag or donate box handy when you declutter. You only want to touch items once. Touch them once when you put them in the bag or box. Then, they go directly into your car so you can drive around with them for 3 months in your trunk before you bring them to Good Will.

Kidding!!! Who does that. Not me!! No, never…………

This is actually the situation in my bedroom right now. This pile all needs to go to Good Will. I do not suggest leaving it on your bedroom floor like I am currently doing. Please do not follow my example! This week my goal is to get this to a donation site and out of my sight for good.

It seems like I’m just randomly picking rooms to Rescue or Declutter. Fly Lady has a method for tackling your home and I’m getting into it in the next Baby Step. Stay Tuned.

Baby Step#9: Five Minute Room Rescue

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The Fly Lady’s method is all about building habits to keep our house tidy and running smoothly. This isn’t just about keeping a clean house. It’s about managing our home without it overtaking our lives. It’s about making our house a home, a haven.

I don’t especially love cooking, cleaning and the like. I sure like the results when I do all those things, though. My family likes it, too.

This is why I started doing Fly Lady. I haven’t gone through the steps as quickly as I thought I would. I’m still showing up, though. I’m not going to quit.

It’s not about making my home perfect and picture worthy (Though, I’d like a few of those days!). If your house is messy and cluttered, and you try these steps, it is going to look better. Just in the past weeks with me only completing 9 of the 31 steps, I see a difference.

Today we talk about about the 5 Minute Room Rescue.

First, let’s chat about CLUTTER for just a bit.

You can’t clean or organize clutter. You just can’t.

I know. I know. Everyone talks about clutter. Marie Kondo had a whole series on Netflix, about clutter, which I binged watched in one day.

I am starting to work on the clutter in my home. Step 10 is going to help with this. So, while we will get to clutter in our next step, a 5 Minute Room Rescue is going to help us keep the house picked up while we tackle clutter.

Now, I could have gone about this a few different ways. I could have picked the room in the house that was the worst and most cluttered (Henry’s room). I could have picked the most visible room in the house. This is the one people see when they first enter my home. (Kitchen) Or, I could have picked the room that brings me the most stress when I enter. (My bedroom)

I picked my bedroom.

Your 5 Minute Room Rescue will just start with surface cleaning. We are going to work our way up to decluttering. Just get started.

5 minutes a day. That’s it. Just 5 minutes. Pick up the visible trash first. Next, put things back in their proper place. Then hit the spots that need a little more thought.

Remember, the goal isn’t to declutter. We are just cleaning.

To be fully honest, about two weeks or so ago, I was so fed up with the piles in my bedroom that I spent a few hours in my room decluttering. If you have time, do that! Get in there and declutter. It feels so good.

Today, I timed myself for 5 minutes. I worked really hard for those 5 minutes. I did zero decluttering. It was just putting things in their proper place and taking dirty mugs to the dishwasher.

If I keep working in my bedroom this next week, those 5 minutes will add up. Then I can move on to another room. Fly Lady has a way to go about this with her Zone Cleaning Method; but I haven’t got that far in the Baby Steps yet.

I will probably add a 5 Minute Room Rescue to my Evening Routine. I’ll try that for the next week and see if that is a good time for that task.

More thoughts on decluttering to come! Let’s take it once step at a time, though.

Baby Step #8: Morning Routine

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We’ve had some unexpected interruptions these past couple weeks. We evacuated from our home due to a Wild Fire (You can read about that here). We are back at home, safe and sound. I’ve been wanting to get back to my Baby Steps and the routines I was trying to build.

When things are chaotic and not normal, routines actually really help. They bring in structure even if you cannot fully complete your usual routine. You don’t have to make a decision on WHAT to do, which is often hard during a crisis. You just follow the routine and slowly get back to order.

The Fly Lady starts with establishing an Evening or Before Bed Routine. With an evening routine in place, the Morning Routine is more likely to happen.

So, it took me a few days of doing my Before Bed Routine before I really focused on my Morning Routine.

Honestly, I’m still trying to get all the things on my Morning Routine list done. Most days I do most of the list. I have yet to complete it all. I’ll get there, though.

MORNING ROUTINE

  • Fill Diffuser
  • Coffee and Time With Jesus
  • 2 Minute Yoga
  • Get Ready and Dressed To Slippers
  • Start Laundry
  • Swish and Swipe
  • Empty Dishwasher (Lily’s job. Sometimes I need to do it.)
  • Sweep * (If I don’t sweep the night before)

    What is Swish and Swipe? It’s just a quick swish of the toilet bowl and wipe down of the toilet seat. The Fly Lady goes into more detail about that in her book .

2 Minute Yoga? Ok, I’ll talk more about that in another post; but it’s
exactly how it sounds. Yoga for 2 minutes.

Here’s to resetting and getting back to routines!

Baby Step #7: Before Bed Routine

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The last couple of weeks have been wonkier than usual. Normally, I would let the wonkiness of life get me off track. This time around, the wonkier it gets the more I strive for routine.

If you’ve read last week’s post, Baby Step#5, you read about life in my home state of California lately. Crazy. So I haven’t been going through the baby steps as quickly as I planned.

Today I took my dad to the hospital for his hernia surgery. Because of Covid, I couldn’t go in with him. While I’m waiting to get him and my in-laws have my kiddos, I’m taking a few minutes to write about the next baby step: Evening Routines or Before Bed Routines.

My point is, life is full of disruptions; but if I stick to these routines, I really think it will make my life more peaceful and less stressful. So I keep plugging ahead.

I think that I will actually have two night-time routines. The Evening Routine (and the one I’m talking about today) would be what I would do after dinner time and before the kids go to bed. My Before Bed Routine would be just that, before bed. I’m not there yet, though. That might sound too complicated for some. I’ll just call it my Evening Routine for this post.

Why am I starting with my Evening Routine and not the Morning Routine? First, this is how the Fly Lady does it!! Second, I think a good evening routine will set me up for a successful morning.

Here’s my Evening Routine so far. I put it in my control journal. I just wrote it out simply on a piece of binder paper. Nothing fancy here!

EVENING ROUTINE:

  • Shine Sink
  • Sweep
  • Living Room Pick Up
  • Fold and Deliver Laundry
  • 2 Minute Hot Spot
  • Check Tomorrow’s Calendar

*I’m usually folding laundry at night. So what I’ve been doing is putting any laundry that I fold of the kids into a basket and leave it by their door. Then they put away their own laundry in the morning. I’ve been doing this for a few weeks and it’s been working really well. Yay!

** Today I got dressed down to the actual shoes since I was taking my dad to the hospital. Everyday, I’ve been getting dressed before I start my day. It has made a positive difference.

Baby Step #6: Two Minute Hot Spot

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All right, I was excited to actually clean something.

Just to be clear, I’ve been cleaning my house. I’ve been sweeping and I even mopped! (I haven’t mopped the floor in quite a long time.) I’ve been doing laundry and my dishes. My goal here is to get into good routines, though.

Honestly, I haven’t been accomplishing everything on my morning routine. I’m getting there, though. Baby Steps #7 and #8 really dive into morning and evening routines.

Let’s talk about Baby Step #6. What is a Hot Spot???

If you’ve read or are reading Martha Cilley’s book, Sink Reflections, chapter three talks all about CLUTTER and HOT SPOTS in our home. I think I will give CLUTTER it’s own post later.

I will tell you this, Clutter loves Hot Spots. Here’s the definition of a HOT SPOT: A Hot Spot is an area that, when left unattended, gradually and insidiously takes over your home. If left unattended the Hot Spot will grow and take over the whole room as well as make the house look awful.

Today’s job is to pick a Hot Spot and set my timer for two minutes and put stuff away. Identifying a Hot Spot was not difficult; I have many. I picked the first eye sore that caught my attention when I entered my house, my ledge by the front door.

The point is to pick up and put away for two minutes and then stop. You can do anything for two minutes, right? I was able to clear it off in two minutes, though.

I wish I had thought to take a before picture. Trust me. It was piled with stuff.

So now, I’m going to add “Two Minute Hot Spot” to my routines (probably evening routine). I’ll hit this one everyday and if it’s already clear, I’ll move on to another Hot Spot.

Every home has HOT SPOTS. I made a list of all my Hot Spots on a sticky note. I have NINE!!! Here the 5 most problematic spots. I picked the ledge first because it was one of the first things I noticed and I knew I could clear it quickly.

Give yourself an easy win. Pick the most noticeable or easiest Hot Spot first.

Other Hot Spots I Need To Tackle:

  • Red cabinet by the front door
  • Entry way dresser
  • Kitchen counter
  • My bedroom dresser top

Did you miss Steps #1-#5?

Baby Step #5: Nix Negative Thoughts

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Before I jump into today’s step I wanted to say two things: First, I almost glossed over this one. I loved to journal and write out my thoughts; but I also just want to get my house under control, clean and decluttered….badly.

The thought of taking a whole step to write out positive thoughts seemed a waste. I am determined to follow the steps and build these habits slowly, though. So, I did the step. I’m glad I did.

Second, it’s been a doozy of a week here in Northern California. Currently our state is on fire (and Oregon, too). We were without power for a day. It was 111 degrees one day and then dropped about 30 degrees two days later. We also have so much smoke in the air that our air quality number was at 266. 301 is considered hazardous. Let’s not forget our orange apocalyptic sky. So, I’ve been a little off in my baby steps. Gee….I wonder why??????

This is my neighborhood at 8:30 in the morning.

I’m ready to get back to it. I’m not giving up!

NIX NEGATIVE THOUGHTS.

If you are anything like me, you’ve tried several systems and planners to keep your house in order and yet your house is still not in order. Or at least for me, my house is not where it needs to be. My house is much better than it used to be and I’ll talk about that in a bit; but I’m lacking in routines big time.

I do know what it feels like to try and try and to fail and fail. So today, I’m listening to the negative thoughts that are telling me, “You are just going to fail again,” and I’m replacing them with these positive thoughts:

  • Don’t give up.
  • Slow and Steady. Build those routines little by little.
  • My goal is to make my home a place of peace, not perfection. Clutter does not make me feel peaceful. I don’t need more stuff.
  • Having a well run home will bless my family and others.
  • I can do this!

I just wrote this on a piece of paper and I’m going to put it into my control journal. This took me literally 2 minutes. I may add to it later.

A few years back I did a major declutter and though spots in my home have once again become cluttered; it’s never reached the level it used to be. That’s a win.

This summer we decluttered the room in our house that was the bane of my existence- the garage. This is a huge win!!! It has made such a difference. We have a few pieces of odds and ends to discard; but if I can tackle my garage, I can tackle anything.

A couple of weeks I ago I cleaned the kid’s bathroom. It was bad, friends. So very bad. I had not cleaned that toilet in so long, I honestly can’t tell you. It’s embarrassing. I knew then and there, I needed a cleaning routine and one I could stick to. That’s one of the many reasons I AM NOT QUITTING with the baby steps.

Chapters 4 & 5 in the Fly Lady’s book, Sink Reflections, she talks about taking care of ourselves (not running on empty) and our attitudes towards our home. These were excellent chapters.

Baby Step #4: Sticky Notes

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TWO WORDS: STICKY NOTES

This is the beginning of the Control Journal. I think that’s kind of a funny name. Do you? You could call it whatever you want. There are many versions of the Control Journal out there. Just look on You Tube. Search Fly Lady Control Journal. Don’t do it right now, though. You’ll get side-tracked.

I did a little You Tube browsing this morning while my daughter watered our neighbor’s plants and I kept her company. I gave myself a time limit so I wouldn’t get lost down the dark hole of the internet.

Just hop on the Fly Lady’s website and check out hers. Or, you can use hers and tweak it to fit your style. That’s what I plan on doing.

Today, I’m making two sticky notes: One labeled Morning Routine and one labeled Night Routine. This is what I have so far on each; but these may not be the final routines. I’ll work on them this week.

Eventually this will go in some kind of binder; but for now I’m just using sticky notes.

Today’s Recap:

  • I emptied the dishwasher and there were a few dishes in the sink from the night before so I made sure to load the dishwasher and my sink was shiny.
  • I got dressed down to the flip flops. It’s 107 here today and so I did not wear shoes the rest of the day because I have no AC. I would die if I wore shoes. I’ve already explained that I hate having hot feet.
  • I began brainstorming my morning and evening routines:

MORNING ROUTINE:

  • Some Quiet Time/Morning Reading/Devotion w/Coffee
  • 1 minute Yoga
  • Get Ready
  • Start Laundry

EVENING ROUTINE: (After Dinner)

  • Shine Sink
  • Sweep
  • Living room pickup
  • Fold and put laundry away
  • Check tomorrow’s calendar

Baby Step #3 Be Consistent

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I thought I would do my recap first today.

Let’s Recap:

  • My sink is still shiny. Yay!
  • I got dressed to my shoes. This is easy because I went to church. I still stand by my not wearing shoes in the house.
  • I wrote Steps 1 and 2 on a sticky and stuck it on my bathroom mirror.

So, if you log on to The Fly Lady’s website or have read her book, she teaches about morning routines, afternoon routines, evening routines and THE CONTROL JOURNAL. Today’s step is to log on and take a look around the website. It has a lot of great information. If you don’t have time, maybe pick another day. You will definitely get lost down rabbit holes. I think it is important to get the whole picture of what her Fly Lady’s system is. Her book is really helpful, too.

One thing I want to talk about today is being Consistent. I’m technically not adding steps today; but that’s okay. It’s easier to be consistent with small attainable steps or build habits little by little than having the mentality of “go big or go home”. I’ve done that too many times and it never works.

I’m going for slow and steady.

Have you read Atomic Habits by James Clear ? This was such a good book and really backs up the concept of slow, small, consistent steps for lasting change.

Doesn’t that sound fabulous???

In case you missed the first Baby Steps. Start Here:

Baby Step #1: Shine Your Sink

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Today I shined my sink. I mean I really got in there and cleaned it.

My house is old. As in built in the 1960’s old.

It was a rental for all that time before we bought it 4 years ago. The sink is old and porcelain. It’s cracked and chipping; and it’s seen better days.

I scrubbed that bad boy and did the best I could.

The Fly Lady is right. There is something about a clean sink. I thought ahead and emptied the dishwasher so that after I cleaned the sink, there would be no reason for dirty dishes to sit in my sparkling sink.

You guessed it. Two minutes after I scrubbed and sprayed and scrubbed some more, someone sneakily left a dish in the sink. It didn’t stay there long, though.

It felt good taking the first step. It’s an old sink, so I didn’t get every stain and scuff. It looks a million times better and I’m ready for Baby Step Two.

How I cleaned my sink:

1.) Wiped it out with soapy sponge.

2.) Sprinkled baking soda all over and spritzed with cleaner (vinegar and water).

3.) I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. Then I scrubbed some more.

4.) I rinsed out the baking soda, sprayed with vinegar/water, and scrubbed again. Rinse.

5.) I got out my magic eraser and got at those tough spots. Rinsed and dried with a paper towel.

Here are my before and after pictures.

You can read in more detail about how and why to shine your sink on her website here.

If you missed my intro posts to why I’m describing cleaning my sink, you can read those here and here.

See you tomorow!

SPECIAL NOTE: I’m posting this on Sunday. I actually shined my sink on Friday and tried with all my might to post on Saturday. WordPress had other ideas and would not upload my pictures. Grrrr!!!!! (That’s the sound I make when I’m frustrated.) My post is up now and it’s all good. I’m posting Baby Step #2 today as well because I did that step yesterday. Ahh….. technology. We just do the best we can, right?