D'vorahDavida
Yetzirah

Alas. My brain has turned to mush at last.

I will however share my little brain storm from earlier in the week.

In a fit of spring cleaning fervor, I went and signed up again with the Fly Lady web site.
I re-read a few things and looked over her lists and started getting the daily reminders for housekeeping chores.

But this time it just wasn't cutting the mustard for some reason. This alarmed me in no small measure, so I slept on it, and in the middle of the night came up with an idea.

Next morning I got a large tablet and proceeded to work my way through the house making a list of things that need to be done on a regular basis. Here are some examples of what made it on the list:

Clean and straighten the phone area
Clean out the cookie sheet cupboard
Wash off the washer and dryer
Clean the cat box corner
Wash kitchen window

All these chores take 5 to 15 minutes to do.

Then I made a list of other kinds of chores that will take more like 45 min to an hour:

Clean stove top and oven
Clean out the spice cupboard
Straighten linen closet

That kind of thing.

So I printed out some little patterns on the computer and cut them up. I wrote my chores on them, (there are about 125 of them) I stuck them in two boxes...

[album 65561 boxes4.JPG]

Every day I pick a project out of the box with the short chores.
Once a week, when I know I have the time, I pick one from the long chore box.

They are upside down, so I just get whatever is next on the pile. No picky choosy stuff.

Then I put that bit of paper in another box of 'done' chores so as to take them out of the mix.

So far I am liking my solution. I figure in a four month period, I will have gone over the whole house. It is kind of fun to see what comes out of the box and I know I only have one to do, so I don't feel overwhelmed. AND since this is the program, I also feel a sense of 'alrighty, that's done'. And I can move on to other things without the nagging sense of doom that can come upon the lone housekeeper.

This is SO far from my old way of doing things. I used to be one of those.... "Let's take ALL the furniture out of this room and clean for 6 hours straight! Now THAT'S housekeeping!" kind of people. Come to think of it, when I was doing that kind of cleaning..... I had helpers.... ah, I remember helpers.....

Frankly these days that kind of thinking sounds dangerous and subversive.

So, my dear friends and readers that's my bit of personal insight for the week.

I pass it on free of charge.

Feel free to mock, emulate, or ignore, as is your wont.