Live to Love and Laugh: Progress is Progress

One of the great things about FLYlady is that she encourages Baby Steps. Sometimes I feel like there is no way I can make a huge difference just working for 2-5 minutes on an area at a time. But wow! It really does. Just looking around, the little areas that are now clear of the usual clutter seem to actually brighten up the room and make it seem larger! See for yourself in my progress pictures below.
It is amazing how the littlest bit of progress can bring a smile to my face and give me that warm fuzzy feeling that leads to motivation for me! For example, FLYlady starts with a shiny sink. I am happy to announce that my sink has been dishes free and shiny 24-7 for a little over 2 weeks now! Coming home and walking into my kitchen only to find it CLEAN makes me feel good. I used to come home to clutter (which was made worse by us dropping whatever we brought with us in the usual "Hot Spots"), and dishes in the sink or on the counter. Walking into "that" kitchen after being gone made me feel so "UGH." I would say "Man, I need to clean this kitchen." But then would walk out, only to not return until time to cook. And then I dreaded cooking because I knew I had to actually wash a pan to be able to use, or clean stuff up to be able to find a spot in my sink or on my counter to cook. But now, when I walk into my kitchen, my shiny sink and clean counters seem to say "Welcome Home!!"
And then my living room, I had a few spots that were cluttered - the corner where the baby stuff that was only used occasionally, Carissa's bookshelf of movies, puzzles, and coloring books, the end table where the car seat and diaper bags and everything else got dumped, Carissa's "play zone" where all her toys somehow ended up, and the mantel (just to name a few). I have slowly been making progress in this room, and it seems to brighten up the room and make it feel so much more welcoming. My Hot Spot that I finally finished today was my mantel. I actually LOVE looking at our mantel now! I keep admiring it ... where as before, it was something I wish I could hide.
One of our newest FLYing lessons is Making our Bed! I was horrible about making it! Mostly because I wasn't getting out of it until I had to jump into my "Mommy Job" and never made it back. Now when I get up, David is usually still in the bed and I lay Kathryn on my side after she nurses and goes back to sleep while I start my day. But I have started making it part of my routine to go back in and make it after breakfast - which is when the bed is finally empty. It doesn't matter how clean my room is, if the bad is bad .. the whole room looks bad. And vice versa. I still have clutter and other areas to finish in my room, but having my bed made makes my whole room look 10x better! Much like my shiny sink seems to smile at me, so does my made bed. I walk into my room periodically through the day, and am greeted with yet another warm welcome - this time from my bed. It is a wonderful feeling walking from room to room and having happy feelings throughout - not dreading looking in a room. For once, I didn't hurry to shut my bedroom door when my family was over today! This making the bed habit is also starting to work with Carissa. Every morning when I go to get her when she wakes up, we "make bed." She repeats "make bed" over and over while she helps me pull the sheets up to her pillow! And if she wakes up before I've made mine, she says "make mommy's bed" ... so she helps me make mine! One day I forgot to make hers, and no sooner had we made it to the living room and she said "make bed."
I am thrilled that I am learning good housekeeping practices that I can teach my children at such a young age - in hopes that someday they will be able to keep up their own homes for their families. :)

And our newest assignment for today was to set a bed time and stick to it!
My official bedtime is 11pm. Kathryn seems to consistently wake up between 6:30-7, so if I can get in bed by 11, I should get a good 7.5-8 hours of sleep (if she sleeps all night). Right now, because she is not on a permanent routine yet, I will abide by a bedtime between 11-12, and take baby steps to work to being in bed by 11pm! :) ...
With that being said, it is 11:30 ... so I am off to bed.

Enjoy my progress report pictures!

Room Rescue #1 - Before