I wrote yesterday on facebook that flylady made me a happier mommy. If you've never heard of flylady.com, you should definitely check it out! Flylady is a positive, uplifting site that helps you get your home and life organized. A big part of it is simple short routines to keep things in order. I'm one of those people that often just stares at my mess and feels overwhelmed and doesn't know where to start. Or I feel like if I can't do it all and do it right, then why bother starting.
I feel much less stressed about my home now. When it is messy, I'm not overwhelmed at all and I don't feel guilty about it anymore either. I guess feeling guilty about your own space is a little bit crazy, isn't it? Anyway, having a routine is daunting and I don't always feel like doing it.
With Brenna starting school again, I started thinking the other night about our miserable mornings. Miserable because I was always repeating myself and getting upset because she drags her feet and gets distracted. Taking longer and we end up rushing out the door frustrated with each other. So I was having trouble sleeping and I thought about flylady and our morning routine. I ended up typing up a morning and bedtime routine for Brenna. It's very simple and only has about 5 steps for each. I hung it in her bedroom and she was thrilled! I made a more simplified one for Cailyn with pictures and she was glad to be included. But it has made our mornings so much less stressful. And Brenna thanked me over and over for letting her do it herself!
On both girls' bedtime routines, it includes a "minute pick-up." They both got a timer and their number of minutes depends on their age, so 6 minutes for Brenna and 3 for Cailyn. I don't ask them to have their rooms spotless, just that they spend those minutes picking up everything they can. They have been amazed at all they can do in just those few minutes and have a sense of accomplishment and pride in what they've done.
Yes, I am a much happier mommy!
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