Getting Back to My Routines and Some Advice.

When I was sick over the last month or so, I really got out of all my good habits.  I tried not to pick up any new bad habits to make things worse though.

I had been cleaning my kitchen every night and making sure that sink was shined.  I had a routine of when the dishwasher was emptied and reloaded and run etc. I had a great routine with laundry going so no one was ever out of anything and there were no wild scrambles in the morning for socks or underwear or just the right outfit etc. In fact the girls had complained they had TOO MANY socks. HAH.  Not possible.

But those two main routines that seemed to make the house run on autopilot, were the ones that ended up going totally off track. It did prove my theory though... if the kitchen is a mess when one of the kids goes into it... then they don't care about making a bigger mess.  But when I kept it clean, they'd usually clean up after themselves.  Maybe it's because they didn't want to be the one to blame for any messes if the rest of the kitchen is clean. When it's already messy... well it just blends in I guess. The kitchen was so messy one night that I just didn't want to try to make/pack lunches for everyone in it and just put money onto their school lunch accounts and told Hubby to use the debit card.  That's exactly the kind of spending I did not want to get back into the habit of doing.  So it has to stop.

Also, I had hubby telling me he was wearing his last pair of clean underwear.  That kind of news makes you kind of HAVE to get back on track of get laundry caught up.

So, last night and today (and tonight) I've been washing all the stuff that was on the buffet and was dusty and dingy.  Now it's all shiny clean again and I'm finding either display places for the nicer pieces or finding a new purpose for the more utilitarian pieces. I don't want to toss anything as it's all pretty sentimental stuff, so trying to use/display everything but not have it just become clutter. Regular dishes are back on track and I've routinely gotten them washed and put away when they should be. Counters are clean and lunches will be a snap to make quickly and pack up.

I FINALLY took the clothes out of the dryer that had been there for FOUR days!  I NEVER used to let that happen. (well once upon a time I'd leave stuff in the washer for days to sour and mildew and ruin... but those days are in the long dead past. Not going back to that ever.) Even though my back is killing me today for some reason (delayed reaction from moving stuff and vacuuming the living room?)  I stood there and folded and hung everything from the dryer. Then I had the hampers all brought to me, sorted it all into the sorters and tossed a load into the washer.  It still amazes me how much these sorters can hold.  I emptied all the hampers and there's no piles of dirty clothes in the floor. Awesome!

Currently the dryer has just stopped again and I need to fold/hang those, reboot the laundry, and try to get all the sorters emptied tonight, washed, dried and folded/hung.  I had the girls and Hubby bring me empty hangers, but I'm non convinced there's enough to hold it all. I think hangers disappear more than odd socks do in this house.

So, anyway the two big things that keep this house hold running smoothly are back on track.  It's curious how just a clean kitchen and continually well stocked dresser drawers and closets can make or break a household.

If you're reading this and in total CHAOS and trying to figure out why you can't get things together... take some advice from FlyLady - Go shine your sink.  Right now. Seriously just clean it out and get it as sparkling as you can. Then make a promise to yourself and KEEP IT  that you'll never go to bed without it being sparkling clean for at least one week...  you will be AMAZED at what just that one task can do to the rest of the house.  It's like the shiny sink makes you want everything to be shiny and sparkling and cleared off. (the family starts to "get it" too - usually.)
Next: Do one load of laundry every day.  Completely.  Wash it, DON'T FORGET IT, Dry it, DON'T FORGET IT AGAIN, Take the clothes out before they get all wrinkly and do not take them anywhere.  Right there in your laundry room, FOLD them and HANG them.  If you don't have a bar to hang them, then put them on hangers and lay them in a stack til you can pick them up and go hang them where they go.  Just do one load a day for a week (you can do more if you want, but don't get burnt out cause you still need to do ONE LOAD every day.)  Then take care of the stacks of folded clothes. Holler at kids to come get theirs,  take yours and Hubby/wife's and put them away. Then pat yourself on the back for getting it done! It's a really satisfying feeling.
It's that addictive feeling of accomplishment that keeps me doing the laundry all week. Seeing it go from dirty and crumpled in the hamper to hung up on the bar or folded neatly and put into the kids' cubbies for them to get when they wake up.


So, right now I need to get to the dryer before they wrinkle.  Have a great day and weekend!!

PS. Check out  Flylady.net ! She saved my sanity, my marriage, my home and quite possibly my life. She brought me out of a very dark place. She can definitely help you, but you have to let her. Just do the baby steps. It's free and she makes it fun.