Clutter, chaos, and endless cleaning drain and take away the energy that we could spend on our favorite things and loved ones. Faced with this problem, the American Marla Scilly managed to overcome it and came up with her own system of putting things in order. She was named FLY Lady. This technique is about how to clean with love for yourself: so that this routine does not take up too much energy.
FLY is Finally Loving Yourself, that is, “Finally love yourself.” The literal translation looks like “flying lady”. The one who cleans with a smile and is brilliant at household time management. And at home, she always looks good, does not wear shapeless pajamas, knows how to relax, and spends the weekend with her loved ones. How to achieve this harmony?
General information about the Fly Lady cleaning system
According to Marley Seeley, there are two types of people:
- Organized by nature. They rarely have untidy, and they really do not understand how you can not deal with the mess.
- Unorganized, who always have something wrong with their lives. Unwashed dishes, unwashed linen, and unironed things lead them to despair, and the desire to change something disappears by itself. On weekends, they try to clean up, but it exhausts them and does not bring noticeable results.
It is for the second category that the Fly Lady cleaning system was created – a list of simple actions that will help put things in order at home and distract from unpleasant thoughts. Ideally, “flying ladies” should come to a complete rejection of general cleaning. Taking daily small steps towards cleanliness will help maintain order without arguing regular wars with chaos.
Marla Seeley wrote a complete plan, which is still sent to women by e-mail today and reminds them to take simple actions. Of course, American realities are somewhat far from Ukrainian ones, so the FLY Lady method needs to be adapted. How to love yourself and spend a minimum of energy on everyday life?
The FLY Lady Tidying System in Detail
This method is based on two simple principles:
- Get rid of rubbish;
- Keep moving forward in small steps.
How to get rid of the trash
You can’t fix it, you can only get rid of it. In the meantime, there will be a large number of things at home that no one uses, cleaning will look like shifting rubbish from one place to another, wiping it from dust, streamlining, etc.
Marla Seeley recommends leaving only what brings pleasure, what you really use. Everything else goes to the trash or to charity. She writes: “Your house did not become cluttered in one day and will not get rid of it in one night. ” This may even take months, especially if you are a conservative person, accustomed to not throwing anything away, but adding up “for a rainy day.”
In particular, the Fly Lady cleaning system provides the following techniques:
- Walk around the house and collect 20 unnecessary things.
- Collect trash for 15 minutes and get rid of it.
For the future, FLY Lady advises to consciously approach purchases and throw away, for example, old jeans in a timely manner if they are replaced by new ones. This not only frees up space but also reduces the amount of dust in your home.
Planned cleaning
In order not to arrange general cleaning and not recover after them for another whole week, FLY Lady advises you to perform small and simple actions, but every day. Just set a timer and clean for 15 minutes. This will help you not to get tired and not to lose inspiration.
The Fly Lady cleaning system has several tools to help make this process automatic:
- Division into zones
The “flying lady” divides the house into separate zones and cleans one of them every day for a week. The entire cleaning cycle is designed for 5 weeks, but in your case, it may be less – depending on the type and area of \u200b\u200bhousing.
- Entrance and dining room;
- Kitchen;
- Children’s room, toilet, and bathroom;
- Bedroom;
- Living room.
So in 5 weeks, we clean all corners of our housing. First, it is throwing away unnecessary things, and the next round will be devoted to more careful cleaning. For example, on one day – washing the floor, on the second – wiping the windowsill.
Cyclicity
All cases are not only divided into zones but also cyclical. That is, having finished cleaning the living room on Friday, from Monday you again go to the hallway, but this will no longer be throwing away the trash, but cleaning up. The newsletter that the FLY Lady site does offers a ready-made plan, but using this principle, you can create your own.
Interesting on the topic The Ultimate Guide to HD Window Cleaning and Tape Removal 2023
Planning
The Fly Lady cleaning system offers you to plan everything: from meetings and small things to the weekly menu and shopping list. In addition to the fact that you won’t lose anything this way, the checkmarks in front of even small things will motivate you.
Performing Routines
The author considers daily actions the main tool of the whole methodology. These are small things to do every morning and every evening. You can tailor them to your needs and lifestyle as you see fit. This is making the bed, wiping the mirror or kitchen surfaces, laying the laundry, ironing dry linen, etc. That is, superficial restoring order where necessary.
Follow the 15-Minute Rule
The Fly Lady system assumes that you will not spend too much time cleaning. Every day you need to allocate exactly 15 minutes for this lesson – no more and no less. For accuracy, you can turn on the timer. So unnoticed in a week, a whole 1 hour and 45 minutes of pure time will run up, spent only on cleanliness, and by Sunday your house will be transformed after a serious cleaning.
Journaling or Scheduler
The Fly Lady’s audit trail is a must-have tool because what is not written down will never be done. The Fly Lady system assumes that you will write down not only tasks for the week in it, but also plan pleasant things, such as a walk in the park, and record your feelings and emotions, as in a personal diary.
To do this, every day in the journal needs to be divided into three components:
- Plan for the current day, which will include household chores and other mandatory tasks (visit to the doctor, grocery shopping, jogging, etc.).
- Pleasant things should be included in the plan for each day as mandatory. For example, a walk, shopping, coffee with friends or a loved one.
- Your emotions from the day you experienced and plans for the future. Of course, this stage will not greatly affect the order in the house, but it will help to organize thoughts and clearly formulate short-term and long-term plans for life.
This motivates you to use your time rationally and helps you do more. Try it, and maybe this is exactly what you were missing in order to start competently planning business and leisure.
Appearance during cleaning
In her book, Marla Seeley talks specifically about the “work clothes” of a woman who does housework. Some of her advice may seem strange to us, such as wearing socks and lace-up shoes. In our country, of course, there is no tradition of wearing shoes at home, however, many points can be applicable and useful. After all, even while doing household chores, it is always nice to look neat and well-groomed, no matter what continent you are on.
So, spending a little time every day, you will see that there is more order at home, things are in their places, and the shelves in the closet are not cluttered with rubbish. At the same time, your weekends are completely free, and you can spend them as you wish, and not with a mop and a rag.
FAQs
- Is the FLY Lady Tidying System suitable for everyone?
Yes, the FLY Lady Tidying System is suitable for everyone, regardless of their cleaning habits or lifestyle.
- Can I adapt the FLY Lady Tidying System to fit my needs?
Yes, the FLY Lady Tidying System is designed to be flexible, so you can adapt it to fit your needs and lifestyle.
- How much time do I need to devote to the FLY Lady Tidying System each day?
The FLY Lady Tidying System encourages you to spend at least 15 minutes each day cleaning and decluttering your home. However, you can adjust the time to fit your schedule and needs.
- Can I use the FLY Lady Tidying System if I have a busy schedule?
Yes, the FLY Lady Tidying System is designed to be flexible and can be adapted to fit a busy schedule. The system encourages you to establish routines and focus on progress, not perfection.
- What if I still feel overwhelmed by clutter even after following the FLY Lady Tidying System?
If you still feel overwhelmed by clutter, you can seek help from a professional organizer or decluttering coach. They can provide additional support and guidance to help you achieve a clean and organized home.
