I’ve done the FLY Lady thing for a couple of weeks now.  I probably am a perfectionist, but I’m not freaking that I don’t have the house 100%.  I don’t fit into the BO (Born Organized) realm, but I’m not as cluttered as Jenny Crusie’s office either. Somewhere in the middle.

I do have distinct ideas on which way the toilet paper roll should be mounted (one way just feels better than the other), and, luckily hubby puts it on the same way as me (usually), so nothing else really matters.  I don’t feel compelled to refold clothes someone else has folded.  I do try to fold things the way I know hubby prefers them.  He has definite ideas on how things should be done.  We’ve been talking in preparation for living together again.  I think he understands that when he criticizes how I do things too much, he inherits that task, because how something is done is not that critical to me as long as it gets done.  He’s gotten better, because he knows he really can’t do it all himself (he figured that out last time we lived together and virtually the only household task I would do was lawn care.  He periodically commented on that.).

The last few times I’ve been home, he’s allowed me to do the laundry and load the dishwasher.  He didn’t mind when I cleaned the bathroom, either.  He still has his preferences, but I think he understands now that if he wants help, he needs to let some things go.  We both have lived alone for a long time, so the preferences are understandable.  We’re discussing these things and more in an effort to make this next time at living together go more smoothly (since we’ll both be retired now, and I won’t get another assignment in a couple of years).

FLY Lady has zones for each week.  We’re getting ready for the Kitchen this week.  Last week was the front entry and dining room.  The week before was the master bedroom and bath.  I was good with a morning and evening routine before getting started.  I also have a good handle on laundry.  For each of the zones, I’ve spent on average 15 minutes per day doing little things.  I washed the front door this week.  Wow.  Does it look great.  Everything isn’t de-cluttered, but I’m seeing tremendous improvement with just the little bit I’ve been doing.  (Amazingly, hubby has followed this practice for years — he just has a lot more clutter.)  I like it, because I don’t feel like I’m always cleaning, but I have been making a point to keep each little bit going.

For instance, I’ve done a good job of keeping the sink clean.  That means I make sure I store the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.  As it fills up during the week, I run it, and the next morning, I unload it after feeding the dog and before I go to work.  It takes about two minutes.  Then I’m ready to put dirty dishes right into it that night, so the sink stays clean.

Horizontal surfaces collect everything.  Getting them cleared off and keeping them cleared off is a challenge.  Fifteen minutes a day is helping with that.  Last week I thought it was kitchen week, so I got a headstart.  I looked over the sneak peak and realized I’d done most of the things that the week calls for.  I did have the refrigerator to clean out, so I spent about fifteen minutes pulling stuff out of the fridge that just weren’t going to be eaten or that had been in there too long.  I washed one shelf.  I’ll get the others later.

And what does this do?  It creates momentum that’s helping me get back to writing and revising.  If nothing else, I’m spending fifteen minutes each day working on the Twilight revision.