AnneLine Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I'm ready to start learning to FLY for Lent. ~~~~~ + ~~~~~ A little background:. A few years ago, I wanted something to do for Lent. It was a few days before Lent started, and I wondered what I might do this year. I like to add something, a positive habit, that I can keep going after Lent. Just surfing around, one of the websites I looked at was the FLYLady website run by Marla Cilley. She was encouraging her readers to take on a February habit of decluttering 15 minutes a day. She'd actually had posted a meter on her website for people to put in how many POUNDS of stuff they had gotten rid of! And people were flinging hundreds of pounds of stuff! I thought, THAT is a good idea--a fun idea! YES!!! I'll add spending 15 minutes a day decluttering things as my Lenten habit! And I decided to start that day. Tossed a lot of pounds of stuff in 15 minutes! The next day (no doubt with a nudge from the Holy Spirit), as I was posting my 'pounds', I noticed that she had a '31 day quick start' plan to 'learn to FLY'. I did a quick finger count, and realized that if I started on Ash Wednesday and worked the steps Mondays through Fridays... I would just finish the 31 days in mid-Holy Week. Seemed perfect for Lent, so I decided to try it. I committed to God that I would take the FLY Lady challenge for Lent. ~~~~~ + ~~~~~ I opened the link each day, and did what she said to do. Even if I felt pretty silly... or irked... or downright mad at what was proposed, I did it. And I didn't peek to see what was coming next. And there were DEFINITELY days..... This was CERTAINLY not what I had expected! But I'd promised God..... ~~~~~ + ~~~~~ I realized pretty quickly that it wasn't about the decluttering or organizing... About a week into it, I started to notice a LOT of stuff was changing ... And I could feel God working.... By Easter, things were very different.... and I was grateful... and I have stayed grateful for almost 4 years. She's changed my life. CONFESSION TIME: BUT... I've got a confession to make. I've fallen off the wagon. I've gotten sloppy and lazy.... and developed an attitude of "I don't wanna... and you can't make me!" Not exactly a good attitude, spiritual or temporal. I want to change. I want to get my life back. ...... I want to get re-centered on God and the things that really matter. I need to rediscover the power of going slower and making time for God and myself. Basically, I need to take this challenge again. And I'd love some company. So..... I'm going to post FLYLady's daily baby steps on this thread, and then I'll share my experience with you. Maybe even tie it in with some spirituality... and it doesn't have to be about cleaning a house, either. it can be a room, or organizing your work space, or getting better study habits set up. Really. You can personalize this.. If anyone wants to join me, feel free to jump in.... let's learn to FLY together! I'll start posting the first day's challenge in about 2 hours.... want to give anyone who wants to jump in with a comment a chance to do so!!!! And a blessed Lent to EVERYONE!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) OK... Now we start. I'm just going to post it and then scoot out to Mass and Ashes.... and will give you some pheedback later..... ~~~~ + ~~~~~ Ash Wednesday FLY LADY's 1st day Shine your sink before you go to bed. (NOTE: If you don't have a kitchen sink, choose something else to straighten up.... a desk, a bed, your bathroom sink.) Just choose something.... Edited February 13, 2013 by AnneLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfink Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I'm in. I'll be straightening my desk. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xTrishaxLynnx Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 My desk is really messy and I spend at least 9-10 hours a day here, so I think I should start with that as well. I've been putting it off for a week now. No more! Pics to follow later tonight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I'm also doing a Flylady declutter for Lent. Most of it is going to be at my mom's house for awhile (she's moving), but I'll try to make up the time on my house on the days I'm not working on hers. (I was working on hers today-- got rid of tons of stuff, furniture and lots of odds and ends). Too tired to work here today. Tomorrow, though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Good, I am not alone! :) Will be moving enough dishes OUT of the sink to shine it very soon... and leaving it that way at the end of the day. ARFink has promised to tell me how to post pictures, but I'll send him one to post for us.... and trust me, my house is NOT real-estate-showcase ready by any means..... Thank you all for stepping up... and plenty of more space here. Everyone who is taking baby steps to get their lives back in synch is welcome here.... Praying for all of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) Was truly astonished to find this in my email box from FLYLady today...... (she sends out a daily 'plan' and email testimonials, etc. Will tell you more about these in a few days....) BUT I had to share this one with all of you!!! xTriciaxLynnx and homeschoolmom -- this one is directly on point for your part of our challenge! I guess I'm WE'RE not the ONLY one who uses FLYLady for Lent!!!! ======================================================= Dear Friends, Every year at this time New Orleans Fat Tuesday is the kick-off for the Lenten season. We are going to focus on getting rid of our clutter for the next 40 days. We got this great testimonial once about getting rid of a box of clutter each day. Imagine that 40 boxes of clutter removed one day at a time. Along with taking something away from our home; we are going to add something beautiful to our Bedtime Routine. More on that later! Here is the testimonial: One BabyStep at a time! Peace is Mine! Dear FlyLady, I set myself a challenge based on some discussions at the beginning of Lent - I decided to get rid of 40 boxes/bags or items over the course of Lent. And I took on 40 items from my to-do list as well. And since tomorrow is Easter - I wanted to let you know how I fared. 42 boxes, bags or items (that don't fit in a box or bag) have left my house. With an average 10 lbs per item, my guess is that about 420 lbs have left my house.... I have a few more boxes staged to go out - but they haven't left yet... some went as donations, some were garbage. 24 items are off my "to-do" list. So I didn't quite get where I wanted. But I did take care of 18 other items that made it on and off "the list." So all in all, I did move 42 items off or through my "to-do" list. What I learned - with a little extra effort every week - I did manage to get rid of a fair amount of stuff - more than my goal. With a little extra effort every week, I was able to finish or get rid of some things that had been on my "to-do" list for a long time - some 12 years old, some more recent. The best part - the mental guilt is gone for what I finished. Some things took less than 15 minutes, some took much longer. And while some things aren't done (which is why I can't count them yet) I made progress on them so they will be done soon, sooner than if I hadn't focused on them at all. I can hardly wait to redo my list on Easter Monday and know that it just isn't the same list from February. It's been one of the best Lent experiences ever - the routines and the discipline of working day after day on stuff and to do list items and the goals - times when I thought I'd seen no progress but I checked, I was 25% into Lent and 25% through my goal at the same time. It just didn't look like much. And for a long time, I'd work and work and never see any progress and then suddenly, 4 or 5 things would come off the list, or 16 boxes would make it to Goodwill... This has been long, but my message is - don't give up. It looks insurmountable but by working some on it regularly, you can make a big difference over time. Thank you, as always, for the inspiration and the tools to help make it work. And thanks, as always, for listening. It helps. It really, really helps. Thanks, T....... - a FlyBaby in Northern Illinois Are you ready to FLY though 40 Boxes in 40 Days! Your home is going to hug you for this! For more help check out our Decluttering Section on our website. FlyLady ======================================================= Edited February 14, 2013 by AnneLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 :hehe: Yeah, I got that, too. I wonder if the donation pick-up trucks get extra busy during Lent... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) :hehe: Yeah, I got that, too. I wonder if the donation pick-up trucks get extra busy during Lent... rotfl I guess it is a combo of fasting (from crud) and almsgiving (giving to the poor)... and some heartfelt prayers (Oh Lord, do I "REALLY" have to give this thing up? I havn't used it for 20 years, but it MIGHT come in handy....!) ROTFL Edited February 14, 2013 by AnneLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xTrishaxLynnx Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Well this turned out to be more of a project than I expected and ended up spilling over into cleaning my whole little "office area," so it's not finished, but I definitely did more than 15 minutes of work and I can see my desk again! :) Pics will have to be tomorrow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) Uh huh... know what that one is like, Tricia. If you can see your desk, I'm impressed. I think I'm going to get a box and set what is on mine in that and sort it tomorrow. Kind of a semi-cheat.... Funny story to share with you about 5 years ago when I did the Challenge for the first time. You need to know that my husband works ODD hours. He works for a major car rental company at SF Airport, and they're on a 7 day-per-week, 24/hour-a-day schedule. At that point he was working the early morning shift, and got up about 4 AM. I, on the other hand, was working from home back then, and my work schedule ENDED at about 2 am. And I'd stay up a bit longer just to unwind. Very often we were like ships passing in the night... exchanged a few words and hugs as we exchanged sleeping/coffee making space. But that was the night I found FLYLady.... and so I decided, yup, I am going to shine my sink. The sink (as usual) had been filled with tons of dishes, and the counters, same stuff. No room to move!!!! But I put the stuff away and cleaned it all up. And it did indeed look beautiful And it SMELLED beautiful. That kitchen was a work of art! And I was ADMIRING it!!!! I had just sat down, and was feeling pretty proud of myself when I heard my husband, Mr. AnneLine, come down the stairs. He walked into the kitchen and literally did a double take and just stared, mouth open. He looked at the kitchen, looked at me, looked a the kitchen, turned on the coffee water, and just kind of walked into the living room and collapsed in our big green chair. It really was VERY funny! We laughed about it later when he told me that in his sleepy state, he'd wondered if he was in the wrong house! MAY WE ALL HAVE SUCH PROBLEMS!!!! I've been trying to keep the kitchen clean most nights since the new year (well, maybe not THAT ^^^ clean), and I will shine it tonight, but I think I'm going to also take a leaf from ARFink's and Tricia's book and spend some time cleaning off my desk. The desk really is the 'sink' area of my office, and I do need to get it into shape. I'm going to just spend about 10 mins cleaning what I can get done in that much time, and then stop. Even if it isn't totally done, it will be better than when I started. And I'm praying for all of you while I do it!!!!! Blessed Lent to everyone! Edited February 14, 2013 by AnneLine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Thursday after Ash Wednesday Good morning, everyone! Well, last night I got most of my dishes done, and I shined my sink. Got some of the kitchen counters cleared off. Left the rest. It's really hard to just stop and say, "I've done enough for today." But that is part of what I have to learn: when and how to stop, and when and how to keep going. NOT my kitchen... but a pretty fair stand-in one... Sounds like almost all of us are in the same place -- about 1/2 way through Wednesday's task. And that is JUST FINE... becaise today's task REALLY something you will do tomorrow morning. So.... if you need a little more time for your sink or the equivalent, you can spend another 15-30 minutes on it during the day, and just shine it again before bedtime. BUT, if you aren't done, just stop and leave some for the next day. No one will call the police. Really. FLYLady's 2nd Day Today we add the second step of the challenge. You need to plan this one for TOMORROW: First thing in the morning, get up and get dressed right away. Now you have two things to each day: Get up and dress to lace up shoes; fix hair & face Shine your sink before you go to bed "IF TODAY YOU HEAR GOD'S VOICE, HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 The cleaning the sink task has always been hard for me. Our sink is always a mess-- always. The office is where I'm spending my 15 minutes today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xTrishaxLynnx Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 So this is a cumulative thing? Like we will do each thing we've done to this point every day? :o Or is this just the beginning / foundation to start good habits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xTrishaxLynnx Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) Actually, now that I think about it, that shouldn't be so bad. Seems like most times it will just be a series of quick pickups to make sure it doesn't get as bad as it was on day 1... and getting "dressed to shoes" everyday wouldn't be a bad idea either :smile3: Although I currently do not usually do so since I work from home. Edited February 14, 2013 by xTrishaxLynnx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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