FlyLady.net is rocking my world!

I started FLYing a little over a week ago. I'm still taking tiny baby steps, BUT I've already seen giant step results!

I happened to sign up when the zone was the kitchen. This is the zone in my house that had the best opportunity to make a major impact with minimal effort. It is the first room anyone sees coming through the back door, and we never use our front door.

Shining that sink was key! Then the dishes just disappeared from the counter. The kitchen table became a horizontal surface instead of a heap of STUFF 15 minutes at a time. Then the stuff on the floor found its way to the rooms it belonged in. I felt a great sense of accomplishment, but that was just the beginning.

First my next-door neighbor (male) came over. My neighbors are the only people who ever see the CHAOS in my house. He said the kitchen looked really good. I happily thanked him for the compliment. It was possibly the first compliment on my house I've ever received that wasn't immediately preceded by an exhausting marathon cleaning session. Plus, he's a guy, and not known to be particularly observant.

The next day, his girlfriend (BO) came over and said the kitchen looked great. I thanked her, knowing she wouldn't say such a thing if she didn't mean it. She manages to be BO, polite, and tactful, all at the same time, instead of critical of those of us who are learning.

Then the following day, my DH and I came home from somewhere and he said, "I really like the way the kitchen looks. It feels like home." I thanked him most sincerely and said, "That's the point of what I'm doing." This was the best compliment I could have received, ever!

His mom is BO, but he didn't inherit that particular quality from her. My mom is a Payroll SHE who owns Pam and Peggy's original book and has a dusty set of 3x5 cards in a box somewhere, unused for well over a decade. I am a Payroll SHE in the new century, and I have FlyLady to help me!

On one of my first couple of days FLYing, I asked DH specifically if he'd be willing to help me for 15 minutes one day and he gave me a look like I'd asked him to donate a kidney. I said, "Ok, nevermind, you don't have to," and meant it. By the end of my first week, though, he is starting to pick up after himself and help me out almost without realizing it. He's seen results and he likes what he sees so far. The clean sink is spreading!

And now this week, the zone includes the bathroom and one other room, specifically the home office. The office is by far my worst room ever! I have so much paper clutter that it literaly looks like a mail truck exploded in there. I can't wait to see the results I get! Even if it's not ship-shape like the kitchen, the dent I make will be impressive.