How FlyLady is Going

We've been doing our version of the FlyLady since we moved into our own place together in 2021 and we carried on doing it when we moved from a flat into a small house.  I've adapted what we clean in each zone to work for us and they really are 'zones' for us rather than rooms as our living space is all open plan, except for the bathroom.  I've also now written them out on index cards, rather than have them all digital so that both of us can easily see what needs to be cleaned that week.  Otherwise, this is how it's been going.

A big part of FlyLady is decluttering each zone as you clean and we have been doing that.  I do still feel that we have too much stuff in our little home, but we do use /enjoy/ have a purpose for everything that we have right now.  We just need to make sure we keep this up so that it doesn't become too cluttered in the future.  It doesn't help that there is a whole lot of stuff that came as part of our rented accommodation and which we've had to put into the storage areas we do have, which means that there are more things out than I would like.

Then there's the tidying, which I try to do daily whilst reminding myself that it's a lot quicker to just put it away straight away in the place that we've designated for it.  If there's anything that needs to go up or down stairs I leave it on the stairs and as I move between the levels I carry the items to where they belong.  It only takes a few seconds, but it really has helped keep our home a tidy-looking place to live in.

The rest is about cleaning, with the main areas being cleaned every week and the more in-depth zone cleaning done on rotation.  Though this means I'm not dusting or hoovering all the areas every single week I find that the floors always look clean (apart from right beside the front door) and there is little enough dust that I don't have to worry about it setting off my allergies.  The house as a whole always looks tidy and clean, and that means I can enjoy being at home without having to stress about what needs to be cleaned.

So the FlyLady has turned out to be quite a good find when it comes to keeping on top of the cleaning and tidying, without getting overwhelmed.  It also works really well with how my brain works as I don't have to concentrate on one thing for too long a time, which usually leads to me not doing it very well.  I will definitely be carrying on this system no matter where we live.  After all, who doesn't want to live in a tidy, clean home without having to put too much effort into it.