Happy July 1st, Friends.

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Welcome to a new month and a new Habit of the Month, Swish and Swipe. We are also decluttering and detail cleaning the front portion of our homes.
In the United States, we are also celebrating Independence Day on the 4th of July. Plan your Zone Missions accordingly, if you are having guests this week to celebrate the Holiday.
Here are you missions for the week:
Zone 1 Missions: The Front Porch, Entryway, and Dining Room
Monday – Declutter items from your front porch and entryway for 15 minutes
Tuesday – Declutter and sweep the front porch & wipe the front door
Wednesday – Declutter in the Dining Room
Thursday – Dust in the Dining Room
Friday – Dust and water house plants
Set your timers and then take a break when it goes off!
At the end of the week, we will be celebrating our country’s Independence Day. Take a few minutes today to plan something for your family at the end of the week. Tell your children about the significant of July 4th in American history.
If you have a place to go view fireworks, consider doing that as a family. We enjoy that each year on the 4th of July.
Celebrating Holidays and making memories is a way to bring your family together. I enjoy talking to my young adult children about their favorite memories from their growing up years. They also will make sure that I still do certain activities with their younger brothers during a specific holiday.
When we vacation, they enjoy playing board games or card games. It’s something that we do not do as much as we should when we are at home. If you don’t want to do anywhere for the 4th of July, consider having a family game night.
Have a wonderful day!
Weekly Menu Plan
Monday – Lasagna and Salad
Tuesday – Chicken and Rice
Wednesday – Seafood
Thursday – Leftovers
Friday – Take out
Enjoy your week! Keep your routines simple.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wash the sheets.
Your Zone Mission for Monday is to declutter items from the front porch and entryway.
My menu plan for Monday is lasagna and salad.
Have a blessed day!

Making your routines a priority in your day.

microwave-during

Dear Friends,

Thank you for continuing to share what you are doing and how your routines are going. I have heard from many of you this week. Keep up the great job with adding in new routines.

 

Someone asked about my homeschool schedule as she is working on the Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Routines. I thought there may be more of you who want to know the same thing.

 

How many of you struggle with being tired in the afternoons after your homeschool morning? Is that also where you have your zone missions and home blessings placed in your day?

 

When I start back with our homeschool schedule, I put the morning routine, zone mission, and home blessing on the front end of the day. The boys know what time school is going to start. So they have to get up, eat, and get dressed first.

 

Then, we check the zone mission and home blessing for the day. We do it quickly, and they know if they have time when that is finished and before the time to start school, they can play.

 

They also know that they get free time to play in the afternoons after school is finished. So they are motivated to move along. There is nothing worse for the child who dragged his or her feet through a lesson to see siblings playing in the afternoon while they finish their lessons.

 

If I put the zone missions and home blessing in the afternoon, many times they did not get done, or I was doing the in the evening after dinner.

On the days that we have a morning appointment or regularly scheduled event, the home blessing and zone mission can be done later in the day or combined on the next day.

 

If you only get three zone missions done per week, you are still going to see clutter leave your home. It’s optimal to do five zone missions per week, but I know it can be difficult when you get back to your homeschool schedule.

 

Your home blessings need to be regular, and if you struggle with a particular one or two, I want you to put those on a day that you know you will be home and knock them out.

 

For those who wondered why I picked the graphic above, it’s a reminder to check your microwave and give it a quick wipe before the weekend.

 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

Today’s Zone Mission is to have hot spot fire drill in the living room and family room.

 

Your Home Blessing for today is to take off the trash, sweep, and mop.

 

My menu plan for Friday is chef’s surprise!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Siggie - Tami Fox

Chasing Away the Dust Bunnies

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Today we are going to work on the lower part of our living rooms. Yesterday we worked on the higher parts of it. Today we are going to detail clean the baseboards, the corners, and under the furniture. Enlist help for moving the furniture.
One of the big benefits of decluttering and detail cleaning is that you do not have to work hard doing your Weekly Home Blessings. One of the big stumbling blocks you encounter to vacuuming, sweeping, and dusting is that you have to spend precious time picking up stuff before you start.
Teaching your children to pick up behind themselves and putting things away once or twice a day will make a huge impact on how your home looks and how easy you can start your Home Blessings.
Your home will start to feel like you are staying in a vacation rental as you do your zone missions. You will take care of the nice little details and feel joyful doing it.
Play games with your children as you do your missions. Teach them that blessing their home by picking up and decluttering is a joy! You have the ability to help your children look at home blessings a whole new way.
If you find your attitude is slipping toward a negative zone, then stop yourself and remind yourself of the happiness you feel when you look at your shiny sink in the kitchen. You want your whole house to make you feel this way. When you change your attitude to a positive attitude, it will spread to your family.
Many people have commented on my social media posts about lack of support from their husbands. I will tell you what I have heard The FlyLady say many times. “Change starts with you. Your family did not sign up for FlyLady.” So you will influence their changes by starting with you.
As you move your furniture today to clean under it, think about other ways you might arrange your Living Room furniture.
Your Zone Mission today is to declutter the dust bunnies from your living room and family room.
Your Home Blessing for today is to toss paper and magazines.
My menu plan for Thursday is freezer surprise.
Have a blessed day!

What new routine are you working on this summer?

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
What’s the one new thing you are doing with your routines this summer? I enjoyed hearing from many of you last week, and this week, I want to know what you focusing on for the summer.
When my children were little, I used our summer break as a time to train them on new skills. The older ones were ready for new responsibilities, and the younger ones needed to learn new things. It was a rite of passage for them.
My youngest two are 15 and 12, and they can do pretty much everything around the house. They are not great cooks, but they can do some basic things.
My youngest has taken the longest to pass things on with having so many older siblings. I remind him that one day he will be the main one helping me until he gets a job. (smile)
As my children transition into college classes or part-time jobs, they don’t do as much around the house. But they do pitch in when they are there. They also still do their own laundry and wash their bedding.
Remember if you are training very young children, you need to encourage them and reward them. You want to make learning how to take care of their things and your home a blessing to them. We made charts and used stickers. Once they had a certain number of stickers, we had a reward. I really tried for it to be a weekly reward out of the house.
Your children want your time and want you to play with them, so if money is tight for rewards, you can use game time with mom as a reward. You can have a pizza and movie night at home as a reward. You don’t have to be extravagant with the rewards. Mine were happy with fishing excursions.
Tell me what routine you are working on this summer. I really do want to know.
Your Zone Mission today is to dust along the tops of doors and windows.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe windows and mirrors.
My menu plan for Wednesday is clean out the freezer snacks night.
Have a blessed day!

Getting Rid of Clutter and Peace

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
How are you doing on your decluttering journey? As you continue to clear and maintain flat surfaces, you will start to feel peace in your home. Anxiety will start to melt away as you look around your home and enjoy the scene before you.
Some of you are seeing the fruits of your labor in decluttering, and some of you are just starting your journey. No matter where you are in your decluttering journey, you can enjoy your progress.
When my home goes through a process of purging and moving things around it is much like a puzzle. We shift and move things from one area to another when we switch rooms around.
There are days when things might sit in an area until we can make a decision on where it goes. So my house does not look perfect during the process. Overall, it looks great, but if you wanted to be picky, you could find things that need to be put somewhere else.
Letting go of my perfectionism has allowed me to be patient when we move things around, and when we move one person out of the house. I know the end result will be great, but it might take a few weeks to get there.
This approach allows me to steer clear of burn-out, and it keeps me from yelling and screaming about things being in my launch pad area or wherever they have landed temporarily.
When I prepared for my spring speaking trips, my launch pad area had things in it for several days. It was a part of my process, and when I returned home, I put everything away.
Using my routines and my zone missions help me declutter and purge a little at a time without stressing me out. Wherever you are in your journey, I want you to feel less stress, too.
Today, I want you to look around the Living Room and declutter anything that sits on a flat surface that does not belong. Use your timer for no more than 15 minutes. You can do your detail dusting as you move through the area.
Your Zone Mission today is to declutter stuff from the top of your bed that does not belong.
Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.
My menu plan for Tuesday is chicken and a salad.
Have a great day!

Winding Up June’s Missions

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
As we are wrapping up the month of June, we are moving into the last zone of the month. We will be decluttering and detail cleaning in the living room and family room, if you have one.
Zone 5 Missions: The Living Room and Family Room
Monday – let’s go sofa and chair diving.
Tuesday – declutter any knick knacks that are just sitting there and not bringing you joy when you look at them. Detail dust.
Wednesday – dust around the doors and windows.
Thursday – dust along the baseboards and under the furniture.
Friday – hot spot fire drill in the living room and/or family room.
Set your timers and then take a break when it goes off!
Do you have a lot of clutter that has accumulated in the living room or family room? If you don’t think you have much clutter in these rooms, I want to give you a challenge.
Take a picture of these rooms and then look at the picture. Do you see clutter in the pictures? Many times our brains get so used to looking around the clutter in our homes. We stop seeing it. When you take a picture, somehow, it just brings those cluttered areas right back into focus.
Look in the corners of these rooms. Look in any cabinets. Do you have extra stuff that is hidden in the room?
Do you have a closet in the living room or family room that has clutter in it? Spend a few minutes each day decluttering stuff from it. Start at the top and work your way down.
How do your flat surfaces look in the living room or family room? Flat surfaces are clutter magnets. We like to pile things on these flat surfaces. Spend 2 minutes a day decluttering them. Do it as a part of your evening routine. You will be surprised at how it makes your home look when you keep the flat surfaces clear of clutter.
Weekly Menu Plan
Monday – Mama’s Surprise
Tuesday – Chicken and Rice
Wednesday – Clean out freezer snacks (corn dogs, tots, pizza)
Thursday – Freezer routlette (what meat will we find to cook?)
Friday – Take out
Enjoy your week! Keep your routines simple.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wash the sheets.
Your Zone Mission for Monday is to go sofa and chair diving.
My menu plan for Monday is mama’s surprise.
Have a blessed day!

The First Step is the Hardest

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

 
Dear Friends,
Thank you for sharing your favorite FlyLady tips with me. I have a few more to share with all of you today.
From Lola:
My favorite isn’t exactly a tip. It’s the weekly home blessing. I enjoy spending one hour a week getting my entire house clean. My chores are swish and swipe, dust entire house, clean mirrors, glass doors and glass tabletops, vacuuming and mopping. I have an 1800 sq ft house and it only takes an hr a week to cover every room. I’ve decluttered my house so my tabletops have minimal items which makes dusting with a damp purple rag a breeze. And of course, I like the different zones each week.
If you have not done a Weekly Home Blessing Hour, I want you to do one soon. I loved the years when my schedule allowed me to do all of the Home Blessings at one time. With homeschooling and working, it is just better for me to spread them out throughout the week.
This next one is a recommitment to the FlyLady System from a reader.
I know in order to succeed in educating my kids, my house needs to be in order. I can’t spend all day flitting from one thing to another and getting nothing accomplished! I’ve known of FlyLady for several years, even referred friends to her who now love her methods, but I never stuck with them because I tried to do it all at once and burned out every time! But I’m going to try again, and follow the steps!
There are probably many of you in the same circumstances. Today is your new start on the Baby Steps. Shine your sink and get dressed down to the shoes.
It’s that easy to get started. You do not have to do everything at once. The key is to start.
A real life example in my life happened recently. The first step this the hardest step. Our minds work overtime to keep us from taking that first step.
Five weeks ago, I had a procedure on my knee to clean up the meniscus. I did the proper follow up advice from my doctor. I did physical therapy. This week I was able to start back to running a little at a time.
The first day I went out there, I knew I had to walk a bit to warm up. My mind worked overtime to keep me from taking the first step to running. I had to really push that out of my head. I told myself that I would never know if it hurt to run if I didn’t actually try it.
My goal was to just run for 30 seconds and see how it felt. I was able to do it without pain. I just keep alternating walking and running for 30 seconds up to 60 seconds at one time. I didn’t try to push or go fast.
As I wrapped up my second mile, I knew I had done enough. I did a little cool down walk. I felt great! The day after that I did the spin bike and swimming. The day after that I did run/walk intervals of 90 seconds each.
What I learned was that my mind played a big role in my running, and I had to take that first step.
Your routines are the same way. You need to take the first step!
Today’s Zone Mission is to declutter at the end of your bed.
Your Home Blessing for today is to take off the trash, sweep, and mop.
My menu plan for Friday is chef’s surprise!
Have a great weekend!

Favorite Tips from You!

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
Thank you to those who responded to my email yesterday asking for your tips for new readers. Please keep sending them! I want to share them with the rest of the readers.
This tip comes from Sylvette:
I have a lot of Fly Lady tips but I think the one that is the most helpful (with my 6 children home for the summer) « don’t start another load of laundry before the other one is folded & put away »
But, there is also the tip « clean up after yourself » that is particular helpful when I cook… I clean up before moving to the next step/recipe. So easy when you start with a sink of hot soapy water when you begin cooking!
Have a good day,
Both of these tips are great! Laundry is a big one for a lot of us, and it’s easy to forget a load in the washer or dryer. Use your timer and see it all the way through to getting them put away.
Cleaning up behind yourself is the habit that has helped me, too. You have so much less to do when decluttering when you make it a habit to put things away after you finish using them.
This next tip is from Cheryl:
My favorite time is treating myself if I’ve gotten my routines done. I like a chocolate or a piece of gum.
God Bless You,
Rewarding yourself is a big part of the FLyLady System. You will start to run on fumes if you continue to push through all of the time and don’t stop to rest or do something you enjoy.
Be kind to yourself and do something you enjoy for a reward today.
For those of you on summer break from homeschooling, remember to take time to play with your children. Don’t get so caught up on your summer list that you put off play time with the kids.
Your Zone Mission today is to declutter items from the right side of your bed.
Your Home Blessing for today is to toss paper and magazines.
My menu plan for Thursday is cube steak and gravy.
Have a blessed day!

Welcome New Readers!

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
The FlyLady talked about this newsletter on Tuesday on her morning video. Welcome new subscribers! My name is FlyLady Tami, and I have homeschooled my children since 2000. I have followed the FlyLady almost as long as that!
The FlyLady system worked for my large homeschooling family. I have six children, and I have graduated four of them from our homeschool. We live in western North Carolina. I would love to hear from you and would love to know what state you are in currently.
During the months of September through May, I give more homeschool tips that I do during the summer. In June and July, we tend to play a lot and enjoy some down time from bookwork. In August, I start gearing back up for a new homeschool year. So don’t feel like you aren’t hearing a lot about homeschooling until we get into August.
Each morning I send out an email with encouragement and the zone mission of the day. I also break down the Home Blessings throughout the week.
Menu planning is difficult for many, so I also share my daily menu plan with you.
Each Monday the email gives you the week at a glance. So you know what’s coming up for the week.
The missions are meant to only take 5 to 15 minutes a day. I do not want you decluttering for hours a day this summer.
For those of you who have been reading for a while, send me your favorite FlyLady tip. I want to share them with the new readers!
Your Zone Mission today is to declutter items from the left side of your bed.
Your Home Blessing for today is to wipe windows and mirrors.
My menu plan for Wednesday is soup and sandwiches.
Have a blessed day!

What do you do for summer fun?

Getting Organized:
In your Home and Homeschool 
 

Dear Friends,
What do you do for summer fun?
Here are 5 Fun Things to Do with Your Family:
Go swimming or have a water play day.
When the temperatures soar in the summer, we like to play in the water. We have set up water games in the yard, gone to a mountain creek, or gone swimming. You want to teach your children water safety, and one of the best ways to do that is to expose them to water. If they do not know how to swim, sign them up for swimming lessons.
Go for a hike in the woods.
We live in the middle of the woods, so the boys and I have ready access to walking in the woods whenever we want, but I have also taken them to various state parks and the mountains to hike in the forest. It’s a lot of fun to get out into nature and learn about trees and animals. By using shady paths, you are also able to stay cooler on a hot day.
Go fishing.
If you live near a lake or a stream, get some fishing poles and simple gear and go fishing. My boys love to fish, and I enjoy watching them fish. When they were little, it was more work for me to supervise them. Now that they are bigger, I can sit in the shade and just admire their catches as they reel them in. I also walk around a little bit as they are fishing for extra movement in my day and to talk to each of them as they are fishing.
Go biking.
Do your kids have bikes? Do you have one, too? Get out your bikes and helmets and go for a ride! Last week, my son rode his bike for 3 miles while I ran 3 miles. We had a lot of fun outside, and we both got in some good movement. We go to local places that do not have car traffic for safety purposes, and we pack our water bottles and go out and enjoy the ride.
Go bowling.
What about indoor movement? Some bowling centers offer inexpensive rates for kids to bowl in the summer. We have gone bowling on days when the temperature was too hot or when it was raining. Bowling is great exercise and a lot of fun. It builds muscles and coordination.
Your Zone Mission today is to declutter stuff from the top of your bed that does not belong.
Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.
My menu plan for Tuesday is chicken and a salad.
Have a great day!