Day 19 & 20: Slowing Down!

  I'm losing momentum a little here, but I am confident the basics are there and it is purely a sense of perfectionism that is telling me I'm not keeping up!  Keeping up with what?  No-one said the 31 Babysteps HAD to be done consecutively, or that I even had to blog everyday about it.  I'm moving toward my goal, and the slower the better!  The better I build this foundation the stronger it will be!

DAY 19

I've been making my bed each morning, decluttered a little in my closet, and for Day 19 we got to read one of the classic Flaylady emails... The one about staying in a gorgeous sounding B&B, which is, of course, their home.  I guess the premise is that housework isn't so much a chore, but an opportunity to pamper yourself with a freshly made bed, or your family with a set table and home cooked meal and fun planned weekend instead the mad rush cleaning catch up session which always seems to involve yelling at someone!  Who would think of a chore as a way to spoil yourself?  But seriously, nothing beats a made bed with a sprinkle of talc between the sheets and some fluffed up pillows!  And I do love being my own cleaning fairy so I wake up to a clean kitchen so I can make lunches and cook breakfast!

I guess it all comes down to attitude, and while I'm not quite at the 'Blessing my family" stage, I am willing to acknowledge that life is easier and better for everyone (including myself) when I do just a few basic bits of housework and take a little pride in my work!

DAY 20

It's time to add laundry to the routine, in the morning and at night.  I like how my dishwasher works, with turning it on in at night and emptying in the morning, but with the washing machine I'm going to attempt to fill it each night, get Dave to turn it on when he wakes up, and then hang it out just before I take the kids to school.  Then I can bring in, fold and put away (or iron) in the afternoon.  Perfectionism aside, I just need to check on my laundry morning and night and make sure something is happening with it.  I randomly have to wash sheets too which could easily throw off any attempt at perfection!

It's kind of coincidental that the dryer chose this week to blow up - well, it didn't blow up, it started smoking.  DH and myself pulled the back off and de-fluffed it and it ran okay without clothes, but I think I will leave it outside for now and maybe even get rid of it.  A dryer isn't a necessity at the moment and it's not worth the repair money for a poorly designed one that blows fluff everywhere!

I also think its time to de-clutter my routine.  I'm not sure if I like using an app even, I can't quite pin down what it is, but my routines are getting automatic and having to tick off a checklist is more annoying then helpful.  But that might be ego thinking I'm better then the system!  Anyway, I need to update my routines with laundry check so I might write a copy of it on a post it note to stick around the house.