A girlfriend recently shared a story with me about Sink Reflections and its author and cheerleader, Marla Cilley – the FlyLady. She told me the FlyLady was responsible for a remarkable change in her sister’s previously messy home and disorganized life. Since GirlfriendBooks is all about finding great books for you girlfriends, I had to get myself a copy and check it out.
Many of us girlfriends feel overwhelmed at times (or all the time) from any combination of work, household chores, family, school, etc. It seems there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. Well, guess what? You don’t need to get everything done in a day, and everything does not need to be done perfectly. You just need to try to do what you can instead of floundering about and doing nothing! But, help, where do you start – everything at home is such a mess. It all starts with shining your sink – really, trust me.
The FlyLady says, “Your home did not get dirty overnight and it is not going to get clean in a day.” The key is taking BabySteps, and the first one is to shine your sink. It may sound a bit absurd, but think about it. If your sink is sparkling clean, doesn’t its radiance seem to spill over to the rest of the kitchen. And if you can do that, you can do more. The FlyLady is an expert at breaking things down and making them manageable to even the most disorganized of people. She helps you to set up routines (including the all important “Before Bed Routine”) and cleaning zones, as well as well as maintain checklists to keep you on track. And all of this is done a bit at a time – BabySteps - so things stay manageable and don’t become overwhelming.
The FlyLady also has lots to say about clutter. It can’t be organized – if you don’t love it, you should part with it. You really can’t start organizing your home until the clutter is cleared, and she gives you some fun and amusing ways to deal with all the clutter, including the “27 Fling Boogie” where you run around with a garbage bag de-cluttering your home 27 items at a time. She also insists on no whining, no perfectionism and no martyrdom. They all get in the way of a peaceful, happy home.
Although this book was primarily written for overwhelmed people living in CHAOS (“Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome”), the FlyLady has lots of helpful advice for those of us who are more BO (“Born Organized”) than others. The FlyLady even has a huge online support group (www.flylady.net) where she sends out daily email reminders to help you with routines, as well as testimonials from members sharing how the system has helped improved their lives. If you are looking for a little help to pull it all together, let Marla take you under her wing and teach you how to FLY (“Finally Loving Yourself”). She’ll show you how to bring more peace and joy into your life.
About
the author: Marla
Cilley is a wife, mother, fly-fishing instructor, country
commissioner, and mentor to thousands of people around the world.
She started an Internet mentoring system in 1999 to help
people get out of the CHAOS in their lives that she too had once
suffered from. In
March 2002 she self-published her first book, Sink
Reflections. She
lives with her husband and their bluetick hound dog and orange
tomcat in