Dear Fly Lady: It’s not you, it’s me. Well, that’s not true. It’s you. The shoe thing. I don’t wanna wear shoes in the house. And the 743 emails a day? How can I clean when you keep bugging me?
And Sidetracked Home Executives: We did so well together until that baby came. Then the index cards started to pile up and collect dust. Suddenly cleaning out underneath the bed didn’t sound near as fun as staring at my new little man. Actually I can’t remember ever thinking that sounded fun. I gave it a good shot, but I think we both know it just isn’t working out.
Oh and Cleaning Lady: You know I would love to to have every week, but for some reason my family would rather eat and have gas in the car. And I would apparently rather spend ridiculous amounts of money on my hair and shoes. Priorities. You understand right? What good is a clean house if your roots are showing?
So I am moving on. No, not to the Hoarders show. I am trying a new method. And so far I am loving it. Could it be my cleaning system soulmate? I have been trying a new system since the new year with the resolutions and all. And so far we are getting along splendidly. Of course I haven’t shown her all of my baggage yet (please ignore that stuff in the corner) so we are still in the early dating stages, but I have high hopes for this relationship.
Motivated Moms provides you with printable “chore sheets” for every week of the year. And it costs only eight bucks. Nothing feels greater than checking off a checklist. It spreads cleaning out through the week and through the year. You can even get a version that has a daily bible reading plan. And my house is clean!! Well clean-ish. Which I’ll take. It even reminded me to clip my kid’s fingernails last week.
So to recap: my kids have managable nails and my floors are vacuumed. So it’s a good week for everyone.
For more great tips, head over to We Are That Family.
*Disclosure: I am not getting a thing to talk about this product. It is just working for me and so I am sharing it.
Robyn (3girlsmom)
says:
GENIUS.
Just ordered and downloaded the charts.
THANK YOU!
Robyn (3girlsmom)´s last blog ..Haiti.
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January 20th, 2010 at 12:27 am
Nikki
says:
Your post totally cracked me up! Perhaps it was because of how incredibly close it hit to home. I am absolutely intrigued though. Eight bucks? I can do that.
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January 20th, 2010 at 1:24 am
Nikki
says:
P.S. Great blog!
Nikki´s last blog ..I need a blog nickname for baby A. You could win some socks!
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January 20th, 2010 at 1:26 am
Jennifer
Twitter: Zaankali
says:
Just checked it out and I am liking the looks of that! Thanks for sharing.
Smiles!
Jennifer´s last blog ..Some kids have no luck.
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January 20th, 2010 at 7:40 am
Kathie
says:
First, I have to say I just laughed and laughed after I read this post. Not because of the end result but because it hit SO CLOSE to home. I’ve tried both other methods to and the end result was identical to your’s. Ha!
Now, I must say I came across the Motivated Moms site before. I even just revisited the Sample Page. My question to you is this tho…..Is this Planner geared more towards the SAHM? or is it a planner that us Work-Outside-The-Home Mom’s can utilize as well? If I was able to see a full week as a Sample it would give me a better understanding to know if I should or should not purchase but only going by one page doesn’t exactly cut it for me. If you could let me know I’d be greatly appreciated because if it is then I will buy it today! My house is started to beg for mercy. LOL!
[Reply]
Jessica
Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Kathy,
I am a working mom with over an hour commite each day and I really love this!
In my house I think they need to be renamed Motivated Dad because he gets home 45 minutes before I do and has about 35 to 40 minutes free before picking up our daughter from daycare. He looks at the list and does about 2 of the items before I get home. Yesterday he cleaned the glass in the bathroom and cleaned the floor in there too.
It’s not a huge list, about 5 specific things to do along with everyday things like cooking, laundry & dishes. Now don’t get me wrong, cooking, laundry and dishes are still not done everyday in my house.
The thing I enjoy the most is that it’s little bites out of huge chores each day. Pampering & hobby time is even included. I am not getting everything done but I feel so much better about the little things that I have been able to accomplish. I know now that important things are getting done that weren’t before.
I hope I am able to encourage you to give it a try. It was definitely worth it at my house!
[Reply]
Stephanie
Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Hi Kathie,
I started using Motivated Moms chore planner on January 3. Saying the cleaning house is my thing would be the biggest understatement of 2010. I work 45-50 hours outside of the home each week (my husband works & travels often, as well) and I have a kindergartener and a first-grader! I REALLY like the planner. It’s helped me not feel so overwhelmed at the end of the day. I figured for $8 if I didn’t use it then maybe it wouldn’t be such a loss. It’s already paid for itself. Good luck
[Reply]
Kathie
Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 9:24 am
Wow! You two ladies sold me. Thank you so much for your input! I’m purchasing today!
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January 20th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Jen-After the Alter
says:
Lists always help and keep me motivated! For some reason if it’s written down I just feel like I HAVE to do it. I’ll have to look into this!
Jen-After the Alter´s last blog ..When Do I Get To Wear a Golden Globes Gown?
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January 20th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Jeni
says:
I almost posted about this today!! I was going to wait until next week…but you beat me to the punch, lady!
I started using Motivated Moms last week, and it’s been great! I keep my list on the fridge, so I can easily see what still needs to be done. I love the fact that if a day isn’t as productive as it should be (YESTERDAY) I can see what wasn’t done and still get to it when I have time. There’s something very satisfying about checking off those little boxes!
Jeni´s last blog ..WFMW: Rice – with a caveat
[Reply]
January 20th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Andrea
says:
Genius! I love it – especially the reminder to clip the kiddos toe nails. It’s sad, but I really need someone to tell me to do it!
Andrea´s last blog ..Real
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January 20th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Heather @ Green Baby Green Mama
says:
I love checklists. Seriously.
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January 20th, 2010 at 11:48 am
LaVonne
Twitter: lavonnelong
says:
My sister just got this for me at the beginning of the year. It does look great, if I would do it.
Thanks for a great post.
[Reply]
January 20th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Taylor at Household Management 101
says:
I haven’t heard of this. Thanks for sharing, and I will definitely be checking it out. You can always use new ideas, especially when trying to stick to any type of cleaning schedule, which is no small accomplishment when you have kids.
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January 20th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Mandi @ It's come to this
says:
Too funny … as usual! I actually just started using it this year too. And so far, so good. If I miss a day it’s easy to add onto the next. And I feel accomplished to do a few things each day:)
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January 20th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Erin G
says:
I am bookmarking this to check it out! I also need a new system SHE sort of worked for a while, but isn’t anymore. The cards? Hello, it’s not 1985. I tried to do the same thing online but then it just sucked me into the computer (or as I like to call it, the Pit of Neverending Distraction), so I am up for a new system. I am going to check this out!
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January 20th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Jenny
says:
awesome post
stopping in from WFMW.
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January 20th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Jen @ BigBinder
says:
You know that little index card box thing you were doing for a while? It drove me crazy and I made up spreadsheets instead. Not that I use them, but at least we’re kind of on the same page again
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January 20th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Beth
says:
If you use the discount code: giveaways when you check out, it will take $1 off….
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January 20th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
DesignHER Momma
Twitter: designhermomma
says:
going to have to look into this. I’m in desperate need for a routine.
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January 20th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Musings of a Housewife
Twitter: JoLynneMusings
says:
Interesting! I’m a FlyLady flunkie too. Maybe I’ll give this a shot.
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January 21st, 2010 at 5:44 pm
tiffany
says:
Ha ha! I couldn’t stand all those flylady emails, either, so I unsubscribed. And yes, my sink stopped shining, but at least my inbox got much tidier!
tiffany´s last blog ..Declutter Challenge: Tackle Your Keys!
[Reply]
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:18 pm