Sunday, April 23, 2006

I'm not a Flybaby...

but I should be. I was reading someone's blog the other day, and she mentioned something about the FlyLady and a 15-minute cleaning routine. This sounded like something I could handle. My girls and I used to watch "The Big Comfy Couch" and we often used the "10-second tidy" method. Surely I could accomplish a whole lot more in 15 minutes than in 10 seconds.

The next day at work as I was describing to a co-worker the condition of my living room, another co-worker said "You need the FlyLady." So I had to check it out. I like her ideas. Very sensible. So why can't I follow her advice?

Because I'm a perfectionist (read: procrastinationist) I can't make myself start something that I know I won't be able to finish. The very first step is to shine your sink. If she meant bathroom sink, then I'd be good to go. However, she meant kitchen sink, and oh the horror! There are more than 15 minutes of dishes to do, but I did get started. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and filled one side of the sink with hot soapy water to soak what wouldn't fit into the first load. Then I wiped down and disinfected the counter. It felt good to accomplish that, but I still couldn't get to the sink to shine it. So I'm thinking I'll have to adapt the FlyLady's methods to allow for longer periods of cleaning. At least until I get my sink shined. Then again, maybe I should just follow the rules.

Where's the lesson in all this? Well, we know that God uses ordinary circumstances to change us in extraordinary ways. He's working on me in so many ways all at once.
One big way is in the area of patience. Another is discernment, and another is prayer. The biggest, though, is time management. (I'm all about R&R, at the expense of all things productive.) So what does He do? He plants a little bug in my ear - namely the FlyLady - not once, but twice in less than 24 hours.

Do you see how He did that? Four lessons all rolled into one:
1) He always answers prayer (I knew this, but I love that He likes to remind me.)
2) He speaks to us through others (I can discern His voice if I pay close attention.)
3) He is patient, therefore I must be patient (don't give up if I don't see immediate results.)
4) He wants me to have more time to spend with Him (I need to get with the program.)

There you have it. Now, I'm off to shine my sink.

God bless your day!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, great post. Sounds like we struggle with many of the same things!

boomama said...

"procrastinationist" - I love it! I'm one of those, too. I started the FlyLady thing about six weeks ago, and while I can't keep up with the 45 emails I get from her a day, we've done really well with keeping the sink clean, keeping the dishwasher unloaded in the mornings, and keeping the bed made. It really has made a huge difference.

Also - welcome to blogging! You have EXCELLENT taste in templates. :-)

Brenda said...

Thanks for visiting, ladies! Your blogs are a treat. Inspirational and enjoyable.