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Self Discovery

Fly, Baby, Fly!

By Raphael

Do you have dishes piled up in your sink? Possibly because clean ones are in the dishwasher and you haven't put those away yet and it's been a week? Do you have to part the sea of clothes lying on your floor in order to get to your bed? Did you forget to pay a bill because it's buried alive in a mountain of papers you'll get to later?

Never fear, help is here. I have your solution.

I want you to go clean your sink. Shiny, shiny, like you don't even remember ever having seen it before, it's so shiny. Scrub it down. Take a knife to the little dark hidden crevices. Windex the silver parts. Baby oil makes the black rubber sprayer all nice and new. Go now. Do it now.

You did it? Ok, see you next month.


What, you're still here?

"Has she lost her mind?" (I heard that.) I got some 'splainin' to do? Ok you win but you still only have to clean your sink. No more, no less.

Your dear friend Raphael has joined the ranks of FlyLady. Yes, it's true ... I am a FlyBaby.

As a new FlyBaby, the first and only thing you have to do is to clean your sink. Then keep it that way. At the end of each day, shine up your sink and put a new little cloth near it, to wipe up spills or to do mini-shines during the day. This will show you what it feels like to take care of something and keep it really nice and pretty. Feels good.

And if you mess up one day, don't worry. Remember: Two steps forward, one step back. Say, "ok, that was my step back, now let's go forward" and begin again. They say it takes about a month to build up a new habit so this is your one and only homework for this month.

After a while you'll be known as the person with the shiny sink. Especially if you brag about it. When I first became a FlyBaby, I kept the light on above the sink because it showcased my clean and sparkly masterpiece. I bragged to my boyfriend and he was quite impressed. Truly.

I'll tell you what happened for me although it'll happen differently for each person. For me, after about a week or so of seeing this nice clean spot in my house, it began to spread. The sink was so nice and clean that I wanted the counters to look nice too. Then the stovetop. And each time, it was such a great feeling to see something that I had tended to looking so nice. Kinda makes you wanna keep it that way. A-ha! The magic is taking effect!

For FlyBaby wannabees, there is a whole system available, easy as pie and open to anyone and everyone who wants to declutter, get organized, get their life in order and keep their sanity! Are you ready to fly?



Follow FlyLady as she weaves her way through housecleaning and organizing tips with homespun humor, daily musings about life and love, the Sidetracked Home Executives (SHE) system and anything else that is on her mind: http://www.flylady.net

Best Book: I witnessed a friend go from cluttered freakazoid (I join him in this category, by the way) to at-peace, organized wonder by using this book: Organizing for Dummies. Pick one up!

FlyLadyMentors (I highly recommend you join) - This announcement group is for people striving for an organized life. They offer motivational help and specific assignments via e-mail: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlyLadyMentors



I welcome you to share your own personal stories and comments. Get in touch: musings@raphaelblue.com. I'd love to hear from you!



Artwork and Text © 2002 Raphael Blue