How to Make The FlyLady System Work Best For You

If you feel like your house is always out-of-control, messy, and disorganized, The FlyLady System can help you develop realistic routines and systems to get your house in order and keep it that way.

I started using the FlyLady system when I lived in a tiny basement apartment in Chicago. Space was at a premium, and as soon as I moved in, I knew I was going to need to do some serious decluttering in order to make the space livable.

Thanks to FlyLady’s system, I was able to implement small habit changes that helped me make my tiny apartment tidy, clean, and nice to live in.

Over the years I used the FlyLady system in different ways – sometimes I followed the system to a T, and other times I used only the parts of the system that worked best for what was going on in our lives at the time.

One thing has remained constant, however. Whenever I feel like things are spiraling out-of-control with our house, getting back to basics with the FlyLady system always helps me get back on track.

Ready to get started? Below you’ll find resources that will help you get started, and I’ll share with you some of the changes I made to the FlyLady system that made it work better for our family.

The FlyLady System

• How to Get Started with FlyLady – How to navigate the FlyLady system and make it suit your lifestyle. A great place to begin – especially if you’ve tried FlyLady before and it didn’t work for you.
• The Easy Way I Shine My Sink – Don’t let perfection get in the way of making progress on your home! See how I shine my sink the simple way.
• Do You Have Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome? FlyLady’s definition of C.H.A.O.S. makes a lot of sense to anyone who doesn’t want to let people see inside their house. Learn more about it and start FlyLady’s “baby steps” that will help you build routines that keep your home looking nice.
• How to Get Started with FlyLady Zone Cleaning – Once you have the basics down, you can graduate to zone cleaning and make even more positive changes! Make sure you complete all of the FlyLady’s baby steps before moving on to zone cleaning.
• Declutter with a 27-Fling Boogie – This fun way of decluttering, invented by FlyLady, makes the work of decluttering go by much more quickly. I love to do a quick 27-Fling Boogie at the end of the day to clear away the clutter.

FlyLady Basics

If you’re just starting out with FlyLady, it helps to know where she’s coming from. Here are some resources from FlyLady that will help you get started:

• Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley – This book is an overview of the FlyLady system. You can refer to it when you’re stuck or need encouragement
• FlyLady Radio – This is kind of like a podcast. On FlyLady Radio, Marla Cilley chats about her routines, systems, and techniques. This is a good first episode to listen to if you want to get Back to Basics. These shows are long and sometimes they go off topic, but they’re great to listen to while you’re doing work around the house. 
• FlyLady’s website – You can find all the details of the FlyLady system on her website. Use the search function on the top, right-hand side of the page to find what you’re looking for.

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