Daily Flight Plan

(Click on the image to make it larger. And please, forgive spelling and grammar errors, this is a work in progress that I finished at a late hour (hence the errors), but was excited to show you anyway.)

I'm nesting again. This happens to me sometimes. And no, I'm not expecting.

I confess I've fallen off the FlyLady bandwagon. But, it's for what I feel like, is a good reason. I haven't given up hope (in fact, I'm still moving forward at a good pace), I have just come to the realization that her manner of house-keeping alone isn't going to cut it for me. The reason for that is because she tells me what to do (which I like), but she tells me to do certain things on certain days, and the days that she does them on don't work into my family's schedule.

After all, I continue to balance a part-time job, a teenage foster kiddo with tons of appointments at sporadic times, and an otherwise already busy social calendar.

So I'm trying a hybrid approach. I'm reading The Messies Manual (from Sandra Felton-The Organizer Lady), and Sink Reflections (from Marla Cilley- The FlyLady), and taking from each of them what works for me. I'm also choosing to ignore the things that don't directly pertain to something I'm actively working on.

For instance, they both include brushing their teeth in their morning routines. That is a habit I already have well established, so I'm not concerned about including that in my routines.

What I have learned from both of them, however, is that routines are very important. Messy people (which I'd say I'm a border-line messy) need routines to function and to have any hope at being organized.

So after combining their suggestions, subtracting what I don't need to work on and adding what I do I need to work on, I came up with a Daily Flight Plan.

These are beginning of the day routines, and end of the day routines that I set to catchy phrases that will (hopefully) help me remember them and put them into practice. I have 10 "up" routines to help me start my day well and 10 "down" routines to help me end my day well. I'm going to stick this in my "Notes on the Nest" book. I think I'm going to make several other copies as well to stick around the house until they become ingrained in my forgetful, distractable little brain.

First step: Memorize these and put them into practice.

Next step: Make an In Flight Plan to help me set the rest of the necessary household maintenance duties into a routine that works for me and my family. 

But, for now, I'll work on one thing at a time, and that's the first step. 

And all the while my husband laughs at my ambition. I'm sure he's hopeful my new found desire to get my life and home under control might stick this time around. But, he's understandably skeptical. See, he's "been there done that" with me. It's yet to stick! He keeps chuckling at my sudden realizations of, "I just need routines." Or, "I just need to use my control journal." Or, "I just, I just, I just...". 

I know I need to not give up, because this is a battle worth fighting. I'm sure I'll fight it my whole life, but it's one worth fighting anyway. Maybe some day the Pastor won't have to laugh about this area of my life. Maybe some day he'll be able to come home to some sense of serenity, or be able to have dinner company without being put to work for the entire day before they arrive!

Maybe some day I'll be able to fully enjoy my kids, my job, or my friends without this nagging guilt that I have so much work left to do at home.

Maybe some day I'll the get the PK's (Pastor's Kids) on such a good routine that they're actually helpful around the house. But that--that too is for another day.