Sunday, December 3, 2017

A Better Life


Remember when I told you that I had been going through some changes around here?


Nope, it's not my constantly changing office.

That's just a picture to pull you in ;)

Actually, one of those big changes was starting the Flylady system.

But not with the original creator, as brilliant as she is.

I found a wonderful woman on YouTube, named Kat, that walked me though the whole process with her videos, but we'll get to that in a minute.

I'm sure you've heard of the Flylady, as she's been around for years.

I know I had.

The ladies in Blogland started going nuts for her years ago and she was all over the place.

I remember checking her blog out and thinking, "I don't need this, because I'm an obsessively clean person."

HA!

The truth is, I'm am OCD, but unless I had the time to clean every single little inch of my home like it was going to be in a magazine, I was lost as to what to do. So before someone would come over, or I would take a picture for my blog, I would go insane like a cleaning madman.

Not that I lived daily in a pigsty, mind you, but let's just say I wasn't on top of it, as I should have been.

Anywho, I was searching the internet for yet another cleaning strategy that might get my act in gear and came across Kat. She was a Flylady that worked for the the original Flylady. 

Apparently, the system got so popular, that flybabies (newbies), were handed off to other women that had been doing the system for years.

I came across one of Kat's videos and was intrigued, so I went to her channel and clicked on the video below that she recommends for newbies and I was hooked!

The video is 40 minutes, but well worth your time.



I followed her advice and started routines, then the weekly plan, then decluttering in zones and now I've reached the cleaning in zones, instead. Albeit with a little decluttering still to do here and there in hidden places ;)

I watch her daily morning videos and live videos that give advice and tips and now my home is presentable all the time and I don't have to go nuts before anyone comes over :)


Kat is no longer an "official Flylady", because she was spreading herself too thin (she takes care of her elderly parents for a week at a time every three weeks), but she still helps us flybabies (now we're called Lions) everyday with her daily videos, under the name "A Better Life with Kat", while still following her version of the Flylady system.


Kat truly cares about every single one of us and you can see it in her live chats especially.

She's definitely changed my life and I'm unbelievably thankful that I found her.

I hope you head on over to her channel and watch her videos :)


And just for fun, check out her other channel called Kat & Mr. B where they read their old love letters and do other fun stuff, like cooking and showing how to make a box for the recent solar eclipse:




I could watch these two all day :)


Thank you so much, Kat, for showing me how to have A Better Life!

xo
rue


PS
This was not a compensated post. I just wanted to share this lovely lady with all of you.







24 comments:

  1. Hm, believe it or not I haven't heard of this.
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  2. What, Rue needs FlyLady!!! I do remember CHAOS, can't have anybody over syndrome. I am working on it. Years ago when I first came across her, I made a notebook, printed out routines, etc. & fizzled out. I am a procrastinator. Thank you for the link to Kat's you-tube channel, I plan to be inspired and hopefully CHAOS will no longer rule the roost.

    Love & hugs to you dear heart ~ Have missed you ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. P.S. I forgot to say that I 'hate' wearing shoes and am always barefoot in the house. I'm a rule breaker there. :-)

      Delete
    2. Kat doesn't make a big deal about shoes. In fact, she says she is a barefoot girl just like me!

      Delete
  3. Thanks, Rue - I am OCD about cleaning too but years ago realized it was killing me a little bit each day trying to keep up with an 80 hour work week and raising two daughters alone. I gave in as much as I was able. I chose living versus cleaning. It was life changing.

    Now we're empty nesters and I am enjoying early retirement.....and entertain often....and my house is pretty presentable most of the time as I am a declutter.....but that is only the LOOK. I am a STASHER and I may have a photo clean home but just don't go in the basement....don't go in my closet.....so I'm only kidding myself. THAT is not clean or tidy, just looks like it on the surface.

    I am going to go watch this vid soon as I have my next tea time - prolly Tuesday cuz I can't tonight and tomorrow my daughter is coming over to tell me all about her trip to Europe during tea time.......thank you for the inspiration. I am REALLY looking forward to learning all about this. I need intervention, seriously - and while we're dreaming let's lob off a lot of weight and years and then maybe I can get it done, haha.

    I am so tired these days, Rue. I may die with a hoarder basement. Seriously.

    Hugs and prayers and happy December to you, sweet lady. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  4. Because we have moved so many times, I don't have any clutter, very few knick knacks and no pets, so cleaning and staying organized is pretty easy for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Rue,
    Good to see you today pop up with a post. I am now living small and I am loving being able to keep this tiny cottage home clean with very little effort. I do have little Peggy our basset hound we adopted so she keeps me on top of the vacuum cleaning routine! I am glad the "flylady" has helped you so much. Hope you are enjoying getting ready for the holidays.
    Hugs,
    Kris

    ReplyDelete
  6. i did the fly lady system LONG ago and still have my card file but haven't touched it in probably 7 years. while i'm overall clean, i've been focusing on down sizing my home belongings and finding great freedom in this quest. but thank you ever so much for the reminder of fly lady, as well as the handy youtube offering. i'll take time to watch it this week and may even crack open the wooden box with my fly lady cards inside. in the meantime, i'm figuring out what to do with chocolate walnut clusters that ended up looking like reindeer poop. sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  7. oh and ..
    it's CDO - not OCD.
    alphabetical, as it should be.
    wink.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This system sounds similar to Marie Kondo's book and it was a life changer for me! I can't begin to tell you how much I downsized and I haven't missed a single thing I got rid of. After finishing my Christmas decorating I have another load ready to donate today. It's so freeing to have an organized clutter free (almost) life! Have a good week, Rue!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for sharing, Rue. I had no idea that you struggled with housekeeping. Your home always looks so immaculate and perfect. I plan to watch the video today. I am working out a new housekeeping routine, too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. If I wasn't at work right now I'd be all over this video! That's funny, I've been on a cleaning/organizing kick lately, also. I made a to-do list and it seems every time I cross one thing off I put two things back on! However, I am pretty OCD so my house is usually in good shape. The floors get pretty hairy with three dogs, and if I don't get to them every single weekend I can't even stand it!! I'm going to check these videos out when I'm at home, can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I purged a few years ago and keeping my own cleaning and tidying crazy in check has been so much easier. Of course living in a tiny house helps, too!! Glad to see you in my feed. Always fun to catch up! :) Happy Holidays. xo

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the heads up on another inspirational person, Rue! I used to do Flylady and could use a little kick in the pants reminder, especially about the zones. Like you, I like real people who aren't all slickety. She fits the bill. Inspirational, but also real. Perfect, thanks! 😘

    ReplyDelete
  13. I have never heard of this lady, but it sounds interesting so i will go watch later today! and.......your house is always lovely, it always looks clean to me!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Rue! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! :) I am definitely going to have to watch Kat's videos because I need help in this area really badly. I get completely overwhelmed and then just freeze up whereas my hubby (thank God for him) can look at a big project and break it down into smaller "bites" and get it done.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is so timely, Rue. In getting ready for Christmas, I keep coming across closest and tables and dressers, etc., that I'm positive I have to have cleaned before the company comes. Why? Why now? It's a weird sort of insecurity that people will judge me by the way I live.

    I can definitely use some organizational skills, and I'm really loving some of the You Tube videos that are self-help, makeup, whatever. Thanks a bunch!

    Happy Holidays, Rue!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you and will definitely listen to what she has to say to help me in my disorganization non skills. I am a mess most of the time.
    betsy

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh my gosh...I will need to go and watch that...I need her help so badly! HAHA...thanks for sharing Rue.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Boy, do I need this! I will have to set aside some time to watch it! Thanks for sharing, Rue!
    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  19. I did the flylady ages ago and do a sort of very simple modified version now. I'll definitely go watch the video.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Rue, lovely post. I only learned about Flylady a few months ago - guess I'm pretty out of it! But I have seen a couple of Kat's videos, and she seems like a lovely person. I've seen more of Sophia's videos (http://mygreatchallenge.blogspot.com/p/about-me_28.html) and I'm intrigued by the Flylady system. It's first two "rules" happen to be things I've always done anyway, if not daily, at least a few times a week: the toilet swish and kitchen sink shine. Which reminds me, all the Flylady people seem to have stainless steel sinks; if anybody with a white enameled cast iron sink wants to know how to do it, let me know!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm a Flylady follower too since December of 2001 but I must say that I keep falling off the wagon, but even so I try to do most things she says.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks for sharing this Rue.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for leaving a comment. It means so much to me that you took the time and I read each and every one. If you don't have a blog, look for a response under your comment. I try to get to them within a few days :)

For some reason, the comment box doesn't always show up, so if you want to leave a comment, replying to someone else's comment seems to work. Also, I've had to switch from safari to chrome in order to comment on blogger, so that might be the issue. If not, you can always reach me via email, located on my side bar. Thank you!