I am a horrible housekeeper.  Always have been, thought I always would be.  But then I discovered Fly Lady (her computer nickname that reflects her love of fly fishing).  Known in real life as Marla Cilley, the Fly Lady has taken her approach to housework and put it into both book and web page form, giving hope to thousands of people who thought they could never have a clean house.  I faithfully read her mailings every day, so I was delighted to find her wonderful book Sink Reflections at my local library.

Fly Lady's system is relatively simple: divide your house into zones, work for 15 minutes at a time, dress to your shoes, and shine your kitchen sink.  She also has fun little acronyms like FLY (Finally Loving Yourself) and CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome).  But what makes Fly Lady stand out from all of the other house cleaning systems out there is her attitude.

Her first rule: No whining!  She is tough but fair.  She emphasizes the importance of cleaning your house for YOU, not for everyone else.  She teaches you that if you love yourself and pamper yourself first, the rest will fall into place.  She offers dozens of testimonials from women whose husbands and even children have noticed the difference and started helping out, once the women got over their "stinking thinking" and martyrdom.

But for me, the most significant attitude adjustment Fly Lady offers is this.  You are not cleaning your home.  You are "blessing" it.  When you begin to think of it as a blessing instead of drudgery, housework becomes a lot easier, especially 15 minutes at a time!

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