FlyLady Evening Routine | Work and School at Home | Getting the Discipline Act Together During COVID-19

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Your spouse is home. Your kids are home. You are home. All day, every day. Welcome to my world! But even those of us used to homeschooling and working from home are struggling. It's the responsibility of each and every one of us to do everything we can to halt the spread of COVID-19. Yes, we are being called on to sacrifice, to be uncomfortable, to be inconvenienced, to do the thing we think we cannot do. It is Lent, after all, and Christians are actually expected to carry our crosses! We give up things at Lent in order to rely more upon Jesus, to have more time for prayer, for thinking of others over ourselves. This year it's Lent on steroids!

Those who are lucky enough to have jobs that allow them to work from home should be at home during this pandemic. Nonessential businesses and all schools should be closed. Everyone ought to be hunkering down at home, only going out for necessary food, medicine and personal items--as infrequently as possible. Sadly, the option even to go to church is closed for many right now.

Making these drastic life changes requires self-discipline. Those not old enough to discipline themselves need to be disciplined by their parents. Let's see this crisis as an opportunity to finally get our ducks in a row. As I've been writing about, establishing good habits and regular routines is mandatory for survival right now; and one indispensable key to maintaining good health is enough sleep, and sleep of good quality. 

Let us add our next FlyLady tool to the collection. Being home means that you can be a bit more flexible with your time, and the temptation might be to stay up later than usual. Previously, I had made my bedtime 11:00, and I was to have screens turned off and be in bed by 10:00. However, I've been staying up too late during these strange times. 

So for your evening routine, make sure you are going to bed at a decent hour. Turn off the screens an hour before bedtime. Also take your children's phones and other gadgets away at a certain time. It's miraculous how much better my teenage daughter does her school work and chores when she knows she won't get her ipod back until those priorities have been accomplished!  

Take your Sunday as the day of rest it is commanded by God to be, and then have your plan in place to start your week off right on Monday. Determine your children's school schedule. Create a plan with your spouse so that you both shoulder the burdens of childcare, homeschooling, and work. If you're a single parent, ask for whatever help you need. Write it all down. 

Remember that you are the adult. You are the parent. You are responsible for what happens in your home--no excuses. We all have our unique burdens and situations, but no one has it easy right now, and likely many people have it far worse than you do. Put first things first. Do the next right thing. Have faith.  

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
--Eleanor Roosevelt 

Surviving Coronavirus at Home | FlyLady Dishes and Laundry | Building a Routine

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No, this is not my laundry room. I wish! I do my laundry in the basement, and it isn't a pretty place. But while we are stuck inside during the COVID-19 crisis, this is the kind of thing we now have time to do--get our homes clean and in order! Three days ago I wrote that all we have to do this week is get back to FlyLady's top three tools, or begin them if you never have. But desperate times call for desperate measures, so let's put this program on the fast track. 

Hopefully you are now shining your sink and choosing your next day's outfit in the evenings, and dressing to shoes each morning. Shining the sink is the last step after you either put your dishes in the dishwasher or hand wash them. The first time you shine your sink, FlyLady recommends using bleach, and during this time of hyper health vigilance, that might be a good idea. However, I don't like to use toxic chemicals in my home. Breathing them in would only make my allergies, asthma, and chronic sinus condition worse, leaving my immune system more compromised. 

Instead, I use a solution of vinegar, Mrs. Meyer's dish soap, and water for a general household cleaner. Since the novel coronavirus, I've added tea tree oil for additional disinfecting benefits. I have a spray bottle for the upstairs, and one for the downstairs. After your initial disinfecting of the kitchen sink, you simply wash it down each night and wipe it dry, which gets rid of any bits left behind. To shining the sink, we'll now add putting away those clean dishes as part of our morning routine. While I heat up my kettle and prepare my coffee in the French press, I put the clean dishes away.

When you spend the majority of your time at home, you must develop routines. Once good habits are established, they help to carry us through the difficult times. Keeping up with the dishes is at the very top of household maintenance. The second task is laundry. Generally speaking, you want to do one load per day, washed, dried, and put away. If you can't do more than this without it accumulating in baskets, then don't. But many families are large enough that one load is not enough, and many of us are likely perpetually behind on laundry. 

To get caught up, bump it up to two loads per day. The children who are now home all day should be helping with all chores. I throw the first load into the washing machine as part of my morning routine, after putting away the dishes. Clothes are easiest to fold when they are still warm, so doing this as soon as you take them out of the dryer is best. You can do smaller loads so the task is not so overwhelming. Fill the machine only 3/4 full, and do not stuff your garments in. Think of it like measuring a cup of flour. You do not pack it.

Go ahead and start writing down your morning and evening routines. There are lots of videos on this on YouTube, but as I've said before, Diane in Denmark is your gal pal. She'll get you started with your control journal. The importance of keeping our hands and homes clean at this crazy moment in history cannot be over-emphasized. Come together at home as a team and actually take advantage of the opportunity that this crisis presents. This too shall pass. And all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well...  (Blessed Julian of Norwich)

COVID-19 Survival at Home | FlyLady's Top Three

Well, here we are living the new normal, which literally changes every day. My great state of Ohio seems to be leading the way through this novel coronavirus pandemic, a.k.a, COVID-19. As Ohio goes, so goes the rest of the country, and this is true in many ways, not just in regard to political elections. A part of me, the me on days when the sun doesn't shine, had been thinking that no one wants a Pollyanna pep talk right now. And I agree with myself to some degree even when the sun is shining. But being a lifelong Ohioan, let's just assume that I have something of help to offer, the type of good common sense that this state is renowned for. 

What we need right now are basic survival tools, because lots of folks not used to working at home, or not working at all, and/or dealing with their kids doing school-at-home--quite possibly for the rest of the school year--are already feeling like they just can't. But the hard, cold truth is that we must, so suck it up, buttercup!

I had mastered the FlyLady Baby Steps that I wrote about previously, and nailed my daily routines. But I realized that I busted my behind all day just to get those things done, leaving no time for anything else. I hadn't even gotten to weekly cleaning schedules and the like. I felt satisfied that I had accomplished a great deal and had the tools on hand when I needed them, so I could just let up on checking off boxes and only do FlyLady when I wanted to. But it's very clear to me at this point that things are going to get very ugly very fast if I don't get back on the wagon. Time to sober up, sisters! 

I was right in that I still had too many items on my morning, afternoon, and evening routines, even after paring them all down. I am used to working from home and homeschooling. But things have gotten extreme and will get worse before they get better, so I'm taking a cue from the 12-Step programs and doing First Things First. I'm starting again with FlyLady's Top Three: 

1) Put out tomorrow's outfit tonight. Iron anything that needs it, and choose the entire ensemble, down to underwear, socks, and jewelry.

2) After dinner each night, get the dishes out of the sink and shine it. (Lots of videos and other online sources can explain to you about shining your sink.)

3) In the morning, get dressed to shoes. Your outfit is already ready! Do something with your hair and put on a little makeup, if you usually wear it.

Just start with that this week. We do not want to let ourselves go, staying in our bathrobes until 2:00 in the afternoon, thinking who cares, no one will see us. We will see us. Our families will see us. And we will feel like serious crap. Look presentable, and you will have more energy and get more done. It's all psychological, yes, but you will be more productive wearing a bra. You will be happier if you keep up with your dishes. It doesn't matter why this is true. Truth is Truth. 

I gave up Facebook for Lent, but I'm going to post my blog, because I think it's important. However, I will not be having conversations there. I will not be receiving any email notifications. I just want to be of service in my own small way. So comment here at the blog if you want to dialogue! We can do this. We have to.