Create Habits You Need for a Clean and Decluttered Home in Just 21 Days!

I have been using the Flylady system for several years to keep my home decluttered, clean and organized. It has also helped me greatly to make goals for myself and create new healthy habits.

The creator of the FlyLady system, Marla Cilley, has a 31 baby step program to help you create these habits. You can see her plan here, on my blog. It's brilliant and it helped to get me back on track myself. However, I've found that the program could be cut down to 21 steps and I reorganised some of it to better suit my lifestyle and that of modern adults. So in this post, I'm sharing my modified version with you.

What is the FlyLady System?

To put it very simply, the Flylady system it’s a framework to help you manage your home and life to reduce stress and chaos. It is a way of life! It helps you to be able to:

  • Clean your home systematically, consistently and easily.
  • Reduce mental clutter and stress by giving you a plan and a focus.
  • Declutter your home by creating a habit of decluttering and organizing.
  • Anchor your life with routines and healthy habits so you can be the homemaker and mother you truly want to be.

It’s all based on the book by Marla Cilley, Sink Reflections, which I highly recommend buying to get a complete, in-depth overview of the system. It was an easy and enjoyable read for me. I teared up quite a few times while reading it because she truly understands what it’s like to manage a home while being a mom. She speaks to our spirits, to our struggles, and offers easy and simple solutions to make our lives much better! She also has a website, FlyLady.net, if you’d like to check that out.

Your home did not get dirty in one day, and it will not get clean in a day, either. You have been living in clutter and chaos for many years; you are not going to get your home clean in a day. I do not want you to crash and burn. This is why I teach you to take Baby Steps. If you try to do this all at once, you are going to be mad at me, because this will be like every other “get-organized” method you have tried. I want you to take your time. As you establish one habit, you will very easily be able to add another one to your routines. – Marla Cilley

Cleaning isn't Just for Moms!

Before we get started on the course, I wanted to talk about one of the most important elements of home management. Many moms are overwhelmed and exhausted from doing most, if not all of the home management, in addition to raising children and some are even working another job. We are not super moms or super heroes – we are humans. No one can or should do it all or try to do it all. My strong opinion and philosophy is that EVERYONE contributes to the care of the home. This is not a job just for moms! So as we go through the course, think about all that you can delegate to your spouse and children. This works especially well in the Zone Cleaning section.

Get the Flylady 31 Baby Steps book here!

Cilley has written a book for the Flylady baby steps that you can purchase on Amazon, here! Otherwise, you can follow along with me on my podcast as I share the steps with you there.

Join My Facebook Group for Moms

You can also join my Facebook group for moms as we do the Flylady baby steps together! I'll save them in a unit so you can refer back to them later. All totally free! Join the group here.

The Merry Messy Moms Group on Facebook

Follow Along on Instagram

If you've got an Instagram account, you can follow along with our Flylady 31 Baby Steps as we post pictures of our progress! You can follow my account at @mymerrymessylife and use the hashtag, #mymerrymessylifeflylady, to share your baby step pictures! Then we can all like and comment on each other's pictures. This just makes it more fun and helps encourage all of us to keep going and not give up!

Follow Along on My Podcast, The Merry Messy Moms Show

The Flylady 21 Baby Steps

Are you ready to make huge improvements to your life this next month? If you stick with this, by the end of this month you will have created daily habits that will make you feel better about yourself, your home and your family. I'm excited for us to link arms and do this together!

Consistency is QUEEN

CONSISTENCY is the basis of the Flylady system. So that is why we start her system with baby steps, and add a new one each day. If you're consistently cleaning your home, decluttering, and taking care of yourself, things won't devolve into chaos and stress!

Watch Out for the Perfection Trap!

However, this isn't about perfection at all. If you miss a day, or miss a few steps, it's okay. Real life happens and whether it's sickness, tragedy, a death, a bad day, exhaustion, sleepiness. That's why so many of these types of programs don't work for many people – because we've believed for so long that unless you do 100% and do never miss a step or a day, you're doing it all wrong. It isn't right or wrong – it's nuanced. If you miss a day or two, it's okay! Just pick back up where you left off and keep going. We have to allow for mistakes and real life to happen.

For the first day, click below for the next day of the Flylady 21 Baby Steps – where it says Pages 1 2 3 4, etc.

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