OK, so my house is de-cluttered, and clean (it looks great, if I do say so myself). So what can I do to keep it this way and not have marathon cleaning sessions when the parish priest calls to say he's coming for a visit?

So I'm taking the fly-lady (flylady.net) and making a twist. I'm using her zone idea but making it work for me.

Zone 1 is my entry, dining, and half bath--all on the main floor, all non-carpeted. That's Monday. Zone 2 is kitchen (Tuesday). Zone 3 is the kids' rooms and bathroom (upstairs), and Thursday is Zone 4, master suite. Zone 5 is Friday's Living Room and office (the carpeted areas are all together so I only have to get the vacuum out once and just move it around).

So far it's working for me; anyone else use this kind of idea? Anyone have a suggestion to make it better?

I'm jealous! I've been decluttering since before Christmas and can't claim that my house looks great...better, yet...but we aren't to great yet!

I like your zone idea. I've tried to copy her idea of stopping CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) and keep my entry way and living room company presentable most of the time. This way even if someone stops by and just stands in the doorway, it doesn't look like a bomb went off!

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Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. ~Oscar Wilde

I tried doing flylady but it just doesn't work for me. I think your idea is great though cuz you're making it work for you.

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I did flylady for a while. My house looked great!!! Problem is, some days I just want a little breather, without having to constantly think about "jump out of bed, dress to shoes, make up face" and zoom around as fast as I can swishing and swiping.

I use her general guidelines, but there are days I want to sit on my hiney and relax. My energy and desire to clean tends to come in spurts. Once I start cleaning, I get "the bug" and want to do everything.

Congrats on the house -- it is such a nice feeling having it so clean and clutter free!!!

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"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Dr. Seuss

I don't use the zone thing, but I do use the 15 minute rule. That's a good one around here!

That is what I was going to say. It works great for me.

I also use the 15 minute rule in my house- I speed clean in that time. One other rule is if I must leave the room (besides running to the kids or emergencies)- i try to straighten back up- or take things to where they belong.

The downfall to this though- is I don't have a chance to be sick and not do anything. For example last week i felt horrible one day and did absolutly nothing- the whole house crumbled before my eyes and I am finally getting caught up with it again today! I think one major thing you can do to keep on top of everything is if you bring something new into the house- you need to get rid of something to keep combating clutter and so on.

I've tried Flylady several times and no matter how slow I go I always fall back into my old ways. I have managed to stick with the 15 minute thing. My kids even have a five minute room cleanup that they have to do every day. They move a lot faster trying to beat the timer.