My "Incompetent Housekeeper" Binder!

So... here in the land of Southern Hospitality, Sweet Iced Tea and good old fashioned values... housekeeping is everything!  A woman will forever be judged, at least in these parts, based upon the way she keeps house.  And, yes, I said SHE.  Because no matter how far we've "progressed" and despite the fact that women are in the work force, working every bit as much as their husbands, no one around here walks in a messy house and thinks, "THEY are bad housekeepers."  It is "SHE is a bad housekeeper."  I have been married twice now, and both times I married men who's mothers have immaculate houses.  My ex mother-in-law's house looks like something right out of a Southern Living Magazine - all the time - no matter when you walk in it.  And, she decorates it all herself.  No one does hospitality like her.  You walk in, feel right at home and she always has something to eat and drink and time to sit and chat.  My husbands mother is right there with her.  I open her freezer and feel immediate shame!  If any part of my life was as organized as just her freezer is, I'd be doing good!!  So, how on earth did these men end up with me???


My house is always a mess.  If it happens to not be a mess for 5 minutes, no one will see it. The odds are against me that anyone will stop by and see it spotless. Contrary to what many people might think, I am not lazy!  I am merely distracted.  I come from a long line of distraction.  It's all I know.  Distraction mixed with procrastination.  My mom has been known (on most Saturdays, actually) to spend an entire day "in the kitchen" cleaning.  You can talk to her in the evening and she'll say, "I've been in this kitchen cleaning ALL DAY LONG."  Now, I know my mom.  She has not been in the kitchen all day long.  She probably started in the kitchen, then somewhere along the way decided to water all her plants which led her to prune them as well and probably feed them.  There may have been one that needed to be repotted.  She probably ended up reorganizing a few drawers when she went to put something away... and countless other things that really needed to be done - not in the kitchen, but all the while, still cleaning the kitchen, too. I am not the perfectionist that my mom is.  I don't care if my cabinets are organized, as long as I can shut the doors and not see the disarray!  (She tends to organize them for me when she's here because it drives her nuts!!)
I am definitely not lazy.  The truth is, I try to do too much.  Instead of doing one load of laundry a day, I try to do as much as I can, end up not having time to finish it, and voila: laundry baskets with unfolded clothes all over the house.  Instead of focusing on one room, I decide to clean ALL the windows in the house or wash ALL the curtains or clean ALL the baseboards... and these things are usually started in the middle of another project.  So... I end up with several different parts of my house in the process of being cleaned.  Meanwhile, other things go by the wayside with the promise to myself of: "I'll do that in a minute."  Before I know it, I have piles of "Do it in a minutes" sitting on my kitchen counter, dresser, vanity, etc...
The only thing that has ever worked for me is a program I found on a website.  I have a binder full of schedules and do lists with regards to the running of my home.  I have been pretty reluctant to use it, though, even though it works for me, because I want to be the type of person who is naturally organized and neat and tidy.  But... bottom line: I'm not that type of person..  I thrive on lists & calendars!!  So, why is it crazy that I would use them for the running of my home??  It's really not a crazy notion!
So, if any of you find yourself in my predicament... try this out:  Fly Lady