Getting rid of a big mess the quick and easy way

I have always been a disorganized perfectionist. It doesn't sound like those two things go together, but they do, more often than you think. I couldn't keep my room clean because I could never get it just right. When I grew up and got married, the same principle applied to my house. I could ignore it for the most part, because I worked full time and tried to keep busy on weekends. But when I got laid off a few years ago, I was suddenly confronted by the reality of my mess.

I Googled "quick organizing tips" and found FlyLady. People either love or hate her system, but I love love LOVE it. My house isn't perfect, but I've accepted it never will be, and it's a hell of a lot closer now than it was before.

Here is one of my big problems, housekeeping-wise. My dining room table.

Scary, isn't it?

I decided to tackle it today and get it cleaned off. Now to look at it, it seems like there's a lot of crap on that table and you might think it took me hours to get it cleaned up. Probably because I got bored and wandered off in the middle of the job a few times.

But guess what? That didn't happen! I used the 27 Fling Boogie principle to get it done.

The 27 Fling Boogie is one of FlyLady's little housecleaning games. The name is corny, but the principle is sound: pick a room or area, pick up 27 things and trash them/donate them/put them away. Each "boogie" takes about 5 minutes or less. Here's the progress in pictures.

After #1

After #2

Number 3

Hey, 2 bucks and an Earth Fare gift card! This is paying off!

Number 4









Number 5










See, how easy was that? Much more manageable. The big stack in the front is my coupons that I have to still organize, and the back stacks are my bills and other office supplies. I do this all the time now. If my kitchen or bedroom is messy, I find that there's 27 things or less to toss or put away. It's also great because I can get a decent chunk of mess out of the way while my son before my son asks me to play trains with him for the sixth time since breakfast.