Isn’t it typical that just when you need your cleaning fairy the most, she doesn’t show up?  I can’t tell you how many times I have had unexpected company drop by on the exact day I woke up to find that the cleaning fairies did not come in the night.  I know what you’re thinking… “Poor Cin, she is suffering from CHAOS” (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome).  But I’m telling you, it’s those darn cleaning fairies!

Maybe it’s the kind of cleaning fairy I use, the midnight variety, that causes the problems.  After everyone gets their homework done and goes to bed for the night, that is when the cleaning gets done.  It seems that that would be the best time for taking care of household business.  I am understanding that fairies get tired too, and it’s very likely that after a double shift or something it only stands to reason that if your cleaning fairy was going to poop out before the job was done, it would be during a night gig.  I get that.  But the problem is it seems like HER times of exhaustion seem to pop up at my own times of exhaustion and when I need the help the most.

Take last night for example.  Mamma Mar, Potato Salad, Wakeboard Champ and myself hosted a bridal shower for our future Sissy.  The night before the shower was a long one, cooking and preparing.  The day of the shower started very early.  There was getting fancied up to tend to, packing the car, traveling, setting up, greeting, game playing, cleaning up, traveling back, unpacking the car, feeding the boys… and so on.  My daughter (9) Sari and I were pooped!  It wasn’t far from bedtime so everyone cozied up with Extreme Home Makeover and went to bed.

This morning when I woke up it felt like someone had thinly sliced the bottoms of my feet off.  I was sure that when I looked down at the carpet there would be bloody footprints.  Then I remembered the brutal high heeled shoes I was in for almost ten hours straight the day before.  The true agony, though, was when I rounded the corner into the kitchen to find all my pots, pans, coolers, party dishes, and other stuff from the party strewn about the kitchen mixed in with the messes the boys made rifling through the leftover food from the shower.

Darn that cleaning fairy!  I bet she fell asleep watching Extreme Home Makeover.  I am beginning to think that the midnight cleaning fairy is just not my best option and it’s time to start listening to the FLY LADY.  I know she has all the cures for household cleaning and organizing ills, but for some reason I have been resisting.  Now, I guess, is the perfect time to get to know her.  Spring is springing and the sunshine and fresh air stomps out the blues and flus bug, replacing it with the cleaning and projects bug. Yep, I’m in!

I know a lot of people have already championed their “CHAOS” and are living in organized bliss thanks to the FLYLADY.  Please share your experience and favorite FLY LADY tips.  It will help keep the rest of us motivated!