I hadn't noticed it, but I've signed up now. It sounds interesting and maybe a bit like what we did before we remodeled our current house. We truly use every inch of it and I like how it flows, but I've gotten stuck. We've been here almost two years and I only have window treatments on the three front windows. Haven't even gotten to simple things like getting the towel bars put up, so I know I'm stuck.

The house is well organized and running smoothly, but I'd like to get it feeling more complete.

Gloria

That's great! I was hoping someone wanted to try it. I've gotten so much from this forum, and the flylady method, and now I'm looking forward to the Challenge complimenting what I've learned and accomplished so far.

I'm stuck too. There are small areas of my house I'm satisified with, and there are areas of my home that just leave me cold. After six years, I shouldn't have that just- moved-in look in my house. Well, it's not quite that bad, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Now that gardening season is over, and the last 9 days were spent purging, organizing, and cleaning, I'm getting antsy to finish projects that need finishing, and like you said, making the home feel more complete.

Two Saturdays ago when I first clicked on this forum, I checked out the flylady link. Signed up for that and started following it the best I could. It's pretty amazing how blocking off tasks in 5-15 minutes chunks, and allowing myself to take breaks instead of the all-or-nothing approach I used to take, propeled me to get as far as I have in a short amount of time.

I was also surprised to learn how much procrasting and perfectionism are intertwined, which also explains why most of the DIY projects that I started are 80% complete. I now know that I didn't finish those projects because once finished, I would have to face that maybe it didn't turn out as perfect as I had hoped. Perfectionism rears it's ugly head again. Actually, that realization just became complete as I was typing this.

Well, I have still have time to get a few things done before Monday, and I'm getting pretty excited at the thought of the house being in satisfactory order that I may actually Want to have company around the holidays instead of dreading having company.

I'm glad you are finding Flylady's system useful. It has worked really well for my family. We've been doing her system for five years. She had lots of little saying which really rang a bell with me. The most common sense one being, "You can't organize clutter. You can only get rid of it." After shuffling the same stuff around and around, it was like a hammer hit me over the head. I had clutter. Lot's of clutter.

The perfectionism/procrastination thing certainly seems true for me, although I would have never previously called myself a perfectionist. I thought perfectionists ACHIEVED perfection and I knew I certainly never hit that mark. We lived in our last house for 10 years. As I moved, I took down the towel which had served as a curtain to a door in our bedroom. Sigh. This house is mostly decorated or I at least have the items I want to decorate with. I just don't want to be taking down a make-shift curtain in 10 years.

Gloria

Five years doing the flylady system is impressive, but I completely understand.

Well, today is the day that the Home Challenge starts if anyone else is planning to join.

It's 9:30 in the morning here, and no email. Hmmm.

Tonight I host my quilt group of 12 women. I'm not interested in cooking, so I'll stop and pick up some goodies, but otherwise there is nothing I have to do to prepare for having people over. Nothing that just isn't part of my normal routine. What a payoff!

Gloria

I didn't get an email either, but I did notice there is a new button on the community challenge page.

I agree about the payoff, it's huge isn't it? You will be able to relax and enjoy your guests instead of being worn out from all the cleaning that had to be done before your guest arrived. At least that was how it was for me, in the past anyway :-)

I went and clicked on the challenge and the page for printing was blank. When I clicked on the calendar for tomorrow, it said day one. Hmmm.

I did go ahead and read about the four cornerstones. I think I would have put the kid with the band out in the garage. One of the families surely has a garage or basement. Our living room certainly isn't big enough for dual purposes, especially one with that kind of noise

Gloria