If the thought of deep-cleaning your home sends you into a spin, you aren’t alone. Thinking about everything that needs to be done can be so stressful that you don’t know where to start. The good news is that there are plenty of approaches and cleaning hacks that can help, including the old-school FlyLady method.
While the FlyLady cleaning method first came to the public in the late 90s, it’s still going strong now, with a huge online and social media following.
Take Bridgette Hartt as an example. She took to TikTok to rave about the FlyLady method, saying she struggled to keep her home clean without feeling overwhelmed.
In her video, Bridgette explains that this week she’s cleaning Zone 1 (more on this later), which consists of the dining room, front entry, and front porch. She sets a timer for 15 minutes and sets to work cleaning.
Usually, it would take a few days for Bridgette to get all of this done. But she says setting a timer helped her stay focused, and she did it all in the allotted time.
“This has given me so much hope that I will not be overwhelmed with cleaning my home,” she says.
What is the FlyLady Cleaning Method?
Created in 1999, the FlyLady method involves creating a system for cleaning and decluttering your home in a manageable and stress-free way.
How does the FlyLady cleaning method work?
These are the three main pillars for the FlyLady method.
1. Create daily routines
Set up daily routines that include basic tasks such as making the bed, getting dressed, and swishing and swiping in the bathroom.
The FlyLady has two routines she does every day: one she does in the morning and one she does before bed.
Here’s an example of a FlyLady morning routine:
- Wake up and make your bed straight away.
- Go into the bathroom, shower and clean it at the same time. Get ready for the day.
- Swish the toilet.
- Grab any washing that needs doing and put a load on.
- Have breakfast/feed the family.
- Make a plan for the day/check your calendar and to-do list.
For more routines, visit the FlyLady website.
2. Weekly routines
The FlyLady method also suggests establishing weekly routines to automate the cleaning tasks that need to be done every week.
For example, Monday might be a washing day, when you quickly tidy the bedroom and wash all the sheets, and Tuesday might be the towel-washing day. Breaking down weekly cleaning duties into smaller chunks makes keeping your home clean more manageable with zero stress.
3. Zone cleaning
This is where you break up the house into zones. Focus on deep cleaning one zone per week. One zone could be the kitchen, and another could be the bedrooms. During the week, focus on zone 1 and declutter and clean that area. FlyLady recommends doing a little bit every day for 15 minutes. Set a timer, and once the time is up, that’s it for the day.
How to choose your zones
The purpose of these zones is to make it easier for you to clean your home, so factor that into how you decide to break them up. Ideally, the spaces in each zone should be close to each other, so your home’s layout may influence them. But as a guide, FlyLady uses these five zones:
- Entrance, front porch and dining room
- Kitchen and pantry
- The main bathroom and one extra room
- The master bedroom, bath and closet
- The living room, den and family room
Depending on how clean your home is, it might take time to get things back in order. However, as the FlyLady says, the house didn’t get messy in a day, so it’s not going to be cleaned in a day.
To find out more about the FlyLady method, visit the website.
