In reading the comments posted to the Real Simple cleaning episode, it seems some of our loyal listeners felt our episode on cleaning with Real Simple was, well, too simple.

Originally, I planned to also have on this show a Manic Mommy listener from suburban Chicago who is a fan of the FlyLady (some women who subscribe to her program call themselves FlyBabies). Due to time and scheduling issues last week, I wasn't able to squeeze Amy in. We do plan to have her on an upcoming episode for a Manic Mommy profile. In the meantime, I asked Amy if I could publish her original email to me here on the blog. I had to dig through over 3,000 emails to find it (no lie) but here it is. Published with her blessing.

Hi Erin,

As promised, here I am getting back to you for a profile for the podcast. We were talking about maybe doing a January profile, centered around FlyLady? Anyway, here are some stats about me:

* I’m 39, married for 13 years, one daughter – age 8, one son – age 3. We live in the Chicago suburbs.
* I’ve been a paralegal for 12 years, and I work part-time.
* I’ve used the FlyLady program for about 6 years now, and it has made a big difference in my life.

Here is what FlyLady is:

* FlyLady is a woman, named Marla Cilley, a former fly-fisherman based in North Carolina , who got her life together by changing her habits.
* She began by cleaning out her house, little by little, to rid it of the physical clutter.
* Once the physical clutter was gone, she was able to focus on the mental clutter around her.
* She began to talk to others about what she was doing and started a Yahoo email group list to assist others with their clutter.

Here is how FlyLady works:

* FlyLady runs an email group list to send emails to the group.
* Once you’re signed up on the email list, you start getting reminders that basically tell you what to do during the day (like “start thinking about dinner”, or “pay your bills”).
* You also get testimonials that show how some of the members of the email group make this program work for them.

The downsides:

* There are a bunch of email reminders…sometimes you get 7 emails during the day, sometimes 15, sometimes more.
* Sometimes it feels as if the only people the program is geared towards is SAHMs.
* Sometimes it feels as if it is just overwhelming…the program has a LOT of information in it.

The upsides:

* You can do as little or as much as you want to on the program…there is just no wrong way to do anything on the program. (Personally, I delete a ton of the emails, just because there’s only so much I can do during the day. I do read the testimonials, though.)
* You can personalize the program to your needs. For instance, I have completely different needs on Monday/Wednesday/Friday and Tuesday/Thursday due to preschool and other afterschool activities. You change it up to suit your life. In other words, what works for another person probably won’t work for you, and no one expects that.
* The program is 100% free. FlyLady has a number of items for sale through her website, but there is never an obligation to buy any of it (although I swear by her calendar).

Things that have changed in my life since I started the program 6 years ago:

* My house is a lot cleaner. The feminist in me says that the housework is supposed to be divided up 50/50 between husband and wife. The realist in me says that if I don’t take the first step in cleaning up, no one will. Consequently, my husband assists in everything, and the children watch what we’re doing and help out. I don’t want to be all Pollyanna or anything, but it really feels as if we are working together.
* I’m able to focus on what really matters in my life. Where I thought I had no time to do just about anything that I love to do, like cooking or needlework, I now have time for it because I make the time.
* Have I mentioned my husband? My husband was born neat and tidy, and ended up married to me, a person who thinks she has everything organized, but really doesn’t. And chaos ensued. I was not going to be a nagging wife, and I tried to do almost everything on my own. I wouldn’t let my husband help me because he wasn’t doing things “right”. It got to a point where he told me that things had to change or we were going to end up going down a path neither of us wanted to go down. Right after our conversation I got an email from a friend of a friend about FlyLady, and that was it. Things are better, though not perfect, and that is OK with me!
* Speaking of the dreaded p-word (perfection), I never strive for it anymore in my personal life. I strive for “pretty good” or “very good”…never “perfect”. It’s just not necessary. I do strive for perfection in my work life, but that’s only because one lost comma can cost you a lawsuit!

OK, I have a lot more to say, but you get the gist of this. I’m sorry this turned out so…PowerPoint-y? For me, things usually work better with bullet points.

You can call me anytime to talk...Usually, the best way to reach me is my cell phone...that is, when I’m not WASHING it in the laundry (which happened about a month ago). J

Amy