Wednesday, April 13, 2011

and we have a Launch!

The Lee Family Launch Pad that is..For those who are not familiar with what a launch pad is, it is a designated area where everything is laid out and ready to go for the next day so that you can get out your front door on time. for us this means, shoes, backpacks, lunch boxes, wrestling gear, cheer gear, library books etc. but also a family calendar, family mail slots, mail, phone. All the daily information and things you need to function smoothly.

This use to be the are by our front door along the long wall on the floor. Needless to say just throwing things in a line along the wall didn't help keep things running smoothly. I searched the Internet for ideas, tips and pictures to get the creative juices going. Some families had some really great creative family launch pad. They all said the same thing, it has to fit your families needs and space.

Let rewind some years...
My house is always in chaos, years ago I came across Flylady. I was desperate for help, she had an acronym that fit my life to the "T". CHAOS, can't have anyone over syndrome. I was shamed and embarrassed of my house. I was sometimes even afraid CPS would come if any knew my dirty little secret.  I could clean the house, I did it often..my struggle was"keeping" it clean. I would go through cycles of house extremely clean then extremely messy. i could not seem to find a balance. It made me feel very inadequate as a wife and mother. Flylady helped me because I read about moms and wives all over the world who struggle the same way I did.

Over the years I learned about perfectionism, clutter, routines and you can do anything for 15 minutes.
I have been a slow learner in the de-cluttering area. I wouldn't classify myself as a hoarder but i did get very overwhelmed of the task of sorting things and deciding whether to keep, throw or donate. being we lived paycheck to paycheck I was always nervous to get rid of things, because if I needed it we didn't have the money to replace it. I had a lot of anxiety attached to things and mostly the whole process, it was very emotional. Every year I did make improvement, but often felt frustrated at the length of time it seemed to be taking me. Flylady always says baby steps but seriously, it felt like I would never take grown up steps.

For the last two years I still go through cycles but they are fewer and farther in between. It mostly happens when an illness goes through the house or i go on retreat. Apparently only mom knows how to get the chores done..lol.

Since being on Zoloft for my postpartum depression I noticed that Zoloft has helped me with other areas in my brain. I started to see the house clearer and all the things in it I did not love and was just in the way. I started tossing stuff without even a second look. I started to see the house differently. How it could be my friend and not my enemy. I started to really understand you can't keep a house clean when there is clutter. If you have things that you do not love and they do not have a designated area (not junk drawers or closets or garages) it is clutter and should be evicted from your home. For the first time I feel freedom from my house and stuff.

I was in the middle of projects when my gallbladder had to come out. It was hard to sit around waiting to heal so I could move forward with the different projects I have going on. If you haven't experienced it, whenever you move rooms around and de-clutter your mess actually get worse before it gets better, reminds me of a bruise..lol.

Well today I finished our Lee Family Launch Pad which also required changing rooms around. Which Kathy and Vessie did for me when i came home from the hospital..Thank you ladies!! Love you both!..back to the rooms, I took our 4th bedroom that we used for a playroom and switched it out with the back room next to the kitchen which leads to the back yard as well. The back room was our homeschooling/computer area..which is now in our 4th bedroom dubbed our "Project/Study Room" (which is in disarray but is next on the list )

Here is our floor launchpad, wish I had a picture to show all the stuff piled but seeing the space you can probably imagine what it was like to come through the front door.
Now the car seat and donation items are temporarily sitting here.

The Lee Family Launch Pad

Lets take a closer look...
The Shoe cubbies, got this at home depot. Its a 6 cubby cube turned on its side. nice tidy place for our shoes and no more tripping!(and labeled so no fighting)
9 cubby cube also purchased from home depot, everyone gets an extra designated cubby for smaller items that are used on a daily basis. Still need to label with names.
Using heavy duty anchors and hanging hooks for everyone. Each hanging hook as three hooks on it. no more running all over the house looking for our bags, or tripping!
This is the top of the 9cubby cube. Printer, house phone and a designated box for the mail that needs to be sorted. Added some cork on the wall for important business cards and things I need to remember daily.
sa. I just made 30/31 squares and label the day and date inside each square. It was a little confusing to look at at first but now I am use to it and it works.
I actually had a different idea and was going to make my own mail slots out of file folders but saw this at Costco next to the whiteboard I bought and thought, that is perfect! The top I am using for the dry erase board items so they are out of reach of the kids. The very bottom flat slot is for all those "mom , you need to read and sign this.", etc. Then I can sign off and place in one of the slanted slots that belongs to that child so they can put in their backpack, yay for not having a pile of papers on the dining table! 


So that is our Family Launch Pad and I love it!

A Special thank yout o Vessie and Kathy for helping to make it possible!

From the Inside Out,
Chrystal






2 comments:

  1. If you have a family launch pad, I would love to hear about it and see it!

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  2. Your 3rd and 4th paragraph were taken right out of my head! I started fly lady and then I was on partial bed rest so I never followed through. You have inspired me to make my own family launch pad and start "flying" again.

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