Square Feet, FlyLady and Tomatoes

I've just finished reading Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew (the older version where he talks about improving your local soil). I've just started gardening, so I can't review the content with an experienced eye. However, he does a great job of making gardening sound fun... and not nearly as time consuming as you would think. Not only do you use less time, you also use fewer tools and fewer seeds: seeds that can then be stored for next year. A money-saver all around.

There's only one thing that pervades his theory that might turn some people off. Although he shows variations for those with very little time for gardening, the key to really great gardening is doing a little each day. This is a concept that some might not want to hear, either because they already have their day filled up with worthy causes (very likely) or they're just lazy (not so likely).

So, for those who are willing to devote a few minutes each day to growing your own food/herbs/flowers/etc. I highly recommend Square Foot Gardening, especially if this is your first garden.

On a side note, for those who can't seem to find an organizational system that works for them, I would recommend FlyLady. I've been too busy lately to keep up the email in her group, but the system itself is rigid enough for anyone to follow, yet flexible enough to adapt through many life changes and for many situations. The three keys of her system (principle-wise) are:

- time limits
- setting routines
- writing things down

One of the sayings she uses pretty often is "You can do anything for 15 minutes". And it's true. Part of the problem in keeping up with anything is the idea that one will be spending an ungodly amount of time doing something they don't really want to do. Combine that with the chaos most people have in their lives from trying to take care of work, home and family all at once and soon you find your life has turned into a plate-spinning routine. Work plate spinning okay? Good, let's take care of the housework plate; it's starting to wobble. Uh-oh! Junior's skipping school... the family plate is about to topple. Quick! Give it a spin! Time to race back to work... and I think you get the idea.

The beauty of FlyLady's program is that her beginner's section starts off with the most important things and moves outward from there (it reminds me of something I saw once regarding the priority Muslims give various parts of their lives when it comes to generosity). She starts with one bit of housework (shining your sink) then moves you off to taking care of yourself. When you get back to housework, she actually gives you a decent plan for decluttering focusing on the concept of keeping a time limit to any and all work done... or not done.

That's right. If the timer goes off and you still haven't finished vacuuming the floor, tough. Put the vacuum away. The point of all this is encapsulated in the second principle: routines.

There is no more spring cleaning if you follow FlyLady's system. No grab and stash, no hidden "treasures" in closets, and definitely no whining about not having enough time. Using the time limit, you do a little bit every day in certain areas of the house. The downside to this is if you're used to cramming as much into every time slot as you possibly can. Soon, that fifteen minute rule isn't going to give you any peace at all. That's why I would personally suggest scheduling fifteen minute breaks, just like you would have at a "real job" if you're a homemaker or do 45 minutes of housework, then take a 15 minute break (part of her Crisis Cleaning schedule).

When you keep up with your routines on a consistent basis, housework becomes much easier to manage and soon the people around you will start cleaning up after themselves as well (I've seen this myself).

Now, some might argue that these are things that are pretty obvious. The problem is that my generation was raised by women who didn't think much of housework and let that sense of chaos seep into the rest of their lives. Rules were bad things when I was growing up (unless I did something my parents didn't like) and cleaning was something that... well, when I was growing up it wasn't even mentioned. No one every showed me how to clean my room: I taught myself. Every bit of housework was the same way. The biggest problem was trying to figure out how to organize my time so that the house stayed clean without exhausting me in the process. I've noticed more than one person from my generation who's trying desperately to figure out how to do this "house maintenence" thing as well... and realizing it's about a lot more than housework. It's an attitude we were raised with about anything that smacked of order.

Obviously, some kinds of order are bad. But not all kinds. FlyLady helps those who have no idea where to even start find, not only the path to cleanliness, but also a series of signs to help along the way.

I will warn the stoics out there: FlyLady's emails in her group tend to be a bit emotional at times. If you don't mind that, join up. The system works best with the emails, but it's not absolutely necessary. Just like I discovered that, for me, getting dressed in lace-up shoes every day was a literal health hazard.

On an entirely different note: I'm hardening my tomatoes this week. That means I slowly get them used to being outside. Yes, it's very late for tomatoes. That's why I have them in a container instead of in the ground. Hopefully, they'll bear some fruit this year. Either way, I'm glad I started growing something.