As my parents just left, and James and I find ourselves exhausted, I see that I should have turned to FlyLady.net for a little pre-visit advice.

See, her method is to tackle just a little bit (15 minutes to be exact) at a time and you’ll have no need for a “crisis cleaning.”

Before my parents arrived, James and I took a whole day to freak out and run around the house, washing windows, wiping down walls, washing ourselves.

We vacuumed curtains, under the couch, the dog.

It was exhausting.
By the time they arrived that afternoon, we were beat — and I couldn’t get all the things that still had to be done out of my head.

Now that’s not a very elegant way to begin a visit with my parents.

If you feel like your house could get away from you at any minute, I urge you to visit the Flylady site.  It’s jam-packed with excellent house tips to keep it running smoothly.

My favorite takeaway?  Her holiday planning control journal.  It helps you outline all the cookies, the gifts, the budgeting and the entertaining well ahead of time so you’re not scrambling at the last minute.

And I assume you’ve entered your holiday disaster story to win an (oops) Holiday Survival Kit?
You have a great chance of winning an amazing prize.

Get on to it!