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October Fledgling thread 2016: where we fluff up our feathers and fall back in to autumnal Flying routines

785 replies

Strikingclock · 30/09/2016 09:38

Welcome to the October 2016 Fledgling Flying thread!

Come and park your broomsticks mops and buckets here!

This is where, from the 1st of the month, we attempt to declutter and follow the 30-step wisdom of Flylady (minus cutesy language and a surfeit of e-mails) with lots of chat and support and mutual motivation (and Wine of course) along the way.

More info available here , here, here and here.

As usual we will be following a three-pronged approach - and don't worry - we are all at different stages. (Some of us are still stuck at the decluttering stage after quite a few years Blush):

  • repeat or start baby steps (again!)


  • repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone


or

  • reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.


And those of you who have decluttered and are really enthusiastic can throw some detailed cleaning in to the mix as well!

The idea is that we focus on short, ring-fenced, daily bursts of activity (steps and routines) that will help our homes run (more or less!) on "automatic pilot" allowing us to do far more interesting things instead!

This is a very long-running thread so we may appear cliquey but we really aren't! All newcomers, long-termers, lurkers and intermittent returnees not only welcome to join in but positively encouraged to do so!

Helpful pointers: No perfectionism allowed! If it took a while to create the current C.H.A.O.S. (can't have anyone over syndrome) in your home, then it will probably take a while to reverse the situation (you can't clean clutter!). Small steps are the key! And you are never behind: just jump in where you are at!

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Good luck!
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Strikingclock · 30/09/2016 09:44

Hello everyone! [SC here] Welcome!

Huge thanks to Greymalkin for her stellar performance leading the September thread Flowers.

Good luck with your studies starting in October Grey!! And with the continuing potty training!

I will post the links for tomorrow later on today and hope, in the main, to post links for the following day every eve. There's quite a lot going on here atm, so I won't be on the thread as much as usual, but I know everyone will make all newcomers feel welcome and answer any qs.

Happy October Flying everybody!

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foxessocks · 30/09/2016 10:27

Can't believe it's October already!! Just marking my place as have achieved nothing today apart from unloading and loading the dishwasher! Dd is at nursery but I can't make the most of it because ds is refusing to sleep and is grumpy and also being sick a lot so I've been constantly mopping him up! My mum is coming over soon so maybe I can pass him over for a while!

Happy Friday everyone!

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Bubblebloodypop · 30/09/2016 10:42

I'm going to jump in for the new month if that's okay? Everything is hellish and fly lady works well when I stick to it.

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TooStressyForMyOwnGood · 30/09/2016 10:44

Placemarking Smile. Thanks so much Grey for October's and thanks to all for welcoming me in!

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TooStressyForMyOwnGood · 30/09/2016 10:44

Doh for September's obviously!

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feetheart · 30/09/2016 12:35

Right, October is the new January, yes?

This month I am going to get sorted - house, fitness, me. Not necessarily in that order!

Thank you to Greymalkin for leading us through September, even if I mostly ignored the thread, and well done SC for taking on October.

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Furble · 30/09/2016 12:56

Placemarking here also. Thanks to Grey for such fab leadership in September and thanks to SC for taking over the reins for October.

I really can't believe that we are starting October already, the weather is positively summery here today still. That said, I also welcome October as I will have a baby this month!

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Strikingclock · 30/09/2016 15:57

Hello to Foxessocks, TooStressy, Feetheart, Furble, Furble'sbump Smile and a very warm welcome to Bubblebloodypop!

Ta da:
packed lunch for dd
animals
filled dw
greeted and paid dog walker
chemist run
lottery ticket run (huge rollover tonight I believe ... one can dream ...)
cleared paths in office for cleaner
proof read a couple of legal docs
spent a good 6 hrs yesterday and today sorting boudoir while lovely miracle worker of a cleaner tackled the home office:
(so in boudoir I: picked everything up off floor, cleaned and dusted and cleared surfaces, got rid of 4 recycling bags of magazines, 3 more bags of old clothes, rearranged books (in boxes), cleared dust bunnies from under chest of drawers, bed, wardrobes, sorted a veritable mega-tangle of wire hangers, stripped bed, tidied up generally, hoovered walls, re-organised shoes, clean side tables, hoovering floors and generally tried to pick up hair pins and bits and bobs that had fallen in between cracks in floor boards.

Drum roll >>>>> boudoir and home office are actually clean although not decluttered as much as I would like (esp office) , they are much more tidy and ordered!! Yay!! [Regulars will know that these two rooms are the subject of my nightmares ... . Feel much better for having started the month with a bang although being terminally lazy only did so because valuer coming on Monday which spurred me on!]

Absolutely cream crackered now though and still have loads and loads more parcels to pack (dd's outgrown clothes to send to niece). Have to do this tonight because we are entertaining tomorrow (involving baking) and need both our dining tables clear! Don't know if I have the energy [sob] but needs must. Dh back tonight too so must think of food as he'll be cream crackered too.

Therefore, will post tomorrow's links in a mo while I still have a functioning brain cell.

Have a good evening everyone and "see you" tomorrow night once our friends have departed.

TGIF!

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Strikingclock · 30/09/2016 15:59

Note to self: must also menu plan tonight for tomorrow and dig out/choose cake recipe

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Strikingclock · 30/09/2016 16:29

**

OK lovely fledglings here we go again! Here are the links for the start of the new month tomorrow. Can't believe it's October!! Where does the time go?? Shock

I've added in extra info here for newcomers - so don't let all this bumph put you off - I've made it look harder than it actually is!

Tomorrow's baby-step no 1, for 1st October 2016 is here. Shine your sink + loads of info for newcomers!

For those interested: here is the launch pad via which you can navigate the site.

So tomorrow, we will be starting in Zone 1: The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room here.

I don't personally do zone work at the weekends, but you may be interested in some info about how the zones work here and here.

Beginners please note: the idea is that all you need to do is spend 15 mins focusing on the current zone per day. At first, focus on clearing the clutter (you can't clean clutter). Then, when the clutter is gone, you can focus on detailed cleaning.

Consistency is the key here. Don't burn out - just do the 15 mins 5 days a wk. It's amazing how much gets done in that time if you keep it up!

No missions tomorrow because it is the weekend!

The daily focus for Saturday is family fun.

The habit for October is rid of paper clutter.

The daily flight plan here: www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120 will update itself and if you click on it tomorrow will provide a quick summary of the above.

Good luck everyone and have a great weekend!

And newcomers/beginners - don't worry if you feel overwhelmed reading all of that - you don't have to understand the entire system at the beginning - it will start to make sense as you do it. Just focus on the baby-steps for now ...and all will become clear ... promise!

*

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Strikingclock · 30/09/2016 16:31

oops - that October habit should have read - "getting rid of paper clutter"

Hope it all makes sense!

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biscuitbadger · 30/09/2016 17:34

Thanks strikingclock!
I'm checking in for October. Will be mostly lurking again but the thread is really helpful. Much better than silly old twee fly lady website.

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Strikingclock · 30/09/2016 18:04

Waves to Biscuitbadger!

Bloomin' 'eck - sorry - you'd think I could get the first set of links right ... .

Just doing that paper clutter one again ... .

The habit for October is getting rid of paper clutter.

I know from bitter experience that this is a very good one to follow. If all files/address books / financial paperwork is up to date before starting Christmas prep in Nov, it makes life a lot easier.

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Babblehag · 30/09/2016 18:27

Place marking, I haven't done any flying today...at all. I spent the day out with friends. All day. Which is a biggy for me as I haven't spent the whole day with friends since before the summer holidays. But I'm feeling utterly drained now, and the house has been left to fester. I'll be tackling it tomorrow, after going to a hobby craft trip with friend....I have a feeling I may find more clutter to fill my home with.

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foxessocks · 30/09/2016 18:51

Ta das
Dishwasher on
Made dinner
Emptied bins
Tidied living rooms and bedrooms
De cluttered my handbag and purse!! Yay!
Laundry on

I wanted to get some ironing done today but ended up watching zootropolis with dd and dh (and ds but he was admittedly asleep the whole time!). It's a really funny film actually!

DS has definitely got a cold now which is horrible when they're so tiny. It was bad enough with dd but at least she can tell us how she feels and tell us what she needs but ds just makes horrible snotty noises and can't feed properly. I think we may be in for a long night!

babble sounds like you had a nice day with friends - much more fun than housework anyway!

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pontificationcentral · 30/09/2016 19:04

Parking my broomstick!
Will post actual flying stuff later - am currently too boggled by zoo's post on weds when I was playing catch-up. Hope you and dh are ok zoo xx
Knee deep in volunteer admin (my own fault as I let it pile up due to an IT issue, so now it's all twice as hard) that I need to get done first.
Happy almost October!

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Furble · 30/09/2016 19:11

Evening All,
Happy Friday, the weekend is upon us!

Ta-das
One load washing done and hung and two loads away
Cleaner has been round and done the weekly bleurgh
15 mins in living room, got another drawer cleared - woohoo
Put something lovely in my shiny living room (DH randomly bought me home a bunch of yellow roses, v chuffed)
Weekly shop and transferred some bits to the freezer
Prepared dinner

Foxes sorry to hear DS is poorly, sounds rotten. Sending get well wishes.
Babble sounds like a lovely, and much deserved day of fun! Hope you found some goodies at Hobbycraft.
SC Congrats on the mammoth decluttering effort, sounds epic! Enjoy the entertaining!

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Greymalkin · 30/09/2016 19:57

S'up y'all - hope you are enjoying your Friday evenings.

Foxes - hope that bubba is better soon

Furble - hope your bubba turns up soon!

SC - thanks for talking over, hope all is well with you. Star Star (one for each room you blitzed!)

Babble - lovely to have a whole day just for you, glad you enjoyed it

Pont - I'm with you on the volunteering admin pile up, this will be one of my anti-procrastination tasks....

Welcome to Bubble and Octopus, nothing like the start of a new month to get your groove on!

< Waves to all the newbies >: LiveLife Addictive Badger TooStressy DontStop Foxes, Fromwesttoeast, Ememem84, Pauline, lazyleo, Happilyahousewife, Outputgap, Justpeachy, YippeeTeenager

Ta Da
Fed cats
Took DS to nursery
Took DH's rubbish pit car for its service
Folded and out away dry laundry
Emptied and reloaded dishwasher
Made beds x2
Cooked a new recipe (Lamb, apricot and chickpea tagine - all from scratch in my new cast iron casserole pot - feeling quite pleased with myself!!)
Collected DH's car and DS
Fed cats again
DS's bedtime routine

And all throughout the day I have been frantically trying to finish the last of my reading. First day of my course tomorrow!!!!!

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WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es · 30/09/2016 22:51

Thanks for the new thread SC, and for last month Grey Flowers.

I made good progress with daily routines and missions last month, this month I need to get on top of paperwork.

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CotswoldStrife · 30/09/2016 22:59

Yay, autumnal October. Looking forward to the half-term (less than 3 weeks away for us now!) and - drum roll please - we've finally hit the top of the Hotpoint repair list and hopefully our Tumble Dryer will be getting the fix it needs shortly.

Need to focus on diary juggling, menu planning and some self-care/organisation this month. I've spent a fair bit of time sorting out car issues in September and we've had some work done on the outside of the house so looking forward to getting back in to things properly!

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Cagliostro · 30/09/2016 23:26

Signing in! Thanks SC and also thank you Grey (incidentally I got very excited when I read your name in Macbeth, which the Caglets are learning about - I hadn't made the connection before) for last month.

No Flying today as we are at Mum's, although in FlyLady style I did actually start packing this evening instead of leaving it all until tomorrow morning!

Had a lovely day on a home ed trip to one of my old haunts (some historical caves) and then spent time with a friend who is more like a mum to me. :)

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fromwesttoeast · 30/09/2016 23:27

Thanks for the new thread.
New month, new resolve! My usual Friday evening work was cancelled so I took DDs to netball, made a cake and vacuumed upstairs. I should have decluttered instead of baking but as I haven't had an evening off for a couple of weeks I just wanted to do something more enjoyable. Happier having vacuumed upstairs at last!

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Stilllivinginazoo · 01/10/2016 05:05

Hi all!!
thank you for leading greyStar

Another busy day here yesterday (Fri)
Mil house now empty bar a box photos n knick nacks that sil might want to go thru,and box prperwork I need for the probate/inheritance tax bleugh.wauting on 2 lots correspondence yo send them off.have white hoods being picked up Fri then we are ready to hand in keys (ahead of schedule) on 16th
Funeral is now booked for 13th.we agreed no flowers cept top casket bouquet,donations to pancreatic research/charity instead.
Just need sort celebrant details n that's sorted too!!

On my home front we have crashed n burned. Place descended into bedlam,hence posting at silly o'clock.I can't sleep knowing I got to get up into the messSad
So I am now getting up n intend wade into that

Its my birthday today,but we aren't celebrating as other events have taken hold of our time and attention.


Waves to everyone,sprinkling good dream dust over you all.xx

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Strikingclock · 01/10/2016 07:18

Oh bless you Zoo and happy birthday! Cake Flowers Wine

You've had such an awful time of it of late - you've done amazingly well to sort your mil's house in record time and as usual have put everyone else first - I hope you can carve a little bit of time out for yourself to celebrate!

Foxes so sorry to hear both your little ones are under the weather now; I hope you managed to get a little sleep Brew

Big wing flaps to fromwestoeast Caglio Cotswold Whoknows Greymalkin Pontification Foxes Furble Babble Bubble Octopus Feetheart Shannara LiveLife Addictive Badger TooStressy DontStop Ememem84, Pauline, lazyleo, Happilyahousewife, Outputgap, Justpeachy YippeeTeenager Toffee Honu¨and anyone else I may have inadvertently missed.

Right,I was so tired last night I didn't get much done after I posted, so I must now go and prepare for a little party we are hosting this afternoon for which I have not cleared the dining room tables, decided on a menu, bought any food, or cooked or prepped any food Confused Yikes!!!!

[SC scuttles off in panic mode]

Have a lovely day everyone!

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Strikingclock · 01/10/2016 07:19

.. or bought a present Hmm

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