October is here, leaves are swirly, Fly with the Fledglings if your sink is surly

[MrsDinky]

Welcome to the October 2010 Fledgling Flying thread!

This is where from the 1st of the month, we attempt to declutter and follow the 30-step wisdom of the Fat Fairy, with lots of chat and support and mutual motivation along the way. (More info available here!

Many thanks to our September thread leader StillCounting for guiding us through the traumatic back to work and school period with lots of support and guidance!

As usual we will be following a three-pronged approach (and don't worry - we are all at different stages):

• 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.

Together we can do it! All newcomers welcome!

I quite like the sound of owkring, BatBrains - it sounds mysterious yet productive at the same time.

Hi and welcome to Scout; whereabouts in the USA are you from? I'm no help on the fluff trap, sorry - we have a separate washing machine and dryer (used to have an all-in-one machine, but I can't remember what we did about the fluff), but still get lots of wet lint collecting below the lint filter. It's DH's job to clean it all out!

Toffee Yes, clutter-free is definitely the way forward. I dream of a minimalist house, but suspect that it is never going to become reality. I have a friend with three small children (aged 2, 3 and 4) and no child-free time, and her house is always immaculate - I keep meaning to ask her how she does it.

Just13 I used to work as a proofreader at a company where the translators dictated all their translations, which were then typed up by typists - and would have given anything for access to a computer, let alone the Internet; we worked with hard copy alone (which I prefer for proofreading, but a search facility would have been invaluable). One of the few perks of the job was the hilarious misheard words; we used to keep a book of them. (The only one that springs to mind now is "killed in the ark" for "skilled in the art", but there were far funnier ones.)

SC I haven't heard an owl for years; we don't seem to have a great variety of birds here, in fact. Hope you manage to catch up on some sleep tonight. Yes, texts written by non-native speakers can be a nightmare to correct and I often think it would have been far easier if they could have been written in German and I could then have translated them. (I don't think it would have worked yesterday however, as I'm not sure that the intern's German is much better than her English.)

Sometimes I feel as if my life is one long damage limitation exercise and I have no time to spend with the DC as I'm constantly tidying up after them (I know, I know, they should be capable of tidying up after themselves). DS and his friend managed to get glitter all over the playroom floor while I was supervising the DDs' homework; I was sure I'd put it up out of his reach after the last incident (even worse, as glue was also involved).

Today is one of those days where I want to hand everything over to DH when he gets home and disappear upstairs to the computer to work on an urgent job. However, the two flaws to this plan are: a) I have no work, urgent or otherwise, and b) DH is working late tonight. Time for a cup of tea, I think...

Bat brains I didn't even notice your typo, that's how alert I am this afternoon...

Welcome Scout. I am new here too, joined Saturday, they seem a lovely bunch

I have had a pretty pants day today, in fact I haven't swished and swiped, or shined my sink, or made the beds. The only thing I did today so far is DW...
It was rather a manic day, had to be up and out the door so early today, as had First Aid training for work and I'm never usually even awake at the time I left this morning. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!

I know what will happen I will now spend a mad 20 minutes flying about the house so it looks a bit more reasonable before DH gets home. This is precisely the habit I am trying to get out of so I will work harder tomorrow I promise.

Before I forget, you kind people that have asked about baby due date, I am almost half way, due 9th March 2011. (Seems a lifetime away)

I too have a lot of clutter, but not a lot of actual rubbish IYKWIM.
A lot of the storage in my house is taken up with stuff I am reluctant to get rid of or give away as I'm a bit stingy and think I should sell it, but its more car-booty than valuable, therefore I never get around to selling, so i guess i should just bite the bullet and freecycle most of it.
It is just tricky to get my head around the idea of getting rid of/giving away things I KNOW I will need again, albeit not for another 18months or more.

Welcome Scout. Sittinghippo - there just will be manic days. It's hard to go easy on yourself at these times. Like others on here I LONG for a clutter-free household. I don't bring that much stuff in but I seem to be responsible for everyone else's belongings. It's my own fault for somehow knowing where everything is, even when it's not where it's meant to be...If I could free up the space in my brain that's full of all that knowledge about where everyone's tat is I could be phenomenal!!

Linzertorte - I loved that typo. The best one I've heard of (though it might be an urban myth) is 'if so, fatso' for 'ipso facto' .

To do:
tidy kitchen/DW, dust living room and pick up books, check post, make casserole for dinner, hang laundry.

Look what we got [hgrin]!

Yipeee......

[hsmile][hgrin][hsad][hwink][hshock][hangry][hblush][henvy][hhmm]

Bat bounces around thread like excited kid [hgrin][hgrin][hgrin]!!!!!!

ooooo mn time space continum didnt like [hblush]

I must confess, that with dp being off today and tomorrow, HE's been doing the housework, etc, and I've been taking it easy [hgrin]. It'll be all back to normal on wednesday, then I get a couple of days off and time to get things done a little more relaxed.

Did complete morning routine (the holiday version), the shopping, the dinner (risotto with left overs.

Dp managed to include painting the woodwork and took the kids to the cinema before I got home [henvy]

So, before I manage to wrestle the kids into the shower (they are current trying to beat each other into getting a large ball into the basket in the kitchen, I failed miserably), hello to SC,
PA (hope you have a good time),
ellie (as a governor, my sympathies are with you),
Toffee (perfectionism, I wish [hgrin]),
batbrain (you can always join in with the darts),
Linzer (skiing I would love to have another go at),
Just13 (hope your dd gets better)
sittinghippo (I left dp with the painting [hgrin])
feetheart, MrsD, bob, nettie, IHate, scout, and anyone I missed.

Erm Darts, i think in view of my one and only attempt it would be far safer if i didnt [hhmm][hblush][hgrin]

Must confess flying and projects on hold. Had to speak to ds' teacher again today [hhmm] Thankfully he is already asleep and tucked into bed.

[hgrin] @ batbrain (You haven't seen my mum play....[hgrin] [hgrin])

im so far behind with all your chat but i love the halloween

work has started in ernest on creating another bedroom for DD. I now have 2 rolls of carpets in my living room and the space left on the conservatory floor between the piles of unhomed junk from the loft which is now DD and DS bedroom is getting very slim.

DH is driving me bonkers and i think the feeling is mutual

im going to post tomorrow list.

up ds to montessori
dd thank you cards for birthday presents
find and order huge outfit for fat cowgirl
make dinner chicken something or beef something
post review of party entertainer
find out if dd wants to go to jo jingles or stay and play on tuesdays, feel our day together is adrfit and lacking focus.

i think that will do for now.

im gonna go and catch up but i will have to post some first

Thanks for the welcome. I am still very new at this program but am very excited!

I have been reading the emails but wonder at what point do I start doing the routines, etc., listed in addition to the BabySteps steps?

And what's good is so far I can everything when BabyScout is having his naps or down for the night.

Welcome Scout - best advice is to ditch the emails as soon as possible. They will drive you mad and fill your life/in box. MrsD posts the babysteps, missions, etc everyday and we ignore them at will follow them faithfully [hgrin]

Ellie - b*gger that. Wine will be waiting on Thursday night.

Bob - don't be too impressed with my list. Mum arrives Thursday and I'm having to make up for the fact that my usual lists involve everything but Flying [hsmile]

Did quite well I think:

• Lunch - done
• Make Cobbler for dinner - done though turned into stew as DC wanted dumplings, then they didn't eat it [hangry]
• Ironing away - done
• 2 mins hotspot in kitchen, living room and hall - sort of done
• Laminating for 2nd hand Uniform sale - done
• More 15 mins x lots crisis cleaning upstairs - done in DD's room
• Hoovering - done
• Mop kitchen floor - no
• Posters up for uniform sale - done
• Talk to DD's teacher re her spelling group - DD miffed as she is in lower group than she thinks she should be - done
• Dinner - done
• Homework - done
• DC to bed at reasonable time - done
• Me to bed at reasonable time - hope so if I get off here asap

Night all [hsmile]

Evening all,

A big welcome to Scout19075, good to have you on board.

The Flylady system assumes we are starting from a cluttered disorganised household. You are meant to start by reading her website and starting the daily babysteps. The house is divided into weekly zones, you are meant to spend 15 mins each day declutterimng in the current zone. Once you are clutter free you can start doing the daily missions. In practice we mostly mix it up a bit as we are all a bit less than perfect! So if you see a mission you think you can do, just do it. Otherwise, declutter. Some weeks I mange all the missions other times I don't do one for weeks. Or do them a fortnight later, whatever. The point of sticking to 15 mins is not to burn out and lose heart. Join in the chat too, if you can keep up....

Sorry, I don't know about the fluff trap either, separate WM and dryer here too. How old is BabyScout?

Today I have had a very mixed day. Started with a fair amount of Flying day, went downhill with a problem for DS which I am quite upset about. Also backacheis back, probably due to spending this afternoon at school hearing readers and sitting in a plastic chair designed for 6 year olds.

Hey ho. I am struggling with these roundups a bit, there have been 38 posts since last night and my head is spinning a bit.

So, keeping it short - Ellie - good luck, linzer - bin the glitter, Nettie - piles of unhomed junk are all over my house, Darts glad you have go a nice easy couple of days, Just13 know just what you mean about wasted brain potential, Sitting hope first aid went well, bob glad you are seeing the improvement after your 2 months on here, Batbrains - sorry about school, Feetheart - liked your link, will mention it at our next PTA meeting, in the meantime will try it out for your school if I remember, toffee - it's the friends with DCs and no clutter that puzzle me, just don't know how they do it.

Babystep Read a Testimonial.

Mission. Think it was the clear the clothes piles one.

Reminders.

Sorry about all the separate posts, Ipad loses links if you switch between windows to cut and paste. Those of you who were of it, I'm actually not all that overwhelmed by it, hideous to type on, DCs (who we have made a point of not buying games consoles for yet) are addicted to the games and far too easy to spend all day browsing on instead of flying.

sc we have an owl outside our front window somewhere who hoots away all night. tis lovely sound
linzer i feel like that most days, hand dc to dh and run away, even today and he has been off all day [hshock] sypathise with glitter,here is felt pen and dd. lonly 2 minutes out the bath and she has found some and written all over here arms [hangry]
hello toscout just hippo

i have made ds packed lunch and put a review on for childrens entertainer who we had at dc party. so im ahead of the game tomorrow. If i dont stop messing about and go tobed im gonna be behind the game!!!
tomorrow also need to
go to library return overdue books
book appointment with opticians for dc

right night.

thanks MrsD!!!!!

Ooo yes of course thanks mrsd
batbrain hope meeting went ok

Nite nite all

Morning all,

Just back from kindergarten/school run, so a quick catch-up/list post before I start getting on with things. Had a nice chat with the new "native speaker" at kindergarten; it turns out he's from West Bromwich, where my mum's family is from. However, spent so long chatting that the other school children had already gone by the time the DDs got to the meeting point, so I drove them part of the way to school so they could catch up with their friends.

MrsD Sorry to hear about your day; hope the problem with your DS can get sorted out and that your back is better today. Interesting to hear what you think about the iPad; DD1 is already addicted to my iPod so I've had to password-protect (is that a verb?) it and I already have a notebook that I hardly use (although it does come in very handy when I go back to my parents'), so I don't think I can justify buying an iPad (much as I like the idea of it!).

Nettie Love your new name. [hgrin] At least I can hoover the glitter up (must get round to it this morning); I try to buy only washable felt tips, but DS always seems to get hold of the non-washable ones (he decided to draw thick black lines on the living room floor last week, and no amount of scrubbing will get rid of them completely).

Must get on with today's list:

Morning routine
Washing/ironing
15 min decluttering in master bedroom
Mission
Make muffins for friend's visit
Post class photo to GPs (it's ready to post and has now made it into the car, but I keep forgetting to stop at the post box)
Afternoon routine
Bank/pay bills x3
Sort out travel insurance
Finish filling in form for translation agency
Write letter (or rather, get DH to write letter) in support of Albanian friends - they're asylum seekers and have been here for six years (their DS is in the same class as DD1), but it looks like they may be sent back to Albania. It's a real shame, as they're a lovely family and the children are very well integrated here.

Morning all - clear and crisp here and I'm back from school run with cold hands and a red nose [hshock]

MrsD - not surprised you are struggling with round-ups! Hope DS's problem is sorted out with minimum of stress

Nettie - thanks for library book reminder, think I may as well buy one of mine as the fine will be SO huge [hblush]

Linzer - the glitter will never, ever, ever go away - has been sent to take over the world and is winning [hgrin]
I'm with MrsD - bin it

Need to have another busy day here today so list goes like this:

• Finish morning routine
• Check what's for dinner and see if I should have defrosted something last night
• Work
• Remove box of soft toys from DD's room that she managed to part with before she decides she needs them all again
• Make ice-cream with reduced price cream I got this morning - Mint Choc Chip or Vanilla?
• 15 mins x lots in bedrooms - getting there [hhmm]
• Kitchen floor
• Bathroom floor
• Hoover upstairs
• Baking would be nice but might not have time

That will do for now. Will try and post update and further list later to keep me motivated. Normal service will be resumed next week (after Mum has gone) but hopefully house will be tidier/less cluttered by then.

Linzer - alcohol/vodka is good at removing non washable pens. Its what we would use in a lab to remove permanent marker of plastics and glass wear.

Should be doing something productive but cold and tired so just sitting still whilst i wait for training stuff to finish washing so I can flash dry it and then go training. Will be late today

List of what must be done today:
White wash in machine
Folding and clothes away
wash ds' bedding.
make ds' bed (spare sets so independant to the washing)
Do something with ds who has been a saint this morning
Ds' reading
Find gymnastics paperwork and return to school
fill in parents evening slip
change emergency contact details on Student Record - speak to office and submit
Cook sausage casserol for tea
Make music CD for training MUST DO NOW

so just a short list then [hhmm]

feetheart and MrsD - I'm beginning to think you might be right and the glitter would be best off in the bin. I keep thinking that it may come in useful if I ever get round to making Christmas cards with the DC - but no, it will all come off in the envelope (and I'll never get round to making cards anyway). Glitter-free is the way to go.

BatBrains Thanks for the advice; I will have to ask DH if we have anything suitable. I wonder what happened to the distilling kit he got for his graduation...

I am currently recovering from the traumatic experience of delving into DH's part of the wardrobe. Right at the back, at the top, I discovered a pile of clothes that can only be described as truly hideous. Unfortunately, most of them are in a child's/young teenage size so I suspect he is keeping them for sentimental reasons. There were two particularly awful shirts (one white and covered with pastel dots, the other with a kind of paisley design but even worse), but by far the worst item was a Hawaiian-style pair of swimming trunks/boxer shorts. They're about the only thing that would fit him now (God forbid), but I have the horrible feeling that they're a memento of a student holiday somewhere or other and he will not be persuaded to part with them at any cost. It's my own fault; I know I should only declutter my own stuff as I can't throw anything of DH's away (tempted as I am...), only get frustrated about the things he chooses to hoard. I would love to be able to tell him he can choose one item out of the pile to keep, but suspect it wouldn't go down too well!

Must get on with some baking as I only have half an hour before I have to pick up DD2 and friend...

Linzer glitter glue is the way to go, much more controllable.

well behind today, just spent an. hour gossiping on the phone, need to get the washing on, do the dishes from last night ( oops ). I must hoover DD 's bedroom have bees meaning to do it for about 3 weeks.....

Hi All

I am still here! Not much flying going on at the moment, a but tired so doing a bit of internet shopping instead!

Hope you are all well x