Remember Remember, Fledglings Fly through November

[DidEinsteinsMum]

Welcome to the November Fledgling Flying thread.

From the 1st of the month we shall be decluttering and taming the chaos using baby steps, missions and zones. A great big thank you to MrsDinky who looked after us last month.

We are not strict followers of the fat fairy and take some of the babysteps wearing shoes indoors with a pinch of salt. Also advise against signing up for the fairy's emails.

All are welcome, jump on board for one of our three methods of chaos attack:

1. Baby steps
2. Baby steps and 15mins decluttering in current zone
3. Re-inforce the baby steps and daily mission

This month the fat fairy is gearing up for the feastive period. So I shall also post the christmas mission for those who wish are brave enough to look.

In here the motto is:

*"No perfection! Do what you can, but be realistic about what you can do."

Happy flying.

"if you could only get in the swing of it, it would all magically get easy"

Not happened here yet.

Today's list

Finish morning routine
Get DS to finish his breakfast
Finish packing bags
Load car
DS into car
Collect mother
Major expedition to dentist - a long way to go!
Dentist
Visit farm shop
Coffee at friend of mum's - thankfully she has young grandchildren so the house should be family friendly - I dread taking him to places where there are no children. He's generally very well behaved, but he is 3, and precious ornaments precariously perched on low delicate tables are a recipe for potential disaster
Mum treating to lunch out
Come home, stopping at Hobbycraft on the way, to collect the "few" bits I need for Christmas
Leave DS with mother for the weekend
Fill car with LPG and petrol
Any housework/jobs that need to be done for Monday
Pack bag for weekend
Make tea
Evening routine
Early bed (as have to be up at 4.30!!!)

OOoh very pleased because I have just cut DH's hair, hoovered and washed the kitchen floor, and it turns out that was today's mission! two jobs in one!

Have also:
Cooked breakfast and cleaned up
Washed dining room floor
Swished and swiped both bathrooms
Made bed
Washed dog bowls (eurgh - dogs usually DH's job but I fed them today and discovered their bowls needed some serious attention!)
STILL the dishwasher is not fixed (DH's department but he has the lurgy so I can't nag remind him about it)

Going to do a 15 minute declutter in the living room after babies in bed tonight.

Really, I can't tell you how much better the house feels since I joined this thread. And how much better I feel; back in control. It's wonderful. And DH is helping out such a lot too. Cobwebs, have a great weekend. Nettie have a good trip; glad it isn't just me who can spend a whole day not very successfully getting ONE thing done!
Hello to everyone else!
Happy FLYing (those who are well enough. The rest of you feet up!)

I may well just do that, highlighter. I must admit I'm still not feeling 100% and DH has caught my cold now too, so we may have to postpone our visit to my ILs this weekend. We'd already booked a table at our favourite Indian restaurant, but it can always be postponed I suppose... it all depends how DH is feeling when he gets home.

I have done very little so far this morning:
Made beds
Emptied dishwasher
Cooked dinner

How can it take half a morning to cook lasagne? Oh well, it will keep us going for quite a few days - although I've been doing so much cooking recently that I've run out of freezer containers.

Ihate Enjoy your trip.

Nettie Have a lovely time in Scotland (very of stopover in Lake District too).

Sylvia Hope today's trip goes OK.

SC St Nicholas only brings sweets, nuts, oranges and the odd small present here, but it's nice to have a tradition that's a little less present-orientated (if you could split presents between the 8th and the 24th that would be fine, but I don't see it happening in our household!). Well done on the playroom declutter, anyway; my three are very reluctant declutterers but I'm working on it!

OM Good news about the kit. The DDs only bring their PE kit home to be washed at the end of each semester, i.e. twice a year - I don't think they can be doing anything too strenous!

MrsD Sorry to hear about your DS's problems; it's good that the school is being so supportive, though.

Toffee Sorry to hear that your MIL didn't want the soup, but I'm sure it will be enjoyed at some point! I was thinking that I could do with some soup bags when I made the pumpkin soup a few weeks ago, so have just ordered a Lakeland catalogue - thanks for the reminder.

DEM Hope your knee is better today.

Having written a slightly longer post than planned, I now only have about 10 minutes before the school run - and still need to get my own lunch ready (the lasagne isn't vegetarian) as DD1's dyslexia lesson starts at 1.30pm. At least I'll have the chance to read while she's at her lesson.

We received the first christmas card of Christmas 2010 this morning. It was for the folks but Its just wrong. No christmas cards before december!!! or at the very least the first sunday in advent.

Knee is better today and as long as I keep the swelling down it is ok.

I think you win the thread prize for the first Christmas card received, DEM. (Was secretly hoping I'd get it as I'm sure I had a card mid-November last year. )

Sneaking back on after a poorly few days - even went back to bed yesterday which is unheard of.
Feeling lot better today so need to get a few things done - barely managed to fed and clothe the DC and get them to and from school over past few days.
Today need to do:

• Morning routine
• Menu-plan and shopping list
• Shopping and petrol
• Zap shopping
• Hoover living room, hall and stairs
• Have a look at Missions and maybe do one or two (or maybe leave them till tomorrow :))
• Packed tea for DC
• If have time and energy sort out more paperwork for IR
• DD to dancing (with DS and packed teas in tow)
• Afternoon/evening routine
• Early night

PA - hope all goes well and you try and take the hospital's advice :)

Hope all those travelling have good journeys/a good time and that the other poorly ones get well looked after.
Hello to everyone else who doesn't fit into the above categories, can't concentrate enough for individual message yet!

IHate/PA my mum had an Aga. She was a terrible cook. She liked frying best. I spent my childhood/ teens cooking recreationally. It burnt my cakes, and curdled my cheese sauces. And my creme caramels failed too. But for some reason Ihave ended up with one too! I love it. I love bunging bungling things into it and not cleaning it. And I've now worked out how not to burn cakes and how to make a cheese sauce (thank you Delia!)

Now today has started badly, not least because the internet hasn't worked for 24 hours, and I now have to catch up with your wise words...
done
yesterday made Xmas Cake with kids
batch cooked large amounts of food for freezer/weekend
made the most frightful muddle everywhere which caused me and Dh to get even crosser with each other

ONWARDS!
wash kitchen floor
clear breakfast
order afewXmaspresents online as stuck indoors with ds1 (who is recovering quite well though)
IRONING in ds's room whilst he watches a video
ASH!!!!!!

PA stay there, it is worth it to be forced to rest a bit, especially if you are life-force of household.

oh i need so much help in this area... where do i start.. im so embarrassed of my messy house... i dunno where to post this sorry :(

loosinas - this is definitely the right place. I've tried Flying a few times but this time, with the help of this slightly mad supportive crew I've stuck with it for 10mths (and counting!)
My house is nowhere near perfect (or even very decluttered!) but developing a few routines has helped a lot. If I fall off the wagon occasionally I now know what to do to get going again.
Don't be scared by some people's lists (as I often am!) Start with the Babysteps that are posted here/linked and take it slowly. It will get better.

Loosina - find yourself a timer, and three boxes. Pick a room. Any room. For 15mins put into one box stuff to throw (i use a bag for rubbish rubbish and box for recycling/tip stuff) one box for charity/give away and one for rehoming.

When that is done take 15mins to put away stuff in rehoming box and empty other boxes.

Reset timer and do again in another room.

when you have emptied the stuff from clearing this room. Sit down for 15mins and have a coffee/mn/pay attention to child as necessary.

Then pick another room and start again.

This is what i am doing atm. and I have technically been flying for a year.

Right now i am having a break and then i am going to deal with my car. It has been neglected and is very gross in there. Must do today before the fortnightly ds contact weekend run. cant fit his bike into the car atm.

if you can do 15mins in each room it helpsYou will feel like you have done something.

Where there is not enough to fill the decluttering time of 15mins then put some stuff away in that room.

Once it is tidy and decluttering you can worry about cleaning.

Loosinas - you start with the sink. Just a habit a day, rather than trying to tidy and clean your whole house (which is of course IMPOSSIBLE)
First habit is to get used to having sink free of washingup clean or dirty. That will give you hope that your kitchen is not a disaster zone.
Then you move onto next BABYSTEP, which is along lines of Make Your Bed every day or get dressed when you wake up (I cannot remember sorry - check links...and so on and so forth.
You don't do the Missions at this stage just decluttering and babysteps.

As Feetheart said don't be put off by other people's lists if you are trying to tackle the basic problem of THE MESSY HOUSE/MUDDLE/DISORGANISATION. Everyone has different problems they want to tackle, some people are very good at some things, not so good at others. And we all prioritze dfferently.

oh thanks so much guys i feel better already !!

im going to have a look at the whole cleaning your sink thing now

THANKS

xx

hmmm i think the cosmos is conspiring for me not to get clean lol
my plug in my sink dont keep the water in !!
so my bleach filled sink is not happening!!

what do you guy use to clean it after the bleach ?

Phew - have just caught up with the messages here!

Did - glad your knee is getting better. Can't believe you have had a Xmas card. Def too early.

PA - good luck! Thinking of you. Let us know how it went when you are feeling up to it. Glad your daughter will be with you too.

MrsD - sorry to hear your son is struggling at school, but glad the school is being supportive. Have been through this stuff myself and it's horrible, but it's really good that the school are trying to help, rather than you having to push them to help. Hope things improve.

Ihate - your lists are amazing! I can see you have another busy day ahead. Where are you going at 4.30am tomorrow?

OM - my mum said she always wore damp tights at school. Never did her any harm.

Highlighter - Excellent lists - well done on the missions too. Glad the flying is beginning to work.

Feet - sorry you're poorly. Take it easy and don't do too much - that's an order (list looks too long for someone who should be resting!).

Swan - gosh, you've been busy too. Very impressed by your Xmas cake.

Nettie - enjoy Scotland!

Linzer - rest! Get well soon.

Sylvia - hope long drive and meeting go OK.

Loosina - don't despair! DID and Swan are both right. I made the mistake of trying to follow the missions first, but now I'm decluttering and ignoring the missions, which makes much more sense. You can't clean clutter! This thread really helps, especially when you feel like you'll never get on top of the chaos.

Managed to get both children to school this morning, so can get stuff done today. Am feeling anxious about DS2's party on Sunday, so am planning that today. List looks like this:

Morning routine done
Washing on (DS2 wet the bed - why does he always do that when I have just put clean sheets on? ) done
MIL - pills, company and food ongoing (luckily she needs to sleep a lot, so I can catch up then!)
Clean dining-room chairs (children manage to drop pasta sauce etc all over the covers)
Borrow extra chairs for party
Wrap pass the parcel stuff
Party bags - fill
Pizza recipes - staple and put into party bags
Name chef hats and aprons
Tesco order for Sat done
Tidy dining room for party
Party to-do list done
Order Playmobil advent calendars (requested by both children)
School run
PM routine
Dinner
Eve routine
Bed at decent time (was in bed by 11.15 last night, which is good for me, but DS2 woke up and called for me at 11.30, just after I'd fallen asleep, so it was midnight by the time I came to bed).

Right, party bags and Playmobil order next. Both fun. Will do the boring stuff later.

Waves to SC, Hippo, MissB, MM, PMPY, Systems, all those above and anyone I have overlooked.

guys.. what do i use on my sink ???? lol xx

jif/flash/elbow grease! (yest was bicarbonate of soda
I don't get carried away though..perhaps I should...

floors swept
wash on
rang hospital done
talked to ds,and encouraged to walk around a bit on crutches yes
encouraged ds to read a book not a comic yes
gave ds lentil soup for lunch (yuk mum!)
gave ds homemade muesli bar (yes mum!)
sink clean
dw loaded unloaded
playroom tidied

struggling still this morning, dunno why
next - Hoovering
then 15 mins piano
then ironing in ds room

Done today:

40mins in car mostly cleaned and tidied and all monthly checks done (oil, water, lights, windscreen wash etc)
15mins bedroom done
15mins in bathroom done
15mins in kitchen done
15mins in lounge done
15mins hall/landiung done
washing 3rd load about to go on.
15mins in ds' room done
Strip ds' bed done
wipe down plastic sheet done
Rubbish sweep (ie bins emptied and taken to main bin) done
recycling sorted and ready for tip run done as much as has been found
Stick labels onto drawers done
Discuss weekend plan of attack done

Must do:
washing
pack ds' stuff for his dad's and load car
remake ds' bed
dw
washing up
benches and sink
Lounge floor
Hoover kitchen, lounge, hall, landing, bathroom, ds's room
library
cobblers
charity shop
cut, pin and hem thermal lining
Attach lining to curtains
rehang curtains
5 round trip to drop ds off.

Hello everyone, on route to not lake district like I hoped but Preston lakes too far for a stopover on route to scotland.
So done all my list and ready for nice time. Going to try and fly at my wrinkles house. Dmum has mobility issues and can't do much. Ddad tries but

Hope you all have nice weekend I'll be lurking as usual

Wave as you go past nettie have a lovely time.

I can't keep up today

Dd was a menace for the whole day yesterday, so I really really struggled, then I shut two fingers in the garage door :(

Today I've been out with dd and her class, we went to the garden centre and I've redone the pots outside the front door, and they look lovely, makes me feel better too :)

Today
-Make beds done
-Load of washing done
-DD's class trip done
-Sort pots outside front door done
-Put away feed supplies
-Scrub kitchen floor

Going to my parents for tea, so no cooking, hurrah :)

Good day here so far but this thread moves so fast I can't keep up with everyone...

Done more Xmas shopping - sorry PA but I have to get on with it as I have a very large extended family and get around 50 presents! . Feeling much more on top of it!
DW emptied
wash done
dry done
30 mins ironing
paperwork done
rabbit food/hay/straw etc done
seen mum for a quick coffee
picked up DD

Go to go and pick up DS2. See you all later...

Bob oh that must have been a horrid day yest, I'm so sorry..I hope you had a good cry. I would have.
Met a lady today doing her pots and we were laughing over the fact that by the time Spring we've entirely forgotten what is in those pots, it is definitely v. exciting when the bulbs come up. I need some more silver pots to brighten the gloom.

Downstairs floors washed
hoovering notdone
ironing in ds's room halfdone

Gosh, everyone's been so busy today!

More washing done
Spare bed changed
Kitchen cleaned
Sink full of bleach (doing it properly this time!)
Going to do some more work now....

Night all