Happy New Year, January's here, fly with the fledglings to get clutter clear

[ToffeeChristmascake]

Welcome to the January Fledgling Flying thread. A very big thank you to Ellie, our intrepid leader, for guiding us through the frantic Christmas month.

We are not strict followers of the Fat Fairy and take some of the babysteps - such as getting dressed to lace-up shoes - with a pinch of salt. We also strongly advise against signing up for the FlyLady emails.

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's tips on restoring order to our homes, using one of the following methods:

1. Babysteps
2. Babysteps + 15 mins daily decluttering
3. Babysteps + daily missions

Following the babysteps helps to establish daily routines and build a weekly plan.

This month's motto is: You can't clean clutter! See here for Flylady's advice on decluttering.

If you are overwhelmed by the mess in your home, start with just one thing: shine your sink.

And if you need to sort out the house after the New Year revelry is over, a crisis clean is what you need.

Back shortly with tomorrow's babystep .

(With apologies to Ellie for plagiarising some of last month's intro')

strong of course

Bob - it is progressing nicely but a bit of a panic due to all of the illness before christmas and between christmas and new year. Deadline 3pm friday. so working socks off tonight so dont have to panic so much tomo. Got to where i wanted to be tonight with the exception of a part miscalculation that needs to be put right tomo morning. So am actually getting ahead of where i hoped which is good because i always under estimate how long these things take

Right sleeping child into bed and back to work.

Ellie I think you need to make a contract with dh that he makes dinner (not a takeaway and does lunchboxes on alternate days. Contract when he's in a good mood.

Dh works and I am SAHM, yet Dh used to do lunchboxes, breakfasts and was endlessly going to Morrisons (actually that drove me mad partly because he thought I was useless at these things..

I think you are obviously doing all the stuff too well, he probably thinks you are superwoman, and he probably appreciates you an awful lot. Still v. annoying though. I still find dh annoying even though he's "superhelpful", so I suppose there is no solution... Men are just annoying.

Bob that is good news about dd's treatment, but it must have been a very long tiring day for you. I remember my Granny giving the dog a bath! It was a sort of highlight to our visits..
Lair is this the quilt?
Toffee oh no I think the playground brings out the absolute worst in some people.

The house is still a complete tip, children's rooms particularily uninviting, but the calendar is looking GOOD. No telly this afternoon, homework done x3 (which nearly drained my limited stock of patience) park, roller blading, I did some running, and dh in a very good mood after eating my risotto.

PA - I feel for you, have taken over accounts like that before and I know how horrendous it can be
Ellie - you have my sympathy, I can empathise, my DH has said that he likes the way the house is coming together, but he does nothing to help, and still leaves his stuff dumped and scattered on any and all surfaces.

So today's list

Morning routine done
Put up porch curtains - not done as I don't have enough curtain hooks sad
Zone cleaning - too cold in porch, will wait until I feel better
Sort out veg currently stored in porch done
Clean out fridge done
CGS seed distribution list done
Filing - not done
Paperwork for WI committee meeting - not yet
Sort out drawer for stationery in kitchen done
Sort out craft boxes/cupboards in kitchen -not done
Make bread done
Bins, recycling boxes etc up from drive done
WI return done
Post return done
Argue with elec supplier re bill done
Wash dusters done
S/s done
Make beds done
Washing on airer done
Washing in machine - checked, don't have a full load
Clean washing away done
Cook tea done
Tea done
Evening routine done
Find posh dress on net - not yet
Menu plan done
Shopping list done
Mending - not done
Playgroup paperwork - not done
My paperwork done
Hotspot done

Ellie Hugs to you
I agree totally with swan get him to either make the lunches or put dinner on while you do the CM run (or vice versa) that way you can all sit down earlier

Whilst he may be being a tosser, he may also just not have thought at all! He is a chap after all :)

No comment on my life from me... house is still semi tidy, but not great, but I just keep plugging away doing 7 things at a time...

Swan - the quilt is currently on hold until next week. This is a custom project for a friend who wanted something nice for a birthday present for someone special. So it has a deadline because of that. It is coming together nicely. Shoul have as much of the topper done as physically possible - ran out of bonderweb and thread of two colours which i will need to pick up first thing. :)

Tomorrow's list:
School run and morning routine (which needs to be properally sorted at some point)
Shop run (2 shops potentially in different directions)
Finish topper
Quilt
Stay off mn.

My to be finish this month list:
the quilt
the tablecloth
the bags

Honestly i will be glad when these projects are finished, but it is a small drop in the ocean of unfinished projects This year, i intend to not start any new projects until i have cleared a good chunk of the back log. However, this might have to be put on hold for April when there will be a significant project or two for some very special birthdays.

evening all, sorry didnt get back on yesterday but i did do my evening routine and managed toget off my fat bottom and go to gym.

just watching britains fattest man. oh! poor sod!

ellie omg bloody dh sounds just like mine who watched me struggle with 8ft christmas tree in a box and went off to get himself a snack instead of helping!i am very sorry and wish you bash him over head with large stick and that it helps.
pa sorry that work sucks! thats awful! i cant believe the mess some people can make!

ihate hope you feel better soon
toffee good luck with appointment tomorrow.
linzer safe journey
swan welldone on journal sounds brill.

huge waves to everyone who ive missed.

today was my first day back at work and whilst not quite as frustrating and downright anger inducing as pa i might as well not have been there. Was in presentation all morning. spent all afteroon trying to catch up for year end and went to back up the green slimey package that is sage and the barstolling thing has an error, all the work i did this afternoon will be lost as have to restore to previous back up!!

but on the plus side

clothes out for tomorrow
td on
dw emptied and reloaded x 2
heathly lunch and dinner prepared for me.
living room and kitchen floors swept and mopped
clothes put away.
kitchen cleaned
finally sat down at 9 to eat my dinner.

am now off to sleep watch charmed in bed night night all.

Bleurgh, back at work. Dropping DD off with GPs 25 miles away, going to work and picking her up does not make for a relaxing day. Only just got in so other than routines no flying done here today. Wish she could go to nursery but the flu risk for my BIL is too great at the moment.

Haven't managed to catch up with the thread either so no personal messages I'm afraid, apart from on PA's behalf for useless work staff (I empathise!) and on ellie's for useless DH! I prescribe a good firm kick up the bum

Night all hopefully back with a bit more enthusiasm tomorrow

We're now back in Austria after a very long day - left my parents' at 7 am, back home at 10.30 pm (I'm sure we could drive to the UK in that time) - but I'm feeling surprisingly awake and full of energy; it certainly doesn't feel like it's after midnight here. DH and I have already done some unpacking, helped by a glass of Sekt; I'm very tempted to stay up and get even more done, but I know I'd regret it tomorrow.

pmpy It sounds like you've had a long day as well. How long do you have to go until your due date?

Nettie How frustrating to have lost all the work you did this afternoon.

Lair I am in awe of your creativity.

Ihate I'm impressed not only by your long lists, but the fact that you actually manage to get most of them done!

swan I wake before 6 am most days but still never manage to get everything done (mind you, I'm spectacularly unproductive in the evenings).

ellie Have you actually asked your DH to help out? I agree that you shouldn't need to, but men seem to have an innate ability either not to see what needs doing or to assume that someone else will do it.

Bob That's good news that your DD won't need any more surgery. Keeping on top of the washing and getting your morning routine done sounds like a good day to me flying-wise, especially considering the other things you've had to fit in.

Ogre Glad you're enjoying the new job, and well done on your productive day.

PA Sorry to hear about your frustrating day at work; good to hear about your DD's new boyfriend, though!

madwoman Nice to see you again.

Toffee So sorry to hear about your DS; I was also bullied at school by so-called friends and it was just horrible. Hope you have a productive meeting with the head tomorrow.

Ihate Hope you're feeling better soon.

Really must get to bed now - night all.

Right crashing for the night. Back to work tomo after school run and shop run.

PA hope your day is easier today*

night all.

I know I should be going to bed, but my head is buzzing, so I am going to do a round up:

New recruits Sweetandtenderhooligan, Camdancer and Bessie are still sticking with us. Well done! It's not the Flylady routines that take stamina, it's keeping up with the pace of this thread.

We also have two more new recruits - Bumperlicious and WhattheDeuce. Bumper is very sensibly trying to get DH involved with Flying too (we are all for that, although we have mixed success rates).

DontCallMeBaby climbed over her cat and clutter to peep into the thread, but hasn't been back since. (Are we that scary?). Fojo (serial hoarder - sounds perfect fodder for Flylady) also peeked in tentatively, but was never seen again.

Sadly, I have to report that several Fledglings have been using child labour to achieve their Flylady targets: WhattheDeuce (bribing a four year old to make his bed); MissB (inflicting a 'chores rota' on her daughters); Darts (forcing her children to fend for themselves at lunchtime); and...er..me (paying sons well below minimum wage for tidying up). Ellie (a teacher, no less) also admits to using copious amounts of television and Playstation to get her Flying done .

We will go to any lengths to tick off those lists.

Other news:

Lair's son likes playing Bakugan on the DS. Worryingly, she prefers to play 'who owns the dead cat' . She had a major triumph for DS and for her this week .

Nettie survived a frustrating first day back at work. She has cleverly escaped the tree spirits by having a plastic tree and getting the cat to pee round the tree skirt. She is ruining everyone's New Year diet by indiscriminately handing round chocolate biscuits.

Pushme is in her third trimester, but manages to drive DD to GPs every day, go to work and complete her lists. Gold star to you, Pushme!

Linzer is such a habitual Flylady now that she has continued decluttering even though she is not in her own home. She's unstoppable. She is back in Austria now, complete with several suitcases packed full of chocolate Hobnobs.

Arabella is worrying that her working brain has rusted whilst she's been off work. Don't worry, Arabella - remember that you won a gold medal for achievement last week.

OgreTriplets has survived her first day in a new job - always scary. Has a birthday to organise, by the look of it.

PA dispenses endless useful advice, such as: never let a drunken DH decorate the house (result: electrics blown and flood ); restore marital harmony by making sure DH goes back to work; always hide food from hungry teens. She has vowed never to be off sick again after discovering the mess that has been made of accounts whilst she was away from work. (Glad you are well enough to be back at work after all you've been through, though).

Stillchuckingit is on holiday, so is let off Flying duties, although I hope she is still swishing and swiping.

Dolanette manages to get her family to tidy up with her without using bribery, threats or low wages. (What's the secret?).

Feet's New Year's resolution is to declutter properly this year. (Just 15 mins a day!)

DreamTeam loves her seven in 2011 thing. Her New Year resolution is to get to bed at a decent time (that should be mine too ).

BobLobLaw's daughter puked all over her hair on Monday, but she was still up for helping her son make super snot and mucous. What a super mum!

SystemsAddict solved the problem of coping at Christmas: she went away and came home to a tidy house .

Ihatecobwebs is our Queen of Lists. She even does them when she is poorly. You deserve your posh frock, Ihate.

Swan had a lovely holiday in Eire, then came home to no heating and no hot water . And cat pee . But she had it all sorted out in no time and even managed to make a control journal and a very nice risotto at the same time.

Madwoman is buying dogfood and pull ups and ignoring missions.

Optimistle popped her head round the door to say 'Happy New Year' and promised to come back properly soon.

Droitwich dropped in to share breadmaking tips and promised to keep Flying this year. MiniMarmite and Loosinas also popped in, but neither have been spotted since .

Off to bed now, having failed in my 'get to bed at decent time' babystep .

Morning all,

Today's list:

Morning routine
Unpack (which may well take all day)
Get DC to write thank you letters
Afternoon/evening routines

Am sure there's much more I need to do today but my brain isn't fully functioning yet, so I'll be back later to update/add to my list.

It's a bank holiday here today, so we're going to have to manage with food from the freezer/cupboards. Luckily we had some milk in the freezer, which has defrosted overnight, but we have no fruit or vegetables. Still, as long as there's coffee and chocolate, I can survive!

Good morning everyone.

Brilliant round up Toffee.

Ellie, I do believe men have a different radar system than us. We would notice if HE was running around like a mad thing, but they don't. I would just ask him to do something next time. Good luck!

First day back at job number 3 today. Another "sage" day, and the potential to have issues again, but the boss assures me he has been good and done everything properly. ( his idea of properly and mine could be different, or am I just becoming a cynical old hag!)

First day back to job number 2 tomorrow, where it should be straightforward-ish.

Still managing to get dh to keep on top of keeping the house looking ok! A few loads of washing needed to be done today.
Cooking a steak in red wine pie - stupidly excited because I have bought a new pie dish and just HAVE to use it. (how sad am I??)

I am trying not to be intimidated by all your long lists and control journal talk. Just plodding on as I can.

Have a good day everyone and a big to you all!

Fantastic summary Toffee it's so handy for catching up, thanks!

PA - are you really doing 3 jobs? You must have to be so organised. And best of luck for starting jobs 2and 3!

Toffee, how's your DS keeping?

PA have you read the Pie and the Patty Pan by Beatrix Potter, it is one of my favourites of more obscure ones...? All about pie dishes.

Linzer welcome back!

Done
recycling and two kids to school with stuff..I think I had to hand ds2 his waterbottle no less than five times, yet he still kept leaving it on the ledge.

3rd Kid is now off to hospital with me, to check his leg x-ray.

Pushme what a tiring day

bbl to CLEAN CLEAN!!
*Toffee your roundup is superb

Morning.

Today is a very very very good day.

Fabulous round up Toffee - although for the record i didnt feel like i could leave the randomly dead cat on the pavement just lying there knowing it was someone's much loved pet. It was kinder for the owner to be found, even if it kinda ruined their new year.

Although, if it makes you feel better toffee, i got up half an hour later as couldnt sleep and finally went to bed at 6am Had to get up at 7:40am for the school run. Coffee and adrenaline and SMILES here today.

Happy flying to you all. Have lovely days.
Right shops are open off to run errands needed for getting project finished. It is beginning to look like it might be done on time. maybe

how do you store Christmas tree lights so they don't tangle?

I wrap them around the boxes they came in but it doesn't work brilliantly

arabella - I get DH to do it, he likes that sort of OCD thing at times I think he puts them all individually back in the strips that they came in - I would just bung them back in the box and swear a lot next year!

Toffee - Wow, sooper-dooper round-up

Lair - intravenous coffee methinks

PA and Nettie - on your behalf at rubbish people and rubbish accounts packages

Ogre - getting out without shouting yesterday was a bit of a shock to all of us and we liked it. Are all aiming to keep it going and it worked again today too :)

List for today:

• Morning routine - done
• 15 mins tidy in living room - done but needs SO much more
• Hoover living room
• Find yummy Lamb Shanks recipe
• Shopping and various errands
• 15 mins decluttering somewhere
• DS to swimming
• Pick up DD from friend's
• Ironing
• Bed at decent time (bit too late last night though not as late as some

There was some talk a while ago about cookie presses. I got one for Christmas and need a few recipes that work with it now. Most of my cookie recipes are too 'solid' or have too many lumps Anyone got a good one?

Hello everyone, thank you toffee for the round up fab it was too. made me snigger!

so far today i have

emptied dw
got dressed
put rubbish and recycling out
got to work. restored back up on sage to yesterday morning minus yesterdays work.
in work avoidance tasks i have looked at theme park tickets again
signed up for quidco to get £30 cashback on weight watchers and signed up for three months worth of weight watchers, then faffed around with weight watchers app. have been super productive in work avoidance can i have a gold star for that please?

still do do, yesterdays work plus christmas backlog. bank recons x 4, streamline recon, prepare for year end which should have been tackled today!!
pick dc from nursery, snack bathe and bed
gym
travel insurance quotes
s/s
hoover house (playdate friday afternoon and at work till 1.30 they arrive at 2
dust and tidy as neccessary.
eat dinner
flake

hope you all have lovely daaaaeeeeyyyyzzzz.

Glad you all liked the round up. It was fun doing it. There are 30 of us on this thread now !

Was going to do my errands today, but it's pouring with rain here and I spent a couple of hours with a friend this morning, so I think I'll swap errand day to Friday and focus on house stuff today.

Arabella - thanks for asking about DS. He is not good....more below. Btw, I just shove the Christmas lights back in the box and they never seem to get tangled up.

toffee good luck with the HT meeting [fingers crossed she is constructive]

came back to two thank you letters from my godchildren...now feeling I need to get my children to write theirs

House feels v. insurmountable this afternoon.First I need to go and buy some more bin bags

Foul weather. and children will be home again in just under three hours. Sent ds in with his violin and just about located his violin music by a whisker. (in large overflowing box of assorted ***)He has done NO practice since Dec 12th alas.

Leg Consultant said Ds can now do PE again, so will have to find the blooming PE kit now (every silver lining has a cloud and buy him some PE shoes.

Must stop prcrsting and do something FAST.

Good morning? sorry afternoon all!!

Decided to get on with stuff before coming on here so I could post what I'd actually achieved

Made bed
swished and swiped ( I love it!)
Coffee with friend (very important!)
Quick wizz round tesco
phone calls x 3 (important business ones - not social you understand!!)
Taken DD to school - looking knackered due to mock GCSEs - her school have no pity,it's straight in and 3 exams a day
Washing on
Dishwasher emptied

Still to do :
Cook tea
clip branches off xmas tree as it is now too dead to move through the house!!
Put stuff in dryer
IRON

Good luck this afternoon Toffee and remember most heads/teachers also want the best for our DC and are on your side!!
Ellie - I think the general consensus is that men are hopeless and need a list until they are well trained. I blame their mothers. As a mum to 2 teenage boys believe me they jump to it!! I'm not having future daughters in law accusing me of not housetraining my own!! Although come to think of it DS2 relies on being hopelessly impractical to get us to do all his jobs - we are wise to it though
Give him a list - saves on the nagging!!

BBL with more jobs done I hope!!

No need for intravenous coffee today. Am in such a good mood and still have so much coffee in my system from yesterday I am almost bouncing. Shop run has taken all morning. Boo hiss. So i suspect that i will end up bribing ds later with the ds again

Right must try not to burn lunch, remember to buy pasta on way home from school run later (just about managed to scrape enough for lunch but it is a really random mix of odds and sods of shapes ) And get cracking. Seriously get cracking.

OM good to see you and impressed with the productivity.

Good luck with the meeting toffee

Oh and if you havent tried eating frozen grapes i would highly recommend it

OM you will be glad to hear that I forced ds1 to put the recycling out for me...

Hello Toffee, hope you come away from your school meeting feeling reassured that the school are going to try their best to help make things easier for DS. Good luck

Thanks for the Christmas lights feedback all. I think I like the 'getting DH to do it' idea best.

Can I also ask you all while I'm here for any tips on my 11 month old starting nursery(this week)? And for going back to work after maternity leave with first baby?
Panic Panic Panic