If your nest is cluttered and getting you down, join February's Fledgling Flyers and turn it around

[pushmepullyou]

Welcome to the February Fledgling Flyers' thread. A very big thankyou to ToffeeChristmasCake (who will presumably return under her non-Christmas name ) for seeing us through the thick and thin of January decluttering.

All flyers and fledgings old and new are very welcome - we have a fairly relaxed attitude to flying 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.

If you are overwhelmed by the mess in your home, start with just one thing: shine your sink. It's amazing what you can achieve by just doing a bit at a time!

Pleased be warned that my month's leadership comes with a bit of a caveat as I am due to have DC2 at the beginning of March so there is a chance I may disappear mid month! Thankfully Toffee has very kindly offered to deputise in the event of the unexpected appearance of DS .

Apologies to Toffee (and by extension Ellie) for blatant intro plagarising and thankyou to Nettie for the thread title

See you all in February!

Morning all,

Thanks for the info about Tiger Balm, SC and ohmeohmy. I already use 4head, which sounds quite similar and is good for mild tension headaches, but it's not enough of a "distraction" for the headaches I'm having at the moment. Interesting to hear that you have a dust allergy too SC - I'm still a bit sceptical about whether it can actually be causing the headaches, but will reserve judgement until I see whether or not the tablets are working. My headaches haven't been diagnosed, but I don't think they're bad enough to be actual migraines (and I don't have any other symptoms) - the doctor hasn't actually said much about them.

Apologies for boring everyone with my health problems; I hope to be back on Flying form soon, but may have to wait until the DC are back at school first. They've just appeared in fact, so must go, but will try to come back later.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Ooh, have just discovered you can highlight your own posts now too. Now what colour to choose? Decisions decisions...

Fabulous isnt it linzer I think the dust allergy can cause the headaches through sinus pressure. Or at least that is how it often gets me.

Not flying havent actually been alseep yet. will crash after school run. however, feeling better in myself so now it is a case of establishing a routine. First babystep i am even going to consider is the one i have always failed at

"set a bedtime and stick to it"

hope to be back soon. feels like forever, although in truth it hasnt been that long.

lair.

I'm not really sure what this is as I'm new to Mumsnet but can I join please? It sounds exactly what I need after coming out of the fog of having my 3rd dc under 5 last year!

Thanks :)

Morning everyone

A warm welcome to Monkeytennismum

Flylady is a system of house cleaning that is broken down in to set routines and 30/32 steps per month to follow. It helps you to do the chores in quick bursts of focused effort, hopefully freeing up max time to do more interesting things instead.

Suggest go to baby-steps here: here and read through first 8.

Once the baby-steps become routine, you can start decluttering every day.

And once your house is decluttered, you can graduate to missions.

Don't be put off by cutesy language on the site - the underlying system is good. And don't sign up for e-mails - you will be inundated - everything you need to know for next day will be posted by our thread leader Pushme on the previous evening. (You can receive her posts highlighted in green if you have switched to Mumsnet latest settings!)

Good luck!

32 steps? What planet am I on this morning?

I meant 30/31 steps.....

Actually I am on planet stess this morning.
Could be worse but we have family crisis involving dh's family. Mil in hospital with broken hip 830 kilometres away. Pil needs nursing himself. Sil already there but torn between two. We are frantically making arrangements re: this w/e - don't know if we are all travelling or just dh atm.

Great to see you CHB [Thought of you this morning as dd's class heading off to patinoire for a morning's skate.]

Linzer [sorry to everyone else to ramble on about health probs again!!] My dust allergy not sole cause of sinus headaches. Found out they were hormone related. (The hormones that trigger 'bleeding' and then 'drying up again' every month can apparently also effect sinuses which makes sense if you think about it. I've had to go back on pill for different health reasons and headaches have reduced by 80% thank heavens. Sorry for tmi everyone else!!!

Morning all and welcome monkeytennismum. Enjoy shining your sink!!

Thought I'd get on here quickly before the thread runs away...

Today:
Tesco
Kitchen declutter
Cups of tea for window cleaners - I can see them coming up the path as I type!!
Washing/drying/ironing ad infinitum!!
morning routine
Supper??

Washing machine still not working properly despite the man coming round and fiddling with the buttons!! To do a wash I have to switch it off at the wall, load with washing, put detergent in, switch back on and set the programme in the 10 seconds I get before the digital display crashes!! It's only 6 months old FGS...Bring back the old push buttons I say!!

DS2 gone to school with a promise he will try harder with the subjects he hates or at least put on an 'I'm interested in what you're saying' mask!! Managed to get DH home early from work to go with DS2 to parent's evening last night!Result! DS2 in Y9 and obviously spends a lot of time being the class clown...Luckily his teachers seem to like him even though they get frustrated with him.Not easy being in the same school as your older brother (in U6th)- especially when detention is dealing with the bins at lunchtime and your older bro is a prefect who is supervising the lunch queue - has caused some hilarity in our family!!

Anyway, I digress, must get on....

x-posted with you SC - sorry to hear about mil - not great for all of you!
Try not to stress too much...

Cryptic that's awful, poor MIL and she must be worrying about your FIL as well. Hope you can get something sorted for weekend.

wendy yay for bookclub
toffee I think it will take a while to re-adjust, and for ds to feel safe again and it's a massive adjustment for you too. I think children have no idea how many boring things we get done when they are at school, and that we still have to do them - part of the problem with school possibly

dh is annoyign me - now have to go as he won't let me make a LIST and keeps wavings things at me which he has extracted from the rubbish sacks

Hi all
stillchuckingit sorry to hear news on MIL, hope you manage to cope with the arrangements.
optimistic hope your Washing machine sorts out!
linzer I get lots of terrible headaches and migraines, never diagnosed by doc but they are definitely hormonal, and linked to fatigue and dehydration too. Nothing works for mine except strong painkillers! not tried tiger balm though.
everyone hi and have a good fly day!

To do
routines
bake bread
yoga
washing sort out
bathroom downstairs
vac upstairs
soup for tea

I also need to go to bed early! I have been flying for 7 years and have every other routine more or less sorted but still don't go to bed early, and it affects the whole day, doesn't it! Starting tonight am going to try!

Dh is being V ANNOYING
so hmm hmm hmm hmm {yogic humming]
I am sitting down with my coffee (and my hangover from last night's Ladies Night outing)

DONE
piano supervision
waterbottles
laundry upstairs
dressed
showered
made beds
chatted to children encouragingly
taken dcs to school

LIST
clean sink
wipe table
sweep floor

DH has done
recycling
dw
got children dressed and breakfasted
also helped persuade dcs to school including dd (although I took them)
so I suppose he has been useful and kind

TODAY
take dh to carpet shop to choose carpet for stairs as he's off work
take rubbish to dump
piano practice
Help at Beavers
Ds2 piano lesson
Take dd to Brownies after long absence
Clean shower head and taps for builder before he puts them back on.

Need a quick list to get stuff done:

• Email friend who's house I manage to tell her to 'get her finger out' and make a decision about rent and bathroom (v. frustrating for tenants and me at moment ) - done
• Morning routine - done
• 15 mins crisis clean in all rooms - need to get things under control again
• Hoover throughout
• Email accountant about tax demand - have asked for more than I actually earnt so can't be right
• Pack up and post stuff for ebay

That will do for now. Will be back with progress report/new list later as NEED the motivation

Happy Flying people :)

Still - so sorry to hear about the family crisis with your PILs. Hope you find a solution that causes the least stress for you all.

Wendy - going to bed at a decent hour is my challenge too. I always feel much more energetic and capable when I do, but the trouble is I tend to get a burst of energy in the evening after everyone has gone to bed.

Swan - sorry about the hangover and DH! One doesn't help with the other, I'm sure!

Optimistic - hope you get the washing machine sorted soon. You made me laugh with your description of your two very different sons .

Linzer - I hope you have a headache-free day today. Good idea to put the Flying on hold and concentrate on DC during half term.

CHB/ Lair - great to see you back again!

Monkeytennis - welcome to the thread

Haven't done any routines this morning, apart from getting DS2 to school. DH is at home and has been teaching DS1 the months of the year. DS1 can now recite them and is all pleased and proud of himself.

Have just had an email promising me more work shortly. Must admit I feel a bit panicky about fitting it in, but I can't turn it down because we need the money. I'm hoping I can spend the morning with DS1, then work for a couple of hours between 1 and 3, then again in the evening. I have no idea how I will fit in Flying as well - I think it will just have to be the basic routines whilst I'm working.

OK, list (shortened) goes like this:

Am routines
Wash DS2's bedclothes (wet the bed AGAIN)
Clear and clean fridge
Meal plan
Tesco order online
Lunch
School run
PM routine
Dinner (pasta)
Eve routine
Bed at decent hour

Back later.

Morning everyone,

No flying for me today just the bare minimum
food for dc's and school run. spent last night feeling really sick I think its the bug going around at the moment feel like curling in a ball and crying.
Hopefully be back to flying tomorrow

get well soon leo.

i'm back to my routine today with my patients back to school/work.

well, one thing ticked off list, dh has come with me (finally) to Carpet shop and bought and chose carpet he approves of, so that will be fitted next Wed.

He has disappeared off to buy something so now is my chance to clean kitchen without him being irritating!

Bob hope you are having a good day so far. One of my resolutions this year is to start enjoying dh's music collection

Toffee at Ladies' Night, I was with three other mums all discussing our year 6-ers, both boys and girls and in the end we all agreed they were emotional, bolshy and just downright cross! You are not alone.
Ds described a lovely science lesson which made me laugh though, and I thought, oh that's how I would teach my kids if they were at home..where he was pretending to be a molecule jumping up and down, meeting a gas who was swirling round all over the place. Morning aerobics.

I'm losing it!

My lists are getting longer as my ambition is growing but less and less is getting completed!

Any ideas on how i can get my mojo back?

I'm also worried that we have a week for all our zones except sitting room which gets one day????

Nicks - I have never understood that one either. My living room could do with 2 weeks a month to get it under control
Suggest you shorten list again, babysteps remember.

Update whilst I'm here:

• 15 mins in living room in 5 min bursts - done
• Packed up ebay stuff (will post later) - done
• Hoovered downstairs - done

Now..........upstairs, wish me luck

All change!!
DH has just come home and announced he is going to bed. Admittedly he looks shattered and had a horrible day yesterday which ended with his car being locked in a car-park 20 miles away, a train trip home and another back at the crack of dawn today to retrieve it. However, I had PLANS

Did manage to get stairs hoovered so that's something.
Will have lunch then reassess list.

[SC tries to imagine Swan dressed as gas molecule, pogo-ing in kitchen]

Poor you leo that bug sounds awful. Hope you CAN curl up this afternoon after school run and take it easy.

Nick agree with Feetheart. Shorten your list. Go back to just baby-step + 15 min decluttering. You can't clean clutter - so you need to get rid of all the excess stuff in your house before missions can be done swiftly. (I'm still decluttering some areas of my house despite being on here since Aug 2009 ] Also, you can adapt the zones - and the entire system - to suit you and your house - areas most used etc.

Toffee well done to your ds reciting the months bless him! Hope you find a way to balance everything.

Optimistic lol over one ds supervising the other on detention!! Rather enjoying all the talk of parenting boys on here today. (We are very blessed to have dd as nearly couldn't have any dc - but would have loved a boy as well!! It sounds great fun anyway!!)

Hope you get a good night's sleep tonight Wendy

Glad everyone feeling better Balinderry!!

Thanks for your kind words everyone. Just to add to the madness, dh seems to have woken up with flu this morning too! Good news though is that sil has found a temporary nurse to stay with fil while she visits mil (hosp 30-40 mins away). But we need to sort out more permanent arrangement becuause mil will be in hospital for a month apparently. Not easy all this when you run your own business [sigh]

Right, must carry on with master bedroom this afternoon. I am being spurred on by the sunshine which makes the dust much more visible !!!

oh no Feetheart . I know that feeling. It's so frustrating when you are all geared up to do stuff. (Usually with us, it's dh rushing home and announcing that he has to travel somewhere - now - cue me having to cancel a list of appts!!) Hope your dh is OK though and recovers quickly.

well I have started lots of things today but not finished any because I keep being INTERRUPTED

still at least I don't have to hoover the stairs ever again...not on this side of planet carpet

hoovering playroom, waiting to go to school and administer dd with nurofen...

Leo - hope you are feeling better.

Still - glad you have a temporary solution at least. Sorry to hear about your DD - that's all you need!

Feet and Swan - I also have DH here today, but at least he is keeping out of the way and doing more decluttering in the loft. He wants to throw out a lamp that was a wedding present from close family: neither of us like it, but I feel too guilty to send it to the dump. Don't know what to do! [dither emoticon]

Nicknacks - I agree with Feet - shorten your list! Then you will feel you are achieving things, instead of worrying that you are failing.

Balinderry - glad patients are better

So far, in addition to supervising DS, I have finished the AM routines, done an awful lot of washing up, cleared out and cleaned the fridge, done two loads of washing and put them in the tumbledryer, put yesterday's load of washing away and am now about to make a meal plan and do the Tesco order. So DH had better not say I spend all day on Mumsnet!

Throw it away and pretend it broke in a terrible accident (if they ask) remember you love them not their lamp!

Important and neglected errand done

30 mins more piano practice whilst I have the chance. I can't go into the kitchen as builder keeps coming in and chatting to me!

This morning didn't happen, so I'm all behind. (Collected DS from mother's this morning, took him to playgroup, came home and slept until it was pickup time )
Thanks for messages re DS - he was fine once I'd got there and issued cuddles. I think he has growing pains in his legs and feet.

Done
Morning routine
Make beds
S/s
Dumped and collected DS
Lunch
Clean washing away
Handwashing
WI paperwork (including counting and bagging over £16.00 in loose change, mostly coppers)
Paid playgroup bills

To do
Wash up
Zone cleaning
Zone mission
Put tea in oven
Take DS for walk around village, posting letter, cheques etc
Collect kindling
15 mins in garden
Work out with DS what seeds he wants to sow this year
Write out seed list
Unpack DS bag
Tea
Bedtime routine
Evening routine
Playgroup financial report
Menu plan
Shopping list
Clean fridge
Toddler craft preparation