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!

Wow what a busy thread, hard to keep up! Lair, sorry you're feeling so tired - I hope you get some rest. And Ihatecobwebs, all credit to you - that's what I call productive!

Oooooh I like this :). I've achieved stuff :)

Sink sparkling and dishes done too
Lunch then nursery run done
15 minutes decluttering done - cleared two shelves and a box file :)
Hoover done
Fold laundry done
Nursery pickup done
Make dinner done
Load of washing done and another one too
Hung out on line done
Brought back in pronto because it's lashing rain done

Plus I also put away a basket of folded washing, changed DS's sheets, and the kitchen (including the sink) is all shiny and ready for tomorrow. DS is away to work so I'm going to get a couple of eBay packages ready as the auctions end tonight then go to bed and read for a bit. Lovely.

I'm really chuffed - thanks for the inspiration :)

OH my goodness is it usually this busy...NO don't think I dare say anything focused on anyone, as I'll probably get the wrong person

Leo did you live in Turkey or was that myimagination? And were you on the old Flylady thread (not the Fledglings one I mean?)

Done
took dd to have SEVEn TEETH OUT under general anaestheisa (sp) she is home now.
so that took all day, dh did pickup and general bailout and I have to say has been very organised...no good at wiping worktops, but good at planning: meals uniforms, homework SO gold stars to him

dd seems to be recovering, hope she gets through the night

I am KNACKERED, off to bed now.
Dh will be there all day, dd (convalescent)and the builder, so I may nip out to do some bathroom related design errands

wendy a big step, investiture

Ellie feel guilty now, I promise never to be one of the objectionable parents at parents' eve. (2011 resolutioin)Well done to dh for shininess, ANother gold star
OFM do you think FlyLadies counts as Team Building too? Good news about lovely Nanny!

gosh I sound a bit callous about poor dd and don't mean to. Hopefully that is the last of her orthodontic problems, so it's quite a relief.

Good evening everybody can't believe how much activity there's been on here today! Feeling exhausted already at the very idea of attempting a round up

ellie fluttered by before work with a very long day planned, which she has not enjoyed. Have a large virtual brandy on me

nettie has posted her pre holiday list and is going to be away for most of February. Hope you are going somewhere nice? !

linzer has been using her Ecloths to shine her sink, managing a frankly indimiating task list and still found time to go sledging .

Lair hasn't been getting much sleep and has decided to take a break for a while. I (and we all) will miss you and hope you manage to have a good rest, I have dipped out myself a few times when RL has got the better of me. Don't forget you can always pop back for a chat even if you're not flying for a while (notice I have failed to post a list today )

leftovers has come out of hiding and is joining us as an active flyers this month. Ohmeohmy, missmakesstuff, Yorkshirecrockpot and mrsdisorganised have also joined us and been busily shining their sinks.

Colourarc has been putting us all to shame with a late night sink shining session that got her ahead of the game this morning. Blijemuts, pinkcushion, lemon, balinderry, itshappened, runforthehill and leo are also babystepping valiently with lovely shiny sinks and some impressive lists between them.

SC has vowed to follow the baby steps diligently throughout Feb, although I'm not sure whether that applies to the more loopy ones . I hope your DD is feeling better this evening

doric also made a good start with a shiny sink yesterday, but unfortunately was sabotaged by her DH's early morning pancake session. I hope you've found that a newly shined sink is easier to keep clean!

wendy is a long time flyer with 7 years of sink shining behind her . She has already inspiried toffee and hopefully won't be too appalled by the fledglings' somewhat cavalier attitude to the fat fairy

overflowingmum is a flyer after my own heart and is going for sticking with the flylady princples whilst waiting for RL to calm down

ihate has been back with one of her trademark enornmous lists! I am both very impressed and vaguely intimidated

systems and OM also popped in to say hello.

I will be back in a minute to post tomorrows links (and say hello to everyone I have cross posted with!)

Hello swan . Your poor DD she must be feeling grotty. Hope she gets a good night's sleep

Thank you push for the round up, very helpful! I have been a Flyer so long it is ingrained I think but I defintely don't take it seriously! Off to bed now, night!

107 posts

Need to go to bed early tonight so will catch up tomorrow. Boy will be back at school so some sort of normality may return - here's hoping :)

Hope everyone, new and old, had a good first day.

Right then all, tomorrow's links:

Wednesdays babystep is getting dressed to lace up shoes. This is not one that tends to be universally followed on this thread, although it does have some devotees. I must admit I am currently unable to reach my feet so no lace up shoes here!

For the rest of this week we are in the front porch, entrance hall and dining room. Tomorrows mission is to clean the walls and windows in the dining room.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day and the daily reminders are here. I notice that one of them is to go to bed early - another one we often struggle with on this thread

Ooh, this is lovely, so many new people! I'm a bit at the amount of posts, so please excuse brief post tonight. Just wanted to say to Lair come back when you are ready, we'll still be here.

Night night all.

evening all and welcome more newbys, well done on flying

PMPY thx for round up, well done.its been msd busy in here.

dishes out motivational sweeties to anyone felling bit lost

linzer glad your meeting re ds went well.hope new meds start to help
toffee holiday next week. so excited i am can virtual coffee shop have hufge3 comfy leather sofas and hot full fat but not weight inducing hot chocolate and marshmallows
wendy lovely to hear from someone who has been shining long time, gives me hopeful vibes!
ellie sorry you had pants parent evening and yukky parents to talk to. go dh shining sin without even knowing. hope you have a better day tomorro.
swan hope dd is feeling ok tonight and tomorrow.

list update

Smile
Get up/dressed- done
Dc dressed- done
Ds Montessori- done
Post office post presents- done
Home morning routine- s/s done, laundry folded. dw on courtesy of dh.
Swim with Dd-done
Home lunch - done
Pick up tidy books bookcase and take to friends and raise her Dd wardrobe in exchange _ done
Post office again for dollars and bank for banking (nope)
Pick ds up- done
Home make dinner - done
Tidy up kinda done
Bathe dc bed done
Paint spare room ceiling. done and whitewashed walls
Try for bedtime routine- dc clothes out, thats all
some holiday clothes tried on - off to florida so temp considerably more than here

Right off to watch fall asleep tv

have lovely night, going to try and list post tomorrow.

have lovely night

Thanks for the round-up! it has been busy today on here, I promise to try and keep up

my night time sink shining is cos I (usually) work evenings ~ I'd forgotten how nice it is to wake up to a clean sink in the am!

feeling pretty good today, had a dvd watching sesh with DS & DH, in the break while DH watched CSI and DS played on pooter, I went to the kitchen and updated the meal plan & shopping list, oh & sorted the tumble drying!

The 15 mins putting away this afternoon turned in to an hour 'cos my drawers are all wonky but it's done now.

off to check daily reminders

night all xx

Thank you for the round up and tomorrow's post, Pushme. I don't envy you doing the round up - I can't keep up with the thread today.

Have just about kept on top of my routines today. Finished my evening routine, including laying out clothes and shining my sink, so I'm all set for tomorrow. I'm never very good at the going to bed early rule, but if I can be in bed by midnight that's good for me.

Tomorrow's list:

Am routine
School run
Decluttering with DH (he seems to think we'll declutter the entire loft in two hours - I don't think he has got the hang of Flylady principles yet)
Clear and clean fridge
Ocado order
Lunch
School run
PM routine
Dinner
Eve routine
Bed at decent hour

Apologies for not doing any personal messages as I'll never get to bed before midnight if I start.

Goodnight all.

Morning all,

Just a quick post before I start work. Thanks for the hot toddy last night, SC - it was much appreciated (and if you have any left over, it's -8°C here this morning... brr!).

Today's list:

Morning routine
Work
15 minutes decluttering
English lesson
Take metal and glass for recycling
Purge magazines
Pay gas bill
Check which of us needs tick booster and buy vaccine
Afternoon routine
Return form to kindergarten
Thank you letters x2 (no more animal stickers for DD1's album until she's written at least one)
Evening routine
Update calendar

Will be back later to catch up on the chat once I've finished work.

Good morning

Dc having breakfast and I'm hiding in the lounge in the dark. there is too much noisy mischief and poo poo smelly feet talk! Now I totally understand why ds 4 is at it but Dd 2

My list for today
Clean kitchen (shine sink of wipe it, you shiny sink brigade always make me wish for a stainless steel one)
Make bed
Drop dc off at nursery
Me work to redo corrupt transactions
Pick dc up/snack/bed
Try and find spare energy to pack too
Paint spare room
Put clothes away
Bed

Hope you all have a lovely day

Good morning all,

shined my sink this morning, don't have a dining room - yey!
thankyou for your advice, Linzertorte -e-clothes (used on sink), Stillchuckingit - vinegar (washing machine) and Toffeefudgecake - timer. Bought all three as well as a to do list that hangs on wall and a new bin that fits on under sink.

I will become organised, no more excuses, looking at what everyone on here can manage makes me realise it is possible.

Happy flying x

Morning everyone - dressed to shoes here and feeling fairly chipper(for once!!)

Thanks for fantabulous round-up last night Pushme!

Glad your dd is OK Swan

It's above freezing here atm which makes a nice change - whey hey - going to be a positively blistering 5 degrees this afternoon! It will be nice not being able to see our own breath freezing in the outer hall ...!!

Half school day on Weds so must get cracking:

before work:
morning routine, including dw on, wm on, s&s done
tidy sitting room done
clean out both fridges done

after work:
quick supermarket shop
school run
dd lunch
sort stuff for fortnightly ironing lady and garland her with flowers
master bedroom - major sort and clean!!!!
paperwork
dd to dentist
afternoon/evening/supper routine

Have a good day everyone!

glass recycling

(thanks for reminder Linzer)

Gosh it's sooooo busy on here!

Good morning everyone! I'm mildly intimidated about all this and keeping up but I have to, so pressing on.....

Eventually got my 15mins of de-cluttering done although i now have a box and a black bag ready for charity shop, when will i ever get there???? Car needs clearing out before i attempt that!

Todays list.....

School Run
Take baby swimming
One load of washing
Two baskets of clean clothes away
Clear out car
clean bannister
Hoover hall, stairs and dining room
Put bins out
Change baby's cot sheets
Move coffee table back
Clean dining table
Clean dining room walls?
Clean dining room window

Fingers crossed- thats a heck of a lot more cleaning than i usually do.... hence being in this mess!

Have a lovely day all and see you later!

Morning all!

Thank you push for a great round up - very encouraging.

Over indulged in the red stuff last night but still amanged to shine my sink! Currently feeling slightly heady.

List for today - if my hangover doesn't win!

More shredding
Finish tidy/decluttering ds's room
Emails/letters
Ocado shop & meal plan
Trip to charity shop & Recycling
Give bathroom a good scrubbing

Morning all!

Goodness PMPY, you've got your work cut out ...!

And runforthehill you sound really positive, lovely post :)

I'm going to put my list here then disappear if that's OK. Got lots to do because I've an appointment which will take all afternoon, so better get to it!

Wash up and shine sink
Washing - load to tumble dry, 2 loads to fold
Make binoculars for DS
Post a parcel and pick up shopping
Make lunch
Keep an eye on eBay as I am waiting for payment from a couple of people
Make dinner (think that'll have to be a slow cooker job)
15 minute declutter

Right, off we go ... 15 minutes may have to wait until this evening!

Hello all,

I wasn't going to bother posting a list but when I started thinking about all I achieved yesterday I realised it was more than I thought and it really does all add up. And having a list definitely means I spend less time trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing and more getting on and doing it. So, today:

Morning routine - done
Work (separate list on desk)
Clean out car
Take recycling to recycling centre
Nursery pick up and buy some milk
Put wm and dw on
15mm de-clutter
Daily mission
Evening out - woohoo! (actually a work networking event but it's still a night out!)

Mind if I join you? I need help. My house isn't that bad (by my standards, it is probably terrible by other peoples standards). My big problem is energy and motivation.

Normally I'm too tired, if I'm not I can always find something more interesting to do than tidy up.

I have 2 sinks in my kitchen, am I supposed to shine them both??

A warm welcome FrenchFancy - I guess Fly Lady principles would dictate one sink at a time!

It's all about short sharp focused bursts of time (usually 15 min slots)

And that goes for all the other newbies on here who are new to 'the system'

Please don't get intimidated by people's long lists (some of us have been on this thread since Sept 09 and guess what - some of us never don't always finish our lists either!!) so we are all at different stages

Flylady is all about getting the boring stuff finished with the minimum effort and maximum efficiency so we can go off and do more interesting things instead ...

So, don't get bogged down by perfectionism or get carried away at the start and burn out. Far better to build up slowly and realistically, small step by small step.

Soon the baby-steps (yuck phrase) will become second nature, and then you can start decluttering. Once clutter is under control (you can't clean clutter) - you can start the missions.

Apologies if you already know this stuff - just don't want anyone new to think they need to hit the ground running - a gentle fledgling hop and skip is all that is required at this stage!

PS FrenchFancy - I sympathise with motivation problem - always want to do something more interesting than cleaning. Flylady is good though because one step spurs you on to the next and then it all builds up gradually and interconnects (ifyswim)

No need to worry though - no one needs to understand the whole system completely at the beginning - just start with the baby steps - it will all gradually begin to make sense as progress!

Right, back to my coffee filing and shredding ...

sorry, that should have read 'as YOU progress through it'