If you're house is cluttered and you're Mad as a Hare, join March Fledgling Flyers and get it all square

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Following on from the February Fledgling Flyers thread, welcome to March. This is the thread that follows the Flylady website (loosely) for getting your home decluttered and your housework into routines, whilst dispensing tea and chat freely.

A big thank you to PushMePullYou for leading us through February ably assisted by ToffeeFudgeCake. We had a huge influx of new posters as well, which was lovely, anyone else who is lurking, please say hello, you will be 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!

Swan yes, I've started filling the windowsills, with my, and this year DS's, seeds. He wants his own this year, so has his own potatoes chitting, borlotti beans, tomatoes and cress (for nearly instant gratification) on one of my kitchen windowsills. I have potatoes on the other, and the living room is currently getting filled with onion, leek and sweetpea pots. Will be doing the next lot over the weekend. I just hope the warmer weather continues, or I'll be nursing this lot for months!

Broad beans are the first thing I've sown this year, but the winter onions and garlic are coming on nicely, and its nice to see new life on the allotment. Now need to eat all the remaining leeks quickly as I'll soon need the beds for this year's crops.

Evening all waves

The door is sorted ~ YAY!

Home now & frozen it's -0.5 outside! Why are we back to December temps?

Off to bed soon ~ need to look at bookmarking posts/threads first ~ night all!

I fell asleep to ghost whisperer and woke to wailing of scary proportions. I looked up and saw that poltergeist was on and thought it was that...til the wailing continued into the night...ds woke up with growing pains.! Inconsolable!! Poor sod.

watching chatty man to counteract poltergeist/screaming ds.

colour - glad to hear about the door!
Sorry to hear that nettie - we appear to be on 2 threads right now! lol!

done list since last here
Dinner, dishes, bottles & DD meals prepared for tomorrow, clothes laid out, swimming gear for tomorrow laid out (need to be up in 5 hours! :( ), tax rebait form filled in, tax credit update letter written, council tax benefit and housing benefit form printed off, and started - it's 30 pages long!!!!! WTF?! I recently became a SAHM, and someone said we may be entitled to help now - hadn't even occurred to me!
Put more DD food in freezer, took stuff out to defrost, shined sink, played with DD, had cuddles, finally got her to sleep around 12 ish

Morning all,

Another cold and frosty morning here; -0.5° would feel almost warm Colourarc! Although it has actually warmed up to -1° this morning so maybe spring is finally on its way. I was very by the tinsel hanging up at the baker's this morning until I realised that it was probably for Fasching (carnival) rather than Christmas. Quite what the two tinsel-covered snowmen had to do with Fasching was beyond me, though.

spiderbabymum Do you have the OP's posts highlighted? That and bookmarking makes it much easier to find the daily links.

WhoKnows Today's mission seems to be tidying up shoes, jackets and books in the entrance area. I get very confused by the way that the most recent missions appear first (Friday to Monday) but it's the other way round with the sneak peek (Monday to Friday) IYSWIM.

Today' list:

Baker's done
Morning routine doing
Mission
15 min decluttering
Purge magazines
Menu planning
Write shopping list
Finish letter
Do recycling calendar started
Pay friend for flowers
Afternoon routine
DD1: letters x2
Send photos to GPs
Buy stamps online
Print out photo of DS for friendship book
Evening routine

I have no excuses not to get everything done this morning, as DD2 is going to a friend's straight after school so I have a whole five hours to myself now.

Morning one and all,

That's DD1 and 2 off to school. Celebrating World Book Day today so dressed up as fave book characters. Had to get up half an hour early to get them sorted out.

List:
Dishwasher unloaded done
Breakfast dishes done
Walk to toddlers with DD3
Load washing machine
Clear laundry mountain
Prepare dinner before
Opticians with DD2
Put away pile of assorted "stuff" collected during my quick tidy up yesterday. This may take some time!

Will do back porch today. Sun is shining!

Decluttered kitchen last night - same principle as the bedroom and living room, just get everything out of the room that wasn't supposed to be in there and put everything away in cupboards that isn't used constantly. I didn't mean to do the whole thing, just aimed for the next easy thing to move whatever that was, but have done the vast majority of it (bar the tops of cupboards, and not doing insides of drawers or anything). It looks so lovely, and just getting through the day feels so much easier!! Bathroom next, where the curtains are grey with mould

Not sure why I have this sudden burst of enthusiasm after managing only to fill and empty the dishwasher for some months - perhaps it is this 'spring cleaning' phenomena I have heard about - never experienced it before!

Today
piano day [help)

sleep patterns re-ordered
however ds2 woke us up at 6.00am having wet his bed, and then fidgeted for about an hour - not a good start.

Ds2 is being v temperamental at moment. The latest was to stand in the street half way to school screaming that his hands were cold and why hadn't I got his gloves ready (he is 9 in a week). Yesterday wasn't cold, so I had stopped thinking about glove allocation. There's always something to make you tear your hair out
We always seem to be 2 mins late, and frazzled with it.

It is becoming a struggle to get him to organise himself and for me to distinguish between those things he is capable of remembering and those he is not. Anyway, it drives me MAD as I am not the most organised person anyway Will try your chart again toffee

ALERT - does everyone fill their older children's waterbottles or do they organise their own? My twins are year 4?

Will press on now, and post when I've done useful things...

Yay for Spring Cleaning Systems I think my burst of energy came to early in the year with the new carpet etc, now is blighted by frost

Cobweb very inspiring seed - I need a propagator this year and a clear plan of what will realistically "grow on" and fit in garden

morning everyone! didnt get much FLYing done last night. after clearing that room and helping dp put the bunks up i was exhausted. so dp took over the FLYing and put all clothes away and put clothes out for morning

did manage to get an early night though! which is very unheard of in this house. was sleeping for about 11.30!

this morning has gone to plan so far

Morning routine done

School run done

Dinner organised

still to do the breakfast dishes and shine sink. i have a cupboard under stairs that seriously needs de-cluttering but im at college from 1 o clock so may have to keep that mission for tomorrow.

missjulie: whats an E-cloth??

ihatecobwebs: my dp wants to start growing veg. he has told a couple from work that we are going to have a competition with them on growing chilli plants i dont know the first thing about this!

Linzertorte: cold and frosty here thismorning too. done a power walk to school with the boys as i went out with no coat! thought we were getting over the cold cold days

Chilli plants sound a good choice for a small garden too Snot

I managed to clean and tidy downstairs yesterday. I'm going to make an attempt with the upstairs.
I'm ready with my bin bags!

snot if your DP wants to grow chilli plant from seed, I advise he gets them sown in a pot indoors now - they take quite a while to get to a decent size, and as they have to stay indoors/greenhouse anyway, you don't have to worry about it being too early (frost/cold) to rehome them outdoors. I'll be sowing our pepper seeds in the next couple of days - I seem to have more success with chilli than sweet for some reason.

Limited flying here today, as I'm just off to my mother's for the morning, she has a list of jobs for me.

Morning routine done
Walk DS to playgroup *done
S/s done
Vacuum through house done
Make beds doneish DH still in ours so that one will have to wait
Put tool bag together done
Phone orthoptics to book appt for DS done
Washing up done
Go to DM and do her jobs
Collect DS from playgroup
Meat from freezer
Go to allotment if its brighter and warmer by the afternoon
Zone cleaning
Zone mission
Clean washing away
Handwashing
Cook tea
Tea
Bedtime routine
Evening routine

swanriver: were going to get one of those little mini greenhouse thingsys that are long and short. my garden is taken up by swings and 2 wee shits dogs and once the 3 boys get out there theres not much that stands a chance of survival!.

thanks for the advice ihatecobwebs, hopefully get them within the next few days. i had suggested to dp to just get them from b and q but apparently thats not good enough

well, got breafast dishes washed dried and put away, sink shined, benches and table cleaned, floor brushed and coffee made.

No time to read the threads this morning, but just wanted to post a list for motivation.

I have both children at home today. DS2 clearly has a case of 'schoolitis', which wasn't helped by being kicked in the head (accidentally) on each of his days back at school. He did have an upset tum last night, so I have given him the benefit of the doubt, but I really don't think he's ill. I usually use the line, "Mummy will get into trouble if you don't go to school", but that I'm rather undermined by the fact that DS1 is being educated at home at the moment.

Any tips on getting reluctant children to school, please?!

Still no car, so poor DH has had to go into work by train again - and it's his birthday today, poor thing.

So, I have housework, two children at home and paid work to do . Definitely need a list, so here goes:

S&S
Empty d/w
Put washing on
Reload d/w
Make beds
T/dryer
Maths with DS1
English with DS1
Lunch
Walk (have bought new 'I-Spy Nature' books to encourage boys to go out)
DS1 to watch David Attenborough on oceans for his 'fish' topic
Playtime for boys/paid work for me
Put dry washing away
Telly time
Dinner
Bedtime routines
Dinner and with DH (his birthday today)
D/washer
Lay out clothes for next day
Put socks in shoes
Tidy sitting room
NB send email to friend
Go to bed at a decent hour (does Flylady really say 10.30? Nice idea, but it's not going to happen here).

Am not going to attempt any decluttering or missions until paid work is out of the way.

Not sure if there will be much flying going on here today as DD2 has chicken pox! :( She's only got a few little spots but I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before we'll be able to do dot-to-dot! So I've got two little ones home and I know it won't be long before DS catches it.

So my very short list;-

Put dishwasher on
Hang out washing
Put washing away done
Change bedding done
Send out invoice for DH done
Make Lunch for DC
Pick DD1 up from school
Do a very quick shop (if MIL can babysit)
Make Dinner
Tidy after dinner

sending back the secondary school forms, I hate forms! Trying to remember all the numbers and addresses - will search for the blessed Control Diary!

toffee I think ds's education today is clearly to entertain ds2 whilst you do paid work.
Schoolitis yes we get that - especially when it's cold and horrid. But I think "kicked in the head ds2" need a day off, so don't feel guilty. I spy books sound wonderful way to go for a walk.

Hello to 'oldies' and 'newbies', sorry I'm late with it but its been a mad few days.
Will have to list 'catch up with thread' today as no chance otherwise :)

To those who are a little overwhelmed by the lists and what people seem to be achieving DO NOT FRET. Everyone is at a different stage and some people, Ihate in particular :), love loooooong lists. The idea is to do the Babysteps and develop the routines to suit YOU. This is my 4th attempt at Flying, I've been here for over a year and although some of the routines are now established I've still got a long way to go (see below for some reasons for this )

Was going swimming this morning with friend but she has cried off, actually quite glad as I have an unexpected morning to get on.

Rant alert!
I had a HUGE strop last night about the state of the house and the fact that I seem to be the only one who does anything about it and that when I don't get things done for a few days - due to half-term, birthdays and work catch-up, etc - it descends into a hideous hovel. I also have the added stress in that this is DH's childhood home which I moved into when DD was born (long story involving him working abroad etc!) and it has never felt like my home. There is no hope of us moving for several years, if at all, as we are both self-employed so this time things have to change - 8 years of feeling like a lodger in a house cluttered with both DH's father's and our stuff is enough. I want to CREATE A HOME for all of us and feel like I belong not struggle on trying to tame someone else's monster
Sorry, rant over, as you were.

Today's list includes:

• Invoices for work - done as much as I can
• Post ebay parcel
• Morning routine - done
• Put stuff in recycling bin, garage, compost as appropriate - done
• 5 mins Room Rescue in living room
• Mission
• Relocate stuff on stairs to correct rooms
• Hoover living room, hall and stairs
• Contact builder re work next week
• Make fish cakes, prep wedges and veg for quick dinner
• Maths workshop at school
• DS to swimming lesson - remember to take cash to buy level 2 badge for very proud boy :)
• Go and see tenants about work next week
• Try to catch up with Masterchef - over a week behind

Better get on, want at least one room (probably kitchen) to look like I want it to by the time DH gets home

Morning everyone. V impressed with all these lists

I'm on a bit of a go slow today, after yesterday's porch success. But now I'm here will shine sink again and do some decluttering somewhere.

Also think finally time to admit that I don't know what 'dressed to lace up shoes' actually means.. I thought it was some kind of code that I'd soon work out but I haven't yet. can anyone help?

Swan - thank you. You have made me feel better about keeping DS2 at home. I felt like I was being too soft with him, but now you mention it, being kicked in the head twice is quite a lot for a little one to deal with. I like your idea about getting DS1 to look after DS2, except that DS1 is feeling jealous that DS2 is here and being horrible to him. I am trying to get him to work on decimals, but he can't concentrate. I think I'm going to give up in a minute and take them out with their I-Spy books. The walk might do us all good.

So far, I have emptied the dishwasher, put washing on, reloaded the dishwasher and wiped the kitchen surfaces, dealt with one explosion from DS1 at DS2 and weeping DS2, persuaded DS1 to apologise to DS2, provided DS2 with copious amounts of food (he's eating his packed lunch now) and cajoled DS1 into doing his maths. I had one quiet moment when I thought I might be able to do a bit of work, but was interrupted by DS1's temper tantrum.

Back later.

It's a silly phrase, Simone, which means to get dressed and then put on your lace-up shoes, eg trainers. Why on earth your shoes have to be laced up, we don't know - it is one of Flylady's many peculiarities. And she thinks that you have to wear them in the house because they put you in 'work mode'.

Swan - I am stressed about the form too. I filled it out, but haven't managed to post it yet, and am terrified that I'll lose it and/or forget about it.

Appendage to list: send the form back!

Update:

• 5 mins Room Rescue in living room - done
• Mission - done
• Relocate stuff on stairs to correct rooms - done
• Hoover living room, hall and stairs - done

Fish cakes now :)

Morning all,

Toffee sounds like getting out of the house would be a good idea. Fresh air seems to calm everyone down. Do you have a park nearby? I'm sorry that the children aren't getting on today, but at least it might make DC2 think he'd have more fun at school?

Simone Flylady is very keen on everyone putting on their shoes first thing. I have always taken the "lace up shoes" as meaning wearing proper shoes rather than slippers. I think that it's partly psychological, if you are fully dressed then there is less chance that you will go back to bed (!) but also to prevent you putting off any jobs that involve going outside. Mind you, I'm wearing lace up shoes and have still managed to put off going outside to empty the kitchen composter for 3 days. Really must do it today. I can't get the lid on anymore. Yuk!

Feetheart that must be difficult living in DH's childhood home. It's hard to declutter when lots of the clutter isn't yours.

I bought 2 e-cloths yesterday and would also like guidance.

Anyway my done list for today so far is:

swish and swipe for loo and bathroom
shiny sink
dry washing sorted and put away
Ds1 sheets changed
new load of washing put on
dishwasher unloaded and reloaded
hot spot (kitchen table) tidied

I still need to do

15 minutes decluttering. I would like to start missions but think that I need to work on basic decluttering for quite a while. I'm still having trouble with the "put away" bit of decluttering. I seem to end up with heaps of stuff that I don't know what to do with. Particularly paperwork.

Empty the kitchen composter before life starts evolving in there.

Buy some fish for tea.

Post birthday cards and sort out 2 more presents. Struggling to keep up with the number of family birthday's this month.

Take books back to the library.

Get a passport form from the Post Office.

Maybe lunch first though...

Thank you toffeefudgecake - hope you have a good walk and better afternoon!

I don't think one day off school will cause any irreparable damage to your DS2