Part 2 - If you're house is cluttered and you're Mad as a Hare, join March Fledgling Flyers and get it all square

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

This is the second March Fledgling Flyers thread, all newcomers are welcome.

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.

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.

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!

lost can come back to the naughty corner because she gave me . . I will be fine and I think we will get through it but sometimes life just sucks doesn't it. Thank you for caring though .

The advice you gave me when my world fell apart this time last year was invaluable. Meant a lot.

Besides the others are all proper with their words and stuff. I'm becoming civilised in my language

Evening all,

Another from me Ellie, sorry to hear your news, but glad things are looking a bit more positive, I had been missing you. Forget the housework, it will keep, but keep posting if you need a bit more and sympathy.

Lost - well done on all your sewing

LadyinPink - that sounds like a very nice way of keeping your house clean and tidy!

Swan - some for you too, glad you have survived the party, the DCs will probably look back more fondly on that sort of party than an adventure centre sort of one, that's what I tell myself anyway whenever I am feeling stressed about parties. Hope SIL is getting the treatment she needs BTW.

Menagerie - another one who cannot understand how only hoovering once a week is enough, if I leave it more than a couple of days it looks horrendous (love my Ewbank carpet sweeper for quick crumb catching though).

Well, today we have had a quiet day at home which was a nice change, haven't had many of those recently, and the weather was lovely again. Got some gardening done, DCs played nicely most of the time and we all went to Pizza Express for our tea to save on washing up. The DCs are gradually getting better at eating out, though DS is still very prone to asking loudly every 10s how long the food is going to be. DH got it right this time by ordering some garlic bread as soon as we sat down, so by the time we had chosen our food there was something for the DCs to munch on.

Monday Links

Babystep Check your control journal every morning and evening. 18 months in and mine still consists of a folder with a blank sheet of paper in.

Mission This week's zone is the master bedroom, I might actually be able to do these this month, it is tidier than it has been in a while.

Sneak Peak for the Week

Evening all

I'm sorry I have no time to catch up. I feel shocking, full of cold and generally feeling yucky.

I had a lovely day in Birmingham yesterday at the Education show and today have been running errands, off to uni, 3 loads of washing, stipped and washed bedding.

Back to school tomorrow. Off to bed early tonight to catch up on sleep.

Tomorrow I am starting a healthy eating regime, joining up with DH on a tracking programme, so tonight I have eaten chocolate, partly to get rid of it and partly cos I eat crap when I feel so yuck.

Hope everyone is well and have a good weekend.

Hello all, I have lurked and been inspired.

Thank you.

Evening all,

Have had very little time for flying this weekend, but we did have a lovely time at the model-making exhibition yesterday and then at M&S today.

ellie Sorry to hear you've been through such a difficult time recently, but glad that things are starting to look up for you again.

Have just wasted far too much time ruthlessly culling my Lakeland order to get the postage down to an amount that wasn't absolutely ridiculous, only to discover that they'll only accept cards issued by UK banks. Even if I had enough money in my UK account, the bank cardholder's address needs to be the same as the delivery address - so I still couldn't get the order sent here (and it's too much to cart back from my parents'). So a quick question to anyone else abroad who's ordered from Lakeland - SC, MrsMcJ? - have you managed to order online, and if so how?

Now off to bed (far later than my ideal bedtime thanks to Lakeland - grr); night all.

. Have a glass of and start again tomorrow! Welcome on board, have you tried Flying before?

Ellie - I'm so sorry to hear you've been having such a rough time, but I'm glad to hear things are back on track and I hope they continue to improve.

Welcome to another lurker, Tallwivglasses - I'm glad we have inspired you.

Very, very little flying going on here at the moment. I did a frantic tidy-up this morning just before a friend came round. It's amazing what you can achieve in a panic-stricken blur of activity lasting 15 minutes, isn't it? However, clutter is building up everywhere again, which is depressing. Where does all the stuff come from?

Had a nice time with my friend and managed to get my boys and hers out for some exercise, but - oh my! - it was a struggle! They all wanted to stay in and look at computer screens or television instead . Of course, once outside, they all ran around and had a lovely time.

Have spent the rest of the day working and am making good progress, so am concerned, but not panicking, about meeting my deadline next week.

Must do some more now, then the before-bed routines and bed at a decent hour (it really does make all the difference to me the next day).

Ellie marriage can be horrendous sometimes. Sometimes you plain hate them, sometimes you love them, sometimes you just don't care either way and just feel so utterly worn out by arguing[worst of all imo] Lots of wine and chocolate and rabbits' feet.
Tiring small children don't help much either[thinks back]
WhoKnows yes we order loads of garlic bread and we always go to the Oxfam shop for books beforehand to read whilst we wait [very bad manners I'm sure]
Linzer how frustrating. Are there no lovely German/Austrian companies selling similar stuff?
I suppose we forget what a great marketplace UK is, with such a lot of choice. German MIL always looks askance at my motley kitchen equipment and has resorted to buying me eggcups and saute pans so I suppose I assumed everything would be much better in your part of Europe...

Fucking hell lost dont go and get civilised on me and start talking proper, what thr fucking hell would i fucking do about that? > .

Thank you all for caring . Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully a new beginning. Onwards and upwards.

swan think you may have hit the nail on the head there, we have just been through one of those arguing stages. Glad your party went well

Anyway, had better go to bed. Back tomorrow for a fresh start.

Hello all. No catch-up again but need a list:

• Remove girl cat and dead mouse from house - done
• Print out B&Q shopping list and transfer money - done
• Morning routine including packed lunches
• Text builder in hope that he was not planning to come back today
• Check with dinner ladies that we can use dining hall for Reading Buddies scheme later - only quiet free space in school at moment
• B&Q to order everything except bl**dy taps
• Email friend re tap prices (I expect complaints!)
• Make Sausage Plait as requested - never made one, making it up as I go along - eek!
• Back to school to sort out book order
• Reading Buddies at school
• Get DC home, fed, homework done and into bed
• Collapse with very little Flying done
• Try and catch up with thread

Another one of 'those days'
One day I will have some time!

Happy Monday everyone :)

Good morning everyone

Sorry for lack of posting just lazy

Saturday brought feeling a bit better, timer worked well in the morning until I realised I didn't have enough 15m left to get us all dressed and out to the party. Party done and home for more shortnapping tidying. Ann summers party and bed.
Sunday dd has lurgy, visit to in laws and then impromptu Sunday dinner here with inlaws. Cue crisis clean. Nice dinner dancing on ice and bed.

This mornings list

Dc and dh up and tidied up
Dd sick cleaned up-done
Dw empty refill
Wm on-done
Td empty
Dc bedrooms tidy
Family day out to castle park
Dh and ds to dentist

swan glad party went well minus the Lego train set. Well done you and dh forhaving all thosekids foraging throughyour house.
Ellie so sorry that your having a tough time. Hope things improve lots. Take careofyou
linzer how frustrating on Lakeland! Write a lettertothem explaining the predicament. If you plead enough maybe they will sort it for you.
tallwivgkasses welcome lurkno more!
whoknows thanks for roundup.

humongous waves to everyone else as this laptop wielding harpie keeps forgetting to plug it in and scrolling on my phone is impossible and brain can remember no more.

Hope you all have lovely Monday's!!

Quick post and run, or my morning will be gone before I know it.

DH is away for the week, left this morning (eventually), will be back on Saturday or Sunday. DS is unhappy about this and "don't love Daddy". He wouldn't eat breakfast, then on the walk to playgroup decided he was hungry and wanted to go back home again! I stayed with him for a few minutes, warned the staff, and came back to get DH packed and out of the door.

Morning routine done
DS to playgroup done
DH packed and out of door done
Washing on line done
Clean washing away done
RR kitchen done
Food bin and recycling bins in done
Cup of - doing
Check website to make sure shop sells stuff I need
Look up missions
Shopping
RR kitchen
RR bathroom
RR DS room
RR bedroom
WHBH - or some of it before collection time
Collect DS
Activity with DS
S/s
Make beds
Zone cleaning/decluttering
Zone mission
Garden
Bin in
Washing on airer
Cook tea
Tea
Bedtime routine
Evening routine
Playgroup paperwork
Our finance
Item from paper file
Check bills
Washing in machine

Found you! Back from business trip. Only had two meetings and rest was research but was absolutely cream-crackered by the end of it (I'm out of practice). Don't know how dh does it. Travel is enough for me nowadays, never mind having to work at the end of it!!

Loads happening on here recently: poetry, kale soup, skips, shiny bathrooms, pretend horse whispering and sausage plaits... oh .. and a bit of Flying too

Thanks for new thread Whoknows

A warm welcome to fellow gp fancier Menagerie

LadyinPink white vinegar fine for descaling kettle (as long as there is limescale to dissolve of course). I fill mine up with 70% white vinegar, 30% water and leave for half an hour or so. Then boil a few times and rinse. USually does the trick.

Linzer No problem paying for Lakeland orders from here (unfortunately!) via Paypal.

Hope your dd feels better soon Nettie

Sorry to hear you have had a tough time of late Ellie but glad things are looking up. Am firmly glueing my bum next to yours in the naughty corner as have list as long as my arm to get through Flying-wise but spent the weekend having fun and dd is off school today (training day) and weather is glorious so doubt today will be very productive either. Dh will supposedly be taking dd swimming later if he ever leaves his desk, so perhaps will have an opportunity then.

Tally-ho everyone!

SC How do you manage to pay via Paypal? I can only see the option to pay by card on the website. (The only option I could think of otherwise would be to order by post and pay by cheque, but I don't have enough money in my UK account at the moment and would miss out on the free gift!). I was meaning to phone them this morning to see if there are any other options, but have been too busy with work.

Talking of which, back to the proofreading... have been trying to stay off MN this morning, but with only limited success.

Linzer I am assuming you have a fairly common credit card such as Mastercard? You need to register that with Paypal details here for a small fee. Then it's much easier (and secure) to make payments from overseas.

In the meantime, I have submitted a question to Lakeland on your behalf about overseas payments and will let you know what they say ...

SCI thanks for putting my mind at rest - I didn't dilute my vinegar though so will do that next time. No wonder it came off pretty quick eh?? Maybe that's why it disintergrated my mesh limescale catching device which attaches to the spout - oops!!!

So far have done:

Washing and hung it out
Walked into town (no mean feat) for exercise and to buy danish pastries for tomorrow (wedding anniversary)
Sorted post
Gone through bank statements
Paid DD drama tuition fees (at long last)
Some work in home office
Washed up
Polished dining table that DH had scrubbed and lifted shine off

To do:

Hoover all downstairs
Wash all floors
Do master bedroom mission - so needs doing!!!
Loads more to do but will work within my abilities today as a busy one.

Ihatecobwebs Hope your DS is ok at nursery today and that your DH has a good week (and you of course coping without him)

SC I'm registered with Paypal already, but can't see anywhere on the Lakeland payment page where it offers the option to pay via Paypal; it just says to contact them if you have a card not issued by a UK bank. I'll phone them when the DDs are at their piano lesson and I have a bit more time.

(Apologies for the hijack, everyone.)

Lakeland problem solved - they'll take credit cards issued outside the UK if you place the order over the phone - and order placed.

Must make the most of this lovely sunny weather and hang the washing out now, and then get back to work before I collect the DDs from their piano lesson in just over an hour.

Get ready to use the button ladies - I've been to Lakeland this morning . I was in the area, and DH wanted some info re one of their floor polishes. Was out longer than intended, so am very behind now. Luckily DS has been asked out for afternoon to feed the ducks with one of his playgroup friends - lovely mummy! Hopefully I can get WHBH done before they come back, and rest of stuff will get done this evening or left til tomorrow.

Lady DS settled down when I left, and was full of beans at pickup. DH is house- and dog-sitting for his boss while they're on holiday. He'll find it harder to cope than I will, as he'll have to cook his own meals, washup etc etc, and find that a mess left in the morning will still be there in the evening

Morning routine done
DS to playgroup done
DH packed and out of door done
Washing on line done
Clean washing away done
RR kitchen done
Food bin and recycling bins in done
Cup of brew done
Check website to make sure shop sells stuff I need done
Look up missions done
Shopping done
RR kitchen done
RR bathroom done
RR DS room done
RR bedroom done
WHBH - or some of it before collection time
Collect DS done
Activity with DS
S/s done
Make beds done
Zone cleaning/decluttering
Zone mission
Garden
Bin in done
Washing on airer
Cook tea
Tea
Bedtime routine
Evening routine
Playgroup paperwork
Our finance
Item from paper file
Check bills
Washing in machine

Cobwebs

Now you can all use your button on me too - I received my White Stuff order this morning! Am now the proud owner of a new velvet jacket, a new coat and a silk scarf. Haven't decided which one to wear on the school fashion parade run this afternoon yet.

Very basic routines done here; no Monday 'home bless' [sick emoticon]. Am trying to stay off MN whilst I work.

Logging off now!

[Another Lakeland digression for Linzer - I don't know how I managed to pay by Paypal but I just did it without thinking about it and it directed me through to paypal site!! Lakeland have replied to query, and as you say, officially, for overseas customers you can pay by phone, fax or post. Glad you got it sorted though.)

Ihatecobwebs am picturing a mountain of dirty pots getting taller and taller as the week goes on. Hopefully it will make him appreciate you if he doesn't already. Glad DS was okay and had had a good morning

Have now done

Hoovering everywhere
Washed floors
Also gardening (not on list but so sunny it beckoned to me. Pruned roses and fucshia's too!)

Just the master bedroom to do and as i hoovered under the bed last month I think it will be okay but need to tidy it all up in there though and dust/hoover.

See y'all later

Cobwebs and Toffee

Phew - one of those days where I've been active the whole time but don't feel I've achieved much so writing it down to make me feel better:

Done
morning routine incl. dw on, wm on, s&s and boudoir swipe
general tidy up downstairs
dusted and hoovered ground floor
washing loads x 3 (dried in lovely sunshine)
packed up on-line purchases for returning but p o temporarily closed for renovation
cleaned out gps
gps pedicure
cleaned and polished x 5 pairs of shoes and x 2 jodhpur boots
stressed about Holy Communion attire for dd and outfit for myself (will it be hot, will it be cold -May weather can vary from heat wave to frost - ???)
cooked roast belly of pork and root veg (just about to consume)
sang songs with dd

Actually, that's not too bad I suppose but not great considering I haven't done any paid work today.

Meant to be going on a 40 min power walk tonight (first of Lenten regime ) but not sure I am going to make it ...