Fledglings flying though July into the summer.

[ColdHeartedBitch]

Roll up, roll up. tis the month of school fetes, sports days and annual reports. In all this flurry of extra activities and with the summer holidays hurtling towards us at rapid speed, now is the time to tame the chaos before our very special chaos creators are able to help us. Fully intending to beat the Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome so that my personal chaos creator can be occupied by others this holiday. Good luck to all to are also striving to achieve this.

Starting from the 1st of the month we shall be fluttering our way to tamed houses. If you are new to the system it is recommend that you focus on making the babysteps your main focus. The babysteps will build up to form routines to help you to stay on top of the house once you have discovered it. First step is to shine your sink. But not just half heartidly, deep clean til it shines Instructions here

For the more established flyer we then progress onto decluttering. 15mins each day in alloted zone of the week. New zones each week. and current zones and decluttering instructions can be found here Zones will automatically update for July.

As for the advanced flyer, there are missions to do each day in the current zone

We have one rule we are NOT perfectionists anything is better then nothing, real life gets in the way and we have to do other stuff other then cleaning (put it on your list, tick it off and :) ), besides the fat fairy's moto is "You are never behind"

As such take the vomit inducing cuteness of the website with a pinch of salt, and join us for wish lists formally to do lists , ta da lists and home bleurghs.

See you bright and early tomo although hopefully not too bright and early.

Nope... Still not done anything although the absence of food in the house may force that to change soon.

Yay, great news NickNacks. My DH recently agreed to a split of the housework (admittedly it's still at least 90% me) he agreed to finish the washing up and put the DW on every night (we used to take turns). I still do it once or twice a week if he has been working late or something, but the mere fact of being able to go off to bed and knowing that he will do it instead coming down in the morning and finding he hasn't done it because he thought it was my turn has made me feel a lot less resentful about his general lack of participation in running the house. I only do 10 hours paid work a week and the DCs are both at school, so the 90/10 spilt is not totally unreasonable.

afternoon all..... sneaking on quickly whist dh is out getting his hair cut!
Day not too bad so far, although limited on the flying!
Did manage :
Took dh breakfast in bed and cards and pressies for his Bday ( more a challenge than it sounds when helped by 6 dc LOL)
kids breakfasted and dressed
WM unloaded, washing hung out
DD1 dispatched to drama, DH fantastically took little dc to park to enable me to attempt bra shopping again LOL
home
lunch for all
picked mange tout and peas in garden
watered dd3 drooping sunflowers
now assissting dd3 and 4 and ds2 creating butterfly busses(as in a bus for a butterfly to travel in LOL) out of shoe boxes

Next need to :
hang out more washing
put more washing in
hoover lounge
do my eye brows and nails for tonight
make pizzas with dc for tea
then out with dh for bday meal

on a positive note I discoverd this thread last night which was very useful and have managed to purchase 2 bras which seem to fit LOL
Also managed to buy a new pair of sandals in the sale

right, better dash....lots to do
BBtomorrow with any luck

Today i have been shopping. clothes shopping. with ds in tow. I need a stiff drink and an early night.

I declare the naughty corner bar open. Help yourselves!

Linkys**

the power of 15mins this is a key concept of the fly lady principle. Timers at the ready...

No missions as it is the weekend.

Renew your spirit day. ie do something for you!

I might be back to natter, but really should crash when ds does. Absolutely crackered today. Too many late nights during the week. Back to early training this week too. I am getting too old for this

have a good day all!

Minimal housework day today - I've decided to make the most of my weekends now, as I may have to do housework etc in them if I get this job. CV has been sent and received - now I have to wait and see, but I've heard that if I'm not wanted there, the accounts dept are interested.

I need to look through my wardrobe now, and see what I've got to wear. Have been in maternity then comfy casual stuff for 5 years now. My old work wear is looking a bit "tired", and then I've put on weight so some of it won't fit now - so I upset my dr and lose the weight, or have to buy new clothes.

OM - just been reading the thread, and measured myself, and think some new bras might be in order as well - apparently I've been wearing the wrong size for years!!

I've ordered a Life Book from Organised Mum, and will give it a go. Also need to find noticeboard for the kitchen.

Done - very little
Lazy morning lie in - DS happy to play in his bedroom til quite late, then have a cuddle in bed (makes up for the no-sleep night I had, due to DS crying and getting up several times)
Morning routine
Washing up
Puttering round
Recycling out in bin
S/s
Made beds
Started making bread - saves having to walk down into the village in the rain
Craft stuff

To Do
Finish making bread
More washing up
Cook tea - choice of leftovers - haricot hotpot, or chilli and rice
Tea
Evening routine
Finish sampler square and start cutting the next

[dodges flying dynamo]
[arranges blanket around CHB]
{raises glass to OFM's dh
[watches bread rise peacefully iwth Cobweb and arranges her on sofa with sampler)

feeling despondent and do not want to go out this evening to dcs' concert, which involves the ubiquitous scarey car journey/find parking space trauma
have eaten loads of rice krispies to cheer myself up, but now feel like i want to go to sleep..

I cannot declutter the books!!! There are too many of them!

Have sorted out the playroom, which is now also my study No room for anything in there, I can chip/tidy at the edges but the problem remains. We need the SAS Life Laundry in this house. Dh is bad mood again, having had a horrid time looking after badly behaved dss in Park, and certainly in no mood to discuss rearranging anything.

supper cooking, very easy (fishcakes and pots)

Well, I've been a bit lax for a few days and missed a few baby steps. HOWEVER a miracle has occured....... OH has realised that washing up and shining the sink is having an effect on the state of me and the rest of the house sooooo when I went to get petrol the other night he washed up! This is a miracle as he will do it if I ask him but never thinks to do it off his own bat! He'd even shined the sink!
I'm not sure of the value of a control journal..... tell me if you use one? Today I have managed to tame the hallway by the piano where we keep the shoes.... I have 2 shoe racks now and the top is for school book bags etc and it looks great. I have also sorted the kitchen hot spot!

Can I ask about morning routines? I get up at 6 as it is, have breakfast, load the car, wake the kids, get them dressed and leave the house by 7.30 at the latest. I don't have time to do morning stuff! I do all my cleaning at the weekends and evenings.

For organisation of life OH and I both have pocket Life Books and we do regular diary synchronisations! We have a large write on/wipe off magnetic planner on the wall by the phone and we also have a weekly chart where I write the jobs I plan to do each day. I get great satisfaction from wiping them off as I complete them. The bonus of this is that Oh sees what needs doing eg empty washing machine and put to dry and then he does it...... If it isn't written down it doesn't seem to enter his mind that it needs doing!

Oh, DS had an excellent report from school and is looking forward to being in year 2 and I have 10 more get ups before the class from hades that I teach move on to another school and I go part time! Whoooo hoooo! (I know that all children are lovely and this lot are .... on an individual basis.... but together they just don't gel and are flaming awful to teach. I came close to a nervous breakdown this year)

IHateCobwebs Would you mind telling me what the life book is like when it arrives? I currently use a wall calendar but the life book more in depth with meal planners/shopping lists etc

Sock getting the evning routine sorted first is key to the morning one I find. Evening includes getting clothes out for next day, making sure School shoes are all present in the hall, book bags and backpacks ready, also sunhats, cagoules etc all lined up in the hall. Packed lunches are prepared, water bottles lined up by the sink (well, normally on the drainer om the night before). Dinner money, letters etc are put in bags.

Then morning consists of get up at 7.30, make mine and DCs breakfast, i unload Dw and clear drainer while I eat mine, also assemble packed lunches and fill water bottles which go straight into backpacks in the hall. Then at about 7.55 I have a quick shower and clean the toilet and tell the DCs to get dressed, I usually end up dressing DD myself whle I get dressed but Ds is pretty good. They then go down and get their shoes on while I do a 5 min hair, make-up etc. At 8.15 I supervise hair and teeth brushing ( our bathroom is downstairs), and get my shoes on, close bathroom window, wipe down bath and basin, do my teeth, put brekkie dishes in DW, at 8.25 we get on coats, get scooters and leave at 8.30. i can usually manage to fit in one other quick job such as sweeping kitchen floor too. But none of this holds together if I haven't done the evening routine the night before.

Sorry, haven't had time to catch up with the thread, but I hope you are all OK.

Have spent the day helping MIL unpack at her new flat. She came home to ours for dinner and DH has just driven her back. I feel exhausted! Am going to get DS2 into bed ASAP, then watch a film with DH and DS1. A glass of wine might not go amiss either.

NickNacks I have both the Family Life Book and Family Weekly Planner, but use the Weekly Planner far more - probably because it's hanging on the wall in the kitchen so much easier to refer to. The Life Book does have more detailed sections: Christmas and holiday lists, weekly routines for up to seven people, plenty of shopping lists, monthly overviews/to-do lists, but I hardly ever use them. The only part I regularly use is the address book (which can be transferred from year to year) and I also find the year at a glance quite useful, but I don't think I'll be ordering a Life Book for next year (I do keep a Pocket Life Book in my handbag, however).

The packing is almost finished, although it did take me several days. DH is just ironing a few bits and pieces while I finish my wine. We're planning on leaving at around 4.30 am tomorrow to avoid the worst of the traffic, so I probably won't get a chance to check in again before we leave. See you all in 10 days' time (or more likely around 12, as I'm going to be busy with work when we get back).

Thank you LinzerTorte I'm off to have a good browse at the Organised mum site just now. I just scrolled up and found the discussion!

Have a good holiday!

Have a lovely time Linzer!

Never I am a control journal obsessive, though here its just called "the blue folder". I use an A4 leverarch, and it holds a lot of info.
To Do section - on right hand side of a page is my ongoing to do, the one-offs in sections, added to as I think of something, come back from a meeting etc, the left hand page is "Today" - and lists everything I'm aiming to do in the day, the repetitive and the one-offs. Behind that is the week's zone cleaning list (in a plastic wallet so I can tick stuff off, and clean it at the end of the week before I replace it with the following week's one)
Month - subdivided into twelve months - anything related to a specific month is filed here, eg medical appt letters etc, and a front sheet for every month lists things which have to be done, birthdays etc (NB any appt info is also listed in diary/calender etc)
Basic weekly plan - list for each day dividing out weekly jobs
Houysehold tools - zone cleaning lists, seasonal lists, hints and tips
Menu plan, master shopping lists, current shopping list
Finance/purchase - notes of anything bought on line inc order numbers, ongoing stuff eg when changing elec suppliers - when cleared stuff will be transferred to relevant file
DS activities - his playgroup letters, outside activities, list of stuff he wants to do, holiday lists etc
Library - list of current library books - checked off before we go to library, and new list created when we get back
Notes - any odd stuff that needs to be kept that has no other home
Addresses/phone numbers - any that I want to keep easy to hand in A-Z subdividers, cross referenced
Emergency numbers
Projects - building, renovation, etc
Hobbies

Done
Lazy morning lie in - DS happy to play in his bedroom til quite late, then have a cuddle in bed (makes up for the no-sleep night I had, due to DS crying and getting up several times)
Morning routine
Washing up
Puttering round
Recycling out in bin
S/s
Made beds
Made bread - one loaf, one little loaf for DS, 6 small rolls
Craft stuff
More washing up
Potter on web
Cook tea - choice of leftovers - haricot hotpot, or chilli and rice
Tea
Evening routine
Water peppers in conservatory shed

Off now to carry on stitching

Roundup

Cobweb did a fantastic job explaining the many facets of a Control Journal
Whoknows also very motivational
Linzer and Toffee have been packing and unpacking
Sockinthetoaster made hall orderly, and is looking forward to a break from a bit of a gruelling teaching year

Evening all.

No time to catch up. Been up for 18 hours and exhausted. Had a manic clothing clean out of mine and DDs wardrobe. I was ruthless and have 4 black bags of clothes to sell/ give away etc. Have also cleared ironing pile.

Tomorrows job, finish off spare room cleaning - i'm going to make this room into my quiet reading / hobby room.

DD helped to clear her clothes, i wonder if she'll help tomorrow she seemef to enjoy it

further rounding up

MC despite a very early start, and being annoyingly messed around by dance class, MC went on to declutter several black sacks (sometimes that is the funnest thing to do on Family Fun Day - I certainly find the urge to declutter very strong on SATs, could it be the effect of family filling up the room?) I bet dd enjoyed the drama of it all!

OFM is I hope having a nice dinner out (sorry getting confused again) So that's why my bras never fit...it is all the fault of M & S - re: thread!!! I've never bought a bra from any ohter shop, imagine....
CHB has been shopping with ds, quite tiring (though I think it can be useful way of saving money, as they usually don't let you stay very long in one place...

Done
been to Music School concert in fab Victorian church (not local) Everything from Steppenwolf to Schubert and lots of children/teens looking great in every variation of white top and black skirt. Nearly fell asleep though, made lists in my head of the books I was finally going to pass on. Wittgenstein, Unsworth, biogs I have read, philosphy books I never will read...Must stick to it. Will have to wait till dh out of the house though.

Driving was a bit dicey there, but I cruised home - do love deserted streets at 10pm, so very pleased about that little adventure.

Also hi to Nicknacks who has inspired her Dh by stickign to shiny sink

Morning people!

To Do:
Washing out of machine and put to dry
New load of washing in (repeat ad infinitum!)
Put away dry clothes
Pop to Staples to buy poster sized paper to make DS a poster about times it is OK to get up!
Make said poster
Make soup for my lunches next week
Prepare Slow cooker meal to be cooked tomorrow
Hot Spot clearance (top of piano)
Put stuff in loft that came home from work (no classroom next year)
Ironing (hah!)
Cook dinner (roast beef.... yummy!)
Wash up
Shine sink!

Right, better get on with it then!

Good morning, Fledglings.

I have - rather heroically, I think - given up my Sunday morning lie-in so that DH can recover from the exhaustion of helping his mum move. I am also trying to give DS2 lots of attention because he is being a little bugger displaying a lot of attention-seeking naughty behaviour at the moment and I think he may be feeling our preoccupation with DS1's issues. So, this morning, I have:

Done several pages of a sticker book with him
Read him a John Burningham book (hilarious - all about where cats go at night: they go to parties, apparently ), a book about prehistoric sea monsters and a book about dinosaurs - tried to explain evolution again, but DS still thinks apes turn into humans before they die
Made us breakfast

To do:
Mend the crappy plastic tat trainset that MIL bought him from the market for a knock-down price. It doesn't work properly (surprise!) and the train will only go backwards but DS2 keeps trying to make it work, which is upsetting him. He won't throw it away, so we now have a pile of plastic which we have to store somewhere. I know she means well, but DH has asked her so many times to please, please not get stuff from her local market because it never works, disappoints the children and takes up space in our house

Play Playmobil with DS2
D/w - unload and reload
Shine sink (inspired by you, Nicknacks)
Dress, etc
To MIL again to help unpack
Home for children's street party in the afternoon
Dinner for us and MIL
Evening routine
Ironing?
Bed at decent hour

Hope you all have a good day.

morning all
swan thanks for roundup . hope your evening was OK
NPSIT good luck with your list
toffee hope ds2 responds to all your attention this morning!

right...well. Had a lovely night out with DH last night. am very glad to have found a lovely reliable babysitter - have only really started going out with dh again last autumn after a few years where we hardly ever went out - finding a babysitter for 6 DC isnt easy - although the older ones dont really need much "minding"
anyway, miraculously the Tooth Fairy also remembered to visit dd3 (which was very lucky as I think she had had a glass or two of wine and tends not to have the best memory anyway just now LOL)
and all dc slept really late today - not up till 8.40 - so a nice lazy start for all

Plan for the day - Trip to cinema to see Kung Foo Panda 2 for DH and little 3. Me and dd1 and 2 going shopping for outfit for dd1 to wear at her leaving party (wish me luck LOL)

Also need to:
Cook roast gammon for dinner
Lots of clean washing away
sort through girls wardrobes and do some decluttering
organise all items needed for dd4 and me for school trip tomorrow
ensure dd2 has required items for her school trip tomorrow
tidy littlies room
nagpursuade girls to tidy their room
hoover and dust bedrooms

right....best get on then... just need a bit more coffee have good days all.

My Ta da list!

Cleared all surface crap from the sitting room and put away- admittedly some is on the stairs waiting to go up.
Hoovered including under all furniture.
Dusted
De-cobwebbed
Turned sofa cushions over
Hung a picture
found a home for Cm Paperwork

Loaded DW and put on- kids to empty it shortly
First load of washing on- to empty when i get back from mum.

Which brings me to the depressing phone call i received yesterday....mum wants me to go over to her house and sort out my stuff from her loft. Its not my adult belongings but childhood toys books etc which she has decided to keep over the years and now they are having a clear out she wants me to take it!!

I said i only wanted my Malory Towers books if she came across them but anything else could go. No,thats not good enough i have to go over and tell her specifically what she can through out. I know when i see things though i will feel compelled to keep them and now know who i get my hoarding genes from!!

Wish me luck and pray i don't come back with much anything.

Oh Nicknacks good luck -If I had to do that I would come home with everything too.

OFM good luck with the shopping. I'm also going on a trip with DD tomorrow and need to sort out what to take.

Jobs for today

• Tidy kitchen- DH has just made a cooked breakie/brunch and left the kitchen a tip
• Been to shops for top up shop- need to unpack and put away
• Finish tidying out DD wardobe from yesterday
• Finish tidying spare room
• hoover throughout downstairs
• Find rucksack out for tomorrows trip with DD
• Sort out what I want to sell

DD has gone to neighbours house so I guess i should get something done whilst the house is quiet

Hello fledglings. Hope you are all having lovely Sundays ...

Sorry to have been awol - really enjoyable, relaxing weekend but have been doing loads of stuff with dd to keep her out of dh's hair so that he can have a well-deserved relax after all the recent stresses and strains.

So yesterday we worked on her garden, went bike riding locally, made a leak, bacon and thyme tart, two batches of carrot and lentil soup and a gooseberry crumble.

Today we've been making mini-apple and blackcurrant pies and a second batch of apricot jam.

Have also dusted off our (as yet unused) exercise bike in the basement and did 30 mins at 60rpm which, wait for it... = 258 calories consumed. Was on quite an easy gear but am starting off gently and will build up to more difficult ones as weeks go on.

Also done French studies, team bed-changing, watched the Grand Prix at Silverstone (shame!) and the odd bit of laundry and sewing/mending.

Big moment of the day though: our chrysalides have hatched in to Painted Lady butterflies - cue huge excitement from dd - we are feeding them on sugar water sprinkled on leaves and flowers, cut oranges and over-ripe bananas. We release them in to to three days time ... It was quite a gory process as they emerged however ... quite a lot of red liquid which looks like blood is expelled at the same time ... although I gather this is normal. So far four out of five have hatched so that's pretty good going.

Good to see lots of dh's on here stepping up to the mark ...

Swan see you have been manfully rounding up despite computer probs. Congrats on the driving (again!).

MakingChanges glad your dd is on the mend and hope you didn't have to get up quite so early today ...

Linzer sorry I missed your departure! Hope you have a lovely holiday!! Safe travelling!

Arf at OFM's drunken tooth fairy ...

Nicknacks good luck with enforced loft clear out at your ma's! Hope you aren't landed with too much stuff ... (I know it's a pain but at least it is better to do it now than be landed with a load of stuff when your parents are too elderly to do it. My dh and I gave up an entire Easter holiday plus 4 subsequent weekends to sort out his parents' apartment after they had moved. There was 20 years of stuff in it ...)

Toffee well done to you and your dh on your heroic weekend's work! And how re/ your ds and the parade (from further down thread!) Fantastic!!!

Neverputasockinit I agree with Whoknows and others that the afternoon/evening routine kind of facilitates the morning one. I have more time than you so I can do a swish & swipe but that's about it on work days. Appliances (dw and wm) with timers help with this too so that you can put them on to await your arrival from home or to finish first thing when you get up.

Good to see you reporting doing absolutely nowt for once Ellie!!

Waves to CHB (thanks for linkys) and everyone else I've missed. Hope things OK in PA household.

Oh and yes, being large of nork, I swear by Bravissimo. Expensive/bit of a faff initially when you order a variety of sizes etc but once you get a couple of styles that fit properly/suit you, you can just re-order every so often and it's hassle-free.

Won't be on here so much this week as home alone with dd but hope you all have a productive one!