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.

Thank you . Thank you too Toffee.

OK, this won't do . I am going to post a list for tomorrow and go to bed.

Morning routine / school run to include sweep kitchen floor
Check state of school garden, have word with DS's teacher to see if she thinks his writing has regressed again like I do
Home to wait for Ocado, unpack, put away
Spend 1-2 hours doing paid work on laptop
If that leaves time before 11.30, go through electrician quotes and pick one, phone solicitors about making wills

School gardening club
School road safety training
School run
Reading with DD
Making DCs tea
Beavers run
Go for a run if DH home in time
Eat. Less. Food. (feeling fat at the moment)
Sort out pile of paperwork
Do some filing.
Prepare notes for DS's occupational therapy assessment later in the week
Prepare worksheets for DS's speech therapy homework.

Just waiting for boat. Sending from my phone. Off for work conference today. Late evening before I get home. First time I have ever left the DC to get themselves to school

BAck tomorrow.

Morning all.

Unproductive weekend in terms of housework here, but the baby steps haven't been very, er, inspiring since the sink shining. DH is completely blown away by the sink. He keeps coming through and saying how he thinks it probaby looks better than when we moved in and that he's scared to use it . Anyway, it is still shiny at least.

To do
Take letter round to architect
Buy nappies and cheese
Clean bathroom
Change sheets
Sponge clean pram foot muff which has been lying around in the ktchen since the weather has been warm enough not to need it

Silken

Right must move have a stupidly large amount of stuff that needs to get done this month. Including discovering a tidy house for the 13th and a present that needs to be made shitcrapbollockshowthefuckamigoingtomanageeverything?

So the wish list:
all clothes put away
lego tray of bits sorted
cracked wisdom tooth sorted
my bedroom floor
ds' bedroom floor
budget
pay c/c bill
find bank book and cheque for paying in (in a safe place so i wouldnt lose them )
Swish and swipe
Wash bedding bedding
mirrors
check tyre depths, oil, water.
Crawl under car and check exhaust
....insert another task here but trying to be achievable with wish list...

Right offskies. need to get a few bits done before school run. Then ringing dentist to see if can get this broken tooth sorted.

Morning all,

I know exactly how you feel WhoKnows; the relentlessness of housework is getting me down at the moment too. I've decided I'm going to put my timer on for 15-minute bursts this morning in the hope that it will inspire me - I was actually doing quite well until I put the computer on.

PA Hope the conference goes well and that your DC got themselves off to school OK!

silken Well done on the shiny sink. I should probably go and shine mine for a bit of inspiration.

Have got two out of three children out of the house, but DD1 claimed she had a stomach ache when she woke up and is still in bed (she's gone back to sleep). I think she's just tired and not keen on going to the sport & games camp I've signed the DDs up for this week. DS had a massive tantrum this morning as he didn't want to go to kindergarten (which stays open for three weeks after school has broken up), although he was fine once he was actually there. I also ended up snapping at DH for telling the DC that there's no school today when kindergarten is still open, which is what set off DS's tantrum. So all in all, not the greatest of starts to the summer holidays.

Am now trying to find a home for the dozens of exercise books and text books that the DDs brought back from school last week. DH has agreed that only the previous (this) year's need to stay upstairs and the rest can go into boxes in the cellar, so that will free up a few drawers to put the most recent books into. I've also been trying to sort out the pens and pencils, art cases, arts & craft boxes, etc. etc. etc. that the DDs have brought home. They each have an A4 list of exercise books and stationery that they need to buy for the next school year, so I'm attempting to tackle it gradually to avoid a nervous breakdown in the last week of the holidays.

Quite when I'm going to find time to tidy, declutter and pack, I'm not sure.

Pong. I've just posted a long message and lost it.

Got to go and finish morning routine but will return later.

See I am not only one happy to chivvy dh off to work today ...

DD at day one of ballet workshop abd [horrible wife and mother emotcion] I am happy to have some time to myself frankly.

Huge waves and supplies of caffeine to everyone ....

Good morning everyone! It is a beautiful day here.

stillchuckingit, don't feel bad about time to yourself. It is very important to look after yourself so you can look after your DH/DC.

silken, hello! Well done on the shiny sink.

linzer, well done on getting your DH on board with some of the decluttering. I've found that my DH can be gradually persuaded as he sees the benefits of it.

Right, the baby needs to get up so need to just hello to everyone else and get my list started.

Ta da
Get dressed
Blood test

To do
Bedrooms
Bathroom
Laundry
Dinner
Shine sink
Weekly home blessing

We are going to a wedding this afternoon so not much will get done today. Better get on with it then.

[in a better mood this morning, but wonders how long it will last
Hello, happy Fliers!

Last night I did eventually shine the sink, and do some remedial tidying/laundry, which was lucky as it emerged next morning we were down to ds2's last pair of underpants which I had to dry fry on the [almost completely]switched off Aga hotplate
Fried underpants for breakast anyone?

Dh took ds1 to have his haircut first thing [think woolly mammoth]
ds2 had a rage about a magic wand from the party which he wanted to bring to school, but he claimed the one I found was dd's because it had been chewed

Anyway, they are all at school hurrah!!! and I found someone to give the errant Moses basket to (it has been hanging round the playroom for several weeks now]

Linzer now I want you to think positive [stern] It is holidays! No homework! Family Time! well done on thinking ahead with the stationery. It's nice for dd to have a day off, I think these camps are a bit of a moveable feast, in that you use them when you want but it's not the end of the world if you miss a day here and there (unlike school) unless there is work in progress of course, then I see it is very difficult (sorry I'm typing so fast that I'm rambling)

SC ballet workshop, that sounds heaven, glad she's back to ballet again (was that my imagination she gave up briefly?) Dd is loving ballet atm after interlude when she stopped.

todo
my routine today is: dishes, table, floor, washing, s & s, but not beds, as I should probably change 4 sets of sheets today (ds1 bed done on Friday)

house bless:
newspapers done last night
but hoover playroom floor and landing

got to dash, and be productive

hi to Bartlett wedding afternoon makes a nice change for a Monday! Clinks glasses

sorry, odd message about the underpants, just we have no drier

Swan - the washing was about the only thing I did keep on top of over the weekend. No Aga here, but I have been know to iron things dry .

Personally I like my underpants fried in a little butter with added honey or molasses... helps the elastic go down ...

Right, boiling w/e resentment towards dh reduced to a simmer now I've had a couple of hours to myself and taken out my frustration on the ground floor.

Dh drove me mad this weekend though. He is very indulgent towards dd forcing me to be constant bad witch over bed times/sweet-eating/teeth-cleaning/tidy hair/ picking up toys etc etc and I don't appreciate being constantly undermined. Secondly, whenever we have a problem and I suggest a solution (whether it be child-care, house, work, etc) he will agree to the change (when it is obvious that he disagrees with every bone in his body) but then does everything exactly the same as before[anger]. Why agree in the first place? Grrrrrrrr. Harrumph. Sigh.

So far today have done:
Morning routine inc dw on, wm on, s& s and boudoir swipe
Cleaned out gps cage
Cleaned kitchen and mopped floor, tidied and hoovered sitting room, playroom, hall and downstairs cloakroom

First proper week of holidays.

Intend every day to:
Take at least 30 min to one hour's walk
30 mins on exercise bike
Eat salad exclusively for lunch
Remember iron tablets
30 mins French study every day
1 box of papers sorted/filed/shredded daily
do something towards art project with dd
do one thing in house (over and above routine Flying) in preparation for impending visits

Every week of holiday:
Bake with dd
Sew with dd
Make two vegetarian (lentilly bake/veg casserole) type dishes
Sew one Christmas present
Take dd somewhere special (museum, different park, concert, etc etc)

Rest of today:
tidy up home office in prep for visit of computer technician (hurrah!)
sort on-line shopping parcels
declutter sitting room 15 mins x 3
declutter bedroom 15 mins x 3
make doc appointments x 2
no roast yesterday so no cold cuts - must thing of alternative for supper
laundry x 2
really need to more in depth kitchen missions (counter tops ok but cupboard interiors need cleaning and decluttering/sorting)

Yes Swan clever of you to remember, am secretly praying this may encourage dd to retrieve her enthusiasm for dancing. Glad you are feeling more chipper! Glad you and your family had a good family 'do' and sniff at memories of reading Tin-Tin in guest rooms. Hope you ma feels better soon.

Thanks Bartlett and enjoy the wedding!

Ditto Linzer dd brought home 2 huge carrier bags (extendable square ones) full of last year's school work. I'm tempted to put it all in the shredder straight away but dd likes showing what she has been doing to summer visitors so will have to keep it for statutory couple of months prior to getting rid. [Heartless emoticon] Have also humungous list of materials to buy for next year but at least Flemish nomenclature not such a mystery now AND the school have bowed to pressure and printed list before holidays - hurrah! (Usually distributed first day back- 1st Sept - cue massively stressful scramble to shops when every other mother is doing the same thing!) This way hope to pick up a few things calmly and more cheaply in UK!

Silken congrats on your extra-sparkly super shiny sink. Yes, a good third of Fat Fairy steps are dispensable ...

Thanks for steps CHB and arf at shitcrapbollockshowthefuckamigoingtomanageeverything? Good luck with tooth.

Have a good day on the mainland PA

Sympathies and caffeine to Whoknows. Going to follow your example and administer kick up own rear shortly ...

Congrats to your db on being fully fledged priest/vicar (sorry, only know RC terminology!) Glad the day went well!!

Glad you had a good w/e NicWNacW you deserve a bit of r & r

Ellie hope your day turns out to be better than anticipated

Huge waves to Toffee and everyone else I've missed ...

Technician due any second ...

whoknows your list of hot-spot clutter made me feel a lot better actually

I have a quarter of a dining table similarly "attired"

Doing things upside down today - cleaned before I've decluttered

i fear i might end up spending an unproductive day on hold in an attempt to sort out some fucked up paperwork. Stupid call centres.

Arrrrrrggghhh make the tinny music and stupid messages stop!!!!

DS1 is having his first lesson from the dyslexia tutor, so I'm free for a bit .

Ta da! list:

Used sticker chart to encourage DS2 to get ready for school on time
School run ('run' is the right word)
Delivered DS1 to a one-off lesson at school to discuss transition to secondary school
Home for late breakfast
Put recycling out
Swept kitchen floor
Unloaded d/w
Reloaded d/w
Cleared away breakfast stuff and wiped table
Wiped kitchen counters
Room rescues - sitting room and our bedroom

Phew. Am now having a cuppa.

I see from a quick read through that many of us are feeling overwhelmed by household tasks at the moment. WhoKnows - that cluttered table is very telling and reminds me of home: it's full of everyone else's clutter. The trouble is that no-one else is tidying up - just you. As Linzer said, it is just relentless. Ellie - I have no idea how you can possibly keep up with it all when you're working full time as well. You can give your DH a kick up the backside from me, by the way, for that comment re 'what's for dinner?' Grr.

To do list:

Tesco shopping delivery - put away
Post letter
Lunch
House rescue
School run
Make proper dinner (have been a bit lax about this recently)
Bedtimes
Get stuff ready for early start tomorrow
NB: PUT RUBBISH OUT!
Bed at decent hour

Silken - congratulations on your superduper sink .

Waves to Bartlett, Still, Swan, CHB, PA, NicW, Blue and any secret lurkers.

Sorry you are in call-centre hell, CHB.

I don't what it is about those zones but I always end up wanting to do the wrong one [contrary emoticon]
have just deep cleaned behind all the bookcases in living room, dusted the cornices, picture rails, cleaned windows and removed large tablecloth from wall. It is a bit less Miss Haversham now, and a bit more (actually can't think of anything witty - perhaps I mean Ikea [in a good sense]

4 shirts ironed for DH
watered garden- why is a butternut squash plant growing out of a camellia pot? Cucumbers flowering thought they were on their last legs actually, with green mould at bottom of planting box
tidied ds1's room (didn't take long) I think finally there is a place for everything
will try the same on dd's room but don't hold your breath

given up on playroom and our room again stripped sheets, and then gave up in despair

SC I love your holiday plans, but I do think you are allowed more than just salad for lunch. Hope there is bread and cheese in there somewhere..
It does become a battle for authority doesn't it? Sometimes I become even crosser with children because I know Dh is about to contradict me - I feel my hackles rising. When I'm by myself with them I tend to be more relaxed giveup
I used to have this mantra with Dh, "now, if there are two of us, there is no need for ANYONE to SHOUT", ie: only when you are by yourself and struggling are you allowed be shouty parent... not sure this has worked out though....

Have done 0 flying so far today, but have taken DS2 to see the playgroup he'll be starting in Sept (he didn't want to leave ), done the shopping, got lunch and put it all away.

Boys watching Tom & Jerry so will attempt kitchen mission.

To do:
Reassemble hoover
Rescue downstairs
Hotspots [sceptical]
Meal planning
Pack up parcel to post tomorrow
Laundry in and away
Get bags ready for tomorrow

Waves to all. Will also attempt to catch up properly later.

Flagging. need a ta do list...

Ta Da
Clothes away
tooth tempporarily filled
Book dentist appointment for next week
Book Ds' check up with dentist
Buy school uniform for next year
Buy new trackies for ds
Speak to tax credits people
Ring people about scarey but turnedout to be fautly letters
Ring people about faulty computer part
Ring car insurance people
Sort out copper pot
Clean mirrors
Put cleaning fluid in toilet
Empty bins
Go through ds' underwear and get rid of too small pants. (will do boxers when replaced too small pants)
15 mins in ds' room
Ds' bedding
Find out about library summer reading challenge start dates.

that actually looks a lot more then it feels Going for a walk to run a few more errands, the weather is just too nice and i dont want to be cooped up sorting ds' room

Post and run time at the moment. Have been out most of the morning, so need to play catchup this afternoon, as I'm hosting the playgroup AGM here this evening. I've been asked if I will carry on being Treasurer (which is not high on my wish list), and its going to be difficult to say "no", as they really do not have anyone new to do the job. May compromise, and agree to be a book-keeper for them for a couple more months, but refuse to be the Treasurer.

Anyway, on with the list

Done
Morning routine
DS to playgroup
Take car to garage as have a leaking petrol tank - it was only put on last week!
Watch DS playgroup sports day
Go over playgroup a/cs with chairs prior to this evening's meeting
Get bins in
s/s
Make beds
Tidy living room
Tidy bathroom
Vacuum living room
Washing on line
WHBH - glass/mirrors, recycling, bins
Collect playgroup invoice from village shop
Shopping in village
Collect DS
Lunch
Update diary, calendar, home journal

To Do
Baking for meeting tonight
WHBH - finish vacuuming, mop kitchen floor, dust/polish, change beds
Print out copies of accounts paperwork for tonight
Phonic, letters, numbers with DS
Sow seeds
Put up hanging baskets
Cook tea
Tea
Evening routine
Get DS into bed before meeting
Prep food for meeting
Washing on airer
Washing in machine
Meeting
Water in and out

Have just dropped off DD2 and DS at the birthday party; DD1 is still in bed asleep so it must be more than just tiredness. Providing she stays asleep, I now have around three hours to get on with things. Am still trying to sort through the girls' school stuff; I now have three full drawers just of this year's books and a huge pile to go down to the cellar. I like your idea of just keeping the books over the summer holidays SC, but I can't see DH agreeing to get rid of any of them until all three of them have left primary school (DS hasn't even started) - and possibly not even then.

Toffee Hope the dyslexia lesson goes well; DD1 loves going to hers (it's def. her favourite after-school activity).

swan I never feel like tidying/decluttering the current zone either and must admit that half of the time I don't even know which zone we're in. The zones don't generally include the two worst rooms in our house, either (playroom and guest room/office/general dumping ground).

DD1 has finally surfaced looking as bright as a button. She says she feels fine and was just tired. She doesn't want to join the other two at the party, however, and has decided to do some crocheting instead.

Where has today gone! it's already nearly time for the school pick up!

done

Watch DD in her school assembly
Food shop
Drop toy back to friends DD who left it here yesterday
Office work
Make lunch
Phone Aunt

That's it - arrgh!

Need to clean kitchen worktops
Pick DD up
Take DD to drama - in costume as the photographer is there today (she is the old woman so has a grey wig, raggy dress and apron complete with fake patches, and a knitted shawl shrug thingy - they are doing 'The old woman who lived in a shoe')
Pick up prescription
Go to chemist to get it
Dinner for DD and me as DH away all day on a fun lads day
Homework with DD
Practice elocution lines with DD for tomorrows concert

This term has been all about learning lines it seems. Only another week or so to go and she breaks up for the summer although lots of her after school activities will continue until end of July.

Waves to all and hopes you all have glorious sunny weather where you are

done
have managed to put some excess books away in neat piles (threw out a bookcase We need another "classics" section upstairs, and I have thrown out another 4 (just four [sob] books on the sly, but had to spend 30 mins reading one for the last time first

I see I have arranged to give Ds1 a cinema party on the very day I am departing for Eire How could I have managed that??? I never write departure dates on the calendar in case burglars look at calendars, very silly I know.
Which means, shock horror, I have to arrange a party for mid August (actually that sounds good, a long way off...) or this weekend [sigh]

Pink yes when you write it down, you begin to get a horrible sense of deja vue of what your life consists of; in my case complaining, laundry and complaining about piano practice in that order.

linzer a good way to convalesce, crochet
Hope drawers offer little resistance