Back to Fly school for September Fledglings

[substantiallycompromised]

Welcome to the September 2011 Fledgling Flying thread! Hang up your microfibre cloths and park your buckets here!!

[Sorry - I've namechanged again - but remain SC]

This is where from the 1st of the month, we attempt to declutter and follow the 30-step wisdom of Flylady (minus cutesy language and a surfeit of e-mails) with lots of chat and support and mutual motivation along the way. (More info available here )

Humungous thanks to our previous thread leader Blue for navigating us all through the August school holidays...and for doing it so consistently and well!!

As usual we will be following a three-pronged approach - and don't worry - we are all at different stages. Some of us (SC stares at feet) -are even embarrassingly stuck at decluttering stage after two years

• repeat or start baby steps (again!)

• repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

or

• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.

All newcomers welcome!

Today I felt much better...and in a proactive and optimistic mood [most unusual]
BUT, unfortunately this was cue for feeling VERY CROSS by lunchtime with my dear husband, who was in a tinderbox mood, and being a martyr and irascible at same time.
In fact the whole house has been awash with tension and recriminations from every single resident, which I find leads to no flying whatsoever as I feel too upset.
However, we have ended the day with a nice chat, and the children have gone to bed happily. Ds1 couldn't sleep though, despite us trying to put him to bed at 9.10. New Secondary School starts tomorrow at 10.30 for my 11 year old. Yr 5s not till Wednesday.

done
church (the usual cause of everyone being in an unbearable mood not during but after and before....)
delicious homemade lunch
labelled ds1's clothes
checked his new trousers fit him (yes but too long)
found black socks for him (all his socks are grey from primary)
finished last bit of ds1's project - Designing Book Cover
put project in folder in his bag wth all his other (marked)stationery
made a plan for after school tomorrow, meet in park halfway from school so that he can get on bus and not appear uncool
watched Doris Day and Frank Sinatra with dd
Made cookies with dd (she made them mostly)
forced Dh to take boys out to play football in park, as he seems to believe that half an hour's exercise will suffice for a whole day (despite ten years evidence to the contrary)...and that they are merely fighting because they are badly behaved and want to stop him reading his newspaper....[well they are badly behaved as well, but still....
sorted ds2's drawers a bit
sorted ds1's socks out
s & s loo and loo floor
washed up dishes almost continuously

otherwise have given up till children back at school...I almost feel as if I'd make more of an effort if there was another few weeks of holidays....

Toffee good luck for tomorrow.
I just want to find out which of Ds1's school mates is in his class! As long as it's not the one who bullies him.
Also the thought of dealing with his homework is filling me with dread. I need to get him into a homework routine which fits in a bit of energetic downtime too...
well there's nothing I can do till tomorrow is there? Apart from tidy his desk again tomorrow and remove all those comics....

ouch have a great time in Blackpool.
Plants soaking in bath sounds very reasonable to me
blue I think the last few days of summer hols sweeps away a lot of cobwebs of sentiment about one's PFB! Still you'll be in tears like the rest of us when you see his little uniformed self trotting in...I remember not being phased at all by Ds1, but I was in floods when dd went to school for first time and she didn't want me to leave her.... I can still remember the sensation of needing a stiff gin afterwards (at 8.50am, and I'm someone who doesn't drink...)
messy well done on cigs! You can do it, you can you can!

You've certainly all been busy on the seventh day:

Messy well done on the decluttering front! You sound very organised for the week ahead.
RowingBoat Doesn't count as sinning if you have been at work!! No Flying done here at all today (or much yesterday if I'm honest) and I have the weekend + 2 days a week off!
Snap DroitwichM I bought plums today to make some jam. Hope the car isn't too expensive to sort out. Well done on the laundry front and glad cats are safely home.

Blue not wrong at all, particularly when it has been raining cats and dogs. It's no fun with stir-crazy dc in the house. I think 8/9 wks holiday is plenty! I do loathe being tied to the school routine though.
CNettle Gosh. That definitely wasn't a day of rest for you was it? And your forthcoming week sounds stressful too. [Fills up ] Hope your last day of freedom tomorrow is fun and you can have some (relative) r & r albeit in Smurf and Ronald land....
Whoknows just been having the same discussion with dh as dd is exhausted atm. Your post makes me feel a lot better! Dd is a massively energetic child but at the same time needs loads of sleep. She has been going to bed far too late during the holidays [bad mummy emoticon] and is finding it difficult to adjust back. She also takes loads of time to calm down enough to sleep. She is eight and she starts going up the stairs at 7.30pm term time, then procrastinates horribly and tries every trick in the book to delay washes, brushes teeth, puts out clothes for morning etc so it's 8pm by the time she is in bed, we read for 20 mins or so, so it's usually 8.30pm by the time lights are out and 9pm by the time she is asleep. Which = too late again!! Arrrgh!!
Good luck tomorrow Silvery!!!!!!
Haunted you are definitely NOT behind (a) because the Fat Fairy says so - see Flylady's "perfectionism review" here and (b) because out of the 5 baby-steps done so far, only 1 or 2 are (imho) worth pursuing! So you can relax now for a bit
Toffee thanks for and glad you managed to catch up on sleep today. We will be with you in spirit at the school gate tomorrow!!
Glad you've caught up too Ouch
Silvery I'm with you on the "wanting cj to look good if you are using it every day". I just use an ordinary A4 lever-arch file with loads of intercalaires (sorry, too late at night, can't think of English word) but I've personalised the front of it with a picture of Edvard Munch's 'The Scream'. Mine's called The Out of Control File.
SC again neglected the housework in favour of celebrating her dh's b'day and watching Burghley-day event on the telly.

G'night all. It's past midnight here and I am oh so unprepared for the morrow ...

But can't ignore Swan's post !!

So glad you are feeling better but sorry you've had a stressful day of it. I think the last Sunday before school starts is always inevitably full of tension and you've achieved a massive amount despite that.

I love your plan to ensure your ds1 doesn't appear uncool btw. ( Am also a huge Doris Day fan!) Good luck with it all tomorrow!!!

Oh yes - am also dreading the start of homework ....

Safe travelling Ouch!

Right I have actually had a pretty good day after a complete washout yesterday.

Done
All washing on the airer (was technically after mindnight when I did it 'yesterday' )
Lay in bed until 11am (not sure I am supposed to admit this one)
Delivered money to friend...accompanied by cup of tea and a few tears (long story)
Quick nap (again not sure I should admit that one)
Then flying mode kicked in...
Put out all recycling
Washed up, shined sink, wiped surfaces
Put tumble dryer on
Tidied my bedroom "hotspot" - AKA pile of clothes worn once and put on side cos not "dirty" but now weather not nice enough to wear them...
Mine, DTDs washing put away. Some of DD3's done but some to do tomorrow cos she was asleep when I was doing underwear
Bags unpacked and put away when DCs came home from XP
Cleaned kitchen window
Wrapped Christmas pressies I have so far
Loads of Brownie admin before first meeting of term tomorrow
Built a laptop tabke I bought at IKEA yesterday

Didn't do
Pile of paperwork and banking
Vacuum downstairs
Clean out Guinea pigs (3 of, Ginger, Nibbles and Pipsqueak for whoever asked)
Sort out PGCE placement stuf...will run around like a headless chicken tomorrow morning
Sew on Rainbow Badge...will do as soon as I have turned PC off

Tomorrow
First day on primary school placement - Eeek...early shower
All of the stuff from todays didn't do list
Start a Control Journal/spreadsheet/maybe phone app....then I think I am back on track with babysteps.

Oh and I am sorry I am not mentioning everyone by name...I am just trying to get my head around everyones background.

Goodluck to all those who go back to school/start schoo/start new schools in teh next couple of days. Mine have been back a couple of days already so we are kind of already in teh swing of things.

where did my post go?! gah, must be having tinternet issues again, unless i randomly posted about flying about some babynames thread or something. gah.

ta da:

laundry (muchos)
meeting (i am now el presidente)
sunday roast (yum)
made stock (well, making. tis simmering away)
vaccuum
ignored post-its (this is a ta da. )

nesbit:

pictures (tomorrow. promise.)
wedding rings. still not found. did more searching. dh starting to fret.

fuzzled, ta for offer of help - might end up taking you up on the offer once i have read the book and tried to come up with a programme plan! (had said something else sage in the post that has vanished lol, but can't remember what it was now. it'll come back to me. maybe...

tomorrow is a bank hol here. but dh and i are going to spend this evening looking deeply at our under stairs cupcoard to see if we can knock any big holes in the wall to make a small office/ cubby hole for a computer desk and a good amount of shelving for files and paperwork...

oo, and i bought two laundry baskets, a laundry hamper, and a new kitchen bin. i'm chuffed to ribbons with the bin, because it has a recycling compartment too, which will remove the hotspot that exists on the end of my kitchen unit FOREVER!!!! mwah ha ha ha ha!

morning just off out. have a good one.

Ta da:
up
stuff by door for car
convince ds to go back to bed.

Have fabulous days!!!

Morning everyone

Last day of freedom whoop whoop

Been awake mist of night hashing and rehashing a conversation with dd nursery as another mum informed me that they have changed policy and dd won't start preschool till January! why can't o be normal? What a thing to be worrying about at 3 and 4 in the morning

My list for today

Get up/ dressed/ say goodbye nicely to dh
Wm/td/dw
Sort out swim bags for tomorrow
Make sure uniform ready and school bags
Get Iain to ring Nanny Jos
Sweep and mop bathroom floor
Kitchen mission
Take dc to smurfs and mcd's
Trip to toys r us for birthday presents?
Mermaids outfit for Nat

Hope you all have a fab day. Back later

Morning all...thanks for the welcome

Made a small start last night by having a good read through the Flylady website. So do I HAVE to do all the babysteps as set out, or can I pick & choose according to my need?

I really think the control journal would help me so thought I would make a start on that. Am I getting ahead of myself?

And does getting dressed to slippers count?!! Was awfully confused by some of the suggestions.

Have good days all - especially those going back to school. My DS starts big school for the first time next Monday and I'm feeling soooo emotional about it!

Morning all,

We had a wonderful weekend away - the christening went well and it was lovely to catch up with BF - but it was quite exhausting as we seemed to spend half the time travelling (spent each of the three nights in a different town) and only got back at 2 am this morning. By the time we'd brought everything up from the car, got the DC to bed, etc. it was gone 2.30 am - and then I spent 5 or 10 minutes rummaging through all the suitcases for my alarm clock to get me up at 6.30 am. In vain, however; I'm sure I left it under my pillow at the last hotel, but have just phoned them and it hasn't been found.

Have just dropped off DS at kindergarten and the DDs at school for their first day back - if you can call it a day, as they're there for a grand total of 1.5 hours. The house is a mess, with contents of suitcases everywhere thanks to my late night rummaging and things not being exactly tidy when we left on Thursday, so I think some chaos cleaning is in order.

No time to catch up with the thread, I'm afraid, but I didn't want to ignore your questions PerfectlyChaotic. You're supposed to be doing one babystep every day, which SC will post, although some of them can probably be ignored (deleting all FlyLady's e-mails, for example, as you hopefully won't have signed up for them in the first place). It's very tempting to try to get ahead when you're first starting out, although FlyLady does warn about trying to do too much and then crashing and burning.

The getting dressed to shoes babysteps is one that a lot of us ignore. I just can't wear shoes indoors (it's not done here in Austria at all; you always take your shoes off in other people's houses too), so getting dressed to slippers definitely counts for me!

Must get on as less than an hour left of child-free time and, surprise surprise, the house is still in chaos...

Morning - I don't get dressed till I either need to go out or about 11am, but I am taking on flylady's point that not being dressed prevents you from tasks like hanging out the washing, emptying the bin, and therefore you ought to be dressed early. So, this month I am going to try and get dressed early (back to school tomorrow anyway, so will have to) I don't get the shoes making you feel efficient bit though, I have no intention of putting shoes on till I go out, I keep a pair of crocs by the back door for the aforementioned tasks and have slip on sandals in the shoe rack in the hall for nipping out the front.

OK, I did some more work on my Control Journal last night and am raring to go. I have written down the steps that I think necessary for Home Bleuugh, as opposed to Flylady's list and actually looks as though it will only take an hour. Am letting myself off most of the hoovering as did it on Saturday, will concentrate on the worst bits. Kitchen is probably my most in control zone, so I am going to be doing missions plus detailed cleaning and my tupperware box drawer needs sorting so I can find lunchboxes for tomorrow.

Other than that, DS has a paediatrician appt today and we will be doing the early night, hair washed etc in readiness for school tomorrow. PE kits are done, bookbags have been found, shoes have been labelled.

Oh and did I mention I have committed on another thread to doing the 30 Day Shred starting tomorrow (gulp)? Wasn't someone on here doing it last month, can't remember who it was?

I'll be joining you on the Shred tomorrow, WhoKnows (what I am letting myself in for?!). I did say on the other thread that I would start today, but a) I don't have the energy after four hours' sleep, b) I don't have the time unless I do it in front of the DC (which would keep them entertained, I suppose), and c) the house is still a mess so tidying up really ought to be my top priority.

I've put the washing on, which is a start.

(what am I ...), I meant to say... the lack of sleep is getting to me.

See I interpret the getting dressed to the shoes slightly differently and it is not about the shoes. Although i always work better when in shoes as it changes my focus from relaxing to doing. Anyhow. my intreptation is basically that you get out of bed and you get dressed for the day, because if you stay in your pjs etc you are not switching from the chilling out and relaxing mentality to the up and doing mentality. It makes a big difference to my focus. Don't get up straight away then more likely to simply move slower.

only a flying visit as a few things changed and i needed to pop home before blackpool. Is it bad i am hoping for rain?

Good morning

Uurrrggghhh - that was pretty horrible and unnecessarily stressful! All self-inflicted I'm afraid ... broke all Flying rules over the weekend. (Had a virtual two-day Nesbit! ) Consequently up at crack of sparrow today having gone to bed too late, not cleared up from friends visiting/not quite finished dd's school book covering (thankfully just finished in time) and not quite sure if I was meant to go to an appointment at 11 am or not, or whether a work man was coming here at around about the same time (thanks for that dh!) [confusion]. Cue me barking at dh and dd who didn't deserve to be barked at, at all . Really, really must do better.

On the positive side, because I was running around like a loon, I didn't supervise dd getting washed and dressed and ready for school as usual and she did it all beautifully without (for once) any protests. Think there is a lesson to be learnt there and I need to back off and give her more responsibility.

Anyway - all of the above is nothing to those of you whose dc are either starting school for the first time, starting a new school, or starting a new placement or job. Now THAT really IS stressful [SC lays out mini bottles of calming lavender essence and large plates of chocolate chip cookies]

Haunted good luck on your first day!! Hope it goes well!
Madwoman sorry the rings haven't shown up ....yet! And congratulations on conquering your kitchen hot spot. Good luck with the DIY today!
Have a great trip Ouch
Hands Nettie large cup of calming camomile tea...enjoy your day!
PerfectlyChaotic As Linzer said, whoever is leading the thread will post a baby-step every day concurrent with date. You are meant to follow all of them but some are definitely superfluous (thread leader will give you nod as to which ones you can ignore and which are important/helpful) and of course only you can decide whether some (such as the lace up shoes step) are useful to you or not. So suggest you run through this month's baby-steps until they become second nature and then you can start decluttering. Once you are sufficiently clear of excess stuff, then you can start on missions/detailed cleaning. Hope that is clear. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions. Everyone is v. friendly on here! More info on compiling a cj here
Goodness Linzer you must be exhausted. That was quite a trip!! Hope you manage to calm the chaos today and all catch up on sleep tonight. Good to have you back!
Whoknows, well done, you sound like you are really on top of things (including exercise). I definitely need to take a leaf out of your book (and definitely need to sort out my tupperware box as well - thanks for reminder!).
Hands Linzer double espresso

Ta da:
Morning routine (somewhat shouty one ) inc s&s, dw, wm
Tidied boudoir
Tidied kitchen, sitting, play room and hall
Cleaned downstairs lav
Cleaned kitchen
Hoovered (quickly) downstairs
Cleaned out gps
Go to work (late!)

To do:
Work
Sort through tupperware box
Finish birthday cake for office
More laundry
More tidying
Recycling
Change the one bed that didn't get done at w/e
Ring/text people! Return messages/e-mails
Arrange baby-sitter for tomorrow night
Go to bed early

Does anyone have any tips as to the best way to clean wicker btw?
I've got quite a few wicker storage baskets and they are all getting dusty/dirty. I've tried hoover nozzle but it doesn't seem to work very well. Can you get wicker wet for example? Any advice gratefully received.

Have a good week everyone!

Dying to know how it went Toffee!

Silvery I think you were starting a new job today as well weren't you? Good luck.

And good luck again to everyone whose dcs who are starting back at school today.

Ouch I agree. I find the lace up shoe thing good because without them I am tempted to curl up on a sofa and read books. As Whoknows touched on though, I'm not very good on my non-work days in terms of clothes. I either have clothes I go out in, or clothes I am at home in and I really need to change my wardrobe so that I can wear a smart/casual ensemble that is decent enough to do school run/supermarket shop/errands in and not so good that I am afraid to clean in it, so I don't have to keep changing all the time. Trying to save money so won't be happening this year though. One day ...

RE dressing - my main things for feeling efficient in the morning is not to let my bum touch the sofa under any circumstances until I have done the morning jobs. I am lucky in that I can wear jeans/similar pretty well 365 days a year, my job is very informal, so I can pretty well put on any combination of clothes any day and it will be fine. Also to switch off the computer! I manage my morning routines just as well in my nightclothes and am not planning to change my pre-school routine which is to get dressed after everyone else because it really works for me. Really ought to do a bit better on non-school days though.

This morning I sat down with my new control journal, an A5 notebook, calendar and phone and compiled a to-do list for every day this week, plus a note of anything that needs to be done outside the home on my phone. I then wrote into my weekly routine that from now on this will be my Sunday evening task. Today's list looks very long! Hmm.

DD has gone to a friend's house, just time to hang out some washing and then take DS to the hospital, conveniently located 5 mins walk away.

Quick update.

To do list

Wm/td/dw-done
Sort out swim bags for tomorrow-pile made
Make sure uniform ready and school bags-it is
Get dh to ring Nanny Jos-done all ok dd going up after her birthday so all my nocturnal worrying and arguments were totally unnecessary
Sweep and mop bathroom floor-done and s/s
Kitchen mission-not yet
Take dc to smurfs and mcd's-soon
Trip to toys r us for birthday presents? -trying to steel myself
Mermaids outfit for Nat -ditto

Tada

Tesco for cinema treat
Said goodbye to dh.
Cleaned kitchen table.

sc thanks for camomile tea! Well done to dd for getting dressed herself
whoknows good luck with 30 day shred (hmm 30 day shred.... Nettle wonders)

Sorry got to get ready for going out so no more personals for now.

Be back later

ds

was in school

for all of ........

an

Hour
bangs head on wall..

dh is away,

and grotty mansion is grotty ,,,apart form the new kitchen..
back later

Sorry I have been away for a couple of days,it was ds1's 18th birthday this weekend and what with everything I haven't really got to grip with things,one back to school today though and the other two on Wednesday.

Done this morning
2 loads washing (including gym kit which I forgot about in July)
nametapes for ds3 finished
quick trip to village for essentials
hair appointment booked

To do
Make chilli for tonight
dentist (dreading this)
renew ds1 railcard and make him book ticket to uni open day for friday
hoover playroom
babysteps

I feel your pain, Prudense . The DDs were supposed to be in school until approx. 10.15 am so I set out to meet them halfway, only to find them virtually at our front door already as they'd been let out at 10 am. Tomorrow they're at school for all of two hours; considering the number of hours they're at school just before and after the summer holidays, it's more like 11 weeks off rather than 9 weeks.

coostoo DS's face lit up when he saw your DS's card - he' been asking for weeks when more post from your DS is going to arrive! (When exactly is his birthday btw?)

WhoKnows Yes, switching off the computer is key. Or not switching it on first thing in the morning...

SC I found changing my wardrobe so that I no longer had indoor/outdoor clothes saves me so much time, theoretically means I should have a smaller wardrobe and also means I'm no longer thrown into a panic by an unexpected visitor at the door! I did it gradually so it wasn't too much of a shock to the bank account, but unfortunately there are very few cheap and decent clothes shops over here.

House still chaotic - worse if anything. I need a (short and realistic) after-lunch list:

put away/hang up washing
ironing
15 min unpacking/tidying

Linzer! Good to see you back here after your hectic holiday. You definitely need an early night tonight.

Well, I have waved DS1 off to secondary school for the first time. Those of you who remember what he's been through (and those who don't: he's been out of school since February - anxiety and OCD) will know what an daunting thing going off to a new school is for him. However, he really couldn't have been in a more positive frame of mind. He even ate a good, sustaining breakfast! When his friend didn't turn up on time, he set off on his own, unphased and determined not to be late. Luckily, his friend turned up shortly after and ran to catch up with him. I watched them walk off, chatting. Went to ring my mum and tell her the good news, then burst into unexpected tears!

DS very sweetly even texted me from school to reassure me that he'd arrived.

I have since had a couple of calls from the Education Outreach Worker who is helping DS settle in, to let me know that DS is doing fine so far and even gave him a 'thumbs up'.

I can't quite believe everything can go so smoothly, but at least he has started in the right frame of mind. I so hope he'll make good friends and enjoy the school.

I was awake by 5.30am this morning and planned to have a nap later, but I'm too wired up. So my ta da list is quite good:

Wave DS1 off to school done
Take DS2 to school done
Meet up with friend for coffee done
Home for late b/fast done
Morning routine done
Monday 'home blessing' thingy done (even managed it in one hour, thanks to lots of adrenalin)
Lots of phone calls to and from concerned relatives and friends done

Got to collect DS2 now and then rush back to be home for DS1. Can't wait to find out how his day went.

Swan - hope your son's day has gone well.

WhoKnows - no, my children never go to bed that early. It's more like the times you mention. But I have become so obsessed with making sure DS1 settles into school properly that I have been bringing both children's bedtimes forward, whilst waking them earlier, so they were able to get a good night's sleep before going back to school.

Sorry I can't reply to anyone else. Time to collect DS2 from school and find out whether he likes his new teacher.

That's wonderful news, Toffee; it really sounds as if your DS couldn't have got off to a better start. You must be so relieved; I'm not surprised you burst into tears after all you've been through. I hope his day went well and that he likes his teacher.

The DC have been remarkably well behaved considering their lack of sleep, although I can hear quarrelling upstairs so it may be all about to change. I am struggling to contain the chaos, not helped by the arrival of some work - not the best timing, but work has been quiet for so long that I don't really feel like I can complain.

Back to the unpacking...

Oh that's lovely Toffee ! I would cry too!

It's Labor Day here so DH is home and we're planning to, well, labor all day. :) I want to generally just tidy up, as well as a ton of washing up and the last of the Laundry Monster to put to rest.

DH will hopefully get DS's playground assembled. And DS and I are going to make an autumn wreath to hang on the door.