If tidying your home is your New Year's resolution, Flying with us could be the solution

[ToffeeWhirl]

Welcome to the January Fledgling Flyers' thread. A very big thank you to BlueEyeshadow and IceColdBitch for guiding us through the busy Christmas month.

Are you living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)? We know the feeling. We follow Flylady's routines, which aim to help you take control of your home, tidying and decluttering and setting up daily and weekly routines that keep your home looking presentable. We also chat quite a lot and swap tips on coping with housework and mess.

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's tips on restoring order to our homes. There are three methods, depending on whether you are new to the system or have been following it for a while:

1. Babysteps
2. Babysteps + 15 mins daily decluttering in current zone
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.

Oh, and don't - really, really ^don't^ - sign up to Flylady's emails.

The first babystep will be posted on 1st January 2012.

Happy New Year.

Recursive I have just set up Home routines to sync between iphone and ipad, it works but not every time so far and you have to keep doing it manually, it doesn't seem to be able to do it automatically. Going to keep experimenting.

Ta da list, part 2:

School run delegated to DH
Ironing yes, finally! 2 x 15 mins - set the timer, Flylady style
What's for dinner? Tuna and tomato pasta done, but nobody liked it
Put away more laundry done
Put d/w on done
DC's bedtimes done
Before-bed routine about to do now
Bed at decent hour definitely - feeling tired

Will go and check out the babystep and mission for tomorrow...

Friday, 6th January: babystep 6 - practise putting out your hotspots. This is a very useful step. Flylady suggests you spend 2 minutes tidying up an area of clutter. For example, I have a hotspot on my kitchen counter where all the bills and other papers pile up. It's amazing how much better it looks after a two-minute tidy (although I have been known to shove the whole sorry mess into a box and take it up to our bedroom, which is always the final dumping ground ).

The mission for Friday is dusting your dining room. Who was it asking about whether Flylady had a routine for dusting? Well, here you are - a mission just for you .

Friday's reminders are here. It's declutter-your-purse and clean-your-car day today

Going to finish my before-bed routine, then have an early night. All this Flying has worn me out. Night all.

Wrote a huge post, full of amazement at how quickly flying is changing everything about our house and life, really, I'm not kidding, and the MN gremlin ate it. I am too tired to retype so I am going to bed with a lemsip.

It was me that asked about dusting, work tomorrow but will see what I can do after work. Ty

Evening. Been a busy couple of days back at work so hardly been at home but hardly made any mess either. However my sink in shining and I've swiped and swished at night. It's amazing how these simple things make me feel more in control already!

Anyway Recursive, I'm not sure about syncing on Home Routines app but you can email the lists (bottom right corner of the app)so I fully intend to make use I'd this when my DH gets home as he appreciates a list. I emailed my accomplishments list for today to myself and copied & pasted below. Very handy.

Evening: Dinner dishes
Evening: Set dishwasher
Evening: Shine sink!
Evening: Empty garbage
Evening: Wipe work tops
Weekly Tasks: Ironing - but in line with my 12 step prog I managed to cut down my ironing pile massively (bodysuits put straight away). I confess i did still iron my dish towels (!) but it only took me 45 mins which is a big improvement.

Off now to out away clean clothes and aim to be asleep by 11. Especially given my 5am start for travel this morning- eugh.

Hurray, DH now has a copy of the HomeRoutine app on his iPhone, and we appear to be in sync! Thanks to everyone who made me think hat it might be possible .

Thanks for tomorrow's tasks Toffee

I shall tackle the dining room which although not untidy could do with a bit of a spruce up. My hotspot will be the coffee table in the lounge that is a total tip at the minute . I emptied my purse the other day and I have a bag in the car for rubbish but it does need hoovering out - maybe I can pay DS to do that!

This evening I've:

• Made prawn & veg risotto from scratch for tea
• Load of washing in, out and hung up
• DW loaded and on
• Shine my sink
• Clothes ready for morning
• Put on a loaf of bread

Ooh decluttering is one of my weakest points but 15 mins doesn't sound so bad. Both DH and I have had this week off work waiting for baby to emerge. DH knows how I have paperwork issues and spent an hour or so yesterday corralling all my bank statements from their various resting places around the house. Is it cheating having help??

I still have to deal with the mountain of receipts though...

The hot spots I shall declutter are my kitchen bench and fireplace....in fact I'm going to do it now! Also need to spend 15 minutes on my zone which this morning involves vacuuming the stairs

Hot spots done! Took 2 mins and looks 100 times better

Morning routine is really taking shape! Bathroom is sparkling and kitchen sink shiny! Up to date with laundry. Dinner defrosting.House de holidayed. Now enjoying tea, cuddles with ds and bbt. Thanks for all the motivation!

Those with an android phone I've starting using Chore Checklist Lite a free app, which I have easily used to put in essence the start of my control journal. I like being able to tick things off each day and it being cleared automatically for the next day.

Thanks to inspiration here I came down this morning to a shiny sink- its like a gift first thing in the morning. I dont want to do anything to sully it though!
Plan for today- declutter at least 27 things (think thats from Flylady?), Box decorations for the attic tomorrow, catch up on laundry and iron. I may have to join the ironing OCD group- I iron tea towels, sheets, towels, socks, underwear........
Re toys:- any tips?
I try to get old ones out of the house but keep being ambushed by children....and those toys are immediately reinstated as their 'favorite'. They have TOO MUCH STUFF. Thats the biggest source of clutter here (after ex's things)

Morning all!

Wannabe I know what you mean about toys. I can only chuck stuff when the kids are out or asleep, otherwise all my hard work is undone!

Morning gone well here so far. Just back from school run.
Sink looks lovely (utility sink as shiny as it will ever be)
Dw emptied and breakfast dishes loaded
1st Load washing now drying

I need to de Christmas the house today which will take a while.

My car is an embarrassment so it's good that is on today's chores list. Saying that, I may cheat and get it done at tesco carpark!

I wated to say a big to Toffee as my house is looking better than it has for ages

2nd attempt....off to declutter upstairs
put decs in loft
put washing away
change our sheets
hoover our bedroom
15 min ironing in nice warm kitchen as a reward

I needed to flit through this thread. I was lacking motivation. As always happens after a blitz day. I am stuff up to eyeballs with dust allergy and feeling rotten. Caved to it yesterday and slept instead of tackling stuff. So much to do today as a result. And I am tackling other people's jobs in this house because it is annoying me sooo much but then failing to get on with my own. I am suffering from cba-itis, don'tknowwheretostart-itis and can'tfocusonasingletask-itis today. And the fecking timer battery has died .

Got a longer list on the other list but perhaps the list of three might focus me:
put a load of washing on
finish folding clean washing
pack ds' bag for wkend

Right should have achieved that by 11am so will try to be back for another three things

by the power of three. All done. Now for tesco's. Only need a few bits so should manage that by twelve. Although washer has half hour left so might tackle the list of three below and aim to be back by half past.

finish denuding downstairs of decorations (with exception of tree which needs boxes out of the loft)
put another load of washing on
tackle some ironing.

I like the list of three.

Ok so today so far I have

Fed dog
Given dc breakfast
Tidied breakfast pots away
Emptied dishwasher
Loaded dishwasher
Put washing to dry in tumble dryer
Put load of washing on
Emptied recycle stuff in to outside bin
Swept kitchen floor (with my carpet sweeper)
Wiped surfaces and table
Shined sink

I haven't swished the bathroom as I feel it only needs doing every other day and there was no new obvious dirt from yesterday

Wow it looks like a lot written down

Ooh and I've just cleaned some of the woodwork in the kitchen

That's enough for now, I'm 18wks pregnant, have 2 boys running round like maniacs and slept very badly lady night. I must sit down!!

just sidled in for some motivation.bin trying to locate space for all the xmas toys so at least wont trip and snap neck wjilst trying to condense and declutter the overflowing toy boxs/cupboards.remotivated i will attempt to make some room under the stairs

Oh god the Xmas toys, they're everywhere and we already had too many to begin with

No flying for me today again as am at work. Did the usual morning routines before I left though so the house will be lovely to come home to.

Nice to see lots being done on here though!

Off for a run during lunch. Have a good day all!

Hi, I've not posted on here since signing up but I have been reading and trying to do all the tasks (except for getting dressed before ds gets up, he's started waking before 5 so bugger all chance of that) so far today I have:
Dressed and made self look human
Washed up
Put away washing
Put clothes wash on
Put away dry clothes
Cleaned kitchen floor
Swished bathroom
Threatened to remove dh's testicles when he couldn't find a pair of matching socks and told me flylady would not approve
Anyway, has anyone got a good recommendation for a bathroom floor cleaner? I tend to use the floor wipes round the rest of the flat but for some reason they don't seem to pick up dirt/hair/gunk in there and I end up doing it by hand :( bleugh.
Right, off to do my 2 min hotspot :)

Today i have

Dressed to shoes, swish and swipe bathroom, made breakfast, dressed and washed kids, made packed lunches, dropped DD2 at childminders, dropped other 2 at school. washed breakfast things up, wiped tops, wiped cupboard doors, wiped tiles, cleaned all round window frames in kitchen and the windows. I also cleared up all shoes, hats and scarfs in the hallway that DD2 kindly pulled out this morning. I put all the bins out and made lunch for me and DP as hes working at home today.

I didnt set the timer for the kitchen as i KNEW it would take longer than 15 mins and it badly needed doing. My 2 min hotspot was on and side of microwave which is next to the door so all sorts of kids pics, letters, keys etc get dumped stored there. Looks much better now!

Still to do

Hoover living room and hallway carpet
Sweep and mop kitchen floor
Put laundry to dry
Collect the kids
make tea
wash up
bins out
shine sink