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.

MummyNic so sorry about your poor dog, like you say, flying isn't really the thing at the moment.

cristiane hope you are all feeling better soon.

my house blessing didn't really go to plan. Ended up spending the whole morning cleaning and tidying my bedroom - that's much better, it was well overdue. Took bedding to laudry to dry as fed up with so much hanging about for days. I can now almost see all the carpet in DD's room!

It did indeed Toffee, it did indeed!

Just given the kitchen a once-over while making DS tea, much better!

Going to try to get back into the babystep routines after DS goes to bed tonight - so that's:

• shiny sink
• hotspots
• attempt a 5 minute room rescue
• prepare for tomorrow's meeting
• write year 9 reports

No worries, right?!

I'm not really managing the baby steps (I dress according to the weather and tend to save errands for when the weather is nice and then I walk) but spending five minutes on something has transformed the house!

I work from home and have been catching up on this thread when I take a break and keep being inspired to do something such as a few pages/hours back when I dusted the dining room then carried on with my work. I'm probably doing an hour or so of additional cleaning in tiny little bursts and it clears my mind brilliantly.

While the kitchen sink is ok, my focus has been a shiny ensuite. Each day I polish all the chrome then wipe down the china and pop the cloth on the bottom of the towel heater where you only see it if you're looking. I wouldn't go so far as hotel standard but it's pretty impressive.

Thanks all!

And MummyNic I'm so sorry.

Cristiane - that sounds horribly like norovirus, which we were afflicted with last autumn. DS1 (12) had to look after his little brother (he even put him to bed!) because DH and I were so ill. Luckily, just as DS1 came down with it, I was beginning to feel better and was able to look after him. It was an awful illness, although, thankfully, brief. I really hope you all get over it quickly, although I don't expect you'll be up to work tomorrow .

I was only popping in quickly and I'm meant to be running DS2's bath now, so I won't post anymore for now. Back later.

Sorry to hear that you're having such a rough time Christiane. It's awful isn't it. We've had a couple of episodes of D and V - the first time, DH found DS asleep in a pool of vomit, then DH immediately started to be sick, while I tried to rinse an upset DS in the bath .

Be careful about going back to work / school too early - you're not supposed to go back until 48 hours since your last bout of D and / or V. Here are the NHS guidelines.

Sorry to hear about the D&V, get lots of rest and don't go back to work too soon.
ta da list..
dishwasher
washing
shiny sink
clothes laid out
kitchen decluttered (ish!)
flicked hoover round
washing away
beds made
Done!

Good evening
Morning routine complete. Friends visited, house was super shiny :-)

Not really any need for hoovering or mopping today so i decluttered mine and Dcs wardrobes ( bin bag full) it just creeps in..i did this only 6 months ago!

Moved sofa and furniture in kitchen and cleaned all base boards.

Its not a big tick list but an hour and half of work.....

Evening routines as usual no floors Dh late home.

Im loving the organising thread on AIBU if you have not read it..it is very good.

mummynic so sorry about your dog, it is so sad, you will have lots of happy memories

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes. I hate taking time off work and feel really guilty about it! I need to think it through in my head, and those Nhs guidelines are there for a reaSon. I hope at least I could try to work at home tomorrow.

Ok, longer ta-da list today - combination of it being my day off but still catching up with work while DS off having fun with a family member . I don't think I'll ever catch up with my work stack - I need a flying approach for work but will work to get my home under control and mabe the rest will soon follow

Anyway I interspersed working at home with ten min bursts of activity and achieved the following:

Morning: unloaded washing machine from early am wash - into tumble dry
Weekly Tasks: Dust upstairs
Weekly Tasks: Change bed sheets and put sheets on to wash
Weekly Tasks: Hoover upstairs
Morning: Emptied Dishwasher
Morning: Check calendar
Morning: Load tumble dryer again
To Do: Rearranged appointment for DS
To Do: Book cupcake course (yay!)
To Do: Sorted DS toys
Weekly Tasks: Hoover downstairs
Weekly Tasks: Clean Windows & doors
Weekly Tasks: Mop
Evening: Empty garbage
Evening: Sweep floor
Evening: Wipe bench and table
Evening: Dinner dishes
Evening: Set dishwasher
Evening: Tumble dryer
Evening: Shine sink!

To do - set out clothes and tackle a hot spot. First to enjoy a cup of tea and back to the work stack - and try to get to bed at reasonable time...

Thank you -I really am finding the motivation helpful in keeping me on track.

Heres the thing

once you have sorted one room, or one cabinet, or one cupboard.......you will have enthusiasm to sort the next

I have sorted one small bathroom cabinet today......tomorrow....the world!

HaagenDazs have you changed to an economy setting? When i do that on my machine it stops dispensing softened, and it took me about 6 weeks to figure it out haha!

Decluttered one bookshelf unit today woo! And did morning and evening routines. Plus squeezed in an eye test (and got royally ripped off). I have changed the bed, washing done, DW loaded and on, dinner for tomorrow cooked, etc. Basically got lots of little niggly jobs done today.

Am loving this flying lark.

My house is looking soooo much better
I am doing my kitchen I a different order to FL because I don't want to bring the cobwebs down until my cleaner is due! so today I have cleaned out the fridge. I haven't got round to finishing the cupboard fronts but I have all week
I am loving my HR app too.
Thank you for keeping me motivated!

Thanks Perish I will get the manual out again tomorrow to check if I've done something like that by accident. In the meantime I have ordered tumble dryer sheets with my online shop.

Christiane get well soon!

I'm so happy with the Home Routines app - it tells me I've done 23 tasks today but I feel as if I've done the usual morning and evening routines plus the stuff I menitoned in my earlier post. This evening as dh is away I ate with the dc so when they went to bed I decided to declutter a kitchen cupboard. It was really satisfying and now all the crap tupperware etc doesn't fall out when you open the cupboard. I'm almost looking forward to attacking another one tomorrow if I get the chance.

Night all

Well despite my hopes, it?s clear any 5 min rescues will have to be 10?s as a minimum, as things just take me longer. It's frustrating. (though in my imagination I?m not only not disabled, I?m still 25!)
There?s way too much stuff here, but there?s one bag less and a tiny bit more order in one corner, so babysteps indeed, but better than no steps.

Christiane hope you and your family get well soon, don?t overdo it, it only lengthens recovery time.

MummyNic I?m so sorry.

OK, first day back at work today, so it has been a bit of a challenge, but I have kept doing the baby steps (my version), and my sink is lovely & sparkling as I write.

I also managed two loads of laundry (ok, so one load was only the tea towels & dishcloths etc, but they still needed washing!), put away the first load, wiped round the kitchen and tidied out our awful stationery drawer.

Oh, and I made my lunch to take to work instead of buying it there.

mummynic I'm very sorry you are having to make that decision

I had a chilled birthday, with Thai in the evening but didn't get the nap due to unusually irate toddler. The irateness and whining and whinging carried on all day today and she has just woken up with a sky high temp, so feeling quite guilty now about getting so frustrated with the whinging today, it was one of those count the minutes till DH gets home.

So,
Morning routine done
Dw loaded
Washing on
Unloaded dw
Took DD to GP for unrelated to whining issue, DD only got really grumpy after we got home
Hung up washing
Blitzed the downstairs rooms
Went to mums as couldn't cope with toddler on my own.
Cooked dinner fro me and DH
Emptied and tidied the under stairs cupboard
DH got home, oh the relief!
Got DH to take out excess crap items to the garage
Tidied kitchen after dinner
Then did a manic number on to do list for tomorrow, ordered new driving licence and had to pay £20 as I had lost my paper bit
Wrote menu for week and shopping list for tomorrow

I also had a bath and read a few work papers, was meant to do some scanning as well but just to shattered and now about to turn off the light until my shift with toddler starts at 1am!

Quick round up for today:

Buckminster does not appreciate coming down to a grubby sink and hopes not to do that again. She has given her kitchen a 'once over' today and was tackling babysteps before bed tonight.

MummyNic joined us and discovered more than just Flying support here. (I think most of us have lost a loved pet and truly sympathise, MummyNic).

Chestnutx3 is struggling with finding enough storage space, a problem we all identify with.

Angelswings has a shiny sink and a presentable house, so is not worried about the cleaner being off today.

LInzer can't get her home bleugh done in 10-minute bursts and is not the only one.

Jetstar is daunted by Day 9.

Bitchy rightly points out that you are never behind with Flylady.

Scatty is coping with a chaotic house and coldy DS. She is possibly the only one of us who can do her 'home bless' in one hour . She also achieved her list of six.

The foxsbrush managed to clean her entire kitchen in 15 minutes .

Fleebee has had an awful night with DD2 and was advised to lower her Flying expectations for the day.

MissVerinder bought a toy unit from Ikea, but now worries about the state of her floor.

liveinazoo has impressed a cleaning queen with her shiny sink.

Dalrymps did her AM routine and reminded MissV to be positive.

Changebags has shined her sink, stored her wedding dress and decluttered her clothes. She is on a roll.

Wannabe achieved everything on her Sunday list and is rightly proud of herself.

Raspberry is coping with papers, which is always a tricky area. Welcome to the thread.

QueenMaeve showed us her utility room and we were impressed .

Eggrules likes my explanations about Flylady recommendations (thanks).

Haagendazs is still in love with her HomeApp! She achieved 23 tasks today , as well as decluttering a cupboard.

Cristiane and her family are sick and need to stay at home and get better. (Hope you all get better soon).

Shouldbeelsewhere got stuck in the bedroom instead of doing the home 'bless', but is now enjoying a tidy bedroom.

WaitingForMe is very happy with doing housework in five-minute bursts and enjoying a sparkling ensuite.

Recursive advises Cristiane to stay off work tomorrow. Wise advice.

Katy has a 'ta da' list of eight.

Mollymoomoo had a supershiny house for her friends. She spent one and a half hours on the house today. She recommends the organised thread on Discussion of the Day.

Bubbles worked in 10-minute bursts and achieved an outstanding list of 20.

Indaba finds that babysteps lead to bigger things.

PerishStorm decluttered a bookshelf, did all her routines and some extras - a productive day.

Membership has cleaned her fridge and is loving her tidy house.

JustGetting finds that she has to do 10-minute rescues in her circumstances, but is rightly proud that she has one bag less clutter and a tidy corner.

Phew! I didn't realise there were so many of you today. Apologies if I left anyone out.

HoneyandHaycorns - well done on continuing to Fly in spite of going back to work. Sounds like you did loads!

slowburner - glad you had a nice birthday meal out, but sorry about your ill toddler. I hope she's better soon - and that she sleeps loads to get over it!

Tuesday, 10 January - babystep 10 - You can do anything in 15 minutes! (I strongly advise buying a timer to anyone who doesn't have one yet, by the way).

Tuesday's mission (only for those who have completed the babysteps and established their new habits, remember) is to wipe down the doors of your kitchen cabinets.

Tuesday is planning day: a time to plan your week - menus, activities, date nights, etc.

Mummynic, your poor dog, and poor you. If anything happened to my Nonnydog I'd be in pieces, however much I swear about the dog hair. Big hugs.

Thanks Toffeewhirl for keeping us on the straight and narrow. Today with my 15 mins I'm going to finish washing my newly decluttered fridge. My routines are getting there, they are now on my phone (using chore checklist which does not give you stars like the iphone app ).

Yesterday I crashed and burned. Instead of 15 mins deluttering the playroom, I spent all afternoon on it, as well as achieving a home blessing with baby awake. I hate hoovering one handed. That means my menu planning didn't get done during DS's nap, and I don't have the mental powers to plan a week's menu with a 8mo wrestling on my lap or yelling at me from the floor. Oh and I dropped exhausted into bed at 10 because I couldn't keep my eyes open a minute longer.

So today it's back to the 15 minute rule, and more time for cups of tea and baby cuddles.

at the epic round up Toffee!

I haven't been posting To do / Ta da lists, but I like being nosy by reading everyone else's. Also, although we're not following all of the Flying routines to the letter, the house has improved significantly over the last couple of weeks. I even cleaned my kitchen cupboard doors yesterday while I waited for the Tesco shopping to be delivered.

The next new thing that I'd like to begin doing is menu planning. At the moment, I buy mostly random food, and cross my fingers .

Great round up, really encouraged me that the upsatirs of my home can be tackled soon. Clothes are top of the list

Hate to admit it, but getting dressed first thing does make a difference.

In order to clean in short time limits I now have a steam mop from Lakeland, its so great I think I could cancel half the help cleaning each week (I have chronic health problems so it's not all me being lazy!)

Hi all!

Thank you so much for all the motivation. I'm feeling so positive today. My DS has an eye infection and being incredibly clingy and whingy (not the reason I am positive) but I have done my morning routine and in the 15 minutes that he has napped have been able to have a very quick blitz of the kitchen and put on a load of washing.

Learning that I can do anything in 15 minutes! And not feeling bad that I'm not going to get everything done in one day!

Morning ladies

Done my morning routine, just got to empty washing machine.

I really need to get dh to put the boxes of Xmas decs back up the loft (I don't do lofts- too many spiders!) Ds2 keeps dragging the tinsel out and trailing it around leaving shiny strands everywhere

Hello everyone! I am still feeling awful. Dds are better and DH better and they are all up. I am less achy but still have terrible diarrhoea (sorry tmi). Hate hate hate this! Want to be back up and cleaning!

Wishing you all well today with your lists and plans.