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.

Planted raspberry canes - yeh. Major proscratination going on. Will swish and swipe really keep limescale away for a whole month - I think not in my hard water area? Tried to menu plan, spent ages then DH announced that he was away on business most of next week arghh... Then I go to the supermarket and see some food that inspires me and the menu plan goes out the window. Need to get back on track.

I'm done!! So pleased. Kitchen looks better than it has for years! Lunch and then off to work. Have a good afternoon everyone

OK, openyerlugholes, I bow down to your greater experience . And it must be fantastic to see your kitchen all clean and tidy. To think that that is what you can do after a sleepless night . What on earth do you achieve after a good night's sleep? Hope you don't fall asleep at work this afternoon, by the way! (And thanks for your kind words about this thread).

Chestnutx3 - well, at least you are not procrastinating on anti-procrastination day! I have limescale on my taps, but at least the rest of them is sparkly after s&s. I wonder if Lakeland has some clever limescale-cleaning product I could use? Daren't go to their website because I will want to buy too much stuff (am already tempted by the steam mop someone mentioned the other day - curses!).

JustGettingOnWithIt - you will be beyond the babysteps and decluttering long, long before that, don't you worry. It's amazing how much gets done if you just chip away at it day by day.

Well, I've had to scrap my errands as DH just announced that he was going into work and I can't leave DS on his own. "You didn't tell me!" I scolded him. "Well, you didn't tell me you were going out either", he responded. Fair enough. Humph. Then I realised that I could easily do the errands tomorrow and spend some time browsing MN or listening to the radio ironing and doing laundry instead.

Ok, I need to join! On maternity leave and my house is a bombsite - every day I promise I'll get on top of it and I play with my lovely baby and do hee-haw. It must stop!

However, tis now the 12th. Do I need to do 12 babysteps today? Skip the first 11? Start at number 1?

I'm confused and I need help. Help!

Oh but lilbitneurotic babies are just meant to be played with! They get big so quickly and then just want to run away from you!

I went back ti bed but was disturbed by an email from a work colleague about to order some hardware, only it was the wrong hardware and so I had to leap into action boot the computer and sort that out. I did eventually get an hours kip and feel loads better.

Not at all sure what to wear for dinner tonight, if I was going out with DH I wouldn't mind but it's work and I don't want to be too mumsy!

Welcome to the thread, lilbit. I think you have your priorities right - it's much better to spend this precious time with your lovely baby . However, I realise that living in a bombsite is a bit discouraging, so it's a good idea to keep on top of things if you can. You have missed a lot of babysteps now, so if I were you I would start by shining your sink, which is the first step. It seems absurd to concentrate on shining your sink when you have so much else to do, but it's a motivational tool.

There are several babysteps of these first 12 that people often ignore, so I would say concentrate on shining your sink each night, getting dressed first thing (not always easy with a baby) and laying out your clothes each night before bed. You could also try a crisis clean. Good luck!

Mornin all. Bad night's sleep due to howling wind and DH getting up at silly o'clock and proceeding to run laps round the bedroom crashing all the doors and drawers as he got ready

So def baby steps today.

Got up, showered & dressed to shoes - tick
Sink still shiny
Packed lunches - tick
Kids up, dressed, fed and out the house with no shouting (apart from at each other) - tick
Dogs fed - tick
Coffee and catch up on MN - in progress :)

To do
Leg wax
Errands - pick up dog kennel, take new sale bargain trousers to be shortened, get Gu's for Sunday, few supermarket bits.
Go to gym to find out why DH was charged DOUBLE for swim lessons at weekend and try and get refund.
Walk dogs when it bloody warms up a bit.

15 mins declutter in kitchen - junk drawer and box of crap & filing that all got hidden away for Christmas. Who knows what horrors lurk therein.
What's for tea - defrosting pasta bake that I made double quantity of a couple of weeks ago. Smug feeling.

Getting this out in public should hopefully make it happen.

Hi ladies not really good housekeeping, well on budget i suppose but i have to share. Clarks shoe shop have 70% off shoes!!

No mid day flying done today but shoes for both DC in next two sizes. Plus boots for next year ( guess on size, will ebay if not correct) The assistant was a bit snobby about me buying shoes for now and next size up but at those prices. (Goretex boots were 55 now 16 )i couldnt care less!!!!

Still flying, but tired too, so will post properly on the weekend! Hats off to all you super organised ladies who fly with children and still manage lovely posts that include everyone... Something to aspire to night all

Right.

Not really much flying done today. More decluttering. I now have nothing on my mantlepiece but four framed pictures. When decluttering I collected together all the nursery and school photos which were still in their bags. I was going to put them all up in the loft but then I came across a few frames when I was doing stage one of the abyss under the stairs. So, they are looking lovely.

DS threw a plate which hit the coffee table leg resulting in shards of plate all over the floor. So that instigated a full dusting and hoovering of the lounge.

So, the lounge is looking good atm. There's still stuff to do, the pile of DVDs needs to be dealt with.

Done the morning and evening routines today plus the mission of cleaning down the work surfaces. DD joined me and was happy using a toothbrush around the edges!

I think I may just have to retrain to be a product designer as only a man could design appliances with pointless nooks and crannies that need cleaning

We are going away for the weekend so tomorrow I'll finish the missions by washing the kitchen floor, plus do a bit of ironing and hoovering the lounge.

I think that I'm going to have Monday as my day to have the Home Blessing Hour (is that what it's called?) as everything is always in a bit of turmoil after the weekends.

Justgettingonwithit - thanks for that! I've looked through the babysteps and it all seems quite intimidating, especially knowing that I'm 12 days behind. I can't ever imagine being able to do it all but I'll take your word for it! As for the hot spots - we've one or two in each room in our house! Fingers crossed that things will get easier - I've been particularly pleased with my sink area today so little and often must be the way. I can do this!

Well, no, you're not behind. You just jump in at day one and post what you're doing. I'm doing different things to everyone else.

I see! It's not a challenge, it's a change. Well babysteps it is then. Although, in saying that, the idea of actually being properly dressed tomorrow before the day even really starts feels like a massive achievement in itself!

Evening

Good to see new people joining still - you are never behind with FLY - you appreciate what you have achieved and move on rather than focus on the bits still to do.

I put this into practice today....my bathroom needed doing and I haven't had time to do it, so today I did 5 or 10 minutes every time I could and now it is all clean and lovely.
I even got rid of the limescale! (I go with toxic chemicals when it is bad, but whoever mentioned it up thread, vinegar works on small amounts - wrap the tap in cotton wool and soak in vinegar so it stays on the surface for a while, then wipe off and rinse.)

Other than that, I have managed my regular routines, breast feeding support group, and work.
Tomorrow I WILL sort out the house insurance....

Dizzy - funnily enough, Monday actually is Flylady's day for the Home Blessing!

Smallmole - honestly, don't be intimidated by the babysteps. If you just do what Flylady says (with some exceptions, such as subscribing to her emails - don't!), you will gradually build new habits and you will start to see changes. Little and often is the way, as you say.

Managed to get through my list today and finished the ironing and putting the laundry away - major achievement! The kitchen is still looking good, although I do need to do something about the papers that pile up in the kitchen hotspot. I just keep shuffling them around so that they look tidier, but I'm sure I should find somewhere else for them to go (it's post and household debris).

Sorry, but I'm going to post tomorrow's steps without doing a round up tonight, as I'm flagging already. It's brilliant to see you all sticking at the routines and reaping the rewards.

Friday, 13th January - babystep 13 - have a go at a 'mission'. This means tackling one small job in the current zone, eg wiping down the cupboard doors in the kitchen if the current zone is in that area. The idea is that by doing a small extra job every week day, you will gradually progress round the whole house. There are no missions at the weekend.

You could just do today's mission, which is to mop your kitchen floor. Your kitchen should be looking good by now if you have been doing the missions all week.

For those who have already established their routines (not those who are just starting babysteps ), Friday is declutter your purse and car day. It is also 'date night', which means you have a date with your DH/DP or a friend or two. I am going to the pub with friends, so that counts!

See you all tomorrow.

Hi all,
I fell off the wagon last weekend and haven't been flying all week :( .So I am posting a list of things to do tomorrow in an attempt to get back on track

up and dressed
make sandwiches for DCs
make birthday cake for DH
go to gym!
swish and swipe
empty and refill dw
put washing on
15 min declutter

Happy Friday
x

Morning.

Will get back on to do everything tonight. Please let me moan about my night...

DD2 had to go to hospital last night, but luckily doctor sent her home after getting steroids. Has upper respiratory infection.

DH dropped DD1 and I at the ballet (DD1 had been looking forward to it for WEEKS), while he went to hospital with DD2. DD1 started saying her tummy hurt and luckily we left in the second interval, DH picked us up on their way back from the hospital.

DD1 then threw up EVERYWHERE IN THE CAR on the way home...

Our heating still not working but thank goodness our shower works on electricity so she could wash. But still, cold and miserable to come back to the house. we ALL cuddled in my bed to go to sleep.

And just when I was leaving for work at 6.45 this morning, DD1 appeared having had diarrhoea in our bed! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.

ONwards and upwards... The house doesn't look that great as it's v hard for DH to keep it OK during day when I am at work and both DDs are ill...
But back to babysteps tonight. And taking the car for a megaclean tomorrow.

Cristiane - oh my, you certainly deserve a moan. You poor thing! I really hope your daughters both get better soon and that your heating gets mended. This will pass! In the meantime, the last thing you need to be doing is worrying about Flying. I think times like this are just for getting through...

Lindor - don't worry, we all have good weeks and bad weeks. Glad you are back with us again.

Am sticking to basic routines and tackling hotspots today. Hoping to go out for a meal with DH at lunchtime to celebrate my birthday on Monday (when he won't be here because he's starting a new job that day). However, DS1 has thrown a spanner in the works by being off school again today. He is clearly not ill, but has lost his nerve (he has a history of anxiety and school refusal). I have persuaded him to go in for the afternoon only, which will give him a chance to face his fear - and give us a chance to have lunch together .

Hope you all have a good day.

To those who are worried about bad days/weeks. Atm I am ill, and have been sleeping in the day with no energy to do anything. However, i am not worried about the house as the beauty about the babysteps is that you can get on top of the situation again. Without too much trauma. Thus I am allowing myself the time off from anything bar absolutely essential. Not stressing over it which will make me feel even worse. Be kind to yourselves and no matter how long you fall off the wagon the babysteps is great because you get back into the habit fairly quickly and thus back in control.

Hope you all have good wkends. And enjoy date night. Be it seeing friends or curling up with dh/dp and film. Or if single curling up with good book and just being.

toffee hope things go ok with your son at school. That must be hard. Does he have good friends at school
bitchy thank you for that, you are right, let's stick to the essentials

Hello all! cristiane you are having a right time of it atm you poor thing. Babysteps is the way. You too icecold, glad you are taking it easier. No point making yourself more ill - totally counterproductive.

toffee that's so hard to deal with. Emotionally wearing for you all. Would you consider HE as a last resort? If so, feel free to pick my brains.

In the office all day but managed to do my morning routine and had a run before I came in. So house lovely to go back to (providing dd1 doesn't destroy it that is - she is off work atm with a broken collar bone...)

Ta da

5k run
Showered and dessed to shoes
Shined sink
Made bed
Filled dw
Swished upstairs bathroom
Swished downstairs bathroom
Hoovered
Collected prescription (finally!)

Have a lovely day everyone. Enjoy the sunshine!

Hi had a couple of down days recently but trying my best to keep up with routines. Got both DCs at home today so not much will be achieved. THanks to Bitchy for the timely message. Hoping everyone has a lovely evening

oh what horrible stories of D&V - guessing sodium bicarb is your new best friend, found it great in the car! hope you and yours are all feeling better soon. Heard that my nephew was detoured on his way home and the additional route lead to the dog pooing in the car (v. old dog) and both children throwing up with the smell of it!!! sorry but I laughed, could just imagine his reaction!

all swished and swiped today. Kitchen looking like new :) , car and purse decluttered.

Having a bit of a crap day today, didn't really do my morning routine

I did tidy the breakfast pots away and sweep some crumbs up but that's about it. I just feel so tired...

Must get back to it.