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.

Evening. My DS is too young to help (19m) but I am conscious I need to instill good habits now - like tidying up his toys at the end of the day!

Ta da list shorter today but predictable for a work day:

Morning: Make bed
Morning: Swish and swipe bathroom
Morning: Up and dressed
Evening: Collect dirty laundry
Evening: Set washing machine
Evening: Dinner dishes
Evening: Wipe bench and table
Evening: Sweep floor
Evening: Empty garbage
Evening: Shine sink!
Evening: Set dishwasher

To do:
Pack for work trip
Set out my clothes for tomorrow
Get to bed by 11

Won't be around for next day or so due to work trip. If I come back to a shiny sink I'll be happy but not sure my mother (house and babysitting) understands it yet!

In the meantime I'm trying to adapt this approach to work. Following a session today (where I referred someone to the flylady site!) I'm trying to find my shiny sink equivalent at work. If I can feel in control of my house in just a few short baby steps I'm hopeful I can change the way I work in the same way. Any good ideas welcome from people who have done this already (or feel free to direct me to another thread if it's more relevant). Things have got to change all round this year or I'll be moaning about all the same things is time next year!

Good night all.

Ooh Bubbles I wonder if we're going on the same work trip?!? I also doubt my sink will be shiny when I return despite telling my mum the window cleaner secret!

Evening everyone,

Have had a hectic couple fo days, we were something of the social paraiahs before Christmas and so have had a lot of play date the last two days to catch up on.

The house is ok ish, I have been mostly reheating the food frozen in last weeks cookathon and I have found that as long as I do something when I see it needs doing (like emptying the recycling, or the upstairs bin or putting a book back on the shelf or a dirty mug into the dw) then the crisis days are becoming less frequent. I am also starting to do 15min in the bad zones of the boxes of stuff from our house move.

Today.

Up, showered, dressed and breakfast
Made beds
Bathrooms given the once over
Dw unloaded
Changing bag checked
Out to play date
Dropped books at library, parcels at post office and bought new PJs for DD
Home via shops to get a few supplies
Washing on
Kitchen floor swept
15min in nursery box chaos
My pre pregnancy tights sorted and arranged, all laddered items thrown out
Dd's nursery bag pack
DD clothes for three days organised
Dry washing put away
Hairdresser booked
Various hospital and HV conversations now done and dusted
Sorted clothes for next three days for me
Dw loaded and on
Sink swiped in kitchen
Lounge dusted quickly
Playroom tidied

Wine drunk!

Bubbles Check the control journals links here - there may be one you can adapt to suit, depending on what kind of work you do.

I'm failing to keep up with the thread.
After years as a SAHM, working 45 mins a day is taking some effort to fit in. I've got an extra three hours tomorrow (the reason I agreed to such short hours was it gives me the advantage for picking up extra hours), plus breast feeding supporter training and extras home for tea after school.

But on a positive note, I got all this weeks missions done this morning, and dp is currently unemployed so will be home to tidy up.

18th January - babystep 18 : Flylady's 11 commandments.

It's Wednesday, which is anti-procrastination day. The 'flight plan' for the day is here.

And here is today's mission.

Completely missed today as had varicose vein lasered and dog had hip operation so both hobbling around together.

So will spend tomorrow mostly on the sofa catching up with planning and then tackle all the emails have been procrastinating over. Perfect.

Hello everyone. I m struggling to combine fly lady with working (I'm gone from the house 7am till 6.30pm five days a week) but luckily DH seems to be getting to grips with it, sink is always shined and everything feels a bit more organised.

I need to go through the fly lady tips with him and start up the hot spots, room rescue stuff properly.

Does anyone have a particular mop/ brush they recommend? We have open plan kitchen diner with wood flooring and I wondered if anyone had any tips.

Laying out clothes is brilliant - and I try to do the kids ones too. I suggested it to DH and he pointed out that he just has one wardrobe with a row of shirts, and a row of trousers, a drawer of boxers and one of socks, and asked what real difference it would make to him to get a shirt, trousers, socks and boxers out the night before. Oh to be a man. Everything he has works together with each other, it is easy to store and see... Maybe I should dress like him?!

I work school hours (but am hoping to change to 3 full days soon). I find the routines and 15min bits of Flylady really helpful to fit around work but rarely do the missions and detailed cleaning still gets done on weekends/days off. Also I have pretty low standards .

christiane I have wood floors and use one of those flat mops with washable microfibre pads (from Lidl but you can get them anywhere).

Today:
text banking
chase after school club
speak to line manager
Rainbows/cubs
but food

Disastrously my washing machine broke yesterday and won't be fixed for a week . I am feeling genuine panic!!

I'm keeping on top of my washing, cooking and sink shining. However, I'm really struggling with the hotspots/decluttering I just can't get motivated for it. I feel I'm flying with one wing at the moment. How do you motivate to do this? I'm also concentrating on getting fit so I'm spending some time to get to classes/run so by the time I'm home I'm shattered. Plus wrangling a 4 yo and 2 yo. Arrrggh

Coming to grips with the whole flylady thing. Got some proper e-cloths and they are much better than the cheaper version. Highly recommend granite one.

Have decluttered my living room - yippee. Only another 12 rooms to go (i'm not kidding I'm afraid, 14 if I add the loft and the garage), trying to do the easy ones first for quick wins. Have bag fulls for the charity shop.

Hi, Can I join?
I have been trying Flylady but can't seem to get going so I thought maybe if I join you all it might encourage me to get on with it.

Have just room rescued the living room,(not the right zone but hey ho).
Am off to do dinner next.

TryingToFly - Love the name. New Flyers are always welcome.

Chestnut I don't know if I am envious of all the space you must have with that many rooms, or just glad I'm not having to keep them all clean/tidy!

FleeBee Have you done all the babysteps yet? If not then forget the missions, and just think small - 15 mins decluttering a small area does make a difference, and over time you will notice it, and keeping the place clean is so much easier without the clutter.

Scatty Lowering the standards is my method too! Good enough is good enough - if I try for perfection I set myself up to fail and end up giving up....

cristiane I have a shiny black tiled floor in my kitchen and use the same kind of mop as scatty It functions for me as a broom, and drying cloth, and I wash on my hands and kenns with an ecloth. (I have a very small kitchen)

cq Get well soon

I've been out all day, but DP has done his bit, so I've just got tea to clook, then I can relax....

My Ta Da list this evening:

cooked dinner
some washing up
cleaned some of bathroom
cleaned dining table.

Just letting you know my new name. It was causing confusion on the other thread!
I am on 2 threads for motivational purposes.

Evening! Sorry have been remiss in posting. Have been extremely busy. Decided instead of detail cleaning the bathroom I would repaint it!

Finished all the glossing and have one more coat to do on the ceiling and that's that. Looks good!

Have also cleaned and hoovered the car and done the back garden. On a roll atm! Long may it continue...

House looking great. The huge advantage to the house always being clean and tidy is that I don't have a major panic attack when the dds bring friends home unexpectedly. Am very chilled about it these days.

Anyway, chilling and watching Barnaby solve a murder or two now!

Have fallen of the flylady wagon for a couple of days and need to clamber back on! Was just about the fall into bed (at a decent hour at least) but have made myself pick up my clothes from the floor and put out fresh ones for the morning. Will try harder tomorrow...

Sorry not to have been on here today, but I have been busy Flying and dealing with DC (managed to get DS1 to school for one lesson this afternoon ). I haven't got round to the missions yet, but I've kept up the routines and, as a result, it's looking pretty good, especially the shiny sink in the kitchen.

Yet again, I'm not going to round up or I'll fail at the babystep of going to bed at a decent hour (actually, I think I might have failed that already ). But did just want to welcome TryingtoFly to the thread. I hope we can motivate you. We all have good days and bad days, but that's part of the process of learning new habits.

Right, on to tomorrow....

19th January - babystep 19: read the testimonial about the wonders of Flylady - you too can have a home like this . Keep practising your new habits - shine those sinks every night; lay out your clothes; go to bed at a decent time, etc.

Tomorrow's mission is to take an inventory of what you need in the bathroom.

Thursday is errand day and your daily routine reminders are here.

Have fallen off the wagon big time during the last week - haven't really stuck to anything. :( But I now want to climb back on and am hoping you can all help to motivate me!

Downstairs is tidy today, as I hosted my book group this evening. I even shined the sink! :) However, I haven't really stuck to the babysteps and the laundry/clutter etc has started to pile back up. I really want to get back on top of it again before it starts to overwhem me. Did a load of laundry tonight, and have another load ready to throw in the machine before I go out to work in the morning.

I am going to stick to this. I am, I am, I am!

Had a pretty good day despite gammy leg and needy dog. Got diary & menu plan done, did several emails I've been procrastinating over, and did one wash. On top of all usual stuff.

And it's 9.35pm here in the USA and I'm in bed!!!! Shall be unstoppable tomorrow :o

Morning all, I'm up way too early today (4.30am). DD has a cold so she didn't sleep well. I am tired but am going to try and do what I can today.

Will check out the links for Flylady next, Thanks ToffeeWhirl.

Thanks for the welcome.

Just to clear up any confusion, my nickname was Tryingtofly But I have changed it to BlackCatTryingToFly. I am also on the Babysteps,BlackCat thread. I just felt I need a bit more motivation so I am now on both threads.

Off to get another Coffee.

Ahhhh, thanks ladies-feel motivated again! I'm going to do dw and load of washing before school run/work. Have also got fid of sone furniture on freecycle, so my spare room ( junk room ) looks a bit better! Just the mountain of ironing to tackle- I'm rubbish at doing it have a good day and I'll check back later

Morning .

To do
confirm after school club
meeting at work re new contract
DD has friend for tea
BUY MILK
check bathroom missions

Hello everyone
Working way to much to be doing much useful at home but hopefully i will have more bounce tonight