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.

Hello, I'd love to join as I'm messy and disorganised, whilst DH is the complete opposite and gets very annoyed with me. P

Please be strict and keep me in line. I need to improve!! I'm away at the moment, but will be back on 3rd, will I be able to start then?

Thanks

Don't worry FleeBee, Flylady says you are never behind, you should just jump in where you are. I would advise that you look at babysteps 1 and 2 though as they really are key ones. I know the whole shoe bit is controversial, but to me what she says about getting dressed makes sense, and means I can leave the house/open the door to someone much more easily.

I definitely agree with CHAOS. I'm actually really social but I feel like I can never just invite someone in. Anyone coming to visit (even a playdate, for cryin out loud) involves hours of tidying. Ridiculous!

2011 is the last year I live this way.

Morning!

Have swished bathroon and that's all so far. House is looking lovely atm but that will change as soon as the family emerge from their slumbers.

Might tackle the filing today. Might instead just sit all day and watch Downton Abbey Series 2 dvd which has just arrived yaaaay!!

I'm in!

And good morning all.

Openyerlugholes -thanks for the pm. I'm quite keen to get back to FLYing now.

CheerfulYank FLy definitely changed the CHAOS thing for me! Although I am never going to live in a show home, I can at least invite my neighbour in out of the rain when she calls now!
And if I have planned visits, I can make the place positively pleasant to come into with alot less time and effort than before.

Brices good lluck with the house move! Decluttering is definitely the way to go to see real improvements long term.

Today I have got the D/W and W/M going, and plan to make a birthday cake for DP. Other than that not much to do. I de=Christmassed the house yeaterday so it looks cleaner just without all the clutter of decorations. It always feels bigger for a couple of days once I get them all packed away.

Oh Jas that's just too sad that you've packed away your decorations already! (secretly very envious) I dechristmas'd the piles of toys on the floor and tried to find homes for them yesterday and hoovered as we had friends over but cards and "stuff" very much filling the house....aah but just wait until the New Year is in....it will all be different (echos of passed resolutions me thinks!)

I'm in. Will clear up Christmas today and tidy. Laundry on just two more loads to do before the partying begins!

Everyone is still asleep here apart from DH and me. DH has done the DW but that's it I think. I'm about to go run, and when I'm done hopefully I will rendezvous with DH and the DCs (who should be awake!) so we can go for. Swim. This afternoon the plan is:

1. Tree down, front entrance tidied hoovered and dusted (with special reference to coats and shoes being sorted out) (we have a sort of lobby area which the 3 downstairs rooms and the stairs lead off - this is where the tree is)
2. That's it

We have decided to keep the fairy lights round our fireplace in the front room since they look pretty.

Kitchen is much cleaner.

Today I will

Wash the kitchen floor
Tidy the bedrooms
Hoover the floors of the bedrooms
Sort out the clothes which have come out of the tumble dryer and hang then up
Oh and strip the bed this has nothing to do with new bloke coming for dinner this evening

OK, I'm determined to make this work. I know we're not quite in January yet but would like to start the new year in something other than a shit tip.

Today I will:

Fold and put away the mountains of laundry in our room
Wash whites & put them out to dry
Tidy away junk from kitchen table
Clear & wipe down kitchen surfaces
Get dd to write her thank you cards
Pay online for next term of school meals
Arrange play date for dd next week

Hello, I tried Flying a while back but it all slipped!

I have a chaotic house, 2 DCs of 7 and 4 and an OH with squirrel like tendencies when it comes to paperwork!

I get all to easily overwhelmed.... I tend to be an all or nothing person, I can ignore a weenie bit of mess but then suddelnly it all explodes and I then don't know where to start! I need to create routines for myself that we do every day, at least in the living room and kitchen and hall to start with. I liked the 'baseline' comment!

So, I shall join you if I may? I may not Fly in the true sense of the word ie I can't see myself doing things exaclty her way but I shall adapt and adopt as suits us.

Kitchen floor hoovered, just had some lunch, washing on. Going to tackle upstairs in a moment.

neverputasock... very few of us follow all of FLY ladys suggestions, we all cherry pick and adapt the bits that suit us.

honey and dilly you are both keen!

thetasigma DD2 has kept a set of lights in her bedroom, too

shouldbe the christmas tree was gone by the 27th. It was a real tree and would,'vebeen totally bald if I'd kept it much longer.

The joy of the children getting bigger is that the toys and presents get smaller so I didn't have to spend forever looking for new homes for it all.

Just spent the morning getting tree and decs away, hoovered, polished, DH done bathroom and we're all set for having a family lunch today with a clean house. My DM will be amazed!

Not sure what was more work - doing the tidying/cleaning myself or getting DS1 to join in! At 11yrs he really can't be bothered to help and is so grumpy- but I'm telling myself the chivving etc is worth it so he gets well house trained before I pass him on!

It looks as if a lot of you have started Flying already . Nothing wrong with crisis cleaning - and it's nice to start the New Year with the house all sparkly and clean - but the success of Flylady comes from slowly building up new habits, one at a time, hence the 'babysteps'. She says it takes around 21 days to create a new habit. Certainly, my problem - before Flylady - was that I would have a blitz on the house, pat myself on the back, then continue with my old habits so that within a few days the house was messy again .

As today is Saturday, it is 'Family Fun Day'. The idea is that you are so efficient with your Flylady routines all week that you can simply do the basic routines and then relax at the weekend (well, that's what you're aiming for, anyway).

As I'm going to be a bit busy for the next couple of days, I'm going to post tomorrow's message now. That'll also help all of you who can't wait to Fly!

Back in a minute.

Sunday, 1st January 2012 - it's Sunday, so today is 'renew your spirit' day. Take time for yourself and build yourself up with your favourite things - a favourite film, a bubbly bath, a walk in the park. Some of us may also need a hangover cure. Realistically, most of us will also have to start preparing stuff for DC going back to school next week.

The first babystep for those just starting out with Flylady is to shine your sink. If you remember to do this before you go to bed, it really does cheer you up first thing in the morning and sets you off on the right foot.

You don't have to do anything else extra today if you are just starting with Flylady routines. Just keep on with your normal household stuff, but pat yourself on the back that you have started to establish a new routine that is really going to improve the state of your house in the long run.

Those of you who have already established the babysteps habits can also do 15 minutes decluttering in the current zone. Remember, you can't clean clutter - best to just get rid of it. Your house will be so much easier to look after once the clutter has been banished. So far, the Flylady website hasn't posted the current zone for next week, so I can't tell you that yet (do any of the current Fledglings know which zone follows the living room?).

I'll try to pop back and post the mission tomorrow, as it hasn't been posted on the Flylady website yet.

Hope you all have a very happy New Year celebration.

No mission on a Sunday - just remembered.

And, sorry, for those of you who don't know what on earth I'm talking about, Flylady's daily 'missions' are the small daily tasks she gives us which keep our houses in order. The idea is that you do a small extra job every day (eg, wipe down all the surfaces in your kitchen or clear out a small cupboard) and that way you always keep on top of your housework.

Possibly Zone1 next week.

The website has changed alot since I last looked at it - It is going to take me a while to find my way around it.

My dh and ds have been away since the 25th and what a difference in the house! As there's only me and dd the bathrooms are clean (no toothpaste spit on the mirrors), kitchen floor is sparkling and there is no MESS.

I have just changed all the beds, washed all the mattress/pillow protectors and sorted the linen cupboard.
I plan to sort all the kitchen cupboards over the next week, getting rid of all the chipped crockery and finishing off with the oven cleaning man booked in for next Friday!!!

May I join....one of my new years resolutions is to entertain at home more-but at the moment I am embarrassed to ask anyone in as house is awful. Ex-h was a packrat who has left much of his stuff here and I am determined to get it all out. DC this morning decided that their 'dogs' (soft toys) were going on a school trip from their room to the kitchen doorway where now all 21 of them are lying ..oh pray for me.
I did do Flying before but I finally drowned in the emails so have not ventured back into the water since. This sounds much more manageable.

My DSs have been home from uni since the 18th & what a difference in my house, too!

sadly it's the opposite of your difference, Mrsrd

Flylady new starter - I want to get this place in some kind of order before my maternity leave ends at the end of Jan. Count me in. Excited.

I'm a new starter too in great need of a fresh start. I will NOT end 2012 in the chaotic mess I'm starting it in. I'm not sure I will have time to read all of the posts on here every morning as lack of time is a big problem but I am going to give a really good try.
Thanks in advance for the help and tips.
Here's to an organised 2012.

Happy Hogmanay to you all! 200 :-0 lol

I'm marking my spot and I will shine my sink tomorrow and that's that.

Enjoy new years day. Huge Hogmanay hugs to those I know and firm handshakes to those I'm yet to know.

Bye for now.

leftover mince pies, steak pie and cheese over there in the naughty corner.