Flinging our way through the chaos: February’s Fledgling Flyers

[LinzerTorte]

Welcome to the February edition of the Fledgling Flyers' thread.

If you're living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome), this is the thread for you! We follow the tips on the FlyLady website in an attempt to restore order to our homes, but advise against signing up for the e-mails; all the information you need is on this thread.

Each day, I'll be posting the links that will enable you to do any of the following:

• start or repeat babysteps

• repeat babysteps and do 15 minutes a day decluttering in the current zone

or

• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.

More information about the babysteps is here.

So please join us - there's always plenty of chat, , cake, encouragement and the occasional to help us on our way!

Aw, DH is doing dw

He's also admitted he sees the point of sink shining too, which I never expected. Things are looking up!

jnice it's great isn't it, for the first time ever, found dh sweeping downstairs without being asked [shocked]

Bed now made and dressed, also am going to buy a label maker today!

thewaffler sounds like a morning here, one of us often has to take DS downstairs to stop him waking his sister.

Struggling to get going this morning (yawn)

Morning all,

TheWaffler - the 30 Day Shred gave me sciatica! It was the walkout planks in Level 2. I do get bouts of sciatica occasionally, the Shred set it off big time, so I never got as far as Level 3.

Right, today is my day off work, so I need to get cracking with a few jobs and if the pavements look clear enough later might go for a run, otherwise go swimming, there was a couple of inches of snow last night.

Ta-da!

DCs to school
Car and drive scraped in case I need to go out later (I like swooshing all the snow off the car, it's red and just looks nice through the snow, somehow, can't explain [silly emoticon])

To do

Get DW on (DH forgot last night)
WM on
Tidying - I tried last night but my hotspots were burning too much to put them all out
Kitchen - clean bin. Did floor, taps, counters earlier in the week.
Get food out of freezer for tonight, check if we need anything from the shops
Some paperwork

Morning all!

Just a list dump this morning but I've read the thread and thank you for your shared anger on my behalf! also- I'm going to buy the shred DVD- I've heard things about this before and was put off because I've got repetitive strain in my knees but I can always adapt it(?) if its too hard!

To do:
Hoover
DD vaccinations
DD to baby gym if she is ok after jabs!
Car
Handbag
Kitchen floor
clean fridge - stop putting this off!
Dust
Zumba

BBL!

DH has done the school run this morning, so have actually done some zone cleaning!

Ta-da!
2 baskets of clean laundry away
Today's laundry washed and in dryer
Morning routine
Dining room hotspots
Hoovered and mopped downstairs
Scrubbed kitchen splashbacks
Cleaned hood and grease filter
Cleaned outside of fridge, oven, dw, kettle and coffee machine
Cleaned decorative shelving thingy and dusted vases etc
Returned all random toys to sitting room

Now I'd better get on with some paid work! Waves to all...

lauren hope jabs go well, hmmmm if also gave whoknows sciatica and linzer bad knees, maybe shouldnt be recommending it, especially if you have dodgy knees! I haven't found any problems and got it after reviews on amazon - as I said before, I think the benefit is the little and often approach, and the fact I knew it wad just for 30 days motivated me, after 30 days were up went on to other DVDs as had got in the habit of doing it, have lots of the 10 minute solution ones too which are good, and you can pick elements of those, after dd and after the shred was able to do an hour before she got up, since ds, an hour is an impossibility, so back to shredding then I shall be doing half an hour of others which is realistically all I can fit in (despite Gwenthy effing paltrow proclamation that we should make time - this would entail getting up at 4)

Mind you, you're already zumba-ring which is pretty good going and more than I managed!

Whoknows just reading back, that is a brilliant tip about beautiful thing repelling clutter Am trying it on new worktops, put some Spode Soup tureen on worktop which looks very determined.

will book the workshop today, promise

Two sick children at home today; yesterday ds2's teacher handed him to me as the class went past on their way back home from F Palace at 2.30..."he's tired out and coughing...so can you take him now" [kind teacher emoticon] very cosy to have my child delivered back to me! He loved the trip, which involved dressing up in tudor clothes eating tudor feast (plastic joints of meat etc)
Last night was busy, a tantrum from tired out ds2 over Sky (we don't have it and he wants it) confiscation of toys for throwing something at me... meeting for parents whose dcs are taking first communion in which I wonder why on earth I am qualified to advise anyone else on moral framework as I leave behind a screaming child. However, it was helpful (for me at any rate) Most obvious aspect of course, is the starting afresh every day.

done
rang old friend
have been very nice to children but am not spoiling them

Morning all,

Was hoping to get some work done this morning with DH at home, but it hasn't happened yet. He's now gone out food shopping with DD1 and I'm back home with the other two and a friend of DS's. Hopefully I'll have a bit of time after lunch, as he's planning to take them all out sledging.

waffler / lauren The Shred is definitely good if you've got limited time to exercise and is certainly intense enough to get results. I don't think I can entirely blame the problems with my knee on the Shred - I suspect that falling downstairs a few years ago and badly banging my knee was the original cause, but that the Shred set it off again. I also did the first couple of days in bare feet on a hard floor, which wasn't the best of ideas and probably didn't help.

I've just passed the DVD on to another MNer (I would have been happy to send it to you otherwise lauren) as I don't want to risk making my knee any worse, and have just bought a yoga DVD for the days when I can't get out and run (snow and DC at home all day are making it difficult atm).

Jax That's very kind of you, but I'm sure I must be able to get a label maker somewhere here - even if it's bound to be more expensive. At least the mystery of where I saw the label maker that you can link up to your computer is solved; it was in this week's Aldi leaflet. DH was not impressed when I showed it to him as it costs ?35 - and I suppose he does have a point. I had a look on Amazon.de, found virtually the same label maker as on the UK site for a slightly more reasonable but still not cheap ?23 (plus postage on top) - but they won't deliver to Austria (from Germany). Aargh! Will have to have a look in the stationery store next time I go.

Have really fallen behind

See, this is what happens to me - all enthusiastic and keen and then something happens (DH having a difficult time at the mo) and it all falls apart. House is a mess, I'm eating crap and can't get motivated.

Well DS1 is off today, tummyache and slight temp this am, not too bad now but generally run down so I don't think a day off is a bad thing. Have some work to do from home but also need to poke myself into action as it's all a bit of a viscious circle - the worse the house gets the more dejected I get about it IYKWIM.

Back later to report on progress.

I know what you mean Neenook - it doesn't take much to throw me off my stride. I was sat here earlier procrastinating and surrounded by dirty dishes, then I saw Blue's ta-da list and it spurred me into action (Thanks Blue).

So

Ta-Da!

DW on
1st lot of washing in dryer, 2nd lot in WM
Cleaned all below counter parts of the kitchen (cupboard doors, appliances, and the scuzzy corners of the floor that get missed)
Cleaned WM filter
Cleaned bin (outside only)
Wiped down fridge freezer
Painted DS's bedroom door.

I have decided to get decorating - we did a lot of the house before DS was born and then stopped abruptly (he was 8 last week, so that's quite a long time now). Anyway, we inherited dark brown wooden doors here, had painted most of them but there were 3 plus airing cupboard door that we never got round to and I think getting them nice and white will brighten the place up. Various skirtings and door frames need doing too. So, Flylady style, I've bought all the stuff and going to do little and often, no furniture needs moving or anything so I can just do it as and when.

Off to do a bit of fillering next, then out for a run, shower, shopping, school run and paperwork.

Every sympathies Neenook - it's so easy to just let these habits slide and then you're back in a tip! Perhaps that's why this thread redoes the babysteps every month :o.

Ta da
Shovel snow
Break snow shovel
Shovel more snow with short handled coal shovel
Try heavy cement shovel (why do I have one of these?)
Brush snow with broom
Finally manage to open gate

Gone off snow!

neenook just do one thing - dont give yourself a massive 'to do' list. Just one thing, then another...

or set your timer for 5 minutes and do as much as you can in 5 minutes, then another 5 minutes.

DS now off skiing, should be in Austria by tomorrow evening. Off to strip his bed and clean his room.

My ta-da list:
Dusted
Hoovered
Cleaned bathroom
Changed towels
Washed towels
Changed sheets
Went to osteopath.. Ouchy ouchy

To do:
Swimming
Shopping
Evening routine.

Hi all .

Teacher training day here so we've been to town to research 1/2 term projects (Australia and India) in the museum and library and to replace the wallet and contents (buspass and library card) that DS left on the bus.

label makers I bought DS one for his birthday to help with his spelling (ok I know that is a shocking way of buying myself a label maker LOL) (actually I wonder whether I could get away with buying DD a laminator ).

Done:
laundry
bathroom

Sigh.... I have been so totally crap at flying, or even getting onto this thread.

DH was away again, I'm surviving on cold and flu medicine, DS1 is coughing like crazy. DS2 is managing to push all of DS1's buttons - damn he's good at winding him up.

Have spent time clearing our bedroom in order to start painting it, which means the junk has migrated to the rest of the house. If I can get it painted quickly I can get the new wardrobes and will at least have somewhere to put all my clothes - dining room can stop looking like a laundromat then.

I'm looking around in despair - I really, really need to declutter. I'm a hoarder and we just don't have the room for everything. We barely have the room for what we need, let alone the stuff we don't.

Right - off to declutter for 15 minutes before I get the DSs their tea.

Hiya all!

for neenook chitchat and everyone else that might need it! Sod it is it too early to open the naughty bar?!

Absolute flying fail here, DD had her jabs then went to baby gymnastics and when she napped I did zumba and showered! So flying wise I've only done:
Laundry washed dried and put away *3
Cleaned plastics and interior windows and mirrors
Washed up and shined sink and cleaned counter tops...

I'll be in the naughty bar with a vodka lemon and lime if you want me!

Neenook you have my full sympathy. I go through really bad down phases when am I so demotivated as well. And if DH has a bad phase (thank God that's mostly a thing of the past), then I automatically go to pot to. Please remember that Flylady says you are never behind. Just jump back in again, and you don't have to wait for the babysteps to go back to the beginning of the month again. Just pick one you like, and that you need to work on and go from there! That's what I do.

Lauren - now we're talking, I love that drink, count me in! Although I've actually been quite good today, I am now neglecting the DCs by letting them play on the Wii while I MN.

Do you think anybody ever gets round to zone cleaning? Giving I've only decluttered one out of many rooms I may be at this stage a long time or at least until my youngest starts school in 18 months time.

Found the android app I am using with its checklist much better for me - I've put in morning,afternoon, after school etc... routines and routines for each particular day. Its been babysteps but house looks okay this evening feel like I can invite random people in, which does happen, with no embarassment.

Neenook you also have my sympathy. After the chaos of the end of last week and ds being unexpectedly off school and incapacitated the house has decended into utter mayhem. I have a laundry monster the size of ds to sort out. ds is jumping on all of my buttons and I will be glad to deliver him to his dad's. Unfortunately part of this button pushing/reacting cycle is simply due to the number and severity of broken nights sleep. It is disheartening if you look at it like that. However look at the small thing. Even if you only got your sink shiney and got up, hey you got you sink shiney and got up it is something.

Ta da list:
Ds to hospital
banking
swimming lessons put on hold
drop form off with doctors
reheat left overs for tea.

Hey look I did 5 things today, admitidly 3 of those was because my mum looked after him for a couple of hours whilst I ran away did the in all direction jobs.

I need to get more stuff done tonight but will probably hide in a hot bath and pretend the world doesn't exist.

Oh and it is NEVER too early to open the naughty corner bar. Somewhere in the world it is always 5pm.

ChesnutX - I sometimes do zone cleaning, have managed some today, but I still don't do it every week and I have been on this thread for over 2 years. Whether that is encouraging or makes you want to give up I don't know! What I would say though, is that my house has steadily got tidier, cleaner and less cluttered over those two years, it's not perfect but it's a lot better, so do stick with it.

Bitchy - I think your last two sentences are my "Quote of the Week"!

I have never zone cleaned properly or done a mission .

I have given myself and DD our 6mnthly haircut. DDs is a bit short as she kept moving her head .

I'll have a too. .

Better day after a crappy morning. Need to get out of this slump!

TA DA
2 and half loads of washing done
Dishy loaded and on
Washing up done
Dining room cleared up after dinner
Kitchen wiped down and floor swept
Both dcs in bed (thanks to DH)
Trailer insurance and some other paperwork done

Still to do
Shine the sink
Launrdry
Shower
Put clothes out for tomorrow