Aiming high in April, babystepping our way to a cleaner house

[CatsSleepAnywhere]

Hi all, welcome to the new babysteps thread for April.

All newcomers welcome.

We have pointy sticks ----> to help get you moving and plenty of brews and biscuits on our Chat thread for in between jobs.

Please come and join us.

squashedbanana we also have a chat thread HERE please feel free to join us there too.

Thank you to CatsSleepAnywhere for inviting me to join this thread. I am really struggling to keep on top of things just now so hopefully some of your motivation will rub off on me. I might not do much to start with but happy to provide the for all the hard workers.

Hi, justtrying is it o.k. if I call you that?

I haven't done a lot today. I was feeling fed up all morning so I sat here MNetting .

Ta da's so far:
(Done so far)

made bed
breakfast
get dressed
DC to school and nursery
nothing all morning
picked up DD

lunch

MNetted some more
washing in machine
dry up x 1
wash up x 1

Don't be frightened by the size of some of the lists we do, Half of mine aren't proper jobs .

Justtrying is fine - really need to think of a snappier name!

I have stripped my bed and the sheets have been washed and are now drying on the clothes horse. I finally managed to get showered and dressed so my dressing gown and slippers are now in the wash as I've been spending far too much time in them lately!

Welcome to the thread to squashedbanana and Justtrying. It is lovely to have a few new "faces" to join us.

I haven't much to report today as I had a bit of a wonky start.

I am back on track now but out until 9.30 ish in a mo.

Ta Das:

washed and dressed (now in pj trousers again as jeans dry on the one radiator that I have on)
dcs breakfasted
ds's lunch and snacks made
form filled out for ds
waterproof gear sorted for ds as he is doing outdoor stuff today despite pouring rain
waterproof gear sorted for dd (who then refused to take it) despite doing outdoor activities today.
wrestled with car trying to get necessary bits and bobs into it (long and boring story)
dealt with ds's panic attack
got dcs to school
went back to school with dd's waterproof gear as she wanted it once she saw everyone else was in it
dealt with ddad having a panic attack about the gutters
had a bit of a breakdown
drank and ate half a pack of biscuits
felt a bit better
got phone call inviting me to a grown up birthday party. Yay!
wrapped 2 birthday parcels
posted ebay parcel
bought materials for class tonight
took dd's violin to my dparents as they are taking her to lesson tonight
decided I couldn't be faffed and took dogs up a hill in the pouring rain (hence wet jeans)
had lunch

Now to begin it all again! Wish me luck

And that list is bigger than I thought so I haven't done so badly after all!

I'm struggling with motivation today. Here are my Ta Dahs:

Toddler & I dressed
bathe Toddler
Tots (morning)
town, wash sweatshirts & jeans it's not bucketing down and I don't feel like going to town, parking a block away, dragging Toddler & a bin bag full of sweatshirts & jeans down the High Street then back again in the rain

hang wet clothes see about
take down ironing board
15 minutes declutter, kitchen
take out recycling
town, donations
children's center, donations
repot seedlings into plastic bottle pots
weed large pot (in front of house) and add soil (only if weather allows)
declutter living room table
sweep kitchen floor
prep veggies for dinner (Chinese Chicken)
prep chicken for dinner (Chinese Chicken)
mailbox, post letter from yesterday forgot to take this with me in the morning, was going to do that when I did the laundry -- might get postponed
restock diaper bacg
pack swimming bag (include snacks but not sandwiches)
keep up on top of washing up so far so good
keep up on top of feeding Toddler so far so good
email Seniors & school re date change did both
15 minutes declutter, bedroom was more like 30 minutes
sort through clothes for friend's son (divide by season)
research food from Commonwealth (choose easy to prepare dish for Seniors) emailed girls with food requirements for next meeting
email two Seniors re Promise
email/respond to Seniors Mum who emailed last night

Ta Dahs update

Up, breakfasted, showered, dressed and hair dried

Must

Work
Write up one lesson
Prepare one lesson
Accounts
Go to bank
sort out waiting list
meeting with ex-student and parents

household and personal
Unload clean stuff from dishwasher and load clean in
put on a washing load (before underwear crisis hits)
put washing on airer
sort dried washing
be organised about lunch and tea
exercise (of some sort)
go to music group

Would like

Prepare more lessons ( up to 4!)
unpack deliveries ( for work nothing too exciting!) and do relevant accounts for it
put together woodgraining project ( I WILL do this one day!)
quick morrisons shop

Hello squashedbanana and just trying!

In addition to getting the double bed clean and up for sale, I have

• Put two loads of washing through
• Done the ironing
• Sorted out the laundry in the airing cupboard
• Ordered new vacuum cleaner. So long (almost) crappy non-sucking hoover

Has anyone got a steam mop they would recommend?

I would be very interested to hear about good steam mops too.

Hi josie!

Just poking my head round the door from holiday!

There have been loads of threads in GH about steam mops (like this one) - I really want to get one, but am scared I will spend loads of money on something rubbish

Feeling a bit overwhelmed - you all seem so organised already. I can't even get organised enough to write my to do list - which would basically say "do everything"!

What one top tip can you give me to get started?

justtrying some of us have been doing this a very long time! - have you done the fly lady babysteps before? It's how I started to get a bit more organised over a year ago

I've had a brief look at the fly lady site but haven't really got to grips with it bessie. Does it really work?

It did for me! Start here She can be a bit annoying, and some of the babysteps are a bit meh, but I think the basic idea that you SLOWLY get into the habit of doing a little bit every day is good.

Despite the fact that some of us have been doing this for ages, we often remind ourselves of the babysteps starting at the beginning of the month - is anyone else up for getting back to basics from the 1st May?

Ta Dahs update ( last for today - just off to music practice)

Up, breakfasted, showered, dressed and hair dried

Must

Work
Write up one lesson
Prepare one lesson
Accounts
Go to bank
sort out waiting list
meeting with ex-student and parents

household and personal
Unload clean stuff from dishwasher and load clean in
put on a washing load (before underwear crisis hits)
put washing on airer
sort dried washing
be organised about lunch and tea
exercise (of some sort)
go to music group

Would like

Prepare more lessons ( up to 4!) - started
unpack deliveries ( for work nothing too exciting!) and do relevant accounts for it
put together woodgraining project ( I WILL do this one day!)
quick morrisons shop

Hmm - not too bad

hi just trying,
I'm finding that posting on here and doing updates is really ehlping because
a) it makes me think and prioritise my to do lists each morning
b) it creates a bit of accountability
c) it is helping me be more realistic about what I can actually achieve in a day so I'm not so fed up with myself about the stuff I haven't yet done! I'm gradually learning to tailor my daily list to what is reasonable!
d) If I am repeatedly putting the same thing on over and over again it gives me more impetus to do it!

Oh yes, and I also get medals sometimes
Chocolate ones!

Yes please, back to basics!

I'm feeling incredibly flat today.

Back to basics would be great from my point of view. I have a basic routine now but don't always get to decluttering and hot spotting and I would like to make that more automatic.

Another good reason for posting lists: If you are having a day like I was today you realise you have done a lot of little bits and bobs and have actually waded through a lot more than you thought when you actually write it all down.

JustTrying If you could see my kitchen and the state of my paperwork you would realize I am FAR from organized.
I have sides full off washing up my paperwork is chaos and the living room floor is often covered with toys.
The only thing I can do is try.

As the regulars know on here I have down days and up days. Please don't beat yourself up too much!
I am pleased to say today might be a better day as I got a bit more sleep last night. I need to go out this morning --if I can make myself-- so might not be around till lunchtime.
I often suffer with lack of motivation!

The other ladies on here are great!

I will be starting again with babystep 1 on the 1st of April. Some of the babysteps stick and others take longer to make a routine.

I must go now as I have to get me and 2 DC out of the house by 8.40.

Will be back later.

Good luck today everyone!

Todays flightplan.
Hi to all the new peeps! Don't feel overwhelmed, this is certainly my third time of doing FlyLady. Life has a habit of interupting! I use the list as a starting point, adding or deleting as I go, and treat these lovely ladies as a bit of a Jiminy Cricket! If I say I've done it on here or I'm gonna do it, I have to because I've told you guys I have! IYSWIM!!

Anyhoo!
Ta Da:
up and dressed
breakfasted
beds made
swish and swipe
shiny sink
wm on
checked calender

To Do:
write my Moms b'day card
room rescue living room
clothes away
de-clutter yesterdays flapjack
todays mission
what's for tea
flip mattress (third time on list, really must do!!)
go to soft play with Mom and the kids
sort out ebay stuff
exercise
drink water
keep everybody fed

Nothing drastic today, got a toddler free day tomorrow so I should be able to do some more detailed cleaning/de-cluttering.

Bessie - I'd love to go back to basics from 1 May! (Did you have a good holiday?)

Justtrying - would it make you feel better if I told you this will be at least the 4th time I've gone back and done babysteps, and possibly the 5th?

One real plus of going back to the start would be all that decluttering it involves - I need to make a baby-sized space in our overcrowded house before October! And before I get too pregnant to be of any use...

I have done babysteps countless times and it does help to ingrain the habits. Success for me depends partly on what is going on in the rest of my life but no matter what is going on it does improve life and stress levels for all of us.

Today I am going to clean my kitchen. That's it. It doesn't matter if it takes me all day with lots of tea breaks I am determined to get it done. So at least there will be one shiny, fresh smelling room in the house.

Good plan justtrying

First tea break. So far:
WM on
Breakfast dishes done
Mugs all soaking with a sterdent tablet to remove tea stains
All past it food chucked out of fridge
Fridge shelves all cleaned and everything put back in
Cat bowls cleaned out and washed thoroughly