Fledgling flyers - it's the month of May: if your house is a mess, try the Flylady way

[ToffeeWhirl]

Welcome to the May Fledgling Flyers' thread. A very big thank you to WhoKnows for guiding us through last month.

Are you living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)? Flylady's routines 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. On this thread, we do our best to follow these routines (although we also chat quite a lot and sometimes forget why we're here ).

There are three methods of the Flylady system, depending on whether you are new to it 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.

Today's babystep is to shine your sink.

Ok setting myself a quick 40 min challenge! ( I work better this way, under pressure and all that!)

Load dw
Mop bathroom
3 dc to bed
Hoover downstairs
Make tea and cake ready for emmerdale

Oooh, 6.30pm and I've got the house to myself, how unusual. Going to make the most of it and catch up on a bit of MN OU work.

SC - Happy Birthday!

Hope all went well with the op today, MoreCats.

Haven't had a moment to go on MN today. Spent all day doing work with DS1 (very productive though) and keeping the house under control. Was looking forward to having my hair cut and coloured at the hairdresser this evening, then realised, shortly before I left, that I'd forgotten to do the colour test . However, I have now a nice haircut, saved 30% because it was a special offer and I'm rebooked for the colour next week .

Did I see Linzer popping in earlier?

In case I don't get time to pop back later, here are tomorrow's links:

Babystep 15 make your bed.

Wednesday's reminders and the mission (bathroom and guest room) are here.

And here is the kids' challenge.

I have just realised that I have a cold sore coming up to go with my new haircut .

Ok only thing I didn't get around was the hoovering but it doesn't look too bad so I won't worry. Also took me 15 mins longer but now sat down for the evening and relaxing with a and cake :)

Hope you had lovely days!!

Thanks for the links toffee :)

Aw, thanks again you lovely lot!!

Day got better and better - dh ducked out of work for an hour or so this afternoon and let's just say that, against all advice, I let my heart rule my head ...more on that tomorrow .

He then cooked a delicious surprise traiteur supper for us all and, for pudding, tested my trouser waistband had visited one of the best patisseries in town. I now resemble a very old but contented teletubby .

Morecats hope your dd is recovering well

Thanks for flowers and links Toffee

I'm working on it Carpe Nor yours ..! Top marks for your succinct, completed list btw. A shining model of good Flying practice!!

Cheers Whoknows. Good to see that you and Nicknacks have managed a bit of rare but well-deserved 'me' time today.

Feetheart Thank you for not commiserating !! In reality I'm not too bothered about ageing in itself as I have older sisters (big gaps between us too) who are bursting with energy and far from decrepit - just need to try and hit 50 a bit lighter and a bit fitter and with a decluttered house.

Swan¨yes, horse-keeping so expensive that it's the first thing that goes in a recession sadly ... especially given the price of hay atm. Have considered urban livery where we ride regularly and may yet go for that but I prefer to be hands on. Hope you vanquish the mud!

Have a good training session Bitchy

Flying at the risk of coming across all negative and preachy (and repeating myself- sorry) think v. v. carefully about yr career. When dc are young, the change seems v. attractive, but I've personally found that that hasn't endured now I have more time on my hands. Wish I had found a way to keep it going... Paying off mortgage promptly a huge perk though - not one to be dismissed lightly - partic in current economic climate. Hope your dh's interview goes well and good luck with decision!

Engelsmeijse nee, ik woon in Belgie. Waar kom je vandaan? Beste x

Huge waves to Linzer, Blue and anyone else I may have inadvertently missed. Off to guzzle more ... supplies waiting in naughty corner for everyone to plunder ...

G'night...

SC I hear what you're saying. It's a dilemma indeed, especially in the role I'm in: pension, as secure as civil service gets, chance to move to other departments.
DH thinks I'll bottle it, send him out there and then say "nah, I don't want to do it now"

Will have to see what they offer and research accounting jobs there myself although I'm so specialised now I wonder if I could do normal accounting again

Ta da:
Shined sink...

And took more pain killers

I should have been in bed an hour and half ago

List for tuesday:
get up
School run making sure ds' teacher gets all paperwork needed.
Paperwork for meeting
finish knitting 10x10cm square
Finish tackling my room
Meeting
Supervise ds doing homework
Play a game or something with ds
Figure out if able to move enough to go training [optomistic]
Spend quiet evening with a craft project if not training.

I have found muscles I didn't know I had today. Not sure they like me right now either.

Have good days.

Nope definitely don't like me. Don't expect miracles on the flying front. Expect to find me in the naughty corner. And probably asleep. But not at the moment it would seem

swan & sc
Have you thought about horse sharing? I did that for about six months before I moved to the countryside. You share somebody else's horse, pay half livery in the yard and make arrangements with the owner. We used to ride three days each with a day off for the horse. It is a good way to test the water before jumping right in yourself!
swan You're right there are a lot of unwanted horses here in Ireland atm with recession. I picked up my darling for ?200 while I was horse sharing at that yard. TB, nicely bred, he won a Point to Point recently which was very exciting (but an expensive business).....he came home for the summer yesterday :-) :-)

Right I did yesterday's babystep- new calendar up in kitchen.
Went out for dinner. Came home at 8 exhausted and straight to bed.
No flying!
Was convinced I must be pregnant. Just tested - not pregnant! Oh well!
Next month maybe for flying and I....
Now must go for my run ....
xxx

Morning all! A good day of for flying (especially since the babystep, make your bed, is something I already do!). The sun is shining here (ik woon in Gelderland in Nederland sanguine maar ik kom uit Kent!) and am hoping to get out and about with DS at some point after I have.....

breakfast washing up
changed our bed
worked on hotspot
5 mins on kitchen decluttering
clear up bathroom cupboard

Ta da
white wash on
DS's bed stripped
emptied bin in DS room
given bathroom a once over

CBA day today. House is still relatively tidy after my crisis clean yesterday for playdate, so am planning to chill today, then go to the park/soft play this afternoon.

I'm having a fat day too

Need coffee. Just pass coffee, lots of it, and i will pretend to be awake.

Ta da
Fall out with ds over him being rude.
Awake if i pretend hard enough and drink enough coffee
school run
ensure letters get to ds' teacher

Morning and for you all.

Morning all,

Well, that's Tuesday out of the way, the busiest day of the week. The DCs after school arrangements get more and more complicated every week on a Tuesday, yesterday it was get DD from school, home, to ballet, back to school to get DS, back to sports centre to get DD, other ballet parents asked if we wanted to stay for softplay/tea at sports centre, DD wanted to but DS and I couldn't because DS has cubs, left DD plus car seat with friends, home with DS for tea and go to cubs, then I got half an hour by myself before DD was dropped back by her friend's mum, then DS dropped back by another mum. Next week I'm helping at cubs so that will also be just as bad.

I got home from work at 2 yesterday and decided to dig out the Wii Fit, I can't run at the moment so it seemed like a good idea. I had forgotten how patronising it is! Talks at you non stop, grrr.

I managed a small amount of FLying, basic routines and my own special bathroom mission, which is the shower curtain, it is white fabric but it gets all brown and yucky from limescale, so it goes in a 90degree wash with half a bottle of vinegar followed by a 40 degree wash with bleach, gets it all lovely and gives the WM a good degunk as well.

FLying - hope you are feeling a bit better now.

Bitchy - you look after those muscles

Castle - sorry you got a negative

SC - glad you had a good day yesterday. I'm in the nearer 50 than 40 bracket too but never mind!

Better go, need to finish my routines and get to work, back later.

Morning

Lovely day here! Ta da so far:
School run
Walked dog
SnAck time and washed up pots

To do:
Hoover
Tidy playroom (again)
Afternoon fun in the garden- sand tray out
Clean up devastation from afternoon fun in the garden
Put DD laundry away
Today's missions...need to see what they are!

To those of you talking about horses, I'm lucky enough to own one, but when I had DD she went out on part loan (horse not DD!) so I look after and ride her 4 days a week! I will be getting DD a pony when she is old enough to learn- I have my bhs teaching certificates so can teach her myself. Part loans and horse shares are excellent for keeping costs down!

Feeling a bit frazzled after DS1 had a panic attack about us visiting the hypnotherapist later this morning. Not even the incentive of visiting a pet shop afterwards helped to calm him down . Managed to rearrange it so she is coming here now though.

Cold sore is coming up nicely .

Have to get the house ready for cleaner tomorrow.

toffee try the Compeed patches (I find the night patches particularly effective - but more noticeable IYSWIM) - they usually cut my sore time down to about a week instead of a fortnight. Someone also recommended a laser/heat machine to me (sold by Amazon IIRC) but I've been too skint chicken to try them.

Bit of all those with horses. I've always wanted to ride, but most I've ever done was a donkey at the local fête (back before H&S went nuts and those were allowed).

Feeling a bit better now, although DS is being a little bit of a nightmare - think it may be teeth related as he was trying to bite everything in sight, but as they are annoying him, he's also pushing boundaries more than usual. Our living room window opens by turning the handle to a vertical position, then you push it open, but you can latch it into a catch a little further out by turning the handle down again at that point so it's only open like a vent at the bottom. I did this as the room was smelling a bit stale, and he's spent quite a lot of the morning playing with it despite being told not to do so. Then he trapped his fingers, screamed, got comforted and half told off, but went straight back to doing it. ARGH!

Anyway, he did have a dig though my books today, and uncovered the flylady book, so I think I may have another read; I'm starting to lack the motivation and joy of a clean house. I don't think it helps that my "timetable" has changed since I started sorting my routines - I used to wash my bed on a Thursday, but I now have toddlers with DS so can't really do that in the morning anymore... Think I need to sit down and rearrange things!

If the weather stays fine, then I will get out with DS into the garden and cut the grass while he runs about. If it rains, then it's soft play for us. I think running about is a good option for him!

Hope everyone is having a better day than me!

I'm another one having a CBA day today. I've indulged in a little retail therapy this morning, and I'll see if I can at least manage the merest hint of a house bleugh after lunch...

Hope your DS manages to burn off a bit of frustration - and you too! - Carpe.

Soothing for Toffee

for Bitchy as well.

at being patronised by the Wii fit WhoKnows - I'm not sure whether that's better or worse than being patronised by DS1 whenever we play on the Wii.

Anyway, better get on. Waves to all.

Hello all! Feeling much better after yesterday although ds1 has been sent home from school with a cracker of a black eye. Weirdly I was walking literally past his school when they called so he was still really upset when I got inside.

So far I have

Taken ds2 to judo
Ds1 to school
Minders to toddlers
Dropped mindee at preschool and collected ds1
Home for lunch
Emptied dw
Wm on

To do

Fill dw
Hang washing out
Tidy toys up
Dust sitting room
Mop kitchen
Hoover downstairs rooms
School run
Meet with ds2 teacher
Clean clothes away
Dinner for 8
Hoover stairs and hall

Carpe - I take Aciclovir tablets (on prescription from the dr - I recommend them as they cut down the whole cold-sore cycle by half), but I use cream as well. I tried Compeed, but didn't know they were doing a night-time one now - thanks, I might give that a go as well. I just use everything I can to get rid of the cold sore as quickly as possibly. Sorry you are going through toddler/teething difficulties with your DS. Roll on bedtime!

Blue - thanks for the tea . Retail therapy sounds good! I'm about to indulge in some online retail therapy myself.

NickNacks - owch, that sounds painful for your DS. How fortunate that you were walking past the school at the time they rang!

This morning has been a bit stressful, so I'm allowing DS and me to have some time on our respective computers to unwind. Then I have to do some decluttering as the cleaner is coming tomorrow and my mum is also coming to stay. I have a meeting at DS's school first thing, so have to get the house sorted today.

But first, some retail therapy....

flying My friend was able to take a career break from civil service when her OH was posted to Barbados for 4 years. She then came back, had another baby and is now back working 3 days a week with all of her pension and benefits intact. I don't know whther this is still available now...

Make room in the naughty corner for me - I'm bringing my own blanket. Still no kettle, so hope there's a waiting for me .

Have spent morning cruising web and sorting out exercise plan (whilst sitting on my bum - ha ha) for New Start next week. Am wearing in new running shoes - obviously not effectively whilst sat on bum at computer.

Haven't unloaded dishwasher and my sink is not shiny.

at sorting out exercise plans whilst sitting at computer, foad.

Have just polished off half a pack of Kinder chocolate . Diet not going so well...

spent morning with BT engineer finally sorting out my Home Hub (but I think my computer has given up ghost) so at least we have a wireless connection now for wireless computers (which this is not!) Hey Ho, apparently computers go obsolete at rate of knots so that doesn't matter so much...Dd's netbook works though... This computer now has a wire connecting it across dd's bed which is only place to plug it in

In honour of engineer I tidied bedroom (a phone socket in there) and have proceeded to declutter an enormous bag of clothes, and sort out some of mini-loft storage there..

Now exhausted - and still have to hoover filthy bedroom.. and do Beavers this evening.

Luckily Dh has dentist appt so he will be home this afternoon, so usual panic has not quite set in at how little I have achieved.

Also paid for dd to resume swimming lessons on Friday, pray God she will not do her usual Friday, I'm tooo tirrrred Mummeeee... as she asked for swimming lessons.

Mum has now gone to Ireland with my Dad(home) so that is something less to worry about! Still have to go back and do some housekeeping for London flat though.

Toffee so sorry that ds is feeling bad again at leaving house, hope petshop helps.

Evening. Can't be arsed with a ta da list. too tired to go training also so tired to craft so going to get an early night instead. well at least that is the plan. Going to head back and read thread now before trying to convince ds he does want to do some reading. CBA with other homework tonight.

Hope you can have a good evening if not naughty corner bar is open and well stocked. help yourselves.

foad I had a cheeky read of that policy yesterday: you can have a 5 year career break but, if not straight after mat leave, it has to be justified with a business case stating the benefit to the department
I could take 3 months unpaid leave to see how I get on but if I hate it & come home it could be months, even years, before DH could return.
I guess I could try the career break. I'm sure my line manager would do his best to support it. But a job isn't guaranteed in your return, I guess that's the risk I'd have to take.
We are thinking more long term: stay 10-15 years, pay off mortgage & then save for DS to go to Uni etc.
Come back, both get part time jobs and live fairly comfortably until we croak it