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.

Evening all,

Busy Tuesday again here, made worse by the fact that DH's car had to be taken to the garage unexpectedly this morning as it was making a funny noise. All fixed now, but we need to get it picked up tomorrow.

After school routine has been (oddly) made easier by DD deciding to take up tap as well as ballet class. They are back to back and she stays in the studio, which means I drop her off half an hour earlier than before and go and get DS from football at leisure in the middle instead of having to be in two places at once. Then Cubs, but other mums on the drop-off/pick-up rota tonight. Plus lovely weather. I spent some time scrubbing more of the patio set while DD played in the garden. I just cannot believe how filthy it gets. Also lots of cooking, plus paid work.

Anyway off to relax for a bit now. I have put some photos of my crochet work on my profile if anyone wants to take a peek, but some of them are upside down and sideways, not sure why.

Toffee - well done to DS1, he really is making some progress at the moment.

Oh dear, second time writing this post! It disappeared on me the first time ......

Thanks for welcoming me everyone!

My first day of flying seemed relatively easy!
Though I might have cheated on today's babystep - copied and pasted the morning and night time routines instead of writing them out......does it matter?

Also feeling very positive about all this flying, so I:

Got up at 6:45 and for a jog/walk for 45 mins (first time for me!) and then came home and put on a load of washing (because I had time for a change!) and because my clothes were already laid out (yesterday's babystep!) I had time to make a lovely salad to take with me for lunch.
Have put on 15.5 lbs since the wedding - have to try and reverse this!
Am a primary school teacher and took the girls camogie team for training for the first time after school today - another first!
Made dinner with homemade bolognese sauce - yum!
Now off to correct some copybooks and practise piano for half an hour before an early (well, early for me!) night!

Looking forward to learing about hotspots etc - you all seem to be very on top of things! I can barely organise myself, never mind an entire family! :)

learning I mean

I assure you castlelough that any semblance of organisation on my part is entirely illusory!!

Still, today I have done the mission, made up the spare bed and hidden some of the junk from the spare room in the loft.

Tomorrow I have to crisis clean the house, possibly collect the laptop from the computer shop and do the ironing before my parents arrive at around 4...

So I may be on a lot with lists, or may disappear for a while!

MoreCats - I feel your pain on getting rid of chairs. In the end we had to pay the council to take our old sofa away. :( Still, one of the armchairs has gone via freegle. One to go.

Waves to all - need to get off the pooter!! Night.

Carpe - yes, the bring-forward-filing system will definitely satisfy your stationery porn habit . I had to buy a ring binder, plastic pockets to put in it and a new concertina file . Also got to use my new labelmaker (quite unnecessary, as I could just as easily have handwritten the labels, but it makes me feel all professional and organised).

The system is explained on page 7 of the organisation thread by Helenagrace, who is a professional organiser (with thanks to Honu for providing this link originally).

MoreCats - that's great news about your DD sleeping on her own. Do you think it's significant that it has happened so soon after you de-registered her from school or is it something that she was coming to gradually anyway?

WhoKnows - I've peeked at your crochet work - it's really wonderful. I can't do anything like that .

Castle - welcome to the thread. Glad to hear the Flying is working well for you already.

Blue - hiding junk in the loft... I wonder why that sounds so familiar to me .

Am still very much enjoying our tidy house downstairs, which we are doing our best to preserve as my mum is coming to stay on Thursday and she always notices the state of the house. Tidying the bedroom has made a difference too. I feel 'lighter' in mood when there is less clutter around - and this spurs me on to declutter even more.

We now have no clutter in the sitting room at all and it means that it takes me five minutes to tidy up each evening. It's fantastic. Clutter just creates so much work.

Back in a minute with the steps etc.

How apt: Day 9's babystep is to learn about decluttering and add a five-minute room rescue to your morning routine.

Tomorrow's 'flight plan' is here (still on Tuesday at the moment, but it should update overnight). Wednesday is anti-procrastination day. And your mission is to clear out and clean your fridge.

Good night all.

Am vvvvv impressed with clutter-free-ness Toffee. Am also very because yesterday there was this very high pitched occasional loud squeak in the study while I was working. Finally located it as being the CO2 alarm obviously running out of battery - tried to reach it and there is so much junk piled in the way that it's going to take 30min just to get to it. So, last night I just shut the door on it and, as I type, it is still squeaking away. Yet more to add to the todo list,

I don't have a label maker . What sort did you get Toffee? I am also contemplating some fatter plastic pockets for the file because I have some days with biggish pamphlets. Felt very smug yesterday when the photocopying I did last week for a pupil was sitting there in the right place in the file.

Squeaking alarm definitely makes sitting mnetting less enjoyable. Onwards ....

Toffee - I dream of our living room being decluttered - it is the worst room in the house by far At the moment the only area that is properly decluttered is the landing but it makes me smile everytime I come up the stairs and spurs me on :) However RL (and DH) seem to intrude on my decluttering plans too often, must try harder.
Well done to your DS, he really is taking some big steps at the moment isn't he?

Castlelough - welcome to the mad house thread. Your name is conjuring up lovely images of misty green lough shores for me :)

SC - still trotting down the road to hell this week. It's already Wednesday and I've done b*gger all apart from 'tricky' email. Today's list will be a rollover from Mon/Tues with add extras

• Reading at school
• Work
• Sweep kitchen floor
• 5 mins on living room surfaces
• Stuff into loft
• Plant sweet-peas - if it stops raining!
• More ironing

Best get on I suppose...........

Morning.

Todays list:
make birthday cake
training
make pizza for tea
eat birthday cake
training.

technical i should be another year older and more sensible. Not sure that is ever going to happen.

Right, list - I'm having 15 mins computer time and it's running v slowly so better not waste it!!

Computer stuff
DOwnstairs hotspots
Landing hotspot
Boys' bedroom
Dusting
Mirrors
Hoover through
Mop floors
Ironing
Fridge mission
Exercise
Find towels etc

V of your decluttered living room, Toffee - ours is hideous...

Happy birthday Bitchy! -

Hi, please can I join in? I need a bit of a kick up the proverbial and this seems just the ticket. I think I get the idea but someone will need to explain the bedtime/morning routine rules - are there any or is it just a free for all?

My to do for the day (very basic, I'm jiggling a 3 month old so don't get all that much time)

dress to shoes
feed, change and jiggle baby as required
shine sink
phone nurseries and make appointment to see them about places
see friend for lunch
washing
clean toilet
dishwasher on and then emptied
washing up, drying, put away

How is that for starters?

Hi, can I join too please?
Will read through posts to catch up (how's that? procrastinating already!)
Have already put some washing on and cleaned the sink.
I'd like to declutter the sitting room - it's a pit :(

Ha ha - just noticed today is 'Anti-procrastination day'.

Hi foad, nice you're joinging at the same time! we can procrastinate together.

Hi feedmecake - fancy a cuppa?!

aye. please

Hello feedmecake (brilliant name :)) and foad - welcome to the thread. Believe it or not some Flying is sometimes done amongst all the chat, , and s though not usually by me :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BITCHY

We won't hold you to the 'more sensible' bit, promise. Have a good day :)

hi feetheart. Thanks for the compliment.

What's pressing on your list then you two?

Ok. Today I will:

Declutter sitting room (not too bad, mostly children's toys)
Put the laundry away (really bad, been hanging around for weeks)
Pay bills online
Find something for supper tonight
Clear out the fridge (as per Flyladys mission of the day) - shame bins just gone!
Stop eating the childrens lunchbox bars.
Find and A4 file for my (Out of) Control Journal

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BITCHY

Right, morning all.

Toffee thanks for the organisational link. Am now hooked into reading that instead of working

Welcome to feedmecake and foad and to everyone else!

Right today's to/ta-da list:
Morning routine - done, except for wiping down kitchen as need to mop floor and can't do with DS awake
Wash bedding that we use when sleeping with DS - done
Clothes wash for us - done
Wash mattress protector for spare room futon as DS snotted on it better that that the futon though - done, and in tumble
Re-organise living room so big pouffe (sp?) is hidden away from DS who now wants to jump on it, and who almost fell off it - done
Hoover under couches as a result of above - done
WAH job - in progress - report is compiling
Visit to Dunelm for house porn fix to buy protective/heatproof mat and wipe clean tablecloth for dining room table, spare mattress protector and look at storage options for toys in living room as they are escaping - this afternoon

Not much else to do really. Stir fry for tea tonight and DH has promised to sleep up with DS as I've got lurgy and so has DS - so neither of us are sleeping well. DS seems to get far too hot when he has the cold so he wakes himself up, and I can't find a lighter duvet for his cot-bed 4.5 seems to be the lowest you can get.

Anyway, my report has just beeped, so back to the paid for toil

update....

dress to shoes
feed, change and jiggle baby as required- so far so good
shine sink
phone nurseries and make appointment to see them about places
see friend for lunch
washing - need to put away
clean toilet and put empty bottles in bin and declogged the sink (smug)
dishwasher on and then emptied
washing up, drying, put away

hoorah but oh good grief. I need more stuff to do.

cuppa and rethink required. How is everyone else getting along?

Mmm
Half decluttered the sitting room.
Ordered flute book off ebay.
chatted to postman
put washing in tumble
framed a picture that arrived in post

Not so good methinks.
Will finish sitting room and reward myself with cup of tea.

I think that's fine! I'm now on my bum with baby and coffee listening to spotify. I wasn't very ambitious with my list though as the house is ok, OH having helped tidy up earlier in the week. It's just not clean though. You should see my hob! It's also very small.

Additions to list coming up;

dress to shoes
feed, change and jiggle baby as required- so far so good
shine sink
phone nurseries and make appointment to see them about places
see friend for lunch
washing - need to put away
clean toilet and put empty bottles in bin and declogged the sink (smug)
dishwasher on and then emptied
washing up, drying, put away
make dental appointment
bake a cake
clean rest of bathroom
make beds
clean hob for first time in months having baked marmelade to it arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh
clean out nasty stuff from fridge and wipe down inside and out
declutter all surfaces in lounge

after my coffee that is....

A warm welcome to Foad¨Feedmecake Castlelough Iambooyhoo and all newcomers ...

... hoping to glean some enthusiasm from you today!!

MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY Bitchy Hope you have a blast!!

So sorry to hear you and your ds are poorly Carpe and hope you can catch up on some sleep and recuperate properly.

Whoknows love the crochet!! (Also - from way down thread - so sorry to hear you are ailing - must be really debilitating for you. Hope op slot comes up soon. And yet you seem to be doing an amazing amount in the circumstances (even with slightly easier extra-curric run). Go easy on the patio furniture scrubbing!!!!

Feetheart it's a long road isn't it?? I am also recycling my list!!

Thanks for links Toffee

Waves to Honu Blue Flying Shannara Morecats Nicknacks Engelsmeijse PA Ellie and everyone I've missed!!

Feeling despondent today because painter is still producing clouds of plaster dust which has covered ground floor and is now on the first floor landing too. It's on the floor, in the air, covering every surface. Can't understand his 'sequencing' as he has already painted some of the walls [confusion]. Furniture stacked up in middle of sitting room .. everything a shambles. DD has friend coming over to play tomorrow night (a new friend - so first time) and whole place a health hazard. To cap it all, done loads and loads of laundry for fortnightly ironing lady (who in actual fact turns up monthly/six-weekly) and of course it's a no show day .....Yaaarrrggghhhhh!!

[All newcomers - I am a habitual and monumental whinger on this thread - so please just ignore!!]

OK, let's see:

Computer stuff
DOwnstairs hotspots - Started but a way to go
Landing hotspot
Boys' bedroom
Dusting
Mirrors
Hoover through
Mop floors
Ironing
Fridge mission
Exercise
Find towels etc

Not bad. Waves to foad and feedmecake - the idea is that the morning and evening routines build up gradually as you work through the babysteps.

Better get moving again.