Fledgling Flyers Olympic August thread.

[BitchyDragons]

Ok so not the wittiest of titles but this month we have the Olympics, holidays, return of football season and heading into the new school year. It's going to be a busy one...

Firstly thanks to Blue and Ellie who kept us on track last month!

Right, most of you should know how this works. It's a three pronged attack.
Phase one: The babysteps master these and you will be working like clockwork.
Phase two: Adding in Decluttering this will help you keep on top of the amount of stuff contributing to CHAOS.
Phase three: Missions Targeted activities to keep the chaos at bay and starting the deep cleaning.

The golden duster of Flying is stage 4: deep cleaning. This is for most, unrealistic and should only be considered once you have completely decluttered. PA might achieve this simply by virtue of some extreme life decluttering. Although I probably won't recommend her method.

Now for those of you who are completely lost, lets rewind a bit.
CHAOS: Can't have anyone over syndrome. Yep you know that state where you are embarrassed to have play dates fucking hate that phrase or people pop in unexpectedly.
The fly lady approach works by breaking the house down into tiny activities which you do repeatedly yep sounds bad written like that but bare with me and then build up into a routine that becomes habit and you stop thinking about it no really, you do.

Clearer? Yeah ok. I have probably lost you but there is loads of support and help on this thread. If you are confused then ask. However, as this thread starts on the 1st on August I refuse to post the first babystep until later today.

This thread comes with a warning: For those of you who have not yet encountered my leadership of the thread. Be afraid, very afraid aware that I have a rather unorthodox approach and that things can get a tad unpredictable. Starting with a namechange. So who?s on board this month?

Oh and spot markers can help themselves to a magic eraser and ensure there are no marks on the thread for the start of the month. Let?s start as we mean to go on

Bitchy - - sorry your asthma is playing up.

PMPY - Ooh, your weekend sounds lovely.

Kept to the diet, so body decluttering going well.

If you had to grade your rooms, what grade would they be?

State of room:
1* - ready for a MIL visit
1 ? Ready for visitors
2 ? Not too bad, might need a 10 minute tidy up to get it to stage 1. Not perfect but wouldn?t die of shame of someone came over.
3 ? a little messy, a few things out of place, maybe a bit too cluttered. Getting a little embarrassing.
4 ? messy ? needs a good clean up to get it resembling tidy.
5 ? catastrophic ? you cringe every time you walk into the room, would prefer to keep the door shut and to never see it.

Lounge room ? 3
Dining room ? a not too bad 4
Kitchen ? a bad 4
Utility room ? 2
Corridor ? 2
Alcove ? 4
Main bedroom ? 5
DS?s bedroom ? a not too bad 4
Main Bathroom ? 3 ? on cleanliness (5 because of the lack of decoration)
Ensuite bathroom ? 5
Upstairs landing ? 4
Spare room ? 4 (due to clutter)

My aim by the end of the week is to get most of the rooms up 1 level.

my room - 5
ds' room -3
lounge -2
dining room - 1
kitchen - 2/3 (covered in biscuits i am waiting for icing to dry and stuff for dishwasher that is running)
porch - 2
hall - 1
office - 5
bathroom - 3 but it was 4 before last night.
study/playroom - 3
landing - 4

God that is depressing. :(

Ta da
2 phone calls
1 load of washing on
consult the mn health gurus. They really do know everything a lot.

You have two 1s? Well done.

By then end of today I will have at least one 1!!!!

One of the 1s has a load of laundry on table waiting to be folded and the ironing on ironing board waiting to be ironed. We might have different standards for visitor friendly

Well that for me would be a lower 1, but still a 1, if it was 'contained', and if it was only 1 load . A good 1 would have the ironing board put away (I even planned a space for it behind one of the cupboards in the dining room, but still slightly visible if you look for it. A 1* would have the ironing board tucked away neatly in the utility room as it is completely out of sight, but not as accessible for me so would only happen for very persnickety visitors .

(Or am I procrastinating overthinking this??!! )

Ohhhh room gradings I would say all the rooms are 1 apart from bathroom which is a 2. But I have to have my house tidy and clean for work so I think of it as part of my job! By the end of the day DD room will be a 1* as I deep clean it as part of my home bleugh on a Monday!

Afternoon all. Am feeling loads better today .

Bitchy - you can't imagine how excited I am to find all those lovely lists . I intend to redo my control journal asap (it needs updating anyway). I hope the dr sorts out your asthma - you are having a difficult time with it at the moment .

Chitchat - I like your idea of grading rooms. Well, the one I'm in right now (our bedroom) is definitely a 5. DS2's bedroom has had to be tidied a lot because of an ant invasion, so it has probably gone up a level today to a 2. DS1's room is probably a 3, thanks to a pile of stuff we haven't sorted yet. Downstairs rooms are 1s and 2s. I have MIL here today, but I'm don't think it qualifies for a *.

lauren - I remember having to keep the downstairs tidy when I was childminding. It was a pain, but at least everything was cleared away every day.

dizzy - you are doing fabulous work at decluttering. It's annoying when you have to make things messier in order to make progress - you just have to remind yourself that it will all look better eventually.

Engels - good luck going back to work after your long holiday.

PMPY - glad you had such a great time at the spa.

Have been up and doing small jobs in the house today, eg one load of washing, wiping counters, putting the rubbish out... Am really astonished at how much better I'm feeling . MIL arrived all ready to look after me and found me dressed and chirpy. I am still feeling tired and DH says my chest is still rattling away at night (and waking him up), but it's all improving.

DS2 has gone out to spend the morning with a friend because he was going stir-crazy at home. MIL is wonderful with him, but she's too infirm to take him out anywhere and he obviously needed to run around.

Off to browse some more household list porn now....

perfect storm conditions. Will explain later. But asthma is under control. Just the effects of it having been out of control are going to be felt for a while. Stupid fecking car.

Hello everybody! Toffee I?m glad you?re on the mend at last, and Bitchy hope things improve soon.

MIL has finally gone home. My MIL is perfectly lovely but 4 weeks of her was just a teensy bit too much. My house is a total bomb site (1* would be ?good enough for me? rather than MIL, as her standard are, well, normal, compared to mine). So, room grades:

Kitchen ? 3 (would be 2 but the lino is filthy and sadly beyond help, I fear)
Living room ? 5 (largely due to half peeled wall-paper and very grubby carpet)
Porch - 2
Landing - 2
Main Bedroom ? 2 (not that I let people in our bedroom :))
Guest Room ? 2
Craft Room ? 4

Oh dear. Must try harder. Sadly DH has no interest in having a clean and tidy home and not only doesn?t help with the housework, he actively makes things worse. I am currently refusing to do his laundry and the basket is overflowing, but I will not break.

Anyway, on with the list:
Walk dogs
Cook dinner
Send birthday cards x3
Clean kitchen
Check Online banking and transfer money around
Scan dogs? vaccination and email to day-care

Not too taxing, but I?m at work today so not much time.

You are fine this month Cupcakes. It's fairly laid back around here in August. It's September you need to be worried about

Right I have extra child free night and a busier day tomo instead. And for some unknown reason feel inspired to tackle paperwork I sure I will get over it.

Oh I like a good score card. Here's mine...

Kitchen -1
Sitting room -1
Dining room -2
Bathroom -2
Main bedroom -4
Boys' bedroom -5
Girl bedroom -4

Like Lauren I have to keep the downstairs looking top top so that invariably means upstairs gets left. Dining room is just a bit ropey because the dc are eating dinner so floor will need sweeping.

Ta da:
Home bleugh
All my laundry- and away
Washed bedding
Washed bath towels and mats
Cleaned playroom
Routines
DD and mindees to the park- took dogs too!
Today's mission
Food shop- did online and a local quick one
Picked up dog poo

I am of the spa weekend pmpy!

Well done with all the decluttering dizzy! Decluttering actual large furniture is impressive indeed!

I know I shouldn't have but I did at your DH overflowing laundry basket cupcakes, makes me glad I'm single

Good to see you are feeling better toffee!

DD is in her cot and I can hear her saying night night to all of her teddies so hopefully it won't take long until she's asleep so I have a bit of paperwork to do before relaxing on the sofa!

BB tomorrow!

Ooo Lauren I received my hard copy of the revised guidance today.... Guess what my bedtime reading is! :)

Ooooh enjoy! We got one from our LA when we had the training but it's not an official one! Is somewhere doing official ones?!

This is from our LA too. They offered to print copies of the two yr check fact sheet, development matters and the statutory framework for £5.

Have seen quite a few sites selling them plus eBay.

Ahh okay not one like the old one then! I'll stick with the one I've got then and save money happy reading!

Evening all!

Have survived the day, done a bit of minor tidying up, a bit of filing... Boys have been manic, with occasional patches of angelicness just to mess with my head.

Waves to Cupcakes - wow, 4 weeks of MIL! Mine is lovely too, but 4 weeks of anyone extra's company would drive me up the wall...

Glad you're feeling better, Toffee, and hope things improved for you too, Bitchy!

Chitchat - I think our entire house is somewhere between 2 and 3, with the exception of the study/spare bedroom/home office/dumping ground, which is a 4. Will have to get to 1/1* by the beginning of Sept. when my parents are coming...

Morning all! Have had a busy few days getting ready for DS's birthday tomorrow. In particular sorting the garden out. August birthday generally means we gravitate outside as relatives come round and the garden was ungradeable. Tis now a 2 but that is a miracle for us! I also have to make sure house is presentable as all family and friends will be here tomorrow evening so have managed to get house looking respectable.

Today we are going to the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds with a friends and her DS and still have bastard swimming lessons to go to (i wish they stopped for the holidays!)

Have a good day everyone!

Morning!

Have a fantastic day today ellie!

I'm taking mindees out for the day today and then have a meeting with a parent and mindee who I haven't seen since the end of term ready for him coming back so I might not get lots of flying done!

To do:
Walk dogs
Routines
Today's mission- when I see what it is!
Clean bathroom
Unpack DD overnight back from the weekend
Bank
Buy folders for welcome packs
Paperwork
Shred

BBL!

Hello, not posted for a while, so just marking my place before I get busy with the duster .

Bathrooms -1
Everywhere else - 5

Builders have just knocked through from new extension to old house - dust everywhere! We have had major event - DH has visited new extension, with builder pushing him through new doorway and across not-yet-screeded floors in wheelchair. Much happier now he has seen what's going on.

This week we are playing troglodytes - all front windows of house are boarded over as old render is being pulled off front of house so it doesn't fall on passers-by below. Very murky with lights on everywhere. Also electrician needs to access wires in old house, believed to be under bathroom floor (see scoring system above ).

Felt so much better today that I took the dog for a walk, but had to come back early because I was so exhausted and out of breath. Will have to take things slowly. But am feeling loads better at home.

Today's 'to do' list:

Morning routine done
Washing mostly done
Walk dog done
Shampoo the dog
Pack
Rest if possible
Evening routine

Ellie - have a lovely outing today and I hope DS's birthday party goes well tomorrow.

lauren - good luck with mindees and parent meeting.

holler - welcome back .

Honu - that sounds awful, but I'm glad your DH is happy with what the extension will look like in the end. Very stressful for you both at the moment though.

to PA, Swan (still on hol?), Blue, Bitchy, NickNacks, Cupcakes and everyone else.

It's quiet on here lately!

Glad you are feeling better today toffee but take it easy!

honu your extension work sounds like a nightmare but I bet it will be lovely when it's all done!

Ta da:
Cleaned bathroom
Walked dogs
Bank
Meeting with parent
DD new shoes
Bought stationary
Paperwork
Routines
Day out with DD and mindees
DD laundry- 1 washing 1 drying

Still need to turn role play area into estate agents and put my laundry away then relax!!

BB tomorrow!

Bathroom 1
Kitchen 2
Lounge 3
Our bedroom 5
Conservatory 3

But.... DS room: only a bloody 1*
I spent 2 hours toy tidying on Monday
And it looks lovely

Waves to all. No flying today as I did a 10 hr day at work, went to gym and have only just sat my bum down

Evening all! Well I have had to most luvverly day. The Royal Armouries was fab, lots of knights and guns which made for a happy DS. I have been there every year for 8 years on a school trip but never on my own and it was nice to amble without teaching (although I couldn't resist a little as my friend I went with I me when we were training to be history teacher so the poor dc's suffered mild indoctrination).

Nice evening as well once we had done bastard swimming lessons. DSIL came round with pressie for DS as she is working tomorrow and we also gave him one of his main presents from us as DH is out the door at 6 tomorrow morning and not back until 7. All singin, all dancing lightsabres complete with swoosh noises were a big hit. He's been wanting one for ages and when we went shopping DH insisted on getting 2 (at 40 quid each) because, 'he needs one for his friends'. Needless to say DH and DS have spent hours this evening pretending to be Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker and testosterone levels are sky high. It must be a man thing because DH's BF came round and suddenly he was running around the living room as well!

Anyway, just got back from Sainsbo's picking up croissants and pain au chocolat for birthday breakfast and am going to do a quick scoot round downstairs, present wrappig and blow some balloons up.

See you tomorrow!