It's September so the Fledgings Fly, as we wave our clutter bye bye

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Welcome to the ongoing Fledgling Flyers thread for September, thanks to Bitchy who kept us posted through August.

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 me anyway, somewhat unrealistic and in theory you don't need to worry about it until you have finished decluttering that's never then. Just do it if you want to.

Now for those of you who are completely lost, lets rewind a bit.
CHAOS: Can't have anyone over syndrome. We've all been there

The fly lady approach works by breaking the house down into tiny activities which you do repeatedly until they become habit and don't feel like chores any more. The house is split into zones, each zone is tackled for a week before moving on and comes round again at the start of the next month.

There are lots of experienced Fledglings on here, hence lots of advice and support and chat about anything except housework some days. the main thing is that you can post any time you like even if you haven't lifted a finger around the house that day because with Flylady you just pick up again the next day and off you go again.

We advise against signing up for Flylady emails as they can lead to a great deal of clutter in the Inbox, each days steps will be posted on this thread to save you having to find them yourself.

In the meantime here is a link to the Flylady website for anyone who would like a browse.

Getting started Remember - don't subscribe to the emails!

Quick thanks to whoknows and pmpy for keeping us all together, but must keep going as chose posting on m/n as my 'renew spirit' activity and it was a mistake.

Still to do:

Ironing
Shoes
Bag for tomorrow
E-mail re English exam, Geography course work, psychology book.
Prep 4 psychology
Set reminder to call Dr tomorrow
Catch up H/e file (still!)
Check English
Call friend (but don?t allow to monopolise hours of time )
Grab a bath and ensure all offspring bathed.
Deliver emergency milk to other friend

Hi all,
Managed to wash up ans s&s kitchen this morning. My lovely neighbour took in my washing today and have another load to go out.
Mainly preparing for school tonight so ironing and lunch, but will make an attempt to do kitchen table hot spot. The mere thought!
Oh better put on a new load of washing, even though rain forecast for days.
Washing up again and wipe kitchen again - the drudgery!
Shiny sink hmm!
Hope you all had a good weekend!

4 freaking hours of ironing madwoman, clearly you have assumed your online identity entirely. I may be on fire but even amongst the inferno i will not iron merely take things out of the drier at the most opportune moment. You are a mad woman. (do you iron in the attic?)

Ta da:-
Roast Pork Sunday Lunch
Washing away
Our bed stripped and remade
Dc's bathed and bedded
Dinner pots washed up
Sink shined
Clothes laid out
Pack-ups made
Book bags packed
Had a bath
PJ's on ready for xfactor and downton.

Although i mourn the loss of summer I do love snuggling down in the evening when it's all cold and dark outside. I don't feel like I should be outside doing something, i can just revel in my sofa.

I'll have you know there is NOTHING wrong with ironing.

There is nothing fecking RIGHT with ironing

I ironed today for the first time in years - I needed to press some material prior to making my prototype drawstring bag. DD full of cold and very unhappy, DH also full of cold and very grumpy

Not so much flying as jumping and hoping for take off,

this weekend

-worked Sat am
-load of washing on, hung up
-cleaned bathroom & cloakroom
-dusted kitchen & hallway
-hoover
-tidy
-bins done (food/green bin & general rubbish)
-2 hours prepping DD's room for painting but about another day needed
-made prototype bag - improvements needed
-cooked roast (well DH did most of the work making it taste even better!)
-wrote blog post (my mission is to do one a week for home and one a week for work - helps me condense my thoughts even if nobody reads them

tomorrow

• look after DD

nothing else will get done I know this already

Ironing? What's ironing?

We don't even have an ironing board at the moment since some evil exploding potatoes leaking on it (please note, even the Lakeland potato bag does not mean they last indefinitely!)

Ta da
Bugger all really
Routines
Roast pork dinner
Kitchen clean (unfortunately before dinner so it looks awful again)
Break washer dryer
Fish 23 kriby grips, a very clean pound coin and a load of foam stickers out of washer dryer innards
Mop full washing machine worth of water from off the kitchen floor
Put on washing with fingers firmly crossed!

Ellie I am tired just reading your list. toffee can't believe you're still poorly . Thanks for the flowers justgetting it's been a long time since I had any flowers.

I still have a massive amount of stuff to do tonight as we are having the living room plastered tomorrow and need to move all furniture and random crap into a big pile in the middle of the room and cover it with dust sheets. We only have the one living room, so it's a bit of an effort and can only be attempted once the children are in bed or mountain goat baby will no doubt be found scaling the dizzy heights.

All of which is a long winded way of excusing myself from a detailed roundup and just saying a quick hello to sc, MsOnatopp, chitchat, madwoman, rowingboat, blue, bitchy and everyone else I've missed.

Right, off to try to remember how and where to post the links.

OK then, here goes (fingers crossed!)

Tomorrow is Monday 24th and the baby step is adding the swish and swipe to your morning routine Mine has always been part of the evening routine - ideal for when the DC are in the bath.

I think (although I wouldn't like to guarantee it), that this week we are in Zone 5, the living room. The mission for the week is 15 minutes decluttering in the living room. I can guarantee that that won't be happening here due to the aforementioned plastering, unless returing the furniture to its rightful place counts

Hi everyone!

A lazy day today, which was nice. Although with the rain I didn't get to take the DSs out at all. I need to get them some waterproof gear in their size if they're not to go stir crazy this winter.

Ta da
Kitchen tidiedx 2
2 loads of washing
building train tracks
some writing

Thanks for the post detailing what to do tomorrow. Just about kept on top of things this weekend. Hellos to all

PMPY - I feel fine now I've finished my latest course of antibiotics, thanks, but still have weird blood-test things going on and achey limbs, so have to go to see a consultant tomorrow . Have an appointment at 2.

Off to bed now, having done my late-night MN check. Night all.

Oo, I like the idea of 15 minutes decluttering in the living room - that happens to be where the remainder of my ironing mountain is two birds with one stone!!

Lol at you lot with the ironing wars - I just logged on to catch up and had an inadvertent mouthful of tea v keyboard interlude...

Given the choice I really wouldn't iron. I just wouldn't. I'd grab stuff out of the dryer and wang it on a hanger. I would, I would. (And on a good day I do sometimes manage it). Most days I end up drying overnight, or by the time I get back to the dryer it's been days hours and everything is in a state. Even if it's reasonable it gets transferred to a pile to put away, then the pile gets bigger and everything gets crumpled, and then... Months weeks later... Well, you get the picture.

The bottom line is we have way too many clothes. As dh said earlier, he is kinda unsure about actually catching up with the ironing, because we haven't got enough hangers or wardrobe space to put the stuff away even if it's flat.

I have an ironing pile in the living room. One in the basement where the utility is in the corner of the girls' room, one in my bedroom, and one in my walk-in wardrobe. (It's a cupboard... An aspirational one that I want to put more rails in ) four ironing piles. That is soooooo wrong.

So, I'm trying to weed out the too small clothes for the charity shop as I go. This is a start. I'm beginning to suspect I have hoarding tendencies, though, as I have spent all afternoon wrestling with a clearly boys too small t-shirt and wondering whether I should put it in dd2's wardrobe just in case she needs a spare for, um, anything. I am unable to come up with a single rational occasion where she could wear this thing, and none where she would want to. And I did eventually put it in the charity bag, but all that for a t-shirt. (she has about twenty of her own. I should be putting them in the bag, too.)

Of course, we don't actually wear any all of this stuff. I'd say about 20%. At the most.

So my fifteen minutes decluttering in the living room is easy. I'll use the ironing pile.

I never buy clothes. I have literally no idea where all this stuff comes from.

Ah, only on fledglings can I witter for ten minutes about ironing and no one points and laughs.

Right, gotta go wash dd1's hair as she's in the bath with plastic bags on her cast...

Toffee hope you feel better soon.

Wow! I can't believe you all do so much ironing!! I am rubbish at it so nothing in our house gets ironed apart from work shirts and it's DH's luxury to get them sent out to a lovely lady. In fact, I'm meant to be calling her today but yesterday I came back from dropping DH at the station for the week to find a dripping noise in the kitchen. My washing machine is leaking . Started a thread about it and it appears I am a disgrace to womankind and letting down the sisterhood because I can't fix it. Some kind soul has also applied "man-force" to our stopcock so I couldn't turn off the water last night.

Lovely lovely DBil is hopefully coming tonight to fix it but DH will NOT be happy about his shirts. Whoops!

DS, DD and I are also all suffering with cold and DD is teething. I sound quite down really don't I! I'm not, just frustrated.

Had a text last night from a friend that she is coming round today with another friend and their DCs. Was amazed that I could tidy the hall and playroom so fast. They just need vacuuming once the DCs are up. Kitchen is a work in progress but if I put away the dry dishes and wipe down the surfaces and sweep the floor it should look presentable. I'm quite amazed to be in this position!

AND I cooked dinner last night! A healthy dinner! For the 3 of us! From scratch! (this never happens!) so feel a tiny bit like I'm turning in to a domestic goddess while DH is away ... Maybe!

Sleep training went well with DD, 3 nights and she's sleeping through again. WI was fab! They had a man talking about diamonds and he had brought some that were worth around£20,000! So of course I had to try them on . Very friendly.

I don't have a ta-da list for Mondays as both DCs are at home and they tag team their naps so I never achieve anything. But vacuuming and a quick go over the kitchen are all I'm worrying about. And braving putting my hand in slug central under the washing machine to retrieve my sodden handtowel which I hope has soaked up the worst of the water?

madwoman it all counts!

Oh, and waving to everyone! I'm on my phone so it's tricky to check all the names but HI anyway!

Morning! What a truly disgusting morning it is too!

Ta da this morning:-

Dc's washed dressed and breakfast without the need for a single shout
beds made
Swish and swipe in bathroom
Quick tidy in dining room
Washing up
Washing on

madwoman we too have far too many clothes, dd in particular as i buy her stuff but i also have a friend with a dd who passes us loads of stuff. She has more than the rest of us put togethet. I also am not a hoarder where anything but clothes are concerned and really need to clean out my wardrobe!

Anyhoo, off to work i go! Have a nice day everyone.

Firefox is really beginning to get on my tits, it appears to hate this thread and keeps getting rid of it for no reason. I refuse to use ie on principle and i like to keep fb on its ownsom in chrome. I might disappear a bit until i become slightly less irrationally stabby.

Oh and have some throat virus type thing and it is going to be quiet around here this week. The neighbours will be pleased!

First job coffee then clothes for getting drenched on the school run. :(

Morning all

Hope everyone OK

Thanks for links Pushme Good luck with building work prep.

Good luck for your appointment this afternoon Toffee

I wouldn't have a clue where to start fixing a washing machine Trazzle Hope your bil can sort it out tonight.

Huge thunder storm in night so set off down the garden at 3am in torrential rain/violent thunder and lightening to rescue terrified rabbits from their outdoor hutch ...dh thought I was deranged ...one mahoosive lightening bolt missed our roof by about 2 metres and set off all the alarms next door... bit scary

Earlier than usual start for DD this morning (sports day) which brought to light the fact that during the first three weeks of term she has already managed to lose one brand new school gym t-shirt and one zip up tracksuit top [grrrr] and the fact that the draw string waist on her brand new Benneton tracksuit bottoms don't ruddy well draw-in (the reason they were bought) which is what a drawstring waist is ruddy well for [double grrrr] Honestly, Benetton may have saved Euros 5 in the manufacturing process but they have lost return custom in the process.

And ... breathe

Just hope dd's trousers don't fall down while she is playing badminton. Sorry for boring rant but finding dd trousers of any sort with long enough legs and small enough waist is proving almost impossible.

The very un-Fly-like list today is basically:
tidy and clean up as much of the house as possible - it's a total pigsty again [sigh], tackle the laundry pile which has reached Everest-like proportions, fill the fridge which is empty (too much stuff going on at weekend to do proper shop/roast), decide whether to sign up for serious art course or not, post office, call baby-sitter for tomorrow, ballet run, rabbit husbandry, continue boudoir sort.

Madwoman its gradually dawning on me that the reason main boudoir is in permanent shocking state is that we have far too many clothes too. Good luck with the weed out. I'll be doing the same.

Rowingboat your neighbour sounds fab

Eyes There is an excellent on-line tutorial re: drawstring bag making that I have printed out. Made it for dd and it is very sturdy (double-lined). Bit complicated but worth it. Can whittle out web link for you if you would like.

Sorry no more personals. Mahoosive waves to Feetheart Swan Ellie Chitchat Mymums Lauren and everyone I've forgotten!! Have a good start to the week fledglings!

x post

Hope throat virus thing clears up soon Bitchy (sorry, forgot to wave earlier)

Morning all. Hope you are not all too wet from the school runs. It is absolutely pouring here!

I too have an ironing mountain but at least I managed to do DH's work shirts and DD's school uniform over the weekend so they are set for the week. I need to make a concerted effort to get EVERYTHING outstanding ironed then it should just be keeping on top of it after the washing is done.

I have 1 drawer of t-shirts and a couple of pairs of trousers in use (the rest is all packed into a suitcase as my lardy a*se is too big for them ) whilst DH had 3 cardboard wardrobe carriers and 2 suitcases when we moved! He is deluded that it all fits him - whereas I know that his beer belly means at least 6 of his suits he can't get into.

I'm currently waiting in for guy from the central heating company to come and see why it's not working properly. If he implies that as I'm a) a woman and b) I'm blond that it's not been programmed correctly he won't be leaving the house intact. [ evil ]

We not have a new printer so I need to crack on with churning out letters informing all and sundry that we have moved house.

Ta Da (this morning)
DD up, breakfasted and taken to school with all required books and bags
DW emptied
Breakfast things washed
Beds made

hi,

PMPY no needt do roundups...links arevery kind indeed...

Trazzletoes I've had washing machine men telling me that I could have fixed it myself, at which point I FIX them with a basilisk like stare as if to say, I could, but I DON'T WANT TO, that's why I've called you.

Bitchy sore throats here too!

Toffee hope appt gives you some information and help. I have appt with a secondary SENCO this afternoon at 2pm...

SC oh yes I hate those fake girls' clothes, pockets which are sewn up, and drawstrings which are merely dangly ornaments [grrr]
Good luck deciding on the Art course..is that Fine or History of?

Ellie I have spent a fruitless weekend trying to explain to ds1 how to evaluate evidence that Guy Fawkes was framed. And I was thnkng of you...Do you hve to do that particular topic work often? Ds does not "get" the idea of evaluation. He keeps saying, so what happened?

Ds1 was recovering from a sore throat over weekend so he missed his Chamber Choir outing, (a slight relief as we were then able to catch up a bit)
Dts have been quite difficult, dd is being extremely bolshy (I think she veers between bored or overtired - eg: refused to go to Church, then was completely at a loose end...missed dressing up, seeing her friends, singing)
Ds2 requires supervision - and mealtimes seem to be deterioating into cafeteria style forays.

We had a family "moment" all watching Downton.snuggled up in sleepingbags (Ds2 asleep already upstairs) I've decided Downton, like Dr Who is much more fun when you get the children's feedback. I don't think there were any unsuitable bits

finally (sorry epically boring message anything to avoid the house bleugh)

done
deep cleaned and hoovered boudoir on Sunday, took out boxes from under bed, dusted
all summer clothes away
Mass
homework supervision
violin prctice
some shopping, and meals cooked
dropped ds1 at school this morning by car
tidied dd's room

and cleaning lady was meant be helping this morning for three hours, but she is ill, so that means I can get down to some more decluttering/sorting, rather than superficial tidying malarkey I always end up rushing around doing...

I may even iron the clothes I put out for her

Hi all,
It's my day off! Yay! It's a bit windy and wet here so weighing up the possibility of putting washing out. Is it windier than it is wet? Hmmmm?
Mad I hear you about the clothes, we have too many as well. Decluttering clothes drawers might be a good 5 minute job for this house today.
Have quite a few calls to make - why do they always take so much longer than planned
Off to make a list will check in to post that later.
Bitchy hope your throat is better soon (wince)!

Oo dear just noticed the sore throat thing is becoming an epidemic. Hope you all get past the ouchy phase soon. Ibuprofen all round. My friend swears by gargling with aspirin, always swearing that girl!

Swan - best of luck with secondary SENCO this afternoon. (We must swap updates on our respective appointments later) It's really good that you are talking with them already. That's what I did with DS1 and it meant the school was fully aware of his needs and had measures in place for him before he started.

Bitchy - sorry you have a virus and sore throat . I agree with rowing's friend about the gargling with asprin tip (that's what I had to do when I had glandular fever many years ago).

dizzy - yes, pouring here too and yes, I got drenched this morning!

SC -thanks for the good luck. Am a bit apprehensive. Also have to get a taxi home, which I hate doing. I think it's lovely of you to rescue your terrified rabbits from the thunder storm, by the way.

Trazzle - wow, it sounds as if your routines are really working well. And healthy dinners too! I hope the washing machine gets sorted asap. at your ironing lady.

ellie - hope you have a good day at work. I have started DS1 off on the Tudors, by the way. I didn't know how to begin, because I knew dates and kings would send him to sleep, so I started by reading chapters from 'Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors' and that seemed to get his attention . Am planning to sneak in the tougher stuff later.

madwoman - am still reeling at the thought of you doing four hours' ironing. I am like you, in that I often leave washing in the tumbledryer and then it's all creased. However, I now force myself to put the boys' tee-shirts on hangers without ironing them, because I know they will never notice whether they are ironed or not anyway. I will only iron DH's shirts, my tops, tea towels and pillow cases. Oh, and skirts. My MIL used to iron her sheets and I always thought that was such a waste of time.

Speaking of time wasting, I am enjoying this extra MN time thanks to DS1's kind tutor, who insisted on driving to us this morning, rather than us walking to his house, because it was pouring with rain. Have lots of work planned with DS1 this morning, as well as the usual morning routine. Off to the hospital at 1.30ish.

Hope you all have a good day.

Morning all only just sorry to have been AWOL over the weekend, I was at a country show all day and then a casino on the night Saturday, and was godmother yesterday back to work and flying today though!

To do:
DD and mindee to playgroup
Wash dog beds - in progress
Home bleurgh
15 minutes decluttering in living room- paperwork cupboard
Walk dogs
School run
Shred
Ring around for party bus prices
Paperwork

BBL with a catch up when I don't have a tired DD making strange noises at me!