October-fest: a fledgling (at best) might spruce up its nest (then take a rest?).

[strictlycaballine]

Welcome to the October 2012 Fledgling Flyers thread. Park your mops, buckets, microfibre cloths, golden dusters and spiders-web-removing-implements here!

A huge "thank you" to Whoknows and Pushme for leading us throughout September!! (Hope you are recovering well Whoknows - take it steady!)

If your house is a mess and you are strugging with C.H.A.O.S. (can't have anyone over syndrome) and S.T.U.F.F. (something that undermines family fun) then this is the thread where we (loosely) follow the step-by-step Flylady housekeeping system (in our own, unique, relaxed style) with lots of chat, support and along the way.

This little-and-often system is designed so that you can follow a series of steps and routines each day (which gradually become second nature) in weekly designated zones of the house; defining and minimising housework - which in theory should leave you with more time to do other more interesting things instead! At the same time it is intended to reduce that panicky "rabbit in headlights" feeling when you are overwhelmed and everything needs doing all at once. No problem if you miss a day or two; just jump right back in and it will all come around next month again anyway!

We advise not signing up to receive the Flylady e-mails as you will be inundated! All the information you need will be linked here on a daily basis.

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's steps and routines using a three-pronged approach (dependent on the stage everyone is at):

• start or repeat baby steps

• repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.

[And if you are really enthusiastic and have finished decluttering - you can go on to detailed deep cleaning in each zone.]

More info here on getting started, and the flylady system here and here Don't be put off by the barf-tastic language of the site - the underlying system is sound.

All welcome!!

Coffee break time.

So:
Morning routine done - excluding kitchen which needs a proper clean.
WAH job done
2 loads of washing

Still need to do loads though, but job took longer than thought (as always )

Right, 5 more mins and back to it!

Quick lunch-time update!

Sorry no time for personals as I've run out of time and am dashing off to art course now [big wibble/panic emoticon]. (Apart from a bit of dabbling/children's art, haven't picked up a paint brush in earnest (well not in public anyway) in 30 years!!] Won't be back until late evening.

Hope everyone's day is going OK!

A very warm welcome to TeuchterInTheCity!!

Big wing flaps to Carpe Engels Nicknacks Toffee Lauren Bitchy Swan and everyone else I've forgotten!

Carpe - tea break time here too though need to shift myself and do something active for 5 mins as have been sitting at laptop for at least an hour.

Welcome to newbies - little and often gets you there, DO NOT be tempted to do everything all at once or we will never see you again ignores state of house and fact I've been here for nearly three years

• Bath - done
• All up and out - done
• Hang rest of posters/banners - done
• Copy lots more posters and distribute - done though more to do
• WORK - done invoices, need break then try and tackle rest

It seems to be lunchtime already, at least it means I can eat as trying to stop continuous snacking habit

Quick Hi to TeuchterInTheCity, TheheirofSlytherin, Crunchingautumnleaves and
MaggieMcVitie.

PA, sorry you've been so ill, hope the weight loss is easily retainable. (mine always mysteriously goes straight back on!) You?re probably low on all sorts of salts and things, do take it easy, the jobs will wait around happily for you.

S/C thanks to you I actually pulled the pencils and sketch book out of my car door and did my first wobbly 10 min sketch for years! Please report back on art class tonight?

Still to do:

Everything too wet for home bleurgh, so continued rescuing.
Entrance.
Scary form
Shred some paperwork
Curtain drying and ironing
Collect parcel from p/o
Veg shopping (little in the swamp is salvageable)
Meet D/S with stuff to do psychology on the road.
Eat huge dinner (D/s)
Orthodontist (will result in lots of soup for D/S, hence huge dinner earlier!)
Check English and physics.
PM Bitchy.
H/e file
get on here later!

Lunchtime (healthy soup and oatcakes as a nod to body clutter!) and a quick update.

Everything on my list is complete, with the exception of the kitchen which I'm saving until after lunch - rock 'n' roll lifestyle me!

Waiting for DS to wake from his nap, and eyeing the sky hoping it doesn't rain so my washing dries; oh and slurping hot honey and lemon as I seem to be developing DS' cold.

Thanks for the welcome backs - was worried in case you all thought 'Oh god. not her again!'
DH has now gone back to work after 16 months off sick which is brilliant, but I have lost my housekeeper which is not!! So that combined with loads of supply work since the start of term has meant that the house has gone to pot. Actually really embarrassed by the state of it

DH spent the weekend decluttering and getting to the bottom of the laundry pile whilst I snivelled and snuffled about my cold - he also has one . I have been lazy and really need to pull my socks up, none of my family deserve to live in a hovel.

I really must work hard at being here for the long haul this time - I always seem to drop out after a few days weeks...

So far today:
I stayed in bed for too long - DS's were then rushed and panicked to school
Read this thread
One load of washing in dryer
One load in machine
One load folded and waiting to be put away
Dog and newly aquired kitten fed - dog not walked due to this mornings chaos and ensuing lateness
Dinner sorted - leftover roast for me and DH/pasta and sauce for DS's

Loads more to do - will report back later, most important is cleaning bathrooms...

Hello all - have bleugh Kitchen and sorted a wardrobe - Have got a techy block on if I can connect new Ipod to Ipad to use same Itunes account - streamling music collection.

Strictlycaballine Many thanks for the invite to hang out here! I hope that the encouragement of others will help me sort my CHAOS! Can't really do an hour's cleaning because I can barely see the floor in any room. However, feeling slightly smug today as I have:-

Taken 6 binliners of old magazines to recycling bin
Taken 5 binliners of books to charity shop
Had a 15 min declutter of the dining room/lobby (can't really see where I've been!)
3 loads washed and dried (folded but not put away)
Cleaned my bathroom
Shiny kitchen sink
(And I'm wearing shoes.....)

Oh it's easy to be enthusiastic on day one.

Back soon!

Erm fling might have to be put on a back burner. I have a project that is taking off. SC it involves the projects which is why I have been so focused on finding time for them. However, I still have a crisis tidy and clean to perform this week.

Another meeting later and then I have to have an earl night. I am trying to low carb and low caffine. 2 coffees with sugar so a bit of a fail BUT no other carbs and sugar or caffine. My body is not happy.

Ta da
Tumble dry washing washed last night
finish prep for meeting 1
put ds' duvet on to wash (accident last night)
Sort out paperwork for meeting 3 - none needed

Arses. forgot to hit post.
Also ta da
2nd meeting done
Pick up bits from the market that are needed
deal with rest of ds' wet bed stuff and the muddy school uniform ds brought home
Be incredibly grumpy.

I am about to grab some food, sort out my kit and then go to bed. My head hurts, my lungs hurt and this no caffine low carb nonsense is pissing me off. I neeeed chocolate!!!!

Well, today has been incredibly productive; as well as everything on my list, I have cleaned the bathroom, sorted clothes the DC have outgrown and made biscuits. It did help that DH had a day off and was able to watch DS when he wasn't sleeping and DD was at nursery.

I am feeling motivated to get on with some decluttering tomorrow, and I may even shine my sink!

Hi everybody. Not done as well as I would have liked today. I didnt even manage to complete the morning routine in the morning but I am determined to do better tomorrow. I think my biggest problem is lack of organisation. I think I will get up earlier and see if that helps. I have however managed to get rid of some paper clutter and do half the home bleurgh. I am taking your advice on board feetheart and trying not to get overwhelmed by trying to do everything at once. I really hope if I stick with this it will become easier to stop my house descending into anarchy all the time!

Hi all,
So got a bit done today, but did that thing where you spend ages on one thing and don't finish the other things. So not very fly really. Can I call it a detailed cleaning mission? How long do they take?
I have an outside wall in the sitting room, which is prone to a bit of mildew behind the coffee table we have against it, plus leaves all down from the pot plants, it's a bit yuck. It needed almost an hour but is looking better. Possibly should move the table, but the carpet is looking yuck under so new carpet.....just escalates until we have to move house! [panic manic face]
And breathe..
That hotspot well, it's a bit hot really.
Do you guys manage every day, if you do less does it still help?

I've painted my ruddy utility room this afternoon. And now I can't move! Back is killing.......(but face is still smug).

Today's TaDa list

• Took DD to school and stayed for Harvest Festival Assembly - even spoke to a couple of mums
• Last of the sofa cushion covers washed and hung to dry
• Shined sink
• S/S our bathroom where DH had spilt hairs from his razor all over the floor!
• Packaged up Ebay parcels (will walk to PO with them tomorrow)
• Trawled internet to try to find a Smartphone with a cheap contract
• Took DD to her swimming lesson
• Swift supermarket shop
• Threw tea in the oven.

Congratulations to us all for achieving some tasks/goals today

[staggers in wiping smears of charcoal from forehead clutching bottle of red for distribution to all fledglings news and old]

Good evening everyone - I can see all your shiny sinks from across the channel - so you have obviously done very well today!

Hello Sowornout lovely to see you! Hope you are rewarding yourself with a lovely glass of tonight for making such good progress. Feetheart has it right though - slowly does it - small step, by small step. And well done with the painting!

Bottoms up Dizzy Glad fellow school mums proving friendly. [I had to remove lots of cut hair from dh's underwear drawer the other day. Couldn't understand where it had come from and was imagining all sorts of creepy, supernatural sources and then I looked at dd's newly formed uneven fringe She had cut it in the mirror above dh's chest of drawers and left a drawer open and I'm afraid it looks very peculiar indeed and she is delighted with it!

Rowingboat well done with the detailed cleaning mission I'm not the best person to ask about consistency and timings really because I don't claim to have a handle on either. I guess the main thrust of the Fat Fairy method though is that we do our morning and evening routines (shiny sink/meal planning/laundry + laying out of clothes, all the essentials in other words) and anything else in between (as you have done today) is a bonus! Well done! (Have you seen Flylady's moving tips btw? Apologies if you have already seen them here

Mercuryrising well done on tackling your paper clutter - you are one up on me there today. I also ran out of time and only managed half a home bleugh. I guess we have to just have the attitude that half a bleugh or morning routine is better than none at all! See Flylady home page today in fact ..."Weekly Home Blessing Hour: 7 Tasks Done "Imperfectly" Still Bless your Home!!

Well done TeuchterInTheCity great that you had such a productive day!

Bitchy good luck with the carb/sugar/caffeine withdrawal! That's got to be tough! I managed one coffee today which is pretty good going for me. Wish you hadn't mentioned chocolate though Oh and good luck with major project ...

Waves madly at Madwoman hope you managed to make up some time ...

Great to see you back Issima! "Must do better" is my mantra for the month too! Will get back to you (sorry - a bit late for tonight!) about the meal planning. Will dig around a few threads on Mnset ...

Mahoosive waves to Mymumsdaughter (top marks for wardrobe)

MaggieMcVitie no need to worry about dipping in and out of this thread - we all do it - depending on demands of rl. I am "starting again" for what must be at least the hundredth time (and that's a conservative estimate ) I think I should be apologising actually because I never got around to hooking up with you on MFP as promised (never seem to get on there!) Great to hear your dh is now fit enough to work! Hope both of your colds clear up soon.

Carpe hope sore throat doesn't develop in to anything worse! You sound very on top of things Flying-wise! Well done re: healthy lunch too.

Very flattered to be a source of inspiration Justgettingonwithit although if you saw the product of my efforts today you probably wouldn't be v. impressed Did have great fun though. Fantastic academy with great facilities and a good standard of teaching. Also heavily subsidised by state so very cheap. Really lucky to have it within walking distance. Somewhat daunted by all the other students and their level of work (my hands were visibly shaking when I started) and I'd forgotten all the basics like how to adjust an easel/prep paper with gesso etc etc but slowly got back in to the swing of things, and fellow students (a mix of Dutch, German, Belgian, Italian, English) on the whole very, very friendly. V. relaxing and enjoyable simply because it is so absorbing and you can't really think of anything else while you are doing it. I was only allowed to wield a pencil today, but tomorrow they are letting me loose with paints (yikes!). Reminder to self to watch DVD on how to paint that came free with art supplies. Hope your form didn't prove as scary as anticipated!!

Wise words as ever Feetheart

Yes, traffic awful here Engels Hope your ds's vaccinations not too traumatic.

Ta da:
finish morning routine inc dw, wm, s&s done
hang out dark blue wash done
put on yellow/grey wash done
home bleugh downstairs half done
rabbit fur treatment (postponed until Wed)
separate rabbits for day sad (ditto above)
rabbit cages X 2 done
ironing for rest of week half done
wasp man done
prep ballet stuff for dd tonight done
art course [wibble emoticon] done
dining table hot spot done
15 min paper declutter NOPE
mission NOPE
15 mins decluttering current zone NOPE
evening routine - half way through

Back in a sec to post tomorrow's links!

Huge wing flaps to one and all!

***

Tomorrow?s baby-step no. 2 for Tues 2nd Oct is here and yes, it?s the controversial one, getting dressed to shoes. Some of us find it useful, some of us definitely don?t. If you are a newcomer here is the reasoning behind it. Basically though, the Fat Fairy just wants us all to be up, dressed and washed first thing and not lounging around in pyjamas swigging gin.

Tomorrow (and all this week) we are in Zone 1: Entrance, Front Porch, and Dining Room. Try and spend 15 mins decluttering in this zone per day. If you have already decluttered, you can go on to detailed cleaning. More info here

Tomorrow's mission is here tackling smudges and fingerprints on walls and windows in zone 1.

The daily focus for Tuesday is here planning: meals/shopping/holidays/routines/appointments etc

The habit for October is: getting rid of paper clutter [boy do I need to do that - we are drowning in it!!] More info here [scroll down - there are some good pointers in the article] Try and spend 15 mins shredding or recycling paper tomorrow.

If I've missed anything, have a look at tomorrow's flight plan which should update automatically with the date. Any other info can be found on the launch pad or in the flying lessons section - we advise not signing up for e-mails though (the Big Tent) or you will be inundated!

Newcomers - don't be put off by all the information listed above. We are all at different stages. For now, you only need to do your baby-steps and maybe 15 mins decluttering a day or a mission. Start slow and try and establish one step at a time before you move on to more things. Good luck!

Off to shine my sink (again) now.

Sleep well and ?see you? in the morning!
---------------------------------------------------

Well, DS has given me his cold. It's official. I have a nose to match that belonging to Rudolph, a banging headache and a slight bronchial wheeze.

On the other hand, all my tasks for today are done.

Now curled up with a honey & lemon, a bix of tissues and New Tricks on the TV; rock 'n' roll lifestyle basically!

You're welcome Carpe - cheers!

Sorry to hear you are suffering though. Tops marks for getting through your list depite the nasty microbes.

[Having taking a quick look back at Sept thread]:

Swan sorry you were suffering over the weekend but glad Senco had some positive suggestions at long last! Hope you start to recover soon.

Whoknows hope you are taking it steady and resting well.

Wow lots of chat so ill just read thread and mainly list dump while its busy as I'm always on my phone!

Ta da:
Paid bills including council tax
Rang CSA
Walked dogs
Routines
Home bleugh
Washed mine and DD bedding
Mine and DD laundry away
Front room hotspot
Filed away paperwork
Washed and dried bath mats and towels
What's for dinner- sausage and mash
Hung a picture
Cut the front lawn
Tidied playroom
DD and mindee to playgroup
Food shop
Cleaned out fridge
Picked up dog poo
Kitchen hot spot
Kitchen countertops
Shined sink

I think that's it...

Be back tomorrow!

Strictly thank you for the feedback. I did wonder what the fat fairy was? I'm not really moving, but if I do I will definitely look at the link.
Whoever mentioned Christmas at the weekend, thank you. V.useful! Can't even remember whose turn it is to cook, so made me think. May even order a few things from book people in advance.

Thanks SC have given up on MFP actually - just made me obsessed with eating! Have managed to lose a stone in the last month just by cutting out the biscuits/crisps/choccy though and feel loads better. Hoping to keep going as have another 1 1/2 stone to lose....

Ta da's since finishing work:
Cleared out porch and stuffed it all in the cupboard under the stairs
Swept porch, hall and kitchen floor.
Cooked dinner.
Supervised homework (bonus points for not losing temper with whinging DS1)
Cleared kitchen - DW on; shined sink.
Put away 1 load of washing; one in dryer; one more in machine.
Made soup for tomorrow.
Put out DS1's guitar/DS2's PE kit.
Will be in bed by 10.30

Nos da pawb!

Ooooh book people! I meant to have a look on there tonight! It will have to wait now but thank you for reminding me!

Well done on losing a stone Maggie! I've now hit my intermediate target weight, which I'm pretty happy about, and using MFP now more for recording weigh ins than everyday. I do find it useful sometimes to work out how much exercise I need to do if I've overdone it though.

House has gone to pot rather in the last week or so. Did hoover downstairs this morning, but already you can't tell! Hey ho. It's going to be frantic this week so don't know how much flying I'll be able to keep up with, but will try.

Big waves to all, especially newbies!