There will be no soot in the Fledglings sacks as they FLY through December and into the New Year

[laurenamium]

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 wine 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 Flying lessons. Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings. Don't be put off by the barf-tastic language of the site - the underlying system is sound (and you may discover a few of our subversions of the vocabularly along the way).

Many thanks to blue for leading the thread through November (and sc for such a good OP, which has been cut and pasted twice!) and I'll post the first babysteps and mission tomorrow evening.

All welcome!!

I'm so very sorry, Castle .

Just - am also sorry to see that things are still so difficult for you .

Swan - I have to admit that I have stopped helping out at things like school fairs now. I feel guilty about it, but I feel too stretched with DS1's needs and DS2 as well as DH now being self employed and needing me to be around. Maybe it's time you stepped back from your other commitments for a time? (Am not supporting your DH 'blaming' you, by the way! A bit of praise for everything you are juggling wouldn't go amiss). Your magical fairy-lit garden sounds lovely, by the way.

Ta da :

School run
Room rescue in kitchen
Room rescue in dining room
Gave present to DS1's Maths teacher
Made some Xmas decorations and wrote cards whilst DS1 was having his Maths lesson
Physio exercises
Posted last parcel and some cards at the Post Office
More Christmas shopping
Took DS1 to his farm therapy
Collected DS2 from school horribly late
DH fitted new oven
Horrible argument with DS1 over him disobeying our XBox rules
Started making miniature Xmas village to calm myself down
DS1 and DH discussed turning Xmas village into a zombie apocalypse
Dinner cooked in new oven
More physio exercises
Put DS2 to bed
Fell asleep until 11pm

Going back to bed in a minute. Have confiscated DS1's XBox lead whilst I consider what we should do next, so there will be fireworks from him tomorrow . DH is having nothing to do with it, so the disciplining is all down to me.

Oh, good news - our lovely visiting Border Terrier is coming to stay with us for two weeks over Christmas. That will cheer us all up.

I'm 40 today, 40!!!
I'm going to start ironing with an iron in one hand and wine in the other

Happy Birthday Shifty .

Finally caught up with you all! (Although just flapping by quickly). December is MANIC! Don't know that I'm flying - but I'm doing ok with the Christmassy stuff.

Ta da

3 loads laundry
Watched DS2 in Nativity play
Painted dining room (has only taken me 7 years - but have got lots of family for Christmas Day and paint was chipped and peeling)
Then spent hour and a half scrubbing paint off dining room floor (yes...I know I should have put sheets down but I couldn't find any and I optimistically thought it would be ok and cushion flooring would wipe easily)
Hoovered living room
Did some paperwork

On the plus point I've done most of Christmas shopping and wrapped it! (So in my own head I'm flying high compared to other years).

Much love to all - not had time to read posts.

Happy birthday shifty!

Just a quick to do dump!

Wash bath mats again, bloody dogs!
Routines
DD and mindee to rhyme time
School run
File paperwork it's been on my list all week!
My laundry, and away

BBL!

Yesterday's TaDa

morning routine
deleted 1000s of emails, (not from flylady though) and sorted some online stuff
took down, washed and actually ironed and put back up - hall and landing curtains - and cleaned windows
hoovered/decobwebbed stairs and landing
wiped lampshades and paintwork
decluttered the top of the stairs - bit of a dumping ground
had a visit from dd and dgs so then had to tidy living room

Happy Birthday to Shifty

Very heavy frost here, the garden looks like a winter wonderland. Glad I am off work, one of the roads I have to drive is very open and is prone to black ice.

Today's plan is to blitz the dining room, we tend to eat on trays watching tv, so the dining room gets used as a place to dump stuff. Am doing Christmas dinner for about 11 people so I need to get it tidied. Also need to take the dog for a walk, he missed yesterday as I had to wait in for a parcel, which didn't come until 5.30.

Happy Birthday Shifty

Just - words fail me really, I so hope you get the results you so badly need from the liabiliity decisions and insurance.

Beautiful morning here, I went out without drying my hair properly (the long parts of it, tend to just blast the roots) and when I was walking back from school I realised it had all frozen.

Right, quick list dump from me, got to be at work by 10 (20 mins drive) and got friends coming for coffee at 1.30, so hoping to be back by 12.30 but just in case I need to get tidying now.

Empty WM and DW
Pick up Top Trumps from Lounge floor
Hot spots
Wipe kitchen down
Sweep kitchen floor
Shut all the junk into the bedrooms.

This is where it is handy only having a downstairs bathroom, there is no reason whatsoever for day visitors to go upstairs and see the mess

However got ILs staying from Fri, so upstairs can't be postponed indefinitely.

at your frozen hair, WhoKnows!

DS2 has persuaded me that he is too ill for school again (to be fair, we have all woken up with blocked noses and sore throats), so I don't have to face going up to school this morning. Just popping over to the corner shop first thing was enough to freeze me. I will definitely be lighting the log-burning stove this morning.

DS1's XBox lead has been confiscated until further notice. I am out this afternoon so DH will have to deal with DS1's protests - but I haven't told DH where the lead is, so he won't be able to give in.

Home ed this morning, friend popping in for tea and chat this afternoon, then have a blissfully self-indulgent afternoon: hairdresser's appointment to have my hair cut and coloured, followed by eyebrow waxing and eye lash dying at the beauty therapist round the corner. And DH will have to cope with dinners and bedtimes .

Shifty - Happy Birthday! (And oh to be only 40 again!).

Must now go and sort the kitchen out and put the washing on before starting home ed.

Thank you, wearing my badge with shame pride

Plan for today:
Full sink shine
Clean bathroom
Get hair done
Make 48 cupcakes for work colleagues

Be spoiled and go for a meal with my lovely family

Proud to be over 40 here too!

Happy birthday Shifty!

No flying here. Late afternoon admission to hospital with DS yesterday sigh.

Is it just me that wonders how old everyone else is/ what they look like? I have you all in my minds eye

Castle and Just hope today is better than yesterday.

Shifty does make that birthday easier (2 years on & we still don't talk about mine )

List for today
Dd to school - done
Clean cat litter tray -done
Complain to landlord that bathroom sink is STILL broken, we only moved in 10 weeks ago! -done
Bit of Christmas shopping-done
Massive pile of ironing
Next load to go in.
Quick trip it Ikea?
Daily mission
Prepare dinner
School run & homework

trazzle I wondered that too! When we added MFP some of us had ourselves as our profile photos so I got to peek at a few flyers . I'm 25 and am a LP to one DD who is 2 on Friday.

I often wonder what people's houses look like

Yes, IIRC we all looked a bit similar with shoulder length dark hair!

My house is a small Victorian end terrace on the edge of a town.

Happy birthday shifty :)

just I really feel for you. :( I've never been in such a situation and I don't think i'd cope as well as you have been doing so. You're amazing.

Car is playing up today so I've not gone to toddler group, I don't want to break down with 3 little ones.

So today...

Washing x2
Box up train track
Text SIL
Call dad
Nursery run
Sort out dd's chest
Lunch for mindees
Nap time
Bring chest downstairs
Take ds's large toy upstairs
Fill chest with role play things

Morning

just keeping fingers croosed you get the decisions you need.

castle and Trazzle

Whoknows at frozen hair. I did that last night. we had -5C here yesterday at 5:30am. So goodness know how cold it was earlier in the night.

swan stop feeling guilty and just cut back on what you do for other pepole. PTA is not going to collaspe if you say sorry can't. just means someone else will have to step up and get involved and they will. You have done them a lot of work but perhaps now it the time to focus on YOU and your family. Also your garden sounds lovely.

Feeling really ill today. Have child off school who isn't as ill as he claimed. he will be going back to school tomo and i am breaking with the no school no after school activity and he will be going to his swimming lesson. I suspect that this is part of the reason why suspiciously he is ill every wednesday!

I have had the pleasure of meeting the lovely "whoknows" and seeing pictures of other fledglings. None of them looked how I had pictured them. I think I am bad with the imagination thing tbh. So now i don't try to imagine. As for the house - imagine an explosion in a toy and paperwork factory and that is probably about right!!!

Must dash. stuff to do. might be back later but not sure.

Too much work on at the moment for flying, especially as I have DS1's school production to endure enjoy this afternoon. The house is looking a bit tidier though, thanks to the "This Column Will CHange Your LIfe" bit of Sat's Grauniad magazine - it was about changing habits and described it as resetting your defaults. The idea of having "tidy" as a default setting seems to be working, for the moment at least...

Happy Birthday shifty!

So sorry, castle and just - hugs.

Dashing out again but and mince pies on the bar.

Oh and I also do the wondering thing but more so about your houses... I want to know if my 'cluttered' is the same as your 'cluttered'. I bet none is the worst!

*mine

Toffee yay for new oven fitted!
and LOL at zombie village.
Dh made a tissue paper nativity scene with dd. Then he went to bed (that was the night I was under duvet by 10pm), little realising she had lit the nightlight behind it to make the stained glass effect more charming. It was ON all Tues night, and we came down next morning...to find no, thank goodness the house was not on fire..but still, never give a child a box of matches... I think children do find candles and such like irrestible

BIL stayed over last night, visiting from Eire on business trip. Plane v delayed due to freezing fog, so luxury of breakfast rather than fraught supper.

done
present to Piano teacher
some cards I ordered have arrived
batch of washing
soup for supper (yest)
walked neighbour's dog for an hour
cleared up breakfast

Now I need to renew household insurance [Just hope you get some solutions]
everyone else I am very old. And also have shoulderlength brown hair (at least it is brown since I went to hairdresser to have it dyed! I think I am mildly allergic to hair dye since I have been scratching ever since. Better grow old gracefully from now on - back to silvery highlights)

This whole week has been filled up to bursting in eves. Another Carol concert this eve, Dd is with Guides singing more Carols on Thurs, Dh has been out on two jollies already this week. And as I am singlehandedly doing Mulled Wine on Sat I don't think I can get out of it. A tragic email pathetically asking for volunteers for other slots, let along Mulled Wine, confirms I CANNOT get out of it this year. Oh yes and dd doing more carolling on Sat, clashing with ds1 doing carolling in Kew Gardens at same time
Still, I won't make a cake

Blue that was interesting that article. It is so true in our house of doors default in our house, due to Dh growing up in Italy (breezes v. important) is that doors should be open at all times. Whereas in Ireland, the default was door should be closed at all times (icy draughts letting tiny residual amounts of what heat there was out Here we can never decide what answer is, but I do find it almost painful to see the door open at this time of year, even when full central heatingon.

Quiet here tonight!

Tomorrow is Thursday which is errand day.

Babystep 13 is doing a mission.

Tomorrow's mission is shining our baths and showers.

We are in zone 3 which is the bathroom and one other room.

Evening all,

Well, I managed to get the downstairs respectable before my friends came round, also managed a bit of shopping, so that was all fine. Then pick the Dcs up from school, v.early tea, swimming lessons and back to school for DS for his Christmas production, which was OK. Not as good as last years. The main problem is that the Yr 6s get all the speaking parts, the other years just sit at the side and come on as troupes of dancers for one song and vanish again, Ds always seems to be hidden out of sight.

I'm out the next two nights as well, plus got the ILs staying for the weekend, so mega busy.

Must dash,

Evening

(((Trazzle))) hope you're all ok.

I must admit I often wonder what everyone looks like. I have a former flyer on my facebook (minimarmite) and I think I have recognised a few of the other flyers from her fb friends. That doesnm't paint me in a terribly good light now I think about it

I am 36 with dyed blonde hair, but not blonde blonde, more a mid ashy blonde. Quite short (5'4"), quite slim generally but with a baggy stomach that moves independently

Think I am doing a bit much at the moment and am struggling a bit tbh. My day basically goes get up 6:30, work 8:30, home from work 7pm, DC fed 7:30, DC bath 8:15, DC bed 9, evening tidying, 9:30 then 1-2 hours work before bed at about 11:30.

Sorry, not really complaining just a bit knackered tonight. Still working for a deadline tomorrow and would ideally like to go to bed!

swan we go for doors closed but knackered Victorian sash windows letting in health-giving draughts. Everyone is un happy

bitchy hope you're feeling better soon.

Happy Birthday shifty. Hope you're drunk enjoying it

Hello to nicknacks, blue, whoknows, lauren (25 ), sc and everyone

Oh yes flying...

Yeah, I haven't done any of that today. A bit of maintenance but no progress. Hey ho, tomorrow is another (busy) day!