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!!

zombies I have a stainless steel drainer that matches the stainless steel sink and I have one of those mesh stainless steel washing up bowls too so they all blend in

Cross posts with bitchy! Thanks for the no Christmas and Boxing Day links reminders! I would have been drunkenly putting them on

Hope your migraine gets better soon!

I did think one of those stainless steel drainers would look much nicer. I already have a chrome compost bucket (which has a plastic bucket inside), so it would look much better.

Btw, glass cleaner on your chrome stuff makes it shine like you wouldn't believe! (Everyone probably already knew that, but thought I'd share just in case.)

It works on tiles too.

Cba. meh.

Stainless steel drainer here too, the sort that folds up, which is handy as we have very little counter space so you can put it away and use the draining board as extra space when doing lots of cooking.

Slowly getting on with things this week, I think I overdid it a bit at the start of the week and got a bit achey again, so I am taking it a bit easier. Got the oven covered in Oven Pride. DCs are still at school this afternoon, it has been a hectic week of concerts, plays, church services and parties.

Quick list update while DD is asleep

Done:
Collect DD Christmas book
Deliver Christmas presents
My laundry- just drying
Clean bathroom (absolutely sparkling )
Put shelf in garage
Put rocking horse in playroom
Small food shop
Put stair gate on DD door
Put vynil stickers on DD toy box
Put DD laundry away

Still to do:
Make toad in the hole
Make banana loaf
Put my laundry away
Tidy playroom- will deep clean tomorrow
Wrap and fill DD Christmas Eve hamper
Friend round for catch up later

BBL!

To those asking it?s a combination of repeat flooding through overwhelmed drains, flat being downsized by incompetent builders, lack of cash, and me making bad wrong decisions.

Gold it?s all relative, I hope you soon get cleaned up and fixed and find out where it?s come from.
Cuddled I thought I was the only one thinking an apocalypse was a solution to cleaning.
Bitchy I hope you?ve got the headache under control. Horrid way to be reminded about diet.
Swan sorry to hear about little nephew. Just sweep the escaped beads towards one area and stand a snowman in front?
whoknows don?t hurt yourself, it?s a false economy.
Lauren hope moving the horse works.

Have spent today so far dealing with nasty surprise from bank, solicitors, friend in need, and then rescuing decorations, lights, tinsel and tree stand, and getting a tree.

A quick straw poll on who thought what mattered most revealed the tree, food, games, music, films, Christingle and nativity, are much more important to everyone than the mess here, or being able to move around (!) so it seems we?re sacrificing the table to the tree, and we?ll be eating on the bed from now on, (don?t tell flylady on me!) and a lot of compromising, but as this is all such a mess then whatever makes everyone feel better and festive, is fine by me, so it?s going to be a very odd ?camping out Christmas? here and trying to sort and clear more space to have it in as we go.

D/s has been installed with friend and several maths exam papers to revise with, and the pair of them to go see a film later which will de-stress him a bit and give me a chance to get the tree done.

The brilliant plan (remember I said that!) is I've got the tree in it?s stand on a drawing board, sat on the car?s trolley jack at wheelchair height, and when I'm done, he?ll come back and we?ll jack the finished tree up to the height of the table and slide it across. Cross your fingers?.

Swan - I refilled a beanbag recently without too much mess, my top tip is not to go near it with anything platic as that causes static. I used a metal sieve and it worked really well. Still lost a few but it was really not too bad. Sorry to hear about all the ill children, especially Dnephew

just if it is any consolation, everyone has been screaming here (well mostly Dh - he can't stand the mess) and I think you are doing extremely well to have children who have their priorities the right way round!

done
a nice relaxing afternoon of children on the Xbox playing sport together, or in dd's case watching a film..brief foray to deliver a present...feeling quite relieved not to be packing up to go anywhere.
END OF TERM, furore of cards and more tins of biscuits/chocs/wine distrib.
Another bill paid
another present sent off in post
a few more cards stamped and sent
more shopping...I quite enjoy pottering round Morrisons when it isn't a big shop - some CDs to replace emergency present ones i stole from dcs stockings
picked up drycleaning
and filled two bean bags today...Oh what a good tip scientist Who, that explains why the beans were going loco when I tried to sweep them up or decant them..with plastic utensils.
Bean bags covered up

todo

put away all the files I ransacked yesterday for car documents
put away hoover

have some more lemsip - still have lurgy. dd is much much better.

I am really pleased: this year I feel I have cracked far more organisation than last year, although can't say the house is at all tidy. Slightly to do with letting go and not trying to be all things to all men not sending cards to everyone I should have
This year I have managed to tip postman and give chocs to Drs surgery, so I am ahead there too.

And booked MOT for NY

Lauren glad your daughter is feeling a bit better. Was it her ears do you think or just disturbed sleep from busy day? Ds1 was intermittently excellent sleeper, then a bad patch, then excellent. It feels strange now to remember, as he is now the archetypal late rising teen.

right I have slept some more but my body is just so out of practise with sleep it can't handle long bursts anymore. :( so going to get up for a bit and be a bit productive in furniture and stuff moving in prep for decorating and then go back to sleep.

ta da
pick up book from town
sort out meeting that is was a problem
sleep migraine back to a manageable point

to do
remove pictures from walls
remove sewing table, book case, and chest of drawers, tv and anything breakable.
Moving sewing project stuf down stairs
put a load of washing on
Empty wardrobe ready for moving.
take bed apart and empty stuff from central storage space.

And if I get all that done i shall be happy...

swan DD has had a cold and is getting teeth a few nights ago she was running a very high temperature too! She's never been a Great sleeper, the odd nights sleeping through but mostly she wakes up every 3/4 hours. She's normally really good at going to sleep at bedtime but she's been refusing to sleep which is sucking the life out of me! She's currently throwing a tantrum in her cot with me going in Every 5 minutes I'm at the end of my tether and don't know what to do

I would check the ear factor, Lauren it is much worse when they lie down. Nurofen? Or just go to bed with her this evening (and sneak off when she's asleep?) I'm afraid I'd probably cave in if she was so upset...very tiring for you

Well
done
sorted out filing chaos, and threw away loads more paper
put some towels in airing cupboard
allocated some clothes
and put up a few more decs rather haphazardly

Downstairs is a tip really...just eaten 8 mini-eclairs to calm my nerves! Will now tackle the horrid kitchen [very briefly] no deep cleaning and go to bed.

I promised I would take the boys swimming tomorrow so DH could get some p & q. Now regretting that...would much prefer to all mooch in pjs, but I suspect by afternoon we will be the worst for it.

She's still kicking off she's definitely not in pain though, 10 minutes ago she was screaming so I went in and she stopped smiled and talked to me about a boat and how Charlie and Lola (her guinea pigs- not in her room) jump and go boing boing boing she's also thrown most of her toys around and played jumping on the bed during tonight too. I know I sound like I'm abandoning her but I'm not, her bedroom is in the next room to me and I have been in every 10 minutes- I have a silent timer going.

Will be back when I can think straight with links!

Lauren it doesn't sound like you're abandoning her at all, I think Dd used to do this, if it had been up to her I would have spent every night laid on her bedroom floor next to her bed. The bouncing around shows she's not run down!
Have you tried slowly extending the time between checks?

Better do my done list, as I've been messing around on FB for most of the day evening.

Last day of school! With early finish, and I didn't forget
General veg preparation & freezing
1 load washing
Vacuum through house
Set up tree with Dd
Decorate DD's bedroom
Dinner, wash & shine sink

Tomorrow is baby step 22: stop procrastinating with control journals and an attempt to get you to buy things from the fat fairy

Saturday is family fun day

No mission as its the weekend

We are still in zone 4: the master bedroom and detailed cleaning list is here

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Oh just seen the comment about her having a cold & teething, now I feel heartless. Would a hot water-bottle help? Sometimes I find they ease when I get ear ache

Thanks going she's gone quiet fingers crossed ill wait 5 minutes and go in to tuck her in! I never know how long to leave her for so I tend to wait between 10 and 15 minutes. I've not had to do this for months and have forgot how to be tough! I'm enjoying the silence now though. After I have tucked her in I'll be going to sleep myself so waves to flyers! Night all! Thank you for helping me not go insane tonight

Oh I'm not totally heartless, she's had calpol tonight and I really don't think she is poorly! She's been fine other than her teeth. I think the root of the problem is that I let her sleep in my bed when she was running a temperature so I could keep an eye on her! Just back at square one again!

Just read about your mini eclairs swan

Morning all,

Hope you're all still in bed! It's 9am here so I'm up and dressed. I'm waiting in for a Christmas present to be delivered by courier today. DH has gone out but I refuse to leave the house as I know that the minute I do, the courier will swoop in and leave one of those annoying cards.

My kitchen is nearly back together after the flood yesterday. The stink of silicone is just about gone. The panto last night was fabulous!

I have a migraine today so will be relatively kind to myself. There's still a few presents to get and to deliver. I have only bought things for family and our very closest friends this year.

Done
Strip our bed and remake
One load of washing
Quick pick up of living room

To do
Tidy the DC's room (yikes!)
Bring in dry washing and put away
Kitchen floor
Bathroom floors
One load of washing
Put away boxes in living room
Start wrapping presents
Finish shopping
Food

Morning morning morning
Busy day today, have got most presents but done nothing else and the house is grim!

To do
Wash sofa cover
Go to tip
Shopping for bread wine and cake glaze
Ice cake
Clean rug
Clean out fridge
Declutter living room
Detail clean kitchen
Wash bedding
Wash towels
Wrap presents
Tidy our bedroom
Hoover
Mop hard floors *3
Make pavolva base
Sort finances
Work out timings etc for Christmas

This is a 2 day lst! Probably more but shouting toddler so BBL

Morning everyone!

Which panto was it myrrh? I'm taking DD to see Peter Pan on between Christmas and new year

Good luck with the huge list pushme!

Quick list dump here!

Walk dogs
Clean kitchen and bathroom floors
Deep clean playroom
Visit family
Have friend round tonight who I cancelled last night (fingers crossed)

BBL!

Whereabouts are you Gold? Hopefully somewhere warm.

Chucking it down with rain here. I'm still in bed but have been awake since about 6.30, been MNing, FBing, reading on Kindle. I've been chatting to PA on FB this morning (we share a love of watching the darts on telly at Christmas) and she asked me to say hello and Happy Christmas to you all.

Hope you and DD got some sleep Lauren.

Today's plans are a lazy morning followed by lunch out with relatives and the Strictly Final this evening. Plus a bit of tidying and cleaning. Tomorrow is Christmas market and ice skating plus last minute Christmas shopping and wrapping.

Small list today, especially as I've only just got up!

Dd at a birthday party today, 1st one since we moved up her, so she's very excited.
So 1st job is wrapping present,
Usual washing,
And that's all I have planned