The Fledglings' nests will be clean in 2013!

[superfluouscurves]

(With many thanks to Jdub for title inspiration!!)

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 (although some Fledglings find the compilation e-mails helpful)! 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 vocabulary along the way).

Huge thanks to Lauren for being our incredibly reliable and organised shining star in the East and leading us throughout the very busy month of December!!

Happy New Year Fledglings!!

All welcome!!

to be read by all

weekend is for fun!!!! NOT for getting bogged down by housework!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So Goth STOP with this not done correct flying crap

Haven't caught up with thread, but determined that laptop will be going OFF now so just a list dump for today and tomorrow to keep me motivated. Didn't check in yesterday but I cleaned my oven and DH decided to get involved and clean the extractor fan

Ta da
Skyped best friend and DM/DF
One load of washing
Pasta bake for dinner
Washing up
Watered plants
Kitchen table hotspot is clear!
Boxes of books, toys and DS old clothes up to loft
Hoover
S&S
Tidied up DS room
Online banking
Signed up for 5k in March and 10k in May
Filled in Beefeater feedback to get a free bottle of wine!
Went for a walk with DS to the park (It started snowing on the way home!)
Sorted out dead plant that DS has been torturing by throwing it away

This evening: fold washing, write a letter to my sister

Tomorrow?s list
Post letters
DS appointment for jabs and check-up
Pop to supermarket and chemist on way home
Lounge hotspot
Go to town to get photo framed/buy birthday presents/use museum card to visit town museum that have never been to despite living here for over 5 years
Reading and marking for school

Good advice bitchy if a bit stompy! (tough week?)

It is important to allow youself enough time 'off' otherwise I certainly risk burning out in terms of housework enthusiasm. Little and often is definitely key as is being kind to yourself so no beating yourselves up over imperfect housework. Life is very definitely too short!

Although having said that I am still here with a less than spotless house after 3 years, so am perhaps not the best person to be offering flying tips.....

(is it wine o'clock in the naughty corner yet?)

done :

packed two more boxes of books into loft cupboard, thereby clearing space on my bedroom shelves
put DS1's bed back in place
hoovered his room
allowed him on his XBox
put various bits and pieces into their rightful places
wiped down surfaces in DS1's room and my bedroom bookcase
put another bagful of rubbish out for disposal

not done :

policed computer use this afternoon (DC will have square eyes )
fed DC

Could do with a chilled glass of white wine now, but we have given up alcohol for the moment so we don't have any in the house .

There are bags and boxes on our landing and in our hallway, but it feels so good to know they are all going out of the house tomorrow. I hate having all this stuff. The more I get rid of, the more I want to get rid of.

Off to throw pizzas in the oven now.

Here you go toffee sorry about the colour, perhaps it's just the glass that's red. I won't tell anyone...

Hello to DrRanj, anyone else new, and waves to everyone else.
Theoretically back in action though taking things a bit easy tonight. I?d done myself more of a mischief than I realised and damaged my chair as well, but pretty much good to go again now, so will be back to trying to get on top of backload and sludgefest tomorrow.

Bitchy sometimes they really do need to scream it out, not that it does us any favours. I?ve had several hours of it from my friend over yesterday and today creating reasons why I?m to blame for her feelings because she can?t just scream as an adult, so she has to create ?reasons?, and I know by the time exams are done D/S will have done it too. Detaching and accepting it?s not my fault when they?re screaming it is, is half the battle.
The difference is after working with him a long time, he can with help, recognise that stress overload is behind why he feels angry and aggressive, (after the event) rather than whoever?s on the receiving end?s the real cause. If she can, she's in denial! (joins you for stiff drink please!)

still to do list
Go over mechanics mock
suvat equation revision
Write up Geog oil storage solutions
HE file
Dinner
Offspring bathed
Iron shirt and trousers
plan tomorrow
early night.

Evening all a very productive day here.
Did all my routines
Cooked dinner (chicken and bacon casserole)
Cleaned kitchen
More ironing
Dragged out all the games from the bottom of the kids wardrobe and taped up bottoms of boxes
Played train tracks with boys
Took boys to park
Did homework with them

Now just need to do these eyebrows! So cba. Have got the bailey's open

Tomorrows list:
Get up, make beds
Shower and dress
Swish and swipe
Get boys breakfast
Clear breakfast
Laundry
Rubbish out
Go to work
Home and change
Cook dinner (meatballs)
Feed cats
Laundry
Sort dry washing
Non iron away
Clean kitchen
Lay out clothes
Babystep
Mission/detail
Bed

Thanks, pushme. At least I'm allowed virtual wine

Baileys sounds nice too, Silvery. Am getting very bored with tea and water.

Boys are fed. About to lay out clothes and do bathtimes (a bit late thanks to the decluttering marathon).

Going to just post links and catch up with everyrone tomorrow because dh back on time, have hardly seen him all week, and want to catch up now dd in bed (and I am afraid, given certain stress levels generated by family matters atm, unlike Toffee we are strongly in to the this evening ...

Sets out more bottles for everyone ...

OK lovely fledglings, we are starting week 3.

Tomorrow's baby-step, no 14, for 14th Jan is the one that insults our intelligence (how to use a calendar)

Tomorrow, until January 19th, we will be in Zone 3: the bathroom and one extra room here

Try and declutter for 15 mins per day in current zone.

If your Zone 3 is already decluttered, you can progress to detailed cleaning - loads of info here

You can find tomorrow's daily mission and all the missions for this week here theoretically that is because there is a bit of a glitch on the Flylady site atm and it's stating we are in zone 3 next week, but still listing kitchen missions. Confused? I am! Will hopefully update by tomorrow. Pls let me know if not and I miss it for any reason!

Monday is home bleugghh day
here

I see Fat Fairy recommends 10 mins per task.

As you know by now, the habit for January is here keep shining that sink!

Summary of above = flight plan here

Have a productive week everyone!!

**

Goth btw - don't worry - you are doing fine !! What you have listed is perfectly respectable Flying for the weekend!!

Glad you are ok Justgettingonwithit

Waves to Pushme Engels Cuddledup Doublemum Bakerofcakes and eveyrone else I haven't "spoken to" today!!

Toffee you've done wonderfully well today

[passes cork screw to Bitchy]

Very impressed by your morning routines btw

Before I read them all, I was quite content that I get up at at 6.50 am every morning and am dressed, coiffed, and ready to go, with rabbits fed, dw and wm on, bathroom s & s'd by 8.30 am but compared with you lot ... that is piss poor performance frankly

Waves to everyone I've missed.. really am shuffling off now ...

It's not piss poor performance sc
You, along with the rest of us work to a time scale that we need to in order to meet whatever time deadlines may be controlling us.
I need to be out of here by 7:15 if I'm not driving so I can walk the dc to the childminder and get the bus to be at work at 8:30. I can get up and therefore leave half an hour later when I can drive/dp drives.
Whatever time it is that you need to be ready and out for, doesn't make the work you do any less than what anyone else does.
Finally Loving Yourself.

Evening everyone

tada

• jigsaw with DD1
• Bedding
• wash up 2X
• Hotspot
• dyed hair
• wash up
• Shine Sink
• Fill Washing Machine up for tomorrow

Tomorrows list

• turn on washing machine
• Dry Laundry
• Put Laundry away
• Go to 2 courses (weather permitting)
• Wash Up 2X
• Shine Sink
• Hotspot 2X
• 15 min declutter
• Try to find out what the real mission is (I got confused earlier too SC)
• Fill Washing Machine for Tues

Hope everyone has a good night and only wakes up to snow if that is what they want.

Can i put in an order for everyone unwanted snow? I want loads and loads and loads and loads

Urgghhhh !!!!! now found my motivation, just found what appears (and smells) to be crusty cat vomit on dps side of the bed mingled in a t-shirt of dp's, shudder. I have put said t-shirt in the bin, anyway I think tomorrow will be getting a much needed house blessing, plus disinfecting. shudder. To make matters worse this was discovered whilst having a last minute hunt for ds' uniforms, to wash and have ready for tomorrow. Not a happy bunny and I think I may have to invest in wash baskets for each bedroom now too, maybe dp will get the hint.

So todays tada list:-

clean car
polished car
hoovered car
put cute star stickers on car
fetched phone from dads
put dinner on
loaded dishwasher x2
put load of washing on
fetched chocolate for dp to much on
gave the lounge a little tidy
gave the kitchen a little wipe

tomorrows list :-
tidy bedrooms
washing
tidy bathroom
put clothes away
tidy toys away around entire house
basically do as much as I can in 6 hours !!!!!!!

Well, we had two visitors today - one at short notice and the other unexpectedly and because I've been doing all this flying malarky all week I wasn't cringing inwardly in the way I usually do when we get unexpected visitors. And to top it all off, one of the visitors commented that our house was tidy! So thank you again, flying friends.

On the down side, I was changing the sheets on our bed and found that one of the cats (we have two) has peed on the flippin' duvet. Not happy. Thank god we bought a waterproof mattress cover - although that was meant to protect the mattress from wee/poo/vomit from our baby DD not the CAT!

What is it with cats eh !!! i'm sure they are messier than dogs

That's yuk. We also have 2 cats. My girl cat weed on my bed once. I threw the duvet away after washing it twice and had to get a new mattress.
The cat repellent spay seems good though. She also had a dump up my curtain which I washed and then covered in spray, she's not been near it since.
gossip I have wash baskets. My dp still thinks the floor is fine. Git.

Hi, I am the worlds WORST housekeeper. So bad that there are many days of the week I would refuse to let someone come in if they popped round
BUT
First week of jan (DH off work) I did a major sort out even things like sort out underwear drawers, pair up socks and throw away odd ones etc. meant when kids and DH went back to school/work I had a really tidy house to start with. After scho run I would axons home, make beds, tidy upstairs, empty dishwasher, tidy breakfast stuff, put on washing, put away dry washing, prep tea etc etc. I have found myself putting things away instead of just putting on side/stairs to put away later. And 1 week later the house is STILL tidy, the bottom of the washing basket is seen once a day and even the better the kids have starting tidying after themselves too, even the 2 year old!!
My husband thinks I have been replaced by a robot or have done something really terrible I am trying to make up for!!!!

Still up, thanks to sleepless DC and prep for home ed tomorrow.