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!!

Hope you are ok SC

Get up and make beds done
Swish and swipe done
Shower and dress done
Feed cats done
Laundry done
Boys breakfast done
Clear breakfast done
Detail not done
Work done
Cook dinner done
Homework done
Boys Bath done
Clean kitchen done
Stray items away done
bed nearly there

TODAY?S ROUNDUP

Jdub is finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning whilst everyone else is snoring. - Me too! But if I?m up, I make sure everyone?s up. Hehe

Gossip told us that she hates driving at night. Stick with it though, I?m sure it?s just confidence and the more you do it, the better you?ll get.

A few of us have children who are supposed to be going to birthday parties on Sat morning and are worried about the snow.

lori has been flying around like a looney today catching up after a playdate and a days work yesterday. - Good to hear you?re on top of it. It will get easier as we move along and stick with it.

MrsPenny Got loads done this morning. - Well done you!

BlueEyeshadow is hosting a party for her dd on Saturday and is worrying people won?t make it because of snow. - It?s crazy how most of the country comes to a standstill when there?s snow. They know it?s coming. We will make every effort to get to parties on Saturday after people have gone to the effort of inviting ds and paying/planning/preparing for it. Hopefully your invitees have a similar attitude. Hope it all goes well.

sc popped on to say hi and check up on us all. Hope you are feeling ok after the op and are getting enough rest to make a full recovery for the handover of the reigns tomorrow

Bitchy came on to give some useful tips about driving at night. Don?t disappear for too long bitchy.

I?ve done most of my list. Just now need to shine the sink, but that?s not looking likely.
I didn?t do any detail or anything today because, quite frankly, I couldn?t be arsed tomorrow is another day.

Will post links for tomorrow in a mo

Evening all

LINKS

babystep 18 the 11 commandments. I quite like to read them every now and again here

The mission is to clean the base boards in your bathroom and do a 5 min room rescue in your entrance way.

The flight plan for anyone who wants to see where we're at

daily focus which I'm hoping will update in the morning. Friday is car, nag and purse day.

Let me know if I've forgotten anything.

Evening all,

I'm another one who loves driving but not so keen at night, it does make my eyes tired, especially on unlit roads. For 10 years I had a 45 minute cross country commute on a windy unlit A road and hated it on winter evenings. I'm another one who tends to always drive with lights on, anything you can do to make yourself more easily seen is good. It really does get easier with practice though, it's 28 years since I passed my test but I still remember things like hill starts being very stressful in the early days.

I'm also another one with January birthday parties to worry about. 3 years ago DD had to have her party cancelled at short notice at the local village hall as no one could get there, we invited everyone to the house instead but it was packed to the rafters as all the parents stayed (4 year olds) and someone threw up on the lounge carpet in the middle of proceedings. Not great. The DCs are having a joint party next weekend, hoping it will be OK.

Tada!

Not much Flying, work day, but did a few hotspots in between school runs, work and taking the DCs to football this evening. Also baked cakes for cake sale at school tomorrow (if it's open, I wouldn't mind a snow day TBH). Also popped to The Range at lunchtime and stocked up on cleaning goods. Got the result of my OU assessment which I was quite happy with - it's my first practice one for this course. Lilleth - well done with yours last night (or was it the night before?).

DH is still at work, so I need to go and clear the kitchen up then I really ought to do some more OU work.

meant to say Blue - fingers crossed for your party tomorrow.

Party's supposed to be on Sat. But it's forecast to snow solidly most of tomorrow and Sat. As it's across town and we'd have to get there too we're seriously looking ay postponing it. :( already made the cake though so got to decide whether to freeze it or make another later.

DS1 has enjoyed his birthday today though. School opened late so he got to play in the snow and then go in to see his friends.

Re ice driving - the main tip I've leant is to start in 2nd and stay in as high a gear as possible. Had to go shopping this morning & the car park was like an ice rink. It was also so cold, the car scraper shattered!

Hope you're ok SC and thanks for the round ups, Silvery.

Silvery thank you for standing in for SC - doing a great job.

SC hope you're feeling okay.

Not much flying done here this week, but DH was out this evening so took the chance to attack a bit of mildew on the sealant in the corner of the bath tiles. Only a marginal difference. Think once mildew is on the sealant, you're stuck with it . Also cleaned the inside of the bathroom windows and ran round upstairs cleaning the light switches - that was a mission from earlier in the week wasn't it? And ordered a bath toy tidy thingy, so feel like I've made up for my slackardness a bit.

My DF is coming to babysit for us tomorrow night and the house is in reasonable order and I'm not panicking about tidying up before he gets here...this flying business is working for me . (Although I do think I've just got a bit immune to the mess and even the small improvement I've made just makes it seem so much better... to me at least!) I just hope that DF can still make it if it snows - I sooo want a night out.

I also finished reading 'We need to talk about Kevin' this evening and I'm feeling quite melancholy - I must pick some cheerier books to read.

What is MFP?

MFP - my fitness pal

It's a website for tracking food intake vs exercise in order to control weight. either loss or gain or just nutrient balance of food intake

snow mpf - my fitness pal. It keeps track of your calorie intake. Has a huge bank of saved items and you can add your own. It really makes it easy to see where you consume the most calories and you can also record any exercise so it works out how many extra calories you can have.
You start off by entering how much weight you want to lose a week and it calculates how many calories you can have per day.
I used it for a while and was shocked to find out that extra strong mints have 10 calories per mint! And I love a mint!

I enjoy reading but stay away from true stories, they tend to upset me too much. Right now I am reading the last instalment of a 4 part series of books in the same sort of bracket as twilight. Is about fallen angels and a girl who is destined to fall in love with one but die at 17 in each life but they find each other and fall in love each time. She never remembers but he does.
I'm really enjoying them. Is nice because you don't have to think about it and is a great escape iyswim.
Usually I like crime thrillers and mainly stick to Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson and Lee child. I need to find some new authors though.

So the snowv is coming tomorrow. Work have decided the children will do half a day so staff can leave at half 1 unless it snows lots overnight and they have to close.

That series of books sounds interesting Silvery. fancy sharing the title of the first one? ignores mountain of books that requires reading

Yeah, the first one is called Fallen. By Lauren Kate.

Morning all,

I was looking at Fallen in the library this week, but wasn't sure, I might try it now. I thought it looked a bit too much like PC Cast, and I got bored with those.

Sorry distracted by books

Hope no-one is snowed in, unless you want to be. Not a flake here, but still cold.

Done
Dd ready for school
Beds made

Slow start woke with bad head

To do
Scrape windows
S&S
Mission
Ironing
Wash load on
Food shop
Collect Dd,
Dinner
Wash up, SS

Morning all!

Just popping in to say hello and thanks for all the good wishes. And thank you Silvery for thread sitting and doing such fab round-ups!!

Mini-op was fine as was dd (although she did her best to try and persuade us otherwise!) and dh ironed his own shirt for two days running proving that miracles do happen !!

Big feathery wing flaps back to Bitchy

Another one here afraid of night driving but good idea to take specific lessons.

Will read through thread in a bit and catch up later on, once I have started to put the house back to rights ...unfortunately above miracle didn't extend to dh clearing the kitchen surfaces ...

Hope you are all keeping warm and enjoying the crunchy white stuff! Still loads on the ground here and looks like more to come. BBL!

Snowing here, and forecast to continue solidly till 10am tomorrow!

We've postponed DS1's party but don't have contact details for 2 of the parents. One never RSVPed in the first place (grr!) and don't know the other at all. Will just have to hope they phone us or just don't turn up!

Sorry to hear that Blue - but sensible in the circumstances. We had to do the same for DD's party two year ago, spent hours texting and phoning but didn't have all the numbers, plus more than one child with the same name and weren't sure who's parents we were talking to etc, nightmare.

Snowing steadily here, DCs have gone to school, only theirs and one other in our town open today. Snow is only about 2" deep so far but settling fast. I walked into town after dropping the DCs off but half the shops were shut too.

Right, I am going to do some OU work before the invevitable text from school.

SC - you take it easy, glad it went well and DD was OK too.

Ha, didn't get very far with that, school has just texted us to pick up again, what a waste of everyone's time.

Just a quick wave from Dutchland.

Not much flying here, but routines are ticking along nicely. Almost ahd a heart attack yesterday when I came home and found that DH had mopped the kitchen floor (Infected with flying fever )

Still snow on the ground here but no new snowfall since Tuesday. In the minus figures outside though so apart from supermarket run have decided to stay inside today.

Yesterday I reversed out of my drive and was half way up the road before I realised I didn't have my lights on

Thanks Silvery

Bitchy I counted my unread books both real and e-books and have about 30 to get through some of which I've had for 2 or 3 years

Hello all. It has been snowing sideways here since about 9am, and is only going to get worse, so although I'm not snowed in, I have no intention of going out. I will have to go out to the woodshed for more logs at some point, but can manage for another couple of hours yet.

Was supposed to be meeting a friend for coffee later but I don't drive and she does, so have suggested she comes here instead. She is very house proud so that will motivate me to get on with things.

I'm having driving lessons at the moment. I don't ming night driving if it;s in town or a well lit area, but I do find that I am easily dazzled by other car lights if it's in a particularly dark area. (Lots of unlit roads round here.)

Morning ignores that its nearly afternoon and it most likely will be by the time Ive finished this post

No Snow yet here (North Yorkshire) but expecting some later. I haven't checked the weather yet. Another birthday party tomorrow morning to get to. The roads have all been gritted and the only roads I will have to drive on seem ok, but as I said there has been no snow yet. AFAIK we are only in a yellow warning so Im hoping it wont be any worse than Monday.

Last Thursday night when I went to my AAT course I arrived home at 10PM to find DH had washed up, but had he this week? Oh no "it wont explode if its left overnight" he said. I just couldnt be bothered that time at night so last night there was no shiney sink. He did wash up this morning though so better late than never.

I dont mind driving at night, just in snow. Its true what Bitchy says though you do get used to it. A couple of years ago early December there was a lot of snow. By the time I got to the supermarket the first time I drove in it I was shaking and really scared, but after a few days it was fine and I didn't mind at all. Ive not had to drive in really bad snow since and Ive now moved onto a main road which gets gritted so even less likely to now (my last street never got gritted as it wasn't a main road)

Right well I suppose I better think about my lists

tada

• Turn Washing Machine on
• Put second load in
• Go to the supermarket for shopping
• Make beds
• Wipe inside of windows (even with a bit of air they still get condensation)
• Wiped bathroom sink

to do

• Dry laundry
• put laundry away
• Wash up 2X
• Shine Sink
• look at the 11 commandments
• Fill Washing Machine for tomorrow
• lay out tomorrow's clothes
• 5 mins room rescue of entrance
• Wrap birthday presents up for tomorrows party

That sounds like a good book silvery I find when trying to read I get really tired and find it difficult to get past a chapter or two.

Glad to hear the op went well SC and that your DD is better. Hope there's not a too long recovery process for you.

sorry you had to postpone the party Blue if the other 2 turn up, its not your fault. You can only do so much (especially if one hasnt RSVPd) Is there any other mums you can ask to pass the message on?

I hope everyone is managing in the snow. Im going to catch up on the snow thread and check the weather sites before getting on with some more tasks and maybe a bit more internet surfing and MNing

I knew it would be afternoon by the time I finished this post. I only started it 25 mins ago

Happy Friday everyone, its nearly the weekend (sorry to those who have to work weekends)

Right ds went away yesterday due to the impending bad weather. Am glad but also sad as the area of the country he has gone to will get no snow. Here we are virtually snowed in. Snow is not clearing from the roads when it is being driven on and we have not had our big dump of snow yet. So i guess I am not going out tonight. Thus is need to sort out the house. Can't be bothered but need to. Supposed I'd better get a list and get cracking. First things first... vat of coffee is required.

ta da
made beds
wiped windows
got dressed to wellies!
got dd up and dressed to wellies
local shop for supplies (tobacco! milk, pizza)
posted letter
lunch prepared (oh and breakfast!)
to do
small amount of ironing
hoover downstairs (when dh gets up as on nights)