The Fledglings' nests will be clean in 2013! Part II.

[superfluouscurves]

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

OK, because we are all so good at chatting housework, we need a second January thread ... .

... where we (loosely) follow the step-by-step Flylady housekeeping system (in our own, unique, relaxed style) with lots of along the way.

This little-and-often system is designed so that we 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 us 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 we get when we are overwhelmed and everything needs doing all at once.

To avoid being inundated with details, we advise not signing up to the Big Tent

We are in the process of 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.]

Flylady site here

Don't worry if you are behind; just jump right back in and it will all come around next month again anyway!

Carry on everybody!

tada

• wipe down windows (didn't need it now it is so much warmer)
• change bedding and hide mucky bedding as the wask basket is full
• turn on washing machine
• ring parents
• wash up 2X
• second load of laundry
• dry laundry
• 5 min cupboard room rescue
• coursework
• help DD1 with homework - DS has no homework as teacher was too busy hmm
• sort out clothes for Mon
• put laundry away
• fill washing machine up for Mon
• read advice list (full of good lift my spirits quotes as per flylady get rid of negative thoughts in babystep day 5)
• 15 min front room

not doing

• wash up after tea
• wipe bathroom
• shine sink

Right off for a bath and early night. Hope you all have a good evening.

Right, that's the DCs birthday party out of the way for another year (did a joint one this time). Thank goodness, I do find them stressful. It all went smoothly in the end, but we had a lot of scurrying around beforehand - we took 7 friends each donutting at the local dry ski slope, you had to pay for the places in advance and no refunds for no shows and we had two persistent non-RSVPers that I spent all week chasing, one of whom couldn't come, another dropped out this morning due to illness and they were meant to be taking someone else, whose mum's phone wasn't working, you get the picture.

Anyway, we managed to fill all 16 places and got everyone there, even managed to manage 16 coats, pairs of gloves, crash helmets, etc etc.

Then home for present unwrapping and chaos. DH has tidied up downstairs and I have had a good go upstairs. Still feeling somewhat inadequate after the spotless house last night. Hmmm.

Gosh the lists on here (on a Sunday no less!) are putting me to shame. Despite my best intentions (which paved the road to hell as my late mother was fond of reminding everyone) have done naff all today really except eat , read, re-arrange dining room in Playmobil house, go to church, fondle rabbits and watch telly No school tomorrow though (teachers planning day or whatever they are called in English) so have given in to CBA-ness. (A.k.a. "having a thorough Nesbitt" as thread oldies may recall )

Heavens Silvery you have done well today!! (Btw think I would scrub cushion sofas and wash cushion covers etc etc after the party for fear that I might end up having to do it twice, but am a bit of a slattern like that - strategically placed bunting can cover a multitude of sins )

Lilleth "not doing so bad" is an understatement if ever there was one - you are doing briliantly well! I like your "you have to go through it to get past it" attitude!!!

(Oh and hear hear to being clean and not smelling (which just about summons up my attitude to appearance atm!!) It IS impossible to change everything all at once - I always make this mistake every year - and end up achieving precisely nothing. Your approach is much better and much more realistic. (Mean this in relation to all change - not necessarily appearance-focused. One has to do one thing at once - and if you take something new on - something else usually has to go)

Goth another one doing brilliantly well (love a good laminating session too) How did the bird watch go? What did you see? (Would have loved to take part but don't think survey extends to outside UK)

Speaking of laminating - better get your sign done Bitchy!! Sorry it's tough going atm. (Btw tell me to get knotted if this is a totally ridiculous idea - but would your ds find the change any easier if he had some control over say one or two aspects of it -such as - his room or specific area where he hangs his coat/bag/training gear etc etc???) - oh have just read lower down that meltdown related to other things. Anyway, hope you have better day tomorrow.

Mahoosive respect to Justgettingonwithit and Toffee for battling with various mathematical concepts [SC whimpers at prospect]

Just sympathies - my sister has just finished "sitting" (loose concept) my nephew's A-levels . Surprisingly, he hasn't seen fit to do her v. demanding lecturing job plus all the household cleaning, shopping and cooking in return ... Hope results turn out OK for your ds.
Thank you v. much for 'Story of Music' link - have recorded!

Toffee hope your dh feels better soon. Well done for persisting with early bed regime.

Castle can smell the roses from here !!!

Blue hope crisis clean went ok and you were able to enjoy your well-deserved night out!

Big feathery wing flaps to Whoknows and eveyrone else!!

Back in a mo with links...

x post

Whoknows [clears throat, looks sternly over pince nez] you should definitely definitely not be feeling inadequate - sixteen dcs have just had the time of their lives thanks to you and your dh!! Donutting sounds fab!!

Sorry the day was so stressful for you though - parties just are intrinsically stressful, however organised one is in advance

SC bird watch was ridiculous, 2 pigeons & a magpie! Usually have more varied visitors than that! Sometimes even long tailed tits. May have another go tomorrow morning, see what I get 1st thing.

Today's ta dahs
Beds
Windows - already clear
Washing up
Recycling out
S&S
Litter tray cleared
Bathroom floor swept & mopped
Rest of flat vacuumed
5 minute rescue in hall
Laundry on
Dry clothes put away
Set up & laminate chart for DD's routines ( she does like a check sheet)
Dinner - made by Dh
Wash up & SS
Sit and count birds for RSPB winter bird watch
Made mince pies, flapjacks & bread

Baked goods now in naughty corner, the flapjacks are very gooey and have chocolate drizzled on top (Dd won't eat plain ones )

**

OK lovely fledglings, if you can you believe it, we are starting week 5. Only 4 days left until baby-step no.1 comes a round again.

Tomorrow's baby-step, no 28, for Mon 28th Jan is another really important one about looking after ourselves.

Tomorrow, up to and including the 31st, we will be in Zone 5: Living room/den/TV room next week here (Back in Zone 1 on Friday.)

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

If your Zone 5 is already decluttered, you can progress to detailed cleaning

You can find tomorrow's daily mission and all the missions for this week here Tomorrow's mission is a good one - spend 15 mins removing anything from your sitting room that does not belong in there.

Monday is home bleugghh day here (Fat Fairy recommends 10 mins per task) here

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

Summary of above = flight plan which should update automatically.

Have a good start to the week everyone!

*

whoknows sounds like it was a fab day for dc's. Glad it went well.
sc sounds like a pretty perfect day!
(I remember nesbitt)

Off to bed now.
Tomorrow's list
Get up make beds
Get breakfast
Feed cats
Shower and dress
Swish and swipe
Laundry
Clear breakfast
Work
Time with boys
Cook dinner
Clean kitchen
Laundry
Non iron away
Stray items
Zone work
Study
Bed

I really need to make sure I find time for the boys everyday. I normally make the mistake of getting in and jumping straight onto chore stuff for fear of doing nothing if I sit down.
I need to wean boys off of tv as they have hit another stage of not moving from it and I want to enjoy them more.
We had great fun the other day playing with ds2's moshi monsters tree House where I was role playing with the figures and making up silly names and voices. Took them a while to get into it but we really laughed. I need more of that.
Anyway, off to bed. Goodnight all

Oh that's disappointing Goth when you've gone to the trouble of logging them. Perhaps they were hiding ...

[Catches whiff of delicious baking smells and sprints for naughty corner...]

Nearly done here.

Still to do
Ironing
Make sure ds phone charged
Dinner
Plan tomorrow
sleep

Toffee I?m afraid he probably hasn't done well. He does well enough on the mocks, but it flees on the day at the moment.
I don?t teach him maths, it?s well beyond me. I facilitate him teaching himself maths, and learn things temporarily beside him enough for him to tell me how much I?m getting wrong. My own maths is very basic, so he has to really stretch himself to make me understand, but he successfully teaches others who then do well in the exams that he doesn't. He likes complex abstract patterns in maths, and I like them in art and music, without that connection we?d be doomed.

Attempts at tutors have generally been disastrous as he doesn't seem to be able to just learn systems and apply them unless he can see the bigger picture, and how it usefully applies in life, but I?m told the things he can do, are far more important than those he can?t.

Bitchy there?s a few on here who are going to be facing the same I suspect.

Thanks Who knowsfor the confirmation about stats and honesty. I can?t imagine why you?d feel inadequate after sorting that party!

Lileth I?m another one who needs to care about looks.? Clean and doesn?t smell ? sums it up here too.

Goth thanks for the mincemeat reminder on your list

Silvery enjoy the party.

SC re CBAness, based on Bitchy?s idea, I?m thinking ?February is the new January? ie; when the new year properly starts.!

Silvery I am having to limit dd's screen time atm too and according to her (exacerbated by fact that she is an only) I never spend enough time playing (even when I've spent the last two days doing so!!) It is a difficult balance - I feel guilty when I clean and don't spend time with her - and guilty when I do spend time with her and don't clean (although admittedly slightly less so )

Justgettingonwithit >"February is the new January" Too right!!!! In fact, if we are both on this thread on January 1st next year, PLEASE remind me of this and then I can just avoid the agonising-dithery-exhausting- self-delusion stage and cut to the chase and not even pretend that I am going to miraculously "start again properly" on Jan 1st!!!

Re: your ds " I?m told the things he can do, are far more important than those he can?t" exam results are an incredibly arbitrary way of assessing intelligence and skills - what you say above is far more important

G'night all!

Hi all,

My goodness - Dc parties (agree - always stressful!) and more impressively long lists ticked off! Well done all.

I totally lost a grip on routines this weekend. DH has his own lists which take priority and mean I do all the childcare/cooking/cleaning. He's been busy doing DIY with his dad so I'm not complaining but flylady-type things have slipped.

Done:

Tidied up chaos after 45 minute lie-in (took 45 mins at top speed - half made wooden spoon fairy, breakfast, tool boxes, playroom bombsite, washing-up, emptying dishwasher etc)
Hung up washing
Got DCs dressed and out
Got self showered, dressed and out (with blusher...)
Soft play hell all morning (noise levels and heat were horrid with hangover
Made lunch for DCs and cleared up/washed up/dishwasher unload/load
Made lunch for grown-ups
Attempted hour long sleep while DC2 slept - hangover... (woken up by DC1 after 10 minutes)
Cleaned up lunch for grown-ups
Made scones with DC2
Cleaned all that up
Made tea for everybody
Cleaned all that up
Put wash on
Made supper for grown-ups

Not doing:

Cleaning up supper plates
Unloading dishwasher again
Hanging up washing

I forget what babystep I'm on. Maybe not having negative thoughts and writing post-its. Am not going to do the post-it thing. I strangely agree with the "reversing negative thoughts"/slightly- too-American-for-me-to-feel-comfortable amateur psychology though so will try that. Have started a Control Journal instead of the post-its. I'm going to start on day 6 babystep tomorrow!

Rather overwhelmed, again, by the size of my to-do list. Wardrobes are still a shocking mess, as is my bathroom cupboard. I didn't manage one 15 minute de-clutter this week... Ah well. To be honest, the all day hangover always puts me in a rotten mood as well as making everything harder! Have a nice kitten snoozing and purring on my knees as the moment, which is cheering me up!

Maybe I should have a bath and then go to bed early-ish. After spending a bit of time in the naughty corner...

Sleep well everybody!

Am very impressed by the size of everyone's lists today. In contrast, the Toffee household had a CBA day. I didn't really get my arse into gear until MIL was due to come round, which meant I had to rush around tidying up, etc. Managed some ironing whilst she was watching a film with DH.

Stuck to the new bedtime routine tonight, although I had to do it all on my own again because DH is still not feeling well (both he and DS1 have caught the same bug (I think it's what DS2 had last week)). Anyway, the routine went well (using the timer again helped keep me on track) and I'm just about to type up a morning routine as well and have set the alarm for 15 minutes earlier because I'm always about five minutes late getting DS2 to school.

Just - that is so frustrating about your DS's abilities not necessarily showing up in the exam. I hope he's done better than he and you think.

SC - I love the way you are doing your Flying in the Playmobil house .

Just preparing work for home ed tomorrow, then am determined to get an early night for a change. Goodnight, fledglings.

PS: WhoKnows - well done on managing the party. It sounds like a great success. The best bit of children's parties is when they are all over .

Very true Toffee .

Morning all.
Another Monday, and yet another determined start from me
All I have picked up is that everyone had long lists for yesterday - I didn't, mine was:

• All up and fed
• Sandwiches made
• Train to London
• Lunch in Pizza Express
• Take DC to Cirque du Soliel
• Eat sarnies on train home

Been wanting to take them since they were tiny but wanted to wait until they could really appreciate it - it was well worth the wait as, although we had standing 'seats' up in the Gods, they were mesmerized.

List for today is less interesting:

• All up and out
• Work - end-of-the-month stuff so not very onerous or time-consuming
• Morning routine
• Something like a house bleugh
• 15 mins in living room of doom
• Research built-in ovens (as ours died yet again on Weds, 5 times in 10 years so It Is Going hurrah)

If anyone has any recommendations for a built-in oven please let me know - electric, double with grill, good for baking, under £600, NOT Zanussi. I've never bought an oven before so am a bit overwhelmed and a thread I started didn't get very far.

Have a good Monday everyone, I will try and catch up again later.

Morning all. Crisis clean successful and the theatre evening was lovely, thanks.

SC /Toffee - you're supposed to be renewing your spirit on Sunday anyway!

Goth the RSPB website says not to worry if you see fewer birds than normal as someone else will have seen more so it balances out. Agree about the disappointment though as it's happened to me in the past. Did quite well this year though.

WhoKnows well done on surviving the party. DS1's rearranged party is this Sat so starting to stress again now!

Mission & house bleugh both covered by the w/e crisis clean so just routines and work today.

Okay, have decided that I need to apply Flylady principles to my schoolwork. 15 minutes here and there is better than nothing! All my little tasks (marking, planning, emails) are mounting up and they are becoming a herd of elephants in the corner of my brain that I am desperately ignoring!

DS finally seems better. He ate all his food last night, and no diarrhoea (sp?) since Saturday evening.

So, list for today
School work ? 15 minute bursts of marking and planning. Start with urgent tasks for tomorrow! (I have an enormous list)
Finish off yesterday?s wash, fold, put away
White wash
Supermarket ? bits for dinner
Make Quiche Lorraine ( I got the Hairy Biker?s Pie book on Saturday and it?s really good, especially for a clod like me who needs to be told how to make pastry ? ah, blocks ready-made shortcrust and puff pastry ? the Dutch are not quite as evolved as they think they are!)
Appt at nursery to see how DS is getting on
Put bins out
Washing-up

Morning all,

Thanks to Dh taking Dd out yesterday, I'm already halfway through Home bleugh, pretty good start for the week, just got to keep it going.

Today's list
Beds done
Windows done not as warm as yesterday, all steamed up again
Laundry on done
Dd ready for school done thanks to her routine list, she was more organised than me this morning.
S&S done
Washing up
Ironing
Dry laundry away
Litter tray
Prep for interview tomorrow
Some emails (complaint re broadband provider overcharging)
Remainder of Home bleugh
Shops for few bits
Collect Dd
Dinner
Wash up & SS

Blue will go with pigeons & magpie, rather than sit for another hour. Pleased you got a good haul. Need to get DM's numbers, as I submit her data too.

Dear all
my lists are far too long and dull to post on here often but wondered if you cld help me with smelly 'no more chemicals' cloths lol! they're like e-cloths and work well in bathroom but the kitchen ones keep getting smelly, iv not had them long enuf to wash in machine for than a few times...but soon after I do they get yucky again...I'm trying to cut down on chemicals coz of my eczema so any help please?
thanks

Morning all!
The sunshine here today is BEAUTIFUL (if not a little chilly) but SO lovely to see clear blue sky!

I had a really productive weekend and got all my list done bar the handbag sort. So here's how today is shaping up-

done
up, dressed, pancakes and everyone out to where they should be with everything they need.
d/w on
packed lunch assembled
ds2's lunch ready for after playschool
beds made
bedrooms aired

to do
Receipt filing
bag sort
upstairs bathroom
meal plan
maybe wash floor

Happy Monday everyone - one of my friends at work has bought in cakes - lovely lady!x

Feet - we have just been through the oven dilemma ourselves and we chose this Belling model from Appliances Online. Very happy with it so far and especially like its defrost and slow-cooker function (means I can declutter the cupboard of our slow cooker). Appliances Online were really good and were lovely with us when we realised we had received a built-in oven when what we really should have ordered was a built-under oven . The wrong oven was collected and the right oven was delivered without any bother (apart from the sniggers of the delivery men!).

at you seeing Cirque du Soleil.

Blue - oh yes, thank you for reminding me about 'renew your spirit' day! That makes me feel better . I thought I was just being lazy.

Engels - The 15-minute rule is useful for all sorts of things. DS1 and I use it with schoolwork sometimes. Better to do something than nothing.

Going - well done at being half-way through your home bleugh already. I haven't even started yet.

cjb - I use e cloths like these and haven't had any problems. Lakeland do promise that these anti-bacterial cloths won't smell though.

Jdub - well done on the productive weekend.

The good thing that arose out of my CBA weekend is planning. I now have a new morning and bedtime routine for the boys, as well as a list for 'boredom busting activities' to hand to them next time they say, "I'm booooored" (which is code for 'Let me watch telly/play on the computer/XBox/DS etc). I have also drawn up a list of household chores that they can do and am going to put them in a jar (the chores, not the boys) and let them choose one every day. Maybe I can delegate ALL my household jobs to my children!

Went to bed earlier last night and set my alarm for 15 minutes earlier this morning. As a result, DS2 and I were at school on time for the first time in a week .

A rather embarrassing thing: DS2 often says "Just a sec!" when I hurry him up in the morning. I have been shouting back up the stairs, "There's no time for secs!" It only occurred to me this morning what the neighbours must think .

That is genius, Toffee - I shall instigate an 'I'm bored' jar. What a brilliant idea! I'm going to make a list of all the things I can think of that they can tackle. Great plan! Thank you

Toffee at "no time for secs", and I'm only halfway round as I had an hour of quiet yesterday.

Am tiptoeing round today as Dh is FINALLY submitting his tax, he had the figures ready in November! Why it always has to be last minute

[creeps back onto thread after a week of CBA-ness last week]

The house has slithered back into messiness, so I'm going to try to get a grip again this week. As fast as I can declutter, my DH seems to create new piles of stuff

To do tonight:

Empty & re-stack dishwasher
Hang laundry to dry
Vacuum lounge
Vacuum kitchen
Mop kitchen
Declutter lounge for 15 mins
Change duvet in our room
Do last of thank you cards from Christmas (before it becomes February!)
Get to bed early-ish

Thank you SC for your round-ups of what we're supposed to be doing - there's no way I would be able to get started again without your nice clear summary