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!

Sending you a big (((((((hug)))))))) Just. There is no need to apologise for whinging - you have more than your fair share to deal with.

Bitchy I like the sound of crawling into bed and falling asleep.

Goth What is the Burrell Collection?

Bastard dentist indeed!

Engels I haven't had a good look round yet, hope to in the next couple of weeks, but Glasgow Council website says:

Our displays range from work by major artists including Rodin, Degas and Cézanne, to important examples of late medieval art, Chinese and Islamic art, Ancient Civilizations and more.

The collection is named after its donor, the shipping magnate Sir William Burrell. It?s one of the greatest collections ever created by one person, comprising over 8000 objects.

It's going to close soon for 3 years refurbishment, so I need to get my visits in soon. It's set in the middle of the Country park, with Highland cows & heavy horses, I can see me being a regular visitor. Only 2 miles away (30 minute walk)

Just what a cheek, I'd be planning something devastating to say to him once you're all sorted out. Take care of yourself.

Sorry to hear you guys are struggling with it Mercury and Just. Don't beat yourself up about it, you can't change a lifetime's behaviours and habits overnight.
Why not try a slightly different approach and instead of doing a babystep a day etc, concentrate on the monthly habit. Take it even easier than the 30 babysteps. From this day to the end of Jan, just shine your sink. That's it, then come February, take on that habit as well which is declutter for 15 mins a day and slowly build it up that way.
This is where we all crash and burn, we take on too much. It's nothing to feel bad about, we all have busy lives.
Chin up girls.

day off work today, so I did some studying this morning, read a bit of my book (the last in the series about the angles, right at the end now, exciting) and went back to bed!

Also, meant to ask....anyone got any tips about washing machines? Mine's starting to smell a bit. I got some of that service it powder stuff and followed instructions to clean machine, but still wiffs a bit. Think I'll just need to buy a new machine.

Just - so sorry you have hurt yourself again and at horrid dentist. A couple of years ago, I managed to get a bad cut and black eye from knocking myself on a door handle (was bending down to get something off the floor - decluttering! - and had only had a couple of glasses of wine, honest) and ended up in hospital. When I asked the nurse if I would have a scar, she said, "It's ok, you won't notice it in the wrinkles".

No Flying this afternoon. Have been to a friend's house for a couple of hours for tea and chat. Then came home and had to unravel the damage DS1 has done by subscribing to some website that takes money from my mobile phone. I have lost all my credit and am not sure if I can unsubscribe. DS1 is very contrite. He thought he was going to win Microsoft points for his XBox .

Silvery how to clean your washing machine with baking powder and white vinegar. Should remove the smell too.

I'm off to get some white vinegar tomorrow to do mine.

^My first proper link

Ironing done, folding done. Clothes removed from dining room table done

Going to be more then totally fed up with monday already. Got a huge MASSIVE list of stuff to do tomo so meh. night.

Not a bad day flying wise here! My bank hasn't processed 2 direct debits due to me though so I couldn't food shop. Fingers crossed they will sort it tomorrow

Ta da:
Home bleurgh
Wash bedding
Change beds
Routines
DD laundry away
High dust
Visit friend

I find the most important thing for keeping the washing machine fresh is leaving the door open when it's not being used, but realise that isn't always practical (it is fine for me as it is in a corner and opens against the wall, doesn't get in the way and I have no pets or babies that might get in there). I also do a maintenance wash once a month with either vinegar or bleach at 90C and at least one 60C wash a week.

Just - sorry to read your latest post, this weather must be a nightmare for you. I'd be tempted to accidentally bite his fingers once he'd finished. I would miss you if you stopped posting here but would fully understand if you decided to have a break.

Evening evveryone

tada

• wash up 3X
• Wipe bathroom
• Turn on washing machine
• Make beds
• 2nd load of washing in machine (thought Id may as well since Im not going anywhere now)
• Snowball fight with DS, DD1 and DH
• Wipe inside of windows (even with a bit of air they still get condensation)
• Dry Laundry
• fill washing machine for Tues
• hotspot
• quick tidy of bedroom (well I actually went round all the bedrooms with a feather duster. I also did the top of DS's wardrobe, was a bit when I saw all the dust up there. So I think that counts instead of doing under the bed as I can't actually get under the bed)
• Shine Sink
• Put laundry away
• lay out clothes for Tues

tomorrow's list

• wash up 3X
• Wipe bathroom
• Turn on washing machine
• Make beds
• Wipe inside of windows (even with a bit of air they still get condensation)
• Dry Laundry
• fill washing machine for Wed
• hotspot
• Shine Sink
• Put laundry away
• lay out clothes for Wed
• Go Carpet shopping.

Im liking that idea Silvery about just doing the habit of the month just to start off. I might adopt that. Although Im not doing too bad I admit, but I have taken off 5 min room rescue and 15 mins declutter.

Speaking of decluttering. How much clutter do people have? I have a bit in the dining room and a bit in the living room. Though as we are getting a new carpet soon DH will be sorting the living room out and then once carpet is down I think (as long as I do 15 mins a day) I should be able to keep it nice. Can I have my own habit for Feb and that will be to clean living room everyday which will entail wipe down all tops, mirror and TV. (Will take about 15 mins anyway) I might even add a quick 5 mins hoover to that too. Is that ok if I have that for my feb habit, living room instead of decluttering for 15 mins?

Dont drop out Just Ive not exactly been following flylady properly either. I ignore those babysteps I dont want to do just yet. I put my fingers in my hears and shut my eyes in a I-cant-hear-you kind of way. Sorry to hear about the dentist. Having no front teeth doesnt make any difference, yeah if he says so

Id love to have a sleep in the afternoon from time to time, but just can't justify it to myself.

I like to give my washing machine an empty cycle of 90 degrees. I put in Salt Crystals (I learned about them from MN ages ago) Not done it for a while though. Will do it again 1st Feb as it was always the first of the month where I did it.

Toffee grr about the mobile phone credit. Hope you didn't have much on there.

Hope we all have a good evening.

Thanks for the link Goth will def give it a go. The drawer compartment is minging and I've just looked in the rubber seal and it is the rankest thing I've ever seen!
I'm a bit worried about giving it a good clean and it breaking completely!
It's finding the time, isn't it? Sounds like and looks like it will take a while
Lilleth Yes, it is good to adapt this system to fit ourselves. I als dropped the 5 min room rescue and mix de-cluttering with the missions and detail clean. I also don't do detail and missions everyday, just one or the other.

I've just spent 15 mins in the bottom of the closet. I cleared out the 'electrics' box. Filled with crap that dp has been insisting we keep. I gave him the "you've not touched it for over a year, you don't know what's in there so it's going" speech.
I threw out 7 scart leads! An old BT modem, endless phone chargers and USB cables from old phones and 2 hairdryers. I don't even use hairdryers.
Now I have a huge empty box that I think I'll use for crafty bits.

Now, I'm settling down with a glass of wine and to try to get the last of the acrylic off me nails.

Tomorrow's baby-step, no 22 for Tues 22nd Jan is here and concerns building a cj more info here

We are in zone 4 (the boudoir) until the end of the week here

Try and declutter for 15 mins in the current zone.

Once you have decluttered, you can start on detailed cleaning

You can find tomorrow's daily mission and all the missions for this week here - 15 mins tossing old socks and tights

The daily focus for Tuesday is planning - menus, events, appointments, wardrobes, holidays, etc etc

The habit for January is still shining that sink

In summary, have a look at the flight plan which updates daily.

Keep going everyone!

**

Ok I've just remembered that today is home bleurgh day... bugger to do to do that.

ta da
Morning routine
Wait at school bus stop with DD in freezing temperatures
Work 8.45 -3/45
Email DH asking him to unload dishwasher which he does!
Wait at school bus stop for DD in freezing temperatures
surf on net thinking about doing charity run in memory of my dad
Help DD with homework
tidy master bedroom (why isn't it called mistress bedroom since I do the cleaning)
Clean 2 bathrooms
long chat with sister
do DD's supper
Clean kitchen
Get annoyed with DH for lack of conversation whilst I'm cleaning up his cooking pots he's reading and he says he can't concentrate because of the noise. AGGHH.
Write to heart broken half sister of DD who's just split up with boyfriend.

to do
Get to bed by 9.30
Iron clothes for tomorrow
Bath

HELP - can I make it....

Just v v sorry to hear about your teeth. Change dentist to someone who is sympathetic and not a tosser.

Silvery it's not just yours, we're in a rented flat and I've been meaning to give the washer a good clean, rather than just doing a hot wash each month.

So after your post, I decided to investigate and removed the drawer OMG it was rank! I've bleached everything! And now running a 95 degree wash with soda crystals. Tomorrow I start to re-wash everything we own.

I've also finished the rest of today's list
mini ta-dah
Dinner
Wash up & SS
Iron
Put laundry on

A bit of a grumpy evening. DD was shouting and refused to go to ballet (claiming too much hwk) and dh and I have had a house-related tiff. On the positive side, my cleaner came (postponed from Friday) and did the home bleugh while I did office admin, supermarket shop, cooking, laundry and Mnsetting.

What have you all been up to today?

Trazzles¨has been celebrating her dd's first birthday!! [there should really be a cake emoticon on here shouldn't there?]

Justgettingonwithit has had another really really tough few days and should NOT be feeling guilty or be resident in the naughty corner . [SC stomps off to seriously injure Just's dentist ]

Having put the sledge to one side for a moment, Jdub has been "relaxing" at work ...

Toffee (who is still Flying high) has been mesmerised by Flylady videos and has visited a friend in need...

Silvery pondered her pongy washing machine [I find running on 90°c with lots of white vinegar - repeat if necess - usually does the trick] and decluttered electrical ephemera

Nicknacks despite wrestling with her tax return, popped in to say she is feeling ! Yay!

Lauren has inadvertently tidied and decluttered whilst searching for her TV remote. Her bank has been messing her about

Loris has been Flying whilst tending to her poorly brood

Whoknows has been studying and glove-buying

Bitchy has been imbibing caffeine, crisis cleaning (ditto chez Curves!] and taming her laundry.

Lilleth having re-arranged chores around cancelled appointments, had a snowball fight instead!! She also worked through her list and pondered her own personal baby step for Feb!

Engels has been slowly working through her list

Mercury has been working on her Flying maintenance skills and catching up (remember you are never behind with Flylady though! )

Goth did her lists and ate cakes knitted furiously whilst surrounded by splendid art and heavy horses ...and posted her first proper link - yay!

Bitchy and Goth plotted to extend this thread to another 1,000 posts [SC runs out of room screaming]

Snowgirl popped in to say hello and

Blue made us all a very welcome cuppa!!

Waves to anyone I've missed!

G'night all!

xposts

Cuddledup has e-mailed her dh Flying instructions (v. impressed by that one - think it could catch on!! ) completed a huge list and froze at the bus-stop. Hope you have warmed up now! And running in memory of your father sounds like a wonderful idea.

Goth discovered her wm was pongy too and administered immediate treatment ...

[SC runs for exit ....] G'night!!

Evening ladies

Sorry for being negative earlier I failed my
PGCE interview last week which left me gutted and I have struggled to get motivated since. But I am going to move on, moping won't change anything. Fingers crossed I get an interview at my second choice and my damn nerves stay under control.

I didn't complete all of my to do list. I meal planned for the week and wrote my list but decided to leave the actual shopping until after school tomorrow.

Thank you for the kind words silvery I think I will be ok once I regain my momentum.

Sorry about your fall just your dentist sounds horrid. I agree with cuddled that maybe you should find somebody nicer.

My aim for this week is to get the ironing back under control by doing some each day rather than leaving it until the pile is so big nothing else will balance on the top!

So in the spirit of being more organised my to do list for tomorrow:
Dress to shoes
Packed lunches
Dcs to school, me to school to volunteer
Ss
Small pile ironing
Wash load done and hung out
Hoover throughout
Dust throughout
Food shop and put away
15m declutter bedroom
Hoover under bed
Change our bed
Dw loaded/unloaded
Dinner
Read with dcs
Pack wed lunches
Wash bed sheets ready to hang out wed
Transfer dates onto 2013 calender as I still haven't done this
Weight watchers meeting

That will do!

I'm going to do as much as possible before school so hopefully the day will run smoother

Evening ladies

Sorry for being negative earlier I failed my
PGCE interview last week which left me gutted and I have struggled to get motivated since. But I am going to move on, moping won't change anything. Fingers crossed I get an interview at my second choice and my damn nerves stay under control.

I didn't complete all of my to do list. I meal planned for the week and wrote my list but decided to leave the actual shopping until after school tomorrow.

Thank you for the kind words silvery I think I will be ok once I regain my momentum.

Sorry about your fall just your dentist sounds horrid. I agree with cuddled that maybe you should find somebody nicer.

My aim for this week is to get the ironing back under control by doing some each day rather than leaving it until the pile is so big nothing else will balance on the top!

So in the spirit of being more organised my to do list for tomorrow:
Dress to shoes
Packed lunches
Dcs to school, me to school to volunteer
Ss
Small pile ironing
Wash load done and hung out
Hoover throughout
Dust throughout
Food shop and put away
15m declutter bedroom
Hoover under bed
Change our bed
Dw loaded/unloaded
Dinner
Read with dcs
Pack wed lunches
Wash bed sheets ready to hang out wed
Transfer dates onto 2013 calender as I still haven't done this
Weight watchers meeting

That will do!

I'm going to do as much as possible before school so hopefully the day will run smoother

Sorry for my mammoth post appearing twice - stupid phone!!

Oh Mercury sorry you didn't get your place. I hear the competition is fierce for PGCE places.

Thanks for the silvery. Some of the other candidates were applying for the third time so I guess it is really competitive! Im 33 this year I just hope it doesn't take me that long or Im worried I will be too old when I qualify! Im rubbish at interviews but I'm sure I could be a good teacher if they would give me a chance!

Hello! Just popping on to say Hi. I thought I'd start trying to get on top of house organisation (and cleaning) and am rather daunted by the extent of the task - however, I saw this board and thought I'd take a look and was inspired. So I'm going to give the flylady thing a go... However, I will be rather shocked if I manage to shine the kitchen sink everyday or wash (and dry!) my hair more than twice a week. Still, the idea of babysteps appeals! I'm very impressed with how efficient and organised a lot of you are!

By way of background, the house is pretty clean (ish) but there are quite a few "piles" of stuff around the place, no pictures on the walls (despite having moved in 18 months ago), our camera, camcorder and printer isn't working (which is actually my main nagging concern) and I'm forever throwing out old vegetables/food that has been wasted! Have two DCs - 4 3/4 and 3 1/2.

Anyway, looking forward to getting our home a bit more comfortable and smooth-running and thought this thread might be the place to be! Hope it's ok to butt in!

Beginner

Can I join in? I've just gone back to work full time amd by the time we have eaten and washed up, I feel there's hardly any evening left and can't face doing a load of housework after a tiring day.

Dh shares most of the stuff but I find myself spending all day Saturday cleaning and washing and all day Sunday ironing and batch cooking. I also live in a pigsty (not that bad but could be so much better). I am so far behind in "chores" as every weekend recently has been taken up with clearing my late mum's house. Oh and this has led to me having more stuff here without proper homes (bit everything I've brought from mum's is precious and beautiful so it's not going anywhere).

How do people manage to keep up with routines when they work outside the home from 8 to 6? Any tips gratefully received.