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!

Yo fledglings. Hope you have all had productive days. Just back from work (have been at printers all day). About to start cooking/hwk supervision/bed routine and then will be back on here to see what you have all been up to.

In the meantime... a very warm welcome to BeginnerSAHM and Crikey!

Beginner it's up to you what you include in your routines - make up your lists to suit your own schedule - and by all means include piano practice/exercise etc - as sometimes that is the only way they get done! (I try and do 30 mins French study a day for example and it helps if it is written down somewhere).

Which leads me to the control journal question. I do have one, and although it contains my morning and afternoon/evening routines, weekly, monthly, quarterly, six monthly and annual chores, important numbers and addresses, a 'how to look after the pets and house guide' in three languages, meal plans, 'gettng ready for holiday countdown list', supermarket on-line shopping codes and lists, and various other things (ie it is very useful!) I don't ironically use it for daily cleaning purposes. Possibly because as Whoknows says, the detailed chore lists are in my head, written down on a back of an envelope, or are on here.

What does help me though is that at the beginning of every school trimester, I write myself out an old-fashioned weekly timetable on a piece of A4 and colour in (in blocks) the fixed stuff - school runs/dd ballet & tennis runs/church/supper, hwk, bath/and other fixed appointments. I then block in the time spent on daily routines and then it is pretty clear what time I have left to do other stuff - and it really helps me most of it when I'm feeling- motivated that is! This sheet (which I've laminated) lives inside my cj and it's that I refer to on a daily basis.

Do whatever suits you though!! If I was more technologically skilled, I would do it all on a computer ... . Good luck with it!

BBL!

er, that should have read,

'...helps me make the most of it'

I have a control journal. I am obsessed with lists and ticking things off. I am constantly updating it though and changing bits. My detailed cleaning lists are quite long too.
I find it quite useful to keep track of what's been done.

Afternoon / Evening all ---
I'm just back from work so not much to report except DH unloaded the dishwasher and did shopping, (the benefits of having a semi-retired DH!).

I haven't done a control journal (yet) as I have all the general routines in my head and I get a bit overwhelmed /depressed with these great "to do" lists BUT I have found the weekly cleaning list on simple mom.net really useful.
Also the office control journal on Flylady is good - it's helping me at work.

If anyone is flagging in their enthusiasm for Flying today's essay on the Flylady website is really helpful IMO. www.flylady.net/d/br/author/flylady/

TO do
Cook DD's supper
Take DD to / from Brownies
Clean bathroom floors whilst DD at Brownies
Unload washing machine - put away clothes
Shine sink
Bedtime routine - get to bed by 10.

SC forgot to say I'm hugely impressed that your control journal is in 3 languages and that you get time to learn French each day. RESPECT! Perhaps if I spent less time on MN I could use my 168 hours/ week more productively!!

mercury what i found when i did my PGCE was that they were looking for candidates with as much experience as possible in the school setting with the age range they were interested in. Some schools take volunteers to get the experience some will take on ta with view to helping through pgce there are lots of different option and definitely look into the teaching option (GTP?) that gets you the NQT status, you can do this whilst getting paid to do it AND you can always get the official bit of pgce paperwork via the ou/some colleges at night school at a later date. The PGCE route is not the only route into teaching. Good luck!!!!!!!

I have done fuck all flying and really today i don't give a shit!!!! I need to be calm and able to explain my opinion in a heated meeting without losing my temper and telling the person what I exactly think of them. I am working on calm atm.

Ta da :

B/fasts
Meds for DS1
Dress to slippers
Swish and swipe
Change bathroom hand towel
Make beds ope
Put washing on
Unload d/w
Reload d/w
Wipe kitchen surfaces
Empty kitchen bin
Room rescue in dining room
DS1's Maths tutor here
Room rescue DS2's bedroom
Handwriting and science with DS1
Watched film on slavery with DS1
Hoovered DS2's bedroom
Hoovered upstairs landing and bathroom
Lunch
Second load of washing
Home ed prep for rest of week
Dinner
Pilates lesson (but it was cancelled )

Doing bath-and-bedtime routine now. Back later.

ope should be nope

tada

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

not doing

• Go Carpet shopping. (The snow is worse than Ive seen it today though the kids are at school, going to go tomorrow instead)
• hotspot
• Wipe bathroom

tomorrows list

• wash up 3X
• Turn on washing machine
• Make beds
• Wipe inside of windows (even with a bit of air they still get condensation)
• Dry Laundry
• Put laundry away
• fill washing machine for Thurs
• Shine Sink
• lay out clothes for Thurs
• coursework
• Go buy a carpet

Im hoping for a better day mentally tomorrow. Been a bit down today all due to money. Our Oil level (we are not on a gas network so heat our house/water with oil) went down another level today and its just going down far too fast (100 litres in the last week) and just dont know how we are going to afford it two more times before summer. There are other things involved, but they seem really trivial really.

Sorry for no personals, Im just feeling tired today.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I'd love a cleaner but don't think I could get the place tidy enough regularly for one just now. Maybe when I've been doing this a bit more, I can rethink.

Not much done today but I have achieved:
Up, showered amd dressed.
Ds breakfasted and dressed.
Breakfast pots washed, dried and put away.
Chickens fed, watered and let out.
Guinea pigs fed and watered.
Ds to school.
Work.
Home by 5.30 (dh had food on the table :) )
DS to piano lesson for 6pm
Home for 6.50
Dh had washed up.
Dh is now sewing on 2 of the 5 new cub badges ds brought home last week (cubs tomorrow).

Should;
Not be sitting drinking tea but putting a wash on timer to be washed by morning (I'll do it when I've had my tea).
Spend 15 mins in our bedroom shifting some clutter.

Evening all
So today, I have:
Made the beds
Swished and swiped
Bleached washing machine
Fed cats x2
Got dressed
Went to work (was great, only had 3 kids in!)
Cooked dinner (sausage and courgette pasta)
Scrubbed detergent drawer and compartment in washing machine
Put a load on (is still going, fingers crossed everything is the same colour when done)
Cleaned kitchen
Bathed boys
Read stories
15 mins in bedroom (I finished organising the bottom of the closet, looks good hoping to never need to do that again)

Now, I'm watching some telly, gonna paint nails and then go to bed.
Oh, I need to get on top of babysteps. I've been kind of ignoring them.

A bit tired so posting early for a change (an hour ahead of UK here) - trying to get an early night for once

***

Baby-step no. 23 for Wed 23rd January is here. Adding an afternoon/get home from work and or school routine to your day. (I don't do this - I just do one big afternoon/evening routine and put out tomorrow's clothes etc etc when I'm doing hwk supervision/cooking supper. I'm too tired to do it later, but that's what comes with drinking too much red wine every night old age!

We are continuing in Zone 4 the boudoir

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

If your Zone 4 is already decluttered, you can progress to detailed cleaning.

Tomorrow's mission is supposedly quick and easy and involves dusting the tops of door and window frames.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day here Do something you have been putting off!

The habit for January is, of course, keep shining that sink!

And if I've missed anything or you want a quick reference to tomorrow's tasks, have a look at tomorrow's flight plan which should update daily.

Keep going every one - one small step at a time ...

*

Ta-da!

Morning routine
15 mins de-icing car (not used since Thurs)
Work
Sainsburys
School run
Hotspot kitchen and hall table, empty bookbags etc
DD to ballet
Make and eat dinner
Cubs cancelled, phew, it has been snowing again
Make packed lunches
Bleed radiators
General tidying
Played games with DCs

As a consequence of the last one I haven't cleared the kitchen yet, but will do it once the DCs are in bed. They are playing Connect 4 at the moment and it seems a shame to disturb them. However their bed times seem to have crept a bit later at the moment so will go and start bedtime routine in a minute and aim for lights out at 8.30.

Oh and then I need to do my OU work, I am definitely not a proper Flylady early to bed person.

I'm sinning. I have no intention of shining my sink tonight

I finished my book today to say by to Daniel and Luce. This is what I hate about series of books, you get attached to the characters and then it ends

I have a huge pile of books to get through that my neighbour gave me. Lots of Lynda la Plant which I might take straight to charity shop, don't think I liked her......

I see some of you are feeling a bit tired/low today so take it steady and don't be too hard on yourselves. This is always the toughest part of the year with post-Christmas energy levels (and budgets) taking a hit ...just try and do a little bit each day ...remember we are NOT aiming for perfection! Any small task - even if done for just 2 or 5 mins - makes a difference! Look after yourselves everyone!

And although it's v. hypocritical of me to offer advice about getting enough sleep a really good Mnsent tip - if you are feeling low - is to go to bed one night a week at the same time as the dc. (I did this one for a while and it really, really works.)

Silvery had a lighter load than usual at work and completed her list as efficiently as ever

Crikey joined us and thought that she hadn't done much - but hopefully, having seen it written down - she realises she has accomplished quite a bit!!
(And she's another gp owner - yay! - I think you may be our first chicken-owner too!!)

Lilleth has been stressing about oil tanks and budgets and has been feeling a bit low, but has nonetheless managed to work through a v. impressive list!

As has Toffee who is continuing to Fly high! (Sorry your ds2 still suffering)

Bitchy has been mentally girding her loins for an important meeting tomorrow (hope it goes the way you want it)

Cuddledup's dh has been Flying while she has been working hard. And she has pointed us in the direction of some very useful links (will definitely be looking up Office Fly info and simple mom one - thanks). I agree one can get bogged down if lists are too complicated.

(Btw the only bit of my cj I can claim is in three langs is the "how to look after house & pets bit while we are away" - not the whole thing!! We have several house & pet sitters: some spk English, others French, others Polish - so easy just to be able to leave out correct info in advance. Also good if one is ever taken in to hosp. or have to go away owing to some sort of emerg - so one's other half knows the correct routines etc (dh doesn't have a clue - although, to be fair, he is improving...) Oh and should admit that my half-hour French "study" often just consists of listening to news or a Michel Thomas CD - so not v. impressive after all I'm afraid....!! Sounds good though eh? ]

Goth has found time to feed the local ducks and squirrels as well as complete her list!

Blue's completed her (short but effective!) list - a fine example of short and steady steps - ie Flying at its best!

BeginnerSAHM joined us, worked through a long list, tended to her new kittens (aw) and provoked a discussion about cjs ...

Lauren is still being messed about by her bank but, in her usual consistent fashion, steadily worked through her list. (Hope you managed to get out on horseback this pm - nowt like a wintery ride to blow away bureaucratic stresses!)

Jdub battled on, despite feeling tired [proffers restorative veggie broth]

Castlelough has been rushing a lot to work>to bank >to exercise and is now - understandably - tired!

Loris got her (recovering) dc to bed on time, worked her way through her list, and took the first 15 min step to declutter her paper mountain! Yay!

Whoknows has been at work today and is finally feeling the benefits of her op and is full of energy (yay!) as demonstrated by her humungous ta da list yesterday!!

Mercury demonstrated admirable grit in face of PGCE interview disappointment and was duly reassured by many (lots of teachers on this thread) at how v. v. competitive a process it is. She has started Flying again armed with a list and a determination to nibble away at her elephantine washing pile on a daily basis!! (Good luck with it all! Need to follow your good example here! And if it's any consolation - I only transferred my calendar dates last week!!)

Vigorous wing flaps to everyone else I've missed!

x posts

[Writes out one-day shiny sink dispensation and hands to Silvery]

Another huge ta da list from Whoknows who is on a roll! (Yes I find it is v. easy for bed-times to slip at this time of year if one isn't careful - the days are so short. DD was only going upstairs at 8.30 tonight which is three quarters of an hour too late.)

G'night all ...!

Hello lovely ladies.

Thank you so much for all the support re. my PGCE application

Ive been in school today and have been advised there may possibly be an opening for a TA position coming up, so that could be a possible way to gain some more experience.

I had forgotten it was Dmil's foster dd's birthday today so I didn't get much flying done after school. But I went to Weight Watchers and am a pound lighter

So small ta da list:
Dcs and myself up, dressed and out
Bins out
Our bed changed
Sheets in wash for tomorrow
Washing hung out
Dw loaded/ unloaded
Washing up done
Ww meeting done
Downstairs hoovered-dp done
Dcs lunches made - dp done

To do tomorrow:
Up, dressed all out to school
Dw unloaded/reloaded
Ss
Hang out sheets
Washload in
Transfer dates to calender
Small pile ironing
Dcs beds changed
Dcs sheets in to wash Thursday
Dust throughout
Hoover upstairs
Clean out gp

Think that will do.

Im shattered so off to bed to read.
Goodnight all.

evening all. crazy day working, impromptu guest for dinner, non-workout (friend wasn't feeling well so we had a natter instead) and double bill of Elementary.

Flying limited to washing up and one load of washing (DS managed to get 2 sets of clothes dirty at nursery today and not sure how many clean sets he has left!)

Time for bed!

Evening all,

Up rather later than I thought but wanted to log back on and check in! Thanks so much for the thoughts on control journals and the warm welcomes! I'm v impressed by the control journal - maybe one day I'll have something like that but for now, I'll stick with endless (growing, not shrinking!) to do lists!

Day 1 of "Flying":

Done:

Tidy up breakfast
Wash-up last night's saucepans
Took children to school/nursery
Collected children plus one from school
Loaded and unloaded dishwasher x 2
Various washing up
Took down and folded and put away children's washing (x3)
Put on children's washing (x2)
Ordered new kitchen handles
Sent email to nannytax with questions (couldn't get through on phone..)
Cooked and cleaned up supper (children, me and DH)
Checked DH's tax return
Tidied playroom (x2..)
Full clean of litter tray
Completed and emailed questionnaire for book Christmas present (best present! Look up "Mr B's Reading Year" if interested!)
Put food shopping delivery away
Cleared out fridge of manky veg etc
Gave kitchen surfaces S&S (think that's what I mean...)
SHINED SINK (although now not totally shiny and too tired to do quick clean now)

Failed to do:

CV... Umm, maybe I don't want a job now really (but I need to get one at some point)
CRB docs so can do reading at DC's school
Find children's red books and phone Health Visitor
15 minute de-clutter of bathroom cupboard
30 minutes piano practice

Tomorrow:

Get up 15 mins early to wash (and even dry) hair and look like made vague effort ("Getting dressed to shoes - babystep 2)
CV
15 minute de-clutter
Lunch with friend near ex-work
Put washing away
SHINE SINK
Check outstanding qs on f-ing tax returns
(Sod piano.... Maybe next week :-( )

Goodnight everybody!

Beginner

Just checking in, I'm still around and still knee deep in mud from building works... Will it ever end?!!!

All I do is keep the bathroom clean, shine my sink and try and keep the hot spot down.

I really ought to continue decluttering....

Waves to all

Hellooooooooooooo.

You will be please to know i was perfectly well behaved tonight at the meeting. All resulting stuff has been dealt with.

Tomorrow needs a list:
Ds to school
Important paperwork.
Meeting
My room
Put ds' laundry away
ds to swimming lesson
banking if i can get organised and find all important bits of paperwork
NEED to try to get my car washed as it is so filthy i am in danger of getting stopped soon because of obscured number plate.

Short but some bits are more complicated then others.

yurrrgh ...I've been up all night with stomach cramps ...dh has milder version so must be something we ate ...feeling really yucky. Was meant to be volunteering at dd's school today (costumes) but don't really trust my stomach atm..

Glad meeting went ok bitchy!

Great to 'see' you Shifty! Poor you - didn't realise building works were still going on ...that must be tough to handle.

BeginnersSAHM you've done loads for your first day! Well done!

Mercury great that there could be a TA position coming up ...

Huge wave to Engels (you sound v. stretched atm) and to eveyrone else...

Bleeurrggh ...may as well officially get up now ....

I'm still here and reading the posts - just not enough time to reply!

Yesterday I finally dug enough snow off the drive to get the car out, emboldened by the fact the farm sent a snowplough down the road followed by a visit from a gritter (did I say we live in a no-through-road with a steep hill?) So a big shop to replenish all we have eaten up over the past week. Now DH is saying he wants to go out today so a lot more snow moving so he can get to the car .

Lilleth I too find the rate the oil is disappearing horrific. As DH is fairly immobile and at home nearly all the time I have found it no more expensive to keep the heating on all the time but at a lower level rather than timed on/off - and it's much more comfortable. However, if we were in and out then I would return to timed heating. We are also having boiler and heating issues with our builder which is such a long saga I won't bore you all.

Toffee I am just in awe of your decluttering. We are still trying to move stuff around which is all in the wrong place from the building, and decluttering as much as we can, but it's very slow. Decluttering is the bit of Flylady I find the hardest.

Re the CJ - I have made an Excel spreadsheet with a ticklist, so days of the week at the top, tasks down the side. Tasks are split into time zones - before 8am, before 10 (DH doesn't get up early!), before 5, before 8, before bed. I print this out every week as it is still a work in progress, and it really helps, especially with the tasks for looking after DH. I am good at the morning tasks but it goes downhill during the day!

Bugger - gone well over designated mn time. See you.

Thanks sc. Hope you're feeling better soon. Maybe you have the same as DS. Have kept him off nursery today as he has diarrhoea (sp?) which may explain why he hasn't been eating properly the last few days.

means I do get a snuggle day at home with him but on the flip side I really could do with the day at work to get things done (whihc is impossible with 15mo DS who wants my attention all the time).

had a bit of a meltdown last nigth when I went to see friend - am so tired of being the one who has to carry the household and keep everything going. DH is not sleeping well and am worried his depression is creeping back in. I'm so exhausted from supporting him e06t56na33y...aaaargh! DS 14st sat 6n 0y 3a-t6-.....h6w d6 5 get 5t 6ff n40ber 36c2/