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!

Some impressive lists here today ladies!

Thanks for the support yesterday. Gave the house a once over whihc made me feel that I'd achieved something. And gave me an excuse to snuggle on the sofa all afternoon watching back to back Once Upon A Time.

Had a cry chat with DH in the evening and woke up this morning really not wanting to go to work. But actually had a great day. Sometimes I think I just build things up in my head so they seem bigger.

Am feeling better able to face the world now. DH made dinner and I washed up so sink is shining. Heading out now to do shred with my friend who lives up the road (too cold and icy to run).

I do that a lot Engels - build things up to be much worse than they really are. I just have to keep going and then I climb out of the gloom, but sometimes it takes a few days. Keeping going with your daily activities is vital I think, if you stop doing stuff you are letting the bad feelings take over.

Not much Flying here as it was a work day, just basic routines. Highly unusually I have the house to myself right now, got a PTA meeting at 7 so DH has come home from work on time for once and taken the DCs to football instead of me.

So, I am going to make a cuppa, clear the kitchen table and do half an hour of OU.

SC - glad you are feeling better.

Shifty - I really hope it doesn't turn out your DS has whooping cough .

Engels - glad you were able to pour out your heart to DH. Sometimes just talking makes all the difference.

Spent this morning running round in front of the cleaner, trying to get stuff off the floor . In spite of the mess, she managed to hoover and mop everywhere and do my ironing, so I am eternally grateful to her. Piles of mess are now contained in small spaces (hotspots), rather than spread all over the place, which is a bit better, I think .

In spite of all the decluttering we have done recently, I still feel as if we are a long, long way off reaching our target. Where does all the stuff come from? I have a rapidly growing hotspot in the kitchen, one that has taken over the dining-room table, boxes on the upstairs landing, an entire town on DS2's bedroom floor (although this is not clutter really, but creative play ). And I won't even describe our bedroom. Just looking at all the clutter exhausts me.

My ta da list today:

Routines
House bleugh with help of lovely cleaner
Home education
Lunch
etc etc

Anyway, must get DS2 into bed. Am running late and he, like several other DC mentioned here, won't settle to sleep for ages in the evening. He was still awake at 10.30pm last night, after lying in bed for 2 1/2 hours. Don't know what to do about it.

Wow! I'm impressed with these lists.

Feeling a teeny bit smug myself today.

Ta da:
Up, showered and dressed
Ds up washed dressed and breakfasted
Livestock sorted
Breakfast things washed and out away
Beef stew and jackets in the oven on timer for dinner
Washing in machine on timer
Ds to school
Work for 8 hrs
Collect ds from after school club
Home to lovely smell.
Bung some veg on
Eat lush dinner
Washing in dryer
Dh washed up then I shined sink
Homework supervised
Door mats in washer
Hallway mopped
Clean laundry folded (will take up to put away when I go for a bath)
Having a cup of tea now and then bath.

Need to do:
Find some time to fit in a vacuum of the sitting room at least once during the week rather than leaving it to just Saturday.
My bedside table is remarkably tidy, so I've left it that way.
I shall swish and thingy my bathroom when I've got out of the bath.

I'm working from home tomorrow so shall sneak in some hoovering whilst I'm "on my lunch".
Happy Friday everyone.

Im sitting in the naughty corner, who's joining me? I have

tada

• wash up after Breakfast
• Turn on washing machine
• Dry Laundry
• fill washing machine for Thurs
• Make beds
• Wipe inside of windows (even with a bit of air they still get condensation)
• finish taking things out of front room
• Put laundry away
• Get carpet fitted (coming at 1 apparently)
• Move stuff back into front room (or at least make a start)
• lay out clothes for Fri

not doing

• wash up after tea
• Shine Sink

I just dont want to wash up tonight, but want to sit in my nice clean shiny front room with its new carpet Will get back to it properly tomorrow though.

tomorrow's list

• turn on washing machine
• wipe down windows
• Make beds
• Grocery Shopping
• Wash up 3X
• Dry Laundry
• put laundry away
• shine sink
• wipe bathroom
• 15 min front room
• read life advice list

Sorry Ive not really 'spoken' to anyone the last couple of days, Ive been feeling a bit deflated about a few things. One thing that's helped me is this thread regarding advice. Ive copied and pasted my favourite bits onto a word document and included reading it onto my daily to do lists. So much common sense there. I think its a bit like one of Flylady's babysteps anyway

Sorry to hear you've not been feeling so great Engles hope you feel better soon.

Yey for the roofers Shifty

Grr about the train incident Blue hope you got home safe.

Doctor thinks it isn't whooping cough, I was convinced it was yesterday but not today (no more whoops) but he's whooped a couple of times tonight.

I have symptoms of sore throat, dry cough now too

Never mind, sorry for the lack of personals, I find it hard to do on my phone and I can't get to the computer

Yikes Crikey - looking a teensy bit superwoman-ie... Well done!

Engels - glad you're feeling better. Your DH sounds lovely.

Bitchy - I'm still in awe. Do you have time to relax ever?!

Toffeewhirl - Home education sounds great but must be hard work. Good that you have a cleaner! We have a weekly cleaner too, even though I'm not working at the moment . And recognise that modus operandi!

In fact, I often bunged a load of washed but not-put-away clothes in my wardrobe so she can clean properly - in the 30 seconds I had before I had to leave the house to catch the train (to get to work). There is a huge, unsorted pile in two wardrobes that I must deal with.... Likewise, I have stacks of clothes that are the wrong sizes for the children bunged into the bottom of DC2's wardrobe. They were in sorted bags but I forget which bag is which now and will have to do it again. At least their drawers are super-organised/neat and all the clothes in them fit.

We retained our lovely cleaner even though I'm no longer working on the basis that I might be again soon, she is amazingly efficient and thorough and it makes me (and therefore everybody else) happier. I always clean at the weekends too - although now I'm planning on flying so will just be doing a little each day.

Baker - thank you for sharing... I suspect I might adopt a notebook approach. I don't fancy a lever arch file (yuk - too worky) and I have the Home Routine app but never use it. (I have the "Healthy Habits" one too and never use that either...Must.drink.water.)

No flying today. Think I'm supiposed to be exploring the "Big Tent" as I'm on day 3 but I've already had a good look.

Done
Tidied breakfast things
Took DCs to school/nursery
Attended career management course first session (to get me thinking about what I might like to do as I'm considering a complete change) - all morning
Met DH for quick lunch
[Sneaky stop at Oasis which I haven't been into for about 10 years]
Collected DC2 and play-dohed, made new supper from recipe book that I thought would go down well (but was rejected)
Put on my delicates wash
Hung up wash
Collected DC1 from playdate
Tidied DC supper and debris
Bath and bedtime for DCs
Put on wash for DCs

To do
Check tax return calculations (tricky year this one...)
Hang up DC wash
Unload dishwasher
Shine sink
Wipe and dry surfaces

Have DC2 at home tomorrow. Will try to do some flying - am trying to make the most of spending more time with DCs though.

Lileth - cross-posts but am v glad somebody is in the naughty corner with me! Actually, just re-read your list and surely you can't be in the naughty corner? Leaving the washing up for one night isn't naughty-corner-able is it? (I have a lot to learn though and still haven't got past babystep 3!)

Sorry you're feeling deflated. Hope it's temporary?

Hello everyone - you have all been very busy today - some huge ta da lists I see - well done!!

Sorry not to get back on here until now - spent day fixing malfunctioning office equip and and patching up leaking roof. Spent a good two hours going up and down flights of stairs with buckets and mops!!

On a more positive note - dd has been an angel today! Helped by the fact that her French teacher has introduced class breakfasts on a Friday and it is her turn to bring in the chocolate croissants!

How did the doc's appt go Shifty? Is your ds OK?

Hope you are enjoying your new carpet Lilleth arf at being a proper grown up now!!

You've done v. well Crikey to get all that done in addition to 8 hrs of work

Toffee don't get despondent - clutter just seems to arrive out of nowhere - and multiplies!! There's always a stage where it looks worse before it gets better and you have been doing brilliantly well. As for sleeping thing, I think this weather is

whoknows hope you enjoyed yoru rare bit of 'me' time

Whoknows and Engels I'm terrible at working myself up in to a state about things in advance too - wish I could be more like dh who withstands terrible pressure and stress by focusing exclusively on the next couple of hrs ahead...

Engels glad your day went well and that you are feeling a bit more chipper x

Bloody hell bitchy taht's one hell of a list [awards golden feather duster] Let us know about hair (I am too boring and dull safe in style to advice)

Thank heavens for roofers and that you can finally see light at end of tunnel Shifty

Hope you are feeling better now Goth

Love the sound of 'ravelry' Bakerofcakes!!!

BeginnersAHM Hope your job-finding seminar proved helpful today. I'm sure someone one here used to use housewk app (though perhaps it was Linzer who left thread a while back??) would like to know more about it myself (and how to load an app on to my phone for that matter Like Whoknows dd had no sleep issues at all as baby/toddler/infant ... it is only now they are kicking in. Tis what Bitchy says .. her mind whizzes along and takes ages to calm down of an evening.

Whoknows sleep issues could be excacerbated by weather as well I reckon - more cooped up than normal - snow v. exciting etc etc - no long evenings to work off extra energy etc (although happy to report that dd was so tired this evening she actually asked to go to bed!!]

Top marks for your productive evening/day Jdub how was the haggis??

Oh poor you Blue commuting is expensive enough without having to face extra costs

Cuddledup good for you and your mega-anti-procrastination day yesterday!!

Well done Mercury for getting your house back under control - glad you are feeling a bit more chipper too.

Waves to Honu Ellie Lauren Feetheart Castle Justgettingonwithit Gossip and eveyrone else I have missed...

Back in a mo with steps!! It's nearly the end of the week everyone ... keep going!!!

x posts

[swigs Lilleth's gratefully ... hope you feel a bit better as end of week approaches]

Beginners enter the Big Tent with trepidation - otherwise you may be inundated with e-mails!!

So glad it isn't whooping cough Shifty hope he feels better soon!

Cheers everyone!

***

Baby-step no. 25 for Fri 25th Jan is here a load of guff about giving yourself a gold star for getting through 25 days + not being perfect + a personal testimony from Fat Fairy. (Not that you don't all deserve a gold star - which you very much do - but I could do without the guff )

Tomorrow, will be our last day in Zone 4, the boudoir, here

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 decluttering top of your dresser not entirely sure if this means top of dressing table or chests of drawers or what, but try and declutter it anyway

Friday is clearing out handbag and car day again!

The habit for January is still shining your sink! (they should be positively gleaming by now )

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.

Thank heavens the w/e is approaching! Have a good one everybody!!

Oh dear ... i have just demolished nearly 3/4 of dd's 150g of Midget Gems whilst typing that ... [groans]

And apologies for terrible grammar/typos/missing words and ends of sentences tonight ...typing faaaaassstttt

BeginnerSAHM : "Bitchy - I'm still in awe. Do you have time to relax ever?!" - only if i say fuck it and make time. The problem with letting things get out of control and then regularly getting hit by minimal effort due to stress. Also a vat load of super strong coffee tends to help.

Also done tonight: tesco shop, double check dates for a few bits, drop a book with a friend and very very flying visit to ikea.

Note for the newbies:
Naughty Corner Bar Policy
This is where you can be if you have done loads or nothing no matter what. It is for restorative drinks and healing drinks and what ever. The sun room is for relaxing in as needed/wanted. All are welcome!

Js.

You're right Beginner just missing the washing up and the shiny sink one night isn't really naughty corner worthy enough, but when I started my last post I genuinely thought there was more as I hadn't done the one thing I promised myself I would and that was the final wash up of the day and the sink. Until I wrote it out and realised it was only that Ive not done today, it seems quite good.

Im also re-adding 5 min room rescue to my day except mine will be cupboard. We have a couple of little cupboards in the front room full of clutter. They are not that big so doesn't need a whole declutter so will just do 5 mins a day and soon they will be decluttered and easy to find things (and they need fixing too). So tomorrow's list is now a bit bigger and looks like:

tomorrow's list

• turn on washing machine
• wipe down windows
• Make beds
• Grocery Shopping
• Wash up 3X
• Dry Laundry
• put laundry away
• shine sink
• wipe bathroom
• 15 min front room
• read life advice list
• 5 min cupboard room rescue
• sort out clothes for Sat
• Fill washing machine ready for next load (maybe sat if we dont visit family, but sunday if weather allows us out for the day)
• bring in handfull of rubbish from the car
• go to skip (Im surprised at the amount of rubbish accumulated in the front room in the 10 months we've been living here)

Thats much longer as I remembered more things I needed to do tomorrow. Im determined now though

Yes, naughty corner deffo open to everyone ...wot ¨Bitchy said ....sorry, missed that bit ....

[leaves out crate of for those of you who aren't having a dry January and a very large cork-screw]

G'night all!

Evening. Quick post before I catch up.
Ds2 has suspected asthma and seems to be having some breathing difficulty so I'm keeping him at home tomorrow.
I need to see his teacher about it becauseI'm not completely confident tthey will keep an eye on him and give him the inhaler. I know that's silly as loads of children will be asthmatic but I don't know that they know what to look for and for when to call for ambulance etc. I sound like one of those mums don't I? I'm not really, I'm just feeling a bit uneasy about it and think I have to go with my instincts.
Didn't do mission or detail today. But have shined my sink.
Hope everyone else is well.
Going to look through today's posts and then try to get some sleep.

Evening all!

Well, despite the bad start to today, I have a list... Ta da!
Made it to pick DS2 up from nursery and wasn't the last
Lunch out
Bought sledge just in time for the thaw
Did school run with sledge :)
Zumba
Rescued kitchen
Tidied desk (had slipped off my routines)
Backed up PC
Made massive inroads into other clutter in office/spare room
Sorted laundry
Decluttered inbox and dealt with some stuff
Wrote up yesterday before I forget about it

Tomorrow's to do list:
Work
Emails, chasing up from yesterday
More decluttering/room rescues
Routines
Burns night dinner :)

SC - thankfully I don't commute very often!

Toffee re clutter getting worse before it's better, there's a phrase I heard somewhere that I like: When you're knee-deep in alligators, it's easy to forget why you were draining the swamp. :)

And on that note, good night.

Silvery - i tend to keep ds off school if he is having breathing problems with his asthma. Mostly it is the cold that aggrivates him atm. The low level viruses that seem to be doing the rounds aren't helping either. Hope ds2' breathing settles soon.

Oooh good, I'd go straight to the naughty corner if I wasn't about to go to bed..

Bitchy - hmmm. I reckon the odd "fuck it" is healthy. Not too much mind - that's how my piles of clutter and stuffed wardrobes came about...

SC - glad roof is no longer leaking...! Seminar thingy was quite helpful thanks. Hope it will get me thinking productively anyway. Shifty - glad your roof won't be dripping soon(ish)!

(Big tent email sign up request totally ignored! I've learnt - considered fly lady about a year ago but was totally put off by the email and had to designate it all as Spam!)

Finished the rest of my To Do list. Phew.

Good night all!

Morning. Today's list
Make beds
Swish and swipe
Shower and dress
Get breakfast
Clear breakfast
Laundry
Feed cats
Rubbish out
School run
Mission/detail
Cook dinner
Ds1 to football practice
Clean kitchen
Wipe down tables
Sort dry washing
Non iron away
Hotspot
Tomorrow's clothes
Shine sink
Study

If ds2 sleeps today (horrible night) I might make a start on the weekly bleugh

Bonjour/dag my lovelies..dd delivered to school with croissants without any of us falling over so that's a good start.

Happy Burn's night to anyone celebrating this weekend - enjoy your neeps and tatties!

It was so cold last night we had 3 duvets on our bed ...and I still woke up with a frozen shoulder. It is apparent that yet more bits of our house have fallen off with blocks of snow as it thaws. Thick snow (and lethal patches of ice) still on ground to be followed by a huge load more tonight apparently.

Silvery hope your ds is OK. Agree with Bitchy about weather. None of us have any breathing difficulties but we are all finding the air quality here very poor atm. It is very dry and our eyes our itching (it's like the air (and pollution) is trapped between snow on the ground and thick blanket of snow in sky about to fall). Really horrible. Sounds like a good decision to keep him where you can keep an eye.

Blue arf at the alligators and well done for getting all of that done in addition to horrible journey yesterday. (I sped read your list btw and thought you had rescued a kitten ) Have a wonderful Burn's night!

Waves to Beginners and Bitchy and everyone else...

And as for hsework ... the whole house is in need of attention ...I don't want to do it ....someone deliver a sharp kick to my rear please!

[Leaves out large platter of chocolate croissants and steaming hot chocolate]

Due to super pooping DS I dare not leave the house today and since it's Friday, today's list looks something like this:

Stay inside cosy and warm
Actually watch a grandslam tennis match without DH grumbling that it's boring
Spend afternoon continuing TV marathon
Think about putting one load of washing on
Maybe go food shopping while DS is asleep (if ILs are around to take baby phone for an hour - they're next door to us)
Spend the whole day thinking about what to cook this evenign and then end up getting take away because it is Friday after all.

I think anything else will be a bonus

xpost sc Really icy here as well on the pavements where people haven't cleared them. Be careful! (am being judgey at my next door neighbours who have a huge corner house - and therefore the whole corner of the pavement - and are perfectly able to clear snow but never bother, so whole corner is really slippery, a nightmare if you have a pushchair or wheelchair, lots of elderly people round here as well).

It's supposed to start thawing here this weekend so the Dutch news have stopped going on (as they do rather hysterically every year) about the possibility of the "11 town skating event" taking place as the ice is nowhere near thick enough.

I should add "eat cake and biscuits" to my list - still some Christmas odds and ends to use up

Yes, that was on the news here too Engels Apparently, the ice has to be 11cm thick on the canals before they let the skaters on (but the rule is 15 cm in the Netherlands I think).

You take care too - the pavements are lethal!