FLYing through April: Fledglings Spring into Action

[GoingGoingGoth]

Welcome to the April Fledgling FLYers thread

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

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

All the links for the babysteps and missions will be posted here every day and we'll all be here to cheer each other on.

Thanks to SC, Blue & Silvery for leading us through since January and for the brilliant OP I've just cut and pasted.

Oh Blue poor ds hope he's ok

Today:

Finish cleaning bathroom (windows, next to sink and window sill) oops
15 minutes decluttering done
Shine sink done
Cook dinner done
Empty DW done
reload DW done
more washing done
Wipe round kitchen counters done
Take out rubbish done
Do some work (thinking of setting my timer to keep focused?!) oops
Hoover upstairs oops
Make beds oops

Pleased with how I got on xXx

Ellie not bad for a first day!

Dh did go out in the end so I just did my exercise DVD and am really pleased I did. I was a but worried that it would be way too hard as I haven't done anything like it since having dd1 2.5 years ago. But it was totally manageable! I'm a bit sweaty but not too knackered. Let's see how much I ache tomorrow though shall we

Also waving from parents house - here til Sunday, so as ususl flying will be minimal!

Welcome Ellietrying and Volare.

My car failed the MOT on 7 counts, mostly little ones, so feeling fairly happy about that considering it is 12 years old!
Well done to the long listers.

Posting links 1st as less than 10% left on iPad (eek)

LINKS FOR FRIDAY 5th APRIL

Babystep 5 is about writing down negative inner thoughts and then turning it around into something positive. I'm a fully signed up lentil-weaver but even I can't do that!

Mission is to dust the window sills, the lights and corners etc.

Daily focus is to declutter purse & car

Flight plan for our routines, should update automatically

goth what is a lentil weaver?

First of all a quick welcome to Ellietryingtofly who has done a great first day list and managed a quick workout too.

Castle has a clean car and then went to football training! (Hope it stays clean) and yes knitting does count. She's now at her parents for the weekend, but hopefully will still be popping in to see us. Hope the car MOT repairs aren't too expensive.

Silvery was doing her grouting again, it may not be white yet, but there will be NO GERMS, unlike at soft play. Hope your ear clears up soon. And I think making Babystep 4 bin bleach day is genius, I looked at mine the other morning and thought I hope we're due to clean it in the kitchen zone!

feet has a great list, and sounds very organised in the garden.

ellesabe didn't shine her sink last night but had a long soak instead (good girl), today's list more than made up for it.

Bitchy CBA, so will probably only have a normal length list rather than the normal humongous one!

mrs is keeping on top of laundry & routines.

Volare got distracted by dissertation talk! I try to avoid other threads until after I've finished flying, please note the word TRY, I'm hardly ever successful.

Special had a successful & social day. Hope you have a good weekend at your sister's.

Engelsemama didn't feel she was productive but had a family nap time. You must have needed it the rest. A 'slack' day doesn't hurt anyone.

Blue should have been relaxing at her parents' but instead was at the minor injuries unit with DS2 who cut his chin open on a climbing frame. Hope he's ok now.

elles lentil-weaver is MN code for hippy.
Yes, I read the guardian, veggie, have had an allotment, cycle, wear long ethnic skirts (but not when cycling)

Sorry, meant to add that you're not ignorant.

Goth Although the bin cleaning does come up often in the kitchen zone, I reckon I am more likely to do a 1 off job rather than 15 min detail iyswim.
Trying to think of what to do for tomorrow instead of that crap babystep. Was thinking the extraction hood, but maybe I should do something in another room/area of life.

evening.

ta da
washing up
laundry
play hunt the thing in the loft
pack ds' stuff
meeting
remove several bags of stuff from house
see friends
see different set of friends
go out for the evening

going to be tired tomo and i expect burn out to hit before the end of the day. May well go mia for a few days for some complete bed rest. still not getting the balance right. at least have found how to control the pain levels better and when better at getting the balance right do feel so much better. not tonight. tonight it hurts good. Oops.

Good morning ladies, I really need to start flying again. I fell off the thread through February and March due to ill health following a series of colds which left me with a chest infection. I only had enough energy to drag myself to work, everything else fell by the wayside. The house is in a mess again and I need to get sorted out.

Off to work now, but will be back later to check on the mission for today.

Good morning all, just a quick post this morning.

Hello Baker, welcome back, hope you're feeling alright, just take the Flying slowly, a little at a time is better than than one big push which burns you out

Quick Ta dah
Beds
Windows - only my bedroom as the others are clear, it MUST be getting warmer
Dry laundry away.
Ready for work with 20 mins to go!
Laundry on (DH hangs out)

Am absolutely shattered after 1st full week at work, but have found the evenings getting easier. Luckily I have this weekend off.

BBL

Morning.
I have to get back to this properly. Had a really bad week with it.
Right now I cant even be arsed writing a to do list.
needf to get some motivaion!

It's dh's day off today and he let me lie in until 9am!!!!!!
Dd2 had woken at 6:30 but went straight back to sleep after a feed - lush!

Dh has now taken dd1 to dads' group at the children's centre and dd2 is asleep again so I'm slobbish around in my slippers. Hurrah!

To do
Lie in - done
Breakfast - done
Showered and dressed - done
Paint nails - in progress
Lunch
Wash up
Clothes away
Return jacket
Get dd's passport photos done
Dinner
Bath dc and put to bed
Compile wish-list for holiday packing
Watch a crap film
Wash up again
Shine sink

Oh and my legs only slightly ache after last night's exercise. Maybe I didn't try hard enough...

Afternoon.
TaDa
up and made beds
Got breakfast and cleared away
washing up
Laundry on
Swished and swiped
Showered and dressed
Tesco run
Extraction hood cleaned and shined (my babystep replacement)
15 mins detail (more bathroom grouting, this time the bottom of the wall around the litter tray )

To Do
Cook dinner (pizza tonight)
take boys to football training
Home, stories and bed for boys
Clean kitchen
Sort dry washing
Non iron away
Ironing
Hotspot
Stray item dash
lay out clothes
Shine sink

Think that's it. Pleased that this zone is over. Although the grouting is not perfect, but I will feel free of doing it, you know?
Next week, zone 2. The grouting in the kitchen could do with a re-fresh too..........

When do we move on to the next zone/where do we find out what it is?

Done:
SS bathroom
Cleaned bedroom/bathroom doors
Empty dishwasher
Reload dishwasher
Washing
Lovely lunch with friend
Took rubbish out

To do:
Wipe kitchen counters
Shine sink
Throw away any rubbish from bedroom
Work (will set timer to motivate myself)

Does anyone have problems with their other half when it comes to cleaning etc? The harder I try to keep things tidy, the more things he leaves lying around... I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. I've been making extra effort with keeping the house nice for a while and now I've decided to try flylady a bit more seriously but I'm starting to wonder why I'm bothering? I have a good morning routine when dd/I'm at school (I'm a teacher) but that goes out the window when it's holidays but generally helps keep on top of things. I'm learning, slowly but surely! Just need to sort out my other half and I stand half a chance!! xXx

Ellie It's a different zone each week. Starting on Monday. There are no missions over the weekend, the FLYlady system aims to have us doing the work in small bursts during the week so we can enjoy the weekend.
Goth is leading the thread this month (we take it in turns to be thread leader) and will post all relevant links to the website in the evening when she does her daily round up.
Re OH, I struggled for years, mine is a lazy sod when it comes to being at home, but he is slowly picking up and is helping more. He is even using my tick lists occasionally!
My advice would be to just keep doing what you're doing. This system (or any system) is for you. The rest of the house will get on board eventually. I, for years, made a huge thing of walking around the flat checking what had or hadn't been done, especially when he had a day off and I'd been at work and saying things like "Let me just do everything else and then I'll make a start on dinner"

TaDa
up and made beds
Got breakfast and cleared away
washing up
Laundry on
Swished and swiped
Showered and dressed
Tesco run
Extraction hood cleaned and shined (my babystep replacement)
15 mins detail (more bathroom grouting, this time the bottom of the wall around the litter tray )
Cook dinner (pizza tonight)
take boys to football training
Home, stories and bed for boys
Sort dry washing
Non iron away
Hotspot
Stray item dash
lay out clothes

To Do
Clean kitchen
Ironing
Shine sink

silvery I think u r my hero - you always get so much done on your to-do list.

How nb is the whole shining sink thing? my dh thinks I'm bonkers...gone completely off the rails over easter holidays, back to basics on monday...guess 1 april wasn't my 1 jan

Argh!!!! My LEGS!!!!!

Louise You clearly haven't seen one of bitchy's lists! Now that is someone who gets a lot done!

Evening, finally getting a sit down (disclaimer, did have an hour in the bath earlier)

Silvery thinks she hasn't done much this week, I beg to differ, it may not be as much as usual, but she's not been a slouch, especially after the very respectable list today, and the grouting saga.

Bitchy on the other hand ..... Has probably been tearing around like a nutter as usual, but just CBA to post.

elles has had a lie in, very and thought she needed to workout harder! She was wrong.

Ellie is very keen and already asking about the next zone! We need to introduce her to the naughty corner, there's chocolate &
Re OH, been with mine 20 years, and even though I'm newish to Flying, I've always been tidy even when we were in a student house, there are somethings I've got him trained over, and some things which are a constant battle like doing ALL the drying up but I find he does appreciate a tidier house and even DD helps out now! I think Bitchy had a good mantra earlier this year 'Tidy is the new normal'

Louise had a bout of list envy (it happens to us all) just don't try to match Bitchy. Not that Silvery's aren't impressive Just remember it's about doing what you can. The chaos didn't occur in a day, and so it will take time to conquer. IMO the sink shining puts a lot of people off but to me it means having a clear start first thing in the morning. I hate getting up to face a sink full of pots, so it does make it worthwhile, even if it is late when you're clearing what's been left behind by DH

And finally, the earlier starts are helping me get on top of everything. Still a managing to keep Mount Washmore to a reasonable size, and the flat is fairly tidy. I am looking forward to a lie in tomorrow, and then spending the day with DD.

Links in a minute

LINKS FOR SATURDAY 6TH APRIL

Babystep 6 is all about Hot Spots, the place in each room where clutter builds

No Mission as the Daily focus is Family Fun Day - Whoop Whoop

Flight plan for our routines, should update automatically