FLYlady followers flock together! Join the May fledglings – our nests we will feather!

[Castlelough]

Welcome to the May 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 and Goth for leading us through since January and for the brilliant OP I've just cut and pasted.

[BlueEyeshadow]

No majot work on today so have abandoned the house bleugh & skipped out to do some retail therapy in the sunshine. Currently enjoying a coffee and free wifi. :)

((Hugs)) to Trazzles and Bitchy.

[ToffeeWhirl]

Friend is coming to stay for the weekend and will be here in one hour. Just popped in to check DS2's bedroom was still tidy for her (as she sleeps in there and he moves up to share with DS1) and he has turned it into a shop . And I've had to pay him in real money to buy stuff I don't want. He has made his own version of 'Bumfresh wipes' and thinks he will become a billionnaire from it (that will only be explicable to those of you who have read 'Billionnaire Boy' by David Walliams).

Ta da :

Home education with DS1
Sweep and mop kitchen floor
Tidy and wipe kitchen surfaces
Clean cooker top
Wipe kitchen cupboards
Put out new cat litter
Empty bin
Clean bottom of bin with bleach
Put recycling out
Swish and swipe in bathroom
Help DS2 deal with nose bleed
Congratulate DS2 on mopping up the blood himself
Unblock loo from all the loo paper he'd flushed down it
Mop bathroom floor
Change sheets on two beds
Put washing on

To do :

Get DS1 to do some independent work
Make bed in guest room
Tidy guest room again
Wash my hair
Sort out clothes for social events this weekend
Sort out boys' clothes for same
Cuddle cat, greet friend and relax with

[Castlelough]

Hi ladies!
I won't be around to do a round-up til much later on, so I thought I would post the links for tomorrow early for those who like to get them nice and early!
Off to do a 4-mile charity road-run and hoping that the crowd will make the distance easier....

Toffee arf at ds and the bumfresh wipes!!!



LINKS FOR SATURDAY 4th MAY
Babystep 4 is to leave yourself some sticky notes as reminders to do Babystep 1-3! Personally, I don?t bother with this one!

The Daily Focus for Saturday is to have a Family Fun Day.

We?re in Zone 1- The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room until the end of the week. We are decluttering, or detailed cleaning, in this zone for 15 minutes a day.

As it is the weekend (and a lovely long one at that !) there is no mission!

The Flight plan for our daily routines, should update automatically.

Finally, the habit for the month of May is to get Moving!

[DorisShutt]

Evening all

[Engelsemama]

I'm finding Flying with a toddler a bit of a nightmare. I think I got more done in the hour after dinner with DH entertaining DS than I did during the whole day

Ta da
Rearrange optician appt
Skype best friend
Food shop and filled up car
Washing up
2 loads of washing away
3rd load of washing dried (waiting to go away)
Tomorrow's 1st load of washing read to go
Yummy dinner (actually that was DH, but it was yummy!)
Our Bedroom: hoovered, dusted, everything out that didn't live there, changed bed
Moved seedlings outside
Hoovered rest of upstairs
Tidied up DS's room
Cleaned bathroom (except shower) while DS was having a bath and pampered my feet (multitasking!)
Pottered around in the garden
Spent an hour in the hammock with my kindle and a beer


Hotspots are still abysmal but am pleased that upstairs is reasonable at last.

Am rubbish at keeping up with thread at the moment

[superfluouscurves]

Helloooooooo

Trazzles hope your appt goes ok, take care of yourself x

You too Bitchy

Thanks for all the veg prep insights!! Thinking of investing in some sort of processor but very little counter space. (Like the sound of your new kitchen with lovely view Swan) Whoknows we have the upmarket French frozen food chain 'Picard' here which has some of the things you mention - but I always feel guilty (for some unknown reason as no nutritional difference as I understand it) not using fresh - will definitely give them a go.

Arf at Doris's imaginary policeman's moustache (looking forward to reading yr blog 'pon rtn) and Toffee's ds's bumfresh wipes

Sorry - rushing - just popping in to say we are off to share a cottage in the country with friends this w/e now that dh has finally stopped making business calls and I have dried towels in the barbecue smoke laden air courtesy of our neighbours

Mounds of food to take with us -look away Goth and others - I may delay re-start on MFP until I get back

Have a good weekend lovely fledglings one and all .... tally-hoooooooooooooooooo!!

[Swanhilda]

SC ooh cottage with friends sounds a dream, especially with smoked towels
Toffee I used to love selling things to relatives we often had Sales of Work. I quite like turning dd's room back into a guest room (hers is the room that gets "magicked") as it encourages me to clear it out, and guests always admire her curtains which have chinoiserie parrots on them!
Ds1 still enjoys reading Billionaire Boy too.

nothing to show for today but
a bit of room clearing upstairs (filled new chest of drawers)
booked dcs on sailing course/sculling course in late July; just have to learn to drive long distance before then as it is 23 mins by car and 1hr 32 mins by public transport [sob] A powerful incentive. As they seem to all be challenged in the motor skills dept I'm hoping sailing will increase confidence and self esteem. There are also adult sailing courses, do I dare?

took dts to tennis lesson
supper

[Engelsemama]

I always feel wrong if I buy ready chopped veg sc. But then I think back 10 years (okay, 12 years) and laughing at my housemate who was buying ready grated cheese. In my head I was sneering, "How hard is it just to grate your own cheese?!".

I have 2 bags of grated cheese in my fridge right now

Toffee DS2 sounds very 'enterprising'

[Jamillalliamilli]

I could have sworn blind I posted yesterday!

Most of today?s been lost to fathoming the intricacies of hmrc?s decisions on ds working whilst studying, and trying to do court of protection accounts for dd who can do neither, but we did manage to do lessons outside in glorious sunshine under a magnolia tree.

Still to do
Eat dinner
Call friend
google art resources
Bed at reasonable time

(((( Trazzles )))) hope the appointment goes ok.

Castle for every rotten parent there?s another one who?ll still be singing your praises ten years on.

Bitchy statementing is a pain, but if you can make it work, it can be life changing. I didn?t think I cope with all the paperwork but a few court cases later we have three full size filing cabinets and two huge Really Useful file boxes. Though I can?t wait for the day I can shred the lot.

Swan at least someone?s now spotted a why that?s workable with.
We also got to the end of yr 6 with everyone (but me) insisting there was no problem with d/s failure to write. His reading was way ahead. Re sailing d/s seems to spend a lot of time in the water but what he lacks in sailing skills he has made up for in strong swimming! Go for it!

[newbiebaby]

Hello everyone
Id really like to join this thread, I am in need of a routine but find the fly lady site a bit overwhelming can someone please tell me where to start? ?
Thank you

[Castlelough]

Welcome Newbiebaby . You're very welcome to the thread! As a Flylady beginner I would recommend that you start with the babysteps. These help you to build up your daily routine, bit by bit, until it becomes easier to keep the place reasonably tidy and presentable.

You could begin a little bit of decluttering too in the current zone (click link above somewhere - just 15 minutes at a time. Nothing too overwhelming. DO NOT PULL OUT MORE THAN YOU CAN SORT OUT WITHIN THE 15 MINS! Very important!

If your home is really getting you down you could do a quick crisis clean (15 mins per room in three different rooms, then 15 mins break. Then begin again until you are happy with it...)
Or you could try a Weekly Home Blessing Bleugh which is basically spending 7x10 mins doing a quick run through your home (10 mins dust, 10 mins sweep/vacuum, 10 mins mop, 10 mins shining glass/mirrors, 10 mins on bins/rubbish, and 10 mins purging newspapers/magazines). Some things take a bit longer than 10 mins, and some a bit less.

But if I were you, I would just start with Babystep 1 and check in with us each day til your routines are established .

[Castlelough]

And Newbiebaby your timer is your new best friend - it stops you obsessing and time wasting. Set the timer on your phone and go!

[newbiebaby]

Thanks so much for such a quick response looking forward to getting started. ...the shiny sink thing confuses me though, I'm all for hygiene but do you all really shine it everyday? ?

[Castlelough]

Quick round-up!

Just it sounds heavenly to be outside under the magnolia tree! We had terrible rain today so I am very of your good weather!

Swan Good luck with the driving practise. Sailing sounds like a fab way to spend some time this summer ? go for it!

SC enjoy your weekend trip to the country cottage ? sounds fab! And please forget about flying and MFP until you return! Life is for living!

Engels it sounds like your garden is shaping up nicely! Love the hammock ?great idea!

Doris and WhoKnows you are slowly igniting my interest in this 5:2 diet?keep us posted on your progress! Doris I clicked on your blog link ? good for you! I don?t know how to ?follow? a blog?or I would!

WhoKnows I am having a problem with my iPhone app for Mumsnet too, it is stuck loading the April thread for the last week, and I can?t get it to do anything else? 

Toffee enjoy your weekend visitor!

Blue hope the retail therapy went well! --You are not allowed to do the WHB on a Saturday anyway. It?s the law. ?

Bitchy ((hugs)) I?m sorry you are feeling so overwhelmed. It sounds like you are on a constant treadmill of paperwork. Please mind yourself.

Goth I added you on MFP !

Trazzles ((hugs)) for you too. I hope your scan went well for you. Don?t be so hard on yourself regarding the flying - I had an epic fail today and yesterday and I have nothing major on my plate to cope with. We just love it when you stop by xxx

Thanks for all the kind comments about the nasty parent. The principal/headmaster actually called her in today and gave her a talking to, so I?m feeling better about it.

Managed to make it through the 4-mile run and pig out afterwards of course. Just heading out to meet DH for a glass of --I know it?s late, but this is rural Ireland and DH is the publican !?

Waves to everyone else xx

[Castlelough]

Blue I meant to add that I am going to check out your blog tomorrow, apologies for not mentioning it in the round-up x

[GoingGoingGoth]

Castle I've found you! you look very glamorous! I've eaten far to much today, but will start again PROPERLY tomorrow.

Doris your blog looks good, now I read yours, Blue's (as of yesterday) and a couple of others. I've bookmarked you both, in a brand new sparkling Blogs Folder. That's meant to sound positive by the way.

Am starting my 4 days off tomorrow so am planning an hour of Flying each morning before Family Fun Day etc. not sure how that will work out.

[GoingGoingGoth]

Newbiebaby you do the full shine sink the 1st night, and then get into the habit of wiping it down after every use to keep it clean.

Personally I see it as a reminder to have clear sink with all dishes washed, dried & away, I then use my tea towel to wipe down the sink & drainer before popping it into the wash. Makes sure we have a clean tea towel everyday too.

[PositiveAttitude]

Epic fail here yesterday. A good morning at work, but this went rapidly downhill in the afternoon with me being blamed for everything that went wrong for DH and DD4, so I ended up going for a walk on my own to get away from the ungrateful lot of them for it to only to start raining and thundering and me returning home drenched and like a dog with its tail between its legs.
Nothing constructive done in the house all day apart from cooking tea.

Up at stupid o'clock for skype with DD1 and yet again she is not there, so I am just heading back to bed for a bit.

Swan not so good now, eh?

SC and whoknows have good weekends away.

Doris I will have a peep at your blog in a minute if I can find your link....

Sturday morning is now going to have to be my morning of getting my act together and doing some flying until I get another cleaner.

So to do:
Cleaner shower rooms
washing
sweep floors upstairs
damp dust where needed

this afternoon we need to go to the large market to pick up some new clothes for DS and DD4 which is always a bit traumatic!

Back to bed for me now..... see you all later.

[Trazzletoes]

Thanks for the hugs, I needed them

Hugs to you too Bitchy

We have a great family fun day planned but I am currently awake because Joe has just pulled his feeding (and medicine, more importantly) tube out of his nose. So hospital it is this morning instead with any luck we won't be there too long.

[Trazzletoes]

Scan went fine, by the way. Scanner lady couldn't see anything wrong with my liver, kidneys or gall bladder so no idea what is causing random discomfort but it doesn't appear to be gallstones so that's good!

[BlueEyeshadow]

Hope hospital went OK and that you managed to get your family fun, Trazzles. Glad your scan went well too.

Hope today is/was better, PA.

Waves to newbiebaby.

Today has been ridiculously stressful. I hate Saturdays. I always have a huge list of things I want to get done. I also feel like we ought to be having family fun. DH always wants to watch sport all afternoon. The boys want people to play board games with them all the time. We all end up with the telly and 3 conversations going at once and everything louder and louder in an attempt to be heard...

Hat a bit of a strop about it and then things improved slightly.

Ta da!
Shopping with boys and DH - inc. shoe shop and supermarket...
Homebase
Gardening
Bit of work
Park with boys
pizza and beer for tea :)
Dusting

[Castlelough]

Well it has been very quiet here today! As it should be on a Saturday! The weather is lovely here, and I have driven to my parents? house for the weekend . Hope you are all well ? enjoy the weekend!

Goth thanks for the compliment! I can assure you I do not look glamorous most of the time!

PA I hope you managed your skype with DD1 and that the shopping trip went well!

Trazzles I hope your hospital trip didn?t take too long. for Joe. Hope you got to enjoy the family day you had planned! Xx

Waves for everyone else !



LINKS FOR SUNDAY 5th MAY

Babystep 5 is to turn your negative self-talk into something positive ? yes, you do deserve to live in a nice home!

The Daily Focus for Sunday is to look after yourself and Renew your Spirit, in whatever way works best for you!

We?re still in Zone 1- The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Roomfor the final day this month. We are decluttering, or detailed cleaning, in this zone for 15 minutes a day.

As it is the weekend (and a lovely long one at that !) there is no mission!

The Flight plan for our daily routines, should update automatically.

Finally, the habit for the month of May is to get Moving!

[Castlelough]

((hugs)) for Blue - enjoy the beer and pizza! Sounds lovely!
I know how you feel about the list of things you want to get done - but I think sometimes we put too much on our lists!

[DorisShutt]

Well, I cut the grass today. I now feel absolutely knackered and my arms ache - first cut of the year so it was nasty.

And that's about everything I have accomplished.

Nice healthy fish salad for tea (no effort required and it will go nicely with some wine) and then a cornetto for pudding

Park tomorrow if it's nice!

[Engelsemama]

Glad scan went well trazzles

Ta da
Spent the whole day in the garden (proved by my very dirty knees!) pottering around, laying with DS and listenign to DNs scampering around this afternoon
4 loads of washing
Cleaned coffee table
Hoovered downstairs
Washing up
Finished off day in garden with an ice cold beer (read for 2nd ice cold beer shortly!)


It has been a good day