Is it October already the fledglings utter? We'll Fly with our broom sticks and start to declutter...

[Slimchance]

If you are strugging with C.H.A.O.S. (can't have anyone over syndrome) and S.T.U.F.F. (something that undermines family fun) then this is the thread where we (loosely) follow the step-by-step Flylady housekeeping system (in our own, unique, relaxed style) with lots of chat, support and and along the way.

This little-and-often system is designed so that you can follow a series of steps and routines each day (which gradually become second nature) in zones of the house which are designated weekly; defining and minimising housework - which in theory should leave you with loads more time to do someting more interesting instead!

At the same time it is intended to reduce that panicky "rabbit in headlights" feeling when you are overwhelmed and everything needs doing all at once. No problem if you miss a day or two; just jump right back in and it will all come around next month again!

We advise not signing up to receive the Flylady e-mails as you will be inundated! All the information you need will be linked here on a daily basis.

From the first of the month, we will be 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.]

More info here on getting started and Flying lessons. Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings. Don't be put off by the barf-tastic language of the site - the underlying system is sound!

Humungous thanks to Whoknows for leading us through the tricky start to the academic year ....

All welcome!!

Engels if your ds is only two I would be amazed if he liked colouring; mine certainly couldn't hold a pen at that stage. Ds1 and 2 have only just started enjoying colouring in their pre-teens
Dd was photocopying a page from an art project book, and then colouring it with oil pastels over the top of the existing colours (different colours) and then sticking it on her bedroom wall (horror) to join the collage of hearts flowers and One Direction portraits I've decided she likes to do what one might call Graffiti art. Not that interested in drawing or colouring till now, although loads of her friends are.

nicknacks the main thing about cats is the not the work but the money involved in food and cat litter, vets visits. I suppose there is a bit of slog in changing cat litter and opening a sachet of food, but it is a shopping issue rather than a housework issue for me. Cats do amuse themselves if there is someone around. But perhaps if you have lots of littlies it might be better to have a kitten, so that they are used to the scene from the start. I would be worried about an older cat feeling slightly under pressure and scratching or hiding all the time, which is presumably not what you want if you are child minding. Otherwise, I think the love outweighs the slog 100percent.

Although I'm sure there are lots of laid back older cats too

Pushing the pencil away was an improvement tbh swan . He tries to eat crayons at home

Engels - I developed alopecia during a very stressful period at work about 4 years ago - I lost about a third of my hair in big patches, luckily mostly at the back and sides not on top. It was very distressing (I have very dark hair and was very self conscious), but once the stress was removed it all came back. Has he seen a dermatologist? I had steroid ointment for mine, not sure if it helped or whether it really was the removal of stress (I took voluntary redundancy) but it was very helpful to talk it all through with a specialist.

Swan - I had always thought of the litter tray versus pooing in garden thing in terms of either lazy owners not wanting the hassle of using litter trays, or cats that refuse to use them. I HATE cat poo in my garden and don't want to inflict that on anyone. What I hadn't really thought about was the cost, and the bulk of the litter for disposal, I can now see that it is a) free and b) probably more eco friendly to let them go outside, but I really don't want to piss off my neighbours, so will be hoping that the cats will keep using the trays once they start venturing out, even if it is a bit more cost/effort. It was Confident Cat that got locked in the loft today, interesting to see the effect it had on Shy Cat - she was all over me until I retrieved her sister, then went more aloof again.

He did see a dermatologist a few months a ago whoknows and has been using a steroid cream which doesn't seemto have helped Lots ofnother small health issues, mmostlymlinked to his depression as well (insomnia, extreme tiredness, unable to conconcentrate) but I think it's the hair that has bothered him most this year. It's also affected his forearms, facial hair and on eof his eyebrows.

Am interested to see DS' s reaction when DH comes downstairs this morning!

Raining cats and dogs here. Definitely an inside day! DS was awake so have brought him downstairs. All wrapped up in my Winnie the Pooh dressing gown

Have a good day everyone.

Mine affected my eyebrows, they are very sparse to this day, my arm hair disappeared about 10 years earlier, I didn't think too much about that at the time, but didn't mind. My leg hair is almost non existent now too. I don't mind that either. The head hair was awful though, it seems so unfair that it tends to strike people who are already suffering with stress. Hope your DH feels more confident with his new look Engels.

I'm in bed watching the Grand Prix with DS, as DH and DD are still at the ILs. We had a nice evening, picked DS up from a party at 6.30, picked up Indian takeaway on the way home, watched Strictly together then snuggled up together in my bed with a book. Although I'm not interested in the F1 I'd rather have DS up here watching it and chatting than have him downstairs shrieking commentary up the stairs.

Today we are going to make Christmas cake and start mincemeat.

Engels and WhoKnows - lovely images of two very loved, well-cuddled boys in your posts this morning . WhoKnows - your evening with DS sounds wonderful. And you are a very good mum to tolerate the Grand Prix on telly I know I couldn't.

I was dispatched to the spare bed in DS1's bedroom last night so that DH could get a decent night's sleep. Apparently, my cold has made me snore . I kept waking him up the night before last, so he was very grumpy yesterday my revenge for all the years of getting up in the night for DC whilst he slept on.

As a result, we all slept exceptionally well last night.

Today, we are going to the garden centre to stock up on flowers to prettify our garden (in a sorry state, as usual), then MIL is coming round and I'm going to visit a poorly friend (thought she had pneumonia, but antibiotics aren't working and she is now having a scan and further investigations ).

Will have to do a crisis clean in a minute. But am going to drink my tea and browse online first.

Hope everyone has a nice day.

Bah, just wrote a long witty and insightful post and my phone ate it!

Anyway hello can't believe it is the middle of the month already!

Have only skimmed the last couple of days and am now as we have 2.5 cats and no litter tray. We used to have one but since we moved out to the wilds it was rarely used so eventually we stopped bothering with it. It is fields of cows rather than gardens though and massive badger dung pits so I don't feel too bad about it.

To do
Try to make potted beef
Detail clean kitchen
Washing x 2
Folding x lots
Finances
Re-pot 2 cactiii
Hoover whole house
Oil table and surfaces

Ooops, sorry PMPY - didn't mean to cause embarassment re litter trays, I think it's a totally different matter in rural areas, I have only ever lived in towns so think of it in terms of soiling people's gardens, which has been my experience. I think what I was trying to say was that I had an over simplified view before we got the cats but am now starting to see other perspectives.

Morning!

Very little was done yesterday, so I really need to pull my finger out today. Especially as Monday afternoon is usually my big house blitz but that won't happen tomorrow as I have this job interview.

To Do
Change beds
Wash and dry bedding
Ironing
Sort out PE kits, swimming kits etc for the week
Supervise homework
Supervise piano/trumpet/violin practice
Cook a roast dinner (beef is already in the oven)
Hoover upstairs and downstairs
Mop bathroom floor
Clean bathroom and toilet.

Also need to get my interview outfit ready and read over a few bits to prepare what I am going to say. It would be nice to get outside for a family walk at some point too.

Morning all. I don't think it has actually stopped raining for over 24 hours now! I am picking DS up from camp at 1 and I suspect I will have one muddy, wet, cold and tired boy! Plan is to throw him in a nice hot bath, lovely Sunday lunch (his favourite meal) and then bring duvets downstairs for a DVD afternoon.

We had an absolutely lovely evening at dsis's last night and DD absolutely loved her girlie night. We baked cookies, made pizzas and drank schloer out of champagne glasses. Then curled hair, bit of make-up ( very excited about this as i don't normally allow her to touch the stuff!) and did nails. All followed by chocolate fondue and DVD.

Plan this morning is to do the washing (sod the environment and the electricity bill, dryer will be on all day!), prep/cook Sunday lunch and do schoolwork so I can relax this afternoon. DH is at work again. He has just got a massive renovation contract for his fledgling business and it means he is working all the hours god sends. He is still quite happy though as this is where he sees his future. He was so unhappy in the construction industry that he is determined to make a go of this and this contract could be the making of his business.

jemima if i forget tomorrow, good luck with the interview.

Big waves to everyone. Hope it is nicer where you all are than it is here. Last weekend I was in a tshirt, jeans and flipflops on the beach. Today jumper, boots in the house.

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day which started off with us all having a lie in! We then went to Reading as DD needed some new walking boots plus some trousers as she was down to 2 pairs that fit her! We had a late lunch at Iguanas and then home for an evening in front of the TV and DH even let me watch the showjumping :o

DD is meant to be undertaking a 4 mile hike with the Brownies today but it is raining enough to need an Ark! We need to go to the pool later too as the swimming club qant to take some pictures of those that swam in a recent gala.

I have a load of washing in and will need to do this weeks shirts/uniform later. hoping also to get some bits uploaded to Ebay and bake a cake. Housework can wait until tomorrow!

Whoknows we don't have litter tray atm, since the kittens departed. Our cats range quite widely though, and next door garden is a wilderness so there seems to be plenty of room for everyone. However, it is terribly cold and wet and I'm thinking of getting one back so we can keep cats in at night. They rarely use it anyway. The other thing is that if our cats aren't using the garden, other cats WILL which is even worse. It is a territorial thing.

Children screaming this morning about BGT. DD entered herself for audition. Then DS1 wanted to audition too. Nightmare. We ended up telling them they were both forbidden to audition. Ds really is very good singer, but so shy he would lose all confidence on stage and then be gutted. I've told him he needs to practise performing in front of strangers. Dd wants to be Barbra Streisland/Rachel from Glee and I don't think that at 11 she can quite manage it

It is POURING here. Dd has gone off to see a friend.

Lazy day unfolding here - second load of washing in, a game of Monopoly half played, Christmas cake is in the oven and DS is doing Hama beads.

I am going to go and have a shower in a minute (I am dressed, but only cos I needed to pop out for some eggs for the cake) and my hair needs washing. Then I am going to saok fruit for mincemeat. Need to think about dinner, I hate planning meals for my fussy lot, it's going to be whatever I can find in the freezer.

Jemima - good luck with the interview, which reminds me Goth - how did you get on with Lakeland?

Ellie - same here, fabulous weekend last week, raining this week. Girly night sounds lovely.

I am guessing we are not too far from Dizzy from the reference to Reading. We will be wading to swimming club later too (might take the car, but it is only half a mile and the car park is always overflowing in bad weather).

Who we are just outside Didcot. DH works in Reading!

I did not know it was physically possible for one small boy to be so hugely filthy.

Ah, we are about an hour away from you then Dizzy, between Basingstoke and Farnham, but pass by you every time we go to Birmingham (home of the ILs).

Swan - very wise re BGT. They do a version at the DCs school, the auditions for that are traumatic enough, let alone the real thing. Thanks for thoughts re: litter trays, it obviously is very dependent on circumstances. Our cats are definitely going to be kept in at night because of proximity to main road, so we will be retaining the trays. I think I've been on one two many cat poo in garden threads where owners have come on and said why on earth should I bother with a tray when they could use other people's gardens, which wound me up somewhat.

I have never seen so much mud in my life! Have spent the afternoon clearing up from DS's scout camp. This has involved several washloads (his coat had to be washed twice to get rid of campfire smell!), several bottles of vanish and lots of tumbler action.

DS himself was stripped as he walked in the door and dumped straight in the bath. It was the first time I have ever heard DS say he couldn't wait to have a bath. Normally he is allergic to them. So cleaned him, fed him Sunday lunch and then we all spent the afternoon snuggling on the sofa watching films.

One week to go until half term and counting. Also have to make a decision re DS and secondary schools and whether sending him to my school will scar him for life. Have 3 in mind, one of which is mine, all of which I would be happy for him to go to but all of which are not a certainty. I don't think there is as much of an issue in this area with admissions as there is in some parts of the country but still. Will ruminate some more.

Hope everyone has had a lovely Sunday. Still bloody raining here.

Lazy Sunday here. Lots of hot wheels, Peppa Pig and a trip to the garden centre to feed the fish. Went to Matlock Bath illuminations last night so all a bit sleepy today.

Potted beef is delicious but used up all my cooking enthusiasm and we ended up having fish and chips for tea

Don't think I've managed much off the list but house is looking ok so must have managed enough!

Your weekend sounds fab Ellie. Dd is just about old enough to enjoy doing 'grown up' things now and it's lovely.

Hope everyone else has had good weekends

Well my little drowned rat enjoyed her walk and then finished it off by jumping in a huge puddle so her new boots got soaked and we have no newspaper to stuff in them to dry so they are now perched on top of the kitchen radiator!

2 loads laundry washed - 1 of which was wet dirty walking gear (I totally sympathise Ellie*)

• Took DD swimming and got photos taken
• Post walk cake baked *D/W on after DH cooked tea
• DD bathed
• Caught up on Strictly and X-Factor

Back to the grindstone in the morning!

Sorry didn't post links last night, lots going on here atm. Will be back later to catch up with thread too.

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Today's baby-step, no. 14, for Mon 14th Oct is do what you are already doing see summary here, and ignore the rest! (It's really about reading Flylady essays!)

Today we are starting in Zone 3, the bathroom plus one extra room.

Once zone 3 is totally clutter-free, you can go on to detailed cleaning.

Today's mission is: here ie get cobwebs off ceilings and light fixtures in bathroom and do a 5-min room rescue in your "stash and dash" room, that is, the room where you stash "stuff" when guests visit.

Monday is the day for the home blessing or as we call it, the home 'bleugh'.

The habit for October is still clearing paper clutter.

Today's flight plan is here.
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Have a good start to the week everyone!

I'm jumping back in again today. Sorry for my complete and utter absence for weeks. Hope everyone is well. xx Castle

Jemima Good luck with your interview today. Hope it goes well! Fingers and toes crossed and all that!