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!!

please. In great need of a quiet weekend. Sod's law dictates that this is probably the craziest weekend this year.

Yes please.

I've just applied for an NUS card! Hadn't realised till recently that my OU studies qualify me (and that was thanks to a MN thread). Makes me feel young again!

Yes please.

Waiting in for a parcel. Managed to keep ds quiet for 10 minutes by giving him an apple (he's making a meal of it!) while I mn and watch question time (and not much else).

Assuming they're the same as Pfeffernüsse?

Right, ta-da!
Boys' beds stripped
Washing done and on line
email
Check supper ingredients and get sidetracked
Clamber around the loft looking for all the baby stuff DH missed
Clean up grungy things
Put clothes on hangers
Fill car boot with charity shop stuff

To do
Ironing
Sainsbos
Label stuff for sale
Find bills for tax return
Clean up and reassemble smart trike for selling
Cook dinner
Remake boys' beds
Put clean laundry away
Work??

Not sure blue ! Spiced Dutch biscuits that are available all year round (called speculaas ) but at this time of year available as tiny mini biscuits in honour of the fact it will be Sinterklaas on the 5th December.

Luffly boots have just arrived (they smell heavenly), as has DH's guitar which means I can now leave the house. But DS has just gone to sleep so I'll put Downton series 3 on instead

Hello from sunny Glasgow, as if! It's raining again and this was supposed to be the dry day, so I have lots of damp clothes hanging around.

Today is the quiet day of half term, and I'm pleased to report the post-visitor tidiness is continuing.

Have done morning routines and partly restocked cupboards (we were using the last loo roll! )

So popped in to check missions.

Hope you are all well, BBL

Pre-visitor tidiness here, expecting friends for coffee from 1. It is definitely getting easier to get the house presentable for visitors after a spell of thorough decluttering this autumn. Cats are snoozing under my bed (they are in an under bed box of spare school uniform, glad we didn't fork out for a cat bed). I keep following them around with a camera, I want to get a photo of them together, got lots of separate ones but they always seem to be either hidden under the bed or playing when they are together.

Ah, Pfeffernüsse are German mini gingerbread balls with a chocolate or icing glazed top. Evidently a different thing. Yours sound good too, though.

Have done the ironing and some of the labelling. Sigh. It'll be good once it's done.

(First part in reply to Engels...)

Hello. [Glugs Blue's cuppa and snaffles Engel's pepernoten.]

Just taking a pause before school run etc. If I had decluttered more upstairs, lovely cleaner could have got more done . Anyway, at least downstairs all set to go for tonight well it was until dh popped in to drop something off and trod builders sand all over the hall floor [sigh].

How have you all been getting on?

Must admit I would find it hard only having one activity-free night of the week Whoknows. Having said that, now dd has given up ballet, we could really do with one other thing to do. Arf at camera shy cats! And at NUS card!

Hope work materialised Blue. Top marks for your lists.

And top marks for averting lavatorial crisis Goth and for maintaining post-visitor order.

Hope you get the quiet weekend you want Bitchy.

Big speculoos eaters here Blue as my waistline will testify

Big waves to everyone else!

Duh! Sorry! Forgive my middle-aged brain. Obviously that last speculoos comment should have been addressed to Engels!

Not a chance. but it should be a lot of fun and looking forward to it.

[SC faints]

Have fabulous weekends. See you in a week

Have a good one Bitchy!

Guests arriving in five so just going to post links and run. Have a great w/e one and all!

and more on bar ...help yourselves ...

Tomorrow's baby-step, no. 19 for Oct 19th is totally ignorable testimonial thing about making your home like a b&b.

No zones or missions because it is the weekend.

We are still clearing paper clutter in Oct.

And Saturday' s daily focus is family fun

*

Good luck with your crazy weekend, Bitchy

SC - best of luck with your dinner tonight.

Blue - well done on the course. You'll have to learn the importance of 'sitting with anxiety' (CBT wisdom from DS1's therapist ).

WhoKnows - your cats sound very sweet .

Not sure where the day has gone. I have spent most of it wanting to lie down and go to sleep, but have managed to get this far, so may as well hang on till bedtime now.

Ta da

DS1 to pupil referral
DS2 to dr (who confirmed he is underweight and needs to eat more )
DS2 to school
To work with DH
Home for lunch
Chores
School run
Shopping
Dinners

Bedtime routines (about to start now)

DS2 is very, very fussy about his food. To be honest, I have been so taken up with DS1's issues that I haven't been able to deal with DS2's faddiness so I let him get away with it. This has to change, which means DH and I need to get firmer with him . You'd think children would simply eat when they were hungry, wouldn't you? Mine don't.

On a more positive note, I popped into the pupil referral unit today and was told that DS1 is a "delight" .

DM is arriving tomorrow afternoon, so I will be crisis cleaning tomorrow morning.

Hope you all have a good evening.

Toffee - we have terrible food problems, DS is very fussy, DD a bit less so, but there is virtually no overlap, the only meals they will both eat are pasta (but not with the same toppings) and pizza (ditto). To make things worse DH doesn't like pasta. As a result I now hate menu planning and get really down about it all. Good luck, glad DS1 is getting on so well at PRU.

Just sitting having a late Indian takeaway (with DCs, not that Dd will eat any of it, but Ds loves it) following the school disco (I was helping). it's so much easier now they are both in KS2 so only one disco not two.

I have terribly fussy children too. Neither will eat a single vegetable in any form. Apart from tomato sauce on pasta (I know that's technically a fruit). They both like any processed red meat products but I don't feel from a health pov that they should live entirely on meatballs and pork pie. They disagree.

Neither likes potato, rice or milk. Dd doesn't eat bread and neither will eat cereal . Both are technically underweight as well so I do sympathise, it is very hard when they are obviously hungry but would rather stay hungry than eat something they don't like!

Have a new format to winter evenings: cards and piano practice! Have been explaining Bridge to DH, can't say I remember it exactly but it was still fun.

DH is refusing to turn heating on, but the kitchen is very nice and cosy. I have a cat sitting on the tablecloth atm. We had a spicy shepherd's pie, which can be served up again on Sunday with chopped avocado, sour cream and tomato salsa (basically chile con carne with potato/butternut squash mash on top) It was too basic this evening though!

Hope your supper party is going well SC brilliant to get all prep out of the way earlier.

Sorry for those of you with fussy DC, but I feel strangely comforted to know there are others out there.

My DC also like pizza (different toppings, naturally) and pasta, WhoKnows. DH hates both. Like you, I have lost all enthusiasm for menu planning.

Pushme - for months, DS2 would only eat my homemade tomato sauce on pasta for his dinner. At least I could hide some veg in there. Red meat is a winner with both of mine too.

Swan - your meals always sound delicious. As for heating - we turned ours on at the first sign of a drop in temperature. We are not very hardy which probably explains our high heating bills.

Dinner didn't go too badly tonight. DS2 ate fried plaice with buttered bread (won't eat potatoes or vegetables). Then he had tinned pineapple for pudding (the only fruit he will eat, unless you count tomatoes). DS1 ate almost a whole bowl of pasta with bolognese sauce. He had been skateboarding again and it made him hungry.

Too sleepy to type anymore. See you all tomorrow...

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I'm also glad I'm not the only ones with fussy DC. Homemade tomato pasta sauce is a lifeline here too, DS loves it and has it about 5 days a week, either for dinner or at school in a flask, I make gallons of it in the slowcooker. If he ever got fed up with it I don't know what I would do. DD will tolerate a small amount stirred through her pasta, but she does eat other veg so it isn't such an important food for her. DH doesn't really like veg either (he isn't as bad as the DCs, honest!) but eats masses of fruit. Luckily both DCs eat fruit pretty well. It's the lack of overlap that kills me, DS won't eat potatoes in any form, whereas DD loves them. DS likes couscous and noodles, but DD won't eat either. DS doesn't like sausages, fish fingers, anything in breadcrumbs at all. DD loves all that. DS loves curry. DD hates it.

One of DD's friends comes round after school once a fortnight or so and asks for a snack but then politely turns her nose up at every snack offering in the house, which makes me relieved that mine aren't the only ones.

Morning all.

Sympathies to all who are struggling with food faddiness. (That sounds like a particular logistical nightmare Whoknows & Pushme and very draining to have to organise/accommodate every day.)

Thinking about it, I think the introduction of pasta has a lot to answer for. (I'm ancient enough to remember in the 70s when spaghetti was introduced as a novelty!) We lived on potatoes frankly and it always shocks me when dd says she doesn't like them that much.

Sympathies to Toffee too as I know what it is like worrying over an underweight child. Good luck with your crisis clean!

Cards and piano practice of an evening sounds delightfully 'Jane Austen' Swan

We are all feeling suprisingly energetic after a late night. Funny how the more you do, the sprightlier you feel ... . Beautiful day here too which helps and no cooking or chores because downstairs looking reasonable and loads of leftovers. DD keen to do some running training so we are off to the woods.

Have a lovely day everyone!

[Makes sure black-out blinds are down in naughty corner and that the extra soft pillows are available for Bitchy's return]

Please tell me about cooking the sauce in your slow cooker, WhoKnows. That never occurred to me. Does it taste better for cooking longer? I have made two lists of the food my boys will eat - there is very little overlap. It's so frustrating, isn't it?

Glad you have woken to a beautiful day, SC (raining here ). How was your dinner party? And what do you do about your underweight child (apart from fret, of course)?

Ta da :

Pancakes with maple syrup for boys' breakfasts
Helped DS2 make homemade 7Up (a recipe he made up, which included lemon and lime juice, so got some vitamins into him)
Unloaded d/w
Cleared up last night's washing up
Put washing on
Made DS1's thank you cards

To do :

Get washed and dressed
Buy lamb at the butchers for lamb casserole
Buy stamps
Get DS1 to sign his cards
Post cards
Print out restaurant discount voucher
Make lamb casserole
Tidy kitchen
Crisis clean throughout house
Bathroom swish & swipe plus clean hand towel
Help DS1 with his homework
Lunch
Dry washing and put away
Ironing
Meet DMum who is arriving for the weekend

Hope you all have a good weekend.