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!!

Beautiful day here too sc.

Ta da
Picked up birthday cake for tomorrow
Finished edging bed with stacks of bricks in garden
Planted snowdrop and crocus bulbs
Washing ip
Change ds bed
Lunch

To do
Daffodil bulbs in
Tidy house! DS' s birthday party tomorrow.

Dh is sanding and painting woodwork on garage. He helpfully suggested I dig out a horrible shrub, until I reminded him the house is a state and someone has to get it tidy for the influx of his relatives tomorrow.

Toffee - not sure if it really improves the flavour, that does seem to vary a bit batch by batch, it just means I can do bigger batches than on the hob and can go out and leave it to cook. I have to use passata though, tinned toms don't break down as well as in a pan and can be too watery, although half and half passata and chopped tinned toms works fine. I do 4 jars of passata worth at a time and freeze portions, it is useful as a base for so many meals.

I whizz up all the onions veg etc in the food processor, soften them in my biggest saucepan before adding them to the SC. Then I heat through passata in the pan to speed things up, as it's dirty anyway and add it to the SC dish, with herbs, salt, sugar, tomato puree and my favourite ingredient, Waitrose caramelised onion chutney and let it simmer for several hours. In mine it can catch a bit on the bottom of the bowl, longer at low heat is better than shorter at high heat in this respect.

Our house is tidy! Everywhere except the boudoir and even that isn't too bad. That means I can do some detailed cleaning later. May have to tackle the filing pile though. I'm on my own with DD this weekend, we are about to get lunch then pop over o my parents, we are planning a pub meal on the way home and then Strictly.

That sounds delicious, WhoKnows. Might give that a try. I like the fact you can leave it simmering away whilst you go out. Well done on the tidy house, by the way. Am very impressed you are down to the 'detailed cleaning' bit of Flylady - I have never achieved that!

Engels - very inspiring and cheering to hear of all those spring bulbs you are planting. Must do the same.

I have only just managed to get everyone out of the house. They were all in the way! At least I now have two hours to get the casserole cooked and the house tidy, though I could have done with more. Came online to see how long to slow cook the lamb casserole, not look at MN, so must dash...

Ta da

Finished building flowerbed
Bulbs planted front and back
Picked up birthday cake
Changed ds bed
Washing up
Clwaned ds highchair
Downstairs hoovered
Downstairs toilet cleaned
Internal doors in kitchen cleaned
Wiped down back door
Skirting boards in kitchen cleaned
Kitchen windows and sill cleaned
Tidied kitchen
Surfaces and outside of oven cleaned
Lounge dusted
Cleared cardboard/boxes from too much shopping away
Supermarket run for last few bits for tomorrow
Frozen pizza in oven

And breathe!

To do
Tidy lounge table
Replace candles
Tidy Ds toys
Hoover upstairs
Change our bed
Load of washing on
Prep food/drink for tomorrow
Tidy bookshelves (also known as shoving stuff in cupboards)

Tomorrow
Clean downstairs windows
Blowvup and put up balloons
Rearrange furniture
Get out cups/glasses/plates etc

*
Tomorrow's baby-step, no. 20 for Oct 20th is an important one about including laundry in your morning and evening routines.
No zones or missions because it is the weekend.

No zones or missions because it is the weekend.

We are still clearing paper clutter in Oct.

And Sunday is the day on which we renew our spirits ie do something which makes you feel refreshed.

Phew Engels looks like you are all ready for the party then after completion of that Bitchy-style list!! And loads of bulb-planting in true Dutch style. Hope you all have a brilliant day tomorrow!

We had lamb last night Toffee. Supper party went well thanks - v relaxed - although was mad stupid enough to choose to do mini-aubergine-involtinis for starters which were a huge prep hassle/faddle I have to say. Hope you have a lovely time with your ma!

As for underweight dc, I dunno because have had limited success, but doc suggested six small meals a day and lots of peanut butter! And dd always takes oat cakes wherever she goes (sometimes with gouda or cheddar cubes). Also started doing lots of puddings such as crumbles and sponges whereas before it was "fruit from the bowl" or yoghurt.

Having said that, the variety of things dd eats did improve a bit once I got her cooking a few more savoury things herself (always did lots of baking with her but we have only just started to do more lunch and supper dishes). She has just started cooking a three-course meal for us one Saturday night per month and that has peaked her interest. She is working her way through this book.

Your tomato sauce sounds v. good indeed Whoknows you should start bottling and selling it! Congrats on tidy house and hope you have good w/e with your dd.

Lovely autumnal day here. Went for a walk in the forest and collected lots of things for an old-fashioned nature table. Good to blow away the cobwebs... . Not much Flying except a bit of cooking and school-uniform washing.

Have a lovely evening everyone!

you sound like you have all made the most of today!

I'm ashamed to say that apart from some food shopping and returning ds1's trombone to trombone hire place [he has decided to take up Rugby instead] I have spent afternoon a bit underweather, watching Charlton Heston in a war film. Very absorbed by military strategy, nail biting stuff. Very 70's. Sons were at footballl, daughter was doing homework..

Done houseworkwise
dusted cornices in front room
dusted fireplace
floor waxed polished - sort of, with one of those waxy mops
made dh move the sofa round and tidy up the Lego.

front room now looks a bit less like a junk shop ,inviting it may have been to Dh, but junky was the impression Sort of room where you rifle through boxes in search of interesting treasures and it smells musty Still a bit musty but down a few cobwebs.

Re: fussy eaters. Tonight I made homemade redcurrant sauce to go with lamb steaks and gravy. Dh replaced his lamb with stilton and refused to touch any sauce, the children demanded tomato ketchup. And I have banned the stuff at any of my meals. Ds2 is soo fussy but likes raw veg of any kind, which is something. He likes macaroni fish (macaroni cheese with smoked fish in it) meatballs cooked in sauce but without the sauce on his plate, plain rice, plain pasta, fishcakes, roast meat, and any sort of fried potato but not baked or boiled or mashed. That's it. He screams if the wrong food is on his plate, and would die rather than touch any form of wet mince or stewed meat(although wet mince doesn't sound appealing does it ? The shepherd's pie for him is just replaced with 3min noodles, and some veg. Sad to say I have given up fighting.

Oh yes, and I've fallen in love with The Mamas and Papas (pop music) again. I used to listen to it at 13 but I've never had the album in the house, and to my amazement ds1 started singing a song which he had heard on Glee, which was one of theirs. Very odd when your teenage children start recommending to you, Your OWN favourite music.

Morning all:) Today is my 12th wedding anniversary. Yay! DH is working. Boo!

Quick post as I am heading out to the park in a minute to make the most of the sunshine.

In short, did quite a lot of flying yesterday. Am on holiday. Not doing much flying today .

Back later.

Evening all (well it is here anyway - it's amazing the difference being one hour ahead makes - partic. when it comes to calling family and friends and posting on here!).

Anyway, hope you have all enjoyed your Sundays. Another perfect autumnal day - absolutely gorgeous weather. Went riding then to a pick-your-own fruit and veg farm (where there wasn't much left to pick but did - inspired by Whoknows - get my hands on some curly kale! And the rabbits are now enjoying some lovely fennel tops).

A very happy 12th anniversary to you and your dh Elliepac (hope you can celebrate together later) and hope you enjoy the holiday too. Here's some celebratory .

Hope you are feeling better today Swan and well done for dusting cornices despite feeling under par. I daren't even look up at mine!! . Sympathies re: stressful meal times but good that your ds2 will eat raw veg and smoked fish. I can see how it can grind you down though so top marks for fortitude in the face of meal-time adversity! x
Dh a big fan of Mamas and Papas btw - California Dreamin', Monday Monday etc.

Speaking of which ... back in a mo with links. DD in bath as I type, school shoes polished, uniform washed and ironed, carrot and parsnip soup on the hob, (postponing Sunday's meal (casserole) until tomorrow), Strictly, then early bed for all.

Big waves to anyone I have missed!

*

Tomorrow's baby-step, no. 21, for Mon 21st Oct is one to ignore Flylady q & a thingy.

Tomorrow, we will be starting in Zone 4: The Master Bedroom here.

Once your boudoir (we fledglings don't hold with Masters thank you very much) is totally clutter-free, you can go on to detailed cleaning.

Tomorrow's daily mission (and all the missions for the week) are here. Getting rid of cobwebs and dusts from your bedroom ceilings, walls and light fittings.

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

The habit for October is still clearing paper clutter.

The daily flight plan will update itself and provide a quick summary of the above.

Have a good start to the week everyone!!

***

G'night all!

[Lights tea light to cast soft glow in naughty corner for Bitchy's return]

Downton is starting - again the only thing that gets the children to pack their bags and put out their uniforms without a murmur (or they'll be sent straight to bed!)

today we have had

homework beserker (now thankfully finished)
drama class
ds1 went to bowling party
POURING RAIN
and loads of laundry,

but boo hoo no Church...it got lost in between the bowling and beserking..

no half term here till next weekend

Well I'm out tomorrow night, so that's the bleurgh hour out this week

I'm not getting any further away from CHAOS - we simply have too much stuff. though I've been doing phenomenonal amounts of decluttering

Sleep well everyone -

The end of half term is in sight!

Finished the birthday celebrations with the party for friends at the local indoor play centre. Resulted in a lot of over-excited, hyper children so I guess it was a success!

Had a fairly relaxing afternoon as one of DD's friends came home with us after the party, so they spent the afternoon colouring and making things.

Finally got DD into bed at 8:45, not good on a school night, but I'll get the routines back in place tomorrow

Congratulations on your anniversary Ellie

Sounds like you had a lovely day SC

Congratulations Ellie

Goth - glad the party went well.

SC - envious of your weather, it has rained pretty well all day here.

Not much Flying to report, but the place is still tidy, so that shows the system is working (for now).

Bit worried tonight, cat-related again. Cats have settled in brilliantly and are adored by the DCs. But, about a week ago DD came down with a cold, this weekend, when we have been at home the entire time, she has had runny eyes, runny nose, chesty cough, it suddenly occured to me tonight, what if she's allergic to the cats? She doesn't get colds much at all, hardly ever in fact. No family history of allergies to animals or any respiratory problems at all and she has been around friend's cats many times, so we weren't worried about this happening before we adopted them. Feeling very miserable at the prospect, and a bit helpless.

Congratulations Ellie. it will be our 12th anniversary too in a couple of weeks!

I am thankful that DD is a good eater and will try new things. She had just got a taste for prawn korma and BBQ ribs!

Yesterday the weather was dry and not too cold so we went for a walk up to the White Horse at Uffington. We decided to walk a different path that we hadn't gone before and it resulted in a hill climb of what seemed 1-in-1! We were all a bit puffed when we got to the top and it certainly blew the cobwebs away! Calories burnt were quickly replaced by lunch at a local pub

Today it has been chucking it down all day and looks like it may be the same for the rest of the week on and off.

Not much flying done this weekend:

• Homework project supervised and completed for school tomorrow
• Washing load done and hung to dry
• Uniform/shirts ironed for the week
• Also ironed the bits left over from a wash the other day which took 5 minutes!
• Sink shined and D/W filled/emptied and kitchen wiped over (DH cooked again!!)

Good morning and well done everyone - you are all Flying really, really well !

Stillwearing congrats on the mega-decluttering and don't worry - you will get there! It took us all quite a long time to develop CHAOS, and it can therefore take a correspondingly long time to come out of it. But if you keep at it every day, then the cleaning will become much easier (you can't clean clutter and all that as Flylady says). Keep going!!! [proffers sustaining and ]

Whoknows oh no - I hope it is not an allergy to cats - hopefully not if she has been around friends' cats without any probs. Maybe she is allergic to something else she has eaten? [Says hopefully.] It's funny how specific allergies can be.

Dizzy like the sound of your hill walking! Great to blow the cobwebs awy!

Goth so glad the party went well!! Hope you are not too tired today. Yes, half term at end of week for us too!

Swan Ditto! We didn't make it to church either - lost between hwk beserker and horse-riding. My justification is that I would go stark raving bonkers without seeing a bit of green at weekends. Loved Maggie Smith's character's comment on poets last night!

Ta da:
rabbits, morning routine inc wm, dw, s&s
dining room table hot spot
folding of laundry

To do:
finish cleaning kitchen
bit of a home bleugh downstairs
on-line supermarket order
more laundry
supermarket shop
bank
hair cut
buy trousers
see friend
call vet
call window cleaner
make doc's appt
serious bit of decluttering in boudoir
prep raspberry sponge (or similar)
school run
hwk supervision
afternoon/evening routine

Loads more but that will do for now! Have a good start to the week everyone!

Morning all.

So much to do. Can't believe half term is already over!

To do
Washing out of td, fold and away
Load of washing on
Skype DM
Drop documents in to school that I should have sorted before half term
Take DS for walk round open air museum to make the most of the museum card we've hardly used this year
Finish my marking while DS is asleep
Kickstart my 15k training againIroning yeah right

Okay, bbl

Morning all.

Mixture of flying and fun here today.

To do:-
Washing in dryer done
Washing on done
Gammon in slow cooker
More washing
Hoover downstairs
Putting away
Tidy our bedroom
Bathe dc's and me.

We are then going to the cinema later this morning and then on to BF's house for coffee and chat.

Have a good day everyone.

Congrats on your anniversary, ellie.

WhoKnows - if your DD has never shown any sign of cat allergy before, it's probably just a cold, but if her symptoms don't go, you could try this. You just rub it into your cat's fur (no water involved, thankfully) and it reduces the allergens.

Have just walked DMum down to the station and seen her off. She has been here for the weekend. We went out for lunch with both DC yesterday - it was so lovely to be able to do that .

DS1 had his first lesson at school today, instead of in the pupil referral unit. He has just phoned me to say that everyone was really pleased to see him and welcomed him back .

House is looking presentable provided nobody opens any cupboards (where all the clutter is stashed) or ventures into DS1's bedroom (where all the home ed books and papers are piled up). Have just received a pack of four boxes I ordered to store the home ed stuff. Now I just need to find the energy, which I seem to have misplaced.

Good to hear everyone else's ups and downs with children's eating. My next project is to set up a reward system to encourage DS2 to eat. I warned him today that if his lunch box contained another uneaten sandwich, I would have to discuss it with the teacher and get her involved, which I know he doesn't want.

What I should be doing: marking, running, tidying, washing

What I am actually doing: eating nachos and birthday cake while watching Tom and Jerry

Happy anniversary ellie

joining in here, no one replied to my decluttering thread

To do list for today:
Hang out 2nd load
Move contents of living room to front room
Freecycle few random bits
Make a charity bag to be collected tomorrow
Cook dinner
Take ds to drama
renew library books

We are having major paper trauma here - its everywhere thinking of getting a nice filing cabinet to organise the chaos - or is that just adding to the 'stuff' thats everywhere??

Afternoon all, am so tired today! I guess all the fun has caught up with me.

My major success today has been getting DD to school own time, I asked her (jokingly) if 9yo still kiss their mummies at the school gate? She walked off! I'm sure I'll get a kiss tomorrow, otherwise I'll do something embarrassing

Done
Beds
Washing up
S&S
Cat litter tray cleaned
Bathroom floor washed
2 small loads laundry -having to dry in house
Dry laundry away
Accompanied DH to doctors -everything healing to plan
Went to Morrisons for a few things, ended up getting a taxi!
They had canned chickpeas, tomatoes & Heinz beans on offer, we've got enough to last us the winter! Did get other stuff s well!

Welcome SilverSixpence. Sorry you got ignored elsewhere but we are a friendly lot and do get some Flying done amongst the chat :)

Engels - running again, are you working towards anything?

Having a bit of a proper Flying day for a change. Bathroom cleaned, our bedroom had at least 3 x 15mins sorting and floor hovered, landing and stairs hoovered. Wanted to sweep new hall and kitchen floor but can't find broom
Also got lots of painting done at the w/e, just lots of glossing left to do now, plumber came and made toilet work today though decided he needed electrician to help with the shower DC will be disappointed as they really want to use the new shower.
Got someone coming round later in the week to talk about new bannisters - to replace nasty original hardboard thing.
Even the skip is going tomorrow - won't be able to direct people here anymore!
Finally feels like the end is in sight.

Better sort out snacks for DC then go and pick them up.

Whoknows I came down with an allergic reaction to cats out which turned out to be a a reaction to an new Ikea rug. It was partly because they were confined to one room (kittens) and not going out, but definitely something to do with that RUG.