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!!

Sorry! Feethearts and Toffees posts have just caught my eye!

Treble arf at wierd weaponry!

OK, in the event of a clear and present danger, we must first send Feetheart in to blind the enemy with the contents of a cat litter tray, while Toffee brings up the rear with her water pistol, followed by strangulation by tape measure and um, er, ... well I reckon we could do some real damage with a wilting hyacinth if we put our minds to it ... .

Curiouser and Curiouser PA

I am reading everyone's posts, but I now have to go to bed!

Whoknows I think they clean everything before they sell it, and I had the same reaction to (non-Ikea) carpet cleaning fluid a few years back. It wears off, the cleanliness of Ikea products I mean... Oh dear you've made my eyes start watering again.

SC good luck with all that work. Is Dh a publisher by any chance???? Or perhaps something even more highbrow...No need to answer.

Tired. Nice day roaming round London with ds2 after an assessment. Not so nice time spent trying to get to Far Distant School by 3 buses, and giving up. Dd agreed with me that it was ridiculous we were making journey in the middle of the night - by mutual agreement we decided to go home at last ditch. Dd is being lovely and daughterly and seems to be growing more sensible by the day. I wish I drove a 4 x 4 though, it would make life as a parent much smoother Still, it might have its longeurs.

Sorry, none of that made much sense, need to disentangle different journeys, but hey ho. Off to bed now.

Just back from an evening out with DH. We managed to visit a couple of pubs on the way home - it was like old times . Both DC were fast asleep when we arrived back. DS1 had fallen asleep in his school uniform.

SC - that's annoying about the work interrupting your plans. I love your image of the rescue mission .

Good morning.
Lost the entirity of yesterday (bar having to attend an important meeting) to sleep. Almost. And I mean only almost feeling human today. But need a list because actually i have rather a lot to do.

To do:
Empty car into lounge
car to garage
sort through stuff in lounge from car
laundry
coffee/tea with friend (make cake?)
make sure have money for friend who was lovely and ordered something off ebay for me.
internet stuff.
ring ex about ds' tournament that falls on the wrong day.
financial review (may have to leave until tomo when have car to get to bank in next town)

Right breakfast, getting up and car emptying must happen at speed.

Give me 5 mins and there will be a vat on the naughty corner bar.

Done
driven ds2 to school (I love that drive now! love Radio 2/3 and the autumn roads)
feeling uniquely scuzzy this am..and given up on house
all three children are at school with homework/clean uniform/the right pencil case stuff so I suppose we are just about managing

off to walk in Autumnal sunshine now and meet a friend for catchup, haven't seen her for 6 months.

Toffee ahh pubs. I really miss that pub feeling, but alas I think it was a former life before dh, so we are never going to resurrect it..For some reason we bonded in Thai restaurants and gloomy foreign films..

better go and get changed for coffee now

Pubs, I remember those...
Anyway, so pleased you had a good time Toffee

Done
Dd ready for school, (DH had to take her as I was having a blood test at 8:50)
Washing up
Dry laundry away
1st load in washer

To do
Recycling & refuse out
Maybe hang laundry out
Swap remaining summer/winter clothes in/out storage
Mission
Tidy away DD's birthday cards
Collect DD from school
Dinner
Woodcraft (making jam jar lanterns for Sunday's parade )

BBL

To do:
Empty car into lounge
car to garage
sort through stuff in lounge from car in progress
laundry 2nd load on
coffee/tea with friend (who read my mind and is bringing cake)
make sure have money for friend who was lovely and ordered something off ebay for me. -need to get change
internet stuff.
Find a jar for shells - need more shells! and thus trips to the beach.

Awful start to the day, thanks to going out last night and not laying out the clothes yesterday. That is such a vital step. This morning, DS1 wouldn't eat because he was stressed, neither boy would co-operate and get himself dressed, I couldn't find any socks, then had to iron DS2's crumpled school shirt at the last minute and run to the shop to buy stuff for packed lunches - argh!

DS1 is definitely feeling the strain of going back to school now and I have had a couple of phone calls from the unit this morning. He only has to last till 12 though. Am very relieved that it's half term next week.

I was in the hilarious position of having to threaten to 'ground him' yesterday evening when he refused to come home from the skate park because he had met up with some boys and wanted to go on to the indoor skate house with them. Couldn't believe I was threatening to keep him in when I have spent years trying to get him out! Anyhow, he did as he was told, was home in time to eat a roast dinner and then fell asleep at 7pm!

Didn't know what to do with myself when I came home to an empty house after the school run this morning. Then I remembered - ah, Flying! So I have a 'ta da' list...

Dealt with emails
Phone calls
Washed up and put away
Put washing on
S&s in bathroom
Polished shoes

And a 'to do' list:

Wipe floors and stairs
Put clean laundry away
Ironing (especially school stuff)
Continue decluttering in DS's room

Have just had a call from DS1 - he's lost his English group at school and thought I'd be able to help him. I told him to go to his house manager and ask her. It's so funny that he rings me, as if I know the answer to everything.

Toffee at you being DS's font of knowledge. I couldn't remind DD about anything as the only thing's they do at school are 'nothing', 'can't remember' and 'basketball' (she hates basketball)

Done
Dd ready for school
Doctors
Washing up
Dry laundry away
2 loads in washer
Hang 1st load outside!
S&S
Cat litter changed
Recycling & refuse out
Swap remaining summer/winter clothes in/out storage-DH thinks I'm obsessed with vacuum storage bags only a little

To do
Library
Mission
Tidy away DD's birthday cards
Collect DD from school
Dinner
Woodcraft (making jam jar lanterns for Sunday's parade )

BBL

Ta da:
Empty car into lounge
car to garage
sort through stuff in lounge from car in progress
laundry 4th load on
make sure have money for friend who was lovely and ordered something off ebay for me. -need to get change
internet stuff.
Find a jar for shells - need more shells! and thus trips to the beach.
fold 1/2 load of clean washing
5mins ironing - although discovered both iron and ironing board require cleaning after the dm borrowed it for using with bonderweb so abandoned until can find some wire wool.
washing up
load dw
clean benches
carry folded washing up for putting away
sort through my training kit, try to figure out the dead bag dilema (need a new one before 5am tomo morning and no car today whilst shops are open)
Sort through ds' bag and get stuff ready for return to school on monday
Start filling in the birthdays on ds' calendar for next year that he will get in his stocking. (yes I know but if i try to fill it in after he gets it all hell breaks out and he is away until tomo lunchtime)

To do:
coffee/tea with friend (who read my mind and is bringing cake)
Anything else that annoys me into action

Just been for work training, the morning went more smoothly than usual thanks to doing kitchen last night. Dd's (9m) first morning with childminder, she's already growing up!

Tamed the paper monster somewhat last night, spent about an hour and filled an entire binbag!

To do today:
Put away clothes
Freecycle more stuff
SS
Mop floors
Sort some more bags for charity
Cook dinner
School run etc

Toffee that is funny about the grounding Ds1 rang me up from the bowling on Sunday to say he was bringing a friend home and I told him he couldn't, after years of asking him why he never brought friends home in mitigation it was 6.30 on a Sunday evening and he had homework to finish.
In addition Everyone here is feeling strain of school, especially me! Ds2 had a wobbly about some after school event we have to attend tomorrow evening..dunno whether just to jettison it, although it is compulsory

done
talked to two friends, one at coffee, one on phone
two loads of washing
three loos cleaned and one basin

lots of walking

helped at Beavers

short nap in afternoon

otherwise I would say, house is sinking!!! Tried to sort out a cupboard and felt so baffled I went to bed at 2.30pm... Dw is broken too. And can't find the manual tis in the cupboard of doom full of files

After three days of lying fallow, dh seems to have mended new integrated dw which wasn't draining, by putting salt in it! Wow, the man has optimism, and it now works again. Fingers crossed it will continue to work.

So todo
unload dw
finish washing up
wipe surfaces
dry clothes for tomorrow
find ds1's blazer and wash it
recycling out
go to bed early so I can wake up early enough to distribute underwear

Grrr, just lost a long post.

In summary - house is going downhill, Dh has got hi fi cables everywhere again. Parents evening went well tonight. DD is sniffing so much that DS has had to move out of their room tonight, and she's asking why her cold is lasting so long, I'm still fretting about cat allergies.

Toffee - arf at having to threaten DS1 with grounding.

Goth - I learn most of what I know about school from the DCs friends in the playground / walk home not from the DCs.

Swan - glad DW is working again.

Silver - well done on the paper declutter.

Whoknows You can get over the counter anti-histamines. If it is cat allergy a day or two of them should prove it. Good luck.

on a random note do we have a victim i mean volunteer for thread leader next month?

Well, today I have had a bit of a tidy up, or in Fat Fairy terms, put out hotspots and dealt with paper clutter.

Ta da! (in no particular order)
Stripped bed
Washing done
3 baskets of laundry put away
Hotspots
Paper clutter
Various errands
Work
Swept floors (hoover still not working, grr)
Cooked tea
Cleaned kitchen
Zumba
Ironing

Still need to remake the bed and tomorrow I want to take some more stuff to a charity shop.

There seemed to be people queuing up to run threads a while ago, but am happy to do Nov if nobody else is bursting to.

Big waves to everyone, need to get off the computer. Night all.

Ah bollocks. there goes my early night before my early start. serves me right for venturing into the active threads bit. Got sucked into a bit of the AF debarcle. God some people are uneducated twats. And really the conspiracy thread seems realistic and has been proposed more then once.

Have broken my 15 mins only MN rule but have to say how lovely to hear PA is still around and all agog to hear what's been going on.

Toffee so pleased to hear DS1 is getting on so well.

Social services rang yesterday to say they have sourced a care package to get DH up and dressed in the morning. At 10.45am!!! WTF. Good job it wasn't me who answered the phone. What happens to poor buggers who don't have someone living with them? And we would have to pay for this! If emergency care (which is what we have been having) can manage a reasonable time why can't regular care? Disadvantages of living in the sticks.

Good morning fledglings.

Big waves to Honu and everyone else!

Sorry - just posting links and running today owing to mixture of work/school day trip/dh's medical procedures that were postponed from last week. HOpe everyone OK.

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Today's baby-step, no. 24, for Thurs 24th is an important one about adding 'swish and swipe' to your morning routine.

This week we are in Zone 4: The Master Bedroom. Spend 15 mins decluttering here!

Once your boudoir is totally clutter-free, you can go on to detailed cleaning.

Today's mission is here. A good one for Toffee - knob polishing and bedroom switch plates.

Thursday is errand day.

The habit for October is clearing paper clutter.

Here is today's flight plan which summarises the above.

Have a good day everyone!!

*

Sorry - HOnu 10.45 sounds ridiculous

Such a beautiful day here! Very low sunlight makes driving to school a bit hairraising though..

Ds2 has just rung up, to say we had to bring in the silver palette (a piece of plastic) he was awarded last week for art, because he had forgotten it. DRAT! Dh set off, as I have appointment to meet friends... The things we do for our children. I remember dropping so many lost items for ds1, that it seems churlish not to be as forgiving to ds2, who finds life even more difficult. STILL, I think we need to remind him later that this is not on..mum and dad dropping everything to bail him out of a detention. He needs to remember his stuff!!! Also it is a wakeup call for DH who insisted that it made no difference whether ds2 went to school round corner or 20 mins away. It does when you are having to bring in stuff!!!!

Honu I cannot imagine how frustrating that is with 10.45 start. A friend is a carer for her v elderly mum with Parkinson's and she has to pay for help, even though quite straitened, just because her mum owns her own (small)house, which they are all living in (husband and three kids) at present in order to care for the mum. As long as you are not in hospital, you have to pay.

better dash and spruce myself up! Out and about today to see various people.

Honu - agree, that's ridiculous, hope you get something more reasonable sorted.

Bitchy - I'm trying to avoid getting sucked into the AF stuff. Might try DD with Piriton tonight. I'm just worried about having my fears confirmed .

SC - hope DH's procedure goes well.

Off to work now, back later.

Just popping in as had a crap night, lack of sleep.

Wasn't going to post, but 10:45 that's bloody ridiculous Honu, I realise that the carers are over stretched and that not everyone can have a reasonable time, but that is stupid.