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!!

Evening all. Productive day today.

Ta da:-
Tidied whole house
Cleaned whole house
5 x washing/drying/putting away
Food shop
Gym
Roast dinner
Washing up
Bath
Tv

Welcome to all you lovely people who have joined us.

Yay for carers honu.

Jemima my cluttering has completely stalled, though DH and I have agreed we will tidy out the cellar at half term (it's full of random crap that someone DH has thrown down there over the last few decades years.

ellie roast dinner sounds lovely. We had yummy leftover stew with rice, but DH decided in his wisdom to stor honey through the rice so it was all sweet. It was disgusting!

swan I went to a conference on Friday and the theme was ICT in education. I honestly feel that it can be great when integrated in teaching but in one of my subjects (drama) what really matters is the kids gettign down to work together practically. If they all had laptops/tablets then they'd just get distracted from what theyr eally should be doing whihc is creating art I'm living proof as have been on MN for the last hour instead of working on my novel

Okay, slow day...

Ta da
Work
Run
Ignore washing up
Realise I DO have enough clothes to wear tomorrow without having to do the ironing and so ignore the ironing basket for another day.
POAS and convince myself I DO see a very very faint shadow of a line Really not sure so doing one tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed plase!

Well I cleaned my sink and did indeed feel a sense of accomplishment (which lasted about an hour until DH left tea bags all over it). Started the decluttering but just the dining room may take some time, let alone the hall...

Good luck for tomorrow's poas IBelieve!

It was engels, even if I do say so myself. This is how exciting my life is...I cook a roast on a weekday and feel like I am living on the edge.

Okay, now I need to go and buy a chicken to roast...

....do it engels. If you are feeling particularly cutting edge, add an apple pie with custard for dessert....on a Tuesday.

Where's bitchy? Think I need the bar.

Evening
My first day back on the flying bandwagon has been a success

Ta da :
Rubbish/recycling out.
Dw unloaded and reloaded
Wash load done and hung out and another load ready to go in the morning
Dinner done and cleared up (nothing as exciting as a roast)
15m decluttering of living room
Dcs bathed, hairs washed, nails clipped and put to bed
Reading for assignment started
In the spirit of Tuesday I have planned what I want to achieve on Friday which has been given to us as a study day
I have also shined my sink!!!

I know there is still so much more to do but I am very pleased with todays progress, especially as I went to the library from school and didn't get in until after 5.

Engels the line was extremely faint when I found out I was pregnant with dd so I have my fingers firmly crossed for you.

I'm off for a bath and early night as I'm teaching a whole class for the first time tomorrow so really need to be on the ball.

Bitchy is having a hell of a time and currently staying away from the thread. Technically bar is still under refurb but you are welcome to do what you like in there as long as you leave it as tidy or tidier then when you arrive. Enjoy.

**

Tomorrow's baby-step, no 2, for Wed 2nd Oct is the controversial one about getting dressed to your shoes . Some of us find it helpful, some of us definitely don't. The theory behind it is here but just do what suits you!

We are still in in Zone 1: The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room here. Spend 15 mins decluttering!

Once Zone 1 is totally free of clutter, you can go on to detailed cleaning. Flylady at least realises there is a problem.

[Btw Goth was it you on the Sept thread who was questioning the lack of time spent focusing on the sitting room in Zone 5? If so, have a look at the Fly Spot info here

Tomorrow's daily mission is here. Spend 15 mins decluttering your dining room.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day. Do something that you have been avoiding and relieve some stress at the same time!

The habit for October is clearing paper clutter.

The daily flight plan will update itself and if you click on it tomorrow will provide a quick summary of the above.

Another useful links for beginners: reminders which should also update itself tomorrow.

Have a good one!

Today I have - rebooted laundry, tidied downstairs hallway, spent 15 mns decluttering upstairs hall, cleared huge mound of paperwork from the dining room.

I did wonder wbout the split weeks. In my house the most cluttered and most used rooms are the sitting room and the dining room. And they only get a few days each month!

Evening all,

Well the 15 min room rescue has been put back until tomorrow, I may try couch diving

Paperwork almost sorted, but the evening went to pot as DH's new bike turned up in the middle of dinner, so it had to be put together immediately anyway he's taking it to the bike shop in the morning to get it set up/checked over professionally.

Had some lovely news this evening. Despite having a scare at the weekend, it turns out everything is good so far with SIL and her pregnancy. Still a long way until she even gets to 12 weeks but feeling hopeful. I'm the only person who knows (plus BIL of course) which is why I seem to know so much in case you're wondering!

:)

Great news NN

[Peers timidly around naughty corner room door. Admires Bitchy's choice of wallpaper ...spies Ellie rummaging for ]

Top marks to everyone - you've got loads done today [waves golden feather duster in admiration]. I've been coughing and doing laundry and not a lot else.

Good luck tomorrow Mercury teaching your first full class! Will be sending positive vibes ...!

And good luck spotting that faint line Engels!

Slowly does it Violet, step by small step...

Hope your knee is OK Jemima?

Glad to hear you have a bit more support Honu although I can imagine having strangers in the house is also stressful in a different way. Dsil is caring for fil in France, and the care is wonderful (they change the sheets every day for example and take the used linen away to launder etc and the carer themselves automatically gets psych support) but she finds the lack of privacy really hard. Ditto here re decluttering btw- the books/papers/junk just keep on coming.

Is that you Jdub? Yay, great to see you! We've missed your cheery posts.

Hope that incision isn't in any part of you Nicknacks? Will check out thread after this ...

Good luck with the visitor plus party prep Goth. I find there's always a hideous period beforehand when you just can't face the thought of what's involved which I "sensibly" then multiply x 5 by procrastinating horribly and intensifying the fear and then wipe myself out trying to get it all done one or two days before.. you'd think I'd learn [sigh]

Crikey Swan that password malarkey sounds stressful

Big waves back to Just and everyone else I've missed!

[Shuffles off to bed being careful to make no mention of TGBBO and tonight's outcome and ruin it for Whoknows and other Iplayer watchers unlike last wk... but didn't you just love Christine's spotted dick? [clamps hands over mouth and runs away]

Was extolling the power of the ta-da! list elsewhere today so better come and post one myself now. Felt pretty rubbish about the house earlier so actually got on with some stuff.

Ta Da!
Room rescue: kitchen, utility room, sitting room and dining room
3 loads of washing put away
2 loads of washing done
Been swimming with the boys
Dinner
Shiny sink and clean surfaces
Emails caught up with
DS2 reception application
Probably other stuff too.

As a result of that, I need to RR upstairs tomorrow, and deal with more paper clutter - that'll be an interesting monthly habit as it's my Achilles heel. There's just so much of it between work, school and inordinate quantities of artwork/random scribbling!

Big waves to everyone and hugs to Bitchy. That is lovely news, NickNacks.

oops ...xposts/missed out bits:

Hope you are ok Bitchy

Agree Asheth it's a bit mad, but suggest re-design zones to suit your own house/requirements...

That's great news Nicknacks!!

Ellie having reviewed today's posts, feel I could have presented you with a much more glamorous hibernation pod than a cardboard box ... I blame it on Blue Peter and tortoise ....it's that time of year It'll be one of these next time promise!

G'night all!

[Waves back to Blue and admires ta da list]

oops

In links post, the sentence "Flylady at least realises there's a problem" should have been attached to following para ie in the question to Goth about lack of time in sitting room.

Right, really shuffling off now ....

Evening all.

Ta-da!

Home blessing - got kitchen and bathroom done but didn't make it upstairs, got sidetracked by detailed cleaning in kitchen.
Cooker hood cleaned
Kitchen bin cleaned
Pilates class
Hour digging the allotment (2 out of 75 sq. m cleared so far).
Home for a bit of a rest and lunch
1/2hr OU work
Arranged all the DCs keepsakes on the new bedroom shelves
Declutter a bit of stuff from the spare room
Two loads of washing, actually three but one was just bleaching the shower curtain with bleach. All ironed tonight (not shower curtain).
DD and friend to ballet, coffee with other mums
Tea and DS dispatched to Cubs with friends
Spellings with DD - trying out a new Ipad app
Started some filing - left it all on living room floor overnight
Reading/spelling/xtables with DS
Now watching GBBO and browsing the Lakeland catalogue.

Night all.

Aaargh, silly me, just clicked onto Fb and now I know who went out of bake-off. Never mind.

Oh no Whoknows!!! Phew at least it wasnt me and my size 13s this time . Congrats on mahoosive ta da list btw - and v. of your humungous allotment.

treble ooops (blame it on a surfeit of Lemsip )

the previous oops relates to question I posed to Goth in links post. But question should have been posed to Nicknacks who was in fact the fledgling who was wondering why Flylady gives short shrift to sitting room [apologies to those of you who have recently lost the will to live reading this]

Forgot it was a new month and wondered why it was so quiet on the thread today , but I have found you in the end.

Not a lot of Flying achieved today, thanks to other stuff, ie volunteering at school, visiting poorly friend and helping DS1 revise for his Maths test.

Made Victoria sponge for Victorian packed lunch for DS2's school trip tomorrow. Nearly half of it has gone already .

Will catch up on reading the thread tomorrow. Night all.

Sorry, forgot my manners...

Thank you very much, WhoKnows, for leading the thread so well last month and thanks to SC for taking over for October (love the thread title).

Thank you sc I have read it now. I'm glad she has addressed it and it does make sense but I almost wish fly lady jumbled it up each month so it was a different room neglected each month! No? Must just be my living room then :)

I've got work in the morning and have less than no idea where my trousers are. Got appointments with clients so must wear a suit

Have dug out a skirt I can squeeze in to but 1) my legs look awful and 2) I can't wear heels due to broken toe. So legs can't be made slimmer by heels and I don't even know if I have any tights.

I don't think I'm capable of running a house!!!