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!!

Lawd just read earlier post back and the bit about dressing dd "as I wanted" makes me sound like the most hideous control freak which I am. Poor girl ... .

Saturn Cheers! Berry cider sounds like it will be good for you (in a good way)! Flylady does mention budgeting here but nothing terribly innovative.

Runs in gives Trazzles a hug back. Take all the help you can get and don’t worry about it. Some people are good at saying the right thing at the right time, and being a great shoulder. Others are happier rolling up their sleeves and doing what for them is easier and being grateful to make a difference that way, no one who volunteers is going to judge, just want to help. Runs out to get to right house at right time, I'll work it out in the end.

Evening all,

Cats came home with us today and are adorable, they spent the rest of the day hiding under duvets and in boxes in the spare room, but miraculously wanted to explore the house as soon as the DCs were in bed. We need to decide whether we are going to let them in our bedrooms at night or not. Feels weird having little creatures roaming the house!

Not much Flying done, one load of washing, which is shrivelling up in the dryer and can stay there till tomorrow now, but we did all go for a bike ride this afternoon for Family Fun Day. DS has finally got the hang of cycling and I want to encourage him as much as possible as he is still finding it a little awkward (getting up and down kerbs etc).

SC - I love your story about your DD telling you the name for each hair on her head . How on earth will she cope when the hairs fall out? .

Had a lovely time with our friends last night. Today was frantically busy, with shopping, library visit, long walk and a friend's house-warming party all fitted in. Then home to wrap DS1's presents for his 14th birthday tomorrow. He has his best friend round for a sleepover tonight. They are very easy - just need to be fed pizza and garlic bread, then left alone to watch a film .

Tomorrow DS2 and I are making DS1's birthday cake whilst DS1 goes skateboarding with his friend. As usual, housework will be the last thing on my list.

Very exciting about your new cats, WhoKnows. (Am not envious, oh no ). Cats can be nervous around unpredictable small children, so your new cats may just be keeping their distance whilst they work out if your DC are any threat.

We decided not to let our kitten sleep in our bedroom at night, as it was too disruptive. He was perfectly happy to sleep downstairs though, so it was never an issue.

Whoknows if you have the litter tray upstairs it will be fine for now. The only problem we had is that the cats used to play all night, jumping around in our room and pouncing on our toes and purring very loudly You could always try it and see. I used to have a cat (lone cat) which slept on my bed always, but that was before children. We had the mother cat in our room with her new kittens for four weeks though, and I cannot remember her causing any trouble or waking us up, although there was a certain amount of purring and crooning going on

Dd has gone to a sleepover miles away with new school friends. I spent most of today dropping her off there and coming home again. Ds1 spent most of today stuck in a traffic jam on way back from Croydon Rugby match, and then missed the Brentford match. He was very upset, but I suspect the combination would have been too tiring and he was in good form by evening.

We watched Atlantis. It is a bit better (and scarier) than last week. I was just thinking what a Saturday night ritual a family drama had been over last seven years. Starting with Robin Hood, then moving on Dr Who and Merlin. Atlantis is the tail end - they are so grown up now, and less easily beguiled by the costumes and jokes, but it is so cosy watching a family programme like that. So far we have only found Big Bang Theory and How I met Your Mother to compare, and really they are unsuitable in parts although enjoyable.

ds loves The big bang theory! He is sheldon. drives me bloody mad, but he likes to be like sheldon

I hoping for a better week next week. (although i think i said that last week). ANd i love the parent who thought 9:30am on a sunday was a good time for a birthday party long ass day tomo. flying is something i seem to need to have defined for me again. Need to be in the house to do that.

right time to google where need to be so i can figure out what time to leave and thus the time i need to get at.

Urgh, not feeling great this morning surprise, surprise

ta da
up and functioning
present wrapped and card written
child dropped off at party
petrol in car
1st load laundry on
find source of smell in bathroom and go eeeeeeeeeeeew
check internet stuff.
Consider what needs to be done when

And to think normally i would still be asleep

9:30 Sunday party! They should be shot!

WhoKnows also here over kittens, GothCat is a lazy creature, who only gets lively at meal times or 11 o'clock at night when he sprints up and down the whole length of the flat, I think it's his exercise routine.

Swan Altlantis is part of our routine now, DD was too young for Robin Hood plus it bugged me but has been following the Dr Who repeats since she was about 5, I would watch it on a Saturday to check the scare factor and see it without the 1,001 questions. She's wants to watch Big Bang but luckily I've seen them enough times I can usually remember if they are suitable for a 9 yo.

DH didn't go in for his op until 8:20 last night! I understand he was a low priority but he hadn't eaten since 4pm the previous day, won't do him any harm, he needs to diet Luckily we are a 5 minute walk from the hospital, so could pop in and out all afternoon, his painkillers were making him very sleepy.
So he should be out this afternoon, we're heading down at 1, so DD is decorating the house to welcome him back, I suspect an ulterior motive as she's making bats and cats
I half expect a call from 'the Internet' checking up on him as he's been offline now for nearly 48 hours.

DH and I have started watching Atlantis too Swan (DH thinks it's better than Merlin )

DS is ill (high temp for the last 2 days) so we ended up taking him to out of hours yesterday. As soon as we got there he woke up and was running around playing games, little blighter. Today he has a temp of over 40 again and has been clinging forlornly to me all day. Just managed to get him into bed, but if he has a high temp again tomorrow will have to go to GP.

However, despite that have managed to get soemthing done

Ta da
washing up
Cleaned bathroom (shower, toilet, sink, floor) and showered
Hoovered upstairs, stairs and lounge
Skyped DM. DS was snuggled up to me and fell asleep during the call.
have just registered online for mw (if anything's going to jinx me, that will!)

To do
Put away yesterday's wash
Wash on
Put fly curtain away
IRONING!!!!! (the pile is growing!)

I really should declutter the lounge table as well

DH is making split pea soup for tea and is pottering around doing small chores.

Big waves to one and all

The party was good, and tbh today i feel sorry for the parent as they obviously don't have the luxuary of a child that knows what a lie in is. I am truely spoilt in that respect. Down side is that i probably have a parking ticket as didn't see the no return within two hours parking condition will have to cross fingers and hope not.

Ds has been told to sort his homework out or no "awards do" later
I have emptied the recycling and wardrobes worth of clothes that had collected in my car
school uniform wash is in machine as i type

Now I have a whole hour and half before i need to go out again. So much that needs doing, so much to sort and I want a shower and a change of clothes before i go too. Although bed is sounding pretty damn appealing right now!!

Both DCs in bed... And relax.

Though have just seen on Facebook that my 3 best friends here went on a girls night out last night together. No one mentioned it to me at all. Absolutely gutted. I'm meant to be seeing them all tomorrow but to be honest I just don't want to.

Evening all,

Goth hope your dh is back at home by now and all OK. That was a really long wait he had yesterday. Must have been stressful for you both.

Many, happy returns to your ds1 Toffee! And how brilliantly he has done this year!!! Hope he is having a fab time!

Oh Trazzles you must feel really let down. How very thoughtless of them. Or (desperately trying to find an upside) maybe they over-thought things and wrongly assumed you wouldn't be free? They should have had the courtesy to ask you directly though x

Top marks for the clothes decluttering/recycling Bitchy! (And extra Brownie points for 9.30 am party chauffering.)

Sorry your ds is still suffering Engels. I hope his temp is coming back to normal and that you don't have to go back to docs. (Split pea soup is dd's favourite btw!)

Swan some well deserved to you for sleepover and rugby match chauffering this weekend. We're Dr Who watchers here (or rather dd and dh are - I can only be persuaded to watch when Diana Rigg makes an appearance!) I generally love Robin Hood but found the last actor who played the role a bit too wimpy... .

Btw fledglings, do you have any rules in your house about family tv viewing? On the rare occasions when we all sit down to watch something together (GBBO or Strictly usually) I find that dh has started scrolling through his laptop after 5 mins, followed by dd a few moments later playing games on the tablet thing. So effectively I end up watching it on my own. It drives me nuts and happen to think it's quite impolite but am probably an old fashioned grump. But when I get at dh for setting a bad example, he protests that he would rather have dd between us on the sofa playing a game on a tablet that we can see and supervise, rather than upstairs alone on the computer, downloading God knows what. Which I have to admit is a good point really ... [She does have limits on screen time btw.] What does everyone else do?

Whoknows how very exciting about your furries! Hope you all had a restful first night together.

Big feathery wing flaps to Just and everyone else ...

Oh Trazzles that's shit

Stocked the freezer up for the next few weeks sc

I think it depends if we're watching something that we all want to watch. So, last night we watched Atlantis together - no tablets. Right now DH is watching some shit programme on discovery about motorbikes so I am mning. DH would be mning on his tablet if I was watching something like Revenge or Downton or Gardener's World

Posting steps early today as still have quite a few chores to do tonight such as watching Downton clearing dining table hotspot and polishing shoes, ironing uniform etc, having spent the day rigorously engaged in pottering around the garden and watching the The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe detailed cleaning

Tomorrow's baby-step, no 7, for Mon 7th Oct is a really helpful and important one about laying out your clothes for the next day, the night before. Really, really recommend doing this one!

Tomorrow, we will be starting in Zone 2: the kitchen. Spend 15 mins decluttering here!

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

Tomorrow's daily mission is here. Clean your kitchen bin.

Monday is the day for home blessing or as we call it, the home 'bleugh'. Beginners - don't get bogged down with this, it should take approx one hour - no detailed cleaning required - just a general hoover and dust.

The habit for October is 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!!

Thanks Engels it's a difficult one isn't it. The problem is, dd is starting to play games on the tablet even when there is something on she purportedly wants to watch. It is not doing her attention span any good at all ... .

Oh no - it can't be time for the kitchen again already...

~~bangs head on table as eyes up flotsam & jetsam of kitchen surfaces ~~

There aren't even books to reorder or knick knacks to rearrange - I can spend lots of 15 mins 'decluttering' those things...

I can confirm I do not need rearranging stillwearingoddsocks

Sorry no decluttering SC just the removing of clothes that have been worn and abandoned in the car from the car. The clothes are currently sat in a laundry mountain waiting for me to deal with tomo.

I am now more then ready for bed. time for sleep!

Evening all, DH is home, and much more cheerful, although it will take a couple of weeks for full recovery (not sure how long my patience will last )

4 days until my parents arrive! So I pleased we're in the kitchen this week, will try to do it and living room (plus get ready for DD's party)

oh dear. Talking of family viewing we just watched Downton as a family and it was most unsuitable Had to have chats with all the children afterwards.

done
took ds2 to drama
buses
walking
homework
took two children to a family do, which ds1 hated, and he then disappeared home - so that was a waste of time, but I'll know better next time than to make him go..Dd enjoyed herself, lots of girls (I think that was the problem for ds1 he is terribly shy at 13 of pretty girls)

SC we try and make everyone watch it simultaneously. In fact we have had to insist to ds2 that he doesn't slope off and watch something different. Our children drive us mad as they make comments throughout and we are trying to train them out of this.

Lots of washing
Lots of checking of bags
Dd returned from her sleepover safe and sound

Goth glad your husband's op went alright

Bitchy I sometimes wonder what Sheldon is like in real life, the actor I mean.

oh no I forgot the major drama of the day. We got locked out for about 20 minutes and ds2 went berserk. It was awful I had forgotten how impatient he is, even though he knew Dh was 20 minutes away. Sigh, well at least I know our house is burglar proof now, as he tried every window and lock with various implements from the shed. Not a pleasant experience. That and ds1 hiding at the party have made me feel shattered. We need to make the weekends a lot simpler.
And not forget the KEY! (I need to hide one in the garden somewhere, and have shed key to let me in as a backup)

at your unsuitable family viewing, Swan.

And at Still rearranging NickNacks .

Thank you for the birthday congratulations for DS1, SC. It's lovely that his year as a 13-year old ended on such a positive note.

He had a quiet birthday as his friend went home early (I don't think he was feeling very well), but we have promised to take him out to lunch tomorrow to make up for the lack of celebration today.

He is full of surprises at the moment. Today he asked me if he could go back to a martial arts club he used to attend. He left because of his OCD, but now feels he could cope again.

Ta das :

Birthday presents
Pancakes for breakfast
Washing on x 3
Tumbledrying and line drying x 3
Baking (2 lots of fairy cakes and a Victoria sponge)
Endless washing up
Kitchen room rescue
Wiped down kitchen floor
Swish and swipe in bathroom
Wiped down hall stairs
Emptied bins
Hoovered up spider in DS2's bedroom (sorry, non-arachnaphobes)
Made up DS2's bed with clean sheets
Read to DS2
Then DS2 read to me and I fell asleep on his bed
MIL round for birthday tea
Watched 'The Lady Killers'
Ate cake
Evening routine
Laid out clothes for tomorrow
MN/emails/printed voucher for restaurant tomorrow
Prepared for DS1's CBT appointment tomorrow

Off to bed now. Night all.

Swan - sorry about your DS2's meltdown over being locked out. I'm not surprised you feel shattered.