Remember, remember to Fly through November, but Fledglings will chatter a lot

[BlueEyeshadow]

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 SlimChance for leading us through October and such a copy-and-pasteable OP....

All welcome!!

Ta da
DNs present ordered!

On a roll today (think Bitchy has inspired me with the power of three!)

Once DS is in bed if he stays there will crack on with photos. Sure I have a discount code somewhere.

Bitchy I am rubbish at folding and putting away and detest pairing socks so if you find any tips let me know.

This morning I was reminded why I need to be back on the flywagon as ds only had a wet school jumper - epic laundry fail

Ta da so far
Beds made
Lunches made
Lecture
Dd to dancing

Hi Kat power of three is good advice.

Tonight I aim to wipe clean the coffee table.

If I'm lucky the sink may get cleaned!

DS had me up about 8 times last night. Neither he nor DD has napped today but both are overtired. DH has spent the day sick in bed... I need

ROWINGBOAT- i normally follow the fat fairies Xmas steps but I do the emergency December ones as I'm just not ready in November & it's full of thanksgiving preparation stuff.

Can we add them into the list in next months thread?

I have found that tackling each load seperately has really helped. No big pile of washing waited to be folded or ironed. Folded and ironed straight from the machine. But then it kinda stalls in the basket, which now gets into the right room but doesn't seem to make it away I pair socks as I go or bribe ds to do them

Hope you get a better night's sleep sillybob

Ds has collapsed into bed, I have to admit I think I am about to follow him. Last night's lack of sleep has taken its toll and whilst i haven't done much by my standards, I know most normal people would think otherwise I think it is time to sleep.

Blanket news: 27 squares complete bar fastening ends, 18 in progress. Total squares: 45ish

Clearly my brain is fried. What i meant (rather then to repeat my previous post) was that looking at a whole in isolation rather than to consider it part of a bigger task. Thus each load getting to point of being folded and iron is thus completion of the task. Where as when I looked at each load as just part of the mountain of laundry then what was the point in folding as i went along as the task wasn't reaching conclusion. iyswim?

And then the task looked huge and unforgiving.

Yeah definitely time for an early night. sorry hope some of that makes some sense. sorta maybe kinda.

Perfect sense bitchy

Ta da
Photos ordered!!! (99 and had a code so FREE except for 3 euros postage - hoorah!)

DS has only just got to sleep - it's been a loooong evening.

But have accomplished a lot today. Tomorrow have work, but shortened timetabel and no meetings so will be able to get lts done and come home ready to tackle home stuff without feeling guilty - hoorah!

Night fledglings. x

(Although those bastard Christmas cards are still looking at me from the corner of the room)

one will help

Pictures & Rowing I'm running December's thread and just found the Holiday Crusing Threads. I am happy to link them in on the run up to Christmas if people want them. There looks to be 45 daily missions eek so I suppose I could put 2 up a day for anyone who want to follow them.

Final Done
Beds
Windows
Laundry on
MN
Drape laundry on clothes horses-grr
Bag up frozen veg
Make beetroot soup
Marzipan Christmas cake
Washing up
Litter tray
Refuse out
Dinner
Washing up & SS
Another batch of ironing
Crotcheting

With both DH & DD in the house, I decided to defer weekly bleugh until tomorrow.

Tomorrow's list
Dust
Vacuum
Mop
Casserole
Mince pies

The 45 holiday missions start on 1st November I think & contain a load of pointless for the UK Thanksgiving preparation missions

There is an Emergency Holiday Cruising thread that starts on 1st Dec & ends on 6th Jan. ill have a hunt around for them.

Not done a huge amount today despite it being my day off

Ta Da

Made bed
School Run
Load of washing
Fruitless Xmas Shopping Trip
School Run (KFC for tea)
5 min Office RR
Homework supervision
Cooked tea for dh
Another load if washing in (dd has dance assessments tomorrow so making sure she has clean stuff) she's still a load if kit missing but nothing essential fir the assessments (just expensive to replace)

Haven't even looked what today's mission is

Hey, my name is Ellie and I sort of joined months ago and then things got a bit much and I stopped posting. Have been lurking for a while and have decided to join back in if that's ok? I have one DD and a DP. I feel like our relationship is struggling at the moment and I'm trying hard to stay on top of things whilst he just sits back and does nothing. We both work full time. I'm starting to feel like I may be slipping in to the early stages of depression and I have decided that now is time to try and take control a bit if possible.

Sorry for the me me me post! Really hope to get to know you all! Ellie xXx

Welcome back Ellie

Don't apologise about your post, it's good you want to take control. One baby step at a time as they say.

Me & dh work too & it can be so hard to
Motivate yourself especially when you see someone else kit bothering.

Mercury Sock basket use to be my pet hate. But now I play a game with the children, I pay them a Malteaser per pairing. We do the basket within less than 5 minutes. They love it and I am prepared to pay 3 bags of them to get the job done!

Sillybilly Hope you catch up your sleep tonight.

Welcome Ellie

Ta da
4 packed lunches.
Shower 2 dc and styled their hair.
Morning routine
Garage, car light would not switch off.
Arrange appointment to see headmaster.
Organise items for 28 bird feeders
Unload shopping
tidy kitchen
paperwork
D/W
T/D x3
W/m x3
put away all clothes
27 boogie in twins room
staying top of emails
Visit garden centre for bird feeders
Tidy every room (go to set 5 minute timer for each room)
Ironing
Dentist
Tomorrows Packed lunches
Cubs meeting – 28 bird feeders, learning the lines to ‘ Dumb ways to die’ and bird identification.
Scrabble with hubby and 2dc

Now enjoying

Haven't we all been busy today! I need to get a handle on "The-big-day-happening-next-month". I think I have got 2 presents bought and have no idea what else to get!

Today's Ta-Da

• S/S x4
• Upstairs hovered through
• Dry clothes away
• All ironing done (yeah!)
• Swam 80 lengths
• Oven racks scrubbed (after being in an Oven Pride bag all day!)
• D/W emptied
• Handwashed all the bits the D/W left dirty!
• Emptied bins
• Cooked tea

Need to wash the pots and shine the sink before bed.

{waves}

Not much happening here. Besides drowning in a sea of WW1 Airfix for homework (okay mixing my metaphors there) and other impossible to put together items like lists.

Fed up with schools, fed up with early mornings, and bad tempered humans, including myself!

Toffee Allsorts Animal Rescue has some puppies on the website,just in case you are still interested (but probably not, considering everything else going on). I have been looking at them vicariously

Christmas nil points. I bought some cranberries. That's about it.

done
planted most of my tulip bulbs on Sunday
went to Mass on Sunday after a 3 week absence
counted money in Church this morning
bought a history magazine
went to Catching Fire on Sunday with two kids
reread the book - am half way through.. the last time I read it I was sitting by an Irish lake in August boo hoo...that was about two years ago.
still eating my frozen batch cooking! Yay! Mince seems to have matured somewhat and is now edible again
cleaned kitchen after supper
mended new posh integrated dw which had gone wrong for two days again, obviously a bit too sensitive (one of those water stop thingies to stop it flooding seem to stop it working if a grain of rice gets in the drain I love my old cheapy freestanding Hotpoint, which still works in the utility room, so glad we never got rid of it I am using it all the time for pots and pans.

better go to bed now. Tomorrow I am branching out and going to a lecture on Vienna Portraits and an exhibition, organised by a friend from bookclub..at National Gallery. First time I've done anything cultural in West End for years. Feels scary.

I have spent 2hrs lying down with my eyes shut and being still in a dark room. I give up sleep is not going to happen and I am very of Swan's exciting sounding lectures tomo

80 lengths 80 lengths I hope that was a small pool...

Ds2 was watching an expose of "Amazon" working conditions, apparently one of the pickers (this is the company Amazon not the rainforest) walked 11 miles in the course of ten hours just back and forth between levels selecting items. All I could think was..good exercise for western workers was that very mean of me...although I must admit I didn't watch it properly.

SC secondary decisions are a form of subtle brainwashing. The irony is that in the end we often change our minds about what the best secondary is, having moved heaven and earth to go to a particular one.

Hello everyone.

swan what a fab day you have planned...hope lecture is great

bitchy poor you :-( Hope you managed to get some sleep after all

dizzy you are a powerhouse .....was there really an 0 after the 8 ? I'm stunned..give me some of your energy!

angy what an amazing ta da list....I'm so impressed

pictures and going yes yes yes times infinity....December Christmassy panicky/smug action lists please (I want to go from the panicky to the smug camp!) I've been following the christmas threads on MN with a vicarious thrill at how organised people are...

castle hope the horse picking up goes well...sounds idyllic (I'm still emotionally scarred from never winning the WH Smith win a pony competition )

mercury the only a wet shirt/jumper has happened to me too! I really need to be back on this wagon too...but you have a ta da list which is better than me today!

ellie welcome (back). This place has been a godsend in helping me do baby steps....I work FT and for the last month I've done practically not a jot of housework...so lets rebuild together. Hang in there!

rowing I'm with you on stressful time at work and then just want to slump when get home.

For me that's when house descends into tip, I start bickering with DH and the whole thing spirals into chaos. This is where I am right now!

Everyone else - hello. Cat has leapt on me now. It's 5:45am & wondering whether to get up or go back to sleep. Needless to say table not wiped, sink not shined. But today - as they say - is another day

Thanks angrybuddha much better sleep last night!!

I did clean the coffee table! Hooray!

Today my sink will sparkle. And if I can do a couple of loads of laundry that would be good.

I'm aiming low as there is just so much to do it is overwhelming so I figure one job at a time and anything else is a massive bonus.

ellie lovely to see you back. I can identify to some extent with your post. I hope you manage to sort it all out.

Oh my. Stomach flu in our house. Not pretty at all. Nothing, except the laundry was done as a necessity due to kids vomiting all over sheets, blankets, and clothing. But that's it.

I'm still a bit weak today, so no big cleaning list, as I don't want to overdo it. I do need to run a few errands. One child is okay to go back to school today (their school has a 24hr rule, and he now is good to return). The other still needs to stay home today, although thankfully no longer being sick, just a bit tired. He'll have to go along on the errands.

to do
laundry
washing up
tidy living room
top up electric, gas, and petrol
grocery shopping

Hello, sorry to be awol for a large part of yesterday and a bit late posting links today. Been busy trying to sort out schooling prob, on top of which DD went in to school late because of cough (no temp) yesterday, then had to be collected early in the afternoon because she felt unwell. Then she was up most of last night with what seems to be developing in to a chest infection. Need to cancel a lot of appointments today so I can stay at home with her.

Sorry to see you are all suffering with stomach flu in your household Alice, sounds awful. Wishing you all a speedy recovery!

Will post links now and be back to catch up with rest of thread later...

*

Baby-step no 26, for Tues 26th November is yet another ignorable one about looking at Flylady e-mails and realising that it takes a month to establish a habit etc.

This coming week we are in Zone 5: the sitting room (Nov 24 – 30). More info here.
Declutter in this zone for 15 mins every day!

Once Zone 5 is clear of clutter, you can go on to detailed cleaning.

The mission for Tuesday is spending 15 mins getting rid of anything that doesn't belong in your sitting room.

Tuesday is planning day.

The habit for November is still menu planning.

And the flight plan here provides a summary of the above.

Have a good day everyone!

*

Well done SillyBob you are getting there.

Alice hope you are all feeling a little better today.

SC hope you get your day sorted, and enjoy nursing DD today.

Ellietrying welcome back . I 'm just back myself.

SWOS idyllic it is not around here right now! Everything seems to be going wrong. It was dark by the time we had pony unloaded and turned out with foal. Both raced off squealing together, and that was with pony temporarily doped. Yikes!
Hope they haven't killed each other overnight.... sadly we met an ambulance on our way down the road for pony, coming for our closest neighbour. He has died very suddenly and will be such a HUGE loss to us in our tiny little 'village' (8 people living here including DH and I. Only 4 of us under 60!) He has helped DH out so much with the farm and just with life, since his own father died suddenly. Not such a nice week ahead.

Anyway,

To Do:

1. Work
2. Check foal/new pony
3. Cook a lasagna to leave in to the neighbours

Castle so sorry about your neighbour! I think the lasagne will be appreciated. Hope your week gets better.

Alice don't overdo it today. Think power of 3 (does that remind anybody else of Charmed?)

Ellie welcome back, I was sure I'd written a post last night about 'D'Hs when they get slack. probably involved a cattle prod

Pictures could you pm me the link to the Emergency Holiday Cruising please? I'll make sure I add it for December.

Done
Beds
Windows
Washing up
Dd to school
Mended toy cat's nose

To do
15 mins tidy in lounge
Dust
Vacuum

Casserole
Mince pies
Washing up

Ironing -that counts as 3 thing in 1!

BBL

I'm at work on my phone at the mo but ill on it later. I think it looks like it starts slightly after 1st dec so as to keep in with the focus of the day (planning/ errands etc)