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!!

Going yy to Charmed!

Castle so sorry to hear about your neighbour.

Stop Press: I HAVE A CLEAN SINK!!!!!!

Shamefully I can't remember the last time I cleaned it, and since I'm living with a person with a compromised immune system, that's a long long way from ideal. Now to get on with the washing up! I'm actually ridiculously chuffed

Alice stomach flu!! What a Nightmare, Definitely take it easy.
CastleSorry about your neighbour/friend.

Ta da
Got dc to school
collect outstanding checks
coffee with girls
chemist
shopping
emails
MN

Struggling today with the amount I have to do so, will be popping in and out all day doing the power of three (Goth it does remind me of Charmed too, which I keep getting glimpse of at the moment as the boys are watching re-runs in the morning before school).

To do
Take washing upstairs
reload w/m, t/d, d/w
Tidy kitchen

Ta da
Got dc to school
collect outstanding checks
coffee with girls
chemist
shopping
emails
MN
Take washing upstairs
reload w/m, t/d, d/w
Tidy kitchen
Washed up
decluttered medicine cupboard

To Do
Dry up
tidy dumping ground hallway
put laundry away

Well today has turned into a massive mess.
Ds2 had a complete meltdown at breakfast, and I just gave up and let him school refuse as he was in a complete and utter state over Maths - which we have repeatedly discussed with teacher, but he is still refusing to do the basics and then combusting. Today it was lack of squared paper.
Ds1 has been in a state about science, and his teacher rang me up to complain he was not giving in homework, and not turning up for test resits, not asking for help etc etc. He tried to stay at home but within five minutes we turned that around and he went quite happily.

Homework is really death by a thousand cuts. The organisation required and the work itself and the background skills required and the impact on family time ho hum..

Dh and I have a new rota where we take it in turns to be on duty in mornings from 6.40. It spectacularily backfired this morning as I woke up every two hours worrying that it was time to get up, and by 6am I had had about 3 hours sleep So my day has gone pearshaped and I now can't go to the exhibition, which quite frankly I can see I couldn't face anyway

However Ds2 have made our first ever Airfix WW1 plane for Ds1's project, and it was quite fun! So that is something. And the little wretch has done his ICT homework without screaming, as it is morning and he can work in the morning

Swan Sorry you missed your day out.

Oh Swan that sounds so exhausting. Hope model-making has restored some equilibrium.

Castle - so sorry about your neighbour. I love the Irish 'appear with food at every occasion' mentality and really miss it here. People look at me very oddly sometimes as I turn up with bolognese and cake.

SillyBilly - HUGE well done on shiny sink, enjoy it :)

Buddha - have you recovered from your run yet? Big well done. I had spotted that run ages ago and then forgotten about it but now am cross with myself as I think it would have been lovely (if muddy and hilly). I doubt I would have broken 1hr though - I live in hope :)
Are you close to the park because you might not be that far away from me?
DS(8) and I have a Santa Run 5k and a Boxing Day run (1k for him, 5k for me) coming up so I think I'd better get out again as I seem to have ground to a halt!

Whoknows - will PM you about backup system when I get a chance

Ta da

• Up at 4am and couldn't sleep :(
• Various letters for School Assoc
• All up and out
• Meeting with financial advisor
• Brownies made for school office - they will have a lot of School Assoc stuff happening over the next 3 weeks so best to keep them happy
• Work

Now need to go to school and read with children

Swan - sorry you're having such a rotten day. One day off won't hurt your DS2 (as you told me recently when DS2 managed to fool me into giving him a day off). Hope you can manage to get a bit of a nap later to catch up on sleep. Oh, and did you mean to direct the note about puppies to me? Thank you, but it's a kitten we'll be getting next year, not a puppy. January is the earliest we can have another one .

Castle -that is so sad about your lovely neighbour. I'm very sorry .

Alice - oh dear, if by stomach flu you mean a norovirus-type thingy you have all my sympathy. It is very, very nasty. The only good thing about it is that it usually passes within 24 - 48 hours (although those are hellish hours, unfortunately). I hope you all feel better soon .

Angry - I love using the power of three. It helps me to do something when before Flylady I might have just frozen in panic at how much there was to do.

SillyBilly - I'm sure you should be resting and trying to recover from the recent stint in hospital , but well done on the shiny sink and washing anyway.

Going - any help with Christmas prep in the Flylady list would be much appreciated .

SC - sorry your DD is ill. The mission you posted made me laugh: we have an entire Lego city with railway in our sitting room at present .

ellietrying - welcome to our thread. I believe Flylady started because she was coming out of a bout of depression herself and needed to feel back in control. The routines work well when you have that foggy, overwhelmed feeling. Just don't try to do too much at once: babysteps are the secret.

Castle so sorry about your neighbour.

Goth yes, that reminded me of Charmed. I must get the DVDs out and rewatch some soon.

Silly congrats on the clean sink. Funny how something little like that can make us happy.

Angry my boys are still too young to be interested in Charmed, so I have to watch it at night I guess when they're in bed. Sounds like you've got a busy day!!

Swan so sorry you've had such an awful night. Hope the rest of the day (and rest of school week) goes better.

feetheart I would kill for brownies right now - although probably not a good idea, as my stomach wouldn't tolerate it. tea and toast for me. But I'll be thinking of brownies.

Toffee well done on your son for standing up to the bully. Regardless of the bruises and everything, it's so heartwarming to know they're doing the right thing.

I had to take DS1 with me to the supermarket and he had a meltdown. Kindly older gentleman said "aw, I remember having some awful days when I was that age." And then said fairly loudly to just ignore the petty people that were tutting and staring as "they're just rude, aren't they?" So nice to have someone not be critical for a change.

A lovely friend popped over yesterday morning and helped me out for a bit when I was quite lightheaded and struggling getting food together for DCs (they were starting to eat, but even the thought of food was making me ill at that point). Now I'm just crossing my fingers that she doesn't catch it. I'd feel awful if she did.

ta da
normal morning routine, school run
grocery shopping
bought Christmas tree at argos (there was a sale- halfprice!)
petrol in car
cash picked up to top up electric and gas (to do tomorrow)
laundry
washing up
tidy kitchen
tidy living room

to do
mealplan
go over budget
go over Christmas budget and gifts list

Feet Woburn was great; I think it will be annual thing. I did the twilight 5k (Bedford) with my son(9) and he really wants to do another. Where is the Santa run? I have promised to take him to a Parkrun but that would be fun to do too.

Ta da
Got dc to school
collect outstanding checks
coffee with girls
chemist
shopping
emails
MN
Take washing upstairs
reload w/m, t/d, d/w
Tidy kitchen
Washed up
decluttered medicine cupboard
tidy dumping ground hallway
put laundry away
ironing
clean out shelf in bathroom
another load of w/m and t/d
Size planning

To do

Argh!!
peel potatoes
get the boys dinner on
drop off cheques
back to chemist
1hr school run
haircut for ds2
dinner
tidy up
Beaver run [Smile]
meeting (exec meeting for Scouts)
Gym

Also DS4 wants to make a tardis, DS2 & 3 want a game of cards tonight!

oh, and catch up with thread!!

Something going to give !!

Alice love your go over budget To Do list.

Angry I am a bit particular about knowing exactly what's coming in and what's going out. Plus I have specific Christmas spends that are non-negotiable, so I have to make sure I'm planning ahead and getting things bought and put aside as I go. Maybe I should be following the pedant's board? Part of being a list-maker, I think.

Ta da

Wardrobe decluttered and over half of it either dispatched to the boys' wardrobes, where it belongs, or packed up for a charity shop. I'm left with just the outfits in my colours, or pieces of clothing I'm particularly fond of, even if they don't match the palette.

It feels good to have got rid of so much.

Today has been monumentally unproductive. It is not going to chance. Lets be honest.

Ta da
praise ds who got himself up and ready for school
school run
meeting 1
meeting 2
school run
emails
ds' homework project work

Only proper bit of flying tonight will be going to be. Here's hoping that sleep happens tonight.

Updated Done
Beds
Windows
Washing up
Dd to school
Mended toy cat's nose
15 mins tidy in lounge
Dust
Vacuum
Casserole
Mince pies
Washing up
Ironing
Collected DD from school
Supervised homework & singing practice
Paperwork -I'd like to say it was a day early, but I didn't do it last week.
Litter tray

Toffee - sorry DS1 had a run-in at skatepark but really well done to him for standing up for his friend. Hope he is proud of having done the right thing inspite of his 'war wounds'.
Very tempted to get my colours done but may need to save up a bit first so I can have a splurge afterwards.

Buddha - Santa Run is in Luton on 15th December. All 4 of us did it a few years ago (me running, DH walking and DC on scooters) and it was a lot of fun - 300 Santas running through the park has a lot to recommend it :) Twilight run sounds good, missed that one completely, think I need to revise my 'looking for runs' strategy.

Alice - hope everyone feeling a lot better

Ta da:

• Reading at school
• Pick up School Assoc disco tickets that office had photocopied
• School run to pick up DS (DD dropped off after choir)
• Early dinner for all
• DS and DH to Beavers
• Miele ordered :o (DH finally declared that old hoover had died - much rejoicing)

Feeling pretty rubbish so small ta da:

Washing x 4
Tidied kitchen
Emptied DW

That is a big 'power of three' ta da, ellietrying, so don't put yourself down! (And, blimey, four loads of washing would take me all day).

feet - yes, the post-colour-analysis spending spree is tricky, I admit. I do want to buy a whole new wardrobe and am having to rein myself in. Luckily, I have inadvertently timed my colour analysis for just before Christmas and my birthday, so am hoping that I will get a little bit of money to help pay for a small spree now.

Ta da update

Morning routines done in the afternoon
School run
Made chicken soup for tomorrow
Made roast dinner for tonight
Washed up
Bedtime routines

Am now about to catch up with 'Borgen'.

Marking my place as I need to get back into this! I've increased my hours in work and am staring a new job in January which is pretty much FT - I need a proper routine to get my housework done in small bitesized chunks as at the moment it is totally overwhelming me! I used to get it all done on my afternoons off, but now I don't have them it is difficult. For example today I got up at 6.30am to put a casserole in the slow cooker, tumble dry the washing and do some ironing. I leave for work before 8am. The DC had activities (wind band, orchestra and swimming) after school so I went straight from work to them, then wasn't home until 7pm when I had to do dinner. It is now 9.20pm and I am staring at a pile of washing again and am about to clean the bathroom. Tomorrow is much the same as the DC have football and piano after school so I will go straight from work to that. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and pay a cleaner to come in

Alice Silly me . That is what happens when I read MN while multitasking. I read it, that you were planning to go over budget (ie that you were planning to spend too much).

Toffee Well done to your son, standing up for someone else is admirable.
I would love to have my colours done, but would be scared that it wouldn’t include grey or burgundy which is the main colours in my wardrobe. A very nice treat though. A bit envious .

Ta da
Got dc to school
collect outstanding checks
coffee with girls
chemist
shopping
emails
MN
Take washing upstairs
reload w/m, t/d, d/w
Tidy kitchen
Washed up
decluttered medicine cupboard
tidy dumping ground hallway
put laundry away
ironing
clean out shelf in bathroom
another load of w/m and t/d
Size planning
drop off cheques
back to chemist
farm shop
1hr school run
homework
Another lot of d/w, w/m & T/d
dinner
tidy up
Beaver run [Smile]
meeting (exec meeting for Scouts)
Scrabble with dh, ds2 & 3.
Off for an early night! TTFN

Angry hahahahaa It didn't even occur to me that you had read it that way. It is kind of funny though. (perhaps if I was better about sticking to the budget and not juggling things here and there, I wouldn't have to go over the budget so much )

castle so sorry to hear about your neighbour :-( sounds like big lossy for your village. I hope the foal is settling in....

***

Baby-step no 27, for Wed 27th November is planning supper in advance as part of your daily routine.

This 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 Wednesday is dusting the tops of doors, window frames, pictures, mouldings etc.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day do something you have been avoiding!

The habit for November is still menu planning.

And the daily flight plan provides a summary of the above - although when I looked at it just now it was showing the wrong zone!

Keep going everyone!

**

Hello! So sorry I haven't caught up with the thread yet. Rl proving a bit stressful what with one thing and another and I feel like I am going down with dd's virus. Hope to get back on here soon but off to bed now (finally!) as have early start tomorrow.

A belated but very warm welcome to KatCatKat

Castle I'm so very sorry to hear about your neighbour. That is so very . And I'm very sorry to hear that (understandably) it is very tough going for you and your family atm. It is so hard x

Welcome back Ellietrying and ¨Jemima!

(Note to newcomers... Ellietrying is a different poster to Elliepac.)

Alice hope you are all on the road to recovery

SillyBilly top marks for the shiny sink!

Hope your day is less stressful today Swan

Yikes Toffee I hope your ds1 is OK after his altercation. Good for him though!

Pictures thanks for sorting holiday cruising

Sorry to miss out so many of you - hope to do better tomorrow!

Big fledgling wing flaps to everyone!

urgh.

Need a to do list:
important emails
banking errand
paperwork
sort ds' pack up tea
sort training kit
make sure lounge is tidy
meeting
comp for ds
BED at a reasonable time.

Oh dear. Bitchy looking at the time hopefully that doesn't mean another sleepiness night.

I have decide to join this months theme and have toothache. Hence awake at this delightful hour!

To do.
Dentist appointment