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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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

900 replies

BlueEyeshadow · 31/10/2013 11:06

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 Wine and Cake 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.... Thanks

All welcome!!

OP posts:
Slimchance · 03/11/2013 12:46

Calming Cake Cake Cake and Brew for everyone!

Swanhilda · 03/11/2013 13:10

I've done a few things today.

Milkbottles out
laundry upstairs
wash in
found ds2 memory stick for homework
picked up some sweet papers - some from the loo [eeurgh - what IS going on here, my children are so delinquent they cannot tell a loo from a wastepaper basket Blush
a bit of recycling
wiped worktops
loaded dw

dh forced ds1 to tidy his room, do violin, and go for a walk to buy gumshield

otherwise, house is a pit. Nothing to be done, that cannot wait till next week.

toffee loving the skateboard supermarket run. Do you remember Snoopy cartoons where they all used to skateboard with wind in their hair.

BitchytheGreat · 03/11/2013 13:12

How is the great bunny debarcle going? Tamed the feline tormentor yet?

stickysausages · 03/11/2013 13:14

I'm off to whittle some books for the charity shop...

BitchytheGreat · 03/11/2013 13:15

Swan could be the fall out of the back pocket thing that so many fall foul of and end up with wet phones.

Swanhilda · 03/11/2013 13:15

SC I'm sorry dh was being so annoying. I regularily imagine myself living in a little house in the woods away from husband, and with children gainfully employed working the land, and everything organised exactly the way I want it. This keeps me calm when there is no Cake

Swanhilda · 03/11/2013 13:18

Bitchy no. Someone put them in the bucket, which ds2 then emptied into the loo. Don't ask...Grin We have solved our peeing on the looseat problem by making ds2 pee in a red bucket.

CallingAllEngels · 03/11/2013 13:19

sc your posts today have made me smile (Howlett's is near my parents!) and laugh (mismatching shoes is a great achievement - bravo Grin ). Was nodding along to your post.

Okay, feeling slightly less sorry for myself today.

Ta da
Walk to playground in windy autumn sunshine ( and MASSIVE achievement...got DH to accompany us!)
Coffee with ILs on way back
Washing on
Blitzed downstairs - awaiting friends with their 2yo. Will be fun to see him and ds together.
Split pea soup on.

My aim gor the rest if the day is to hold myself together in one piece and do either a little hit of school work or some nano writing later.

Oh yes, sneaky nc!

Wine all round (it would be rude not to!).

BitchytheGreat · 03/11/2013 13:24

Sticky good luck. those words in this house would be considered unthinkable. Books are for keeping and reading until they fall apart no? Confused

BitchytheGreat · 03/11/2013 13:25

swanGrin if i thought it would work for ds peeing on the fall i would suggest it to him. But his aim is awful and i fear the emptying process would result in the floor getting decorated anyway. Hmm

JustGettingOnWithIt · 03/11/2013 13:32

Revolvenotevolve I did my best to be measured about what I said. I also did my best to make it clear that it was the system being suggested and assumptions that make that system possible that I found fault with, rather than the person posting it.

Hey Judith and anyone/everyone else is perfectly welcome to post here and argue causes for different systems if they want in my book, but if anyone tries to convert folks on a F/L system thread to something other than F/L system, they have to expect people to say that’s not what this thread’s about, and here’s why not. Surely?

The wonderfully diverse people on this thread have one thing in common; for a variety of reasons they either can’t, or don’t wish, to throw more time and effort at housework, but don’t wish to live in squalor and chaos either.

The beauty of it is no one has to feel guilty about ‘only’ managing one thing, (or maybe nothing) when talking to someone who’s managed huge amounts, because it’s not about ‘have you done it right?’, ‘do you do enough?’ , ‘Is it your own fault?’, 'what could you do better', ‘But couldn’t you give up something and do more’? or any form of competitive housework.
It’s about improving on any level as best we can and encouraging each other through everything from broken lives to broken fingernails regardless of who's suffering which.

The poster had already said they knew about the fly lady system and was proposing a different one, so they knew they were coming onto a F/L thread and saying ‘don’t do F/L, do this different way, it’s the only way you’ll get anywhere.’

If I went onto a TTC thread saying ‘I tried, it has it's merits but never worked for me, you need to learn about adoption’ (disregarding those who can't) or a home ed thread saying ‘I see the benefits of H/ed but it doesn’t work for me school does, here’s how to do school’ (disregarding those who can't) or a food bank thread with ‘food banks don’t work for me here’s my budgeting advice’, (disregarding those with nothing to budget with) it might be true, I might be right, and I might only be trying to help, but I would expect to be questioned about why, and told why it was pretty demoralising for some. Not all, as others have said, they found positives in it.

I’m sorry if either yourself or Hey Judith are offended, and sorry to all to have caused disharmony by objecting, but having had to drop of the thread because circumstances meant I couldn’t keep up even with the absolute basics, the ‘get off the setee and do everything all the time, more often, is the only way’ post right at the start of the month, felt like the options were either give up the one place where people don’t normally tell me to work ever harder and longer, or say something.

I clearly have yet to get to grips with the how part of put others first vs put my own needs first.

The majority of people on this thread are nothing but kindness and decency, one or two of us may have rougher edges in how we're able to put things, but I’ve never seen a micron of spite, absolutely none.

JustGettingOnWithIt · 03/11/2013 13:46

Having spent far to long here just going to say
Engels hope todays a kinder day
Happy Anniversary *Dizzy

Still to do
Keep breathing
hang up drying
rest of drying to launderette
shopping
ironing
check English essay
geography
work out what else should have been on list
listen to friend
keep breathing while trying to sleep

BitchytheGreat · 03/11/2013 13:54

Just No need to appologise lovely. It was a very measured response.

stickysausages · 03/11/2013 14:51

bitchy our house is full of books, if we never got rid, we'd be overrun!

I rarely read a book twice anyway, so no point keeping :)

stickysausages · 03/11/2013 14:52

Faltered for now on the books... but getting rid of some sewing stuff, and my wedding shoes!

elliepac · 03/11/2013 15:40

Afternoon all. In this brave new post Ofsted world..today i have spent 5 hours workingHmm. I did have work life balance sorted. I fear it is about to tip the other way. And fuck knows what that means for flying as I could barely manage beforeShock.

Anyway, work is out of the way. House is just about presentable. Dinner is in the oven and then we are going to eat and go out to visit some friends.

Hope everyone is having a good day. Haven't actually caught up with thread. Will do nowSmile.

iamadoozermum · 03/11/2013 16:04

Hello all. I popped up here a couple of months ago but have seriously lapsed due to new job that keeps me out of the house for 12-13 hours a day along with getting up at 5.30am (I'm not a morning person!). We have 4DC aged between 7 years and 10 months. DH is a SAHD but neither of us is any good at the whole housework thing so it doesn't get done as much as we would like, especially as we're trying to move house and so do a load of long-put-off DIY as well - grrr.

Anyway, will try to come back each day and join in properly this time Grin

elliepac · 03/11/2013 16:25

Welcome back iamadoozerSmile. Don't worry about posting each day. Just pop by when you can!

PositiveAttitude · 03/11/2013 16:50

Some very long posts on here today!! Obviously bad weather!! Wink

My lunch "date" was a disaster!! It was on a Sunday because it is a church that I work for...not the one I go to and the minister wanted me to meet all the members of his church. So I roll up and they had all finished eating lunch already. I chose a few small bites, plus a lush looking chocolate cake and sat in a corner trying to make myself invisible! - very difficult when you are my size, believe me!! I overhear a few old dears discussing me.. "What is she doing here?" "Who is she?" etc...(Old folk seem to think that everyone is as deaf as they are, obviously!) After about 20 minutes and with just the luscious choco cake left the minister starts the "official" part of the lunch.....at which point I sort of turn off and take a huge bite of said cake.......only to have one of those "OMG" moments of realising that everyone is looking at me and even worse the Minister has just announced that "PositiveAttitude is here to bring a presentation about the finances of the church!" Shock Blush The cake suddenly became like a ball of sawdust in my mouth and I just sat there looking like a gormless idiot with a mouthful of cake! What presentation???? I had no idea!!!!! My lovely, but scatty boss had forgotten to tell me that part of the lunch arrangement! I somehow managed to look as if I knew what I was doing......I think!!! Although I fumbled my way through and was as red as a beetroot!!
Boss has just telephoned to apologise!! He is lovely, otherwise I could swing for him!

I have managed to get the shopping done this afternoon as I have a full week of work and if I don't get it done today I think DS would think I was starving him by Tuesday! Other than that a big fat nothing! (and no intention of moving to do a lot now, either!)

Crikeyblimey · 03/11/2013 16:55

Hi
Can I come back after a long absence?
I am determined to move house in 2014 so I need to get a grip of de-cluttering / keeping tidy etc. so I can concentrate on not only maintaining things but to get the DIY sorted and the house in a fit state to sell.

Inspired by you guys I've just cleared out one kitchen cupboard and thrown out an old frying pan, some random ramekins and put some glass desert bowls aside for a friend's daughter who is just buying her first house.

I would have liked to clear more but I guess it's a start.

ToffeeWhirl · 03/11/2013 17:22

Welcome back, Iamadoozer and Crikey.

Oh my, what a nightmare, PA. I would have died on the spot. Well done you to actually stand up and do the presentation.

DH picked MIL up at 11.15 and she is still here Shock! We had a lovely roast dinner and then watched an old film, which had us laughing and weeping in equal measure.

Had quite forgotten it is school again tomorrow, so it is back to the pre-school routines tonight. Luckily, I have already washed and ironed the school uniforms , so it's just a matter of laying it all out tonight.

elliepac · 03/11/2013 17:24

Aaaaaaaah. To echo engels, MEN. He thinks he deserves a pat on the back for taking the kids out for a few hours this afternoon so I could work. I think i deserve a fucking thank you for tidying the house, sorting uniforms, cooking/serving dinner and washing up. I know I am being a martyr before you say hence posting here rather than relationships who would tell me to LTNWinkGrin. But seriously, the kids also have not said thank you. Arseholes the lot of them. (And i haven't/wouldn't call the kids arseholes to their face before after telling me to LTB, you call social servicesWinkGrin).

I am going to live with swan in her hut in the wood.

The most irritating thing is he has just asked me what's up. Dickhead.

And breatheGrin.

BlueEyeshadow · 03/11/2013 18:34

Evening all!

I seem to have spent most of the day wrestling with photo software, again. So I'll post links now in case I forget later.

Just - that was a very well put post.

Wine for PA, Ellie, SC and anyone else in need.

Welcome back to Crikey and Iamadoozer.

Well done re the uniforms etc Toffee. Just need to relocate DS1's PE kit and then we're all set too.


Links:

Babystep 4 is another skippable one, although if post-its on the mirror help you, then knock yourself out!

Incidentally, re shiny sinks, I think you only need to do all the bleach palaver when you're starting out or if it's got really bad. The rest of the time a polish with a microfibre cloth should be fine.

Monday is Weekly Home Blessing Hour House Bleugh day - see here for details.

The flight plan should update tomorrow with details of the mission etc. We're in the kitchen now and it's scrubbing the counter tops time.
**

Right, need to get the boys out of the bath. Looking forward to collapsing with Wine and last week's Montalbano to catch up on - getting behind.

OP posts:
Angrybudda · 03/11/2013 18:47

Sorry ellie your post made me laugh. My hubby cooked Sunday dinner and has rested all afternoon. Bless him. Where I took the boys to rugby all morning, after doing the morning routine, 3x bathrooms. Ran the dog, put away the laundry x3, put on a x3 washes, spent 1 1/2 cleaning up from the Roast!! Finally sitting down.

Thankfully the boys don't go back to school until Tuesday, so I can sort all their bags and uniform tomorrow.Smile

Swanhilda · 03/11/2013 18:57

Oh dear Ellie, I feel guilty now. I have done sod all. Except watch Songs of Praise (welsh)with ds2 in preparation for Formula I. We also watched Points of View which we both found hilarious Confused I'm feeling like an old granny that enjoys watches Sunday afternoon telly with grandchild. Dh took others to Enda's Game(apparently brilliant) and on a long walk.

I made some scones too and ate them mostly.

done
put halloween stuff in a big box for next year, and decluttered some too small costumes
defrosted supper (sausages)

Puts head in hands, when when am I going to organise Christmas at this rate? At least we are staying put. Tomorrow

todo
first step at Xmas organisation. Buy stamps.
Buy felt for dd to make some presents with.
Order some bulbs to plant up
Order some pots to put bulbs in
Buy christmas cake ingredients
Buy Delia chutney ingredients

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