Fledglings don't makes resolutions in January, they fly through the babysteps.

[BitchytheGreat]

So here it is the dreaded January thread. The thread of resolutions and good intentions for the year that you are lucky if you see through to the end. Welcome to the start of 2014!!

A quick note for newbies, this is a long running thread. We do like new blood around here. However, we do ask you to be respectful that for a lot of us just getting off our arses is not going to help and to avoid suggesting this. We all know life is more complicated then this. So here we do things a little differently. A little bit of flying and a lot of chatter and moral support. Feel free to jump on board and join us in flying.

For those who are new to fly lady she recommends a three step program:

1. Get those babysteps into a habbit
2. Get rid of the clutter.
3. Get that deep cleaning done.

Don't worry if you think you not doing it right but not getting up to it. Some of us have been here for years and we are still decluttering. Because clutter has a nasty way of multiplying if you take you eye off it, especailly if you have kids.

Fly lady ethos tells us a few things that I want you to remember:
No perfectism this is harder then you would imagine
You are never behind just start where you are and anything you do is progress.
It didn't get into a mess overnight, it won't get tidy over night accept it will take time to get on top of things and you will be happier.

So jump on board and lets get started.

Oh and I forgot the proper introductions. "I'm Bitchy and I shall be your guide to the fly lady system for January" better buckle up as things normally get a little crazy when it is my turn to take control. good luck

ta da
Morning routines
Kept newly shiny kitchen shiny
15 mins decluttering entrance
tip

To do
bedtimes
'encourage' dh to finish painting the bathroom
make tea
evening routines
clean out bag

Evening all :o

Apologies to those who had tea-spitting incidents Am shattered now, but don't know if I can let you all down on this fine Friday night :o

Am impressed with your ta da list, bitchy. Looks like most have had a productive day :)

I did sort my bag out, but completely forgot about the car. Don't remember it being too bad anyway. I might go out and Hoover it tomorrow, depending on the weather. Most of evening routine is done, just got to feed cats/change their water.
No plans tomorrow, so I guess I'll be finishing the detailed cleaning list for zone one. Don't think I've got too much to do after my mammoth clean on Tuesday in zone 1 anyway :)

Big fail on bag cleaning, bathroom painting and making tea . But on the plus side have had a lovely takeaway instead.

Bedtime was not a resounding success. Have just checked on the DC to find them both asleep in DD's bed

Fuck fun not likely here today. Conversation earlier with DH went like this:

Me: My bum aches, I haven't done any exercise so I can't think why.
Him: Can't be sex because we haven't had any. Do you think it was all the cleaning you did yesterday?
Me: Probably yes.
Him: Worth it then.
Both:

That is what two small children do for your sex life. I think it is their way of making sure there are no more siblings!

Hello.
Done
two school projects/posters. Hideous experience.
Used up some more stuff from freezer
washed up in utility
more clothes washed
cleaned front room
cleaning lady hoovered stairs and kitchen and dd's room
cleaning lady did the ironing and made the kitchen look beautiful (for a short time)

Dd opened a bank account and paid in her Christmas money yesterday/today (the old account had gone dormant so we had to start again with a new bank..very exasperating, and I need to reclaim the balance which is £100. Also for boys too, but they spend their money the minute they get it...

tomorrow we get to actually have a free day without homework worries! Yay! still have to do those blasted pets in French though

You all seem to be having fun one way or another A husband that works from home is of course a whole different solution to Date Night...

Phew! Got a lot of crisis room rescuing done before DM got here. Cooked a lovely curry (Slimming World) from scratch (another culinary first! )

Swallowed like it was water .

Exhausted!

Wishing my DH didn't work nights, seeing as it is FF! Will have to make do with a cuddle from my . Nite!

pmpy

Well i did my purse nbut not car and even managed date night in the end

I have literally just walked through the door so I am off to find sleep. night.

No missions it is the weekend
Keep up with 15mins decluttering in zone 1 -includes dining room
Babystep 4 is one we suggest you avoid. We are of the collective opinion that putting post it notes up around the house is creating more clutter. If anyone desperately wants the link it will be provided.

More importantly Saturday is family fun day so go so something with the family. Try and enjoy it.

Right really am off to bed now.

:o at try to enjoy it, you do make me chuckle, Bitchy :)

No FF for us last night, both too knackered I think :( Currently on the sofa watching Horton Hears a Who recorded over Christmas, cannot wait until the DC are of an age for lie ins :(

Morning all.

Quiet day planned here. DH is at work and i have some schoolwork to do plus both DC's have homework to do so very boring family fun day. I am not even going to attempt to enjoy it bitchy.

whispers i too am waiting for the day they both lie in. DS is 10 and has suddenly turned into a sloth who cannot be parted from his bed. This is good. DD is 5 and willingly parts with hers every morning at 6.30. I feel your pain.

7.15 they woke here. Mine are 4 & 6.
My Mum is coming to drop my sons birthday gift (5 tomorrow). My family are rather toxic. I avoid my Dad but can cope with my Mum from time to time. However she always finds something to be critical about. So I need to scrub this place within an inch of it's life before she gets here. I shouldn't care. But I do

Ta Da
Internet food shop delivered and packed away into a clean and organised fridge.
wm on
Spare room sorted after overnight guest stayed yesterday.
Sink
Kitchen looks respectable

To Do
Didn't manage car or porch yesterday, still too wet
Ironing
Declutter - haven't decided where yet, probably master bedroom.
Check out charity furniture shops for a nice bedframe for DS2 who has grown out of his junior bed. Then see where we can get a good, new mattress at a bargain price.

Had years of DC waking at 5 or 6, so I feel your pain, those of you with younger children. DS1 has issues going to sleep (after midnight last night, which meant it wasn't a FF for us ), but at least he sleeps in. The other good thing is that, now they are older, they entertain themselves when they wake up - so, this morning, DS1 is already on the computer and DS2 is reading.

Dont - I have had similar issues with critical family members and respond in the same way as you - by scrubbing the place so that's it's pristine. I even have a 'guest crisis clean' list to remind myself of what to do when certain people are visiting! Good luck with the visit.

I did once hear an interesting discussion on R4 about why mothers always criticise their daughter's housekeeping. The consensus was that mothers don't want to feel redundant in their DD's lives, so they find things to criticise in their homes as a way of showing that they are still needed.

Whispers - love that film. But not at that hour in the morning.

ellie - sorry you all have schoolwork to do . Hope it can't be dealt with quickly.

Bitchy - hope you are sleeping in after your date night.

Castle - at you swallowing wine like water.

Swan - well done on getting the homework done with DC. Hope you have a good free day today.

Dreadful weather here again and I can't say I want to go out in it AT ALL, but I have to.

Pluto - very impressed with your 'ta da' list from this morning. I'm not even dressed yet .

Morning. I am lucky even though my dc get up from 6.30, they go downstairs and play, the 9 year old makes breakfast for himself and his younger brothers. 11 yo and I are still in bed. Teenager is out walking the dog. I wake about 8 but stay in bed reading!! I don't miss the days when the day started at 5.30, though to be truthful the house was cleaner then!!

Teenager leaves today for his Ski trip, he is going by coach, so will be crossing by Ferry. I am very nervous!

Still pouring down here, so car and porch will have to wait.

I am going to sort out book bags, and pe kits today and put them in the boot of my car, ready for the return to school!

***

I am a massive Marvel and DC fan. I put off watching the new Superman film, Man of Steel. As did think much to ones released over the last few years. Was pleasantly surprised. The story line not great in parts but good, special effects were great. And OMG the muscle on Superman had me swooning!! The boys were laughing at me as I had gone completely red!! I don't swoon!! A good film to watch if you have dc that like superheroes!

Today's mission :paint the cellar!

Ladies, I may be some time...

Ta da:-
Washing up
Washing on
Putting away
Tidy/polish downstairs
Ds tidied his room (he is sleeping at dsis's tonight and having a boys night with BIL so is muchos excited so i threatened him with not going to that)
Dd room tidied
Kitchen cleaned

To do:-
Bathroom s/s
Hoover upstairs
More washing
Food shop
Homework

Pluto unless you have a reason leave the car off your list. It will come around next week. You are never behind things come around again time after time. You'll get it next time. I too didn't do my car. I might was the appolstery if it is not raining but that is because i cleared the car out last week and discovered the eeeew that can exist when dc spend a lot of time in the car and food is eaten in it If it is raining it will wait for a fortnight.

Toffee I did indeed have a lie in.

Re dc and lying in. Ds has been trained that I am evil and grumpy in the morning and that if I am up early at the weekend he has to do jobs he hates and has a restriction on the amount of tv he can watch. Thus it is in his interests to leave me to sleep. He has also come to terms with the fact that I am a night owl and he is a morning lark now. Bless him if I am needed up by him earlier then normal he generally sweetens the deal with coffee in bed. This has taken training and I am lucky he has a level of maturity older then his years.

Right need a to do list:
bins
recycling
laundry
ironing
clothes away
towels away
ds' room - lego
rearrange ds' furniture
put decorations away in loft
return art storage unit to normal location
research and install Kodu
send 3x important emails re ds' training
sort out christmas letter that didn't get done and get ready to go
sort out exp's present from ds
trip to the big shopping centre in the next city
figure out how suitable the big pile of books for ds are. (Asimov and Arthur C Clark)
Sort out dvd return

Technically I have a date arranged for tonight and have done for over a week but I suspect that it will be cancelled. Which doesn't bother me as i will just get more stuff done here. Especially as I want to get blanket gate finished too.

Right physio 1 done time to leave the comfort of my bed and get moving. Hoping there is actually milk for coffee this morning. Otherwise I will be walking to the cornershop as my first job of the day.

Waves from naughty corner.
Got more interesting drugs yesterday and managed to get a bit of English done with ds, a decent bath, and listen to friend. (who’s testing my patience atm). That was it apart from a lot of sleep. Am working my way towards being upright by Monday come hell or high water as the guilt's killing me, and I suspect both are on the way.

Feeling really deflated this morning. I think it's the weather, it's so wet and miserable
I have done a few things today, all of my morning routine and nearly finished zone cleaning. It is so much easier to do that in 15 minute slots every day. Not sure whether to do the front door or not, since I don't like going back to do missions, but it is also on my zone cleaning list, and is the only thing on it I've not done!

I totally agree with bitchy, if you miss something, it will come round again, so no need to do it after it has passed. Flylady says that it will just distract you from the jobs that need doing today. Also you will suffer burnout if your to do list just gets longer so that you have more to do and you are more likely to abandon the whole thing altogether.

No ff for me last night as I felt he was still a bit sensitive after the night before, and I did give him a bit of bum showing just in case he was in the mood, but he wasn't although did notice. So now of course I'm gagging for it, thought I might get a bit this morning esp as he got out of bed with a morning glory but he went toilet.

Anyway didn't clean the car yesterday, and can't do it today as its raining and I don't want my new Henry to get wet.
Sink is still shiny but pots are hiding in the cupboard. I'm still bloody deaf in one ear, was hoping it was getting better as it kept popping yesterday.
And I have to go shopping today so I will be flying when I get back.

See you all later :D

I nearly wrote up about yesterday then realised to was 4am and maybe I should be in bed!

Yesterday Ta Da

• DD to swim training
• Food shop for the week
• Watched DVDs and played board games with DD (was shocked at the child abuse in Matilda )
• DD to swim training
• Washed pots and shined sink
• Signed up with MLP!

Today we are de- Christmasing the house as DD and I are at a gala tomorrow

ta da
Empty upstairs bins and put to disinfect
2nd load laundry on
ironing mountain culled
return art storage unit to normal location
Start decluttering art unit
Do a check on ds' school uniform and add grown out of items to shopping list
try to burn photos to disk, swear lots and find a memory stick so errands can be run
sort out christmas letter that didn't get done and get ready to go
Print out 4 copies of above ready for sending tomo

to do
recycling
laundry
clothes away
towels away
ds' room - lego
rearrange ds' furniture
put decorations away in loft
research and install Kodu
send 3x important emails re ds' training
sort out exp's present from ds
trip to the big shopping centre in the next city
figure out how suitable the big pile of books for ds are. (Asimov and Arthur C Clark)
Sort out dvd return

Yep I have been at the Bitchy special brew

Ta da:-
Cleaned bathroom
Tidied our bedroom so you can at least walk round bed
Food shop
Put food shop away
Washing
Drying
Emptied bins
Lunch made and cleared away
Thought about cleaning the car it and then thought fuck it
Avoided doing homework

To do:-
More washing
Homework

Although have inadvertently got drawn into the Horse Whisperer so some of that may have to wait.

Wow, everyone has been so productive this Saturday. I, on the other hand, have done virtually bugger all.

DH has hung some curtains in the living room, and has unstacked the dishwasher. And I... Erm... Well, I've sorted through a load of DVDs to be taken to the charity shop. And that's it, I'm afraid. Lazy lazy lazy.

to do

Wipe down surfaces in kitchen
Meal planning
Place online food order
Check library books and renew online
Quick clear up in living room
Put away clean laundry
Remove decorations from tree
Soak in the bath and finish reading anthea turner's Perfect Housewife.

No, done nothing.

Okay. I went to a catechism meeting.
I prepared a simple meal of boiled potatoes and flaked salmon
I went out in the pouring rain (exercise or walk to the shops, who cares what it is called)
I got rid of my family and went back to bed...which is where I am now.

They have walked to the cinema in an attempt to take exercise
Ds2 has finished his Robin Hood poster.

House v messy but I have no energy to continue