Feisty Fledgling Flyers flutter through Feb with flair, finesse, flaws, failures, fortitude, feedback, fiascos, fabulousness, friendship and fun!

[sanschocolat]

[The fiascos are all mine btw !!]

And just for Just, February is the new January that was the new January before

If you are struggling 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 something 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!

It’s up to you, but 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!

Points to keep in mind:
(1)No perfectionism allowed - this is harder than you would imagine
(2)You are never behind just start where you are and anything you do is progress.
(3) 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.

Humungous thanks to Bitchy for steering us through the hectic January thread and for the wise three-line mantra above.

All regulars, lurkers and newcomers welcome!!

Washed my front door? yeah it happens the same way that i wash the windows. Wash car, turn hose on windows on door. How else would it happen?

Super bowl night. Multi tasking with blanket gate. Just finishing off the edging. all fucking 6 miles of the sodding stuff...

Is it done now Bitchy?

Just had the delights of stepping into dogs poo with bare feet. This morning yuck!!!

Dog was whimpering to get out at 2.45am, so went downstairs, didn't switch the on the light as it meanings I don't fully awake and last step is where she has been poorly. Not a good start to the day!! But back off to bed to restart it!

I am very very very pleased to announce that the fucking thing is now finished despite an error which required over an hour and half's work unpicking plus nearly running out of wool Now all i need to do is buy some more wool so that I can finish the last 15ish squares of the second blanket

Buddha one word

Right alarm goes off in 3 hrs hopefully the pain killers have kicked in so that sleep can happen.

Well, there's no point me washing our door atm. Was brand new in Dec but we haven't painted it yet (still a very unappealing grey undercoat!).

Okay, am blitzing the house today...

to do
supermarket
prep tikka paste/salmon for dinner tonight
tidy this hole! Things need places to live and there are piles of clutter and bags of stuff EVERYWHERE!
Run this evening
be good and try not to eat stuff

Right! I'm going to do some flying today

Done
Bed
Washing up
Packed lunch
Dd to school
Grocers
Co-op
Fake bacon bun
Washing up
Wash cat bowls & mat
Wash bird feeders
Litter tray
S&S
Put caustic down bath plug hole (it's running slow)
Polish bathroom mirror
Pin cat down and use de-worm drops
Windows
Dry laundry away

to do
Fill bird feeders
Ironing
Dust mantelpiece
Vacuum
Wipe down top of fridge
Reboot laundry (can't seem to get back to doing it 1st thing)
Bake cake
Collect DD from school
Homework
Prep Dinner while DD at karate
Dinner
Washing up

BBL

Bitchy Congrats on completing no. 1 blanket, I can't believe I've started one after your saga

No energy or motivation this morning (that time of the month!) so going to start small

To Do

• S/S x4
• Tidy DD's bedroom
• Dry washing awat

Bitchy - thank you for being an excellent thread leader last month. Good to hear you are nearing the end of blanketgate.

whispers - since following the Fat Fairy, I have also noticed how few people attend to their front doors. Even my ultra-tidy next-door neighbour has never polished the brass on her door. I can proudly state that I actually do polish the brass and wipe down the door with a wet cloth about once a week . To me, it's a bit like the swish and swipe - it takes five minutes or less, but makes a big difference. (And, hopefully, it fools people into thinking that the house is tidy inside ).

dizzy - power of three is always a good plan when you lack energy.

Goth - can't believe you are starting your very own blanketgate now too. Well done on today's Flying.

Engels - good luck with house blitz.

Merry - at the poo incident.

pushme - Yes, get a cleaner! I have a cleaner who comes for two hours every two weeks. It's one of the best things I've ever done and she is worth every penny. I still have loads to do, but at least I know the house will have a good clean every fortnight.

Sillybillybob - welcome back! How are you? And how's your lovely boy?

Ta da

B/fast
Lunchbox
School run
Work for a couple of hours
Text exchanges with DS1 and his teacher (DS1 unable to go in again)
Home
Tea and chat with DM
Waved DM off in taxi
Quick shop
Prepared lunch for friend

Friend here for lunch in a minute. She hasn't been here for ages as she's been too ill (having chemo), but she really wanted to have lunch here today instead of meeting at her place. The house is not tidy: there is Lego all over the sitting-room floor and there are boxes of books all over the dining-room floor - ah well.

DS1 is having a friend to sleepover tonight. They are both so excited. Am not sure there will be a lot of sleep .

Hi folks - long time lurker marking my place

The office is a state - an absolute state so my de cluttering really needs to be co contested there

But it's cold!

Ta Da the three things on my list!

Next three to do are:

• Hoover through upstairs
• Empty bins and recycling out
• Washing load on

{{ellie and family}}

Well, I'm struggling to keep up here so I'm going to slow right down plus I'm knackered. Hope that's okay?

Ta Da:
Wash load in x2 (one load drying)
Dishwasher emptied and new load in
Breakfasts and medicine for the poorly ones
DS2 off to school
Others dressed
Played a board game with poorly DS1

To Do:
Late lunch
Clear out one cupboard in the kitchen before DS2 gets back (should be easy)
Check washing has dried, fold and pack away

See how I get on

That's another 3 things completed so now off out for a gentle swim

.

All done

To Do:
Tidy living room floor
Hoover
Make a list for next Lidl trip (hopefully this evening)

Afternoon all. Hope everyone OK. Just taking the opportunity while dd's tutor is here to catch up.

Glad to hear there are quite a few front doors out there which are as mucky as mine! Trouble is, culturally, it is a bit of a no-no here. The Bruxelloise as a rule don't seem to keep their streets particularly clean (horrible dog prob) and interiors aren't generally as flash/well furnished as in UK, but it is actually in the bye-laws that you are responsible for your front-door, doorstep and the bit of the pavement opposite, so lots of people scrub them on a regular basis. So unlike New York where people keep their front doors deliberately shabby looking to repell burglars, while their interiors are terribly stylish - here it is the exact opposite. One is definitely judged on the cleanliness/up-keep of your facade and we are definitely not coming up to scratch atm.

Ellie hope everyone is bearing up

A warm welcome to PeanutPatty if you are joining us!

Great to see you back SillyBilly!!

Isspingsprangedyet yes, sorry we are notoriously chatty on this thread! And you are right to take it slowly - small steps and all that. Hope your ds1 feels better soon and you can catch up on sleep.

Yay Pictures you're not a lurker! You're a fully paid up member if that's not too terrifying a thought! Great to have you back! Sympathies re: the cold. Absolutely freezing in this house; it doesn't help with motivation/decluttering does it?

Toffee [Delivers extra large crate of Brasso.] Hope your friend is as well as can be expected. Wishing you strength for sleepover tonight .

Hats of to you Goth with those lists - you are on a roll! Hope blotchiness has subsided!

Dizzy hope you are taking it steady today x Glad tea with neighbour went oK - dh had two French colleagues around to watch the rugby - it turned out to be quite an exciting match in the end!

Hope house blitz went ok Engels. I am still struggling with weight loss. Have lost 6kg and am now stuck. Now I am old [sob] I have to eat a depressingly small amount in order to lose any ... .

Yay!!! Bitchy Congratulations!!! Well done on finishing Blanketgate!!! [[cue trumpets/drum rolls etc!!]

Um, hope no-one emerges through front door while you are jet-blasting it !!

Merry hope dog recovers soon!!

Pushme go for that cleaner!! Crikey - you certainly deserve one the hours you work and all the travelling you do - pick up the phone NOW!

Glad to hear the system is working for you Whispers great to get positive feedback on here! Congrats on your newly arranged/shiny sitting room and hallway!

Blue hope fresh air did the trick yesterday - dc definitely need to blow the steam off at this time of year - roll on spring!

Just definitely been meaning to acquire laser measure for a while now (constantly musing about renovations that never happen ) but manky measuring tape eventually did the trick at the w/e. Sorry about your friend not turning up.

Just/Bitchy huge respect to you both for solving the difficulties that SEN issues throw up, so creatively and patiently.

Swan dh has converted me to eels since we moved here - there is a much lauded Flemish dish called 'Paling in ‘t Groen' where they are served with a sauce of made with white white, spinach, mint, sage, tarragon, dill, lovage and lemon balm - absolutely delicious - not remotely jelly-ish either (which would have me running out of the door sharpish!)

Yes! Thank you. 'Flume' was the word I was grasping for! Yet another 'f' word for February!

Whoknows so glad the party went well, your ds had a great time, and that the organisation was reasonably hassle-free too!

Eustacia small steps is exactly the way to go ie perfect Flying technique!

Big waves to Nicknacks, Cybermam, Honu, PA, Feetheart, Castle Alice and anyone else I have missed!

Spent quite a lot of the day either going to medical appts or re-organi sing them and generally recovering/putting to rights from a fairly busy weekend of entertaining (although all fairly casual and not too demanding). Hoping for an early night tonight!

oops Engels that should have read 'anything'

We keep our front door dirty to repel burglars

Neighbours tend to have very smart front doors, so we reckoned any burglar worth his salt would choose them instead. So far this has worked. Although it is fair to say, there have been no burglaries in the entire street for a long time, except one man had his GINORMOUS MERC broken into.

I have spent the afternoon in safeguarding training. So so much fun Round two coming up later this month can't fucking wait All i want is strong pain killers and my bed. Instead i have the following to do list:

To do
pick up party food
pick up wrapping paper
ice cake
wrap presents
balloon and banner the lounge
make sure everything is ready for tomo morning
important emails to send

Goth hopefully you have more sense then to miscalculate the nof of squares needed and then go ah well might as well use up the wool in a 2nd blanket....

I have looked at February's schedule. it is more then a little crazy.

wtf is microsoft journal note?

Why can i not find the program i am looking for?

Is it bedtime yet?

And can i have minions to do my to do list please?

Currently waiting for my cubs to return from their map reading night hike, (they are with adult helpers and other scout leaders). So taking the opportunity to catch up with the thread.

I have really fallen off the flyladys wagon. So going to hide out in the corner with as it no longer dry January.

My dog is much better, my fault as I was feeding her pizza yesterday [idiot icon].

My new job starts in 3 weeks, though I can start this week if I want too!! Do I a) show commitment and start sooner but in a voluntary position for 2 weeks or b) enjoy my time off ignoring the fact, I have had the last 12 years off. .

or c) get on sorting out all of those things you are unlikely to have time to get around to do but need doing yeah i know, bloody unlikely but still have to put it out there

Front door doesn’t get washed but gets painted every three years. Unfortunately they don’t remove the old paint first, so what should be mouldings look more like dented jello. They paint over the door knob, numbers, yale lock, and letter box too. Flat door’s a fire door, which was treated to a nice coat of highly flammable varnish. I suppose it makes washing easier.

Lost most of the day to hospital. but did manage to combine it with three hours of listening to friend, one hour sorting out her DWP issues with them, and a bit of research into Workchoice (gov work service for disabled)
got back and another three hours committed to English. And one to DT.

Still to do
Ironing
Plan tomorrow’s English
Write up H.E diary
Dinner
Sleep

Budda/Bitchy definately C.

my computer is being very very slow and difficult atm.

So I'll post and run away before I start getting cross with it.

done
dropped ds2 by car at school
counted money in church for three hours
exercise
nap
picked ds2 up on foot (exercise)
chatted to children
dh made supper and bought ingredients (very nice)
supervised ds2 doing history and he did it entirely himself after I had given him the date of the event!!! He told me to go away because he was enjoying himself writing the newspaper article on Thomas A Becket. Excitement! I didn't even look at it, and he put it in his bag with a proud smile. Independence!!!!

Now will put everyone to bed, or remind them to put themselves to bed (which is more likely nowadays)

A nice relaxed day doing very little.

just hope hospital is helping you

sounds like a most productive day to all that stuff as well as hospital

SC they're pumping me full of antibiotics and investigating whats going on, which is a good start.

Thank you Sanschocolat.

Bitchy that's such a sensible answer!!

But to be truthful won't ever happen