September Fledglings gather here, let's banish clutter at the start of a new school year!

[CallingAllEngels]

Here we go again- a new month to whip our houses into shape!

If you're suffering from CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) and STUFF (something that undermines family fun) then you need Flylady.

Don't sign up for emails on the Flylady website as you'll be inundated. Everything you need to know will be posted in the thread on a daily basis.

Depending on the stage you're at with FL you'll be:

1. Starting or repeating FL's babysteps.

1. Repeating babysteps + decluttering for 15 minutes per day in current zone.

1. Reinforce babysteps + daily missions if you'vefinished decluttering.

4.Number 3 and detailed cleaning anyone here yet??!

Bear in mind:

1. You're never behind!

1. No perfectionism allowed.

1. Your house did not get into a mess overnight, it won't get tidy overnight.

Some of the fledglings have been chatting and flying on MN for 10 years. I still think of myself as a newbie sometimes (even though I've been here for 2+ years!). Everyone's welcome! Old timers, newbies and lurkers alike, come and share your ta das, to dos and a whole lot more

Sorry for lack of OP links - am posting on the laptop that time forgot and am just keeping my fx that the OP posts!

Will be back on August 31st (pretty late probably!) with links for the 1st September.

My goodness whoknows you must be run ragged

I'm lucky that swimming lessons are in their school curriculum every week, one does judo as a breakfast club at school and cubs and scouts is a Friday night, run 7-9 and 7-9.30. Ds2 also does athletics on a Thursday but a lovely friend takes him straight from school and drops him home about 5.45.

I'm going to try and relax a bit and see if it sorts itself out. I'll know in a few days whether I having given each thing enough time or DS's might speed up. They are very chatty at the moment which us lovely so maybe i should unclench and enjoy them

I'm getting very jealous of all the kitten talk

Though I don't envy your early start pmpy Fridays are my day off so I plan to catch up

OK, rounding off the day and getting with the format

Ta Da

• survived day 1 back at work
• DS1&2 delivered to school in plenty of time, correctly dressed.
• paid outstanding bills
• went to gym before work (putting all my stuff out last night for gym and work saved me lots of dithering time). I had to wait for gym to open
• swimming lessons complete

To Dos

• Clear away these chinese takeaway pots BEFORE i go to bed
• Seek favours for childcare on Sunday
• car & handbag tidy tomorrow. Will add work drawers onto the list.
• get all kit ready for weekend sports for all the family. Label the new stuff.

Jemima- We have spent the whole of the summer hols living in bomb. She has only in the last week started to settle for longer periods.

Alice - can you please come to my house when youve finished yours? I'll provide tea and cake. I need to touch up all my walls when i get the house under control. I like cream walls. The dc like dirty hands.

Ta da:

School runs. On time, nothing missing, no one lost, shoes un scuffed and they missed me as much as i missed them.
Small amount of weeding in the back garden.
2 more loads of washing done.
3x black bags of clothes sorted through and marked for the charity shop.
Black bag of rubbish filled whilst i was on the phone buying cover for the dryer. (embarrassed to say that the phone call lasted 5 mins and the bag was filled long before i had finished talking )
cleaned the bath, toilets and sinks only. The shelves and windowsills need clearing before i can clean properly.
Roast chicken dinner cooked, kitchen cleaned and all tomorrow stuff done.

still left to do:

have a cup of tea

Feet I love the video - thank you!

I have had a manic day, just finished working after doing 13 hours work... Think I had been lulled into a false sense of security by August and today really hit me! I planned a list for my two hours after school (what I would normally achieved) and got a tenth of it done. Literally! I did manage to solve 7 other issues, but they were for other people, not me Anyway, seem to have pretty much caught up now and have remembered never to let children auto-generate numbers in Maths.... It always seems like a good idea at the time....

Anyway, ta das:

Roomba cleaned house for me (so, so clean - I am in love)
Did 2 dinners and DH lunch for tomorrow
Dishwasher re-loaded
Cleaned hallway - don't really need to do front door as was done last week by window cleaner (hurrah!)
Got plimsolls for DD
Cleaned litter tray

Sent millions of emails
Sorted planning for next week
Organised school dates with DH
Got DS's birthday presents

To dos for tomorrow

Kids underbed storage - must stop putting this off
Put new shelf together for DD so I stop tripping over it in the hall
Hoover upstairs hall
Sort out hot spot in our room

Night x

Nick - but that's what I think about your day job, the thought of looking after other people's children all day in my own home leaves me in a cold sweat. Whereas I spend three days a week sat at a computer in a very quiet office and most of the rest of the other two days on my own, so an evening of ferrying the DCs here there and everywhere (virtually all on foot, so fresh air and exercise) plus lots of other parents to chat to is very enjoyable. Keeping to a routine is hard though, as is keeping up with all the letters, kits, uniforms, requests for help and money etc.

Im sorry Jemima, that last message came across as really blunt. I am really pleased that ive been able to get a lot done because she is starting to settle a bit now, i have done next to no housework since she was born and it really shows. She is mostly a content little soul, albeit a very very hungry one.

Had a good day with ds2, a bit more motivated than yesterday, even found him reading something about Columbus
Met an old friend/acquaintance who home eds locally, and ds2 really enjoyed playing with her children. He still keeps sneaking onto the telly at home though..I will have to take fuse out as it is driving me mad having to constantly check he is not in there sneakily catching some Antiques Roadshow etc (his tastes are legion)

Otherwise,
stewed apples
dw on x 2
wiped table
made fish pie (gluey)
dealt with dd hysterics
phoned roofer and he is coming to see roof on Tues Yay!
picked up ds1 from orienteering by car, he was in an excellent mood and loving D of E stuff (although I suspect he won't pass the three assessments because he still cannot butter a sandwich without it breaking, let alone put up a tent or light a fire)
sent ds1 to orienteering first thing with enormous knapsack (it turned out to be the wrong one)
dd went to school at 7am
dh and I had a sleepless night we have become middle aged insomniacs for some reason, finally dropped off again at 4am, which would account for dh being in a grump today as he then woke up again at 6.30 for dd's breakfast...[sigh]

All in all I am bewitched bothered and bewildered but quite enjoying myself. Busy is clearly good.

Nick my experience is as the kids get older they are more difficult to get settled at bedtime as they DEMAND interaction, in numerous sneaky ways, and the only solution is to forget the happy days when they are safely asleep before one gets on with stuff, and possibly do some of the jobs whilst they are still chatting or hovering. Our other solution is to send them to bed earlier but let them read themselves to sleep with light on, then switch it off. I think you are amazing. I could never in a million years be as organised as you sound.

oh yes, and did some grocery shopping too in morning
and washed dd's incredible quantities of laundry
found stationery for ds1's pencil case

Ellie hope your first day with ds at school went well, nice to think he is there safely tucked away in the building with colleagues you know and trust.

Bitchy I'm sorry they were no help. Often our children can be so polite and chatty to grownups it masks other difficulties.

Re: the telly watching, Swan. My DS1 used to love watching 'Judge Judy' first thing in the morning when I was home educating him. At first, I tutted, then I sat down and got as hooked as he was. I used to call it 'legal studies' .

I am still awake and I have to be up at 5. Bloody insomnia

Morning. Just got in to find ds who had been awake since 1am but didn't want to wake the responsible adult to get help changing his bed. He had tried to do it himself and had done reasonable part job. Need sleep but suspect it will a while yet before it is possible.

Morning all. I'll keep it short, been up for an hour but still not with it. Having lazy cuddles with small baby on the sofa atm.

To do:

Drink tea and have breakfast.
Hot spots downstairs
Clear stairs
Put charity clothes in shed (Dh can take them tomorrow when he gets his tyres done)
Get girls up and sorted
Dust hallway
Clean window by the table
Hoover downstairs
school runs
Health visitor coming to weigh dd at 9 ish
Make a shopping list, go to tesco, tidy car at the same time
Mince out of freezer (bolognese for tea)
write dh a list for the weekend
think about dd3's birthday (next month)
put away a lot of laundry
general tidy up

sorry, that wasnt actually short!

Morning all.

DS survived his first day but only just. He got up in the morning and said he felt sick. Told him it was just nerves and that he would be fine after some breakfast. 2 spoonfuls of cheerios and the nerves took over and he threw them up. Bless him. He got to school and was lining up to go into his first assembly and then threw up again. Bless him. Somebody came and got me as he was in the sick bay. It was so hard because all i wanted to do was cuddle him but instead i told him it was nerves and to go back out and try again. He did and was fine the rest of the day apparently. His form room where he was for the morning is next to my BF's classroom so i had to avoid the temptation to go over and check he was ok. BF did email though to say that he was fine. And that's why swan you are absolutely right that I am calm knowing he is with people I trust. Although it will be hard when/if he has some of the slightly less capable teachers (not many but a few) if I have an issue.

Today I have one thing on my list:-

Survive

Am knackered and not sleeping great so if I achieve this I will be happy.

Have a good day everyone!

Ta da
Caught train

To do
Survive the rest of the day

Yes, what Swan says. I have a certain amount of things I need to do in the evenings, but I don't (and never have) try and make myself do them before the DCs go to bed, I potter round doing stuff when they are still up, which can include watching TV if there's something on early that I want to watch (for example) and leave sorting the laundry till just before I go to bed. Or the other way round. I've never had the "get everything done and sit and relax for the rest of the evening" routine. I just intersperse relaxing time with doing other stuff.

Okay. Here we go...

I like my sideboard, but had resigned myself to letting it go (furniture recycling coming later today, but I COULD cancel it, as I think I may have a plan on what to do here).

I've been thinking... we have a small table and chairs in the dining room. It's one of those tables that has the ends that come up and are propped up by a moveable leg underneath it. So it's collapsible and I can put it away easily somewhere to use if need be. The chairs can easily be added to my dining room table.

If I move my upright piano from my dining room into my living room, it can go where the table is, with no problem (actually still leaves a bit more room in my living room). I could then put the sideboard where the piano was in the dining room and still have tons of room in the dining room.

Does that make sense? Would you do it? I know the dcs LIKE the convenience of having the little table in the living room, but they're 8yo and 5yo now. They should be able to sit in the dining room to eat without any fuss. They do anyway now for breakfast, so it's really just supper that's a change. The dining room table is bigger anyway, so I like eating at that table much better - more elbow room.

Opinions? Am I nuts? Does it seem to make sense? Keeping the sideboard means that much more storage available to me in the dining room, which is not a bad thing at all!

Sounds like an excellent plan to me, Alice. Especially as it gives you more storage.

Have had a very stressful morning, trying to deal with DS1 logging on to online lessons with the LEA, with DS1 getting increasingly angry with me. Finally worked out that there has been some error and the lessons he is able to gain access to don't match the timetable he's been sent. Which means we have suffered an hour and a half of unnecessary stress and upset. It would be bad enough for any child, but for DS1 this is so stressful that I know doubt I'll be able to get him to do his online lesson later.

DH played me to calm me down .

feeing a bit more confident about getting DS back to preschool on time next week after this morning.

DS1 3yrs, DS2 5 weeks washed fed and dressed and myself fed washed dressed hair and makeup done by 8.30.

so far iv washed pots
washed and steralised DS1 bottles
one load of washing done and hung outside

waiting for the traffic to die down then going to take DS1 to lego store to get him a treat after his jabs yesterday
need to get some food from marks and spencers
then rest of food shoping from local supermarket (as I forgot to do online food shop yesterday )
get DS1 bag ready as he's stopping at nannies house tonight

also had to keep DC's quiet as DP got in at 3.30 this morning from working away

PMPY sorry you had bad insomnia last night. Afraid i posted and ran without reading the thread.

Ellie glad ds managed to overcome his nerves.

toffee

swan can't give a kid who refuses to talk to you therapy ds thinks camhs are twats.

I have sent a very tired and feeling ill from it kid into school, teacher has been warned and will send him home if needed, but i suspect she won't.

Am now going to do a load of phone calls before taking a nap.

Bitchy - is that what CAMHS said to you: 'can't give a kid who refuses to talk to you therapy'? They tried that on line on me too (no point in giving CBT to a child who isn't motivated to try it). It neatly overlooks the point that most children (with or without SNs) aren't motivated/might not be willing to talk and it's the skill of the therapist that overcomes that.

Hope you get your nap.

Have a long list to get through today, but can't get dressed yet because I don't have any clean clothes. It does have a psychological impact as I can't quite get round to doing anything (although I'm still recovering from fiasco this morning). Clothes are in the wash and am hoping I'll get them dry soon.

Power of three:

Dry washing (tumbledryer/put heating on and dry on radiators)
Put recycling out (hope nobody spots me in my dressing gown)
Washing up

Ha ha toffee - that made me laugh and DS (who is 2!) started saying "Run Doctor! Run!"

Feeling rotten this morning - DS was up in the night with cough and temperature so we have agreed it's a sofa day.

Alice if you have enough space for sideboard and want to keep it then this sounds like a good solution.

Ta da
Doctors for blood test
Both showered
Proper breakfast for day off (scrambled eggs for me!)
Paid credit card
Wash on
Tidied up shoes by back door

To do
Fold and put away yesterday's washing
Online maternity clothes shopping (need underwear, tights, tops and a coat)
More washing
What's for dinner? No clue atm
I need cake - we have none in the house so I may have to make some.
Lots of sofa time.

Glad I cheered you up with that clip, Alice. Love your DS's response! Sorry you are feeling rough - lack of sleep ruins the next day. A sofa day sounds good.

Am still here. Should be doing my power of three, but have lost all motivation after such a horrible start to the day. But cleaner is here at 1, so really need to pull myself together.

Nope CAMHS said see no mental health concerns. But have had repeated failed attempts with camhs and support workers as ds will politely converse with them whilst completely avoiding the topic that they want to take about by saying nope no problem. I have to literally sit in meetings and challenge him on that which means 1. child patient confidentiality isn't possible and 2. meeting becomes a method for destroying the child rather than supporting him. Which makes them pointless. They have given us some material for me to work through with him as he responds well to me doing therapy work and trusts me.

Sort out a load of phone calls and nothing now until 1:30pm. Sleeeeeeeeeeep

I need cake - we have none in the house so I may have to make some. this is something I do far too much but cake is yummy Alice sorry you are feeling a tad under par today.

Right, quick list as I need to spend most of today catching up with work as it all went a bit awry towards the end of the holidays.

Ta da:

• Up at stupid o'clock as was dehydrated after run last night. Had BIG drink (that I should have had last night) then couldn't get back to sleep.
• Dealt with girlcat and rodent corpse
• Dealt with boy cat being sick all over kitchen floor