Fledglings polish their pumpkins and do their best, it's time for a Fling Boogie Octoberfest!

[Stewedcoot]

Heartfelt thanks to Engels (and Bitchy!) for leading the thread throughout September (Sept always being a busy one) despite feeling a bit poorly and despite being pregnant. Hope beneficial effects of injections kick in soon!

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.

Flylady link here.

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):

1. start or repeat baby steps

1. repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

1. 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!

Three key 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.

If you are new; then trying to spend 15mins decluttering daily and doing the babysteps is a good way to start. Some of us (mentioning no names!) can have scary looking lists but don't let that worry you! Do what you can, anything is better then nothing, and don't judge yourself against others.

If all else fails, a brew + the power of three technique + a bit of support on here can work wonders!

Oh and don’t let it put you off if we appear a bit cliquey – some of us have been on here for years – but all lurkers, intermittent returnees, oldies and newcomers very, very welcome!

SC shhh we don't natter more than we fly much

[hand over mouth emoticon]

I would probably get more done if I cleaned more and nattered less.... but where's the fun in that?

Just having a quick read of the thread and wanted to say a big thank you to Toffee for the mention of the titanic exhibition - we've got a travelodge voucher and couldn't figure out where to go, but DD is obsessed with the titanic so that's given us inspiration! :o

While I'm here I'll do a list seeing as I like this 'Ta Da' idea:

ta da
Three loads of washing done
Made a lovely lunch

to do
Hang out rest of washing
Test DD on spellings
Throw away some clothes I'd put aside
Put our underwear/socks away in their drawers
Wash bra!

A very small list but I was spectacularly ill yesterday and still felt very wobbly this morning. In the past I wouldn't have done anything today but I need to do something at every opportunity as I'm ill so often!

Hello. I have completely fallen off the thread due to bereavements in the family My house had descended into complete chaos but I decided I needed to regain control and have spent this evening tidying.

Ta da
Helped dc with homework
School work (we have an inspector in on Tuesday so I need to feel organised)
Roast cooked
Laminator dropped to my lovely LSA who has been busy creating displays in preparation for Tuesday.
Copious amounts of washing up done.
Washing collected from mil who has been helping out as our wm has died
Food shop done and put away.
Bins emptied
Downstairs dusted (dps massive contribution )
House hoovered throughout
Dcs room tidied - it took some coaxing but we got there
Our bedroom floor cleared
Ironing put away
Lunches packed(dp)

I now feel more in control again but need to keep up with the daily routines.

Alice I am sorry to hear about your dds lack of understanding.

Welcome fuzzypig

Mercury - I'm so sorry to hear that. It's hardly surprising that keeping the house in order has taken second place.

Just had an incredibly intense discussion with ds which means the late night sunday wash has gone on later than normal and I now have the choice of staying up wait to put it in the dryer or get up extra early to put it in the dryer. I am tired, cross and grumpy.

If i hear the phrase "it always has to be your way" once more I will not be responsible for my actions just go the fuck to bed child and stop telling me it has to be my way over bed time or any time i made a ruling that you don't like wrt things to do with your welfare. I am not negotiating and will just get veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery cross

Bitchy - that sounds very wearing. I'm also debating whether to put washing in dryer or tackle it first thing tomorrow.

fuzzpig - glad to be of assistance! If you want to read more about the exhibition, I've written about it on my blog here (scroll down three posts). I hope your DD enjoys it. I have become a bit obsessed with the topic too since DS2 decided it was something he wanted to study.

SC - thank you for the congrats. Sadly, it's one of those declutterings that doesn't show at all . Nevertheless, I know that I have got rid of two bags of rubbish from the bedroom today, as well as one or two boxes of books, so that is progress, even if we can't see any difference.

Ds2 lost a wobbly tooth this evening. Quite a relief as he was in such a state of panic when he discovered it wobbling last night.

(Note to self: tooth fairy must visit tonight!).

Oops, can hear a crash from the kitchen. The kittens are on the worktop again...

peaceful day spent tidying as visitors decided to come to tea instead of lunch (so much easier)

children did their allotted three tasks each (I wrote them notes - I'm desperately flailing around with attempts to assert my authority)
result - dd actually hovered and remade her bed, ds2 took out rubbish and tidied up toys in front room. As for ds1, he at least didn't untidy his room much.

boys raced off to Church by themselves today, and I met them midway through the service Alice ds2 loves the structure of church although he does need a "children's service" to get through it timewise. He still goes to children's liturgy and is the tallest there. This week they received party poppers which he found very exciting Ds1 loves the singing, the structure and the possibility of a Macdonald's afterwards. Dd hates it - there...the most normal of my children finds church the most tedious. I think she gets very little out of it, and she has never once expressed an opinion on the Bible reading, whereas ds2 does, quite frequently. My tip would be always to sit near the front, as it is much more interesting for the children there, rather than "hide" at the back.

Oh yes, ds2 gave me his immortal opinion on tidying today. "Mu-um, do you really think people notice whether the house is clean or tidy? Of course not, they have better things to do when they visit." To which I replied, perhaps not, but they do notice when they trip over things...His other refrain is.."oh no, I suppose you want to talk to me about problems again."

We have all just enjoyed watching Downton.

Baby-step no. 13 for Mon 13th Oct is here and introduces us to missions.

Today we are in Zone 3: the bathroom and one other room here. Declutter for 15 mins in this zone.

The detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 3 is here.

Today's mission (and all the missions for the week ahead) can be seen here. Clean around and behind the loo in the bathroom and spend 5 mins decluttering in one other area that needs your attention!

The daily focus for Monday is: what we refer to as the home bleugh. Spend approx 1 hr or 10 mins each on 7 core tasks. (Incidentally, I don't include changing sheets in this as it takes me at least 40 mins to completely change our double bed; I must be getting old.)

The monthly habit for October is getting rid of paper clutter: www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/october/ .

For a summary of the above, see the flight plan : www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120 which should update itself daily.

Have a good start to the week everyone!

*

Ta da cont'd ...
brushed cobwebs from cornices at one end of bathroom
supervised dd bath/hair wash
preventative nit combing session
cooked Spanish baked beans
cooked child-friendly chick-pea curry
cooked butternut squash and chicken bake
plus rice and courgette, pea, and green bean combo
served all of above except baked bean dish (for tomorrow)
watched SCD
herded dd in to bed
cleared up all of above

hung up last load of washing of day (huge)
watched Downton (or 'Dog's Bottom' as it has become known in our household)

Went to bed after Downton but feeling so stressed after the weekend I can't sleep. After nearly three hours of bickering- discussion, I finally persuaded dh to hold the ladder for me while I wielded a feather duster on a long extension pole and cleared cobwebs from one end of the bathroom. This took all of 30 mins but dh would not be persuaded to do other end. We then had another one of those circular arguments about ... of course.. the house.

Take it steady Fuzzpig and congrats on ta da list, despite feeling ill. (Make sure you recover properly though!)

Mercury I am so very sorry to hear of your family's bereavements. You've done really well to get so much done in the circumstances. And typical that the wm breaks down at the worst moment isn't it? Hope you can get it sorted soon.

Sorry you've had such a stressful evening Bitchy. Hope the morning is better (if you don't have crack-of-dawn laundry tasks to attend to that is.)

Toffee yes and even if unseen, it's still worthwhile, because every bit of decluttering in one part of the house seems to have an effect (even if only eventually) on another bit ifyswim.

Glad visitors kindly allowed you more tidying time Swan! And ditto to

"I'm desperately flailing around with attempts to assert my authority". I've re-started dd's chore chart and results are patchy to say the least! And yet I still let her stay up to watch Dr Who.

Swan wish party poppers featured at our Sunday service!

Quick list dump:
ta da
Washing up
Drying up
Washload sorted to go to dms
Bed made
Breakfast
Lunch made

It feels so much better now the house is tidy. Bbl to catch up on the thread and I will do some declutterinv and the mission!

Good morning!

Ta da:
dw, wm, rabbits
ironed school uniform inc one shirt (should have done yesterday )
ballet bun (new strategy to make Monday nights less stressful)

To do:
hang up dark blue wash
rest of morning routine such as s&s
and dining room table hot spots
clean kitchen
home bleugh downstairs
30 min French
prep apple compote
recycling
ordinary rubbish organised
attend to hamster
any time left over: decluttering in boudoir or office
on-line banking
on-line shopping
confirmation forms
find out when?
calendars
school run
healthy snack
ballet run
hwk supervision
early night

Have a good one everybody!

x post

Big waves and to Mercury!

Caught up with thread now. Thanks for all the welcomes!

(((Mercury))) well done for getting back to it. Remember to go easy on yourself

I think this will be helpful, now that I've understood a little more about how it works. So thank you SC for persuading me :o

I guess for a while I'll be sort of picking and choosing what bits I manage, as I can't face the thought of all that at once - even the baby step list looks dauntingly huge today!

But it should be helpful as I have such a huge difficulty working out where to start, so having suggestions will be a great inspiration. I've decided the 'one other room' will be DCs' bedroom (well that's basically the only 'other' room anyway - impossibly tiny two bed so all the mention on the site of porches, laundry rooms, basements etc is like WTF?! )

Must go get ready for school run now, nothing on the ta da list so far (but I managed EVERYTHING on my to do list last night yay! That never happens! Must be because I kept it short and sweet :o) but I'll BBL with questions no doubt. Lots I'd like to do today but still feeling rough, so when I'm having my post-school-run rest I'll read the links properly and go from there.

SC when I saw this thread on the "I'm On" page, it looks like you said "rabbits ironed"... of course I had to pop in to see what that was all about. Sadly, it seems your rabbits are still a little wrinkly.

This week is chaotic, but it is really like that every week, so perhaps I ought to only remark on non-chaotic weeks? I'd be pretty quiet then.

Good luck Fuzzpig and don't worry about catching up with all the previous baby-steps; just do the current one. They will all start afresh again at the beginning of November anyway! Alternatively, you could start with no.1 today if you like. As you say, pick and choose which bits you want to do and make the system work for you! Take it steadily though! [proffers sustaining and for later]

Alice sadly my animal husbandry doesn't quite stretch to ironing rabbit fur, but they do get brushed ever other day Good luck with your chaotic wk!

Morning all! Back from amazing wedding weekend in UK. Had time for a good catch up with my parents, dbro, dsis and dbil as well and managedmto swap presents with my friends and family so I only have to pay postage to one friend this year.

My saint of a mother had ds for3 nights so we got some rest post wedding.

Also managed to get all my Christmas bits (selection boxes, mince pies, mincemeat) plus british style bacon (ironically, it's Dutch!) And pop tarts, bisto powder and other treats. Won't be back till late Feb at the earliest.

Ta da
sorted luggage so I see what has to go upstairs or away
Wash #1 on

to do
food shopping
Injection later
unpack and put ds christmas presents away
what's for dinner?
catch up with mn and look at photos from this weekend
try on clothes from online shopping

Bbl to catch up

SC Dh isn't here for a week and what I need to do in the house seems much clearer when he is not actually living in it. When he lives here he seems to use all the space in such a way that belies my attempts to change our environment. He doesn't seem to notice any of the things that annoy me or care. Each little thing I point out as annoying he just says, well change it then, but it is the lack of interest that makes one feel defeated. It is their incomprehension of why these things should bother you or impact on your day to day experience survival that is so demoralising.

Anyway I shall press on when he is away and no doubt he will be delighted when he sees the improvement. He really does want me to be happy, just uncomprehending of what gets me down..He is now in in his parents' house which is all beautifully updated and redecorated German style and he cannot see why that is any different to the way we live. As long as he has pictures and books he thinks it must be the same.

Done
I've returned to bed, after getting two children off to school at crack of dawn. Bed seems much warmer than anywhere else... Unfortunately the cleaning lady is here again today, so my peace will shortlived and I will have to start rushing around again. I seem to have washed the contents of every drawer, and most of it is dry so this morning will be a mammoth putting away and ironing session.

I cooked some fish last nights for the three cats and they turned their noses up at it; unfortunately some of the laundry now seems subtly perfurmed with fish. Dd then sprayed scent all over herself to get rid of the smell On the plus side: freezer clearout of old fish

x post Engels so glad your weekend was a success and ds had a lovely time with his granny.

Well done at decluttering the fish, Swan.

Engels - sounds like you had a wonderful time . Am impressed you managed to sort out Christmas whilst you were in the UK too.

Morning, fuzzpig. I found one of the most helpful things about Flylady was having her kind of tell me what to do. It took away the overwhelmed feeling that I had to do everything.

The tooth fairy forgot to visit DS2 in the night . Luckily, he is amused and I've assured him that she will visit today - she's just running a bit late.

One of the kittens has chewed on our borrowed bike's rubber handlebars, reducing it to shreds (do kittens teethe, like human babies?). I hope I can buy replacements, as it will be very embarrassing to return it in that state.

to do

Iron clothes
Get dressed to boots (which had to be cleaned after one of the kittens was sick on them yesterday )
Put rubbish out
Persuade DS2 to practise his Times Tables on ConquerMaths
Drop DS2 off at MIL's
Appointment at DS1's new school