March of the Fledglings 2015

[Slingclutter]

Heartfelt thanks to Whoknows for running the February thread during such a stressful time for her (and to Toffee for helping out.)

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 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 on Flying lessons. Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings.

Don't be put off by the purple prose and 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 might 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 15 mins 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, regulars, oldies and newcomers very, very welcome!

[SC totters off to bed leaving extemely large (gluten free?) toasted tea cake for Bitchy on naughty corner bar ... .]

Good morning fledglings!

Ta da:
ironed school uniform pinafore
'persuaded' dd in to shower and did preventative nit combing etc
morning routine inc dw, wm, s&s, rabbits, dining room table hot spot
made doc appt for dd
folded towels
found cake tin of correct size
sent e-mail to friend

To do:
strip double bed
put away laundered clothes
boudoir
make banana cake
find invitation to dd's party, to which I must respond today!
write shopping list
supermarket shop
buy some chocolate eggs to send to various nieces/godchildren
make progress with Easter letters/cards etc
after school routine

Hwk club tonight so have a bit more time to crack on through today. Boudoir certainly needs it! Have a good one everybody!

forgot to add:
on-line parcel return
distribute loo rolls around house
make double bed

Morning SC

Ta da
deal with change of venue for an event we are going to
Ds through shower
Lunch made and child despatched to school
Start loading DW
Hoover lounge floor
Lay out blanket for piecing next separating piece onto 2 already joined strips
(decide lacy strip needs to be attached next so this needs making)
check email account 1 (need to do the others though)
Confiscate ds' vitamins to see if he notices (he swears he is taking them
strip ds' bed

to do
laundry mountain
folding mountain - once created
ironing mountain - once grown from a mole hill
remake ds' bed
return washed animals before he notices they have gone through washer
collect washing up from various locations
clean bathroom

Very envious of all this online shopping going on. I had to laugh at your comment about you being 30 years behind the times wrt Internet shopping there SC - I so often say the same about life here (wrt almost everything except healthcare). One supermarket launched it here in Vienna last year and I think they're extending it outside the capital now too, but tbh supermarkets here are so small and the choice so limited that I can't see myself switching anytime soon (I usually need to go to three different supermarkets to get everything I need).

Re driving, I've now (re)learned three times and if I can do it Toffee, anyone can! I passed my test when I was 17 but rarely drove, so was forced to virtually start from scratch when we moved to the USA 13 years later - public transport there was so abysmal that I really had to drive (and had to take a driving test there too). We had an automatic, which definitely made getting back into driving much easier. I then didn't drive for about four years after we first moved to Austria, but forced myself to get back into it as I could see it would make life so much easier. I won't pretend it wasn't scary at first - I had to relearn to drive a manual car, parking spaces are so much smaller over here, roads far narrower and other drivers more impatient - but I did it. Two things that have made driving a lot easier: a sat nav (I have absolutely no sense of direction, so even use it round town ) and parking sensors (they've given me much more confidence when parking, which was almost a bigger issue than driving). I still don't enjoy motorway or long-distance driving, or driving new routes, but I don't think twice about driving my familiar local routes now.

Back to work. But need first!

I was thinking more about the driving, my mum has always been a reluctant driver, but we were a two car family right back into the 70s as both my parents needed them to get to work. However mum has always had a very limited repertoire of routes she felt comfortable with (work, the shops and the station). My dad always did the longer more complex stuff, they regularly drive from Hampshire to Yorkshire, Scotland etc. In the last five years or so Dad has actively encouraged mum to drive more, as the longer journeys were tiring him and she has gained a lot of confidence. Half her problem is navigation, she has zero sense of direction, but she is a much more confident driver now. If she can do it anyone can.

I have drunk too much coffee I am feeling a bit twitchy should be sitting down with blanket piecing. Currently sorting out a load of stuff that has been annoying me and wondering where the box of spare coat hangers is. At this rate I will have to go buy some

I'm up and dressed and in my DIY clothes but now I seem to have come to a screeching halt and I'm sitting on the sofa, laptop on lap thinking about how much I want to go back to sleep.......

I have washed up and made a batch of bread though, just my standard bloomer batch though, I still haven't got round to doing any of Bitchy's recipes, will get them out again now that I'm feeling better again.

I will take heart from people saying that the online shopping gets easier and persevere. I like the image that Sling has given me of just doing my remaining shopping at the little local shops like the butchers and luckily I do have a great butchers, fish shop, fruit & veg and bakers, etc just a few hundred metres from my house, so I guess I can still get my food shopping fix but without the heavy lifting. I do need to get more organised about meal planning though to make the online shopping really work for us.

Sling yes DP's concern is quite sweet, I think the problem is that he would like to put a solution in place but there isn't one, meerkitten will either wait until he gets back or she wont, I think the total lack of control to do anything about it is probably the main source of his worry. Coupled with my reputation for doing bonkers things around the house that I really shouldn't do without waiting for help That was pre-pregnancy though.

I think the problem is that I think I'll be fine and I only realise it's perhaps a bit mad when I'm too far in to go back. A classic example would be the time that I tried to carry an armchair that converts into a single bed up the narrow attic stairs on my own one morning, in my pjs and got trapped between the wall and the chair at one point with the whole weight of the chair on me. That was the point when I realised that I should perhaps have waited for help. I did eventually get the chair up the stairs in the end, but I don't think I'll ever live that one down. If only I could claim that that was a rare example of my behaviour. My eternal optimism that it will all work out is always my downfall and sadly I never seem to learn

Right, I'm now going to take Bitchy's advice and set my timer for 15mins and do something and then I'll allow myself to sit on the sofa and rest for 15mins, possibly with a hot chocolate, that will give me something to look forward to.

I did actually get something done in the end yesterday, I did replace the bathroom light pull switch. We've only got one tiny bathroom and we've spent about 5 years trying to get it sorted and whilst it is nearly there every time I write a final to do list there still seems to be at least 20 items left on it, arghhh... how can it be?! So I'm determined to get this sorted, so will now spend my 15mins on the timer in the bathroom making some sort of progress.

Will report back shortly......

Lunch break ... .

Ta da cont'd/...
wrote shopping list
stripped double bed
found dd's (lost) invitation to party and replied
cleaned microwave inside and out
cleaned out fridge thoroughly
cleaned kitchen surfaces thoroughly
supermarket
collected parcel
unloaded and put away shopping
emptied out parcel

Brrrr! It's surprisingly cold out there! Spring has evidently sprung and then run off somewhere!

Just back from supermarket run. Forgot one of the ones I visit regularly is shut on a Thurs (bum!) so altered my menu plan which meant I was then shopping "off list" (as opposed to off piste - I lead a sad life) and so I went a bit mad in fruit & veg section (yes, very sad). Finally found smoked praprika which I have been looking for for ages, and treated myself to enormous piece of ginger and fantastic spring forced rhubarb.

All this talk about driving is making me feel guilty. I really need to do more. Dh drives my car more often than I do (even though it is so small and he is so big, that he inevitably channels the "gorilla on a tricycle" look when doing so).

Whoknows Have same navigation problem as your ma! Very good idea about the sat nav Linzer we have one but it is strictly speaking the property of the office, so only get to use it occasionally (and it "speaks" Dutch!). Might see if I can pick one up for myself in a sale [wonders how expensive they are].

Linzer forgive ignorant question but does your sat nav only speak in German or does it have other lang options?

Linzer yes, health care much more advanced here too and the only other thing (strangely) that is ahead of UK is banking technology. As for the rest, I don't think people spend a lot of time shopping really; which I think is the result of high taxes and health insurance of course. Frankly, once all of those are paid, there isn't much left over with which to shop! Homes tend to be very modestly furnished; very few people have flash kitchens for example like you find in the UK. With work clothing they tend to buy a couple outfits per season and wear it to death. The only thing they tend to splash out on is food for special occasions and hugely overwhelmingly generous gifts of wine, patisserie, chocolates and flowers when visiting friends and families. It is not done to turn up anywhere - and I mean anywhere (even if you are just popping around to a friend's for coffee ) without a cake or a bag of biscuits, or a bunch of flowers. Consequently, the florist shops here are amazing and crushingly expensive!!

Blimey! Soft toys certainly have a tough gig at your place Bitchy poor things continually being spin-dryed or frozen! Admire your thoroughness though! Good luck with the reorganisation!

Dogsbum Good to hear you have all those small shops nearby; sounds as though on-line shopping will work very well where you are.

Sympathies to your dh. Think lack of control is one of the most disconcerting things about pregnancy and birth ... wish I could say things improve when it comes to parenting but ...

Arf at being pinned to the wall pn the stairs by a giant sofa whilst wearing pjs . VERY relieved to hear that you are confining yourself to replacing bathroom pull switches for a while instead . And if your body is telling you to sleep, then you have special Flying thread leader permission to act on its instructions!!

Waves to everyone else!

Had better get back to the fray ...

Yes, same here re never turning up empty-handed SC. If you're invited to someone's house for a meal, it's not unusual to take flowers/a plant, a bottle of wine and chocolates/something else edible. You would always take at least a packet of biscuits if you'd been invited over for coffee. Taxes very high too - particularly if like me you don't earn a huge amount; you currently pay 36.5% in the lowest bracket! plus another 30% of your earnings go towards social insurance (health, pension, etc.), so I sometimes wonder whether it's actually worth working.

Re sat nav, ours (a TomTom) is multilingual and has a choice of male and female voices. I quite liked the idea of an English voice giving us directions, but DH objected I was worried they might mangle the street names etc. with their pronunciation, so in the end we opted for a German called Stefan.

Really enjoying reading about the differences between the different countries where people are based, cultural differences are always so interesting. I find you take your own culture for granted because you know all the rules from birth but I remember when living abroad (Portugal and Brazil in my case) it was very disconcerting not knowing the social rules and having to slowly work it out and hope I hadn't offended too many people along the way...

Thanks Sling for giving me leader permission to listen to when I need a snooze. I have been starting to give myself to have an afternoon lie down on the sofa some days so that I can break my day into two and it seems to help me recharge my batteries and get a second wind to be more productive later.

Glad I amused you about my pjs pinned against the wall shenanigans, I will never live that one down

I have just managed to hang out some washing and caulk the edges of the new skirting boards that I've fitted in the bathroom so at least I've done something so I feel I can sit on the sofa for a break for a bit.

I need to buy a new mobile but I'm avoiding going to the shop currently as I have very simple mobile needs and the mobile shop people always seem to be teenagers who live on their mobiles and so they just do not comprehend my primitive needs. I think I will try and bully myself into facing it today though as phone is on its last legs.

When i did the soft toys last time I only did the ones that were stored downstairs. Today I have raided ds' room. He has bloody hundreds of the damn things! Working on laundry, working on various to do job, heading towards burnout very rapidly

I suppose I should write a ta da list so that I don't make myself miserable because I haven't finished everything that I wanted to get done. I have done loads but I know the perfectionist that I am So the final ta da list for today reads as follows

Ta da
deal with change of venue for an event we are going to
Ds through shower
Lunch made and child despatched to school
Start loading DW
Hoover lounge floor
Lay out blanket for piecing next separating piece onto 2 already joined strips
(decide lacy strip needs to be attached next so this needs making)
check email account 1 (need to do the others though)
Confiscate ds' vitamins to see if he notices (he swears he is taking them hmm
strip ds' bed
reduce laundry mountain by 2/3rds
Clear backlog of folding
Get ironing up to date
return washed animals before he notices they have gone through washer
collect washing up from various locations
dw run, recycling washed and pots washed
clean bathroom
5mins hunting for coat hangers in the back bedroom
5mins decluttering in the study
5 mins hunting for coat hangers in the loft
make 2 pints of jelly
make a batch of carrot cake cupcakes
discuss the options available wrt a wobbly tooth with ds
raid ds' drawers for too small clothes
get ds to try on a load of clothes
Put to grow into clothes back into storage as they are about an inch too big still
unpick some badges from what is now scrap material
spend 30mins in ds' room decluttering
start piecing next divider strip of blanket to the already joined pieces
5mins decluttering in my room
clean kitchen benches and cooker top
batch cook tea and will not be arsed to cook tomo
15mins decluttering on landing
Sort car bits box
Hoover lounge
Take hoover apart to figure out why it has no suction
Take out recycling
Collect together various bits of charity shop stuff

although my perfectionist brain wanted to also have done:
empty car
wash car
hoover car
clean appolostery
finish the hall
finish the washing, folding, ironing, put all the clothes away.

Once upon a time perhaps but not these days. These days I will settle for making ds' bed and finished the seam that is in progress so the project can be moved from the middle of the lounge floor. I would love an early night but I know exactly how many cups of coffee I have drunk today and the answer is simply too many

I hope all the fledglings have had good days. Dogsbum sounds like the sort of stupid thing I would and have done. Was very glad to not be alone. I remember giving people heart attacks because I was stood up a ladder painting a ceiling at 8 1/2 months pregnant. It was the first time the entire pregnancy I had felt ok and dammit the ceiling needed painting

[Takes one look at Bitchy's list and faints

... gets up... and faints again!]

Blimey oh riley Bitchy think this is your best yet!! Top marks to you!!! At least you should sleep well tonight!! (Although sometimes if I am too wired, it can work the other way, esp if fuelled by caffeine. ) And think your perfectionism is indeed making you get ahead of yourself - tomorrow is 'clean out car and handbag day' - so you are not behind!! Interested to see how vitamin 'test' resolves itself btw! And good luck to your ds and his wobbly tooth!!

Dogsbum agree, much easier to look clearly at one's own culture once you have moved away from it; whereas you do indeed take it granted while you are there. [Do you speak Portuguese btw?]

I have no idea what caulking is ... must Google ...but v. impressed that you have been doing it . And glad to see that you are incorporating a much deserved afternoon nap in to your routines! Ditto re: mobile phone shops: I just let dd do the talking !

Thanks for the Stefan TomTom advice Linzer (think I should have guessed that!! ) but dh faddles about with office sat nav; and I haven't a clue how they work ... another piece of technology to get to grips with; although I think it will be worth it!! And yy to parking sensors (although a bit embarrassing to have them in a car that I can park at 90° facing the pavement ).

I am hitting the same issue wrt to taxes atm and my job search. Always think it is worth working/getting a job but tax rates will make it a very close run things as to whether I make any profit at all! (As a freelancer in the past, I had to put in very long hours, very consistently in order to earn a cent.) Same in office, dh gets hammered if he does well in a particular month and exceeds his predicted profit. It can be very dispiriting but overall I think it is a just/fairer system (well it is now that the authorities are cracking down on all the loop holes!); and the public services are generally excellent.

Ta da list cont'd/...

• emptied dw
• made banana cake with about-to-go-black bananas
• made very simple chickpea curry and rice which, after several hours of cooking turned miraculously from a few simple ingreds in to something actually quite appetising and (even better!) dd ate the lot!
• cut and arranged forthysia in a jug to brighten the place up
• more laundry
• hung up dd white school uniform shirts to dry
• loaded dw again

evening routine inc s&s, rabbits, wm set for morning

Just about to go to bed and watch some telly but waiting for sheets to dry ...

Back in a mo with links

Forgot to add to ta da list:
cleaned kitchen and stove top again after baking
folded more towels
distributed loo rolls around the house
spoke to sil and dsis2
contacted various friends about social arrangements
found favourite scarf I had been missing for ages!!

Must do Easter parcels tomorrow!!
Must do boudoir tomorrow!!

**

Baby-step no. 27 for Friday 27th March is the very useful one about meal planning.

We are still in Zone 4 :the boudoir March 22 - 28).

If you want to, you can declutter 15 mins a day in this zone!

The detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 4 is here.

Friday's mission is here. For the last boudoir mission of the week; spend 15 mins putting out any remaining hotspots!

The daily focus for Friday is: decluttering and cleaning out purses, handbags, cars etc.

The monthly habit for March is the controversial one about getting dressed immediately on rising and wearing lace up shoes indoors etc.

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

Thank heavens it is nearly the weekend everyone!

*

G'night all!

forsythia that is!!

Have to admit SC that cleaning the car/car out has been on my to do list for the last two weeks and it is starting to annoy me. Hope you get some sleep. I have drunk way too much coffee so am going to watch some tv and knit I think.

Bitchy

Flying: washing on, washing up done, d/washer unloaded and reloaded, kitchen tidied up, cats fed, children fed, swishing and swiping, room rescue in sitting room.

DS2 was pretty awful again this morning, which led to me imposing an all-day ban on him playing Minecraft. Interestingly, that seems to have improved his mood no end. Think I may have stumbled on the reason for his recent difficult behaviour.

Home ed - watched educational video that was so bad it was funny; practised Times Tables with a new book that uses funny rhymes and pictures - DS2 is learning them really fast with this method and enjoys it.

DS1 managed another trip to the school this afternoon, followed by a visit to his grandma, which he is usually too stressed to manage. He is doing really well at the moment .

Am quite relieved that we now have the Easter break and can all relax for a bit.

Have spent the evening lying on the sofa, drinking Prosecco, with a purring cat on my lap and 'The Good Wife' on Netflix .

Blimey, SC, have just seen your 'ta da' list too. Am feeling lazy now.

Toffee do you think ds1 might suffer from sad? He was better this time last year too iirc Might be worth making a note of good days/vs bad days and keeping an eye on. I know my ds is showing strong signs of this so will be looking into vit d suppliments next winter for him to try to help this. Have been starting to see a pattern the last couple of years, but this years seems to be more extreme with him growing so much.

Linzer/SC I'm really at the idea of taking our Sat Nav to Germany this summer (we're going to the Mosel). She was dreadful with French names, so I dread to think what German will do to her!! Our favourites last year were "Plaice doo gay-nay-ral leck-lerk" (Place du Général Leclerc) and Roo du Albert one-er last year.

Bitchy - Oh... I don't know. Hadn't considered SAD. DS2 has been spending more time playing Minecraft over the last couple of weeks and that has coincided with sulkiness, rudeness, unwillingness to co-operate and so on. It just seems to make him grumpy. He does have Vitamin pills and gets out regularly, so his Vit D levels should be ok.

Good idea to keep a diary of his good/bad days though.

Oh minecraft will do that, it is strong recommended that you don't let your child play it if they tend towards obsessiveness. Ds is an absolute pita with minecraft and terraria (sp) I have got to the point where I am confiscating technology. Clearly ds is finding issues with it himself as he has not put up a fight about it and ask me to take things i wasn't going to do.