Let April Spring Cleaning with the Fledglings commence (hopefully Dogsbum wont turn it into too much of a shower....)

[Dogsbumhair]

The fledglings is a long running thread based on the Flylady cleaning/tidying principles. Personally I’m a newbie with only a couple of months flying under my belt but some members of the group have been on the thread for a number of years, so the thread is a mixed group of more and less experienced fledglings. I have found myself to be very warmly received as a newbie so please don’t be scared to join the gang.

Flylady link link here.

The system initially seems quite confusing so my advice as a fellow newbie would be to just go with it and accept that you will probably feel a bit confused for the first couple of weeks and then it will start to come together and make more sense.

The basic principles are (very) loosely as follows:

1. No perfectionism allowed (it is your enemy and it is stopping you getting anything done)
2. Little and often is the way to go (your house didn’t get in a mess in a day, it wont get sorted in one)
3. You are never behind, just jump in where you are (We are in a different zone of the house each week and all the house zones come round once a month, so all the tasks will come round again soon)
4. The point of this system is that by doing little and often your life isn’t dominated by housework and you have more time to do the fun things that you’d much prefer to be doing

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.

Later on today I will be posting up the links and information for tomorrow’s tasks

The advice from the wise and experienced members of the group is not to subscribe to the emails, but I have to confess that as a foolish newbie I do receive them I have learnt to ruthlessly bin anything beyond the actual flying tasks though.

Hopefully I haven’t missed anything too important off this introduction, but I’m sure someone more experienced will pop up to supplement this information if I have.

Good luck and happy flying through April!……………..

That kitten image was just perfect Dark in fact I'm not sure I'm feeling much more awake today. I'm currently sitting on the sofa with a hot water bottle and suffering from the lack of motivation infecting the thread currently.

My plan is to try and kick myself up the backside and tell myself that I only have to try and do something for an hour and then I can stop if I can't face any more, I'll see if that works. I might have a go at using the timer as well so that I only have to do four lots of 15mins on a few different tasks that I really need to make some sort of progress on, we'll see how it goes.

Hi Strawberry and welcome to the thread!

Grey yes we've finally got sunshine here too but we've also got some showers, still it's definitely an improvement on yesterday.

Just trying to keep track of who everyone is now, by my reckoning the following changes have occurred

Pegleg is now CaptainSubtext
Slingclutter is now SteadyCampaign

I hope I've got that right and I'm praying that no-one else changes name for at least a week as I can't cope with trying to remember any more changes. This is Dogsbum officially begging for a week of stability before any more change!!!!.....please......whimper....

Will now attempt to kick myself up the rear end and do something.......

Sorry DogsBum going to have to get that post deleted. Don't want the two names linked.

Thanks HQ!

I received a phone call a short while ago requesting a viewing of our house tomorrow. I am now in a mad panic. So far I have decluttered the cupboard under the stairs and my built in wardrobe so the doors actually shut. I think I need to take the dc to the park shortly as they are becoming restless.

Welcome Strawberry. If in any doubt, just delete all the old Flylady emails! I recently swapped from the individual email to the full load. I find them more useful as I don't have to keep clicking on links to read bits I want to read. However, a couple of days passed, they all built up in inbox & I just deleted them.
Are you starting at the beginning with following babysteps too?

Aha, must be the weather then... I too am bleugh today. Managed to sneak in some exercise before the DCs awoke. But then not much else. Even ended up having a long nap around midday. They all seem quiet today too. Thankfully Will see if I can perk us all up with a painting session - using paint sticks, so not huge mega clear up for me at the end Can combine them with numicon too for a quick bit of maths work with oldest.

Eek, Mercury, hope viewing goes ok tomorrow. Remember your timer and resist the panic. Have fun at the park

For anyone who's interested in Sink Reflections, you can 'look inside' on Amazon and it's currently just under £10 rather than the full price it has been recently.

Hi all,

I've been lurking but not posting during term time - never seem to keep on top with everything!!

As a result, the house is relatively clean, but a bit of a mess from the kids leaving things out and me being completely snowed under and not nagging. So, I'm making a list and seeing what I can get done over the next few days.

To Do:

School work
Clear lounge and conservatory
Clean bathrooms
Clean utility
Clean hall
Clear kids' rooms up
Clear my room
Clean kitchen
Reboot laundry
Throw excess craft mayhem up

Ta Das

School work
Clear lounge and conservatory
Clean bathrooms
Clean utility
Clean hall
Clear kids' rooms up
Clear my room
Clean kitchen
Reboot laundry
Throw excess craft mayhem up
Cleared up dead mouse - thanks cats

To Dos

Reorganise DVDS that kids knocked over!
Clear the window sills
Put away junk on kitchen side
Dry boxes that no longer have yellow paint on them!
Make lasagne
Iron shirts
Hoover kitchen and conservatory
Find somewhere to put the bin bags of junk!

Obviously with these sort of lists, MN is a must!!

Ta da
3 loads of washing (our machine died last week so new one arrived Monday and Have a lot of catching up to do!)
Made dinner
Washing up
Playground

Ta Das
Reorganise DVDS that kids knocked over!
Dry boxes that no longer have yellow paint on them!
Hoover kitchen, utility and conservatory
Find somewhere to put the bin bags of junk!
Clean kitchen
Clean utility
Tidy kids' rooms

To Dos
Contact kids' friends for play date tomorrow - obv a good idea after full-scale clean?!?!
Clear the window sills
Put away junk on kitchen side
Make lasagne
Iron shirts
Clear my room
Clean bathrooms

Hmmm... Maybe takeaway is looking like a better option at this time!!

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I am going to unsubscribe from the emails and just follow the thread instead. That's myself and DH just finished our dinner and it's already 10.30pm. I am going to follow the babysteps and do extra bits and pieces as I manage. I shined my sink whilst making dinner but that's it unfortunately. Absolutely nothing else got done today

Tomorrow will be better. Hopefully DD sleeps through and I will be fresh in the morning.

My shift key is still broken, excuse incorrect capitalisation/punctuation.

Dogs - could I give you one more piece of thread leading advice? don't feel you have to do a round up with personal mentions to everyone, every night. I have done that at times in the past and it is hard work and by halfway through the month I was worn out with it. Juat do what you feel you can.

mercury - good luck with the house viewing. are you planning to move locally or relocating/

three - impressive list1

moon and dark hope you are feeling a bit better tonight.

Well, term time is over for us, inset day tomorrow, the DCs have had a stay up late evening to celebrate. dh is off work tomorrow and I'm going to work for a few hours. I must, must, must do some OU work too.

Today, not too much flying as I have been at work. I did leave a bit early and take about 8 carrier bags of stuff to the charity shop though.

Ok, tomorrow’s Flylady tasks, here goes…..

Baby-step no. 2 for Thurs 2nd April is Getting Dressed This was March’s controversial habit of getting dressed down to your shoes which seems to divide opinion about whether it is a good or useful habit or not. I’m still on the fence about this one I think, although once or twice I have found it useful.

We are in Zone 1 The Entrance, Porch and Dining Room for the rest of this week: here

If you want to, you can declutter for 15 mins a day in Zone 1!

The detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 1 is here

Thursday’s mission is here Which is spend 15 minutes clearing your dining table hotspot. This is always a good one for me as it’s a permanent hotspot chez Dogsbum

The daily focus for Thursday is: Errand Day This is the day for doing all of your chores outside the house such as food shopping, doctors appointments, etc.

The monthly habit for April is making your bed

For a summary of the above, see the flight plan: [[www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120
here]]

Happy flying…..

Thanks WhoKnows for that tip about leading the thread, I will take note. I think yesterday all my focus was on learning how to create a new thread and post links, etc. It was only after I'd done that (which took me hours ) that it suddenly dawned on me that I had to do it everyday for a month and that might start to feel like a lot of effort!

Much to my relief just doing the daily links today has been much quicker and easier, although I can't test the links myself due to some sort of computer problem, so I hope they work. I will work on making sure that I pace myself over the month though, thank you for the tip!

Three I'm blown away by your lists, I hope you haven't burnt out after all that! Well done.

Strawberry I've only being doing this for a couple of months but I've found that even if I only have time for one thing in a day such as 5mins on a hotspot or 15mins decluttering then it does still add up surprisingly quickly and gets things under control, so don't worry too much if you've only got a few mins here and there.

Just spending 5mins once or twice a week getting on top of my worst hotspots to stop them escalating into total chaos has made a difference. Things may not be tidy but at least they aren't getting worse if you know what I mean?!

Thanks Moon for the tip on 'Sink Reflections', will take a look.

Good luck with viewing Mercury and good luck with catching up on washing Engels

Dark hope you are feeling better

It is the last few days before half term. I fucking hate the last few days before half term.

Toffee can I pm you about home ed stuff at some point?

DarkEvil - of course you can.

Have been out with friends whilst MIL babysat. Very, very lovely evening with lots of wine. Stayed up late talking with DS1 after we came home and am now off to bed myself. DS2 has a friend coming round for the morning tomorrow, so need to be up bright and early.

Sounds like you had a lovely evening Toffee

We are staying local, we just need an extra bedroom as ds and dd sharing is becoming less practical. I have decluttered and tidied the built in wardrobe and understairs cupboard. The back garden could do with being tidied but it rained here on and off all day so that will need to be done tomorrow. The dc and I are having our hair cut in the morning and then I will have to crack on with more tidying and cleaning - the house has never looked this tidy!

Hello all! Sc here! Computer being serviced, so on phone, so forgive quick message. Just wanted to say well done to Dogsbum for second lot of successful links!.

A warm welcome to Strawberry! Grt to see lots of fledglings bk like Three is lovely too! And gd luck with house viewings mercury! Waves to DEM, Engels, who knows, toffee and everyone else!

Oh and lovely of you to worry about thread running Bless but think you have enough on your plate with dissertation, hope it is going ok!

Things a bit slow here as dd has been felled by truly awful flu which is now on her chest and I think I have succumbed too. Can't believe we are ill again just when we have guests coming!

Have a good start to the month everyone! (Actually, that message wasn't so brief, was it?!)

forgot to say, how is little 'in Engels!?

Argh, meant little 'un obviously!!

Didn't get much done yesterday beyond sticking the tumble dryer on!

I did have a long hospital appt though, I've been referred for various tests (including an MRI eeeek) - they are just routine though and assuming all comes back clear he's got medication for me that might help. So all very exciting and positive.

I felt exhausted after spending the day with my parents though. They didn't listen when I said it'd be better to stay home with them while I had my appt, and to wait til later to take them into town, and then got annoyed when DS inevitably played up by the end of the day because he was stressed and overwhelmed (town was heaving and he struggles with crowds - both of them do but DD only melts down in the evening once she's safely home) :( but I couldn't say anything because they were doing me a favour.

Anyway. DS has speech therapy today (kind of nervous to find out if they'll tell me off for deregistering him as school were trying to help... just hope they can see he has improved A LOT in the last six weeks because he's no longer stressed by school).

Really need to get a few bits in town too but so tired today.

It's DSDs' birthday though so having a family game night then going out for lunch tomorrow which will be fun!

Really glad DH and I have some time off (I'm off til Wed, and DH has tomorrow and Monday off) so hopefully we can get a lot done in the house.

Morning everyone, the threads getting busy already!

Quick list dump:
Ta da
Had a lie in!!! DS stayed at MILs last night and I feel so much more rested as a result
Emptied/reloaded dishwasher
Folded yesterday's washing and put away
Made beds
Washing machine on
Relocated stuff that belongs in the garage back into the garage
Tidied house ready for cleaner to come in later
Quick run to the tip to get rid of broken electrical stuff and mutilated cat scratch post
Nipped into supermarket to get a refund on the venison steaks we tried to have for dinner last night - it was like chewing on the sole of an old boot

I feel a bit sneaky adding this ta-da to today's list as I managed it yesterday, but I completly gutted my under the sink cupboard of all my cleaning supplies. There was so much rubbish in there that every time I opened the door, I risked a small Avalanche pouring out. So I chucked out loads and reorganised it, looks lovely now!

And now I intend to spend the rest of my child free day reading on the sofa, drinking coffee and playing with my sewing machine.

Catch up with you all tonight.

Hooray, I have some Ta-Das!

Been to GP re sinus pain/headache lasting 5 weeks - got antibiotics
Took 10 bags of DD2's stuff to the charity shop
Fed a friend's cats
Bought Easter eggs and loo roll! (we were running perilously short)

To Do:
Dissertation work
Start drafting an Ed Phil or some kind of letter/report for Local Authority
Cook white chocolate cheesecake with DD2
Take DD1 to stables

Did I meant I hate end of terms?

Ds was up til stupid stupid o'clock. School are insistant he goes in whatever state he is in. So I sent him in caffine fuelled good luck to them

Anyhows today has been an errand kinda day. Just sorta flying through as forgot to get a measurement for a zip that I needed so bouncing between towns via home to get everything sorted. I have a long list of what i want to do. But realistically all i want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. Might grab a cup of coffee whilst i am here.

Loads of sunshine here today which is lovely, what a great day for outside errands! So have wandered round lots of lovely local shops looking at cards and gifts instead of doing DIY!

I did actually need to buy an Easter card and having been cooped up for a few days due to the weather I did genuinely feel like I needed the exercise. So I've had a good time and no guilt despite not doing any of the DIY that I'd planned to do, I call that a result

Off to buy some nice food for us to eat over the long weekend. I hope the weather stays like this for the weekend so that DP can get some time in the garden.

He's had a terrible few days with work, one night he got called and had to work online from home from 3.30am to 5.30am (I didn't even wake up despite him being phoned in bed ) and the next night he worked all day then through until 3.30am online along with other colleagues and then still had to do a full day yesterday due to the work problems continuing. So I think he'll be in bits by the end of today. So I really want him to have a nice weekend.

Wings flaps until later

Haven't done much today DD was up quite a bit through the night then up for the day at 8am so when her 10am nap came round I went back to bed as well

She has been a grump since getting up at 12, no matter what I do I can't please her today. Every time I leave the room she screams and races after me, any food or drink I try to have for myself she wants (even if she has her own) it's so, so wearing. She is back down sleeping again.

To do list while she naps :

Make a pot of soup
Put load of laundry on
Finally get a coffee and something to eat for myself