Fledglings flutter round the May Pole – FlyLady May 2015

[Greymalkin]

First of all, a big thank you to Dogsbum for leading us (for the very first time) through the April thread; fantastic job!

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 chat along the way.

The FlyLady link is here Don't be put off by the barf-tastic language of the site - the underlying system is sound!

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 minutes 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.

There are three key points to keep in mind throughout:

• No perfectionism allowed - this is harder than you would imagine and many of us on this thread struggle with this one!
• You are never behind - just start where you are and anything you do is progress.
• 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 ‘ta-da’ lists but don't let that worry you! Do what you can, anything is better than nothing, and don't judge yourself against others.

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

Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings.

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

Ah yes, I remember now that a few fledglings have birthdays round mine...

Can I borrow the ? Few people that could do with a light singeing...

Hello Fledglings

Links for tomorrow, Saturday 9th May:

Link to the flight plan for an overall summary

Tomorrow’s baby step is Learn how to declutter There is also a useful Flying lesson on this here

The Daily focus for Saturday is Family Fun Day

Our habit of the month is Moving More

This week we are in Zone 2: The Kitchen. Declutter in here for 15 minutes each day.

There are no missions on the weekend.

The detailed cleaning list for this zone is Zone 2: here for the more experienced Fledglings

Launch pad is here and is full of all the info you need each day, well worth a look.

Hi all, hope you've had good Fridays - yay for the weekend!

Toffee - hope your DS will be ok

DEM and Blue - is a helpful soul and would be happy to help you out, but as you know, his is a cunning species and everything comes at a price: A mild singeing will cost you a custard cream biscuit and a scratch behind the ear, where as a full on roasting will set you back a hot chocolate made with full fat milk, topped with whipped cream and marshmallows served alongside an entire .

Waves to SC, Dogs, Seaside, Engles, Castle, CaptainSubtext, WhoKnows, Swan and everyone else.

My day has consisted of sewing my own denim slippers and watching Downton Abbey box sets. That is all. Maybe a teensy bit of flying...

DS much better today, thanks Grey. Was just a blip, I think.

Haven't had enough sleep over the last few days, so fell asleep at 2pm today and woke up at... 7pm . I really was tired. Luckily, DH had taken over dinner duties.

Took cats to vets this morning. One of them is still putting on weight steadily, in spite of being on a strict diet . I'm going to try feeding him from a feeding ball instead of a bowl. Both cats were very sorrowful after their dose of Advocate and slept most of the day.

Sitting up with DS1 now. Luckily, his new pack of Melatonin arrived today, so he should be able to get to sleep ok (well, before 2am, at least).

Thanks for links Greymalkin! (Sewing and Downton sounds = fab combo.)

Just galloping through! Madness here.

Waves to everyone!

Glad your ds1 is OK Toffee and he is back on track with meds etc.

Welcome to the Taurean fold Blue

[Leaves large pkt of custard creams for ]

ooooohhhhh I nearly forgot ...

Here's lots of and and virtual for DEM!!
I know you ignore it traditonally, but wishing you 'many happy returns" for this weekend (if I have the date roughly right!).

And wishing you a very happy birthday too Blue if it is around the same time !!

Hope you can both allow yourselves a bit of a celebration! Certainly a lovely time of year to have a birthday! xxx

SC sometimes you scare me Thank you!

[oh sorry if that was too wierldly stalkerish which was opposite of my intentions!!)

been on this thread too long emoticon

Thanks SC . My birthday is Monday, but I'm spreading it out by buying nice things that I like while getting the groceries, inc flowers for myself. :)

Oops, forget the custard cream and tickle behind the ear for the !

It is more the fact that I have such a shocking memory that I forget everyone else doesn't also been here too long emoticon

Blue that sounds like a lovely plan.

Actually I do have a shocking memory but somehow this one stuck!!

Yes, Blue spoil yourself a bit!!

Hello Fledglings - Links for Sunday 10th May:

Link to the flight plan for an overall summary

Tomorrow’s baby step is Learn the power of 15 minutes which I think we all agree is another really good one

The Daily focus for Sunday is Renew Your Spirit Day

Our habit of the month is Moving More

We have now moved to Zone 3: The Bathroom and one other room Declutter in here for 15 minutes each day.

There are no missions on the weekend.

The detailed cleaning list for this zone is Zone 3: here for the more experienced Fledglings

Launch pad is here and is full of all the info you need each day, well worth a look.

It is still ever so quiet on here ... where is everyone?!

I've had another quiet day, took DS, DH and to soft play and then on to the garden centre.

(I'm a Capricorn, which means we should get on great!)

Night all.

Still here.

Did the house bleugh and the gardening this afternoon, and grocery shopping this morning, so some flying at last!

Another Capricorn here, Grey. We're the hard-working ones .

Happy Birthday, DEM

Lots of Flying chores done today, interspersed with lunch with MIL and food shopping. DFriend arrived this evening, so there has been lots of and food.

Both boys are overexcited and still wide awake . They're sharing a room tonight, which means they keep each other up. If they don't settle down soon, I'm going to leave them to it.

Happy Birthday DEM! It's still Saturday here!

Madness here for a few days and in the middle of the last weekend of dance, so normality will resume shortly. Possibly. Whatever passes for normality here anyway. I still haven't finished delivering the yellow Damned pages. If grey could arrange for the dragon to finish them off, that would be fan-blardy-tastic. I went straight out after work yesterday, didn't even come home, and carried on. I still have a stack as high as my waist in the garage. A nice friend has leant me an old lady rolling shopping thingy though, for which my shoulder is immensely grateful.

So, have handed over the flying reins to dh for a couple of days and am planning not to look closely at anything. The vacuum cleaner has appeared in the hall. (It hasn't actually been used, but it is exuding potential...) he claims to have done two loads of laundry. I think one of these was ds's bedding and the other was dd1's dance school hoody which had a 15minute quick wash because she needed it again today and it was, um, past it's best...

Tomorrow is Mother's Day here. I am indeed intending to renew my spirit. dd1 has two dances in the city, so we are all schlepping out, and I may insist upon a new pair of hiking boots, for further renewal of spirit throughout the year . And indeed Moving More. I may fit a couple of fifteen minutes in, but also intend to go out for another couple of hours delivering lol. The juxtaposition of false eyelashes and hiking boots will amuse me all day.

Believe me, you will all know about it when they are done!! You will hear my excited shrieking from your various abodes around the world lol.

Waves to everyone!

Ditto to what a lot of Madwoman is saying (but much easier with only one child!).

Courage re: yellow pages and arf at vacuum cleaner showing potential !!

Mother's Day here too! DD presented me with breakfast in bed (toast with heart shaped hole in it, in which was fried egg) and ... drum roll... the very hard to find (over here) HP sauce!! [yum!] She (in art class) had also prepared a fantastic card full of perspective tricks so it appeared that picture of herself was in a landscape but presenting me with large (3D) flower that was emerging in to foreground + poem for me written in Flemish- amazing!!

It would be churlish to mention that I hoped the 'Mothers Day' spirit would roll over in to bathing and doing hwk, but no of either sign as yet just more fervent loom banding; but letting that go for the mo as she did hwk on Fri night and yesterday and finds loom banding a great antidote to stress and I was much reassured by school meeting last week when the message appeared to be (as Swan rightly predicted) "don't worry about exams too much, we have them covered. We have effectively stopped teaching and will from now on be practicing exam techniques". [Here's hoping.]

Apart from that, total madness; house looks worse than ever - bus-loads of visitors arriving - end of year ballet and school events, friends' end-of-year events, Confirmation prep, etc etc. Totally unprepared and doing that total antithesis to Flylady which is "panic and dither" followed by "dither and panic"!!

Enjoy your Sundays everyone!!

DS1 has just come in with a large mug of tea for me and apologised profusely for not realising it was Mother's Day. He was mortified when I explained that it was only Mother's Day in America . I assured him that I was very happy with the tea nevertheless.

ta da

Visited friend for the morning
Lunch
2 loads of washing done and hung up in the garden
Clutter corner on landing cleared
Old books boxed up ready for DH to take away
Feather duster deployed
Hoovering upstairs
Bins emptied

Hmm, that doesn't look very much. Will aim to do more tidying tomorrow before we go away.

Oops, sorry SC - I see it is Mother's Day where you are too.

hi everyone - feeling unbelievably tired after a busy family event last night (to which we took the children - and they were no trouble in fact even an asset as ds2 took to childminding all the numerous toddlers and running races with them)

house pit of extreme revoltingness - think cat hair moths mud and broken washing machine strewn with home ed books/paraphernalia and you get the picture. Outside is worse - I miss having a garden which functions as a garden (although I think if I swept the path for an hour determinedly I could just about sit out there and look at the one remaining patch of flowerbed) No change really till end of June because we are having installation of new shed/house delayed till then for various reasons and also awaiting planning too. But turf has been stripped to change the levels and that is the reason it all looks so horrible.

feel quite overwhelmed by menopausal symptoms (although I did point out to dh that menopause is meant to be a joyous time of reflection and taking stock and going slow (blah blah blah) Not enjoying feeling so tired and achey and generally "laid low" despite what I consider far too much exercise

However - in attempt to cheer myself up bought very nice green and blue organza/silk outfit from Boden (full skirt and shirt combo) for party and felt less frowsty than usual and I noticed everyone else was looking quite mature too

Only problem with party was that dd met various glam 15 year old cousins who went to boarding school and is now convinced that she is a poor relation because we don't send her to one of these delightful places

okay today housework wise have done
two loads of washing to laundrette - washed and dried (sat there and read paper)
wiped surfaces
tried to mend washing machine failed dismally and covered floor with dirty water
mopped up water
threw away some irredeemable mouldy clothes from washing machine
recycling
stacked dw
bin out
sorted laundry (a bit --aka threw some stuff in dd's room)
exercise
s & s loo

Good evening Fledglings - here are your links for Monday 11th May

Link to the flight plan for an overall summary

Tomorrow’s baby step is Add an ‘Inspirational Page’ to your control journal

The Daily focus for Monday is Weekly Home Bleugh

Our habit of the month is Moving More

This week we are in Zone 3: The Bathroom and one other room. Declutter in here for 15 minutes each day.

Our mission in this week’s zone is spend 15 minutes decluttering your health and beauty paraphernalia

The detailed cleaning list for this zone is here for the more experienced Fledglings

Launch pad is here and is full of all the info you need each day, well worth a look.

Sorry everyone, had a crazy day, just want to go to bed, so no personals other that to wish Blue a happy birthday for tomorrow.

Evening all,

Swan - we too have a building site where our garden used to be, I suspect our lawn will never be the same again. DH is digging out to lay a base for the new potting shed/greenhouse. This means that we have the contents of DD's old wooden playhouse (previously on the same spot) all over the lawn plus 20 sackloads of removed topsoil, which I want taking up to the allotment. The floors in the house look awful too, it's all got trodden in, I will have to get the hoover and mop out in the morning.

Talking of which I am finding a lot of peace up at my allotment, I'm feeling quite stressed out at the moment but it is an absolute joy to disappear up their on my own and escape from reality.

DEM and Blue - happy birthdays to you both, Happy Mother's Day to those celebrating it today (SC, Madwoman, possibly Linzer and Engels too).

Toffee - we are trying unsuccessfully to deal with one fat cat and one super slim cat too.

At this point could I just vent about something, please cover your ears!

FUCKING OFSTED
FUCKING COUNCIL
FUCKING, FUCKING CROSS!

That's better. Now, as well as that I have an OU essay to write, a pile of work from DH's company, DS starting Y6 SATS tomorrow, a load of things to do for my normal job and DFIL coming to stay to work on Project Shed with DH, also DD has auditions for her drama group and really needs a bit of voice coaching. We have had a quiet weekend in preparation for a busy week.

Also, DS helped me make a key lime pie today, never had it before, OMG, it was one of the nicest puddings I have ever tasted.