September 2015 fledglings shine their sink and their lace up shoes and prepare for the new academic year ahead

[standclear]

Welcome to the September 2015 Fledgling Flying thread! Hang up your microfibre cloths and park your buckets here!!

[Sorry - I've namechanged again - but remain SC]

This is where from the 1st of the month, we attempt to declutter and follow the 30-step wisdom of Flylady (minus cutesy language and a surfeit of e-mails) with lots of chat and support and mutual motivation (and of course) along the way. (More info available here and here ) and here.

Humungous thanks to our previous thread leaders (nns relating to a planet and to a colour) for guiding us through the summer and keeping us sane throughout the holidays!

As usual we will be following a three-pronged approach - and don't worry - we are all at different stages. Some of us (SC stares at feet) -are stuck at the decluttering stage after an embarrassingly long number of years :

• repeat or start baby steps (again!)

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

or

• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.

And those of you who have decluttered and are really enthusiastic can throw some detailed cleaning in to the mix as well!

This is a very long-running thread so we may appear cliquey but we really aren't! All newcomers, long-termers, lurkers and intermittent returnees not only welcome to join in but positively encouraged to do so!

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Good luck!

Sorry - may not have made this sufficiently clear in op - totally your choice of course but advise not signing up to Flylady e-mails as you soon become inundated with them. Everything you need to know (step for day, zone of week, missions, daily focus, habit of month etc) will be posted daily here.

SC
Also still stuck on decluttering, everytime we get to the point of looking like it will be tamed a house worth of stuff gets shipped in or something goes wrong with the house and we end up with building work

School is back in just over 36hrs nope not counting down, honest governor

So Tuesday's to do list looks like this:
buy school trousers
buy pumps
buy trainers
label shoes, jumpers, shirts, lunch box etc
get ds to finish off his homework
get ds to pack his bag
make sure all letters etc are sorted and ready to go
remind ds he is now walking to school by himself yipee
make sure meds for school and first aid info is up to date and in ds' bag
ensure P.E. is ready to go into school

Can I join please? Only thing is, I can be crap at doing the whole thread chat catch up thing as I accidentally leave ppl out so apologies in advance!

Anyway I need to get going with a routine so thought this would be a good place to start. Over the holidays we have painted and cleaned and I want to stay on top of it and try to de clutter the hidden draws and cupboards which we threw stuff into to hhide from the visitors!

We aren't a very good advertisement for the efficacy of the system are we Can'tLook ?? (Although sounds as if clutter being foisted on you whereas mine is totally self-made )

Underlying Fly system does work [honest] everyone!! (And some fledglings have found Kondo-ing effective to get the initial ball rolling, using Flylay to maintain ifyswim).

Counting down to school here too! [My bank account has literally about Euros 3 in it now I have bought the uniform and materials. We will be living on potatoes and lentils and carrots this month.]

Staggered starts though thankfully so beginning at lunch time which is v civilised. Have just been in to collect books. Need to get stuck in to name tapes and nag encourage dd to finish file and book labelling.

Good luck with your list Can'tLook. Sorry if I have this wrong but is your ds starting secondary too? Good luck to you both if so!

A warm welcome to CheescakeDreams ( am v impressed by how you managed to paint and clean during holidays. My house is in the worst state imaginable after the summer having endured had loads of visitors - left in a hurry without tidying up - returned - dumped stuff - left again and returned with more visitors dumping more stuff and left again and returned again, dumping more stuff. You can imagine ... .)

And don't worry about keeping up with all the chat! You can use this thread exactly how you want. Some people like to chat a lot and others just like to post 'to do' and 'ta da' lists to keep themselves motivated. And all shades in between. Whatever works for you!

Good luck with it!

Marking my spot having just walked in after 12 days away staying in three different places and having done no laundry in that time.

A short to do list for today then.
Laundry. Lots of it.

Thanks SC and thanks Cant for last month.

Nope we have another year before that delight. Ds is bif fish little pond syndrome combined with pre-teen hitting puberty hormones, plus child caught between parents syndrome. In short he is a very normal healthy opinionated subborn individual and is driving me potty but really does need to learn some self preservation silly bugger has just tipped a bookcase on his head in a strop about tidying his room

big fish that was meant to read

Astimegoesby Welcome back! [Very excited to have just worked out who you are but may need a bit more time with other fledglings who have nc'd!!] Thought of you yesterday in fact whilst erecting sopping wet tent in garden very late at night so it can dry.
Can truly sympathise on the laundry front (have teetering towers of the stuff here). Good luck with it!

CanSee4Looking ouch! Bookcase on head sounds v painful! Hope your ds is ok! Sorry to have got the school year wrong - think confusion arose from fact that they start secondary a year later here - having started formal primary later ifyswim.

Must dash and do stuff now - back later!

Also the fact that in the UK the deadline for secondary application is End of Oct with Entrance exams being held in the sept for a lot of schools so the choice has to be made before the start of the school year in yr 6 really in a lot of areas.

Meh, silly bugger can sort himself out atm we are not speaking because he is being a teenager And i have other stuff that needs doing more than arguing about technology and dealing with the consequences that is kicking the bookcase when he knows better

School starts Wednesday for us, so tomorrow is our now-traditional day out to a shopping mall about 40 mins drive away. DD always has trouble sleeping the night before school starts so a tiring walk around combined with a short spell in the softplay really helps!

Can also pick up a few last-minute bits, and will be reading the Lakeland catalogue tonight in case I can get anything else (other than the soft liquorice) while I am there.

Hope we all have a super September!

Thanks SC -

Signing in.

Should really be tidying the living room but immensely tired!

Can I join please? I have always been someone who is very untidy/lazy about housework, and then has a marathon session when people are coming round. In the last week or two, I've started to feel that I'd like a clean and tidy house for me, with the aim that I would be fine for someone to turn up unannounced (and I feel better when I come home). So far done some decluttering (clothes, shoes, games, random stuff in our room) and tried to get into a habits of quickly cleaning the toilet and sink on a daily basis, doing a load of laundry from beginning to end as quickly as possible and not leaving a basket of clean washing for several days, leaving the kitchen clean and tidy before I go to bed and doing a weekly home blessing hour unfuck my house hour on a Monday, with varying degrees of success. Don't currently have DCs, but we are planning to and I'd like to have some better habits and less clutter before that happens.

[Greets Fuzzpig and bundles her up in soft fleece with fluffy pillows]

A warm welcome to Prettygirlincrimsonrose sounds like you have already made a very good start! And totally 'get' what you are saying about wanting to do it for your own sake (although hope that won't stop you delegating )

Astimegoesby spectacular fail wrt tent-drying strategy. It poured with rain while I was out [buggeration]. Sounds as if you have your work cut out wrt logistics involving two different schools (and it sounded very full on before frankly!) Good luck with Mt Washmore! And good luck to your ds next week!

Waves to Fizrim and respect for combining school shopping exped with soft play!! Sounds pretty hard core (by my wimpy standards anyway!) Wishing you a super Sept too!

Yes indeed Can'tsee [So relieved all that secondary stuff exam/application now firmly behind us - found it unbelievably stressful - should be more encouraging though!!]

Well, rather like a Thomas Hardy novel in reverse, us characters at sc towers have decided to take on the characteristics of the weather ie we are all boiling hot with dripping eyes and noses. [Mahoosively hot and humid here interspersed with rain storms] Can't decide whether it's hay fever or some sort of virus. Not a great way to begin the new month.

The tidying and cleaning was mainly motivated by a VIP visitor and me not wanting them to see the state of the house! They are staying at a hotel but I expected them to be here quite often. As it turns out we have spent most days out and they have bought us, very generously!, most meals so we haven't even had to cook! I did offer a roast tonight but they said they wanted quality time with us all and that would be ruined by one of us having to be I the kitchen so we are going out for our last meal together tonight before they head home tomorrow. To be fair, we haven't seen th in about six years and it has been lovely! I have been keeping on top of the tidying in case they pop in for coffee and it has been easier than expected so I just need to keep my motivation and have a little routine going.

Thankfully I only have to worry about school stuff for two and they are pretty much sorted. Have organised the curriculum for the one I home ed too so quite relaxed about back to school. I think that the one I home ed is due to make secondary choices this year (going into year five) is that right? No idea what I am going to do with that tho.

Yes we have chosen but have been advised very firmly to have a back up school. So we need to figure that out. Ds knows and is happy about the first choice school.

I would find out open days and have a look around this year Cheesecake in UK it is year 6 that you apply to the council for the place. I found a list of local open days on one of the local councils website, but not the others so as we are at the boundary of several counties it is a whole heap of fun. Thankfully you apply to the council you pay tax even if you want a school in a different county. Not looking forwards to it tbh, but it has to be done so it will be. Personally I am still liking the sound of a deserted island and being far far far away

just been up to the big shopping center to replace the stuff that I thought would last until christmas but ds had other ideas and grew But still short 3 items. 1 can be fudged as the old one will just do for now, one will have to do as I do not have time to go into the big city centre, and the other bit will have to be sorted tomo.

ds is supposed to be cooking himself tea but he has not asked for instructions or oven temp so we will have to see how that goes At least I now know he knows how to use the kitchen's fire blanket...

Thanks for the new thread, SC, and thanks for running last month's thread, Cant, especially in the face of all that you had going on in RL.

Just off to open a bottle and warm up some ready meals. My survival tactic this summer holiday has been to have at least one day of ready meals a week.

Nice to see you, and for taking on the new thread right away.

Hi to Cheesecake and Prettygirl too.

We've been swimming today, and to the castle. It has poured with rain all day and been thoroughly miserable. Everyone is stressed and overwrought. What fun!

Yuck. Just home from holiday, which was different from planned and back to work for dh and I tomorrow. Double yuck.

Thanks sc for leading this month. I'm looking forward to jumping in with both feet with you all properly now the kids will be back at school and winter prep needs to get under way.
Lovely to see you all for September!

Welcome back Nicknacks! Hope holiday was "different" in a good way! Back to work and school here too tomorrow so with you in spirit! Good luck with it all!

[Waves to ¨Blue] Oh dear - sorry to hear everyone is overwrought - miserable weather definitely does not help - hope the did the trick!!

Toffee yes we have been indulging in quite a few 'ping' suppers of late (as someone on here once termed them!). Really must get back to proper menu planning this wk. Personally, I think a takeaway or a ready meal once a week is more than fine if majority of others meals are cooked from scratch and as you say, a total lifesaver!

Hope fire blanket wasn't needed in the end Can'tsee Can see how being on the border of several counties could be terribly complicated schooling-wise.

Ah, nothing like the impending arrival of guests to get one motivated Cheesecake! (Even though it didn't matter in the end, it is nice to have got it done, and your guests sound delightful btw and just the sort I would like to have!! Although for everyone's sake I won't get started again on the subject of guests this summer, harrumph.) And you are in the right place on this thread if you home ed. Lots of fledglings on this thread able to offer advice on that subject!

Big encouraging wing flaps to everyone else!

Back in a mo with first set of links for tomorrow!

Right, can't quite believe it, but here we are starting with the Sept links again.

Good luck to all fledglings and their dcs returning to work and school this week!

Baby-step no. 1 for Tuesday 1st Sept 2015 is here. Shine your sink!

For newcomers to the thread, have a look at how Flylady suggests you divide your home in to cleaning zones here.

More info about Fly zones here.

Tomorrow we will be starting again in Zone 1: The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room here.

For those Fledglings at this stage: here is the detailed cleaning list for Zone One.

The missions for tomorrow and for the rest of the week can be found : here.

Tuesday's mission is spending 15 mins putting away or decluttering things that do not belong in Zone One. Only put away/declutter what you can manage in 15 mins!

The daily focus for Tuesday is planning - menus, celebrations, appts, outfits, holidays, activities etc.

The habit for September is developing a before-bed routine.

Phew! Think that is everything! Remember everyone - no perfectionism allowed. Adapt the system to suit yourself and your individual home. If it has taken 3yrs or more for clutter to gather, it will probably take the same amount of time to get back on top of it. Small steps are best! 15 mins here and there makes all the difference! But try and do a little every single day! And remember, all baby-steps and missions and zones will come around again next month so don't burn yourself out!

Go to it fledglings and here's to a productive September!

**

oh bum and I've just seen the typo in the thread title! That is going to annoy me all month

Eek! Happy September everyone.

My Tuesday morning will be spent frantically trying to tidy my ground floor before new pupil arrives. We had lots of visitors today which was fab (definitely a spirit renewing day!) but no time for housework beyond a quick shoving-stuff-into-bags session before bed.