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!

It is a random place to start but fan fic has an epic setup for beta-ing work before it goes online. A lot of writers are starting there to learn the process. I have had contact with one who is now published in e-books. And know several others who really should consider it should their life circumstances be different (ie a proper income not be required as well)

Yep, apple pies, cottage pies, and all manners of bread based items were made today. Seriously considering a batch of cheese bread. I am craving right now. But it takes 1hr 40 so it is not going to happen!

Sorry! Just seen there is a whole section of thread I'd missed about Can'tsee decluttering her two [impressed] cjs and Fuzzpig's daily constitutionals and Blue decluttering + visiting hairdresser and castle museum and Knitting's dc going to church by themselves and her intention to make rosehip syrup and toffee's ds2's obnoxious maths teacher and baby-sitting. Oh dear, can't keep up, think will try and get back to sleep instead

[Arranges feathers in nest, hops in, eats a few worms, and zzzzzzz]

x post

Thanks very much for that tip Can'tsee will definitely check it out!

[Drools at thought of all that delicious baking you have achieved today! Your ds is a very luck boy

G'night!

luck-y!!!

decluttered the control journals?! Are you crazy? Nought there to be impressed about. It just means I made one, lost one so made another and then lost it. It is the ultimate in crapness and failure to adhere to the fly system summed up.

not even proud

Good morning!

Well in my bk Can'tsee it's pretty impressive to have made two to lose!!

Back to Flying with a vengeance today [groan]

DD at home ill with bad cold/flu so no excuse.

Ta da: (late start)
animals
informed school of dd's absence
prep dd brkfast
e-mail to hwk club lady

To do:
make dr appt for dd
finish morning routine
dw and clean kitchen
load of laundry
home bleugh ground floor
boudoir
on-line return parcels
banking

That's enough to be going on with.

Have a good start to the week everyone!

Oh dear, sorry to hear your DD has also succumbed to seasonal lurgies, SC.

DS1 has gone back to school, but DS2 had to sadly concede that he was too unwell. So he is tucked up on the sofa and I am tucked up in his bed. DH has just come back with a carrier-bag full of cough and cold remedies to get us through the next few days.

I need to work on my interview preparation, but just want to go back to sleep now.

Apparently, I snored so loudly (because I was all blocked up) last night that DH had to wear earplugs in the end .

I've tidied the kitchen
two children to school (dh did that)
about to take ds2 to his French lesson, sans homework (he refuses to even look at the link and says he hates the sound "ou"/u ) however he likes talking to the other children there in French and it's our last lesson as next week he is at a new tuition place for whole of Tues and Wed (quake)

SC ah Romulus and Remus. Can't say I have any claim to that topic except I remember ds1 doing a strip cartoon very badly on the subject in Year 7 (4 years ago) and trying to draw a wolf Not Latin mind you, history. They were meant to draw conclusions about propaganda, historical fact versus myth, Roman identity.

KNitting Gosh, that sounds a lot more interesting than dd's school's approach, where they just rote learn the story of course. Hope French lesson went well.

Hope you and ds2 feel better soon Toffee . Great that ds1 was able to go back in though!

Bit of thread business... .

Just realised it is the last day of September tomorrow.

Unless anyone else has a burning desire to run thread throughout October, I would be happy to carry on.

Does anyone mind? [Intending to whinge less and Fly more, I promise!! I have to have serious stab at house in Oct!!]

I will be travelling in Nov and Dec and have an op planned in early January and will probably be out of action for most of month. Feel badly about this because that leaves stressful months of Dec and Jan for someone else to run!! So it would salve my conscience a bit if I at least contributed Oct.

Is that OK? (Promise to take on Feb too!) Pls spk up if not!

argh, just realised I'll be away in Feb too, but not until end, so probably do-able!

Haven't done much Flying this morning. DD insists on sleeping on sofa downstairs so having to creep about. Hoovering will have to happen later.

Have done banking and a bit of admin though.

I certainly don't have a burning desire to do it SC, I'm more like "I will if no one else will". So if you don't mind that would be very much appreciated and I will step up again sometime. .

Thanks Astimegoesby!!

Same here, SC. Are you sure you don't mind, though?

I am happy to lead a linky thread, but am available Nov and Dec so happy to do those with others being snowballed atm. Do shout if you are finding thread leader too much SC. Happy to let you just get on with it but it is hectic so never be afraid to say no!

Thanks Toffee and Can'tsee

No, don't mind at all but thanks for askingToffee (anything that gets me to focus on chores is a good thing atm)

Can'tsee Seems unfair for you to be always landed with difficult months though; but it is just at those holiday times when I tend to be travelling unfortuantely. And will shout if I need help, thanks

Just been to a funeral. This is when I am very grateful to dh for working from home, as I was able to attend without worrying about letting children in or looking after ds2. So glad I was able to go without it being a "big thing"...and not let friend (parent had died) down. All very surreal. As funerals often are. Not a long funeral though and no wake etc. That is this evening and I cannot go to that.

Ds2 on the other hand has pretty well vedged today (vegged?) so I cannot make a habit of it. If he doesn't do work in the morning it is practically impossible to get him to do work at any other time.

Walking back from tube I met dd going in the other direction, back to school to take people round on open evening. Oy Mum she cried, can I have some money? Shameless!!

glad you were able to go to the funeral and support your friend knitting

IKWYM about the vegging (I think that's the right one anyway!) in the morning - we do often try to get something done first thing to get the day off to a good start as otherwise it's all 'but muuuuuuuuum' :o

I don't really mind doing learning at any time of day in principle, as I love the idea that learning can happen any time anywhere, but often in practice we can't do stuff in the afternoons, as the neighbour DCs are back from school and asking to play. But when they are at after school club the DCs are happy to carry on into the evening sometimes.

This morning they had a friend to play and amazingly they were happy to do lots of learning after. I'm having a high pain day and I'm so grateful that we've been able to just curl up on the sofa and learn stuff together. Went off on a tangent to find out the difference between seals and sea lions, I didn't have a clue before!

Hope your friend is ok Knitting¨, I'm sure she was very comforted to have you there

Sorry you have had to suffer through a high pain day Fuzzpig

So tired tonight and I've no idea why. It's 9.30pm here - off to bed in a minute. Did bits of every item on my list but didn't finish any of them. Hope to do better tomorrow. Find it difficult to get on with dd at home, and a bit draining not being able to go out! Doesn't look like she will be fit enough for school or ballet tomorrow either.

The baby-step for tomorrow, Wed 30 Sept, is here. Look at your calendar for the month ahead and prepare for birthdays/important dates etc. And read about Flylady's basic weekly plan here.

[And if you are a newcomer (lurking or otherwise) you may be interested to know that step 31 (obviously not done in Sept!) is about not getting worried if you don't understand the system from the word go. As your clutter goes away, you will find that you will have time to do the zone detailed cleaning, the weekly home blessing etc (well that's the theory anyway!).

Wed is our last day in Zone 5 : The Sitting Room (September 27-30) : here. Spend 15 mins a day decluttering this zone.

If you have finished decluttering Zone 5, here is the detailed cleaning list for the sitting room.

Wednesday's mission (the last in Zone 5 for a while) can be found: here. It targets the neglected areas of our sitting room (particularly relevant to me): ie it instructs us to look up and clean the tops of doors, pictures, mouldings, windows,corners of the ceiling and curtains.

Wednesday's daily focus is: anti-procrastination. Do something you have been avoiding!

The habit for September is developing a before-bed routine here: www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/september/ .

A summary of the above (which should update itself daily) can be found here in the Flightplan: www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120.

Well done everyone, give yourself a pat on the back, you have flown through another month!!

*

Will set up new thread tomorrow btw. G'night all!

My friend was a man! Still in need of sympathy though, I did not know his mum at all well.

*fuzzpig" alas my 13 year old tends to regard learning as a dirty word. I will try however to replace learning with work as a principle! much better mindset.. I have very rosy memory of him learning about gelada monkeys (ice monkeys) and looking at the encylopaedia with him in year 4...those days are gone.. Now he wants to look up rather seedy Panorama documentaries about Labour party politicians interspersed with football results..or worse still. Honest Trailers. Do not try that one.

omg Wednesday mission is a karma what eagle eyes she has, it is terrible up there and as for the corners..nooooo I think I am going to accept that NONE of this is going to get done before the children leave home. If they ever leave.

Glad you were able to support your friend at the funeral, knitting. In my experience, you never forget the friends who make the effort to be there.

Hope today is a better day for you painwise, fuzz.

And that you are feeling full of verve and vigour after your early night, SC.

Still full of cold this morning, but don't feel as ill, thankfully. Boys have both gone to school. I'm meeting a friend for lunch later and have delegated a school meeting to DH, which he'll have to get used to if I get a FT job.

Job interview on Thursday .

Off to get ready now. Extra layers of make up required to cover up my red nose .

done quite a lot of houseworky things this morning first thing (I'm better in my dressing gown)
such as recycling/pots and pans
disconnecting telly

but now going to have a busy morning of home ed "learning" continuing with Magic Flute (have lovely graphic novel of it) some Newton and then we are going off to visit the tutorial place which is near but not so near..

good luck with interview Toffee you sound very forceful if I may say so
glad both boys are recovered enough for school and you are back in new routine

better go now..

Good morning everyone!

Had a lovely sleep thank you Toffee (although dd woke up rather a lot)! Helped by another late start as dd is still at home ill (cold has gone on to her chest and she has high temp). Dh also has bad back. (We reckon both of us are suffering with our backs atm because the furry one pulls so much on lead, so we've made a plan about intensifying his training).

Had to cancel my volunteering slot and let everyone down as well, which I feel badly about, especially so early in the new 'term'. And will no doubt have to make up the time next week.

In theory, dd is more than old enough to be left alone for a morning (even when ill) but she gets so nervous and upset that I feel badly about it . (Admittedly house is old and (in her eyes) spooky.) Probably doing the wrong thing by giving in. I don't know tbh. And Dh is only up the road today if there was an emergency. Hum, ho - dither. DD is feeling weak and wobbly with temp which is why I stayed here in the end.

And the weather is so lovely, I am desperate to get outside! And a friend has rung begging me to attend HOYS in Birmingham next week where a member of her family is competing (and another member of the supporting spectator party has had to drop out). Wd give my eye teeth to go but dh will be travelling as usual and it's three mid-week days. Never mind. Just feeling really restless atm! And when you decline invitations like this one, owing to living abroad, after a while, people stop inviting you altogether.

How exciting Toffee!! I'm quite !! Good luck with interview prep!! So glad you are feeling better for it too! And that ds1 is well enough to rtn to school.

Good luck to your dh for tomorrow too Fuzzpig

Ditto Knitting I now instruct all guests "not to look up" - our 'public rooms' are in desperate need of redecoration + spiders have been v busy!!

Right, had better continue tackling laundry pile (loads of used bedlinen from small guests this w/e) count my blessings and try and work up some enthusiasm for domestic tasks ahead.

Hope everyone has a good day.