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, knitting . It's a never-ending battle, isn't it?

Dogsbum - I do love hearing your updates on Meerkitten - it brings it all back to me. I was just like you about our first Christmas as a family and this feeling continued whilst the children were young although I must admit I was quite relieved when they stopped believing in Father Christmas after 13 years of me pretending (younger son rumbled it at 6 or 7; older son had to be told at 12!).

CantSee - you must be getting really fed up with the building works now. It's horrible to have strangers in your house every day, not to mention all the commotion of the actual work.

SC - hope DD's induction afternoon goes well. Yes, I'm so pleased we have continued to get DS1 out most days over the summer. As you say, this should stand him in good stead.

In fact, DS1 is out right now with DH: they've gone for a long walk and to take photos. DS2 is at a friend's house, so that means that I'm alone in the house (apart from slumbering cats) for the first time in .... well, I don't actually know how long: months, certainly, possibly even years as we have had both DC out of school for so long.

About to start printing out school lists and then need to do some tidying up and hang the second load of washing out.

grumpygirtie - welcome to the thread and good luck with your challenge.

Blue - sounds to me like you've made a wise decision to move the boys. I hope they settle in quickly.

Thanks Toffee. SC, we don't know, which is half the trouble, but expect it to be during Sept.

This morning we've done culture (been to the museum), had lunch out, been shopping. Now we're home and everything has descended into a series of blazing rows. Oh dear.

Re building works, we are doing a lot of the work ourselves, which tbh i am not sure it makes it better or worse the best bit is that there is more to come in Feb, so it really is just a break for the holidays :(

just killing half an hour until ds gets in and we leave again It's it nice to be back into the routine and school and afterschool activities...

Waiting at the school gate. Isn't this a fresh level of hell?!

I know no one. I feel like a leper!

Thank god for MNet so I can look busy!

It gets easier Carpe. Look up, catch someone's eye and smile, they are probably feeling exactly the same. I'm at the other end with youngest in Year 5 now and am really going to miss school gate chit-chats, but remember it being very strange in the early days when everyone seemed to know each other.

Nettles - sorry to hear about the LA

Blue - it must all be very unsettling, we have stayed put since the DCs were born, just can't imagine what an upheaval this must all be for you.

Dogsbum - good to hear from you, yes I remember that first Christmas with DS, of course he was oblivious and just played with the wrapping paper, but he was 11 months old and we have some gorgeous photos of him sitting in amongst all the paper with a santa hat plonked on his head.

Welcome Grumpy. weightloss is on my to do list as well, I decided to make a good start today with green tea and veg smoothie for breakfast and prawn salad for lunch, then remembered I was giving bllod and sometimes feel faint so I ate two shortbreads beforehand and three bourbons afterwards to be on the safe side .

Flying wise, did well this morning, got up early enough to vacuum downstairs and mope the kitchen floor before the school run, plus a bit of tidying. Had a really gross moment though, went to to put something in DD's school bag, lasy used about a fortnight ago for holiday club, pulled out a completely rotten plum/peach/apple who knows what it was and then came a swarm of fruit flies! So that was rapidly dumped in the garden, luckily I have hung onto DS's old one (they are school logo'd), so I did quick re-name labelling and had words!

Signing in! Sorry I'm late sc. I've got a note! DS is back at school next Monday so I will be starting then. I pottered around during July and August - I need the flylady structure to keep me going. With all the hacking debacle going on I have kept off mn for a few weeks as well.
The plan is to blitz the dining room over the weekend so that ds can do his homework in there. He is going into year 7 so I expect the volume to go up. I should then be in a good place to get going on Monday

Evening everyone - quick list dump before I have to get DS off to bed.

Despite feeling like crap, I have had a super productive day as DS was in nursery and DH is away on a work stint.

Nursery drop off
Cats fed
Loads of DSs old stuff listed on Facebook selling groups, quite a bit sold and got collected today (that counts as decluttering, right?!)
Trip out:
*took some stuff over to PIL
*therapy appointment
*dropped four bags of stuff into charity shop
*treated myself to a new outfit
*got a spare set of keys cut for the cat sitter
Batch cooked four portions of chilli con carne and three portions of chicken curry
Dishwasher unload
Dishwasher maintenance: top up salt and rinse aid, run a cleaning programme
Dishwasher reload
Hand washing up done
Beds made x3
Ironing pile sorted for cleaner for tomorrow
X2 loads of laundry
One load hung up to dry
Paid some bills
Cats fed
Lots of random tidying returning things to their proper places
Rubbish removed from car
Nursery admin
Nursery pickup

Still to do:
Fold and put away dry laundry
Hang up wet laundry
Shovel some more gold onto to bed him down for winter
Select a new reading book from the overflowing pile
Bed.

Forgot to add:

Emptied, washed, dried and refilled cat litter trays x2

And welcome to Grumpy :)

Ah, bless you, Carpe - I positively loathe(d) the school run for similar reasons so totally sympathise! (I am always oldest and least stylish and fattest at school gate - there were so many gorgeous young Italian and Spanish mothers at dd's old school - and, as with current new school, everyone speaks about 10 different langs all at once - positively terrifying!!) As Astimegoesby says though, it does get better, once you find your own little niche! There are always, I find, one or two kindly souls in every group whom you eventually bump in to!! And I hate to say it, but one good way to meet people is to volunteer for the odd thing here and there. Good luck xx

Astimegoesby We've had v similar science experiment scenarios here!! Bourbons totally justified if you are giving blood!!
Complete and awe at you managing to mop kitchen floor, hoover and tidy before school run - that deserves some sort of Flying medal I think or at least several !! How is the dual location school run going by the way? (And are you still doing 2 jobs?) Sounds v full on indeed!

Sympathies re ongoing building work Can'tsee although at least if you are doing it yourselves you have a modicum more control over proceedings I suppose -tough going nonetheless.

Sorry everything is so stressful for you atm Blue - here's hoping contract exchanges earlier in Sept than later. - and everything resolved as quickly as poss.

Toffee good you had a little 'me' time today - hopefully much more to follow come the start of term - profitez!!

knitting ominous gums don't sound good at all - are you sure you are OK? Hope you are being looked after anyway

Yay! Great to 'see' you Dogsbum and really lovely to hear tales of Meerkitten and how she is leaning towards the the keyboard (she obviously wants to join in with all the thread chat bless her!! ) And glad to hear you were able to get out and see a friend for a while. Your description of inappropriate outfits made me as I can remember some real shockers received here!! Arf at mini Deborah Kerr

Waves to everyone else!

x posts

Yay Mummy great to have you back!! Good luck to your ds starting secondary next week and good luck with the dining room declutter!!

Crikey Greymalkin you have been busy!! Think that qualifies as a scary list! Incredibly well done considering you are feeling rotten!! for you too!!!

It's at this point I admit that I didn't much further with my list (yes, the same one I didn't get through yesterday).

I spent the day translating and signing a lot of school admin.

Then I served dd a pesto pasta salad for an after school snack, and she managed to tip the residual (oily) sauce in the bottom of the bowl all over her new (££££) school uniform skirt, the sofa covers, the sofa cushions and the floor which meant I spent quite a lot of the afternoon scrubbing and doing laundry (serves me right for not insisting she ate at the table).

Then the furry one managed to injure himself running down the garden and jumping down a few steps all in one flying leap which entailed a quick run to the vet (fortunately near school at school run time). He's bruised his shoulder but thankfully nothing worse.

Then I had a meeting with dh who revealed that the service I was meant to be promoting for his office doesn't actually exist yet (ie material hasn't been written) and therefore I couldn't actually start to market it. Slightly miffed because I spent quite a few hours during the last six weeks working out marketing strategy. Funny how he can communicate with me about this all summer and leave out such a small but vital detail . Believe me, 'seething' doesn't cover it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to find medical insurance papers for school which I did find eventually but it took ages because personal files in such a mess

Followed by a marathon sewing-on-of-name-tapes-session (should I mention that the post-holiday house is such a tip and there is such a sea of crapola on every fllor that the only clear place I thought safe to do this away from CHAOS and dog hairs was our bed!!) Makes it sound as if I live in one of those hoarder's houses off the telly doesn't it? Not quite that bad but ... getting there if I don't get down to some serious scrubbing and decluttering soon.

It's an hour ahead of UK here and I'm tired so going to post tomorrow's steps now and go to bed. Here's a thought: perhaps I should actually start following Flylady's advice!!

Sorry - just realised the sequence of events in that last post is all wrong! Haven't even been drinking either! Just losing my faculties obviously!

Baby-step no. 3 for Thurs 3rd Sept 2015 is here. Do what we have already been doing (ie getting dressed to shoes and shining kitchen sink) and then, if the mood takes you, explore the Flylady site.

We are currently in Zone 1: The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room here.

For those Fledglings at this stage: [[http://www.flylady.net/d/zones/detailed-cleaning-zone-1/ here is the detailed cleaning list for Zone One.

Thursday's mission is here sweep porch area, shake out mats and wipe down front door.

The daily focus for Thursday is errand day going shopping, med appts, haircuts, supermarket run, dry cleaning etc etc

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

Keep going everyone!! (And you never know, I might actually start! )

**

Sorry - mission came out a bit askew there

Let me try again

The mission for Thursday is here sweep porch area, shake out mats, wipe down front door!

G'night all

Definitely losing my faculties but hope rest makes sense!

SC, step away from MN, and go to bed ;)

do you need the sleep?

I have done tomorrows and fridays misson already, but not today's so might try to fit that in tomo.
Not done the anti-procrastination task either so will try to do that tomo

ds is sat in bed and doing his homework, lunch box to make and then my bed is shouting at me very very loudly

Dual school run hasn't started yet, DS doesn't start till Tuesday so it was just DD today (DS is staying at my parents for a couple of days).

I have decided to go for a rolling morning routine, so:

Monday - run vac round downstairs (it's cordless and our house is small), mop kitchen (takes about 30s with Vileda squirty mop).
Tuesday - swish and swipe thoroughly
Weds - vac downstairs again
Thurs - vac upstairs
Fri vac - downstairs again
Weekend - clean bathroom properly, vac stairs.

I am shattered. giving blood really takes it out of me, so off for a properly early night.

Evening all. Didn't even spot a mistake yesterday but the grammar hammer is never necessary.

DD went back to school today. Fine on arrival, bear hugs galore from classmates but looked visibly sad going into new classroom. I was worried all day that someone had upset her but she was just being a drama queen and missing her old teachers. Oh, to have so little to worry about!

We (in the royal sense, DH did all the work) recently redecorated DD's room and all her (considerable amount of) toys are in the spare room, rendering it full to overflowing and out of action. Today I tried to catch up with laundry, which I usually hang up to dry in the spare room ...

Tomorrow I need to collect my prescription and continue the housework!

Morning everyone,

DS has finally started waking up at the more acceptable time of 6am and it make such a difference to how we all start the day.

Ta da
Cats fed
DS fed
Coffee machine and slow cooker deep cleaned
Hand washing up done
Put bins out for collection

To do
Get myself and DS dressed
Fold and put away three loads of laundry
Make beds
Put out stuff for cleaner
Take DS for haircut
Trip to soft play
List some stuff on eBay

And probably not much else.

Thanks SC for getting the thread back to 'normal'

yep we are back to school with a bang.

Time to re-open the naughty corner?

on the third day of the month? If it is not open already with comfy cushions for flopping into at the end of the day then we are clearly slacking.
Perhaps a nice sunny naughty corner? complete with hammocks, sand and sea.

Slowly, very slowly getting 'back to normal' here whatever the hell that is

Dd's birthday yesterday so lots of visitors and boys' first day back to school (ds2's very first day at the school) so I've dropped them today, they'll usually get the school bus.

Very emotional day yesterday as I also had a mindee leave to go to school. I've had him since 5 months so a complete sob fest from me and mum, and lovely gifts and cards from them.

Very short to do list but I'll be back tonight for a proper catch up with you all!