Autumn leaves flutter as October Fledglings Fly!

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Welcome to the October 2015 Fledgling Flying thread!

Park your broomsticks and cauldrons here!! Or is that just me ?

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.

As usual we will be following a three-pronged approach - and don't worry - we are all at different stages. (Some of us are still stuck at the decluttering stage after quite a few 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!

The idea is that we focus on short, ring-fenced, daily steps and routines that will help our homes run (more or less!) on "automatic pilot" allowing us to do far more interesting things instead!

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!

Helpful pointers: No perfectionism allowed! If it took a while to create the current C.H.A.O.S. (can't have anyone over syndrome) in your home, then it will probably take a while to reverse the situation (you can't clean clutter!). Small steps are the key! And you are never behind: just jump in where you are at!

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Good luck!

Sod all achieved today except:

ta da
Super Skills (it's getting so much easier now! Both DCs happily get on with it and it only takes about an hour juggling between the two of them)
Spellings
Painting
Gave a piano lesson
Just doing DCs dinner now. DH was requested to go past Asda to make the most of their curry meal deal :o

Toffee you've reminded me I really need to get DS' uniform for Beavers! His investing thingy is on the 19th. They have a trip (to hobbycraft?!) on the 12th and it does say all Beavers need to be in uniform, but I'm assuming that doesn't include DS as he's not officially a Beaver yet, and apparently when DD's friend wore her uniform before being invested she was told off?! So hoping that's ok as it's not going to arrive before then.

Thankfully Badgers take care of the uniform and will order it for all the new starters in bulk to save delivery cost, which is nice of them and one less thing for me to sort out other than putting aside the cash for it. And that's only a t-shirt, cap and sash, unlike Beavers and Brownies which insist on particular trousers and such (which is hard, because DD is tall and leggy... doesn't get that from me I assure you)

Sorry I've been rubbish. Back to work today for first time since January. Just a keeping in touch day but it was a big shock lol. I so don't want to go back after Christmas
Didn't achieve anything house wise and plan to just drink wine and eat chocolate tonight.

Hope everyone is well x

I've been shit today and yesterday. Today I just did laundry and swept up some dust bunnies in the 'futility room'. Even dinner tonight is a lazy Kiev/waffles affair.
Oh I did walk dogs and do a bit of shopping. But no decluttering, again.
Hopefully DH can help me tackle it tomorrow.
Have a nice evening, all

Today I've achieved:

unloaded veg box
made soup (still have to liquidise)
made supper, boiled potatoes, carrots and stew from freezer batch cooking last week (it was burnt though)
made more semolina(in effort to clear out dry goods in pantry)
used up last bit of couscous on ds2 who hates potatoes (more clearing out)
ds1 did lots of violin practice and loves new violin I bought secondhand, as he says it is MUCH better than the existing one. Result!!!!
ds2 to football and socialised
put some sheets away
another load of laundry
nap

umm....no other housework really, but pleased to have finally unloaded the veg box which has been lurking on the porch since Tues

long talk with ds1 about revision - not really getting anywhere but he is convinced he is working hard; I suppose that is better than him downright denouncing the whole process and running off into the night He is touchingly serious about his plans.

dd being deeply irritating and dancing round the kitchen wrestling with ds2 and veering between bouncy and grumpy. Ds2 in good mood but terribly loud puts hands over ears Far too much Fifa going on here, it seems to be the default response to any stress...

Blue at last, they have agreed to something concrete. I hope you can be into new house by the end of next week - would it be that soon the completion?

Toffee I think there is a lot of diary work involved..most of the working parents I know just have these dates down a long time in advance and take time off work, rather like a hospital appointment I suppose. But if your dh is flexible that takes up so much slack. I can remember when dh had a job in a company he often came back early for various reasons to do with parents evenings school meetings because I needed someone to look after the other children if I was at a meeting. But he never could go to any assemblies or that sort of thing. But he had been in his job a long time by that point, and it wasn't a job where he was dealing with clients all the time so he could get work done at his own pace ifyswim so it didn't matter if sometimes he left a bit early. The truth is it was quite hard to deal with all the appointments clashing with school pickups etc but much easier as they got older and could be left in house alone or let themselves in. Does ds2 school have afterschool club for emergencies, might that be worth investigating in case dh gets caught up in something - I know friends who have used these flexibly, rather than having to be booked in every day.

Dont you mustn't beat yourself up. Laundry and floor sweeping is all I've managed for weeks, but it's better Thanks nothing and keeps things ticking over.

Knitting current provisional moving date is beginning of the week after. We'll see. Will have to start on the junk disposal again though.

Hope everyone ok! You've certainly all been busy!

Just had a lovely evening. Friend popped around earlier for a drink and a gossip catch up. Then, later on, when they had left, and dh had returned to the fold, dd demonstrated her latest moves en pointe to music from Giselle in her pjs. It is quite difficult channelling the Queen of the Wilis in a polka dot onesie I can tell you

Ballet is the only thing that seems to give her any pleasure atm (aside from the animals) but she says she has had a slightly better week at school which is good!

"Yay Blue some good news finally!!! So glad you could end the week on a positive note!

Hope you are oK Scatty (and you have NOT been rubbish at all!!) sorry you didn't enjoy today at work but you never know, you may feel differently in a few months time. Well done for going anyway x

Congrats on another killer list Knitting which very definitely falls under the category of housework in my bk!

Don'tbuy doing the minimum is good so don't be too hard on yourself. And if it's any consolation, I have managed precisely two days of consecutive paperwork decluttering so far this month .

Fuzzpig congrats on the excellent home edding and all the Beavering and Badgering !

Can'tseehope you have survived late training & school disco combo [wonders if two could be combined somehow ]

Toffee Congrats on your humungous list! I remember a "more mature" woman returning to work in our office where I was a young thing at the time - and we all admired her terribly - she was fiercely professional and incredibly focused and we all ended up in awe of her! So don't assume all the young 'uns will be thinking negative things about you. They will probably be much reassured by your presence!

I'm sure all the school meeting logistics will work out once your dh gets in to the swing of things - and as Knitting says - the boys are much older now so not a disaster if there is a 30 min delay or some such here and there.

Hope you, your dh, and your pils have a lovely evening ¨Carpe and excellent to see someone having a "me" day!! Flylady would definitely approve! And we should all be following your good example.

Waves to anyone I have inadvertently missed!

Managed a fair bit in a bitty sort of way today. A bit of ironing, a bit of tidying, a bit of washing, a bit of cleaning, a bit of shopping and a lot of dog walking! Dh back so will be happy to hand the leash over to him tomorrow morning!

G'night all!
***

Baby-step no. 10 for tomorrow, Sat 10th Oct, is here. Previous baby-steps + learning about the power of 15 mins! A good one!

Tomorrow will be our last day in Zone 2 : Kitchen/ back porch/laundry room/pantry. Here!.

Declutter for 15 mins in Zone 2 (or do a mission!) if you want to.

If you are at that stage, the detailed cleaning list for Zone 2 is here.

No missions because it is the weekend!

[Newcomers: for your information, we will be starting in Zone 3 soon: The Bathroom and One Extra Room (October 11 – 17).]

Saturday's focus is: family fun. (I am currently trying to re-define this as "family fun without screens" with differing degrees of success!

The habit for October is: www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/october/ decluttering paper clutter!

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.

Have a good w/e everyone!

Ballet in a onesie :o oh SC you do paint a funny picture! So glad DD has had a better week, too. :)

I did nowt else beyond eat junk food, order DS' Beaver uniform and finish watching Doctor Foster. And order Tesco. Without a shopping list or a meal plan. Fail.

Not especially looking forward to this weekend as DH won't be here much. Hoping I can somehow magically be in less pain tomorrow and actually achieve something!

Goodnight all!

Hello it's good to catch up and read about how you're all doing. I've read you but not been on the thread for a while.

During the summer I did a Kwondo in the rooms at back of our house and I felt really proud of myself. I decluttered, cleaned , organised, fitted new cupboards and it's still really lovely.

When I got back to work I had no time for housework and just switched back into paid work .

Now I'm back at the stage when I feel able to juggle with both housework and job work.

So I'm going to try snd get back to my routine and hope you will welcome a wayward fledgeling back.

I need to get on top of our front room and bedroom.There's so much to do and I just don't have enough time to do it all in one go so I'll need to do it in shorts small stages to stay the course.

I don't like tidying and cleaning like that but if I can then these rooms are going to get better a bit at a time.

Thinking about you all there and I hope you have a great day.

Good morning!

Currently in yet another flurry of bed-making, hoovering and dusting here atm (second floor) in prep for guests' arrival tomorrow eve. Dh has very helpfully taken furry one and dd out for breakfast. Trying not to let prep for them dominate the whole weekend so trying to get most of it out of the way now and then need to try and stop dh and dd trashing the place in the mean time.

Boudoir and home office still a bit.

Paper decluttering going nowhere . Really frustrating.

Sorry you are in so much pain atm Fuzzpig Hope today is better for you x

Hope everyone can have a bit of fun this Saturday!

Lovely to have you back Saymwa! It doesn't sound as if you have been remotely wayward to me!! Fantastic job re: all the Kondo-ing!!

Hope the job is going ok and good luck with juggling chores and paid work! Hope all the small steps on here will help!

Wishing you a better day too Fuzzpig.
Here is my today's list:
Morning routine
Wash bedsheets
Plan lunch and evening meal.
Read daughters essay and help with corrections.
Walk dogs
So one pile of paper in main room
Back soon

Thanks lovely Fledglings (and welcome back Say! :))

Sorry I keep whinging at the moment will try to be more positive. I just feel a bit stuck and in limbo IYSWIM as I just want the work issue to be sorted! I think for the moment while I'm feeling like this I will have to not expect too much of myself and just do little bits when I can and not get frustrated. I'm still achieving a fair bit considering, I think. :)

Ta da:
dw emptied and stacked
wm on
animals fed
(dh has walked dog thank heavens)
second floor tidied, dusted, hoovered
three beds stripped, aired and re-made
bins emptied
dirty laundry carried all the way down to basement
lunch made, served, tidied up
shopping list written and dh dispatched for 3 major items
action list written

To do:
boudoir [quakes]
and if time, hair-cut

Ta da cont'd:
(forgot to say)
hoovered 3 flights stairs and cleaned side painted bits (whatever they are called)
cleaned out fridge
dd persuaded to shower and do first bit of hwk study

OK, boudoir too overwhelming so going to break it down in to small steps:

• put away clean and ironed clothes

-pick everything up off floor that shouldn't be there and put away -put all items, such as coats, that don't belong in boudoir, away -put all of dd's clothes that are too small in to charity bags -recycle papers and magazines

• clear bed and put miscellaneous stuff that has been dumped on bed (that we rarely sleep in) away
• strip bed
• clear and hoover under bed
• organise dd's clothes and shoes
• clear top dh's chest
• clear top my chest
• clear bed-side tables
• dust and hoover
• re-make bed

Just come back for a brief groan and a whimper.

Suffice to say, I now know why I procrastinate over the boudoir ... .

Sounds like you've done loads SC but sounds like a lot of work. Go easy on yourself and remember little and often. Don't burn yourself out.

We're trying to get the house ready for the surveyor on Monday so spending the weekend tidying, painting, sorting out paperwork needed in relation to house and the garden argh.

I am rather smug in that my new filing system I implemented back in April has meant that we found all the paperwork we needed within five minutes and there was no panic or drama unlike a year ago when we wouldn't have been able to find anything!!

Thank you for the encouragement Scatty which has come at a very timely moment!

You won't believe it but I am still on step one [cries].

"Putting clean clothes away" has turned in to "declutter three bags of clothes that dd has grown out of before you can fit anything else in drawers or wardrobes" ... still can't walk across floor... visitors due tomorrow night. Arrgh!! (They are not staying in this room but it would be nice not to have to shut the door on it as it were, especially as home office next door is in a bit of a state too (although at least I did get that hoovered this morning)).

Good luck to you and your dh with all of your weekend travails!! Make sure you go steady too!!

And well done wrt your new filing system! Must be a pretty good system if it is still going strong after six months! It is a fantastic feeling to be able to put your hand on the exact piece of paper you are looking for (I have never got to this point - but you are inspiring me to try!!).

[Still very happy with kitchen spice reorganisation and stationery drawers that my sister and I decluttered in the summer, and the one thing I achieved in the basement over the holiday: a floristry shelf!! All vases now in one place instead of having to hunt around for them.]

Sadly, October was meant to be my month for paperwork and so far dd being ill for a week and visitors coming have sent me off course.

At least I will have the other half of the month to try and get it done after visitors leave next Sat.

Must do this as I know from experience that November is taken up with Christmas prep.

And it would be good to have all correspondence, old addresses/new addresses, filing etc etc all up to date before I embark on Christmas cards etc.

OK thinking too far ahead here and getting stressed. Back to sock drawers

Big waves to one and all!

No housework done today. I've barely left the sofa except for food

BUT my invitation for an adult autism spectrum condition has arrived, and in it are various questionnaires to fill in. There's one that asks me to write about various things so I've copied the questions onto Word and am typing my answers to make sure I get everything on paper.

*

Baby-step no. 11 for tomorrow, Sun 11th Oct, is an ignorable one about inspirational quotes.

Sunday will be our first day in Zone 3: The Bathroom and One Extra Room (October 11 – 17) : here.

Declutter for 15 mins in Zone 2 (or do a mission!) if you want to.

If you are at that stage, the detailed cleaning list for Zone 3 is here.

[Newcomers: the link immediately above is the one where you find extra different detailed cleaning lists for laundry room, children's bedrooms, office etc.]

No missions because it is the weekend!

Sunday's focus is: renewing your spirit.

The habit for October is: www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/october/ decluttering paper clutter!

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.

Have a peaceful Sunday everyone!

**

Just posted links for tomorrow because I am slowing down for day ... want to use my last bits of energy to spend 30 more mins in boudoir.

No where near finished ... but at least I have started.

Have a good evening eveyrone and will bb to catch up again in the morning!

x post

Waves to Fuzzpig!

That's brilliant fuzzpig

sc you might not have gotten all the things on your list done but you have tackled another job that needed done so it's still an achievement so give yourself a pat on the back!!!
Maybe make your focus for the week the areas needed to be done for your visitors and then you limit your stress a bit.

We've just sent all our paperwork to mortgage company yay. All had to be scanned and emailed.
I've also sorted all the kids DVDs into the new DVD binder I ordered.
Did all this while watching our fave tv series while kids napped.

Saturday night is date night so once kids are in bed we plan on having a lovely, home cooked meal with wine and a movie. Love Saturday nights yay.

Make sure you all do something nice tonight for yourselves xxx

Ooohhh good grief it's turning into a major essay. Being succinct is not my forte! I think I'll just try and get it printed out rather than handwrite it as I'm not sure it'll fit