Autumn leaves flutter as October Fledglings Fly!

[standclear]

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!

Building work required eviction from the house so today has been mostly spent mooching around wales. Too tired to catch up on thread but anyone for home made cheats cheesecake?

Hiya Grey nice to see you :)

Thank you lovely Fledglings, I'm feeling a bit raw about it right now as I've had another letter from the CFS/ME clinic and they want my psychiatric hospital notes too! And new blood tests and stuff. I mean it's not like I have a diagnosis from one of the UK's leading professors on the condition is it... oh wait.

What is holding him back, is his OCD perfectionism, which is causing him to delete everything he's writing over and over again. YES. I totally relate to that. I wish I knew what to suggest - I still do it sometimes but at other times I manage to just do a sort of stream of consciousness when I'm on the computer - I've done that with the blog posts I'm preparing, just written it as it comes and then closed it to edit later. Can't do that with exams of course though.

No flying done but my parents came up which was nice, they are really worrying about me bless them. Managed a quick trip in the car to my work, as I had some books to drop off and pick up, and wanted to clear my overflowing locker. Had a lovely chat with a colleague who really understands what I'm going through, and a couple of hugs from people too. I managed a quick lunch out courtesy of my dad, although my legs felt really wobbly, and then mum insisted on buying the set of drawers she's been telling me about. It's a big tower of 8 A4 sized drawers, and we are going to use it for all the craft stuff, paper, pens etc. But it's going to live in our room for now and have a strict authorized access only policy! Just until the living room is a bit more sorted. So, that's another little project I can hopefully get onto soon. Although I feel something of a fraud as I am doing bugger all at the moment!

SC I've changed a dusty hanging paper lampshade and raced through Imperium - does that count as renewing spirit? For me getting away ends up just being procrastination - the things that annoy me still need to be done, and still aren't done (and another moth just flew out of the hall and when I return dh is worn out and at the end of his tether...so...no escape really. I do get away quite often, to bookclubs and extended family events, local quiz nights, shindigs and suchlike and dh has to cover for those deal with homework and uniforms and suppers when I'm out, so he is a bit weary really. My aim ironically is to get him to renew his spirit more often as he tends to just get bogged down with too much work and duty. I think the biggest difference between Brussels and here may be that we don't go to dinner parties really at all, not even supper parties. No-one with kids our age really give them, although people with older children or much grander do Grand meaning staff. Grand dinners are referred to as kitchen suppers. This fills one with dread as you know there will be at least 10 other important people there asking what you do, and trying to network. And wondering what you are doing there in the first place cousins

Tonight we had a classic ds2 evening. Perfectly charming but unable to entertain himself for a minute without some adult interaction. Not one chapter of a book. I don't think he can even concentrate sufficiently on text to read a single page of fiction to himself. It is very frustrating when a house is full of books and yet he won't touch them even when you put a exciting chapter under his nose. Non fiction perhaps but then he wants to tell us immediately what he has read. He used to like fiction to be read out, but now he just finds stories annoying. And he hates graphic novels too. A mystery to his bookloving parents!!

Toffee that is lovely news about ds1's English GSCE

And the Rugby has won out this evening.

grey however, despite the housework you do sound refreshed! I now have a horror of holiday cottages and the final clearing up thereof - saving for a hotel holiday next time I think.. but I think of myself as a spoilsport in that respect - dh thinks it has developed into a phobic reaction. Last time I went to a holiday cottage ds2 screamed continuously that we couldn't get reception for the Glasgow Olympics (were they Olympics really cannot remember but they were in Glasgow) and dd screamed continuously that there was no wifi, and ds1 didn't exactly scream but burst into tears when we first arrived because he felt homesick. Dh was v helpful though. IT DIDN@T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE..the children were the problem [rueful] I think they didn't like holidays either...

Dorset is beautiful. Swanage is a nice place.

oh dear what a whinging post, all is fine really..

4 Wales???

Yes Knitting. we had to be out of the house for nearly 12hrs and the lakes seemed a bit too far today

Today's event went well too. Currently very full and very tired, and have bailed out of tomorrow's bit.

Can't remember who was asking, but a
translation slam is where two people translate the same text (in advance !) and then take turns to read them to the audience, and there's a discussion of the process, bits that worked well, tricky parts etc, with the source text available too for comparison. Wasn't actually nerve wracking at all, because everyone was very friendly, and complimentary. Phew.

Toffee great to hear about DS1 doing well.

Fuzz

Good morning everyone!

Ta da:
morning routine inc animals, dw, animal washing up by hand, tidying of playroom, dining room table hot spot, s&s, kitchen and wm.

To do:
boudoir (which has reached crisis point!)
home office - paper clutter
Fr
front door
cook roast pork with trimmings
long dog walk
keep laundry ticking over

Didn't get through as much as anticipated yesterday but did have family fun so I guess that counts. DD finally on the mend I think!

Blue brilliant about the slam! Hope you can get some repose today!

Cheesecake was delicious thanks Can'tsee [smacks lips]
Poor you being exiled for the day (sounds exhausting). Hope you enjoyed the green fields though.

Knitting yes I know what you mean about the things undone remaining undone (frustratingly), and easy to say, but I think the theory is that one has more energy to tackle them after a break away. As for dinner parties, it is pretty much the same here in fact (and unless with very close friends or family) I wouldn't classify them as particularly relaxing either as a guest or host. Sounds as though you move in much more exalted circles than us though (shudders in solidarity at thought of networking whilst socialising. Can't abide that sort of thing either!! ) Hope you (and your dh!) manage to find a bit of time just for yourselves today anyway!!

Fuzzpig great that your parents and colleagues are so supportive

Yay Greymalkin lovely to "see" you! [sets gin aside for later] Your holiday sounds lovely!! Although v sorry to hear that your dh didn't step up to the plate. It's tough going being away from home with young 'uns. Hope you can make him see the error of his ways for next time!! And give him a list of chores to do at home now he has had his rest.

I may be the exception to the rule here (and much, much easier for me with only one child) but I absolutely love staying in holiday cottages and love cleaning them at the end, probably because I can usually do the whole thing in under 4 hrs and that is so satisfying and fulfilling after trying to (unsuccessfully) keep on top of this old impossible place. Totally, totally different ball game with toddlers under foot and babes in arms though!!

Right, need to rally the troops, walk the dog and get pork in oven before Mass.

Still beautifully sunny here today, hope everyone can make the most of the last rays while it lasts!

Big fledgling wing flaps to one and all!

**

Baby-step no. 5 for tomorrow, Mon 5th Oct , is [[

We will soon be starting in Zone 2: Kitchen/ back porch/laundry room/pantry. [[ Here!

Declutter for 15 mins in this zone.

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

Monday's mission and all the missions for the week ahead can be found: [[ here

Monday's daily focus is [[

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.

Hope everyone has a good start to the week!

**

G'night all!

Oops!! So sorry! Please ignore last post!! You are not meant to see that until tonight (and not finished anyway).

Are you being terribly organised SC

Having to be out of the house was very pleasant, good lungful of sea air always helps with the sleeping. Break did me good. And now I am procrastinating on getting stuff done. Loads that could and should be done. CBA.

. I've decided to revert back to my old name, never really took to the new one. Not much Flying done this weekend, hopefully back to catch up later.

Thanks for explaining the slam, Blue! 'Twas me who was being nosy :) glad it's all gone well.

Knitting that might have been the world championships for something in Glasgow, or the Commonwealth Games were up there at some point but that was a good few years ago. Although that clearly isn't as important as the fact that your poor deprived son couldn't watch any of it

DH has taken the DCs down to the park, so I've got some time to myself. Need to get a lot more typing done as I'm meeting the author again next weekend. I'll try and intersperse it with some laundry or something, you know, keep things interesting...

for those with an opinion on stationery and diaries

45min typing done. Laundry time I think, then I might watch all some of Eat Well For Less before carrying on!

Oh dear knitting - your cottage break sounded really stressful!

CS4L I say indulge your stationary fettish! I know some people can't stand them, but I love the Orgnised Mum 15 month family planner for the kitchen wall; it just works for us. In addition, I have my own slimline week per view diary Aspinal of London diary which is luxury beyond belief. I almost can't bring myself to write in it!

Some Ta das
Long lie in
All holiday cases and bags unpacked and contents put away
Cats collected from Cattery. DC1 has given me lots of cuddles, DC2 is disgusted with me and has stalked off in a huff
All washing sorted into piles
One wash load on
Dishwasher emptied and partial reload
Beds made x2
Calendar updated

So I see that our Flylady habit of the month is paper clutter. This is my biggest downfall: I have piles of paper clutter in all the main rooms of the house, usually several piles in each room. The most annoying one is on the end of the sofa, and just gets in the way and looks at me accusingly. So, I'm going to sort that out ... Now. after I have checked out Active Conversations

Fuzzpig I looked at the diary online and it looks gorgeous, even though I could only see the front cover, I love a bit of Alice in Wonderland. I hope you have more luck with the medical profession soon than you've been having so far, sounds like they are all acting like the crazy characters in Wonderland!

Toffee well done getting a second interview. I guess it is a compliment and a confirmation of what you have to offer even if you don't accept. Well done! I'm also very impressed with your housing buying efficiency with your DM!

SC I was just like your DD with illness in childhood and indeed into adulthood. In my case I got a very serious virus a few times in childhood that I had to be admitted into hospital for and put on a drip and it just seemed to knock out my immune system to everything for years. Over the years my immune system has got much stronger but I do envy people like my DP who can be exposed to anything and not get ill

Blue the translation slam sounds very intimidating, I'm very impressed at your skills. I speak a second language fairly well but the written side is so much harder I find.

Grey you are confirming my suspicions/fears about going away with a baby. I keep meeting people with a baby the same age as Meerkitten and they are going on long car journeys to visit relatives and flying abroad. It seems like madness to me but I do admire their courage madness You've confirmed my view that it is likely to be way too much work until Meerkitten is a lot more capable of doing things for herself like sleeping for a start

Knitting I feel a bit of a fraud offering advice/comments to someone with twins when I only have one but I did manage to find the thread you mentioned in the middle of the night while feeding so I'll go back and have another look in a minute and see if I can offer anything as a mum at the same 18 week mark even if I'm only doing half the work that she is, total respect to parents of twins

Racking my brains to think if I've done any flying today....

*washing up
*Korean chicken in the oven for tea (dead easy recipe, don't be fooled by the name!)
*Walk in the sunshine with Meerkitten in the sling around botanical gardens and local shops, I guess that counts as weekend family fun rather than flying, but isn't that what we're supposed to do at the weekend?!

Can't think of anything else....

I can't remember if I mentioned that Meerkitten's weight has dropped right off the chart, hopefully due to jabs and being under the weather but it does mean that I'm back to weekly weigh ins so I'll be seeing the Health Visitor on Tuesday (my birthday) oh joy... It would be so nice to only have to go monthly like everyone else, oh well, I guess it is just how it goes....

Must check progress of chicken so will post this now

Flapping in to wave briefly. I'm managed to declutter my kitchen, mainly by having it ripped out to find this pesky leak.

It's been found, but has done some damage so we have no kitchen while they dry it out. However, they're hopeful we will be back in by Christmas.

Oh the joys!

Flaps to everyone, and I'll hopefully be back in December!

Carpe that sounds miserable, can't imagine having to be without a kitchen for that long. I'm remembering the misery of microwave meals when we had our kitchen done three years ago.

Although we did also have some fun cooking on the trangia whilst the kitchen was a shell and new floor and walls were drying out, like camping in your own home!

I hope it all goes as smoothly as possible

Ah, we can't even be in the house! No water yet! Thank god for in-laws.

Evening all!

Bit of a mixed day.

I give up trying to do anything productive with dh and dd around. It's impossible! Did manage church, Sunday lunch, washed some of dh's underwear for the wk ahead however (urgent situation - I caught the poor man eyeing up some clean but old pairs of hole-ridden Calvin Klein's in the basket under the kitchen sink that I use for polishing furniture!! )

Had another heart to heart with dh about house, renovations, no renovations, which country to live in, dd's schooling, life, the world, the universe etc. As a result of which, we have decided to visit a shop next week and view a cupboard

DD very bolshy and tetchy and shouty this morning. Then we all went out for a (slow, gentle) dog-walk in the country and she looked white (with a grey tinge) after about 45 mins so we came home whereupon she lay on the bed and saw stars. Then she felt faint an hour later in the bath. I don't know. She just looks sort of sickly atm. She's definitely going to school tomorrow though. Early bed tonight.

Highlight of the day was a truly spectacular Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on the telly !!

Yay Carpe thought that was you!! Lovely to 'see' you! Horrible about your kitchen being dug up though; must be incredibly draining (no pun intended) to have it out of action that long. Good luck with it all!

Dogsbum Sorry to hear Meerkitten's weight is still an issue. Hopefully it will be going in the right direction by the time Tuesday's appt comes around but I am sure the worrying over it must be v stressful x Thanks for yr kind words re: dd and illness. Sorry to hear you went through something similar (although sounds a lot more serious than dd's afflictions). I am convinced hers are down to growth spurts. And she is stick, stick thin despite having a very healthy appetite.

Greymalkin Very well done re: the prompt unpacking of cases! And I am with you on the paper clutter front. I am trying to shred for 15 mins every day in October and am already 2 days behind. This (ridiculously) makes me want to give up but I am resisting the urge and telling myself that with Flylady we are never behind apparently. Good luck with yours!

Fuzzpig 'Eat well for less' programme has been re-named "people who have more money than sense" in our house ... But I'm v impressed by all of the participants extremely orderly kitchens and impressively neat-looking children!

Big enthusiastic waves back to Whoknows in her former persona!!

Can'tsee glad the trip was invigorating! And hope you got some rest today. [Moi? Organised? Cackles!]

Encouraging wing flaps to everyone else!

Baby-step no. 5 for tomorrow, Mon 5th Oct , is here. It's about banishing negative voices in your head and although we all snigger a bit at Flylady's barftastic language etc, this actually does have some merit. As many of us know, lots of clutter and being disorganised, does have an impact on one's mental health. So the theory is we need to stop saying things to ourselves like "I am overwhelmed, I can't do this" or more unconscious thoughts such as "I am not deserving of a clean, organised home" and try and turn them around in to something positive, or some'at like that anyway!!

We are starting in Zone 2 this week: Kitchen/ back porch/laundry room/pantry. Here!

And yay, the website has finally caught up with the correct zone (accessed via the launch pad anyway). Everywhere else Zone related is still back in Sept!!

Declutter for 15 mins in Zone 2 (or do a mission!).

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

Monday's mission and all the missions for the week ahead can be found: here. Don't be a perfectionist about it, but spend 15 mins attending to your kitchen floor (sweeping and/or mopping) including skirting boards.

Monday's daily focus is the home 'bleugh". 10 mins spent on each of 7 essential tasks.

(A rare tip from your thread leader: I don't do sheets on Mondays. We do it on Saturdays and it's a joint family activity. Double duvets much more easily done and whole thing done and dusted much more quickly and much more fun/far less boring as collective task!. I lay out all relevant clean sheets and everything on Fridays though as no one, I repeat no one, dares to go near, never mind open, my linen cupboard without express permission oh no. Bed-making is usually motivated by threat encouragement such as "No Dr Who tonight unless beds are done!"]]

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.

Hope everyone has a good start to the week!

Sorry that was rather long!! Newcomers: it's all much simpler than I have made it look – honestly!!

ta da
pinterest for ideas (nothing specific)
search Raverly for pattern to use for that lovely wool I bought the other week
label some school uniform
collect ds
plan the master to do list for the week and the short term to do list for tomo

thanks sc - will get back on it tomorrow! The decluttering is fine, but it then accrues over the month, so am not sure I'll ever get to detailed cleaning. Shame...

blue I am SO jealous of the translation slam!! (that module - translation, not slamming - was my fave part of MFL degree many moons a while ago).

Inspired by you guys, am going to get the scissors and chop old paperwork manually (broken shredder) for 15 mins!!! I'm sure my Sundays used to be more fun

Must remember to bleed the office radiator. It is whistling at me in a very high pitched and annoying manner It is however, a complete and utter faff to get to