Combining April showers with Fledgling powers (2016)

[SpareCrust]

Humungous thanks to Greymalkin for leading us so professionally and capably through March!

And thank you in advance to Einstein for covering the first four days of this thread (while I sidle off)!

If you are struggling with C.H.A.O.S. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) and S.T.U.F.F. (Something That Undermines Family Fun) then this is the thread where we (loosely) follow the step-by-step Flylady housekeeping system (in our own unique, relaxed style) with lots of support and chat along the way.

Flylady link here.

Don't let the somewhat sickly and barftastic language of the site put you off: the underlying system is sound!

This little-and-often system is designed so that you can follow a series of steps and routines each day (which gradually become second nature) in zones of the house which are designated weekly; defining and minimising housework; which in theory should leave you with loads more time to do something more interesting instead!

At the same time it is intended to reduce that panicky "rabbit in headlights" feeling when you are overwhelmed and everything needs doing all at once. No problem if you miss a day or two; just jump right back in and it will all come around next month again!

It's up to you, but we advise not signing up to receive the Flylady e-mails as you will be swamped with masses of bumph. All the information you need will be linked here on a daily basis.

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's steps and routines using a three-pronged approach (dependent on the stage everyone is at):

• start or repeat baby steps
  
• repeat baby steps + do 15 minutes a day decluttering in the current zone
  
• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.
  
  ** And if you are really enthusiastic and have finished decluttering - you can go on to detailed deep cleaning in each zone.
  
  There are three key points to keep in mind throughout:
  
  
• No perfectionism allowed - this is harder than you would imagine and many of us on this thread struggle with this one.
  
• You are never behind - just start where you are and anything you do is progress.
  
• It didn't get into a mess overnight - it won't get tidy over night - accept it will take time to get on top of things.
  
  If you are new; then trying to spend 15mins decluttering daily and doing the babysteps is a good way to start. Some of us (mentioning no names!) can have scary looking ‘ta-da’ lists but don't let that worry you. Do what you can, anything is better than nothing, and don't judge yourself against others.
  
  If all else fails, a brew + the power of three technique + a bit of support on here can work wonders!
  
  Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings
  
  Oh and don’t let it put you off if we appear a bit cliquey, we really aren’t! . Some of us have been on here for years and some of us natter rather a lot – but all lurkers, intermittent returnees, oldies and newcomers are very, very welcome!

[needastrongone]

Lord Mercury, that's a fab amount of stuff done with newborns and visitors and young DC!! Respect.

SC Yes, agree, your DD needed a R&R day for sure. It's pretty draining for kids isn't it, without us realising? And it's a blessed relief getting home to relax in your own environment.

ta da
Work.
Floor.
Tidy.
Washing.
Strip beds.
Cook tea.

Not loads, I've felt a touch run down today. Nothing major though.

[Balletgirlmum]

Hi fellow fledglings

Am de-lurking as since getting back from holiday I'm trying to fly the house. DH is currently making a mess (it has to get worse before it gets better) in the office. I used to run a business from home & have a ton of clutter from it.

Today I did the dress to shoes thing & even managed make up before leaving for work.

Tried to persuade the children to tackle the hot spots in their bedrooms (well the whole rooms are a massive hot spot but I asked for floors clear of dirty clothes/make up/Pokemon games & a tidy bedside cabinet.

I tackled a living room hot spot (underneath the coffee table & up the side of the chair.

I still have to clean the sink (dh did the dishes but hasn't dried them ) but the most important job next is to make a cup of tea.

[BlueEyeshadow]

Thoroughly unproductive day, with far too much stir-craziness and frayed tempers. Need to go out somewhere tomorrow even if it's just to the shops!

Had to take DS2 to the doctor again this morning for test results. Good news is he doesn't have coeliac, but now we need to start excluding foods one at a time to see if there are any intolerances. So starting with dairy, which is a pain to get my head/cooking/grocery shopping around.

DS1 has tidied his bedroom, although this did involve shouting at books to try and stop them falling over! It looks good now though.

Glad you're having an early night, Mercury - do be gentle!

[knittingwithnettles]

goodish day here
ds2 and dd went swimming and played together beautifully cracking jokes and generally being the dynamic duo they were when they were up until 7 [sigh] cue singing large sections of "Matilda" musical to each other in the car.
Then ds2 went over to see a friend, dd and dh and I went out to a cake shop, leaving ds1 to let ds2 in. Alas, this is when it went pearshaped,

ds1 for some unknown reason decided he couldn;t be bothered to let ds2 in, ds2 became very irate, phoned me, I walked back from cake shop half way, gave him my key, he walked back to house, let himself in, then rushed up stairs and berated ds1 for not letting him in, cue massive row between them. Luckily we came back quick soon after this, and the moral is, never rely on a 15 year old let a 14 year old in. Both then apologised. I told ds2 it was not his job to tell ds1 off about anything. It was mine!

Nice supper (reheated shepherd's pie) except dd decided to make a restaurant style dish of asparagus with poached eggs as a starter, and then plunged into a frenzy of failed egg poaching..which ended with her retiring to her room in a sulk because the last one broke in half..Oh dear I remember it well, I once threw away a entire apple crumble because I thought it was a bit singed, and the guests had to scrape it out of the bin to eat it because I had flounced off in tears.

[knittingwithnettles]

Housework wise, house a tip (I am leaving it till next week, all too stressful to add into the mix) but I have tidied kitchen, meal planned and bought groceries, put washing in, gardened (yesterday and day before) and tried to get out with the children and that will have to do
Ds1 has been to two revision sessions this week at school, otherwise it has been very difficult to get him to do much

[SpareCrust]

Evening all!

Caglio I know it must be so frustrating, but doing laundry and home ed is much better than nowt so pat yourself on the back for that!

Mercury ditto what Needastrongonesaid you are amazing for coping with all of that so soon post-birth and with c-section infection! Hope you can get some good quality sleep tonight!

Needastrongone sorry you have been feeling below par today; take it steady tomorrow!

A warm welcome to Balletgirlmum! And congrats on a great Flying start!

Blue that sounds like a stressful day and sorry to hear about your ds2's food difficulties. I hope you can get to the bottom of it soon. [Proffers soothing glass of ]

Congratulations on your productive day Knitting and sympathies to your dd on the egg poaching! She definitely earned merit points for effort. It reminds me of the time one of my sisters and I went through box after box of eggs while our highly critical mother looked on trying to make mayonnaise and failing dismally!

Cheery waves to everyone else!

Not a bad day - at least feel I am back up to date with mundane chores - now need to start on proper decluttering as ever but going to enjoy the holiday first and take dd out tomorrow.

Ta da:
morning routine inc animals plus dw (emptied and filled), td, wm and s&s
wiped all kitchen surfaces but ignored space under kitchen sink
general tidy up on ground floor
aired all bedrooms and made beds
carried odd saucers and mugs downstairs
cleared a few festering things out of fridge
filched dirty laundry out of suitcases
triaged clean washing for fortnightly ironing lady (who seems to be turning up every two months atm )
dog walk no. 1
carried lots of things that were upstairs, downstairs and vice versa
made roasted red pepper and butternut squash soup
made bol sauce and used all veggies in veg box in fridge that were in danger of getting old
baked blueberry and lime drizzle ring thing
made blood orange jellies with dd
played endless games of Connect 4 with dd
served lunch for dd and went on dog walk no 2 with dh
threw more laundry from upstairs in to hall and then carried down to basement
dining room table hot spots
prepped cool white wash (school uniform shirts)
four loads of laundry washed and hung up in total inc dd dressing gown and all dog blankets and leads and towels etc plus school uniform/gym kit/ballet kit wash and general coloureds wash
checked recycling chart and sorted rubbish
spot cleaned table cloths and took down to laundry
2 e-mails to friends about social arrangements
served spag bol for supper and cleared up
watched Spectre with dd and dh
quick dog walk no. 3
evening routine

[SpareCrust]

Baby-step no 7, for Thurs 7 April 2016 is: adding a before-bed routine to the previous steps. Newcomers: this is a winner step and highly recommended! I personally tend to incorporate it in to my "after school" routine as I am tempted to miss it out if I get too tired at night but the principle is the same: leave out your clothes (and those of your dc) for the next morning the night before! A really, really helpful step.

We are currently in Zone 2 : Kitchen, Back Porch, Laundry Room, Pantry (April 04 – 09) . Spent 15 mins decluttering in this zone.

When you have finished decluttering, the detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 2 is here.

Thursday's mission is here. Clear out your cutlery drawer!

The daily focus for Thursday is errand day. Dental, doc and hairdresser appts, and grocery shopping, picking up dry-cleaning and pet food etc etc.

The monthly habit for April is www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/april/ making your bed!

For a summary of the above, see the flight plan : //www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120 which should update itself daily.

***

[Balletgirlmum]

Oh dear knitting - maybe they were taking things a bit too literally after all 'sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty!'

[MercuryRising]

Just catching up with you all while ds2 feeds/ sleeps on my chest
Blue your ds telling his books off made me smile it's the kind of thing I find myself doing as all the pots slide out of the kitchen cupboard.

Wow sc you had an amazingly productive day.

[CotswoldStrife]

Ugh, will be back tonight - DD requiring lots of time today! Nil flying achieved at the moment as well.

[Greymalkin]

Hello fledglings, especially newbies OneDay Lucked and Ballet Lovely to have you with us, do join in with all the chatter.

Welcome back SC - wow you have been busy!

Blue - doesn't everyone talk to inanimate objects....? Just me and Mercury?

Hows your back Toffee?

I took a few days off from FLYing, but amazingly I'm not that behind. Last month I did some very intense decluttering in the kitchen and entrance hall, consequently I have actually done all of the missions, but last month, and managed to maintain them until now! < preens >

Over the last 6 weeks I've also been making my own version of a control journal, not exactly the way the FatFairy tells us to, but it works for me.

TaDa

• Cats fed, litter trays dealt with
  
• General tidy and prep for cleaner
  
• DS fed and taken to playgroup, Grandma joined us which was nice (she has mild dementia and doesn't go out much)
  
• Trip to pharmacy: disposed of more old medicines and bought cough syrup for DS
  
• Washed mattress protector and all pillow protectors, tumble dried, put back on bed
  
• Red wash load put on and hung up to dry
  
• Dishwasher
  
• Fed cats and DS again
  

DS is a little under the weather today, lots of coughing and crying so this afternoon has mostly been spent on the sofa watching endless Scooby Doo quietly losing my sanity

[MercuryRising]

We have had a relaxed day today. We have had family visit today, but generally it has been a day of r and r.

I did achieve a small tada :
Washing up
Laundry folded/ paired and put away
Towel wash done and tumble dried
Living room and bedroom tidied.
No missions completed

[MercuryRising]

Hope your ds feels better soon and you can escape from the endless Scooby Doo Grey

[BlueEyeshadow]

Grey - oh yes, I do all the time. It was the ferocity that amused me!

Not much else going on today, really. Certainly no flying. Hey ho.

[Balletgirlmum]

Not done a huge amount today. Got up too late so ended up being a bit late for work however my bosses rolled in 10 mins after me!

Ta Da

Showered, hair & make up
Work
Got kids to unload dishwasher
Dh cooked tea
Washed dishes that can't go in dishwasher
Sorted a load of washing
Encouraged kids to tidy bedroom floors & get clothes for tomorrow ready.

To Do
Lay out my own clothes for tomorrow
Dry dishes & put them away

Dh has been continuing to sort the office - it's getting there.

[Balletgirlmum]

Actually does getting to level 1,143 on Candy Crush count as a Ta Da?

[SpareCrust]

Good evening fledglings!

Glad to hear that some of you have had a good rest today!

Mercury think you must be wonder woman to have yet more visitors today, even though it was family!

Grey sorry to hear your ds is under the weather. Hope he recovers quickly!
Terrific that the system is working so well for you, even when you have a bit of much-deserved time off: testament to your hard-core decluttering last month evidently!! Lovely to hear about the time spent with your ma too x

Waves to Cotswold Balletgirlmum and everyone else!

DD and I had a lovely day out in Antwerp today hitting the shops (her choice) among them her favourite clothing store 'Subdued' which apparently is "all the rage" with her school friends too. However they (and she) pronounce it in the French style "Sub-dew-ed" so it took me a while to work out what and where it was! I must be losing my marbles because I have visited it before and had forgotten!). We even managed to negotiate the purchase of a top which I thought was suitable for a 12 yr old (as some of the clothes were definitely not! [hoiks ample bosom]) without any arguments!.

We then had lunch in a lovely café and then hit the zoo (my choice) and saw some tapirs and a totally gorgeous koala. Back to base for tea and then bizarrely (dd choice) endless games of snakes and ladders! (We are playing lots of old childhood favourites atm because we have agreed we are going to have a huge toy clear out soon!) Followed by more games of Connect Four and drafts. Followed by dog-walk. Then dd cooked us both pesto pasta (as dh was out at business dinner) while I basked on the sofa with my feet up and watched Masterchef! Fab day!

Trying to persuade dh to take day off tomorrow but not sure if he will ... .

G'night all!

[SpareCrust]

x posts!

Blue Velma is the best!

Balletgirl well it definitely counts on here Impressed to see lots of delegation on your list today!

[SpareCrust]

Baby-step no 8, for Fri 8 April 2016 is: writing down your morning and evening routines if the urge should take you! The theory is that this will be the beginning of your control journal. Some of us bother. Some of us don't. Do what suits you!

We are currently in Zone 2 : Kitchen, Back Porch, Laundry Room, Pantry (April 04 – 09) . Spend 15 mins decluttering this zone.

When you have finished decluttering, the detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 2 is here.

Friday's mission (the last in the kitchen for this month) is here. Wiping down our kitchen table and chairs.

The daily focus for Friday is clearing out our purses, handbags and cars.

The monthly habit for April is //www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/april/ making your bed!

For a summary of the above, see the flight plan : //www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120 which should update itself daily.

*

[CotswoldStrife]

Need hope you are feeling better - try not to do too much when you are run down, takes longer to get back to normal.
How are things going for you Lucked?
Welcome to Balletgirlmum as someone only on level 370-something of candy crush I sob at the thought of hundreds left to do but can't quit.
Knitting that sounds a testing day, although tbh if I was your DS2 I think I'd have let rip as well!

I managed to get the washing up done, as we are planning to bake tomorrow so needed the space! Had large glass of vino, made list for tomorrow and I'm off to bed. See ya tomorrow morning.

[Cagliostro]

Lovely day yesterday! Taught two new pupils, got a few errands done (on errand day! Check me out! :o) and then we took DSDs out for their big birthday dinner.

Still feeling rather bunged up this morning and slightly rough despite only having one cocktail but seeing friends in the afternoon, which also includes one teaching session so earning a bit too. Flying is not expected to occur!

[knittingwithnettles]

Dh has taken two children to Paris for the day...cue him not sleeping a wink all night (not a good traveller) and setting off with them at 5am. Ah well, these mad trips are all adventures for us, so we will look back on them with satisfaction.

I am delighted to be on my own, my neck is still cricked (physio seems to have now made it worse, perhaps that massage was too vigorous for my vetebrae) and I am slowly loosening up by decluttering and tidying. Ds1 (cave dweller extraordinaire) is still lurking upstairs. He has had a shower (he told me this very pointedly) and may perhaps come downstairs to get some snacks; not sure whether the revision is going to happen though.

Garden looks damp and mysterious, with orange tulips and muddy lawn, and faint sheen of green on some of the shrubs. It is still soo cold here though. The dicentras have doubled in size in about 4 days, seizing their eco niche probably.

So, I must press on. We have booked a cottage in Cornwall for the holidays. A source of tremendous indecision as we need somewhere we can manage without a car, but we settled on St Ives. Dd is very excited about going surfing. Never been to Cornwall before with kids so this is quite exciting for us too!

[knittingwithnettles]

SC I think it wasn't the eggs so much that mattered but the quantities of very expensive olive oil (not readily available in Ireland then)that we seemed to get through trying to make mayonnaise that didn't curdle. And then of course, next came the overbeaten or underbeaten meringues.. with all those left over egg whites. We spent all our time tinkering with the Kenwood Chef.

Yesterday dd decided to clean out the toaster, cue spreading dried burnt crumbs over the entire kitchen. There are so many stages to learning how to do things aren't there, it is difficult to be patient, yet I know it is really important; I know I appreciated my mother letting me splatter the kitchen, as long as I cleared up in the end several hours later. It is difficult to set those boundaries isn't it, without killing the desire children/teens have to experiment and learn as they do things.

[CotswoldStrife]

Evening all. Should be doing the washing up rather than sitting with vino (I handwash oven trays) but naaaahhh! It's Friday!

DD has been a little high maintenance the last couple of days, but the kitchen is looking better and if DH is feeling OK tomorrow (rare night out tonight) I may finally make an impression on the lounge/diner too.

House is so quiet, it's lovely. DH turns the TV on the second DD starts up the stairs to bed

Bring on the weekend, I'm looking forward to it. Next week may be a bit hectic, so need to get my planning head on and prepare.

[BlueEyeshadow]

Glad you had such a good day yesterday, SC.

Knitting - Paris for the day!! - hope they had a good time.

Today has been mixed - got a massive work project halfway through which is really inconveniently timed, and ended up with extremely frayed tempers and much shouting as I tried to concentrate while the boys racketed around the house refusing to go outside or do anything quiet! Agh!!

Had a nice supper, and , and have been sewing in ends this evening.