May-be this time - Fledglings flutter through May 2016 (Flylady thread)

[CotswoldStrife]

Welcome all - and thanks to SpareCrust for leading us through April.

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.

Link to the Flylady website

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!

[CotswoldStrife]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLUE

[YesEinsteinsMumDid]

Happy Birthday Blue!!!

[Cagliostro]

Many happy returns Blue! :)

[SpareCrust]

Joyeux anniversaire and Gelukkige verjaardag Blue!!

[knittingwithnettles]

had a flurry of coffee mornings today, including one with some other mums whose children go to the same school as ds2 and who are experienced veterans of the SEN dept! One is a professional declutterer so I mentioned this to dh (suggesting we could get some paid help to deal with the loft as he has never has time, and after all his time is money too...) cue a screaming fit from dh. Honestly I think it is all getting to him...he just wants to be left in peace to smoke his metaphorical pipe, dig the garden and read furrin novels.. Possibly not the best time to mention the loft, cart and horse comes to mind...

Meanwhile Ds2 seems a bit less exasperated by school as he had the chance to act the role of railway announcer in his Drama class (they were filming scenes from Woman in Black, except he's not there tomorrow so they had to improvise a part for him) |Tomorrow and Friday he has off, so that is a blessing.

Lots of rain here, so the washing is backed up, and yet again the alley seems to be full of stuff that needs taking to the tip,

and the potatoes need more compost topping up, but I haven;t got to the garden centre..due to making it up with dh

strange greenish light now filtering into the sitting room, possibly there will be even more rain

Happy Birthday Blue

SC I would pick your battles. Let her have the clothes she wants (personal automomy) and hopefully that will feed in to automomy over the school stuff. Dd was addicted last year to a clothes shop called Brandy Melville (you can google) which as far as I can see just sold rags as clothes with a nice label. It gave her enormous happiness to purchase these rags so I just went with it, until the budget ran out (I fixed it) Now she is into more serious brands and wants expensive well cut jeans, which is far worse. Luckily she doesn't seem interested in shoes atm, except cheap white trainers. And no party dresses [sob] at her age that what's I wanted.

[CotswoldStrife]

The daily summary for Thursday (also available on the Flylady website at flight plan which should update automatically each day).

**

Baby-step no 12 - delete all the Flylady emails from your inbox

We are in Zone 2 this week: the kitchen

Spend 15 mins decluttering in Zone 2.

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

Mission for Thursday cleaning the taps on the sink

The daily focus for Thursday is: errand day

The monthly habit for May is moving in May!

[knittingwithnettles]

Toffee ds1's school are still setting them homework rather than free revision. The school seem to expect them to be totally incompetent well at least in ds1's sets (which aren't the A starred projectile pupils) Nor do they have study leave of any description which all the girl's schools round here allow, every day of exam season they are going in as per usual for lessons morning and afternoon.

Bitesize GSCE may be the only thing which is tailored to ds's very short attention span. We have RE next Monday.

[knittingwithnettles]

dh has de-cluttered two big piles of paperbacks I had to retrieve one I wanted to read (Place of Greater Safety) by H Mantel... Is he beginning to see the light? Or do I have to have a meltdown before anything changes..

He has also mowed the lawn and edged it.

Still have the usual bottleneck of actually taking them to the recycling though, and ds2 has a friend over so I cannot go out just yet. Have cooked them a nice lunch of sausages and mashed potato. Dh cooked dd lunch, she is home today with a sore throat, from being left out in the rain for 2O mins at school (she claims) yesterday.

feel very tired again today, not good...this week seems to have sapped me

[Cagliostro]

Got a little boy with a broken wrist :( poor DS. Back later

[knittingwithnettles]

O, sympathy, ds1 has broken his wrist twice. Once in primary and once just before going to secondary.

I've decluttered four big bags of books to the recycling bin at the tip. V pleased. Horrible traffic though and I forgot all sorts of other rubbish, but I won't think about that now. Ds2 has been playing cricket with a ball made of two gloves stuffed together, with his friend, on strict instructions that he cannot under any circumstance play cricket with a proper ball or a even a tennis ball. The lawn is already battered, but tis a small price to play to get him off the computer. They are continuing the game tomorrow morning first thing before football

[SpareCrust]

Thanks v much for teen girl clothing advice Knitting ! Much appreciated! (DD loves that site!!) Great that your ds2 seems to be settling in to his new school a little too!

Oh no Cag poor lad! And for you for later on. (So stressful when they injure themselves.) Funnily enough, have just come back from doc with dd who has (dancing) toe injury. X-ray tomorrow.

Blue great to hear that you applied for both courses! Good on you! x

Waves to Cotswold Einstein Toffee Whoknows Mercury Shannara Grey Dogsbum Feetheart Honu Midlife Ratbag Rookie Ellie Bordellosboheme and everyone else I have missed!

Been rushed off my feet all day but have done bugger all Flying!

[CotswoldStrife]

Quick waves to everyone, especially the broken of limb - hope you are all doing OK Cagliostro.

I will post the links later tonight, I will be out all day tomorrow but will catch up with you late Friday with vino in hand to see what everyone has been up to!

[CotswoldStrife]

Hmm, perhaps that should have said broken of joint! Hope your DD's toe is OK to SC, pointe work?

[Greymalkin]

Just flapping through quickly...

Cag - your poor DS, hope he will be ok. On the plus side, its not like he will miss lots of school to recover

SC - your DD has a toe injury requiring an x-ray? That is not good for someone who does pointe work... fingers crossed for her.

Blue - do you automatically get onto the course you have applied for, or will you need to be interviewed?

Knitting - excellent that some decluttering is getting done after the hissy fit! I've always wondered what the real life home of a professional declutterer/organiser looks like...

I've been at work this morning which went past in a flash. Back again all day tomorrow.

My DS had a terrible morning at his school nursery. He hit and kicked both teachers and screamed so much he frightened some of the other children, who not surprisingly didn't want to play with him. This is not like my little boy at all. He is determined and a bit stubborn, but he is not violent or aggressive usually and it makes me worry he is super stressed about starting at this place. He has had some really good days there and always looks forward to going, but it seems he is finding it hard to settle in.

Had the estate agent round this afternoon who gave a very encouraging valuation, so we can widen our property search.

[Cagliostro]

oh no Grey that sounds so stressful - hopefully it will just have been a one off. Good news about the house though!

Funny it was the first thing my friend said about DS when she saw his splint - at least he's not in a busy classroom getting jostled about :o

Sorry about DD's toe SC that can't be good with all her dancing! :(

DS is doing ok thanks all, he's happy because he can still play Mario

[SpareCrust]

Sorry to hear your ds had such a stressful morning ¨Grey. Nursery can be very overwhelming with all the noise and activity. Another possibility is that he might be going down with something perhaps?

Glad to hear your ds ok Cag. Dh broke his wrist when he was a lad many moons ago and said it was one of the most painful experiences of his life! Glad it hasn't affected your ds's Mario hand!!

Slightly redeemed myself on the Flying front this evening. Tidied up boudoir. Made veggie soup. Two loads of laundry on. Tidied up kitchen.

Thanks for kind words about dd's toe everyone. It is an injury that has been getting progressively worse for 3 to 4 months and the intensity of rehearsals stepping up as we approach the annual 'show' hasn't helped. Wierdly though, she is not doing a lot of pointe work in her particular two dances so not certain that is specifically "pointe"' related ifyswim. (It's the pas de bourrés that are causing issues if anyone is interested in the technicalities!) She is quite sanguine about it though and feels like a "proper dancer" now she has an injury . It is a badge of honour to "dance through the pain" apparently. I am not at all sure how I feel about that tbh DD used to have a Dutch-speaking teacher who got them all to chant "ballet pijn is fijn" when they were five fhs!!

[SpareCrust]

sorry, emboldening failure there Grey

[BlueEyeshadow]

Sorry to hear about damaged wrists and toes.

Grey - no interviews, but don't know how many people will apply or how many places there are. Hope nursery goes better tomorrow.

Zero flying happening, but have done shopping, caught up with a friend, work and exercise, so at least I've been keeping busy!

[CotswoldStrife]

Ah, the old Gelsey Kirkland 'I'm a dancer, I love pain' line. Great news about the house valuation Grey, hope your DS was just having a bad day (we all do!) Mario time may well be a useful distraction Cagliostro.

Will sort the links shortly, looking forward to my day out tomorrow. DD is not so keen, so have spent time today preparing the usual Friday feast and popcorn in case of movie night, etc. So a day out for me has not reduced my workload

[CotswoldStrife]

Friday links (and a belated admission that I have danced with a broken toe myself. Not pointe work though - aerobics with comfy trainers on!)

The daily summary for Friday (also available on the Flylady website at flight plan which should update automatically each day).

**

Baby-step no 13 - do one of the missions

We are in Zone 2 this week: the kitchen

Spend 15 mins decluttering in Zone 2.

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

Mission for Friday wiping down the cabinets

The daily focus for Friday is: declutter your bag and your car, and date night

The monthly habit for May is moving in May!

[SpareCrust]

Thanks for links Cotswold and enjoy your day out today!
Yes, I'm afraid the Gelsey Kirkland mentality is still alive and well unfortunately. (Although apparently she has developed training methods that are kinder on growing joints.) Have you read her autobiog btw? Fascinating, but she sounds like an absolute nightmare in her prime. With humungous quantities of drugs, alcohol and sex thrown in Not surprised her current tour is called "Mischief, mischief and more mischief!".

Ah - I do love this thread - from sloth poetry to Gelsey Kirkland in one week

Big waves to Blue!

Missed that about your house valuation Grey. That sounds like excellent news. Hope your ds is feeling cheerier today!

And hope your lad didn't have too uncomfortable a night Cag

Congrats on the decluttering Knitting!

Enthusiastic wing flaps to everyone else!

Must say it is such a luxury when dh is here as he actually likes doing the crack of dawn school run + dog walk 1 bless him. In the time he was doing that I have:

Ta da:
cleaned bird poo off a tablecloth (yes, a small blue tit landed on our dining room table this morning unbelievably!)
sorted rabbits
emptied & filled dw
dining room table hotspots
put tablecloths in wash
emptied 3 vases of dying flowers and washed receptacles
cleaned up a disgusting patch of god knows what on terrace
washed all dog bowls
tidied up play room
carried ironed washing upstairs
cleaned and put away food processor
cleared cards off mantelpiece
carried dd's slippers, and three other pairs of shoes back upstairs
collected up all mugs and glasses from around house
put away washed clothes
written out instructions for cleaner

Off to double volunteering session now! Have a good day everyone!

[Cagliostro]

Hi folks :)
DS is just fine today, thanks all :) it's not even hurting him. We're still giving him ibuprofen for the inflammation though, and we have to be extra vigilant with his eczema because it's getting all sweaty under the splint, ick.

Feeling slightly better today having sorted a few things out. Laundry on the go. DD off to a friend's this afternoon. Going to carry on with our sloth poem after lunch :o

[Cagliostro]

Ooh, have been contacted to arrange our annual home ed review thing. So will have the home ed associate visiting. Must tidy up! Have a couple of weeks though. Really want to properly tidy not just panic tidy!

[knittingwithnettles]

done
large amounts of cardboard
old chair
more books
bags of rubbish

to tip!

took ds2 to football
then he had two friends round who played softball cricket with him the backgarden (unfortunately the lawn did not survive this but still friends more important than sprouting seed grass)
dd at home being most disagreeable with sore throat. First she wanted me to take her to Wagamama (for soup) then she wanted me to take her to Primark (for dance leggings) NO, you are ill...
ds1 knackered, and has RE exam on Monday, more revision at school tmw, but he is like someone sleepwalking to the guillotine and making no efforts to plead his case do revision at home

SC the point of Brandy Melville is the shop. It is like an art gallery hung with coat hangers. I think there is one where you live.

Oh and today's excitement was that I nearly set fire to the house when I brought dd her tomato soup (canned) as the toaster jammed and kept on getting hotter and hotter, a pall of smoke filled the house, all the alarms went off. And possibly would have ignited the cupboard above the toaster. WARNING don't put a toaster under a cupboard or leave it unattended.

Grey hope ds enjoys nursery more soon. As you say, he is not being naughty he is being stressed.

[SpareCrust]

Gosh your ds is obviously v brave Cag! Good on him!

Well done re: tip trip Knitting And thanks for tip about shop Knitting - we'll visit when the schedule dance/exam calms down a little. Hope your dd feels better soon!

Spent all day on my feet at volunteering today. Back was absolutely fine but now my tendonitis of the heel has flared up. I am honestly falling apart

Huge positive though: came home to beautifully clean downstairs and shining bathroom thanks to lovely cleaner.

Boudoir and home office still in chaos though.

Woeful decluttering progress ie none made this week!

Must get a move on. DD received her end-of-term exam timetable today. She has exactly four weeks in which to revise. Then we break up for the summer holidays at the end of June. Where did this academic year go?

Enjoy your weekends fledglings!