Fledglings Flying into June - In or Out we'll find out soon.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

Welcome all - and thanks to CotswoldStrife for leading us through May. It's going to be a momentous month on the political front, but this is where we can concentrate on the domestic front instead.

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 Flylady

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 Launch Pad

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!

Thanks everyone about trips, that is helpful. There are a couple of those farms with petting and play areas near us that are closer and cheaper that I will try out.

The aquarium is pay once and return for free for a year so I wouldn't lose on that one even if she didn't like it. Just wondering if I'm mad that I would actually quite enjoy it if there was something like a fibre glass shark outside that Meerkitten would prefer to see! Although I don't remember the car park being the greatest place to hang out the one time that I did go! Very funny image though.

Einstein you have given me new ideas, for some reason museums didn't occur to me and now I've realised there is one that had a makeover in fairly recent times so I'll have to give that a spin, I think it might even be free and it is walking distance. Thank you very much

DP is on his way back from the airport so he should be home soon, feeling excited

We are near a big city so we could day trip it. By 3yr olds ds thought that a holiday was not a holiday unless you had been to see several museums. but he became a museum snob at a very young age. Virtually all the museums we went to see regularly were free entrance ones. But local re-enactment days are always good because there is lots for the kids to see. Ds was happy in his buggy if there was lots of stuff going on around for him to see. I want to take him to a falconary place at some point and he has asked for me to look into the re-enactment days this year (needles to say i had forgotten and only just remembered.)

Must get moving loads still to do and only just woken up.

dogs our local museums also do crafty preschool stuff? Not sure all areas do,maybe worth a look at a web site?

So u survived DS room.just!we have successfully got 5 storage boxes stacked beside wardrobe that no one can see as they walk into Gus shoe box sized room and this has allowed a substantial amount toys a proper home and he can now return to the den I made under his bed(its midi sleeper,he not a dwarf)and has room to play!!unfortunately he has located a 3rd load if washing from said den,so that's in machine.we did 2x40minute stunts,ending with chocolate so he flew with me
I then head onto the garden jungle and have been ambushed by one my kitties annoyed I had removed his watch the bird hiding in long grass spot!also potted up some busy Lizzie's into planters and 2 geraniums.starting to look quite civilised out there!

Next up is refueling the tribe
I've got humus to make for the resident veggie,dd2, and little zoo requested sane.D's is carnivorous and wants "tuna or something with meat please"

Pm looks like I may have start organising space for the new sofas -- unless kids fancy DVD and slob out together in which case I am sold
Hope everyone having good day whatever you are up to

Sink needs reshining- when will teenage boys learn washing up includes disposing of dirty water and wiping around? Tackled whole heap of ironing this morning and DH is weeding patio which is my least favourite job. Aiming to do bathroom, kitchen and hoovering this afternoon so I can relax tomorrow in the promised sunshine which hasn't reached us yet

With no kids to entertain today, I've decided to just do some extra cleaning tasks (yes, I have no children and still can't keep my house lovely and tidy). I'm doing a sock sort, and if I still have a poly bag full of odd ones at the end, they are going in the clothing bin at the supermarket. Those socks are never coming back....

I am also planning to hide a few of DH's choice favourite hideous and holy garments. This was a tip from my mother. To hide said items for a few weeks/months and if they're never asked for again, swiftly bin. "No darling, I haven't seen your really comfy faded white/grey polo shirt with the hole in the back."

N.B DH has a problem with buying clothes, particularly outdoor clothes/fleeces/trousers/snow shoes etc etc. and refuses to bin 'perfectly decent' items. Thus, we have a serious clothing storage problem in our house.

Hi all [hic]

Having a bit of a Derby sweepstake bash here [hic]

Chilled white wine is proving to be a great pain killer; I can almost shuffle about upright [hic]

[hic again]

and

[hic]

Cheery wing flaps to all!

Bebop are you married to my dh by any chance? Definitely need to put your mother's tip in to practice wrt his clothes!!

Be warned, you can never get caught. If you do get caught, you will be blamed for any clothes that cannot immediately be found until the end of time.

Dishwasher still not loaded when I got home, so did it myself.
DH made a cd shelf to go in his office, he finally moved it from the living room.
Ta da
Tackled part of my front garden, including a bramble that was threatening to take over the world.
Put our duvet cover on and hung it up to dry.

To do
Feed everyone, fish finger wraps tonight.
Shine sink.

Silver clay was amazing. The photo is of a charm I made for my mum.

That's lovely Madsprocket - I've been wondering what silver clay was.

Links for Sunday:

Babystep: Write Down What you Hear - this is one of the motivational ones.

No mission on a Sunday but our daily habit is Renew Your Spirit

So with that I'm off to the allotment, see you later.

SQQQQQUUUUEEEEEE

The offer we made on a lovely house (maybe even a forever home) has been accepted! It is a beautiful blend of 1700's original beams and fireplace and ultra modern conveniences.

DH has reminded us me that there are still some things that might throw a spanner in the works as the chain is a little uncertain at the moment. Fingers crossed!!!!

Can I jump in? Sunday seems like a good day to join ie no missions

I have kondoed my house top to bottom but I am finding it hard to keep on top of things as since I started full time work I feel exhausted all the time and I don't have routine and structure for household stuff. DP pulls more than his weight around the house but there's so much to do cries

Thank you Whoknows I am lucky to have a course really close to where I live.
That sounds great Grey really hope things go smoothly for you.

Planting dahlias today in my finally sunny garden.
We are looking after the madsprocker (we share with my mum and dad) all day today,
Also have friends coming over for a bbq, so hitting a supermarket later.
Best of all, my sink stayed shining overnight 😊

Morning all

Loving the sun😃

foolandfitz welcome to the thread, lots of newbies on here as well some old-timers like me.
Grey yeah on the house, keeping everything crossed.
MadSprocker enjoy the barbecue.

Hi ti everyone else, on the phone again so scrolling is a nightmare.

Ta Da

Both kids bedding changed and on the line
Both dc's bathed
Dd's glass jar decorated for school tomorrow.

To do

Dc's lunch
Finish weeding the patio. Brought an 85p patio knife from homebase, it is amazing took a tenth of the time and no weed killer.
Meeting with friends about 3 for a water fight and football - perfect end to a good half term.

Forgot to say Wednesday went to the cinema and watched 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' It was brilliant just like the original cartoon. Even Dd said there were no boring bits in it.

Had better get moving the garden is calling me.
Have a great day everyone.

Afternoon! Mahoosively hot and steamy weather here. Hung up usual weekend wash of uniform, gym kit, ballet kit + stuff for dh's trip to dry overnight where they normally dry very easily, and they are all still sopping wet this morning. Fortunately sunshine has arrived, so they are out on the terrace now.

The garden looks like something out of the Day of the Triffids. We have a dill plant that I swear is growing about an inch a day! Sadly, the weeds seem to be shooting up similarly!

Furry one has gone to be with his schnauzer friends in the country and dh and colleagues have departed too . Had kind of become used to him being here this last month!

Still clearing up after yesterday - lying down in between focused 10 min bursts of activity - taking it steady because I overdid it a bit with my back yesterday. Had fun though and it was particularly good to catch up with one old friend, as she is the sort with whom it is really easy to pick up the threads again quickly, having not seen one another for a while.

So, when I have finished, ground floor will be back to being "guest ready". Second floor will be cluttered but tidy. And first floor, apart from bathroom, looks like a bomb has been dropped on it as usual [sigh]. Virtually no progress made at all this academic year [again] .

DD has end of year exams in 10 days precisely. This is her second to last weekend before they start. She doesn't though, um, seem to be particularly worried or motivated by this fact though, and whenever I enquire or ask how much studying she has done, she protests loudly that "she has it under control". Sadly, I don't think she does and like most schools here, she has to do resits during the summer if she fails to get back to the required level and carry on. Mmmmmm. I've asked a million times if I can help her, with revision techniques or testing her or reading with her etc but I just get my head bitten off so I am giving her space atm. Probably the wrong thing though.

Flying objectives this week, to do:
-on-line parcel returns (have finally sorted dd's wardrobe, including outfit for a wedding, hurrah but it took lots of tryings-on)
-tidy up boudoir (again)
-really try and do something about home office however small, starting with desk, problem is, it all involves bending and lifting

• finish long term sewing projects (lying down!!)

-sew laundry id tapes on "guest" linen -catch up with laundry -physio several times -start firming up arrangements for summer holidays -get vet in for annual rabbit M.O.T

Enjoy your Sunday afternoons everyone!

Oh yes, I feel (and am) so fat and unfit with all this enforced lying around, that I intend to try and eat virtually nothing in dh's absence, save for the odd bit of salad!!

Shannara You sound v organised for return to school tomorrow! Enjoy your water fight with abandon!

Enjoy the dahlia planting and bbq MadSprocker! Your charm looks lovely btw (I had no idea about silver clay either!!).

A very warm welcome to FoolandFitz! Congrats on the Kondoed house! Sounds as though the Fly system could work for you; good luck with it!

Grey [jumps up and down with vicarious excitement!!] ooh that does exciting about the house!! Good luck with it and fingers crossed all goes smoothly!!!

Thanks for links Whoknows, happy gardening! Glad you got a little much-deserved r&r on play farm outing!

Bebop I am duly warned Dh still hasn't realised that I have um, "lost" a favourite old jumper of his that smells of dog despite numerous launderings was at least three sizes too small, with holes and was unravelling at the sleeves. Don't talk to me about his current "favourite" slippers ... . Going to take inspiration from your good self though and work up to a mahoosive sock cull while he is away.

Sounds as though you had a very productive Saturday GreyandGrumpy (and welcome to the thread btw, if I haven't said it already!). It's funny about men isn't it, the way they only do the immediate task and don't finish it off properly I mean? Dh has been v kindly helping me carry heavy stuff (like full laundry baskets and rubbish bags) because of my bad back. But he never kind of finishes the job (I know this sounds horribly ungrateful and nit-picking) but he never replaces rubbish bag or puts empty laundry panier back in bathroom where it should be. Things that we have all done automatically for years!

Stilllivinginazoo Hope you got a bit more of a lie-in this morning and congrats on the decluttering of your ds's room and with the garden tidy up! YY to stroppy pre-teens!! And good luck with clearing/decluttering ahead of furniture deliveries!!

Hope your dh is back safely by now Dogsbum! I love that beautiful picture of MK in her birthday dress!! So glad to hear it didn't go too badly while he was away (save for the showering bit!!). Could you perhaps ask for tips on a parenting thread; there are bound to be Mnsetters out there who have encountered the same prob?! Btw, we have an annual pass which gets us in to the town and country branch of the local zoo and it has never failed to entertain at any age - when dd was very young - it was just a walk with interesting sights, but no less fun for that!

Mercury glad to hear that your dh has been signed off so he can recover properly!

Waves to Blue Einstein Kruck Caglio Cotswold Bellatrix Ratbag Whatsthatnow Allmybestfriendsaremetalheads Knitting Honu Ellie Feetheart Bellatrix and anyone I have inevitably missed!

Cheery wing flaps to all!

FoolandFitz that should have read, could work well for you!!

Thank you for the warm welcome Shannaratiger and Slingcrump

I've ended up having a very busy day, catching up with my washing - 4 loads . 2 loads have dried and been put away. I've also polished my shoes and DS's shoes ready for being back at work and school tomorrow, as well as my boots, ready for autumn.

Sling, are you not in the UK?

Hi folks, I'm back, holiday was great but knackering! I put laundry on straight away when I got back though.

Home ed trip tomorrow afternoon and then on Tuesday the home ed inspector person is coming... PANIC TIDY TIME!

Hope all well, will catch up tomorrow

Evening all,

Well, I managed a couple of short sessions at the allotment. And a lot of tidying, things really had slipped recently. Also stripped all beds, washed dried and re-made. I have given an ultimatum to DD about the state of her room, as I tried to put her bed sheet back on loads of stuff slid off the adjoining bookshelves because they were all so packed with crap. DS has been great today though, stripped his own bed, and put the bedding onto wash by himself, did various other little jobs and showed an all round good attitude (so I bought him some football stickers). Back with links in a minute.

Links for Monday,

Babystep - hot spots! That's what I've spent a lot of today doing.

Sneak Peek - this week we will be in the kitchen, Mondays Mission is to scrub your stove top.

This month's habit is "Drinking Water"

and Monday is also supposed to be Home Blessing Day

Good morning fledglings!

Thanks for links Whoknows and well done on restoring the house and allotment to order!

Glad you had a good time Cag!

for all the washing FoolandFitz and pre-school prep + shoe/boot polishing! (I'm in the land of mussels, beer and choc btw.)

Well its only 7.15 here and so far I have had a very productive morning as I put washing on delayed start time last night to finish at six this morning, so that has come out and is drying and two new lots are on.

Ta da also:
ironed dd uniform
polished shoes
fed rabbits

and a miracle has occurred because dd insisted on making her own packed lunch I wonder what dh has bribed her with

That's enough for my back so need to lie down now. Baby-sitter is doing school run fortunately!

To do later:
kitchen and home bleugh in short bursts interspersed with lie downs!

Have a good start to the week everyone!

Good morning everyone. Dahlias didn't get planted as it was too hot here, then had a lovely evening with our friends. So going to plant tonight when it is cooler.

To do
Clear the washing baskets if only for today
General tidy up of utility room and kitchen.
Sort ds10 clothes into piles so he can choose his favourites to wear, t-shirts and tops today.

Glorious day here - bright sun and 27°c - and none of that recent humidity thank heavens!

Must make the most of the good drying weather and wash all the dog harnesses, blankets, furry toys while he is away!

Waves to MadSprocker - good luck with clothes sorting!

Ta da:
found a missing summer shoe
all remaining dirty clothes down to basement
two more loads washed and out to dry (and in td)
on-line Paperchase order (from reclining position)
collected any spare glasses and mugs from around the house
emptied dw
filled dw
cleaned kitchen surfaces
bits of washing up by hand
(a few texts and phone calls from reclining position)
folded laundered pants and towels
tidied up second floor
tidied playroom

Time to lie down again ... then go for short walk... back definitely felt better when I got up this morning although can definitely feel it again now!