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!

Sorry again typos.my phone is a nightmare sometimes

Back to work after half term, so less flying done today. But before bed last night I did sort some of ds10 clothes and found loads that don't fit him anymore, he still needs to go through the new pile to pick 7 t shirts to keep.

Ta da
Dog walked.
Load of washing put on.
Washing brought in from the line.

To do
Hang washing out.
Iron shirt for tomorrow.
Water seedlings and pots.
Load dishwasher.

Another busy day at work tomorrow (TA in a school) including PE in this sticky heat.

Caglio sounds like you had a lovely trip and so pleased the inspection went well

BeBop On the days when I have DS at home under my feet I hardly get any flying done, so don't worry, you just do what you can in the time that you have.

I have hardly stopped today. Here goes...

TaDa
Fed cats and DS
Put bins out
Took DS to nursery
Emptied and washed out two cat litter trays, refilled
Thorough hoover of lounge and spot cleaned marks on carpet
White wash done and pegged on the line
Towel wash done
Dishwasher unload and reload
Hand washing up
Phone call to solicitor re house move
Phone call to family friend re funeral arrangements
Phone call to vets to book DCat1 for boosters
Nursery paper work
MASSIVE declutter in the garage (given away via Facebook group)

• x8 railway sleepers
• x20 bricks
• x3 wooden pallets
• x4 massive ply board sheets

Took delivery of new sofas! Went into loft to locate footstool for a chair that is to be decluttered Hauled a load of boxes for appliances we no longer own out of loft to recycle Quick trip to town:

• Returned library book
• Top up shop
• Glass and old batteries taken to recycling point
• Took big box of stuff to charity shop

Collected DS from nursery

Once DS is in bed I will park myself on new sofa and catch up on the Sewing Bee. I think I've done quite enough for one day!

Wow greythat deserves and

That is about the biggest day of decluttering I have ever seen on this thread Grey

Cagllio - well done on the inspection, I totally agree about having free space to play or work on, these last few weeks all my OU stuff has taken over the kitchen table and it is really nice to have put it all away and have space where we can just settle down and do 15 minutes work with DD - I have realised that she is going to need to keep up a very regular routine of extra spellings/maths etc going into year 6 and it's taken me a while but we seem to have a good system going now.

So humid! We still haven't had any significant rain, so I had to go to the allotment again to water and do a bit of weeding. Did a bit of tidying with DD in her room, at first she was being very militant but then I pointed out that there were pins on her floor and how dangerous that was and she suddenly got it and was much happier. So after that we nipped out to Iceland together and stocked up on ice lollies. I like Wednesday afternoons, DS doesn't get in till 6 and DD and I don't need to be anywhere till 7 so we have a nice long spell together on our own after school.

Er, flying. Some tidying in DD's room, which led me to feeling guilty about our room, so I hotspotted a few surfaces there too. General tidying downstairs. Didn't sort the fridge .

I decided to explain about Flylady to DD, who took a dislike to someone being called Flylady and renamed her KittyLady. So we are going to have KittyLady routines in our house from now on.

Back with links in a minute

Thursday 9th June

Babystep Add a 5 min room rescue to your morning routine. A good one, that.

Mission declutter your plastic bags, foil etc.

Thursday is errand day - tends to be Friday for me as that's my day off work.

Aww KittyLady is a cute idea :o does that mean we'll have to no longer be Fledglings? Purrlings maybe? :o

I managed little else in the afternoon - have totally crashed. Couldn't even make the 5min walk from bus stop to Brownies without a rest! However I had done enough to keep the room looking at least the same (and got DCs doing the same) so for once it's not all deteriorated within a day.

Got laundry sitting in the machine though so must sort that. And I've just realised I haven't rearranged a piano lesson tomorrow. Shit.

Still not quite caught up yet - but congrats on the offer being accepted Grey, and hello to all the newbies.

Dogs I had more success with showering when DD was old enough to watch the telly! In my old house the bedroom was opposite the bathroom so if I left both the doors open it was draughty I could see her. Before that stage, I used to take a toy in and sit her on the floor or get her in the shower with me, both of which you have tried. Can you shower when she is asleep in her cot? Doesn't help with the hair drying though..

I am suffering a bit with a bad cough (we all had colds last week) and I am hoping that DD does not go down again with one as I am out all day tomorrow (travelling back to see family for one day, funeral) and have found that disaster tends to strike whenever I depend on school as childcare DH will collect her.

Shamefully slight flying going on here this week, and obviously none tomorrow either. Still racing towards the end of term trying to squash things into the calendar.

Hope you feel better soon Cotswold! And I hope the funeral goes as smoothly as possible

Up again, stupidly unable to sleep, aaargh! I have ordered nice things online (had a voucher so not too spendy) to cheer myself up

Grey sorry after my epic thread-reading session I forgot to say YAY YAY YAY to the house offer! :o

Last rock climbing session of the term tomorrow, poor DS can't do it as although he's no longer splintified (totally forgot to update on that - fracture clinic was fine, it's healing well although slightly wonky - but nothing to be concerned about apparently, as he's so young with plenty of growing to do!) he's got to be very careful. Which is not so easy for my clumsy little dude . Anyway I'll go armed with card games etc to keep him busy while DD climbs.

Despite being awake I haven't done all the stuff I was supposed to. Going to try and sleep now.

Good morning Purlings!!

Grey that is an epic list!! Congrats on such mahoosive decluttering achievements!! And not sure if I have said "whey-hey and congratulations on house offer" yet either!! Hope completion process going smoothly!

Ta for links Whoknows mahoosively humid here too (although much better after storm). I'm with you re: this weather. The slugs are loving it! Found a mahoosive one of my thyme patches!! Dill is out of control and taller than me! Have permanent headache when it is this close though. Good going on the bedroom tidying!

Cotswold sorry you are feeling under the weather and hope your dd does not succumb! YY to "racing towards end of term and squishing things in to calendar". Madness here atm!

Cag well done re: the little and often maintenance Flying and congrats on such a positive home ed inspection!

Hope your cat-rehoming inspection goes well for you too Blue!

Hope you survived PE yesterday MadSprocker and good going on the clothes sort!

Stilllivinginazoo arf at knicker ingenuity!! Fortunately smalls crisis averted here last night as the laundry room dried out v quickly and all the electrics are good to go!

Bebop gosh I think you are being v hard on yourself - you are working 12.5 hr shifts fhs - no one could possibly Fly while doing that!! So take it steady!! Arf at JRT and sock hoard!!

Cheery wing flaps to everyone else!

Mahoosively busy here at the moment. Loads of Eng-French docs to slightly re-write and check [sob] on incredibly boring subject [double sob]. Dh has supplied cheapo tablet thing but I am finding it incredibly difficult without a mouse, I'm so slow at it [treble sob]

End-of-term activities out of control!! Seems to be something happening virtually every day of the week! Attended school Mass yesterday afternoon followed by cake and drinks etc. (Had to stand at the back - by choice - for most of it.) Base of spine positively creaky this morning.

Was very funny though - daren't catch dd's eye - superannuated bearded gnome was back on the altar strutting his stuff and doing full-on (acoustic) guitar solos whilst trying to lead extremely reluctant and suitably appalled serried ranks of adolescents in song . We've found out he is a monk but I reckon he thinks he is Jimmy Hendrix complete with socks and sandals

Have a good errand day everyone!

Actually, that should be purr-lings shouldn't it?

Aw SC [hug] [double hug] [treble hug] sounds really stressful having to do all those documents! Any news on a potential standing desk yet?

Spectacularly sleepy this morning, should probably get on with stuff but ugh.

Morning all

Little zoo sleep in today-5.45 before heard patter her little feet

Tadas(so far)
Fed cats
Watered my pots on back garden(busy Lizzy's,geraniums and fuschias)
Made packed Lunch's
Fed zoolets
Clean bath and sink
Harpic lav
Made beds
Wrestle little zoos hair into submission-was a wild blonde haystack.heaven knows what she was do in the night!!
School run
Pop local shops and drag 3bags shop home.I must invest a trolley before my poor back snaps.its not great at nest of times!!
Shop put away
Wash in dryer
Second load on
Time for my breakfast Belgium bun that called to me as I past bakery

Hope everyone's well.was bit cool here first thing,but suns out now. Hoping humidity isn't going to build again!

PIL are coming to stay for a few days, and I've had plenty of notice, but decided to do it ALL this morning

Ta Da:
Kitchen worktops, cupboard fronts scrubbed, floor hoovered and mopped
Did fly-lady fridge last night
Load of washing done and out on the line
Load of towels tumble-dried and put away
Guest bed stripped (from when my parents stayed LAST WEEK) and bedding washed
Dining room dusted - lots of slightly annoying old delicate furniture
Guest bathroom cleaned, scrubbed bath, hoovered and mopped
Stairs brushed down (wooden, no carpet)
Hoovered guest bed, landing, hall and living room
Did a shit-pick and check in garden (have my eyes peeled for socks!) and removed all bits of half eaten dog toys, bits of chewed up wood and a half eaten sparrow.

Grey that ta da list is insane! Zoo whos feet were pattering this morning at 5.45am?! My cats don't 'patter' anywhere, they gallop around like goats. I'm serious, when I'm downstairs I can hear them up there thudding around...

Have a lovely day!

Little zoo patters.I agree,cats sound like goats clattering around.I have to put my boys out at night in Summer coz they are too active and noisy left in-i end up fur in sink plughole where one taken z nap.cupboards opened and investigated,saucepans (clean but homeless) picked or slept in.nightmare!!

I've been opticianwho confirm I am blind old bat
Has lunch
Scrub a load cat/pig ornaments the girls adopt at car boot Sunday with a toothbrush and wash uP liquid.I've no idea where they have been living.don't get me wrong I am far from presiding in a palace,but they were caked in almost mud like bits in the creases where years of dust and dirt are well grimed in!!one poor piggy had be soaked an hour in hot soapy water before i could scrub him pink again!

I've just spent 40minutes wrestling with knee high creepers and brambles as I wrestle back the wilderness.o have a patch by the shed that get lots sun and intend to finally make a little patch to member my long departed mum.the plans for her favourite plants(roses, fuschias, sweet peas and lavender) to reside there and it will also give me something I can bring in to admire indoors and scent my home.I have claimed back about a quarter of the space, so will be a work in progress.it got too hot out there to do anymore

So I pick up little ones and walk through public nature reserve to get dd2.coming back,less 5min from home past co op and gang black men pull up in a car and start yell white man.one then leap out and gave chase 12inch blade.zoolets hysterical.I rang police and shepherd them home. They very shaken

Evening, see everyone is v busy ...

Hope you felt better as day went on Cag!

Stilllivinginazoo congrats on long list and what a lovely idea to have a patch of beautifully scented plants in remembrance of your late ma . Arf at pig scrubbing!

Crikey, that's another list and a half Bebop Arf at goaty cat patterings!

Ta da:
Loads and loads of French/English writing and translation. Have finished bulk of it. Just need to consult our French colleague to verify a few bits. Wierdly, the hardest bit (apart from having to do it from reclining position!!) is the translating back in to English as requested by client; choosing exactly the right word that is!

Plus:
rabbits
emptied dw
filled dw
bit of hand washing up
cleaned all kitchen surfaces
cleared out fridge
bleached sink
hung up coloured wash
and dog blankets/collars/harnesses/toys to dry
got rid of old dead flowers, washed vases, and cut new ones/made two small arrangements for weekend
made bog standard veg curry (veggie Thurs).

Had to keep lying down in between but nonetheless my back is not feeling too good now. Wish our pans were not so heavy!

Going to go out for walk this evening to (hopefully) straighten out the kinks!

Lovely day - lovely and sunny but not too hot - not too humid!

Big waves to everyone else!

x posts Stilllivinginazoo

that sounds horribly frightening! Hope you and Zoolets OK?

That sounds a bit dramatic, zoo. Eek! Hope everyone is okay - you need hot sweet tea for you and hot chocolate for zoolet, I think.

Thanks for all the warm welcome.

I haven't had much ta da yesterday and today apart from putting laundry away. Too tired. DP has though! 2 loads done.

DS was sick in school today but I didn't hear the voicemail till 4 pm (we are not allowed to use our mobiles at work - except at lunch time). Luckily, the school was able to contact DP who contacted my parents, who were able to pick him up. Phew! The thing is my parents are supposed to be called first as I have told them I can't access my phone (and there are problems with work phones at the moment). Anyway, I don't think there was too much of a delay. So I went round to my parents and he was fast asleep with temp of 39 C. He's still sleeping there. I'll pick him up when he wakes up - I live very close by.

Oh BTW, I don't have to do today's mission because my plastic and foil drawer is all good, due to Kondoing the house. I have to say that this week's missions have been an easy start for me because I don't have a lot of clutter in my drawers and cupboards. Although the paperwork pile (ie a whole worktop in the kitchen) is another thing.

They OK now thanks.little zoo didn't really grasp implications. DS bit fearful.was dd2that went to pieces.she much more highly strung. She do homework now,little ones snaffling a "snacky tea" as requested- buttered roasted muffins with marmite.cashew nuts and sugar snap peas apple slices.glasses milk abs poppy and sesame biscuits.nice and easy

One my cats has a red neck.at first glance thought he been scrapping.then I spot feathers.......
We have back garden scattered pidgeon feathers and a not hungry kitty!!!!!

Finding it difficult to get in the habit of doing a small amount every day after work rather than weekend binges. I'd love to be on top of things but apart from laundry I'm finding my will power is failing. Has anyone got any useful strategies that work for them?

I wane late in day
On busy ones d rather get up bit earlier to do a bit.only works of you morning person though!

Tea things washed up
Little zoo sleeping
D's reading,tucked in
Sink shined
Dd2and I are snuggling with bewitched box set

PS hope your little boys better tomorrow

Have achieved very little today, but lots of nice socialising which has made me feel better emotionally if not physically!

Found a DVD I've been wanting for ages at a bargain price so that's my evening sorted (DH on late shift so I have the telly to myself). :o

DH is off work for two days now so should manage a fair bit. There's a great offer on the local old steam railway thing, tempted to suggest that for tomorrow since it'll be quieter. DH would love to take them, I'd stay home and rest! But it'd mean less got done in the house. Decisions decisions!