October Fledgling thread 2016: where we fluff up our feathers and fall back in to autumnal Flying routines

[Strikingclock]

Welcome to the October 2016 Fledgling Flying thread!

Come and park your broomsticks mops and buckets here!

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 , here, 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 bursts of activity (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!

The turkey is gone!!!
And I am going camping in the snow with 11 over-excited teenage girls who will be taking part in an overnight hike and team challenge... Wish me luck!!
Have a great weekend everyone - hope the germs disappear and everyone gets a chance to relax xx

Sounds like you are single handedly looking after your brood Foxes against the illness bug. Sounds about right. Thats what normally happpens here too.

I hope you had a nice day in the countryside yesterday SC?

You're going camping in the snow Ponti?

We were out most of the day yesterday so not much done on the housework side of things. Today the weather here is quite grim so we will be mooching around the house mostly, although i may try and drag dh and ds to go and do the weekly gorcery shop at some point.

To do:

wash dishes
strip beds + put in washing machine
make beds
tidy ds room
general tidy up
ironing
grocery shop

Gawd that list is depressing as it gets really

Celeste yes, dh definitely doesn't do illness well! although in fairness he did look after me last night when I also came down with the bug! It was horrendous trying to breastfeed ds while shivering and shaking on the bright side we are all feeling much better this morning! Which is good because we need to sort two bedrooms out that are getting new carpets tomorrow. Weather is pretty grim here too , hope you manage to do something enjoyable today as well , it is still the weekend after all!

I've got a bit behind with the actual fly lady stuff last few days so I'll pick it back up tomorrow and just do the basics today I think!

Ta das:

Got up fed cat
Put couch cushion covers back on (after catpee gate number 4)
Hoovered living room
Washed up and cleaned kitchen
Washing on
Made lunch
Brushed hair from the bedroom carpet
Hoovered bedroom

To do:
At least one bathroom - either the main one or our en suite

Feeling a bit guilty now as I'm being utterly useless today! I did tidy up quickly this morning and do some washing but since then I've been feeling so rubbish I've watched strictly and had a hot bath while dh has done everything else including now emptying the two bedrooms for the new carpet and making me a coffee ... I know I did loads to look after everyone yesterday so I shouldn't feel guilty but I always do!!

I genuinely annoy myself sometimes!

Don't be so hard on yourself Foxes You mentioned earlier you weren't feeling good yesterday and you'll probably still not over the bug yet. It was always going to catch you eventually. Just get the lots of rest that you need.

Ta das

washed dishes
emptied kitchen bin
stripped beds + put in washing machine
made beds
put another washing load on
tidied ds room
hung out the washing
took empty bottles and jars to recycling
done weekly grocery shop
made lasagna for tea

To do

bath ds
general tidy up
ironing

I know Celeste I'm trying to just rest and let everything else go today! Bath made me feel a bit better just still going hot and cold a lot. Just got to help dh move a desk in a minute cos he can't do it on his own.

On the bright side we do have new carpets to look forward to tomorrow which means ds will finally have his own room sorted!

Is the bug a d&v bug? And yay for the new carpet. Love the smell of new carpet

Celeste no not d&v. Dd was sick on weds night and then again Friday night but other than that has been fine. Dh felt a bit queasy yesterday and was achey but is ok today. And I had chills and temperature in the night and now achey and temperature still but no queasiness at all. So all a bit random!

I love a new carpet too , our house didn't have any carpets when we moved in so we've been getting them all done slowly as and when we could afford it. These are the last two to be done and I can't wait it's going to feel like the house is much more finished (even though there is still quite a bit to do!)

Carpet is so expensive aswell but makes such a difference in the Winter to have carpeted rooms it makes it warmer i find. We grew up in a cottage with slate flagstone floors on the ground floor and it always felt cold.

Tea is all eaten here. Gonna go up and run ds a bath in a sec. Will bleach the loo whilst i'm in there. Hearing of all these horrible germs going around is going to send me into ocd mode. Then I will plow through the ironing this evening. It never ends does it!

New carpet ahhhhhh so lovely underfoot.

Hi all,

Ta das:-
Laundry
Dishwasher on
Very busy weekend activities over
Went for run
DD1 spellings and reading
A few mins decluttering

To do:-
Declutter DVDs as cupboard keeps threatening to kill us when we open the door and they all fall out
Before bed routine
More laundry ( potty training)
Tea

These are just constant but I really have to do 15 mins each on studying and then online learning (yes really) for my new job. Will try to multi task and do while doing bedtime.
Bath time

Watch Poldark

Celeste Im putting the illnesses we've had down to dd recently starting preschool.

Toostressy ooh potty training , I hated potty training dd and she got the hang of it fairly quickly but had a few regressions which caused lots of extra washing ! Sofa cushions in particular and her car seat a few times. I found it quite stressful trying to remain really positive in front of her when inside I was thinking "but you CAN do it so why aren't you?!" I forget how little she is sometimes!
Think I'll have to watch Poldark tomorrow as I am aiming to be in bed by 9!

Ta das
Quick living room rescue
Dishwasher on
Put some rubbish out for bin collection tomorrow
Cleared out last few bits from bedrooms

To do
Move desk !

Tomorrow I'll have to sort through a load of stuff that had come out of the two rooms as I'm adamant I'm only putting stuff back in the rooms that we use or love as per fly lady!! So far I've found a metal bucket, a random bunch of keys , a Gameboy (which dh won't let me chuck!!) , Lots of old cushions which I'll probably wash and see how they come out and an ancient rug to go to the tip. And quite a bit more to go through I think. Argh it really does never end this decluttering lark!

Good evening! I hope everyone has had as good a weekend as possible, despite ailments! Hope those suffering are on the mend now too.

I'm just going to post the links and crash tonight as it has been a tiring weekend. DD has far too much energy now she has given up ballet, and that combined with a technology ban, means she is in need of extra activity and stimulation.

*

Tomorrow's baby-step no 17, for Mon 17 Oct is: the now infamous step about setting yourself a reasonable bed-time and sticking to it.

Newcomers - here is the launch pad from which you can navigate the site:
www.flylady.net/c/lp.php .

We are in Zone 4 this week, the boudoir: The Master Bedroom, Bath, Closet (October 16-22) here.

Declutter for 15 mins a day in the current zone!
Once decluttered, go on to 15 mins a day of detailed cleaning.

The missions for the week ahead can be found:here.
Monday's mission involves spending 15 mins putting away or getting rid of anything that doesn't belong in the main bedroom.

The daily focus for Monday is: the home bleugh. 10 mins to work on each of seven essential tasks.

The habit for October is getting rid of paper clutter,
here: www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/october/.
(Scroll down for detailed explanation.)

The daily flight plan here: www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120 will update itself (hopefully) and if you click on it tomorrow will provide a quick summary of the above.

Have a productive start to the week everyone!

*

Tomorrow:

• washing on (already in the machine just need to switch on in the morning)
• drop clothes at charity shop
• post eBay sales
• empty machine &I hang out to dry after work
• fold and put away clothes already on airers

-feed catface

• clean bathroom (didn't manage this today as got distracted by Stanger Things on Netflix)

2 days until actual inspection, not looking forward to it as I have 2 dogs here instead of the 1 they're expecting, yes hes just staying for a few weeks but still. He is also pissing all over my landing, it stinks. I'm off to wilko's tomorrow to get some of that carpet cleaner powder, hopefully that will take the smell away.

Thanks for the kind words everyone.it was a beautiful service,very intimate(just me,dp and dd2,sil,her hubby n dd,mil sister,husband n dd and 1friend).after they went pub whilst u returned to pick zoolets from friends and they returned with tales from her sister and had seen lots photos her as a very little girl.we then did balloon release at local nature reserve as D's n Lil zoo didn't attend funeral.dp shot off faster n higher than rest bursting thru a gap in clouds where sunsrays were pwwp thru.lil zoo said grandma was other side waiting catch daddy's balloon n prayer/happy thought(bless)

Sat we got confirmation clothes and watch DVD.dp is retreating to bed before even gets dark....
Sunday-drum roll-dd2confirmed by bishop. Was beautiful service and first confirmation our church in 22years,so they made huge fuss of her with cards and cakes!!(mainly elderly congregation)she had wonderful time and even for a selfue with bishop for her Instagram account!!dp hasn't spoken to me since lunchtime and has retreat bed 4pm.he has depression like me and I can see he is using avoidance tactics,but is crashing n burning i n spectacular style

Good morning all!

Zoo Your description of the funeral and balloon release afterwards sounds absolutely lovely. I'm very sorry to hear that your dp is (understandably) taking it so hard. Take care of yourself .

Huge congratulations to your dd2 on the occasion of her Confirmation!

Babblehag Have you tried bicarb of soda? Sprinkle liberally on landing, leave to absorb smells for a few hrs, then hoover up. (Obviously need to keep the furries away from it though!)

Shesgotelectricboobs Well done re: yr productive weekend and good luck with your list today!

Good luck with clutter sorting today Foxes! Take it slowly! As Celeste says, it's good you had a rest on Sunday as you obviously needed it. It's much harder to overcome bugs and things when you are sleep deprived.

Congrats on a v productive Sun Celeste! Countryside walk was lovely thanks (in woods) and best of all, thanks to lots of training, our furry can at long last be let off the lead for short bursts as his recall is much, much better!

Yay to new carpet TooStressy and for surviving a busy weekend!

Hope you and the teens had fun in the snow Pont!

Encouraging wing flaps to everyone else!!

Ta das
Fed cats
Empty all internal bins into black one
Recycling out
Clear dining table
Washing on
Wash up last nights tea things
Feed zoolets
Make pack ups
Bathrooms windows cleaned
Sill wiped (mirror detoothpasted)
Bath cleaned
Sink cleaned
Floor washed
Toilet bleached
Made beds
Washing up from breakfast done

Time to sort zoolets for school-lik zoo and D's both have long hair that needs taming before we can leave!!be back in a bit.the way forward today is keep very very busy unless I can tempt dp out for a walk(trys to remain hopeful) TTFN

Monday morning

Good luk with the potty training stressy

If its an old style original Gameboy then they are worth quite a lot these days Foxes

Can you get someone to take the second dog for a walk when they come to inspect Babble?

Glad the funeral went aswell as could Zoo Just be there for dh. Its bound to be difficult for him but thats all you can do. Is he off work then?

To do today

wash dishes (weetabix pebble dashed bowls)
make beds (ds literally destroys his bed at night. Gawd knows what he dreams of )
hoover all rooms (need to empty hoover bag too and end up leaving a dust cloud in its wake )
bleach downstairs loo (bye bye germs )

Gotta rush off now and take ds to pre-school. Have a nice Monday everyone [Leaves some wine gums out for everyone]

Grrr, in a bit of a harrumph this morning having: picked up dd's breakfast things from arm of sofa (yet again), picked up her muddy walking boots from middle of hall and swept up mud , picked up two more pairs of her shoes, her bobble hat, various purses, jumpers, coats, half finished art projects etc ...I wonder what her last servant died of? . I wouldn't mind but a lot of it is low down or on the floor and my back is killing me at the moment after long drives at the weekend.

(My back is the reason I haven't done a weekly round-up yet too - sorry folks!)

Also I'm a bit pissed off that although we did loads of things at the weekend that dd wanted to do: invited new friend from school over, baking, lots of games of scrabble and battleships, learning to knit, two country dog walks with friends, out to pizza restaurant Sat night etc etc + loads of help with hwk, we had to suffer a really rude outburst when I told her it was time for bed last night and a lovely w/e ended on a sour note. Does anyone else experience the thing where the more you do/for dc, the worse their behaviour [sigh]?

Sorry for whinge. As dd is an only, we are v conscious of not spoiling her. Parts of this w/e (pizza for example) were treats for a pretty good school report (only one echec this time!) I just constantly wonder where I am going wrong/what we should be doing differently sometimes ... .

Ta da so far:
polished dd school shoes
animals
dd packed lunch
quick dog walk
dw on
bit of hand washing up
shined kitchen sink
collected dirty laundry from around house
fed wms
general tidy up of downstairs inc dining rm table hot spots
s & s
quick tidy up of boudoir
put a load of outdoor/walking coats away
emptied rucksacks and put away etc

To do:
office admin
banking
more parcels
supermarket run
chemist run
prep dh shirts for washing and wash
more laundry
cooking

Must try and fit some decluttering of paper in there somewhere . Not doing so well with paper clutter atm!

Wow Zoo hats off to anyway who cleans windows first thing on a Monday morning!

Celeste the wine gums have cheered me up already [snaffling noises] Good luck with your list!

Zoo anyone not anyway!!