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

785 replies

Strikingclock · 30/09/2016 09:38

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 Wine 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 Blush):

  • 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!

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foxessocks · 22/10/2016 14:29

Welcome qazxc I've found this thread really helpful for getting a routine going and also for realising that if you try and do too much at once you end up giving up and with more mess than you started with! Don't let that happen make sure you make some time today to relax and do other stuff too!

Ta das
Got the baby to sleep!!!!!!
Swept and mopped kitchen floor properly
Wiped cupboards down

All while making myself a cup of tea ready to sit back down again Smile I'm still taking it easy don't want mastitis coming back again!

Also doing well on the cutting down on sugar. I have a few treats left in the house that my mum bought me to cheer me up so will eat one of those today but only ONE! So far today I've resisted anything sugary.

Shesgotelectricboobs · 22/10/2016 16:55

Fell off for a couple of days and now need to catch up. Babies??!!!! Congratulations guys!!!!!

Friday's ta da:

  • washing on
  • toilet cleaned

Today's ta das:

  • 2 loads of washing on
1 washing drying 1 washing put away Sorted through sock drawer and have ditched some socks. Much neater now Emptied bathroom cabinet and throw away anything out of date Washed up twice

Opened windows and let the sunshine and the air in

JoinTheUnicorns · 22/10/2016 19:59

Good to hear you're taking it easy foxes.
(Waves to qazxc) hi fellow new person!
Today I did most of the things on the list including going to bed at a decent hour.
By which I mean now because I'm beat and the baby is asleep.
But also dishes and laundry and putting my clothes out for the morning.
(Pats self on back and falls asleep)

qazxc · 22/10/2016 21:23

Right DD is off to bed.
My next burst is to dry and tidy washing up and declutter/ clean hallway.
I think that clutter is my biggest problem, the house is full to burst and I can't find anything.

Strikingclock · 22/10/2016 21:44

Evenin' all! Hope you have had good Saturdays.

Welcome to qazxc!

***
Tomorrow's baby-step no 23 for Sun 23rd Oct is: here. Add an afternoon/getting home from work/getting home from school routine to your day.

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

Tomorrow will be our first day in Zone 5: the sitting room/family room/den, 23-29 Oct inclusive. Unusually, we have a full wk in this zone this month.

I don't do zone work at weekends, but if you do, declutter for 15 mins a day in the current zone, or once decluttered, go on to do 15 mins a day of detailed cleaning.

No missions because it is the weekend!

The daily focus for Sunday is: renewing your spirit ie try and do something that makes you feel rested/ refreshed. Not so easy for fledglings with young babies to look after though!

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 will provide a quick summary of the above.

Wishing everyone relaxing Sundays!

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BabySocks · 22/10/2016 22:47

Hello fly people, I love reading along and have been flying for about a month. Could I just ask a quick question though please? Are the "missions" the same each month, I am sure the bedroom ones are the same as last month? If so, I am disappointed, I thought the random missions was half the joy!

fromwesttoeast · 22/10/2016 23:42

Sorry can't answer your question BabySocks, I haven't been paying enough attention!
Ta das today:
Washing up (45mins)
Ironing (45 mins)
Decluttering paper pile on sideboard (15 mins)
3 minute bathroom rescue

Greymalkin · 23/10/2016 07:08

Good morning feathered friends, and welcome to Socks and Qaz

Thanks for links SC - Can't believe we're in zone 5 already.....

Socks - plenty of the missions do repeat each month, but not always. Feel free to suggest some new ones to keep us all on our toes!!

Foxes - hope you had a restful day and glad to hear you are on the mend.

We have a weekend full of catching up with family which is a bit overdue. Not exactly spirit-renewing as some of the family are hard work on occasion, but I'm still grateful for them and pleased to see them.

Happy Sunday to you all.

Strikingclock · 23/10/2016 07:30

Hello to Babysocks

As Grey said, the missions are roughly the same each month but vary slightly according to the seasons. It's best if you adapt the system to suit your own home though, or develop your own mission list for each zone, good luck!

Hope your weekend goes well Greymalkin! (That's exactly how I feel about my family too!) Great decluttering on Fri!

Good to hear you are taking it steady Foxes!

You are doing great stuff there fromwestoeast

Must dash, church event this morning that I have been roped in to am helping with!

Have a good Sunday everyone, back later to catch up with personals!

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TooStressyForMyOwnGood · 23/10/2016 12:55

Hi all, hope everyone is having a good weekend and welcome to newbies Smile. We are off on holiday now so won't get any flying done in the house. Hoping to take the opportunity to declutter emails etc while I'm away and sadly will have to do some work bits. Proper family time though and hoping to not have too many arguments Grin.

qazxc · 23/10/2016 13:35

Right dd and me are off to have a nap in fresh beds.
Laundry mountain has decreased and hopefully I will manage to talk dp into donating some of it.
Felt better this morning for not having to walk into cluttered hallway and kitchen full of dishes. And have been keeping on top of things this morning, so counters and sink are still clear and clean.
My next task will be to tidy and clean my crafty corner of the living room.
Also on my list are:
Tidy all clean and ironed clothes.
Cook Sunday dinner and clean up after.

Strikingclock · 23/10/2016 18:01

Good evening!

Had a lovely relaxing day today with dh and furry one and managed to get a few chores done too. DD has returned from her weekend away tonight tired but happy. She has just downed two plates of roast chicken, cous-cous and roasted veg and retired to bed Shock and it's only 7pm here! This must be a record!

Going to spend the rest of the evening catching up on Strictly!

G'night all! Links etc following ... .

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Strikingclock · 23/10/2016 18:23

Sunday round-up! (In no particular order!)

It's been a busy week here at fledglings central! Two more fledgling babies have arrived! Yay! Among other things, we have been discussing: lovely new carpets, bomb disposal personnel, puking infants, peeing animals, Elton John &Austin Powers, and the healing powers of cabbage leaves ... and some of us not me have even managed a spot of decluttering Wink!

Afreshstartplease and Furble Congratulations again! You both have “get-out-of-Flying for as long as you need to passes” Wink Take it steady both!

Jointheunicorns has got off to a good Flying start with baby-steps 1, 7, and 17! Having moved many times, she is pretty clutter free, but is hoping to focus on routines and steps! Good luck with it!

qazxc has made a good start by decluttering toys despite being distracted by a (literally!) bouncing baby! She's decluttered her hall too and feels all the better for it! Yay!

Babysocks has enjoyed reading the thread which is always nice to hear Smile and makes for a good start too!

FoxesSoxes has been carrying on Flying in valiant fashion (really impressively!) whilst looking after a lovely smiley baby Smile, hosting her parents & mil, battling mastitis, and restricting her sugar intake, which definitely merits a Halo! Hope headache has disappeared!

Greymalkin is busy catching up with family this Sun – after a mahoosive session of loft-decluttering (congrats on that!!) Lovely to see your grandma featuring in one of your lists too Smile! Can definitely sympathise with the solicitor and estate agent “haranguing” btw as I am doing exactly that atm too! (Btw, I am a bit of an Archer addict – listen on Ipod while choring - so happy to natter! Mourning Scruff. Desperate for Tom and Kirsty to get back together. Love Johnny and relationship with grandfather. Think Ian should have left (leaving space for Charlie to return Wink. Worried about Bartleby. Grin) [Sorry for bit of an Archers hi-jack there folks!] )

Fromwestoeast deserves a Star for getting rid of paper clutter in paper decluttering month and for decluttering kitchen drawers and her main living area despite battling stress and very little sleep Flowers.

Shesgotelectricboobs has been letting the sunshine in, and among other things, decluttering socks and toiletries! She has also been dealing with a free-peeing feline!

Toostressyformyowngood is off on holiday today! Safe travelling! (So sorry – didn't see your question about packing for the plane until now – hope prep wasn't too onerous!) Thank you for your kind words about the thread too! Smile Hope you have a lovely time! You certainly deserve a bit of r&r after balancing chores/course work/and job! Hope you don't have to do too much work on holiday!

Blueyeshadow having completed an un-fat-fairy-like weekend of house blitzing, attended an inspiring work event in London (which I must admit made me feel quite Envy)

Pontificationcentral having released teenagers in to the wild – hope three didn't go missing - had a crazy week chauffering, prepping for work, volunteering and generally being run off her feet as usual, to the extent that she has resurrected her little blue book of lists which sounds very ominous indeed Grin!

Babblehag is residing in a very orderly home thanks to completing a mahoosive list of chores, and the house inspection being delayed! Congrats on all achieved Star! She has also been looking after a friend's free-peeing canine!

Stillivinginazoo has started sprouting feathers (very approp for this thread Grin) helping at tots & mums, squelching back and forth to comic club and the library, defying her pancreas with Dolly mixtures Wink and (if last year's events are anything to go by) will be gathering in humungous supplies of sweets for Halloween!! (Hope your dp is hanging in there and good luck with forthcoming med results.)

MrsK dealt manfully (that really should be womanfully) with red ick, matched socks, peeled peppers and has already done a mission in this coming's week's zone – so is ahead of the game! Yay! Hope you survived mil's visit and appropriate variety of Wine was in good supply!

8FencingWire is enjoying a family reunion this week in a clean and clutter-free house! Whey hey! Star Star Star Congrats on all the hard work achieved! Hope you all have a lovely get together!

Caglio has been calming her stressed out dd Sad. (Hope she is feeling much more chipper now!). She has also attended a fab history work-shop.

Dogsbum's Meerkitten, despite her ma's best efforts, is indulging in croissants Grin while her parents are going teetotal for a month!

Celeste83 has been continuing to visit primary schools and has been racing through hugely impressive Flying lists in order to run and appreciate blue skies and balmy weather while it lasts! (Bit nippy here today it has to be said!)

Mnistooaddictive made lots of cakes and decluttered her bathroom!

MercuryRising has been busy with toddler group, brownies, school, and has posted some v organised lists!

Grendelsaunty checked in to say hello as did Whoknowwherethetimegoes who declared her approval of crunchy towels Grin

Herdofantilop has returned to work after maternity leave and is enduring a 5 hr daily commute Shock which sounds v tough indeed x

Honu popped in to share news of the impending arrival of her new grandchild! Any news yet I wonder? Smile

SC has been busy dealing with teenage angst, end of year accounting, the slow-moving machinations of property transactions, and on a more positive note, spent a sunny Sat afternoon in Bruges with a lovely friend and her family!

Big wing flaps to Summerday11 Castlelough Shannara Cotswold Bubblebloodypop Toffee
Kim82 LiveLife Addictive Badger DontStop Foxes, Ememem84, Pauline, lazyleo , Happilyahousewife, Outputgap, Justpeachy, YippeeTeenager Babble Bubble Octopus Feetheart and to Knitting and Einstein if you happen to be lurking and anyone else I have inadvertently missed!

School uniform washed and ironed, shoes polished, swimming kit ready for the morrow. My clothes laid out on chair for tomorrow too. Boudoir has descended in to a bit of a disaster again though.

Have a lovely Sunday evening everyone and wrap up warm!

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Strikingclock · 23/10/2016 18:23

*

Tomorrow's baby-step no 24 for Monday 24th Oct is: here. Bathroom swish and swipe - highly recommended!

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

Unusually, we are in Zone 5 for the entire week this month: the sitting room/family room/den, 23-29 Oct inclusive here.

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

All the missions for the week can be found here. Monday's mission = take 5 mins to clear flat surfaces of your sitting room (floors/table tops/mantelpieces) and get rid of any extraneous papers, ornaments and 'stuff' that doesn't belong there, or that you no longer need or like.

The daily focus for Monday is: what we call the home bleugh. Spend 10 mins on each of seven essential tasks (or spread the indiv. tasks out during the week).

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 will provide a quick summary of the above.

Have a productive start to the week everyone!

OP posts:
Babblehag · 23/10/2016 18:47

Evening all, not much flying done here this week, not been able to get my meds and therefore mh has gone downhill, I have been downstairs today, took ds3 to his cousins for a bit, had a natter with bil.

Half term is beginning to take its toll now, ds3 is driving me barmy, he's pretty much constant from the moment he wakes til the moment he sleeps, I've noticed this a lot more when the other two aren't around, perhaps he's needing my attention as they're not here. He is so fidgety, doesn't stop, talks all the time, even when hes playing on the ps3 hes talking and fidgeting. He's also getting very defiant and ignores what I say the first 6 times, and only listens after I threaten the step.
School obviously has no concerns and he's progressing as he should, or I'd be concerned that there is something else (ds1 has ADHD, ASD, DAMP) I need strength to get through this next week and some boredom busters, working tomorrow, and collecting ds2 on weds. Any ideas?

Friends dog is still peeing everywhere, cant wait for him to go home so I can clean everything!!

celeste83 · 23/10/2016 19:26

Hi all,

Hope everyone has had a good weekend?

Massive congratulations on the arrival of the babies Fresh & Furble enjoy! (gets broody)

Good round up SC a mighty task with the amount of peeps on this thread now. You make me sound like an airy fairy loving blue skies and nature Grin

...and on that note its been another lovely weekends weather here Smile Was out most the day yesterday, went swimming then went for a pub lunch, then today we went and done the weekly gocery shop this morning and then went to Mums for dinner in the afternoon Smile

Todays ta das

stripped the beds
put bedding in the washing machine
made the beds (love fresh bedding)
put bed linen on the line
emptied kitchen bin
done weekly grocery shop
unpacked shopping
done another washing load
made tea
washed dishes
zoflora'd kitchen tops
bathed ds
bleached the loo in the bathroom

Got a pile of ironing waiting for me this evening.

Greymalkin · 23/10/2016 20:08

Evening all,

Thanks for the fab round up SC

Enjoy your holiday Stressy

Qaz - great to see Flylady making a difference already to your home

Sorry you are struggling Babble - if only children had an off switch, or even just a mute button.....

Sounds like you had a lovely weekend Celeste

I had a pretty busy and productive day:
-spent quite a few hours at home with my brother which was a lovely catch up
-x2 loads of washing done and hung up to dry
-Racked a demijohn of wine
-Dishwasher load and unload
-x2 beds made
-had loads of decluttered stuff collected via Facebook
-'Hoovered' the car park and garden of all the leaves our tree has dropped
-More clutter brought down from loft
-DS bathed, hair wash etc

Cagliostro · 23/10/2016 23:26

Thank you for the round up! Thanks

DD was actually asleep shortly after 10 tonight (I call witchcraft :o) and she enjoyed her dance exam today.

Fuck all flying though! I stuck a wash on which feels like a massive achievement :o

Strikingclock · 24/10/2016 07:05

Good morning all!

Sod of a lot to get through today. Looking forward to clocks going back, as its so dark here atm it's oppressive, like dawn is never going to arrive! Lighting is so poor, difficult to see in this house and get stuff done!

On that cheery note - hope everyone has a good week - but be careful to go with small steps and not to burn out!

Cag great that your dd was not phased by dance exam and she was able to enjoy the experience!

Grey lovely you were able to catch up with yr brother! Sounds as if you are on a decluttering roll!

Celeste you are far too organised on the chore front to be an airy fairy!! grin

Babblehag sorry you are struggling with mh issues Flowers which sounds extremely tough - hope meds can be sorted early this week. What age is your ds3? I know I used ideas from the following sites to keep dd occupied during holidays:

www.dltk-kids.com/
www.activityvillage.co.uk/
www.teteamodeler.com/

(but she is an only so was overall much easier) and creative stuff possibly the last thing you (and/or DS3) want to be doing so apologies if totally off the mark.

Outdoor stuff:

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/things-to-do/
www.activityvillage.co.uk/outdoor-games
www.familiesonline.co.uk/things-to-do/activities/outdoor-activities

Indoor and outdoor:
theimaginationtree.com/2013/10/50-autumn-play-art-activities-kids.html

Aside from the above, could you perhaps go for long walks in park collecting leaves, conkers, acorns etc and create nature table, do some early pumpkin carving? Make scary stuff for Halloween? DD likes to wash out large plastic milk containers (the huge ones made out of white semi-translucent plastic) draw black scary faces on front with sharpies, light from inside with blue glow sticks (stolen from Pintinterest).

That's all I can dredge up before second cup of coffee but good luck with it all!

Have a productive week everyone!

OP posts:
Strikingclock · 24/10/2016 07:07

Celeste sorry, that "grin" went funny for some reason, should have been grin

OP posts:
Strikingclock · 24/10/2016 07:09

Oh fhs Halloween Grin

I'll try pressing preview from now on Blush

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JoinTheUnicorns · 24/10/2016 07:35

Good luck with half term babblehag. Hope the weather's good for you wherever you are!

Hope the sugar quitting is going ok foxes. I guess the advantage of doing it now is that if it makes you tired, how would you tell? Wink

Ok. Weekly home bleurgh here I come.
Though I did mop some of the dining room yesterday because there was food all over it, so maybe I'm a little ahead of the game?

celeste83 · 24/10/2016 08:42

I had to giggle at your smiley face mishaps SC and yay at the xmas smileys Halloween Smile My apparent housework organistaion is a mix of having too much time on my hands (looking forward to getting back to work once ds goes to school) and drawing my lists out into individual bits like listing each item i clean in the kitchen Blush Its not that organised here though as i make out.

Weather is bloody miserable here this morning. Feels and looks like winter! No airy fairy walks today.

List today:

wash dishes
make beds
hoover floors
tidy ds room
bleach downstairs loo
general tidy up

Hope everyone has a good half term and little ones don't stress us out too much.

Babblehag · 24/10/2016 09:32

Thanx sc he's 8 but pretty much up for anything new, I'll give some of those a try. Friends dog is still peeing everywhere, he has officially outstayed his welcome, he will not be staying again, I still have a week or so to go. The back door was open this morning, he came downstairs and cocked his leg up at the wall as dp was coming out of the kitchen, he doesn't even give a toss anymore. He's like yep this is my house, I can pee where I like.

Strikingclock · 24/10/2016 09:45

You are definitely ahead Unicorns! Smile

Same here Celeste I write every tiny thing down to maximise the "ta da" effect. Would also love a job. One has come up that matches my cv, as far as I know won't get me in to tax difficulties and is actually interesting (v unusual in my field here) but the hrs are not really workable; unless I leave dd alone for 4-5 hrs every evening after school. Not something I want to do with dh away so much. Also very miserable and gloomy here weather-wise today. Has only just got light!

About a tenth of my way through my list so far (too long and boring to write out). All of it is urgent. All of it is intensely boring and I don't want to do any of it. C'est la vie. Need to grow a pair and get on with it!

Anyone willing to aim a kick in the rear in my direction when passing through, please go ahead!

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