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!

[pontificationcentral]

It was -4 here this morning. Boo hiss. I am not yet ready for winter. Please don't let it get any worse yet... It has to wait until after camp in two weeks...
TA das
Day 1 of 'survive-until-friday' completed
Remembered to give black dog ear medicine
Remembered to take chow mein out of freezer
Ran pathfinder meeting and remembered all parent forms and fundraising stuff
Collected dd1 from dance
Loaded dishwasher
Arranged thanksgiving guests

To do:
Work out how to squeeze four more humans into my house for thanksgiving

Ah well, it won't happen tonight!

[GrendelsAunty]

Well, my first day was sort-of okay. My house is noticeably tidier - it is amazing how much decluttering you can get done in 15 minutes! On the other hand, I feel like I've spent a lot of time cleaning. Does the swish & swipe get quicker as you settle into a routine? I don't really have that spare 5 minutes in the morning as I'm trying to wrangle two small people into their clothes and out the door. So I did it this morning, but then didn't have time to clear away the breakfast things.
Any suggestions?

[Strikingclock]

Good morning feathered ones! Hope those of you with los managed to snatch a few hours sleep.

Embarrassingly late start today (had blissful sleep last night uninterrupted by -overheating dh and furry ones snoring) and slept through alarm clock) back still feels very stiff/feeling unstable and I forgot to put the dw and wms on last night so morning routine a bit all over the place.

Happily dh is here atm (very unusually for mid-week but only because he is travelling from Fri to Tues missing the entire forthcoming weekend grrrrrr) but anyway he very kindly picked up my slack this morning and fed animals, made dd's packed lunch/breakfast/helped with physics hwk and walked the furry for which I was hugely grateful. I would have been crap at physics hwk anyway.

Out to very important meeting at bank later which could potentially change the course of our lives so feeling a bit nervous. Before that though

to do:
start pea and ham soup with a ham hock I picked up at the weekend (tis suddenly the weather for it)
lots of laundry including five million of dh's shirts
pack a few more parcels
two hours office admin

• organising of UK banking [watching sterling plummet as I type this post Hammond speech ].
  
  Hope everyone has a good day!
  
  Pontification wishing you continuing strength for your mahoosively demanding week ahead and plenty of and . Sounds as if you had a mega-successful start though! [shivers at prospects of nights at -4]
  
  Castleough hope you managed to get back to sleep! Go steady sounds as if you are spinning a whole load of plates there. As for this house, we are doing both! (Although not all at once as financially too demanding.) Lots of plans afoot - need to choose most cost-effective alternative - but basically we are in the process of acquiring (fulfilling a 20 yr dream of mine) a "wreck place in the country" (which took us five years to find) where we will live at weekends/part of the week/hols allowing us to divide this place up and it may yet accommodate office too, we'll see. Unfortunately, both places need loads of work and we can't afford to do both at once so there is going to be a very long lean period in the middle where we will be living on baked beans, saving our pennies and inhaling lots of plaster dust . But if not do-able there is a possibility we will end up selling. And yes, as first step in the process, we have adopted a furry (will post pick later on). Very excited about the prospect of having a veg patch!! (Back has gone funny just at the worst moment though!) Hope the coat fits!!
  
  MrsK arf at Narnia/Mordor cupboard of doom! Flylady would say that the trick is to treat it like an elephant and eat in small bites. But if you decide to go for the full fracking experience then we will post Fledglings at the entrance and send down a canary
  
  Right, having wittered on far too much about myself as usual, I had better get cracking.
  
  Wishing everyone a productive Tuesday!

[Strikingclock]

x post

GrendelsAunty yes, the idea is that as you declutter, all the routines and missions and cleaning can be achieved more quickly. Tbh though I found it virtually impossible to get any other chores done when I had a small 'un to get off to school in the morning (and I only had one!). Could you change the swish and swipe to the evening while supervising bath time?

[Afreshstartplease]

I never manage to clear away the breakfast things before school run they are still there now

Hospital bag is half packed. Need to find some of the clothes I wanted to pack for myself and then I'll find some random online list and see if I've roughly packed everything. Leaving drinks in the fridge until I leave but this may result in my forgetting to take them! Need to pack formula.

Did another load of baby washing yesterday so that needs drying and putting away.

Kitchen is a bombsite. Living room not too bad just toys here and there. Bathrooms still need scrubbing. Landing needs clearing of dumped junk.

Not feeling anywhere near as motivated today

[Strikingclock]

[Sends over emergency footstool, fluffy fleece and to Afreshstart] Go gently!

[GrendelsAunty]

Thanks SC, think I might need to do it in the evening. Although that means finding another time to take off make-up

[Strikingclock]

Grendel I wouldn't worry too much. Tbh, with small ones afoot, I personally think it is impossible to do everything and bits of routines fly (no pun intended) out of the window. One is almost in minimal survival mode - and any 15 mins here and there that you can do is a bonus! As the little ones grow up, then you can gradually add in more 15 mins bursts if that makes sense. Maybe you could do swish and swipe just once or twice a week for the moment? The general idea is that you just do something every now and then to stop the bathroom becoming truly untidy and grimy requiring a mahoosive purge.

[Afreshstartplease]

Thank-you SC

Well I made a brew, emptied and reloaded the drier, reloaded the washer and filled the sink

Now sitting with

[CotswoldStrife]

Morning all. DD not feeling well last night and slept for hours! Bit better this morning so has gone into school.

I am waiting for my mobile phone number to move to a new SIM, so at some point both my phones will go off for a bit - the new provider was a bit vague and completely wrong about when this would be so I'm still waiting. I don't want to have to ring again because they are not fun to deal with.

I would advise putting snacks in your hospital bag - whichever ward I arrived on I got 'oh, you've just missed the food trolley' and starved for days!

[Afreshstartplease]

I'm planning on not going to any ward! My last two I have been discharged from delivery room. Fingers crossed third time lucky!

[Furble]

Morning All,
Haven't done any flying for the last couple of days which has been a blissful break but ready to get back in the saddle today! It's my due date today so am going to try and keep on my feet and keep moving, walk to the supermarket to get some walking in etc.

About to start flying now (very late start - whoops!) so will revert back later on with ta-das.

Wishing everyone a productive and sunny Tuesday!

[Afreshstartplease]

Ta Da's

Dry washing folded
Dryer reloaded
Washer reloaded
Some washing hung to dry
Toilet and sink in main bathroom clean

To Do's

Pots
Kitchen worktops and table
Sweep kitchen
Finish hospital bag
Put away dry washing
Clean sink and toilet in ensuite

[foxessocks]

afresh don't forget a bra to go home in because I forgot one and it was not pretty! The one I arrived in got thrown away as I wore it in the birth pool and it got a bit yucky...tmi sorry.

Another bad night with ds last night , we went to toddler group this morning and I sat in the corner drinking coffee while lovely people cuddled ds. Just made lunch for me and dd and hoping she'll have a nap soon and ds will too that would be bliss.

As for flying I've done nothing today so far! I also struggle to get anything done in the morning as im always focusing on getting us all out the door in time for various activities or nursery school. But I did force myself to unloaded and reload the dishwasher last night before bed so the kitchen isn't too awful thank goodness.

SC that all sounds very exciting and lots of work!

[Furble]

Hi All,
Hope the hospital bag packing is going well AFresh I haven't put drinks in the fridge yet, perhaps I ought. Also need to get straws, keep being told they can be very useful!
Foxes sorry to hear DS is so grizzly still, on the hour, every hour sounds incredibly tough. for you.

Have got the house back on track since posting this morning;

Ta-das
Made DH packed lunch
Made bed
Swish and swipe
Empty dw and reload
Bins out
Washing up done and put away
Transferred some bits to the freezer (which is groaning)
Kitchen sides wiped
Hob cleared and cleaned
Kitchen floor mopped
Front room and hall hoovered
One load washing on one out away

To-do
Trundle to supermarket slowly for ingredients for tea
Prepare dinner
15 min declutter

The sun's out in SE London so I'm going to enjoy it whilst it lasts!

[foxessocks]

Ta das
Dishwasher loaded
Living room rescue
Bedrooms rescue
Some washing put away
Registered ds at GP
Wiped kitchen sides down

To dos
Kitchen 15 min declutter

I might get some other bits done but don't want to be too ambitious as we're off out to relatives for dinner soon and I'm still stick under a feeding baby at the moment!

[Strikingclock]

Gosh all very exciting having so many babies and bumps on the thread atm!

Hope those of you who are sleep deprived manage to catch a good few hours tonight.

I hope no one minds, but it's 5.30pm here and I am going to post the links for tomorrow early because I am going out tonight and need to walk the dog/provision dd before I go.

G'night all!



Tomorrow's baby-step no 5 , for Wed 5th Oct is here about banning negative voices from your head and all of that sort of, um, stuff ... .

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

We are in Zone 2 (the kitchen) up to and including the 8th Oct : here.

For fledglings at a more advanced stage i.e. without clutter: here is the detailed cleaning list for Zone 2.

Tomorrow's mission is here. Chucking out the science experiments from the back of our fridges, checking expiry dates and the veg box, and giving it a quick general wipe down.

The daily focus for Wednesday is anti-procrastination: do something you have been avoiding.

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.

Keep going everyone, 15 mins at a time!

***

[GrendelsAunty]

I'm feeling slightly smug as I blitzed the fridge at the weekend. Instead I'm going to carry on emptying, cleaning and generally sorting out the kitchen cupboards.

[MrsK]

2nd day of a new term & I'm afraid I've already had a sick day. Back was so painful, I had to go to the Physio. I've spent the afternoon with a cat on my lap. Minimal ta da's here I'm afraid, not, good after yesterday's flurry of activity.

Good luck Afresh, foxes & Cotswold sorry to hear you have poorly soldiers. I'm amazed how much you guys get done, it's so much more difficult with little ones & broken sleep. No excuses here, teens sleep a lot.

Striking, I like your use of fracking 😂, although I fear I would have to bilay myself to a fledgling otherwise I might never make it out of Mordor. The Canary would not be a good idea here. One of my cats is a serial killer, she brought two dead rodents in yesterday. I am surprised there are any left locally, it's an almost daily occurrence. I hope you have a great night out.

Night all, think I'm going to check out Westworld on Sky Atlantic.

[celeste83]

Evening,

Looks like everyone has been busy today.

How did the bank meeting go Striking?

Today's ta das

washed dishes
made beds
done weekly grocery shop
unpacked shopping
made tea
washed dishes
zoflora'd kitchen worktops
general tidy up
ironing

[HerdofAntilop]

Evening all. So glad to hear I am not the only shiny sink shirker! SC I hope your bank visit goes/went well.

Didn't manage to check in yesterday so

Ta-da
3 boxes to Oxfam
One box all packaged up and in the back of DH's car to go to music magpie (including half a box of DVDs from the porch cupboard of spidery doom.
One hour on the phone to sort dull banking stuff.
Euros changed back and deposited to go toward bills.
New winter shoes for DS (no more sending him to preschool in sandals and socks with wellies for outside)
DS nose wiped every five minutes.
DS taught to wipe own nose.
Regular removal from indignant 1yo of snotty tissue 'treasure' found on the floor (some may have been eaten).

Today was DH's first day back at work after a 3 month break so mostly survival with snotty children followed by my own descent into flu this afternoon. Now I'm bed feeling sorry for myself because I can't sleep.

So many babies - it's making me a teeny bit broody. I would love to give birth again

[TooStressyForMyOwnGood]

Hi all.

Ta das:-
Tiny bit of exercise
Found link for online learning
Dish washer and washing machine

To do:-
Before bed routine
Worksheet for my course - just about to start that now at 10 o'clock at night... sob.

Planning no more study after this course until the next time!

[BlueEyeshadow]

Waves to all. After the big tidying meltdown/quarrel/fiasco at the weekend, we have been making much more of an effort to put things away when finished with this week. It's not going too badly so far, and is making a noticeable difference, such that DS2 even commented on it! Probably won't last though...

Hope meeting went well, SC and that you had a nice evening out.

[Stilllivinginazoo]

Wow I turn my back and there are newbies and new babies/bumps aplenty!!
pont congrats on taking in an extra.parents sound like need a good slapping!oh and don't be putting anything in the water?add am extra sprinkle at chez zoo,whilst I prob Peri menopausal more zoolets wouldn't go amiss

a fresh when I nested it was scrubbing skirts on stairs at 3am like possessed woman n rearranging cubord under staurslike a newborn will care about that.eyes,legs, and fingers x for you to get home straight from delivery room

I've forgotten who else I wanted address personally dye to volume posts since I last came on so cheery wing flaps to all old and new!!

Sunday dd2 help with a reading at church harvest festival.she was so proud of herself(bless)
Genuinely can't remember what else happened Sunday!!

Monday at gp dd2 throats not getting any better.yogurt,milkshake,baby fruit purees,cereal n hot milk mix to a fine paste.mash with cream cheese, soup and ice Lolly's are her diet-for a girl that could class eating a hobby if you let her,this is torturenurse said not tonsillitis (we knew that as it's further down throat hurts)and gave us an anti inflammatory, anaesthetic spray to try,app Fri at gp if no better.she clammy n cold feeling,and sleeping a lot.bed by 730 at night-for a 12year old,that's tragic!!

[Stilllivinginazoo]

Tuesdays ta da
Fed cats
Hotspot dining table
Wash on
Fed zoolets
Pack ups made
Clean bath n sink
Bleach lav
Bins emptied
School run
90mins at community cafe chopping veg(dd2 still at home,so couldn't do full shift)
Dd2was climbing all over me, and couldn't cope so we went on errands
Picked up cleaning products as helping a friend sctib down her room tomorrow (moving into a new shared house)she has OCD and her personal space has to be "decontaminated"
Picked up couple birthday cards,fir upcoming events
Bit food shop for dd2(fruit split lollies in not just strawberry,but blackcurrant and pineapple)plans pinch one of each to check safe to eat
Made lunch(late)
Wash dryer,second load on
Cleaned table computer sits on
Cleaned round cats bowls(eew)
Pick up zoolets-ds doing bike ability(like cycling proficiency?) He really enjoy it,though after 2hour on bike he tire n weaving and hit back my legs on way home
Trip library as got email one books overdue
Trip trampolining to pay fees-tho neither dds went as lil zoo now gas block nose/start coldprays doesn't give dd2 and add to her misery
Made zoolets tea(pasta n meatballs/parsnip and canelini bean soup)
Wash up

Will post today's tadas later!!