Gather ye dusters (fledglings) while ye May, for soon we shall be Flying ... !

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Welcome to the May 2017 fledgling Fly thread!

Feel free to park your mops and buckets here from the 1st of the month!

This is where we attempt to declutter our homes and follow the 30-step wisdom of Flylady (minus cutesy barftastic 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 ):

1 - repeat or start baby steps (again!)

2 - repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

or

3 - reinforce babysteps and/or do daily missions
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 welcome!

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!

Evening everyone! Hope you have all enjoyed your Sundays (and hope those of you with little 'uns have been able to grab a bit of well earned rest).

Cag so sorry you are feeling unwell and have to cancel your trip. There really are a lot of horrid viruses about. We've just all had one that goes and comes back. Dh is still suffering! Take care of yourself x

Toostressy happy to hear meet-up with relatives enjoyable and not as worrying as anticipated!

Foxes hope light project lullaby machine does the trick!

Mumontherun I am also dreading decluttering the kitchen tomorrow so much so I might not do it.

Waves to everyone else!

Ta da: (not as much as I'd hoped but it's a start!)
Walk furry x 2
4 loads washing - all hung up to dry - towels folded
tidied kitchen and loaded dw
sorted dd clothing
4 x on-line parcel returns
dd hwk supervision
a trillion card games with dd
cooked supper

Links coming up!

Newcomers in May: well done you have been Flying for one whole week!

***

The summary for Monday 8th May is available on the Flylady website here under "Today" and via the flight plan which should update itself automatically on a daily basis.

Baby-step no 8 for Mon 8th is here and is about jotting down your morning and afternoon routines on paper to form the basis of a control journal. Some of us do and some of us don't!

We are in Zone 2 this week: Kitchen, Back Porch, Laundry Room, Pantry here. (May 07-13)

Spend 15 mins decluttering the current zone.

When you have finished decluttering, the detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 2 is here.

Monday's mission is here. Spend 15 mins scrubbing your stove top in a non-perfectionist manner.

The daily focus for Monday is the weekly home blessing hour or as we call it, "the home bleugh" . Spend 10 mins on each of 7 essential tasks.

Still don't understand how Flylady expects us to spend only 10 mins on changing all the beds in the house . Each bed takes me at least 30 mins. Anyone else?

The monthly habit is moving in May!

Daily reminders (which should also update automatically) are here.

Oh yes, forgot to say, three huge positives today (in addition to actually feeling well again):

1. (NB Honu dd returned from maths tutor this afternoon and did a pirouette in the hall and shouted "it was brilliant"! She was so relieved - said things that hadn't made sense forever, suddenly did so after about half an hour - really, really happy for her!)

1. Whey hey! Souylagé! Macron has won, thank heavens!

1. Cooked roast chicken with all the trimmings and finally managed to produce a decent gravy.

G'night all!

SC my bed changing only takes ten minutes but that's because all I do is strip each of the three beds and leave the rest for my dh to finish later on! (putting new sheets on beds has always been his job, I really hate it and it would actually take me far far longer than ten minutes!)

Light show lullaby thing total failure , ds watched it for a while, got quite excited by it which was not helpful and then sobbed when I tried to leave the room...anyway. I fed him and he fell asleep as per usual routine so I gave up. Might try it again in the night if he wakes up. Maybe if I put it on while feeding him he'll start to associate it with sleepiness and then eventually I won't need to feed him?? Wishful thinking!

Also SC fab news there on all three things! Especially your dd, it's great when things click.

Thanks for the explanations slurry the playroom is the room I'm dreading so I'm putting it off as much as possible haha!! Congratulations on the gravy!
cag I hope you feel better soon and can enjoy your holiday xx
foxes I hope the light works for you, I've just given up on having any sleep ever again. My oh has to go away for a few nights in June for work and he's going for a long weekend away with the boys in August - I've used this as leverage that when dd2 stops bf, I'm booking into a hotel with a spa on my own so I can have a massage, pedicure, a bath on my own, sit with a massive box of chocs, a bottle of wine and watch a full film in peace followed by a full nights sleep with no alarm clock I can not wait ! It may be another year or so, but the thought keeps me going!!
Ta da
2 more loads of washing dried
30 mins of ironing
Decluttered the kitchen window ready to start the clean tomorrow
Roast dinner
Got a final shopping list together for dd school trip
Evening routine

Oh no Cag sorry you are unwell. You have my sympathies on the non-sleeping baby Foxes ds2 co-sleeps with us so we have avoided sleep training (for now) but it does mean we don't get much of an evening!

We have had a productive weekend pottering around the house. Dp has caught up on some ironing although we still have a cupboard full of it to do I finally got all the flowers planted so I am looking forward to the garden looking pretty. The house actually looks reasonably tidy so I am going to try my absolute best to stop it turning into a disaster zone by Friday - I live in hope!

Foxes yy to loathing bed-making! Have made it an obligatory family activity on Saturdays I'm afraid. So sorry the lullaby machine didn't work first time; fingers crossed it will when the novelty wears off.

[erratum/typo below btw: should have been soulagé!] Anyway, bloody relieved Marine and her odious racist policies (hwr much she pretends otherwise) have been given the old heave ho.

Rosa like the sound of your spa (much-deserved) future reward! Shame you have to wait a year though! [Might steal idea for weight loss regime - without the wine and chocs!]

Congrats on a productive w/e and a tidy house Mercury !

I must confess that I didn't get very far at all with the boudoir today. Did 15 mins and then all resolve crumbled. This is the third time I have failed at it this week

Oh well, mañana and all that ... !

G'night all!

Yes, thank goodness for French result . also fab news about your DD's tutoring SC. Not so fab re sleep foxes and mercury.

Re. beds and home bleugh . Not in a million years could I do beds in 10 mins and home bleugh in 1 hour. In fact, I don't even try. DH does home bleugh at some point at end of he week while I look after DC. Beds, I strip at some point in the morning around home bleugh day and remake before bedtime at some point.

Am done for the day, going to sit on the sofa and watch the last episode of Line of Duty . Not managed before bed routine very well but going to prioritise some me time .

Rosa, actually I know a couple of people who did similar re spa and said it was worth the wait. When I went for the first time the relaxation truly lasted for months afterwards so it is something to look forward to for sure.

Evening all

Mad busy birthday day for ds
Was lovely tho went to trampoline park and then to local woods for a barbecue. Both my ds's got utterly coated in mud from playing in the little stream that runs through the woods but I love watching them play like that.
Back to normal tomorrow hope you've all had lovely weekends xx

Rosa I think I might steal that idea too!! I plan to stop breastfeeding DS around a year old so not too long left for me...which is why I'm trying other ways to get him to settle at night. Despite the lullaby light show not helping at all he did have the best night's sleep in ages last night. He has just nodded off again so I'm going to try and snooze a bit more.

Hope zoo ok not seen her for a while

Good morning, lovely sunshine here. First nice sunny morning for a few days, really picks me up

Finally caught up on the thread properly, it's been busy here!

foxes so glad to hear you had a better night. My DD didn't sleep through until just after she turned 1 so hopefully you are nearly there!

sc sorry to hear you've been so poorly, it takes a while to fully get over things like that, go easy in yourself

Cag belated congrats on your 12 weeks scan! Great news! Hope you are feeling better soon

Waves to all the new joiners and everyone else

Well we had a pretty relaxed weekend, didn't get loads done but house is reasonably tidy and am getting laundry back under control. I need to go back to my daily wash routine, all the wet weather recently completely messed up my flow!

Ta das

1xwashing done
Bedding in washing machine
Cleaned out fridge
Bleached and soaked the shower screen seal
Swish and swipe bathroom
Tidied away breakfast things

To do

Put food shop away
Breakfast dishes
Finish ironing
Tidy up toys

Morning all.

Ta Da (I like this!)
Put all clean clothes away (DC did theirs when blackmailed with tv - must do this more)
Wash in
Dishwasher unloaded and breakfast cleared

To Do
Clear living room surfaces
Gather piles of outgrown clothes & shoes and actually take them to the recycling point this time
15 mins dusting upstairs
15 mins declutter utility

Thanks blue my dd was the same she slept through consistently from age 1 but she was a better sleeper overall than ds. He has been very up and down (mostly down!) . I don't mind getting up once a night but I don't want to be up and down constantly.

I'm just trying to get him to sleep in his cot now and it is not going well I wish I knew what to do for the best. He will sleep in the car, in his buggy and feeding but I really think he needs to start being able to go to sleep on his own. But maybe I'm expecting too much. And I do feel horrible for making him cry.

Ta da
Started daily routine

To do
Everything. Sigh.

Right. I'm drawing a line under my bad start to the day and starting again!

Ta da
Finished daily routine

To do
Strip beds
Ironing
25 minutes exercise
Declutter in kitchen
Deep clean hob

Ds is finally asleep but I gave up and fed him , feel bad for making him cry so much so have decided to revisit any form of sleep training in a month or two. It's too stressful all round!

Have heard from my mum that my grandad is still refusing to eat so the doctor is coming out today.

And dh is stressing because he has an exam coming up and feels unprepared so he'll be busy pretty much from now until then with work and revision. .

So all in all I think I'm going to take some deep breaths and relax as much as possible and try and keep on top of the flying as a messy house always adds to the stress. Phew. Sorry for the ramblings of late!

Morning all

Well after two nights only stiring for the dummy ds decided to need a full 8 oz feed at 1am

Ta Da

Pots washed
Highchair scrubbed
Bottles washed
Bottles sterilised
One load dry
One load washed
Hob wiped
Two worktops wiped
School run and all that stuff done
Recycling out
Two toilets bleached
Two bathrooms mopped

foxes . for all.

Ta da:-
Morning routine
Went for run
Just about to eat lunch

To do:-
Shower
Leave early for school run so can pop into shop
Plan tea for DDs
Hopefully declutter some papers

Hello everyone! Very impressed by all these lists!

for all of those experiencing broken nights

Quick waves (on lunch break - unusually - everyone is out except dh so having whole day in office today like normal people!)

Hope you are ok Zoo and that you have been able to see the doctor today Cag

Mermaids Apologies, I forgot to leave out some post-party for you last night! So glad your ds had a good time! and you survived! Nothing better than small boys, streams and mud!

Foxes sorry you are going through such a stressful time on all fronts The sleeping on their own transition is such a tricky one and I remember it well! (Only one child so probably talking through my nether end - you already know better than me what to do so pls feel free to ignore.) Remember though dd demonstrably needing sleep but resisting it and the paediatrician saying they can get in to a vicious cycle of running on adrenalin and then being even more grouchy and sleep resistant as a result. When it got to the point where I judged dd needed sleep over bodily contact (took a while!) I did let her cry for a little while on his advice but never for longer than about 4 or 5 mins (by which time she was usually asleep) but each minute seemed like an hour and I remember it being incredibly stressful and sitting on the stairs with my hands over my ears while dh paced about on the landing in the dark and us both willing her to sleep! Hold on to the fact that in 12 years or so you won't be able to get them out of bed!! One day at a time and all of that ... !

Thanks BluePheasant feel like a different person today and I am with you on having to get the laundry sequence back in to its proper "flow"... !

Impressive list there despite such broken sleep Afreshstart

Good luck with the paper decluttering Toostressy and for moving in May!

Clawhammer nowt like a bit of blackmail to get things done

Big waves to Cotswold Mercury Rosa Bin85 Honu Mumontherun and everyone else I have missed (apologies cannot scroll down any more!)

Must get back to it ... Have a good afternoon fledglings!

Sorry, missed out Whoknows Socialanxietyru Dudsville and Zoflorabore

Purpledaisies meant to say, hope hedgehog was consumed and appreciated!

foxes I feel your pain dd2 is 1 this month and we're still up 2-3 times a night and she's in our bed from 1st wake up. I used to worry about getting her to sleep in her cot, night weaning , sleep training etc but I've just come to the conclusion that she won't be in our bed when she's a teenager so I'm just riding with and seeing what happens. Me and oh have chatted about it endlessly, and said we'll carry on then readdress it when she's 2. They've got so much going on, teething, learning to crawl, talk, walk, eat, all the world around them is changing all the time, so although it's hard, the spa night away is keeping me going - and

Glad you had a good weekend claw

Ta da
Morning routine
Beds stripped, washed & on the line
While house dust
Whole house hoovered
Mirrors done

To do
Mop floors
Paperwork
Make tea
Remake beds
15 mins putting clothes away
30 mins ironing

Maybe depending on time (have ds friend over for tea then taking them both to their swimming lessons) if I don't get them done, it'll be on tomorrow's list :
Clean kitchen window
Clean stove

Thanks everyone your kind words have made me feel much better, I feel less like I'm the only person with a non sleeping baby! I am going to relax about it. He is definitely trying to crawl and pull himself up, he has teeth coming through, he has just learnt to wave and clap so I think he has enough going on without me adding to it all right now!

Everybody's lists are giving me the guilt! I really need to crack on...

Ta das
Stripped beds
Decorated gingerbread men

Have just got back from toddler group so am going to have a cup of tea while ds snoozing in his car seat and then do something else from my list.

Hi I am new to this flylady but have heard about it loads do you have to pay a subscription for flylady

My tadas
Tidied beds, cleared clutter upstairs, quick clean of bathroom and toilet
Put a load of washing on
Cleaned kitchen thoroughly including the kitchen doors
Cleaned the laundry room
Cleaned the lounge
WC
Understairs cupboard
Porch

With two boys under 20 months

Going to make dinner in a bit

And swept floors downstairs and emptied bathroom bin