Fledglings Fly back to school & work, September 2017, decluttering along the way ...

[Sandycarrots]

Hello, it's time to brush the sand off our feet, empty out the suitcases, sharpen our pencils, polish our lace-up shoes, and get stuck in to the September 2017 fledgling Fly thread!

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.

Fly stands for Finally Loving Yourself (cheesy but there is merit to it). The general idea is that short bursts of tidying / organisation are more achievable than marathon efforts. Flylady advises 15 minute bursts of effort but you can tweak this to fit your own circumstances.

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!

More info available here, here and here.

Your choice whether or not you sign up to the Flylady e-mails, but we advise caution as there are lots of them!

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!

Just quuck sticking head into the thread moment before i nod off
Ds first day was ok.sat by self at lunch poor thing it was just year 7yest.with full school intoday he was terrified(scared of crowds and having negotiate moving thru ut to classes terrified bejesus out poor thing
Dd2 snarling tonight after be told moving up math sets has been moved down...emailed tutor and hes passed my concerns to math dept head
Lil zoo doesnt like her teachrr.hoping we get the olacement available at another school soon.....ds still fearful walk aline or with girls from fruends round cirner attending same school so been manic in mornings
Dp off today and tom so try hhave some time together
Lots shop done today as had car
Dd2 chip braces taking them out at breakfast and are now painful so orthodintist 930 tom.
Must get some sleep if get chance be back tom or if nit be flying friday
Ttfn

Good evening everyone

Sorry to hear things are tough going right now Mumofazoo. I hope you can access some support and that the meeting proves to be constructive on Friday

A bit similar to Newchick as spent most of the day doing office work + cooked lunch (school half day) and dinner and cleared up and no other Flying achieved at all other than a quick spin of the wm.

Newchick I always struggling with decluttering sentimental items such as hand made cards but I have too many of them now so need to get a grip!

Not surprised you are exhausted Cag Bravissimo bra fitting is worth it but a gruelling experience ime Thank heavens there are some decent people about and your ma got her bag back! I hope the contents were still there too!

Soothing camomile tea to Foxes and Einstein

Expansive wing flaps to Toostressy and to everyone else!

Proper links this time to follow!

x posts

Oh there you are Zoo - I was wondering what you were getting up to!
Sorry to hear Zoolets finding their first few days back at school so stressful. Your poor ds; it's such a big change going up to secondary school. Hope you can sort out maths issue for dd2 too.

Sending positive thoughts to all mini-Fledglings experiencing their first few days of the new term!

Right, hopefully these are the correct links this time:

The summary for Thurs 7th September 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. 7 for Thurs 7th is here. Lay out your clothes for the next day, the evening before! Highly recommended for hassle-free mornings!

We are in Zone 2 this week: The Kitchen.

Spend 15 mins decluttering the current zone.

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

Thursday's mission is: here. Declutter cling-film, foil and/or the drawer or shelf that contains it.

The daily focus for Thursday is running errands. Doc & dentist appts, school shopping, groceries etc. It can be quite helpful and a more efficient use of time, when possible, to confine appts and major errands to the one day of the week that suits you best!

The monthly habit for September: www.flylady.net/d/br/2017/09/01/september-habit-1-new-habit-before-bed-routine/.

Flykid's challenge: www.flylady.net/c/flykids.php?tzm=-120 which (hopefully!) updates itself!.

Daily reminders www.flylady.net/d/launch-pad/wednesdays-reminders/ (which should also update automatically)!

“We do what we can today and then we do a little more tomorrow” ~ FlyLady

Belated birthday wishes for your little cub Foxes and happy school days for all the new starters of whatever age

DD seems to be enjoying her new teacher but it's only been a couple of days Today didn't go according to plan at all but I did manage to drop off a repeat prescription request and possible dispose of some furniture (I've found someone who in interested). I did meet up twice with friends so that was an unexpected treat. Hasn't helped the condition of the house but hopefully with a clear day tomorrow I can crack on with the list.

Ah mum that sounds really tricky. Good idea to phone his psych, maybe some info/advice from them would be useful to take into the school meeting with you. Agree every child is different, HE is working for my two in different ways/to different extents I think. DS never wants to go to school again. DD would be happy in the right school I think, but it would have to be tiny and most definitely not mainstream. They are both 'level II' on the new classification of ASD but so very very different from each other. I really hope the chat and meeting help.

ta da
Caglets put clothes away
Supervised time on Prodigy
Maths/spellings (including DD doing an extra practice ready for test day tomorrow - this is unheard of! Yay!)
Packed bags for tomorrow - virtually unheard of! But back into HE activities with a jolt as 3 different clubs are starting back tomorrow . Normally trampolining and climbing alternate but not this term. Yikes. I'm feeling smug proud that we've prepped!
Tidied up packaging from food/stuff we bought today
Caglets put their clothes out for tomorrow. This is actually not a babystep I would generally follow - I am a throw anything on kinda person, DH too (unless needing work clothes, which is uniform anyway). Caglets are pretty good at getting themselves sorted with minimal input too so for us it's not generally worth the time to get it all out beforehand IYSWIM. But as tomorrow is such an early start, and trampolining has rules about what they can wear (no jeans, zips, buttons etc) it seems worth doing once a fortnight at least. They arranged their clothes on chairs to look like people complete with drinks and everything so much hilarity ensued. :o

Morning all. DS up at half 5 this morning, he is sleeping through from 7pm at the moment which is great but early starts...any one got any tips?! Just get up and get on with it i guess! Dd has never been an early riser she would always get up at 7 or later.

I hope I have a bit more energy today but I fear not with the early start...DD first full day at preschool today, I'll miss her!

cag love what your dc did with their clothes! we don't usually bother with that babystep either. I have to see what mood I'm in to decide what to wear and so does DD - she changes her mind several times on what to wear each day like her mother and when she has preschool she wears a preschool t shirt so easy peasy.

Good morning all [bleary eyed]

[brew

So bleary-eyed, I pressed post by mistake ...

Foxes! No tips I'm afraid but a strong and I hope your dd has a lovely first day at pre-school!

Well done on pre-empting today's baby-step Cag

Glad to hear you managed some "me" time with friends Cotswold!

I am up extra early today because I remembered at 3am that I had forgotten to cover one of dd's grammar books with that see-through sticky back plastic that sticks to everywhere but the book cover. Not helped by being woken in night once by dh snoring, twice by the dog barking in response to neighbours cat doing that wierd crying like a cat thing, third time by myself nipping to lav, fourth time by dh nipping to lav, fifth time by dd laughing in her sleep ... all in all, it wasn,'t very restful somehow

And to make matters worse, today is first day of yet another diet and dh has already made himself a bacon toastie and delicious smells are wafting all over the house. I will be strong. I must be strong. I must not succumb.

Have a good day one and all!

oh dear, I really need coffee, that was meant to read

"by the neighbour's cat doing that wierd crying like a baby thing"

[sigh]

foxes i generally faceplanting sofa dribbling by 9pm to get up every day with lil zoo(not helpful).she dont need supervision now shes near 10 but its always been our time as shes very quiet tends get "drowned out"by dd2....

I fell asleep at 4 yesterday and dd2 woke me at 7. Tea was a flustered manic affair as zoolets usually eat 6ish so lil zoo can go bed 7-730 as sge will be up early regardleas bedtime and i cant do meltdown from lack sleep before 7am.
Anyhoo.tada

Cats fed
Littertray
Wash on
Bleach lav
Wash liv room floor
An hour in cupboard understairs
(Tidying.not hiding)
Now for the morning routine of chop and lay out fruit etc for zoolets feed themselves and making pack ups
Ds off to school with my friends dd today(which he not pleased about as wants me still but has to hand in a letter to a teacher and doesnt know where to take it.as shes year above offered walk him in take her class and deposit him at his tutor base)
Dd2 hasorthodontist 930.suspect as braces chip we will gave stump up new set(sobs)
cag laying clothes out like that shows great style😁
little fox belated birthday wishes.how the time is flying
On that vibe dd1 moved into house her and boyfriend buying yesterday.i feel very very old(but very very proud)

sc have a caffeine iv for a bit...as i had damn bap i couldnt get to sleep and feel like a carpet thats been bashed and hoovered against the shag pile today(sighs).and while you are at it have huge pile virtual bacon sarnies...the thoughts here honey and these are calorie free(but not as satisfying)
Right i must wake the zombie dd2
Cheerywing flaps to all

Morning everyone,
Really did not want to get out of bed this morning. Thank you everyone for your lovely reassurance, you're a wonderful lot

Ta da
Kids up and fed
Dishwasher emptied

To do
Take youngest dd to school
Polish and dust
Vacuum downstairs
Laundry

Hope you all have a great day.

Morning all!

SC I got very confused there about the cat crying like a... cat :o

Still love how you clarified that your time in the cupboard was not just spent hiding in there :o

Forgot a ta da yesterday - managed some tidying yesterday when we thought mum would be coming here. DH did the top of the piano dust central and I finally put DS' birthday cards up, and we did a bit of a spruce up generally, Caglets cleared the landing of toys and sorted the shoe pile. I used our new paperwork file to clear up some letters etc (no particular system, it's just a concertina file but I figured at least it is tidy!).
Also in the evening I managed to get them clearing up after themselves properly (not just flinging shoes off anywhere etc) - it all helps I think.

Not happy about my lack of lie in. I should be sleeping late while DH takes the Caglets trampolining (I'd meet them later so DH could get to work). But I may as well go with them as I get more time with my friends that way anyway.

Partly my own fault as I had caffeine with lunch at 2.30pm . Been awake for ages so I'm already dressed as I was cold. I really wish I was productive in the mornings! But I'd wake others up anyway I suppose. DD is awake but reading. Really hope she lasts the day without too much grumpiness.

So today will be madness - trampolining, then rock climbing (with cheesy chips in between - started as a silly family tradition but more and more friends have joined in. A couple are even coming to meet us just for that. We have a kids table and an adults table, it's ace :o).

Then we need to kill some time in town - library to drop off a book I finally found , British Heart Foundation to look for fridges (might phone first though), and need to buy more socks for Caglets, boxers for DS (I realised he has some that have lasted 4 years and are now rather tatty ), vitamins for Caglets, nail polish remover and fabric conditioner.

Nobody stirring yet so I might order a few bits online that we need. Spendy spendy day. Again.

And after town we have to go to another town to go to their third club (Badgers - St. John Ambulance). Home late, pizza in oven I think.

Need to sort out an appointment this morning too as I've no idea where it is or if I should rearrange.

I have read the thread, I have no idea what I have read. Ds was an absolute pita last night and neither of us got to sleep before midnight. I am now so tired I could cry. So appologies for being non conversational the last few days and vats and vats of for those in need.

Einstein I'm with you with the being so tired you could cry I have been so snappy with the children this morning.

DS has already had his morning nap so we're going to attempt a toddler group after we drop dd off at nursery. I really need to get out of the house!

Ta das
Daily routine (that just autocorrected to daily maid...that would be nice!)
Shopping list written
Dd packed lunch made and bag packed
Mine and Ds bag packed for the day

To do
Renew library books
Everything else

Glad it's not just me tired and grumpy at the moment!

I've just polished off the last of ds birthday cake
DS is asleep and dd still at nursery so I have the perfect opportunity for some flying and what am I doing? Eating cake, drinking tea and wasting time on the internet...my excuse was that I wanted to use my steam cleaner but was worried the noise will wake ds up. I really do need to do SOMETHING today! We need to go the supermarket later but I can't even be bothered with that and I normally enjoy a good trip to the shops.

Ta das
Did some cleaning in the bathroom with my new steam cleaner! Sink has come up very shiny! Couldn't finish it all because DS was getting fed up waiting in his cot...too dangerous for him to be near me as it gets so hot and it's so noisy I can't do it when he's asleep!
Hoovered downstairs
Donated some stuff to the nursery school
Renewed library books
Ordered Ds and DD new shoes

To do
Supermarket - this is dependent on what kind of mood DD comes home in and whether she will be too tired and grumpy to go shopping!

Hello all. - sounds as if there are a few who need it.

Ta da:-
School coffee morning thing
Took recycling although annoyingly couldn't get rid of all of it as one recycling bank full
Bought new sheet for DD2's bed
Bought cat food
Prepped tea for DH and me later

In park with DDs atm but looking worryingly at the sky - looks like rain soon

To do:-
Get home
Tea
Evening routine

As expected DD is tired and grumpy!

Ta das
Steam cleaned hob and tiles in kitchen
Mopped downstairs floors

Bat shit crazy day 1 done
Still gotta do prep for bat shit crazy day 2 and deal with ds who is going to be a politician the amount he spins the truth

They say children smell fear and play on it, I am beginning to believe the same about tiredness.

Definitely getting your money's worth out of that steam cleaner foxes!

Sitting in wetherspoons while Caglets at Badgers. Mmmmm curry. And YAY wifi.

Just gotta survive another couple of hours until I can flop on the sofa. DD can put pizza in the oven to feed her and DS.

Been a really lovely day - loads of us met at the leisure centre for clubs etc - but I am knackered.

I agree einstein kids are annoyingly smart with that, they sense tiredness! For the first time in ages I am actually worrying about how DS is behaving at Badgers as he has been such hard work lately. Really hope he doesn't play up for the leaders, and that he's only been 'worse' due to lack of routine over summer.