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!

Sticky Mosaic range was always popular here - there's a range but some come in at around 8 quid/9.99 (but perhaps for younger dc, I know dd was obsessed with the horse ones for years)

Brainbox range are good and come in at £9.25

Galt Horrible Science/Horrible Histories jigsaws (for 8+) roughly
£ 9.99

Galt Beady Knitting £9.99 7-12 yrs (they also have first sewing/knitting kits which are good) I like Galt toys!

Gah, don't think painters are turning up so I have had a bit of a wasted morning. Had better go and try and salvage it.

No idea Afresh only had to buy for boys. Although depending on the child lego set/book token ideas might still be worth considering.

SC that is a list that is needed here with 3 adults and ds. You are not alone Afresh do not apologise for ranting. We know, we understand, you summarised it perfectly!

Motivation is lacking. I have been watching the news. Must get on and do rather than get sucked into the reporting which is easy to do with these sorts of things.

Einstein my only dd is only 4 so ive not had to buy for a girl of this age before. I also dont know her at all which is not helpful! Will look into any ideas suggested though! I need a 'safe' option i think.

Awful news about london this morning.

Also Cag, hard to explain but you sometimes sort of need to use your other fingers to squish your fingertip so it is nice and rounded to take the sample from.

einstein I was just thinking the exact same thing, have been reading the news online and getting sucked into the live feed and the MN thread on the subject. This is the problem with 24 hour rolling news.

I think (I hope!) you're all right about the cold last night and maybe that is why ds woke up again, it is very cold in his bedroom anyway and he did have cold cheeks and hands. I think we'll try his thicker sleeping bag tonight and see if that helps. Just when I thought he might actually reliably be sleeping through the night!

Ta das
Dishwasher emptied / loaded
Washing hung up
Toys put away downstairs
Been to the bottle bank / recycled a load of junk mail
Clothes to charity shop that were cluttering spare room

to do
DS jabs this afternoon!!!

Oh no, I managed to miss the news this morning
Used to live nearby. How bloody awful

Thank you yes the nurse showed us that too :( I think my circulation to my hands is pretty shit really.

Got it first time for my after breakfast reading - on the pad though so not ideal really

Awful news from London :(

Just waiting for my whooping cough jab. Blah.

There is gonna be absolutely zero flying today

foxes our ds been sleeping in thickest sleeping bag or thinner one plus blanket. Ive also got heating set to come on if gets too cold.

Ta da

Dryer empty
Wet washing in dryer / on rads
Washer on
Remainder of tea pots washed
Breakfast pots washed
All bottles scrubbed
First lot bottles in steriliser
All washing brought down to utility room
Living room toys tidied

Afreshstart re: our white boards - totally depressing that (with a few exceptions) blokes "have to be told" isn't it?

If you need to play safe with gift then I would go for crafty present as many girls of that age learn needle skills around then but you don't want anything too complicated to start.

White boards is REALLY fucking depressing

Ta da

Dryer empty
Wet washing in dryer / on rads
Washer on
Remainder of tea pots washed
Breakfast pots washed
All bottles scrubbed
First lot bottles in steriliser
All washing brought down to utility room
Living room toys tidied
Lunch made for ds and me
Dryer empty and reloaded
Things to post sorted
Registered iceland card
Prc tidied away
Two worktops wiped down
White wash on

Ta da:
waited for painters who never showed or bothered to ring or bothered to answer my texts don't think I will be offering them the job somehow
animals
emptied dw
cleaned kitchen properly/mopped floor etc
ironed five school shirts, two school jumpers and skirts
cleaned cloakroom and lav
hoovered and dusted downstairs
Msnetted
hot white wash
restored oven to (nearly) former glory

Need to go out now but when I get back:
hoover stairs
tidy and clean bathroom
boudoir
haircut

Looks like you have put the place back to rights Afreshstart sorry you had to do it all though

I half considered washing the kitchen floor yesterday. Bloody glad I didn't as I am in the middle of that batch of jam I have been procrastinating on. Floor is a sticky nightmare. Fruit should have been dealt with at the beginning of the week, there has been more wastage as it wasn't.

ta da
prep 6lb of fruit
boil down fruit
shove through sieve - jam on hold until after tea
Put rice pudding in oven to cook for ds' tea - we are having a milk version which has to be cooked later
load and put on to run dishwasher
load washing machine - it is waiting for me to bring down a few items and press go. I have I remembered yet? Have I heck
half put a basket of clean washing away
spend 30mins on my room

Lunch has been eaten and I am off into the craft space.

Oh and the 6lb was of usable fruit not the fruit amount I started with, that was probably at least twice that if not 2 thirds more

I hate it when food is wasted through my own procrastination! The guilt 😱😳

Please can I pick your brains re melatonin. Paediatrician phoned to review, she's writing to GP to put it on repeat but also said about taking a break now and then. She suggested school holidays (which does make sense despite HE as they have less clubs etc) BUT I am super worried about the anxiety creeping back in as that's what happens when she takes too long falling asleep. How long do you break for?

DH and DD have gone off to Tesco for picnic food and dinner tonight including lots of low carb kinda stuff. I am trying to write down ideas as we will do a proper shop on Tuesday and I'll properly stock up then with a decent plan (all clubs are back on by then too so need to be organised) and try and stick to it

I am shattered and super hormonal and would rather be asleep but DS asked to stay home with me. Have to say it was really nice spending time with just him yesterday. He's so chatty and inquisitive! 💕

Cag I find it hard to switch off at bedtime despite being very tired and I use a radio with a sleep function - I go to sleep with a recording of Woman's Hour which switches off after an hour and I never get to hear the end of the program. Listening to the program stops my mind racing about and then I can sleep. Would a story tape or something like that work for DD?

We break between 1 and 6 weeks. The effects of the break I find is most noticeable after around 3-4ish weeks. We do a long break in the summer and 1-2wk break at christmas and easter. And the main reason for the long break in the summer is ds refuses to take it and it is not worth the effort fighting him when him being awake longer in the summer doesn't really matter. He also has odd day breaks when I forget to put in for his prescription in time, we try to time those for the weekend or nights when we know he will be up later than normal anyway. And sometimes he takes a break at half term but that is usually because I forget to send enough with him when he goes away

Thank you Einstein I have wondered what would happen one day if we just 'forgot' to take it. We are certainly in a better routine thanks to the reduced anxiety but who knows!

Honu thank you :) she has an audiobook every night but it's more habit now than anything. It's one of the many things we have tried like radio, white noise etc - basically we have tried all the things they recommended and more, but nothing ever worked for more than a couple of weeks really, as it stops being a distracting novelty. The only reason they let us have the melatonin is because we have tried so much already :(

Personally I would give it a good couple of months to break the link between anxiety and bedtime, before you 'forget'. October half term is plenty soon enough for a break. Just remember atm you still have to break association behaviour and habit - iyswim. Personally I would probably let it ride to Christmas and then start the pattern of breaks, but you will have to take into account the advice from your medical professionals.

Damm it is cold! temperature is really starting to drop around 5pm atm, well that or I am tired

Evening all
Ds looked like crap after school.now asleep curled up head in my lap😞
sc just read thread and without pausing i read your tadas as animals empty dishwasher😂(if only)
Need fix girls some tea.church choir back tonight.probably a simple can of something and toast.ds has had a small banana milkshake and a slice of ham when he got in.he didnt eat a his lunch(not big to start with so a marmite sandwuch and a cucumber stick after no breakfast...i am start to worry)dp around for a couple of days so if he deteriorate fast we could go ooh....

Dp n i pick up couple cheap storage items at wilko which ive built for under ds bed.few errands then we sat read paper after lunch and before gettting kids

Sympathys to other flyers who rest households take for granted to skivvy.we should strike for better conditions.could you imagine all women dud that?be men in scruffy wrinkly shirts.kids with packets ketchup and pickled onions for lunch.takeout profits quadruple!!!!

Could you imagine the clear up we'd be stuck with to clean up afterwards? God it'd be horrid

Still :o

cag that is most definately me!!

My word what a week

First week at new job has been amazing. My boss can't look after us enough I keep thinking what's the catch! To go from having the staff kettle taken away as a punishment if someone left cups in the sink to my new boss specifically making us a staff room with a flatscreen tv in and he got me flowers for having such a good first week! How amazing is that

Flying will all have to be done tomorrow I've earned my weekend lol

Aww mermaids! That sounds awesome :o