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!

Morning.
I am not entirely certain why before 7am is existing on a sunday but apparently it is and I am about to leave the house and everything

Batshit crazy day which involves early start, late finish and lots of craziness and driving in the middle.

[SC stumbles in to thread and snaffles one of Einstein's sausages.]

Safe travelling Einstein!

Aw bless you Zoo you made it to haughty/recuperation corner before me! [Helps plump up cushions.]

Hope all of you who were feeling rotten yesterday are feeling a bit better today!

Can't say I am ( dd and I both have shivers - running hot and cold).

Toostressy hope dc contrite this morning and that you can watch a recording of Strictly in splendid isolation today with a nice cup of coffee and a piece of . Here's a to set the scene!

Hope you are ok this morning Cag. Can really sympathise over absent dhs! Hope you can rest today. Take it steady!!

GingerIvy and Cag must sort flu jabs and start thinking about the 'C' word here too ... actually I don't feel up to thinking about the 'C' word today ... makes me feel too rabbit in headlights ... my turn to have 9 people to stay!!! [argh]

Gingerivy sorry flu jabs such an ordeal for your dss. I hope having a private appt will help to some degree. How did the cupboard decluttering go?

for *Cotswold] (hope you had a good time yesterday!)

Strong coffee for Afreshstart

Waves to Spudlet Foxes Honu Mermaids and anyone else I have missed!

I have to pack the little furry's suitcase now (not forgetting his stripey underpants ) and take him to the dog trainer's - he is staying there this week for some "special education", basically so he doesn't get shot by a farmer. DD and I are going to miss him [sniff].

I'm going to have to post tiny achievements as I go today I think. Yesterday's day of resting did me no favours it seems.

ta da
✅brought some hangers downstairs so I can hang epic pile of our clothes (Caglets did theirs a couple of days ago)
✅made myself a good breakfast (fried eggs bacon avocado tomato)
✅got Caglets to bring dirty clothes downstairs, will put wash on at some point
✅managed not to cry despite wonky hormones

ta da
✅talked a little with DH about plans for tomorrow, getting skip etc

Ta da

Dry washing sent to right rooms
Steriliser filled
Half pots washed
Wet washing on line / in dryer
Trainers washed and on line
More washing on
Cot stripped

Feeling better today thank god but still slow due to sleep deprivation backlog

Happy belated birthday cotswold

Hope everyone else starting to feel a bit better

ta da (sorry if this gets annoying)
✅put a wash on
✅put all our clothes on hangers and folded stuff (DH took upstairs)
✅washing up done by DH
✅kicked DS outside with friends so he doesn't laze like yesterday
✅discussed clothes storage with DH
✅sit on sofa with hot water bottles under knees (current position!)

Can anyone recommend some decent kids' hangers for trousers? We had some cute metal/coloured ones from wilko but they fall apart quite easily and are too stiff for the Caglets to use easily anyway. Will need lots once we've skipped their beds as all their day clothes will be hung up in our (huge) wardrobe instead of in their drawers

cag i often find posting it makes me feel ive achieved way more and i feel helos motivate me

Tadas
Fed kits
Littertray
Went bank get benefit oyt that hoes intoday.sodding nationwide got planned maintenance.so offline til 3(money goes in just after midnight which by then they had started.grrrr)no bread.no milk.no chuff all til 3 o fecking clock than mad dash as shops shut at 4
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrghhhhhhhh

Breakfast-dry cereal
Lunch- stray bags crisps
Tonight- massive eating orgy. .....

That's frustrating zoo :( you always do epic lists and achieve lots. How's DS today?

I've got nice warm knees and have been scribbling in my notebook (front is food diary/blood sugars, back is random lists about shopping/organisation etc). One thing writing the list, quite another actually acting on it though. So much stuff to get done.

I think one big thing is going to be gathering all the books and getting rid of shitloads in one fell swoop. Not sure I can even be bothered to try selling them TBH as time is just so pressing.

Also seriously need to sort out toddler toys - how long have I been saying that? 😳😳😳 I wanted to properly clean/sterilise it all before storing but I don't think we have time and I know I'd do it again before baby started playing with them anyway. So might just need to sort out boxes for them and shove them in. They can go in the attic along with Christmas stuff for now. Books are a much trickier thing, I hate getting rid of books!

No more achievements to add. Think I even messed up lunch and spilled couscous on the kitchen floor and am trying not to cry because I messed up something for DS and he's upset. Such an idiot. Need my bed, why is not bedtime yet?

ta da
✅made lunch (with various mishaps)
✅planned more and wrote lists
✅managed not to cry again
✅put another wash on (DS moved washing to dryer)

SC welllll, I took all the boxes out. I'm still going through them. But I did get rid of a few things so far, so feeling positive about it. A couple were half empty, so I may be able to get rid of some and combine for one box.

Ta da:
2 loads of laundry, plus one empty hot wash to clean out washer
kitchen cleaned
bread baked
general tidy
walk down to £land to pick up a few home ed supplies

Spent most of the day alternating between sorting through the boxes I took out of the cupboard and sorting through all the worksheets and such I have prepared for the next month or so. Of course, the dcs saw the worksheets, some of which have Halloween stuff on them, and they decided they wanted to do extra worksheets today so they could do some of the Halloween ones early - so now I have to do more for Halloween.

Thanks for my glitterball SC . May manage to watch it tonight on my own. Girls contrite this morning and very well behaved at a party but weren't the best when we risked going out for lunch. Have sadly come to the conclusion that they are just not being exhausted enough. They have loads of energy. So I have frogmarched them to a field and they are currently running around.

I love seeing loads of lists Cag I am nosy.

To do:-
Exhaust DDs
Snack tea (had late lunch out and they ate at the party before that)
Laundry
Bath and bedtime
15 minutes decluttering

Big wing flaps to all .

cag i am a book hoarder.broke my heart get rid overr300to school but we couldnt store yhem properly and werent in use...
Got town.manage get lift back.goid job as ds really in bad shape.almost swaying and panting😞hes laid quiet since got in.wish he was still at primary so i could risk wrath ed welfare n keep home tom.but secondarys different kettle of fish....
Tada
Shop done
Pick up bit food way back
Tea-/lunch-/eating orgy of salad wraps fruit and biscuits
Shop put away
Zoolrts hair washed.theyve showered
Lil zoo off bed.i am just exhausted but fear not tiredenough to sleep yet

Ps stressy i had quid for every trip to field park to wear zoolets out i could hire a cleaner
ginger at least they are eager to do the work even if adds to your load
Well done on todays tada

Good evening all.

Your girls certainly sound v energetic Toostressy. DD used to be very tired indeed after parties. Hope you are having a more relaxing evening tonight than yesterday anyway!

Well done re: cupboard boxes and home ed sorting GingerIvy!

Congrats on your tick list Cag (think you did well to achieve anything at all today tbh so pat yourself on the back!).

Glad to hear you are feeling a bit better today Afreshstart and well done on v respectable list achieved!

Mahoosive wing flaps to everyone else!

I achieved the bare minimum today:

Ta da:
animals
emptied dw
packed up furry's suitcase and delivered to trainer
Mass on way home (a bit late but never mind)
2 x loads laundry
ironed dd uniform
on-line shopping order
cooked roast chicken with trimmings
tidied up kitchen/filled dw
dining room table hot spots

No progress made decluttering despite having the time. Just felt tired and shivery. Bit depressed that I have achieved so little to date in Sept tbh but now that furry and dh are away for a bit, I hope I can be a bit more single-minded in what I focus on. Touch and go whether dd will be fit enough for school tomorrow though.

x post

So sorry to hear ds still not at all well Zoo. Wishing a restful night for you both.

Oh cripes - links for 25th - that means it's only 12 weeks until Christmas doesn't it? - aargghhh!

***

The summary for Mon 25th 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. 25 for Mon 25th is here. A bit of an iffy one about reading Flylady testimonials. Newcomers: it does also say that it took Flylady 7 months to establish her basic habits and do them consistently so don't give up if you miss a day or three!

We are in Zone 5 this week: The Living Room, Den, Family Room (September 24-30) here.

Spend 15 mins decluttering the current zone.

When you have finished decluttering, the detailed cleaning list for Zone 5 (if you are at that stage) is here.

Monday's mission is here. Spend 5 mins surveying the flat surfaces in your sitting room and get rid of any ornaments, papers, decorative objects that you don't really love or that don't serve a purpose. We are meant to have fun doing this too .

The daily focus for Monday is the dreaded home bleugh. Spend 10 mins on each of seven essential tasks (but we think it takes longer so there!) .

The monthly habit for September is the before-bed routine: here.

Flykid's challenge: here (hopefully continually renewing itself).

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

Bugger, I always intend to get much more done in September than I ever achieve in reality .

Hello all. zoo and SC, yes, they ran around for over an hour and a half in the field then scooted back home. Don't know where they get the energy. Both asleep now so it must have done some good . They are very rarely tired after school or parties or in fact, anything! Think I will have to keep looking for more ways for them to burn off energy.

On a different note I looked up Strictly live tickets. £50+ each for anywhere near here!!!!! Might have to think of an alternative show as DDs really want to go but that is a lot of money for kids.

SC, hope you and DD feel better soon and that your furry has a productive week away!

Ginger, that is lovely that your DC wanted to do the worksheets. I love Autumn and winter, Halloween etc.

To do:-
Cut DDs' nails
General tidy up
Some kind of snack tea for DH and me
Some sort of sorting of stuff for next week
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Thanks for links SC. I also always have high hopes for September and then it goes so quickly!

That's exactly it Toostressy always start out in Sept with renewed vigour - and somehow it gets taken over by outside commitments - I really must do better!

G'night all! Hope those of you who are ailing/or whose dc are ailing - have a good night's sleep and feel better in the morning!

Need a productive day tomorrow or else. DH is in agreement although he is much calmer than I am on the whole 'seven weeks till baby arrives' thing

Not entirely sure what to do as we never end up achieving much. Need a plan but also must include a few other things that need doing. I just can't see the wood for the trees and work out what would be the most effective thing to do

< gratefully face plants into the comfy corner set up by Zoo >

Long tiring day. Ds is back and ill with severe manflu a cold.
Productive day with many things to smile about and plenty I would do differently were I to do it again. But it was a good no flying kind of day.

Hot water bottle duty (3 to make) and a bed to clear before I am done. And I don't care what time it is, although apparently the calendar is throwing itself off the wall in some kind of pay attention and write things fit of hissy so much also fix that before sleep.