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!

Gosh zoo what a day that was. Big hugs. Adorable about the lamp purchase though, how sweet is that!

Am out of bed and have sugar tested but having my usual morning strop about breakfast. Much as I like eggs etc it gets boring fast and I would much rather eat cereal! And I am so dizzy when I first get up anyway that cooking is difficult.

Ds has gone to school. I have warned the other person that the kitchen is closing in 20mins. And I am spending that 20mins getting up and collecting laundry. Then I need to finish the pile of stuff from the BRC on the lounge floor, the tray or random important tiny bits, the laundry, move the new glass light to a safe place, remove all the fragile ornament to a safe place, the wood rack to a different place, the rocking chair to a new location, put the table in its actual home, empty the bookcases, put ds' laundry away, wash more clothes, fold and iron and put them away etc... The. list. is. endless.

Aaah the old tray of random important tiny bits. I HATE those. Too many little decisions to make. That's always the point at which I give up decluttering.

ta da
✅brought some dirty laundry down (still not great at putting it in basket!) - will get Caglets to bring theirs down later
✅moisturised legs (severely neglected and really itchy)

Fucking outer glass doors fell off tumble dryer(and theres full load towels waiting to be dry)

< passes chocolate >

< tiptoes away >

Sorry to hear you had such an awful day yesterday Zoo (and it seems to be continuing today with td). That's crap re: the dietician and you must be very worried indeed about your friend . Can sympathise as have same situation (in a very minor way) with dd todsy re: as she is much better from flu but refusing to eat (and naturally stick thin) so not much to lose. Trying to get eggs, cheese, peanut butter in to her but she is off diary, and only feels like fruit, and dry toast. Anyway, hope your day gets better and hang in there! . So lovely about the lamp and very cheering to know that there are some lovely young blokes like that about!

Einstein re: rocking chair - always wanted one! Good luck with your long list!

Sorry you had a rough night Foxes . Hope your ds recovers soon.

Cag don't like the sound of dizziness - pls rest today - esp as you are going out tonight!

Encouraging wing flaps to everyone else!

(My list is so tedious I CBA to write!)

Tadas
Swore t.dryer as bits broke off.thought.f* it and stick outer doir bit back on minus outer glass/plastic.it whir.towels going round.there us no fire/smoke.looks like. princess zoo will have fluffy towels after all.shall not leave running whilst out and shall pick up airer with dp tom JUST in case...
Cleaned bath n sink
Wiped skirts.radiator n bath panel.wash floor
Empty bins
Wash up from breakfast n put away
Clear n wipe dining table
Sofa surf(no wonder dd2 screaming who stole her brush(es) found all four of hers down sofa...)

Ah it's ok sc dizziness is just a part of life here - I have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome which is not as exciting as it sounds but means I have to take things slowly in the mornings because I have to adjust to being upright. :)

Living room is an absolute tip but it's all books really. I have just sat on a big comfy cushion while everyone else brings me books and helps make decisions. So I am being careful I promise.

ta da
✅put a towel wash on
✅made healthy breakfast despite epic carb cravings
✅sorted out lots more books including loads which DH uncovered from under the Caglets' mattresses/bedframes!
✅taught DD how to write boobies on the calculator 😳😂

Glad you got it working Zoo be careful of flames though!

And yes I forgot that Cag - sorry, thought pregnancy related - go steady anyway!!

Lots of "interesting finds" down my sofas and incidentally Cag loads of books in and around the bed of dd and my side of double! Couldn't live in a house without books but sadly we have holes in walls not bookcases.

Just been washing footballs in basement sink believe it or not. (We live next door to boarding school.) Why I feel obliged to wash them before handing back I am not sure

SC you are insane. Just chuck them back!

Technical problem with the light, so many adventures and lots of broken glass

ta da
light has been moved back to the shop (it arrived broken)
breakable stuff has been moved to a safe location.
2 Boxes of sorted stuff have been found temporary homes as need to sort other places before that stuff can be homed
3 loads of washing has been done
calendar has been up dated
table has been cleaned and new felt pads added to legs

I am about to go hunt for a new hoover bag (in an area of building work) and hoover before moving stuff. Can you tell I am procrastinating on the BRC stuff?

sc bit like me rewashing clean hand me downs before pass them on so they smell nice...no logic but makes me feel better
(Idiot meaning me not you making this as clear as mud.stops digging deeper hole )
Tadas
Bit tidying in cupboard understairs
Gave kits lunch
Clean fridge

Dd2 back orthodontist tonught after the woke- up- with - snapped- block-brace-in-mouth- incident week n half ago.it means a new set.which i assume we will be having pay for(nhs treatment but they will say our fsult no doubt.not sure how sleeping snaps them but hey ho)
Shes full cold and with temper of a viper in an ants nest its making girls in her class cry pain in throats THAT bad.joy of joys...looking forward to that!
Dd1 may be poppiherin after work and to regale tales of her new house.a welcome distraction if it happens(had cancel twice now due ti various things...late virgin engineers etc)

sc ive learnt a day or two wont hurt eat whatever.its when they get tired/weak and arent picking up its time start fret.if your dd anything like ds usually decimate cupboards once on mend just not this time for us sadly that said still hard watch your skinny child not eating..this is why dd2 is rounded i think.my feeding nature

Zoo ha to hole digging! You never need worry on that score - I totally know what you meant . I always re-wash and iron all clothes before I hand them on to younger cousin too! Oh no to dd2 being ill as well and breaking her brace - that is all you need at the moment! Well done for not letting recent list of setbacks from stopping you Flying!

Einstein Oh yes I know I'm insane and normally would just chuck back - but fence too high (proper football field with spot lights and everything - no idea how so many balls get over) so have to return via posh front entrance on street and hand back in bag ifyswim and they were covered in mud and leaves.

------> wrt BRC!!

Einstein how disappointing about light! It's three steps forward, four steps back when you are DIYing/decorating isn't it?

Oh yes and forgot to say (sorry keep being interrupted by constant phone calls) Zoo totally totally the same here - once dd gets her appetite back she eats like a horse and has v healthy appetite - it's once she loses it that is the problem. Very hard to get her back on track. Made her more chicken noodle soup with bit of sweetcorn, sugar snap peas and chilli for lunch and she ate all of it so here's hoping. Just don't want her to return to school tomorrow too weak and wobby ifsywim.

Ok so we are finished!

Today we sorted 232 books!
Recycling 16
Charity 91
Storage for baby 7
Keeping 118

So they had over 400 books and are now keeping around 150 for themselves, plus about 60 for baby. I am very pleased with that! Still got loads of adult books to sort and admittedly I've put some Usborne stuff aside to store with the home ed supplies (things like language courses so more like lessons really) and there's no way that will be sorted for a while. But wow.

DD has become fixated on sorting out her Halloween costume, so I told her that she can do that once they have decluttered the (huge) dressing up drawers. CBA to supervise so they have emptied them onto our bed and are going through it by themselves. I couldn't give a flying fuck am not fussed what they throw away, but if they still have too much after I'll go through it with them again.

Need to put all their books away somehow before I go out tonight though. Hoping that all the non fiction at least will fit on the bookcase downstairs and then the fiction will have to go on DS' bed shelves - which will have to be rethought again when we put the bed in the skip.

I should really eat something, finding 3 square meals pretty tough some days so will aim for a decent snack

cag very impressed...and as dd wants to sort halloweem heres a 🎃just fir her

Ive ground to a halt.... been playing alphabetty and mning

sclooks promising if shes eaten her soup.hoping ds starts eat again tonight.hes had pe this morning(made him have ready brek rather thsn yogurt he wanted and inky ate 2tsp and a buttered finger roll but i was desperate get some carbs in for energy)hes Getting weak.constant worry

If have put balls in naice entrance i would be deffo washing.maybe polishing begore returning in swankiest carrier bag could muster😂

Eeeeek.just realised time

I've never been pregnant on Halloween so I'm hoping to find a close fitting orange t-shirt so I can turn my bump into a pumpkin :o

Am really impressed with the Caglets - they got rid of well over half of their dressing up stuff with no adult input at all!!!

Today ds has mainly cried and pooed so it's been a little on the stressful side!! Dd also being very whiny so will be escaping to cook dinner as soon as dh gets home!

Tadas
Decluttered some living room toys and books
Dusted cobwebs living room
Daily routine
Booked flu nasal spray for dd
Sorted out a work query
Bought more milk
Dropped friends birthday present off
Sorted some hen do stuff
Went to library

To do
Swish and swipe bathroom
Cook dinner (sweet potato and chickpea tagine - probably not the best day for it as kids will probably moan!!)

< dodges SC's pointy stick >

Hoover was broken so that required a trip to get fixed. OMG is it working so much better now Amazing what replacing 1 seal will do!!!!

There is a tapping noise up here that is starting to really annoy me. Which is good because it means I will disappear back downstair to the pile of doom...

In the meantime I have cleared a space for a book case to be moved and actually moved the book case into it. Also moved various pieces of furniture around in prep for more building work and painting. Also cleared a loaded of recorded buffy's and various other stuff off the box and told ds he can skip his room and stay out longer if he likes ergo giving me space to get stuff done and I cba to supervise the bedroom nonsense

zoo when I was just out of hospital with a bowel disorder, I had to live on those fortisips - GP prescribed me tons of them so they were free. I could never have afforded them otherwise.Hopefully they can do that for you.

We had an excellent day out, other than a couple meltdowns from ds1. An unexpected tube change due to a fault sent him into orbit. He stood on the platform with me, sobbing and shrieking, while ds2 patted him on the back, while we waited for the next one to arrive. Then another meltdown on the tube on the way home as it was massively crowded and his joints were aching and we couldn't sit down. Third (and hopefully final for the day) meltdown before dinner - I think just an overload of stress as it's the first time since July that we've been back to that particular home ed group and it's a long day when we go there.

Boy, I need a drink.

Ginger have you seen these? They are free from Transport for London, you can apply for them online, no forms/proof etc required. No guarantee people will offer seats of course but might be worth having just in case

No. Technically we could ask people to allow them to sit in the seats for those that are disabled, however, if the person refused, I'd be dealing with a massive meltdown from the boys, so it's easier just to coax them along and deal with it until a seat opens up.

Good evening everyone.

GingerIvy Cheers! . Tube melt-downs sound tough going but well done to you and your ds1 for battling through and to ds2 for being so helpful, and glad to hear day out was success overall. (I'm with your ds2 re: tube travel btw !)

Einstein well done re: hoover repair, book-case removals and Buffy decluttering!

Your day sounds really stressful Foxes I hope your ds is on better form tonight/tomorrow poor lad. Your tangine sounds delicious btw and pat yourself on the back re: such a mahoosively respectable list achieved despite unsettled dc!

Cag absolutely love the orange bump/pumpkin idea !! Do not like the sound of you moving books but mahoosive congrats on the amazing amount of book decluttering achieved Those are some seriously impressive stats!! And well done to Caglets for their costume decluttering too! Hope you are having a much-deserved, lovely relaxing evening out!

Zoo Hope your ds manages to eat something sustaining this eve.
Persuaded dd to eat some gammon, carrots, pots and leeks at supper so feeling a bit better about her returning to school tomorrow.
Stopped short at ball polishing but no-one ever answers door so have to go around there three more times tomorrow no doubt!

Humungous wing flaps to everyone else!

Feel as though I have failed (again) rather today. Spent quality time with rabbit (only truly possible when furry1 absent) building her a nice new set of cardboard tunnels ... and giving her room a huge clean and re-organised it for winter, which took a solid 2 hrs as I power washed entire floor while she was out grazing.

Should have then followed that up with boudoir declutter but spent some quality time with dd instead testing her on lang hwk presentation, giggling over English hwk and watching re-runs of

W1 A together

Did do 2 x more laundry though and hung up to dry.

Also wasted energy being with dh who, despite being in the States, manages to send instructions to everyone else about days ahead, instructions which involve me, doesn't consult me in advance, then completely forgets he forgot to tell me what he has told others .

About to write list of all the things I have to do in preparation for mahoosive weekend ahead. Thurs and Fri will be spent food shopping, cooking and prepping linen and towels. Today was last opportunity to sort boudoir and I bogged it .

Heigh ho. Tomorrow is another day and all of that! Links coming up!