Flying high in July (or trying to!) - the FlyLady thread

[TooStressyForMyOwnGood]

A warm (or cooling with our current weather) welcome to the July Flylady thread. This is a lovely friendly thread where we loosely follow the Flylady system (see the Flylady website ) in the hope of having organised homes and lives.

Every day the thread leader (me this month) posts links and missions from the Flylady site and also some friendly (!) personal comments. This is quite a ‘talky’ thread but we try our hardest not to be cliquey and new members are very welcome! I will do my best to keep track of everybody .

Please note that Flylady is (understandably) keen for people to click on her site so please do have a look around the site and the links. On the website there is information for beginners. You can also sign up to the Flylady emails but we would advise caution as there are hundreds of them.

We post our achievements (ta das) and our to do lists and any other general chatter about life / flying.

Information on getting started: www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/

The launch pad is also a good starting place:www.flylady.net/c/lp.php

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

Be kind to yourselves, jump in where you are and be careful not to crash and burn!

The first day of the month is Sunday. Since it’s a weekend there is no official mission or zone work, unless you want to of course.

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Here is the daily summary for Sunday (also available on the Flylady website at flight plan which should update automatically each day).

I assume we are going into zone 1 next week which is the entrance area. However this week we have been in the living room. The Flylady website can take a few days to update the zones when the month changes so I will have a good look at it tomorrow and Monday to see where we are.

The link to the current zone and missions is [[http://www.flylady.net/c/sp.php#missions here].

Re. zones, do what works for you. I don’t always stick to the zones myself and do what works best at the time, with varying degrees of success!

Spend 15 mins decluttering, or whatever you can manage, in Zone 5/ zone 1.

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

daily focus

missions for the week

Flykids mission

Once I figure out July’s habit I will let you know what it is!

beginner babysteps.

Happy flying everyone.
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Cassandra Ha ha ha ha. I have been crafting It meet the renew your spirit aspect of flying for today

Morning all,

Well, we have been away for a few days, now we're back, DH and DD are out and DS and I are mooching about not sure what to do. I really ought to tackle the dreaded meal planning we were talking about a few days ago. I used to love cooking, I have subscribed to BBC Good Food for over 20 years, have files full of recipes and shelves full of books and yet struggle massively because of the varying tastes of the family. There are only three meals which everyone will eat without some sort of modification (pizza, meatballs and enchiladas). This has destroyed my love of cooking almost completely. DS hates potatoes, plain meat, plain veg, sausages, white fish, eggs (probably many more too) but likes curries, stir fries, noodles, couscous etc. DD likes all the things I listed that DS doesn't, but does not like curries, stir fries, noodles etc, her favourite meal is roast dinner which DS hates. Both DCs like pasta but in very limited guises (DH either plain or with tomato sauce, DD either plain or with cheese sauce). Neither of them is keen on rice but will pick at it. It totally does my head in. So I'm procrastinating on the computer instead of trying to work out the shopping.

whoknows I can see why it's soul destroying cooking for your brood

I've doesnt mean can't strangle him on re entry of the house

Tada
4loads wash done,D's beddings near dry(couple mins left)
Been shop 3x as I couldn't carry it or get what needed in one or two hits.dd2 helped,lil zoo sat with D's and started the arduous attempt dematt his very long not been combed for 11 days hair(bless her by time we had finish the shop she had turned the crows nest back into hair)
Strip D's and with dd2 help lift into bath.she then support his body weight whilst I wash him and his hair.he was cry he felt sick n room span but he was super brave
She help he get him out and we drag him to a towel on his floor and dry him put on fresh pants and vest.blow dry ends his hair(thought the "wind" on head might make dizzy worse?)he's now sit there look very grey
I need scrub bath,it's grim and we will all need it later
Lunch first(wraps with salad hummus/tuna)
He has lost soo much weight-effectively not eaten more couple cracker a day 11days he's like a mini skeleton.i lift him onto scales,he's drop almost 1 1/2 centiles and at 12 he weighs over half stone less than lil zoo,who is borderline underweight due to current tummytroubles.i am aborn feeder.im worried sick
I just need get him eat and start feed him up,he's so fragile looking

So proud of my girls rallying to help me
"There's no I in team "d" p ".....

Thanks Zoo. Glad you managed the bath, it all sounds very hard for you and DS at the moment but hopefully things are moving in the right direction.

Gave up meal planning and have gone to the park with DS, we are sitting in the shade by a stream watching ducklings and it is rather nice.

That does sound like a total food headache for you Whoknows no wonder you are feeling so demoralised about it.

Could you instigate family meeting - say current state of affairs is not fair on you the chef (what does everyone suggest we do about it bearing in mind dh and I are not going to accept everyone eating different things?)
and during the holidays we are (a) going to work together to improve things (b) each take a turn choosing and cooking with people making compromises (c) going to cook together (or combo of all three) so that by end of hols you have a few more dishes to work with? Totally pita in reality I know to have to summon up the energy to do it and chivvy everyone along. Dh has to set example and demonstrate eating pasta for example in a way he doesn't particularly like, maybe??

Sorry if you have tried all this before a d I am talking through my hat!

Can really recommend Children's Quick &Easy Cook Book by Angela Wilkes abd/or The Children's Step By Step Cook Book by Angela Wilkes both published by Dorling Kindersley. They contain a really good selection of recipes which are laid out very invitingly for DC, some quite plain, others quite sophistication but with really good proper but simple cooking techniques. Might be a good starting point to get the DC to choose a recipe they want to cook each night?

If none of the above do-able, then have a large

Mahoosive x post there Whoknows duckling watching sounds like a great alternative to meal planning!

Well done to the girls for rallying to help you Zoo

It tends to be cyclical SC. The DCs do look through recipes with me, DS regularly does the shopping with me and they do both pop to the supermarket on their own and do some cooking. However you can more or less guarantee that the meals one DC chooses won't be liked by the other. Also in term time we often only have half an hour or so between coming in from school/work and out again to sports/dance/Guides etc so even without the fussiness its hard work. So we end up falling back on everyone just grabbing a sandwich etc rather too often, or fresh stuffed pasta or similar which is very quick and easy. We do have a breakthrough every now and then, so we keep trying but it is a slog.

Oh well if they are that hands on (which is great!) then I would capitalise on that and throw the problem over to them a bit more!p?? Maybe ask them during the hols to come up with five (or ten if you are feeling ambitious!) recipes they will both enjoy ?? Maybe??

Good luck with it all anyway!

Hello all, my parents have gone and the visit was actually ok. Only small amounts of criticism given! Just need to get tidying now but DD2 is making mess faster than I can tidy!

Hoping to get away with snack tea later as we went out for a cooked breakfast and also had a fairly good lunch.

I doubt they'd find 5 they'd both like, let alone 10, but I do intend to keep pushing them along on this, the habit of grabbing a sandwich if you don't fancy what's on offer is starting to take hold a bit too much, not helped by the fact that we often have to eat separately due to work/hobby commitments. That aspect gets easier over the holidays when we don't have Scouts, Guides etc.

This heat is really not conducive to Flying. So much needs doing and I just CBA till it cools diwn later.

Hot here too
Zoolet's fed and watered
Bath scrubbed
Read to ds
Another load washing
Realised uniforms hadn't been done.gah!!currently on spin cycle

I need wash lil zoo hair after she's bathed and have bath myself/wash hair
Dd2 sunburn from Thurs sportday still bad.go try plain yogurt as aftersun helping but not soothing

Very hot here too.

Just given DDs an early shower in the hope they then sit and watch a film / play a game as it has been a full on weekend.

Friends came over after my parents left and DH and I are shattered. Need to tidy things up but really just want to sit down.

Totally agree Wh0Kn0ws, the heat really does not inspire motivation.

Cassandra, I have thought many times about reading Marie Kondo but it just seems a bit batshit!! Have you had success with it?

Waves to SC, Hills, Ive, zoo and everyone else.

Going to go and do something now.

Kondo is worth a read imo. I have never been able to implement it in full (it's not really suited for family life with kids I think) but it genuinely did change my mindset which has helped me immensely. Plus it's charmingly bonkers and is a very easy quick read so it's not something you'd lose time for.

Oh who I completely and totally GET YOU. Similar situation here with opposing likes, and the pressure of time due to busy evening schedules. Coeliac also a factor when DH is home. The joy of cooking has completely fucked off. Just glad the baby currently eats literally everything. For now.

SC I love your suggestions and definitely want to do something similar once we've settled in. DS especially has some sensory food issues but some is just frankly a pisstake and they both seem to think that "this isn't exactly what I want right now" is the same as "I hate this and you're evil for suggesting I eat it".

But they are aware that there will be new house rules when we move and I'd like to discuss food as part of that.

Sorry about the useless partners.

I didn't get online last night as my phone died and I didn't ask for the wifi password! Had a nice time but I was on the verge of a panic attack traveling there - had to really focus on breathing and not crying, I kept snapping at the kids, it was escalating in quite a scary way.

Then all manner of paranoia took over today, long story short that bullying problem from last year has affected me even more than I realised. I am exhausted.

Cag

Perhaps I should be pleased that I have pretty much always hated cooking so there is no joy to lose .

Interesting, I have discounted Kondo as it seems to be for people without children at home but it would be good to change my mindset definitely.

Have looked at some insurance quotes tonight so did achieve something. DDs’ bedtime in 5 mins.

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Here is the daily summary for Monday (also available on the Flylady website at flight plan which should update automatically each day).

We are in zone 3 this week which is the bathroom and one extra room.

Re. zones, do what works for you. I don’t always stick to the zones myself and do what works best at the time, with varying degrees of success!

Spend 15 mins decluttering, or whatever you can manage, in zone 3.

When you have finished decluttering, the detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 3
is here.

daily focus

missions for the week

Flykids mission

July’s habit is swish and swipe which is a quick daily clean of the bathroom.

beginner babysteps.

Happy flying everyone.
*

Ta da

Survived day
Murdered no one
Two loads washed and dried
All beds stripped and remade
Bins empty
All fed no one dead
Homework supervised
Dc all bathed and in bed

That's a seriously good list I've

I have failed today in this heat. Told myself I would rally later but "later" never came

Ty sc

My nose is bad with hayfever tonight. Just taken some of dc4s medicine as run out of my own!

Although we have a couple of allergies the dc arent overly fussy. Not wild on certain vegetables but my policy is you want the nice pudding you eat your veg, otherwise have some fruit

Love the list Ive. There is always tomorrow SC!

I have been thinking a lot about how to be tidier and not let the house descend into complete chaos over the summer holidays. Not sure I have come up with anything really.

Was thinking of starting a thread but think I will be told either ‘it’s easy’ or just to put things away as I go along which I really do try to do. Does anyone else often wonder why some people find it easy to tidy?!

Its the kids stressy Depends on the kid of kids you have. My dd is a nightmare for moving stuff. She picks things up and then dumps elsewhere. If its not screwed down she will bloody move it.

Sadly I think you are right Ive. Doesn’t help that I am like that too!

Whoknows I'm coming out in a cold sweat thinking about trying to cook when the DC will only eat the exact opposite to each other 😖

I'm just popping in quickly to say I think Marie Kondo is sweet but probably a bit crazy. I've only skimmed her book in the past but I do like her basic philosophy which is
If you don't love it or use it then ditch it

I know that it's not originally hers but I have found it's given me permission to get rid of stuff I've kept for the wrong reasons - guilt, nostalgia (not the good kind), fear ( of needing something in the future and not having it )

For 99p on Kindle (so not a physical book to add to the clutter!)

*for 99p it's worth it