May our houses be uncluttered ...the Fledgling Fly thread.

[Shadycorner]

Welcome to the thread where we (loosely) follow the Flylady housekeeping system here to combat CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) with a load of wine, chat and mutual support along the way. Quite a few of us have been on here for a while, so for that reason, we may seem cliquey, but we really aren't, and all newcomers, lurkers, returnees, regulars, and intermittent regulars are very welcome!

Every day I will post a link to the activities for "Today" which summarises everything you need on a daily basis if you want to follow the system strictly, but we tend to adapt it to suit our individual circumstances, homes and energy-levels!

Please note that, athough Flylady is keen for us to check in to the website, we've recently had a few concerns wrt security, so although there is lots of useful info on the site, it's best not download it or put any of your personal details into the website for now.

More information on getting started available:
here (containing baby-steps!) but please don't hesitate to ask if you have any further qs.

There are 4 levels for Flying:
-Baby steps - good for starting a routine and overcoming the perfection crippling effect
-Baby steps and missions - basic routine + more in depth tasks
-Baby steps, missions, and deep cleaning (if you are at that stage).
You can't clean clutter so don't consider this one if you need the next level.
-Flying combined with a decluttering system (kondo/unfuck etc etc) let's be honest fly lady is good for routine but not so quick with the decluttering results sometimes.

There is NO wrong or right way of doing this, it is about adapting the system to suit your life circumstances, which will be different from someone else's, and don't be put off by the barftastically twee nature of the Flylady site, the underlying system is sound. Feel free to ignore any step or routine that doesn't suit you or your home! No perfectionism allowed!

And when it all gets too much: come and take a seat by the fire in our specially adapted "naughty" corner where you can enjoy virtual and and lots of support from fellow fledglings.

More info follows ( but again, please note we advise only looking at the pdfs and not downloading them ):

** launch pad (general info) here

** daily babysteps pdf (ignore the ones that don't suit you or your home) here

** week day missions (some fledglings find it easier to do them at weekends) here

** info about zones (explanation of how zones work) here

** weekly zones (a rough weekly guide to which area of the house we are tackling currently, again adapt to suit yourself) here

** daily focus (helpful guide to allocate a certain day for a certain task) here

** deep cleaning lists pdf (only attempt when you have decluttered as you can't clean clutter!) here

Good luck and happy Flying one and all!

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Also, a huge thank you to Toostressy for running such a lovely April thread

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Welcome Lou

I've pace yourself,better to be mud than muck yourself up over doing it

Cag that is sweetest thing ever with the grueling at socks 😍

Foxes take my hat off to you,I can't run 5minutes let alone 5k

FFS G.r.o.w.l.i.n.g socks...

I managed 30 seconds of running during my treadmill walk the other week and that was genuinely enough :o cross trainer I can do (although not very long compared to when I was younger) but running involves impact and with my epic weight that’s not fun :o

Anyway, I decided to go swimming and managed 375m. As I won’t be able to go for the next two days (home ed things involving travel) and I feel guilty!

Thanks all, I will finish it, I just need to get on with it , only three more runs after all.

We've been out most of the day so came home and did beans on toast for the dc and have done most of my daily routine stuff and stripped bed, changed towels but that will probably be all. I might do the bins while the dc are in the bath and dh said he'd run the hoover round. Other than that, I'm going to get the dc to bed and then watch LOD!!

cag I'm trying to banish guilt from my life at the moment. The amount of times I say the words "I feel guilty" - it's incredible!!

True! I need to focus on the positives more for sure :o

Hello! Placemarkimg here. I live in a very cluttered rented house but am in the process of buying and have aspirations of living in a minimalist heaven 😁

Welcome rodent, good luck with the house purchase process - it can be so stressful. I don't think I'll ever do minimalist, I'm just aiming for a place for everything and everything in its place!

Good news about the Royal baby, dad looked so excited and proud it was lovely to see.

Unfortunately all zones remain safe and unpunished today. I'm making threatening noises for tomorrow though

I have made a vague tribute to flying today in that I have mostly got ready for tomorrow. Made sure the Caglets have their tap shoes and their trampoline park socks, got baby’s clothes ready.

DH put up a whiteboard in the living room, the plan is to write the night before what work we are expecting to get done the next day. So I’ve put a few bits on there although we won’t have a vast amount of time before we get picked up for trampolining. Half the whiteboard was immediately commandeered by DS who drew the periodic table grid, and started putting some of the symbols in :o he does make me proud!

cag good luck with various adventures today!
Foxes I was told as a mum if you don't feel guilty you aren't doing it right!
I've hopes they don't pinch one of your names!!
Chic are you still feeling fierce with the chore list??

Lots panic cleaning occured yesterday as cooker is arriving today.not only do I need the kitchen prepared,but living room needs access to meter cupboard and fuse board as it's electric and they're fitting it.
The computer table lives in front meter cupboard and we really have too much furniture for the size of the room so will be a case of shift that to turn if electric,put sofa back.move dining table to make room get cooker in/out then shift it back and move sofa to get electric back on
Many things hidden behind sofa/in gaps have had to be moved...

To add to my panic text from DP last night tells me they're delivering between 7-10 am
7am

Got a call at 6.10 from DP.theyve rang and are delivering at 7am...

Panic stashing under D's freshly cleared out midi sleeper!
Rubbish bins emptied
Lunches made
Breakfasts made
Woken zoolets frantically

Who delivers and INSTALLS a cooker at 7am???

Good morning all

🌼 launch pad here containing today's flight plan NB best just to look at, at not download.

Have a productive planning day!

A very warm welcome to Rodentattack!

Whoo hoo, exciting about cooker Zoo!

Whiteboard planning sounds excellent Cag.

Chic/Rodent my style is the opposite of minimilist sadly but one can live in hope!

Foxes you are not a fellow Catholic by any chance are you? . Good luck with the running!

I've it'll be ok as long as you don't go for Ptolemy, Ethelred or Algernon

Cherry waves to everyone else 🍒

I think men who like cooked breakfasts install cookers at 7am.

The cooker has entered the building
Now busy stinking out the kitchen burning off manufacturing oil etc
They've left
After shifting table to get it in he declined me to move sofa to check fuse box saying it's fine

I can now menu plan and will,of course,be expected to offer baked goods again!!

sc nope I'm not and zoo yep it does seem to be a predominantly mum thing doesn't it?! I definitely didn't feel guilty about stuff before I had kids. I'm sure I didn't!

Fab news about your oven zoo!

Ds has cracked potty training! Can't believe how quick and easy it was. The only thing is we haven't managed to get him to poo on the toilet yet but I know that can take longer. We actually went out this morning with no nappy and all was fine! Only thing is he fell asleep on the way home so I've put him on top of thick towels just in case as I don't think he has any control over his bladder when he's asleep just yet. Everyone told me boys are much harder but dd was definitely harder. I think I was just more stressed out by it last time. Loads of my friends were going through it at the same time last time and it felt a bit competitive at times

Just had my lunch in peace and now I'm going to do the meal planning and food shop as that's a nice quiet activity while ds sleeps.

And no guilt so far today so I'm doing well! I'm trying to be positive.

How's everyone else getting on today?

Yay for a cooker zoo, I love reading about your cooking even if it makes me hungry

Still avoiding the ironing binge, need to fire up YouTube or similar and get it done before DH is away again. Just had my hair cut (and beautifully blow dried wavy) this morning so the steam will kill that but DD has a couple of activities after school tonight so now is the time. I can do an hour or so before I pick her up.

Time to punish that ironing pile

After taking a look at the fly website I cleaned the kitchen sink (can't promise to do it everyday though ... hehehehe).

Did a huge clear-out of my daughter's bedroom last week (albeit in stressful circumstances, but it's done now). And a few days ago gave my son 3 bags: one for recycling, one for rubbish, and one for stuff for the charity shop. He got quite into it and wanted to stay up tidying instead of going to bed last night!

Moving house soon and I am soooooo wanting to maintain a clutter-free home. Planning to look into getting a cleaner to take the edge off it (I'm a single parent and work full time so I figure it's justifable!) and hopefully the knowledge that I am paying someone to clean will be a good motivation to clear away the clutter.

Bravo Rodentattack thats a great start and is why we love newcomers to the thread because they give us new impetus! Great that you are involving your DC in decluttering too! I have a cleaner and only work minimal part time hrs with one child, so you are more than justified!

Whey hey Zoo enjoy that baking!

And whey hey to lovely locks Chic! In my opinion all ironing piles should be punished severely just for existing; please don't hold back!

Foxes Yay to positivity and successful potty training! (Bravo Foxcub!). I am doing my best not to feel guilty today too. Other then usual routines, I have reverted to Tuesdays being total non-Flying days, because I was getting maudlin not doing anything creative/enjoyable.

Lisette

Currently locking horns with DD a bit because I have finally decluttered and cleared what is meant to be my sewing room. It's literally taken years! (And before that fought with dh who wanted to turn it in to another bathroom.). DD wants it for a study though (it's next to her bedroom). And her bedroom, although a good size, is in a very poor state in terms of decoration (holes in walls, unpainted plaster, now bit better than it was because she has had new lighting). Think I might let her have for the 2/3 years until she leaves for uni - but many DC here live at home then too! Arrgh! Feel a bit of a pang about it as I was so looking forward to getting all my sewing things from all over house in one place and being able to sew without stop/starting clearing the table. On the other hand, Dd's education (as I went to a crap school myself) is a big priority too. Arrgh! What is the fair thing to do?

Welcome Lou0390 rodentattack .

Ah yes the guilt thing . Whatever I do I feel guilty. I was never like this before I became a mum.

Woohoo for oven zoo .

The guilt thing ...it has to be conditioning I think... as (v generally speaking) I don't think men feel it in the same way do they?

If it's any consolation ToostressyI didn't when DD was young, but now I am (nearly) out the other side, I feel guilty as a (largely) sahm too. Not contributing financially, not being good role model for DD (teens don't tend to be very admiring of sahms and they definitely don't appreciate someone being there when they get in from school every day if that is all they have ever known!). Your girls will be very rightly proud of you and your career as hcp when they get older!

It definitely wasnt in my life plan to stay at home (I left job I really loved to move abroad to be with dh) but did it for all common sense reasons such as dh's constant travel, 19 wk school holidays a year inc Wed afternoons, negotiating schools in two langs not your own (requires a lot of parental support & input), needing x 3 fluent langs to work behind a cash till at the supermarket, dh earning a lot more than I ever could in my trade, tax issues etc etc) and genuinely thought it was the best thing to do for all of us, but now I'm not so sure. Feel a bit washed up and useless tbh!

Either way, mothers seem condemned to feel guilty for something!

And crap, now I feel guilty for complaining because I totally get that being able to be a sahm is a privilege nowadays and I have just moaned on about it
Had better stop wittering on and get back to the scullery

I feel guilt a lot about not contributing anything TBH. Lost my job due to health and know that even if I improved a lot the chances of me managing an “outside the house” job are minimal.

I keep procrastinating over starting piano again which is ridiculous because I know it will be fine once I get started really but I’m just finding it hard to concentrate since Cagletini arrived. TBH we need the money though! And hopefully it will give me a boost in terms of self worth .

Arguably I am doing more now in terms of home ed stuff but it’s a definite loss of identity... who am I exactly .

Anyway the day was nice, went to trampoline park. Having the whiteboard list worked well, we got a decent amount done and having it written up there definitely pushed me to do more than if I’d not had it. Including new maths stuff which I’d put off, they took to it well!

Hmmm sc I think if you can’t get her room sorted soon then a study would be fair really. Is there another corner (or even a space in the study) you could have just for sewing stuff?

SC you have every right to "whitter on"
It's hard imagining returning to full on work after a big gap,and technology has changed the face of EVERYTHING
You did the choice that was right for your family.you have been there for your child and supporting your DH in what is a continuous full on job