Welcome to the November Flylady thread Fledglings! All are welcome here. A few of us have been around a while but everyone, newbie and lurking, is welcome to join in.
This is my first time running the thread so I hope other fledglings will alert me when I’ve got things confused or if I’ve left something out!! A busy month for us all with the holiday season looming next month…
Very simply Flylady is a zone-based cleaning system which we loosely follow. Everyone is different and has different rooms and life demands. There are five zones and at the beginning and the end of the month we usually straddle Zone 1 and zone 5.
(amend rooms to suit your house – I do the living and dining room together as it’s all one room in my house)
November
Zone 1 Hall, entrance/dining room (Fri 1 – Sat 2)
Zone 2 Kitchen (Sun 3- Sat 9)
Zone 3 Bathroom and another room (Sun 10- Sat 16)
Zone 4 Master bedroom/closet (Sun 17 – sat 23)
Zone 5 Living room (Sun 24 – Sat 30)
Pop onto the Flylady website to have a closer look but signing up for emails will probably lead to very many landing in your inbox. Also there has been some concern about securely downloading pdfs from the site. here
Flylady has an introductory scheme for newbies called Babysteps which is a light 31 day introduction to the system – dressing to shoes, shining your sink etc. What I like about Flylady is her emphasis on self care, her abhorrence of perfectionism and her adage that you’re never being behind in the system - just jump in. No need to completely clean your house before you start – phew! here
There is a morning routine and an evening routine to keep things ticking over and a weekly home cleaning hour to change bed sheets, mop, hoover, take out rubbish etc. The system isn’t brilliant for major decluttering so you might want to supplement with Kondo or another decluttering system. Flylady doesn’t want us cleaning all day so she is very keen on using a timer. Clean then stop!
In addition each day has a purpose: see the daily focus here
Monday: Weekly home cleaning hour (can be split into ten minute sections and spread over week) here
Tuesday: Plan and play (Menu planning, family event planning)
Wednesday: Anti-procrastination day
Thursday: Errand day
Friday: Clear out bags, fill car with petrol, date night
Saturday: Family fun
Sunday: Lift your spirit
Launch pad for guidance every day! launch pad
Habit of the month of November is meal planning. This is my Achilles heel! here
We have a lovely virtual naughty corner where we can all retreat – there are all manner of lovely things left there by thread members including fluffy pillows, warm blankets, tea, coffee, wine, delicious foods. This month there are plenty of candles to brighten the darker days.
There may be mention of Ned who started life as an autocorrection on the thread but who has now morphed into a virtual helper with a specialism in putting away laundry. Ned is borrowed by thread members from time to time when the going gets tough on Mount Washmore.
Most days we pop on to post our ta da list of what we’ve managed to do and have a bit of a natter.
Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.
Housekeeping
Cherry waves hello to November 2019. Fledgling Flylady thread for all.[smile]
Ghoulette1740 · 30/10/2019 14:42
Thanks sc for meal planning advice , I have done this weeks but will start compiling our meals into categories to make planning easier in the future .
Zoo a difficult morning so far, have they managed to get to school? It's so awful watching your kids struggle with something and not be able to 'fix' it , it seems like you're doing your very best to support her
Tada
30 mins ironing uniforms (more to do , will have to do this evening when dd2 goes to bed)
Breakfast
Dd1 is at school
Dryer is on
To do list written
I already know my to do list is possibly unachievable today , but its written and I'll do my very best. I have the younger 2 at home for an inset day, I'm wondering if I take them to soft play for a couple of hours this morning, they won't play merry hell whilst having to do the food shopping (which is across the road from soft play) ds is still in bed so I'll see what his thoughts are when he gets up . I better get cracking with this long list of chores - sending
to those who need it this morning.
ghoulette well done.o know how hard it can be to force yourself forward and do these things
Breakfast eaten,I need get off my phone and start cleaning!!
Zoo yay for getting them to school, enjoy your breakfast in peace !!
Ghoul glad you've got appointments sorted - quite a while to wait though !!
Tada
Clothes out of dryer folded
Next load in washer waiting for everyone's pjs before switching on
30 mins in living room (use tomm instead of home blurgh)
Hoovered through downstairs
Ds up and having breakfast
Soft play isn't a great idea, dd2 has been running around with ds and is coughing , so running round a play area isn't a great idea . Just having a snuggle with her and drinking a coffee then I'll jump in the shower and get everyone ready for shopping 
I have 2 overly ripe bananas, any ideas what I could do with them ? Thought I could bake with the kids seen as we aren't going to soft play, can anyone point me in the direction of some tried & tested recipes please ?
Yes, well done Zoo for getting everyone up and off ... . We didn't have the calmest start and my packed lunch for dd (ham sandwich, grapes, biscuit) was a lot more pedestrian than the delicious lunches you prepared! Also only just found correct sports kit in time in amidst chaos. Two hours of sport first thing on a Monday morning is not designed to make teenagers inclined to rush off happily to school!
Fortunately though, atm, it's swing dance and not circuit training this morning so dd fairly enthusiastic!
Office computer has crashed and somehow we have no money in our joint current account as there has been in a glitch in this month's standard transfer and I have put back on a bit of the weight I lost last month grrrrr. Ah the joys of Monday mornings ... .
Ta da:
found uniform and sports kit
dd packed lunch
dining room table hot spot
s & s bathroom
shone kitchen sink and wiped surfaces
stacked dw
rubbish and recycling
dog walk
2 wms on
ordered kettle and new office tea towels/hand towels as I have washed the old originals five times at 90°C and they still smell a bit strange ... .
Tried to find crocheted poppies but they've disappeared of course having seen them every day for the last month... must have put them somewhere "safe" ... always a fatal move.
Tidy Hope your dd2 feels better soon. Nigella's banana loaf here is really good (and I don't normally like banana cake) but it needs four small overly ripe bananas. I store them in freezer until I have enough.
Zoo do you have any ideas about what to do with sweet potato other than use them to make wedges in oven please? I have a surfeit currently!
Very sorry to hear about your mum breaking her hip Onthebrink you must be worried about her. I hope she recovers quickly . And well done for keeping the basic Flying routines going nonetheless.
Gosh that is a very long waiting time for appts for you both Ghoulette we are very spoiled here being able to get them the same or next day. Having to wait a month when you are ill or depressed is not on really is it. 
Need to pop to PO then serve lunch... have a productive week everyone!
OnthebrinkI missed mum's hiphope recovery isn't to fraught
SC sweet potato...mash on top fish/shepherd's pie?soup with equal amounts carrot,parsnip and peas.cumin and onion?
Roast cubes with drained chickpeas(drizzle with oil and sprinkle with paprika and cumin.bake 30 mins or so til potato is roasted and chickpeas crispy.add to a bowl leaves and add chop red pepper and avocado.drizzle tahini/tahini let down little water and lemon juice
Use in place grated carrot in cake?
Add cooked to white beans and puree with garlic and either parsley or Cajun spice as a dip?
Banana muffins
2bananas mashed
2tbsp oil
2tbsp milk
1tsp cinnamon/vanilla
Mix in a jug
250mls sr flour
1tsp baking powder
2tbsp sugar(any kind)
Mix and the add wet ingredients.fold til just combined and divide between 6muffin cases.preheated oven 190oc(170oc fan) for 20 mins or until golden.cool 10 mins in tin,then onto rack til cold
Variations
Add handful choc chips,nuts,sunflower seeds or dry fruit to dry mix before add wet ingredients
Sub honey for sugar(2tbsp) and add to wet mix
In my domestic excitement,forgot me tada
Tada
Boy dungeon
Windows cleaned
Polish surfaces
Make bed
Water plants (only a touch as cacti and not needing much now)
Sweep and wipe floor
Girls room of doom
Windows wiped
Surfaces wiped
Beds made
Floor sweep
Floor wiped
Laundry sorted into piles
Hall stairs and landing hoovered
Photis on stairs wall polished
Tidy coats
Bathroom
Tiling wiped
Windows cleaned
S+s
Radiator and bath skirt wiped
Littertray done
Floor wash
Living room
Windows done
Polish
Sweep floor
Empty bins
Lunch
Done 3loads laundry.one dry fold and put away,one on airer,one almost ready dryer
One more needs sorting today
Just need wash lower floors
Still not finished all recipe sorting
Zoo great list 
and thank you so much for all of those terrific sweet potato suggestions! Much appreciated and very yummy!
Aye Bower dh is very hard to hold down to a meal plan too (a) because he likes cooking himself and does so spontaneously and (b) he often has to travel at a moment's notice. Another good list
I haven't bought my Christmas cake ingreds yet either. I need to look carefully through the pantry downstairs and through the plastic boxes that house my baking ingreds (very few cupboards in kitchen) and see what I have and don't have. I was worried that Brexit was going to happen on 31st Oct and disrupt my usual expat supermarket purchases but thankfully have a bit more time yet to get my order in... .
Ta da cont'd/
made and served coffee
hung up early morning wash
td other wash
folded towels and pants
emptied dw
nipped to PO
prepped and served salad lunch and cleared up
waved guest off! [phew]
To do:
another dog walk
prep mince that dh bought and didn't tell me about
bake some cakes/biscuits for dd lunch box
finish letters and cards
supper and clearing up
Think that will be me done for today despite the whole house being a bit of a tip. Small steps and all of that ... .
I'm a bit late to the party here but re meal planning, I love cook books and I love BBC good food and I'm forever flicking through those, I then have an ongoing list (on my phone) of red meat dishes and chicken / veggie / fish dishes, so every time I see a recipe I like the look of I add it on, and also when one of the kids (or dh!) mentions a particular meal they want I add that on too, or if someone on this thread mentions something nice they've had on it goes! Then each week I take 1 from the red meat list (as too expensive! And I include things like sausages or bacon in this) and then maybe 1 chicken, 1 or 2 fish / seafood and the rest veggie. And I plan one whole week regardless of whether we are going out any days because if I don't use all the ingredients I freeze and carry over to the next week.
Then sometimes a dc will make a request for that night and it all goes out the window looking at dd who specifically wants baked potatoes and beans tonight!
Finished work at lunchtime today and me and ds did some more toy sorting. He agreed to donate another one of his huge cars and a few teddies, can't believe it!
Must carry on before we go and collect dd, although ds not keen to help anymore he's bored now!
list I've list.....Don’t want to miss threads like this?
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Phew, it's been a long ass day today! I didn't get all that I wanted to get done but hey ho there's always tomorrow!
Tada
Everyone showered
Food shop
Lunch
Food shop away
Roast dinner cooked
Veg soup prepped ready to cook in the morning for kids lunches
Washing hung up / in dryer (I've just realised that it's still in the dryer )
Dd1 to ballet & tap lesson
Ds & dd2 bathed, hair washed & dried
Hot choc whilst starting the christmasaurous book (dd2 isn't interested in this story yet, but we've read it every year since it came out on the run up to Christmas, we spotted the sequel was out so we've started the story early this year so we can get the new book and read before dec 25th )
Dd2 to bed
30 mins ironing
Ds to bed
Wiped kitchen side & dining table
Dd1 back from dance and gone to bed
Finally sat with a cuppa and some chocolate whilst catching up on the thread .
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