Fledglings flying into the Roaring Twenties! January 2020 Flylady thread, all welcome.

[LaneBoy]

Welcome to the first Flylady thread of the decade! This is a friendly ongoing thread where we follow (loosely. In some cases, very loosely. ) the Flylady method for sorting out our homes and lives!

Newbies are always welcome here! It’s a long running thread so please don’t worry if we appear cliquey. There’s a lot of chatter and support for all sorts of things, alongside the housework stuff.

Over recent months we have agreed that big lists of daily links aren’t necessary - on a daily basis I will post (if I remember... it is maybe 18 months since I last hosted so please forgive any screw ups ) a link to the launch pad, which is where you can access the information for that day - babysteps, missions, daily focus etc. But if you’re confused about anything, please ask!

Check out the website too - but we suggest not signing up for the millions of emails.

Information on getting started here.

The great thing about Flylady is that you jump in where you are. Everything you do is progress. Don’t worry about not “keeping up”. Any achievement, however small, means progress.

Anyway, huge thank you to Stressy for running our very busy December thread!

And... HAPPY NEW YEAR FLEDGLINGS!!!

Hope you get your 2 quiet hours zoo!

That is great then Lane if he gets on ok at those gradings. Definitely agree instructor preparation is hugely important.

Ta da:-
Swimming and dancing lessons
DH did food shop. Extra food bought but the food I had planned was from the freezer so it is ok, will just use that later in week or next week I guess.

To do:-
Laundry
Tidy away swim stuff etc

Bought a joint of lamb from Lidl yesterday. It stunk when I opened it. Cooked it anyway and it's absolutely rancid 😡

Then dh suggested since dc are staying at my DGM we should go to the pub. Was all excited until I realised my only pair of jeans that are suitable for going out were washed this morning and are still wet and there's stuff in the dryer so I can't get them dry in time 😭

Hairdryer the jeans until they are dry, Kings. Works on all types of clothing and footwear guess how I know this Disappointing to hear about the meat though.

Afternoon fledglings, not much flying her today but I think my finger is finally starting to heal properly - yay! I haven't caught up with the thread today but this quote from our lovely Leader Lane seems to sum up January quite nicely.

Sorry for all the general crapness, dickish partners and illness on the thread

I'm bracing for the Masked Singer later! May get a takeaway tea for myself tonight as DH is out and as his arrival time home is variable, I'm not waiting for him!

that your "D"H really needs a good kick up his arse! I'm with bower let the DC make a good racket. I'll also help zoo dig a hole..

Our motor in the furnace has decided to go to crap so our go to guy is looking for the part we need and he's going to see if its still under warranty. It seems we always have issues with it, every winter since we got it installed. He looked back and it was a year ago almost to the day that we had other issues. Not sure if it is warranty but we're crossing fingers. So we've borrowed lots of heaters from PILs and they are doing a great job of keeping the house warm. Thursday is when it went out and that night was freezing and a really rough night's sleep.

Today we are going swimming in a pool heated by the natural hot springs we have around here, then ILs will be over for dinner tonight. Looking forward to our relaxing day.

Ahh I didn't think of that chic but will remember for next time. We ended up with an M&S meal deal instead. DS3 decided he wanted to stay at home anyway.

That sounds like a lovely day hazel enjoy.

Well they say it comes in 3's

1. The meat
2. My jeans
3. There's a leak on the boiler 😩. This may explain why it's been freezing even with the heating on. Could really do without having to find £££ for a new boiler. DH has gone to have a look to see if he can see which part it is and hopefully we'll be able to just get the part and get somebody to fit it. DH is a joiner and quite handy at most things but I'm not letting him mess with a boiler.

Kt cluck - re wellbeing and how much my house is in order - yes! It's almost like a visual guide to how content I'm feeling. House tidyish = happy me
Loads of mess and laundry =frazzled and grumpy me

Funny that, isn't it rachael? Although I do find it can go too far, and a showhome level house and minute by minute cleaning rota is usually one of the early signs I'm going back down the well.

Zoo, don't worry, the nice to haves I'm dropping are very much first world problems - delivered milk in glass bottles and Who Gives A Crap loo paper. We can reduce our carbon footprint without pricing ourselves out of the market, it will just take a bit more time and effort. And I'll cut things right back for me before I take things away from the DCs. The delivery milk is a bit rubbish anyway, I think the milkman sees himself as some kind of moral arbiter. We get the milk we deserve, not what we order, quite regularly...

That, sorry your DH was being a dick and sorry people are feeling ill. Very sorry about the pub not-visit, the meat and the boiler, We3. Crossing fingers for a simple fix.

Today's Ta Das
☑️ Walked the hound
☑️ Dw run, rotated and about to go on again
☑️ New mattress selected at Furniture Village after we had to call in the guarantee on the old one. Six weeks til delivery!
☑️ New loo seat acquired
☑️ Sneaky coffee out with DH
☑️ Sorted out the towels and bathmats - why did we have nearly 60? 19 in the recycling, the rest sensibly stored.
☑️ DH fitted the new loo seat
☑️ Took an hour for myself to declutter roots and greys from my hair - feeling a lot more like me now.
☑️ Things on toast for tea
☑️ 4 LOLs all through, just waiting for the last one to dry. All the rest away!
☑️ DS2 walked the hound this evening without complaint, tidied his room, cleared up after cooking and said thanks for the lift to the NG's house (Not Girlfriend)!

Just tucking DS3 in, the retiring with my book.

Ah sorry you didn’t make it to the pub We3, and hope the boiler doesn’t turn out to be too expensive. Same with your furnace Hazel.

Rachael it’s hard to tell what comes first sometimes - is the house sorted because I’m
in a good place or am I in a good place because i feel it’s all sorted. Not sure but it’s definitely a downward spiral when things get out of hand!

Chic I’d forgotten the hairdryer technique. Used it many times in my teens when I’d left an item on my bedroom floor instead of the laundry basket and had to panic wash

Ta da:
2 LOL including all work clothes. One load dried on the line (first times in aaages, I’ve been sniffing them every time I’ve walked past the basket)
S&s in both loos
Downstairs dusted
Attempt at hoovering downstairs.
Major surgery to clear blockage from hoover. Again.
Downstairs hoovered and mopped.
Fronts of WM and dryer wiped
Decluttered Shoe box in hall
Tidied cupboard under sink
Tidied cupboard in bathroom
Decluttered drawer of random crap in DD’s room

Had all this done by 10:30 and then headed to a local nature reserve / park for a few hours and then lunch out. Spent a fortune and did my diet no good. We both love eating out and now DD does too (she often answer ‘cafe’ when asked what she wants for dinner). We really need to rein it in as we are hoping for an extension in a few years and so could do with saving more rather than frittering. But then again we really enjoy it!

The afternoon was quieter with puzzles, toys and TV. I made spaghetti and meatballs but was still quite full so plenty left overs. DH did the kitchen and bedtime so I’ve had a relaxing evening after tidying the living room. He also had a sudden burst of energy and cleaned the downstairs loo ceiling where we were suddenly growing mould. That side of the house is an old extension and not very well built at all. Freezing cold, rubbish flat concrete roof and a couple of leaks. We’ve attempted cheap fixes but it basically needs ripped down and rebuilt (hence the extension plans).

Hope the ill fledglings and junior fledglings are feeling better today.

We are planing an extension too kT. We need it for space but really putting it off due to a. The mess and b. All the planning stuff

We also have a cold extension with a flat roof. No leaks yet but needs big arse dehumidifier to keep away mould.

Manchild appears to be trying to make things better. For now.

There was a thread in active this week which i read a bit of and it was interesting! It was something like "tell us what your house is like" anyone fancy a go on here?

No flying here.

I had a really bad evening yesterday so took 2 co dyramol ? 20g of Amy and my BP capsules. After a lot of pain where I was thinking I might have to wake DH to take me to A&E for some antibiotics the codeine kicked in and I slept nearly all night which was the plan.

During the night I went back to reading DR. Google on several pages and realised I probably should have rung GP. It is just I have a problem with a receptionist there( to the point that I complained once) and inevitably if it is something tricky then I get her.
So today I have been on almost complete liquid diet. Soup, soup and more soup. A bit of bread or toast and the odd biscuit with a cup of tea.
I stayed in bed till 12 then on the sofa. I was the most awful colour sort of yellowy grey green. DH finally looked for and found a hot water bottle so I had that most of the day. Feeling a bit better.

Glad he has picked himself up that
Sorry to hear about heating failures.

That I’ll play.

1850 stone,semi detached cottage.
Bespoke sash windows and kitchen. Too small sitting room with inglenook and multifuel stove.
Three bedrooms. One large and messy, one medium and messy and one small and very messy turned into craft room where there is more craft than room.
One very small bathroom which you could not swing a kitten in never mind a cat.
Good size garden to side and rear. Stone wall front and back.
Summerhouse,hated by neighbours.
Garden some tidy some messy. Two outhouses and a shed. Veg garden. Plastic green house- trial to see if I want/ need a proper one.

Looks over fields and then rural onto Pennines in the distance. Unfortunately only the shower window gives you this view.

Evening all,

Coronation Street style Victorian terrace but in a less built up area, all the rooms are too small but loads of storage space. Needs a new kitchen and various other repairs. Lots of character and good location otherwise we'd probably have moved to something a bit bigger by now.

Only just keeping on top of things ATM. Bloody cat pissed outside tray in the understairs cupboard this week so that had to be emptied out, cleaned and reorganised. Washing - just about ok due to working at home on Thurs. Nearly finished my tax return but a big pile of filing is waiting to be dealt with.

Oh boy. Super behind on the thread. Zero Flying. I have barely even stood up 😂🤦‍♀️ Bit sad as I had a New Years Resolution to leave the house every day and today is the first time I’ve not managed to. Hope to get to the steam room again tomorrow though if my friend is still going to the gym.

ta da
✅gathered more ideas for sensory play for Cagletini
✅checked workshop times for dance tomorrow

I’ll play the game

Flat above a shop, built in the 30’s. 1 large bedroom, 1 small bedroom. That’s about it

bower I'm so sorry to hear you aren't doing well, I hope you feel better soon, but sounds like you best be calling the doctor first thing Monday.

Ta Das for today, swimming and relaxing, dinner for ILs, played a game of Clue which always seems fun. Wiped washer and dryer on the outside, wiped outside of kitchen bin. Swept kitchen twice, before and after ILs, shone sink, wiped all surfaces down, dw started.

1967 detached bungalow, 2 car garage also detached, car port/ covered patio, shed. 3 bed, 1 bath, wood laminate floors throughout. Fire pit area in the back yard, fully fenced. We are outgrowing our house though and have for a while. It would be nice to have another bedroom for guests to stay in, if we ever got any that is. And of course another bathroom is absolutely necessary! We bought our house in 2006, when we were still pretty young to do so (24 & 22).

I’ll play, I’ve got a thing about houses. Ours is a 30s semi (unfortunately without the usual lovely bay window). 2 decent sized bedrooms plus a tiny box room which I have commandeered as my dressing room. Small bathroom. Living room is a reasonable size then we have a small kitchen and small dining room which are now open plan. Loo, utility and garage make up the old shack extension. Small front garden and small grassed back garden, quarter of which is taken up by a ginormous shed full of DH’s junk. The house itself has a fair amount of storage and is currently mostly tidy and organised. The garage and shed however .

We probably would have gone for something a bit bigger, but it’s virtually on the beach and has the most stunning coastal views from the front, plus I fell in love with the big and light hall / landing. It was in much need of modernisation - we’ve re-wired, put in central heating, re-plastered, new kitchen and dining room, re-rendered and put in new windows and a patio door from the dining room. It’s never felt quite finished, and we need to work on the leaks and damp but I do love it.

DD has been awake since 6 but as DH is hoping to head to the pub later I convinced him it was only fair he should get up

Lane don’t be too hard on yourself with respect to your resolution. You’ve done well so far and you can’t force yourself to go out when you’re unwell.

Chic as compensation for the cat wee. One of ours ruined a lovely lined wicker laundry basket recently. My own fault as I’d unwittingly dumped it right in front of the litter tray entrance.

Bower your house sounds quite like what I’d imagined. Summer house sounds lovely. My DSM also has a lovely one my DF built her, but then he unfortunately promptly filled with with crap

Oh and I agree with Hazel Bower. Get there to the docs, arsey receptionist or not!

KT stunning coastal views sounds amazing

I had very severe depression in my 20s and doctor liked do home visits as he could tell how I was doing by percentage of floor was clear and if curtains were open

That hope there are apologies and grovelling,or at least some washing up done and amusing the DC whilst you get a bath/nap in

I'll play.1950s semi detached.shoe box for a kitchen,square average size front room,one decent size but odd shape bedroom,one average,one tiny.bath and sink in separate room to lavdecent size garden at back with unruly huge hedge,fair bit to the side.front gets very little sun in winter and mossy AF

Oh, all your houses sound lovely! And they fit the people I imagine you to be, IYSWIM.

Bower, GP Monday I think. Maybe get your DH to make the call, to ward off the arsey receptionist? Hazel, sounds like a lovely day all round, hope your furnace is fixed quickly and cheaply. That, hope the DH (Dick Head) is making up for behaviour by being useful. Lane, one day of not going outside while you're ill is not failing. It's ok to get back up and keep going!

I'll play on the house front - 1935 Met-style semi (much beloved of John Betjeman). Built as an aspirational 7-room house (living room, dining room, tiny kitchen, 3 beds, bathroom) with integral garage for the emerging post-war middle class. When we bought it, it hadn't been touched since the 70s, except for the bits not touched since the 50s! Although the garage had already been converted. Now extended so we have 5 beds (one in the loft), kitchen we can all get into at once and a utility / cloakroom where the coal shed was. Oh, and a second bathroom because 6 people and one bath makes for mornings run like a military operation. Corner plot, so a triangular garden on 3 sides. Playing field immediately behind us that should have been lots more similar houses, but WW2 intervened. What I particularly love is that if you shut all the doors and stand in the hall, it still looks and feels like a 7 room house and I like to imagine how excited the first owners were to have "arrived".

Only very minimal flying here today I hope.

I have no idea when my house was built. It's detached. 2 ok sized bedrooms, 1 tiny bedroom. Small bathroom. Funny shaped living room which means it feels tiny because the sofa sort of breaks it in two. Ok sized kitchen just not quite big enough to fit a dining table in. Downstairs toilet. Garden is ok but we aren't gardeners so it's very basic. Huge shed which is absolutely full of every type of outdoor toy you could imagine. It fit is lovely when we bought it because we only had two dc. It's far too small now. We need another 2 bedrooms a shower room and a dining room adding on. View out of the windows is the dc's school playground, classrooms etc.

No ta-da's as yet because I haven't even got out up yet.

Ah ty for all playing re Houses! Some are what i imagined but others are not!

1900s end terrace here, abit coronation st like, two houses knocked into one, long narrow hall, kitchen/diner (2 rooms knocked through) 2 'reception' rooms, utility, downstairs loo, snug. 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms but only one is functioning. Loft is storage only, as is cellar. Garage. Pathetic yard at back, main road at front. Bought needing full rip out. Not a single room is fully finished. Used to have house half size so when we moved this seemed huge but the shit has expanded.

Hope you’re feeling better bower

It’s actually a testament to the brainwork I did last year that I’m not thinking “well I won’t bother anymore” with the getting out every day. Being autistic I tend to be very “all or nothing” in my thinking but I have done lots to challenge that lately.

My house - little row of housing association 3 bed homes built in 2012 I think (when we were offered it I even found the floor plans on the council website 😅). It’s on a gated street so people think it’s posh 😂 but the gate is automatic, it’s just there to put people off parking for the school run (we are next to a small secondary, the back bedrooms overlook the field). It is quiet though. Little car park in the front for the HA houses and small block of flats (enough for one car per HA home, doesn’t bother us as we don’t have a car anyway but there is usually space for friends to park when they visit). Tiny garden with a little decking, downstairs loo (huge bonus for when I’m relapsing, I’ve slept on the sofa the last few nights and couldn’t go upstairs at all yesterday 🙈). Rooms aren’t huge (especially third bedroom) but compared to our previous home it still feels massive especially because of the big hallway that opens the whole house up - when we stop using the buggy it will seem even bigger! Hideous decor from previous tenant but other than a quick paint job in the Caglets’ rooms when we moved in 2018, we’ve not been able to change anything yet. Near a big park with a big duck pond, playground and even a miniature railway that runs on Sundays for about 30p :o and supermarkets/town centre/hospital/station all within 20 mins walk. This was another huge bonus compared to previous house, as I can now walk to town regularly (I don’t tend to walk back though as it is quite steep). Not sure what else to say really :o

Oh I forgot parking. Our drive is probably officially 3 cars but we have fit 5 on in the past 🤣. We started building a car port but have decided that's where the extension will go so it's now just a sectioned off bit of drive.

When we bought the house it was a mess and we've done loads of work to it. New kitchen, knocked bathroom and toilet into one room and added separate shower. Moved doorways around, made driveway, moved loft hatch and added proper pull down ladders. Started boarding out the loft but it's not finished yet. Added downstairs toilet. I think because we've already done so much the prospect of starting the extension is worse. But it really needs doing because we as we desperately need the extra space.

Bower just catching up with the thread and saw you mention paracetamol and cocodamol, you probably meant with a break but please be careful with taking both (and codydramol too) 💐

I have been a bit more upright this afternoon and I’m not sneezing so I think I may have escaped the usual wheeziness which is a huge relief as I don’t want to miss the meeting tomorrow or the course on Tuesday.

I am going to have a lot of maths to help DD with tonight. They didn’t give her the login when she first started so there are a few more tasks on there and she struggles so so much. I want to not help her too much with the actual tasks as it will give a falsely high mark and mask her struggles but it’s so hard when she is getting upset!

Sorry willow I never replied about the dyscalculia thing. It’s not something I know vast amounts about yet as I’ve focused on the other issues so I can’t describe much beyond the fact that she just does not understand number concepts past the basics. We have to go through things so much and she forgets quickly, so while she was home ed we would do column addition/subtraction etc several times a week. Assessment centre agreed likely but they’ve not had the funds to invest in the test yet (they are a charity so have built up their test battery slowly).

It’s complicated because she does have visual processing disorder - so things get mixed up. For example when she was copying something down the other day she wrote a fraction the wrong way up and genuinely couldn’t see what was wrong.