Flapping calmly through lockdown: Fledglings April 2020. Welcome to the Keep Calm Corner!

[LaneBoy]

Hello all!

Thank you for joining us, please note if we seem cliquey it’s only because it’s a long running thread - everyone really is welcome!

Welcome to (probably) the most bizarre Flylady thread yet... in which we are attempting to impose/maintain some kind of order in our homes, while also many of us are adjusting to working from home and homeschooling the kids for the first time too! Not to mention the anxiety around health and accessing food!

Of course, normally the opening post would talk about banishing CHAOS - Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome - but now we aren’t allowed anyone over anyway :o so, let’s just try and make our homes nicer FOR US. We are spending more time than ever in them, so let’s make them really wonderful places to be, our own safe little nests for our families.

Flylady routines might just help us get through this crazy time, by giving us a little structure to work from when all else is unpredictable - but as usual there is no right or wrong here. All of us follow it only to the extent it helps us - we can take ideas and make them work for us. And the key principle is, YOU ARE NEVER BEHIND. I feel like that is even more evident now, with so many of these outside pressures and commitments suddenly gone, and frankly the days rolling into one!

This is potentially a great time to declutter. Of course, Flylady suggests 15 minutes a day - but perhaps in these unprecedented times we will all do more! But we are all busy getting into our own routines now that school is out, and work too for many, and we’ve lost a lot of the outside structure to our lives. There’s no right or wrong here, we just have to try and adapt.

Links wise, I’ll just post the launch pad, and will add reminders about zones too. If anyone has Flying questions, please ask!

The Keep Calm Corner
The lovely SC came up with the brilliant idea of the Keep Calm Corner last month - this is a daily post with things to make us happy! I figured each monthly host can make this their own, and I’m a little worried my taste in art and music would not be calming to most :o so for this month, the KCC will consist of:
Some memes - either funny (we all need a laugh! Warning though - some will likely be unsavoury :o) or thought provoking/relaxation based. Do PM me (here or FB) if you have any you want to add!
A daily “ice breaker” type question - obviously answering these is entirely optional, and don’t say anything that will out you, but if you want to join in and create some extra conversations on the thread then treatment, we can all get to know each other better! Again, if you think of any questions please PM!

Thank you for settling in, and of course thank you to SC for making March such a lovely thread. And lastly, a huge thank you also to our key worker Fledglings, who are doing an incredible job of keeping things running!

ta da for the day, not in order!
💜nit check DD1
🧡decent lunch (that is an achievement TBH as I often don’t bother
💛two episodes of Liar. I was NOT happy about the ending
💚bit of piano
💙finished making the laminated game stuff, and found a box for them (one little tub but cut out paper dividers to stop them getting mixed up)
💚had unexpected phone call from Homestart, we’ve been on the list a while and that won’t change but they’re offering phone support during lockdown which is pretty cool!
💛cut DD1 her first fringe 😱 she’s been tempted for ages but we agreed now is the time as she doesn’t have to worry about other people if it doesn’t suit her 😅 it looks ok though
🧡made Caglets strip beds and wash it
💜hung up loads of clean towels
🧡gathered a load of bags ready to hopefully sort out tomorrow
💛gathered a few more things for DSD’s Forgotten Stuff box
💚read friend’s presentation
💙bit of digital decluttering on amazon wish lists

Got a headache now and DD1 and DH are about to watch fantastic beasts 2 which I’ve never actually seen, and I meant to watch with them but I’m headachy and not in the mood to concentrate. I need to have a tiny go on the exercise bike, I didn’t even go in the garden today 🤦‍♀️ and put some of the bread stuff in the freezer as I didn’t yesterday 🤦‍♀️ but I’m now trying to get the toddler to sleep

KT I’m sorry you feel like you’re in free fall. It’s such a weird time. One thing my therapist has mentioned a lot (on her FB page/radio thing) is looking at what you CAN control, it’ll be more than you think. 💐

Cross posts, love the pet pics! I have also screenshot all the flatbread info, thank you, will try when we are out of wraps!

I’m tired just watching DD1, she’s learning Kpop dances on YouTube. Was meant to have started the film but TBH I have no intention of stopping her exercising (with the added bonus of NOT sitting staring at her phone) especially while she doesn’t even have her sleep meds.

ta da continued
💜cleared bed of paper/laminator sheets where I was making stuff earlier
🧡few mins on exercise bike
💜made some phone notes for therapy next week (I oddly feel like I “need” it much less ATM! So can maybe make progress on other stuff)
🧡sliced and froze one pack of pitta bread
💜took some waaaay over dates/use within x days stuff out of the fridge and emptied jars/bottles

Also had late surge:

Ta da:
hung up dog blankets and towels to dry
tidied up supper and stacked dw again
(why are we using so many mugs and plates all of a sudden?)
put on two lol for early morning
folded laundry that had dried on terrace and put in already full ironing baskets
dining room table hot spot
tidied up tv room
found some seeds that I'd lost
gathered up random shoes, cables, papers, books, jumpers and put them in their rightful place

Willow very poor quality film but this is one example the book is much better!

Hurrah for late surges!
ta da
💛lots more Amazon decluttering
💚finally decided on a small order - random things to entertain us
💙hung out curtains that DH washed, I’m amazed Cagletini’s scribbles came out!

More ta das;

❤ 3 more LOLs, including bedding from DS and DDs beds
🧡 Successfully taught DS how to mow safely after he picked up the poop
💛 Swept birdseed off the patio, yet again
💚 Raked the rocks out front of the house, pulled out some dreaded weeds. They are tiny pretty yellow flowers but within weeks they all dry up and become pokeys/ goat heads/ stickers, whatever you want to call them and they are awful!
💙 Planted my bulbs, but first had to clean out the cat poop from my flowerbed. I really need to get more river rock in the beds so they stop using it as a litter box.

Spent way more time outside than I had planned, it was so nice out. I still plan on ironing this evening, possibly with a glass of something tasty.

lane I hope your headache goes away soon. You reminded me that I haven't seen the 2nd Fantastic Beasts yet either.

So many gorgeous animals!!adding a funny one of nelly in basket on top the cat tree

Here's a "whole" pic of her shown here with her tabby sister cossima(cossie)
This was taken Xmas time when I turned my back to grab gift to wrap they insisted on "helping"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Busy on here!

zoo

Ta da (weds)

💛 wash on x4
💜 washing all dried
💚 1/2 washing away
🧡 tidy dc4 bedroom
💙 bins out
❤ clean big dryer filter
💛 clean out fridge
💜 3/4 pots washed
💚 bottles washed and sterilised
🧡 table and high chair cleaned
💙 kitchen and LR1 swept
❤ try to work out where we stand money wise

Big ta da;

I finally got all my ironing done! It took me a couple of hours, but it's all done! I didn't get my vacuuming done, but accomplished a lot of other things today so not going to beat myself up about it.

I got my clothes out for the morning, my lunch is ready and dw is going so evening routine is done.

I'm off to bed, got to work 10 hrs tomorrow so pretty much not expecting much flying to be done by me. Lovely pictures from everyone, all your furry family members are so adorable. Have a great day 😀

Oh, almost forgot, giveme thank you, I'm partial to her, she's such a character and sweetheart.

Are you making progress on if/what help you can get that?

Hazel sleep well

Think I've done enough faddlearsing,time to get up and on with things

Not really yet zoo I think the healthy start vouchers arent happening though. The support for self employed is really NOT the same as for the employed.

That's a bit crap that

Tada
Bleach lav
Wash on
Wash up
Wipe surfaces
Littertray
Bins emptied
Washing out
Go hoover stairs shortly as next door is on night shift and don't want disturb her later....

Good morning everyone! I missed yesterday completely because of work but have been reading the thread this morning and all the cat photos and ta da lists have put me in a good mood. Thanks for the hot cross buns KT.

The seeds that we planted last week have started to grow which is very exciting. I think these are hollyhock and baby cucumber.

I have greq up with cats and would love to have a couple of kittens now. But we just got a brand new sofa so I think we are going to give it a few more months. My favourite wild animal are foxes. They are just gorgeous and clever, and always feel a bit magical to me. On the night we brought DD home from hospital after being born, it had been snowing, and when I was up with her at about midnight, I saw a fox in our garden, tiptoeing through the snow. I kinda felt that was a little welcome home gift to me.

Flylady question: is there a list somewhere of basic daily jobs? Like the minimum stuff to keep things ticking over?

Morning all!

Loving all the furry pics!

Can't believe your two are siblings Expletive that's amazing! And of course its tortoiseshell!

Impressive list That 👍and hope you can get finance info sorted. Dh is self employed and he has just cancelled two trips to US where he gets most of his work for six months hence. It's scary tbh.

Well done with your list too Hazel especially ironing! Good luck with 10 hr day ahead!

Giveme Your cat has a very sweet face! Amazing fog-lamp eyes too in that photo! Dd is sixteen going on 25 yrs! She is really missing her friends atm and was just gaining a bit of freedom and independence, to have it shut down. Hence the angst.

Zoo love that pic of your two waiting to be wrapped up! And the looming paw! I feel like faddle-arsing all day today tbh but must get on!

Lane well done for late surge! Hope headache has gone!

Toostressy hope you are ok? Thinking of you 💐

Hope you are ok too Lisette and Honu?

Waves to everyone! Its 9.22 am and we are only just getting up But none of us are sleeping well tbh. The furries aren't getting as much exercise as they normally would and keep moving around in the night. Woke up with "puppy" beside me under the duvet this morning! which not allowed at all, so I think an early bed change might be in order ... .

Time for home bleugh today and tomorrow and a bit of decorating for Easter.

Have a good one everybody!

X post!

Hurrah to thriving seeds Fluffiest! If you go to Flady website and look under "today" on home page, or "flight plan" and "reminders" on launch pad you will get a good idea of daily tasks.
Most of the routine stuff is introduced via daily baby-steps (accessed through "getting started" and there is also a pdf of them all available of you Google) and if you do those until they become second nature (the ones you like anyway) that forms the basis of your daily routines.

Later on you can do missions (on launch pad) and once decluttered "detailed cleaning" accessed via zones!

Fluffiest The app may be easier but others will be able to advise about that better than me! Good luck!

Btw everyone, have you seen the post from Justine about subscriptions? Apparently Mumsnet are losing a lot of advertising revenue just now. It's not compulsory, but intended to bolster up the finances of the site in case everything goes belly up. I'm happy to do it but I am not happy about giving them my bank details given previous security issues! I wonder if they could do PayPal or something?

Morning! Early night last night and fell asleep before I posted. Just got caught up.

Fluffiest I like foxes too though we don’t really see them here (north east). Flylady’s daily routines are the minimum I think, there’s a morning one and an evening one on the website, you can find them via the launchpad link. Personally I consider an LOL, s & s, beds made and then going to bed with a shiny sink, downstairs tidy, and clean clothes for the next day my own minimum. If I can get 15 minutes in whichever zone or a mission done I’m happy, but that doesn’t often happen on my 3 long work days. Home bleurgh I split between 2 days off (upstairs one, downstairs the other) and do zone work, ironing and any decluttering on those two days too.

Lane that’s a really helpful way to look at it, thanks. I planned out some Easter activities for the next few days for DD, wrote some ‘to dos’ in my diary etc. Feel a bit better today

You’ve all been such a productive bunch!

SC glad DD was happier after a walk. Mum’s always bear the brunt of DC’s worries I think but a day of arguments must have been tough for you

The rest of my ta das from yesterday:
✅ upstairs dusted and hoovered
✅ bathroom cleaned
✅ lawn mowed and strimmed, path cleaned of moss (DH)
✅ DW set off, benches wiped
✅ living room tidied
✅ yoga, plus some kid’s exercise things with DD on YouTube
✅ ordered myself some yoga / loungewear that I have coveted for ages. They are amazing quality but quite pricey and I couldn’t justify them previously, but the website was doing a 3 for 2 offer and as I had money put away for a shopping day before my cancelled Portugal trip I felt i deserved them .

Today’s ta Das:
✅ LOL
✅ cooked breakfast
✅ sorted finances now I know what DH’s pay reduction is. Thankfully offset by the lack of nursery fees!

To do:
Make beds
S & s
Floors are a bit crumby downstairs so will run the hoover over
Exercise
Easter crafts plus some prep to do tonight to have some craft stuff ready for DD tomorrow morning.

Have a good day everyone.

Morning folks!

Didn’t sleep till late but then both Cagletini and I slept through until just after 8. But she has a (very 🤢) dodgy tummy - kind of hoping that’s the last of whatever bug/virus we had as she’d been coughing a lot every night until yesterday. DH is running her a bath.

Re: fringe (and DS’ haircut the other day) luckily I have those weird feathering scissor things which stops it looking too harsh. We received them (along with normal hairdressing scissors) by mistake (I’d ordered a keyring for DH ) but they said we didn’t need to send them back. I do the Mumsnet Haircut on myself and DD1 generally anyway. DH has a short back and sides so I’m procrastinating!

Will just pop links on but TKCC will be a bit late today :o

Launch pad

For Fluffiest (thank you to others for explaining stuff too! )

Babysteps - these are a good way of building up the stuff you do each day. You could have a read through and start from today’s, as well as adding in some previous ones. Some are really daft TBH so just take from it what you need. But the idea is sound - don’t try and suddenly add in aaaaall the things at once.

Along a similar theme of not trying to change everything, here is some info on control journals - gradually adding to your routine. I’ve never done a journal but recently stuck some sheets on the wall for each day of the week to add certain weekly/every few day tasks.

Lovely seed photos❤️

SC given everyone's home WHY is revenue down??nope,I won't be paying to spend time on one thread,rests a bunch vipers!!

Tada
Stairs hoovered
More washing in/out
Made simple feeders with D's for birds(two sticks in a apple.and hung up.was on note from rspb I got yesterday)