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Fledglings prepare to fly their lockdown nests and jump into July - join us for the July FlyLady thread

998 replies

KTCluck · 30/06/2020 21:50

Welcome all fledglings, newbies and lurkers to the July 2020 flylady thread, where we try and follow flylady’s system to keep our homes in order and our lives organised. We are a friendly bunch and like a bit of a natter, amongst posting our ‘To Do’ lists for accountability and celebrating our ‘Ta Da’ lists no matter how long or short. No fledgling is left behind, just jump in and join us wherever you are at - whether you are a lazy slattern living in chaos or a fully certified domestic goddess wanting to keep up the motivation. Most of us flit between the two depending on the day. The threads tends to be a supportive corner of MN, and we readily provide listening ears for woes and rants when needed.

Flylady is a system based around morning and evening routines, with babysteps to get you started and a daily focus, such as planning and family fun day. There’s a weekly home blessing (or ‘bleurgh’ as we prefer) which is a basic clean to keep the house ticking over, with short bursts of decluttering or deeper cleaning in weekly zones once you are ready. Flylady also suggests short missions each day. Feel free to adapt the system to make it fit in with your life.

Link to the launchpad is here (I hope) and the baby steps are here. From the launchpad I like the ‘flight plan’ for a reminder of the routines, and ‘sneak peek of the week’ for a list of the week‘a missions. You can sign up for emails, but be warned, you will need to regularly declutter your inbox!

As thread leader for July I have taken possession of the thread pointy stick —> for anyone in need of a sharp prod of motivation, but I’ve also set up a chilled quiet naughty corner, complete with comfortable day beds, a gentle sea breeze, and unlimited fruit platters, ice creams and cocktails to any fledgling who is in need of rest and recuperation or is just on strike. No partners or children allowed.

I’ll also try and keep the ‘keep calm corner’ (KCC) going. Originally introduced by our lovely SC, it’s a little daily dose of respite we’ve been using to help us get through these strange times.

I’ll do my best to keep us all motivated and flying throughout July. On work days I may appear with the larks, or not crawl in until the end of the day so apologies in advance if I’m late with links.

We start tomorrow in zone 1 (hall, porch, dining room). Here’s the missions. Habit of the month is ‘swish and swipe’ which is a daily 2 minute wipe of our toilets and sinks. Tomorrow is anti-procrastination day where we tackle those tasks we’ve been putting off.

Anyway, enough waffle, July we are coming for you! shortly, I’m just checking the naughty corner is ready

OP posts:
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JigoloHarMegiddo · 21/07/2020 13:50

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for personal reasons.

foxessocks · 21/07/2020 15:00

Hi, just jumping back in! Great list meg and hope all the teens off socialising today have a great time they certainly deserve it!

Ta das
Worked AM
Went for walk with the kids
Made rhubarb fool (I'm obsessed!)
Dusted living room
Hoovered dd bedroom
Made kids tidy their rooms
Made lunch for us all
Washing up
Dishwasher on
Washing on X 2
Tidied living room and kitchen of toys
Wiped mats on dining table
Decided on dinner - chicken tikka masala
Ordered new contact lenses

To do
Upstairs tidying / cleaning
Make scones

Phew. Also need to read the rules for dd opticians appointment tomorrow! Having a break for a smoothie and my book in the garden now.

Hope everyone doing okay and sorry for being AWOL again!

merryhouse · 21/07/2020 16:08

Yes, my MiL is delightful. She approached it from a position of having learnt exactly What Not To Do... Grin It took her a while to be convinced that I like getting books as presents (she reads a lot, but all from the library) but apart from that we've been fab.

TaDa

finished jigsaw! - and without looking at the box picture at all
made pastry
made bed
put nail varnish on other side of cracked glass top
put bedroom clutter inside cupboards Grin - it's stuff that I will be getting rid of but am not able to yet
made pie filling (chicken leek and mushroom in white wine tarragon and cream)
made base for peanut butter ice cream. Can now wash the cracked peanut butter tub and the other one it was sitting in, and use it to store pieces of foil instead of an uncracked tub, so that's two good-sized tubs for ice cream that weren't available yesterday

Need to do the ironing. Also make up pies and prepare vegetables (might do chard again).

ToDo this week
finish sewing parted seam of jeans
sew parted seams of lightweight gi
see if mending place is open and whether they can do anything with those five(!) pairs of split trousers

Fledglings prepare to fly their lockdown nests and jump into July - join us for the July FlyLady thread
squanderedcore · 21/07/2020 16:19

Great list Meg oh yes I remember your dh going on an emergency rescue mission now you mention it! The whole accommodation thing at uni can be such a roll of the dice and yet can make or break a student's experience. So great that your ds1 is happily re-installed now and he's found his "niche". Hope he has a great year ahead (despite blasted Covid-19 doing it's best to ruin it for everyone.) And well done to you and dh for all the ferrying about and support "dans les coulisses" Star.

Do I sense a labelling machine purchase coming on? Grin Enjoy if so! Grin

This country is so small that many students live at home during uni, which is not the same experience at all. And those that don't, stay in student "kots" , which are literally one-room tiny studies with sofa beds and shared bathroom and kitchen facilities. There is nowhere to socialise at all! And indeed the extra-curricular life is not as varied or diverse as in Blighty. Heigh ho. I really wanted dd to have that full on British uni experience but (a) she may as well use her languages having slaved over them for 14 yrs (b) she is now fixated on one course at a v good uni here (c) Brexit Angry and ££££££ as she will no longer quality as British student despite us paying tax in UK too (d) Covid-19 . Maybe she will cross the channel for a masters or something if the business survives and we are still solvent after Corona and attendant recession. It does all cost a fortune though as you intimated, and we only have one to steer through!

Crikey Zoo I thought I was doing well insisting that dd was up, dressed, washed and breakfasted by 9.30 am! You deserve some sort of medal getting yours out of bed by 6.00 am in the holidays! Mind you, sounds as though she was amply rewarded! Hope you are resting now!

Lane Hope the mobility aids do their job for dh and make his life a bit easier Flowers

KTCluck Grin

Ta da:
Dog walk
Emptied dw
Cooked one pan omelette with shallots, mushrooms, peppers etc for everyone to share
Cleared up
Shone sink and briefly clean
Briefly cleaned kitchen surfaces
S & S
Wiped down microwave inside and out
Cleared up rubbish that crows had pecked at
Arranged for engagement present to be sent to friend
Sorted some on-line parcel returns
Laundry x 2 hung up
2 more on
Admin work for about 1hr 50mins
Quick (careful) trip to florist and bank
Arranged flowers
Folded towels and pants and pjs
I skipped lunch but dh and dd had last of root veg soup with bread and cheese which I also cleared up Hmm
Finished home bleugh by doing humungous dusting and polishing session but still haven't changed beds or finished all of downstairs windows.
Attacked some cobwebs with tickling stick thing.
Ordered a pac a mac at a steal in the sale
Glass recycling

To do:
prep and roast some med veg for supper to have with min lamb chops and cook some rice for dd
boudoir!
more laundry!
more filing!

Have a good evening everyone!

squanderedcore · 21/07/2020 16:25

x lists Foxes and Merry bravo both! I love rhubarb fool too! And chicken, leek, and mushroom pie!

Well on that basis Merry I am going to be an absolutely fantabulous mil Wink Wink Great jigsaw btw!

Bowerbird5 · 21/07/2020 16:35

All I can say is that Flylady mustn’t have anything under her bed to do it in 15 mins. It has taken me at least 1 1/2 hrs did include an interruption from DH and me making a quick phone call to GP surgery.

Going for a much needed cup of tea and last piece of coffee 🍰 cake.

Kkkkknackered!

martakeithy · 21/07/2020 16:55

Hi all,
I think I need to make a change and did do the babysteps years ago. I still do some bits such as the swish and swipe, but need to declutter I had a baby just before lockdown and am surrounded by bags of clothing from her and my teenage son.
I remember flying bring quite time consuming and I doubt I will be able to manage everything with a 5 month old, but I remember there was a rotating room thingy where the focus was on one area of a room.
Im not sure whether to re do baby steps or something else?
Where would you recommend starting?
Thanks for any input. :0)

LaneBoy · 21/07/2020 16:58

Gah. Overwhelm building further today - even nice things are an issue if they involve change it seems (might be able to go away for a couple of days next month)

DH ended up nipping to the shops instead of me so I sat around on my own watching TV and had a phone call.

Meg I’m quite tempted by the clutterbug course thing - I tried downloading the ebook though and it didn’t work. How do you access the stuff?

merryhouse · 21/07/2020 19:29

Hi Marta!

Flylady is fond of saying you are not behind: just jump in where you are. You're right about the weekly zones: this week we're in what she calls the master bedroom but this thread appears to have renamed The Boudoir (I'm not sure whether anyone has lilac and black silk sheets).

The method concentrates on getting rid of clutter (in short bursts) while doing basic rescue cleaning. You could try looking at Today's Flight Plan here

Swish and swipe is This Month's Habit, so you're in luck there Grin

merryhouse · 21/07/2020 19:30

ach, I meant to tag you in that post @martakeithy

Stilllivinginazoo · 21/07/2020 19:58

Welcome marta
We do a bit clearingand lot chatting

Meg tempted by your link it seems I am a bee,and so is dd2..

SC I hope you are something at lunch
Bower i couldn't clean under my bed in 15 minutes either..

Am officially wrecked.hios so stiff my hit shower aunt go happen as can't climb in bathSad
Sorted a bags stuff,wipe and put away

DD then veg her evening nature reserve walk.i said a short one.stupid slow hips meant 30 minutes end up I we an hour and I shuffling like right old gimmer now.onky lavs upstairs so be wait til really really need go as stairs are so hard negotiate😞

Lil ones had sandwich teacucumber,carrots,sugar snaps.cashew nuts.sliced peach and plum.choc buttons

I craving garlicky mushrooms again so that's in for me
SC if you could share that hairy biker mushroom recipe id much appreciate it

foxessocks · 21/07/2020 20:01

sending relaxing vibes your way zooBrew

KTCluck · 21/07/2020 20:59

I’m impressed you managed to make scones as well as that ta da list Foxes!

Welcome Marta! I’d start by having a look over the baby steps again (I think I might have linked them in the OP) and also concentrate on getting your morning and evening routines sorted. For me that’s exercise sometimes, beds made, s & s, a load of laundry (LOL) and the dishwasher emptied in the morning, then the washing drying, kitchen sorted and sink shiny, quick living room tidy and get organised for the next day in the evening. There’s the once a week home ‘blessing’ which is supposed to be an hour on a Monday (I split it into 2 non-work days and it takes me more like 2 in total) to keep on top of the basic cleaning, then the ‘zones’ for a deeper clean which is supposed to be 15 mins a day. If you need to declutter do that before attempting the deeper cleaning. I found it helpful to do one area eg a drawer or shelf or corner of a room rather than being limited to 15 mins. Just jump in wherever you are and you’ll catch up eventually! It’s good to have you with us.

SC love the goat yoga. That looks far more enjoyable! Star for your impressive list!

Zoo that is a lot of walking! Hope you are now resting those tired bones. Have you been sleeping better?

You have done something today Lane, you’ve hosted workmen!

Meg Shock at water leakage. Is it sorted? Cluttering sounds interesting. DH attempted 2 different degrees, completed neither, tried a few different career paths, and is now doing well in a completely different field that he’s really happy in. Hope DS1’s route isn’t quite as convoluted, but it sounds like changing course is definitely the right thing to do.

Merry impressive jigsawing. I’ve never had peanut butter ice cream but I’m imagining it is something I should try.

Bower enjoy the cake, you’ve earned it for such dedication to the boudoir.

OP posts:
KTCluck · 21/07/2020 21:02

Oh, and you may think I have forgotten my ta da list, but there isn’t one. Not a thing. Despite my essay to Marta I haven’t even done my evening routine Blush. No work tomorrow though Smile so I’ll catch up first thing.

Obviously I meant clutterbug Meg. Cluttering is the complete opposite of what I should be interested in Grin

OP posts:
LaneBoy · 21/07/2020 21:03

Welcome marta!

ta da

😴Homestart phone call
😴reminded DD1 about chores
😴got earrings back in (including the proper bar ones in the second holes so I can just leave them for a while now)

Argh. The day really hasn’t gone right. Hence shortest list in a while! And to top it all off DH had a panicky text from DD1, who had been quite happily at her friend’s house, saying they were on the way to a hospital TWO COUNTIES OVER to try and visit her friend’s dad 😕 so she’s anxious because covid, I don’t even know the person driving them, I’m assuming the mum is with them, no idea what is happening 😨 and it appears they haven’t even been allowed in so I’m worried for the friend too in case it’s really bad news. But also really quite shocked that they didn’t even get DD1 to phone us - it was light enough to walk home even if she couldn’t be dropped home. She gets totally baffled by change like this so she would’ve just gone along with it. But especially right now wouldn’t you think “we’d best check if it’s ok to take their daughter in a car with a stranger to a hospital” 😫 but then I feel guilty because maybe it’s something really bad and they panicked.

martakeithy · 21/07/2020 21:36

Hi Merryhouse and Zoo Smile
It is a chatty thread. I remember when I was starting Flylady years ago.
It was full of all sorts of things, goings on.
I am not very rude, but might only be able to pop on here and there, please don't be offended.
That was very helpful Merryhouse and how time saving that I already swish and swipe.
Does Fly lady include washing the floors in the swish. Once a month seems a sticky?
My disaster boudoir is a very good place to start. That's where a lot of the clothes bags live.
It's so difficult with a lot of the charity shops still not open where I am (staff are probably ask shielding) and the ones that are don't want too many donations.
Had everyone on here got past the decluttering part of flying?
Anyone else up to their neck?
I have been selling things for 50 pee on eBay, just to send it away. Grin
Hope to make a start on ze boudoir soon.

merryhouse · 21/07/2020 21:49

I've reached that part of Flylady where I get frustrated because if all my clutter was stuff that I could throw in the bin or just put away in three seconds, my house would not be cluttered

Similarly: I had a look at the clutterbug quiz, and there were a couple of questions I couldn't really answer because there was no option for "stuff I don't want but someone else might or that should be recycled in some unspecified fashion" or "stuff that needs dealing with but I'm not sure how"

The answer, of course, is to actually get on and do the difficult tasks and make the difficult decisions...

KTCluck · 21/07/2020 21:50

I do the floors as part of the home blessing Marta, although that’s quite a quick mop. They get spot cleaned throughout the week if something is spilt then a more thorough clean when I’m in that zone. I’ve finished the decluttering stage (or at least as finished as I can ever be with a 3 year old, family who live buying things for said 3 year old, and a DH who loves clothes, trainers and hoarding crap). I try and keep on top of it so it doesn’t build up again. I know there are others on the thread who are still decluttering though.

That is a bit odd Lane, I can understand you feeling a bit stressy. Hope all is well. Do you think DD has offered to go with her for support if her fried was upset? She might not have wanted to leave her.

OP posts:
xmummy2princesx · 21/07/2020 21:57

Hiya all! Dropped off the thread yesterday. Have been painting my bathroom pic attatched. Went 4 a njce duck egg colour 2 brighten it up a bit. Just trying 2 make the house a bit more homely. I’m afraid flying has gone out the window a bit but am back on track from tmo!

Well dun on ur weight loss lane!!

Gawjus dog hazel

Welcome marta!

Waves 2 all ive missed x

martakeithy · 21/07/2020 21:58

Hi Laneboy Smile, sorry, it took a very long time to submit that post. Confused

xmummy2princesx · 21/07/2020 21:59

Oops 4got the pics

Fledglings prepare to fly their lockdown nests and jump into July - join us for the July FlyLady thread
Fledglings prepare to fly their lockdown nests and jump into July - join us for the July FlyLady thread
LaneBoy · 21/07/2020 22:07

Lol nw marta! This thread can move quite quickly at times, don’t worry about keeping up, just jump in where you are, just like Flylady itself!

Yes, I think she would have been very concerned to be there for her friend, I just wish she could have at least spoken to us first - I clearly need to try and get her into the habit of phoning if plans change like that. I’m really normally pretty easy going with that, and I’m not even that anxious about the virus either, but it’s weirded me out TBH. And she’d not feel comfortable to have a shower at their house either. They’re not even home yet.

I’m really glad I’m doing 16:8 or I’d honestly be eating my body weight in sugar right now. I’m now waiting for DH to get off the phone (call likely to be ages). I’ve made do with a big mug of water and some beta blockers 🤣

(Sorry for the rant! I swear I’m not usually quite so highly strung but today has officially been Quite A Day.)

JigoloHarMegiddo · 21/07/2020 22:27

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for personal reasons.

martakeithy · 21/07/2020 22:48

Oh no, I have missed more posts! Aaargh!
Sorry KT, I am a bit slow at getting posts actually finished and then actually pressing post.
Thank you for that info, the home blessing, exactly. Some of these headings do have a whiff of innuendo, which, I’m sure the Flylady didn’t intend.
Oo, hi Jigolo, before I forget.
Better go to bed as Babby will be waking up for numerous feeds throughout the night (sleep regression + a wonder week - apparently)

LittlemissAWOL · 21/07/2020 23:56

Hey everyone. Staying true to my name so been missing for a bit. I've been slowly catching up on the thread and just finally made it to the end.

Saturday DH and DS2 went fishing. I finished up the last of DS3 school stuff with him then took him for a haircut. Basic flying done.

Sunday we went to the beach and then came home and everyone pitched in to get the weekly stuff done.

Yesterday the big 3 went to my DGM so I got caught up on the washing and ironing.

Today I made me and the little fella a cooked breakfast. Got bathed and properly dressed with hair and make up done. Got the place clean and tidy. 3 x LOL. 2 line dried and ironed but not yet put away. 1 still in dryer. Nipped to Aldi. Walked along for the boys. Stopped off for a while in the park. Made a roast beef dinner and plum and almond bread pudding. We then had a game of monopoly before the boys went to bed.

Will try and keep up now scouts honour!

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