August already?! Time keeps flying like the Fledglings!

[SingToTheSky]

Hello and welcome to the (slightly early) August Fledgling Thread! Join us for housework chat and a ridiculous amount of non housework chat too.

We follow (supposedly) the FlyLady system, which helps you gradually build up a set of routines. This month I won’t be putting regular links on, but there will be regular references to whatever the current zone and daily focus is. Please ask if you need any further info!

Here are some links to get you started (but don’t sign up for the emails as you’ll get inundated!)

www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/ - a set of little tasks to gradually add to your day - some are a bit twee so pick and choose what you want!

www.flylady.net/c/sp.php#missions - this updates weekly with a set of five specific tasks for the weekly zone - worth checking for ideas! I will try and remember to remind us what zone we are in. It changes on a Sunday and we will be starting with Zone 1, the entrance/porch/hallway, and dining room if you have one.

www.flylady.net/c/lp.php - this contains links for most other things so is a good place to check if you don’t know where to start

It looks like the focus of the month for August is LAUNDRY - getting into the habit of a full load washed, dried and away each day.

Also I was bored a while back so I put together a little glossary of the many weird and might-seem-a-bit-cliquey terms. We have been going a long time but we always love newbies - hopefully this list will help you settle in.
KCC - the Keep Calm Corner, invented by our lovely Fledgling SC back in March, where the OP posts nice diverting links, memes, questions etc to distract us from the pandemic.

Ta Da - instead of a to do list (which is of course welcome too) we often post our achievements, with accompanying jazz hands, in order to celebrate the positives, however small they seem! Sometimes if we want to share an embarrassed giggle/commiserations we also post a ta didn’t - the stuff we didn’t get done. Oops.

BRC - Bag/Box of Random Crap. These are usually formed when we are panic tidying and shove anything in “to sort later” which is also known as a stash and dash.

Power of Three or PO3 - the idea that if you’re feeling really unmotivated/overwhelmed by your to do list, you just choose three things to do, and then post when you’ve done them.

Cherry Waves - borne of a typo of “cheery waves” this is now - to the extent my autocorrect just changed it again - often how we sign off. You may also see it in emoji form! 🍒👋🙋🏻 (😷 for socially distanced waves!).

Haughty Corner - this is from a typo of the naughty corner - the virtual hangout spot where we hide from housework and eat virtual snacks.

Future Friend or FF - the idea (apparently coming from The Organised Mum Method) of doing something to make life easier for yourself in future. Includes things like choosing clothes for the next day, getting bags ready etc.

DLMS - didn’t lose my shit - in other words, somehow stayed relatively calm despite a stressful day!

SS/S&S - Swish and Swipe - this is one of the key parts of the morning routine, a quick once over of the bathroom.

And a few basics:
LOL - load of laundry
WM - washing machine
TD - tumble dryer
DW - dishwasher
HSL - hallway, stairs, landing

And finally, for any Fledglings old or new who are trying to lose weight in lockdown, here’s our new body clutter banishing thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/3975886-Body-Clutter-Be-Gone-The-Fledglings-Weightloss-Thread?pg=1

I’ll stop waffling there. Welcome one and all, a huge thank you to KTCluck for steering us through July while also working, and away we go for August! 🍒👋

I do like films and the rest of the family love them too. I do tend to prefer a good tv series than a film but I love both.

Yes it is lovely to hear about everyone’s clubs restarting. I know things could change at any time and there is much less training than there was but it is something at least.

foxes swimming hasn’t started at the local leisure centres here yet but as Easily says, they have said here as well that classes for beginners or tiny kids probably won’t run as instructors are not getting in the pool .

Trying not to think too much about what winter will be like. I usually love autumn and winter but of course everything is different now.

princes, I’m afraid I took a LONG time to pass my driving test. This was before the days of the theory test so can’t give any tips on that.

Although having just said it took me a long time I can’t imagine you would want my tips anyway!

We tend to watch series more especially now the Caglets enjoy stuff like Friends and BBT, and actually that may be also due to having Netflix now as there’s no faffing with discs. But there are a huge amount of films we like between us all from Disney to horror :o

ta da
🐬tried a coldish shower to wake me up
🦈half hour studying/assignment planning
🐬sorted meds for the week for me and DD1
🦈sorted lots of DVDs
🐬chose a load of discs (mostly audio) to chuck
🦈poked DD1 through chores
🐬maths with DD1
🦈DLMS with grumpy toddler and incessantly chatty DS
🐬amazon order of self care/house stuff/book for DS’ birthday
🦈LOL

ta didn’t
❌proper conversation about routine/chores 🙄
❌exercise - think the workout yesterday was harder than it felt at the time 😳
❌book anything at the cinema as I couldn’t decide and didn’t feel like going out today

Am forgiving myself though as I was so wired last night that I didn’t sleep till about 4am 🤬

Bit overwhelmed at all the stuff that needs doing. It’s amazing how quickly something slips - for example I’ve not kept on top of my emails for a few days which is frustrating as I’d managed that account pretty well for ages! Oh well, we can but try, right? Just have to keep plodding on.

I am finding emails incredibly hard to get on top of as well Sing. I am having to check them so often as so much stuff is sent out daily. I am trying to keep on top of the urgent ones but I really need a few sessions of a few hours each to sit and sort them out. Maybe one day .

Well you have been a chatty lot.

2Princes this is the best corner of mumsnet😀
Years ago there was a very young mum parent at our school. I first met her when her daughter was in Yr 1 so about 5 or 6. Her daughter was a credit to her. She was always in a clean, tidy uniform. Her hair was in little plaits or bunches and she always had her homework done. She had a little sister about two years younger. That young mum was a fantastic parent and I was very sad to see the girls leave and under such awful circumstances- their house was one of many that was flooded and they lost everything. She was just 15 when she had her eldest. They were such lovely, bright, helpful little girls. I have also seen mums in their thirties who can’t be bother to parent their children, spoil them and never discipline them. One of them ended up out of control in the classroom and was feared by many on the playground. It takes all sorts😄 I was 20 when I had DS1 and felt very young when I went to ante natal appointments in England then we moved to the north of Scotland and I found I was one of the oldest 🤣 we lived there for ten years and all three boys were born there.
Driving. I started to learn at 19 driving a Land-rover over fields and at great speed on country roads to make sure my boss was back in time for who knows what. When I left that job I was quite competent at that but I had never driven in a town or city. I didn’t drive again until 23 and I don’t know how many lessons I had. I had to have doubles as I had to drive to a town about 15 miles away. That is where I had to take my test. I failed the first mainly nerves and a child ran out in front of the car. I didn’t hit him but the examiner said I should have dropped to second when I saw him. He was sitting on the curb. I passed three weeks later when I was 24. You had to answer the questions before and after the test. I was so nervous I couldn’t remember the sequence of the traffic lights.

KCC- to be thankful and enjoy what I have.

Ta Da
Answered an email which I found difficult to send.
Bed made.
Fed hens.
Watched Mass on line.
Made sandwiches for lunch. I had an inside out toasted sandwich with sheep’s cheese, mango chutney, salami and sliced tomato. 🤩DH had tomato, cow cheese and a soused herring. 🤮

Sorted the tomatoes out in the greenhouse.
Dead headed the pots.
Re arranged to plants.
Had tea and cake in the garden
Made a start on our evening meal but had a phone call from someone that had been trying to get hold of me. Chicken in Coronation sauce, salad and couscous.
Washed up, swept floor.
Worktops and stove wiped.

Zoo I have that colour on the ceiling and one wall , a very pale green on one wall then Steel pussy Willow on one. Pale grey between the cupboards and worktop.

ED I think. Welcome to pick my brains on kitchen ideas. We have the 100i or 110i I can’t remember which. A huge expense but we won’t need another- apparently. It gives out a good heat in the kitchen and downstairs it takes the chill off in winter but we run the wood burner as it heats all the radiators. There is an Everhot Facebook page which is quite good and amusing. It is a different way of cooking but doesn’t take long to adjust. It cooks from the bottom so quiches and tarts have lovely, crisp bottoms.

Cherry waves 🍒to everyone.

Tomorrow the dining room. That needs a week to itself. No putting it off any longer.

princes I got my UK driving license 19 years ago at 17. I had been given 10 lessons for my birthday in March but purchased another 10 or 20 after that. I missed 2 more questions than allowed on my written the first time, passed the second. I passed the theory the first time. My examiner was also being examined and as I pulled out of the testing centre I thought I'd failed. Took all my nerves away from me though. At one point I forgot the other examiner was in the back and it made me jump when I had to do a reverse around the corner.

We have some DVDs still and we watch them from time to time. We do mostly watch Netflix, Amazon prime or Disney+ though.

KCC I'm looking forward to having a few days off work in a couple of weeks and floating down the river and going to hot springs. It'll be nice family time. Of course tomorrow I would just like to have the plumber fix our draining issue and it not be too expensive to fix. Hopefully just blocked, not needing to replace the sewer line, but I guess we'll find out in the morning.

So today could have been better. Started out ok, had coffee with ILs while they discussed car options with DD. Then I had a shower. It wasn't draining. We put some draino down to try to dissolve the blockage, then multiple pans of boiling water. We had to take a break to go to ILs for lunch. Then we got back home to continue. Usually would just need a little bit more hot water to go down and everything drains okay. Nope. The toilet started to leak at the base, so we went to get a new wax for it. Replaced that, not draining, just filling up. Then we snaked everything in the bathroom, no blockage. Realised we hadn't put any hot water down the kitchen sink so started on that. Then we had nasty black stuff (like stinky black oily water) come up in the bath. I've attached pics - before, when it had slowly drained, and after scrubbing for what felt like hours. We also snaked in the kitchen under the sink, so no blockage. Had the utility wastewater on call guy come out to check the main lines, nope, it's on our property so plumber it is.

🤞for tomorrow for good news.

We were going to get into the pool as it's so hot, but spent all afternoon and evening dealing with crap.

bower I don't know how you dealt with no bathroom for so long, just one day and night seems longer than I want to deal with!

Catching up on thread. Busy weekend here.

Hazel i would cry if i had those plumbing issues

Princes i had my first baby at just turned 20, second at 21. So not as young as you but i am ridiculously short and babyfaced (although havent been ided for calpol / energy drinks in about a year now). I have had many many LOOKS and COMMENTS mainly from old ladies. My favourite not long after the birth of dc5 being "Are those ALL your children?!" Like no. I'm running a holiday club in Tesco obviously.

May I join (again) please? (previously tidy).

So many new usernames! I hope you’ve all been keeping well? I’ve been plodding along, I couldn’t really face much after mums passing , then we went into ‘lockdown’ but I’m feeling a little steadier now and ready to turn my house back into a home. I’m looking forward to catching up with what you’ve all been up to

To do
Living room tidy/dust/ hoover
Exercise
Entrance
1 load of laundry
Put clothes away

Welcome back tidy glad you are getting back on your feet

Tidy/Home 🤦‍♀️

🧶🧵🧶🧵🧶
Morning all!
So today it actually is Monday. Which means Home Bleugh. For newbies this is the Home Blessing, or a set of seven tasks like changing bedding that should in total take about an hour but many Fledglings spread it out over the week instead. Remember we are in zone 1 all week. I’ll try and remember to link the missions every Monday to give us ideas - I guess having this many hall/dining room missions is unusual!

www.flylady.net/c/sp.php#missions

KCC a bit of self help because we all need that on a Monday 😅 (although to some extent Monday has lost all meaning lately! Can’t think why 😒). Saw this and thought it useful in inspiring some self care. So the question (or prompt at least, it’s not an interrogation!) is: What can you do today to get your “daily DOSE”?

My plan is a to do list with lots of quick wins on it, a decent shower/leg defrosting etc, seeing friends and having a laugh with them, and some exercise. Speaking of which, I’m going to add my other post and then I really need to get on with the day 😳

🧵🧶🧵🧶🧵

Hi home! Lovely to have you back. I’ve namechanged too.

I was 20 when I had my first Caglet. :)

I’m procrastinating and haven’t really moved much yet other than sorting Cagletini. I’ve also been ignoring my to do list too much lately. So I’m going to give myself a challenge of things to get done before I leave to meet my friends for lunch (YAY!) just before 1.

TO DO in no particular order
🎯weigh self
🎯shower and make self vaguely presentable
🎯a bit of Latin
🎯some kind of gentle exercise
🎯check emails and delete some
🎯watch a bit of iplayer
🎯try phoning bank
🎯try phoning gym
🎯find out what’s happening with DD1 and her friend
🎯find some fractions work for DD1
🎯small and sensible stash and dash (yes I suppose that’s an oxymoron as I shouldn’t be doing it at all) in bedroom
🎯hang up clean towels
🎯washing in dryer
🎯new LOL
🎯put some toys away

Best get on

🍒👋

ta da
❤️Logan awake at 6. 1 hour with him
🧡Woke up Sullivan
💛Gave Sullivan his milk
💚asthma and eczema routine
💙Breakfast made (porridge cinnamon and apple purée 4 the kids and maccies 4 me)
💜Got dressed
❤️Got boys dressed
🧡Brushed teeth
💛Made beds
💚S&S
💙Washed up
💜Dried
❤️Put away
🧡LOL
💛Laundry out to dry
💚Ironed
💙Made snacks for me and Logan (dried apricots)
💜Put Sullivan down for a nap

Meg thats awful

Ta da

💜 wash on
💚 dryer on
💛 washing on line
💙 me and dc all up fed and dressed
❤ pots washed
🧡 highchair scrubbed post self feeding of porridge
💜 dry washing sorted
💚 dc 3, 4 and 5 beds stripped
💛 booked Asda slot
💙 sink cleaned

Thankyou for the welcome back

Tada
Everyone has eaten
Everyone has exercised

The exercise feels like it takes quite a chunk out of the morning. I do my workout first , then the kids do theirs - Dd1 is a dancer and ds is a footballer so they both do their own skill practice and then run on the treadmill, but I have to stay with them while they run because I'm scared they're going to fall off! So I seem to procrastinate on my phone or fold the washing for an hour whilst watching that they cause themselves some sort of injury !

Now that's all out of the way we can all get washed and dressed ready to officially start the day!

It is raining on my washing

FML

Snuck in here as I was annoyed with technology. Colleague sent a message I was answering it and just finishing word to post and it went blank...charge gone! Arrrgh! DH a bit snarky because I was telling the phone off.🤬 LMS. I was in a good mood before that. I had breakfast in the garden. I was going to start dining room but it was so lovely outside I went out.

Ta da
❤️De cluttered some things in a drawer in summerhouse outside.
🧡De headed some bluebells and cut back a couple of twiggy branches on the tree nearby.
💛 Swept my lovely path as the birds have been pulling the moss off.
💚Said good morning to my new little fledgling.
💙Fed hens

It has gone cloudy and looks like rain. So I am glad I went out.

Ta da inside
❤️Counted up how many jars of jam we have. 3 from 2018 and five from last week. Deciding whether to freeze the rest or make more jam.
2 jars are going to friends at church.
🧡after LMS at phone I went upstairs and cleaned the bathroom.
Hazel I can see your tiles😁 annoying about drains. I still love my bathroom it hasn’t worn off yet. The hall is another matter DH has stripped it.
In boudoir now stripping bed for wash. Still need to spend some time in here. Washing to put away. Several piles of random crap that doesn’t have a home. Handbags to put away I have a few but not loads or expensive like some woman.
Feel calmer from being here. DH is checking through the blackcurrants for stems and leaves. Then we need to bag and freeze or jam. Might make a tart he has been mentioning it several times I ignored the hint.

Tidyhome lovely to have you back. It is hard when you lose a loved one. I still get a bit weepy for mum and dad. 27 years since we lost dad from Cancer and eleven for mum. One of my sisters isn’t well and it has come as a shock. I haven’t seen her for two years and she is seven years younger.

That you will reap the bonus of looking young later. I complained of feeling very tired last year and the acting Head laughed when I said I was getting too old for the job. When I told her how old I was she got a shock which made my day especially when she said” I hope I look as good when I get to your age.” She has about 18 years to go. I had been scrambling around on the floor that day with children who where misbehaving.

Right must get to it. Home bleugh, blackcurrants then dining room.

That 😫😫 it's really annoying when that happens !

Bower sorry to hear about your sister, I hope you're doing ok? You have reminded me that I must have 15 mins or so in my garden today. I am no gardener but I managed to tidy the front one up a little this year and planted a few flowers with the kids so I like to keep in top of it so it stays neat

Bower for you and your sister.

Have you tried blackcurrant shortbread? 'syummy. Especially with cream (obviously).

Just realised that come Christmas I will have been motherless for half my life... gah, I'm not going to get maudlin now I cope fine with it most of the time nowadays. Still got a few years to go before I'm older than she is.

Done exercise and shopping and have decluttered pineapple syrup and cheese and chive dip from the fridge (let's not think about the body clutter thread right now) but apart from the overflow washing up and a quick swipe of the loo have done no actual housework so far today (oh and hoovering downstairs while H was out on cycle).

Oh and I made the bed as well.

ToDo
hoover upstairs
get reports sorted
make curry
put a wash on
put away sheet currently hanging in laundry room
ironing

oh now this is no good I've put a whole load of easy stuff down that will give me an excuse not to do the reports