Fledglings Flying Frightfully into October

[EerilyDeleted]

A huge thanks to Mogthesleepycat for steering us successfully through September

If you are struggling with C.H.A.O.S. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) and S.T.U.F.F. (Something That Undermines Family Fun) then this is the thread where we (loosely) follow the step-by-step Flylady housekeeping system (in our own, unique, relaxed style) with lots of support and chatter along the way.

The FlyLady link is here Flylady. Don't be put off by the twee language of the site – we all agree that the underlying system is very effective.

This little-and-often system is designed so that you can follow a series of steps and routines each day (which gradually become second nature) in zones of the house which are designated weekly; defining and minimising housework - which in theory should leave you with loads more time to do something more interesting instead.

At the same time it is intended to reduce that panicky "rabbit in headlights" feeling when you are overwhelmed and everything needs doing all at once. No problem if you miss a day or two; just jump right back in and it will all come around again next month.

It's up to you, but we advise not signing up to receive the Flylady e-mails as you will be swamped with marketing nonsense. All the information you need will be linked here on a daily basis.

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's steps and routines using a three-pronged approach (dependent on the stage everyone is at):

• start or repeat baby steps
• repeat baby steps + do 15 minutes a day decluttering in the current zone
• reinforce baby steps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.
• And if you are really enthusiastic and have finished decluttering - you can go on to detailed deep cleaning in each zone.

There are three key points to keep in mind throughout:

• No perfectionism allowed - this is harder than you would imagine and many of us on this thread struggle with this one.
• You are never behind - just start where you are and anything you do is progress.
• It didn't get into a mess overnight, it won't get tidy over night - accept it will take time to get on top of things and you will be happier.

If you are new; then trying to spend 15mins decluttering daily and doing the baby steps is a good way to start. Some of us (mentioning no names) can have scary looking ‘ta-da’ lists but don't let that worry you. Do what you can, anything is better than nothing, and don't judge yourself against others.

If all else fails, a brew + the power of three technique + a bit of support on here can work wonders.

Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings Launchpad.

Don’t let it put you off if we appear a bit cliquey, we really aren’t. Some of us have been on here for years – but all lurkers, intermittent returnees, oldies and newcomers very, very welcome.

SingToTheSky put together a 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!

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.

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.

Home Bleugh - Flylady's Home Blessing routine

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

And finally "The Naughty Corner" - this is for Fledglings who perhaps didn't get done what they had planned for the day but are in need of a comfy seat, pile of cushions, tasty snacks, stiff drink and friends to chat to.

Glad you had a nap hazel you juggle so much!

Well think I'm giving up sleeping anymore tonight and may just have short nap later if get a chance!

Morning all, I'm in bed with a cup of tea and a cat snuzzling my arm, she is having a very snuggly phase ATM.

Continued renewing spirit last night by watching The Greatest Showman and belting out the songs with DD, Sing - you are so right about appreciating these moments in teenage life. DS's football team won again so he was happy too.

I have got the week off work but it is rapidly filling up with appointments and to do lists, I need to sit down with my bullet journal this morning and plan properly.

Does anyone else have a landing of doom? It isn't one of the zones (probably should do it as the plus one with bathroom) so it doesn't get the attention it should. Ours is a total dumping ground, the most persistently untidy part of the house. Want to try and tackle it this week.

Morning

Omg the landing ours is like a S shape and every turn reveals more dumped stuff

Guilty of landing of doom here too. I class it as part of zone 1, but it doesn’t get a lot of attention.

Busy weekend Hazel, you earned that nap!

DH is currently getting ready for work and I’m hoping he doesn’t wake DD. Home bleurgh and planning/prep for the week here today, and the boiler is being serviced.

Morning everyone! DM is off work as her and gran are also isolating due to being in our bubble, but her and gran have come over to keep the DC occupied whilst I work. We won’t go anywhere other than to each other’s homes but it makes everything a lot easier this week. Currently sat in front of my desk making sure I can get everything ready for online learning, if I’m honest I’m dreading it!. But I’ll cope.

Today's links:

Today's babystep is stop rushing around and focus with an intro that always makes me cringe just a tiny bit....

We start in the bood-wa today remove anything that does not belong in your bedroom

The daily focus is Home Blessing Home Blessing

And here is a little thing for the KCC

My landing of doom trickles down the stairs if not regularly attempted to contain it....still trickles down the stairs

Tada
Fed cat
Wash on
Harpic lav
Kitchen
Wash windows
Wipe sills
Wipe tiling
Clean surface one
Wipe toaster
Sort crumb tray
Clean surface 2
Wipe kettle
Wipe cupboard fronts
Wipe hob
Put oven on

Bathroom
Wipe windows
Wipe sills
Wipe radiator and bath skirt
Clean all tiling
Scrub bath
De hair plughole
Detoothpaste sink

Pop part bake rolls into cook
Have toast
Cook lil zoo and D's scrambled egg to go in rolls
Wash up
Bedding in drier
More bedding in
Walk dd2 to school

Living room
Clean windows
Wipe sill
Wipe cat tree to de fluff
Wipe TV unit
Out away stray dvds
Wipe mantle pice
Wipe fire surround
Sort bookcase
Sweep floor
Bedding out dryer

DS boy dungeon
Wipe windows
Water plants
Help D's polish and tidy
Sweep floor

Girls room of doom
Scream with despair as dd2 side...
Wipe windows
Help lil zoo rejig duvet in cover so she can make bed without ball duvet in middle
Find floor-
Chuck all clothes into laundry bins
Fill 2carrier bags empty drink bottles and recycling snack wrappers
Discover exploded stress all has gone right thru to her duvet
Empty both bins,noting majority in lil zoo is also dd2 mess(which extends across floor by said bin and under her bed)sifting out paper etc into recycling

I came out with 2carrier bags rubbish and 4 of recycling!

Dump all rubbish in bins,all recycling bags added to pile at kerb

Time for snack I'm FAMISHED!

I like that ED!

Ta Das so far:
✅ rooms/beds aired and beds made
✅ cats and humans fed
✅ DW emptied, breakfast stuff in
✅ LOL in, next load waiting patiently next to WM, laundry basket empty! we’ll not discuss the random coats, blankets etc waiting on the utility bench, I need a good drying day for those
✅ living room spruced you
✅ s & s x 2
✅ everything that doesn’t belong in bood-wa removed from bood-wa and PUT AWAY in rightful place
✅ clean laundry distributed to correct area ready to be put away
✅ showered and dressed

Need to get DD dressed and head to supermarket. First time I’ve taken her with me since March so wish me luck.

Upstairs home bleurgh, meal prep, ironing and bag packing still to do, as well as a walk, yoga, and some time playing with DD. Back tonight, hope Monday goes well for you all.

Very true ED

Wellies love that can I have a Room of Requiement too? My is a bit of a dumping ground. I hate stepping over stuff so I hope I can sort this room this week. Unfortunately we have mice in the loft quite regularly so I am reluctant to put any more stuff up there. I have weekend bags x3, handbags and a couple of boxes with stuff in.
I don’t have a landing but the short hall upstairs has stuff on the side. A book shelf as well as a large bookshelf at the top of the stairs. Some boxes with school photocopied books which I need to do something about now. We have too much stuff and I am not good at being ruthless. I am happy to give it to someone else to make use of but hate just throwing it out. I need to learn to just let it go.

I haven’t caught up on all your threads yet but will try. I read a couple of pages last night but now have forgotten who said what. You all seem to have been very busy.

I had a good day in Coniston. We were pleased to see each other and tried to. Keep our distance as much as possible.i ended up putting the beef in a pot as it was too slow in the slow cooker😂 the mash was lovely as I had butter and milk and a tablespoon or so of cream in it. Carrots and cabbage.
I had time to make pudding but didn’t get time to pick blackberries. So I started cooking the apples on the stove then layer of mincemeat spread across the base, stewed apples on top and a good layer of crumble- flour, butter, light brown sugar, cinnamon, pinch mixed spice, some oats and coconut. It was delicious. I took some cream for it too.

We had time to socially distance with mugs of tea / coffee. I felt really happy on the way home and the trees were so beautiful as they are turning. There are more acres than I realised. There were really deep crimson dotted about especially in Ambleside. DH drove which meant I could enjoy the views.
Went to church yesterday but it was very busy so I stayed in the entrance. I find an hour with the mask on too much so I was able to go out and have some fresh air. I got a bit upset when a few people asked how I was. My friend wanted to give me a hug but I stopped her. I hope she doesn’t feel awful but it was a step to close for me. I felt a bit stressed as she was very ill at the beginning of the year. I know she meant well. I had a quiet afternoon reading Country Living then made a Roast dinner a small bit of beef from the co op for £6:15. We went to the butchers but it was heaving. Car park full and people queueing. The car in front of us drove in then out too. We don’t normally have beef so it was a change. It was better than I expected.

Not sure how the day is going to pan out as we have quite a lot of short errands to run. Think I will concentrate on those.

Snack in
Help D's make his bed fresh washed sheets(midi sleeper,so it tricky)
Put away dd2 washing so it doesn't just end up on floor,then get rewashed cos cat barf/cover it in hairs etc
Pop soda crystals down kitchen and bathroom plugholes,followed by very hot water

To do
Sort dining table
Recipe sort
Bake cake
Poss wash some floors
Endless laundry
Supervise D's schoolwork

Sorry just a quick one from me this morning as I'm meant to be working! I don't really have much of a landing tbh so nothing can be left on it or we'd trip down the stairs! However I do have constant piles on the actual stairs ready to go up or down 🤦‍♀️

Ta das
School run
Washing hung out
Dishwasher on
Sides wiped
Bins out including batteries, loads of cardboard
Slice of cake eaten!!

Had to restart computer as it's being very slow today, better get back to it now! Be back later.

our landing and downstairs halls are quite small. No room for furniture at all in either. I would like a larger landing and the ability to have a landing of doom. more daylight would be nice too.

Argghhh - can't believe it's monday. I ordered a coffee machine which arrived this morning but it has a faulty filter drawer which keeps opening so I've had to send it back.

Rainy here today. I've a mountain of work too.

I love that, ed!

Nice day here so far, except DH struggling, but I’ve got quite a bit done and feel a bit more motivated. Soup smells nice which helps :o

Out landing is small and L shaped (get to the top of the stairs and there's a door either side and you turn back on yourself to get to the airing cupboard and 3rd bedroom. It's not very big but has boohshelves under the window across the foot of the L and shallow full height ones along the long side. It also has piles of clean clothes outside each DC's door supposedly waiting to be put away, plus all sorts of other random clutter. The bood-wa is fairly clutter free though.

Gorgeous day here today, sunny, breezy and mild. I'm going to clear our my car (I stash unwanted stuff in the boot till it's full then bag it up for chazza/tip). Also tackling paperwork for DS's PIP assessment 😢

Supervising D's online maths lesson..

Tada
Lunch
Cooked cooled vegan Lincolnshire sausages now chilling for dd2 return along few veg she will eat chopped and chilling too

Our landing is an L shape
Turn left at top stairs--
Loo on right
Bath,shower and sink in separate room in front and turn left after to get my door and girls door on left.ds straight in front
The right angle houses poles of stuff incl cat baskets for vet trips as no where else put them,cat food,litter,piles random bits then along wall opposit mine and girls doors are crates with stuff for loft if ever get anyone help us get it up there(Playmobil,dolls,other outgrown toys)
Iy makes landing narrow and cluttered and utterly depressing..

Our landing isn’t too awful really, but it’s lined with Ikea Trofast units which do get cluttered on top. The drawers are mostly ok.

I’m a bit miffed as I haven’t had time to do my studying at all let alone also do the shopping I need to. And I feel guilty as I said no to playing Among Us with DS during his break as I had work to do but I couldn’t focus then either so didn’t even study. Aaaaargh it’s all so full on. But I must try and not let it get me down as I’ve still achieved plenty today. DS has some maths to do and then I’m free to get my work done.

Finished the first day of online teaching, it went well. The kids are brilliant honestly, which makes it a lot easier.

My landing is definitely a landing of doom, so are the stairs, they’re just full of things I need to take upstairs but always pass when I do actually go up. It isn’t a big landing, it’s long but not wide, but I still just leave washing or the kids leave their toys there.

Brilliant list zoo!!

up I hope shopping went well with DD!

Your day sounds lovely bower, the trees are lovely this time of year aren’t they.

freaky that’s really annoying about the coffee machine!

I hope you manage to get more work done sing

I’ll be back later with my ta da

Glad the online teaching went well pumpkin

Ta das
School run
Work
Dh cooked carbonara for dinner
Washing on for the morning
Dry washing put away
Tidied after dinner
Dishwasher on
Milk bottles out for the morning
Spoke to my mum about next week
Roasted squash ready to make soup with (will have to be tomorrow now so have put it in the fridge)
Tidied kids rooms quickly / living room quickly

I had a reply about my work hours today and they are now being vague which is frustrating. I was told last week I could do as many extra as I could do , so I suggested increasing my weekly hours by 8, bringing me to 3 full days a week, I thought I was helping them out. Now they have said they need to talk to someone else about her workload before agreeing this! But I wasn't even the one suggesting my hours were increased 🤷‍♀️ . I thought it was just going to start straight away pretty much so had got my head round the new hours but it seems tomorrow will be a half day as usual. I would just like to know!

Anyway, it does seem they are getting me a new computer sorted at least. And I can get a new desk and chair I think. I'm getting aches and pains sitting on a hard dining chair all day.

Today has been a looooong work day because the network has been running very slowly and every bit of work I've tried to do has had a query.

I've got to help get the kids to bed now then get ready for badminton 🏸

ED hope the paperwork went okay today

Sounds like a lovely day in Coniston Bower.

That’s really frustrating about the hours Foxes.

We had a tiny landing in our old house, literally just about enough room for two people to stand at a push. I coveted a nice big one with room for storage Now I have a bigger one (room for a chest of drawers plus a trunk for shoes and basket for towels) it is just somewhere to dump dirty laundry/rubbish/glasses to go downstairs and clean laundry/other assorted crap that’s been carried upstairs. DH has a habit of stepping out of his clothes on the landing and leaving them there along with a wet towel, and DD likes to leave her dolls lined up there too

Final ta das of the day:
✅ survived supermarket shop (got stung for Halloween bits)
✅ shopping away
✅ upstairs tidied and clean laundry away
✅ upstairs dusted and hoovered with a bit of shake and vac to put the freshness back.
✅ upstairs bins emptied
✅ mouldy patch appearing round boudoir window cleaned off
✅ bathroom cleaned including pinkness bleached off grout
✅ Downstairs hoovered
✅ did cosmic kids yoga with DD. It’s more energetic than my normal routines!
✅ most of ironing pile eradicated
✅ my work bag and DD’s nursery bag packed
✅ work meals prepped
✅ sausage and mash for tea

I’ve never been to the Lake District but I always feel I should see Coniston if nothing else - I grew up on a street named for it! All the local roads were named after the lakes.

It’s been a really busy day, I feel like I’ve barely stopped and am definitely ready for bed but no chance yet as DD1 has a bee in her bonnet about various things that need discussing.

Also found out Cagletini doesn’t go back to nursery until after half term as they aren’t opening for the last couple of days after isolation is over.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with landing clutter issues. Maybe we'll have to collectively encourage each other to improve things. I dream of having a landing big enough for a sofa, coffee table and book cases, I lodged in a huge house once which had just such a set-up plus a window with a view, it was lovely.

Well, I did something novel today. I went to the cashpoint for the first time since about February. In normal times I use cash most of the time for smaller spends (say less than £5). I take about £50 a month out. My £50 from Feb only ran out at the end of last week and I needed to give someone a tenner today. There was a thing in the paper saying there is a new limited edition 50p coming out, I collect them but unlikely to get my hands on one now I so rarely use cash .

I had a good decluttering result today. DD had her braces off last week and I had to pick up her retainers today. They asked if we needed a container to keep them in and I said no, we'll have something, thinking we would have thrown out the one she had a couple of years ago for her twin block braces but would use a snack box or similar. When I got home I decided to declutter a BRC from the landing, it hadn't been touched for months, lo and behold DD's old brace box was in there.

I also de-stashed my car boot into several bags and will attempt to deposit some things at the charity shop and secondhand bookshop tomorrow. I have booked a tip slot at the weekend for the rest.

Pumpkin - glad the online teaching went OK.

Foxes - how annoying about the work hours.

Up - well done on the zone work. I also need to tackle some window mildew with bleach.

House painters are due back tomorrow, also scaffolding people as the gable end is too high to paint by ladder. But the weather forecast isn't looking promising. One of the painters turned up this morning looking for a ladder he thought he'd left in our garden and said "oh fuck" very politely in a strong Eastern European accent when it turned out the other one must have taken it away in his van. Made me smile, hope he found it.