Festive Fledglings Flap Frantically Towards A Calm, Clutter-free Christmas!

[SingToTheSky]

OK so clutter-free is a bit ambitious. But anyway, all welcome to join us for a jolly holiday thread, in which we very loosely follow (or at least half-heartedly mention now and then) the FlyLady system of housekeeping.

I’ll be posting links and reminding us all of various tasks up until Christmas Eve, for those who want to follow the system - and if it’s like previous years there will also be some specific extra missions to help us prepare our homes for Christmas. However, we really are just a bunch of frazzled Mumsnetters who will be very happy to welcome you along for chat whether you follow the system or not! We discuss housework, sure, but a whole lot of other stuff too.

We will also continue with the Keep Calm Corner, in which you’ll find various diverting questions, memes etc.

And finally a huge thank you to Foxes who did a fab job of running the thread for the first time in November! 💐

Waves to Tinselette and everyone else!

Off to do hideous admin now but wishing everyone a productive start to the week!

Hi Sc
I like your name change! Lol.

Thanks glittery, will try flow chart after i get my head out of the biscuit box.
Afternoon teas sounds lovely for your birthdays! Love it!

Ed- was it you that shared a Christmas memory of pulling your little ones along in a sleigh- its beautiful!
Hope your finger is ok.

Planning to declutter more in the sitting room. Need to empty it to get the christmas stuff out.

Glittery, forgot to say...weldone on sewing your waistcoat, i was really impressed.

Bower- thank you for recommending trims from ebay...i have found some! I had beeter ordee it now or my christmas outfit may not get finished.
Well if i keep eating biscuits like this...its not going to fit me....

Zoo- hope you are ok today.

Sherin- look after yourself lovely, glad you are feeling abit better.

Tinsel- the room will look amazing when you finish it.

Sorry cant remember anything else...
🍒🎄🖐everyone.

dancing yes I do make packed lunches night before and it does definitely help but it still always feels a huge rush so don't worry, it happens! I find that the best laid plans don't always happen the way you want with dc!! With us it's getting them to eat up their breakfast and especially ds who likes to request multiple breakfasts sometimes 🤦‍♀️ Hope you've had a cup of tea now

Happy birthday sing!!

Hi sc so good to hear from you!

KCC favourite birthday...I can't remember exactly how many years ago it was but we went to the seaside with the kids who were very small and had fish and chips and ice creams. Simple but lovely! I prefer small celebrations tbh

It was indeed very cold this morning, I layered the kids up so much for our walk to school! We have to leave an extra five minutes just to get hats and gloves on!

Working today so flying will be minimal

Woolly :o at “Northumberland or Canada” :o I love your print! I do like art to brighten up the place, I’ve got a few in the living room, just prints of famous works I’ve bought prints of at exhibitions and found frames for, my fave is one of the Hokusai Mount Fuji pieces.

Been reading through all the bullet journal advice and taking note! I agree it mustn’t become a chore rather than helpful (in fact my therapist said the same thing about sessions with her - if they become a chore to fit in then it needs rethinking!). Excellent advice to only do one month at a time too - tempting to try absolutely loads of stuff but I know I need to start slowly.

Sitting with my one alcoholic drink for the year (I think?) since I’m between meds. Cheers 🥂

Hello SC

Hoping you are all ok.

Woolly yep ran myself into the ground good and proper. Scared a co-worker by answering the question are you ok? with the words I want to pull a disappearing act. RUn into the ground atm. Not helped by discovering I had cocked up at work, nor that I have lost a very important medical letter, nor the fact I couldn't face eating lunch cos not hungry and too tired.

Tea for the peoples is pretty much done. I am going to run an errand take an hour. and the see if there is any way shape or form I can get and early night.

hills I do hope you get a really early night.i hear you on the run into groundhugs lovely
Dancing after-school check bags for letters,sort uniform/clothes for tomorroe.(use weather app to make sure it's warm/cool enough.addgloves/sun cream as appropriate>make sure lunch boxes are empty/things are washed up

I prefer make lunches on the day as I either forget stuff in fridge or kids don't want something I've made/and up I'll not at school and not wanting it either!!
I'm afraid early rising is the key
Lil zoo leaves house 745 and needs at 13 at least 45 minutes to sort herself out+bags already packed/doesn't wear make up/do fancy hair.as primary kids brekkie was at 7,leave at 8.that gave 30 minutes to feed everyone and 30 minutes put clothes on.teeth brushed before brekkie,I found clothes after eating better as messy urchins needed clean uniform again...
Also if expecting anything cooked,get that going/made BEFORE waking them...

Hills ❤️💐 fingers crossed for an early night.

Waiting for Chinese takeaway 😋 I have added some crispy beef to try - I think it was this thread where people mentioned it?

Desperately hoping Cagletini stays awake a bit longer.

Goodness don't tell my dh that I didn't say this before (!!) but obviously my favourite birthday memory (and present!) is the year he proposed on my birthday...I swear I'm losing it, it is almost like anything pre kids doesn't count 😂😂😂 how could I forget that?!?

sing that sounds like a great birthday treat, I love love love crispy beef, get it every time!

SC thank you 😍 very good to see you back! DS sleeps reasonably well, plus I got used to a lot less sleep now. Really enjoying motherhood.
Sing Happy birthday, lovely! Hope you thoroughly enjoyed Chinese take away. It sounds yum!
Dancing I hope you manage to figure out the secret to morning routine of getting kids out of the house. It sounds like a military operation.

Ta da from today:
🎉 Bathroom blitzed
🎉LOL X2
🎉Kitchen cleaned, DW rotated
🎉Living room dusted and surfaces cleaned
🎉 Upstairs and stairs hoovered

Now off to entertain the beastie.

:o foxes they do both sound like lovely birthdays! I know what you mean about forgetting stuff from pre-kids.

OMG crispy beef. Why did I not try this before?! 😋 Am stuffed and there’s loads of leftovers for tomorrow. Enjoyed watching a Bill Bailey DVD, haven’t had the energy for anything else! I’m always in hibernate mode this time of year 😂

Tomorrow will be busy - four piano pupils in one day! It won’t normally work out like that though. Ooh I just realised I must pay that fine from when I couldn’t go to yoga the other day, or I won’t be able to book next week (slots released 10pm on Mondays for the next week’s Tuesday class - I have a recurring alarm set!).

Hills- I hope you get a chance to have a early night.

Mc- bet Mctiny has the cutest smile now.😍

Sing- sounds like a superb birthday with crispy beef...yum!
And welldone on booking students for piano lessons! Bet you will be brilliant!
Thank you for advice on the morning madness suggestions.

Foxes- thank you, I have made a packed the pitta sandwiches into the lunch boxes with everything else.

My fraggles have amazed me tonight by helping to empty the lunchboxes and fill them up with tomorrows lunch food. They understood they want to help mummy not worry in the mornings and get to school on time. We have packed book bags, water bottles. Asked the fraggles to put school shoes near the front door. Fraggle one reminded me to get fresh uniform out.

I cooked dinner, filled Dw, wiped surfaces and shined my sink (miracle...this never normally happens, but I think decluttering the kitchen has helped.)

Fingers crossed that we make it to school in time so my two get to walk to class with there friends.

You are right Sing, I need to make sure I get up 30mins before the kids and fill the insulated jugs with hot water and another with hot milk.
Thats a good idea to cook a hot breakfast before I wake them up, they loved porridge this morning.

Fraggle 1 also reminded me, before he fell asleep...mummy make sure the alarm works in the morning....he was right, my phone needed charging (phone charger plugged in now.)

Watched abit of Kirsties handmade Chtistmas and I want to start knitting now.

Sing i miss going to museums and seeing art, really miss it.

ta da
🎁took in tesco delivery, scanned and put away
🎁opened pressies
🎁vague effort with home ed
🎁made lunch for me and DS, then for Cagletini
🎁a lot of guilt free lazing!
🎁paid yoga fee
🎁booked next week’s yoga
🎁put some Christmas deliveries away
🎁swept kitchen and hallway
🎁confirmed lessons for tomorrow!
🎁LOL

Hiya everyone, a bit of a late one tonight. I woke up feeling a bit rubbish, really bunged up and snotty. So we’ve stayed in today, we watched stick man and room on the broom. We walked the dog around the village instead of over the green, and had a bit of a Christmas light walk. There’s some lovely decorations up, there’s some huge houses that go crazy with the decorations they’re great!. Does anyone else feel guilty about not going out very much? I don’t have a car so generally stay in our village (it’s big, there’s a soft play, leisure centre, a few parks and cafes/shops), I do activities at home everyday and we go on a walk with the dog twice a day and before COVID would go to the park/soft play/picnics etc most days. But I feel like I’m not doing enough. We go on holiday once a year and sometimes do say trips out to the beach or theme parks, but a lot of our time is spent just in our house and I feel like I’m not doing enough.

foxes well done to your DC on their swimming badges!. I hope you manage to watch a Christmas film of your choice this year. I know DD will love playgroup, it’s me I’m worried about, I just can’t imagine her being away from me for so long. They grow up way too quick.

bower I love Ben and Jerry’s too, it’s good they make some dairy free stuff.

Happy (late) birthday sing! I hope you’ve had a lovely day. I don’t normally like this sort of ice cream, I only have mr whippy usually, but I’m craving ice cream a lot this pregnancy. Ready salted crips ice cream sounds very weird!.

Sorry about the broadband ED

Thank you zoo, I usually don’t like ice cream very much but I’m loving it in pregnancy, anything cold!. That’s lovely about your DD’s friend letting you on their Disney+, I have it and I think it’s brilliant.

Thanks up, the ice cream was amazing!. Enjoy your card making!.

Thank you, dancing, I feel better than I did a few days ago so that’s good!. DD isn’t in school yet, but my DM was always late taking me to school. She started doing packed lunch the night before, as well as baths (instead of one in the morning), it made things quite quicker. I hope you manage to get there on time tomorrow, it sounds like you’ve put a good few things in place!.

Hi sc, I love your name!. Thanks for the congratulations, only a few weeks away now!.

wooly I was huge with DD, but am quite small this time. I’m petite as it is though so any bump looks huge on me!. I love that print, it’s beautiful. I hope you’ve warmed up from your cold walk!.

I hope you managed to get an early night hills

foxes you’ve really made me laugh by forgetting about your birthday proposal😂. I know what you mean though, about life before kids.

How old is McTiny now mc? (Sorry if I’ve already asked)!

ta da
Basic household chores
Scrubbed kitchen cabinets and drawers (disgusted by how dirty they got)
Rearranged cupboards
Collapsed

Wow people have been busy.

KCC I have two. I used to always wish for a horse and just after my 15 th birthday my wish came true. I woke up about 5am and thought he wasn’t there but then out of the morning shadows and mist he was walking towards me. I remember rubbing my eyes as I wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking or he really had arrived( they were late and instructed to leave him in the field. He was lovely although a handful.

The other is probably not as long ago when I turned 60. I never had a big birthday not 18, 21,30,40 or 50 so I decided I would do something special. I went with my children and best friends ( who had had a horrible year) to stay overnight in a castle near Edinburgh. My DS2 paid for me to stay a night in Edinburgh in the Balmoral hotel. We had views over Princes Street, the garden and you could see the castle. My youngest son had paid for my meal in the evening. DD came with me and DS2 had ordered a car to take us all around Edinburgh and then to the castle. My sister’s got wind of it and paid for a massage in the spa. The rooms were all themed and gorgeous. We had a wonderful meal in the dungeon and drinks after with our own barman to mix cocktails. I slept in a very old, oak bed which they said Mary Queen of Scots had slept in it was certainly fit for a queen. Next day we walked around the grounds visited the spa and saw the birds of prey flying before driving home.

I have never had crispy beef either.
Mornings were hectic here too. DD was the worst for getting ready. Radio rather than tv on.Cattle prod is useful.

Dancing glad you found some on eBay.

I am also decluttering sitting room. Moved sofa today. I had asked DH but he forgot. Vacuumed and ran a cloth over the carpet meets skirting board. I put some things away. Tonight I looked at what was left and put them on the table until it looked better ( except the table) and will put them away tomorrow.
The painter can’t do the hall until New Year as he has a big job on. I think I got everything done that I wanted to today.

Kitchen wall unit done early this morning.
Stripped the covers off sofa and washed. Drying on Everhot.
LoL clothes
Hens fed and cleaned out , shavings are easier.
Bed made
Kitchen work tops wiped.
Washed up lunch dishes.
Vacuumed sitting room including under sofa.
Dusted sitting room.
Washed window.

DH did the front door and skirting in hall.

Hoping to get the tree down. Asked DH for the wreaths but still he hasn’t gone up the loft.

🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒to everyone. Cuddles for Mctiny

Sherin sorry you have bunged up feeling. Some steam perhaps tomorrow.
We have a car but have hardly been out of our village. I feel safer here although two people have it. I can remember not going far when I had DS1 and pregnant. I used to go to playgroup with him and to the beach as we lived about 10 minutes walk from it otherwise we met in each other’s houses and at the park behind our house. I couldn’t drive then.

I think you do quite a lot. It is all a little one needs. Your village sounds bigger than ours. We have a primary school, a church and a pub all within two minutes walk from each other and my house. Oh and a village hall where not much happens. A cluster of houses then farms. A river that sometimes floods the road.

Morning all, I've been up since 5.15 as morning swimming for DD is back on now. Drove her to the sports centre, jogged very carefully back (black ice everywhere). Fed the cats, made a cuppa and have just spent 10 minutes with the Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles and catching up with the thread. Going to have a sower and get ready for work in a minute then write some Christmas cards. Broadband is better this morning but wasn't good last night.

Sherin - it sounds as though you do plenty. I went back to work after having my two DCs, but when I was on maternity leave and on days off we had a routine of going out twice a day. I do have a car but we usually didn't go far, walk, park, local soft play, coffee at a friend's house. Downtime at home is good for young DC IMO.

Bower - the 60th sounds amazing! We did a long weekend in Edinburgh for two of my friends 30th many years ago, pre DC and had a great time.

*Sing - a belated HAppy Birthday! I'm another fan of shredded crispy chilli beef.

SC - lovely to hear from you!

Hills - hope you got a decent night's sleep, things sound tough

Zoo - same to you,

Willow - finger is improved but not completely better, dull ache rather than sharp pain now. I can't write for long. I found some voltarol gel in the medicine box, going to try that for a few days.

Dancing lovely to hear bout the fraggles helping out with the routines.

Do I have to is my phrase of the day

Not even flapping this past week, more like frantic flopping, ☹️

The newly arranged utility room has made a huge difference. It does not, however, make the laundry mountain smaller, only neater. I always get the feeling that things should stay where I put them after so much effort. Really, really needing a holiday.

Zoo - is it said in the style of 'kevin'?
Thank you for suggesting yesterday I checked the weather as I never do and rarely look out the window to check. I did check this morning and minus 1 it was.
It really really helped preping the school bags the night before thank you.

We were 5mins late today. Yesterday we were 10mins late. I think I need to factor in more time for everybody put hats and gloves on.

Yesterday I had a Asda delivery of a longline winter coat for lil fraggle. Its pink, and she didnt want to wear it because she wanted to wear her unicorn coat 🤦‍♀️.
Managed to get her to keep it on. Its so cosy with a furry material lining it all the way to the knees. Its a bigger size than she needs so I hope she doesnt fall down at school.
Now we have this long winter coat, I have decided I can take the fraggles earlier to school and we can wait in the line and not worry about her knees being cold.

Just seen my first robin of winter in my garden, its so cute.

so far this morning have dealt with running warm, dizzy, feeling off teen (37.2C temp, slept 14hrs)
delivered to school because running late and exams
sorted the to do list that was delegated yesterday (but forgotten)
realised need to tape fingers from where dislocated
Need to finish getting dressed as just threw some stuff on to drop ds off.
I would say that i need a list, but i don't. Strong pain killers and lots and lots of coffee.
48hrs ds needs to be well for 48hrs and then he can be sick.

ED and sherin thank you. Birthday was really nice and chilled, I didn’t feel sad about not being able to go out, just had a relaxed day :)

Bower your 60th sounds amazing!

Dancing well done for getting stuff prepped for the morning, especially for getting the fraggles involved! Would it help to have a visual chart? You could have a tick list (laminated or written in sharpie on a whiteboard, if you want to be able to actually tick it off each day) with pictures of all the things that need doing each night to be your Future Friend. Anyway I hope it made your morning easier, don’t worry if it was still a mad rush though as these things do take time.

I’ve moved yesterday’s laundry into the dryer, put another LOL on and wrestled Cagletini into clothes (she didn’t want to go to nursery and is not my friend anymore apparently 😂). Now I need to see how DS is as he’s coughing a bit and seemed a bit under the weather. Which has so many more implications now!

Morning all

Im so tired. And even if i sleep i am still tired dunno what is up with me but even my 7 year old has picked up on it. I started taking vitamin d but havent seen much difference

I feel like a soggy deflated balloon