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Housekeeping

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Darkness drawing in, Fledgling flying through November

598 replies

HillsBesideTheSea · 31/10/2021 12:13

So another month another thread.

first things first: Naughty corner is over there ----> stocked with comfy chairs, blankies, cupboard of comfort food of your desire, something strong if you require and a nice warming fire.

Right next up the formalities.
We loosely follow the fly lady system. It does work if you follow it, but many of us have found that it works better if you combine it with an additional decluttering system to speed up that process. Flylady is more of a maintence system and build routines to prevent system

This is a loooooong running thread. We seem clicky but welcome new blood to the brood, and you will soon catch up. We don't leave fledglings behind. But also we would like to remind you that perfectionism and comparison can be thieves of joy.

This year has been hard, this winter looks like it will also be hard. So remember to be kind to yourselves. We are all juggling a lot. The house, work, kids, animals, partners, bills, being the family brain. This thread is here to support. So if it looks like sometimes we chat more than we fly, then that is ok. Life is more than living in a show home, and real life is chaotic, messy and loud and that is just what it is.

So welcome to November's thread

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Thread gallery
16
Redsquirrel5 · 11/11/2021 23:08

Everyone has been quite busy.

Hazel really your boss should have said no she would have to wait and follow the plan but at least next year you will have it. Do have a look on the Christmas thread there is a Poncetastic thread with the most gorgeous embroidered 12 days of Christmas. Two types near the last pages. Stunning and you would have all year to do it.

Zoo did the cahms person turn up? Hope DS is ok.

Hills I am in the plant club too. Sometimes they just fall into your trolley as you are going past.

Honey good luck with your application. I can remember Unision fighting our corner and I think we got a 2p per hour raise. How yours is better than that.

Woolly glad you seem to be taking it a bit easier.

Sing oh dear poor DH. You did very well with the lesson I wouldn’t know where to start. Technology was getting beyond me.

Welcome M

Been distracted and now other’s day has fallen out of my brain, sorry.

DH has had his booster.
Stripped bed and then sat on it sorting out some magazines and looking for Christmas stuff when I should have been dusting.
Vacuumed rug.
Sorted pills for as long as I can.
Put away a basket of clothes, folded neatly.
Washed one load of clothes and one load of sheets, pillowcases sand towels.
Dried above.
Cleaned out hens. Gave them some worms.

Prawns, black garlic with salad.
Made pork loin chops in cider with apples and onions.
Cauli, beans, new potatoes

Time for bed.
Need to make it first.

HauntingHazel · 12/11/2021 04:52

We found a tree! And we decided to do a Harry Potter themed tree (the theme this year is a Christmas character) and we came across a stuffed Christmas Harry Potter so decided that was it! We have a snowy owl tree topper and found ribbon that will work and even some glasses 👓

Ta Das:
🧙‍♂️ S&S both bathrooms
🧙‍♂️ sorted bills out
🧙‍♂️ made grocery list
🧙‍♂️ went grocery shopping
🧙‍♂️ went shopping for a tree 🎄
🧙‍♂️ made dinner
🧙‍♂️ watched 2 movies
🧙‍♂️ LOLs x6 (blankets and towels mostly) done throughout the day
🧙‍♂️ kitchen cleaned up from dinner
🧙‍♂️ countertops wiped down
🧙‍♂️ DW rotated and started
🧙‍♂️ lunch made for tomorrow & clothes out and ready for the morning

Best be off to take a shower and get to bed. Time has been flying for me today.

HauntingHazel · 12/11/2021 04:55

Red I forgot to add, she's about the same level as my boss, so she doesn't really have authority over her, they are both heads of departments, with the same boss.
I'll try to find the thread you were talking about, although it sounds like something I wouldn't be able to do myself.

MrsTidyHouse · 12/11/2021 06:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dancingtomusic · 12/11/2021 08:23

Kids are breakfast club happy- yay!

Hazel- we need a picture of a harry potter tree! What a great idea!!! I love the harry potter books!

Redsquirrel5 · 12/11/2021 08:30

Hazel ah I see. Never mind yours is next year.
Harry Potter sounds great.
I thought you did embroidery, sorry. They do look quite complicated but very beautiful. We did. A 12 days of Christmas at church once. I did the partridge in the pear tree and seven swans in felt. I got them off the Internet. It was an American lady and she had made patterns for all sorts of birds. The partridge turned out very well.

Morning +MrsTidy That is quite a list.

To do.
Boudoir
Dust surfaces.
Ironing
Check ingredients for Christmas cake.
Sweep path

HillsBesideTheSea · 12/11/2021 08:54

Hazel that sounds great.
MrsT schools that don't issue homework are the way forwards

I did not sleep well. Technology says i woke up for the day at 6:20 ish. but i was definitely asleep and ignoring the alarm at 8am this morning. My motivation is none existant this morning but showup is the approach that i am taking so i am going to show up and put the stuff from the junk room that has to be clear out in the dinning room under the table. I will deal with that later...

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SingToTheSky · 12/11/2021 09:37

Morning all. Feeling so bleary eyed this morning and definitely relate to the “life being uphill” mentioned by Honey (well done for valuing yourself and completing the form!)

Hazel YAY for Harry Potter tree 😍 any chance you could get ravens/badgers/snakes too?

po3.1
❗️Phone call from disability charity work coach
❗️Dressed, ear drops, breakfast
❗️LOL

MrsTidyHouse · 12/11/2021 11:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HillsBesideTheSea · 12/11/2021 12:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HillsBesideTheSea · 12/11/2021 12:22

God i had forgotten why i must never engage on the issue of the school system. Sorry.

I have seen, experienced and fought against the worst of the system; so I will happily admit my views are tainted by that.

Please understand that I am not judging you, I am just fed up of having to deal with a system is essentially in need of some major non political reform.

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HillsBesideTheSea · 12/11/2021 13:30

I had HQ delete my rant. the only paragraph or real consequence is this one

"The best school i ever taught at was one with a no homework policy. Kids focused better, lessons were better structured and they DID NOT get behind their peers. and yet they were constantly slated by ofsted for not issuing homework. But absent rates were lower, stress was less of a problem. Staff and kids were both happier than any where else I taught as they had down time"

The other sentence is that was of consequence was that "i wish the education system would be reformed so that parents were not made to feel guilty or like they were failing their kid because the system was failing."

But i do feel strongly that if we drum into adults the importance of leaving work at work for mental health and well being, why do we not give our kids the same curtesy.

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Redsquirrel5 · 12/11/2021 13:31

Ta da
🍁errand run
🍁dusted chest of drawers x2
🍁dusted all the stuff on it.
🍁polished mirror
🍁cleaned window sill
🍁dusted bedside cupboards
🍁vacuumed wooden floor
🍁sorted basket

Still have some stuff on my bed. Not sure where to put it. Have a pile of stuff to decide what to do with. What a miserable day outside. Lots of leaves off the sycamore and beech. Lime tree is hanging on to its now yellow leaves. Wet and windy.
Pleased I am getting boudoir done as only procrastinated for three days this time. It looks better even though it isn’t finished yet. Things are shiny.😃

🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒🍁

HauntingHazel · 12/11/2021 13:35

Tidy my DS's teacher doesn't believe in homework, and neither did his last teacher. He hasn't had homework for the last 3 years (same teacher as last year). She said it's because teaching is her job, not ours, and the only time he would have homework is if he didn't finish his work in class. He has never had homework. But, I also know that next year will be very different and it'll be a shock to him. Keep in mind, I live in one of the worst states for education (Maybe THE worst state?), but both my DC are pretty much straight A students.

I will definitely post pictures of the Harry Potter tree, as well as the nightmare before Christmas tree that I will hopefully get to work on next week at work (I still haven't seen it).
Red I did a peek on that Christmas thread last night, they are my people (other than the cross stitch), making things homemade and being creative, I love it! Thank you for sharing that thread with me.

merryhouse · 12/11/2021 17:51

TaDa
put naan loaf in bread machine
put on darks wash
deforested
non-karate ironing
put ironing away
exercise class
shower etc
wrestled loaf out of bread machine (the pan won't turn enough to come out until you wiggle the paddle, which is of course inside the loaf)
lunch, tea
hung washing
made haircut appointment
did crossword and faffed a bit
took in Amazon parcel BiL's present
made large quantity of carrot and cumin soup
washed up
ironed and put away gis
prepared pizza toppings
cleared draining board

Feeling virtuous. Still to do: book flu jab. Go to haircut (tomorrow am). Freeze three-quarters of soup, put rest in fridge. Cut loaf (tomorrow) and freeze what doesn't get eaten. Do some cleaning?

The last three days I have woken up with a sharp headache, which eventually goes after some persuasion ibuprofen. This morning I kept getting a thudding in my ear - not heartbeat-related but a similar idea - particularly when I turned over quickly. Wondering if it's something to do with my sinuses. (Thursday LFT negative.)

TheHoneyBadger · 12/11/2021 21:06

I confess I set homework on teh system because I get judged by whether it's set but basically never check on it and never give warnings or mark anyone down for not doing it. Not.a.fan and loathe box ticking exercises. So it's set, no one can say ooh I see you haven't been setting homework but that's as far as I will engage.

Knackered here. On top of a working day I've marked 50 essays and written feedback (about 70 left to do), written about 40 reports (90 left to do) and turned around dw and sorted a lol. Everything has insanely fallen into a very tight window with tight deadlines and so everything has to be done before Monday. Can only hope it calms down afterwards.

Weekend then is marking, report writing and trying to get on top of laundry.

I didn't see the school rant but I'm sure I'd empathise. Despite being a teacher or perhaps because of it I home educated my son for nearly 3 years during primary.

Mc3209 · 12/11/2021 21:49

Tidy I agree. I come from a very different schooling system, and yet to experience British one properly (when my ds goes to school in few years time), but the concept of no homework seems a bit wild to me.

Ta das:
🎉Zone work, woo hoo! Cleaned out the fridge and put an oven liner through a dishwasher.
🎉Big pile of outgrown baby clothes to charity. Spare room is starting to look less like a dumping ground now.
🎉Stripped and remade beds.
🎉Did I mention laundry? LOL in..

Tomorrow will clean out the toaster and a microwave.

SingToTheSky · 13/11/2021 00:21

This afternoon was rubbish. Being a parent of a teen and a preschooler is exhausting. That is all.

HillsBesideTheSea · 13/11/2021 08:26

Aint that the truth Sing and I just have a teenager

Moved some furntiture.
Popped out to drop a present with a friend, and ended up losing time talking
teen ranted about how i am irrasponsible and neglectful and he was sick of eating pasta (tbf the kitchen was in no state for anything else)
Went to bed far far far too late last night so the alarm clock really hurt this morning.

Still on first coffee of the day but ta da
curtains in dryer
white wash on
moved some furniture
moved some books
fed the fish
Sighed at all the chaos that is going to get worse before it gets better

Just going to drink my coffee and get dressed for the day. Not sure how today is going to play out but will have to deal with that one coffee at a time

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TheHoneyBadger · 13/11/2021 08:50

Bloody teenagers Hills. Mine was moaning I hadn’t done enough washing the other day. I was tired and had too much on my plate so offered to show him how to operate the washing machine and never do any washing again if he continued to moan.

I’ve started the day with a brisk half hour walk to start the day with a bit of exercise and fresh air to try and aid my mood and energy levels. Only noticeable effects so far are being sweaty and feeling like going back to bed lol.

Going to have an hour to just chill now then put a lol on and get stuck into marking again.

HillsBesideTheSea · 13/11/2021 08:59

Tbf i haven't cooked once for him this week and was supposed to at least twice but not been home. I think considering it was a fair complaint Blush

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Stilllivinginazoo · 13/11/2021 09:29

If I can chime in on the homework thing
Reading books in primary- I helped with class reading and it was obvious who had access to/read books at home
The zoolets were a mix of loved homework and was like pulling out fingernails with pliers on the pleasure scale with others

Secondary-boyh girls attend the same school.homeworks mandatory,checked and there are sanctions it doesn't get done.lil zoo is organised and likes doing things at her own pace,so has no issue.dd2 is not.ahe finds the added work after struggling with too much peopling all day is drowning her(a level coursework is massive with classwork,freetime course work and homework).Watching her MH struggle but knowing chuff all I can do to change the system is the hardest part of parenting EVER

Hazel can't wait to see the tree
Sing Hufflepuffs live here too
Hills I confess all my plants are DEAD.i seem to be bringing them home to die...
Where am I going wrong?

Hard few days here.not felt well physically or mentally
Dd2 having big MH wobble (see above observation)

In lighter news lil zoo assessment for GCSE coursework earned her an 8(a in old money).she's year 9 currently(English,science and maths are now 3year course)and she's extremely chuffed

SingToTheSky · 13/11/2021 09:30

Morning. Need to get myself moving soon. Just realised I don’t have as much time as I thought 😬

po3.1
❗️Dressed, meds, breakfast, ear drops
❗️Choose Cagletini some clothes for dance
❗️Leave in good time to get the bus to town

HillsBesideTheSea · 13/11/2021 09:36

some plants are easier to kill than others.
stress kills plants

I really have to be in the right head space otherwise i also just kill everything! Even spider plants and they are known for being indestructible (and pretty much are considering the treatment some of mine have survived)

Don't believe the hype - succulants and cactii are super super super easy to kill. Garden centers despair over the fact that ferns are prompted as good house plants because they are picky (ditto with english ivy)

But honestly my biggest thing is my stress level. it is always when i get super stressed that i kill things. causes typically, under watering, over watering, getting caught out by a frost, scourched by sun, forgetting they occassionally need a feed

maybe start with a spider plant because they really do take some effort to kill? And you have the added issue of cats. I think potos is poisonous to cats? but that was not info i stored cos i was looking at fish at the time

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Stilllivinginazoo · 13/11/2021 09:59

I have successfully killed a spider plant..the leaves went yellowy Brown at the ends and it gave up on me.i do have relatively draughty cold house that has Hot sun in kitchen window in the summer but living room has no direct sunlight...