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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Fledglings bolt into Spring! Fresh air, fresh flowers, fresh sheets – No fledgling left behind…

708 replies

BeanAnTae · 30/01/2022 16:20

Thread starts on 1 February, but you are welcome to land and say hello until then
Thank you to Hills who has given us a tour-de-force thread for the deepest, darkest days of January when we were all flagging. We all know you are really busy and appreciate the time you took to go in depth with the baby steps.
Welcome to Flylady if you are a newbie or a regular fledgling– it is a zone based cleaning system, spread out over 4-6 weeks (depending on how the month falls.) The zones cover different areas of the home so we concentrate on a particular zone in a given week. But there is also a weekly hour of cleaning (can be split into 10 min segments) to make sure the bins are emptied, main areas hoovered, sheets changed – you get the drift…
And each day of the week has a focus – Thursday is errand day for example.

So , today is Tuesday 1 February – the first day of Spring if you are joining us in the North Hemisphere or Happy Autumn to those in the South. This thread brings you right up to Pancake Tuesday which is 1 March 2022.
Flylady site
This week we are in 2 Zones:
Zone 5: The Living Room
Zone 1: The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room
February Habit: Decluttering for 15 Minutes a Day

Monday – Weekly Home Blessing
Tuesday – Plan and Play
Wednesday – Anti-Procrastination Day
Thursday – Errand Day
Friday – Clean-out your Purse and Car Day
Saturday – Family Fun Day
Sunday – Renew your Spirit Day

It is plan and play day on Tuesdays – I usually plan menus and things to do on Tuesdays but the system is customisable to what works for you and your life.
Feel free to jump onto the thread and post your To Do list of household and family stuff achieved and, if you like, post your Ta Da list when you’ve got stuff done. We all encourage each other along and we all have different lives, pressures etc and we are not at all precious about the system – it can be used as you see fit. For example I don’t clean my dining room in zone 1 as it’s part of my living area so I do it in zone 5.
There is a general mantra of ‘No fledgling left behind’ which basically means you can’t fall behind in the system – you just start up again. So there’s no need for a massive Spring Clean – you just jump in.
Some jargon has evolved over the years, for example – cherry waves was an autocorrect of cheery waves, the pointy stick ---> is sometimes requested if you are having particular problems with procrastination and the naughty corner which is where we collapse to take a break.
As well as ‘To Do’, I’m going to try ‘To Be’ because I’m a Human Being not just a Human Doing. So my aim is to be more present (on the thread and in my head!) and more positive. I live far north in the UK so it is pretty dark here at the moment and I am SO looking forward to more daylight. And a shiny sink!

[Exit stage left pursued by a child]

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Thread gallery
14
IWasWillingToGoWassailing · 08/02/2022 10:04

Am definitely taking today as a dot day, I feel like a wet rag. Slept badly worrying about weighing myself this morning, I really must find a way of dealing with that.

Pretty sorry you couldn't sleep after settling the baby, but glad your first day back went well. Zoo please be careful, you will do yourself a mischief. Wild glad you achieved a self-care day. That is NEVER wasted.

Frankie we decided reward charts didn't work for chores (DD too competitive, DS3 too worried about it, DS2 too lackadaisical). What we did in the end was frame it as "we have to do these jobs as a family and we all need to do them or Mum will be broken. So we're giving each of you specific jobs to avoid arguments". I think we started with table-setting and clearing jobs and worked up from there. The natural consequence of not doing a job was everyone else being grumpy with you AND you having to do it anyway. On the other hand, I was famous at the Infant School as the Mean Mummy who enforced naps for pre-schoolers (cos I'd go mad otherwise) and made the DC put their own socks in the dirty basket 😱 so maybe that approach won't suit 😁.

Ta da:
❤️ Morning routine
🧡 Desk-day house financial stuff with DH
💛 Sit on sofa with coffee and toast

To do:
🪡 Embroidery
🧺 more LOL
🛒 Get to Tesco for prescriptions and writing icing for DD
🚶‍♀️stupid walk, if I have the energy
🧑‍🔧 Plumber coming at 11.30 to to remove broken waste disposal and turn it back into an ordinary half sink

HillsBesideTheSea · 08/02/2022 11:03

You know if you keep calling it the stupid walk it has a pre-found affect on your thought patterns... And is the kind of negative self talk that can cause problems. Psychologically it is fascinating. It's like if you keep telling yourself you can't sleep then you work. It is the expression: If you think you can or you cannot, you are right.

I crashed hard last night. Managed not to nap, didn't manage to sleep early (2am again) and jumped out of bed when the door bell went just now. Feel like i have been hit by a truck.

I have no idea what i am supposed to be doing other than laundry and marking out the back of the cuttlery tray so that sucker can be glued and pannel pinned so stuff no longer disappears into the next compartments.

It feels like a mondayish tuesday!

SingToTheSky · 08/02/2022 11:11

Morning everyone. Just about. Didn’t have time to pop on before my meeting, it was a slow morning after a rough night with Cagletini.

YesTaDa
🚗made and sent an invoice
🚗cleaned litter tray, replaced hay
🚗shower, hair, moisturiser
🚗3 hour planning meeting
🚗dinner and played with letters and cars with Cagletini
🚗enjoyed playtime with Cagbunny as she was very brave and hopped out of her hutch for food and a sniff about!
🚗delegated a few chores
🚗swept LR

YesTaDidn’t
❌tutorial. Really hadn’t thought that through. Also need to get my DSA sorted so I can potentially get a better PC - the one I got before is unfortunately pretty useless.

Anyway staff meeting was shorter than usual today, so I should really make the most of the time to either relax or get stuff done. Maybe both.

po3.1
❗️Order meds
❗️LOL
❗️Find charger for work phone

Then I’ll just put some tv on I think.

Redsquirrel5 · 08/02/2022 11:26

I agree hills it feels like a Mondayish Tuesday!

I am just getting up. Woke at 9am DH brought me a large mug of tea when he got up. I have stinking headache. It was really dark here this morning and now wet and cold and we are expecting snow!

Be back later I need to crack on now and get LOL in and I am cleaning out cupboards. I did the fridge and two cupboards yesterday. Plan two today and then only baking cupboard to do...I say only...it is the largest!

🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋to everyone. Off to find paracetamol.

SingToTheSky · 08/02/2022 11:46

Feeling a bit better after watching an episode of Community.

po3.2
❗️Read PowerPoint and speak to colleague about short presentation
❗️Prepare for maths lesson later
❗️Have lunch and then change into work top before presentation

HillsBesideTheSea · 08/02/2022 12:07

Sooooo I found a recipe for doughnuts....

THATunorganisedMUM · 08/02/2022 12:21

Ta da

💙 all up fed dressed and out for 845
💜 dishwasher on
🧡 washer on
💛 kitchen bin empty
💚 started asda order
💙 hung wet washing around house
💜 emptied dehumidifier
🧡 washed and sterilised bottles
💛 made lunch
💚 nipped to shops
💙 took dc for haircut
💜 put away few bits shopping

swallowedAfly · 08/02/2022 12:59

Grin wassaling - I was the evil parent who would not carry all their child's shite home from school for them. I'd see kids come out and just shove their bags and coats and whatever at the mum's like they were their sherpa and I thought err no. Not doing that. He carried his own and got a, "I'm not your donkey" when he did try to shove things at me.

Very mean of me.

Very little happening today. I've officially declared it a day off. Went back to sleep eventually and didn't wake up in time to get ds out of bed so he's gained a day off school. Bad mummy. I am also massively craving crap to eat and ravenous. My diet is not going well at the minute. My sleep is all over the shop and I'm hungrier than usual.

Very nearly half term. Think I'm ready for it.

SingToTheSky · 08/02/2022 13:38

Presentation done. Not gonna say I smashed it, but it did go well I think!

po3.3
❗️Pop downstairs for a bit and play with Cagletini
❗️Maths at 2
❗️Make list of work tasks to do after

SingToTheSky · 08/02/2022 15:45

Maths lesson great, written somewhat alarming list of work tasks to get on with later. But in the meantime DH and I agreed we need to do some general tidying up and searching for lost things. So want to do that in a vaguely sensible organised manner 😬

HazelNuttyElf · 08/02/2022 16:08

There's some epic lists on here for the last few days!

Ta Das:
Sunday
💕 changed out wreath on front door from Christmas to a heart for Valentine's Day
💕 Swept around back door (side door really, the one we use all the time)
💕 cleaned mirrors throughout the house
💕 S&S both bathrooms
💕 LOLs x2 (towels)
💕 made double batch of milk chocolate orange truffles

YesTaDas:
🤔 ummmmm, work (10 hours)
🤔 leftovers for dinner
🤔 rotated DW

Ta Das so far today:
💘 stripped my bed
💘 rewashed lol that was in the washer overnight 🤦‍♀️ DC clearly forgot about it
💘 2nd cup of coffee being drank as I type
💘 cooked breakfast for DH for the week (was actually the first thing I did, after drinking my 1st cup of coffee!)

I still have a few to Dos today though, but the day is young (9am right now):
🍬 sort out milk chocolate orange truffles that I made on Sunday
🍬 make peanut butter truffles
🍬 wash my sheets and remake the bed
🍬 S&S
🍬 rotate DW
🍬 pull chicken wings and drumsticks out of freezer for dinner tonight
🍬 go meet with the guy who we are buying new wheels & tyres from for my jeep and have them put on. My one tyre keeps going flat and we don't know why, so I need to have them check it as well before we try to sell my set.

Well my coffee is now gone, time to get moving. I probably should start with a shower!

THATunorganisedMUM · 08/02/2022 17:39

Ta da cont

💜 speak to woman about new job
💙 LOL x 4
💚 collect dc from school
💛 email about wrap around care
🧡 add to food shop order
💜 empty and reload dw
💙 bring down all washing from bathroom
💚 make tea
💛 rotate drying washing

SingToTheSky · 08/02/2022 18:18

Good luck with your to do list hazel

We had a productive hour or so, and the living room Kallax (16 squares) is looking far better, as is the top which was close to avalanche stage! But I got tired really quickly so we quit while we were ahead, and I hid upstairs for a bit watching The Sinner before DH had to log on to his meeting.

Still can’t find the diary. Confused

po3.4
❗️Start working through my work to do list and decide what needs to wait for school hours tomorrow
❗️Last few bits of Kallax tidying, including putting stuff away upstairs
❗️Move laundry to dryer and get DD1 to put all her clothes away

BeanAnTae · 08/02/2022 18:24

Hills is it a baked donut recipe because I have a morbid fear of deep fat fryers?!

Red I hope you don't get snow. I would loooove a large baking cupboard. I had one - double sided with lots of room but alas the tumbledryer needed a home indoors so we had the cupboard ripped out. I have one upper cupboard for flour etc and one half cupboard for tins and bowls but these cupboards are on the opposite side of the kitchen. Never mind.

DH is cooking dinner and I am catching up on work but our ironing is under control and I have changed sheets on ds's bed.

Cherry waves to all!

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prettygirlincrimsonrose · 08/02/2022 18:26

Tadas

Did a quick bathroom clean
Emptied dishwasher
Took DCs to nursery
Did the work that was my focus for today
Had a meeting with my manager
Put away washing
Changed our bed
Quick bedroom tidyl

Still need to cook and ideally would like to get some things sorted this evening, but given lack of sleep this probably won't happen.

HillsBesideTheSea · 08/02/2022 18:38

Unfortunately not Bean it is a fried recipe but wondering if it would work in the air fryer. The plan is to make it up and put one in oven, one in air fryer and fry the rest as per the instructions. It is my first night of the people being on holiday nice thing for me. But it is also the kind of recipe that is spread out over a couple of days. So there needs to be a lot of prep work done to make so.

BeanAnTae · 08/02/2022 18:39

prettygirl - given the lack of sleep then I'd just shelf the other things. You'll be more productive later if you get some rest today.

I am writing a long list of life stuff that needs to be attended to. Then have to do the work one - eek!

But I have bought a new notebook and nice HB 2 pencils so feeling organised!

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HillsBesideTheSea · 08/02/2022 18:52

It has been hideously grey and miserable out there today. I wanted to head out into the hills but there was not really enough light to be doing what i wanted to do.

ta da
Get half way through sorting desk in office
rewatch an online training session
deal with the people and next phase of habits to be built in
deal with the one who won't
find a system to help with the one who won't
sort out what i want in my financial system
sort out what i want in my health tracking system
set up food diary
do some banking for ds
make arrangements with a friend
provide tech support for a system I built - remote only. Not my circus not my monkeys.
collect laundry and sort
put towels away in the linnen cupboard Shock Grin Progess!
deal with timings for next phase building work
hunt for some allergy friendly recipes - ergo doughnuts
sort some shelves out - what i did yesterday didn't work because apparently my ability to judge the size of things is off
head into the room of doom looking to see if i was correct in remembering there being an accordion file in there.
file some more staples for the stapler
empty cutlery tray and mark up for being glued and pannel pinned.
hunt out the ingrediants for tea
Find note book and consider if is actually the best way of recording the info i want for the financial system or if a computerised/A4 system would work better - seriously considering printable template sheets so there is no setting up!
decide that it is no cold enough that shorts and t-shirts might need to be converted to leggings and jumper.
Make up plant food for feeding later this week.
Play hunt the safe place Hmm lost my new inhaler. Bugger.
find boxes for setting up with daily meds
System analysis - and figure out what changes are needed
Deal with issues of personal branding. modern times but interesting links with goals and lifestyle.
Email inbox to zero on 2 accounts
look at current filing system to identify duplications
Unsubscribe from a load of social media followings
Easy win LOL
Folding
Complete broken down to do list for getting done before the 19th. Damn it is long!
Cook tea - bacon part baked bagettes for tea tonight
Arrange a walk with another friend
Make up the ikea list
Sort out list of things to be done after 19th
Make hot water bottle because just. cant. get warm. even sat in bed under a pile of duvets.

And now I am off to do some study. All rock and roll here today.

BeanAnTae · 08/02/2022 19:19

Ah yes the mysteries of 'the safe place' 😁
I can't lose this, this is fragile, important, useful, belongs to someone else so I'll put it somewhere safe...

Usually I come up with a first safe place and then change my mind. When it comes to retrieval I will remember the first place I thought of, and the reason why it was rejected but I will not be able to make the mental leap to the second safe place.

My usual refrain is 'I can't find my hearing aids!!'. But it could be keys, glasses, phone.

OP posts:
prettygirlincrimsonrose · 08/02/2022 19:37

Bean we have Google home which helps with finding misplaced phones. Sadly it can't yet locate purses or keys put in the wrong place.

SingToTheSky · 08/02/2022 20:37

Don’t even start about safe places. Pretty sure the diary is in one!

I’ve had dinner and got some work done. And had a lovely time with both DDs and Cagbunny hopping around us. Love her!

Still need to sort the living room though.

BeanAnTae · 08/02/2022 20:48

Ah Hills - a great experiment. The proof is in the eating!

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BeanAnTae · 08/02/2022 20:53

Just a note to say the app is munching some posts from us all. Hills' post about the donuts and the airfyer are missing ☹️

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HillsBesideTheSea · 08/02/2022 20:57

Bean MN has been glitchy on the computer (ie not app) all day.

BeanAnTae · 08/02/2022 21:34

Baby step 9 introduces the five minute room rescue www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-9/

Need a house rescue but never mind 😁...

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day - you'll know what you've been putting off til whenever...

www.flylady.net/c/lp.php

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