Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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]

OP posts:
Thread gallery
14
Stilllivinginazoo · 11/02/2022 03:51

ladyFlowers

Well lasts night's 5 hours was clearly a one off.so far tonight I've had 10 and 20 minute naps totalling 11/2 fucking hours.now totally awake and very not impressed

HazelNuttyElf · 11/02/2022 04:16

Lady it sounds like you've had a rough time 💐 for you. It's okay to feel sorry for ourselves for a short time, as long as you don't stay there! Aim to start with one little thing or 15 minutes and give yourself a break with no guilt

zoo fitting time in for yourself is always a good thing! I did last night with my bath, yes, my shoulder hurt (& it helped amazingly wild) but I added lots of bubbles, Epsom salts, lit some candles and took a drink in there, it was so relaxing, I highly recommend it!

wild that's good that you didn't have much to declutter, I know how frustrating it can be to find way more of something that you didn't realise you had. At least the foil can't go bad!

Red I hope you're feeling better soon 💐 isn't it funny how we meet someone briefly who can end up being in our lives in the future in one way or another, sorry to hear she's no longer around though

ED oh I'm sorry to hear about your casserole dish. It's such a shame when things like that happen, but now you have an excuse to go out and buy a replacement. Sorry that dinner wasn't the greatest after all

wild making flylady work for you is definitely the best thing, we all have to fit it in our schedules or it will never work! That's the great thing about this thread, there is no one way that is best

hills it sounds like you had a rough day. Do you think they're acting that way because they don't want you to leave and move on with your life?

Bean the only saying I can think of right now is a line from a song "things can only get better" although I'm currently sitting on my arse, on mumsnet, drinking a white Russian while I have a mess in the kitchen of things that need to go back downstairs (basement) and I'm ignoring it 😅 not a very good role model for the newbies on the thread am I?!

Sing I hope you actually got to enjoy your break, without feeling guilty

spaghetti welcome back! You were here before my time, I'm sure. I moved house last year, it was a big upheaval. We had lived in our previous home for 14 1/2 years, so had lots to move. I had big plans to create new routines and keep on top of everything better, ha! I was able to keep some things going, but feel like I am not doing as much as I should every day/ week.

zoo were you actually able to ignore "the corner"?

So after another 10 hour day at work, I'm currently doing nothing we had leftovers for dinner. DS & DH rotated DW. I really do have a mess in the kitchen, DD who is done with school, home all day, doing no housework (that we can tell), although working late every night.
We've had a rough couple of days. We just found out that DH grandma is now on hospice care, she's home with MIL, who is her caregiver 24 hours a day since just before Christmas. This was not the plan. She's supposed to live forever! She had a stroke 5 or 6 years ago, was in a care facility, alone, ever since. She can't sit, stand, talk (other than yes, sure or no), let alone feed herself or go to the bathroom herself. MIL did this for a living (hospice care) for 40+ years, she knows what she's doing, but it's taking a toll on her.
I know this is a safe space to vent, that's all I'm doing. Grandma needs to be comfortable, she's surrounded by love, but it's still hard to know that time is coming, eventually. It may not be now, it could be in a month, 6 months, 2 years, who knows? But being under "hospice care" will mean that MIL will have more support, as she needs that for sure.

Anyway, enough of that. I really should get things put away, but honestly I don't see it being done until the weekend. I'm going to try to make it an early night. Last night wasn't as bad as it has been, but not the time I wanted to be in bed by.

🍒👋 to everyone

HazelNuttyElf · 11/02/2022 04:18

zoo 💐 I'm so sorry you have trouble sleeping. DD sometimes takes melatonin to help her sleep as it's more natural. Have you tried that before?

HillsBesideTheSea · 11/02/2022 04:32

Hazel yes
Sorry about the insomnia Zoo
I read the thread about I just had a terrible terrible realisation. Apparently I am 15.

Stilllivinginazoo · 11/02/2022 04:44

15 what hills
Minutes late?
X close to killing the people?
Etc
Or years old?I've never been a Proper Grown Up and not sure I ever want to be thanks very muchly!
Hazel that sounds very hard on MIL,on you all really.its hard to watch someone you love become a shadow of who they used to beFlowers

HillsBesideTheSea · 11/02/2022 05:27

hazel meleatonin is a prescribed drug only in the UK

Stilllivinginazoo · 11/02/2022 05:44

Accepted defeat.im so bloody tired but brains refusing accept more kip is necessary
Cats are fed and the day has begun

HillsBesideTheSea · 11/02/2022 07:32

I am calling it too. 7:30 am, absolutely no sleep had. I am getting a coffee and getting up. Will see about a nap later.

swallowedAfly · 11/02/2022 07:35

Can't get melatonin here anymore sadly Hazel - I used to get mine delivered here from the US but they've closed that loophole too. I'm sorry to hear about you Grandmother (and your mum too - must be tough on her giving 24hr care) hope the hospice status turns into really good help.

tada: I'm awake and apparently got a whole 6hrs sleep which is luxury. Sorry you didn't Zoo

Plan is the usual walk dog, feed animals, make coffee, make a start on kitchen and make ds's pack lunch and get him off to school on time then I need to have a bath and get myself ready to be in school earlier than meeting so I can double check planning and have everything printed prior to meeting. Going to parents after work as it's the emerald anniversary and I'm feeling bad and frustrated that I ordered a special personalised card for them but it hasn't arrived.

Someone please poke me with the pointy stick to get out of my warm bed and go get started on the day.

Stilllivinginazoo · 11/02/2022 07:50

Tada
Cats fed
Wash on
Submit online order
Scrub out 2fridge storage boxes that are sticky.ones deffo yogurt in bottom,gawd know what was in the other
Lft the masses(- all round)
Breakfasts
S+s
Lil zoo goes in at 11 today,so it seems as dd2 anxious I am walking her in.ds and lil zoo have retreated back to bed for an hour
Best get dressed

SingToTheSky · 11/02/2022 08:16

About five hours here I think.
Plan today is… I don’t know tbh! Not up yet. Meeting at 10. Need to study too.

DH and I actually have a date tonight!!! Tickets to a comedian, booked before covid. DSD is babysitting and will need to put Cagletini to bed, so really want to tidy the bedroom as it’s an awful mess (we do stories on our bed)

Must get up and charge phone!

IWasWillingToGoWassailing · 11/02/2022 08:17

So much to catch up on!

Welcome back Spaghetti. I won't have known you in the past but lovely to have an old hand back in the fold.

Hills sympathies re: People and Not Doing One Thing 💐☕

Hazel so sorry to hear about your DH's GM, that will be hard on your MIL even if it was her profession. Is it her DM or her DMIL she's caring for?

I know we can't get melatonin easily in the UK, but DH and DS2 have used cherry drops successfully to force an ADHD brain to spin down and sleep.

Ladyrattles I'm sorry family keep messing up your efforts to make a lovely home, and you feel purposeless. I've been struggling with this too lately - what am I for if not doing a full time job and bringing in money equivalent to DH's salary? Happy to talk about this off thread if you want.

ED sorry about your lovely casserole dish, the floor and narrowly missing your head and toes. Sounds like a challenging evening all round, but glad you are not hurt.

Zoo I like the idea of building in time for your as the first part of your structure, not the last. I've had the sudden realisation recently that I need to zone my day that way too - work in the morning, creative stuff in the afternoon, household stuff outside of routines after school - and I'm getting far more done than I was when I was trying to decide what was important minute-to-minute.

Fly congratulations to your parents on their emerald anniversary (is that 55 years? I've forgotten) and good luck with your meeting. You've got this.

Bean Flylady's positive mantras get my goat a bit, I'll sit this one out. Hope your tile can be fixed before you get water ingress!

Well, yesterday was a bit of a curate's egg.
❤️ Morning routine
🧡 Pilates class
💛 Collected DM
💚 Visited DS2 on the way home, so she could see his flat and I could collect some drying
💜 Dried DS2's washing
💙 Took DM home
❤️ 1hr's sleep on sofa
🧡 Made chicken pie for tea and jam tarts with leftover pastry
💛 Afternoon, after dinner and evening routines
💚 DH painted the 3rd wall in his new office. It looks great.
💙 Letter from DS's school inviting her into the Oxbridge stream

Less good bits
🤬 Accidentally embarrassed DS2 by turning up before his flat was remotely presentable tidy
🤬 DD had a total disaster in history, too much noise, fuss and information led to sobbing panic attack and she had to be collected
🤬 Further school disaster when HoY was incredibly rude about something nice DD did for them out of the kindness of her heart. DD now flatly refusing to return this week as the school only value her for the shiny results she brings them, in her view.
🤬 DH's focus on painting means he's not doing anything else about the house

So, today:
📚 Work - problem with data on a CD. I have no CD drive
🪡 Creative stuff - plan new study and order paint
🧺 House stuff - routines and zone cleaning (almost there!)
🍷Friday night. Nuff said.

merryhouse · 11/02/2022 14:07

I've just gone looking for that thread Hills - saw it in the Trending box just as I clicked away, gah, but it appears to have been zapped. What was it?

No flying, but have exercised, showered and Read Another Book!

I'm a bit weird because I'm quite happy not having a purpose. I just Am. Could do with earning some money but that's all.

HillsBesideTheSea · 11/02/2022 15:43

Basically just turning a whole bunch of politician names into various alternatives for the word dick. Twas amusing at 4am when couldn't sleep. But obvious not in the spirit of the site.

Stilllivinginazoo · 11/02/2022 17:02

I saw that hills.passed a bit if time away twiddling my thumbsGrin
Die to lil zoo gut play up I had lots hanging around and I didn't want to start something and have to stop to take get in.being groggy and sleep deprived hasn't helped either

Tada
Washed hall floor (quick clean,needs proper scrub on hands and knees)
Sorted my chest drawers so everything neatly folded
Lunch
Sorting emails

I have actually had my scheduled in time this afternoon-colouring with D's.twas most relaxing❤️

Cooked dd2 some soy mince with her s and carrots and mash for when she got in,which was much appreciated as she doesn't eat during the school day whilst reflux playing up so much and her anxiety kicking off

I had hoped to reorganise a cupboard,but that may or may not get done as I'm very very tired now,and I've booked a delivery slot for shopping for 530 am!

SingToTheSky · 11/02/2022 17:27

Today has been a bit weird and tiring. But I need to get on with tidying the bedroom a bit.

po3.1
❗️Room rescue boodwa
❗️Change bedding and make sure Cagletini has jammies
❗️Litter tray change

BeanAnTae · 11/02/2022 20:06

Hope you'll have a lovely evening out sing Technically it's date night on Flylady so you can tick this off the list.

I'm worn out by work tonight so I'll just post tomorrow's links and catch up properly tomorrow. I can say that I have washed ds's blazer and unpicked his trouser hems because he has grown a lot! Half term here next week and the Superbowl is Sunday night so D's has asked to stay up ❤️.

OP posts:
BeanAnTae · 11/02/2022 20:10

www.flylady.net/c/lp.php last day in zone 2

Baby step 12 www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-12/ do not get hung up in perfectionism.

OP posts:
WildPoinsettia · 11/02/2022 20:27

Today I've been on the BabySteps FlyLady website and I've started a ControlJournal. Which was interesting. It turns out that getting ready is 18 things not 1 thing. That does include keeping on top of washing up and laundry, but still, I wasn't expecting that. Makes sense why it takes longer than I think it will!

Lady I'm always having existential crises every few years. Life didn't go to plan. PITA isn't it. Been trying for a while to embrace Merry's concept that I just Am and don't need a purpose.

Hope you're enjoying your day Sing

Hills I saw that thread. It was the antidote I needed after the previous thread I read about deceased people's secrets.

Sorry you didn't get much sleep last night Zoo.

Sorry your DH GM is so unwell Hazel and that your MIL is struggling with it all. Flowers for your family.

THATunorganisedMUM · 11/02/2022 21:20

Arghhhhhhhh

Need more hours in my days folks

Or a a full staff team 🤔

SingToTheSky · 11/02/2022 23:28

Ha true bean I think that’s the first time we’ve managed it since joining the thread 😳🤣 but Cagletini went to bed nicely for DSD and DD1 even tidied the living room! The show was absolutely brilliant, laughed till I cried and couldn’t breathe 😆

SingToTheSky · 11/02/2022 23:41

YesTaDa
🎀meeting - went very well (and apparently the chair emailed my boss to tell her he was impressed Blush yay!)
🎀bits of other work

ta da
🤣one to one meeting with the boss
🤣maths with DS
🤣took Cagletini to the park
🤣work calls
🤣room rescue boodwa
🤣changed bedding
🤣changed Cagbunny litter
🤣date night!!!

That I hear you in the needing more hours or staff 😩

Stilllivinginazoo · 12/02/2022 05:18

Ditto that

Tada
Cats fed
Wash on
Harpic lav
Wiped kitchen surfaces
Cleaned cupboard fronts
Left job to soak
Got dressed

Am now awaiting my ocado order which I booked at the insomniac slot(530-630)Grin

swallowedAfly · 12/02/2022 09:27

Hope you had a lovely night out with dh Sing

Yes emerald is 55 years. Crazy for me to even imagine putting up with each other for 55 years!

It is now officially half term - woo hoo! I'm not up yet. When I make it out of my bed I've got plenty to do

StillUp · 12/02/2022 10:28

I have no idea why I’m struggling to keep up with the thread when the majority of my time is spent on my arse at the minute. I’ve been catching up in dribs and drabs, and there has not been much in the way of flying. Have to say though, just making sure I get my morning routine done, put things away and shine my sink has kept the house reasonably presentable. There’s work to do upstairs and wouldn’t want anyone up there, but it’ll get there.

Today was supposed to be a family trip out to the trampoline park, but DD2 seems to have hit a growth spurt so after an unsettled night and a grumpy start to the day I’ve stayed home with her while DH takes DD1. Obviously I was not planning on trampolining anyway but was looking forward to coffee and cake in the cafe. Never mind, feet up, netflix on and feeding it is. Trying to think of the calories she’s draining from me Grin

Ta Das over last couple of days (embarrassingly short)
✅ cleaned glass door in kitchen
✅ dusted and tidied bookshelf in kitchen
✅ binned 2 lots of dead flowers and arranged some daffodils