Following Flylady into September - Fledglings starting a new term

[EspeciallyDivided]

Welcome to the September Flylady Thread where we follow the Flylady routines for running our homes and lives. Links to the relevant parts of the Flylady site are posted each morning (most of the time - see naughty corner below). The Fledgling threads are long running, some have been posting for years some are new, all are welcome. Just jump in and ask if you don’t understand anything. The chat is an important part of the thread too, housework is not the be all and end all, we like to pass the time amongst friends while we get our houses in order.

This is not a strict thread but a gentle way of following the guidelines on the Flylady website without having to sign up the emails, which can become a bit overwhelming. Do as much or as litle as you can, there is no judgement here.

If you are new to the system start with the baby steps. These are designed to get you into a routine so you know longer think about doing the chores they are just habit. Set time, set day - do the thing. We do recognise that this is not a good system for quick decluttering and many of us in the past have combined this system with other systems for getting the heavy duty sorting out and cleaning out done. We don't judge.

Babysteps and household focus zones start again on the 1st of every month hence a new thread at the start of each month to keep things orderly. That is one of the great things about Flylady, you can jump in whenever because everything comes back round again soon. You are never behind.

Lastly we have a naughty corner - if you are struggling in any way this is a spot to join in the chat snuggled into comfy cushions with some nice drinks and nibbles until you feel ready to Fly again. So even if you have not lifted a finger around the house you can stay and chat. The thread leader may be found there from time to time putting the kettle on and plumping up the cushions.

Welcome to September.

This link www.flylady.net/c/lp.php is the Flylady launchpad. All the different parts of the system can be found here.

This is the Flighplan - the do do list which updates daily www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

Babysteps are here www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/

😁 I highly approve of the willy principle.

Actually cannot believe it is back to work and school day. We won’t resume home ed today though as if DD1 does go in (still feeling rough) it’s not till 11ish.

po3.1
❗️Meds and breakfast
❗️Shower and dressed
❗️Find work laptop and charger, log on for 9.25ish

Living the willy principle hills
Pompoms of bleurgh was daily I'd be out of here!🤣

Pleased it's the hob as mines not too bad<helps I've not used it much since last cleaned it😁>

The girls are at school so peace reigns!

Tada,
Cats fed.
Wash on.
Sort/organise my me time drawers in living room.
Pull out sofa and clean behind/liberate cat toys.

Bathroom.
Spray mouldy grout.
Clean windows.
Wipe sills.
Clean radiator.
Wipe bath skirt.
Wipe tiling/sort mould as best I can.i swear council house sealant is SHITE.even a hint of mould it going right through the damn stuff.grrr
S+s.
Sort around girls cat bowls(scoutcat ears outside/downstairs)
Wash in drier.
More in

Make lil zoo lunch
Crank up toaster and feed the masses.

DS room.
Quick wipe surfaces<had huge declutter bookcase etc at weekend so more for habit than necessity>
Wipe his bedframe<midi sleeper>
He made bed.
Sorted 3 BRC under his bed,resulting in selection D's games located,part of his phones lens clip for taking pics insects,a missing gemstone and various other treasures.now given proper homes!
coat to airer.
jumpers in wash

walk girls to school as dd2 was very stressed.
grab wash up liquid local shop on way back

Grab quick snack and catch up here.
Now to plod on.

<<Pompoms please note I run at the day and Peter out by lunch(at best)>>

Meeting done. Started as I mean to go on this year with a new notebook (a boring one from Tesco but it’s one with five sections so hopefully that will help keep things organised!)

DH and the younger two are off to town (Cagletini in a doctor’s coat obviously), DD1 is still in bed as still felt bad this morning. Still not entirely sure how much is anxiety TBH.

Have just put a towel wash on, now I’m going to watch TV for a bit

In dire need of pointy stick.

po3.2
❗️Have lunch
❗️Put towels in dryer when the wash is done
❗️Bit of work to prepare for Friday

<whittles special blunt stick for gentle half arsed prodding>
<Nudges it in Perry's direction>
<Offers comfy chair and all the chocolate bars in naughty corner>
<Realises Not Helping and wanders off to eat lunch🤣>

I have a stress migraine. So nothing is getting done. Which is a direct result of a person throwing a late night strop about stuff needing to get done. And whose behaviour has directly caused the migraine due to the stress and the associated lack of sleep.
<sigh>

I am counting, seriously counting until the people go away for a holiday. Ds is pissed because his priorities have ended up bottom of the pile again, which is fair. One of the person has let me rant and is helping a little in the manner that they can - laundry hanging, and sorting their own tea.

I am trying to escape the house, because even a nap in the car on a hill will be better than hanging about in this stressy environment. More days lost to the nonsense. I wish people would learn that if you put me under stress NOTHING gets done because I just stop. And usually get taken down by a migraine. Which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. <sigh> it's going to get worse, i know it is going to get worse, it is a nature of the diseases involved but I am tired and need a break right now

So today's ta da
dealt with today's drama
put a load of washing on
cancel ds' stuff that was supposed to be done this morning
take migraine meds
attempt a lie in - fail because loud shouty drama going on
delegate tea stuffs
make a plan for this week that does not involve people's priorities as they are no longer a priority due to their behaviour time wasting that time and exams to prep for. Extra time will be spent on house but now it is exam stuff first, house stuff 2nd
actually get up - yeah i know it is nearly 4 and i was still in PJs. tbf I am mostly still in bed too. Tomo's 6:30am start is going to come as a massive shock to the system!
Book car into the garage for a service

pompom I usually do my home bleugh on Tuesdays, since that's my day off work. DS does another quick round on Fridays, incase we have anyone come over on the weekend. I don't always get everything done, so sometimes it just falls onto DS to do it 😳 I do like to get my zone cleaning done that day too though, so sometimes it just ends up being a deep clean kind of day.
ED look at you, cleaning your mirror at night!
hills another one here loving your willy principle. I wish more people lived that way.
Perry I hope Dr Cagletini doesn't get too distracted in town!
zoo I hope DD2 isn't as stressed when she gets home from school

Ta Das so far today:
🥳 2 cups of coffee consumed, debating on having a 3rd
🥳 dog fed
🥳 birthday decorations up for DS (13 today!)
🥳 40th birthday decorations for DH are now down
🥳 doors opened to air out house this morning, before it gets too hot
That's it! It isn't 9am yet here though.

To do:
🍁 shower, get dressed etc
🍁 possibly re-gel my nails (will do tomorrow if not)
🍁 LOLs (starting with dogs bed and blankets, she peed and threw up in her kennel yesterday. DD checked on her, let her out and fed her, noticed she had thrown up when putting her back in her kennel 😪)

Spending time with the dog today too, she hates it when we leave her!

hills I'm sorry to hear about your migraine and how the people have caused it 😪 will they never learn?

I've done nothing today. May try to salvage the evening and do something productive.

Found the product Hazel and now I'm even more confused. It doesn't mention any of the prep you said was essential. It actually says to reapply several times throughout the day especially if you've been swimming. So like sunblock, which is what I thought I'd bought? But then it goes on about activating your natural tan and giving you a golden tan and mentions a tanning complex. I've added a pic, in case any of you lovely people know what it is. I did Google but I'm none the wiser.

Happy birthday to Hazel's DS🎂

Hope the migraine goes away soon Hills. Your situation sounds frustrating beyond belief. I'll send happy vibes into the universe that you'll win money in a competition and can buy yourself a campervan to escape in comfort

Perry you're always so busy, don't worry if you didn't do much today.

Forgot the pic

Hmmm, I think I found that product on Google and it doesn't sound like a regular self tanner. I would just apply it like normal sunblock tbh

@CurseYouPerryThePlatypus I love anew notebook!

@HillsBesideTheSea sorry you are having such a tough time at home.

Can I ask another question to everyone: if we are on the kitchen zone this week are we just doing the stove top toast and other bits of the kitchen each day this week?

So today I need to do the morning routine , home blessings, afternoon and a night routine but that's it (that's it 😂)

Good evening Fledglings,

I jumping stright back in without reading the thread just yet. I need to get my shit together! I am determined to be better organised with school/work/life balance; at the moment I feel like I am failing at everything.

However, September is better than January for me for making fresh starts, so here I go again...

Ta Da
Full day at work
Had a chat to DS (9yo, has autism) about his first day back at school - went well, hurrah!! He was so nervous.
Emptied his school bag, washed up lunchbox things, found new reading record
Load of laundry on
Dishwasher loaded
Washed and sterilised contact lens case
Emptied, washed and refilled x2 cat litter trays (realised sodding cat(s) pissed over the side, little bastards....)
Bathroom cleaned, loo and sink scrubbed, mirror shone, floor hoovered and mopped. Cat pee smell eradicated.
Ordered a magnetic shopping list pad for the fridge.
DH sent out to get more dog food for the morning.

Right, off to read the thread and see how many of the old gang are still here (and whether I can spot any name-changers!)

Hi zireal :) welcome back, glad DS’ day went well!
Happy birthday HazelDS! 🎈I hadn’t twigged our boys were so close in age, mine turned into a teenager last week. No signs of hormones and stroppiness yet… yet 😬😬😬

@pompomseverywhere

So for each day there is a new babystep to add to the routines.
Then, morning, afternoon and evening routines
Daily mission eg clean stove top or 15 mins decluttering in that zone (zone changes weekly)
Daily focus, these are

Monday - home blessing
Tuesday - planning
Wednesday - anti-procrastination (do something you have been putting off)
Thurs - errands
Fri - bag/car clear out, date night
Sat - family fun day
Sun - renew your spirit

Welcome back @Zireael

Well, to borrow a phrase I saw somewhere else, today I have completed a metric fuckton of admin. Not much actual Flying but the admin was urgent. Another load to do tomorrow (all helping DS get ready for uni next week).

Thank you for the birthday wishes for DS. He's having a good day so far. Perry I didn't realise your DS is close in age either!
Welcome back zireal

Ta Das:
🌻 showered, dressed, ready for the day
🌻 2nd LOL in the wash
🌻 gel redone on my nails

It seems I'm ready for a nap! I keep dozing off while typing 😆

Hob already reasonably clean, mainly due to minimal cooking as LOs will have school dinners for as long as household funds permit. So I spent a while listing my weekly tesco delivery and checking that there will be one week's basic food in reserve at all times. Had a couple of weird substitutions today, but nothing that we can't eat.

Had a long phone chat with DS, who was re-enacting last weekend. His friends are helping him sort his gear out and showing him how to maintain it, then he hopes to display it on one side of his home office. This has released some cupboard space here at home for me. Happy dance! I can now remove stuff from top of said cupboard and put it inside.

Fell asleep on the settee after rather uncooperative LOs finally went to bed later than usual. And now I'm wide awake and catching up with the thread. Time for spa music and attempt to sleep.

Thank you so so much for that long and detailed answer. I'm really trying to understand the whole thing and I really appreciate your help

@pompomseverywhere no problem. It's useful for me too, I've been on these threads on and off for many years but of late I have slipped quite a bit from the system, so it's a good reset for me as well. My DCs are starting college and uni this week so it feels like a good time for a fresh start around the house too.

Good luck with all new college and uni starts. My middle one started school and my big one is starting a new post uni job. So fresh starts all round.

I think I'll skip a few baby steps as the last thing I want is positive though post it notes lying around. I will read the baby step though and consider it.

Thanks again for the help you've been great to help me navigate the whole scheme

So this before 7am thing.... not a fan. Also going to be the new normal around here. This extreme night owl has feelings about this.

Sleep was had, not enough or good enough quality but it is a start. Re-entry to the world of college is going to be hard for both me and ds. But he headed out for the bus this morning.

The home situation is tough, but if you are losing your marbles, know you are losing your marbles, no longer able to do independently what you used to do, easily confused and having to rely on others to allow you to be as independent as possible. It is hard. So i try to be as patient as possible, I just need to be more strict with the respite breaks as they really do make all the difference. Especially when the stress levels are at 1001 a lot not necessary but product of above I am long over due a break covid mostly so that can't be helped and the world always seems so much worst when you don't sleep.

ta da
a whole heap of stuff.

to to
a much longer list of stuff to be done.

I am taking the lazy list approach right now, that might change later if i need to see what i have actually got done as it doesn't feel like i made progress.

Yeah, I have never done the post-it note inspiration thing either. Although I do occasionally use them to remind other members of the household to eg put the bathmat back on the side of the bath instead of leaving it on the floor to get kicked and trodden on (you have to walk past the side of the bath to get to the loo).

Hills - sympathies re the people, respite breaks very much a good thing.

We had a massive storm last night, I went to yoga class 8-9 and walked back, everything was calm and mild but there were flashes on the horizon. Within 10 mins of me getting back there were rivers of water running along the road and a huge storm overhead and then it was all over again within half an hour. Very much needed but I’m glad I wasn’t out in it.

We have had that 2 nights in a row ED it has been very nice to fall asleep watching and listening to the storm. A lot of the lightening was cloud to cloud so that always puts on a good show. But like you glad i was not out in the storm.

So, today is Tuesday. In Flylady that is Planning day. I need to plan my day in a minute (day off work but lots to do).

Today’s Flight Plan is here www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

Our mission is to “clean the silverware holder and the area around”. This had me scratching my head a bit the first time I saw it then I realised that for us that’s the cutlery drawer. Ours is, as Flylady observes, festooned with random elastic bands, the odd pen etc.

The babystep today is www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-6/ Hotspots. This is a good one but the link in that link seems to be broken. Hotspots are those places where junk gets dumped, hall table, end of kitchen counter, coins, receipts, random crap from pockets. Try clearing a hotspot, Flylady suggests putting something nice there instead of leaving an empty space eg pot plant as people are less likely to dump stuff then not true in our house which sometimes resembles one giant hotspot.

We had it about midnight the night before @HillsBesideTheSea and I was already in bed, that one was louder and longer but not such torrential rain. Forecast more for today, won’t be hanging my washing out. I have “treated”myself to a Lakeland heated airer.