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Housekeeping

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Flying into Spring - The Fledglings are no Fools

237 replies

ExtremelyDetermined · 31/03/2023 23:09

Time for the April Fledgling Flylady thread - regulars, returners and newbies are all very welcome, post as little or as often as you like, or just lurk, whatever suits you, but please feel free to ask if there is anything you don’t understand. Also feel free to chat!

Flylady is a system for running a household, it is a system which covers housework, a bit of self-care and quite a lot of just general organisation. It runs on a monthly cycle, hence a new thread at the start of each month. Links will be posted here daily, but do go and have a good browse of the website, just don’t sign up for the emails unless you want to add to the clutter in your inbox.

www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/

If you’re new to the system, or are wanting a refresher course, the baby steps may be a good idea. Some are more useful than others, we’ve found, and stuff like affirmations may not work for you, so pick and choose what you want to try. You don’t have to do it all! Perfectionism can be left at the door, we celebrate any achievement here no matter how small it seems (this is why you’ll see our Ta Da lists as well as To Do lists!).

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

There are parts of the house called zones, each taking a different part of the month, and missions in those zones to do little tasks we may have neglected. If you don’t feel ready for those though, a good way to start is doing 15 minutes decluttering in that zone! Remember it didn’t get messy in a day so it won’t be fixed in a day either. Slow and steady.

Then there’s the daily focus - each day of the week has a theme, although many of us switch them around to suit our own lives.

Each day I’ll provide the link to the launch pad, which is where you can see what is meant to be done that day (but again don’t feel you have to do all of it! That way lies burnout!).

A couple of principles we talk about on here are:
Future Friend - the idea of doing something today that benefits you later, such as choosing your clothes or making your lunch the night before.
Power of Three (po3) - if you’re overwhelmed, just pick three easy tasks - no matter how small - and forget about the rest until they’re done. Then reassess and decide another three.

Finally a few acronyms:
DW - dishwasher, not dear wife!
LOL - load of laundry, we aren’t finding washing hilarious
WM - washing machine
TD - tumble dryer
BRC - box of random crap

A big thanks to @icypompoms for running the previous thread Flowers. The system starts properly on Monday, but the weekend is a good time to have a look at the website and start planning.

Getting Started | FlyLady.net

http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/

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Thread gallery
12
HungryHazelEyes · 16/04/2023 07:35

Ditzy yes they did! They shredded the seat to make a hole so they could get the stuffing out. There's still stuffing in my back garden that the wind blew about that we haven't been able to clean up yet because it's been too cold!

The new cushions look beautiful! And they are comfortable. Maybe I'll be able to take pictures tomorrow, it's supposed to be nice. (It's after midnight here!)

What movie did you watch Ditzy ?

Searchingforsunnydays · 16/04/2023 09:12

Good morning all

Hazel I'm in between being annoyed for you and your cushions and being impressed by the squirrels being resourceful 😂

Sounds like you had a good balanced day Ditzy some housework and some family time .

I've been trying to do year 2 sats 'quizzes' that were sent home with dd2, she would much rather do cartwheels and play with her barbies ! I can't see her being studious, she really struggles with reading even though she loves books , I think that doesn't help with confidence doing these booklets because there is obviously a lot of reading involved. I know these sats don't really matter but I really don't like them having these type of tests so young !

Lots to do today prepping for back to work and school tomorrow, it's MILs birthday so we'll pop up and visit , roast chicken dinner to make 😋 and we are going to try and go to see super Mario brothers as an end of holidays treat.

Off to write a detailed to do list and to get started . I am thinking power hours today with little breaks to stop me from running out of steam later in the day !! I usual have all these great plans and run out of a energy about 4pm 😂😂

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday !

HungryHazelEyes · 16/04/2023 16:21

sunny I was mad about my cushions, but these new ones are so, so comfy and pretty, I'm actually glad they did shred them up now!
It seems they are starting testing earlier and earlier, it makes it hard when the DC would rather do something fun. Is it something you can set a timer for and say let's see what you can do in this time (e.g. 5 or 15 minutes) then we'll go do the fun activity? Would she do that?

I'm actually proud of myself, this week I kept on top of the handwash dishes, doing them the night I used them, making them dirty. Usually I'll leave them for the next day a week later, when I need something including last night (at 11pm). We always rinse them off when we are done with them, so nothing gross left on them, ever. It's something I really want to continue as it only takes a few minutes!

No ta das yet today, it's just after 9am and I've only had my 1st cup of coffee. I don't have any set plans yet, but will have the house to myself for a few hours as DH and DS are going riding on their dirt bikes.

DitzyDaffodils · 16/04/2023 17:21

The film was was Hummingbird Hazel, one of my favourites.

Ta-da's:

🎶 Morning routine
🎶 Tidied bedroom
🎶 Home blessings
🎶 Life admin
🎶 Paint nails
🎶 Decluttering

To-do:

🎼 Put my feet up and read my novel
🎼 Evening routine

Searchingforsunnydays · 16/04/2023 20:57

Eating supper persuading myself it's better to pack the pe bags tonight ......

Hazel we do 15 minutes blocks of time with homework, suspected dyslexia so she can sometimes be discouraged because she finds it so difficult! I try not to get her too overwhelmed with it so I don't push it too much if she's struggling . I'll be happy if May and June pass by quickly with SATs and GCSEs happening!

Great list Ditzy!

Ta da
School and work clothes ironed
Prepped dinner
Went to the cinema to watch super mario
Visited MIL
🎉🎉Ds cleared out and hoovered my car
🎉🎉dd1 cleared the pots after lunch
Showered , hair washed
Dd1 bedtime routine

HungryHazelEyes · 16/04/2023 22:49

Oh I see sunny that makes it really hard for everyone involved 💐
Ditzy I've never heard of it, but I love rewatching my favourites 😍

I'm enjoying the warm air and sunshine today!

Ta Das:
🌞 LOLs x3
🌞 shredded quite a bit of old paperwork
🌞 cleaned up the back garden a bit, cut back vines coming through and over the fence from the neighbour's, cleared away the dead leaves that gathered along that fence. I filled up one huge outside bin bag, there's no more room in the wheelie bin for more than that!
🌞 repainted my fingernails with clear growth polish

I've been sitting on my swing in the sun for a while now, I really should finish laundry. I've got to remake DS bed (I washed his sheets), and hang up the heated blanket. Do I have to?!

HungryHazelEyes · 16/04/2023 23:10

I forgot to take a picture of my swing and new cushions, until now!

Flying into Spring - The Fledglings are no Fools
ExtremelyDetermined · 16/04/2023 23:41

Oooh, that looks lovely @HungryHazelEyes

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ExtremelyDetermined · 16/04/2023 23:45

Thought I'd post links tonight as I will probably forget in the morning.

Monday - we are moving into Zone 4, the master bedroom. The mission is to spend 15 mins decluttering under the bed. We need to really focus on decluttering this week as we are starting some renovations next month which require several rooms to be completely cleared, eek.

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

FlyLady.net

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

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HillsBesideTheSea · 17/04/2023 11:13

ta da
plants returned to homes after a soak and feed. (bathtub to capture all at the same time)
bath tub scrubbed down
ds up and getting ready for complaining about academic endeavours
Laundry on the line
wonder wtaf all the forks have gone because apparently they are awol <shrug>
sort person a out
communicate stuff with person b involving stuff into and out of loft
breakfast eaten and ready to function lies, all lies, gonna need more coffee to function
prep stuff for escaping to study after dropping ds off
marvel at the very poorly ugly looking ponsettia that whilst it dropped everything - the brac, the leaves - and looked skeletal is currently sprouting new green leaves and is apparently still alive. beginning to look more alive then dead which is really nice
evict the latest round of dead plant bodies - always when i am stress, always spider plants
catch up on email, news, social media, scheduling etc etc.
play hunt last autumns bullet journal as have some recollection of an appointment made stupidly early for this month - not found currently Hmm

DomesticElf · 17/04/2023 22:51

Hills plant bodies 🤣 that made me chuckle!
Hazel love the swings, and cushions look lovely.
Perry how is your gran doing?

Ta das:
🧇Quick hoover
🧇Lol on, dry laundry folded
🧇DW rotated, kitchen cleaned
🧇Quick sweep of the garden.

Garden in this new house is a bit of a deathtrap if you got small kids. It's all patio slabs, half of which are wonky and looks like they seen no maintenance for ages. No grass. There is a small patch of soil with something dry and spiky sticking out of it 🥴 I've managed to sweep up big proportion of the rubbish (random dry branches, shed tone of dry leaves, and some funky feathers..), but it needs more (more smaller random branches). I need to dig out that spiky remnant of the soil.
This weekend planning on planting some flower bulbs with DS in outdoor plantars to bring some cheer to the place. Already bought few pot plants too.

I am thinking of getting a roll of fake grass and just plopping it like an outdoor carpet on a patch over some slabs. I don't want to do anything major on this garden, as we are planning to move again in 18 months or so, but just to make it more cheerful and usable. Is this a doable thing or am I delusional that it would work without snoring it properly somehow?

DomesticElf · 17/04/2023 22:53

Securing that is

DitzyDaffodils · 18/04/2023 01:03

I don't know Elf but it sounds like a lovely plan to make the place more cheerful

Hope you found the journal eventually Hills

I can't imagine getting several rooms cleared ED. I hope the renovations don't take too long. It sounds a bit of a nightmare TBH. I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end though

I'm liking the new cushions Hazel

Ta-da's:

🐀 Morning routine
🐀 Weeding in the garden
🐀 Life admin
🐀 Decluttering
🐀 Walk through the woods
🐀 Evening routine

ExtremelyDetermined · 18/04/2023 08:09

Morning all,

Still in the master bedroom today, our mission is to tackle the clothes pile! Also get rid of anything you do not love.

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

Tuesday is also plan and play day. I need to do some planning for these renovations, we are choosing flooring, paint colours etc and need to order some new radiators. Off to work now, back later.

FlyLady.net

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

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HillsBesideTheSea · 18/04/2023 12:42

Morning
ta da
Plan the living snot out of how to get the house ready for the next round of building work, complete studies and sit exams, look for work, and get all the medical and other meetings done
review some online orders to leave abandoned in the basket
About to go run some errands

Going to be a busy rest of month and May.

HungryHazelEyes · 18/04/2023 14:54

Elf I have never bought the fake grass so I can't help with that. My concern would be that if the slabs are uneven underneath it, the grass would also be uneven and still a tripping hazard 🤔 it does sound like it would brighten the place up though, and something you could take with you when you move.

ED & hills renovations and building work sounds stressful and expensive! I hope everything goes smoothly for you both.

No ta das yet today, it's gloomy looking outside and supposed to be crappy weather the rest of this week (starting today). I need to do my bulk shopping today, if I can find the motivation to drive to the nearest big town!

ExtremelyDetermined · 18/04/2023 22:00

Well, I don’t seem to be achieving much in the zone this week so far, but I am spending a lot of time looking at flooring and wall coverings, bathroom fittings etc as well as other life admin sort of things. Keeping the daily routines ticking over, I have just done some washing to hang out in the morning before work - weather is pretty crap here too but forecast dry tomorrow. Heading off for an early night now, it has been a busy day

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HungryHazelEyes · 18/04/2023 22:43

Ta Das:
❄️ drove to nearest big town for bulk shopping, drove through a blizzard to get there 😡
❄️ put away bulk shopping, including packaging meat into smaller freezer bags before freezing
❄️ mattress & pillow protectors washed and dried
❄️ sheets currently in dryer
❄️ towels currently in washer
❄️ ceiling fan dusted in master bedroom
❄️ bedside tables wiped down
❄️ vacuumed main floor
❄️ mopped hard floors on main floor

I still need to go grocery shopping. I have my list, but I need to go through my coupons. I'll head out once DS gets home from school.

ED it sounds like you have a lot going on right now, so keeping up with routines is a good thing!

DitzyDaffodils · 18/04/2023 23:12

I didn't get anything done in the zone yet either ED

A blizzard Hazel 😱 scary

Hope you don't have to try to squeeze all that into April Hills. Fingers crossed it all runs smoothly for you

Ta-da's:

🦕Morning routine ☺️
🦕Went to the shopping mall, got a few things for the home 😁
🦕Dropped a huge cooked pizza on the worktop/cooker/cupboard door/wall/floor face down 🤬
🦕Cleaned the kitchen 😤
🦕Had all the biscuits for tea 😋
🦕Walked to the local shop for replacement biscuits and pizza 😀
🦕Evening routine 😴

HungryHazelEyes · 19/04/2023 02:14

Oh no Ditzy! 😢 not the pizza!! 🍕

The blizzard was fun! NOT I'm so over winter! Just when you think spring has actually sprung, winter rears it's ugly head 🤬
Today we had wind, hail, sunshine and of course, snow! It was actually bizarre at one point, clouds would come over, it would snow, there would be a break in the clouds and the sun would shine, utterly bizarre!

Anyway, more ta das:
🍷 S&S both bathrooms
🍷 grocery shopping done (no snow this time!)
🍷 wiped both dogs with their doggy wipes
🍷 dinner is in the oven
🍷 sheets are back on the bed
🍷 towels are in the dryer
🍷 carport swept, so many leaves, all.the.time!

I'm going to pour me some wine! It sounds good tonight 😋

ExtremelyDetermined · 19/04/2023 08:58

Blizzards, brrr, I hope that's the end of them @HungryHazelEyes.

OK, today's links:

We are still in the master bedroom, where today's mission is http://flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

Clean your nightstand. I decluttered mine a couple of months ago and it has stayed pretty well clear, but it is dusty so I will attend to that later.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day, is there something you have been putting off? I have a few on my to do list.

FlyLady.net

http://flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

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Redsquirrel5 · 19/04/2023 10:46

Hi everyone,
You all sound so busy. We had a lovely day here yesterday so I abandoned the housework for the garden.Had leisurely cup of tea in the summerhouse and then chopped back some perennials, brought the tulips out of the greenhouse and swept the path so tulips now at the back door. Double and frilly red and white and the others will be dark purple when they open.Planted late but here on time. Weeping Cherry is a picture but hope it doesn't rain or is windy so we can enjoy it for a few days. Camellia is out and been flowering for weeks.

Bristol was busy.We stayed in a cute airbnb. It was decorated in a sixties style and had a little larder.DD was wishing it was up for normal rent though it is a bit far from her work and her studio. She seems happy to be back there.Us not so happy. It took 7hrs 30 mins to get home.Don't think we will see much of her. She was quite rude to me twice while there and really upset me. Why do your kids do that? Oh well the joys of parenthood.

I was very good not spending while there apart from some food.
Tomorrow I am getting money in the bank.It should have been the 11th but due to changes(I suppose) it is tomorrow. I am also getting a much larger lump sum from my LA education pension, someone made a big mistake on that! So taking a lump sum and then will get a small monthly sum. I haven't worked out how much a month yet on that one. So I will be able to work out if I can manage on my own. My friend does but she gets rent paid and some other benefits that I wont get as I have savings. Big decisions to be made.
Meanwhile need to declutter.It will be easier now DD has removed some of her stuff. We are going to remove the rest now then i can start on the other stuff.

Right boudoir.In a mess again so diving under the bed, then basket of clothes away and one 'night stand' as other just needs a dust. I have a mini tray for water/tea and tablets and Teasmade so gets a bit dusty. She doesn't mention the pile next to the bed but guess it could be the anti procrastination as I am up to date with all my others.Yeah me!

Yesterday I bought a runner from the charity shop for £2.99 dark blue with trees on it.I cleared the table and put it on with flowers x2, fruit bowl and two placemats. Looks so much better it makes me smile every time I walk through. DH was ill yesterday, up this morning and put a bag and 1 sock on it before I came down. Hhmm!

Oh just remembered I did buy something in Bristol. I got a roman blind for the kitchen in the next wallpaper we bought from LAshley sale. Blind £5.99 from Oxfam and I took a gamble on size but it fits.It needs a bit of a tidy up but also means I can work out how much fabric (how little) I can get away with of Pussy Willow. Also bought a towel rail £1.25 in cream for bathroom. It hooks over the door. Doesn't look too bad but if I don't want it DD says she'll have it.

Are you doing anything for the Coronation?

Cherry waves X

Searchingforsunnydays · 19/04/2023 17:16

Back to the mayhem of work and school ! I have changed my hours so longer on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday then a 130 finish on a Thursday & Friday 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 which will give me around an hour on my own in the home so I think that is where I am going to slot in the cleaning . I haven't completed much flying but I have really been concentrating on routines and finding out what works for us. The evening routine is tricky because every evening is different!

I'm currently sat at dd2 a gymnastics so I'll catch up on personals !

Searchingforsunnydays · 19/04/2023 17:53

Hazel I have swing envy ! That looks like a peaceful spot in your home . Great tada list yesterday ! Sounds like a very strange weather day for you yesterday! A bit of everything !! I hope you enjoyed your wine 🍷

Hills we have disappearing teaspoons ! I have no idea where they end up - I'm guessing dc leave them at school ! I hope all your studying and job hunting went well .

DE we have fake grass but had to get everything level underneath first. Are you able to put sand over the slabs first to get it all level ?

Red glad you had a good time in Bristol ! Sounds like you found some bargains aswell which is a bonus !!

ED doing the routines will keep things ticking over . Making all those house décor decisions take a lot of time .

Ditzy the pizza 🍕😫 !! I hope the new pizza tasted extra good after all the effort you put in trying to get it to the table ! Also a walk in the woods sounds wonderful. I may have to write it in for this weekend if the weather is dry 😊

ExtremelyDetermined · 20/04/2023 08:03

Morning,

Today's Flightplan is here http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

Our mission today is to declutter our dressing table or equivalent. Thursday is Errand Day, I have a few to do this afternoon.

FlyLady.net

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

OP posts: