Flying into Spring - The Fledglings are no Fools

[ExtremelyDetermined]

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 . The system starts properly on Monday, but the weekend is a good time to have a look at the website and start planning.

Hope you got on ok with your errands ED!

I haven't finished work early so the cleaning hasn't happened !

Tada
⭐️Morning routine
⭐️LOL
⭐️15 mins putting clothes away
⭐️Work and school runs
⭐️Made tea
⭐️Dd2 gymnastics
⭐️Took dd1 and ds for a costa hot chocolate whilst dd2 was in gymnastics
⭐️Ds running club
⭐️Dinner pot in dishwasher
⭐️Clothes out for tomorrow
⭐️dd2 bedtime routine

To do
🤯iron tomorrows clothes
🤯 clean kitchen sides and wash water bottles and lunch boxes when oh has eaten tea

Ditzy I gasped out loud when reading about your pizza adventures! At least you managed to get a replacement.
ED sending energy vibes for your home improvement projects.
Sunny that's a pretty solid ta da list for a work night! Hope you got to sit down at some point and put your feet up.
Red your garden and summer house sound lovely.

Thank you for all the advice re fake grass, I need to have a think about it. Maybe it's not as good an idea as I initially thought. In any case, will plant some flower bulbs with DS into planters this weekend.

Ta da:
🥵Circle of blooming LOLs. Wash on, wet to dry, dry folded and put away.
🥵Oven dinner on
🥵Kitchen wiped, dining room tidied, DW rotated
🥵Changed water in fishtanks
🥵Watered plants
🥵Toddler sorted, even managed to read few books with him.

Now collapsing into bed. Thursdays are 5am start days for me, I am so done with it. Despite being constantly (productively) busy, I am still behind my self imposed schedule for extra work projects and interview prep.

This week is dragging on and on and on... I'm ready for the weekend already and it's only Thursday 😩

I did have to wipe down the door and wall in the bathroom this morning.. my setting spray made a mess apparently!
I have done nothing else though at home, although I did clean my desk at work today, it was really dusty.

Elf I hope you get to figure something out for your garden re fake grass
sunny it looks like a productive day to me!

Morning all,

Well, I didn't get much erranding done yesterday after all, a lot of time got swallowed up by renovation planning again (who knew it could take so long to work out what radiators you need in a particular area). However none of the errands were urgent so I will try and catch up today.

@HungryHazelEyes yes, my work desk gets dusty, I think the cleaner only really hoovers, my office also has some cobwebs high up but I can't reach them, need a long handled duster.

@DomesticElf I don't really have much advice re fake grass etc either, no experience, sorry. Flowers will make it look nice and its a nice thing to do with DS.

@HillsBesideTheSea sounds like you have a lot on too, you seem to have had building work going on forever. We didn't do much with our house for the first 15 years or so we lived here, it needed things doing but not urgently, however the last 5 or 6 years we have done a lot, not structural, just renovation and repairs really, but it is very time consuming with all the planning and organising.

OK, Friday's links:

http://flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60 Flightplan is here. The mission for today is to remake your bed and do a thorough job, plumping up, refreshing, whatever. Friday is also clean out your car and bag day - I am pleased to report that since I got my car valeted a few weeks ago I have kept it spotless by removing every item from it every time I get out and hoovering it every weekend. My bag OTOH badly needs a clear-out. Friday is also date night which may mean with a partner or could just be an opportunity to treat yourself to a bit of indulgence.

Not much going on here. Upto date on all the laundry, been for a walk along the riverbank to clear my head and cleaned out my bag.

On that subject, when do you get a new handbag? Do you do it on a whim, perhaps if you change your style or are you like me - waiting until a handle is ripping, there's a hole in the corner or the lining has fallen apart?

Ditzy I change mine when it is literally falling apart. I used to be faithful to Longchamp bags for a good number of years, changing for a new one when the old one started getting holes. This time around I changed brand as I liked the design more and it's more convenient for work, and it will last me a long while before I will need to change bags again.

I'm back! Family have gone back last week but I dropped my phone down the loo and it's dead so I'm on a very old phone that is very hard to use

Pompoms how did it go with the family?
Oh no, re phone! I've done the same thing in the past, and now trouser/jeans back pockets are a no go for phone storage 😬 I hope you manage to source a replacement soon.

Morning all, what a pain @partypompoms , I have come close to that once or twice but always managed to catch it. Hope the family visit went well.

@DitzyDaffodils I buy inexpensive bags but have several on the go for different purposes. So at the moment I have a big slouchy canvas one which I mainly use for work as I can fit my diary, packed lunch etc in there, but it also acts as a place for keeping things like nylon shopping bags, my airpods etc so I can always find them, if I take them out to use in a smaller bag I always try to put them back in the big one. I have a small black cross body bag which I originally bought for nights out but actually use most of the time apart from work. I also have a bigger black shoulder bag for when I need more capacity but to be smarter than the canvas one. Then a nylon rucksack for sports, food shopping etc. In the past I have tried without success to have one bag suits all uses but it has always been a compromise and many have ended up at the charity shop. I don’t generally change ones that are working well until they fall to bits though.

Well, I managed my errands yesterday (I only had a half day at work), dropped off some crochet squares I have been making for a blanket project to the coordinator, and went to the pet shop for cat food and litter. Also got my hair cut and managed a bit of diary management over a coffee. And saw the builder about the renovations, we are changing tack slightly and are now going to split it into two projects, one imminently and one when finances permit, as they were spiralling and it was becoming too complicated to get everything ordered in the required timeframe. So that means most of the planning can be put on hold for a bit as it was for project 2. However the bulk of the decluttering was for Project 1 so that needs to be the priority now as it starts mid May.

Saturday in Flylady-land is Family Fun day. My family are going off to archery so I get to have fun by myself 😀. I am going to do some exercise, some gardening and make a start on the big declutter with the aim of getting some stuff to a charity shop this afternoon. I already have a pile of books and no longer used Easter things ready to go.

I have several as i found i needed different things for different situations.
Eg if my shoulder is bad i need something i can sling cross body, if I need something that will hold a laptop/a4 note books, to be light and small because i would much rather have a couple of pockets but women's clothing...

I have made some in the past. my favourite bags have been little cross body ones and i can customise with the exact fabric and hardware and pockets that i desire. I have yet to make a heavy duty rucksack so i am using one i bought 5 years ago plus. it does the job and was waxed canvas so gives some protection in the rain. I am picky but do have a couple for different circumstances. My everyday ones are a me made cross body, or my canvas rucksack

I have the dont wannas, my to do list has turned in to a bunch of rabbits and the things on it are exploding exponentially atm. <sigh>

ta da
food preped into freezer
dw unloaded, reloaded and running
1st load of washing is in the machine
i have dealt with people
and sulked in a corner.

I had better get moving because i really do have a lot to do today that was on my original to do list.

pompoms that's not good news about your phone! Are you able to get a replacement that'll work better than what you're using now?

Ditzy I don't use handbags! I have a phone case/ wallet that has a handle, for all my cards, cash etc. I usually put my keys in my pocket. I rarely wear clothing with no pockets.

ED splitting up the building work sounds more manageable.
hills to do list turning into a bunch of rabbits made me laugh!

Last night I picked up the carpet cleaner from my SIL, to borrow. So guess what I'll be doing over the next few weeks! I'm going to start in DSs room, after throwing away the rug that the dogs kept peeing on, the carpet now needs a good clean!
I try not to think about the fact I haven't cleaned the carpet since we moved in, almost 2 years ago as it grosses me out! So the whole house will be done 🤩

Nothing done yet, other than coffee, but it's not even 9am here
🍒👋

@HungryHazelEyes if I have got pockets I tend to just carry phone (I use apple pay gor everything) and keys but if I'm doing any shopping I carry my crossbody bag as it holds my nylon shopping bags and I do need stuff for work. No bag would be my preference though.

Hazel clean carpets is a great feeling! It's like getting into a fresh bedsheets after a lovely bath 🥰 definitely worth all the faff with cleaning solutions etc.
Hills I hope people are not too peopley
ED sounds like you have a plan and you are a woman on a mission!

Ta das:
☕Beds stripped, aired, remade. Properly aired the house.
☕All bedroom surfaces antibac-ed.
☕LOLx2, washed and out to dry. Dry laundry put away.
☕Kitchen wiped, DW rotated
☕All plants watered and fertilised
☕Planted some flower bulbs with DS
☕Managed to do some proper reading session with DS

Tomorrow I am planning a lazy day in, I may even attempt a bath 😶‍🌫️ Need some down time, and hopefully house won't descend into chaos wishful thinking.

That sounds like a productive day Elf

So I vacuumed DSs bedroom as well as the hallway and cleaned the carpets in those rooms. Oh.my.God! How awful! The hallway was particularly bad as it's high traffic. I'm starting to think the previous owners kept their shoes on in the house at all times with how disgusting the water was. I'm still going to need to go over it again, I already went over it 4 times! 🤮 hopefully the rest of the house won't be as bad, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

We still have to put everything back in the room for DS, as we completely emptied it, but the carpet isn't fully dry yet. Hopefully it will be dry by the time we get home after dinner at ILs 🤞 otherwise he'll have to sleep elsewhere!

Thanks for the info re bags, peeps. I'm thinking I might change the way I do things. Never thought of having more than one bag on the go.

Sorry about your phone Pompoms, hope the family didn't give you a headache

Exploding to-do lists are a PITA Hills, don't blame you for sulking!

Carpet cleaner Hazel that's proper adulting. I shall continue to ignore such issues and not 👀 too closely

You make it sound like a bath is an annual occurrence Elf 😆

A day to yourself, perfect bliss, ED

Hope all the lurkers are doing ok

Ta-da's:

🐭 Morning routine
🐭 Visit friends
🐭 Take in delivery, unpack and put away
🐭 Evening routine

Good morning everyone ☕️

I didn't finish early on Friday either so , it only worked out at an extra 2 hours to normal but it's made a huge difference to the house 😩 catch up day today !

Last night me and oh went out with friends for our friends birthday ....... without the kids !!! We haven't been out without the kids for about 8 years !!! I absolutely love my children however it was so nice to go out and completely relax and switch off for a couple of hours ❤️

To do:
Iron tomorrows clothes
Roast dinner
15 minutes of clothes putting away
Write packing list (we go away on Friday)
Take dd2 to swimming
Meet up with a Friend this afternoon (May have to cancel because I think I could run out of time )
Order anything we may need for holidays
General tidy (every single room seems to be messy so I want at least 30/40 mins dedicated to this)

I'll catch up on personals during my coffee breaks - I hope everyone is well 💐

Evening, I made a good start on the Big Declutter today. We have a king size lift up divan bed which was chock full of stuff, I have emptied out about 4 binliners worth of stuff from it and reorganised what's left so there is lots of space now which can be used when we have to empty other rooms. Also put out a box of books for the charity shop. Discussed with DH where we are going to put all the furniture that needs to be got out during our renovations.

That's a really good start ED that's quite a bit you're able to get rid of already!

Ta Das:
🪻 DH vacuumed living room and hallway for me while I got the carpet cleaner ready
🪻 cleaned the carpet in the living room and a little bit into the hallway, again
🪻 put DSs room back together
🪻 LOLs x3
🪻 swept carport
🪻 had DD over for dinner, she's going to move back in with us! 🥳 Next week!
🪻 handwashed dishes
🪻 had DS rotate DW
🪻 wiped all kitchen countertops
🪻 cleaned microwave
🪻 scrubbed & delimescaled kitchen sink

I'm about to go do some yoga stretches before my shower. I already have my lunch ready for tomorrow, just need to get my clothes out.

🍒👋 to everyone

That’s great about DD @HungryHazelEyes

So, Monday has rolled round again. We are now moving into Zone 5, The Living Room. Often this one gets cut short if the end of a month falls midweek.

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

The mission for today is to go sofa diving and dig out the coins, pens, whatever that lurk down the sides of the sofa. Monday is also Home Blessing Day, where we dust and vac each room quickly, empty bins, change beds etc. I never seem to have time for this 🤦‍♀️, it all gets done ad-hoc here and not necessarily every week. Do what works best for you.

Morning everyone. Really must get back to flying!

Red I’m sorry your reunion with DD wasn’t good 😢

Hazel good news about DD!

It has been a weird time here, I didn’t get to see my grandma, she got worse very quickly 😢 finding it difficult to focus on work, luckily I don’t have a lot of meetings at the moment. For various reasons the funeral isn’t for another month.

On a more practical note, we also had the electrician round but it turns out the housing association has given us the wrong information so all the time we spent stash and dashing clearing access to all sockets wasn’t actually needed. 🙄 But it was a good thing really as it forced us to tidy up more, and I felt quite motivated on the weekend to build on what I’d done as it was nice to see the house looking tidier. So I got rid of more stuff and sorted Cagletini’s next size clothes, bagged up outgrown stuff to pass on etc. Sadly I have not maintained that energy but it was nice while it lasted!

This morning I have checked payslip and paid a couple of invoices for DS’ activities. Feeling a bit sore-throaty (Cagletini has had a cold and been very whingey) and really hoping I feel better tomorrow as it’s a long awaited team day at our new office.

Must actually get going for the day.

po3.1
❗️Dig out new (eBay) book for Cagletini as she finally earned it (reward chart for staying in her bed all night) and read to her
❗️Take meds
❗️Log on to work laptop

Have managed a decent amount of work, including organising my calendar, and pottered around a bit in the bedroom gathering stuff to throw away, put away and donate. Being much more ruthless now. Just put a wash on to make sure I have a clean bra for tomorrow 🤣 and have done reading practice and maths with Cagletini. I was going to do another power of three but I have an epic headache so I’m going to dig out some documents I need and then try and relax for a bit. Need to fit in uni work at some point today too 🤔🙄

You are on a roll with the decluttering @CurseYouPerryThePlatypus , hope the headache cleared up.

Work today, my car was in the garage and has had to stay in overnight as it is poorly so I have got a courtesy car which is nicer than mine. Hmm.

Picked up some paint testers at lunchtime (I work close to a Homebase) and spent a happy half hour when I got home trying them all out on a4 pieces of paper which now need to be blutacked up onto various walls to see what they look like.

Then yoga and dinner.
I have not managed to get the stuff from yesterday to a charity shop yet because of the car situation and work, but have identified a whole lot more things that can go. Some are wedding presents that have never been used (nearly 25 years), it is time to stop being sentimental and let them go. Heading off for an early night, I’m tired. We got woken at 3am this morning by the government’s fucking screechy alarm thing on DH’s phone, excuse my French, not funny.

Well done on the decluttering ED, sentimental stuff is the hardest. Courtesy cars make me panic because they need looking after. It doesn't matter if I ding mine! The only good thing about those alarms is the phone then asked me if I wanted to turn off emergency alerts and took me to the place to do it, which I'd been previously unable to find

Hope you got rid of the headache Perry. I'm finding the decluttering gets easier the more I do it. Sorry about your grandma too, RIP

Good news about DD Hazel

Yesterday ta-da's:

🌑 Morning routine
🌒 Home blessings
🌓 Decluttering
🌔 Bought some new bedding
🌕 Reorganised porch
🌖 Planted wildflowers in a little used corner of the garden
🌗 Took a walk
🌘 Painted nails
🌑 Evening routine

Ta-da's:

🌍 Morning routine
🌎 Finished craft project, which was sewing a collar and some pretty buttons into a jacket
🌏 Big food shop
🌍 Decluttering
🌎 Took a bag to the clothing bank
🌏 Started shredding a big pile of paperwork that's not needed
🌍 Evening routine

I'm sorry to hear about your grandma Perry it's hard losing a loved one. You've been quite productive though.

My mum told me about the emergency alert thing, we've had them here for years! Just local though, usually to do with a missing/ kidnapped child/ vulnerable person. Occasionally to do with the weather. We hardly ever get them, only a handful a year, if that, thankfully!

It's a work day today, so not expecting a ta da list, although I do have to stop by the grocery store on my way home today 🙄