Flying into May - Fledglings welcome all as we conquer the clutter

[EversoDisorganised]

Time for the May 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 covers housework, self-care and general organisation. It runs on a monthly cycle with the house divided into weekly zones, 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.

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.

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

Each day the website posts a mission (a detailed bit of cleaning or decluttering) for the current zone, but decluttering takes priority.

Then there’s the daily focus - each day of the week has a theme, although switch them round to suit yourself.

Each day I’ll provide the link to the flight plan, which is where you can see what is meant to be done that day (as a guide, nothing is obligatory).

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 to be confused with dear wife
LOL - load of laundry, we aren’t finding washing hilarious
WM - washing machine
TD - tumble dryer
BRC - box of random crap

Morning everyone 👋
@EversoDisorganised you seem to pack in so much during your day, awesome!
Yesterday I managed 3 LOLs, and at the end of the day I was glad that I'd only put bedding outside on the line, and could just leave the rest hanging around the house 😚
Bedding went straight onto my bed so didn't have to put it away.
Today's mission is to put all my laundry away, I've got two tubs of clean clothes from last week as well as what I did yesterday.
Tidy, declutter and organise my linen cupboard. I went through a phase of buying too many towels, need to get rid of some but it's hard when they're all in good condition.
A quick whizz with the hoover downstairs ready for the BT engineer, it's stayed tidy so should be a quick job.
God knows what's happened in my kitchen but there's something splashed up the bottom cabinets, I got a bit depressed thinking that I've done so much hard work decluttering and scrubbing, but for some unknown reason (😅) it doesn't actually stay clean on its own 😅
We're going out when DP gets in from work, for some bizarre reason he dismantled the chicken shed and we're going to pick another one up as he doesn't want to rebuild it.
Plus he wants to use the space to store even more of his tools and machinery.
Once the new coop is fortified we'll be getting some more hens.
My beans that I posted about a while back are sprouting, and got a lovely surprise with them...

Thank you for the garden/flowers love ❤️

Cherry your beans are doing so well, and it's great that the wording is still so visible!
I wonder if your DH wants a different coop so foxes won't be able to get in again 🤔

ED you have the perfect excuse to work on your garden and allotment! How long are you expecting the decorators to be there? It'll be nice once it's all done!
I would volunteer to run next month, but we are going camping for possibly a week and will have no cell service up in the mountains! I may be able to run July, if it's not too crazy. I'll know closer to the time.

sunny you have got a lot done! Well done to DD with the contact lens trial! The crumble was very tasty. I do still have a little bit left, might have to share with DD though since she hasn't tried any yet.

Speaking of DD, she was messing around in the big city over the weekend (riding on one of those scooters you can rent) and have herself a concussion! She looks like she is in pain, she may not go to work today, as she'll have to look at a computer screen all day 😢

I have 1 lol going in the washer right now, the blankets from the living couch. Coco decided to throw up on one of them last night as we were settling down to watch a movie 🙄
Hopefully I'll be back with more ta das (it's not quite 8am here)

Resurfaces tired after bank holiday and mega list and waves at everyone. Hope everone had a nice weekend.

We had, it was nice having company. List was 90% done, and I didn't care about the last things.

The house still looks pretty decent. The garden has turned into a mountain of leylandi. Which was the plan, so that is oke. We can work on that one step at a time.

Tada
Morning routine (incl lol and dishwasher)
Rescue robotvacuum
Woodchopping
Fold laundry
Rearrange cupboard

Hopefully:
Plant tomatoes
Clear table of leftover contents cupboard

I'm struggling. Haven't decluttered anything in ages. I need to. Yesterday I did a hair mask, trying to look after it. Also cleaned my upstairs windows.

Today's ta-da's:

🥴 Morning routine
🥴 Sleep
🥴 Clean downstairs window
🥴 Clean car
🥴 Shopping list
🥴 Finish my novel

To-do:

🥺 The place looks like a tip so I need to tidy but think it's more of a decluttering issue. Sigh.
🥺 Evening routine

I'll have a go at the thread next month ED. I want to read FlyLady website more and this will make me do it. I'm going to go start it now so I can't change my mind

Sorry that you're struggling @DitzyDaffodils , your tada list is still pretty impressive ❤️ I really struggle with decluttering, it is my absolute downfall . My home would be so much tidier with much less stuff!!

Glad you've had a good weekend @SalixAlba! Bonus that the house is still on top of !

Oh no @HungryHazelEyes hope your DD recovers quickly !!

Hope you managed to get your jobs done @CherryogDog!

Tada
🎉15 mins on the room of doom playroom , just about scratching the surface but it's going to take a long time !
🎉 LOL out on the line
🎉 lunch
🎉 dd2 put in and took out her contacts independently!
🎉 tried on and collected dd1 prom dress !
🎉 tea
🎉cleaned out a bread maker that was given to us (it was clean but just gave it a once over )
🎉 dd2 gymnastics
🎉 nipped to shop for a few bits for our picnic and things to make bread !

Currently still at gymnastics, will still have general tidy to do once I get home 🤦‍♀️ hopefully dp will have brought in the washing as I forgot to message and ask him but hopefully he has spotted it out on the line 😂

Morning everyone , I woke up at 530 - it's the time of year when I want the window open and do doesn't so I woke up so hot , it made me feel queasy so I came downstairs. It has given me chance to try out my new to me breadmaker ! All the ingredients are in and it's whirling away - it's quite noisy so perhaps not ideal when everyone else is still in bed 😂 oooppps ! I'll know for next time !

It'll be a food focus morning for me , I'm going to cook up some mince , do half for lasagna and half spag Bol , most of the lasagna will be frozen into portions for when I go back to work , the spag Bol for tonight. I'm hoping to prep some chicken strips too, again to cook and freeze for those nights I need a quick meal . The recipe I use is off pinch of nom and they've stated 5 minutes in the microwave once defrosted or 12 minutes from frozen. I was wondering whether to put them in foil trays and throw them in the oven which might keep them crispy ? I'm not sure . Later in the week I'm hoping to make burgers to freeze and prep things like chicken fajitas. Cooking is something I really struggle with during term time and I want to make an effort to give everyone something a bit more balanced rather than a rushed what have we got in the freezer or cupboard that's quick!

We're off out with friends for a picnic at around 11 so I will be trying to get all the cooking done for 9ish so I can get showered and ready - maybe another 15 mins on the room of doom if all goes well !

Tada :
🎉Morning coffee
🎉breadmaker on
🎉LOL & towels in the dryer

To do:
😴 some sort of batch cooking
😴 prep picnic things
😴 showered and ready for the picnic

@DitzyDaffodils thank you so much for offering to take over next month, it really does help. You can just copy and paste this link, it updates every day. If you click the dustbin icon that appears under your post it stops a big Flylady image appearing. Being thread leader certainly helps keep me more focussed, hope it works for you

Sorry, not keeping up with the chat very well at the moment,, it is a busy time, but I am reading it all. I mistakenly thought yesterday was the last day of the month but it’s today, so here is the last May Flightplan.

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

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day and the mission is to do detailed hoovering of the living room, under furniture, around skirtings etc. Might save that one for next month as I can barely see the floor in ours.

Here is a link to @DitzyDaffodils ’s new thread

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/housekeeping/4816971-fledgelings-winging-their-way-out-of-june-disasters?reply=126538930

Hope your daughter is oke soon, HungryHazelEyes

That is a very surprising and very cute bean, CherryogDog

Good plan, forcing yourself to read the website like that, DitzyDaffodil. Hope it works well for you.

Room of doom. That is a good description, I might steal that for the guest room. Enjoy the picnic and the freshly baked bread, SearchingforSunnyDays

And thanks doing the thread, Eversodisorganized. It helped me to stick with it.

Tada
Morning routine (incl laundry and dishes)
Fold laundry
Wait for package
Mealplan

Hopefully
Water plants
Chop wood
Fold more laundry

Thanks ED I managed to copy that link anyway, hopefully it works when I paste it in the new thread

Cherry I liked your bean too and your garden Hazel

Salix I worked my way through all the Testimonials last year and the Baby steps when I first joined which helped me understand the system. There's so much useful information on FlyLady website

Hopefully they forgave you when they woke up to fresh bread Sunny

Ta-da's:

💜 Be ill 🦠🤒
💜 Ironing 🤬 but it's easier do it when damp. I like ironing, just not today

To-do:

💜 Doze and rest 🛌
💜 Eat ice cream and ginger biscuits 🍦🍪

sunny meal prep is a good idea. I used to prep meals to dump into the slow cooker. I would chop everything up, add the sauce or whatever, put it in a freezer bag (lay it flat to freeze so it thaws quickly), put it in the fridge the night before to thaw out, dump it in the slow cooker the next morning (turn it on!) and come home to dinner cooked. It was lovely! Now DH helps by smoking some meats etc and DS is helping with one meal a week. I also cook enough to last 2 dinners and lunches. However this week I haven't even got meals planned, let alone prepped anything! 🤦‍♀️

ED I don't blame you for putting off the detailed vacuuming! Thank you for running the May thread.

Salix chop wood?! What is your plan for this wood?

Ditzy I hope you're feeling better soon!

DD seems to be feeling better each day, she stayed home yesterday, but went to work today. However, that might be because she's meeting with her boss - her and a friend applied for an apartment in the big city, and they got it. Move in date is Friday, if they both come up with their share of the deposit, that is. She also got the job she applied for! I'm not ready for her to move out again!

YesTaDas:
🌼 finished planting my plants, I might plant one more, or I might leave it in the pot it's in, I haven't decided yet 🤷‍♀️
🌼 more tidying up outside, pulling out stray grass, tidying up the rocks in the flower beds, I had DS help me pull weeds in the pool area
🌼 3 LOLs, including our sheets, DS did a 4th lol for me
🌼 took a shower, used a body scrub, shaved, then applied self tanner
🌼 scrambled something together for dinner since I haven't gone shopping yet 🤦‍♀️ I cooked shrimp, angel hair pasta, sautéed shredded cabbage and made Alfredo sauce. It went down well.
🌼 painted my toes and relaxed for a couple of hours

To do today:
🌺 pull more weeds, I swear they multiply!
🌺 check schedule at 2nd job
🌺 buy new gardening gloves as mine ripped yesterday!
🌺 wash & vacuum Jeep (if carwash isn't too busy)
🌺 meal plan
🌺 grocery shopping
🌺 more LOLs
🌺 bleach both bathrooms
🌺 vacuum whole house (will have DS help me)
🌺 mop floors
🌺 clean mirrors and windows
🌺 dust living room

I don't think I will do it all in that order, but I've found its hard to juggle cleaning up outside and keeping the inside clean. Ugh. I will be delegating some of the jobs to DS (he's done with school for the summer)
I go back to work tomorrow, so I'm making the most of my days off

Thanks for the links this month @EversoDisorganised and for @DitzyDaffodils taking on next months , I appreciate it 💐

You're welcome to use the description @SalixAlba, I haven't done anything in the room of doom today 😩 I may try and get at least 5 minutes in there later .

@DitzyDaffodils luckily it didn't wake them up and the bread tasted delicious! Itll definitely be made again ! Hope you managed some rest and enjoyed your ice cream and ginger biscuits!!

@HungryHazelEyes you were very organised with your meals - the planning is the hardest part I think ! This morning I had got 2 meals prepped and 1 in the fridge , 1 in the over wishing 30 minutes but it's the planning that takes the time and brain power isn't it and being prepared enough to get everything from the shop and organise a time slot to prep it all. I used to be a lot more organised but it's like I've forgot how to do lots of things 😂 Happy that your dd is feeling a lot better and congratulations to her for the new job - I'm guessing a bittersweet moment for you ❤️ a great tada list for today !

I have just sat down at gymnastics and I'm feeling the 520 start to the day 😴😴!

Tada
🎉 bread made - yummy
🎉 spag Bol made
🎉 lasagna made and is currently on the fridge ready for portioning into the freezer
🎉 picnic made
🎉 showered and ready
🎉 dd2 showered and ready
🎉 picked up ds from his friends house
🎉 met a friend at a local country park, a long walk with picnic, followed by kids playing on the park and having a whippy ice cream from the cafe
🎉 tea cooked (spag Bol from morning prep)
🎉 a quick tidy in the kitchen whilst tea was cooking but still need to do tea pots
🎉 dd2 ready for gymnastics including contact lenses ( it took about 20 minutes to get them in tonight , hopefully as she gets used to them , it'll get easier )
🎉 picked up dd2s friend and got them both to gymnastics

To do
😴 delete some emails whilst I'm here (phone is on 10% so won't get too many deleted)
😴 read a chapter of my book
😴 take the girls home after gymnastics
😴 support dd2 take out her contacts
😴 kitchen clean
😴 prep clothes for tomorrow
😴 maybe some time in the room of doom 🤦‍♀️

Ta Das:
🌺 checked schedule at 2nd job
🌺 bought new gardening gloves as mine ripped yesterday!
🌺 wash Jeep
🌺 meal plan
🌺 grocery shopping
🌺 more LOLs x4, including towels and DS'S sheets
🌺 bleached both bathrooms, including floors
🌺 vacuumed whole house (DS vacuumed downstairs in the basement)
🌺 mopped floors
🌺 cleaned mirrors and windows
🌺 DS dusted living room (he did a detailed dusting!)
🌺 DS dusted basement (again, detailed)
🌺 cleaned windows on the screen doors (all 3 of them) inside & outside
🌺 DS watered my plants for me

I feel like the house needed a deep clean & it got that today! I didn't get any weeds pulled though.
Tomorrow (Thursday) we will be starting to get the camper ready for camping this weekend, although I really don't feel like we are anywhere near ready!
🍒👋 I'll see you on the new thread

@HungryHazelEyes hope your daughter is feeling OK now.
And@ everyone else you all look like you've achieved so much!
Not so many TaDa's for me, but happy with what I've achieved.
Vacuumed floors and wiped down the woodwork in my front room and downstairs hall, and cleaned the shoe rack.
So when the BT engineer arrived I didn't want to die of embarrassment 😁
Everything has stayed fairly tidy since my first declutter.
Put most of my laundry away, my drawer dividers arrived, I haven't put them in yet, they look a bit small even though I ordered the largest.
I'm going to buy some trouser hangers to finish sorting my wardrobes.
Practicing the "if a job only takes 5 minutes just do it" principle, so wiped all the kitchen cabinet doors down. Also while my dinner was cooking I washed all the pots and pans from the day before.
I'd tried to make home made oven chips, the recipe said to put in the oven for an hour, came down from my shower after 30 minutes to find the kitchen full of black smoke and chips that King Alfred would have been proud of 😅
So I got the hump and left the washing up lol.
Today's todo is definitely sort the linen cupboard.
Has anybody else sold what they've decluttered? I constantly swing between just hoofing it to the charity shop or sticking it on ebay, while the pile grows and occasionally I dig through it and reclaim something 😅