Flying out of summer (what summer?!)

[partypompoms]

Welcome to this long running thread, we may seem clicky, but all are welcome to join in!

Do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - it's an excessive amount sent every day.

There are Baby Steps for starting out, add one thing at a time to start good habits and routines.

There are 5 zones that we will rotate through, don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month! Flylady is NOT about perfectionism!

Habit of the month of August is Laundry

Daily missions: each day of the week has a different mission.

• Monday: Home Blessing (or as we call it, home bleugh)
• Tuesday: plan & play
• Wednesday: anti-procrastination
• Thursday: errand day
• Friday: clean car & purse out and date night (what's that again?? 🤔)
• Saturday: family fun day
• Sunday: renew your spirit

Common acronyms we use:

• LOL: load of laundry (washing is certainly NOT funny!)
• DW: dishwasher, we are not rotating wives by any means, although an extra pair of hands could come in handy sometimes 😆
• LMS: lose/lost my shit
• DNLMS: did not lose my shit

I'm sure there's more I haven't mentioned, feel free to ask us to explain something. I'll try to update links every day, although if you can, it's worth downloading the app, you can even have it send you notifications (although I only have it for when the zones change).

I like the app as it has a tick list and I love a list.

Links are below 👇 and I'll tend to post the links the night before ready for the next day.

Launch Pad: www.flylady.net/d/new-links/

Zones: www.flylady.net/d/zones/

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

Thank you Elf I have been drinking chamomile tea and honey, and I just had a hot toddy. I feel a bit better since my shower, but not sure how long that'll last.
Apparently DS was up last night, throwing up! I was completely knocked out by medicine and had no idea, I feel terrible for not even stirring! Thankfully DS is 14, plus DH heard him. He's fine now!

I work at my 2nd job tomorrow, but only 4 hours, then we head out camping again, locally, same as last week, so I'll have signal to check in. It's cooler this weekend than it has been.

pompoms could you try dryer sheets, or something similar, to add to the bags before storing? I hate that musty smell too and have washed clothes purely because they smell musty before.

Ta Das:
🌧 work all day
🌧 grocery pick up order placed and picked up
🌧 had to go into the grocery store to grab a couple of things I couldn't order
🌧 started loading the camper
🌧 cleaned up kitchen after dinner of leftovers
🌧 pulled my clothes out for tomorrow

I'm currently falling asleep on the couch, so time for bed for me! 😴
🍒👋

Morning all, sorry about all the illness! 😷

YesTaDa
🚖got up early (although I’d woken up at 3.40am anyway and not been able to get back to sleep before my 6am alarm 😑) and walked to station with DS
🚖got an hour of work done on the nice quiet train - DS did the last bit of the journey with just his friend, baby steps!
🚖finished my work hours at the library, then had lunch with my book while DS was at college
🚖got the train home and started OU course, it officially starts on 7/10 but they open the website a bit early so I read the intro etc
🚖finally finished reading a book - pleased about this although the book was a bit rubbish as I’ve barely managed reading this year

Yesterday’s blessings because why not, I need to keep some positivity ATM!
🌈DS had a much better day at college than last Friday, he was learning about brake systems
🌈he was excited because we got a taxi home from the station (bus stop is closed) and it was a Tesla!!! 😁
🌈thanks to the hours tracker I started using this term, I felt much less stressed about fitting my work in and it also helped me prioritise what tasks I needed to do. It’s a keeper for sure! I just have a line of 16 hours for each week and colour in squares/half squares at the end of the day, but I’m a visual thinker and it’s made a huge difference.

Today I am well aware that fatigue will likely hit hard later, but I’m hoping to get some practical stuff done as well as planning for next week because tomorrow everyone’s out at an event and will be tired after. I have a ticket too but I’d decided not to go because I need a rest day! However my lovely friend just messaged about it so maybe I’ll go for a bit.

po3.1
❗️Agree plans for tomorrow
❗️Write SENSIBLE to do list for myself and family today
❗️Have breakfast

I'm not sure I understand the hours tracker properly Sing, but it sounds interesting and helpful. Does it only keep track of your employment work? Or are you using it for housework etc too. Any chance you could post a pic of a blank one?

I like your blessings lists too. Nothing wrong with a bit of positivity

On last legs here so just popping in with

SUNDAY: www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60&d=1

✅renew your spirit
✅ next week is the living room

Have a nice Saturday night.

It’s just this ditzy nothing clever really! But because my work is flexible I sometimes find it hard to manage my time (I have ADHD). Some weeks I might have loads of hours taken up with events or more meetings etc but others I don’t. This week I also worked out how many hours I had that weren’t already allocated to something and kept a running total on my to do list - that really helped me make sure I prioritised properly.

I have absolutely nothing to track housework because I live in chaos and have no energy or motivation to change it most of the time (I am trying to declutter). I want a tracker for my uni module, last year there was a great one provided with each week’s activities/reading/audio etc and it was so useful. But there doesn’t seem to be one this time and because they don’t open the whole course at once I don’t really think I can make my own! At least not in such detail.

Today has not gone to plan and I don’t think tomorrow will either. Done with this week, totally done.

For context re the tracker, I work (mostly) from home 16 hours a week, term time only. About 2 hours a week is regular meetings but the rest could be anything. We can have overtime or TOIL but I prefer to keep it simple, this tracker will also help me know if I’m likely to need to get extra hours approved.

Sing I like your Blessings list. Do you still get some time to play piano?
Hazel happy camping!
Pompoms ☕🍷

Ta das:
🧹LOLx2 and out to dry
🧹Dry laundry folded
🧹 Morning and evening routines
🧹Kitchen and dining room tidy up
🧹Watered all indoor and some outdoor plants
🧹Pruned and tidied up my bonsai tree. Now it's looking much better.
🧹Done some gardening with toddler, planted some apple seeds. Not sure if it's even the right time to plant them, but let's see what happens.
🧹Sorted out 3 tanks, including washing few decorations. Looks a lot more presentable now. I am getting an itch to completely redo one of the tanks... it will be a whole day affair, and with two kiddies about it may turn interesting. I am not sure I have enough coffee for this, but I might brave it.

Thanks Sing. Having seen it I'm now even more confused 😅 so I guess that means it's not something which would work for me. I'm decluttering too, I think it's the only way. I've come to realise so many of the decisions I make on a daily basis concern the stuff. I figured that must mean life will be easier if have less stuff

Ditzy I think one square represents a time period (I am guessing morning, lunchtime, early evening, late evening?), and colours represent activity. However, I've never used one myself.

Sing I think I get it. Each square is one hour, there's 16 in a row, for each week. The different colour is for a different day, the 1/2 square is for 1/2 an hour. So this last week Sing worked 4 1/2 hours the 1st day, 3 1/2 hours the 2nd, 4 hours the 3rd day, 1 1/2 hours the 4th day & 2 1/2 the 5th day, making up the 16 required hours. I think it's an excellent system and easy to see where you're at for hours for the week, especially where yours aren't set hours.

Elf how did the tank redo go?

Ditzy how is your decluttering going?

Camping is going good, work was busy. I was scheduled to work tomorrow, but since I'm out of town, they'll find someone else. If they don't, oh well, not my problem! I didn't want them to schedule me to work a full day, let alone both days on a weekend! 🤷‍♀️

Yes that’s exactly it re the tracker hazel 😊

Elf no the piano is literally gathering dust. I don’t make time to play it or do much else for myself at all really, I just feel too exhausted.

YesTaDa
🧚LOL
🧚ordered dance stuff for DD1
🧚hung up LOL
🧚tried to make plans for today (Sunday), didn’t get far

I haven’t been able to get back to sleep since I woke up at 5. Not anticipating feeling very refreshed on Monday 🙄 I have too much to do and too much to think about. My life needs an overhaul but I’m not sure I’m strong enough to do it because the biggest decision is too big - staying married or not. Not wishing to derail the thread obv, just venting as nowhere else to at this time of day!

@SingToTheSky we have a dust gathering piano too. I've never played but my eldest did.

I might YouTube a beginners lesson so I can teach the keen middle one. No money for lessons here atm

Sing that big question of yours has been popping into my head one too many times too lately. I have given myself a deadline to make a final decision about it in about 1.5 years' time.

Hazel I haven't done it yet, need to get few things before I embark on this mission. And stock up on coffee

Not much flying done this week , extra hours , a meal out and a wedding have scuppered any plans to get the bedroom into a functioning room rather than a dumping ground Routines have nearly stayed in place so some rooms are looking ok. I haven't even kept up with the personals sorry !! I will have a read through them all today 🙈

My only plan is to go for a walk later on so harnessing the power of 3 to get on top of things . One thing I have noticed this week with the home running a little better is that everyone seems to be a little more relaxed , there haven't been many meltdowns , I am hoping that it's because we are more organised chaos now rather than chaos ! It's given me motivation to keep making the home better when I have the time and less guilty when I don't .

I've come to realise so many of the decisions I make on a daily basis concern the stuff. I figured that must mean life will be easier if have less stuff

So true. I’m trying to think of all our stuff as inventory and the more inventory we have the more time, energy and even money goes into managing it.

Elf 💐 that’s a similar time frame for me I think, I mean TBH I’m fairly sure in myself that I want out but I don’t know how or when to do that and not knowing what life would look like after is daunting!

Sunny I have seen so clearly this summer how much the chaos is contributing to Cagletini’s behaviour ☹️ the guilt is huge but it’s a vicious cycle as the more meltdowns she has the harder it is to keep on top of everything.

I’m waiting for a friend as we are popping over to an event for a bit, the others are already there.

Ta das (mainly Home Bleugh):
🧺Hoovered, including stairs.
🧺Usual kitchen clean up, also wiped the tops of coffee machines and air fryer.
🧺Decluttered draining board. It was full of silicon baby tableware which we haven't used in ages.
🧺Wiped finger prints off windows and doors
🧺Lolx1 and out to dry
🧺Dry laundry folded and put away
🧺Somewhat extended S&S. Basically ran around bathrooms with an antibac wipes.

The rest of the day was spent entertaining smalls. A

✅ half a home bleurgh
✅ hooping
✅ made a giant lasagne
✅ eldest child came home for the day
✅ H doing ironing now
✅ painted nails to renew spirit
✅ all summer clothes away. I've steamed them before going away this time to see if that prevents so much musty smell. I'll let you all know in spring how that goes.

MONDAY

www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60&d=1

✅ home bleurgh www.flylady.net/d/daily-focus/daily-focus-monday/

✅ living room mission:

This week we are in Zone 5, The Living Room and I want each and every one of you to go into your living rooms and stand there. While you are standing there I want you to look around you and look at the flat surfaces (end tables, coffee tables, tops of tv's/entertainment centers, bookcases, mantles, etc)
What do have on these surfaces? Are they the same decorative things that you have always had? Do you really love them? Are they cluttered up with too many things? Too many ducks, bunnies,candles, cows, precious moments etc? I am not condemning those things but asking you if they still bring you joy and do you still love seeing them in your living room? Or are you just used to them.
What about the piles of magazines and papers? Do you NEED those? You would be amazed at how much neater your living room will appear by just removing a few things.
How much easier would it be to dust these areas without all that stuff?
Your mission is to get rid of the stuff that is cluttering up your living room. Take 5 minutes to let go of some things. I am willing to bet that more of you will find you do want to get rid of some things because they do not bring you joy and you are just used to them being there.
Have fun!

YesTaDa
🐰changed Cagbunny litter
🐰home ed planning
🐰printed home ed stuff for the week

Not the most productive day 🤣 but I’m pleased I managed to get the home ed prep done. Not giving DS much this week as it’s his first week with all three college days (it was supposed to be two).

Already did some home ed stuff with Cagletini and the older two are on their way to college, glad I got up early to see them. But now I should get on with stuff while Cagletini has her morning TV time.

po3.1
❗️LOL (probably just Cagletini’s stuff)
❗️Shower and hair wash
❗️Phonics book with Cagletini when the episode is finished

Ah, I get thetime squares thingy now. Thanks

Sing I recommend you do those little things to overhaul your life. I know it seems counterproductive to do that, if to achieve your dream life you really need to divorce. If you do those minor life overhaul steps though one of a few things will happen: Either life will improve and you'll see that staying married is a viable option despite the issues; Life will improve and you'll feel determined to improve it further as well as feeling stronger and confident enough to leave; He'll pick fights, sulk, cease doing housework and childcare, or thwart your plans for improvement some other way, perhaps making your life hell if you press on with your plans despite his grumpiness - and you'll realise that to be happy you have no choice but to leave

Hazel decluttering is going ok. I've made lots of new room. Things are full but most areas are not crammed. I've got a few tricky areas where there's just too much stuff, preventing the area from being used for its purpose. I'm going to have to deploy other methods than asking do I want it, which is going to be very difficult. I also need to start doing one-in-one-out for absolutely everything, not doing that is what lead to this situation in the first place, but I find it almost impossible. The other option is to not bring anything in at all and I find that impossible too! The third option is to look again at what I can do re better storage, but that will involve expensive purchases and really it's just kicking the can down the road. It might solve today's clutter situation but unless I stop acquiring or start doing one-in-one-out I'll end up back at square one in a few years. So I don't know what to do next and I'm currently doing nothing, whilst hoping the answer will soon come to me

Ditzy you could ask yourself if it "sparks joy" Marie Kondo style. At least think about how it makes you feel, if it reminds you of a sad or difficult time, do you really want to be reminded of that? I know there are other things you could ask too, but I'm too tired to think!

YesTaDas:
🍹 got home from camping and got everything out we needed in a short time
🍹 baked cupcakes
🍹 made 2 different frostings (chocolate cream cheese and peanut butter)
🍹 decorated cupcakes
🍹 made low carb pumpkin cheesecake mousse
🍹 went out for dinner and had a margarita!

Ta Das:
🌻 worked all day
🌻 scheduled Dobby to have his stitches removed when I take Coco in (Tuesday)
🌻 picked dogs up from ILs (I took them in the morning as workers were going to be at the house)
🌻 vacuumed and swept the mess in the bathroom, even though they'll be back in the morning
🌻 vacuumed living room, kitchen and dining room also, the dust went everywhere
🌻 S&S bathroom

The cupcakes and mouse was for a potluck at work. Attached is a pic of the cupcakes. Everyone loved them!

Those cakes look incredible!

I've got a very poorly child here and been up all night

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

✅plan and play day
✅ five minutes cleaning out the sofas. Chair diving she calls it
✅ detailed cleaning link if you are on that

www.flylady.net/d/zones/detailed-cleaning-zone-5/

They look so yummy hazel 😋🤩

Ditzy I really love Dana K White from A Slob Comes Clean, she has a whole decluttering method but one question she asks herself is “if I needed this would I know I had it” and that’s quite useful I think, as it shows how little point there is keeping some things “just in case”. Eg a spare unusual size battery - if you suddenly need one you might be more likely to just buy one. Or an old instruction manual - if you don’t know you have the hard copy you might just Google it, so what’s the point in keeping the real one. So much stuff falls into the “I’d just end up buying it again” category IME because even if you do have a vague memory of having it, if your house is that cluttered (no judgment - mine is!) you won’t know where it is anyway, and if it’s cheap/easily available it will save more energy to just buy it again.

Which reminds me of one of Clutterbug’s questions - if you suddenly did need this thing, can you replace it for less than £20 in less than 20 minutes? So if it’s a cheap thing that you could easily pick up in a high street shop or order online, is it actually worth keeping for just in case?

they do not bring you joy and you are just used to them being there
Why is Flylady talking about my DH? 🤣🤣🤣
Sorry, using humour as a coping mechanism there 😬🙈

Oh no pompoms sorry about poorly child 😞

YesTaDa
🐭saw both Caglets off to college
🐭LOL
🐭home ed
🐭paid an invoice
🐭work
🐭ordered tesco
🐭painted nails

I’m glad I got up early, I need to get some work done to prepare for today’s event. It’s an emotionally taxing one and I’m not especially looking forward to it, but I’m hosting with my two work besties, although I’ve seen them both recently we haven’t actually all got together since late July so I’m excited about that 🥰

po3.1
❗️Breakfast and water, and take iron supplement which I keep forgetting

❗️Check info for today and decide plan for prep
❗️Shower