October Flying - lets get those Fledgling nests cosy

[EfficientlyDecluttering]

Welcome to this long running thread, a lot of posters have been here a long time but all newbies and returners are very welcome, do join us!

Do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - there are too many of them.

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

There are 5 zones in the house 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! You may need to adjust the zones to suit your house.

Habit of the month of October is paper clutter http://www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/october/

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 (which can be anything you make it, night in, night with friends, actual dates are not always going to happen)
• Saturday: family fun day
• Sunday: renew your spirit - again whatever you make of it, but it is time just for you.

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 will try and update the links every day, but they do update automatically on the website so you can just click on the ones in this post.

Apparently the app is very useful too, I am going to try that this month, I know some are already using it.

Links are below 👇

Launch Pad : http://www.flylady.net/c/lp.php - this is the main hub of Flylady, you can find links to most of the useful info here, including the Daily Flight Plan.

Direct Link to Flight Plan here http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

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

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

Yesterday I did something I never thought I could. I keep children’s comics, colouring books, activity books etc, in old laundry powder boxes on shelves in the living-room. They’re rarely looked at, and I only had a vague idea of what was in them.

LB was away overnight, LG was watching netflix, and I sat there getting more and more annoyed at the boxes. Eventually I jumped up, put a couple of them on the table, and started sorting through. Immediately found five comics for recycling, which LG agreed to. Then she scrabbled around to find her colouring pencils and started colouring in, and was almost instantly calmer than she has been for days.

LB has several comics to come home that are at his level, LG has remembered that colouring in is more soothing than netflix, and I have three boxes on the shelf instead of four.

That is a lovely tale @Scourgify , colouring in can be so relaxing. I recently did a small lego kit to see if all the parts where there and found it so absorbing/relaxing that I have treated myself to some more as an early Christmas present.

@SingToTheSky you have done brilliantly this week ⭐️

Quick link drop and back later as its my day off. The Flight plan is here and our habits of the day are clearing out handbag and car, also date night - we will possibly be going to see my parents, well, its a date of sorts. The mission is to declutter your dressers, which I did mention earlier in the week, perhaps have a look around your bedroom for any other hotspots to deal with.

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

Well done scourgify!

Thursday
🍦cleaned more of bathroom
🍦cleared landing and stairs (stash and dashing was involved but not too much)
🍦LOL1
🍦swept landing and stairs
🍦LOL1 in dryer
🍦LOL2
🍦LOL3
🍦LOL2 in dryer/hung up
🍦LOL3 in dryer/hung up
🍦vacuumed landing and stairs
🍦scrubbed more of kitchen
🍦put some clean clothes and towels away
🍦sorted top of Cagbunny hutch, hay supplies etc
🍦cleaned toilet and bathroom floor
🍦tidying (mostly stash and dash) in the living room
🍦cleaned out Cagbunny hutch and litter tray
🍦cleaned kitchen counters and sink
🍦cleared living room table
🍦swept living room
🍦put Cagletini to bed
🍦movie night with friend

I am sleepy, but last night was really good. It was so nice feeling like my home was ok, is it perfect heck no, but I felt happy enough having a friend visit. She didn’t go upstairs but I feel happy every time I do because the stairs, landing and bathroom are nicer than they’ve been in ages!

Next few days I need to focus on laundry and uni mainly. Although I suspect a lot of resting will be on the cards today 🤣 in fact I’m not even going to give myself a power of three yet.

Wishing you all a happy Friday!

Great success with the colouring books/comics @Scourgify !

I think I hurt my arm/shoulder bring the vacuum cleaner downstairs yesterday. Bit of a pain! I'll try not to let it de-rail me though.

I just went on the FL app for the first time in months - I would like to try really engaging with it a bit more. Ticking of the tasks (well my interpretation of them... I won't be taking any suitcases to the basement...) in the zones etc.

I'll have to do that around my main job today (starting at 10 am) of yet more sanding & painting. REALLY want to order that carpet tomorrow!

Got a new cookbook yesterday - so my 'what's for dinner' will be picking something out of there and getting the ingredients in.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bold-Beans-Recipes-Pulse-Racing/dp/1804190829/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2Z7AVKKXZ4A2I&keywords=bean+cookbook&qid=1698395275&sprefix=bean+cookbook%2Caps%2C72&sr=8-3

Well, i allowed myself a couple of days of mopeing and nopeing. As such the laundry is out of control, the kitchen is out of control, there is random clutter in places there shouldn't be.

A friend has very helpfully said they would look after a couple of ornament cabinets so i will be dropping those off tonight.

In the meantime there is still some paper admin that needs doing urgently today, and I really need to get on top of taming/getting under control that what is out of control. People are annoying me by breathing today, but that is more a reflection on my tiredness and stress levels than anything else. So tired last night that i chucked the food waste into the wrong bin which mean that couldn't go out this morning for collection and will need dealing with. <sigh>

At least the weather looks good.

Force majeure happened here yesterday - my new Shark hoover is broken!! It's making a strange noise and smells of burnt plastic 😭😭 and I have no back up. So I am hoover-less. It's under warranty, hopefully it will be resolved quickly. I am not sure what I'd do in the interim though.

It was my DS1 birthday yesterday. My toddler has turned into a 3 yo preschooler.

YesTaDas:
☕Presents wrapped
☕One cake dropped off to nursery
☕Second cake baked and decorated
☕Lol done and out to dry
☕Dry laundry out to dry
☕Usual routines to keep the house under control, minus a hoover.

DS' birthday party to survive tomorrow..

Dry laundry folded and put away, not out to dry..
That answers my question if I need that second cup of coffee

☕️☕️☕️ for elf and belated happy birthday to DS! What a nightmare re the Shark. Our Hoover is on its last legs so I will probably get a new one soon, they never seem to last long in our house.

I was just catching up on the thread and wanted to pick up on this from born

I get stuck in my mind thinking about selling things or donating them and end doing nothing.

I can sooo relate to that. I actually had a whole cupboard of stuff that I was planning to sell. And then I finally accepted I wasn’t going to! Everything is now out of that cupboard - some things I did rescue, as they were nice books that I’d thought I’d rather get some money for but actually Cagletini is far more likely to use them (for home ed mainly) than the older ones were, and she’s that much bigger now it’s not so far off - which shows how long that cupboard has been full 😳

Some people are confident with online selling but I find stuff like eBay and even putting on FB groups really stressful for various reasons. So I’ve just accepted it’s not going to happen. It’s annoying because IF everything had sold I probably would be about £200 better off, but TBH what are the chances of everything selling anyway? The space is soooo much more valuable.

That cupboard is now being used to store H’s stuff in boxes, and when he’s moved I am getting a tower of wire baskets that will become the laundry hub (each person has their own basket). A far better use of space than the piles of books and games that frankly just taunted me every time I looked at them.

I was even procrastinating about donations because not having a car it’s hard to just drop stuff off (especially when so many are heavy books) but now I have the collection booked. I think I’ve run out of steam with decluttering for a bit now but even if I don’t get anything else bagged up it will still be a lot going. And my hallway will feel HUGE 😁

A lot has happened on here over the last few days. Sorry I missed birthdays Elf & Sing happy belated birthday to your DC 🥳

home on the app you can make changes to the tick list, you can remove what doesn't apply to you and add more that do apply. I hope that helps! I actually need to do that same thing. I made changes to it when I was at my old house, but haven't changed anything for this new house (we moved here over 2 years ago 🤦‍♀️).
I don't spend as much time on the app as I should though and need to change that, so I'm not wandering around aimlessly!

Must get to work, I'll try to update later 🍒👋

Thank you @HauntingHazel ! I didn't realise you could edit them - Yay! Just changed the main bedroom ones. I'm going to aim to add approx. times to each task too. So many jobs only take 5-10 mins, or less, yet I still put them off!

Ta da:
💎Sanded down & a coat of satinwood on banisters etc
💎Spot cleaned carpet in bedrooms
💎Kept up with the perpetuals
💎Small supermarket shop (after deciding what to cook from the bean book)

Going to see how many jobs I can tick off on the fly lady app now and add times.

I had a bit of a productive day today for once. I took the rubbish out, put laundry away ready for the next load to do (hopefully tomorrow), cleaned, vacuumed and steam cleaned as well

ta da
person dealt with food waste in wrong bin
i gave lift for person cos dead battery
found battery charger so they can put car on to charge for tomo
set alarm for just in case car wont start and they need a lift
hyper-extended wrist and pinched nerve in arm - I'm a special kinda broken atm
rested and found the splint that allows me to continue to function but not water
discovered i am very out of inhaler and no residual steroids in system so breathing is HARD
get clean kitchen bin away with new bags
Ds put out new kitchen roll for me
Ds helped figure out the plan for tea and is cooking it
move the cupboards ready for later
put out rubbish that didn't end up going out last night
wash a couple of pots
unload DW and reload

No where near as much as I wanted to get done. But i got some stuff done so that is a start.

Some great work going on! I thought I was going to have a fairly quiet day but it didn't work out like that.

However I have decluttered and tidied some shelves in the understairs cupboard, hoovered downstairs, brought some clutter out of the loft to dispose of (also got Hallowe'en dress up clothes down for party tomorrow). 2 loads of washing done. DD cooked dinner so I cleared up. As well as a trip put to the nearest city, a trip to the vets, and a yoga class.

Is anyone else trying to be delusional about the fact that October is nearly over?

I think I want October to be over tbh @HillsBesideTheSea - I've let a few new [good] habits I picked up August/September slip in October - fresh start in November!

I'm still going at the stairs job. Worst, most time consuming, day today I think. Thankfully DH and DS are out of the day at the football so no distractions. Just having a break.

DS has been away for a few days, and he commented when he got back last night and saw I had [finally] got round to this painting and that ordering new carpet was imminent... ' Oh good - we won't have to live in a shit-hole for much longer'. 😳.Fair point though.

Right. Break over.

I can't believe October is almost over Hills. Time is whizzing past!

Just a quick fly in to report that Shark customer service is top notch! We already have a part from the hoover and it's working as good as new! Can't rave about them enough.

Just back from toddler's preschooler's BD party, will re-caffeinate and post properly.

Very good to hear about the shark customer service @DomesticElf and your vacuum is now good as new!

I've finished the stairs for the day. Thank goodness. Their pure brilliant whiteness is making nearly everywhere else look super grubby. I'm hoping I've got enough left in me to vacuum downstairs at least after another break...

home I love how fresh paint freshens up the place, but you are definitely right, everything else then looks dingy!
Elf glad to hear your vacuum is up and running again so quickly. Did the party go well?
hills it's unbelievable how quickly this whole year is going! Is your breathing under control again? It's very scary to not be able to breathe 😱
ED that was a productive day for you!

Right, bathroom is free so I best get moving before the painter shows up at 8am..

I am very much in denial that it is nearly November. And more specifically that half term is nearly over! Although I certainly did achieve a lot more than I usually do in a week off so I can’t complain really.

Predictably I have crashed after the busy week, although not so much physically as mentally! However I have found I’m taking a little more pride in the house which means I’m keeping on top of the spaces I improved this week.

Motivation is low today though, I need to get a few bits done. Starting to feel that Sunday anxiety (in fact I actually thought it was Sunday earlier) about not being prepared for next week, I can’t even think up a power of three right now so I’m going to rotate the laundry and see what I feel like after that probably not much.

I got a new inhaler so can take that tomo morning as it is a one dose per 24hrs one and not recommended to be taken other than morning. Breathing is still shite, joints are just all on strike and problematic though so that is meh.

ta da
sort out christmas related family planning drama.
run to the big city to pick up prescriptions
do a small food shop

Just cooking some chicken to add to some noodle bowls that will be cooked when i have washed some pots up. I am very in need of chicken bone broth goodness.

Hope the broth and inhaler help hills

I have heard so many good things about Shark vacuums. Once H moved out I may treat myself to one 🤔 since I’ll be the one using it and looking after it better - H does more of the actual housework usually sure, but looking after appliances doesn’t seem to feature - I’m waiting to replace the oven for the same reason even though he’s been specifically saving for it. 🤫

House your DH has a way with words 😬 It's an achievement getting those bits sorted.
Hills sounds sore and tiring. Hope you get to rest.
Sing you've been doing loads last few weeks. Sunday will be on Sunday, best not to think about it just yet.
Hazel party was good, but I was not completely impressed with a 'party host' - person provided by the venue to make sure all is running smoothly. It was at a trampoline park (jumping bit was fun), but for the food/cake they managed to get number of seats at the table wrong, they were two short despite me sending them a list of all the guests (and paying per guest!). Also their time management was a bit off, so I ended up herding people in for food and making sure things ran to time, otherwise we would have to vacate the venue mid meal. Overall it was fun, but I was expecting to be doing less hosting and more relaxing!

Not much in terms of ta das or routines. House is a bit of a mess as a result, but I will straighten it out tomorrow. A bit fed up of DH's attitudes, he is being extra moan-y today. Any suggestion that is not him sitting on a sofa staring at his phone is met with a face like a roasted apple and a moan. So tedious. Anyhow, rant over.

Now I'm going to mindlessly scroll MN for the rest of the evening.

We spent most of the day today out of the house, which is a bit of a disaster, to say the least.

I'm going to at least try to get vacuuming done though. I still need to bleach the bathroom (I may or may not venture into the other one) and mop the floors. Whatever I don't get done today will have to be done tomorrow, along with lots of laundry.

ILs are coming over for dinner tonight, but that'll be simple - jacket potatoes with broccoli & cheddar soup

So DH & DS built shelving that we bought while we were out, tomorrow we will need to sort through the stuff that needs to go back into the laundry room, put that in totes and get rid of the rest. Hopefully we will clear the main basement room.
We also need to clear the shelves in the hallway, ready for painting. That stuff will be put in other totes and I will need to clean them.
I still need to bleach the bathroom and mop. DS vacuumed while I was cooking dinner tonight, but more needs to be done.
And laundry. Lots of laundry.

Morning all. Feeling a little more motivated this morning, but I haven’t actually got up yet, so let’s see how long it lasts 😂

po3.1
❗️Put last night’s washing in dryer and put new LOL on
❗️Breakfast and discuss plan for day with H (both girls have dance exams)
❗️Put away some stuff I didn’t get round to the other day