Festive Flying with the Fledglings

[ExpensiveDecorations]

🎄Welcome to the December Flylady thread, this is a long running thread with many regulars but newcomers and returners are all very welcome. We love to chat as well as looking after our homes.

Do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - your inbox will end up very cluttered!

There is an app that you can customise to suit your schedule and home but I haven’t tried it, others on here have, you can customise it and use it for notifications.

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!

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 a week. It's also date night (with your significant other, or friends, or yourself!)
• Saturday: family fun day
• Sunday: renew your spirit

Common acronyms we use:

• LOL: load of laundry (we aim to have lots of laughter too)
• Mount Washmore - multiple LOLs
• DW: dishwasher, not wife
• LMS: lose/lost my shit
• DNLMS: did not lose my shit
• BRC/DRC: box/basket/drawer of random crap

I'll try to update links every day, although it could get a bit hectic as we proceed through the month.

Links are below 👇 if I happen to not add links in time, they do update at midnight for you. Ask if there us anything you understand - our motto is No Fledgling Left Behind.

Launch Pad (the heart of the system): https://www.flylady.net/d/new-links/
Zones (different weekly focus areas of the house): https://www.flylady.net/d/zones/
Baby Steps (these build up into daily habits): https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/
31 Beginner BabySteps | FlyLady.net
https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps
Flight Plan (daily summary of the relevant parts of the system) http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0
Festive Flying http://www.flylady.net/d/cruising-through-the-holidays/

Morning everyone ,

Thanks @DitzyDaffodils , I gave myself a shake and had a power hour - got the dailies done , hoovered and dusted under the sofa and started the washing . I'll do cooker and bags this morning . Sometimes it is getting started that's the hardest! Sounds like you had a productive day yesterday ! Hope you're feeling ok after the flu jab ?

How was date night @CherryogDog ?

@SingSongVerilyTheSky laundry is never ending isn't it !!! I don't think I've had an empty basket since my youngest was born 7 years ago 😂

Enjoy having your ds home for the weekend @ExpensiveDecorations! How was DH work do ?

Wow @SleepingIceDragons that is a massive sleep ! Migraines are horrid ! Hope you're feeling better ?

Eeekkk exciting @DomesticElf!! So happy that you're in for Christmas! Have you got friends or family nearby that wouldn't mind helping you with the washing ?

Todays to do's

⛄️wipe front of cooker
⛄️clear out bags
⛄️dailies once everyone is out of bed
⛄️dd2 to gymnastics
⛄️ds Christmas shopping ( he has asked for some clothes, Man U shirt etc so I've said that he needs to come to choose them and try them on, he's 12 now and although it takes the magic out of Christmas, he's at the age of choosing his own clothes - I would probably get the wrong stuff 🤦‍♀️)
⛄️college work (my last session is Thursday then I should be qualified as a practitioner 👏👏)
⛄️carry on with the uniform washing
⛄️some sort of Christmas prep - the kids have nearly finished writing their cards but I haven't even started !

Better get started - I didn't think I had too much to do today until I wrote it down - I had lulled myself into a false sense of security!

Feeling pleased with what I got done yesterday, I washed all the throws, hoovered all of downstairs then kept going upstairs until the battery ran out.
Also washed up the big pots and wiped the kitchen surfaces.
Went out for a meal as our date night, tbh I'd ran out of energy by then and I'd have been happy staying home for a takeaway but in the end I was glad I'd made the effort.
Today's ToDo is definitely clean the fridge, it's pretty empty so I won't be guilted by any rotten fruit and veg for a change!

Woke up with a horrible low low blood sugar that made me feel really unwell and took far too long to get stablised. As much as i am not showing as diabetic it is beyond time for this to be sorted because needing 5 detrose tablets to get the blood sugar high enough to be able to see again from the fuzzy sight is a massive red flag. Needless to say I am not feeling my best today.

Hitting the ground running and have
fished out the things to go to sibbling's
cooked bread
and currently weaving in the ends of a gift that i completely neglected to get done and needs to go in to its owner in the next 30mins... Yikes

Elf it sounds like your house move is going well! Going a week without doing laundry sounds tough, if it was me, I would have everything clean before the move, then play catch up when I get my new washer & dryer (might take a couple of days here), but I also have mine play a tune when they are done so I can keep on top of it.

ED that was a lot of running around, is today any quieter?

dragons take care of yourself! 36 hours of sleep 😱 you must have needed it!

Cherry I find I'm more likely to have regrets over what I didn't do vs what I made the effort to do, just like in your case of going out for date night. It sounds like you had a productive day too.

Santa I hate it when I think I've not got much to do until I type it out! It seems to happen a lot to me 🤔

🍒👋 to Sing Ditzy & everyone else (my mind has gone blank and I don't want to lose what I've typed, I'm sorry!)

YesTaDas:
🍬 worked until 2pm
🍬 picked up my coffee grounds (roasted locally)
🍬 made milk chocolate orange truffle centers, currently in the freezer, ready to be dipped in chocolate
🍬 bleached both bathrooms (shamefully admitting the main one was bad, haven't been doing S&S)🤦‍♀️
🍬 painted my nails (toes are still bare, but that's okay, for now)
🍬 got changed & ready to go to DHs work Christmas party
🍬 came home to DS watching the last part of Christmas chronicles 2, so finished watching it with him
🍬 took a shower, bedtime routine etc.
🍬 had a great night's sleep!

Ta Das so far (8:30am):
☕️ just about to start drinking my 2nd cup of coffee
☕️ ummmm, that's it for now! But I have lots to do today!

To Dos:
🍫 get dressed & ready for the day (helps get me moving)
🍫 make Oreo truffle centers, freeze, ready to dip
🍫 make more large caramels
🍫 try dipping some large caramels
🍫 meal planning for the week
🍫 grocery shopping
🍫 try to get started on dipping some truffle centers

I best drink my 2nd cup of coffee!

Dragons that is scary. Healthy people can fast without it affecting their eyesight. Hope the doctors listen to you

A slightly sore arm is all, thanks, Santa. What are you training as?

The thought of the truffles is making my mouth water Hazel

Yesterday Ta-da's:

⛄ Morning routine
⛄ Went to the park
⛄ Exercise
⛄ Christmas crafts
⛄ Wrote Christmas cards
⛄ Bought a new coat
⛄ Evening routine

Good morning everyone ,

Yesterday was such a busy day - I have got all 3 decorated for Christmas now though, just need to get the sweet treats on Tuesday evening whilst dd2 is at gymnastics! Most things off my to do list apart from wipe the front of the cooker and my evening tidy round once dd2 goes to bed - I didn't get in from shopping until just after 8pm so I poured a g&t instead 🥂😂

To do
⛄️ finish coffee , no one is up yet so the house is peaceful ☺️
⛄️wipe front of cooker
⛄️carry on with the uniform washing
⛄️iron the uniforms (I won't get much done but aiming for at least 2 days worth)
⛄️ check diary & calendar for the week ,keeping up with 3 different schools at this time of year is a nightmare!
⛄️daily routines
⛄️taking dd2 to see Santa this afternoon at our local farm park , the tickets are booked for 2pm so will stay at the farm park for a while before and after . OH is taking ds to football first .

Did you complete your gift @SleepingIceDragons ? I hope the doctors listen to you , maybe keep a diary so you can give them your recodings of what happens and how often ?

Love Christmas chronicles @HazelNuttyElf !! Did you enjoy your cooking / baking day ?

Well done on the writing Christmas cards @DitzyDaffodils ! I still haven't started mine ! What Christmas crafts did you do?Happy that you're feeling ok with the flu jab , I felt quite body achy with mine this year . The course is Thrive , which is to do with mental health and well being for staff and learners , including reparative learner interventions which unfortunately, is highly needed throughout schools at the moment. The course is very neuroscience meaty , which I absolutely love and find fascinating. I always wanted to be an occupational therapist but I can't afford the 3/4 years out of work to achieve this , this is the next best thing ☺️

Morning all 😁

Great to see all these ta- da’s !

Popping in and I have a whole house to sort and I need some motivation!
Ta-da’s
Yesterday we got most of the decorations up including 3 trees. Half of my wrapping is done, got maybe another two hours to do!

To-do
empty dishwasher
reload dishwasher
wash school uniform
about four other loads of washing
tidy utility room
surfaces in kitchen and dining room
change bed in main bedroom
hoover spare room
dust spare room
make up bed for guests
clean kitchen
wrap niece birthday gift for post
write christmas cards
clean upstairs bathroom
tidy master bedroom

Going to start and give myself an hour. See how far I get!

Zero achievements this weekend other than shopping yesterday, I’ve sorted a bit more of Christmas. Also just went through calendar with H and I’m not looking forward to this last week of term - he’s got lots of other commitments despite promising to cut back… I suppose he has overall but this is bad timing! I’m looking forward to him having his own place and set days to have Cagletini in particular (we are aiming at 50/50 as we both work part time). I have slightly more hours to complete too, and lots of stuff to get done before Christmas. Not even thinking about how behind I am with uni already 😩

This is frankly not a good week to have raging PMT 🤣😡 where’s the chocolate???

Ah at @SingSongVerilyTheSky I hope you found some cocoa- based treats to enjoy. Yes the last weeks of term are crazy, aren’t they?
Three hours in and this is where we are:

empty dishwasher - done
reload dishwasher - done
wash school uniform - done
about four other loads of washing - 2 done
tidy utility room - done
surfaces in kitchen and dining room - kitchen done
clean kitchen - done
wrap niece birthday gift for post - done
Hoover stairs - done
About four loads of clean washing taken upstairs - done

To do
change bed in main bedroom
hoover spare room
dust spare room
make up bed for guests
write christmas cards
clean upstairs bathroom
tidy master bedroom
Basket of washing to put away

Got half an hour before I need to collect DS from work so I will put away the washing and have a sit down. Then back onto the Master bedroom when I am back with him.

Spare room can wait till tomorrow!

hands chocolate 🍫 to Sing. I guess he'll not be moving out until after Christmas then? Must be awful living in limbo. Progress is progress though and at least you're able to stay civil

Course sounds great Santa. The crafts were making some cards and decorating plant pots

Welcome to the thread Cows. My to-do list looks a lot like yours. Today is supposed to be the day of rest but I always end up switching it to Monday instead

Ta-da's:

🌪️ Morning routine
🌪️ Clean bathroom
🌪️ Tidy garden
🌪️ Empty bins

Yes no progress tbh with him finding somewhere. It’s pretty standard in our house for things to move at a glacial pace though. It’s more about me getting space, divorce etc isn’t on the cards right now so it’s ok day to day (the Caglets still don’t know)

Also he’s going to buy chocolate so silver linings etc 🤣🙈

Ditzy I'll post some pictures of my goodies once I've finished them today. You listing exercise is really making me miss my workout room (set up in the closet room, otherwise now known as the fire room 🙄). I do have access to my bike right now so I really could get on with it. Maybe I'll carve out some time later today..

Santa I love drinking my coffee in a peaceful house. Sometimes I take it for granted as it's a daily thing for me, but I try to remind myself to take in the quiet moments I get.
I did enjoy making my caramels & truffles, I have to finish them today. Just have to drink my coffee before I start 🍬

Sing enjoy the chocolate! I would send you some of my truffles if I could!

Welcome FiveCows 👋 you have quite a ta da list already! Are you having guests stay soon?

YesTaDas:
🍬 made caramels
🍬 dipped other caramels made previously
🍬 decided I need to dip the fresher caramels (cooked to a slightly higher temp and they turned out better) I now need to make more caramels today!
🍬 rotated DW
🍬 handwashed dishes
🍬 meal planning for the week done
🍬 grocery shopping for the week done
🍬 cooked dinner without stressing too much (ILs came over)
🍬 enjoyed company with a drink or 4!

🍒👋 to everyone

Lol @HazelNuttyElf how did you guess? Yes my mum is coming to visit on Wednesday and the house has been going downhill for a while and needed a proper spruce up!
All done except the guest room - which can wait till tomorrow and I’ve also got all the Christmas cards done so I can post them tomorrow along with my niece’s birthday present!
Done for the day now though! DH is cooking a roast 🥰

Evening all, sorry, I have a tendency to disappear at the weekend and forget to post. Hope everyone is OK.

@Searchingforsanta thank you, yes, it was nice having DS home, this is his second year and he has found this term quite a slog as there was no reading week (he was able to come home for a week in Nov last year). He is autistic/dyspraxic and needs to pace himself, he is very aware of this and does his best but sometimes life gets a bit full-on for him.. He’s got an exam this week then home again on Friday till NY. DH work Xmas do was OK, they don’t invite partners (long story) but I work there a few hours a week as well as my main job and therefore get to go. A lot of them had hit the cocktail bar straight from work, by the time I got there at about 7 DH was pretty pissed and it was a bit embarrassing TBH, nothing really outrageous, just being loud and was verging on a bit rude (IMO) to someone. Other than that it was a good evening. Needless to say he was made to sleep on the sofa .

@SleepingIceDragons that sounds awful about the blood sugar levels, DH is T1 diabetic so we are accustomed to the occasional hypo but it is not pleasant, sending sympathy.

@HazelNuttyElf the rest of the weekend was a little bit quieter but I feel very behind on basically everything and am going out every night this week except Friday (my social life seems to have taken off this year now the DCs are older as are those of all our friends and everyone seems to be in a post-covid rebound into going out as much as possible). I love it but it does get hard keeping up with the essentials. With that in mind I am going to take a couple of days off work this week and next in an attempt to get back up to speed in the home.

I have written abut 5 Christmas cards today though. Winning!

I’m going to post Monday’s links now while I remember.

We are moving into Zone 3, the bathroom and one other room. The mission is to clear the flat surfaces of the bathroom, vanity, edges of bath, windowsills etc.

The Flight plan link here will update overnight http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0

Babystep 10 is a good one, the power of 15 mins.

http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-10/

Monday’s daily focus is Home Blessing Hour, you might not do this on Mondays, or you might break it up into chunks but it is a good set of basic tasks for the week.

http://www.flylady.net/d/daily-focus/daily-focus-monday/

Ta-da's:

🌪️ Cleaned bedrooms
🌪️ Cleaned kitchen
🌪️ Cleaned and tidied living room
🌪️ Cleaned porch, hall, stairs
🌪️ Changed bedding and towels
🌪️ Posted Christmas cards
🌪️ Sat around with my feet up reading and painting my nails
🌪️ Decided to get ahead on next week by doing the weekly planner and menu planning

To-do:

🌛 Evening routine

the present i was dealing with yesterday morning got sorted. There was a whole heap of other drama about some other presents that were forgotten but an early start today and a cooperating sneaky sibling meant that no one knew they had been forgotten

Whilst i was out and I was half way there anyway I went to watch the sunrise on the beach, bought lots of fabric at the fabric shop and stopped by a specialist shop to pre-order stuff things that I need but have been dreadful about sorting because i hates the internet shoppings.

I put a final end to family drama by going non contact, hopefully this will just take all the drama out of it. Needless to say there is a little fall out this evening which is emotionally draining but mostly all i feel is relief.

Also ta da 2 dishwasher loads, 3 loads of washing, chicken sliced and into the freezer, 3 different teas cooked plus aiding teen with his, discussed mum's birthday present for next next. I needed to check how it fitted and by doing it a year in advance she will have completely forgotten about it by the time she gets it. Honest only making it now because i needed an easy project as there has been some nightmare crafting of late and this is really rather easy in terms of material and pattern and skills needed.

I need to get a dentist appointment booked next week. If any ones remember yell at me before the end of it. I am sure i will forget. it is going to be a week and it has not even started...

@SleepingIceDragons I need to book DD into the dentist too, I’ve probably left it too late for the holidays now.

Good for you Dragons, toxic families are so much hassle it's not worth it

dragons that sounds tough, but best to keep toxic people out of our lives, family or not.

ED it's annoying when surrounded by people who have drank way too much and get embarrassing 🫣 good for you having DH sleep on the couch!

Ditzy that looks like a well balanced day. What colour did you paint your nails?

Ta Das:
🍬 truffles & caramels finished for my order (the only one I took this year), in my Jeep ready to take to work tomorrow
🍬 cleaned the kitchen multiple times
🍬 rotated DW x2
🍬 handwashed dishes x2
🍬 got my lunch ready for tomorrow
🍬 cleared countertops, putting things away where they belong
🍬 watched Elf, while drinking a glass of wine 🍷

Work tomorrow is going to be crazy busy, so I'll be glad to be home Tuesday, even though I have appts for the dogs in the morning.
I have attached some pics of the goodies I've made so far..

Dammit hazel every Christmas you are a terrible influence on diets. Those look scrummy and now i want chocolate.

Neither ds or I are feeling this morning. We are running late at 7am and both exhausted after a bad nights sleep. But it is monday and life has to happen.

@HazelNuttyElf i feel like I have strayed into the Poncetastic Christmas thread! They look absolutely delicious and very festive! Yummy!

Today it’s all about finishing the washing mountain. All the yuk stuff left (dog towels etc) so I will give the machine a cleaning cycle afterwards. The efforts over the weekend have really helped with productivity this morning though - so nice to wake up to a clean tidy house!

Now to keep it that way … 🤔

Thank you Dragons & FiveCows they are also a bad influence on my diet too - especially because I have to try each batch of caramel when I make it, so I know it won't break anyone's teeth!

Delicious, Hazel 🤤
The nails are red

Good start, Cows. My home looks better since doing FlyLady I'm sure yours can too

I didn't feel well so slept all day and have missed what looks to have been a lovely sunny day 🌞😞 damn