New Year, Fresh Start with Flylady

[HazelNotHungryLC]

Are you looking to finally getting into a new routine with housework? Something simple to start that can be easy to add to over time? Flylady may be the answer for you!

This is a long running thread, but we are a friendly bunch and 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!

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. 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 (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

There are more, 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). You can also modify the tick lists to suit your home & lifestyle.

Links are below 👇 if I happen to not add links in time, they do update at midnight for you. I am in the US, 7 hours behind the UK, so I'll do my best.

Launch Pad: https://www.flylady.net/d/new-links/
Zones: https://www.flylady.net/d/zones/
Baby Steps: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/

I've been busy.
Ta-da's from the last few days.

🎁 Basic routines
🎁 Visit to a park that's in the area I used to live. I used to walk there each morning until I moved away. It's very beautiful
🎁 Walk through the woods
🎁 Placed an order for some toys. They remind me of my own childhood, very nostalgic
🎁 Lots of reading
🎁 Went to church
🎁 Unpacking the seemingly endless parcels that arrives here and finding room for it all
🎁 Decluttering
🎁 Exercise

cat every little bit helps!

character I really need to get back to doing yoga again. I'll do a little here & there, but no routine yet.

Ditzy it looks like you've had a few active & productive days. I miss walking in the woods (there are trees in the mountains, but there's snow up there right now!).

We are supposed to be in a big snow storm right now. The wind has picked up and small flakes are flying, but nothing too crazy. However, it's supposed to continue until 5am Saturday! Our boss will text in the morning to let us know the plan. I'm still planning to go in as usual & go from there.

No ta das, other than being my future friend! I got my lunch ready and my clothes out already for tomorrow. I'll go take a shower soon and think I'm going to have an early night. I'm tired!

Friday is clean out your car and handbag day.

Friday's mission is to sweep and mop your kitchen floor. There's no one right way to do it. Just mop your floor with soapy water, the way it works best for you!

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

Baby step: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-12/

This is great advice

@HazelNotHungryLC i can only stick to it by going to classes. Doing it at home doesn’t work for me as although I sometimes do I also get very distracted so am just kind of going through the motions and not getting the mental benefits.

Tadas so far
💇🏻‍♀️morning routine
💇🏻‍♀️school run
💇🏻‍♀️go to shop for oven cleaner
💇🏻‍♀️get hair cut. I’ve had a lot cut off! It was mid back and is now above my shoulders!
💇🏻‍♀️hang up lol
💇🏻‍♀️second lol on
💇🏻‍♀️fold and put away lol x 2
💇🏻‍♀️clean bath and shower screen
💇🏻‍♀️soak oven shelves in oven cleaner

I’m actually feeling fairly on top of things for a change. Dp has been making an effort to be tidier since my big moan so that helps a lot.

character I wish I could do classes again. They never run when I can go due to work schedule. I do my own thing but really should pull up YouTube and follow Adrienne. 🤔 maybe I'll do that today since I'm home all day now.
Do you feel better having that much hair cut off?
Also glad to hear your DP is stepping up, hopefully that continues for you as it really does help when you don't have to do it all yourself.

So, due to the storm (gusty winds, blowing snow) we are closed today so I don't have to go in!
I wasn't expecting that at all! I got ready to go, hair, makeup, dressed, was getting ready to start my Jeep when the text came through 🥳
This wind is crazy though, so I'm going to need to keep myself busy & distracted!

@HazelNotHungryLC I used Adrienne during the lockdowns. Did several of her 30 day programs which were good.

I also hope dp keeps it up, I don’t mind that the cleaning is all my responsibility because that’s what we agreed with me working fewer hours but the constant picking up after everyone drives me mad and it’s made such a difference this week with him actually putting his stuff away!

Im really pleased with my haircut but nervous about what everyone will say as I didn’t tell anyone except dd1!

Are you having to work from home today or do you have the day free? Strong wind is very disconcerting I find. I used to work with young children and the behaviour was always wild when it was windy!

Tadas
So far today
Morning routine - reload dishwasher, reboot laundry, swish and swipe
Hoovered and mopped kitchen floor and hallway.
Wiped down kitchen cupboards
Made up essential oil mix and slacked cedar wood wardrobe fresheners in it. Will wait for it all to be soaked up and dry before hanging in wardrobes/putting in drawers etc.
Put waaay 2 LOL
Cleaned out car and wiped it all down inside - outside not too bad for now.

Promised DDs Taco Bell
for dinner so easy times - no idea what Taco Bell will be like - not had since around 20 years ago in USA but they have spotted the new store in the closest town so it is a done deal 😂

character there's no way to work from home for me so it's another day off. So I'll have 6 days off in total as I'm already taking additional days off on this holiday weekend (Martin Luther King Jr day in the US on Monday)!
The snow has now started as well but is due to be worse tomorrow.
I wouldn't worry about what other people think about your hair, as long as you love it!

Angel that's quite a ta da list! Good luck with Taco Bell (or Taco Hell as I call it!). DS & DH will get it every now and again. I refuse to eat it!

I ended up having a lazy day watching Netflix movies all day!
I did shovel snow today with DS, before DH got home from work.
I'm still going strong with dry January, same as DH.
I had a nice relaxing bath tonight in Epsom salts, it seems I have a pinch in my shoulder so hopefully that'll help. I still need to make an appt with the massage therapist.

Saturday is family fun day. I think the fun we'll have tomorrow is shoveling more snow and grocery shopping! We will go to ILs for dinner tomorrow night though, DH will drive.

@HazelNotHungryLC
Movie day sounds like heaven - hope your shoulder gets better.
Taco Bell was Taco Hell 😂. I hadn’t planned on eating with them but when we got there I was starving so had a quesadilla that somehow tasted of curry!! DDs were a little more satisfied with it but they’re pre-teen/teen so are happy with any fast food!

Family Fun Day. I forgot that about Fly Lady - need to reactivate my app. Tbh it’s more like Family Run Day for me as all day I will be running off somewhere (in the car!) to drop DDs to football/friend’s houses/gym.

Going to keep chore list low
Morning routine
LOL x 2 and put away
Strip DDs bedding
Make parsnip soup for later and hopefully some apple and cinnamon breakfast muffins for the rest of the week for DD (this is the only way I can get her to eat breakfast
and at least if I make them they will be semi healthy!).

Angel that sounds like a well-rounded day to me, I hope it goes to plan.
I woke up with my whole back aching. I think it's a combination of sitting all day, then shoveling snow in the evening. I have got to be more active today!

DH is at work this morning, once DS wakes up we can work on chores that didn't get done yesterday (vacuuming, mopping, cleaning bathrooms, laundry etc.), and more shoveling..
Maybe I'll also fit a workout in, I'll see how it goes!
It's only 8am here, DS isn't sleeping in that late! 😂

The thread got really quiet this week, I really hope everyone is okay and not too crazy with DC going back to school!

Ta Das:
🧘‍♀️ yoga
🧘‍♀️ bleached bathrooms
🧘‍♀️ shovelled snow (until someone kind came and ploughed the driveway with their side by side!)
🧘‍♀️ had DS vacuum
🧘‍♀️ put clothes away

DH should be home in a few minutes (he had to work), then we can have lunch!

Glad you got your yoga done @HazelNotHungryLC .

Haven’t done much today, just daily stuff and popped to the shop to buy toothpaste which I had managed to forget twice already this week.

@JMAngel1, I don’t think we have a Taco Bell here thank goodness, diesnt sound very appetising. Your muffins sound good though!

character I hate when I forget to pick something up when I'm already out! Yoga was nice, it felt good to stretch.
Angel that's weird your quesadilla tasted like curry! I used to get that all the time actually, way back in the day when I used to eat it. It never tasted like curry though 🤔

Well we're having a hell of a snow storm right now and it's supposed to keep going until 8am (it's 12:30am right now). We had a bit of a crazy drive home, lots of drifting. But DH was driving so I was in good hands!

Sunday is renew your spirit day. What do you have planned?

I've been awol for few days as it's been my youngest birthday so I've been baking and partying! Time to get back to reality now though.

Morning all. Totally lost track of ta da lists and such. I have been managing reading and 5m meditations almost every day though so that’s something. Work totally took over last week as I had extra hours to catch up on, and this weekend I’m focused on uni.

Housework is not happening much at all 😳 and I didn’t even keep up with the regular tesco deliveries I planned to. Oh well.

H has been trying to find somewhere to live but not even had a viewing yet. It’s all very slow.

Tadas:
2 lol
Folded and put away one load - everyone has school uniform!
Cleaned kitchen floor
Cleaned out animals.

phew, exhausted as have yet another cold.

The past few days I fell down a minimalism rabbit hole on the internet, ended up watching home tours on YouTube and a reaction video from a shopaholic to this other woman's video about extreme minimalism where she only has 15 items of clothing including underwear, shoes and bags, everything. No laundry mountain for her!

Ta-da's:

🎊 Morning routine
🎊 Decluttering
🎊 Wash car
🎊 3x extra LOL
🎊 Read a chapter of novel
🎊 Wrote letter to friend

To-do:

✨ Home blessings
✨ Full manicure
✨ Exercise
✨ Evening routine

pompoms awww, happy birthday to your DC 🥳 birthdays can certainly take over, especially when they are young!

Sing reading & meditating is good! Hopefully this week will not be so crazy for you as you get back into a routine. I've also got my fingers crossed for you that H will find somewhere else to live soon so you can get to your new normal. Do the DC know yet?

Seren well done on getting the uniforms ready, and the zone work! I hope you feel better soon, so make sure you get some rest today as well.

Ditzy you sound busy today! I would like to be more minimalist, but I also like decorating for the month/ seasons too, so less things, but more meaningful and pretty. I know I have a lot of things that could probably go, it's just having the motivation to sort through everything.

Actually, today and the next few days I have off, I really need to put things away from their temporary storage, sort through them and put away what I want to keep, getting rid of what I don't want. I have been lazy the past 2 days and I have got to snap out of that!

To Dos: (in no particular order)
❄️ meal plan for the week
❄️ grocery shopping
❄️ tackle mount washmore
❄️ start bringing things up from the basement that belong upstairs (the main level)
❄️ put some pictures up that are still in boxes from when we moved in here
❄️ shovel snow (drifts in the driveway)

But first, I must have my 2nd cup of coffee!

I'll be back with you this week, it was mums anniversary at the beginning of the month which always sucker punches me ! I haven't really got off the sofa much today but I have got the uniforms ironed for the week. I'll be back with some tadas tomorrow - the house has turned into complete chaos !

Hope everyone has had a productive 2024 so far ?!

searching I'm sorry you've been having a tough time so far this month. It'll be good to have you back!
Well done on being prepared with uniforms, it really helps to plan ahead, if you can.

Ta Das:
❄️ meal planning
❄️ grocery shopping
❄️ groceries put away
❄️ shovelled snow
❄️ brought some things up where they belong (board games etc)
❄️ LOLs x2

I will need to cook dinner soon. Hopefully prep won't take too long!

Monday is home bleugh day. Vacuum, change sheets, empty bins, basically a more thorough reset of the whole house. This can also be spread out over a few days if that works best for you.

Monday is the start of a new week, so that means we are in a new zone. This week we are moving to zone 3, the bathroom & one other room. This can be the laundry room, spare bedroom, office. Just another room that may need attention.

Monday's mission is to go through the bathroom and toss any empty bottles you find.
Then do the same thing in your other room (laundry room/ area). Toss any empty bottles that may be hanging around.

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

Baby step: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-15/
This baby step is controversial. It's adding making your bed to your morning routine. This could mean folding your sheets back to air out your bed or fully make it, throw pillows and all. I will leave that up to you. For me, it means to make it tidy, whether it's airing it or not. Making it neat makes it more welcoming (to me).