Springing into April - Flylady style

[BloomingHazel]

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. you have been warned! 😁
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 (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: do/did not lose my shit

There are more, but I can't think of them all. 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.

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

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

Typed this last night and realised I didn’t press post

Tada!

Not much today as it was a work day then cooked dinner, went for a quick walk, spent an hour or so on paperwork and cleared the kitchen up again (normally DH’s job but he’s not feeling great tonight). Just watched the last episode of Sort Your Life Out, which is very motivating on the clutter front.

I have been getting rid of bulky but low value items by giving them away or selling on FB since Jan. So far:

🍏one foam roller
🍎two storage baskets
🍏one pair of roller boots and elbow etc pads
🍎one ukelele
🍏one pair of garden shears
🍎lots of GCSE revision books
🍏two children's hockey sticks and a hockey stick bag
🍎one badminton set
🍏one beach tennis set
🍎one shredder
🍏one window vac
🍎one broken wii and accessories
🍏one sleeping bag
🍎one laundry sack
🍏two cat carriers
🍎a pile of broken bits of costume jewellery

Morning everyone ☕️

Welcome newbies 👋 this is such a helpful supportive chat , I find it almost therapeutic to post on here , we all understand how difficult it can be to keep on top of things 😊

Yesterday I had such a lovely afternoon catching up with friends I hadn't seen for a while ! These friends were by my side when my mum and father in law were battling cancer and I will be forever grateful to them for all their support ❤️ we all have busy lives so just a couple of hours at mine with a coffee was lovely !

Yesterdays tadas
🎉 decluttered one of the kitchen junk drawers
🎉 gave the plants on my kitchen windowsill a bath and trimmed any dead bits
🎉 cleaned kitchen windowsill and window
🎉 all dry clothes folded and into rooms
🎉 cooked 15000 meals
🎉 tidied the kitchen after 15000 meals
🎉 took dd2 to gymnastics
🎉 visited a shop for a box to organise utensils in the drawer - didn't find what I was looking for so ended up with a garden seed tray 😂 it'll do the job until I find what I'm looking for
🎉 cleaned top of cooker
🎉 read some of my book - the night she disappeared by Lisa Jewell , seems to be a page turner so far !

Todays plan is similar to yesterdays but meeting my mother in law for a coffee in the afternoon . The next junk drawer is the last one to go through since starting flylady, the others need doing again but shouldn't take as long , so hopefully next month I can pick 2 to declutter / organise then use the rest of the time to deep clean 🤞 excited to have the time to wash down the walls etc and maybe even give it a lick of paint !!

@EventuallyDecluttered that's a quite a list that left your home ! Love sort your life out - Stacey is doing a renovation series on channel 4 (I think it starts tonight ) but I'm not sure I'll enjoy it as much as the decluttering !

Amazing pictures @BloomingHazel !! Thank you for sharing them 💐

@ItsieDitzyBitsOfOnionInTheSoup what are you reading at the moment ? Great that you got a bag of things out of the house to the charity shop , how is the decluttering going ?

@Scourgify loving the motivation from the woman in black !

I'm excited to get started although mine will be mini baby steps for now as I've been ill for a month and still get tired really easily.

I have another week off work so I'd like to try and do what I can in that week as barely anything has been done on the house in a month other than the basics (dp has been ill a bit too)

Wish me luck x x

I've completed the Wednesday mission and cleaned out the fridge, thrown out anything out of date and given everything a good wipe down with soapy water. I genuinely cannot remember the last time I cleaned my fridge 😳 so I'm feeling really positive!

DD2 wet the bed last night so her bedding has been washed and is currently in the dryer. I've currently got a second load of laundry washing and when that's dry I'll put everything away (including the stuff from a couple of days ago that I've been procrastinating about putting away.) Then my plan is to create a routine around laundry so I'm not letting it pile up into a massive job.

Sunny it's The Book Of Beginnings. I'm only at the start and so far it's about a small shop, the woman who runs it and the people who come in there. Nothing much has happened yet. My decluttering is slow because I take so long to decide on items. I'll get there

That's a great decluttered list ED especially if they were all big bulky things

Well done on your start Jones

StartingOver many here have health conditions themselves or their family do, you're not alone and if your illness is temporary I hope you recover fully soon

A single win today - tidied my bedside table 🎉. I'm entering another morning sickness lull so I'm hoping for some relevant wins soon! Mostly in survival mode right now, any good energy is being put into work during the week so I don't have any gas in the tank left for flying. DW is keeping on top of dishes and bins in the meantime.

I've read the baby steps link but I still don't get what I'm supposed to be doing each day?

Basically the idea when you are starting is just to change things slowly so they build up to be habits. If I remember correctly is that if you try and change too much in one go then it becomes overwhelming and unsustainable long term. So the baby steps are the things to change ( flylady has things about a shiny sink and shoes on to laces - the idea with the shiny sink is that the dishes aren’t there to be done the next day, and the shoes thing is so you always feel ready to do the job). Good luck starting to make the changes.

@longpathtohappiness you would just want to start a little bit at a time. I would recommend starting with day 1, shining your sink, day 2 tomorrow and so on, until the end of the month. Then I would start back over again on the 1st of May. It's all about building routines, so even if you just was able to shine your sink every day for a month, that works too. Work at your own pace. I hope that helps!
If you wanted to just start with today's baby step and add to that (without going back to day 1), that works too.

Happiness, the information on the link changes each day. So if you click through each morning to the control panel you'll see what the task for today is, they're like small square buttons you click on telling you which Babystep to focus on, what today's Mission is, what Zone we're in this week and what is the Habit of the month to focus on.

If that all sounds too much (which is what I initially thought) then just do the Babysteps. It took me a year to get them established. They slowly build up a routine for you for mornings, afternoons and evenings. They're the first step to getting your house straightened out. If you don't want to be surprised by the unexpected each morning, there's a page on the website listing a link for each of the Babysteps, so you could spend an hour or so reading through them all of you wanted, just to familiarise yourself with what's coming. There's 31 of them, one for each day of the month, initially to build your routines, then as a kind of special reminder they exist, because FlyLady know how easy it is to slide back into old habits. You're not expected to be perfect in the beginning, so do your best to keep up with them, but if something occurs and you skip a day don't beat yourself up about it.

FlyLady is similar to the difference between a faddy crash diet that sees you lose half a stone in a week then put back on 2 stones over the next month, versus a healthy eating plan that sees you change things slowly but permanently and lose weight gradually then keep it off. I spent a year just doing Babysteps (plus my weekly clean that I'd already established for myself before I found FlyLady). You might not be as slow as me but take as long as you need. Some people are happier jumping straight in with the whole program from the beginning

The thing about the shoes, she explained in one post that it because so many people won't put on their shoes and run errands or take the trash out because it's their sticking point that has them not bothering. So if they get fully dressed including shoes, nipping outside for those minor tasks is no bother. Try it and see if it makes a difference to you. I don't care how many times I put my shoes on/off, so I'm happy with my no-shoes household. FlyLady specifies lace-up shoes just to differentiate them from slippers (which aren't suitable for outside) and other types of shoes impractical for cleaning like Stilettos or something

Return of relentless rain today, so I stayed in and worked at the clutter corner in the kitchen. I cleared some of the top of the bureau. I had hoped that there would be lots for the recycling trolley, but it was mostly bits and pieces that hadn't been put where they belong.

I don't know whether schools still do junk modelling. I think it's mostly kits or on screens now. I emptied out a huge box of odds and ends, sorted some into recycling, and will have a think about the rest. It's in a cupboard for just now.

Found the right lightbulb for an ancient study lamp that clips on to the headboard of my bed. Much more convenient than the anglepoise that would fold itself up in the night and boink me on the head.

Actual kitchen stuff - freezers are under control and fridges are tidy. Stocked up on canned goods and packets with tesco delivery. When Teens are back, I hope that most of the food shopping will be limited to milk, eggs, fresh fruit and veg, and little else.

Getting to the end of the day and it’s been a productive one for the house today ( hurrah after lots of feeling I was drowning in the midst of Easter holiday madness ).

I spent some time getting the littles to do my morning jobs with me this morning. It obviously took a lot longer than if I just did them but they both managed to make their bed ( not perfectly but it was done ), get out their bedtime clothes, put last nights bedtime clothes in the washing piles and once dressed they chose clothes for tomorrow ( for the 2 year old especially they might change again in the morning but 🤷‍♀️ we roll with it now ! ). They also helped pop some things that were out of place in their rooms away.

Have managed to get rid of the 4 bags of extra nappies we had lurking now the 2 year old is fully potty trained - so that was a good win today.

Tackled the build up in the kitchen - have let the shiny sink slip over the past few days to that was put back to rights. 4 LOL including all the cleaning cloths and a some handwashing. Tackled some hotspots which had again built up.

spent some time checking easy kids jigsaws for pieces - they had been passed to us, three passed the all pieces test and one box of three jigsaws had a number of missing pieces - so they’ve gone.

have meal planned, shopped, sorted ( but not cleaned ) the fridge, scanned my shopping and put it away. Also picked up some playmobile from a friend that they didn’t want anymore ( but there’s far too much of it for us so we’ll sort and pass the rest on ), and also picked up latest Vinted purchases whilst I was out . That's the 2 year olds size up wardrobe complete more or less and also the last bits for Christmas and birthday arrived for her too.

Needed to top up shop from home bargains and picked up stocking fillers for both littles.

To do before bed is to unpack parcels and stash away things for later in the year. Unload the washing machine and shine my sink !

I'm feeling positive about this as it has focused me on jobs that I just forget about or never get round to.

So today I have:

👣 Shined my sink for the first time!
👣 Cleaned and organised the fridge
👣 Two loads of laundry washed and dried
👣 Dishwasher emptied, refilled and put on
👣 Spent 15 minutes on a corner of the kitchen that accumulates stuff..... mainly DH and DDs' water bottles. Considering they are reusable I have no idea why they have so many. I've put them away in a cupboard for now and will focus on decluttering the cupboards another day.

And I chose the footsteps emoji as I liked the thought of this thread helping me to move forwards.

Ditzy thank you for helping to explain getting started.
scourgify good job with putting out those fires in your hotspots! It sounds like your are on top of things re groceries.
Hemax that looks like a busy day for you! And well done for involving your little ones.
Jones I'm glad it seems positive, you've had a great start! It was a good idea to just put the bottles away for now, just don't forget to have DH & DD go through them with you and reduce the number.

Ta das:
😴 worked all day
😴 baked a cake for a birthday potluck tomorrow
😴 handwashed dishes
😴 finished loading DW (DS rotated it for me)
😴 wiped cupboards and drawers (fronts only)
😴 cleaned out fridge
😴 wiped shelves in fridge
😴 wiped countertops (multiple times due to baking)
😴 decided to whip cream to finish cake in the morning
😴 got my clothes out ready for tomorrow
😴 sitting on the couch with my feet up drinking my bedtime tea. I'll take a shower in a few minutes, before heading to bed (still doubtful I'll be in bed by 10:30pm)

Thursday is errand day.
Thursday's mission is to scrub the countertops. Move appliances just out of the way to wipe under them and put them back. The goal is to get rid of the crumbs & dust.

Baby Step: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-11/
Today's baby step is to write inspirational quotes in your control journal. She put some examples in the link above, so take a look if you need some inspiration.

Morning everyone ☕️

A super early morning for me today , hormones have a lot to answer for 😔

Yesterdays tada
🎉 another 30 mins on the kitchen drawers means all of them are decluttered and organised 🥳 I have 1 more 15 min slot in there so hopefully I will get some time slots in other rooms ticked off (or catch up on the ironing which I've been putting off ! )
🎉 emptied the 2 black bin liners of clothes that was given to dd2 , they are currently in a pile on the living room floor as I need her to try them on as some of them look a little bit small 🙈
🎉 washed and dried my bedding
🎉 spent the afternoon with mil
🎉 tried on all jeans that I ordered for tomorrow night - kept 1 pair that I'm not overly keen on but at least I'll have something to wear !
🎉 got fed up that I couldn't find anything for Friday night, opened a g&t and felt sorry for myself for the rest of the evening!

Todays plans :
🐢I want to finish off the kitchen
🐢I've booked swimming later so I need to do the pre swimming preparations !
🐢take jeans that didn't fit back
🐢dd2 swim lessons (swimming twice in a day ! Poor planning on my part ! )
🐢persuade dd2 to try some clothes on
🐢try to get something ticked off the weekly list
🐢 clean out the hoover head as it isn't working on the carpet but the attachments are working
🐢 usual daily routines , make beds, quick tidy, fresh towels in bathroom, LOL , dry washing folded etc

For now though I'm cuddling a coffee and may read my book whilst the house is quiet 🙂

So if I start on baby steps day 1, all I need to do is shine the sink?

Think so @longpathtohappiness! Then the next day you'd shine the sink and do the day 2 baby step. Then the next day add another. I guess it is a way of building up habits a little bit at a time.

I'm new to this but have jumped in a bit more as the house is in an OK state. It's just our cleaner has retired and I'm going to be picking more up myself so I want to keep on track.

Today I have:

Started a morning routine:

👣 Turn down the beds
👣 Open the bedroom windows to air the rooms
👣 Empty the dishwasher while my coffee is brewing
👣 Take my vitamins with my morning coffee
👣 Put on a load of laundry

I'm going to try to do a load of laundry every day. Up to now I've been doing a mammoth session once a week to do it all in one go but it piles up, I avoid putting it away as it's a much bigger job ans it's generally a hassle. So I'm going to try little and often instead.

This afternoon I've:

👣 Put the washing in the tumble dryer
👣 Run some errands.... returned some library books and picked up a click and collect order

I'm going to try to establish an evening routine of:

👣 Dishwasher on after dinner
👣 Shine the sink. And that's it for now, I'll see how I get on.

Hello to all the newbies ☺️
With FlyLady, I remember at first being a bit 'Wha??' but it all falls into place eventually, promise.

Thursday is my home bleugh day these days, I also stuck into the kitchen a bit.
Ta das:
🥵Cleaned out the fridge, antibac-ed the outer bits too
🥵Cleaned cupboard fronts
🥵Countertops properly cleaned
🥵Degreased oven door
🥵Proper clean of the hob
🥵Bins out
🥵LOLs rotated, dry put away
🥵Hoovered everything
🥵Mopped floors
🥵Chucked bleach into loos
🥵Cleaned mirrors and wiped fingerprints off windows.
🥵All errands done

Tomorrow will run the duster and bleach shower and bathtubs. I didn't have it in me today to do that.

Jones that sounds like a good game plan to me!

@longpathtohappiness yes! You can just start by shining your sink.

sunny sorry to hear about your hormones affecting your sleep.

I had a full day at work today, so not much done (in terms of flying) today, other than put away baking stuff, back down into the pantry. I did get my clothes out for tomorrow, but did not get myself a lunch <sigh> I guess I'll have to figure that out in the morning!

Friday is clean your car and handbag out day. It's also date night.

Friday's mission is to sweep & mop your kitchen floor. There's no one right way to do it, so however you normally mop, that'll work!

This is the last day in the kitchen, so if I'm honest, I would do an extra good job cleaning the floor, making sure I'm scrubbing any stains or spills and getting right up to the edge of the cabinets and walls. I also clean the kick board under the cabinets as they can get grim if left alone. I do tend to get down on all fours with a bucket of hot, soapy water and a rag to scrub.

Baby Step: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-12/
Today's baby step is to delete all your emails from flylady (skip this step if you listened to my OP and didn't actually sign up for them, although deleting emails isn't a bad idea). Also continue with your morning & evening routines.

Yesterday did not go as planned , absolutely no flying done .
Yesterday tada
🎉 swimming with dd2 and all the prep that goes with that and the full scrub shower afterwards , I still have ended up with some spots this morning from it though 🤦‍♀️
🎉 dd2 swimming lesson (yes she went swimming twice 🤪crazy kid)
🎉 washed swim stuff
🎉 read some of my book

That was it for yesterday, I was so tired !

I'm out with some work friends tonight so there won't be much done today and ds has a friend sleep so it'll be a quick tidy then getting the sofa bed out and setting his Xbox up downstairs .

I haven't gotten round to the mission but I did clear out my handbag (mainly receipts and tissues lurking in there!)

I put on a load of laundry only to discover one of the DDs had left some Uno cards in their pocket (WHY?! 🤦🏼‍♀️) so there was lots of disintegrated paper/card all over the clothes and machine. I've sorted that out, given them a talking to about emptying pockets before clothes get washed and am currently re-washing the same load.

On a more positive note:

👣 Morning routine done.....turn down beds, air bedrooms, dishwasher emptied, vitamins taken with my coffee

👣 I dusted the kitchen and decluttered one corner where random things seem to accumulate

👣 20 minutes of pruning in the garden in the sunshine this lunchtime

After dinner I'll put on the dishwasher and shine the sink

sunny I'm not surprised, swimming is tiring!

Jones that would frustrate me to have to rewash a load of laundry.

Well, we decided to have a last minute BBQ tonight. We had a good turn out, lots of food cooked & eaten and drinks drunk.
DS did a home bleugh today, so the house was ready for guests.

Saturday is family fun day, although we may end up doing yard work as it's supposed to be really nice, before it gets crappy again!

Baby Step: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-13/