Fledglings Flying - May we all conquer the clutter

[EasilyDeterred]

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. We start a new thread every month even though they don't fill up because the Flylady system re-starts on the 1st of the month. However you can jump in any time.

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
• BRC: box/basket of random crap
• Mount Washmore: self explanatory

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 there is also an app (I haven't tried this)

Links are below 👇 if I happen to not add links in time, they do update at midnight for you.

Zones (these change every week through the month). https://www.flylady.net/d/zones/

Baby Steps (habits to build into daily routines)
:https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/
The Current FLY Zone | FlyLady.net
https://www.flylady.net/d/zones

Flight Plan (list of all the relevant daily parts of the system)
http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60

Thanks to Hazel for running the April thread

I’ve done very little over the past couple of days. Bad shoulder which spread to bad neck and back and has left me feeling very sorry for myself. Yesterday other than daily stuff I just sat on the sofa all day reading under a blanket (which probably didn’t help with the pain but then neither has carrying on as usual or doing yoga stretches 🤷🏻‍♀️)DP has been working out of the house all week and it’s incredible how much tidier the house stays when he’s not here all day 🤣

@HazelNotHungryLC I get quite overwhelmed when I lose my usual time to do stuff and feel like I’ll never catch up. It sounds like your ds is quite helpful though so hopefully things are ticking over ok for you.

@CabbageBearGoat how’s the morning sickness? Are the meds still working? I badly need to declutter emails. About 15 months ago I got completely on top of them but they’ve built up again. At least it’s only just over a year’s worth to get through.

@Hemax1 sounds like you had a lovely day yesterday, wish we’d had some good weather. Constant rain here 😭

@SleepingIceDragons i hope it all comes together for you. It’s very daunting returning to work after a period off and even more so to enter a new field. It sounds as though you have a lot on your plate so although it’s really hard I would definitely say to focus on what you need to do first and let your ds figure out his own way. Easier said than done though!

@Hatecleaninglovecleanhouse sounds like good progress is being made again. I’m with you on not wanting to come home to a dirty house. Mine felt so cluttered after a week in a holiday home!

@CherryogDog ouch! I hope your neck recovers soon. Until then we can sit in the in pain corner together.

@EasilyDeterred my kitchen cupboard fronts seem to need doing constantly. It does make the whole kitchen seem cleaner when they’re done though.

Hi to everyone else 👋

Main task for today is getting clean laundry off the airers, folded and put away. Had quite a few non tumble dryer bits that have been refusing to dry for days. Hopefully they’re all finally dry now

character I'm sorry to hear you are in so much pain. It really makes it difficult to get anything done (not just flying of course!). DS is helpful around the house, thankfully, and should be doing a home bleugh today (and it really needs it!). Although just one LoL per day isn't enough and we're falling behind on clean clothes (mostly because he ends up doing the same 2 loads - black/ grey and blues 🙄).

cherry sorry to hear you're in pain! And not had a good run of things (but I firmly believe things come in threes, which would mean you're safe, for now). I need to do something similar re spending a day on each room, I just wish I had the time of to do it!

ED I wish we had a bank holiday weekend this weekend! Unfortunately we do not 😢
I would love a bluebell wood by me, I'm so jealous of those of you who have one close by!

dragons why does it have to get harder as they get older? I think I worry more now about my 20yo, than when she was 2!

I ended up wanting to take a hot bath last night as it was cold, and did a S&S in the main bathroom so I could. That was all I got done though since I worked all day.
DD will be home this weekend, so that will be nice.

Morning all,
It’s dry and starting to brighten up here so hoping to get some more washing on the line today. I have just spent 15 mins pottering in the garden (I’ve got a lot of seedlings to water).

However Saturday is Family Fun Day on Flylady. So no missions, just keep the routines that you are starting to establish, such as making the bed, shining the sink etc ticking over and go and have some fun. We are all going to be having our fun separately today.

Here’s the flight plan for a reminder about routines
http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=360

Next week we will be moving into Zone 2, the kitchen.

Good morning ED it's supposed to be warm and sunny here today too, a bit windy though, but that's nothing new here (we live in a valley and the wind can get insane).
I'm hoping we can work outside for a couple of hours as well, it's not supposed to be very nice tomorrow.

Everyone else is still sleeping in my house (8:30am), so I'm enjoying my coffee in peace and quiet!
We have a 1st birthday party to go to this afternoon, it's a potluck style & I've decided to make rice krispie treats since they're easy and quick (& GF, so DD can have some).
It's DDs best friend's baby, so we actually won't see much of DD today as she wants to hang out with her!
I still need to do meal planning and grocery shopping, but will probably just do that tomorrow.
Happy Saturday everyone 👋

My weekend blitz is going okay, I've done the whole downstairs and it feels great. Enough for one day. It's still not perfect but it's back to my normal. Tomorrow I'll tackle the bedrooms and cutting the rest of the lawn and try to relax in the afternoon. Then I'll be back on track (indoors anyway) and ready to follow the flylady plan, I hope.

Morning 🌄 everyone 👋
Thanks for the mentions and good wishes!
I'm on the mend now after a few days of feeling like a baby with a wobbly neck so climbing back on the wagon.
My DP cleaned up my vacuum by blowing it all through with his air compressor so I'm good to go.
As soon as the animals are sorted today's ToDo is the upstairs passage and the stairs.
Embarrassing to admit that it must be months since the stairs were hoovered (it's supposed to be DP's job but apparently he's too busy/tired/ doesn't notice) and they're very gritty if you walk on them bare footed.
If I've still got energy I'll move onto the upstairs bathroom.
I poured drain unblocker down the shower plug hole last week (it's very slow draining, probably because I shed a load of hair), in readiness to clean but then had my accident.
Hope you're all flying well, @TheMainCharacter hope you are on the mend soon.

Had a couple of down days due to what we shall call misadventure. Ibruprofen is out in full force, cleevers water is doing its thing and today I am up right and functional. Not sure for how long but will take whatever i get right now.

ta da
soak tea cups in soda crystals and hot water for an hour, swish them up with sponge and load stain removed dirty cups into dw
dw unloaded, reloaded and running
ds' black laundry in machine
a sink full of pots have been done
jars into sink to soak
try to figure out where the money is coming from to either fix or replace ds' phone that got broken on a night out this weekend
go through student loan form and figure out what appointments needed to complete and return. (they want evidence in a form which makes it more complicated than it should be)

I have now breakfasted and coffee, thus can no longer ignore the giant mountain of ironing that needs doing. But first bread dough to rise.

Hope you are all having good days and your spirits are being renewed.

@CherryogDog I did my stairs yesterday and I know it's the first time since February, so you are not alone!

I decided not to blitz upstairs today after all as it's good weather for once. Just spent 1.5 hours weeding the front garden beds (ignoring the hidden corner behind some bushes) it still looks kinda messy but no longer completely neglected, so hopefully the whole village can stop staring at it as they walk past. Taking a break, going out for the afternoon, then I'll cut the back lawn later when it's cooler, as it's turned really hot now.

Putting some laundry on now. Downstairs is so nice now, I was starting to hate my house, but I'm walking round downstairs thinking how lovely it is and I WILL keep on top of it this time. It costs me a bloody fortune to live here so I need to appreciate it.

Cherry good to see you are feeling better. I need to clean my vacuum too, although I really need to clean the filters (it's a Dyson). I hate that it takes so long to actually dry so the vacuum is out of commission. Although today might be a good day to clean it. Thank you for the reminder!

Dragons I gave up on ironing! Mostly the creases fall out when hung up, thankfully. Although I do still iron DSs concert attire, but it's just his shirt & trousers.

cleaning I'm jealous of your lovely weather. We woke up this morning to snow, yes snow! I'm over this shit now!

My plan for today is to catch up on laundry. I'm not sure what else I might get done, but I think at least one movie will be seen today too!

Ta das:
🎬 LOLs x2 (including gentle wash)
🎬 sorted out pantry. Lots of OOD food and things we don't use anymore. Some donated, the rest in the bin
🎬 reorganised what I kept in the pantry
🎬 made some ranch for dinner tonight

Currently sitting down, about to start a movie. I need to do my nails again, but will wait until after dinner tonight

My nails are trashed at the moment @HazelNotHungryLC , I have been spending an hour or so most days weeding at the allotment and even with gloves on they are suffering. Think I might book myself in for a salon mani to give them a sort out as a reward if I get the plot clear, which I aim to do in the next week or so now, nearly there.

@CherryogDog my DH seems incapable of vacuuming the stairs too. The carpet is new (about a year old) but has a mark on it, I need to dig out the carpet cleaning stuff and sort it.

@Hatecleaninglovecleanhouse lovely to hear you are so happy with your downstairs. Similarly we had a new kitchen three years ago and the hall, dining room, stairs and landing totally refurbed this time last year and it has made such a difference to the way I feel about the house. Bathroom is next on the list, its very shabby.

@SleepingIceDragons hope you remained functional for the rest of the day.

Lay in bed for hours this morning, just enjoying not needing to get up until I felt like it. Then laundry, utility tidy, garden tidy, and a huge pile of dishes from the past couple of days. I like getting the kitchen under control, although the clutter corner needs some more work.

Morning,
It's a Bank Holiday here in England (not sure about the rest of the UK?). So of course it's raining here.

Our flight plan for the day is here
http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=360

Today's mission is to scrub our stove tops, I did our induction hob last night but we also have a hotplate that would benefit from a clean so I'll
do that today.

Today's daily focus is Home Blessing
http://www.flylady.net/d/daily-focus/daily-focus-monday/

a rather twee name for a useful weekly set of tasks that keep the basics done. They don't have to all be done at once but can be organised to suit your set up.

Today's babystep is Hotspots, those places where clutter builds up, hall table, coffee table, ens of a kitchen table, getting on top of these makes a real difference
http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-6/

Finally another useful page is the Sneak Peek, where you can see what Flylady has planned for the rest of the week
http://www.flylady.net/c/sp.php

Morning everyone ☕️

A slow start to the morning with our lovely bank holiday sunshine ☀️

Tada
🎉 breakfast
🎉15 clean clothes folded (my conservatory sofa has currently been taken over by clothes 🤦‍♀️)

I'm going to enjoy reading my book (the secret history by Donna Tartt) whilst the house is quiet before attacking more of the clean clothes mountain !

I had high hopes yesterday for getting loads of TaDas, I soaked the shower walls in limescale remover in preparation for cleaning the bathroom as well as hoovering upstairs and the stairs when I got home, but it was such a nice day I spent a couple of hours in the sunshine digging up ragwort in the field.
I scrubbed the shower cubicle and that's all I did.
Hopefully I'll finish it today. I've got a boxful of various part used shampoos and conditioners that were crammed on the rack and I'm going to be disciplined and only have one of each and not put anything else in there until I've run out.
I like reading about other people who don't have immaculate vacuumed stairs...
@HazelNotHungryLC I bought some generic Dyson filters from Ebay as spares.
I've got a Dyson stick which I love, but with my knackered hands I find it really hard to do the stairs (which is why it's DPs job), I also have an Amazon basics cylinder, which I use for the hard floors, and is light for dusting cobwebs and my walls, and the stairs. I've seen some filters on ebay but I'm not 100% sure they're the right ones.
A previous owner swirled concrete all over the downstairs walls, some of the ridges are 2/3cm and get black with dust.
Have a great day everyone, whatever you're doing!

@CherryogDog I’ve done that with my toiletries and it’s so satisfying using things up!

I'm rather jealous of your bank holiday! It'll be a busy day at work for me!

Cherry I hadn't thought about ordering a spare filter, that's genius!
sunny I love my quiet mornings 😍 I didn't really get that yesterday as I woke up so late (along with DH & DS!).
ED enjoy your extra day off.

Finishing upstairs today and ironing/packing for UK break next week.

Tada
🎉 I have found the conservatory sofa that was hiding under the mountain of clothes!!
🎉 all clothes are put in the rooms they belong (but aren't put away 😂)
🎉 kids clothes ironed and organised for the week
🎉 LOL
🎉 cooked chicken tikka nachos - they were delicious!
🎉 showered and sat with a g&t pretending that I haven't got work tomorrow 🙈

Love a quiet morning @HazelNotHungryLC - it doesn't happen very often ! Hope your work day has gone ok .

Sounds like a productive day @Hatecleaninglovecleanhouse , whereabouts are you visiting next week ? We have just booked a holiday in Hunstanton ☀️🏖️

Good luck with using all your products up @CherryogDog ! I hope you managed a little relaxing in the garden as well as digging up the ragwort !

Ta-da's from last week

💮 Morning routines
💮 Washed car
💮 Cleaned out cutlery drawer
💮 Home blessings
💮 Cleaned outside windows
💮 Weeding
💮 Decluttering
💮 Extra laundry
💮 Pulled out my summer clothes ready for the start of June
💮 Decorated plant pot
💮 Reorganised kitchen cupboard
💮 Exercised daily
💮 Evening routines

Today we went to the park and stroked some Shetland ponies 🐎🏇🐎. I'm also celebrating fitting back into my favourite jeans 👖⚖️👖.

Our stairs are wood, so when we are not under building work they are super easy to clean - take damp cloth and swish.

Enjoy sunny hunny searching

Wind was knocked out of my sails yesterday but yet another delay to completion. It is logical delay but I just. want. tidy. and to be done with this chaos. So i want to ignore logical and be ilogical.

Teen is up, laundry is on, chicken stock is on to finish up. Just enjoying a coffee with breakfast before starting to tackle the chaos i can tackle. Hope you all have a good day

Morning, well, it rained heavily pretty well all day yesterday here, but today is bright and sunny so far.

Tuesday is Plan and Play Day. I’m off work this week so I do need to make some plans but got to get a tricky meeting out of the way this morning first.

Our flight plan is here http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=360

Our mission is to “clean round your silverware holder” - I didn’t understand this one when I first saw it, imagining a valuable silver cutlery set (which we don’t have) but then realised it meant any pot with utensils in. We don’t have one of these either as we are fortunate to have enough drawer space for them, but we do have a corner with an egg holder and various small appliances which gets similarly crumb-y so I will do that. I managed my hotplate yesterday.

Our babystep today is to add to our bedtime routine getting out your clothes for the next day. I do find this useful, one less thing to think about in the morning

http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-7/

Oops, forgot to post earlier, hope you are all OK.

Wednesday is Anti-Procrastination Day, I am about to tackle yet another pile of paperwork that has been accumulating on the kitchen breakfast bar for months (I did the pile off the coffee table yesterday).

Our Flight plan is here http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=360 with our daily mission being to clear out the fridge (that badly needs doing here).

Tada! for yesterday.
🍎Decluttered coffee table pile
🍏Steam cleaned stain off stair carpet
🍎Several loads of washing including front and back doormats
🍏Thorough clean of one section of kitchen counter - will continue that today, our kitchen seems to have got very cluttered recently.
🍎Replaced cartridge in sodastream and went straight to shop to trade in the old one so we have a spare again
🍏Cleaned up some old toys from the garden shed and posted on FB - being picked up today.
🍎Helped DFriend with some paperwork

As well as the difficult meeting and various difficult phone calls concerning extended family and financial affairs.

ED dealing with difficult stuff with family members sounds awful!
Sorry I wasn't around yesterday, I swear that every time I looked at the clock it was 5 hours ahead of what it should have been. It completely flew by!

YesTaDas:
🎺 LOLs x6
🎺 bathed dogs
🎺 bleached both bathrooms
🎺 meal planned
🎺 grocery shopping
🎺 vacuumed, including stairs and the cobwebs from the pantry in the basement
🎺 changed sheets on all 3 beds in the house
🎺 went to parent meeting for band students starting high school next school year
🎺 enjoyed band concert (DS plays the trombone)

I'm still at work, currently on break, other than dinner and clearing up afterwards, I'm not sure much else will get done. I do need to fit in a spin workout, but we'll see how I feel after work.