August FlyLady Thread: No rain Au-Gust of wind will stop us from getting our shit together!

[CabbageBearGoat]

Welcome to the August FlyLady thread! What the heck is FlyLady, I hear you ask. Well, FlyLady is a reliable and flexible system for keeping on top of housework, one thing at a time. It splits the house into zones which we work through week by week, and there are daily tasks designed to tackle everything in sequence. This is a long running thread, but we are a friendly bunch and all are welcome to join in at any time.

We’re trying something new this month as August is a busy one. So, instead of daily updates from thread leader we’re going to stick with just this front post with all your links and information in, and general chatter and updates from here on out.

For people completely new to the system, there are Baby Steps, which add one thing at a time to start off good habits and routines. If you are not ready to start these at the beginning of the month you can set your own Day 1 as today and keep track by following the Baby Steps linked below. After Baby Steps you can graduate to Zones. There are 5 Zones that we rotate through in the same order every month, week by week. Don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month. Time is inevitable. There's no escape. Flylady is NOT about perfectionism! The system is designed to compensate for those days which don't go to plan, as it all repeats. As FlyLady says herself, "You are never behind. Jump in where you are".

This month in particular I would really recommend you download the app and get to using that as you can modify the app's tick lists to suit your home and lifestyle. FlyLady is flexible.

Do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - it's an excessive amount sent every day.

Common thread acronyms/phrases:
LOL: load of laundry (washing is certainly NOT funny!)
DW: dishwasher (we are not rotating wives!)
LMS: lose/lost my shit
DNLMS: did not lose my shit
BRC: box/basket of random crap
Mount Washmore: self explanatory

So here we go. Here are your links, which update when needed:

Flight Plan (Today at a glance): http://flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-60
Weekly Zones (With this month's dates): https://www.flylady.net/d/zones/
Baby Steps: www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/
Launch Pad (Quick links): http://flylady.net/c/lp.php
Weekly Sneak Peek (This week's tasks at a glance): http://flylady.net/c/sp.php

Daily missions: (each week is the same - hyperlink for more info).
Monday: Home Blessing (or as we call it, home bleugh - a quick whizz over basic cleaning)
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 (something to recharge your batteries)

Cabbage I hope your neighbour gets the shed taken down all way sooner rather than later. That's a very nice thing for you to do for them, the least they could do is get it taken down quickly, to get it out of your way!

Ta das so far:
🌻 LOLs x3 (3rd load in the washer)
🌻 went to the bank
🌻 picked up my new coffee maker
🌻 aired out the house
🌻 vacuumed main floor & stairs
🌻 cleaned vacuum
🌻 currently sitting in the hairdressers, getting my hair done

My vacuum was gross! I don't know what happened, but it looks like everything in the canister got wet and it was a solid clump 🤮 it stunk really bad too! I cleaned the canister out before I vacuumed, but cleaned it again, as well as the filters, afterwards. It hasn't been that long since I cleaned it, so something got sucked up that shouldn't.

More ta das:
🫖 more LOLs x5, including blankets from the living room & camper
🍯 mopped
🫖 bleached bathrooms
🍯 cleaned mirrors
🫖 cleaned glass doors
🍯 stained some more brick
🫖 put clean clothes away
🍯 remade the bed (1st lol was our bedding)

I feel like I accomplished a lot, despite feeling a little under the weather. I also left the house about 15 hundred million times today, so not bad I think.

Now I just have to take a shower, get my clothes out for tomorrow and get to bed. I may or may not call in sick tomorrow. I'll see how I feel.

Yesterday was a lovely day out with friends to a local younger children's theme park ( a few rides, animals, parks and soft play ) it was good to get out of the house and meet up . All the kids loved it ! I didn't realise that one of my friends has hypothyroidism so talking to her has eased my worries a little , I just want to feel better now but it's going to be a long road . My leg was so painful when I got home , I was limping around and didn't really do much else apart from unpacking from the day out and picking dd2 up from gymnastics!

Todays tada
🎉 morning coffee

Todo
🔵 morning routine
🔵 take library books back
🔵 local library hunt (local businesses put clues in the windows then have to solve them , hand them into the library for a chance of winning a prize )
🔵 detag and wash uniforms (anti procrastination task for today , I still have a few bits to buy but today will be the main bulk of it)

@EasilyDisturbed the uni debt is huge isn't it ! Very scary start to adult life , I'm hoping some things may change by next year 🙈

@HazelNotHungryLC how was the traffic when you picked ds up ? You got so much done yesterday despite feeling poorly - how are you feeling today ?

Oh goodness @CabbageBearGoat, that is a long time to be waiting to have a shed taken down !! You've made great proves in other areas though ! Can you send some of your 'end of summer fear' over to me please - I haven't got half the things done that I wanted to do over the summer break😂 I may walk around the house picking out the jobs that niggle at my brain and try and get those done before going back to work on Monday !

sunny pickup was so much better than drop off!
I feel like death warmed over today, I'm feeling worse as the day goes on, but of course, me being me, I went into work this morning. I can't leave now as someone else had already scheduled to leave early today 😔
I have a feeling I'll feel even worse tomorrow and we're even more short staffed tomorrow!

How is your leg doing now? Are you still in pain?

Oh no @HazelNotHungryLC ! Sending you plenty of honey and lemon drinks (one with a tot of whiskey in for when you're home from work) hopefully it'll be a 2 day cold and you'll feel better tomorrow 🤞 my leg was ok this morning but I've been on my feet a lot today so it's swelled back up , I've been so grumpy with it this evening !

Tada
🎉 everyone washed, dressed & fed
🎉 morning routine
🎉 school uniforms de tagged and the whites have been washed and dried
🎉 a walk into our town to take the library books have been taken back , dd2 has completed the summer reading challenge 🥳
🎉 picked up some wool ready to crochet some pumpkins for the autumn decorations!
🎉 made homemade burgers , ate some and froze some ready for the crazy half term !
🎉 kitchen tidied & cleaned , dishwasher on
🎉 took dd2 to gymnastics
🎉 looked at train tickets and hotels with dd1 for upcoming uni open days that she would like to attend
🎉 nipped into Tesco for a top up shop but forgot the fruit 🤦‍♀️
😂
🎉 picked dd2 up from gymnastics
🎉 emptied dishwasher and reloaded
🎉 dd2 ready for bed

Now I'm looking at the living and dining room thinking I should give it a quick tidy but I've had enough so I'm ignoring it and hoping the tidy fairies come in the night 🤪

sunny I hope you were able to put your feet up to reduce that swelling!
I'm also crossing my fingers for a speedy recovery 🤞
If you get cleaning/ tidying fairies at your house, please send them my way when they're done! 🧚‍♀️

I'm waiting for DS to get out of marching band practise right now, while DH is talking to the contractors who will be building our shed.
When I'm home for the night I'm making myself a hot toddy for sure!

I hope you feel better in the morning @HazelNotHungryLC !

Tada
🎉 morning coffee
🎉 darks uniform wash done and out on the line
🎉 15 mins uniform ironing (was planning on doing longer but dd2 woke up)
🎉 everyone breakfasts

I've got a few things planned to get done today - I regretted not having a tidy last night because the tidy / cleaning fairy did not visit! How rude of them! My leg is already playing up - so frustrating! I'm going to try to ignore it and potter around getting the jobs done. Visiting MIL for a coffee later on , the weather seems to be nice so will tag along a park visit on the way home with dd2 .

We have been messing with my chronic illness meds and it has been a bit of a struggle bus.

I am afraid i am going to be the one who says it but do we have a plan/volunteer/idea for the September thread? It is rather rapidly approaching.

Dragons I was thinking the same thing (about the next thread leader). I'm willing and able if no one else wants a go. I hope your meds get figured out for you soon 🤞

sunny don't overdo it with your leg! Coffee with MIL sounds good. It's refreshing to see someone on mn who actually gets on with their MIL (I'm assuming you do anyway). I love mine and think I'm closer to her than my DH is! 😂

I'm at work again today. I don't feel as bad as yesterday, but still not 100%.

Tada
🎉 everyone showered and dressed
🎉 beds made
🎉 made bacon and cheese pastry wrap things - went down a hit with everyone apart from dd2 which isn't surprising, she can be a bit fussy
🎉 kitchen cleaned & DW on
🎉 another wash done and out on the line
🎉 went to MIL
🎉 met friend on the way home , they came for a coffee
🎉 made tea for ds and dd2

Friend has just gone home so now I've got to fetch the washing in , empty & refill DW and make dd1 , OH and my tea as well as tidy up from dd2s play date - I really cba !! My leg hasn't got any worse from this morning so that's good!

@SleepingIceDragons I hope your meds settle soon and you start feeling better 💐

@HazelNotHungryLC yes I love my MIL luckily! She is all the family we have left really , I try and stay in touch as much as I can but I should try to make more of an effort with her being on her own . Sometimes I get that caught up in day to day life , work , school runs , clubs etc that I don't get to visit as much as I'd like but OH gives her a call every day. My hours change slightly from next week so hoping to that'll free up more time for more regular visits ! Although she is always out and about , walking groups , line dancing , social events - it's hard to catch her at home 😂 She is starting to look a little frail now though 😔 Glad you're feeling a little better today , hope work goes quickly for you so you can get home and rest (if you get chance to rest when you get home )

Count me out for September thread leader. Managed to do July but August has been total chaos and I get the feeling things won't get better before baby is here, or in the early days!

Tada
🎉 everyone up , washed & dressed
🎉 LOL out on the line , dried and put away 😱
🎉 made granola with lots of goodness in an attempt to get my vitamins and minerals up naturally as well as prescribed supplements
🎉 picked ds up from friends after sleepover
🎉 town with all dc to finish off school shop , returned some items too
🎉 had a couple of hours at a pottery painting place , we all decorated some Halloween items , it was a lovely end to the holidays . We can pick them up in a weeks time - I can't wait to see the finished result !
🎉 a cheeky McDonald's for tea as we had ran out of time to get back home and cook before dd2 gymnastics class - dd2 had this new grimace shake , I wasn't a fan !
🎉 dd2 taken to gymnastics
🎉 back home , tidied and hoovered living room

Busy day today and whilst I'm still struggling with aches , I'm not as weak now that my monthly has finished . I also haven't taken the folic acid so maybe that's why I'm feeling slightly more human - I have decided to try and take it in the evening before bed to see whether it eases the nausea!

@CabbageBearGoat you have a lot on with your little one due 💐

I have created the new thread for September, all ready for starting tomorrow!
Thank you Cabbage for running August thread, it was nice to have a chat thread as August can be so busy for most people.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/housekeeping/5154800-falling-into-september-with-flylady?reply=137942659

I haven't been v good at posting to-dos and Ta-das but have been working away here quite nicely.

A question for you super organised people - how do people store their jewellery in a way that makes it handy to grab so that I can use and wear what I have? Thanks!

I think this is the first day without rain for more than a week. Sun has shone all day so far!

Chased up a couple of hospital appts this week. Did other life admin and gradually making making a dent in the pile.

Sorting for a short while in the garage and shed each day after school drop-off, and there are definite gaps appearing. Today I unearthed two demijohns and a homebrew bucket. I’d forgotten all about them, sitting there for at least thirty years! As neither of us drinks, that stuff can go asap.

Used up a half-empty container of weedkiller on the patch that got rained on last time I tried. Hoping it stays dry long enough to take effect.

mikado I have something similar to this (Pic attached) hanging on my wall for my necklaces, as well as an earring tree.
I still don't wear jewellery every day though like I used to, but that's more to do with my job than anything else 😅
Scourgify I hope it stayed dry long enough to kill your weeds!

Thank you!

I've got a pc that I want to get rid of. It's one of those old fashioned "tower" types. It's so big and takes up so much room on the desk, I don't know what's the best way to dispose of it.