Flying on our broomsticks into October

[HauntingHazel]

Witches, vampires & zombies - whoever/whatever you are, all are welcome on this spooky flylady thread.

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.

October's monthly focus is paper clutter.

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/

I'm just dropping links tonight (my time, of course!). I'm sleepy & I have an early morning tomorrow. I'll catch up properly with the thread on the long journey on the school bus, on the way to another marching band competition!

Saturday is family fun day! What will you be doing?

There are no missions on the weekend 🥳

Baby Step 5: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-5/
Keep doing what you've started. Think about any negative thoughts you have in your head that prevent you from having the things you want and deserve. Then, turn those negatives into positives and write them down where you will see them. Every day.

Done my Home bleugh today yay.

We are going to a local folk festival today, I am also going to try to do some jobs in our conservatory, which us also our entrance porch, coat storage and general dumping ground.

Hope the competition goes well Hazel!

Morning. I hope everyone's day has started better than my cremated breakfast. Instead of a cheese toastie i ended up with charcoal.

Hazel Good luck with the competition and hope you escape the trip headache. Excited teens in a confined space can be loud.

So the family fun part of today was done last night when the teen and I had a very long conversation about video games and games studios. I know absolutely Fuck all about gaming, he has been a gamer for years. It was a very sensible 2 hour conversation with a lot of laughing.

PLan for today:
🍁find wellies
📝which involves moving plants from porch, evicting everything that does not live in porch, trying to figure out what does live in porch, seeing if they are still tucked into a random corner and evit the spiders and other critters that may be lurking in them
🍁Unload, load and set to run DW
🍁Laundry
🍁Allotment work - IF i am lucky i will be planting my seedlings today, else that will be a tomo job. There is a lot of infrastructure that is going to need to be done today.
📝Remember to take up tape measure, pencil, saw, nails, hammer, spade, bucket, etc
🍁HOT soak to try to convince the muscles not to hate me.
🍁Try to finish the book from the tbr pile which only has about 20 pages left, i know i will finish one audio book whilst working at the allotment.
🍁Figure out what the hell is for tea because i am uninspired.

Going to wish you all days that are as prodictive as you hope, and as stress free as possible

Best wishes for the competition, Hazel and hope you enjoy the folk festival, DillyDeclutter.
Your chat about gaming with your teen sounds a lovely way to have family fun, SleepingIceDragons. So good when they can teach you things 😊

I've done my weekly job of scrubbing the cat's feeding mat and bowls and the fortnightly one of cleaning and swapping over the vacuum cleaner's filters.
Embarrassingly, I once had a repair man round because I thought the brush wasn't rotating and that was the reason the machine wasn't picking things up...
He changed the (neglected) filters and it was good as new. Turns out the brush wasn't supposed to rotate when said machine was on it's side anyway 😳
Started off promptly as I had covid & flu vaccines booked just after 8, so hit the monthly farmers' market early.
I haven't got much cooking to do tonight because of goodies bought at the market, so, having had a sneak peak and seeing it's zone 2 next week, I'm trying to get ahead by cleaning the oven.
The easy bit's underway with shelves soaking in the Oven Mate bag and door and interior wiped over with cleaner.
The scrubbing is to come 💪
Sadly, I haven't got a dishwasher as that apparently makes it a lot easier. Ah well.

Our weekend fun will include the Times cryptic crossword (and possibly the Guardian's too if we're feeling keen).

Wishing good and productive weekends to all - and if that's "All fed, nobody dead" that's a result too 😃

@LaMarschallin He didn't have to teach me anything as i held my own. What he did do was fuck up my youtube alorigthms by opening a load of videos on my laptop. I have no idea how the hell i held my own in that conversation. I can only blame my recent interest in cyber security and industry ethics (or lack there of). I blame ds for many things i never knew i didn't want to know. Including what it feels like to hold a whole heap of fishing pinkies (small pink maggots for those not familiar) He has ALOT to answer for.

Ta das:

2 x lol
15 min declutter in DD bedroom
Shined sink

DD having really bad pain today from her disability so we have hardly moved from cuddles on the settee, it’s been a long day.

Poisonwood, cuddles with your daughter when she's having a rough time has got to be the most important thing you've done all day.
So sorry she's in such pain - hope you both get some rest tonight.

Just doing links again.. I'm sorry, it's been a very busy day and now I'm sleepy! I should be able to do a proper catch up on our way home tomorrow.

Sunday is renew your spirit day. This could be going to church, going out for a walk, reading a book, take a bath etc.. what are you planning to do today?

There are no missions on Sundays.

Baby Step 6: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-6/
Learn about hotspots & how to put them out!
Set your timer for 2 minutes and put out a hotspot.

My son comes home for a fortnight today 🎉. That will renew my spirit completely, but I also plan to continue with my first ever audiobook and do an hour of yoga - split between morning (more active) and bedtime. No uniforms to wash/iron!!

Enjoy your Sundays everyone.

Finally managed to stagger back to the new thread this morning. I’ve no idea where the last fortnight has gone. Personally, I blame it all on the Teens’ hormones.

It’s lovely to read all the posts, and get motivated. I download hours and hours of audiobooks and podcasts, and listen to them to regain my equilibrium.

I usually go to church but we don't have a local service on the first Sunday of the month. I know it's not very committed of me to skip because of that, but I regularly do post-service refreshments and am on the rota for cleaning in December so I count those things as my penance
Can't say my lie in was exactly spiritual, but it was enjoyable.
It's a terrible confession but I enjoy watching the omnibus of both "Come Dine with Me" and "Four in a Bed" in the afternoon. During the adverts I'm popping in and out of the kitchen making a special Sunday supper.
Sometimes a roast, but it's chicken curry today with a few vegetable dishes and a pilau rice.
I might choose a few clothes to fling (have 1 more wardrobe to sort out) as a charity bag was delivered last week and the collection day is tomorrow.
Also cleaned a window because a big bird had flown into it (heck of a thud but flew off, so hopefully unhurt) leaving the imprint of its wings.
No More Housework today though!
Hope everyone's Sundays are going well 😊

Dilly how was the folk festival? That sounds fun!

Dragons did you find your wellies? I understand the feeling of having the chat with DS. Chats like that don't happen as often any more around here, but it's nice when DS does actually engage and chat with us.

LaMarschallin a dishwasher definitely helps when it comes to cleaning certain things, although I've never stuck my oven racks in mine (I don't know if they would even fit!). What did you end up buying from the market?

Poison how is DD doing today? Enjoy your time with DS.

Scourgify teens hormones are no joke, I understand!

Competition went well, initially they announced our band had come in 4th place, out of 4 🙄 but they messed up and our band came in 1st place! They must have got the names mixed up.

@HauntingHazel that’s fantastic! Bet the journey back was joyfully boisterous 😄.
My DD had a rough morning but brightened a little this afternoon, sadly she’s always worse with stormy weather due/here as the air pressure exacerbates her pain. Thanks for asking.

Poison I wouldn't know how the journey home went, we ended up staying the night (DH joined us up there) so we could spend some time with DD & her BF. I'm glad your DD is feeling better now!

I ended up helping take the props on the field for the band performance, we had a few kids not feel too good after they performed. It was hot they were in their uniforms and then of course throw in marching and playing their instruments.
They have got 1st place 3 comps out of 3 now.

We host the next comp next week so I'll be helping out in a different way (helping with parking), but probably still help them get dressed etc. I love it! I wasn't sure how it was going to go (being a chaperone) but all the kids are great, show respect, well behaved etc.

We are on our way home now, about 2 hours till we get there.

Wow Hazel three wins in a row is fantastic. Its getting colder here now although has been dry enough to dry the washing today.

Folk festival was great, lots of kids activities and music, and of course many morris "sides" (groups of dancers) performing.

Lamarschelline you got such a lot done! * *

I have done some kitchen faffing: tidied two drawers and a cupboard, cleaned the microwave and the light shades. Feeling reasonably productive today.

Well done to them @HauntingHazel !

Sorry your DD is suffering @Poisonwood hope things improve soon

@SleepingIceDragons those in depth conversations are something I miss when DS is away at uni, we share a lot of interests (the environment, football, current affairs) and talk in depth and at length about them both. I do talk to DH and DD but we don't share the same interests so much.

@LaMarschallin my DD phoned me at work the other day to say she had just been walking up our path when she heard a huge thump and a pigeon had fallen out of the sky onto next doors lawn, having hit their upstairs window, and what should she do (next door were on holiday), she said it was still alive at first but then she thought it had died, which proved to be the case. So I had to bin it when I got home, it was a shame poor thing but hopefully it was fairly instant.

Well it has been a fairly productive weekend. Sunny, dry and breezy on Fri and Sat so I got all the bedding and towels washed and line dried. Batch cooking today, plus ordered next year's seeds through the allotment association. Spent half an hour up there today and a couple of hours on Friday. Still picking masses or raspberries and freezing them. Also done clothes shopping, food shopping and a bit of decluttering.

Dilly the band is one of the best in the state! The music program is supported well by the school and lots of fundraisers, which help immensely, but his teacher is amazing.
You were productive today! I hope you got some rest in also.

ED you've had a busy weekend also!

We stopped for lunch and to go shopping for Halloween costumes on our way home. I found mine, DH is still looking for his.

Ta das:
💀 LOLs x4
🪦 all clean laundry put away
💀 overnight bags unpacked & everything put away
🪦 tried on costume
💀 bleached both bathrooms
🪦 emptied bins from around the house
💀 cleaned the kitchen bin
🪦 rotated DW

I still need to take a shower, get my clothes out for the morning and do some yoga (my hips are super tight today).

Monday is home bleugh day (home blessings per flylady). Quick vacuum round, empty bins, change sheets etc. Only spend an hour on this, or break it down into 10 min sections. You can also spread it out across the week or choose a different day.

This week we are in zone 2: the kitchen.
Monday's mission is to clean the rubbish bins inside & out (I honestly had no idea this was going to be Monday's mission when I did mine!). Use a soapy rag or all purpose spray, whatever you have on hand. If it's really bad, take it outside and hose it off, it'll be easier to clean that way!

Baby Step 7: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-7/
Continue doing all the other baby steps, then add getting out your clothes for the morning. This is part of your bedtime routine. I do this for sure - it saves me a tonne of time in the morning (other than the other day when I changed my mind on what to wear, that very rarely happens). I check my weather app so I know what to expect and think about what I'm going to do that day.

Thank you as always. I'm still decluttering around thr house so I'm not strictly in the zones yet. I'm not clear on hot spots. When I click the link on fly lady it goes to url not found. I'll be putting away most of the summer gear and getting out the woodies today as well as home bleurgh and 15minoffice decluttering.

Sounds like the band is really impressive, Hazel. Good that all that effort was worth it.
Do we get a preview/description of the Halloween outfits?

Impressed by your very productive weekend, EerilyDecorated. I do much less batch cooking now my DDs are grown up and have their own homes but I occasionally cook a vat of Delia's Bolognese sauce and freeze it in portions. It's just one of those things that doesn't seem practical to make in small amounts.

mikado1, my understanding of hot spots is that they're places where clutter tends to accumulate. So, for me that's on the hearth next to the sofa. I keep regular things there (eg shopping list notebook, that day's newspaper, this month's parish magazine), but it then becomes a dumping ground for anything readable. So, magazines I've read but might want to keep features/recipes from, catalogues in which I might find the perfect present for someone (I never do!), fliers that might be important (they never are!)...and so forth.
A regular sort through helps keep it under control or, at least, reminds me that I have those things there and must work on them.
It's any place, to my mind, where something has been left for a while so it feels like permission has been given to leave other stuff there instead of putting/throwing it away.
I'm sure Hazel will explain this a lot better than I can though

I'm stuck in awaiting a delivery today so the plan is to tackle some of the kitchen gadgets starting with the microwave.
I got a free packet of microwave wipes when I bought the Oven Mate oven cleaner, but wasn't very impressed. So it's back to the old fashioned lemon and water in a bowl technique which worked really well last time (quite a long time ago ).

In my house a hot spot is very god damn surface that is meant to be empty... It is amazing how much crap is just put there for a moment and never returned to. WHEN i have a house rather than a building site (and the plan is a puase over christmas so we can enjoy a couple of months before on with the chaos) I have bought 3 tubs. And on saturday morning/friday night a sweep will be done, each person will have a container and what has been dumped will be set in the tub on the persons bed for them to deal with. The tubs will be returned by sunday evening latest. I may have got really mad at the problem of laziness and hot spots

Re bins: if they smell if you are able and they are not metal, you can stick water and some sode crystals in them. Around 30mins to an 1hr will do the trick to knock the smell back.

hazel well done to the band. Hope the kids were able to recover well.

My brain is empty this morning. had a night of no sleep over the weekend due to inconsiderate neighbours and despite a good night last night i have not caught up just feel worse (as happens).

Got some stuff to do up at the allotment, got a whole heap of stuff i need to do errands wise but need to put my car on trickle charge first as the battery is dead after not being driven for over 6 weeks.

@mikado1 yes, I agree with@LaMarschallin they are those places where stuff just gets dumped and left and then attracts more stuff. In our house that is every flat surface. I am having a proper blitz on them at the moment, so getting them clear then every day, move anything that shouldn't be there. I am adding a new one every week or so. At the moment I am on top of the hall table, the counter next to the basin in the bathroom, a rack for shampoo etc in the bathroom (that one doesn't get random junk but things get knocked over and it all gets higgledy piggledy) the top of the chest of drawers in our bedroom and the coffee table in the living room. The hall table and chest of drawers top serve as temporary places to put things you want to take with you next time you leave the house or go downstairs but get cleared every day now.

Thank you all, that was the idea I had. Great. Need to get moving now, started the morning well but then had to collect dc from school for an appointment, which has thrown me off (excuses excuses).

I've mentioned my ancient "The I Hate to Housekeep" book before.
I quite like Peg Bracken's description of how clutter builds in hot spots. She advocates a clutter deposit, like SleepingIceDragons, and says of clutter (hope the photo is legible):