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/

To dos:
🎃 make caramels for orders
🎃 laundry
🎃 bleach bathrooms
🎃 redo nails
🎃 meal plan for the week
🎃 grocery shopping
🎃 see what else I can accomplish today. I have a few things I should probably do, but really don't want to at this moment in time!

@HauntingHazel marching band competition sounds like so much fun! And you are amazing for volunteering at it. Always find that it's the same pool of people that end up volunteering for school etc events.... and the others who don't invariably moan about the organisation in one form or another!

just popped by to say I've had a MAJOR win from decluttering - was sorting out the pile of reusable shopping bags in the "bag of a million bags".... noticed the pocket on the main bag of bags (it's a cooler bag) was heavy .... opened it up..... I FOUND MY KINDLE 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉it's been missing since may.

so excited, I could dance if I my back allowed it 🤣. Am going a virtual jig. Imagine what else I might find if I keep up the declutterring?!

If you could apply some of that magic to find the box of missing nuts and bolts and curtain fittins, plus the missing chelf brackets that would be a help Captain
Well done on finding the kindle, that must be a huge relief.

How am i feeling? Tidy, grumpy, sore, overwhelmed, underslept, and my give a fuck has gone. I closed the kitchen without feeding people tea tonight. They were told to either get take out, or figure it out from what they have in their rooms/could pick up from the corner shop.

Currently at the point of moving boxes, but i need a heavy weighted perswader to reassemble the unit that had to be disassembled in order to return it (despite the fact it came out in one piece ) Because of course that is how that happens. Can't return everything until i can find the shelf brackets because it is too much weight to have everything sat on the floor, they need to be on the walls to distribute the weight better. Fuck knows where the hell the brackets and box of bits has gone. <sigh> A person decided to just try to replace the brackets but the new ones don't fit the old system. because of course they don't. I am a bit done with building work.

The new washing-machine has been on most of today. Got more laundry piled up for tomorrow.

I polished the leather seats of the dining-chairs that had been stored in the garage for several years and they look pretty good now.

Unearthed two shoeboxes of various shoe polishes and brushes in the utility room. Will be throwing out any useless bits and pieces tomorrow.

Some more garden tidy. I haven’t got as far as plans for next year eg bulbs. This year’s been tough simply trying to keep it under control. I’d like to do lots of pots and planters, and maybe some window boxes next year.

Captain 🥳woohoo for finding your Kindle!
I'm always amazed at how many parents aren't as excited as I am for marching band, or just watching the band perform for anything! We go to the football games to support the band, every time they play. They really are a great bunch of kids too (and that's saying something as I don't usually tolerate other people kids very well, but mainly they're brats or misbehaving).

Dragons good for you for not catering the others! I don't blame you for being done with the building work, it'll be worth it in the end though.

Scourgify well done for polishing the chairs that were in storage. I really should do some more pulling up of the damn trees that are trying to come up everywhere.

I didn't get much done today:
👻 LOLs x3
👻 caramels made
👻 nails painted
👻 most of the caramels wrapped (I ran out of the wrappers 😪)
👻 ordered more wrappers
👻 rotated DW
👻 swept kitchen floor (brown sugar mess 🙄)

Monday is home bleugh day. Quick vacuum, empty bins, change sheets etc..
This week we are moving to zone 3: the bathroom & one extra room.

Monday's mission it to do a 27 fling boogie in the bathroom. Set your timer for 15 minutes and start flinging!
This week the other room is your guest bedroom. Do the 27 fling boogie in there too. Set your timer for another 15 minutes.

Baby Step 14: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-14/
Continue with your baby steps, but today read the essay about using a calendar

Morning all!
@SleepingIceDragons I am sending some "finding fairy dust" your way - hope everything you need turns up. There is apparently a patron saint of lost items .... maybe st anthony? Can't help to ask the saints for a bit of help?! I am really impressed by your continued plugging away with all the chaos going on around you. I'd want to hide under my duvet and cry.

@HauntingHazel your caramels sound yummy!

@Scourgify - the garden is always last on my list of to dos..... I saw a chap on insta who made a "bulb lasagna" - he planted a pot with layers of bulbs that flowered across the spring season. Looked pretty awesome.

Today is my first day back at work after being off for just over 2 weeks with my back. It's feeling much better but I'm still really stiff in the mornings. Looking forwards to being back though 🎉.

have a great day all
my to dos for today:

1 LOL
meal plan for week.

Captain please take it easy today with your back!
Apparently other people enjoy my caramels as well, as people actually pay me for them!

Yesterday I didn't get much done, so today I need to make up for it since I'm home (the office is closed as it's a federal holiday today).

To dos:
☠️ meal plan
💀 grocery shopping
☠️ box up caramel orders
💀 pull weeds/trees
☠️ bleach bathrooms
💀 rearrange some Halloween lights in the living room (I'm not liking the way I did them this year)

I know there's more I want to do, I just have to find my motivation. It was very much gone yesterday!

Well I didn't do everything I wanted, but did do some.

Ta das:
🕷 rearranged Halloween lights so it's not as chaotic
🕸 boxed up orders (what I can anyway, I ran out of the wrappers for my caramels! They should be arriving on Wednesday)
🕷 LOLs x3
🕸 ran a clean cycle through the washer, clothes haven't been coming out as fresh as they should be
🕷 cleaned out the filter on the washer
🕸 wiped around the rim & tub of the washer with vinegar, as well as the dispenser
🕷 meal planning
🕸 grocery shopping

I still have the home bleugh to do, but I'll do that tomorrow, as I usually would do.

Tuesday is plan & play day.

Tuesday's mission in the bathroom is to shine our baths and sinks. Use whatever you have on hand, only spend 15 minutes on this.
In the spare bedroom, spend 10-15 minutes getting the bed guest ready. Have the sheets been washed recently? Do you have towels set aside for guests that are clean and fresh also?
This is actually a perfect mission for me, DD will be coming to start with us soon and will need clean sheets!

Baby Step 15: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-15/
Add making your bed to your morning routine. Some people like to air their beds out, others like to make it right away, whatever you do, make it neat. To air out your bed, fold your sheets over, it just looks more inviting. Or cover everything up, add decorative pillows (if you'd like). I just saw the quote at the bottom of the page, it said "every room has a shiny sink, in your bedroom, it is the bed!" I had never thought of it that way before!

I am sat here chuckling because the plan with the japanese sleeping mat is that in the morning the bed will be picked up and put away. I will admit that i am looking forwards to it. I am not, however, loving the recommendations for sleeping to deal with my ouches and icks that will require bulky stuff to provide correct support whilst i sleep so going to have to figure out if there is a less bulky option.

I have a whole heap of stuff to do today before my evening meeting. Rather looking forwards to the drive over the hills. Although if this morning warnings are anything to go by i need to plan for it to take at least twice if not 3 times as long to get home due to fog. Apparently there was a proper pea souper overnight. I have driven in those conditions before so not overly worried. Slow and patient is the name of the game, and ignoring the fact that the road has 50mph speed limit, it has been bad enough to have to be driving at 25mph due to fog in the past. Because everyone knows this is the best and favourite time for sheep to escape and throw a road party... I do love the quirks of the hills, never is the same twice and sheep know how to throw a good road party

Enough procrastinating, i should attempt to move and at least get coffee.

Doing well this week, lots of little satisfying jobs in between cups of tea and watching Buffy 😁

Yesterday:
Stripped and aired 2x beds
Washed, dried and replaced bedsheets
Brushed main bedroom carpet
Cleaned WC toilet and sink
Organised bedsheet shelves
2x LOL
Moved internal garage light
Placed groceries order for the week

Today:
Cleaned garden hand tools
Cleaned hob
Vacuumed utility and WC
10mins utility tidying
Vacuumed 1x stairs
2x LOL
Email admin

Hoping to do some meal prep this afternoon. Have been trying out slow cooker meal recipes, doing the prep in freezer bags ahead of time so we're prepared for early baby days. A couple more bags to make up and then it's on to the eating! Have never done this sort of thing before so it's quite exciting.

Dragons a new bed is exciting! I hope it helps you and you find less bulky items that help. Is it a body pillow type thing your needing? Is there something that maybe we could help you find?
Drive safe tonight, hopefully the sheep will behave!

Pumpkins meal prep is a good idea and comes in handy. One thing I found helpful is when you have the food in a freezer safe bag, lay it flat to freeze. It takes less time to thaw out and less room in the freezer to store. Also if you make any casseroles, store them in sealable oven safe dishes (or the disposable ones), so you don't have to transfer any of it to a dish to cook it.
Anything you can do now will help, especially in the early days!

I'm up, I've had my 1st cup of coffee, waiting for DS to finish getting ready so I can take him to school this morning.
Then I can have my 2nd cup (after dropping him off). It's one of those mornings!

To dos:
🦇 take DS to school
🦇 drink my 2nd cup of coffee
🦇 call hairdresser - reschedule appt for DS
🦇 take dogs to groomer
🦇 go to the bank (final cheque from house fire arrived, yay! We are all done now!)
🦇 bathe the dogs
🦇 wash sheets & towels & other LOLs
🦇 bleach bathrooms
🦇 vacuum
🦇 mop
🦇 complete a spin bike workout
🦇 relax!

I'm not sure if everything will get done. I've done a lot of procrastinating over this long weekend!

Basically it is a series of pillows to stop me seperating my ribs when i sleep, over stretching my shoulders. I did giggle at the video i saw that suggested a squish mellow was the perfect solution to top shoulder dislocation. A pregnancy long ushape pillow thing plus a good neck supporting pillow is suggested for the rest of it. it is not ridiculous but i am super sensitive about my sleeping postion. Need a heavy blanket to sleep,don't like things touching me in certain places. have slept with a pillow between my knees for decades since the first knee surgery recommended it. Basically the solution needs to create a divit for the arm, provide a hard sleeping surface whilst not causing elongation inthe ribs because there is no divit for the hips... (yes yes i know i am asking for the impossible) gonna take some thinking and research i think but that is ok, i have time.
Not today time I need to leaving in 15 mins and still need a bath and my clothes to finish drying but there is time for the bed <scuttles off rapidly mid thought>

Dragons that sounds almost impossible, but I'm sure something has to be out there that would meet your criteria, at least I'm hoping there is!

I ended up with a productive day!

Ta das:
🎃 LOLs x5, including sheets off my bed & sheets off spare bed
👻 took dogs to groomer, but did not bathe them in the end
🎃 called plumber to get quote for installing gas stove after incident with electric oven (it was buzzing when I got home, no screen, wouldn't turn on. Bizarre)
👻 deposited cheque into bank account (last of the funds from the fire)
🎃 plumber arrived to take a look at what we wanted, and gave us the quote. Scheduled that installation with him 🥳
👻 bleached bathrooms
🎃 shined bathroom sinks
👻 pulled weeds/trees in back garden
🎃 rotated DW
👻 handwashed dishes
🎃 swept patio
👻 relaxed with some tea at the end of the day
🎃 lunch & clothes ready for the morning

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day.

Wednesday's mission is to wash your bathroom rugs, shower curtain & accessories.
In the guest bedroom, grab a duster (or vacuum with the brush attachment) and dust along the tops of the walls.

Baby Step 16: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-16/
Read testimonials on the website to see how flylady works for other people

Thursday is errand day.

Thursday's mission is to spend 10 minutes throwing away expired lotions and creams etc in the bathroom.
In the spare bedroom, so another 27 fling boogie. If you don't have anymore to fling, sweep or vacuum that room.

Baby Step 17: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-17/
Set a bedtime for yourself so you get plenty of rest (I still really need to work on this!)

Morning all!
thanks for keeping us on the straight and narrow @HauntingHazel ..... have been looking at caramel recipies online 🫣. Plus it was caramel week on the Great British bake off which is probably the only TV program I ever watch religiously! Mustn't get sidetracked with them though - I need to sort out the house first and not add to another project that never gets done but that has all the accessories for!

@PumpkinsAtMidnight I've always wanted to be organised enough to make up those slow cooker freezer bags. We are a vegetarian family (mainly - though the kids do eat fish sometimes when we go out) so I get stuck as to what to make. And often wonder if all the meals would taste a bit same-y? we lived off Thai curry made with frozen veg and tofu a lot when I was a new mama!

@SleepingIceDragons your sleep requirements sound tricky! I hope you manage to figure something out that helps you sleep well. 💕

this week have so far managed to keep on top of the laundry which is amazing.
my lovely husband returned from Costco a couple of nights ago with an upright vacuum! It's fantastic, so that should help with the general level of yuck and dust in the house.... I hate dragging out the Henry hoover. It's so clunky and so it rarely makes it upstairs..... this one is a breeze.

have a lovely day all! X

@Captainladder we're a vegan family, so I understand the problem of getting stuck sometimes! I've been making these: https://supperinthesuburbs.com/2015/09/21/meal-planning-monday-a-week-of-vegetarian-slow-cooker-meals-for-your-freezer so far we've only tasted one but it was great!

Oh wow! Thanks so much @PumpkinsAtMidnight! I'll definitely be trying some of those 💕

Today's wins:
2x LOL washed, dried, folded and away
2x freezer meal bags made
Dinner prepped for this evening
Sterilisation station set up in utility
Tidied under kitchen sink
Washing up put away
eBay admin
Work admin

No problem @Captainladder . Those recipes particularly appealed as they are mostly "open a can and add it to the bag" with the occasional chopped onion/pepper or crushed garlic. It's very low involvement, which is precisely my speed right now!

Ooh thanks for the freezer food link - I’m always looking to cook veg. But by the time it’s dinner time I’m too knackered to try. These look like family might actually try eating them!
Lurking and find your thread v inspiring thank you 🤩

Captain if you ever do try making caramels, definitely have a candy thermometer and find out what temp to cook it to for your elevation. It does vary drastically!
Exciting news about the vacuum though!

Pumpkins it's looking like you're more ready for baby now! Not long left now.

lamaf I'm glad you delurked

Speaking of slow cooker meals, this morning I threw stuff in ours for dinner tonight, so convenient 😋

Friday is clean out your car & purse day.

Friday's mission is to clear off your bathroom countertop and shine it & the sink.
There's no mission for the spare bedroom, but set your timer for 15 minutes, get yourself a drink & put your feet up! You've worked hard this week, you've earned a break

Baby Step 18: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-18/
Read the 11 commandments flylady created. Check them out today! https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/flying-lessons/flyladys-11-commandments/