Fledglings Feeling Festive - come Fly with us

[ExquisiteDecorations]

December is where the winter starts properly, all are welcome as the Fledglings prepare their nests for the frosty times ahead, we are following the Flylady system for running our households - http://www.flylady.net

This is a long running thread, but we are a friendly bunch and all are welcome to join in. We recommend you do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - we have been saying that for years because it used to be the case that there were far too many, no idea if that’s changed, if anyone has tried do report back. If you’d rather not, check in here instead or download the app.

There are Baby Steps for starting out, add one thing at a time to start good habits and routines - link here http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/

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
BRC - box/basket of random clutter/crap

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. You can also modify the tick lists to suit your home & lifestyle.

December’s monthly focus is pampering 😀.

Links are below 👇 if I happen to not add links in time, they do update at midnight for you.
Baby Steps http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/
Monthly habit http://www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/december/
Launch pad http://www.flylady.net/c/lp.php
Flight Plan (all the day’s tasks in one place) http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0
Sneak peek for the week - summary of the current week so you can plan ahead http://www.flylady.net/c/sp.php

Well, I've had a bit of a lie-in as I'm staying at home today. boiler engineer due at 9 so I do need to get on with things, but my cat has settled on my lap and we are all snug and warm.

Today os Thursday and that means Errand Day

Our mission today is to tackle the dust bunnies and cobwebs in the dining room, I do need to do this, our table is against a wall with two spare chairs behind it and the dust bunnies accumulate behind the chair legs where the vacuum doesn't reach.

Here is the Flightplan. Do take a read through the while thing if you have time, it sets out all the daily routine things that help us keep on top of the house and life stuff, such as swish and swipe and checking calendars. I find putting my clothes out the night before really useful.

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0

Tada!

Litter trays de-pooped ✅
Swish and swipe✅
Kitchen bins emptied and cleaned✅
DW emptied ✅
DW re-loaded ✅
Kitchen breakfast bar decluttered✅
Panic tidy of bedrooms because boiler engineer needed to access all the radiators✅
Boiler visit ✅
GP visit ✅
Various admin bits (paid allotment, paid boiler engineer, claimed refund for disrupted train journey, the latter a right palava)✅
Robovac sent round ✅

My tadas:

Shopping done and put away
Christmas Crackers bought
Washing done, dried, folded, away
Three meals made, washed up after

Must write some cards tonight and Start getting them posted!

We had lots of outside weekend plans but all rapidly being cancelled because of the storm . . .

@DillyDeclutter well done. I wrote one card yesterday for a friend I’m seeing today, must do some more today for friends we are seeing over the weekend. Anything to save on postage.

So, Friday. Time to clean out the handbag and car (I need to do both again). Also our mission is to Choose Your Own Mission in Zone 1. Flylady has run out of suggestions. For me that is going to be tackling the piles on the dining table, it is a bit of a dumping ground at the moment.

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0

Tada!

Swish and swipe
Four loads of washing (one was just the doormat) out on the line and now being finished off in the dryer.
Robovacced the hall
Mopped kitchen and bathroom floors
De-cobwebbed downstairs high corners
Wiped cabinet fronts in kitchen
Wiped knobs and doorhandles downstairs
Washing up
DW on
Fed cats twice
Fed hedgehogs
Filled bird feeders

I haven't updated anything for a few days, nothing really to add! DS didn't get the home bleugh done on Friday like he should have, so he did it yesterday instead.
All I have done is washed the handwash dishes, worked on my truffles, put some orders together and cleared some hotspots.

I need to call someone about altering DSs trousers for his concert next week, I was planning on doing it myself (even though I'm terrible at sewing), as I couldn't think of anyone around here that can alter clothing 🤦‍♀️ or I would have called her last week. MIL thought of her, but I only spoke to her yesterday about it.
Of course, being Sunday, I don't think she's open today at all so will have to figure out how to get DS over there to be measured etc.

Anyway, today I've got more truffles I need to finish, meals to figure out for this week and grocery shopping to do (or may utilise grocery pickup today).
Is everyone doing okay with the storm? I've seen multiple threads on mn talking about how bad it is for everyone over there. I'm thinking of you all!

It's been Ok here but we are in the SE so not the worst affected area. We've been out and about all weekend but I have come down with a cold now. Hope everyone else is OK.

Morning ,

How did everyone do in the storm ? We only got the end of it, pulled off the shed roof but that's all the damage we had thank goodness!

I got a head start on home bleurgh yesterday by doing the living room and dining room. Also washed my bedsheets . Feeling rather pleased with myself 😂

Todays plan as well as the usual work school etc :
☑️ bathroom clean
☑️ change kids duvets to Christmas ones
☑️ put some clothes away

Organising :
☑️ wrap dd2 Xmas presents whilst she's at grandmas
☑️ book dd2 a dentist appointment - her filling as fallen out for the 4th time !!
☑️ book ds dentist appointment

Hopefully I'll get a couple ticked off before work 🙂

Morning

We are NE England so although our power was on and off all Saturday there was no damage.

House is a tip after the weekend, sigh, but luckily I'm just on a short week this week (two long days, two short) so hopefully will get sorted. All a bit chaotic at the moment as we have a million church and school things to go to before Christmas.

Rearranged the living room yesterday to fit the tree in, was v pleased I'd hoovered behind and under everything as MIL came in to help!

Morning! Well, this was the weekend of much socialising, I have been out with six different groups of people since Friday and DS has been home for the weekend. So not much Flying done, OTOH not too much mess made either. I piled through a lot of things THurs/Fri including several lots of laundry so those needed putting away last night but I haven’t done my ironing yet.

Flightplan here:

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0

We are moving into Zone 2, the kitchen and our mission is to wipe down the fronts of cabinets and drawers. I did this on Friday, I did a yoga viceo in the kitchen which gets you down at eye level in broad daylight to see all the smudges and splashes, so I got my cloth out afterwards and went round.

Thanks for all the various baby congratulations! First week has been an adventure and a real baptism of fire, as expected! Establishing breastfeeding has been ridiculous but we're getting there. Starting to find our feet a bit now. My expectations are low for doing regular flying, but I am intending to do one thing a day, no matter how small.

So: Yesterday I emptied my bathroom bin and we took a bunch of things back to Boots to get refunds sorted. Today I cleared the coffee table and we went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for me. Two outside trips in a row means tomorrow will be strictly home snug time! Living vicariously through the rest of you tidy lot in the meantime.

Morning all, good to hear from you @ChestnutStew , I found BF hard to establish too, both times, those first few weeks are definitely a bit of a shock to the system. One thing a day sounds a good way to keep the house ticking over.

@DillyDeclutter glad you had no damage, a lot of power cuts round here too , although we were not affected this time.

@Searchingforbaileys well done on the mini Home Bleugh.

I am having a day off TOIL today, so I have dropped DD at the station and am now home again with the robovac pottering around under my feet. It is amazing how much it picks up and quite distracting it watching it sort itself out when eg it picks up the edge of a rug. Or trying to barge its way past obstacles. It is a very determined little thing. Will be taking DD Christmas shopping later. I am probably going to give choir a miss tonight though as I have developed a bit of a cough and it wouldn’t be fair on the others (will mask up to go into shops today).

Tuesday is Planning Day, our mission today is to declutter the cutlery drawer, get rid of all the random items that make their way in there and maybe wipe out the crumbs.

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0

Chestnut a day in, full of snuggles, sounds the best! You are right, one thing a day will help so things don't get overwhelming.

ED I hope your cold goes away quickly! I seem to be trying to develop a cold or flu as well. Today is my day off, and instead of hitting the ground running after dropping DS off at school at 6:30am, I went back to bed for 3 hours!
My voice is going, my nose is starting to run & my head hurts. I wanted to get some caramel made today so I can finish my orders, but with not feeling the best, I'm not wanting to make caramel. If I feel better later on, maybe. I have a feeling I'll be staying home tomorrow from work though..

Searching you seem to be on top of things! I think I'll spend some time wrapping presents today, if I get some energy to move off the couch that is.

@HazelNuttyElf it doesn’t seem to have progressed beyond a cough, weirdly and it was a bit better today than yesterday, having only really started on Sunday, although I felt the first signs on Friday. Hope yours is equally short-lived.

Tada!

✅Robovacced hall and kitchen
✅mopped kitchen and bathroom
✅bird feeders filled
✅some dead plants chucked out from greenhouse
✅1 x LOL mostly line dried (still windy here) some bits finished in dryer
✅most of Christmas decs put up, needed a trip to the loft
✅quick top-up shop plus an errand in town
✅hot-spots tackled in a few places
✅Christmas shopping, mostly done now, put away
✅cards opened, had just been shoving them in a pile as they arrived
✅hedgehogs fed
✅moved optician appt (don’t want to be coughing in her face)
✅reorganised a few things around DH being away next week

Morning all,

OK, Wednesday. Today is Anti-Procrastination Day. What have you been putting off? I’m sure I will think of something, oh yes, Christmas cards. Must do those today, the ones that need posting anyway.

Here is our flightplan for the day, our mission is to clear out the fridge, yes, that does need doing here, it is not very full but it could do with a clean and possibly chuck out a few nearly empty jars etc

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0

ED unfortunately it's developed into a full blown cold for me 🤒 I took a sick day today though so hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.
I have been resting/getting more sleep, drinking chamomile tea & honey, which helps and dosing up on cold meds.
I did get 3 LOLs done yesterday though, earlier in the day. I also got some presents wrapped. Late afternoon/evening I was feeling worse (felt worse throughout the day, so let my boss know I wouldn't be in.

Plan today is rest, drink tea, rest, drink tea, wrap presents, rest, drink tea..

Sorry to hear that @HazelNuttyElf , tea and lots of rest sounds like the best thing.

Morning ,

Despite my efforts over the weekend , absolutely no flying has been done this week apart from the basics . I have wrapped all of dd2's presents , however I have even finished Christmas shopping so the next week or so will be a crazy rush ! I haven't even wrote a single Christmas card 🤪 dd1 has got her Cambridge interview tomorrow and I've been working lots of extra hours - hopefully a productive weekend will help get back on track 🤞

@HazelNuttyElf and @ExquisiteDecorations sorry you're both feeling poorly, I hope you start to feel better soon . My class is getting smaller each day with students being home poorly , time of year for lots of bugs . Rest up and hopefully you'll both be better for the festivities.

@DillyDeclutter yay for the Christmas tree putting up ! I hope your week is going ok, the calendar gets so full at this time of year doesn't it , I've cut right back this year and said no to lots of things because I want to be able to be the best version of me for the kids over Christmas this year , sometimes I'm so exhausted by the time Christmas shows up that I don't do all the things with the kids that I'd like to do whilst they're home .

@Searchingforbaileys yes, when I got to work yesterday I found another three people had called in sick (out of 13 of us). I have not really felt ill with mine, just coughing, but am planning a more relaxed weekend this time to re-build reserves of energy.

No work today (second job on Thursdays, I did all the necessary work over the weekend and last night), but I am planning to visit the school where I am a governor, got a meeting and then might stay for the carol service this afternoon. That will be like walking into another sea of germs….

I did write a lot of my cards yesterday, DD and I went to Spoons after work so we could do the energy saving thing where you turn off all your appliances between 6 and 7, I took my cards and she took her Ipad, then we picked up chips on the way home. Annoyingly I forgot to take my address book, so will have to do the addresses this morning. DD spent the whole rest of the evening doing the GCHQ puzzle, me working, DH at the gym.

Today’s Flight Plan is here

http://www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0

We are still in the kitchen and today we need to Shine Our Sinks. Back to basics. Ours is looking a bit tea-stained again, must dig out the Barkeeper’s Friend.

We've had a toy landslip today and rather than fixing it I am just sitting looking at it. I moved them all to fit the Christmas tree in but looks like I need to move them somewhere else!

Presents are mostly wrapped, a few more coming today and then will be all done.

Sink is OK. . . Fridge hasn't been touched.

Does anyone listen to The Archers? I listen on catch up, it's currently late November and people are walking into various houses thinking they are holiday lets. They must be extreme declutterers. Although it's clean and fairly tidy in my house, nobody could mistake it for anything other than a busy household with small children!

Today is Christmas jumper day at the Teens’ school.

Haven't posted for ages but am still following the thread and finding it extremely useful, thank you 😊
Anti procrastination day gave me a well needed kick to get the Christmas cards done and focusing on the kitchen this week means it's looking sparkly pre-Christmas.
I'm halfway through my three embroidered Christmas cards and plan to wrap presents for DDs and DGD today. DH and I don't wrap each other's gifts because:

1. we're being green and not creating waste and
2. we're basically lazy 🤦‍♀️

I've realised that I can't do the House Bleugh in just 1 hour. Takes me 1 and a half hours upstairs and 1 downstairs. However, that includes getting down cobwebs, washing floors and cleaning paintwork, so I gain time when those sort of things are on the day's mission.
Sending lots of Get Well wishes to Hazel and ED.

DillyDeclutter
Does anyone listen to The Archers?

Yes! Especially in the afternoon when I'm cleaning. IKR! Anybody wandering in to my house thinking it's a holiday let would faint! Although they might be quite pleased with how we'd stocked the fridge for them (no nut roast though).

Thanks for the get well wishes, I am OK now, just clearing my throat occasionally, hope you are improving @HazelNuttyElf .

My cards are done! And posted. It took two sessions of going to Spoons and sitting in a nice warm corner with no distractions (I get too easily distracted at home and like doing paperwork in there or cafes). My work week is all topsy turvy this week because of school governor stuff and Christmas events so I am at work today and had better get on,

Today's mission is to clean the top of your fridge and get any dust bunnies from the ceiling in the kitchen. I did the dust bunnies last week when I was doing one of the other rooms (easier to do the whole downstairs at once).

http://flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=0

The place is looking so much better now with the hoovers being serviced. I’m gradually making my way through boxes of old notes from school and uni. Decs are going up this weekend.