☀️⛱️Jump into July, keep your cool with flylady technics to a more organised and clean house. Flybaby, fledglings, and fully fledged flyers welcome.🍦🌊🧹🕊️🥏

[Alwayslearning25]

In June my name was 2in2022, I've changed my name.

Join us in building routines to make housework more manageable. Start out with the baby steps, add in the missions in each zone, it will eventually become second nature. Jump right in, you're never left behind!

This is a long running thread, but we are a friendly bunch and all are welcome to join in 😊

July's habit is swish and swipe. That's keeping your bathroom clean. Flylady explains in detail under FAQ.

https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/fly-faq/#swish

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! Also, don't even look at missions until you reach that babystep. Or you'll tumble out the nest without wings. 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: 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. I use it for the morning and evening routines, you can modify the tick lists to suit your home & lifestyle.

I'm a flybaby as I'm still taking my time over the baby steps been slowly building routines since march. So I've posted a link to babysteps, I've been working through. This link will take you to the website with everything on.

Babysteps
https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/

Todays babystep is hotspots. Read about them here if you've not heard of them.
https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/fly-faq/

It's probably by favourite babystep as I'm busy but I can always find 2 minutes in life. I've personally adjusted it to 5, Because I didn't finish much in 2. My paperwork hotspot if more of a bonfire at the moment though.

Sunday is rest and renew. I'm working a 7 hour shift at the hospital which ironically is often more restful then being at home with my kids.

So no new missions either.

@HazelNotHungryLC glad you're BBQ went well.

@Searchingfordaffodils how did your to do list go yesterday.

I was pretty exhausted by Friday evening. Yesterday morning I woke at stupid o clock, toddler was crying in his sleep. We think he's started to get nightmares, also he's still teething but much happier yesterday. So baked banana bread. Ds came downstairs during this time so watched TV. DH woke up and was very confused because I never bake and we did our Saturday morning routine. The baking cupboard was a mess so I also chucked out lots of writing icing and reorganized it.

Then I took DD to swimming then a party in town, did a bit of shopping, supervised second half. She had fun, there a wild bunch of 7 year olds! I went home had a sandwich and immediately fell asleep on the sofa and had a long nap, DH kept kids quiet. I felt so groggy waking up I didn't do anything all evening except dinner DH had prepped allredy, loaded dishwasher and shined the kitchen sink.

Finished one outstanding paperwork task then emailed and sent photos to the relevant office. Filed everything away afterwards in labelled ring binders so it's easier when I have to repeat the process in a year's time. It's been a mix of emails, letters, phone calls, and the occasional text. Bit of a nightmare really to keep track. I'll probably print out all the emails as I feel safer that way.

Getting out to the garden and garage is keeping me sane and active. The mess in the garage is coming under control slowly but surely.

Alwayslearning25 is good to see that your DH is good at stepping up and giving you the break and rest you need!
We definitely don't hear about the good guys on mn very often, although I think there's quite a few of them out there, we just prefer to moan, in general!

Sunshine it sounds like your filling system is working out pretty good. It would be hard to keep track with multiple forms of communication, but I think you have a good plan.

YesTaDas:
☀️ handwashed dishes x2
☀️ made chocolate mousse cheesecake (it was delicious!)
☀️ rotated DW x2
☀️ put away everything left out from the BBQ
☀️ went shopping in next big town
☀️ prepped dinner as soon as we were back
☀️ had DS vacuum & mop when DH & I were out
☀️ got in the pool and then the hot tub when everyone was here, it was a lovely evening!

The chocolate mousse cheesecake..

Zone 2 is the kitchen and pantries.
From flylady UK Facebook page:

'Zone work note for newbies.

These zones come round really fast and it’s amazing what a difference just 15 minutes a day can make ( or even 15 minutes a week ) and it’s a good way to declutter and decorate as well.

If 15 minutes a day is too much as it often is for me, just start with 5 minutes or even 2 minutes or 1 minute . You get the idea. Use a timer it’s amazing how much you will get done if you focus this way.
Remember just do what you can.

Remember progress not perfection. I’m finding each time I come to a zone it seems to get that bit easier. It’s also a great way to declutter by focussing your decluttering by zone .
Join in the more the merrier 😊 baby steps will get us there.'

@HazelNotHungryLC that cheesecake looks delicious!
I'm just saying hi from the naughty corner/sick bay, day 5 of flu and migraine.
Prior to falling ill I was doing micro tasks, putting stuff in the recycling, putting laundry away. I had bags and bags of clean laundry, including a load of jumpers that I hadn't worn for ages, plus my winter thick socks 😳.
Thanks for the thread @Alwayslearning25

@CherryogDog hope you feel better soon. 5 days of illness really starts to take it's toll. Hopefully your begining to recover now. Maybe just keep your sink shiny for a few more days until you're feeling better? I had a long virus as a teenager and I found even doing a tiny bit of activity was exhausting.

@HazelNotHungryLC you always get so much done, that cheesecake looks amazing.

I'm at work today, had a shift yesterday, so it doesn't feel like a Monday! I just checked my calender and have absolutely nothing planned for next weekend, even Saturday swimming lesson is not on. I'n so excited because we never have an empty weekend. I'm going to resist the urge to fill it because we all need it in our family, it's been a busy few months.

Baby step 7 is add to your evening routine, get your clothes ready for tomorrow. This is not a successful step for me, so will be an addition to my routine. Maybe I should get my kids clothes out too..

Afternoon!

Zone 2 is my favourite, I find getting things done easier in the kitchen than anywhere else. Ds helped me clean out the fridge yesterday.

I'm on top of the daily tasks, what I really need is to clean in/under/behind the oven. Just can't quite face it.

Good morning Tuesday. DH and I feel particularly exhausted at the moment. Just 2 weeks until the end of school (he works at a school and I've taken annual leave for the beggining of the holidays).

I'm due at work today but not feeling 100% well...

Your zone two mission today is to clean out your cutlery drawer, or silverware holder in the states. Mine is quite a tip, like the readers with old batteries and other junk.
Flykids is a tricky one, tell them this will be hard but a good thing. Give your kids a mission to find 11 broken toys or ones with missing bits to throw out. I couldn't do this as I know the missing parts are somewhere and not not many toys break here. We look after them and don't buy cheap. But I do have a bag of bits for the charity shop, I'll challenge my kids to find some toys they don't play with... maybe.

Baby step 8 is well done you've been flying for a week with us! Now it's time to make a control journal. Flylady suggests a ring binder but there's many ways to do this, which we discussed a few days ago. I think it's important to not just have everything in your head. If you stop flying for a bit, you can just pick up your journal and jump back in. I can't remember if I said before, I also have a list of babysteps, useful if where we left it was too overwhelming and you need to take some steps back.

Cherry I hope you're on the mend soon! Is everybody else in the house stepping up and keeping things tidy & clean (or at least not a pigsty, as my mum would call it if the house was messy, even though it never seemed to be messy..)? Thank you! The cheesecake is so delicious! Even my DH (who isn't a fan of chocolate generally) is really loving it! He's also eating all of the celebrations we bought when we were in duty free 🙄

Alwayslearning25 I love having no plans at times! Especially when we've been busy. This weekend was one of those times, until DH mentioned we should go camping for one night when he gets off work on Saturday 🙄 he's itching to go, but we won't be able to go for another 3 weeks otherwise. Because we have plans. We haven't gone camping anywhere yet this summer. It seems to be almost gone already!

Dilly good job to your DS for helping you clean out the fridge!

I really should do today's mission. That drawer keeps sticking and I don't know what is making it go off the tracks. I just really don't want to! 🤦‍♀️

MIL is coming over this morning, and I'm still not dressed!
Plan for today is:
🫣 get dressed & ready for the day (it's almost 9am!)
🫣 wash bedding
🫣 wash towels
🫣 more laundry
🫣 make a salad (chicken, crab meat, cucumbers etc. Super refreshing and light!)
🫣 vacuum
🫣 mop
🫣 bleach bathrooms (they really need doing properly, after having people over)
🫣 paint my nails (fingers and toes)
🫣 get in the pool! It's going to be really hot here today

@HazelNotHungryLC it's just me and DP, and he doesn't "see" dirt. He does the dishwasher, takes out the recycling, most of the cooking and gives the kitchen worktop a quick wipe, but not anything else unless I nag him.
I'd started my Swedish Death clean at the beginning of December and then came down with flu, followed by virus after virus for weeks.
Just got on my feet and we had the heatwave which triggered a week of migraines.
As soon as I'm back on my feet I'm going to gut the house because I'm sick of the state of it.

Cherry I see, at least he does help with the basics though. I do hope you're feeling better soon. Just try to ease back into it, try not to jump in with both feet and overdo it! Easier said than done though, I know from experience

Ta das:
🥵 LOLs x5
🥵 made a big chicken & crab salad that'll last for some lunches and to go with dinner the next couple of days
🥵 vacuumed
🥵 mopped
🥵 bleached bathrooms
🥵 cleaned mirrors
🥵 dusted
🥵 mani & pedi done while watching a couple of my shows, sitting in the air conditioning under a blanket, because it gets cold!
🥵 floated in the pool, then moved to the hot tub
🥵 got my lunch and clothes ready for tomorrow
🥵 showered, applied self tanner afterwards

I'm about to do some yoga before bed. It'll be good to get some stretches in for sure. My hips have been feeling so tight lately!
I'm back to work tomorrow, so not likely to be doing any flying. I am taking Coco to the vet though, she's been limping for the past few weeks, and is now refusing to put any weight on her leg. I'm hoping they can figure out what's wrong!

@HazelNotHungryLC what an amazing list of TaDas!
Yesterday I was feeling a bit more energetic, after I sorted my horses out I came home, swept/mopped the utility/dog room, put a clean dog duvet on their bed, took the dogs for a very short walk (it was hot by then), soaked my pot plants, washed the patio aka dog toilet area, tended to my house plants.
And then I crashed.
I hope the vets can sort Coco out, is she a dog or cat?
Sorry if I've missed the info while I've been on the naughty step.

I've had a busy morning.
Tadas
👌one lol.
👌Hoovered living room floor and rotated toys.
👌 School run
👌Cleared windowsills for survey.
👌 Toddler gym
👌Cleaned kitchen windowsill and draining board
👌 Currently in the car wash (automatic one, not done it before and it's a little bit terrifying)

Today is antiprocastination day and the mission in zone 2 is clear your fridge of out of date food and anything, if you're honest you won't eat.

Baby step is follow the faq on how to declutter and add 5 minutes room rescue to your routine.

'If you don't love it or use it, loose it'

Cherry Coco is a dog. We have 2 dachshunds, Coco & Dobby. I am actually allergic to cats so will never have one (supposedly dogs too, but I just take my allergy pill daily).
Cats set off my asthma, I can usually tell if someone has a cat (when visiting someone's house), even if I don't see it in their house, because I can feel my chest tighten and can't breathe!
She can still move her leg, but doesn't put weight on it so hopefully it's something the vet can treat.

I hope you're enjoying your rest and haven't overdone it Cherry, you got a lot done!

Alwayslearning25 how did the carwash go in the end? I need to take mine through again. You have had a busy morning!

Ds slept before we arrived and hewwas excited to go through but he seems to have forgotten when he woke up fortunately. He got all sleep sweaty in the car seats I turned the engine off and it is quite hot today, but clouded over now fortunately. Then it the cool house he woke, cried and shivered because he was wet with sweat until i let him put on thick trousers. He dislikes summer clothing, I'll have to change him though before the school run. I've just had a lie down on the sofa. House looks a tip eg plants and ornaments are not yet back on the windowsill but I know it's cleaner.

We love the car wash in our house! Cheaper than the cinema . . .

Had a good day despite being at work for a long one:

• lol hung out, brought in, put away
• dw run and emptied again
• hotspots put out
• meal plan and shopping list done
• organised Dds activity tomorrow
• did step 1 of online yoga class. Its a 12 week programme and I finished it about 4 years ago feeling amazing. That was before dc2 - my core is soooo weak and posture really bad, I need another go through!

Always my dc would wear shorts all year round if I let them - funny how different they are!

Folks with animals - they are so rewarding- but so much work! I had dogs growing up but not sure I ever will as an adult.

My Ds is at the awkward age (I hope) where they resist transition, a vaguely remember is with DD. He didn't want a coat at the beginning of winter and kept wanting to wear summer hats. His sunnmer hat love is still there fortunately as he'd whip them off as a baby! So at least he's protected from sunburn with long sleeves and a hat!

Weird things happening with my username, and I can’t use the same name as upthread.

Anyway, another paperwork job is completed and filed away. DH has one for today. I’m doing more filing today.

Being realistic, the front garden has to be more low maintenance. An hour in the early morning, and occasional half-hours through the day, is making a difference. My biggest problem is being really bad at keeping up with tasks.

Today is Thursday, erand day.. yesterday I took a bag of toys to the charity shop.

Our mission in zone 1?.. kitchen anyway is to clear our the drawer, with the cling film and ton foil. Our problem with this is they keep falling behind the drawers in the inbuilt kitchen cabinets. Then DH will buy more so we have loads. So I'll fish them out again tonight.

Our babystep is learning the power of 15 minutes. Flylady suggests 15 minutes to Rush around your house emptying all the bins then set another timer for relaxing for 15 minutes. Reminds me how homes in England are much smaller than USA, as it does not take me that long to empty our bins. That is one of the few advantages of small houses, less to clean! I do really like this technique and have used it a lot, esspecaly if I'm home alone or ds has gone For a nap. It doesn't happen often and I want to just rest but choosing to do 15 minutes of something ( or 10, or 5 esspecaly in this heat) and then resting is better!

I'm going to take a few babysteps back during this heat, ensuring I do the basics, clean sink, some prep for the morning in the evening and maybe hotspots for 3 minutes.

Dilly what is the yoga programme that you're doing? I'm intrigued!

My DS lives in his shorts! Occasionally he'll wear jeans or joggers in the winter, but even then, he'll wear shorts!

Sunshine fitting in gardening is a real challenge for me too! I can get some weeding done in a couple of hours, but then have no time for housework (or motivation).

Coco is home, I picked her up yesterday after work. It's arthritis 😪 so we're trying a vaccination that seems to be helping so far. It's once a month, and we'll see how it goes. I just want her to be comfortable in her last years that we have her!

We are going camping this weekend, it'll be a short trip, but shouldn't have too much to do to get ready. We'll be starting on that tonight.

Hazel it's called Restore your Core. It's a paid for programme which is a bit of Pilates and a bit of yoga and a bit of just stuff. It was a lifesaver postpartum when I couldn't get on with my "new" body.

Hope coco is doing okay!

I haven't done much useful today, it has been a tricky week at work (not busy just tricky) and I need some downtime.

MIL has done a massive declutter and I was feeling inspired- but I'm generally good at keeping on top of clutter so I can't find anywhere to take positive action.

We don't use cling film or kitchen foil but I've tidied out a food cupboard.

Alwayslearning25 I forgot to mention earlier that I agree, a smaller house is easier to take care of. Our last house was 912 sq ft. This house is 2322 sq ft. Our last house was much easier and quicker to clean!

Dilly I'm going to have to look into that. I'm so out of shape right now other than round being a shape I really need to do something about it. I'm working on my diet, which of course is like 80-90% of it, I have done pilates in the past and enjoyed it, and I love yoga as well. I also need to make time to do spin bike exercises, since I have one!

Anyway, no flying today. Worked all day, just got done with dinner. After getting out my clothes for tomorrow, it'll be time to get ready for bed.
These long days are tiring. Roll on retirement.. only 20+ years to go..😂

Babystep today is make a list of aspirational quotes. A couple of flyladys are 'if don't love it of use it, loose it.' and 'you can do anything for 15 minutes.'

Just checking back in, I have kept chivvying the family to good effect and now have my kitchen whiteboard up complete with checklists. The house is looking a lot better but there’s a long way to go with the clutter.

@CherryogDog your DH sounds like mine, he has his set jobs but never does any of the occasional or detailed stuff. Clears up after dinner (I do most of the shopping and cooking), puts the bins out, runs the vac round the middle of the downstairs floors once a week, very occasional load of laundry, just doesn’t see the rest. Hoping the checklists will help.

The heat is a bit much here. We have an Everhot range cooker which is always on like an Aga and it has had to go off this week, just too much heat. There was another Fledgling with one, @redsquirrel5 if you are lurking do come back and say hello.