Grab your broomstick and fly with us into the October Flylady thread! 🎃🦇👻

[HauntingHazel]

Cobwebs, witches and ghouls await us as we head into October. The weather is changing (here anyway) so what better time to start, or restart, new routines!

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!

Zones:

1. Entryway, porch and dining room
2. Kitchen
3. Bathroom and one other room
4. Master bedroom
5. Living room

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 (although I only have it for when the zones change). You can also modify the tick lists to suit your home & lifestyle.

Links are below 👇 if I happen to not add links in time, they do update at midnight for you. Well, they should but there is some technical difficulties on their end while they update the website. You can also check out the Facebook page, she updates that daily multiple times

Zones: https://www.flylady.net/d/zones/

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

Yes, master bedroom. I need to sort out kids clothes stored in there. Under our bed is DH storage space so can't declutter his things...will aid to do house blugh and clean out my car. Maybe go through car wash too as the outside is grubby.

Hello all! Hopping in here - I did join quite a few months ago then everything went a bit wrong as my dad became very unwell. He passed away 2 weeks ago so I’m taking the time to slow down and sort my home out as the clutter and chaos is driving me bonkers. Tidy home, tidy mind and all that.

Anyway, Monday is a great day to start so will crack on with the underbed drawers today and change our bedsheets (changed the children’s midweek last week). I’m only in a little 2 bed flat with DH and 2 DC (5 and 1) but it’s incredible how hard it’s been to keep up with everything.

Wish me luck 🍀

Hi @Tiddlersfish , so sorry for your loss 💐

Tadas one LOL.
Collected every piece of paper from downstairs, binned, recycled or stacked to be filed. Gathered all the odds and sods and put them where they need to be, like old batteries, hair bands, loyalty cards etc.

Every time I got ready to walk the dogs it rained again, one of them hates the rain and will bolt back to the car when she's had enough.
Sun is out again so I'll risk it, TTFN.

Alwayslearning25 sounds like you had a great plan for the day. Did you manage to get it all done or started?

@Tiddlersfish welcome back 👋I'm so sorry for your loss 💐
Cleaning and decluttering can be therapeutic, hopefully it will be for you during this tough time. Feel free to list your successes (ta das) and struggles, or just to vent about anything and everything.
Having 2 little ones around are like having 2 whirlwinds traveling in opposite directions! It can take a lot just to keep on top of the basics, no matter how big your home is!

Cherry well done on your ta das! Some of the tedious chores can be so rewarding. Did you manage to take your dogs out for a walk in the end?

The only thing I managed after work today was to harvest our veggies from our garden before the hard freeze we're getting tonight.
I will get my clothes out ready for the morning before bed tonight.

Tuesday is plan & play day.

Tuesday's mission is to sort out your clothes pile. You know, the one on your chair, dresser, or worse still - the floor! Get ready to fold, wash, hang up or donate. Set your timer for 15 minutes and do as much as you can.

Baby Step 21: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-21/
Read her FAQs and if you think of another one you can email her. Alternatively, you can ask us on this thread and we may just have an answer for you!

One thing that was mentioned on Facebook today is the "Holiday Control Journal" to get ready for Christmas (yes, I mentioned Christmas!). Not everything will pertain to everyone, but there may be something that will help you be more organised this year.
This is the free downloadable control journal, if anybody wants to download it or print it:
https://www.flylady.net/i/pdf/hoj_coj.pdf

I just realised, I took care of my clothes pile on Sunday! I still had shorts in the pile! So out for wash they went. I also have a small section of clothes on hangers that I can wear again, usually jeans and hoodies. I only have about 3 items hanging up now, in that section.

It feels really weird being able to walk around my bed without having to move something or stubbing my toe 😄
My desk and extra shelves are arriving today and that means can finish my study.
Two lols to put away.
I've got a huge stack of CDs that I'm umming and aahing about, I only listen to them in the car these days, in the house I use YouTube, but might regret getting rid of them.
Next project is decluttering the kitchen. Whoever bodged the house before we bought it has done some weird stuff in there.
To make the cabinets fit the walls with no gaps, there's columns with vertical grooves in places. They are so hard to clean. I like the actual cupboards and the layout (but not the hideous fireplace surround that's got moulded bunches of grapes that's on the wall above the fireplace).
I'm trying to persuade DP to refit everything and create space for a little kitchen table that I really miss having.

I'm not far off starting actual cleaning!

@HauntingHazel dogs got a short walk, my hip's playing up and couldn't walk far.
Then after I finished the horses in the evening they had another quickie.
I've now only got one pair of shorts that fits over my expanding derriere lol.
When I lost loads of weight a few years ago I treated myself to loads of nice new clothes and took all my "fat" clothes to the charity shop. I've now got four boxes of clothes that are too small for me under the bed just in case I manage to lose the weight again.

@CherryogDog my DH loves his cd collection. Recently bought a new cd player (with Bluetooth) so he can play them properly, as the old one is massive and been broken for years.

@Alwayslearning25 maybe I'll treat myself to a fancy CD player and keep them!

Cherry well done for having a clear space around your bed! 🤞that you can persuade your DH to sort the kitchen out so you can have your table in there.

Ta das:
💀 handwashed dishes
💀 caramels made, just need to wrap them individually
💀 rotated DW
💀 LOLs x6
💀 grocery shopping
💀 vacuumed
💀 bleached both bathrooms
💀 prepped veggies we harvested last night

I even got a nap!

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day.

Wednesday's mission is to clear off the bedside tables. Throw away used tissues, put away anything that doesn't belong. Give it a quick wipe and put something pretty on there.

Baby Step 22: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-22/
Learn how to build your cork journal.

Hi folks, I've been awol for a bit! Welcome back Tiddlerfish- sorry for your loss.

I'm in an endless tidy and churn phase, frustratingly. The house is not awful but it doesn't feel restful. I think it's because we are spending a lot more time inside with the weather turning.

I have however also ticked off most of my anti procrastination tasks - some online orders, some mending, some clearing out.

I've kept my CDs, quite a few of them, particularly the older ones, aren't available on Spotify etc (surprisingly)

Today's tadas.

2x lol
10 minutes on windows(drying condensation)
Made a soup.

To work on:
My evening and morning routines. I have written down what works for me but I've not been following it well. I should be a friend to my future self. My evening self is never friendly towards tomorrow.
I also need to make dds bed as I stripped it.

Thursday is errand day.

Thursday's mission is to clear your dresser. Get rid of rubbish, put away what doesn't belong. Neaten it all up, place perfume on a pretty tray or plate or mirror. Move any cosmetics to a drawer, or box, or even a decorative tray.

Baby Step 23: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-23/
Add "afternoon/ after work or school" routine to your control journal. Under that, write "get dinner ready"

I didn't get as much done as I wanted in the dining room, it's very "bitty", if that makes sense.
I've been hanging on to the charity boxes waiting for my son to root through the linen I've put aside for him but I'm going to book a doorstep collection for everything else, I can't see the wood for the trees with boxes piling up.
I had a crazy brain fail yesterday, I ordered some new clipper blades which arrived on Monday, and I couldn't find them.
I went through all the boxes, the recycling bin, the indoor and outdoor rubbish bins thinking I'd thrown them away by mistake.
The light bulb went on this morning when I remembered it was my new teaspoons that arrived on Monday 😄

😂🤣😂 Cherry I think we've all done something like that!

Checking in for the weeknd!

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with the thread as I should. This month has been busier than I expected, between marching band and making caramel for orders! I did get all my orders done, I also made a batch for the marching band kids for the last competition (tomorrow for me: Saturday). I finished wrapping them this evening.

Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't get the last mission for the master bedroom posted last night, same with the baby step. You can always find this information on the Flylady Facebook page, since the website and app aren't getting updated. She does post a lot every day though, you have been warned!

Saturday is family fun day. No missions.

Baby Step 25: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-25/
Read her personal testimony on starting out herself: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/why-fly/personal-testimonial/
It is long, but worth a read.

Hi THIS 👋 do you have any plans for this weekend? Do you have the DC?

Morning!

We have dc sports clubs and parties today. In between that id like to:
Hang out LOL
Sort through dd clothes (she's gone up a size)
Take everything off the toy shelf, sort, declutter, rearrange

That should keep me busy!

Morning hazel yes I have the DC. Tbh I have them the majority of the time. There is no set contact time. Generally when he cba. Used to be a few hours at weekend but more recently has been after school during the week (guessing so he then has weekends to himself) I dont mind having them but I would appreciate more notice as to when he wants them. I did say no to a last minute request last week because I was pissed off at being expected to drop everything.

I dont think its unfair to ask for notice at all, I think hes just trying to not "help" me. Minimal notice obviously prevents me making plans to do child free things.

Anyway. He's a twat.

I thought it was Sunday until I read your post @HauntingHazel
I'm very sleep deprived because I'm stressing about stuff.
@THISbitchingwitch sorry you're having to deal with a twat. I'm dealing with a twat (not my DP), and find saying "There We Are Then" when I'm talking to him gives me some childish satisfaction.
Today I'm starting on my kitchen clean up and organisation.
The worktops are hidden under stuff.
Two people in a decent sized kitchen with plenty of cupboard space and there's still loads of mess.
DP is full of cold at the moment and has had to postpone his op. He's struggling to walk so I'm having to do all the dog walking. I've asked him to take on more of the other dog chores, like cleaning their room and washing their bedding but he's not bothering.
I once took their dirty quilt and just left it on the kitchen floor. It was there for four days before I gave in and washed it.
He said he hadn't touched it because he didn't know what I was doing with it.
Have a nice weekend everyone 😊

I've had to stop, I'm so tired. I've cleaned most of the cooker, and while the cleaning stuff was soaking in I went through all my cleaning supplies.
Considering I don't do much cleaning it was a huge amount.
Tidied the work top.
Had a little melt down over not having anywhere for my carpet cleaner and cylinder vacuum to live, so tomorrow I'll be swapping cupboards about.
Trying to hold onto the mindset of "I'm pleased I've done this much" instead "I'm disappointed I didn't finish everything".
Hope everyone has had a nice day.

I feel like absolute crap

Fml. Where did this come from. I have actual man flu.

Out household is all pretty ill. In ok, but lacking e energy and motivation. DD7 illness is taking the form of rudeness then crying when I call her up on it. Quite unlike her. DS2 has a horrible sounding cough. It started off very snotty last weekend. He had the flu vaccine booked on Wednesday but he was in the thick of the cold so I cancelled it, because, even if it's safe, I wasn't sure it wouldn't just get trapped in his snot and drip out. But, when I went to book another one the GP didn't have any appointments. I was quite shocked,they didn't say try another time, just they get it at schools and nurseries...I don't know any nurseries who do it, until recently he was with a childminder anyway...and I have had many texts and letters telling me to get him vaccinated through the gp...his appointment this week was the first available 3 weeks ago.

Housework wise DH did another blitz Thursday evening, he had a couple of hours to himself.Then complained he'd wanted to lie down in that time and is now properly ill. He doesn't want to hear about flylady, his thinks 3-15 minutes of housework is lazy. I haven't really known where to clean, it's all ok at the moment.

Anyway, I've not been on much, I'm trying to take a bit of an internet detox for my mental health, I will be back on the 1st November with a new thread!

Oh and DS has started complaining of a sore bum at bedtime again...he had w doses of worming two weeks apart and I've not seen any more worms, but it might not be over yet.