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/

Nurseries dont give the flu vaccine

Two years ago my dc couldn't even have it in a school based nursery - had to go to the GP

always I hope you all feel better soon and fingers crossed no more worms

Our (large practice) GP only offered the flu vaccine on a single Friday morning which was very awkward anyway but by the time I phoned the appointments had all gone. Some pharmacies round here are offering the 2-3 vaccine but you have to book in advance and they're all quite far away in places I have no other reason to visit!

Two LOLs done and dried on this cold bright day. Two sets of unexpected visitors, one while the kitchen was a state after breakfast and one in the middle of cooking tea - aarg - under the mess was clean but they couldn't see that!

Cherryog you are doing loads!

Yuck @ unexpected visitors!

The little DC are tucked up in bed with a movie. The big two are out and DD is having some kind of solo rave in her bedroom

I am planning on bed soon

💐 for everyone who is poorly, hope you feel better soon.

@DillyDeclutter I'm not sure how much he really needs the flu vaccine. It's not as important as other childhood vaccines in my opinion. I'll get it for him if it's easy to do. His cough at the moment is probably is amoung the worst he's had. So if that's one of the 3 strains of flu in the vaccine it's too late anyway....my pharmacy is convenient, in the 'village' (it's actually now a suburb type area but people like to call it a village) unlike the GP, which is attached to the hospital I work and DS now goes to nursery at....

I also would like to get mine but there were no appointments at the booking system. I heard they might come to our department but I work part time so could miss it. I've been told I can pop into the obstectrics department and the midwives will give it to staff too. My DD is the easiest a she has a date for it at school.

Hope everyone feels better soon.

Just booked his vaccination in the pharmacy very easily... Not sure why GP didn't suggest it

Glad you got it booked in always

Did not sleep great. DC5 (6) is up already, he clearly didn't get the memo about an extra hour in bed today. Ive just been and made a cuppa, taken some tablets and now lay on my bed waiting for them to kick in

I was awake early (todays time 4) ds got up 5:30 oh as normal so actually slept an hour longer. The clock change will be hard for him as he's an early riser. DD is still sleeping and she'll benifit from the clock change. In just glad it's during our holidays

Im really glad i have a few days off work this week to get over feeling so rough! DC6 (4) is now up too. They are watching tv downstairs

I need to order some shopping because I cba going anywhere

Cherry it sounds like you've been very busy! Don't forget to get some rest in as well.
It's frustrating that men don't think the same way as us. I actually had this conversation with someone yesterday, we have to learn to be direct, as men in general don't pick up on hints etc, for anything! I have a hard time with that, but I'm trying.

Alwayslearning25 I'm glad you got DS sorted out with his vaccine. Hopefully the worms are gone 🤞

THIS I hope you're feeling better soon!
I don't blame you for saying no to ex. He does need to be more consistent, it just shows how selfish he really is, to not think about how his actions affect others around him.

It's been a couple of really busy days.
Friday night there was a football game, the marching band performed their whole show at it. DH & I left shortly after they performed so we could do some grocery shopping. I finished wrapping the caramels I made the night before.

Saturday was the marching band's last competition, so was another early morning. They did well, 2nd place, by only .05%!
When we got back into town I took DS to a party, then rushed home to start on dinner. DH was already working on cooking the meat.
ILs came to dinner last night.
I'm exhausted!

DD should be stopping by today, she's going to wash some of her laundry, and I'm going to take her grocery shopping.
We also need to get some laundry done.
Ugh, it's never ending!

I've absolutely had it with DP. He went out drinking Saturday night, came home wrecked, woke me up 4 times getting up for the loo.
I overslept, got up at 8.30. He'd already been up, gone outside to smoke, but hadn't bothered to let the dogs out. So there was mess for me to clear up.
I'm wrecked, got a flare up of diverticulitis, it's been really cold and wet, but I've had the horses to see to, the dogs to walk, while he took himself back to bed to recover.
All I've got done today is finished off cleaning the cooker but I wanted to finish the kitchen.
I can't sleep, I'm dog tired but so stressed.
Sorry for being so negative.

Cherry that was an arsehole move from your DH! It's so inconsiderate to wake someone up multiple times throughout the night, then not even bother to let the dogs out! I'm fuming on your behalf 😤
No need to apologize for being negative, we all need a rant every now and again!

I didn't do much today.
DD came today, I took her shopping. I did get her some new clothes as a lot of her clothes don't fit anymore. New meds, weight gain, shape changing etc.
I then took her grocery shopping.
I did get a couple LOLs done, and DS got a couple loads done also.
I didn't do anything else! It's been really nice having a lazy few hours today, and very much needed, although I may regret it by the end of the week, when we have our Halloween party (on Halloween)!

Monday marks a new zone. We are moving to zone 5, the living room.

Monday's mission is to spend 15 minutes in your living room putting things away where they belong. Things that may have been dumped in a hurry or set aside for later. Set your timer and stop at 15 minutes.

Monday is home bleugh day. Vacuum, empty bins, change sheets.

Baby Step 27: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-27/
What's for dinner? Plan ahead. Think about what your going to have for dinner in the morning (for that night) or in the evening (for the next day).

I usually have my meals planned out for the week. I know what I have going on in the evenings and know when I have time to cook vs when I don't. I may not know exactly what we'll have each night, but I plan to cook when I'm available and have leftovers for when I don't have time. I do this before I go grocery shopping though, so I have everything in that we need.

Morning all - glad it’s the lounge zone this week as mine is a bit chaotic. I need to wash the sofa covers as DS 15 months tipped a cup of cold coffee over the back yesterday while my back was turned for 2 seconds. I also have a chair of doom where the dry washing gets dumped in the cold weather that needs sorting and putting away. I’ll try and get both done today 🤞

My living room really needs some TLC

I need to sort through the toys, some of them havent been touched since we moved - realistically DC are all past the duplo stage etc

I also need one of two pieces of furniture in there, still. Somewhere for all the excess throws to live and some shelving for baskets with smaller toys in. And I still dont have curtains. It's on the whole not very cosy 😒

It gets really dusty in there too so definitely needs sofas pulling out and hoovering

Feeling in a bit better health. Today is gonna be my stay home and get shit done day ....

@HauntingHazel thanks 😊

I'm going to sort my tupperware collection today. And maybe then my casserole dishes. Just a simple ToDo so I can feel I'm still moving forward.

Right so I got distracted and cleaned out the understair cupboard but this need need doing

Ta da
🍂 cat litter changed
🍁 recycling out
🦔 LOL on
🕸 understair cupboard cleared out, some stuff in shed for tip, some stuff rehomed, small dc shoes/coats/bags that live in here tidied

Atleast now cupboard is sorted small dc can actually put away own things instead of dumping them

Any motivation i had has disapeared

Pointy stick anyone?

Oh no THIS! You did get some things done though. Tomorrow is a new day 🙂

Cherry getting things done in small chunks helps. Sometimes a long list can seem daunting. Previous fly babies have used the power of 3 (PO3), including THIS recently. List 3 things you want to accomplish, then go do them! It can even be something really small like changing your clothes or wiping down one countertop.

Tiddlersfish it's amazing how DC can make sure we have plenty to do, just adding to our to do lists! Did you manage to have the productive day you planned?

Thoroughly off the flylady wagon this month. Baby cabbage has been continually unwell and not sleeping so well, so that's really overtaken everything. But I think we've turned a corner so hoping to be a bit more present for November!

Cabbage! So good to see you on here!
It's tough when babies are sick, the poor things just don't understand what's happening to them.

Unfortunately, my DS does understand and has the stomach flu going around! It looks like he'll be home from school tomorrow (Tuesday).

I did get a few things done this evening:
👻 rotated DW
👻 sorted out a couple games for our party
👻 got some prizes figured out, but need to finish them tomorrow

Tuesday is plan & play day.

Tuesday's mission is to go sofa diving, see what you can find! Some may find some money, others a pen or a lost sock. You may be lucky, like me, and do not have removable cushions on my couches, so I don't even have to do this!
I plan to vacuum my couches though, dog hair seems to stick to them 😳

Baby Step 28: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-28/
Take care of yourself. Remind yourself to drink your water, rest, eat healthy foods and keep moving (walking, running, swimming, weights, yoga, any exercise). If you need to add these things to your routines, do so!
I'm in a habit of drinking 2 glasses of water 1st thing in the morning. It helps wake me up and hydrates me. I didn't have to write this down to remember it, but it's not a bad thing to have to write something like that down. Now it's just habit. But that's just one example of taking care of myself. Skincare is also part of this for me, serums, creams, etc all feature in my morning and evening routines.

Checking back in here too, sorry to hear about all the lurgies and various unhelpful family members / colleagues etc. @CabbagesCabbagesBarelyEvenHuman good to hear from you how old is BabyCabbage now? Mine are Jan/Feb babies and certainly for DC1 we got hit hard with lurgies the first autumn when he was at nursery, DC2 not so much. But it has stood them in good stead long term, they rarely got ill once they were at school.

We have had a right old time of it this autumn with Dad now moved to a nursing home but a huge amount of admin still going on, I’m doing all the LPA stuff as Mum never did finances and cannot pick up what Dad did at all, plus DH is executing a will and I have been travelling a lot (partly for funerals, it really has been a fairly shit summer/autumn, I’ve had 4 long distance UK trips since the beginning of Sept). Oh and taxiing teen DCs plus all our own normal life admin and work which is busy ATM and school governor stuff. At least DD is at uni so not as much taxiing for her.

So, the house deteriorated badly, but I am trying to get back on top of it now. @HauntingHazel mentioned the power of three, that is a good one. I bought a block of post-it notes a few months ago which I keep on the kitchen counter and jot down short to do lists, I can also stick them on my diary for if I need to do errands / bits of admin while I’m at work (work is 10 mins walk to town and very flexible, I also do bits of work at home to balance it).

Apart from the house my social life and exercise regime have taken a hit, so I am trying to get going again with both a bit now although there are only so many hours in the day.

Morning everyone, sorry to hear that some of you are still fighting lurgies.
Yesterday my DP went to get my hay, but then we had to move 2 tons of woodchip that was in front of the barn before we could get the hay in. So no flying for me.
I've got a busy day out of the house today, but free the rest of the week.
On the decluttering front, it's a really small amount compared to the hoarder's mountain at the beginning, but I'm finding it the hardest part to deal with.
DP and me are so different, he "can't" see dirt, but he's very tidy. There's a clutterbug test to see what sort of "bug" you are, I need an open system because if I have to pull things out to get what I need, nothing gets put away, or I just forget I've got it and buy another.
DP can box things up, stack the boxes, and a year later he'll know exactly what box his "thing" is in.
So he's getting irritated because I want to swap the cupboards about to make it easier for me. I'm making extra work for him.
He doesn't value the "trade off" ie me cleaning because he doesn't care if its dirty, and also doesn't care that the house being a tip stresses me out.