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/

Sympathy @CherryogDog . Mine doesn't see dirt unless it's extreme and the same with surface clutter, it doesn't bother him at all and he needs to have things visible otherwise he forgets and buys new ones. He is very untidy but has gradually been nagged into improving a bit over the years. I'm the one like your DH in that everything has it's place and I can virtually always find it again because I put things back in the same places. When DH does tidy he just opens the nearest cupboard or drawer and throws things in. Even though I have patiently labelled baskets inside all our kitchen cupboards (which I don't need but thought it would help him but it seems he never reads them).

Welcome 👋 @TheRealAjayH!
Let us know if you have any questions.

Cherry it's hard living with a different type of person re clutterbug. It has been mentioned on these threads before. My DH & both DC don't see things if they've been put away. I can't stand things to be left out once I'm done with them (but can put up with certain things for a few days if I might use it again, if that makes sense). I will clear a surface and within a couple of hours DH has something he's set down there 🤬
I have compromised on some things, one is that DH has meal replacement bars he eats. He wants them out. I want them in a cupboard, so they now live in a nice basket on the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Not ideal for me, but less clutter, so doesn't look as busy.

ED oh you've had a hard time of it! If I could come help you, I would! I could do with more hours in the day as well, especially on Tuesdays when I'm home. I really hope things settle down for you soon, especially your parents admin.

Since DS is home sick today I didn't need to wake up as early. I do need to get ready to leave the house shortly though.
I've got to stick some to dos here as I have a lot I need to get done:
💀 get dressed & ready to go
💀 drink my 2nd cup of coffee
💀 take dogs to groomer (nails trimmed, anal glands expressed)
💀 bathe dogs
💀 laundry - sheets, towels, blankets etc.
💀 get a couple games ready for the party
💀 prep some food for the party (what I can get done anyway)
💀 bleach both bathrooms (especially with this stomach flu DS has)
💀 wipe down surfaces he may have touched (which is everywhere!), with disinfectant
💀 fix some of the outside decorations (wind has been crazy here and they've taken a hit)
💀 vacuum
💀 mop
💀 clear out some of our veggie garden, if not all of it
💀 maybe a spin workout, if I have time
💀 redo nails - they're chipping pretty badly already

I'm going to break out down a little bit, since there's so much to do! Here's my 1st PO3:
☕️ make & drink 2nd cup of coffee
☕️ strip bed, get sheets in the washer
☕️ get dressed & ready to go

Okay, so my 1st PO3 is done. I also took the dogs to the groomer and got another loads of sheets in the washer (DSs sheets, washed on hot to kill any germs!).

Next PO3:
🐶 bathe dogs
🐶 vacuum
🐶 clean kennels

Welcome @TheRealAJayH

I think i need PO3, I am definitely healthier today and have made some progress but must do more

Ta da
🕸 dc haircuts
🦔 hall swept and mopped
🍁 bins out
🍂 kitchen swept
🎃 pumpkins done and out
🕸 1 x LOL
🦔 1 x Animal LOL
🍁 top up shop ordered
🍂 utility swept and mopped
🎃 DW on

Power of 3 .....

1️⃣ tidy kitchen worktops
✌️ bring down remaining laundry
🥉hoover stairs

Oh god, you have reminded me I need to go and retrieve my pumpkins from the allotment and now it’s dark by the time I get home from work. And DD is our carver-in-chief and she’s at uni.

Hi all. ED BabyCabbage is a December baby so 11 months at the end of this week - not at nursery yet but I think with the classes we do we're picking up plenty of the new term bugs anyway.

We managed some tidying together which is very cute. Love an involved baby here. BabyCabbage is pretty mobile and we have had some tentative first steps although the preference is still for crawling. I think by the end of the year we might have a full-time walker.

Today we:

• deep cleaned high chair
• vacuumed lounge (which is also our dining room)
• refilled cooking oil
• folded clean nappies
• cleaned counters
• rotated dishwasher

So a bit all over the place, but in between the nap schedule and three meals and tidy up and a class and medication administering it's easy to not do anything at all!

Oh dear ED do you have a back up carver?

I havent managed any of my power of three yet! I have however - made tea, moved the washing to the dryer and bathed the small DC

Well, I could do it but TBH I was happy to let DD for the last few years. We have some terracotta pumpkins that you put tealights in I might just use those and keep the grown ones whole on the windowsill, they aren’t very big. We get a LOT of trick or treaters if the weather is fine.

Oooo I really want one of those terracotta ones! One of my neighbours has one and I have been admiring it for weeks!

The last lot of PO3 is done now, as well as wiping the door frames and light switches around the house.

Next PO3:
👻 mop
👻 bleach both bathrooms
👻 make master bed

We were supposed to carve our pumpkins on Sunday, but that never happened!

Cabbage 11 months?! No way!! Time flies, especially when you have little ones!

THIS you have made progress, so that's something!

The rest of my ta das:
🎃 completed the last PO3
🎃 cleaned mirrors
🎃 cleaned out veggie garden, other than one raised bed
🎃 cleared main hotspot
🎃 emptied all the bins in the house
🎃 ended up washing & drying 8 LOLs throughout the day
🎃 handwashed dishes (DS rotated DW)
🎃 wiped countertops

There's still more things I need to do to get ready for the party on Friday, food to prep, my costume to alter! Ugh, not enough time in the day.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day.

Wednesday's mission is to set your timer for 15 minutes and tackle your hotspots. Put things where they belong, throw away any rubbish stacked up.

Baby Step 29: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-29/
Check out the weekly pamper missions and take care of you!

@TheRealAjayH I'm so sorry, but I do not understand your post. Do you have a question?

Just dropping links real quick before bed. My phone has recommended I go to bed an hour ago.. Oops!

Thursday is errand day.
Thursday's mission is to start thinking about what needs to be cleared away ready for decorations (if any) for autumn and Christmas.
Spend 15 minutes clearing a hotspot and flat surfaces. I think it's about the same as yesterday! So if you don't have any more to do, maybe dust or vacuum thoroughly.

Baby Step 30: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-30/
Does anyone have a birthday next month, that you know of? Plan ahead, put their card or gift on your shopping list.

Friday is clean out your car and handbag day.
Friday is also date night.
It is also Halloween! And we are having a party at our house, as long as everyone is well.

Today is the last day in the living room. Mission today is to put something pretty/ decorative in the room, just for you. A pretty vase of flowers, a picture frame, a creepy skull (it is Halloween after all!), whatever it is you fancy. As it's autumn, something with pumpkins or orange and red flowers/ leaves would look really nice too.

Baby Step 31: https://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/31-beginner-babysteps/day-31/
I wouldn't recommend this, but send her an email and sign up for yet more emails!

How did everyone get on this month? Any struggles? Anything you found became automatic?
I do feel like my house is clean this month, and mostly tidy. I still have areas to tackle though and it feels more chaotic right now because of the Halloween decorations!
Halloween is almost over, then I'll be putting everything away and starting fresh with autumn decorations.

DH is sick, as in high fever, chills, stuffy nose, basically the flu. His coworker had it yesterday (Wednesday) and was better today (Thursday), but DH is a big baby and refuses to medicate himself. He's listening now, but only because of his coworkers giving him something (we have the same medicine, different brand 🙄). He also put off taking the meds when he should have and is now suffering more! 🤦‍♀️

I keep telling him, if he isn't better by tomorrow, no party.
If I end up getting it tomorrow, no party, and I'll be pissed off!

@HauntingHazel I laughed about your DH taking medication that a colleague recommended, my DP will never take my advice about anything under the sun, but listens to his friends, even its the same as mine.

I've stalled on my flying, I'm really tired and lacking motivation. I think now the clocks have changed my mindset is affected. I'm prioritising getting all my outdoor stuff done in the daylight, and once it's dark I'm subconsciously downing tools.

My DB bought them for us years ago when DSIL was working at a garden centre that sold them. One of the best presents they’ve ever given us.

Got the pumpkins yesterday (7 of them, luckily all fairly small), need to go and find my battery tealights now. Just going to line the pumpkins up on the windowsill and put the tealights around them and in the terracotta ones. Hope the batteries aren’t all flat as I really CBA to go out again.

@HauntingHazel thank you for the thread this month, I really hope DH is well enough for the party. I have made token efforts towards clearing out my handbag and car today (bag is very small so that was easy, car - took a bag of stuff from the boot to the charity shop).

ED you're welcome. DH says he's feeling better today, it seems it's only 24 hours, thankfully. I've got my fingers crossed for you that the batteries are all good 🤞
Well done on clearing out your bag and car!

Cherry what is it with men? They act like we don't know what's best!

I'm currently at work. I'll be leaving early today so I can get some stuff done, ready for the party.
DS has already got the house almost all the way cleaned too!

New thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/housekeeping/5436610-and-clean-corners-flylady-november-slow-days-warm-drinks-and-shiny-sinks?reply=148214897