Spring into action: Flying into April, a flylady April thread

[Positivepositron]

Welcome to the April thread. This is my first time starting a flylady thread. And I've been doing flylady about a month but very are many on the thread who are years in.

I'm cutting and pasting Hazel's great intro which explains everything:

Whether you're starting to build a new routine, stuck in a rut, or been around for years, join us on the Flylady thread. I'll try to keep us on track for the month, with baby steps, daily missions and weekly zones.

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:
🩷Entryway, porch and dining room
🩷Bathroom & one other room
🩷Kitchen
🩷Master bedroom & master bathroom
🩷Living room

Don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month! Flylady is NOT about perfectionism!

Daily focus: each day of the week has a different focus.

• 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 😆
• S&S: Swish & Swipe (wipe the bathroom sink & toilet)
• 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, if I can get them to work, she's updated the website! Although if you can, it's worth downloading the newly updated 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 👇
Daily missions (for the zone we are in): https://beta.flylady.net/daily-mission
Baby steps (on a different website, since the link isn't working on the new site yet): https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, some of us have been doing Flylady for a very long time, as well as others just starting out. We may have other things to add that we have found works for us that could help you too!

Defusers - i think it might be you just go a bit nose blind? Thats my theory anyway

Ta da
🩷 stripped bed and bedding in wash
🩵 LOL x3
💜 dry washing sorted and away
🩷 uniforms ironed
🩵 both bathroom bins emptied
💜 life admin emails sent
🩷 hoovered - my room, little dcs room and landing

I use scented candles, some of them you can smell without even lighting them, if it's strong enough. I do not know anything about diffusers though, I'm sorry!
At work we also have a small room scent thing (it's Glade, but here in the US so not sure if that brand is in the UK), but I'm not sure if that helps either!

Well done on getting things done THAT!

<slinks back in> sorry for being AWOL, busy here again lately. I am jeeping going with the Finch app though, if not the Flylady one.

I have been more or less keeping on top of routines and doing some decluttering. Last week I had a massive clearout of clothes, I have now got an overflowing Ikea bag to sort into vinted/charity shop/rags. I also reorganised the remaining clothes, got out summer dresses and put away jumpers so it is much easier now, it was all jammed in before.

Congratulations on pregnancy to @Alwaysgrowing lovely news

@Positivepositron I think some diffusers are better than others, I have an M&S one in the bathroom which has a lovely spa type scent but never seems to last even with stick changes etc (I am on about my third) but in the dining room I have an orangey-cinnamon one from Christmas that I haven’t touched and can still smell quite strongly when I get close but I think they really only work for small spaces and you get what you pay for, the Christmas one was wincingly expensive I got it in a garden centre and didn’t realise till I got to the till. @BloomingHazel Glade definitely a thing here too, they have plug-ins which I find too strong, candles etc. I do usually have some scented candles around too but their fragrance fades too and I rarely burn them because we haven’t really got any safe places from the cats to sit them apart from in the dining room and we don’t sit in there much.

Tada
🥳 dd2 sleepover wrapped up and tidied up
🥳 dd2 play date
🥳 a 30 min afternoon nap, much needed !
🥳 vitamins taken with evening meal, this may take a bit of getting used to having them later in the day
🥳 ironed clothes ready for back to job number 1 tomorrow and school uniforms
🥳 hotspots cleared
🥳 LOL
🥳 Reading with dd2
🥳 dd1 back to uni 😢
🥳 bags packed

I’m off to bed soon to read and try to settle , I suppose rest is the next best thing sleep ❤️ really hoping the vitamins help 🤞

Morning, sending a coffee to those that need one ☕️

tada
🥳 up at 445
🥳 an hour on work paperwork

Currently sat with a coffee, contemplating why I am in a job that is so under funded and understaffed meaning that lots of people who stay in education, do so much work at home for free . I love my job but the workload is pushing me out of the door. Anyway, enough complaining, another 5 minutes of peace , then I’m jumping in the shower to start the madness of school and work morning routines 🙂

I hope everyone has a lovely day 💐

Thank you for the diffuser advice. I might try a scented candle instead. Glade smells too artifical for me, but then I find lots of scented candles can be like that too.

Babysteps yesterday was delete the flylady emails if you signed up for them.
And today's babystep is to pick a flylady mission and complete it.

Today's mission is to go in your bathroom for a 27 item fling. Go into your bathroom and chuck any empty bottles or things you never use, just get rid.
And then do the same in your extra room.
Good luck.
Im counting our extra room as done but will try and do this in the bathroom today.

Hi, my plan for today is to take the kids to school and nursery, go to my excersise class, shower after, do 15 minutes timer general tidying up/ 15 minutes of doing nothing/having a nap. Go grocery shopping, collect the children from 2:30.

I feel irritated about the grocery shopping, as my DH normally does it, I hate at and think my pregnancy hormones might make me either hate it more or spend money I don't need to, or both. he has been looking after kids last week while I've worked 4 of the days. He did go shopping twice recently, but we need coffee beans and semi skimmed milk. I think I'll also buy pizza for dinner. He was angry that I'd finished the coffee beans but because he always does stock I didn't notice. Apparently I had opened 2 or 3 bags during lent when he wasn't drinking coffee but I have 0 recollection of doing this. Beans are hidden in a grinder so I didn't know they were low. I mean I get it, it's his first day back to school after the Easter holidays and he can't have his morning coffee, but I don't think there were the extra bags he thought of. Anyway, rant over.

Right. I’m back. I mean it. 🤣

Hello to old Fledgling friends, and new! I have been on and off here for many many years - since way before I had my youngest (who became known on here as Cagletini 😁)… she is now 8 🤣

Anyway, time for a fresh start and it feels very “now or never”. Everything has been chaos since my ex moved out two years ago (my choice, I’m much happier, I’m just struggling to run a home by myself with various challenges, 3 kids and 3 jobs!).

But yesterday my biggest Caglet - DD1, 18 - moved out!!! Just down the road with my stepdaughter. Fantastic first step to independence! I don’t feel too wobbly about it as she’s so near. But I also really want to make the most of the kickstart to sort my chaos. We are all very messy people and having one fewer in the house should help a hell of a lot!

So today I’ve got up and had breakfast, time for a to do list. Cherry waves 🍒 👋

Hello @Cagliostrohope your to do list has gone well.

Not my best day of flying, but it is DS's birthday so I'm not going to let that bother me. I've got most of the basic routine done and I spent ten minutes cleaning a cupboard in the bathroom. That will do for today.

I got ahead of the game and deleted all my flylady emails yesterday, they do mount up and I never read them, it was for that spell when neither the website or app were working.

Welcome back @Cagliostro how can Caglet be 8? And EldestCag 18!

Welcome back @Cagliostro
I used to be on these threads briefly I think it was about 6 years ago and I think I remember a variation on your name and your children.
I hope you had success.
@katand2kits I think it's completely excusable to not do too much cleaning on your sons birthday.

I haven't done a huge amount. I did a quick look around the bathroom for things to throw and got about 7 or 8. I'm not too bad for keeping or buying things we don't use in the bathroom.
I have spent time laying things out on the cupboard in my dining side of the dining room, I think I'm now happy with how I've arranged my items/ ornaments. For years everything pretty I've owned has been locked away as my children are wrecking balls and I'm finally brave enough to have them out. Hopefully DH will also like it when he gets in.
I also ordered a print for a picture frame I've put out so looking forward to that arriving. And it is kind of tidying as some of the items have come from boxes in my room of doom.

Hi all- sorry for dropping off the thread. I've been ill this week and everything went by the wayside!

I did the chuck and dump of one bathroom cabinet. I discovered a wrapped bar of soap from the hotel where DH and I first went on our first weekend away together- we have been together 23 years..... however I still kept that one as I could not bring myself to throw it!

Hope to be back in the swing of things this week!

Welcome back @Cagliostro, I can remember you going through a turbulent time , it’s so good to hear that you are much happier 💐

Tada
🥳 all daily routines
🥳 ready and out the door to work and school
🥳 baked and decorated a Victoria sponge cake with dd2
🥳 10 minutes cleaning the downstairs toilet
🥳 ironed clothes for tomorrow
🥳 dd2 reading

There may be a few more ticks, I haven’t stopped since jumping in the shower this morning , I am feeling the 445 alarm clock so I’m calling it a day . I’ll possibly go upstairs to read soon , trying to spend some time with ds watching football but struggling to stay awake 🙈

Hi @Cagliostro , I think I was mainly lurking when you were expecting Caglet, always remembered your name because some of my friends called me Cags at school.
Not a lot of flying here, just bits and pieces but I've got some planned for tomorrow.

Welcome back Cagliostro! 👋 so good to see you back!
I can't believe Cagletini is 8 now and DD 18!
It sounds like your business is doing well also.

Searching all those ta das and work as well! I'm tired along with you!

I have read further back, but can't seem to focus enough to reply to everyone individually, I'm sorry!

Hopefully I'll be a bit more with it tomorrow. This morning my alarm went off, I honestly thought it was Sunday and was mad I hadn't shut my alarms off as I needed to sleep in. Then I saw my phone said "Monday" at the top, so that was disappointing, but a good thing, as I was about to shut both of my alarms off! Needless to say, I'm tired tonight 😴

Good morning , sending coffee to those who need it ☕️ and good evening to you @BloomingHazel, perhaps a wine or g&t is better to send to you 🥂 a coffee possibly isn’t best before bed .

tada
🥳 445 alarm 😴
🥳 an hour on work paperwork
🥳 a full cup of coffee in peace before the mayhem begins !

todays plan is much the same as yesterday apart from the baking is swapped for kids club taxi service . I’ve made a bit of a mistake and didn’t do a meal plan so I haven’t got anything in for tea apart from freezer food , will do a bit of a junk tea, write a meal plan and pop to the shops for supplies for the rest of the week whilst out and about being the kids taxi 😂 we have fresh fruit and salad , just no actual meals haha ooopppss

Great to catch up with the thread. Things got a bit tiring towards the end of March, and I fell off the wagon.

I’m getting the house a bit more manageable for myself. Teens are away this week to camp and relatives, which lets me unearth clutter and lay it out without them distracting me. My concentration is appalling just now, but I got to the bank a couple of times and a stupid muddle is getting straightened out bit by bit.

The kitchen needs a lot of attention today. I used chatgpt to tweak my food plan, and I’ll clean out the mini fridge for my own fresh food, and the big fridge-freezer will be for everything else. I also want to make space on one of the worktops for a small tv.

Morning, frosty here today, I've just been out to hang up some laundry and the grass is all crunchy. It's sunny though. Now back in bed for a few minutes with my cat on my lap.

Tada!
✅fed cats
✅unloaded DW
✅laundry out
✅packed lunch out of fridge
✅a few Finch app things ticked (step
outside, look at the sky, deep breaths

Off to work shortly

Love that you still have that soap @SpringingIntoSummerLobelia definitely keep it.

Today's babystep is to read one if the flylady essays. Some of these are pretty good at putting things into perspective. Especially if you put things off until you have time to do a proper job.

Today's mission:
Today we are going to shine our tubs or showers! We have talked about shinning our sinks since you started and we want you take 5 or 10 minutes to shine that tub or shower. Do not get obsessed with the tub being perfect. You can do this mission while you are in the shower, just scrub the tub with whatever works. Anything is better than nothing, then spritz it with a little windex and dry it with a towel like you shine your sink.

On to the guest bedroom! Today we are going to tackle the bed and get it company ready. If you need to tackle this 15 or 10 minutes at a time that is fine, don't burn out. Now, if the bed is already clean ask yourself "how long has it been since the sheets have been washed?" We are coming into the holidays soon, and I am so excited. Let's rid ourselves of the stress of having to rush, and have this bedroom ready for your loved ones.Babysteps, set your timer for 15 minutes!

Oh no , I’ve made the mistake of sitting down after eating dinner 🙈 must get up and get a few bits ticked off !

In the office today so nothing major.
Ta das:
🌼 dishwasher x 2
🌸 lol x 1
🌼 Cleaned shower
🌸 recycling out
🌼 cleaned a plastic tub for storing items collected from kitchen
🌸 moved some items into the newly empty cupboard
🌼 one bag from car to charity