It’s June - come and join the Fledgling Flyladies

[ElegantlyDecluttering]

Welcome to the latest in the long running Fledgling Flylady threads, for those new to the system, Flylady is a US based website / app system based on a monthly rotation around the rooms of the house. It’s well established, these threads have been going for many many years, but all are welcome, we love having new Fledglings on board.

Well, May ended with a heatwave for many of us, I know my housework took a bit of a dip last week. But back to normal now as we head into June. A big thank you to Hazel for leading us through May

A few pointers: Do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - I took one for the team and signed up when the website was down last year, you get about 4 a day - you have been warned! 😂

There are Baby Steps for starting out, add one thing at a time to start good habits and routines. Try not to do too much at once, you don't want to get overwhelmed.

There are 5 zones that we will rotate through each month, don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month! Flylady is NOT about perfectionism!

Daily missions: each day of the week has a different mission. I will explain these further as we come across them.
Monday: Home Blessing (or as we call it, home bleugh)
Tuesday: plan & play
Wednesday: anti-procrastination
Thursday: errand day
Friday: clean car & purse (handbag) out. It's also date night (with your significant other, or friends, or yourself!)
Saturday: family fun day - no missions
Sunday: renew your spirit - no missions

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.

Daily missions: for the zone we are in.https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission

Baby steps: it's not technically flylady, but they're still working on the new site. https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/

I’m sure she will @Alwaysgrowing sounds like one of those days you just need to set aside and start again in the morning. I have been putting everything off all week too, but tomorrow is my day off so watch out for some lists.

I am feeling so much better today! Thank you for the well wishes. It was definitely a 24hr bug.

I did 1 lol yesterday, but that was it. The rest of the time I watched Netflix, snuggled under a blanket with the dogs!

Today's ta das (Thursday):
🦋 worked all day
🦋 dropped off DSs glasses to the eye doctor
🦋 messaged a couple of friends about their caramel orders
🦋 vacuumed camper
🦋 cleaned kitchen window & main door on camper
🦋 swept the carport
🦋 cleared the main hotspot in the house
🦋 handwashed dishes
🦋 rotated DW
🦋 wiped stovetop
🦋 wiped countertops
🦋 wiped table & put clean tablecloth on

It's now time for a shower & bed!

Happy birthday to DD Always! 🥳🎂🎁
I know you said her birthday is this weekend, but I'm going to be up in the mountains, camping, so will have no phone service up there.
I'm sure everything will go as planned. Are you having a party for her?

Morning all, glad you feel better @BloomingHazel and Happy Birthday to DD @Alwaysgrowing

<waves> to all the other Fledglings - Happy Friday. I’m off out in a minute, DD has a temp job at Royal Ascot and I have been ferrying her to and from a station half an hour away, she has long days there.

But before I go, today’s mission is to scrub the bathroom basin and surfaces. The rest of today is my day off and I mean to tackle some of these bathroom jobs but it is such a lovely morning I will probably stop at a cafe in a park I spotted earlier in the week on the way home for a coffee and diary catch-up (this is part of my usual Friday routine, I delete unwanted emails, check the ones I do want to keep for things to go on the to do list and have a general mini admin catch up before tackling actual admin jobs later in the day). I like finding new cafes and at this time of year outdoor space is very welcome.

Friday is clear out your bag and car day, also date night. My date will consist of fetching DD from the station again at 9 as DH and DS are out, but never mind! My car has stayed fairly clear due to the car-bag method, but the bag itself is starting to accumulate receipts etc so a clear out of that is in order.

https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission

just found this thread and super keen to join :)

i did a job with the help of my 5 year old last night id been putting off ages - 2 year olds been posting things down the back of the sofa 😂😂

we pulled it out and recovered so many lost treasures haha -hovered under it and mopped the floor - then we went a step further and washed all the cushion covers and hung them out to dry.

feels like such an achievement 😂

I am about to clean the loo and bathroom sink while the kids eat their brekkie too!!

husband has said he will strip the beds and get them washed as he’s working at home today and can do this in between his work :)

Had a bad night's sleep, mostly because DS came to our bed a couple of times. He normally lies still but he was being a rotisory chicken. Got up at 430 because it was warm and bright. I got quite a lot of tidying done and made pancakes. Then watched dds assembly, dropped ds off at nursery then went shopping for birthday cake ingredients. Started to make the cake, but need a rest.
To do:
Make birthday cake.
Clean and fill up paddling pool
Load dishwasher then clean kitchen sink.
Nap with a wake up alarm.
Decorate cake
Collect DD from school

Welcome @Fupoffyagrasshole 👋
Nothing like a 2yo to keep you on your toes, giving you more jobs to do! 😂
You did a great job with that, and sounds like you have a good plan for the day 🥳

Always you've had a great, busy start to your day! I love that you added a nap as a "to do"!

I did everything on this list. 🥳

Tada
🥳 cleaned bags and tidied the car

Still not much flying from me , but thought I’d post the daily task that I’ve completed on the right day 😂 that is an achievement worth celebrating 🥳

Hopefully will be back with more tomorrow!

Morning all

Hope DD had a great birthday @Alwaysgrowing - we have a birthday here at the end of the month, I will NOT be making the cake!

Morning! Well, despite lack of birthdays here I made two cakes yesterday but I love baking and have got all the stuff so fairly easy. Date and walnut loaf to take to Dad for Father’s Day and Banana Choc Chip loaf to use up overripe bananas. Fortunately it wasn’t too hot here yesterday.

Sunday is Renew Your Spirit Day, when you are meant to to do something just for you, I have just been in an online breathwork class which was deeply relaxing so that’s me set for the day.

Morning, this week’s zone is the master bedroom, we are to spend 15 mins decluttering under our beds (in our beds for me because we have one of those lift up divan ones which is very easy to fill).

https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260622-zone-4-mission-1-monday-your-master-bedroom

I am going to get back to posting about babysteps this week (sorry last week was a bit of busy one and I was out by 7 every morning), but not now as I have to get to work. I am going to have a little recap to myself at lunchtime and see what we’ve missed. By now we should be starting to build routines, which is a core part of Flylady, for morning, after school/work and bedtime. For example putting clean clothes out the night before.

I have 4 hours today to myself at home. I would like to defrost the freezer, but have decided there's not enough time/ I haven't started yet so may do it on Wednesday or next week. The ice has built up and taking up precious space in this weather. I also think it's housework suitable for this weather, to sit by an open freezer, wiping it down. However, I'm not sure my cool bags are up to it...may have to reduce the amount of food in the fridge freezer first.

Instead todays to dos:
Plan/prep dinner
3 mins hotspots
Reread babystep 3.
Sweep and mop kitchen floor.
Hoover living room
Dust 10 minutes.
(Optional) Vax living room.

I got a headache this morning from the stress of getting the kids in the car as I'd left suncreaming and tieing hair up to the last minute and my daughter was nearly late. So I need to tighten up my morning routine.
Rant alert, you can stop reading here
I got bogged down on work messages which irritated me as I've had a training cancelled this week, due to staffing issues even though I booked it about 6 months ago, due to being part time it's hard to find a date that works. I need to know why someone else is prioritised over me doing the same course (mandatory training on the NHS, so not exciting but I like to keep my score 100% ) I think if a manager has cancelled it for staffing I don't get penalised but I need to make sure it's properly recorded as my manager isn't great at record keeping. Rant over, I should have left in until after the school run.

Tadas:.tidied and hoovered living room floor.
Rotated DW
Wiped down kitchen sides and swept.
I have not done:
Any dinner planning/prep... might do pesto pasta?
Mopped of vaxed

I felt the need to just rest after a busy weekend...so I watched rocketman on Netflix...I've been hiding indoors, now I have to brave the heat and a car that's been in the sun to go to a midwife appointment then collect both my kids. Wish me luck. I've got a bottle of water in the freezer.

Hope everyone is coping in this heat. I’m generally feeling the benefits of a slightly cleaner/more organised house.

tada:
✔️dress to shoes, fix hair and face
✔️make bed
✔️dinner sorted
✔️ lol x 2
✔️sorted out hmrc issue I was procrastinating on (still got lots more to do on it

need to:
Sort out holiday issue I’ve been procrastinating on.
swish & swipe
sort clothes for tomorrow

Back with some missed babysteps (I have only picked the ones I think make a real difference)

https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/14/ using a calendar

https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/15/ make your bed, or at least turn it back neatly to air, a good daily habit for your morning routine

https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/16/ recap on routines

https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/17/ go to bed at a reasonable and regular time - I am useless at this.

https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/18/ Flylady’s 11 Commandments

https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/20/ - one load of laundry a day - really helps

That’s all the main things. By now your routines should be starting to become habits. Some of us started using the Finch app for daily to do lists and motivation a few months ago, it’s really helped me. If anyone else would like to buddy up we are using our MN names (or variations of them) on there to preserve privacy. I can send a friend code (am not on my phone at the moment)

Morning, babystep 23 is to start our afternoon routine https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/23/

Today’s mission os to clear any clutter off the top of your bed, we don’t have clutter on ours, only a cat most nights but if you do, half worn clothes, magazines etc, get rid and make the bed, or turn it back to air.

https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260623-zone-3-mission-2-your-master-bedroom

Tuesday is Plan and Play Day.

Don’t forget to drink your water, for many of us it’s going to be superhot. Safety and comfort takes priority over housework. But is is great drying weather for the laundry.

I’m home today with 2 year old don’t work on Tuesday! He’s so helpful - he’s currently putting all my dry laundry into baskets for me!

my goal today is our bedroom (I’m not really following a proper day of the week thing yet but will build to this)

the dresser is filled with clutter so that’s being tidied

also we have 2 charity bags to be brought down to the shop - I’ve managed to get the kids to do a massive teddy cull 😂😂

mine thing in great at is always making my bed every morning - it makes me feel more calm on return from work !!

I have gotten good at going to bed early recently too

That’s great you’ve got your kids helping @Fupoffyagrasshole

I think I make more work for myself by not including them.

I’ve got friends staying in my bedroom this weekend- so that’s given me more motivation to follow the missions this week!

Totally recommend getting kids to help - it doesn’t really save a lot of time or get extra done - but keeps him busy while I’m doing something else - he likes to feel included - like I give him a spray bottle with jisy water and her putters around wiping cupboards (while I go around with the actual cleaning spray) 😂😂😂

also he gets the toy hoover out and follows me around

Awww, that's so sweet. Mine are all grown up now and they do do housework, but they are untidy buggers, I wish I'd been stricter about tidiness when they were younger, but they are both ND and find it hard.

I have been AWOL for a few days!
@Fupoffyagrasshole I'm a huge fan of having DC help around the house! Unfortunately DS hasn't been doing much at all since he started working, although he has been working on laundry with DH. DS is 16, almost 17, and was really good about doing the home bleugh on Fridays. Now not so much. I can't even get him to rotate the DW while we're at work! 🤬

Anyway, Joyful if you can get your DC to help now, you should! When I left home I didn't know how to wash laundry! I vowed that I wouldn't do that with my DC. They have been helping with laundry since they were little, started letting them start the washer around 10yo.
DS knows how to vacuum, mop, rotate DW, clean bathrooms (I just don't have him use bleach). He cuts the grass as well.
DD no longer lives at home, she's also got some mental health issues going on, so it gets overwhelming for her as she doesn't keep up on it like she should, a little bit every day.

Always great ta da lists! Did your midwife appt go well?

ED I agree that there are some baby steps in there that really are just fluff (I can't think of a better word at this moment)! Building the routines are important for sure as it helps the running of the house be smooth.

YesTaDas:
💙 worked all day
💚 fixed a hole in the pool (I had to get in!)
💙 S&S both bathrooms
💚 cleaned mirrors

Ta das so far:
🦋 stripped the bedding, it's in the washer
🐝 dressed, makeup on, hair tamed slightly
🦋 currently at the hairdressers, waiting for my colour to set

Yes, midwife appointment went well, I also made quite a nice pesto sausage pasta.

Tomorrow is my day with the toddler. I do think he was more interested in following me round doing housework when he was 2 though. Now...well we will see tomorrow as I'll defrost the fridge freezer with him...I'm going to be hiding at home

Morning, how many of us are in the Red Zone? If so, take it as easy as possible today I think. We are on the edge of it, it was 23 when I woke up forecast 37 and humid later. Last night was very warm and the house is looking a bit of a state as everyone is half-hearted. However at the weekend I did spend 15 mins decluttering the bedroom and it did make a difference, it is worth grabbing any free moment and looking critically around you for clutter that can easily be dealt with. I also went to Ikea and bought some suction storage wall containers for the bathroom for the end of that zone last week and that looks better too, no more shampoo bottles teetering around the edge of the bath.

The mission for today is to clean and clear the left side of the bed. Hmm. That's DH's side and his mess. https://www.flylady.net/daily-mission/20260624-zone-4-mission-3-wednesday-your-master-bedroom

Wednesday is Anti-Procrastination Day. If there is something you have been putting off that needs doing, how about putting it on today's list.

We have suction things in the bathroom, they've great. We're well into the red zone. I did defrost and clean out the fridge freezer. Thought it was a good day to sit in forumt of the freezer. Chucked out some out of date food and reloaded it. Ds did watch paw patrol as I wanted to do it quickly. I stacked the freezer trays and covered them with towels and duvets, which did keep them frozen mostly...I cleaned out one freezer tray but then decided they weren't so bad so just put them back into the freezer.

House wasn't too hot until 4 but it's still really sticky. Ds didn't nap, he does sometimes, then I didn't put him to bed until gone 9, when his bedtime when he doesn't nap is 7. He did go straight to sleep. His bedroom was so hot, he lay on a towel in the garden quite happily about 8 pm after playing in the pool.