September Flylady: Fledglings inspired to make a fresh start at the beginning of a brand new term!

[mixedpeel]

Whether you're starting to build a new routine, stuck in a rut, or been around for years, join us on the monthly Flylady thread! Flylady has created a series of daily and weekly prompts to help anyone who finds it tricky to get or keep their house clean and tidy. She totally gets it if you feel overwhelmed or don't even know where to start - as do we! The best thing about Flylady is that you are never behind - just jump in at whatever point you are at, and do what you can.

This is a long running thread, but as a newbie myself I can confirm everyone is very friendly and all are welcome to join in. We spur each other on, but also commiserate when life gets in the way and we don't get as much done as we might have wanted to.

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
We usually link to the daily missions (jobs to do in whichever zone we're in) every day, but the new website doesn't seem to be working for me right now. I will keep trying, but they should update every day so you can click the link yourself to check. We will post the missions in the thread too so don't worry about missing anything. Most importantly, don't worry about finishing it all this month, it'll come around again next month! Flylady is NOT about perfectionism!

Do NOT sign up for the Flylady emails - it's an excessive amount sent every day. I have taken one for the team but use a junk email address. I will check them periodically and report anything interesting / useful

Flylady also tries to help us get into habits so that eventually we do things without even having to think about them. She has 31 baby steps to gradually pick up (on the previous website, since the link isn't working on the new site yet): https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/

Daily focus: each day of the week has a different focus. It's not all jobs jobs jobs by the way.
Monday: Home Blessing (or as we call it, home bleugh)
Tuesday: plan & play
Wednesday: anti-procrastination
Thursday: errand day
Friday: clean car & purse out day. It's also date night (with your significant other, or friends, or yourself!)
Saturday: family fun day
Sunday: renew your spirit

If you can, it's worth downloading the app (link on the flylady website), you can even have it send you notifications. You can also modify the tick lists to suit your home & lifestyle. There is a paid version and a free version, though the missions haven't been updating on the free app.

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

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 probably more, feel free to ask us to explain something!

Flylady is musing about pies today…https://flylady.net/morning-musing/a-recipe-for-peace

@Alwaysgrowing did you get to the farm? More importantly I hope you get some time for You today. We have the naughty corner in here which you are more than welcome to hang out in, but I’d love you to have a RL equivalent in your home somewhere.

@CherryogDog poor sleep is the bane of my life and has a knock on effect on everything, so you have my sympathy. I noticed you posted in the wee small hours. I will pass on what a lovely man in a castle gift shop on holiday said to me: “I wish you all the rest you need”

Ta Das
Yes! I actually hoovered both car mats and took the newish handheld hoover out to the car to suck up the gravel and hair and bits of botany which had already started building up in the footwells. It doesn’t have quite the suck factor of Henry, but it’s better than having to park the car awkwardly on the pavement and bring Henry out the door and down the steps (our drive is at the back of the garden nowhere near the house)
Forced myself to figure out how to empty said handheld hoover otherwise I’ll always think I can’t do it which will put me off using it
Swish & swipe bathroom
Fitted in half hour cycle at gym at lunchtime (unheard of)
Posted birthday parcel in plenty of time
LOL - initially had to hang indoors as the heavens opened
Walked dog
Hung washing outdoors to finish drying and freshen up

To Do
Must bring LOL in off the line before it either rains again or gets evening damp

@mixedpeel spooky, we had pies for dinner! Well done on the car mats.

S&S in bathroom, and then mopped upstairs and down before we went out, so that we came back to clean (and dry) floors. Also swiffered the living room floor and emptied the waste paper basket, and wiped the kitchen windowsill. One LOL done and dried waiting to go upstairs to the towel basket. Yesterday I washed AND dried the dishes and put them away, and shined the sink and drainer, along with a bit of a house blessing (ie, wiped round with a nice smelling duster). Onwards!

I'm still here just not quite on top of everything!

I'm off tomorrow so planning some catch up time then.

This week I've been trying to spend a few minutes each day weeding and sorting the front garden before winter. It's a mess but I'm hoping little and often will help.

Yes, we got to the farm. It was nice but I did a lot of walking. I wouldn't say I really got much me time. I went to have a lie down after dinner upstairs but both children came and played in the room I was in. 🤣 I had a lie down on the sofa while kids watched TV too

@DillyDeclutter I need to adopt your gardening approach. Mine's very neglected at the moment

Well, came home, had a shower and then period started. Another perfect excuse for not doing anything. But I made myself wash the dishes and commit to tidying up downstairs and my bedroom

@mixedpeel You are very right about what you can achieve in 15 minutes because it actually only took 15 minutes to tidy everything up! So then I also put out recycling. 20 minutes from piles of stuff everywhere to nice and tidy home (except for loft/home office and DD's room but that's another story)

Then I checked in with DD to see if she wanted to do anything together (instead of just watching youtube) so we coloured together and then read our books together.

So the house feels pretty orderly and I got quality time with DD without exhausting myself or feeling guilty about not doing enough.

Really think this little and often approach is working well for me!

Thursday 17th info:

Babystep 17: stick to a regular bedtime
https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/17/
This is a sensible recommendation, and all the ‘sleep hygiene’ advice also says that this is the best way of getting a good night’s sleep. Pick a realistic time that works for you. Everyone’s body clock is different. This is a sore point for me, as my body clock is pretty darn broken. I’ve never been talented at getting to sleep, but perimenopause has really messed me up. Now I also have frequent night time waking even when I do finally drop off. Screens at this time of night is probably something I need to stop, tbh. I’ve tried before for a few weeks without seeing much improvement, but I shouldn’t really moan about poor sleep when I still have bad habits.

Thursday is errand day Get those out-of-the-house errands ticked off and feel good about yourself!

We are still in zone 3: main bathroom and one other room
Already on mission 4 in this zone! A enjoyable and quick one today. Shine your bathroom sink, taps and surfaces. Use whatever bathroom cleaner you favour and get these areas really sparkling.

A repeat Stash and Dash in the other room you’ve chosen: look again for recycling or rubbish. As you’ve peeled back one layer earlier in the week, more may have been revealed. If not move to another room.

Sneak peek for Friday’s final mission below:
Zone 3: Mission #5 Friday
The final day of zone 3! Mop that bathroom floor. However you choose, either an actual mop or on hands and knees with a cloth, just some lovely hot soapy water and get into all those edges and corners. You’ll feel great when it’s done, and it won’t take long because bathrooms are rarely cavernous.

In your Stash and Dash space do a 27 fling boogie in the space. This is the first mention of the 27 fling boogie - I’m not sure if it will come up as a babystep. Anyway, just zoom around grabbing 27 things to throw away, give away or put away! This week we’ve found how a quick 5 minute stash and dash every day can really make a difference.

I managed to start in the main bathroom yesterday. Nowhere near finished. Just got the shower done and tbh, really need to go over the glass again in the shower. Anyone got any tips for mould on silicon? It won't shift.

Nothing else because I have been run ragged still and today looks like another busy one when I have so much work to do and a viva to prepare for.

Errand day - would love to get to the tip. Will see! But I have aqua at 11 then lunch and all that, then I start wilting and can't be bothered. Shopping tonight as well. Not that I go in. I just sit in the car as I bloody hate supermarkets.

I haven't been doing these swishes and boogies.. Hope to get them in the rota soon. My partner goes back to US on the 28th so I will have more time then to get things done.

Right. Feeling motivated this morning.

To do:
😺Book dreaded dentist appointment
😺 Wrap friends birthday present and prepare to post it
😺 Update calendar with high school open evenings
😺 Cook tea
😺 clean bathroom surfaces
😺 Stash and Dash in the loft

@KitsyWitsy that sounds like plenty to be getting done in one day. I've no idea how to shift mould on silicon either. I think DH occasionally bleaches ours

@KitsyWitsy do you mean the silicone seal or the silicone drip strip on the door?
HG mould remover took some off the seal, but I think it's had too many years of neglect to come up clean.
I gave up trying to clean the strip at the bottom of the door and got DP to replace it.
Unfortunately it's not the right width, and water pours out of it when the door is opened. So need to replace it again.
I'm not in the routines yet because I've still got some decluttering and tidying to do.
But I've cleaned my sink three days in a row so that's something.
Yesterday I prioritised a long dog walk, they've been a bit neglected lately because of my bad foot.
Swept up the dining room, little tidy up. Going to attack it properly today.
Another bad night's sleep, I usually have a few nights like it, then just crash like the dead for a couple of nights but I don't seem to be getting that reprieve.
I LMS at DP this morning. He goes out 4 sometimes 5 night's a week, if I'm asleep when he gets in, he wakes me up. He's not particularly noisy, but I'm in the light sleep phase.
If he's at home, he goes to bed early, I stay up to let the dogs out for last wee, but I fall asleep on the sofa and end up going up late, wide awake from dogs bedtime, and can't get to sleep for ages.
He has a nap in the afternoon most days.
He's sometimes woken me up on the sofa to tell me he's going to bed without thinking he should stay up.
So he's now sulking. Especially as I said he had to do his chores before he goes out tonight because having a cock doesn't mean he shouldn't do housework.
Not my finest moment.

@HedgehogNotes the power of 15 is my favourite thing. I feel I can keep up the energy and tell my kids I'll be there when the timers up and they accept it. Colouring and reading together with DD sounds lovely.

@mixedpeel hope you sort your sleep out. I never have trouble falling asleep but sometimes wake and can't get back to sleep. Once it got really bad, when I was pregnant with my eldest, but since being a mum to young children I'm so exhausted most of the time sleep is not a issue.

@KitsyWitsy sounds like you are on more of a hard factory reset for the house than gradual flylady tiptoeing, so no wonder it gets too much every now and then. Especially in a bathroom that other people have made manky, not you <yuk>. About the sealant mould, I’ve just always had to get DH to remove and redo every now and then. I really should try myself as the kitchen sink is needing that treatment again. I did buy some HG Mould Spray on @CherryogDog‘s recommendation, but not sure if it will get at the mould underneath or right in the sealant itself.

@HedgehogNotes your motivation shines out of your post today! Hope no spanners get in the works and you tick off your list successfully.

@CherryogDog I laughed out loud at your retort to DP. I salute your turn of phrase. He needs to realise when sharing a house with someone he needs to respect your need for sleep.

@Alwaysgrowing you are right about the small child phase. Ironically I slept the best I ever did while in the tiny baby breastfeeding stage because even though the nights were broken I got straight back to sleep no problem. Given my youngest is now 21 I think it’s too drastic to go for number 3 just to have a few months of better sleep though..!

@mixedpeel yes I found breastfeeding was a great sleep aid for me too first baby too contrary to everything I'd heard online. Esspecaly when DH changed the nappy and I was cosleeeping. She was a June baby so I remember though getting up with the sun when my baby needed a feed and declaring to my mum she only woke once last night, I'm up for the day now at before 5am. My mum who was staying was like errr... it's light but that was a night feed I think you should go back to bed for a bit.

To be fair, DP does most of the cooking, sorts the DW, takes the bins out.
But doesn't do anything else unless I ask him too.
I pulled everything out of my horse cupboard, started sorting through it, but got a bit overwhelmed with it, I've had to walk away for now.
I'll finish it later hopefully.

I've just mopped the bathroom floors and was rewarded by finding a massive hunter spider hiding behind a bag, luckily my dh was home to remove it! Been continuing my s&s and load of laundry. Tomorrow I want to get a big sack of rubbish out of my study.

Need to do crisis cleaning or a massive toss toss toss declutter exercise. I feel behind even if flylady claims we are not. Getting frustrated as can't find stuff I need quickly.

@Frumpyunicorn spiders love our bathroom too! Are you in the UK? You surely (hopefully) don’t mean a huntsman spider???

@timoteigirl hope you find enough energy to do this bit by bit, even if you currently try and do numerous bits each day rather than just a few. And that you start Finding Things and putting them somewhere you’ll find them again.

Friday 18th info:

Babystep 18: Check out Flylady’s 11 Commandments
https://mymerrymessylife.com/flylady-31-baby-steps/18/
I have copy&pasted direct from the blog in the link. As she says in that link, only take from these what works for you. Make your own version of the Flylady system. It’s not intended to be another thing that’s going to set you up to fail.

1. shine that sink!
2. get dressed every morning, even if you don’t feel like it
3. do your morning and before-bed routines every day
4. don’t allow yourself to get sidetracked by the computer
5. pick up after yourself. If you get it out, put it away
6. don’t try to do two projects at once. One job at a time
7. don’t pull out more than you can put back in one hour
8. do something for yourself every day, maybe every morning and night
9. work as fast as you can to get the job done. This will give you more time to play later
10. smile even when you don’t feel like it. It is contagious. Make your mind up to be happy and you will be
11. don’t forget to laugh every day. Pamper yourself - you deserve it

Friday is clean out car and handbag day - also date night
My car could still do with the dashboard and other solid bits wiping over. It gets so dusty. The floors and front seats are exceptionally clean as they were hoovered yesterday. (Exceptional in both senses of the word: ie not just very clean but unusually so. My hope is that Flylady will help this car keep relatively tidy, unlike every other car I’ve ever owned. I mean, Friday comes round every seven days, right, so it shouldn’t get out of hand…)

For date night DH and I have just booked each other in to watch Ludwig together. It’s not quite as glamorous as @CherryogDog’s Lidl foray last week, but we might even open a box of mint matchmakers.

Zone 3: Mission #5 Friday
The final day of zone 3! Mop that bathroom floor. However you choose, either an actual mop or on hands and knees with a cloth, just some lovely hot soapy water and get into all those edges and corners. You’ll feel great when it’s done, and it won’t take long because bathrooms are rarely cavernous.

In your Stash and Dash space do a 27 fling boogie in the space. This is the first mention of the 27 fling boogie - I’m not sure if it will come up as a babystep. Anyway, just zoom around grabbing 27 things to throw away, give away or put away! This week we’ve found how a quick 5 minute stash and dash every day can really make a difference.

Evening check in

To do:
😺Booked dreaded dentist appointment
❌️ Did not wrap friends birthday present because dont have suitable wrapping paper. Also dont have box big enough to post friends present. Considering keeping presents for myself. She's a good friend. I think she will understand 🤣
😺 Updated calendar with high school open evenings
😺 Cooked tea
😺 cleaned bathroom surfaces
😺 Stash and Dash in the loft for 10 minutes. Didn't make much of a difference because I sorted fiddly paperwork, but it's better than nothing

I do not relate to the breastfeeding sleep experiences here. My sleep was awful whilst feeding DD - as was hers! I swear I still carry sleep deprivation trauma from that year. But glad it worked out for you jammy lot.

@mixedpeel I am in the UK, it was one of those huge black house spiders, not the spindly cellar ones which I don't mind.

I should probably dust my car dashboard, but I have been emptying it every Friday as with 2 kids (and me!) it easily gets filled with rubbish and I do feel it makes a difference

@HedgehogNotes sending cards or gifts is something I am dreadful at doing. I have a few bits I want to sell on vinted but have been procrastinating as I need to sort all the packaging first

Morning 🌄 everyone 👋
Other than waking up a few times because I was too hot or too cold (duvet off/duvet on) I've slept OK. So feeling better.
Band practice today so not much time for flying, already been to Lidl this week so no idea what date night will be 😄
I didn't finish my horse cupboard, but I did clean my sink and had a swish and swipe round the kitchen. I even put my LOL away which is a big thing for me.
If I get my act together I will be able to finish the declutter/chuck away/tidy this weekend and then I'll be FLYING!

Flylady has definitely made my car better. By chance I started Flylady just as I got a new car and I've kept it reasonable- I empty it out every time I get home and hoover it every few weeks (in the past it used to take so long to clear it out that I'd run out of steam before I got to a hoover-able state).

Ive tidied out mine and DDs drawers and will do DS today, off schedule but our bathroom is okay so time is better invested elsewhere for me!

Happy Friday fellow flyers!

Date night for us will be a Sainsbury's shop for wrapping paper and christening card. Might also extend to a TK Max mooch.

Will sort handbag and car the moment I get home.

Morning wins
🍎 washed cat bowls
🍎Shined my sink
🍎RSVP'd to friends birthday party

Big aim today is to get work to-do list down to a reasonable size. All been chaotic and stressful but no meetings today and the talkative colleague is on annual leave so I'm hoping to zone the world out and get stuff done! Then I won't go home still worrying away about work stuff.

Hello all, hope you're having a great Friday. I took the advice above about cleaning the bathroom taps so did mine with The Pink Stuff and a magic sponge, they looked great. Shined the basin and gave the toilet it's usual decent clean along with steradent in the pan and cistern. Mopped the floor using a dollop of rose handwash (buy it in bulk, use it for cleaning as well as handwashing). One lol - towels and bath mats, now dried and waiting to go back upstairs. Also wiped with duster and nice oil upstairs and down - I can do this in less than five minutes and I'm noticing now that even doing it once or twice a week, the dust is far less, erm, dusty than it was.

Got outside and helped DH clear ivy and crap from around the back of the house. Cleared two more plastic boxes from under the bed - there are two left, both containing knitting machine bits, so I've ordered another long storage bag for the machine that's currently in use, and the bits can go in that; then I can get under the bed and give it a damn good clean. Yay! Happy days :)

Don't have a car at the moment, and handbag is empty, so that's one job I haven't got to do.

Flylady’s musing is (sorry @timoteigirl!) all about not rushing things https://flylady.net/morning-musing/an-instant-makeover-won-t-cut-the-clutter

My car is disgusting as is my bag. But my kitchen sink is clean and I washed a pan that was not from today.... it's dark outside now so I'm not cleaning it. I also took the clothes off the airer taking up space in DS bedroom, but they are in a box, not wardrobe. Towels I washed on Wednesday are still on the line. I thought of bringing them in.... But it drizzled this evening on my way home so I'll try again tomorrow....DH wants me to go with him to his parents house for his sister's birthday, but I feel run down, not always that comftable around his family, we went not long ago for his brother's birthday, and I'm much rather have the day alone, getting on top of some housework and admin.