January Fledgling Flyers - The 15 minute mess removal squad

[droitwichmum]

Happy New Year!

This is the place for you if you have made a New Year's Resolution to get on top of the chaos in your home

Here you can do any of the following:

• repeat or start baby steps

• repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering

Here you can find out what it is all about. Try to ignore the cutesy stuff - cute the regulars on here are not! We also take some of the suggestions with a HUGE dose of salt (look out for wearing tie up shoes in the house)

If you decide to register for the e-mail updates from flylady be warned: unless you choose the daily digest only option you will be innundated with e-mails throughout the day. I will post the links you need each day so you don't need to register on the site to join in.

Dive in and mark your place - we start on January 1st!

Would like to join - have been 'flying' via daily digest emails for a while and do find it a bit gushy and not sure how many more testimonials I can take (I caved and bought a rubba scrubber and don't rate it at all - only use it when de-dog=pooping the lawn badly and have a present on shoe!) Do need help with piles of clutter and DH returns this week (away for 4 months) and he is king of clutter or leaving piles of stuff - for later!
I need a good old kick in the pants and also feel the need to account/brag/confess sins! so greetings to all

Hi I think I need to join in too.

My haouse is always messy and I am just getting fed up of it. Today when I said what shall we do today DD1 said I'll watch Telly while you tidy. (she is nearly 3 )
I feel it is all an endless battle.

I am messy, Dh is messy and as a result my children will probably end up being messy.

I will start my 15 minutes tomorrow.

Hi peachygirl and welcome to the thread . We are all here due to domestic chaos so don't worry about it! Just jump in with the baby steps tomorrow and take it from there!

Bigbang etc - I thought you seemed very familiar but couldn't quite place you . Nice to know I do 'know' you and it's not me going mad!

HAGiraffe Welcome back . I have been rubbish too. And slightly intimidated by the cleaning enthusiasm of the thread this month whilst I have been struggling to get by.

Thanks for the body clutter steps SC. I will try feetheart's tip, sounds lovely! I usually go for iced sparking water with a squeeze of lime which is lovely too, but perhaps better for summer.

Hi ellie, pluto, mrsdinky* et al

I have done very well here today with lovely braised beef for tea with enough for menu planning seconds and left overs in the week. Unfortunately ruined by No 3 cat who carried out a stealth raid on the pan as it cooled and is now licking his whiskers appreciatively on the stairs . Oh well, at least he's settling in well .

On the cleaning front have done most of the things I set out to except putting away washing and hoovering the upstairs, but have also had a lovely day at a local farm with DD and DH so all is well.

I may have exciting (well for me at any rate) work news tomorrow, but don't want to jinx it! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Welcome on board peachygirl and deckeng we are experts on mess and clutter - we all have loads of it . Just start tomorrow - I will post the babystep for the day together with the day's mission. If you are new to this, all you need to do is the babystep. If you feel you can do the mission as well that's a bonus. 15 minutes decluttering of the current zone each day will really help you take control too. Get yourself a timer and set it for 15 mins (or less if you can't do that much), and once the buzzer goes off, stop. Its up to you if/how often you post a list. Just pop by from time to time for some support/alcohol/sympathy

HAG welcome back! This thread does move a bit fast although some days I wonder how anyone is getting any flying done between the posts. Well done of littleG crawling - you have been fitted with all-round vision haven't you? Babysteps, babysteps...

BigBang glad you had a good day out. You do sound a bit better today - hope things are sorting themselves out. Enjoy your day off tomorrow
SC thanks for the Body Clutter babystep. Sounds like something I ought to do. Maybe...
MM brunch with friends - good to see you properly renewing your spirit on a Sunday a la flylady
Hello MrsD! Watching for the answers to your slow cooker question(s) with interest
missb I'm in awe of your knicker drawer (hey, that rhymes!)
OM he didn't come back with a boat did he? And well done you and DS1 for still speaking after the driving
ellie impressive list. Glad I'm not the only one with a DH who seems to sleep all Sunday!
pmpy everything crossed for you tomorrow - early night for you!

Pluto GOOD LUCK FOR TOMORROW!!!

I've done almost everything I wanted to - just the vacuuming of downstairs left which DH has said he will do in the morning.
In addition to list I have
Found DS's homework in his schoolbag and got him to do it
Done all of the ironing
3 loads of washing done and now trying to get it all dried

Determined to get to bed on time tonight - see you in the morning!

mummy - thanks am feeling better today. i think temporary identity crisis over for now and i shall be back to chaos for a while. Hopefully things will settle down enough to go back to einsteins but will have to see. Just finishing watching dancing on ice part one. then will have to put washing into tumble dryer and off to bed. Night all.

Hi again,
Well, a few days of drama last week, power cuts, birthdays and DH had a nasty health scare which really shook me up, he's OK, and I don't want to go into it really, but has definitely made us think that the diet/exercise thing should be higher priority

I have been following the thread and trying to keep up with my flying.

Pluto - good luck tomorrow
WCTR - glad you're feeling better
Flamesparrow glad things are better for you too
MrsGok - ouch, hope that ankle is getting better
HAG welcome back
Peachygirl and DEckeng - welcome on board
SC I have been dutifully drinking my water. DH stockpiled limes at Christmas (for Margaritas!) so I can have those in my water. I think the smell as you cut into a lime is one of the nicest in the world
SC again, Yes, I keep looking at the Remoska, glad I'm not the only one who browses Lakeland, I'd like to hear from anyone who has ever tried one. Lakeland are one of my favourite Flying resources!
MMango - HG Mould remover (available from Lakeland!) is brilliant if you can get it, haven't tried it on grout but it works on most surfaces.
MMarmite thank you for the slow cooker info
Swanriver - was it you that said "kitchen pickers need bigger knickers" - I have caught myself saying that as my hand is getting drawn towards the cheese yet again, was it Pluto that ahred my cheese addiction? Trouble is my DCs have cheese with most meals as they are picky eaters and love grated cheese over every meal (I only say no when it's curry or stir fry)
DWM - thank you for keeping us all on track yet again.

Waves hello to everyone else.

I have been keeping up my SandS, sink shining and daily washing. Decluttering has been a bit derailed because the bin wasn't emptied for three weeks (finally went on Fri) and the tip was closed due to snow (my christmas tree is STILL cluttering up the drive), but have been tidying and reorganising the toy mountain quite diligently. I have a mental list of about 20 items which are going for a visit to the loft tomorrow, when I also intend to put away properly the Christmas decs (opened the hatch and just shoved them in a couple of weeks ago). Tonight I have meal planned and made a shopping list for tomorrow. I have booked DS's birthday party.

In the autumn I cut all the lavender flowers from my garden to dry and bag up to put in my drawers (did this last year as well). Inevitably I didn't get round to it, it has all just been sat in a washing up bowl in the airing cupboard, did it today, just shove big handfulls of stems into old popsocks and put in the drawers, lovely smell(if not appearance). I also got an uncontrollable urge to fold properly a double fitted sheet, 10 minutes of faffing about and swearing later I screwed it back up in a ball and shoved it back in the cupboard.

Enough from me, night night!

Just enjoying catching up with everyone before I go to bed.....

Am still very proud of my knicker drawer BUT I know the bigger challenge is maintaining that level of organisation!

And, in fairness, what use is a tidy knicker drawer if everywhere else is in chaos

Thank you SC for the body clutter step - I will try and do that this week.

Afraid I'm not very good at remembering folk by name - short of making a list on a piece of paper - how do you all do it?

Anyway, quick update from me -

-check organised for Guides on Thursday - done
-'to do' list for work tomorrow - done

Plus:
-prepared all vegetables prior to DH cooking tea
-mountain of washing up following DH cooking tea - done
-long walk for dog to compensate for DH cooking enormous tea - done
-sign homework diaries - done
-get ingredients for DD2's cookery together - done
-show interest in DD1's party invitations - murder mystery event - done
-shine sink
-select fresh book as finished one last night - have shelf to choose from!!

Right, off to do the latter and write absence note for DD1 to go to orthodontist!

Night night all!

Good morning all - Home Blessing Day today (although I do mine at the weekend)

Babystep today is to read the flylady's 11 commandments

We're into the bedroom this week. You might need to be brave for the mission today - sorting out Under The Bed - yikes!

I'm going to save that for Wednesday when I'm home in daylight - don't want to disturb the monsters who live under there when its dark...
The weekly flyspot - washing the pillows will not get done - how will we get them dry before tonight during a British winter?

Have a good Monday - hope all goes well Pluto

Morninng ladies,

Still in a lot of pain so won't be doing a lot.
Hope everyone else is well.

Today I will be doing

Morning routine
Babtsteps
Mission (sort of, I can't get to under my bed at the moment so I will spend the time doinng 15 minute hotspots.)
Washing up
Washing

Morning all, good luck today Pluto.

Mrs Gok, take it easy if you're still in pain - hope you feel better soon.

Welcome to peachy and decking (this sounds just the place for you, plenty of faces for the cheesy stuff, no testimonials and lovely people to keep you on track).

Baby still sick so am down to minimal everything, but our bedroom is Clutter Central so I must get the 15 mins decluttering a day in - I can't bear the thought of leaving it another month! Mission today is excellent - we sleep on a futon

Morning all,

Morning MummyD Just done the baby-step - thank you for the reminder. Very glad that we are in master bedroom this week. I'm already feeling quite chuffed because I did the mission last week. Plenty more to keep me occupied in this zone though!!

Go for it Pluto!!

Don't go for it MrsGok - take it steady!!

MrsDinky - so sorry to hear about your dh's health scare - but glad he is OK - go steady x (Agree about limes btw - one of my favourite smells - oh and lemons and cucumber.) Very impressed by your home-made lavender bags btw.

MummyD

"although some days I wonder how anyone is getting any flying done between the posts"

this is why we need you to keep us on track!!!

A warm welcome to Peachgirl and DeckEng

Mini-M your case for slow cooker EXTREMELY persuasive (the bit about tea being ready to eat at the "witching hour" after school/child-minder when the young 'uns want your attention most). I'm really, really tempted but our kitchen is quite small (old house) and we don't have much counter space. [Dithering emoticon]

Don't be scared HavingaG - it's only us!!! Come back!!!

How exciting Pushme

Wonder what PA is up to btw???

Before work:
Morning routine including washing on and s&s done
Tidy sitting room and hoover done

After work:
French study
15 mins X 2 or 3 in master bedroom
15 mins in home office
Evening routine
Parents evening

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The body clutter step for this week can be found at:

Sunday 17 Jan 19:13:22

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x posts Mmango - sorry your little one still ill - see yr other thread for a suggestion - just a thought and hope all better soon x

Have a good day everyone!

I'm so sorry, I've no idea what happened there!

Morning all!

Under the bed eh? Not sure I'll get chance though did clear out tubs between Christmas and New Year as part of big sort out so perhaps that would count?

Am going to my mum's tonight prior to attending funeral tomorrow so leaving after tea (courtesy of DD2's cookery lesson!) so doubt I can do much today, but having home blessed over the weekend I'll not worry over much!

Have done
-morning routine
-lunch boxes
-swished and swope (?!)
-glass of water
-banana with porridge (got satasumas and sald in wrap for lunch so that makes 3 portions - on the way )
-washed up from breakfast.

Off to work now. Have a good day everyone!

Just reread and wish to explain that satsumas are not with salad in wrap!

Morning all

SC that's exactly why I'm dithering about the slow cooker, very limited counter space and it would have to be put away when it is not in use. Very frustrating, as DH has a large espresso machine which takes up a great big space and gets used about once a fortnight to make one cup of coffee (I don't drink it, and he doesn't have time to faff about with it most days).

Anyway, today

Washing
Order logs
School for a meeting
Tip - byebye Christmas tree
Sainsburys
Loft- christmas decs away, various stuff put up there
Tidy our bedroom
Hoover downstairs
Make invitations for DSs party

See you later

Good morning everyone,

Can't believe how much of a difference this whole thing has made just in one week Even my DP has started keeping the sink clean.

So, about the lists. How do you guys do it? Do you write a list at the beginning of the day (I mean, here, on this thread) or at the end of the day to see what went well etc?

OK a couple of more newbie questions (sorry for all these questions!)

1. So today my baby step that I'm adding to my morning routine is to do a 5 min room rescue. I assume this means 5 mins decluttering in my 'worst room'. How's that different from 2 mins hot-spotting? How do you guys differentiate the 2?

2. One everyday problem I have is clearing under the table. My son is one and a half and when he have his meals at the table (e.g. breakfast this morning) there's inevitably lots of crumbs etc around where he was sitting. I find it terribly boring to have to drag out the hoover just for this at every meal. Tedious. So: any other solutions on an everyday basis? I know I'm jumping ahead & this kind of thing is probably covered in further baby steps etc, but I want to tackle it because it really is a problem. Do you use a hand-held tiny hoover? Do you use a broom?

Hi everyone,
I do believe I am fluttering a little! Very organised and calm in the Neenook household this morning. My ancient laptop is really struggling with the size of this thread so I will keep trying to post but may be intermittant.

missbennett what is a home blessing? I'm presumimg it doesn't involve a houseproud vicar?

Today I have:
Got up, washed and dressed before DSs
Fed, washed and dressed DSs (well one dressed himself really)
Stripped beds
Put bed linen in washing machine
Made beds with clean linen
Got DSs to school on time without shouting
Shopped with a list!!
Paid in cheques which have been in my bag at least a week
Dropped some things off at my Mum's which have been sat in the hall for days
Dropped a bag off at the charity shop which has been on the landing for weeks

Still to do:
Clean bathroom and downstairs loo
Clean and hoover
Dry washing and put away

Have a lovely day everyone

Neenook, very impressive! Good start to the day

Good start here this morning too as I managed to go for a run for first time since New Year's Eve. No snow and an almost balmy 5C. I'm a bit of an early bird so run before the others get up, makes me feel very smug all day

Neenook - 'Got DSs to school on time without shouting' - well done, that's always a major achievement in this house

I have also:
Done morning routine
Hung a load of washing outside
3 x 15 mins in our bedroom clearing out my wardrobe. I have added to both the charity shop and ebay piles!

DS is at pre-school all day today so the rest of my list includes:

Check how well shoes sell on ebay (due to clearing out above)
Hoover downstairs
Mop kitchen floor
Do more sewing on DD's curtains (my current creative project for when there are no DC around!)
Make lasagne
Drink water
Eat fruit/veg

helpwithquestions valid questions and i await the answers as i havent figured it out the difference yet. {but am a very failed flyer so on attempt 100 i might figure it out)
Lists wise i sometimes post in the morning, somtimes in the evening, and when i am procrastinating all over the place. Post as and how you feel appropriate.

neenok- lol at the house proud vicar.

Hmm, hot spots v room rescue. I think (with my whole 2 weeks' experience, mind!) that a hot spot is supposed to be just one tiny area - like one of the chairs in our living room that everyone dumps their bags/ jackets/ stuff on as they come in the house. So you clear the back of the chair, then finish. But a room rescue is for when there's stuff all over the floor/ tables/ whatever and you spend 5 minutes doing a general tidy up to kind of kick the room into shape. Does that sound like 2 different things? It did in my head, anyway.

I have done 15 mins in the bedroom and finished an email I'd been procrastinating over. Will see how we go this evening with the little one, she's being very stoic and trying to smile and play between coughing fits

Ooh, Still Counting, the baby physio sounds fab, but I've never heard of anything similar here. Will ask around a bit.

And Chaos, i like this name for you

HWC - crumbs under tables are the bane of my life too, my DCs are 6 and 4 and still make a lot of crumbs, we have carpet under the table and it is in a small corner with lots of chair and table legs, so v.tricky to hoover. I tried a small hand held vac but if wet food (eg rice, cheese) got in the dust compartment got mouldy, and it was a bugger to empty and clean. I pull the entire lot of table and chairs out about once a week to hoover, in between I find a dustpan and stiff brush is best.

HI everyone. hope you all had a good weekend. was very lazy this weekend, though i did try to do some jobs around the house, must do better this week!

so far I have done-
breakfast dishes
one load of washing
put away the ironing
todays baby step

still to do-
lunch dishes
15min declutter in bathroom
couple of hotspots in kitchen and living room
todays mission-eek!!
shine sink

i do clear out under the bed frequently but i think i must just reorganise whats under there without getting rid off anything as it never seems to disappear!
have a nice afternoon ladies, catch you all later!

chaos and help I generally assume that a room rescue is a quick clear round an entire room, binning and stacking etc. More or less what I would do if my MIL was coming round in 5 minutes .

A hot spot is clearing a specific location (coffee table and piano stool in my house among others) where clutter tends to build up over a period of time. I find that my room resuces tend to fill up my hotspots as for example I clear papers and magazines from around the room on to the coffee table. I then put aside 15 minutes every so often to specifically clear the coffee table.

But this is the school of household management that resulted in the 'Cupboard of Doom', so I'm not sure I'm a terribly good role model