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!

Welcome ojbsmum! When are you due to move?

Oh no! No ironing, thanks for nagging I will hear all your virtual voices when the huge pile of crumpled clothes stares me in the face tomorrow and I WILL do it!

In my defence, DH suddenly decided the tree had to go so I spent a while vacuuming pine needles (and then fell asleep, oops)!

Back to work tomorrow , back to flying and back to not eating my own bodyweight in cheese and chocolate every day...

Goodnight

Thanks for the working and flying links dwm I had a trial run tonight of what I think a typical Sunday evening routine should be when I go back to work in a fortnight. Only thing I need to work on is getting into bed by 10.30pm. Apologies for posting the world's most dull list below - it's only for my info so I can edit it - please don't read on if you have better things to do!

My evening routine (Sundays)

Packed lunches for me and DS1.
Bag packed for DS2 C/M
School bags packed for me and DS1
Clothes out for Monday including helmet, hi-vis and waterproofs if cycling to work
Sink shining
Living room tidy
Pram, walking bus jackets and coats ready for Monday
keys, specs and handbag where they should be
Meals planned for week ahead and Monday's dinner defrosting in fridge if necessary.
Diary double checked with DH for week ahead (will also do this on previous Wednesday to allow time to rearrange things if req.)
Breakfast items put out in kitchen
D/W empty
load in w/m on timer
Double check lesson planning for Monday
Stuff put out for cleaner who is coming once a fortnight starting later this month.

Why am I going back to work? Over a third of my salary will be gone on C/M fees and as soon as my children have gone to bed I'll be back at my desk again. I think I need to write a list of all the good reasons there are for working but I am a bit worried about all the bloody juggling.

DH put the coat hooks up so today I: shone my sink, put coats on new coat hooks, did a bit of ironing, did two loads of washing, prepared DS's cloth nappies and nursery bag. Those are my babysteps for today...

Hi everyone, is it too late to join in??? (i think it might be for my house!!!).

Tomorrows a new start in so many ways, but mainly one. I started a new buisness in october and luckly it's going ok at the moment. My dh gave up work before christmas and were going to job/house/childcare share so will hopefully will be able to step into each others shoes. I'm thinking we need a bit of a routine at home so certain people arnt doing the same jobs or no jobs at all!!!

Hopefully we can both follow this and it will ease him into home life slowly!
Also, after us both workin full time with three dc, three birthdays and christmas for the last three months the house looks like a dump site!!!

So wish me luck and take it easy on us please.

Ooooh! Clemette, ain't you posh with coat hooks an' all Seriously though I have been waiting for mine to be put up for nearly a year [roll eyes] The bottom of our stairs is our coat rack.

Thanks for the encouragement ladies, I know it sounds daft but to have someone to tell what progress I've made really helps. I can't ring up a RL person 3 or 4 times a day and say 'guess what...........?' I feel really chuffed with myself and just want to boast

Night ladies, sweet dreams and see you tomorrow.

Morning all, hi to ojbsmum and sep1712. I just started and everyone has been lovely. sep, good luck with involving dh - actually I think it's a great idea - tell him, 'go and read this internet page' rather than nagging him about specific jobs.

ChaosTheory - please tell us about the red cabbage, I'm also intrigued.

SSC -sorry that dd is still poorly, I hope she's currently sleeping, not vomiting.

tibni- am deeply envious of your 9 hours sleep (do you remember when sleeping through a night with dp/ dh wouldn't have been quite so satisfying?)

pluto, how many kids do you have? how long have you been away from work? When I went back after dd1, I found it worked out better than I'd hoped - I prioritised the work I had to do and left on time every day (harder if you're teaching, I know). Good luck with it.

And Mayo on chips is definitely the way forward.

Dd2 has been very angelically cooperative today, so my list update:

List for tomorrow:

1. quick tidy of living room (so there's room for 2) done
2. yoga - 15 mins done and God, I'm out of shape and am developing breastfeeders' back
3. shower and dressed done to moisturiser and lip balm. Feet are still bare
4. shine sink going to do right now

List for the week:
write thank you notes, wrap presents
post notes/ presents
go through box of baby clothes - find next size up
deal with huge piles of clothes in bedroom (charity bag/ laundry)
deal with piles of crap in the entranceway (give away or throw away)
get cv together and apply for distance learning course

Good morning and welcome to sep1712. Just start from today, no need to try to catch us up although if you do find some time, you might like to try shining your sink.

Today's babystep is about writing things on post it notes. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

Into the kitchen for today's mission. Get those feather dusters out!

Doing well so far here - dressed to slippers, childcare bill sorted and ready to go. Breakfast next & need to do some bills on-line. Have a great day!

[SC tiptoes in, fills kettle, prepares grapefruit for those on diets, toast for those who aren't]

Morning Mmango, morning Droitwich, morning all

A warm welcome to Sept1712

Good luck to everyone who is returning to work/school today

Before work:
DD to school early
Morning routine inc s&s, shiny sink, dw on
Laundry on
Finish cleaning sitting room
Finish stripping beds
Today's baby step
15 mins decluttering of kitchen

After work:
language study
supermarket shop
clean downstairs cloakroom
tidy up hall/landings
Clean out gps
Evening routine

Have a good 'un everybody ....

x posts Droitwich!! [pours tea, coffee perking too]

(Caught up with this thread last night and meant to say that I loved the picture of your ds and his lego!!)

Right, must dash ....

morning all,

same as a lot of people i suspect as in back to work today . but at least we have no kids today as it is a training day. am not list posting today as i am aiming just to get through the day without going in sane.

big welcome to sep and ojbsmum just dive in, we are a freindly lot

have a good day everyone.

Well today I am going to Show Willing, so post-its are in place. Dp is going to think i'm telling him to get dressed, I'm sure.

Sink is cleaned if not exactly shiny - I decided it was better to get on with cleaning it with the random cleaning products in the house rather than postpone until I've done some shopping. It's made a difference, though - lots of 'little scratches' turned out to be just dirt. Ew.

Still counting, am in awe of your lists and definitely stcking to babysteps myself!

Good luck at work Ellie and all of you who are back in work this morning.

Forgot to say welcome to ojbsmum

Don't be in awe of my lists Mmango (don't tell anyone but I usually only get half of them done!!) Seriously, I'm really struggling with the house at the moment and I'm doing the daily baby-steps + 15 mins decluttering for, gosh, it must be about the 5th or 6th time. Some serious clutter here.

The only things that give me comfort are:

(a) the Fat Fairy herself says that it took her nine months to get her house under control and her routines down pat and

(b) with this system I know what I am doing each day, so am not too "rabbit in headlights"/panicking ineffectually and you know that the zones will come around again so it doesn't all have to be done perfectly
every time. I'm beginning to learn that consistency is the key, not perfectionism and no "all or nothing" thinking allowed!!

End of indoctrination essay for today!!

Have a good one everybody. I'm off to work now ...

Just a quicky to say good morning all

DC are not getting it's school day today and are still at holiday speed mode.

Have an appointment in town today, so won't be doing anything today but when home will try and finish the DC's room plus washing plus babysteps.

Morning all

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year, I've been awol due to the laptop having a Christmas crisis and refusing to turn on fingers crossed it is all fixed now

I'd like to say I have spent my computer free week getting on top of the clutter but I haven't I have spent it eating chocolates and playing raving rabbids on the Wii

The Christmas clutter is threatening to take over the lounge & the kids are back at school today so really need to motivate myself and get sorting out.
Only one job for today -
Take the Christmas tree down

Hope everyone has a great day

Morning all.

SO i am back into work mode although i am not actually in school teaching, and despite having had ds sleep on top of me not feeling so bad and have started the day with a flying start:

3 loads dry washin folded done
DW unloaded and re-loaded done
1 load washing on done - 1 to go
ds' homeschool diary done
1 load washing hung up to dry done
Dress to shoes - almost - just the makeup left and will be doing that today.

So the jobs for today are:
scanning
drop paperwork into school
Post office
Student (stupid f*$^king) finance company paperwork again - someone needs to kick their ass so they dont lose it again
Essay
Uni library trip.
Ring card company and cancel debit card (lost) and order new credit card pin (forgotten)
Oh and pay credit card bill.

Lots of little bits.

And for those who asked:

Red cabbage indidcator:
Finely chop a red cabbage leaf, pour boiling water over it and stir until the water is dyed a nice purpley colour. This is the colour of a neutral solution.

Make up a few solutions to test eg soapy water, bicarbonate of soda dissolved in water, lemon juice, vinegar. Acids turn the solution pink, alkalis blue. Other examples include antacid and few other that i will have to check my file for as didnt use them and cant remember off hand.

You can neutralise the solutions (turn them back to purple) by mixing the acids and alkalis (pink and blue), you can also get a range of pinky colours and bluey-purple colours by mixing different amounts of the acids and alkalis together. The stronger the acid or alkali the deeper the pink or blue colour.

It is an experiment that we get yr7 kids to do in school but transfers well to the kitchen. If you dont want the mess of the liquids you can make indicator paper by soaking blotting/filter paper in the cabbage solution and leaving to dry before testing the test solutions.

Morning all!
I so agree with MrsG - this is where others really understand the effort that what seem to be straightforward tasks takes and what a sense of achievement it is when they are completed! I have RL friends who are total Domestic Godesses and def do not understand!

Felt I did quite well yesterday - in spite of temptations of P&P on TV. Today I'm not sure how I'll get on - starting with car to garage - throttle thing went before Christmas and am lucky to get 15 mph downhill with my foot down! Not sure if it's something they will do while I wait or not but think will take up most of morning anyway.

This afternoon I want to go through all my Guide stuff in readiness for planning meeting tonight (at pub - hoorah!)

And of course there is still DD1's room to tackle.....

Right, off to get dressed - can't go to garage in pyjamas!

morning! Another vomity start to the day and can't get through to doctors yet .... so my list for the day is :

babystep - hmm, will consolidate
washing - lots
wash up - get DP to do it.
go to doctors
make packed lunch for DS for school tomorrow

and try to get to the end of today not smelling too strongly of vomit.

have a fun day

Slightly worried about looking on top of my fridge/freezer - there are tons of things balancing up there and probably things growing too...but setting the timer for 15 mins will help. It's very liberating feeling that that's all I have to do to make a difference! Missbennett - love the thought of your Guide planning meeting at the pub! Good luck to all going back to work today, I'm still on leave (hooray). Decorations down and tree chopped up yesterday, which makes a difference to the clutter.

Morning all,

WCTR - love the cabbage experiment. I am (was!) a chemist, so it's right up my street. Will remember it for when my DCs are a bit older.

Clemette - coat hooks revolutionised my state of organisation, put up two lots, high and low in the hall last year. Low ones for the kids stuff, high ones for ours. No more bags on the floor, coats on the sofa, no excuse for the kids not to be able to reach. Also I put my calendar up next to them, so I can stand in the hall every evening and make sure all the right bags, PE kits etc are present and correct for the morning. Very flylady if I say it myself. Hope yours are just as effective.

SSC - fingers crossed for DD to be better soon

Not sure about today, lots to do and it's the only day both DCs are out all day, but I feel rough, have been sleeping badly due to cough.

Provisional list

Find lemsips
Washing on
Dishwasher on
Menu planning
Sainsburys
Town for various random items
Hoover front room
Top of fridge - yuck I expect

I couldn't manage to sleep til gone 1. DD2 woke at 2.30 with a raging temp and miserable. Finally got us both back to sleep about 6.30. DD1 & DS left me asleep whilst they made toast and squash

will read thread now.

We got coat hooks when I did this first time round

My list today is to do the mission, babysteps, and get the car battery sorted. Other than that I am too tired to aim at anything. Going to psychomum's later - hoping to convince her to cuddle a baby whilst I curl up in her bed.

oooh that was a scary amount of cobwebs

hi everyone and hello to all the newbies too. Hopefully, you will enjoy this as much as I have been doing. I realy like having to make a list and knowing that others can see if im slacking, thankfully i havent so far.

anyway list for today

-up and dressed done
-beds made done
-load of washing done
-breakfast dishes done
-15min declutter
-todays mission (eek!)
-put away yesterdays ironong done
-shine sink

i wasnt really sure about the shint sink thing but actually, i quite enjoy doing it, and it means that i have to clear the drainer before bed to which can only be a good thing.
Kids not back til tomorrow (snow/ice depending) so will have the real test then!