May's Fledgling Flyers: shed that clout May Flyers are out

[elliepac]

Welcome to the May edition of the fledgling flyers where we are going to merrily fly around the maypole, dusting as we go.

Here you can do any of the following:

• repeat or start baby steps (again!)

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

or

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

For those who are curious, these are the Babysteps, which we all hope will restore order in our homes and make our lives a little bit easier with lots of support (and chat, and wine, and a little more chat )

So please come and join us, old and new, from May 1st.

(quietly slopes back into the room..)

Ummm. Hello. I haven't been here for days, but i have been doing a bit of flying, honest!

I have just been too knackered in the eve to look at the computer, but I have been trying really hard with lists and everything! And yesterday we just looked at election stuff online.
Just had a quick read of the last 6 pages - hello to lots of new people!!

I am over 40 btw. Its great - i feel sooo much better than last decade.

The laundry is about the only thing i cannot for the life of me ever seem to get vaguely near the top of.

You all seem to be very organised this month

Tomorrows list involves remembering the brolly when we go out to the local country/agricultural show, and i must phone a couple of people, and send some birthday cards.

Will be flying really hard next week. I have promised myself!

TTFN

Feeling really rough tonight (cold taking hold), busy day tomorrow in prospect, off to bed now, night night.

Evening all,

lots of tired/busy/poorly people today so I hope you are all OK and taking lots of time for yourselves to sleep/take it easy/get better.

mrsd hope the cold doesn't worm it's way on too much. Good luck with the busy day tomorrow.

purplewednesday well done on keeping up with your routines despite knackeredness. Not an easy task at the best of times. Think you may need your brolly having looked at weather forecast

mm how dare RL come first ? In all seriousness however, get some sleep and catch up when you can.

nettie nice simple day, that's the way I like it!

biddy sounds like a very nice day, shall we put the paper monster on Crimewatch with the mess bomber. They might be in it together .

pa rather busy day in the attitude household I see. Alth] of though am of the haircut, one thing i never seem to get round to doing for myself.

dem see previous post. I have a cunning plan re the mess bomber .

om glad the party went well. Enjoy Joan Armatrading .

linzer hope DS's tummy is ok!

Big waces to everyone else. Hope you are all enjoying a relaxing Friday night after what has been a very active week on this thread. Put your feet up, you all deserve it!

Clearly that should say waves not waces... tis very late for me .

Hello everyone.

Today's babystep is beginning our control journal. The idea of writing everything down helps us to remember exactly what we need to do in a morning and an evening. Nice easy step today and just keep on with the shiny sinks, hotspots and putting clothes out. .

No mission today as it is the weekend so enjoy some family time and/or me time.

Have a good day!

Good morning everyone,

Today's list:

Quick blitz of house
Food shopping
Buy cards for postcard exchange
Get DDs to write aforesaid cards
DDs to birthday party
Distract DS (party is next door and they often all go and play at the neighbours, so not sure he'll understand why he can't today)

DS turned out to be fine - when DD1 asked him why he hadn't gone to Kindergarten, he said he "didn't want to" (tummy ache is often his excuse if he doesn't want to do something, so I was slightly suspicious).

Hope you're feeling better soon MrsD.

RL can be pesky like that, can't it MiniM?

And hello again to purplewednesday. Glad to hear the next decade is something to look forward to - I have a "round birthday" (as they say here) to look forward to next year.

Waves to everyone else - all the other posts have disappeared to the previous page. Have a great weekend!

Morning!

Nil flying here yesterday but very little time at home.

Doing ok so far this morning - 1st load in WM and dry stuff removed from airer.

List for today:
2 more loads in WM
empty DW and reload
think about tea
go to cashpoint
DS to swimming
to pet shop for litter tray and cat litter(don't usually have one but Daisy will have to be kept in for a while)
ironing
2 hotspots
shine sink

See you all later

Right, NCT Sale today, DH has taken the DCs swimming so I can load the car with all their old stuff without them realising! As well as toys and clothes I have 2 cots, a changing table, stairgate, buggyboard, etc etc, so a significant amount of decluttering. Have also got 2 bin liners of stuff that's not worth the effort of selling (babygros etc) for charity collection next week.

AM supposed to be staying to help at the sale, not sure if I will because of cold, will see. Probably not much in the way of Flying today!

Will try and catch up with you all later.

right. being boy free and riddle with migraine i have had a delisous lie in. Got tons to do today so will have to find the motivation without caffinee as it appears it is my morning coffee that is doing the headache damage. That and forgetting to eat.

3 loads washing - washed and dried
iroing
paperwork to sort out / reduce mountain of
email to send
letter to shove in post
get tv fix now have warenty
go out tonight
oh and speak to sister if she is about
plenty to do and no caffine to fuel which will be interesting. Hey of out of bed i get...

Yawn! Morning all. Early start due to step DS supposedly having a cricket match (it's raining) - they got them all on the coach, drove a mile, got a phone call from the other school, turned around! Fortunately DH was following the coach!

Today:
-take DS to tennis lesson - gone to friend after
-Go & buy birthday presents/cards for birthday party this afternoon.
-Pick up DS&friend from friends house, bring them here to play
-Go to party (bowling) see if can make DH go as DD invited too so will need to stay and supervise.
-Food shopping
-Put ironing away
-Buy stamps - still not sent thank you letter. Must not forget this!
-Try and sort a hotspot!

Right - off to the shops in the rain! Have a good day everyone

Hello everyone,

Busy day today. So far have:-

negotiated Tesco
Paid CM
Washing on
Tidied dining room
Cleaned kitchen
Washed up

Still got to:

tidy/mop floor in living room
tidy/declutter hallway (no missions done this week)
Sort clean washing
Clean bathroom

Am ridiculously excited about taking DS to bed because we bought him some new books this morning and one of them is The Faraway Tree which was one of my most loved books as a child so can't wait to start reading it with him (some of it a bit difficult for him on his own yet). Although I might have a fight with DH who chose Fantastic Mr Fox for him which is one his favourites!

Better get on. Back later .

Hello!
Composed lovely post last night and then the site went down
Anyway, I hope everyone is OK and mrsd you feel better soon.

Won't try and back track but needless to say need to catch up on sleep due to too much election-result watching

So far today:
-menu plan and Tesco shop
-weightwatchers - lost 3.5 lbs Hooray! Makes up for the last couple of weeks.
-washing - load in and now drying
-planned Sunday School for tomorrow

So after lunch I am going for part 2 of my Christmas present - makeover! And if it's any good I might post a photo onto face book and then you can all see. But I'll see how brave I feel later. At present my picture is Charlotte Bronte.

Back later.......

Afternoon all,

Didn't post a list this morning as I managed to doze till 9am (this is huge for me, I'm always tired at the moment!) and rushed off to the office, where I managed to finish my jobs. I am now officially on maternity leave. And I even managed to get the last bus home to save me waddling there in the rain (its a teeny local bus that stops at 2!)

So now I can think about my list as I want to be able to relax and have fun with DS tomorrow. Didn't get my routines done last night or this morning either, so there will be recap of those!

• Finish tidying up from last night and wipe down kitchen
• mop kitchen floor
• reboot wash
• get moses basket covers on so I can put it downstairs for DS to get used to!
• tidy lounge a bit including dining table clearing
• empty upstairs bins
• evening routine

I'm sure I'll think of something else in a minute, but I'll just try to get those done!

You all all so busy today!

DEM hope head is improving
ellie I bought a copy of the Faraway Tree when DS was small and he won't let me read it to him - read it to myself instead

List going well:
3rd load in WM
empty DW and reload DONE
think about tea DONE
go to cashpoint DONE
DS to swimming DONE
to pet shop for litter tray and cat litter(don't usually have one but Daisy will have to be kept in for a while) DONE
ironing DONE
2 hotspots 1 DONE had hoped dining table could be done as a HS but proved too big a task. My other HS will be finishing it!
shine sink

Coffee & MN time I think!

[slopes in rather furtively having spectacularly fallen off wagon last week ]

I always 'fail' at the point when house is basically clean and organised, meal planning is going well and laundry is under control ... which in reality then means I should be turning my attention to the truly 'orrible bits of my house such as the office and basement.

Funny that isn't it??

Self-sabotage is my speciality ....

Heigh ho.

Dh and dd gearing up for Dr Who this eve when I will rush around doing chores ....

Out most of tomorrow so see you all Monday ...when I hope to start again properly

Thanks for steps Ellie and enjoy your bedtime reading!

Congratulations on your lists today everyone!!

Sorry - no time to post individually - must carry on with washing and ironing ...

Waves to all ....

Nettie - sorry - have forgotten - where are you?

Evening all,

Ellie - Fantastic Mr Fox was the first "long" book we read to DS, he loved it, and also enjoyed the film later. We have just started The Faraway Tree this week and he is really enjoying it. Both wer firm favourites of mine as a child too.

MissB - hope the makeover went well, I couls do with one of those [wrinkly old hag emoticon].

DEM - hope caffeine free day is not too difficult.

Waves at everyone else.

Didn't stay and help at NCT Sale, they had enough people and it was a mammoth effort getting it all out of the loft, down the stairs (although did the heavier stuff with DH last night) into the car, and out of the car into the building, although enlisted the help of a friendly Dad with a trolley for the last part. Most of the stuff sold, just a small box of clothes and a couple of toys left over, which can be charity shopped, so feeling pleased with that, and looking forward to the cheque arriving.

Not done much else today, just mooched around with the kids and DH, nice really. No Flying whatsoever but never mind. Feeling a bit better tonight anyway.

Evening all,

I've pretty much done my list (failed to assemble the moses basket properly!) and my evening routine (I don't generally shine my sink every day but I might do it before bed) and DS is asleep already

Ellie / Mrs D - I'm looking forward to DS wanting me to read longer books at bed time.

MissB - ooo a makeover. Very jealous! Although I did dye my hair very red last night

stillcounting - at least you know you're keeping on top of things. I think you just need a bit of an incentive to do the decluttering! Mine is being ready for the baby at the moment

We've been keeping DS awake all day this week, and it has been really helping his bedtime. He's asleep already tonight, so I am sitting on the sofa in peace watching over the rainbow, and I can still go to bed early!

Hi everyone!

Had a very funny evening yesterday with two lovely friends! We had a Bellini each before the concert began which was, we thought, a great way to kick off!

Did enjoy Joan except she insisted on playing new stuff which no-one really wanted to hear and was really heavy!! She had 4 guitars and it was a bit like watching your old ma play. Her set was 2 hours long with no interval and by the end we were all desperate for the loo! Talk about rock chicks!!

Someone said how great it is being in your 40s - it is but come 45+ it feels a bit different imo. My lovely friend is already making a list on her iphone of things she wants to do before she's 50

Anyway today I have:

Washing done
Drying doing
Ironing tobecontinued

Having a takeaway tonight!

PA - DS has taken his test again and failed again!! Honestly I can't believe how much harder it seems to be! He was 2 mins from finishing when he had his bumper over the zebra crossing line because a lady changed her mind and turned to cross = instant fail!! 3rd time lucky! Our instructor says just put in for it again but he is now on study leave and really needs to focus for his AS levels....oh well...

Have a nice evening all and I hope the illies feel better...

Evening all - haven't really done too much FLY-ing over the last 2 days - a hangover from only getting 3 hours sleep on election night (too excited stupidly!) and then working 11 hours yesterday.

Knowing that I'm k-nackered I've been realistic with today's jobs and broken them into little 15 mins throughout the day as a revision break ( yes folks, I'm 30 & have one of life's most serious and grown-up jobs, but still can't escape exams!! Life hasn't changed since being 15!!) The FLY-ing is less about making this house beautiful, and more about packing sensibly for a house move in 3 weeks, but got a good amount done so far.

hope the weekend is fun for you so far & have a great sat night.x

By the way - I would def be in the Fantastic Mr Fox camp Boggis and Bunce and Bean...

Evening all,

Well, I managed to get everything done on my list (apart from DD1 writing her postcard) - we distracted DS by taking him to the circus.

In a fit of frustration this morning, I gathered up everything on the playroom floor plus anything that had been randomly placed on shelves (DH's "method" of tidying up the playroom, which has been copied by the DC), put it all in a large box and carted it down to the cellar, where it is now next to the pile for the charity shop. I will probably end up relenting and putting most of it back, although I'm sure they wouldn't miss 90% of it.

ellie It makes bedtime so much more fun once you can start reading them longer stories, doesn't it? We've just finished The BFG, which held a special appeal for DD2 because of the heroine's name.

Right, I've escaped from RL to come and say hello!

Well, I've done what I can towards packing but everything remaining is still wet so I'll have to wait! I've made a risotto to take and eat on the first night (I've never frozen risotto before so I hope it is ok)! Need to make a couple of malt loaves tomorrow and some bread if I get time.

Work starts on the bathroom on Monday so I need to empty that tomorrow too.

It will all be worth it when we are a) on holiday b) the bathroom has been renovated and I am relaxing in my lovely new bath! This is my mantra for the weekend!

SC I am exactly the same with feeling so good about getting the basics done that I relax and forget that there is a whole house to declutter behind those cupboard doors!

Chairmum glad to hear you are now on ML. Make sure you get some rest and don't do TOO much nesting .

MissB I hope you enjoyed your makeover and well done at WW, sounds like you're doing so well.

Ellie it is so lovely when the little ones love books. It is one of my favourite times of day to snuggle up with DS to read him a story before bed.

I hope your head is feeling a bit better DEM.

Sorry for not sending individual messages to everyone, waves and hugs all round though .

Evening all

Just checking in and feeloing slightly intimidated by the long lists!

SC are you me? That's exactly the point I fall off the wagon as well. I think it is because I secretly don't quite care enought to put in the effort to take it to that extra level and really move the house forward. Have spent a huge proportion of today cleaning and still am not really quite back to where I was and can't bring myself to get up and finish it off

Sorry for all the poorly people - all got colds here too. Have a port and brandy on me

Hi to ellie, mm, linzer, gormers, OM, chairmum, mrsD, DWM, Missb, DEM and everyone I've missed!

Evening all!

I've been a naughty naughty girl today & done no flying of any kind whatsoever! Just coming in to say hi! Off to bed shortly to try and read book (just started Solar by Ian McEwan - not a promising start but hey-ho!) step-ds (what should the abbreviation be? SDS/DSS?!!) cooked supper v. sweet - a million trays/pans to clean now though!

DW/Sink/bed.

PMPY - I'm not ill but like the sound of port & brandy
Chairmum- ml - yay - well done for finishing up at work & enjoy this time!
MrsD - glad NCT sale a success. Need to do one of those myself, loft stuffed full of stuff we don't need any more
gormers are you a doctor??

Big goodnight wave to everyone! and slightly sloshed because I've had too much wine.

Hello everyone,

I have had a very busy day and managed some flying inbetween sibling squabbles!! What is it that makes a 19m old get so much pleasure out of tormenting her big brother??

I have done
dw
wm
sink
dejunked toy box in lounge now have 1 bag full to add to two boxes of books still in car waiting to go to charity shop
changed 1

Tomorrow DS and DD have playdates for lunch so gotta tidy house.
Dw
wm
make cakes
change 2 beds
fill out reference for friend going for new job
tidy up after playdate

here's hoping for a sibling peace treaty at least while other Children are around.

sc in Essex why?

Sleep tight everyone have lovely Sundays