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.

Morning all,

Today's babystep is calender checking. Would help if I actually had one .

No mission .

Have a nice day!

Good morning everyone! I am back - been away for so long I had to search for the thread! Anyway have been trying to catch up & failing - how is Chairmum? And PA wow, what a couple of weeks you have had! Anyway, will try and catch up with the thread properly later.

I have been in silly busy land and had stressful week. Also to do with DH's job situation - months of negotiations about him leaving & been on the cusp on signing deals and then various people trying to throw spanners in the works etc. But it's all sorted now plus DSD had her 18th this week and DS's school seem to have gone barmy (up making an 'eco' hat at 12:30am one night this week! )

Flying has been a bit interesting (as in non-existent). I have booked all these exercise sessions in the mornings when DD at nursery but then found no time to really catch up with the clutter or, indeed, with you all.

Hoping June will provide more in the way of balance to the world .

Anyway just checking in to say hello and try and catch up a bit. Is there a thread for June yet? Friends coming for lunch today with their baby who we haven't met yet, so need to do some frantic flying round the house now!

Good evening everyone

biddy wb nice to see you
ellie eurovision even with wine
swan you hit it on the head lazyitis!! Like it! Well done yesterday!
pa flip flops you look sweet at wedding with just ur £2 flip flops on!
linzer lol at dd dollys rubber ring!!

Had very busy day Ive done
dw x 3
wm x2
stripped and remaid 2 beds
visited in laws
made homemade minestrone soup was
lovely
dewedded patio almost finished
had Chinese food for dinner
dc bathed and bed

now chilling!

More wedding and tidying tomorrow!!

Have good bank hol monday x

Sorry forgot to wave to everyone else

Hi Ladies

I'm back from a weekend away where I had lunch with friends, went to a fab Eurovision party (how's your head Ellie?) and Mum and Dad helped me lots with DS...meanwhile back at the ranch, DH did DIY, the bathroom was finished and a small amount of tidying was done!

There is still quite a lot to do on the decluttering and tidying front but I do feel like we've moved forward, hooray!

PA your DH's proposal sounds so sweet!

Yum yum to homemade minestrone Nettie (and Chinese food)

Waves to SR, biddy, linzer, SC, MissB, PMPY, OM and everyone I have missed...any news from/on Chairmum?

Off to try out my new shower in a minutes

Hello everyone

Just diving in and out to send greetings to all and positive Flying vibes

Entertained all day today - hoardes of children (and parents) rampaging around - which was good fun if a bit tiring and (now I've tidied up the chaos left in their wake) the house is clean and in order for week ahead. Nothing like the prospect of visitors to give you a sharp kick up the rear help you get motivated....

Elliepac we were cackling heartily at stage invasion during Spanish entry. Every year we say we are not going to watch the wretched event and we always end up starting to watch it and (being very very old ] we then promptly fall asleep.... Have a great day tomorrow!!

Biddy good news about your dh's job and happy birthday to your dsd

SR oh yes - I LOVE those rare school holidays when you have absolutely NO commitments

PA well you are well equipped for a tropical wedding on the beach ....!!!
Well done for getting through last week with sense of humour intact! Hats off! Hope someone is pampering YOU this w/e.

Nettie congrats on completing your mega-list

How did the decluttering go Linzer? (When I have a day to myself to declutter I always plan such an unrealistically rigorous schedule - without allowing any time for breaks or any rewards/fun- that I almost fail before I start!! Flying is helping with this though ...)

Hope your cough is better Chairmum

Hope you had a good trip Nick

Hope you are having a lovely, relaxing we away MiniM

Waves to Feetheart MrsDinky¨ Optimistic Pushme and anyone I've missed

I'm going back to baby steps + serious decluttering (AGAIN!!!) in June

x posts Mini - glad you had a lovely time

Yes, was thinking exactly the same thing about Chairmum...

I wonder if there's any news????

Nothing yet everyone.

Just keeping on top of things - had to ask H to have DS for a bit today so I could have a nap and I've still been shouting mummy all day

Lots of braxton hicks but no contractions yet. I promise I'll post when I'm in labour though!

sorry I'm posting VERY dullmessages,
but done
kept kitchen clean
4 or was that five loads of dry [windy wasn't it?washing put away
church without too many tears
was re-hooked as catechist
photos ds2 project
long walk

otherwise..
dh is slightly fractious state, me too,
still another quiet day tomorrow, so no need to worry about anything [much]

chairmum look after yourself, is someone coming to hospital with you?
biddy glad your dh job is sorting itself out
sc still cheerful! I think you are a people person - I may be rather a recluse
PA best wishes for the two youngest dcs. And failing driving test always makes a more careful driver in the end (I should know!)
Ellie it's worth all those scout pickups isn't it? Next thing you know he'll be weaving survival huts out of twine and twigs.
Nettie dewedding patio sounds racy!
Mini-Marmite what happened [boohoo] I used to love the Eurovision, but now...alas I still like Terry Wogan though.

Morning all,

It's pouring with rain here today (yet again) and I'm feeling generally fed up with things. DH and I had a "disagreement" last night about the state of the house; according to him, it's all because the children and I don't tidy up after ourselves (true to some extent), but I feel so frustrated that I can't get through to him about us having too much clutter. Playmobil is taking over the house - and he bought another two boxes of it yesterday for DD2's and DS's birthdays in July . I could go on, but I'm trying to stay positive and whingeing isn't going to help my mood.

PA I think boring may well be overestimated. At least that's what I keep telling myself - I haven't had the chance to find out.

ellie Hope your house rescuing is going well.

biddy Good to see you back!

Nettie Sounds like you had a busy day yesterday; you deserved to chill in the evening.

MiniM Glad to hear you had a good weekend.

SC I am too old to even start watching Eurovision . Decluttering going OK (got rid of lots of paperwork) but I think I'm concentrating on the wrong thing, as the house is still in the same state it was before.

swan Fractious DH sounds far too familiar...

I just feel like I'm fighting a losing battle at the moment; back to babysteps next month, I think.

Today's short list:
Work
Morning routine
Bake muffins for friend's visit this afternoon
Decluttering if time

Hope all of you back in the UK are enjoying the bank holiday - we have one here on Thursday, so another long weekend coming up (but we don't get half term).

Morning everyone,

Busy busy day yesterday so didn't get time to post. DS had, in his words, 'an absolutely wonderful day ' at his Beaver fun day and thought Bear Grylls was disgusting because he ate spiders right in front of him. Spent some lovely time with DD who was adorable because she didn't have to share any attention and actually did a lot on the flying front as well.

Managed to:-
tidy all downstairs (doesn't sound much but trust me it was!)
clean kitchen
washing
tidy bathroom

All that tidying yesterday means I have a clear run through for cleaning today although I can hear DD trashing living room as we speak .

linzer don't be sad, you are doing brilliantly remember you have only been a few months and within that time you have begun to make a real difference. It takes time, you can do it .

sr at washing, I realised yesterday that I may need to get a life as I found myself telling several people that it was 'a good drying day'?! Hope you and DH are less fractious day and your postings are not dull .

chairmum well done for keeping on top of things, take it easy

sc well done for having a clean tidy house yesterdau, i think i neeed some visitors . I have a day to myself tomorrow and have already written a military style list . Wonder how much of it will get done?

mm your weekend sounds lovely. Head recovered after a small afternoon nap thank you . Yay to the bathroom being finished and DH doing DIY, you can send him over here if you want I have millions of unfinished/unstarted jobs that DH has promised to do but never got round to doing .

nettie impressive list yesterday. Well Done you, soup sounds delicious .

biddy lovely to have you back. Glad RL seems to have settled down. June thread will be created in about 5 minutes .

pa that proposal sounds so sweet. I always do that when shopping, make sure everyone else gets something and then forget about myself .

Big waves to everyone else mrsd pmpy feetheart* om nick and the people I have surely missed. Back with steps in a mo!

Morning everyone,

Here is today's babystep,feeling proud emoticon. I echo the fat fairy's sentiments here. Well done to everyone for a great month. .

The mission for today is based in the Living Rooms and is here.

And we are now at that time of the month where it is time to bid goodbye to this month and march into the next, June's thread. See you all over there.

Morning everyone

Firstly I'm very proud of me as I have done tons of decluttering this month! My house is generally not to bad on a day to day basis! June is gonna be even better and I'm going to drink lotsa water and be very patient with DCs

Now all I have to do is get on with it and step away from my phone (with mn and fb and emails and ocado is permanently attached)

today plan

wm
tumble dryer (rain)
put away clothes piles taking up kitchen top
if dries up think will deweed patio today
dcs room rescue
living room room rescue and mission
take dc somewhere
get dh up and out to work

think that'll do for now

ellie sounds like lovely day all round
linzer sorry u feeling overwhelmed! I'm sorry ur DH doesn't see how hard you are working! Stick with it, whinging sometimes helps if you can get it off your chest
swan doing brill girlie
chairmum woo excited emotion
sc entertaining lots of people sounds like fun glad you had a nice time and managed the aftermath
mm glad you had nice weekend away

Morning everyone

Ordinary working day here (we had our public holiday last Monday). No more hols now as we break up for the summer on the last day of June which (yikes, can't believe it, where did the year go?) is almost upon us. I now only have four weeks left to (a) declutter this house for once and all (d) lose weight before the holidays (c) sort out my 'new' life in September (d) sort out various health niggles.

Still, I work better under pressure

So I am going to be spending today making a detailed plan for the month ahead.

Today:

DONE
Morning routine including dw on, wm on, s&s and master swipe

TO DO
June planning (including meal planning)
French study
Recover from weekend and have an early night

Well done Nettie - for making such good progress!!

Thank you Ellie for being such a great thread leader throughout May. You've kept all our spirits up! Lol at Bear Grylls's spider snack!! Good luck getting through your list today.

It's probably too early to plan this far ahead but I'd be happy to post steps come September. (I will be travelling for quite a few weeks throughout July and August.) Someone pls remind me about this when the time comes as I've a head like a sieve!!

Sorry you are feeling demoralised this morning Linzer. It's true (as I know from direct experience) it's v. difficult to "clean clutter". I'm still struggling with this (except most of the clutter is mine!) Could you possibly do a bit of surreptious filching away of things without your dh knowing ;)??? [Most people who are initially very reluctant to get rid of "stuff" change their minds when they see the resulting order and calm.] Would he mind do you think? Or could you instigate a couple of house rules such as "new pair of trainers/Playmobil set/diy tool IN" = "old pair of trainers/toy/tool we never use OUT"
Or another tip is to "contain" the clutter ie allocate defined storage for toys/cds/tools and when the contents reach the defined limit, eg, 2 toy boxes per dc or whatever, it's time to sort/chuck out/give away .... Sorry, don't know if any of this is helpful but wishing you more power to your elbow. Don't give up!! The Fat Fairy herself said it took 9 months of Flying to get her house decluttered ... You WILL get there. (Seriously, my house was in the most appalling state when we started Fledgling Flyers. It's still very bad in parts but it's improving all the time and trust me, I was a really hopeless case.)

Swanriver "dull" = getting lots done!! Well done!!

Chairmum - glad you are OK and taking it steady. [Sorry to keep asking if any news!!] Will desist!! Hope you can put your feet up a bit today x

Hi to Mummy PA Biddy Optimistic and everyone else ...

Have a good day everyone - see you on the June thread ...

PS Swan I could quite happily be a recluse - it's dh who is the sociable one - I always enjoy it eventually though!!

Forgot to wave to Mini-M !

Morning! And happy bank holiday!

RL getting in the way too much at the mo - DD1 suffereing severe exam stress and DD2 nasty ear infection. DH is doing things with car bits on the dining table, which is NOT helping!

Sounds like everyone has been very busy and productive PA don't know how you amnage with all your teenagers - 2 is proving enough for me

I took DD1 out driving yesterday. It wasn't too bad but will be enhanced, I feel, by remembering to check roundabouts for oncoming traffic. Otherwise I was quite calm.

Today is our church summer fete. So cream teas all round and the joy that is the bathroom tombola Both DDs have been up and made cakes, which are baking whilst they make themselves gorgeous. I am kitchen assistant.

Next month I must do better with the house so off to mark my spot on June's thread.

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Coffee break time .

So far I have:-

WM on
Washing on line
DW unloaded
Polished dining room/hallway
Washed woodwork/radiators in hallway
washed front door

How long will it last I wonder?

Just finishing my coffee here... and work too, so now have half an hour to fly around the house!

MissB Nice to see you again! Church fete sounds lovely - hope you have good weather for it.

Thanks for the encouragement ellie and Nettie and for the wise words SC. Lots of excellent suggestions; I will now just have to work at putting them into practice. I do try to put the one-in-one-out rule into practice, but rarely succeed... The problem with the Playmobil is that it's all in one huge box, which will take hours to sort out (DH claims that the DC like doing this and he will help them). We had the same problem with Lego until he built a Lego city in the cellar (regularly destroyed by DS and his friends...). I don't think we have room for a Playmobil city too.

I could go on (and on) but apart from boring everyone to death, it's not a very constructive use of my time. Off to do a 15 minute declutter of living room now (where it all kicked off yesterday because DH complained that one of the cupboards doesn't close properly because of all my magazines - the fact that he has dozens of CDs at the back of the cupboard has nothing to do with it...)

Failed I have officially failed!!! The ants have moved in!!!

dd just drawn all over the wall in pen

nettie I have no ants but I'll raise you some bees!

I have one job today - clear out the garage but am being buzzed by bees.
Can't see any sign of a hive/nest in there so am wondering if they are swarming from somewhere else? Oh well, lunch time then hopefully they will have moved on

Hello everyone glad to see you hanging in chairmum!

Off to get my place on the June thread...

Afternoon all,

Finally having a productive day here. No routines as such as that's where the new month comes in but in addition to post earlier on have:-

thorough clean of living room, skirtings and everything (well, the skirtings you can see , Rome wasn't built in a day!)
Washing x lots (tis a good drying day here)
Chicken in over, veg chopped, stuffing made

To do:-
General tidy of garden
Dinner to finish
Bathroom
Bathe DC's and me
Collapse in a heap with wine.

By the end of the day, downstairs should be cleaner than it has been in a long while (last school holidays I suspect ).

TOmorrow DC's are at CM's for the day, so am hoping to get upstairs in a similar state. This should help with routines because simple things such as making beds have not been possible because I haven't been able to get to them .

It is a beautiful afternoon here, contrary to all weather reports seen. DD is happily creating chaos outside with water and sand and DS is pooped after yesterday so is chilling out playing on his playstation. Lovely lovely day . Oh, and to top it all off DH finally got off his bum and did something, he tidied/weeded the front of the house so the neighbours won't look at us as if we are dragging the street down anymore (well, at least our garden isn't ).

Back later!

Good Moooooorning! (well, it is here... morning, that is )

linzer - don't talk to me about playmobil , we have this very morning had ourselves a playmobil disaster caused by too much of the blooming stuff in all the wrong places - dd2 tripped over backwards in the living room whilst she was putting her coat on for school, and smashed all the little wee fence posts round the very beautiful roof bit, embedding at least two of them in the back of her head.

so instead of getting 3 kids to school on time, i sent 2 on their own, whilst i mopped up blood and pondered head injuries... she finally went to school at 10, and i've asked them to keep an eye on her.

soooooo, guess what i'm doing today? (handily ties in with today's mission - get the blardy playmobil out of the living room!!!!!!)

ellie - the beaver fun day sounds awesome - (although i may be a teensy bit biased as have an unhealthy middle aged crush on the youthful BG....) - somehow or other i've ended up as a cub leader here, and we are off to camp in two weeks. i'm frankly petrified.

sc - lol at your timescale, you're working on a similar one to my mil arriving so we'll have to cheer each other on as we declutter . she doesn't have a bed to sleep on yet - it's completely covered in goodness knows what tbh.

so far:

dw - done (and b'fast stuff loaded)
wm - done
kids to school - eventually
hoover - done

to do:

MOVE PLAYMOBIL
get swimming stuff organised - lessons start tonight
wm (again - sigh) (much kudos to sr for all that laundry )

email linzer re postcards

beg missb for a cream tea...

Evening everyone

thank you ellie for hosting this month, it's been fab I have made loads progress. Looks like you doing brill on yours today well done
dwm no thx I'll keep my ants and you can keep bees. I'm petrified of bees
nick good luck with the playmobile clearing. I have yet to join you and linzer on the playmobile stage I'm still trying to get rid of huge overspill of megablocks!!
missb hope your DDs are both feeling well and less stressed

Today's list

wm-done
tumble dryer (rain)-done
put away clothes piles taking up kitchen top-done
if dries up think will deweed patio today-done some
dcs room rescue-done and dd bed made
living room room rescue and mission-yes and no made great progress but no mission eliie for her brill mission work
take dc somewhere-nope
get dh up and out to work-done

also Repotted all house plants
sorted out dc toy kitchen
wii fit in position
bathed dc

still to watch BGT
have bath and bed

Have lovely night see you all in June

Evening all,

Have had a super busy and am feeling very proud of myself. Downstairs is tidy and clean, dinner has been cooked, DC's in bed and have collapsed in a heap .

nick ouch for DD, sounds painful..glad she is alright though .

dwm bees would be enough for me to abandon garage job, so all power to you .

nettie ants in your pants...sounds uncomfortable .

linzer new month = new start .

missb cream teas and church fete sounds divine. Lovely to see you back. .

sc how did the planning go? Sounds like a lot to cram into 4 months!

om hope you are enjoying your holiday. .

Big waves to everyone else, hope everyone is ok.

Well Done on a fantastic month when pesky RL had a habit of getting in the way but when we all managed to make it to the end in one piece with home that are looking all the better for it, even if it doesn't feel like it at times!

Popping over to June now for step posting!

Just dropping in to say a big thank you to ellie for leading us so brilliantly this month. I can't say I've been flying quite so brilliantly, but tomorrow is another month and all that.

Nettie We had a whole colony of ants marching across the DDs' bedroom floor last year. Luckily the ant bait we've put down this year seems to be effective so far. Maybe ants are like headlice and are the sign of a clean and tidy home.

Nick It sounds like you have even more reason to be fed up with Playmobil than I have - poor DD2; I hope she's OK now.

I haven't got the energy to do much flying this evening but am trying to catch up, or rather get ahead on some work now so that I'll have time to shine my sink and do a bit of decluttering tomorrow. See you all on the June thread!