Weekly Flylady Thread 18th August 2008

hollyh

I'm back from shopping, Ds2 was a little angel, he's making up for it no though:rolleyes: .

I haven't even started my list so i suppose i'd better get a wriggle on. I've also got painting to do and sorting insurance stuff. There's not enough hours in the day.

jo1972

wmf wrote: »

(((Jo)))
lots of lovely flyladies will come and give you advice. I do the site flylady and know about being overwhelmed. I have just been deleting emails lately which is why I've come into this lovely little group. Once you get a routine going you will be fine. Just small baby steps!! Don't feel overwhelmed it's not worth it. I just did a few things this morning/ lunchtime and already the house looks better. Waiting for more advice.......
w

Thanks w

I really shouldn't be on here either :rotfl:

Well, since I last posted I've cleared out a cupboard of carp and put all of OH's golf clubs and bags and trolley (why does he need so many ) in it. My hallway is now golf free :j

Today my goal is to finish painting the half painted kitchen that I started a week ago. Just stopped to gets the kids lunch and me a coffee and I shall be back on it.

Funny thing is, when I spent the whole day painting and clearing up last week I felt amazing, felt I deserved to sit on my backside and eat chocolate in the evening and watch big brother without feeling guilty about doing nothing all day. But I get up the next day and the motivation doesn't arrive!

We both work full time and I used to have a job where I travelled for 3 hours a day and didn't see the kids till 7pm in the evening and had to clear up, do dinner, sort the kids etc etc which made me very stressed out and depressed, although I loved the job. But last xmas I made a pact with OH that I would take a new job at a local school, which meant I'd be home by 4.30pm and would have dinner on the table and spend my 13 weeks a year sorting our house...only problem is the half my salary pay cut. Things are very tight and OH wants me to get a better paid job, but I love my job at the school and my life is so much happier now, just need to get the jobs done to justify it to OH!!

Yeah, it's true....I'm very lazy :rolleyes:

jo1972

sexymouse wrote: »

Hi Jo!

Welcome to the thread. As Wendy says, a lot of us started off the same way - feeling overwhelmed with how much there was to do. I originally signed up to the emails (luckily on a different account to my normal emails) and I spent at least 10 minutes every day deleting loads of unwanted emails from them. This thread uses the basic principles of flylady ie babysteps, and just doing small things then building up slowly, but without the added Americanisms and constant testimonials.

All achievements are celebrated on this thread, no matter how small. As pigpen says in her opening post, there are days when all of us either don't do anything at all on the list, or just do level 1, but don't let that put you off posting - we are a supportive bunch on here, and also use the thread to unload if we want to have a rant about our days.

Something that has really helped my motivation, and I know quite a few other flyladies feel the same, is the HHC (Half hour challenges) in which we do as much as we can with a timer on for 30 mins, and then report back what we have done. It's also nice, cos pigpen sometimes puts in tasks such as do something for 30 minutes that is just for you as you deserve it.

I can't speak from experience of having young children about too, as I don't have children yet, but I know there a lots of flyladies who do, who I'm sure will be willing to advise on that.

Hope this has helped a bit.

sexymouse xx

PS I'm also facing the possibility of guests staying on August 30th, so know how you feel. They call it CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) on here.

That has helped, thanks sexymouse

I've got a 16 yr old too who is quite helpful when it comes to having the young ones about as she will keep an eye on them or entertain them when I need to get things done, but I sent her out on a job hunt as where she's doing her weekend job at the moment are mucking her hours about. So really it's my fault I'm stuck here by myself! Right, I'd better go do summat....I'll try the 30 min thing...I'll be back at 14.45pm with all my progress :rolleyes:

Thanks so much

cha97michelle

wow - DS2 gulped down all the baby rice, and knew what to do with it let me tell you. Was a little sick after but usually does after a milk feed anyway, now kipping in his cot for the 1st time ever during the day - i love the gina ford routine when it works. Just debating whether to push my luck and give him some more before bed.


dinner is on, the house is a tip, but i may get some time to do some sorting later when i won't be cooking. She says.

Going to try and do some more in the kitchen i think before waking ds2 soon, and leaving ds1 to nap for longer.


achieved:

• WM - load of darks
• kids up/dressed/fed/washed, nappies done and ds2 down for a nap
• veg chopped for lunch
• veg chopped and in SC for stew for dinner, SC had to be washed first as it was a bit dusty
• checked baby book for weaning tips
• washed up weaning bowl/spoon and sterilised ready to use
• watered pepper seedlings
• put last nights washing up away, washed up breakie dishes
• wiped up sticky handprints from ds1 having a lolly - he found one from a party bag, i don't normally let him have the things. swapped kitchen tea towel
• WM - DS1's coat -muddy from falling over in a puddle on hols
• cooked meat for stew, got SC on,
• made special fried rice for our lunch
• washed up lunch stuff
• watched DVD rental and got that posted off as i've had it over a week and half
• put away some tut in living room
• scraped all the food out from the gap in the dining chair
• cleaned up sticky rice DS1 dropped everywhere
• checked internet banking

greenbee

Jo - I don't have kids, so can't advise you on how to get things done and keep them occupied. I looked at flylady and the idea of the emails (and the fact that it was a bit too american IYSWIM ) put me off, so I was relieved to find this thread.

For the first week, I just focussed on trying to get Level 1 done. Once I could see my floors I could clean them! And every time I achieved a bit more, it gave me the energy to try for the next thing. I now seem to permanently have a damp cloth in my hand, so that I wipe things as I go along (I can now be amazingly productive while on the phone, even getting my windows cleaned during boring work teleconferences;) ).

Even after two weeks, my house is practically unrecognisable, and I feel much less stressed, so hopefully this will help you too.

sexymouse

You're so welcome Jo. Hope your daughter finds a job soon.

Flylady_Flower

jo1972 wrote: »

I've recently joined up with the flylady site and have been completely inundated with emails :eek:

This thread is far more relaxing :rotfl:

I feel quite down with it all at the moment, I've got a few weeks off work and am meant to be tidying, cleaning and decorating the house before we have guests in 2 weeks time :eek: I just feel that I don't know where to start, there is just so much to do and because of this I can't get the motivation up and running to start

Is this normal or am I just a lazy cow

I've got a 3 and 5yr old running round whilst I'm trying to clear out cupboards of hoarded stuff to make way for stuff that should actually be in there, OH is at work so I keep getting stopped from what I'm doing every 5 minutes with the kids asking me for food, drinks, games etc etc.. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ignoring them completely, I've allocated a cleaning/playing and sorting kids time but as soon as I get into doing something they, quite rightly I s'pose, interupt me.

How do you all keep your houses running so smoothly and cleanly (sp?)? I just want to leave it all and take the kids out somewhere but then I come back to it and I'll end up having to decorate an entire house in a weekend :eek:

Oh god, sorry I sound so miserable

Hi Jo,

I know how you feel and have found this thread so much easier to follow - sounds awful, but I think it's coz it's not so 'American' for want of a better word...

I have not been on here long (since Monday actually), but it has helped me SOOOO much, and this is just what I find helps me, you may want to do something else and someone else more experienced is bound to have some better options too...

I have just been deleting the emails too, and must admit it made me feel pressured, but having a list suits me down to the ground, so I just copy & paste the days tasks to a word doc on my desktop, which I find easier as I can easily loose a printout...:D , and then cross off as I go.

I aim for level 1, and then everything else is a bonus...(as WFM said, Baby Steps) Also, if you get a couple of mins, add on other things that you want to do - ie: clearing out a cupboard (remember those babysteps) don't overwhelm yourself with a big list or you won't feel like doing it, but if like me, you aim for a couple of bits, you get those done and then feel like doing some more, it becomes a buzz (how sad am I ).

Try to involve the kids - sounds like hard work, but if they are running around and you are trying to keep an eye out, it is really hard. Get them to tick stuff off if they are old enough, read together what is next on the list - get them to do the hoovering if they can - if they can get the center bits, you can always go around the edges with them with the hose or something - get them to help with the cupboard - throw the stuff in the bags, get things out for you to sort through, etc... and then as a treat after, make some yummy cakes together (I do the grocery challenge, and if you check out the first page of the August challenge there are some brilliant recipies - twinks hobnobs and the custard cookies always go down well in our house...)

I hope that helps you get started. It is hard but I find the hardest part is always the starting (the next hardest part being the carrying on...:rotfl: ) so good luck to you.
Den x

MrsV

Jo one of the things I find useful is something I picked up from a book about clearing clutter.

Get 3 binbags,boxes/containers (whatever you have available) and work around a room clockwise.

Bag 1 is Rubbish
Bag 2 is Charity/Freecycle (or Ebay)
Bag 3 is Stuff that belongs elsewhere

The theory is that anything else that is left lives in that room and there should now be room to put it away tidily. (If there isn't you need to go around again or move to a bigger house! :eek: )

Immediately take the rubbish to the bin or the skip if necessary, put the charity/freecycle/ebay stuff in one place and make a date in your diary to deal with it, and then take the elsewhere stuff to it's proper home.

I found I could fly around a room quite quickly doing this process, and even if you don't leave the cupboards, drawers tidy after doing it everything should in theory fit in there and you can organise them later.

I always had the problem of trying to clear clutter and organise and clean at the same time which is pretty much impossible; once the clutter has been dealt with the organising (and cleaning) is much easier.

For kids they suggested a Treasure Box (size up for discussion with child!) and into that they could put anything they did not want to part with and you are not allowed to argue with them over it!

Sorry if I am teaching anyone to suck eggs:o but I have always found this method reall useful (especially if you do it fairly regularly )

juliejim

polkadot wrote: »

Whats the definition of tea?
I only grew up with Breakfast,lunch and supper (which was also called dinner)
So mealtimes are incredibly confusing now when Im speaking to "locals".

If I say tea I mean the evening meal although I do sometimes say dinner as well. As Valli also says I'm pretty interchangeable as I also work in a school where dinner (midday meal) is called lunch so i might sometimes call it dinner as well just to confuse you!

MrsV

Loads of other brilliant ideas here from everyone. I find the HHC really good too (note to self: buy nice kitchen timer to help!)