Weekly Flylady Thread 14th February 2011

pigpen

I have sorted all the baby stuff 0-3m's into a vacuum bag.. need OH to lift Henry for me but I have emptied 4 boxes in the process and have a binbag full to bung on netmums I think. I haven't been able to login to my ebay account since December so I'll maybe open a new one (or revive my really old one!) and see what I can shift on there. I have a binbag of Tiddles stuff I shall also put up for sale. i have also emptied a wash basket of playstations and put tem in a box all tidy and put the remaining rubbish and wash basket in the bin.. FLING! I am so sick of the piles of rubbish in my room I have decided to do at least half an hour in there whenever I can summon the energy until it is reasonable!

I will get the curtains sorted for DD2 today.. in fact I shall ask OH now if he will move the coat stand and dig out the sewing machine for me.

Dobby, sorry DS1, has pots to wash again.. I think he has Jacob later too.

away to play with laundry, make baby her weetabix and clear the table.. and maybe make another cuppa..

ubamother

shellysue wrote: »

Its also having a strange knock on effect, I haven't said a word to DH, but he fixed the gate that has been broken for a year, he is decluttering his stuff and doing trips to the dump, stuff I have asked about he has done without the usual delays and procrastination:T

Hoorah - isn't it odd - my DH has de-cluttered his old shirts today. Obviously he hasn't done any of the jobs that were way higher on the list - but it's a start!

Little_Miss_Penny_Less

Hi everyone, I hope you don't mind me posting on your thread but I didn't want to start a new one for something that has probably been asked a hundred times before (I'm just not very good with the MSE search function!)

I need to sort my house out! It's depressing me now... 9 month old baby and bad pelvic pain during pregnancy means that my house hasn't been properly cleaned in about 18 months... there's clutter everywhere, I desperately need to baby proof as the little one is on the move but I can't even contemplate where to start because of the mess.

I've been on the flylady site and it looks fab, but I can't get to grips with starting small and still having a messy house for potentially months. Also they never seem to mention the basics like when to mop the floors, hoover, etc... it all seems to be hotspots and dusting on the daily emails.

So... can any of you ladies help me start afresh? I'm thinking overhaul/spring clean (going to get family to look after my daughter for a saturday (or three!) so I can focus) followed by a rota system similar to flylady and what you have going here. Only problem is I'm of that generation where no-one taught us how to look after a home. I've developed my own way of cleaning things but I'm not sure it's the right way especially with a little one. Is there anyone willing to speak to me like I know nothing, start with the very basics, maybe pretend I'm your teenager moving out for the first time and you want to make sure I keep a clean and tidy home... that kind of thing?

I guess we'd need to start with a list of how, what, when to spring clean!?

Valli

Hi Little Miss Penny Less and welcome
was trying to add a tree - I'll do that shortly

first of all can I suggest you scrap the idea of US Flylady and stick with us...

secondly start with levels 1 - increase through the levels as you get better
AnWs dot-to-dot is brilliant -
if you have any specific problems ask
our meeter and greeter will send you the welcome PM - she's not around right now but will be back soon

and can we call you Penny Less? we tend to shorten for ease of typing

your home didn't get into a mess overnight and it wont get clean overnight. Use the dot to dot method to work on 1 room at a time - not necessarily the WORST room but the one which, once it's clean and organised, can be easily KEPT that way with a daily swish & swipe - so it might be that you decide to get the kitchen or the bathroom cleaned first, then maintain them. You might decide that the living room needs to be the first fully-organised room because that's where you rest & relax...get the idea?

Some flyladies have a daily list - the things they do every day to keep the rooms tidy in between weekly cleans, eg S&S the kitchen, S&S the bathroom...

routine and habit SOUNDS boring but once they are established they become second nature and are done almost without you noticing - and thus freeing up time for the fun things in life, like playing with your littley.

IF you do decide to go with the idea of a spring clean can you persuade someone to join you? And ONLY EVER ATTEMPT ONE ROOM AT A TIME - because then you can stop if you're exhausted;)
Do you want a spring-clean-a-room plan?

ETA and SOME Flyladies spent time trawling websites and writing long posts on forums instead of getting on with what they are SUPPOSED to be doing :rotfl:;)

reading tests marked. can't find the spelling tests :eek:

MrsChaos

WM, TD and DW all on. Yesterday's dry towels folded and put away. DS1 up and grumpy, DH out. DS2 has done his first piece of homework and is now playing on the wii.

I can feel myself becoming more and more short-tempered today, and quite unreasonably so. May go for a bath before I do some damage.

ChocClare

mummyyof5 wrote: »

MrsChaos...my DD saw MCR last night in Manchester and cried so much...she is in love with Gerard Way...great gig sure your DS will love it too.

Took DD and her friend to see MCR in Hammersmith earlier this year - would not have believed it possible for two girls to get so overexcited. My brother and I had the whole concert replayed to us on the tube back to his house in Hampstead Heath. (We had sensibly taken ourselves off to dinner in a nearby pub having deposited the girls at the gig and picked them up there afterwards.) Sadly, I think there is quite a long queue of girls (and probably boys) in love with Gerard Way. DD thinks she is at the front of that queue but your DD would probably argue with her...

Have been conspicuous by my absence this week - not flying but drowning under the weight of general carp. However, having filled the house with noxious blue smoke when I went to bake some potatoes in the long-unused top oven on Monday, I *HAVE* cleaned the oven. Well, the top oven. Go me ! :T

I am off work next week so hoping to fly rather than flap round pathetically. Wish me luck!

MrsChaos

Little_Miss_Penny_Less wrote: »

I can't get to grips with starting small and still having a messy house for potentially months.
I guess we'd need to start with a list of how, what, when to spring clean!?

Hi and welcome!

As much wiser people than me have said here on many occasions, if it's taken a while to get messy it will take a while to get clean and tidy.
It's taken me years to accept that little and often makes a difference and is sustainable, whilst the mad bursts are not. I'm still not quite cured...:o

Having family help you by looking after your little girl is great, but you could also use some of the time to recharge your batteries.
I don't think there's a right or wrong way to clean - just ways to make it easier/cheaper/better for the environment. This place is full of good advice, so stick around and join us. x

pigpen

Penny.. I have been flinging and flying for years and my house is better and much less cluttered but still a bearpit.. because people live in it.. lots of people (11 at the moment) You cannot perform miracles!

First step.. c
hoose one room.. probably the one where baby spends most time creeping about..
get a box and 2 binbags.
Fill the box with everything that lives elsewhere (apart from plates/mugs etc hich go in a heap to go to the kitchen).. books, toys, pens, knitting bags.. everything you want away from the baby basically.
Fill one binbag with rubbish.. old letters, bits of tat
Fill the other bag with stray clothing/anything fabric
Pile all the 'vital' letters etc in a heap in one place.. deal with it later.
You should now have a clear floor
Take cushions off the chairs.. vacuum underneath and put themback.. you now have clean sofas!
Vacuum floors.
Now to start on the higher surfaces.. you can do these one at a time over however long you like while the baby naps or plays.. pick up all the bits off one surface that should not be there.. sort it... if there is anything left put it in your box.... wipe surfaces as they are cleared it gives you huge motivation to keep going. Go through each drawer and cupboard and once it is cleared it is so much easier to keep on top of.

Before you go up to bed look at your clearer room decide which bit you will tackle tomorrow and make it fit in your day.. by the end of the week you should be able to run straight through with a damp cloth and a vacuum and it wil be straight again... this is when you move to room 2....

igaveupnowimback

Hi, :hello: I've just been keeping on keeping on!! Have flung tons of stuff over last few weeks, I think I am FINALLY at the stage where I WILL NEVER GO BACK!!

This lifelong habit of letting things pile up has cost me so much over the years in time, embarrassment, overdue stuff, lost items, replacing dishes and cookware, ending up with bigger problems cos couldn't get people in to fix things, etc etc. _pale_

I've had good reasons for all of it, ridiculous upbringing, stress, lack help etc etc - BUT NO MORE.

It will be a bit every day, I am not doing this to myself any more.

I am working and studying and this next few weeks are going to be tough, but I am at a stage where I can begin with some simple routines.

I used to have Mount Washmore, and I changed that years ago, so I can change this and feel better about myself and my home.
I am going to be gentle with myself. I have worked doggedly for weeks with this, now I'm going to attend to my studies.
:coffee:
And tomorrow I will be flying a little and it will be 'good enough'!

Craftyscholar

As it is the weekend

Girlie Wisdom!

1. A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but she doesn't really care.

2. One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.

3. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.

4. The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.

5. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.

6. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.

7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.

8. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.

9. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my knickers.

10. Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while, and it shrinks 2 sizes!

11. Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' .....Now, I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!

12. The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing -- and then they marry him.

13. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day!