Weekly Flylady Thread 12th June 2017

What is FLYLADY? Well, it's our version of the US flylady idea - but we work on the principle that housework is not fun, it's boring, can be time-consuming, is often thankless but, unfortunately, necessary. It's here on Old Style to provide the support we all need and to make the whole task easier and quicker. We also accept that, sometimes, life just gets on top of us and we can't keep up, maybe because we're time-poor, not in the best of health and/or we have littlies who need us. We are definitely NOT control freaks aiming for perfection and utterly spotless show-homes.

Welcome to the weekly Flylady Thread. You're more than welcome to join us in the everlasting battle against dust, grime and gibble. The aim of our thread is to make those onerous tasks less daunting, and to support each other - and to make time for the finer things in life!

Right now the thread is looking very quiet...but please do remember we have to abide by MSE rules; each post should, ideally, include some mention of flying.

Thank you Natty for last week's thread

It is your responsibility to read the forum rules, please follow them on this thread as Flylady has been here a LONG time and is a fabulous support and resource for lots of us. All posts should have some Flylady-related (ooh a compound adjective) content!

The idea is that even if you are really busy you don't need to fall off the wagon!

Every room comes back around next week so please don’t stress about catching up

These lists are only suggestions and not a must do list; you are more than welcome to post and follow your own lists.

Also adding a declutter mission each day will help to gradually clear the clutter and make flying easier.

A few of the basics before we start the week

Hotspots are areas where if one thing gets put there, loads of other things follow!

Daily routines are anything you need to do on a daily basis like washing, swish and swipe kitchen and bathroom, ironing, making beds, vacuuming high traffic areas, making meals etc.

Night-time routines are all things which make getting ready in the morning easier, preparing clothes for the next day, making lunches, swish & swipes of the kitchen and tidying the living room before you go to bed plus personals like shower/brush teeth etc.

Fling Boogie - stick on some loud music, grab a bin bag and whiz around the house finding items that can go out with the rubbish, recycling, for charity shop, basically anything that will stop it cluttering your home.

Swish and swipe/S&S means have a quick wipe over an area such as a sink or toilet to prevent the build up of dirt. This is usually done on a daily basis

HHE/HHC/HHI Half Hour exercise/challenge/ironing ... run around for 30 minutes to the Benny Hill music frantically cleaning exercising or ironing.. other music may be used if you prefer!
WM ~ Washing machine
TD ~ Tumble dryer
SC ~ Slowcooker
BM ~ Breadmaker
DW ~ Dishwasher
SOAADFA ~ Sit on 'bottom' and do 'nothing'
KH/XH/FW ~ Ex-husband and other not so polite versions
DH/DD/DS/DW/DP ~ Dear husband/daughter/son/wife/partner/whatever
OH/SO ~ Other half/significant other
NN ~ nice neighbour
Toxic (friend/mother/sister/whoever) ~ person in your life that seems to exist to make your life miserable
AF ~ Aunt Flo 'time of the month'.. nothing to do with flying but it comes up often.
ETA ~ Edited to add
Gibble ~ miscellaneous crap that appears forever homeless
Dot-to-dot ~ pick a small area (not a whole room) like a chair/coffee/table/shelf/worktop or wherever- thats your first 'dot' - totally clear it - clean it - and only put back what should be there - deal with what you have removed (not just move it somewhere else) then if you have time move on and do the same to another 'dot' -the idea is just like a dot to dot puzzle, you aim to join up all the dots and have a tidy room. The trick is to keep each dot tidy until you get them all joined up! All credit to AnW's Mum for this one
RoD ~ Room of Doom, the one room that feels like it is a permanent pit and cannot be used to its potential!

Mr S/A/T/M/L/Al - supermarkets Sainsburys, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi. You get the picture!!

Click here to read Toots wonderful welcome guide

ok Here goes this Week...

Marvellous Monday Bathrooms, Shower Rooms and Cloakrooms

Level 1

Open window
Empty waste bins
Wipe shower screen or wash shower curtain
Clean shower tray
Clean taps, pipes and shower head
Wipe tiles down

Level 2
Dust windowsill
Clean windows
Polish any mirrors
Scrub toilet
Wipe down outside of toilet

Level 3
Clean pull cord and door handles
Scrub basins
Polish taps
Polish towel rail
sweep/mop floor

Extras
Wipe down all tiles in here
Wash towels in a hot wash
Put out fresh fluffy towels
MAD half hour - pick a TOOTS list project - or an ongoing task eg drawer sorting/weeding/cupboard tidying/sewing box sorting out and work for half-an-hour only and make a difference OR spend 10 minutes in each reception room, straightening/tidying/bin emptying/putting away cushion plumping - a tidy room automatically looks clean! Post your progress!

Tuesday Twinkles Living room

Level 1

Open the windows WIDE
Empty the bin
Clear the coffee table - polish and dust
Wipe coasters, light switches, door handles and sticky sockets
Deal with any withering or wilting flowers
Treat the pot plants to some water and a wipe/spruce up

Level 2
Vacuum or wipe sofas and chairs including under seat cushions
Fold throws and hang
Vacuum drapes
Wipe sills
Polish windows and mirrors

Level 3
Dust everywhere
Wipe skirtings, dado and picture rails
Flick a feather duster over pendant lights and wall lights
vacuum/sweep floor
Steam mop/mop hard floors

Extras
Catch up with the ironing
Have you time for a MAD half hour?
Give doormats a bashing outside.
Make sure nothing is turning into compost in the fridge - weave those withering veggies into your meal plans
S&S kitchen and bathroom (which shouldn't be too onerous - given it was cleaned yesterday, wasn't it?:))


Wonderful Wednesday

Kids' Rooms/ Spare rooms/guest rooms

Level 1
Open the windows wide
Binbag dance
Strip the bed and turn the mattress - if you can
Clean under the bed if accessible
Remake the bed

Level 2
Dust any shelves and sills and flat surfaces
If a guest/spare room check the lighting is fully-functional
Wipe switches/sockets/skirtings

Level 3
Clean the windows
vacuum curtains/dust blinds
Deal with the floor

Extras
Peg out some washing
do a MAD half hour somewhere
HHI
Book out some me time - nail or hair appointment/coffee with a friend - something to look forward to!

Thursday Thrills Kitchen Kapers

Level 1

Wipe table - don't forget to wipe under, too , where sticky fingers linger and drops go to die.
Polish it, pop on a new cloth, wipe table mats
Wipe/polish chairs and seats and don't forget underneath!
Wipe chair and table legs

Clear kitchen sides and wipe worktops and splash backs. Replace what belongs there; rehome - or fling - what doesn't

Level 2

Wipe cupboard fronts including edges where drips live and die
Wipe fascia boards
Polish DR furniture
Wipe gpdoir handles light switches and similar grease and grime traps

Level 3
Wipe sills
Polish windows and door glass
Sweep, mop and/or vacuum floors

Extras
s&s bathrooms
Give doormats some attention
MAD half hour attend to the garden and water plants in pots if you can think of nothing else
Enjoy the nice weather - meet up with someone for a coffee and a natter in a nice cafe...


Frantic Friday - catch up day - pick a room which needs the FLYLADY sparkle (hall/conservatory/bedroom)

Level 1

Clean floor
Binbag dance
rehome anything out of place
clear floordrobes
Open windows
Strip beds

Level 2
Reamke beds
Vacuum soft furnishings
Wipe switches
Dust everywhere - incl light fittings

Level 3
Clean windows and mirrors
Wipe sills
Clean floor

Extras
peg out some washing
Make sure you have suncream in, and hats etc
make some HM ice lollies (Freeze - yoghurts/fruit juice/diluted squash/angel delight) and ice cubes ready for the heatwave
MAD half hour - tackle those froggies!
HHI - it'll be too hot to iron this weekend - get it out of the way ASAP