Weekly Flylady Thread 29th May 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...

Bank Holiday Monday Pic'n'mix
A simple list to start the week...

S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
5 - 15 minute room straightening (if more than one room needs your Flylady touch just do 5 minutes in each.

Whatever the room...

stand at the door and look critically at the room...

spend no more than 15 minutes in there and do any of the following that is appropriate or relevant

open the window for fresh air
neatly draw back curtains/blinds
plump cushions and replace
fold any throws and hang neatly
empty bins
vacuum centre of floor
tidy any piles on coffee/lamp/occasional tables
put newspapers/magazines away
re-home gibble
make beds
pile coasters neatly
empty and wipe ashtrays
straighten rugs

And a new month looms...sometime this week...

add any cards you need to shopping lists
check over the Toots list - anything need adding/deleting
make sure you know who has appointments for what and when - synchronise calendars and diaries
when is school sports day?

And my new idea which I am going to implement tomorrow...

MAD half hour
Make a Difference

Decide on a project and break it down into half hour chunks...NO LONGER than that. I will add MAD half hour to your list. You are to find a timer and do the task for half an hour then stop...

The whole project could be clearing out kitchen cupboards and drawers, for example - or clearing out the linen cupboard, or gardening. But those MAD half hours will make a difference - in manageable chunks and, fingers crossed, you won't lose your enthusiasm for the whole task. My MADS will be half-an-hour in the garden if fine or emptying, wiping out and sorting cupboards in the kitchen.

Looking forward to working alongside you and maybe the thread will build up enough for us to reinstate the HHC where we work alongside another flylady or two and share what we've achieved. Because, let's face it, no-one is going to come along and compliment us on our work...'they' only notice when it's not done!

Triffic Tuesday - the Boudoir

Level 1

Open the windows wide
Strip the bed
Take out any rubbish
Clear the Floordrobe/chairdrobe
Make the bed with fresh linen

Level 2

Dust everywhere- including curtain tracks, light fittings. lamp shades, skirting
With a just damp cloth wipe where sticky fingers linger inc. light switches

Level 3

Thorough vacuum/floor sweep
Move any furniture you can and vacuum under and behind
Polish windows and mirrors

Extras

Peg out some washing
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
MAD half hour - put an alarm on your phone and spend half-an-hour on a bigger project eg paperwork clearance, gardening (weeding), kitchen drawer-and-cupboard sorting, sorting out your linen/airing cupboard BUT ONLY FOR HALF AN HOUR. You can come back to it another day - the idea is that you will see a difference but you won't lose all hope by ploughing on until completion. So this could be something off your Toots list. The success of these half hours, I hope, is to motivate you to return to the task another time and, finally, finish it properly. Much like AnW's dot-to-dot.
Do post what you're working on! I hope you all enjoy this - feedback so far has been very encouraging!
And, finally, it's school hols. Schedule in some me time - hair or nail appointment perhaps?

Wishy Washy Wednesday - Kitchen/Dining

Level 1

WUDUPA (wash up, dry up, put away)
Clear the table - wipe mats/change cloth
Clear the sides, clean them, put back what lives there after wiping
Wipe switches, sockets and splashbacks
Wipe/polish chairs - don't forget under the seats where sticky fingers linger!

Level 2

Wipe down cupboard doors - don't forget those out-of-sight bits like the bottom where drips stop and dry...and handles Iinc door handles)
Clear and clean window sills
Wipe windows
Clean out microwave
Run at least one machine on a clean cycle - WM or DW

Level 3
Dust any dust traps - don't forget vertical surfaces
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Shake mats outside
Empty tumble drier filters
Change tea towel and hand towel
Is it time for a new dishcloth?

Extras

Have you booked that me-time yet? I need a haircut
Make sure all uniform and PE kit has made it into the laundry.
Check plimsolls/pumps fit - if not, buy new ones and label them - please...
Make sure all piggy banks and other secret stashes are checked - those old £1 coins go OOD soon
And can you fit in a MAD half hour - remember plan the task, switch on a timer and give it 30 minutes of effective, intense attention AND THEN STOP.









Thursday Thrills

Leounge/sitting rooms
Level 1
Open window
Vacuum soft furnishings inc. under cushions or wipe (if leather)
Rotate cushions and seat pads
level 2
Dust everywhere inc electricals
Empty bins
wipe/water plants
Attend to cut flowers

Level 3
Vacuum drapes
Clean windows
Clean floor

Extras
S&S kitchen and bathrooms
MAD half hour
Iron if, like me, you've been washing for Britain
Make sure your me time is diarised (Ugh at that word)

Fabulous Friday Bathroom Bonanza

Level 1
Open the window
Take toothmugs etc down to be washed
Scrub the loo insides and out
Wipe handles and pull switches - don't forget the loo roll holder

Level 2
Scrub out bath and shower
Shine splashbacks
Polish taps
Polish shower screens

Level 3
Scrub basin and taps-ipe cabinets and cupboard
Mop floor
Empty bin

Extras

S&S kitchen
HHI
MAD half hour - spend 30 minutes ONLY on an onerous task of Forth Bridge ilk (Forth Bridge, apparently, was always being painted) and Make A Difference
Binbag dance - chuck - fling- throw

And thankyou for taking on this MAD idea - I wanted to bring new life to the thread as it has seemed so quiet of late. A change is as good as a rest and all that