Weekly Flylady Thread 8th January 2018

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!


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

Please follow the forum rules 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!
MAD half hour
- Mad is the abbreviation for Make A Difference.
The idea is that you have a Forth bridge (ie never-ending - or just huge) task but that you work on it in half-hour bursts. This way you know you ARE stooping, and that you won't get it finished but you will make a difference - so it might be clearing out - the garage or shed, or clothes sorting, or weeding - you get the picture - but rather than keep going until you've lost the will to live you do half an hour...but, eventually those half hours will get the job done!

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 - Blitz those bathrooms

Level 1

Throw the windows open wide in your bathrooms, en-suites and cloakrooms
Remove any rubbish from these rooms
Flush loos and fling down some cream cleaner or loo cleaner
Clear all the gibble from round the bath and out of showers
Scrub bath and/or shower tray
Wipe down edge of bath, panels and shower screens
Wipe switches and sockets
Check lighting is all working and not acting as fly cemetry - clean out if so
Remove plugs and clean them, too including underneath; clear any traps

Level 2

Now the loo has had a soak scrub it out - don't forget under the rim
Wipe all cistern, handles/buttons, outside of loo, seat and lid
Flush loo and pour bleach round bowl
Close lid
Wipe toilet toll holder
Check spare toilet roll stock has not mysteriously vanished

Level 3

Wipe sills and shelves
Wipe soap bottles
Polish towel rails
clean out sink and polish taps
Bleach down all drains and in all overflows
Check for cobwebs in corners
Sweep, wipe or vacuum floor as appropriate
Put out fresh towels
Dirty towels into the WM for a HOT wash

Extras

S&S kitchen
Check smoke alarms are fully-functional
HHI
Mad half hour - if you're a H2H or a Flymarketeer use this time for that!

Tuesday Twinkles Living room

Level1

Empty out any rubbish
Clear and clean coffee table
Rehome anything which is out of place
Wipe coasters
Deal with any flowers/water & wipe plants
Clear out fire/woodburner
Get a just-damp cloth and wipe switches, sockets and places where sticky fingers linger

Level 2

Dust and polish any wooden furniture or just dust
Check corners for cobwebs/spiders and remove
Dust skirting boards
Wipe handles/sockets/switches
Dust electricals

Level 3

Lift chair/sofa cushions and vacuum under them - check for escaped baubles
Wipe leather furniture/vacuum sofas
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor

extras
clean window in lounge
MAD half hour - only half an hour - this is a nibble not a mouthful! Challenge time for challengers!
HHI
Binbag fling - grab a bin bag, run around the house and fill it with gibble and CHUCK IT OUT


Wonderful Wednesday Boudoir beckons!

Level one

Open the window
Strip the bed
Fling the sheets in the washbasket
Go and get your breakfast/kids off to school etc

level 2


Close the window (like you haven't already)
Dust the headboard or vacuum as appropriate
remake the bed
Clear the floordrobe/chairdrobe or any other clutter
(see - looks better already)

Dust all horizontal surfaces - vertical too, if you have time
Polish any mirrors

Level Three
Clean the windows
Vacuum the floor
Make sure bedside cabinets are clear of clutter

Extras

If you need to keep meds upstairs (eg asthma inhalers) make sure they are in date and ready for use
HHI - don't let it build up
MAD half hour - use it for your challenges or sort a drawer in the bedroom


Thrilling Thursday

Hall, stairs, landing

Level one

Beat, vacuum or wash doormats
Clean windows and mirrors
Wipe switches and sockets
Check corners and crevices - deweb!
Put away summer coats/anything not currently in use

Level two
Dust, wipe or polish banisters and rails
Clear out detritus
Vacuum all floors or mop inc stairs
Shift the shoe pile - put away anything not being worn

Level 3
Wash down front door inside and out
Dust any furniture in these rooms
Clean light fittings inc. wiping bulbs with a damp cloth - see how much brighter they are

Extras
Check smoke alarms; CO alarms
HHI
MAD half hour
CHALLENGES - how are you doing?
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
shops selling 'spring cleaning' stuff on offer - do you need anything?

Friday Flight _ Kitchen and Dining Room

Kitchen and Dining room

Level One

Change table cloth/wipe table mats
Polish/wipe table and chairs
Empty bins and wash them out
Clear sides and wipe down sides and tiles
Clean all appliances you keep out

Level 2
Clean cupboard fronts and wipe handles
Wipe sockets and switches with a just-damp cloth
Dust in dining room

Level 3

Clean and clear utility
Clear sills and wipe
Put out new or clean cloths and tea towels
Mop/sweep/vacuum floor

Extras

S&S bathroom
Update your list of herbs and spices handily stuck inside the cupboard door so you know what you’ve got in stock somewhere. Check all are (reasonably) in date, too.
Choose a cupboard to clear and clean
HHI - get that mountain down
MAD half hour