Weekly Flylady Thread 17th July 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 Valli 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 something Flylady-related!

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


IF ANYONE WANTS ANYTHING ADDED TO THE LISTS, WHEN EACH DAY IS DUE TO BE ADDED, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW

Right here goes:

Monday - Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One
Drink plenty of fluids...it's going to be a hot one today.
Clean the sink, drainer and taps
Wipe the work surface you can see
Level Two
Hoover and mop the floor
Sort out and wipe out the fridge
Level Three
Clean the WM filters and drawer
Wash the window
Wipe over the hob and oven door
Extras

• Clean some shoes
• HHI
• Deal with a hotspot

Tuesday - Living room, Hall and downstairs Loo
Level One
Drink plenty of fluids...it's going to be a hot one today.
Hoover/wipe the sofas
S&S the sink and toilet
Level Two
Dust the electricals, front, back, sides and underneath
Hoover the floor
Wipe the windowledge
Level Three
HH tidying, decluttering, sorting
Wipe some paintwork, skirting boards, behind the toilet/sink
Extras

• Order pet supplies or make vet appointments
• Clean out pets/pet bedding
• Check you know when sports day/end of term is
• No pets or kids?read a book or do some craft

Wednesday - Master Bedroom and Landing
Level One
Drink plenty of fluids...it's going to be another hot one today.
Change the bed, hoover the matress, turn it if you can
Level Two
Hoover the stairs, landing and bedroom
Wipe the window ledges
Level Three
Dust any dusty bits
Deal with hotspots/floorobes
Wipe the bedstead
Extras

• Arrange for boiler service or chimney sweep
• Recycle any paper/magazines lying around
• Do something you want to do rather than feel you should!

Thursday - Bathrooms
Level One
Drink plenty of fluids...it's going to be another hot one today.
Clean toilets and sinks
Level Two
Change the towels
Hoover and wipe the floor
Wipe the splashbacks
Level Three
Clean out the plug holes
Shine the mirrors
Clean the bath and shower
Extras

• HHPaperwork
• Declultter a drawer
• Me Me Me time

Friday - Children's Bedrooms or spare rooms/rooms of Doom
Level One
Strip, wash and replace bedding
Level Two
Hoover floor
HH tidying or decluttering
Level Three
Wipe the skirting boards
Wash an item of soft furnishings
Clear then dust a flat surface (or 2)
Extras

• Find a new recipe to use
• Sort out your receipts/purse
• Check dates on passports/MoTs/insurance etc