Weekly Flylady Thread 25th September 2017

Natty68

Welcome to the weekly Flylady thread. If you need help organising your week or getting motivated when it comes to housework then come and join us.


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 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!
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!

Thank you Valli for last week's thread

Click here to read Toots wonderful welcome guide

Ok here goes this week!

Monday Musings ~ Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One...
Clean floors
Level Two...
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces
Sort fridge bringing what needs using soon to the front, clean out any spills or manky stuff in there!!
Wipe dining table.. (clean table cloth if necessary)
Level Three...
Dust any extra furniture in dining area, checking for cobwebs on way round
Wipe and replace all those small appliances.. kettle, toaster etc
Clean cupboard door fronts and fronts of appliances .. don't forget those kick boards..
Extras..

• One load of washing
• Empty bin and make it smell nice
• Wipe window sills and clean windows in these rooms
• Clear and wipe the tops of the wall units!!
• Clean oven if you didn't do it last week
• 30 minutes ironing.

Tuesday Thrills ~ Living Room, Hall and Stairs
Level One...
Do something from your Toots list, or at least start something if you have nothing you can do in 15 minutes
Vacuum floors and sofas
Level Two..
Dusting, even if around everything
Remove clutter making sure stairs especially are safe
Clean TV, other electricals and cabinets
Level Three...
Wipe light switches, sockets (make sure they are not switched on!!) and banister
Clean any other glass like mirrors, pictures etc
Tidy shoes, coats and bags .. wash any that need washing in preparation for cold weather!! See if there are any that don't fit, past their best or just plain uncomfy which could leave the house!
Sort through your handbag and fling all those ancient bus tickets and receipts.. don't forget your purse too!!!

Extras…

• One load of washing
• Paperwork clearance.. spend 15 minutes minimum sorting through those piles of paper.
• Vacuum under furniture you can manage to move without hurting yourself
• Clean a window or two.
• Get yourself a bag or box, go around collecting things that are not in the place they should be, then put them back where they should be, or better still give them to their owners to put away themselves

Wednesday Whiles ~ Master Bedroom & Landing
Level One...
Check fire alarms are working
Remove and wash bed linen.
Level Two..
Dust surfaces & make sure no cobwebs..
Vacuum mattress before replacing with fresh linen
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Level Three...
Vacuum floors in bedroom and on landing
Sort one area of clothes or linen storage making sure only what should be in there is, anything that's had it's day or doesn't belong there is removed
clear out one 'hotspot' drawer/box

Extras..

• 27 fling boogie time, time for that midweek fling, go on grab a bag and clear that clutter
• Put away those summer clothes from someones cupboard and get out the winter woollies.. don’t store anything that is past its best! Make a list of things you need to buy!!
• Clean windows in these rooms
• Check house for places where draughts are getting in.. doors, windows etc and see if there are ways to stop it!

Thursday Tinkles ~ Bathroom and Study/Pc Area
Level One...
Clean floors in these rooms (even if it is around the clutter)
Level Two...
Clean baths, toilets and sinks
Clear any clutter from desk
Dust PC and desk and wipe off those cup rings!!
Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc
Level Three...
Clear clutter from floor
Wipe down tiles in bathroom.. defragment the pc while doing this (programs.. accessories..system tools.. defragment!.. if you do the disc cleanup as well it clear all the cookies and temporary files too.
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required
Clean the brushes/dust box/filters on the vacuum cleaner!!!! .. make sure they are completely dry before using it though.. I don’t want anyone electrocuted!!

Extras…

• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
• Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc
• Sort a wardrobe or part of, a drawer or set of drawers making sure it has what needs to be in it and any 'extras' are put where they should be
• Give the pc desk a right good clean! Pull out the case, defluff and degrot it all!!

Friday Frills ~ those frightening Friday kids rooms and spare rooms
Level One...
Vacuum the floor, even if it's just where you can see
Level Two...
Clear away anything that isn't in it's place, clothes, toys, books etc
Dusting.. all those shelves and flat fluffy surfaces!! Don’t forget the light shade and curtain pole!!!
Level Three...
Strip beds and replace with fresh linen .. check if duvets need freshening up too
Sort through a cupboard/chest of drawers and get the clothes out which are no longer wearable, too small or out of season
Wipe any sticky marks off walls and doors

Extras..

• Wash a set of curtains, nets, duvet or throw
• Time for the Friday Flylady Fling, in the toy box!!!! aim for 27.. if no toy box you’ll have to choose another area!
• 30 minutes ironing
• Get those uniforms and coats and things in the wash which you will need on Monday

Honey_Bear

I'm in, so thanks Natty for the list, and Valli for last week's. Have a (((hug))) to see you through; we're all here if you need to be reminded of that.

froddington

I need to be in this week Thanks Natty :A

Valli - I totally understand how you're feeling as that's often how I am. Huge hugs xx

Monday Musings ~ Kitchen

Level One...
Clean floors

Level Two...
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces

Level Three...
Wipe and replace all those small appliances.. kettle, toaster etc
Clean cupboard door fronts and fronts of appliances .. don't forget those kick boards..

Extras..
One load of washing
Wipe window sills and clean windows in these rooms

Mumto5

Long time no see Natty, Valli, Froddy, trying to get back on the wagon.

Not been well recently (cold/chest infection lurgy) so did a fair bit of decluttering as I recuperated. Still an ongoing challenge.

See you in the morning x

pigpen

Well, my house is a sty.. my mission for this week

Keep breathing.

Monday.. Kitchen..

[STRIKE]Catch up on pots[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Catch up on laundry[/STRIKE] and get it put away
Wipe worksurfaces.. all of them.. get it done lazy beast.
[STRIKE]Recycling out[/STRIKE]

[STRIKE]Post parcels
Sort dance stuff[/STRIKE]
Sort swimming stuff

Tuesday ~ dehovelling

Sort swimming stuff
[STRIKE]Sort ice skating stuff[/STRIKE]
Build lasagne for dinner

Wipe worksurfaces
[STRIKE]Sort laundry[/STRIKE] and get it all away.
[STRIKE]Sweep floor[/STRIKE]
Clean cycles of 2xWM & DW
Vacuum middle room, stairs, hallway.

Sort 1 box of gubbins.. this is going to be a looooooong job, there are lots of boxes.

Wednesday

All of the above not yet done!!
Dance stuff sorted for tonight.. Dot want to try ballet.. if you met her you too would guffaw manically

OH has trial shift at a restaurant tomorrow and an interview for a trainee swimming instructor Tuesday and a Tesco delivery guy later in the week.. he HAS to get something closer to home with sensible hours soon right? He can't be in a factory 50 miles away forever surely?! I NEED him too.

atypicalblonde

Morning all,

I'm in thank you for the lists ladies . Up since 5.30 as DH went to work v early. Kiddies have eaten and are watching Tv. I'm about to have another brew! Lots of paid stuff today and will need to taxi it as DH taken the car. It's raining heavily here.

Dinner has just been christened as pork chops. WM is doing its thing and I've unloaded the DW.

Good luck to your OH Piggers xx
Mumto5 - nice to see you I hope you are fully recovered x
Have lovely days all, will no doubt pop back later xx

Fayolle

Morning everyone,
I'm in. Thank you for the lists Natty, and glad that you had a lovely holiday. Thank you Valli for last week's, and ((hugs)) to keep you going this week.

An unexpected start to the week, as I have taken the day off. Actually swapped it to working tomorrow, as DD was throwing up for England yesterday, so she's off school, and I didn't want to leave her alone today. Yesterday evening was spent on the settee with her duvet watching Disney films together!

DH is away all week with work. In theory that means I will miraculously have a lot more time on my hands, even with working! Not quite sure how that happens, but I don't intend to miss the chance to get some of the "stuff" out of this house. I am sick to death of shuffling around boxes AND living in a house that DIY SOS would be proud of. So there!

But first I'd better get back up again. Bed called again when I got up to make a cuppa! Catch you later. X

Mademoiselle

Morning all,

I managed to do something each day last week, no not everything and not enough but house is a little bit better than this time last week so taking that as progress.

So I'm in for my 2nd week.

So far, showered, dressed, had breakfast, washing in, bedroom tidied, working this afternoon so better get going this morning.

kazwookie

Morning

Thank you for all the lists

Valli xx

Been busy so far, up at silly o'clock, so got on with:-
Hair re coloured and looks much better
WM is on
Bed stirpped
All other stuff for washing gathered up
Maggot bin emptied into the outside bin thingy, and cleaned
Light bulb changed it has not worked for about 3 weeks, wops, so sorted now
Bleached the toilets
Loads of admin paper work just done it has taken about 2 hours so far, but it is DONE!! also paid a couple of bills

Right
I now have
Cleaning
Bed making
Bathroom and shower room cleaning
Kitchen
Food shopping to do
Whole house to hoover

I want to cut the grass but it is tipping it down here and very misty does not look like it is going to clear any time soon.

Catch you all later

Valli

Thanks

Off out shortly, before then I will tidy. And put away.

ionafan

Morning all :wave:

It was DGD1's 7th birthday yesterday and it was so warm that we all sat outside for the party tea

Thanks to Natty for starting us off on the right foot this week and to Valli for last week's lists.

This morning I have already done some reading, checked my finances, downloaded a birthday reminder widget and sent a card. DH hoovered the downstairs floors yesterday but the kitchen will need steam cleaning later, and I need to do a quick dust round everywhere. Washing and ironing are up to date and the house is generally tidy, apart from Rosie's toys. She has now added the squeaky James Pond duck from the bathroom to her stash.

Other jobs for today:
- breakfast
- shower and dress
- sort my Toots list
- phone DS2 re babysitting and books
- phone Dizzy re Flymeet
- college prep
- sort and email charity AGM papers
- deal with other necessary phonecalls and emails
- send DH to orthopaedic assessment for his hips
- take Rosie for a walk, then to her training class, then for another walk up the big hill
- carry on with office work
- sort my library books and papers for college tomorrow
- do HHG (gardening) - need to tidy up the lavender bushes in the front garden
- Old Wives' meeting tonight - must remember to phone a friend who's recently had a new knee and ask if she wants a lift there.

Hope everyone has a good day x
Big (((hugs))) to Valli and GWS to Fayolle's DD.