Weekly Flylady Thread 9th October 2017

Natty68

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.

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...

Magical Monday - Barnacled Bathroom and Sociable Study/Pc Area
Level One..
Clean floors in these rooms (even if it is around the clutter)
Throw away all those empty bottles of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray etc. I know they make the room look pretty but they are just cluttering up the place..!!
Level Two...
Clean baths, toilets and sinks
Remove and bin all those slivers of soap that you have been saving, do you really need them?
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, clear all the cookies and temporary files too
Delete 10 links in your favourites which you no longer use or are dead!
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required
Clean/wash 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!!
Change hand towels and flannels
Extras:

• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
• Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc
• Grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish or charity shop or to donate to a friend!
• Clean the radiators in these rooms

Tantalising Tuesday ~ Masterful Master Bedroom & Loopy 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.. do you need that winter duvet yet?
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 a hotspot., or spend 15 minutes clearing one.
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!

Wishful Wednesday ~ those frightening 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 Flylady Fling, in the toy box!!!! aim for 27.. if no toy box you’ll have to choose another area!
• 30 minutes ironing

Tantalising Thursday ~ Kooking Kitchen and Dancing 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 grots 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
Descale kettle and iron
Clean cupboard door fronts and fronts of appliances .. don't forget those kick boards..
Check those washing machine filters and drawers for ickiness!! Tumble dryer and dishwasher filters need to be done too!!

Extras…

• Wipe window sills and clean windows in these rooms
• Wipe down any tiles and shine those taps.. a toothbrush is great for cleaning away the gunk!
• Clean oven if you didn't do it last week
• 30 minutes ironing.

Friday ~ Luscious Living Room, Handsome Hall Stupendous Stairs
Level One...
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
Water any thirsty plants, wipe their poor neglected leaves!!
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!
Put up linings or winter curtains to keep out those draughts.
Extras…

• 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
• 30 minutes ironing
• Get those uniforms, games kits, coats and things in the wash which you will need on Monday

FRIDAY EXTRA - Don't forget your ME time this weekend, even if it's just a nice relaxing bath!!! Go on you deserve it

atypicalblonde

I'm in thanks for all the birthday wishes, fun was had & wine was drunk :beer:

Very much in this week. Will post a full list tomorrow of what needs to be done but the underlying theme is to create order from what seems to be constant chaos! First job in morning - bedding.

Sleep well all x

ruby_eskimo

Hi everyone, popping in as I really need to get on top of the clutter and cleaning in my house; work is ridiculous at the moment, I'm studying at uni part time and I hate being surrounded by mess but don't know where to start. Hoping that by jumping on the flylady wagon for the millionth time will help me establish some order to things! Going to write out my to-do list for the week before I head to bed this evening - already have my clothes for tomorrow laid out and breakfast and lunch are sorted. Hope you all enjoy your Sunday evening and have a great start to a new week.

Valli

well I'm here

donnajt

Not feeling great (medicine change) but house still looking good despite little effort over weekend, thank you valli for last weeks lists (I loved them), Natty thank you for tomorrow's list - saved to laptop ready for the morning x

BearPearSun

Thanks for the list!

How long do people here usually spend each day on their housework?

ionafan

Welcome back ruby_eskimo and hi to BearPearSun :wave::wave:

BearPearSun wrote: »

How long do people here usually spend each day on their housework?

As short a time as possible :rotfl::rotfl:
Try to complete Level 1 each day and then start adding in Levels 2 and 3 or extras if you have time. Setting a 10-minute timer helps enormously!

Thanks to Natty for the new list, to Jazee for the link from the old thread, and to Valli for keeping us in some sort of flying order last week.

A poorly dog means that the utility floor got washed in the wee small hours
I have sent DH to represent us at DGDs' school Harvest Festival, cancelled dog training class, and will be keeping a close eye on the patient today whilst finishing my college prep.

If it's gone, it's done or n/a:
Magical Monday - Barnacled Bathroom and Sociable 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...
Wipe down tiles in bathroom
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required
Change hand towels and flannels
Clean/wash 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
• Grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish or charity shop or to donate to a friend!

Back later to update. Have a good day, all x

donnajt

Magical Monday - Barnacled Bathroom and Sociable Study/Pc Area
Daily
[STRIKE]Make beds, gather clothes, washing, sort laundry/put away), clean downstairs loo, swipe bathroom, swipe kitchen, hoover[/STRIKE]
level 1
[STRIKE]Clean floors in these rooms (even if it is around the clutter)!
Throw away all those empty bottles of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray etc.[/STRIKE]
Level 2
[STRIKE]Clean baths, toilets and sinks
[STRIKE]Remove and bin all those slivers of soap[/STRIKE]
Clear any clutter from desk
Dust PC and desk and wipe off those cup rings!!
Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc[/STRIKE]
Level 3
[STRIKE]Clear clutter from floor!
Wipe down tiles in bathroom.. [STRIKE]laptop defrag'd, disc cleaned, malaware run[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Delete 10 links in your favourites at least 50% deleted[/STRIKE]
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required
Clean/wash 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!!
Change hand towels and flannels[/STRIKE]

EXTRAS
[STRIKE]Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc
Grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish or charity shop or to donate to a friend!
Clean the radiators in these rooms[/STRIKE]


:T:T:T:T:Tall done :T:T:T:T:T

bossymoo

Morning,

I'm off list again, I've just had a hh whizz around picking up, putting away and moving things around to their right places.

My desk has barfed paper and pens, I have homework from college and placement, and I'm trying to keep all the bits of information separate (!). So now the downstairs is *tidy* I'll start at my desk and organise what I need to write this week. Think I may need a coffee for that haha.

Later I will try find time for sweeping floors and cleaning out piggy dens. And poss some exercise, my step count yesterday was ridiculously low after sitting on my bum on a course all day.

Think I'm babysitting microbaby again tonight so I'll get as much work done as poss, suspect I will be tired tomorrow...


Thanks as always for the lists, have a great day xx

pigpen

Jojo.. there is a world of difference between can't and won't.. I know you need to do these things to make him move forward in the world.. I'm sure you are just the type of person he needs to kick him into touch, tbh, OH had job offers from the interviews where I didn't let him go looking like a scruff.. And wedding?? When was this decided? I am in awe.. I didn't think you would succumb to such advances you seem far too much of a very independent free-spirited lovely battleaxe.. I'm really pleased for you.. belated congratulations!

Honey_Bear

Thanks for the lists Valli and Natty.

ruby_eskimo wrote: »

I hate being surrounded by mess but don't know where to start.

Quite literally anywhere, but as Ionafan says, just do Level 1 each day until it only takes a matter of minutes, and then progress to Level 2. That may, if your chaos is anything like the level mine was when I joined the Flylady thread, take a few months - yes, this house was that bad, but once I'd got into the habit of doing Level 1 every day things progressed, and that's all that matters.

Sorry to hear about Rosie's upset last night, Ionafan. Curiously,

Kelpie got me up and out at 4.00 am for exactly the same reason; what a strange co-incidence! *Healing vibes* for her. Very fortunately for him I keep a tube of pro-biotic paste for just such emergencies which I swear by, and gave him a dose when we got back to the house and he seems to be functioning satisfactorily now, if you get my drift. Magical stuff.

Bathroom given a bit of a going over first thing, and I'm about to embark on the ground floor before settling down to do my crochet homework. I signed up for a two day course a few months ago and at long last I've got the hang of it. We're supposed to practice trebles for this Saturday otherwise we won't be able to progress. This is my third attempt to learn to crochet and the tutor is absolutely the best I've come across. So, Radio 4 and crochet later. Lovely.