Weekly Flylady Thread 25th December 2017

Valli

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.

[/B] 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...

Monday - Christmas Day

level 1

If you're cooking accept any and all offers of help.

Have a lovely day

Terrific Tuesday Boxing Day

S&s kitchen
Inc sort through what is in the fridge - plan!
S &s bathroom

Allocate tasks to any available minion - sorting recycling, drying up and putting away, making own beds.
Ensure same minions look after ALL pets...cage cleaning, feeding, exercising etc.


Woeful Wednesday ... if the house is beginning to descend into squalor...we will focus on damage limitation.

If you have 15 minutes...

S&S the kitchen. Empty bins, wipe down work surfaces, sweep, vacuum then mop floor. Make sure all leftover food is stored in sealed boxes in the fridge. Remove anything furry from fruit bowl

If you have another 10 minutes.

S&S bathroom. Arm yourself with a bathroom sponge and wipe sinks, showers and baths. Use a separate cloth or disposable wipes, wipe the outside of the loo then the seat. Fling some bleach down.

If you have 5 minutes wander round with a clean, damp cloth and wipe switches and door handles.

If you have 10 minutes... any room looks better straightened, so get in there, shift rubbish, straighten furniture and plump cushions. Wipe/polish any tables. But focus on tidying rather than cleaning.

Enlist the help of anyone to drag a vacuum round, focussing on high traffic areas.

Extras

Laundry - iron? HHI!

Start updating your new diaryand/or calendar. Make a note of...

Family mobile numbers
Birthdays, anniversaries etc
Dates of MOT, insurance renewal...and also make a note to book these in or start getting quotes 2-3 weeks beforehand.(and not on the day it is due, which for me this year was a Sunday and I was stuck with whatever I could do online BUT I did get a £60 M&S voucher for my troubles as I found a deal on MSE like a good little moneysaver)

Thursday Thrills

Kitchen and Dining Room

Level 1

Clear out the fridge and wash the shelves, baskets etc
Dispose of anything that needs flinging
Clean out any defrost drains
Wipe jars and bottles before they go back in
meal plan to use anything on it's last legs
Wipe all door seals and decrumb

Level 2
Start with ONE cupboard...maybe the one nearest the door
Empty it out, wipe down the shelves, and doors inside and out
Put back what lives there - if it's groceries do a stock rotation - oldest to the front

Level 3
Clear sides/worktops and wipe down
Wipe dining table
sweep and mop floors
Tidy round

Extras
de-juice the bin (shudder)
keep up with the laundry

Friday Flourish

Bathrooms, shower rooms, cloakrooms and en-suites

No levels - do what you have time for

Open the windows in these rooms
Take out any rubbish
Spray bath/shower with cleaner of choice and leave to soak a while
With a damp cloth dipped in hot water and detergent wipe door handles and pull switches.
Wipe down shower screens/enclosures - inside and out
scrub out bath/shower trays
check plugholes aren't clogged with hair
Wipe taps/shower heads
Scrub out sinks
Wipe loos outside THEN in
bleach down all drains/overflows
Wipe down any shelves and wipe whatever's on them
Make sure ALL bottles have closed lids - water WILL evaporate from products causing them to dry out!
Change towels and washcloths
Wash out any toothmugs
Sweep/mop floors


Extras
HHI let's start the new year with no ironing mountains
Vacuum hallways and high traffic areas
Plan something nice - film night? Long bubbly soak?

pigpen

Hi, love and hugs to all. Merry Christmas.. and enjoy your day!!

atypicalblonde

Merry Christmas you lovely lovely ladies. I hope your day is peaceful and happy xxxx

katiecat

Thanks to all of you for your support over the year.
Wishing you all a happy and peaceful Christmas day
love katiecat x

mrs-moneypenny

Have a fantastic day tomorrow couldn't have got through the year without you all.

You are all brilliant so have a great day. X

froddington

Thanks Valli :A Finally, a list I can actually complete!! :rotfl:

Wishing a wonderful Christmas to all those celebrating tomorrow and a peaceful day to any who aren't.

You are all amazing xx

lynnejk

Evening folks

Cards arrived hooray !! Thanks a million for all the lovely comments peoples

Thank you Narco for the choccie - eaten before DH could snatch it

Hiya Bossy - great to see you :hello:

Hope you all have a fandabadosy day tomorrow - whether you celebrate Chrissy or not.
Lx

dancemum

Merry Christmas everyone x

Ironing done

pigpen

Merry Christmas to you all..

Off to bed.. OH at work 9-5 Christmas Day. I have mountains of laundry to catch up on.

Honey_Bear

Merry Christmas
to all Flyladies, past and present.

ionafan

Happy Christmas, everyone
and if you're not celebrating today, I hope you have a peaceful day.

Thank you Valli and Natty for the lists xx