Weekly Flylady Thread 14th January 2019

Natty68

Welcome to the first full thread of 2019.
It's been lovely to see some newbies already and I'm so pleased to see some familiar faces posting. The thread became very quiet last year which worried me...I, for one, have massively appreciated the support offered by poster here and I know I'm not the only one. Here's to a 2019 with joys and fun and, hopefully less clutter and dirt...

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 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

Hotspotsare 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'
WUDUPA ~ Washed up, dried up, put away
WUALTD ~ Washed up and left to dry
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!

Some of our abbreviations: DH- dear husband, OH- other half, KH/CF- affectionate term for ex husband or partner DS/DD- dear son/daughter, DGC- dear grandchild, WM- washing machine, DW- dishwasher, LR/DR- living/dining room, RoD- room of doom, 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 we go!

Manic Monday - Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One
Clean floors
Level Two
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces
Clean cupboard door fronts and the kick boards
Sort fridge bringing what needs using soon to the front
Wipe dining table (clean table cloth if necessary)
Check your car is topped up with anti-freeze, radiator water, oil,petrol. Check your tyre pressure too, if your car is being used during upcoming freezing weather.
Level Three
Sort the utensils.. half melted spatulas are not necessary!
HHI.. then wash the ironing board cover!
Dust any extra furniture in dining room, checking for cobwebs on way round
Wash the washer drawer out if it's gunky
Clean oven - because I know it wasn't on the list last week
Check you have essentials in the car, if you are driving, i.e. chocolate, flask, torch, warm blanket and charged up mobile phone. We don't want you to get stuck in any snow.

Extra Mission
Choose one or more of:

• Wipe out the fridge, make sure the drain is clear
• Wipe over little appliances, wipe under them before putting them back
• Clean dishwasher, cooker hood (if washable) and tumble drier filters
• Wipe window sills, clean any marks off windows if required
• Wipe the front of large appliances

Tuesday Living Room, Hall and 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
Level Three
Wipe light switches and banister
Clean any other glass like mirrors etc
Tidy shoes, coats and bags
Vacuum under furniture (only if you won't hurt yourself doing it, don't want any injuries)
Get a winter emergency box for your car.. it's still not too late SEE HERE for ideas!

Extra Mission:
Pick one or more of the following tasks –

• Clear one hotspot or spend at least 15 minutes clearing it a bit
• HHI
• Give the inside of the front door a wipe (if it's not raining you could do the outside too)
• Wipe the leaves of your plants
• Sort through any magazines or paperwork lying around
• Clean windows and sills in these areas

Wonderful Wednesdays - 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, air the bed if possible
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

Extra tasks list, as usual choose one or more

• Ebay/Amazon/Car boot search, anything that can be sold which is no longer used?
• 27 fling boogie time, time for that midweek fling, go on grab a bag and clear that clutter
• Clean windows in these rooms
• Check the airing cupboard, anything that is way past it's use by (maybe recycle for rags if possible, you could donate old sheets or towels to a local animal rescue for bedding)
• Clean the bed frame where you can, vacuum if cloth covered, wipe with a cloth if wood/metal etc

Thursday 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, wipe with damp cloth if grimey
Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc
Level Three
Clear clutter from floor
Wipe down tiles in bathroom
Delete 10 links in your favourites which you no longer use or are dead!
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required

Extra mission:
Pick whichever you want to attempt:

• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
• Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc
• Clean/wash the brushes/dust box/filters on the vacuum cleaner (ensure these are dry before using again)
• Clean the radiators in these rooms (and behind them if you can)
• Defragment PC, or at least do a disc clean up
• Towels & Flannels- wash any grimey ones, make ones which are ''beyond repair'' into something else (flannels, cloths etc) or get rid!

Freaky Friday - Frightening Kids Rooms and Spare Rooms
Level One
15 minutes clearing clutter!
Spend at least 15 minutes doing something for yourself, whatever that might be
Level Two
Vacuum floors (even if it's around the rest of the junk)
Strip beds and replace with fresh linen
Level Three
15 more minutes clearing clutter!
Dusting - all those flat surfaces which have become fuzzy!
Clean window, sill and frame

Extra tasks, if you have extra time and want to do more, you could try one of these

• Clean skirting boards in one room
• Wipe down a childrens bed frame/cot
• 15 minutes ironing
• Paperwork sorting, spend 10 minutes on it, little and often! Anything need dealing with urgently?
• 27 fling boogie, time for the Friday Fling! Grab a bag and clear that clutter.

atypicalblonde

I’m in xx

Thanks for the lists ladies xx

Fayolle

I’m in too. Thank you both for last week and this week. I just love that putting chocolate in the car is a job that I might actually do! X

Jazee

I'm in. Thank everyone for the list. See you all in the morning.

Narc0lepsy

Thanks for lists.
More hugs for Roundtuit and Jojo.
Didn't get up early enough to go for a run before church but gritted teeth and went afterwards.
One load of washing done.
More of a report done.
That's about it!

kjgkgj

Have only had a chance to read your posts but not reply myself. It’s been a busy few days, photographer coming this week to photo house for estate agents, trying to get it on the market ASAP. Ever since we had our 7 month old baby I got further and further behind with the house, so it’s taking a while to de-clutter and get sorted.

Managed to filler in the bathroom, repaint part of bathroom and part of kitchen, bits not finished since we moved in! Helped hubby on tractor and trailer move a huge compost heap at parent in laws house, whilst they (granny and grandad) looked after DS. DW x 1, WM x 2, brushed dogs, sorted and burned old receipts.

Tomorrow;

Manic Monday - Kitchen and Dining Room

DW x 1
De-clutter tops
Empty fryer of oil, clean and put away in cupboard
Clean floors
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces
Clean cupboard door fronts and the kick boards
Clean hob top and outside of oven
Wipe over little appliances, wipe under them before putting them back
Clean cooker hood
Wipe window sills, clean any marks off windows if required

Bathroom
Clean toilet
De-limescale sink and shower screen
Clean bath
Wipe windowsill and wash toothbrush holder
Hoover carpet
Clean window and mirror

Busy day planned, best get some sleep!

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning

Wide awake at 5am so got up, have done 15 minutes pilates and deep breathing (whilst the dog watched me looking concerned). Determined to try and beat this anxiety that is threatening to engulf me at the moment.

The stupid thing is that things are well here at the minute. Work is stressful (but they are pleased with how I am doing in my new job), we have absolutely no money and there are a few worried about DS1 but really it could be worse. However, my brain seems to think the world is about to end.

So on with the day. Paid stuff first, will fly later x

Dizzy_Imp

I'm in please. I fell off the cart about midweek, so need to climb back aboard.

Loads to do...

Thanks for the listies xxx

Jazee

Morning all. About to make a start on the list. Will wipe table and dust furniture in dining room.

Have a great day everyone.

roundtuit

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

Determined to try and beat this anxiety that is threatening to engulf me at the moment.

The stupid thing is that things are well here at the minute. Work is stressful (but they are pleased with how I am doing in my new job), we have absolutely no money and there are a few worried about DS1 but really it could be worse. However, my brain seems to think the world is about to end.

You are not alone YL xx And you weren't alone at 6.10 am either - but I was in the shower deep breathing and concentrating on the feel of water hitting my skin to quell my anxiety. It really didn't help that I dreamed I had terminal cancer And woke up panicking about how to clear the house before I died so that DS didn't have to do it. Message received and understood subconscious but :eek:

Thank you for the hugs and sympathy xx My main concern is my Dad - he's 84 and just watched his wife and brother die less that three months apart. He's turned into an old man in front of my eyes - just shrunk somehow

I managed WM x 3 yesterday so, thanks to selective drying , I was able to put on clean clothes for work after my shower this morning. I also washed a bowl of pots yesterday so I had a clean dish in which to make porridge for breakfast and a clean spoon to eat it with. Every little helps

jojo - sorry to hear about your birthday. Hugs xx

Paid stuff for me today as usual, but I will feed the birds and put out the rubbish and recycling before I go. Got two cards to put through letterboxes too - I bought the cards and stamps when prompted by Valli on the listy. But didn't get any further than that....:o Heyho.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Hugs
Rxx

ionafan

Big (((hugs))) to Roundtuit. So sorry to hear your news.

Big (((hugs))) to Jojo. Sorry I missed your birthday, but I hope the next year brings better things for you.

Well done Yorkshirelass on making a success of your new job :T:T
I'll throw some sticks for your BD when Rosie and I go for our walk in the woods later.

I am feeling decidedly grotty today, having caught the rotten cold that's doing the rounds. Unfortunately time constraints mean that I can't postpone a visit to someone this morning, for which there are still a few things to prepare, but apart from taking Rosie out and cooking a chicken curry for tea tonight, I'm not planning on doing much otherwise except transferring more phone numbers from my old phone to the new one. The stuff on my desk is gradually disappearing into the right file / bin / shelf so the RoD is looking slightly better today than it did last week. If I feel well enough, I will go to the Old Wives' meeting this evening, otherwise it will be an early night for me.

I cooked soup for tea last night. In our house the rule is, whoever cooks does not wash up (although I seem to remember that that rule was ignored on Christmas Day!!!???). DH must have thought that yesterday was Christmas Day 2019, as I came down to a pile of washing up in the kitchen sink this morning. I have left it for him to do [evil laugh]