Weekly Flylady Thread 18th March 2019

Valli

Welcome to the Weekly Flylady Thread

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 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

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 goes this week...

Manic Monday - Kitchen Kapers/Dining Room

Level 1

Clear sides and wipe down
Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
Empty bin and clean it out too
Wipe sill, sockets, door handles and switches
Clear and clean sink and accessories - don't forget those out-of-sight places - under plugs and under draining racks
Clean/polish table - wipe mats/change cloth
Check fruit and wash bowl
Throw away your manky dish cloth and replace with a new one!

Level 2
Wipe down all cupboard and drawer fronts, not forgetting handles
Clean hob - thoroughly. Wash all detachable parts too.
Sort fridge and wipe seals; weave stuff that needs using up into your meal plan
Dust dining area/room

Level 3
Clean oven
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Wipe out whiffy bins
Clean windows


extras
MAD half hour call one or join one
HHI
S&S bathroom

Tuesday Twinkles - Brighten that bathroom

Level 1

Fling open the windows
Clear the bins, remove empties
Flush the loo and squirt something down it to start the cleaning process
Fling the towels in the WM
Vacuum extractor cover and/or wipe
Clean windows and mirrors

Level 2

Clear lotions and potions from around bath and scrub inside and out.
Prod a brush down the plughole to remove the ratty tails
Polish the taps
Slug of bleach down the drain
Scrub the loo inside and out - and bleach it
Thoroughly clean bath taps and plugs - especially hair traps
Wipe shower head

Level 3

Scrub the sink
Polish the taps
Dust sills and shelves
Wipe anywhere fingers linger with a clean cloth or an anti-bac wipe
Mop the floor
Polish mirrors

Extras

HHI
S&S kitchen
Double up on a recipe in your meal plan and freeze so that you can have a day off over Easter

Wednesday - Living Room Loveliness

Level 1

Open the windows!
Empty any bins.
Sort through the magazine rack - and fling.
Give the cushions a good plumping.
Remove anything that doesn't live here.
With a damp cloth wipe remotes, light switches and the bit just above and below the door handles, where sticky fingers leave residues.

Level Two

Lift sofa cushions, swap around if you can and vacuum all those crevices
Dust everywhere - check for cobwebs!
Clean flies out of light fittings...I use an air can (as used for zapping dust in electronics

Level Three

Dust/wipe curtain tracks
Move all the furniture you can and vacuum/sweep/mop- don't forget the edges
Dust skirting boards

Extras

S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
Buy some stamps before the price goes up on Monday

Twinkling Thursday - Your sanctuary - the boudoir!


Level One
Strip the bed; leave it to air - open the window wide
Remove the floordrobe - everything away or in the wash
Remake the bed before moving up a level!

Level Two
Remove everything from surfaces, wipe and dust things and where they are
Wipe - with a barely damp cloth switches and door handles

Level 3
Vacuum thoroughly - don't forget the curtains!
Vacuum cloth lamp and light shades
Check for, and deal with, cobwebs!

Extras

HHI
S&Skitchen
S&Sbathroom
Sort through shoes and boots - sort them into piles -

Pile 1 (keep)- clean, polish, put away
Pile 2 (keep but need attention)- cobblers - bag them up ready for repair
Pile 3 (no longer wanted on voyage) - FERLINNNG


End of the month approaches - do you need any birthday (or any) cards for April? Write a list to take with you when you go shopping!

Friday Fling - get set for the weekend

Either - pick another bedroom and repeat Thursday

OR

get a just-damp cloth, a box and a binbag and spend 15 minutes MAXIMUM in each room tidying, straightening, wiping sticky marks and binning rubbish. Put anything that need washing in the laundry bin. Put of clean handtowels in the
bathrooms and kitchen. Vacuum high-traffic areas. Now your WHOLE HOUSE looks clean!

Extras
HHI
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
Plan something nice - meet a friend for a coffee and cake?

kazwookie

I'm in again

Thank you for all the lists xxx

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Here in spirit, if not in body. It's going to be a hellish week.

Remembered that I needed to find some bolts for something at work, so went for an expedition into the cupboard under the stairs. So unplugged the BM and shoved the TD away from the Alice in Wonderland style door and crawled in (what moron thought that was ever a good design?). Not only did I find the thing that holds all the nuts and bolts, I found the exact size I needed immediately

Shoved it all back, realised one side has obviously not been cleaned recently [strike]in a million years[/strike], so cleaned that, realised when Himself made tea bread and overestimated the quantities, there was baked on bits over the inside, cleaned the pan out, chiselled off the bits embedded into the paddle attachment and shoved the ingredients for white poppy seed loaf into the thing. When he gets in from his gig, he should be greeted by the smell of fresh bread - I'm willing to bet that he hasn't eaten all day.

Beginning to feel even more tired now, so will probably try going to bed soon, but am expecting to have to get on with things myself tomorrow, as he'll still be shattered from the weekend. [strike]Still resisting the urge to say 'you "worked hard" for an entire thirty hours this week? How stressful that must have been. Quick, take another year off before you tire yourself out and I'll just stick to doing somewhere in the region of 72 hours this week, then, shall I?'. If I don't walk out of my job first, I have a feeling I will rip Himself's head off at some point in the next five days.

froddington

Hi all - I'm back in! Thanks Valli :A

I worked full time last week but only a 4 day week coming up - have tomorrow off as it's an INSET day. Full time again the next week! My bank balance will thank me at the end of April!!!

Hugs to all who are juggling jobs / families / caring, etc.

atb - sending you strength and coping vibes; you will know what is right for you xx

I'm going to attempt a little list this week (although I am going out to lunch with Dad tomorrow )

Manic Monday - Kitchen Kapers

Clear sides and wipe down
Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
Clean hob
Vacuum floor

melliec

Hi all,
I'm in for this week.
Just moved into a spick and span new house and need to keep it that way! Need to start flying again to stop me going back to my old untidy habits.

Hope you all have a good Monday ❤ (I have an interview... eek! ��)

ionafan

(((Hugs))) atb - we are here for you when you need us xx

Sorry to hear about your bursitis, Narc0. That's painful.

Thank you Valli for the new thread.

Today, in addition to the usual Sunday routine, I have done some work in the garden, spreading compost onto my new vegetable plots. I also looked in the shed for a piece of wire mesh (and, like Jojo, found it immediately ): I saw a useful tip this week on a YouTube video, showing how sowing seeds at regular intervals using plastic or wire mesh as a guide dispenses with the need to thin out seedlings - very good for larger seeds such as radishes, though I think for the miniscule seeds like lettuces it will still come down to "a little pinch here, a little pinch there".

Tomorrow I intend to clean both upstairs bedrooms and the bathroom thoroughly.

Hope everyone has a good (or better) week xx

wishingthemortgaheaway

Thank you for the thread.
I've subscribed so I'm in.
Tomorrow is a 'Pickle and Mummy' day, so my todo list reflects this:

Monday
Empty DW and put away
All dry washing away
WM (surely there can't be more than 1 load)
Hang up wet stuff
Box and work bag away
Stuff to loft
Some shredding
Tip trip
Dentist for Pickle
Fun for Pickle with his friends
Keep house reasonably tidy
Recycling & rubbish out
Food shop
Banking checks and reconciliations
Respond to supply text - say yes, you need the pennies.

This week
Box of stuff to book selling website
Box of unwanted books to cs
Pack for weekend away

pigpen

Do I have a magical disappearing post?


Manic Monday - Kitchen Kapers/Dining Room
Level 1
Level 2
Wipe down all cupboard and drawer fronts,
Clean hob - thoroughly. Wash all detachable parts too.
Sort fridge and wipe seals;
Level 3
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Clean windows

Tuesday Twinkles - Brighten that bathroom
Level 1
Clear the bins, remove empties
Level 2
Polish the taps
Slug of bleach down the drain
Scrub the loo inside and out - and bleach it
Thoroughly clean bath taps and plugs
Wipe shower head
Level 3
Scrub the sink
Wipe anywhere fingers linger with a clean cloth or an anti-bac wipe
Mop the floor
Polish mirrors

pigpen

yep.. I do.. not sure where I put it.. but I typed it.

Dryer being repaired tomorrow.
I brought todays washing in just in time before the sky emptied itself!

I just bought a shower and a bath with my PPI refund.. just waiting on my quote for fitting them and hoping it is less than the money I have left.. I can't see it being that much though really to fit a bath and a shower.. and move a radiator.

I have the twitchies and I am struggling to sit still.

Listed tat on ebeast... sold 1 already.. but that killed 3 hours today and my back is killing me!

Fayolle

Good morning
Thank you for the lists. I’m in again and hoping to keep up better this week. I’m struggling with working extra hours that suits other people but not necessarily me. When we finally get to discussing payment, it had better be worthwhile.

Sorry - started the week with a moan - will do better! Today is a work day but now that it is still light when i get home, there is some hope of me doing a couple of jobs in the evening. Dinner is prepped and just needs reheating, so that’s a start.

((Hugs)) ATB. I hope you both find your way through this. X

roundtuit

Morning :wave:

Here we go again I'm [STRIKE]hoping[/STRIKE] going to keep plugging away at the box of paperwork each evening... further inspired by 'discovery' of perfume, 2 x Elvis CDs and a boxed cross and chain. Actually not but - it's finding these treasures that brighten up my H2H adventure

I've put a boxed watch in the cs box :T A lovely gift that I never wear - someone can pop a new battery in it and use it. I did um and ah a tiny bit, but letting go is definitely easier than it used to be :j I've kept the sympathy cards from when Mum died though - not ready to let those go yet. They are now safely stowed in a cupboard rather than lost in a box on the living room floor.

Going to show my ignorance now - what is YS? And subscribe? Am I supposed to be subscribing to the thread. Have I been a stowaway all these years? :eek: Someone please explain. Thank you in advance xx

Sending flylady love out to you all
Rxx