Weekly Flylady Thread 1st June 2020

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.

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 content! (i.e. it should be on-topic)
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 -

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

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

Right here we go!!!

Muggles Monday ~ Kitchen & Dining Room
Level One...
Open the windows and let in the light
Clear and wipe the work surfaces & table

Wipe down door handles, light switches and door knobs with hot soapy water
Wipe the units and appliances
Clear and wipe table, replace cloth if necessary
Level Two...
Wipe the little appliances and put them back in their homes
Wipe over the cupboards and large appliances
Sweep and mop the floor
Clean out drawers and filters
Level Three...
Thoroughly clean the cereal/baking
Shine the grotty windows
Clear and wipe window sills
Wipe the inside doors.. inside.. and out!!
Extras

• HHI

• Fill a bag for charity shop ready for when the charity shops are able to take new donations.

• Deweb the downstairs of the house!!

• Wipe out the fridge.. meal plan for June!

• Scrub the sink and tiles

• Clean the lightshades

• Bake a cake/buns or prepare a new meal for our family!

Thumping Tuesday ~ Living Room, Hall and Stairs

Level One …

Open the windows and turn on some music!

Wipe over the door handles, light switches, front door handles and letter box with hot

soapy water.

Wipe and water the plants

Wipe over sticky sofas.

Level Two…

Dusting, even if around everything

Remove clutter making sure stairs especially are safe

Clean TV, any fluffy electricals and defluff behind the radiators!

Level Three …

Wipe paintworks and any grubby marks off walls etc

Vacuum under any furniture you can.. please don't injure yourselves!

Clean any other glass like mirrors, pictures etc

Tidy shoes, coats and bags .. wash any that need washing and putting away not we

have warmer weather!!

HHC in the porch

Extras

• Clear a hotspot or 3!
• Clean light shades/fittings and lamps

• Clean a window or two.

• Wash any smelly soft furnishings!

• Clear one hotspot, or just spend at least 5 minutes tackling it

• Wash a pair of curtains, or some nets or a throw from a chair or bed

• Groom the hairy pets... or the children lol

• 29 fling boogie

Whistfull Wednesday ~ Master Bedroom & Landing
Level One …
Open the window and air the room, let the sun and fresh air in.
Strip off smelly bedding and sling it in the wash, replace well before bedtime!
Clear some floordrobe
Level Two …
Vacuum the mattress and air the duvet (I have been known to dangle mine over the whirly gig if it's nice)
Put the floordrobe in the wardrobe
Find 10 things to get rid of!
Level Three …
Make sure those smoke alarms are working!!! (do not set fire to anything.. just press the button!!)
Vacuum the landing and bedroom.. starting at the bottom of the stairs!!!!
Remove anything that should be elsewhere.. your bedroom is NOT a shed!!
Remove some dust bunnies and wipe over the light shades

Extras

• Wash any curtains that need doing

• HHI

• Clean the windows

• 15 minutes sort out of the landing gibble.. see if you can find something to rehome

• Sort out one cupboard, just the one!!!

Thursday Scrubfest- Bathroom and Study/Pc Area

Level One …

Clean & wash floors in these rooms

Air the room.. fling open the windows and let in the summery air!!

Replace sponges and toothbrushes that need doing!!

Level Two …

Clean baths, toilets, don't forget the outside and under the rim and sinks.. shine the taps with a toothbrush!!!!

Dust PC and clear any clutter from desk and wipe off those cup rings!!

Clean the windows in these rooms...

Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc

Level Three …

Wipe down tiles in bathroom.. defragment your pc while doing this.

Empty and clean out all the upstairs bins!

Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required

Collect any stray laundry from upstairs.

HHG.. if your garden is already beautiful go out and enjoy it for half an hour!!

Extras…

• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms

• Fling all those empty bottles and tubes

• Binbag dance.... ready.. set.. go!!!!!!!!

• Empty out the bathroom cabinet.. clean it.. fling what you don't need and stash the rest in a beautiful manner.. in alphabetical order please!

• Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc whatever needs cleaning.

• Do any toothbrushes/sponges etc need replacing?

• HHI... a bit more gone!

• Throw out/get rid of 3 things from every room in your house!!

Freaky Friday- those frightening kids rooms and spare rooms

Level One …

Clear away anything that isn't in it's place, clothes, toys, books etc

Spend at least half an hour doing something for yourself!!!!! paint your nails,
a lovely soak in the bath.. whatever you feel like!!

Level Two …

Vacuum the floor

Dusting.. all those shelves and flat fluffy surfaces!! Don’t forget the light shade and curtain pole!!!

Strip beds, turn and vacuum mattresses!! and replace with fresh linen .. check if duvets need freshening up too!!

Level Three …

Drag everything out from under the bed too.. there is floor under there!!

Sort through a cupboard/chest of drawers and get the clothes out which are no longer wearable, too small or out of season!

Wipe the grotty patches of the walls and woodwork

Wipe the radiators, skirtings and window & door frames!

Extras

• Wash a set of curtains, nets, duvet or throw

• Sort through one box or toys.. if you have no children find a box of junk.. is there anything that needs to go?

• End of week fling!! grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish or charity shop or to donate to a friend!

• Clean out any pets!

Natty68

*Update on DH*
His fever spiked yesterday and he had a restful night with hardly any sweating, just the odd bit. But I think the dog was lying across him at this point. Did speak to the Covid line and it does look like he had got this horrible Covid. Weirdly he is making a good recovery now, and he's actually been quite lively today and eaten a full cooked roast dinner that I did for him. Although he did have two sleeps today due to being shattered.. Apart from a horrible cough now, we don't have the chills anymore and he's not wrapped up in his huge dressing gown anymore.

I'm the one that is shattered now, and I may move into the bed now instead of the sofa.

And yes Piggers it's14 days quarantine for me even though I've actually had it right at the beginning of the outbreak. Good job I don't go anywhere or go out now... Although I am wondering if I can walk the dog at midnight when everyone has gone to bed...lol

Thank you everyone for all your support and words of wisdom, I will admit I was extremely worried that if he hadn't improved it would be an ambulance job, and I wouldn't have been able to go there to be with him, or even visit him to put my mind at rest...

Huge hugs...and enjoy the lists

roundtuit

Thank you Natty xx And thank you Valli for last week xx

I'm in all week as I'm on Annual Leave this week - woot woot. Flying and decluttering will be done.

Rxx

pigpen

Natty.. I'm pleased he had a more settled night... keep his fluids up.. many hospital admissions are due to dehydration.. I would walk the dog.. I'd be very wary of going at midnight though, I would be worried for your safety as would Dave. You need to be safe. There should be a local volunteer who would take the dog for a walk. I know here there are a lot of people taking dogs for walks and doing shopping just out of kindness. Wishing him a speedy recovery.. and everyting crossed you don't get a second dose!!

So much to get done this week and Twinkles birthday is Saturday and I am determined to have as much of this decorating done as possible by then.

I am having DS2 make a start on his own room.. I think the experience will do him good and he can have pride in his work.. he will do a fabulous job I am sure.

OH gets paid on Friday so he can make the holiday payment and put some aside for a big freezer shop when I have run it down a bit.. and Twinkle birthday food. He can cover the electric bill this week too.

I need to sort our June budget and make sure everything is where it should be.

eta.. oops.. forgive my rudeness.. thank you for the thread! xxx

Fayolle

Thank you Natty for the thread.  And thank you Valli. Of course I am in!

Fantastic news about Dave, Natty. You take care of yourself too. Xx

Goodintentions

Thanks Natty for the thread, and thanks Valli for last week. I am in! I am pleased Mr Natty is feeling a bit better. I hope he makes a full recovery soon.

I spent some time at the allotment. I have worn through the fingers of my gardening gloves! I also sorted a box or 2 in the SH - nearly done 😊 and hoovered the LR after DH cut the dog's hair (in the kitchen) and then let him in the garden, but forgot that the patio doors were open! 🤦‍♀️ I shouldn't moan, as he did wash my car this afternoon! 

Roast dinner, followed by rhubarb crumble was cooked and eaten. However, I am a bad flylady as I am now in bed, even though the DW hasn't been emptied and the pots haven't been washed! 😱 It will still be there in the morning 😁 (unless DH does it, and he always gets up before me! 🤔😉)
Night night everyone! 

BadCat18

Morning all

Thank you for the thread and pleased to hear more positive news about Mr Natty x

Paid stuff as usual for me so flying will be slotted in where I can, house overall looking ok after weekend efforts. Once again not a brilliant nights sleep but seems to be the norm at the moment.

DH needs to start work early so he will be up soon, as soon as he is I will get in to gear...
Have a good one all x

juliejim

Morning All
I'm up, dressed, the WM is on and the dishes have been washed. I'll walk the dog shortly then get myself ready to go back to work. Not sure what time to go in - I normally get there about 7.30 but as I'm not in my own classroom, the kids are coming in later and I don't know whether I'll have anything to do if I get in early I don't know. It will be quite strange - I think I'm only expecting about 5 kids in my bubble with me and a teacher.
Please to see that DH is on the mend Natty.
Have a good day all
Hugs
Jue

Jazee

Morning all.  Thanks for the list Natty.  Positive vibes for all those teachers and children going back to school today.

Apart from dailies I'm not sure what I'll do today.  DH is still in bed so I think I'll water the back garden first as it's a relatively quiet job.

Have a great day everyone.

roundtuit

Morning xx
White rabbits. 

I stripped my bed when I got up and I think the first load has just finished swishing, so I'll peg it out, have my breakfast and a second brew then crack on with a Round list.

Love and posivibes to all members of the WAC, all the poorlies, everyone returning to work this week, and all flyladies everywhere.  You are amazing - don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise!

Rxx

Mademoiselle

Morning all,  just read through the end of last weeks thread, what adventures and hard work you've all been up to.  Glad to here poorly folks on the mend.  As Pigpen said, keep the fluids up and that goes for all of you, remember it's hot and you're all working hard, don't make it extra hard for your system.

Saturday we finished this project, through the latter part of confinement (once diy shops opened) we stripped legs down, repainted, and then created and tiled the top.  Dining room where it's been being built also all tidied up and all tools etc put away, yeah!  
Rather pleased with the result, it's to go on the patio so of course they are now forecasting rain mid week.  

So far today
Bed made, clothes picked up
Bathroom tidied and s/s
Kitchen tidied, surfaces wiped
WM on

See you later.