Weekly Flylady Thread 17th August 2020

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.

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 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 -

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- that’s 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 former Flylady 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 stopping, 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!
Frog (or other amphibian) ~ google 'eat that frog'
Spoons ~ google 'but you don't look sick' and/or 'The Spoon Theory'.

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
Marvellous Monday - Kitchen and Dining Room

Level 1
Open some windows for some fresh air.
Wash up, dry up and put away (or remove all pots to DW) 
Clear sides and wipe down - wipe small appliances and caddies etc.  Don't forget the splashbacks or tiles!
Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
Empty bin and clean it out too - put it outside to dry in the sunshine, if you can.
Clear and clean sink and accessories - don't forget those out-of-sight places - under plugs and under draining racks - and shine those taps - or clean them!
Clean/polish table - wipe mats/change cloth
Check fruit and wash bowl
Throw away your manky dish cloth or sponge and replace with a new one!  Put out a new hand towel and a new tea towel too
Good slug of bleach down pluholes and in overflows
Clean cruet, salt and pepper, wipe any sauce bottles that are used on the table

Level 2

Wipe down all cupboard and drawer fronts inside and out, not forgetting handles and tops and bottom as well as fronts!
Clean hob
Clean microwave
Sort fridge and wipe seals; weave stuff that needs using up into your meal plan; update shopping list as appropriate
Wash and wipe fridge shelves and baskets.
Dust dining area/room
Descale kettle if needed
Clean WM , TD and DW filters; remove WM detergent drawer and wash it out.
Wiipe inside of washer drawer and DW door

Level 3

Pick a cupboard or a drawer; empty it, clean it out and put back its contents tidily
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Clean chairs (and highchairs) - don't forget under the seats where sticky fingers linger.
Clean windows in both rooms.
Go round the whole house wiping door handles, light switches and banisters - we WILL be germ-free!

EXTRAS

HHI
S&S bathroom
Paperwork/admin up to date
Meal plan for the week. - cook a double sized meal and freeze one for a CBA day - fish pie, cottage pie...something complete!

Twinkly Tuesday Bathrooms, cloak rooms and en suites

Level 1
Open window
Remove towels and fling in WM
Scrub Loo inside and out, slug wome bleach or descaler down afterwards

Level 3
Clean out baths and/or showers
Clean shower heads and hoses
Clean handbasins

Level 3
sweep and mop or vacuum floor as appropriate
clean windows
polish mirrors
dust and polish where necessary

Extras
Clean out cabinets 
make sure you have soap etc
Check first aid box and meds and replace as necessary (thanks Ruby Eskimo)
Put out fresh towels
Make sure you have all cards needed for the next couple of months - especially if you're in an 'alert' area.


Thursday Thrills the boudoir,

level 1
strip bed
open window
clear floordrobe, chairdrobe etc
empty bin

level 2
vacuum headboard
dust bedframe
flip mattress if it's not been turned for a while - do any mattress/pillow protectors need washing?
remake bed, plump cushions, straighten throws
Clean window
remove as much clutter as poss - we are aiming to close WAC due to massively falling numbers - a restfu; room = a restful night (we hope)

level 3
dust everywhere
vacuum, sweep or mop floor as appropriate 

extras
s&s bathroon
s&s kitchen
use up some of your products in a beauty session. Face mask anyone?  And FLING anything that's been open a LONG time which hasn't been used up - typical throw by dtes are 12/18/24 months after opening.  Might seem fine but stuff goes off (and vapour rub bottles opened and dated use by 2012 have been thrown *hangs head in shame*)
HH!
Friday Flourish

Get a damp cloth (and a spray or a bucket of water), a window cloth and a black bin bag.  Hit EVERY room - wipe handles, polish windows and mirrors (unless they've already been cleaned this week) and empty all rubbish into bag.  Straighten room; plump cushions, tidy curtains/blinds, make beds.  Make sure shoes/coats/bags are tidied away.
S&S kitchen and bathrooms/en suites and cloakrooms.  Allocate a task (eg fill a bin bag or push a vacuum cleaner round) to children.  A tidy room looks like a clean room.
Make a note of any room that will need more thorough attention.  HHI or tidily fold laundry and put away.
have a lovely weekend.

ionafan

Thank you Valli - and thanks to Natty for last week.  I will be in this week as much as I can.

This afternoon DS1 came and
- admired my filled and painted wall  
- put up the new shelf supports in my study
- measured up for shelves
- helped me move the c-o-d to where I want it while DGS3+4 are staying here next week
- cut a big hole in the plasterboard wall behind where the c-o-d normally sits
- removed insulation (soggy) and a mouse nest (empty) from the eaves void
- sent me up a stepladder in the garden to direct the hose onto the flashing at the bottom corner of the dormer (to no effect) 
- left various ice cream cartons and a washing up bowl in place to try to pinpoint exactly where the water is coming in and landing on the LR ceiling below
- hoovered up his mess
- and took away loads of stuff for his bonfire [fer-ling], a bag of clothes and toys from DD for DGD1+2 [fer-ling], some excess garden tools and a tree stake from the shed [fer-ling].
He will be back later in the week to fit a piece of MDF over the hole in the wall

I have
- nearly finished emptying the shed
- made umpteen mugs of tea and coffee
- decided how many shelves I want in the alcove, and what depth
- moved stuff out of the study bedroom into my bedroom and back again
- got soaked holding the hosepipe up in the air, as the water trickled down my arm
- done the second coat of dark apricot on the second wall: now just have to paint two coats of the lighter colour over a 1m x 1m square tomorrow and remember to take a photo!
- taken photos for Freecycle
- fed us all
- and played with Rosie.

DH kept out of our way!

(((Hugs)))), spoons, sticks and floor mops all round, as needed.  Here's to a good week ahead for us all xx

kazwookie

I'm in thank you

Iona don't over do it, that list is amazing.

Builders again today they tell me they will arrive between 7am and 8am, I'm ready for them!!

Type 2 eye test today at local hospital, should be interesting.

Have a good day

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning

Ionafan DS1 is a star, frustrating that you still cant find the source of the leak though.

Woke up to rain here, still feeling a bit tired and bleugh, going to ring docs about getting my thyroid checked just in case.  DW emptied, 30 mins exercise done, brain dump completed while I drank my coffee.  Shower next, casserole to go in sc.  Zoom meeting at 9am so need to get moving.

Fayolle

Thank you Valli for the lists. Thank you Natty for last week.

Having fallen off the flylady wagon big time last week, I really need to be in this week. As ever, I am working today, so limited flying, but I have put a load of towels in the wm as a start. I have also realised I have no meal plan for the week, so that is a job for this evening - after we have had a mystery dinner. There are beans, more beans, and a courgette that thought it might grow up to be a marrow without me noticing, so no doubt it will be something with those.
Must dash, need to get petrol which seems to take longer these days. Have lovely days all, and I echo Iona’s comment - here’s to a good week ahead for all of us x

roundtuit

Morning xx
I'm in. Thank you, as always, for the lists Valli and Natty xx 
I need to fly. I will fly....BUT ...I've done something to my lower back. I must have bent / twisted funny (though I barely moved at all) and OUCHIE. Daren't move initially but bit my lip and got going. As long as I move carefully I can pootle. 
I'm home alone until Thursday with DS and GF being over in pigpen land. A bit antsy because I'm being moved again at work - to make way for a colleague returning to work after working from home through the pandemic. The original plan was that I stay where I am and she returns to a different office - but turns out she has had a risk assessment at the desk where I've been sitting so muggins has to move. I've just added up in my head - it will be the 14th different office that I've worked in since I started 7 years ago on 21st August, and the third move this year. I've only asked to be moved twice - both times ended up with me needing time off with stress (remember MM?). I think they move me (a) because I will move and (b) because they can pretty much put me anywhere and I'll get on with my job. I'm havering - sorry; like I said: antsy.

Bed is made. First brew is supped. 
Round 1 =
Brew 2 and breakfast
Get dressed
Feed the birds

Have a good day. Where is everyone?
Rxx

PS Kaz - you appear to be living near a favourite holiday haunt of mine in years past. Is there still a Shire Horse Centre at West Runton? xx

kazwookie

Builders were here at 7.50am! skip arrived just before that..............a major racket coming out of the kitchen but I have left them to it.

roundtuit

Round 1 completed + sloshed bleach down the loo, put out some recycling, set WM swishing with a load; rang Dad, was rung by S, had a chat with NN.
Round 2 =
peg out washing - don't know if it will dry but it will be out of my way
rinse & recycle cans

Rxx

roundtuit

Round 2 completed + set another load swishing, rinsed and recycled 2 plastic bottles and put the rubbish out.

Humid / muggy / sultry / sticky / horrible headache inducing weather. 

Round 3 =
decant wild bird seed in to container
Sweetie's seed and water

Rxx

ruby_eskimo

Morning all.  Thanks for the lists Valli and Natty.  Hope everyone had a good weekend - spent some time wandering round a nature park with a couple of friend's.  Was lovely to see them for the first time in 8 months and meant I got some exercise in.  

Today I've already:

- Took the rubbish out, washed and dried the bin
- Tidied one kitchen cupboard as I was trying to get the blender out and had to empty the contents anyway
- Meal planned for the week
- Cleaned out the fridge
- 30 minute work out

After work this afternoon, in addition to the list I'll need to:

- Go for a walk 
- Make a batch of lentil soup
- Tidy out the junk drawer in the kitchen
- Review the first aid box and make a list of the things that I need to replenish

Hope everyone has a good day.

skint_breeder_5

Morning  thanks again to Natty and Valli. I am going to try to keep pace this week. 
So far today I have been out to Mr Li to buy some more clumping litter for the DFFs. The big fat ginger FF has headed up north with DD1 to start a new life. My other furbabies spent says looking round and round the house for him, and they have now stopped. But DFF1 has refused to use the cheap non clumping stones from Mr Al, fussy madam that she is......so I will be doing all the trays in a bit.
Did a gentle exercise DVD this morning to try to repair damage to my core strength from operation over 4 years ago, nearly killed me. So I am taking some R&R before I try to tackle listy plus I have outstanding admin to do as well which is beginning to ribbit rather loudly, so I will crack on in a bit. 

Hugs stick and spoons at the ready, and we are off!