Weekly Flylady Thread 31st 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

O.K. Here goes this week

Marvellous Bank Holiday Monday
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
have a lovely day
If, however, you're a North Of The Border Flylady please feel free to do a bit more!
Tuesday - and September already!  - 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 - it's a new month
Meal plan for the week. - cook a double sized meal and freeze one for a CBA day - fish pie, cottage pie...something complete!

Wishy Washy Wednesday-  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 - remove items left behind by departed son (just me?)
make sure you have soap etc
Put out fresh towels
Start writing your Christmas food shopping list to add 1 item (or so) a week as appropriate and as shelf life allows.  Maybe start with the dried fruit for cakes and puddings?

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
 

Friday Flourish The Lounge, Hallway, stairs and landing

level 1

deal with flowers and pot plants
empty bins/ashtrays
clear gibble
plump cushions
wipe sofas with leather wipes or vacuum - look for all those dust-catching crevices

level 2
clean windows 
vacuum floors - and use an edging tool to get into all the nooks and crannies

level 3
dust all round - don't forget sills and skirtings
Wipe door handles, banisters, light switches and sockets - and the bits of the door where people hold to close it
Check for cobwebs and eliminate!
Clean lightshades and lampshades; check all lighting is functioning as it should
stand in the doorway and look back into the room - is it clean?

extras
S&s kitchen
s&s bathroom
Monthly smoke alarm test - majke sure they're working!
Check outside lighting is fully functional

Dizzy_Imp

I'm in this week! I need to clear my pit before I can get a cleaner arranged!  DH has accepted it's all too much with the growing animal enterprises, so I can have a deep full clean once a month and a weekly visit too...this was after I had a major cake-throwing tantrum laced with lots of dock-side language and tears.

Can I still be a flylady if I get a maid?

ionafan

Thanks Valli.  I will fly my best this week, but must do gardening and make curtains too.  I'm working for an hour tomorrow morning, then DH is planning to take me out for lunch, but I'm sure I can cope with Monday's list!

Dizzy, once a Flylady, always a Flylady!!

pigpen

I will be cleaning the kitchen and maybe a bit of food planning for the outlaws.. I have some bits put by for myself.. and we need some cereal and squash sorting.

My chest is all feathery and stupid again this evening.. I am so fed up of this every evening.

Tuesday is bed sheets day.. Monday is bins and writing orders for the 2 nights we are away.. I have another ebeast sale to package... it's all adding up.

BadCat18

Morning all

Thanks for the listy, count me in! 

I slept a little better last night but still awake pretty early, breakfast has been eaten, litter trays cleaned and wm loaded and ready to go. Painting is on my agenda this morning so will be doing that quite soon so it has plenty of time to dry. 

DH and I need to move the last couple of items of furniture from the room so that the carpet can easily be fitted tomorrow, they will have to go in our bedroom as that’s the easiest place to move them to, then it’s a night in the spare room for us! So thankful to have space to be able to juggle around to get things done.

Have a lovely day, take care and don’t work too hard xx

roundtuit

Morning xx

Well this is confusing - it doesn't take much! DS has gone karting with his Grandad. He has only ever done that on a Sunday. So I am having a problem accepting that it is Monday. 

I've changed the towels in the bathroom and they are swishing with the tea towels as I sup my brew. It's a glorious morning and definitely on the 'not hot' side of things. Oh, I do love being 'not hot'.

I woke up to find myself in an old unfurnished attic type room - with a piece of old sellotape hanging from the beams (such detail!) of a very low roof. Claustrophobia kicked in. Screamed and woke myself up. In my own bed. And breathe.... Went back to sleep, and woke up to find a giant padded envelope leaning in to the room!!!! It was the door. Still that was better than the giant fish finger that I once woke up to. Believe me, you haven't lived until you wake up to see a giant fish finger stood by your bed.

GF and I are home alone for the day. P & S are coming for coffee this morning - that's how I know it's Monday  I'm having pizza delivered for tea tonight as a Birthday Eve tea with DS and GF as they are returning to pigpen land tomorrow afternoon. Well, lovely ladies, this is my last day as a 50-something year old. And I have a big badge to wear tomorrow in case I forget how old I am. I didn't bat an eyelid at turning 30, 40 or 50 but this one feels BIG. It's only a number, it'll be reet. Who am I kidding - there's been some mistake. I cannot possible be that old! I'm sort of kidding - I'm grateful that I made it but where did the time go? 

I'm been thinking of 60 things to do in my 60s: get a tattoo, visit Iona, visit iona  ride on a trike (my friend has one), lose 6 stone (rofl - but I've got ten years to do it), walk six miles....or walk sixty miles (I'd need sponsoring for that), brave the shave, make all my poems into a book. What fun - I need to write things down as I think of them.

Have a fun day lovely ladies
Rxx 

Jazee

Morning all.  Thanks for the list.

So far this morning a little admin has been done,  bedding changed and in machine and I kind of dusted the flat surfaces in the bedroom.  Just having breakfast then I'll crack on with the day.

Have a great day everyone.

[Deleted User]

Morning all,

Thank you I'm in. Have woken up feeling brighter than I have in weeks. Maybe because the children go back to school this week?! It's a beautiful morning here, sunny but cold, so a dog walk is on the cards very shortly. 

Round - in case I don't get on tomorrow, many happy returns xx

Fayolle

Good morning
Thank you for the lists. Yet again I will try to keep up.
Round - it turns out both DD and I were convinced that yesterday was Saturday, so logically here I am with you on Sunday 😉. Towels swishing here too, cuppa being slurped - enough, - I have never (yet??) had a giant fish finger standing at the of the bed, so don’t worry, I can’t be your long lost soul twin 🤣. I think 60 things sounds like an amazing list to write. In a beautiful new notebook of course...
I am going to try hard to do the list for the day. I also need to turn some more plums into jam, and some beans into something other than a bag of raw beans. I ought to go the allotment and remove more weeds. I am trying to get it a bit productive through the autumn / winter so can’t just take my eye off the ball. Really I would like to curl up with a pot of tea and read some of the old novels that DH has unearthed.
Have a lovely day ladies, I’ll be back later x

boultdj

I need to join you ladies, my house looks like mess, so bread is baked, wm is on, it's a nice sunny day so can dry outside, and hoover up is on the list.

Valli

Morning all

if it's any consolation Round, I will be joining your club later in the month.
gorgeous day here. Lots of washing to peg out but. I have woken up out of a deep sleep, having had a wakeful night.  Wierd  dream too. 
Yesterday I got DS's bed stripped inc valance, and I have also washed tea towels and cloths taken to their flat.
hope you all have a lovely day.