Weekly Flylady Thread 22nd February 2021

Natty68

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 to Valli for last week's thread

THESE LISTS ARE ONLY SUGGESTIONS AND NOT A MUST DO LIST, YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO POST AND FOLLOW YOUR OWN.

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.

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!

Any more questions I bet are answered in the wonderful welcome guide which was produced by our much loved Toots

Here goes this week:

Marvellous Monday – Master Bedroom

Level One

Open window, let in fresh air and Coronavirus out….
Defluff/deweb
Dust and polish furniture
Hoover 

Level Two
Clean mirrors
10 minutes declutter
Change the duvet over to the summer one as it’s getting warmer now..
Clean/wash and pack old duvet away safely. 

Level Two
Change sheets etc…
Air mattress and turn the mattress if you can.
Put clean bedding on, smooth out and make bed so it looks nice.
Wash dirty bedding
Hang outside if it is nice and dry…

Extras

• Wipe doorhandles and light switches with antibac cleaning wipes/disinfectant
  
• Clear out a drawer or two
  
• Dust your light fitting/fan/chandelier/hanging pendant….

Cheerful Tuesday - Kitchen
Level One
Open the window, let the fresh air in and let Covid out...
Wipe/sweep/mop floor
Wipe down worktops and cupboard fronts

Level Two
Shine your sink, taps included 
Wipe splashbacks 
Wipe cupboard fronts
Clean all small appliances (toasters, kettles etc..)

Level Three
Take out rubbish/recycling
Clean bins and make them all smell nice 
Wash window and back door
Test your smoke alarm
Check when it's bin day - it may have got behind due to bad weather last week.

Extras

• Pick up any stray laundry 
• HHI
• Run the WM and/or DW on a hot wash to keep its insides happy
• Count your baking tins and sheets. How many??? Do you really need all of them?

Wistful Wednesday - Bathroom and toilet
Level One
Open the window and let the sunshine in, it's going to be a glorious day, and let that awful Coronavirus out..
Pop the radio on.
Wash sink/bath/taps - lets make them sparkle
Replace towels and flannels/sponges

Level Two
Sweep/mop/hoover floors
Wash bath mat/pedesdal mat
Clean toilet, don't forget to get under that rim.
Shine any mirrors
Wipe down tiles
Restock toiletries/throw out any old unused ones

Level Three
Wash out grubby toothbrush holders/soap dishes
Replace toothpaste/soap as needed
Wash shower curtain - little tip, you can hang it straight up from the washing machine while wet..

Extras

• Clean window and windowsill
• Wipe down the door and disinfect the handle
• Clean light switch or hanging light pendant thingy...
• Have some me time, use many of your lovely products you have in the bathroom

Luscious Thursday - Livingroom/dining room, Hallway, Landing and Stairs
Level One
Open the window and let the fresh air in and pop the radio on.
Dust from top to bottom
Hoover/sweep/mop floors, including stairs if you can..

Level Two
Clean tv, make sure it's switched off before you wipe the front of it...
Wipe and polish the table, replace with a clean tablecloth or even a vase of fresh flowers. Let's make it look nice...
Wipe a window or two, make them lovely and sparkly.

Level Three
Water plants
Wash any pet bedding - nothing worse than smelly bedding undoing all your lovely cleaning!!!
Wipe the front door inside and out, don't forget to disinfect door handles.
Clean under sofa/chair cushions - who knows what you'll find there (I found a lost fountain pen the other day )
Write an email/letter to someone you've not spoken to for a long time - It's always nice to receive letters instead of bills.

Extras

• Collect any stray laundry and put on to wash
• Tidy or declutter a hotspot
• Find homes for all those stray coats/shoes/outdoor clothing that are hanging around
• HHI
• Bake something nice like a cake, or try a new receipe for tonight's tea.

Fanciful Friday - Kids rooms and catch up
Level One
Open the window and let the fresh air in
Strip bed and wash bedding
Remake with clean bedding
Spend half an hour just sitting with a cup of tea listening to the radio/read a book/magazines or watch the birds outside.

Level Two
Dust and polish
Deweb
Straighten cupboards and shelves - are there any books that you can rehome elsewhere?
Sort out toybox or a box of junk
Straighten cupboard or shoes, throwaway any that are too small or have holes in. You don't really need to keep them
Catch up with laundry

Level Three
Wash coats and school uniforms ready for when the children go back in a couple of weeks time.
Wash a window or two.
Clean out any pongy pets if you haven't already done so earlier in the week.

Extras

• Spend half an hour in the garden weeding/deadheading making it look pretty and tidy.
• Wash the car, inside out...if you have one..
• HHI
• Make a shopping list for anything you have run out..
• Book your shopping delivery for next week, if you haven't already done it..

pigpen

TY for the Fred... I will build a list shortly .. just killing things... I'll be back!

Goodintentions

Thanks for the lists ladies 😁
Today we have done a meal plan and a food shop. I have also started on some seed sowing - mainly salad leaves, peppers & aubergines. Paper has been shredded, and the LR vac'd. The kitchen is tidyish after a roast dinner (thanks to DH).
We have had the patio doors open, and even DS ventured into the garden for a little while! 
Dentist tomorrow 😬😱 
Round I hope you are feeling better now. 
Hugs to those that need them, and I hope everyone has a good week! 

Valli

Well I'm here.
hoping for the ground to start to dry then I can dig over the veg plot.  And plan what's going where.  Clay soil which is way too wet to dig atm
must sew up knitting and post it

Jazee

Morning all.  Thanks for the list.  I am in as I'm also back to a near normal routine this week.  Will report back with progress later.
Have a great day everyone.

Mademoiselle

Morning everyone, half term here for 2 weeks so I'm not working at all.  DD1 home this week too.  She is keen to help me get the house a bit better and cleaner.  Had a lovely day yesterday, it was hot and sunny so we had friends over for a bbq, sat out in the garden for a hour or so before eating in the dining room with the patio doors wide open.  Warm here all this week, rather hoping it doesn't go cold again as now I've had my Birks on I won't be happy if I have to go back to socks in the house again.  

WM is on
Kitchen is tidy
Bed made clothes picked up

Off to clear dumping ground worksurface in kitchen.

Jazee

LR damp dusted.

Dustykitten

Morning all and thanks for the thread Natty.
Mademoiselle are you in France?  Sounds like a lovely weekend
House is pretty tidy and clean atm so I'm going to continue concentrating on deep cleaning / Toots list etc.  Expecting paid stuff to get really busy now too.  Working to my own list but will see if anything takes my fancy from the main list too.
Dusty's list for this week
Financial paperwork 
Continue listing all the stuff on the table to giveaway / sell  - good start last week to continue
mending with sewing machine
Decorating - do this week with DS1 away
Black paint in office
Blue paint in office - coat one done - finish today
Remove old alarm sensor
White paint kitchen / office DS3 wants to do after doing the bit in the office yesterday
Leftovers
Encourage kids to clean their rooms - on hold until the weekend - DS2 to do before going back to uni or I'm not driving him
Order random items to order - watch strap, insoles, bird seed
Order new walking boots - awaiting new stock and insoles
Fix things as spare parts arrive - still to do S&P pots, secateurs, storage jar
Change kids bedding over the course of a few days. - started
Deep cleanings
deep clean window frame DS3 room
Wipe radiators.. front and back!-  4 done downstairs done, 3 to go downstairs plus 5 upstairs - couldn't be bothered when they were cold!  Will restart
Clean out both fridges
See if freezer's need defrosting - having a use it up week this week so will just pop to shops for F&V and catfood
WM filter and cleaning cycle
DW filter and cleaning cycle
New to the list
Buy potting compost
Start sowing seeds
Sort out vases cupboard
Order new doormats
Deep clean grout on shower
Clean out bathroom cupboard
Drop old balls for dogs at the stick library

mumof3.12kindebt

Morning flying friends, 
Today I need to 
Put wm on 
Wash up and put it away 
Make the beds. 
Laundry off airers 
Clean laundry away (there's a huge pile in the guest room) 🙄

And see what else is on my other lists. My legs are killing today so I'll be taking it easy ... 


Have a good morning everyone and I'll pop back later 

Mademoiselle

Yes Dusty I'm in northern France, for the moment we are not in lockdown but have a 6pm very strict curfew and no cafes, restaurants, bars, cinemas, sports etc so it was lovely to enjoy some company.  

DD1 has cleaned the spare bathroom thoroughly and has collected all the plastic boxes to sort them so I have cleaned the shelf where they go.  She's happy to help sort bits and bobs as she's a final year medical student and studying but is having this week at home as a mini pause, so she studies for a couple of hours then spends 15 - 30 minutes doing something else (like sorting something out) then she's happy to go back to her books.  Hopefully it will help me get a bit further ahead in the house.  Once areas are sorted I do generally manage to keep on top of them.

WM on again
TD on
Ironing basket cleared
DD1 bed changed
1 phone call made

BadCat18

Morning all

thanks for the lists x I will be in as much as I can.

Bedroom was deep cleaned yesterday so I’m ahead, woot woot!

Paid stuff already started, wm x 1 swished and on airer, next load put in ready, wultd some glasses from last night and the brekkie mugs etc. Dailies done, windows been open for a while, it’s pouring down here... just taken delivery of some new walking shoes, was finding my boots a bit heavy and cumbersome in the summer last year... hoping to make use of these soon!

I have my zoom book club later, will see if I can fit in a bit more flying between paid stuff and that.

Have a good one all x