Weekly Flylady Thread 21st June 2021

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 (see extras); 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.
Wipe 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 - and wipe any fascia boards!
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. - and plan to cook a double sized meal and freeze one for a CBA day - fish pie, cottage pie...something complete!
Please read the new Forum rules - we don't want to lose any Flypersons!

Terrific Tuesday

see this 

https://www.gov.uk/alerts/planned-tests

Bathrooms, cloak rooms and en suites

Level 1
Open window
Remove towels and fling in WM
Scrub Loo inside and out, slug some bleach or descaler down afterwards.  Pay special attention to under the rim.
Dust anywhere that needs dusting - wipe any 'on display' bottles down 

Level 2
Clean out baths and/or showers
Clean shower heads and hoses
Clean handbasins including taps - don't forget the out of sight bits!

Level 3
sweep and mop or vacuum floor as appropriate
clean windows
polish mirrors
dust and polish where necessary
Chuck any lurking potions that are not being used/are old
Clean light pull

Extras
Wash showercurtains (if any) and put outside to blow dry - possibly!
HHI
S&S kitchen


Wednesday - hump day
Living room, hall, stairs and landing

Level 1
Open lots of windows and let that fresh air in while beds are airing
Deal with cut flowers and pot plants - top up water/wipe leaves/remove drooping or dead blooms
Wash out vases
Empty bins/ashtrays
Clear gibble
Plump and straighten cushions
Wipe sofas with leather wipes or vacuum - look for all those dust-catching crevices.  Lift seat cushions if you can and vacuum underneath
Wipe/dust coffee tables and leave tidy
Sort newspapers/magazines

Level 2
Clean windows and mirrors 
Vacuum floors - and use an edging tool to get into all the nooks and crannies - and stairs!
Clean doormats

Level 3
Dust all round - don't forget sills, skirting boards, tops of curtain rails and/or battens and top and frame of door.
Wipe door handles, banisters, light switches and sockets - and the bits of the door where people hold to open/close it.
Check for cobwebs and eliminate!
Clean lightshades and lampshades; check all lighting is functioning as it should - vacuum fabric shades; wash glass shades 
Wipe lightbulbs (if cold)
Dust pictures/paintings on walls - and dust behind them too!
Stand in the doorway and look back into the room - is it clean?

Extras
S&s kitchen
s&s bathroom
HHI

Thursday Thrills - Master bedroom

Level 1 

Strip bed - and leave to air for as long as you can
Open windows
Clear floordrobe/chairdrobe
Empty Bin

Level 2

Dust/vacuum headboard and/or bedframe
Flip mattress if you are able to and if necessary
Remake bed

Level 3

Dust and wipe - all flat surfaces and sticky pots (lotions and potions)
Polish mirrors - while you're at it you may as well clean the windows
Vacuum/sweep/mop floor

Extras
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
Month end looms - will you need any cards for July?
Are your financial spreadsheets up to date?

A Friday List with a difference.

Mop up some of those niggly little jobs

HHI - let's get it out of the way before the weekend

Open the windows IF it's not rainy/cold and let in some fresh air.

Wash the pots, dry and put away

make sure anything that has escaped from it's proper place gets put back, sharpish

STRAIGHTEN rooms - plump cushions, make beds, empty bins, clear surfaces

The 'rona's on the rise again - make sure you have clean masks, soap and sanitiser.  

Wipe door handles, switches etc

If you're still inclined to clean mop or vacuum floors.

and if you have time do some window cleaning!

ionafan

Thank you Valli - I shall do at least Level 1 flying.
I also have numerous other jobs to do tomorrow, including planting out tomatoes (reduced at the GC) and going to the bank (saving money!)

It's been very quiet on the thread this past week.  Hope everyone is OK.  

dancemum

I’m attempting to be in. Thank you for the threads.

pigpen

Hi, TY for Fred..  I am here in body if not in mind.

Iona.. probably the vaguely decent weather making people go out and do things.

Apparently the outlaws are coming over tomorrow so OH has been commanded to tidy the front room and I will deal with laundry and stuff.

Right now though.. tis time for my nest!.. with my itchy foot.. it is a lot better today finally. Much less painful though still crazy itchy and my foot is still red from my toes to my ankle.  TY to those wh asked . the GES vibes clearly are working well.

BadCat18

Morning

Thanks for the thread, I’m trying to be in but work is crazy busy again. Kitchen jobs at least to level one were done yesterday and whole house was done over the course of the weekend so today will likely just be dailies and wm x1. 

I have an early video call so need to get myself looking presentable and then get on, early but I want to try and get a head start on the week’s madness!

Hugs to all in need x

kazwookie

Thank you for the lists, I'm in of sorts.

Bulb planting today

Got to clean the kitchen and hoover, WM as well

Have a good day

Mademoiselle

Morning,  I need to try and be in this week.  OH is happy to help sort as we want to get an estate agent (or rather 2 or 3) in to look at the house to tell us what we need to do to sell it and give us a valuation.  Our plan to move to the sea is getting nearer.  But lots of uncertainty over when still hanging around.  Hoping we will be motivated to get on with sorting this place out.

Bed made, clothes picked up
WM on
TD on
HHI done, 

I have a backlog of ironing as it was too hot last week (well over 30°C) so am doing a few extra bits every time I deal with a load of laundry, I know that will clear it in a day or so.  DD1 has brought plenty of laundry home as she is starting to move out of her appartment but it's mainly jumpers, dressing gown etc so not much to iron.

Need to turn a small portion of cooked chicken into lunch for 2 of us, I have iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, onions and a pot of tabouleh.  Plus an assortment of cheese of course.  Looking in my fridge I need to go shopping, DD1 raided the freezer on Saturday so that's looking low too.  But might be a good opportunity to defrost it at the weekend.  

Last weekend was mainly helping DD2 move out of her place and we met up with friends and gave them the rest of their sons stuff that didn't fit in their car the week before when they had been here.  It did involve crepes and coffee so can't complain.

Sorry to hear BD is hanging around again, happy to throw sticks for you all.  

Best find some breakfast and get on with something, anything!
 

roundtuit

Morning xx 
Thank you for the lists xx I'm in - probably off piste as usual though. 
Yesterday was horrible  - I was totally sucked in and chewed up by BD and life was overwhelming. I did finally set WM swishing at 4.30pm. A weird time, but at least I achieved something. 
I've had a chat with myself this morning and tried to untangle some of the knots in my head. My biggest task today is to ring the consultant's secretary- I feel sick just thinking about it. I'm going to write down what I want to say as I usually turn into a bumbling idiot when the phone is answered- am I the only person who's quite happy being in the queue and loses the ability to string words together as soon as a person speaks? 🤔

Anyhoo I'm up, my bed is made and first brew is supped.  I've written down stuff I need to remember and I'm feeling a little bit hooman. Just a little bit but it's a start. 🙂

Round 1
write cheque for S
Brew 2 and parrots (my eye aches)
get dressed 
feed birds
put out rubbish and recycling 
put airer outside
WUDUPA a bowl of pots 
breakfast 
meal plan /shopping list
glug bleach in loo
change towels in bathroom 
set towels and tea towels swishing 

I've screen shotted the Round and I'll be back when it's done.

Hope your foot is improving piggers xx

Love to you all. 
Rxx

roundtuit

Golly- I think one, or more, of you sent me some spoons. Thank you ❤
Round 1 nearly done - pots are soaking ready to WUDUPA,  and that just leaves meal plan/ shopping list to do. I think I'll WUDUPA,  then have a coffee while writing the plan / list. 
I've also written down what I want to say to the consultant's secretary  - I do hope she's in. 
In fact I'm going to make the call now! And breathe 
Rxx

ETA Message left asking consultant's secretary to ring me when she is free. 

Mademoiselle

Breakfast eaten and admin task I've been putting off for ages tackled.  It was easy, didn't take long and I feel so much better for having done it, why do I procrastinate?

Go for it Round, gently of course looking after that eye

Off to swap washing over and another batch of ironing

Honey_Bear

Glad to hear you've made that call Round, and very glad to hear the BD has been banished today. 

We all procrastinate, Mademoiselle.  I so wish I didn't but I just don't have either the energy or the inclination to do some things a lot of the time. 

It's raining here, and forecast to do so all day.  I got up early and moved the tray of compost that I didn't want waterlogged, trundled the dog (she was not amused but made the full mile so I'm pleased with her), and scrubbed the top half of the path.  That knackered me, so I've had a pause and rest, amd about to jump into the shower and will then do the other half.  It needs sweeping first to get rid of the grunge and I may even need to get the hose on it later but it looks so much better where I've done it so far I'm determinted to get this job I've never done before finished while it's being rinsed by the heavens. 

Has anyone ever had a bottle of Stardr0ps suddenly start smelling very unpleasant?  It still does the trick but it stinks.  I'm using it on the path anyway but it's most odd and I wondered why.