Weekly Flylady Thread 14 March 2022
Valli
Forumite 23.9K Posts
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.
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, rammel, 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
Manic Monday - The Lounge, Hallway, stairs and landing
Level 1
Deal with cut flowers and pot plants - top up water/wipe leaves/remove drooping or dead blooms
Empty bins/ashtrays
If you have a woodburner/real fire attend to that first - and lay fire for lighting
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
Prune magazines and/or newspapers
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
Dust/wipe electricals - use a just-damp cloth. Don't forget the remote controllers!
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 close it.
Check for cobwebs and eliminate!
Clean lightshades and lampshades; check all lighting is functioning as it should
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
Meal plan for the week (if you haven't already) and include a 'double up and freeze one' meal - because then you can have a day off later!
Tuesday Twinkles Kitchen and Din8ng
level 1
Empty Bins
remove table cloth - wash
Clearsides and wipe down, wipe everything that lives these
wipe table and chairs
clear and clean sink
Level 2
wipe down Cupboard and drawer fronts
wipe appliances and clear filters
clean splashbacks
level 3
clean utility area/room
clean windows and door glass
clean catflap
deal with floor
extras
s&s bathrooms
HHI
Wishy Washy Wednesday Bathrooms, cloakrooms en suites
Level 1
The washbasin
open window
remove all gubbins around it
scrub out
ckean and polish taps
clean plug, chain etc
wipe mirrors
clean pedestal/cupboard
level 2
The loo
scrub inside and out
wipe cistern
wipe loo roll holder
dust sill and clean window
level 3
clean Bath/shower
wash curtain or wipe and shine screen
clean taps or showerhead
clean and clear drain
wipe towel rail
replace towels
clean floor
extras HHI
wipe door handles sockets and switches
Thursday Thrills - The Boudoir
level 1
open windows
strip bed
clear floordrobe and chairdrobe
empty bin
Clean bedframe/headboard
level 2
make bed with fresh bedding
clean bedside tables
vacuum/sweep/mop floor
level 3
clean windows
dust all round
polish mirrors
extras
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen
Friday Flourish -fifteen minutes flash
Open windows everywhere then -
for every 15 :minutes you have
pick a room.
straighten that room. Tidily hang curtain, straighten cushions/throws make bed, clear rubbish, quick vacuum or sweep. Re home rammel or gibble
get washing out
use one session to iron
Don't put it DOWN; put it AWAY
"I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily Dickinson
Janice 1964-2016
Thank you Honey Bear
Janice 1964-2016Thank you Honey Bear
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bit more than 5..
5 parcels ready to post and uniforms found.
I don't need to do pack ups as it is Pizza Day tomorrow so I get a day off!
I do need to print off Squeaks work for tomorrow and have her crack on with some maths and geography I think.
I need to call a secondary school for her and one for Dot.. I need them BOTH to be in happy places.
Squeak had a major glitch in the park today.. we were buyign ice creams and she simply couldn't choose and OH was saying 'I like this and I like that' and overwhelming her so I had him pay for everyone elses and go away so she could make a decision. A lovely lady was in the queue behind us and tried giving her an ice cream cone and she refused, I politely declined and thanked her for her kindness, her partner ate it. She eventually chose a chocolate feast and lost half the centre chocolate like everyone does with those things.. but I waited with her andlet her make her own decision and it took forever but she wasn't rushed or bombarded with suggestions and we got there. We are making progress in how she is dealt with and what works. She can nod and shake her head so I can get some communication. She got her ice cream and was happy.. and she got a glaceon (Pokemon GO)
In the meantime roll on Wednesday.
DS's washing done and dried. And I have bought a new washing line - half mine broke ( had 'two sides of a triangle up and down the garden' IYSWIM and this one is showing signs of wear, so it's a little tadpole I hope to deal with on Wednesday. When I hope to have two lines up. I'll need a new prop.
Thank you Honey Bear
DW currently going, lunches and uniform laid out for morning, batch cooking done. Will go and get stuck into my book and try not to stay up too late 😬.
That's a very smart patio, Narc0
I managed to hoover the study floor yesterday evening, and got up about half a dog's worth of fluff, so it's looking a bit better in here. I'll hoover again when I get round to doing the dusting as well! By the time I got home from church and food shopping, I was far too tired to do it today - I seem to have very little stamina nowadays.
Tomorrow is already looking busy again:
- email the grants form that I threw together on Friday
- take my car in for its service and MOT
- more financial admin, but for this year
- Zoom meeting 11-12.30
- pay church money in at the PO
I've also realised that I still have some safeguarding training to complete from before DH was carted off to horse piddle. It will have to be done this week.
G'night all. Hope everyone has a good week xx
Cat trays done
WM on
DW sorted
Bed made, clothes picked up & room aired
Banking & spending checked
Monthly savings update done
I even managed to brush the cat a little, whilst bribing her with treats. She is quite feral when she wants and brushing is not tolerated. Last year we had to have her shaved under general anaesthetic as with age she doesn't groom herself enough. I'm trying to keep on top of it now the weather is warming up a bit and she's moulting.
Hugs, sticks and spoons as required.
Thank you for the thread Natty and Valli xx
Love the patio Narc0 😍
Ahhhhh. Annual Leave. Not that I work on a Monday but just knowing that I don't have to go tomorrow, or the next day or the next day etc is lovely jubly.
I seem to get more done on a No Plan day! Probably because my 'basics' are now carved into my psyche:
Make the bed
WUDUPA
Feed the birds
Put out the rubbish and recycling
Sort washing
So they get done regardless, and other things get done as there is no list for them not to be on, iyswim.
And I can relax and enjoy my book or a film because there's no bullet point niggling to say 'oi. You haven't done me yet' I find that bullet points can be very insistent 😉
So my initial worry that I wouldn't do anything at all has been laid to rest.
P&S will call for coffee later this morning and S is bringing me some potting compost so that I can repot my poor Peace Lily. 🐸
Other than that I have no plans. Which is a total lie as my head is full of possibilities. Hmmm. Are possibilities the same as plans? 🤔
I need another brew while I deliberate that one. It's a beautiful day I could possibly wash the bath mats 😁
Love to each and every one of you ❤
Rxx
Today I need to chase school viewings.. post stuff.. fiddle with laundry.. list some more stuff.. packs ups, uniforms and the 10 million other things which crop up!
I need to prod Moomin out of bed and into college first.. *gets out taser* .. love getting teens out of bed!
Haircut this afternoon at 3.20, so Level 1 and possibly 2 before I go - also need to get some washing out on the line this morning while it is still bright and dry.
Have a great day, everyone x