Weekly Flylady Thread 19th September 2022

Natty68

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 Valli 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- 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!

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

The Spoon Theory

Ok here goes this week!

Monday – Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral

A day of reflection, not cleaning.

Spend time with your loved ones.

Tuesday Trauma - Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces
Level Two
Sweep and mop floors
Clean the fridge.. get rid of all those furry things growing in corners!
Wipe dining table.. (clean table cloth if necessary)
Level Three
Dust any extra furniture in dining area, checking for cobwebs on way round
Wipe and replace all those small appliances.. kettle, microwave etc
Clean cupboard door fronts and fronts of appliances .. don't forget those kick boards..
Clean out your mankiest kitchen cupboard..

Extra Mission:

• Run the WM through 'clean cycle'.. hottish wash with a splosh of vinegar, soda crystals, bleach.. whatever you fancy just clear those pipes of gunge-but definitely don't use these altogether.....
• Wipe down any tiles and shine those taps.. a toothbrush is great for cleaning away the gunk!
• 31 fling boogie..
• Wipe over the oven and hob
• Empty the bin.. wash it out.. and make it smell SWEET

Wednesday wobbles- Bathroom and Study/Pc Area
Level One
Clean floors in these rooms
Level Two
Clean baths, toilets, don't forget the outside! and sinks.. shine the taps with a toothbrush
Clear any clutter from desk
Dust PC and desk and wipe off those cup rings!!
Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc
Level Three
Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc
Scrub down tiles in bathroom.. defragment your pc while doing this.
Empty and clean out all the upstairs bins!
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required
Collect all the dirty laundry

Extra mission:

• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
• Fling all those empty bottles and tubes
• Replace any sponges, flannels, toiletries that need it
• Make a long list of those bodies you need to purchase christmas gifts for, you've only got 13 weeks to go!!..

Thursday Throw!- Master Bedroom & Landing
Level 1
Check fire alarms are working
Remove and wash bed linen and duvet covers.
Fling open the window and let in the rain sunnyness
Level 2
Dust surfaces & make sure no cobwebs..
Vacuum & turn mattress before replacing with fresh linen..
Air the duvet
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Level 3
Vacuum floors in bedroom and on landing
Sort through a cupboard and fling everything that is dead
Clear a hotspot.. or spend 15 minutes clearing one
.
Extra tasks:

• 32 fling boogie time, go on grab a bag and clear that clutter
• Clean all paintwork on the landing
• Clean windows in these rooms
• Clear out your trousers/skirts

Friday Flyday- those frightening kids rooms and living rooms
Level One
Clear away anything that isn't in it's place, clothes, toys, books etc
Spend at least half an hour doing something for yourself!!!!! paint your nails, make an appointment to have your hair done, a lovely soak in the bath.. whatever you feel like!!
Level Two
Vacuum the floor
Dusting.. all those shelves and flat fluffy surfaces!! Don’t forget the light shade and curtain pole!!!
Strip kids beds, turn and vacuum mattresses!! and replace with fresh linen .. check if duvets need freshening up too!! Wash the curtains!
Level Three
Clean 2 windows
Sort through a toybox and make space for santa coming!!
Wipe any sticky marks off walls and doors
Extra Task List

• Find 5 things to ebay/freecycle
• Wipe the radiators, skirtings and window & door frames!
• HHI
• End of week fling!! grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish or charity shop or to donate to a friend!

Natty68

I have changed what Monday's list would normally be to reflect the enormity of it being the Queen's funeral. And I am sure there will be some of us that will have the funeral on the tv or radio so I don't want people to rush around cleaning etc.. This can be done Tuesday when we will all be back to normal.

pigpen

TY For Fred..

tomorrow is a day of cleaning the hallway carpet.. the only 'reflection' I want to see in here is the bathroom mirror which is currently covered in toothpaste.

Today has been spent discussing MIL's funeral.. I asked where she wants her dust because I've already got loads on my mantelpiece and if she jumps off I won't know my dust from hers.. I am so bad at these 'taboo' conversations.. Christmas, leccy bills and whether my heating is on or not.. it is not.. nor does it need to be.

Miss Squizz bless her, asked if it was tomorrow they are 'planting' the queen.. rather cute.. (she is 7)

Filo prawns, an apple and a turkish delight inhaled.. OH has duck spring rolls.

Girls all in bed.. having a cuppa and heading up myself... hoping I have enough wool left to finish the 7th mitten.. DD1 needs 7 mittens so she doesn't have to pair them up.

first lot of christmas present collected..

mumtoomany

Morning all, don't think I've ever been on front page before. Pigpen you reminded me of the times years ago, when i was a childminder. As many children arrived by car, so without hats gloves etc, I had a big bag of these. If we were going out each child had to get two gloves from the bag. Any two became a pair. When one child's grandma asked her if she would like some mittens knitted, she replied "yes, can i have a blue one and a yellow one and a blue one, and my brother would like a red one and a been one." Odd how quickly things can be normalized. Flying? Not a lot today, children at home. Hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning all

I will be watching bits of the events on the telly interspersed with a bit of pottering.  Going out on the bikes with my ladies group at 5pm and calling at the pub to raise a drink to our new King.

Getting chilly here but the heating is off and will stay off as long as possible.

leftatthetrafficlights

Morning everyone 😁 I'll be joining in this week if that's okay - currently having a new boiler installed (should be finished by tonight) and have had the family here all weekend as son in law is doing the installation....house currently resembles a bomb sight and I've not had hot water since Saturday so can't really do much - very grateful for my dishwasher!!

Today I don't have access to the kkitchen at all which is probably for the best as it's painful to look at!! 😳🤦‍♀️😂 

Anyway, point is, I'm going to have to really blitz the house this week to get rid of the dust, dirt and debris so need the inspiration!! 

[Deleted User]

Morning ladies

Chilly again today. I’ve done a bit of tidying up this morning, and have finance admin to do later. DD is at grandmas and will be home later on. The smaller chicken coop needs clearing out and I’ve got a straw delivery coming. Also need to do some forward planning for the sheep - November seems a long way off but it’ll be here before we know it.

@mumtoomany someone has suggested I get some mineral licks for the sheep, never heard of them, can you help?! X

mumtoomany

Morning ASB, we buy ours from the local animal feed place. We always have two buckets out, when the ewes are in lamb and when the lambs are small and feeding solely on milk. We put a bucket out if there is not much grass towards the end of winter. Or if the sheep look a bit out of condition. A link to the one we buy, it's not cheap!    https://www.wynnstay.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=Mineral+lick+sheep. Don't know if that will work. Bit chilly here too today. Just been out fixing the pig paddock again! They've tried to take a fence out. New posts in, OH's wellies nibbled by pigs, some of the last blackberries picked and feed to pigs.
Also sorted kindling, paper and wood. Woodburner season is upon us. Cleared a windowsill, hoping to get some brassica seeds in. They will then be put out into the tunnel over winter.
Off to watch the funeral now, hugs to all, mumtoomany.xxx

[Deleted User]

Thank you xx

I have made three crumbles this morning, one for later today and two for the freezer. We were given a sackful of Bramley apples yesterday which are being shared between us and the pigs! 

I have Radio 4 on to listen, and have just filled in DDs residential paperwork - camping in Scotland for three days in a few weeks time, rather her than me!

pigpen

Well I got out of bed..

I have emptied a washing machine and will be cracking on with this sh-tip...

WM
Hanging out.. regardless of the weather!
DW
Cat trays
vacuum stairs

pack ups and uniform

many things..

pigpen

And now I'm really hungry and I put a cup-a-soup in a mug and hung out washing while the kettle boiled.. and OH has put the water in so the croutons (which are the best bit) are soggy and made me gag and there is too much water so it is unedible and pi$$y ... so now I am angry and weirdly on the verge of tears... I'm really hungry...

5x WM and 3 hung out

dw on its first run.