Weekly Flylady Thread 14th November 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!

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!

Click here to read Toots wonderful welcome guide

Ok here goes this week!

Monday ~ Bathroom and Study/Pc Area
Level One...
Clean floors in these rooms
Clean baths, toilets and sinks
Level Two...
Clear any clutter from desk and file the necessary bits and shred the rest!
Pull out PC desk and declutter/vacuum behind it, making it all pretty and clean..
Descale shower head!
Dust wipe and vacuum keyboard! Polish screens!
Level Three...
Wipe down tiles and mirrors
Clean shower screen/curtain.bath mats etc if required
Sort towels and dispose of raggedy ones

Extras

• HHI!!
• Tidy airing cupboard!
• Binbag dance!
• Wipe any chairs/sofas in these areas

Tuesday ~ Kitchen and Dining room
Level One...
Declutter and mop/vacuum floor
Clear and wipe work surfaces
Level Two...
Wipe units and large appliances
Give one small appliance a good clean!
Wipe out the fridge and get rid of anything gross and slide the stuff that needs using now into your meal plan
Level Three...
Wipe the table, replace the cloth if needed and dust and deweb!
Wash windows and any other glass.
Clean through the cupboard full of crockery.. throw out any chipped plates/mugs etc
Extras

• Clean the oven and hob
• Wipe down all the paintwork
• Clean blinds and light fittings
• Dust and deweb
• If you want a christmas supermarket delivery, keep an eye out for the delivery dates opening up online.
• You could make a start on christmas baking and freeze bits.. once your freezer is free from frozen frost that is!!!

Wednesday - living area, hall and stairs
Level One...
Declutter all these areas
Vacuum these areas
Level Two...
Wipe/vacuum sofas
Wash windows
Dust.. inc electrical appliances
Level.Three...
Wash any soft furnishings in need
Binbag dance
Tidy coats/shoes bags etc
Extras

• Spend half an hour doing something for yourself
• HHI
• Wipe and water plants
• Wipe down all the paintwork in these areas

Thursday - Master bedroom & landing
Level One...
Strip and wash bedding
vacuum mattress and replace clean sheets
Level Two...
Wash windows
HHC on the landing
floordrobe clearance in the bedroom
Level Three...
Sort out your present stash.. just over a month to go now!!.. Do you have enough paper?
Vacuum floors in bedroom and on landing
Dust and wipe any paintwork
Extras

• Make a start on writing those christmas cards and sort stamps for those to be posted
• Buy any cards that you need, if you haven't got enough or have none in at all.
• HHI
• Binbag dance

Friday ~ Kiddies room.. if you have no kiddies do another room!
Level One...
Declutter the floors
Strip the bedding get it washed dried and the beds remade!
Spend half an hour loving yourself!
Level Two...
Vacuum the floors
Straighten a cupboard of clothing
Wipe the paintwork
Level Three...
Tidy a box of 'stuff'
Binbag dance!.. See how many toys you can fling before the large guy in red arrives.
Dust and deweb
Extras

• HHI
• Wash windows
• Fill a binbag for charity shop!
• Wipe over ALL the upstairs doors!!

Fayolle

Here’s a thing - I’m in early. Woo-hoo. And another thing - the bathroom bit of the list has been done today.
Thank you for all the lists, so very much appreciated, as ever.
In work tomorrow, then I’m off for 3 days - DD is coming home, and I’m very much looking forward to it.
Good night all x

Jazee

Thanks for the list.
DGD2 is here until tomorrow evening so will just be basics and playing tomorrow and I'll catch up on Tuesday.
Night all.

Narc0lepsy

thanks for lists and hugs to those who are struggling, either personally or out of love for another.

- Been to remembrance parade. Helped in kitchen afterwards.
- Swapped over 2 bedside units so the spare room now has 2 matching ones and my study has an 'odd' one.  Cleaned the study one, vacuumed under the desk while I was about it.
- Mr N did a load of washing and hung it out but it remained foggy so I took it in this afternoon and hung it on the rack in the kitchen as we had the range on to cook dinner this evening.
- Mr N painted undercoat on new cupboard architrave and painted the filled-in and plastered bits where the old doors were i.e. the new walls.
- I had a fly round the lounge dusting and vacuuming in preparation for the finance man and wardrobe man tomorrow.
- We went through our final 'wish list' for the wardrobes all ready for the planner to find what we can't have.
- I'm now plodding on with report writing, starting in reverse with Thursday's difficult one.  Paperwork is ready for finance guy.

pigpen

TY for Fred!!

Kitchen kind of rebuilt.
There is a cupboard still off the wall because the plaster let it collapse. so that is sat on the worktop temporarily (forever!!)

DW reloaded

worktop cleared as best I can

Table cleared enough the girls can have breakfast at it.

Pack ups and uniforms done.

Valli

It’ll be daily jobs for me only, but I’ll hopefully get some stuff flung.
I am down to my last few spoons but hardly surprising.  Managed to get the curtains back up but they aren’t right, will sort tomorrow. 

ionafan

Thank you for the new thread, Natty - and also for your PM

I sat down last night and updated my to-do list.  It doesn't seem to have got much shorter in the past week!  I have spent a lot of time pondering some more over the problematic cane toad and changed, hopefully simplified, my plans for dealing with it.  Part of the problem is that I can only do it in the daylight.  I have this morning and tomorrow morning to sort it, then everything that I have spread all over the DR table has to be cleared away again, so that gives me a bit of a kick.  Fortunately I had a decent night's sleep, so am starting the new week feeling a bit better than I have been doing, and we have no horse piddle appointments to work round.  

Proper flying will have to wait until Wednesday morning when K is coming to help me change the beds and will hoover while I dust.  I did my meal planning for the week yesterday and realised that at some point in the next two days I also need to do a big food shop to replenish the stores that I've been dipping into (among other less frequently used things, I've run out of barley!)  but the shopping trip can be done after dark, whilst Rosie's walk can't. 

DDiL1 is working at a craft fair in the big city this week and next, and I am doing the school runs on Wednesday and Friday  afternoons, so DGD1+2 will have to earn their tea and will be put to work in some useful way   They have volunteered to put up my tree and some of the outside lights, and although it's a bit early, I am inclined to let them get on with it - they are now 12 and 10yo and very good at climbing step ladders safely.  DS1 has trained them well

DH still isn't up, so breakfast will be late again [sigh].   I drank my first cuppa an hour ago, so had better get dressed and start attacking the toad.  

Here's hoping that everyone has a less stressful week than the last one and all who are feeling fragile perk up xxx

Honey_Bear

Thank you for the listies Valli and Natty. 

I'm gently in this week and hoping to be able to do a bit more than last week.  Belovéd is working outside the house 9-5 this week all week, a situation that only ever happens for a week for two very occasionally so I'm going to make the most of the opportunity to do things that I don't have to explain in intricate detail once I've started, repeatedly, and then have to argue will work out better if he just lets me get on with it.  For some reason if it's a fait accompli he's always okay with it, but if he sees me changing things he must get anxious, although that never appears to be his reaction.  I've only just realised that while typing this.  Let's just save him the anxiety.

Sorry you're having a wobble KMN.  Pigpen's thoughts on the subject sound about right to someone who's never been preggers so I hope you can have a proper chat with one of your health care professionals.

pigpen

Hobbled around Liddle.

Fished out stuff for 5 parcels to post.

Conversed with plumber number 7.. said he would try to come today! .. I am not holding my breath.
Kitchen mopped, a drink or something was spilled.

Iona.. I think it is really important to allow children to do risky stuff, they learn to be careful. DS1 used to be 'captain dangerous' and climb trees and walls and allsorts.. DD1 was NOT captain dangerous lol.. letting them be comfortable in their body and navigating tricky situations and finding solutions are excellent skills for adulthood. Mine are nagging for the tree too... I am getting the kitchen sorted then the front room and then they can do it. My friend has her tree up.. and it is only 40 days!!!

First job though.. drug these legs of mine.. they are killing me!

Pixie is really not right but has insisted on going to school because the member of staff who has really nurtured her this term is leaving (has been bullied out by horrid staff and parents) but she does an after school club on a Monday so off she went. I think she has been infected with the flu virus from that useless nasal spray thing they think is ok to spread all over school. I think it was that made Twinkle incredibly poorly this time last year too so she missed all the fun christmas things at school again.

pigpen

I DID A THING!!!!!!!!!

BY MYSELF! .. I nearly died.. but I did it.. I really cannot put off these parcels any longer lol.

ionafan

Well done pigpen

I have spent most of the morning (when I wasn't concocting soup from leftovers) trying to sew up the cane toad and stop this incessant croaking.  I thought at one point that I had done it, but sadly the raw seams ended up on the outside and not the inside [grrrrrrr!]  I've tried again, managed to get one seam correct, but need to go out now and meet up with Rosie's dogwalker, so I shall have to leave it until later.  Writing a "Thinking of you" card to my eldest goddaughter's uncle and his wife, and posting it (as well as my Flylady cards) will have to take priority, though.