Weekly Flylady Thread 30th January 2023
Valli
Forumite 23.9K Posts
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 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 (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.
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 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
ok Here goes this Week...
Monday Monday
Kitchen/dining room
Level 1
Clear sides and wipe down - wipe small appliances
Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
Empty bin and clean it out too
Wipe sill, sockets, door handles and switches
Clear and clean sink and accessories - don't forget those out-of-sight places - under plugs and under draining racks
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!
Level 2
Wipe down all cupboard and drawer fronts, 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
Dust dining area/room
Descale kettle if needed
Clear WM , TD and DW filters
Level 3
Pick a cupboard or a drawer; empty it, clean it out and put back its contents tidily
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Clean windows
Extras
Month end looms … time to check budget, update spreadsheets/accounts
Cards for February?
HHI
Another Tuesday morning
Bathrooms, cloak rooms and en suites
Level 1
Open window
Remove towels and facecloths and fling in WM
Scrub Loo inside and out, slop bleach or descaler down afterwards
Level 2
Clean out baths and/or showers
De-fuzz plugholes
Clean shower heads and hoses
Clean handbasins
Wipe plugs - especially underneath!
Level 3
sweep and mop or vacuum floor as appropriate
clean windows
polish mirrors
dust and polish where necessary
Extras
HHI
S&S kitchen
Last day of January - do you need to read meters?
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!
Move furniture to vacuum under it if you can.
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
get the kiddies involved even if it's just making their own beds - if they’re home because their teachers have exercised their democratic rights.
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 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 (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.
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 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
ok Here goes this Week...
Monday Monday
Kitchen/dining room
Level 1
Clear sides and wipe down - wipe small appliances
Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
Empty bin and clean it out too
Wipe sill, sockets, door handles and switches
Clear and clean sink and accessories - don't forget those out-of-sight places - under plugs and under draining racks
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!
Level 2
Wipe down all cupboard and drawer fronts, 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
Dust dining area/room
Descale kettle if needed
Clear WM , TD and DW filters
Level 3
Pick a cupboard or a drawer; empty it, clean it out and put back its contents tidily
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Clean windows
Extras
Month end looms … time to check budget, update spreadsheets/accounts
Cards for February?
HHI
Another Tuesday morning
Bathrooms, cloak rooms and en suites
Level 1
Open window
Remove towels and facecloths and fling in WM
Scrub Loo inside and out, slop bleach or descaler down afterwards
Level 2
Clean out baths and/or showers
De-fuzz plugholes
Clean shower heads and hoses
Clean handbasins
Wipe plugs - especially underneath!
Level 3
sweep and mop or vacuum floor as appropriate
clean windows
polish mirrors
dust and polish where necessary
Extras
HHI
S&S kitchen
Last day of January - do you need to read meters?
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!
Move furniture to vacuum under it if you can.
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
get the kiddies involved even if it's just making their own beds - if they’re home because their teachers have exercised their democratic rights.
Thursday Thrills - The Boudoir
level 1
open windows
strip bed
clear floordrobe and chairdrobe
empty bin
level 2
make bed with fresh bedding
clean bedside tables
vacuum/sweep/mop floor
level 3
clean windows
dust all round
Use a damp cloth to wipe lotions and potions ~ think about discarding any that have been sitting around for a long time. Once they’ve been opened they deteriorate.
extras
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen
level 1
open windows
strip bed
clear floordrobe and chairdrobe
empty bin
level 2
make bed with fresh bedding
clean bedside tables
vacuum/sweep/mop floor
level 3
clean windows
dust all round
Use a damp cloth to wipe lotions and potions ~ think about discarding any that have been sitting around for a long time. Once they’ve been opened they deteriorate.
extras
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen
Use some of thos lotions and potions - take a break with face cream, hand cream etc and put your feet up!
Friday On My Mind
kids room/spare room
level 1
strip bed (if necessary) and leave to air
open windows
clear floordrobe/chair drobe
use long duster and roll rouns top of walls for webs and light fittings
level 2
remake bed
dust sills, shelves and furniture
empty bins
level 3
clean windows
Dust skirtings
see to floor mop or vacuum
extras
wipe all handles, banisters, switches and other touch points
HHI
s&s bathroom
s&s kitchen
plan some me time
Friday On My Mind
kids room/spare room
level 1
strip bed (if necessary) and leave to air
open windows
clear floordrobe/chair drobe
use long duster and roll rouns top of walls for webs and light fittings
level 2
remake bed
dust sills, shelves and furniture
empty bins
level 3
clean windows
Dust skirtings
see to floor mop or vacuum
extras
wipe all handles, banisters, switches and other touch points
HHI
s&s bathroom
s&s kitchen
plan some me time
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
11
Latest MSE News and Guides
Replies
I am... about..
DW being fixed tomorrow all being well (1-5 slot.. and I have school run at 3).. I am really hoping they don't demand I choose a new one.. I really struggle to find new dishwashers, the plates all stack the wrong way or there is something I don't like.. I like this one.
PLEASE CAN I BE REMINDED TO DO METER READS ON TUESDAY
Tomorrow I need to
- chase DH out early to take his car for its service
- ring the wound clinic, as another of my scars has gone slightly septic at one end
- deal with [i.e. fling] some multiplying clothes hangers
- follow the day's list and give the kitchen a thorough clean: perhaps even declutter a few more recipe books
- write DH's birthday card for Tuesday
- send a long-overdue email or four
- make sure I've got all the ingredients for chocolate cake for my goddaughter's 9th birthday on Wednesday (due to the teachers' strike, she's coming here for the day and will bake the cake herself!)
Hope everyone has a good week. Extra strength vibes to anyone who is working towards the end-of-January deadline xxx
Most dailies are done, just the recycling to put out later, and dog is walked and bathed. DGD2 is fast asleep so in theory I could get on with some flying. In reality, I'm sitting here with a cuppa enjoying the peace and quiet until she wakes up.
Hope you're all having a great day.
Tidied up the links now - was on the ipad last night and I got tetchy with them.
Thank you Honey Bear
Progress so far (if it's crossed through, it's done)
- chase DH out early to take his car for its service - he left at 9.10, but only because I woke him at 8.00
- ring the wound clinic, as another of my scars has gone slightly septic at one end - it has popped, so I've cleaned it and covered it again; will ring tomorrow if necessary
- deal with [i.e. fling] some multiplying clothes hangers - have flung about 30
- follow the day's list and give the kitchen a thorough clean - this included mopping the floor - perhaps even declutter a few more recipe books - not done because I want to offer some to DGD1+2, so I've put them back tidily on the shelves for now.
- write DH's birthday card for Tuesday
- send a long-overdue email or four - no lunch until this has been done!
- make sure I've got all the ingredients for chocolate cake for my goddaughter's 9th birthday on Wednesday (due to the teachers' strike, she's coming here for the day and will bake the cake herself!) - I need to buy the chocolate topping that I know she likes.
Also done:
- booked dates for the first 3 sessions of cardio rehab
- WMx2, hung on the bathroom radiators to dry because I still can't reach up to the whirligig
- moved empty plastic storage boxes in the under-eaves loft to rescue a couple of luggage straps that had fallen down behind them, using one of DH's long grabbers
- made and drunk coffee
@round, are you OK? I worry about you when you go quiet.
Hope your DW repair person comes at a convenient time, pigpen.
I am venturing into M€rry H€11 after lunch to buy some hopefully inexpensive running shoes for the cardio rehab - please send out a search party if I'm not back by tea time. Ooh, I can do another CS drop-off for the Air Ambulance while I'm in there
You take care now. Don't be overdoing things!
Much love to all
Rxx
Sunshine moved so I can see.
Iona ick but probably better now it has popped! I'm sure your goddaughter will make a lovely cake, but just out of interest I tried my first 'cake in a mug' yesterday and it worked well. We'd had a walk round the local RSPB place and I really fancied cake when I got home, but accepted that I don't need either the calories for a whole cake nor the fuel use. So 3 tablespoons of a few ingredients then 3 mins in the microwave was perfect....Mr N and I both had a bit with our afternoon cuppa and there was enough left over for him to have with ice cream for dessert.
This morning the excitement of the wardrobe parts delivery.....annoyingly, the company hadn't contacted us as promised so it was "between 7am and 7pm". They turned up at 9am, adamant they had rung to say they would arrive in 20mins and apparently had spoken to a real person who said fine!! So I don't know if there is someone else in the village having wardrobes fitted. Anyway it meant that Mr N went to the gym just as they arrived and I managed to go for a run when they had unloaded.
- One load through WM and now on washing line in the sun.
- WUDUPA. Did a few other clearing bits in the kitchen.
- Filled bird feeders. Typical, we did the RSPB bird count yesterday, put the results online last night and today a blackcap appeared....unusual here.
- Reviewed diary. I'm only at uni on Thurs this week so have a few days to try and catch up after spending last week panicking about the Water Chaplain training (which went ok so no major changes for the one next Sat, just a few more handouts to print off). Emailed 'head' Chaplain with my PowerPoint slides in case anyone wants them (no way was I going to print off 50 copies as it is all unpaid). Started a uni report.
Left to do today - do Jan uni pay claim; do drum practice (I've a Paul Weller song to learn); Mr N and I to continue researching accommodation in Norfolk for early April. BIL is 65 at the end of March so we are going away for a few days. I'm 3 weeks behind him and a treat has been booked...... Did enough aubergine/salad cheese bake for dinner last night and there is enough left for this evening.