Weekly Flylady Thread 27th March 2023

Valli

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

This week i’m putting up a whole weeks worth of lists for a Pick’n’mix…choose your grimmest room first if you have time, or just dot-to-dot (see above).  This way you can weave flying in as-and-when, but please do post your achievements.

KITCHEN AND 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!
Empty utensil holders and wash out

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
Wash out 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.
Clean tea caddy, sugar bowl etc

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 in both rooms

MASTER BEDROOM

level 1

open windows
strip bed
clear floordrobe and chairdrobe
empty bin

level 2
Dust/vacuum bedframe & headboard
make bed with fresh bedding
clean bedside tables
vacuum floor

level 3
clean Windows
dust all round - remember vertical surfaces hold dust 

BATHROOM, CLOAKROOM, EN SUITE

Level 1
open window
scrub loo inside and out
top up loo roll, soap dispenser
towels replaced

level 2 
clean shower and or bath
clean showerhead
clean plug holes and plugs removing and rat tails (ugh)
bleach drains and overflows

level 3
clean handbasin
scrub and polish taps
dust sills and shelves
clean switches and pull handles
Polish windows and mrrors
clean floor

LOUNGE, HALLWAY, STAIRS & LANDING

level 1

deal with flowers and pot plants - do they need a wipe?
empty bins/ashtrays
clear gibble
plump cushions
wipe sofas with leather wipes or vacuum - look for all those dust-catching crevices

level 2
clean windows and frames
vacuum floors - and use an edging tool to get into all the nooks and crannies

level 3
dust all round - don't forget sills and skirtings
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; wipe dusty bulbs
stand in the doorway and look back into the room - is it clean?


KIDS ROOM, GUEST ROOM, STUDY

level 1
open window
strip bed
remove rubbish

level 2
remake bed
clean window and sill

Level 3
dust everywhere
clean floor as appropriate 

DAILY EXTRAS

S & S kitchen or bathroom if not cleaning that room
Cards for April?  Easter cards?  remember that there are bank hols so post earlier
Month end looms - read meters, update budget etc
Double up when cooking and freeze stuff - even if it’s just leftover mashed potatoes
Check smoke alarms and CO monitors

pigpen

Hi, thank you.. I'm.. here.. Twinkle off vomming.. AGAIN!!! 3rd time in 3 weeks.. I am so done!

Jazee

Morning all.  Thanks Valli for a brilliant list.

 I won't be flying much today as both grand toddlers are here but I'll be in properly tomorrow.

Have a great day everyone.

roundtuit

Morning all xx 

I'm still in bed. Because my body clock hasn't accepted the time change yet! Tomorrow could be interesting as I will need to be commuting by this time. Yawn.

So. What are you all doing today? Or planning to do? Anything citing? Please tell. 

If you could do anything / go anywhere what would you do today? Hmmmm. 

Breakfast on the banks of the River Seine? Then to somewhere secluded in Spain for lunch with Fernando Alonso and lots of F1 chat. Ooo and then back to the UK for dinner and chat with Prof. Brian Cox- to explain black holes and other universes and infinity. (I'm a geek 🤓)While a cleaning company blitz chez moi from top to bottom - with strict instructions not to throw anything out and to put everything back exactly where it is. That's my day sorted. You?

In the real world I'm going to get up, make my bed, and have a brew. 😊

Love to all
Rxx

ionafan

Morning all, and thank you Valli for the list for the week.  I'm in as much as possible.

It's a beautiful morning here, with clear blue sky and sunshine.  Make the most of it if you've got it, because it probably won't last.

I still have a long list of admin-type things to do, as well as proper Flying.  I want to get my house cleaned all through before Easter, and the lawn will need cutting on Wednesday when J comes to do the heavy garden jobs,  but C@dent will (hopefully) be coming back to finish filling holes indoors and out... at some point.  I hate having a pile of coats and jackets (mostly DH's) cluttering up the DR table, but C@dent still need access to the cupboard under the stairs to finish the job properly.

Hope everyone has a good - or at least better - week.  (((Hugs))) spoons and sticks all round, as needed xxx

BadCat18

Morning all

Please count me back in again with apologies for the long absence, RL has been a bit overwhelming. But I’ve picked myself up, dusted down, pulled up big girl knickers and am tackling the issues…

weekend was busy, I did a huge load of batch cooking, have 2 weeks worth of meals stashed in the freezer for when needed! Kitchen was a disaster and I needed to run the dw 5 times in 2 days lol! So that meant that most of the kitchen jobs were done yesterday.

this morning  I have been for a walk, doing a 10k steps a day challenge for the month of March, I’ve surprised myself by managing most days even with everything else going on. Wm x 2 done and out on line in the cold sunshine , DW emptied, bed made and windows flung open for a while.

Feels good to be getting back in to a bit of a routine. hope you are all ok x

roundtuit

Welcome back BadCat18 🙂 xx

I'm up, made my bed, had a brew, cold pizza for breakfast- and two slices left for my lunch; got dressed, shuffled the laundry, and scrubbed the basin in the bathroom.

P & S are on their way for a coffee. Better put the kettle on then. 

Rxx

kazwookie

Morning

Sun is out here as well.

I've watered indoor plants, no idea when I last did that.

Bed changed

2 x WM out on whirly

All floors hoovered or mopped.

Bins done

Bagless thing emptied, plus filters in hoover thing cleaned.

Toasted taken outside turned upside down and emptied of crumbs.

Cats fed

All high dusting done, I have a new thingy on a stick to do it.

Basins done

Kitchen sink done, who knew the small 'Frank' mark in the sink side actually came off, well no one told me, yuk is all I can say, will be mentally added to a weekly sink clean to do it each week at least. At least the Frank bit is also clean and back in place.

 Bins got back in from council empty, plus attached to the bin is a list of instructions for future use and a new battery collection service.

Birds fed

Right something to eat, then walking.

ionafan

kazwookie said:

I've watered indoor plants, no idea when I last did that.

Bed changed

Bins done

Me too! 
K has been here - she was doing a job application on my computer (which she has now submitted) so I had to get on with some Flying, but she helped me change both beds.
I've also been messaging DDiL2 and my nephew's wife to make social arrangements for next week
DH is still in his dressing gown

The best of the sunshine has gone

I am off to the gym now

roundtuit

Still sunny here. 🌞  I'll share xx

I fed the birds and put out the rubbish and recycling. The last of the laundry has been shuffled from the airer to radiators and I've put away the airer.

I've also been out and taken down the decrepit washing line plus a trillion pieces of old washing lines that were still twirled around the posts. And I've taken the new washing line out of the kitchen drawer ready to put up. All before the old washing line gave up the battle to survive and dumped a line of washing on the lawn. And before I was tempted to use it one more time and one more time until it did exactly that. 😇

I only have 2 indoor plants. Both in the kitchen. The orchid on the windowsill obviously thrives on benign neglect as it is flowering beautifully at the moment. The Peace Lily is on top of the microwave, doesn't flower, survived my amateur repotting, and is very good at telling me when it's thirsty. 
My Mother's Day flowers are still going strong. 🥰

Rxx

Fayolle

Welcome back, BadCat! 

Bad flylady here, nothing to report, so reporting nothing. Off shortly to pick up DD from uni city in readiness for tomorrow’s dreaded hospital appointment. She wants me to cook dinner this evening, so this is going to be a late one. DH has been on leave today, apparently doing “stuff”… no idea what that entailed, I can only see that the bin is out the front ready for tomorrow’s collection. Humphh.

Round, when DD was little, she had a book called You Choose. She was relentless in wanting to read / play You Choose…” if you could be anyone, who would you be…” and so it went on. So you could be a scientist, living in the mountains, wearing red glasses and travelling by tandem….she loved it, I hated it after the 50 sqillionth time, and DH always had to step up to the plate 🤣. 

Right, must dash, I have traffic to sit in…