Weekly Flylady Thread 1st May 2023

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/0whoever) ~ 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

 

Bank Holiday Monday

Open window and make the bed.
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom

Have a lovely day

Twinkling Tuesday- Master bedroom and Landing
Level One
Throw open windows and let that sun in!!!!
Strip and wash bedding!
Clear some floordrobe
Level Two
Clear landing floor.. or sort a hotspot out there!!
Wash windows
Vacuum floors
Level Three
Sort out shoes and coats and bags! etc
Binbag dance
HHI

Extras

• Mend 2 things from your 'mend it' pile!!
• Reorder and tidy a chest of drawers.. if there is anything to get rid of.. DO IT!!
• Wash and put away any winter coats you shouldn't need for the next 5 months!!
• Dust and dewebMake sure those smoke alarms are working!!! (do not set fire to anything.. just press the button!!)
• Go through your make up/nail varnish. Throw anything that has gone past it's shelf life or worse still has a life of it's own..

Wishy Washy Wednesday - Bathrooms and office/study type places.
Level One
Open the windows and let the sun and fresh air in..
Clear the clutter from all these rooms!!
Ring someone you love just to tell them so.. we never do this enough!
Wash any curtains/blinds/mats etc that need doing
Level Two
Vacuum the floors
Clean bath, toilets, shower and sinks
Wipe down the tiles and defragment the pc while doing this.
Level Three
Declutter and dust the pc desk
Wipe away cup rings and sticky things
Wipe the keyboard, mouse, cables and sockets and suchlike.
Clean the windows.

Extras

• HHI..I really need to do this!!
• Clear a hotspot
• Degunge around the bottoms of the taps!
• Wipe cupboards and polish mirrors!
• Do a DIY task that you have been putting off since time began.

Thrilling Thursday ~ Kitchen, Utility and Dining Mess
Level One

Put on your most uplifting and motivational music to do your housework to..
Sweep and mop floors
Now is the time to get rid of worn out old tea towels - replace with new ones (use old ones as cleaning cloths)
Catch up with the washing up

Level Two

Empty and clean out the fridge.. including the drain hole bit at the back..
Clean oven/hob
Pick a cupboard and empty and clean it out and replace only what you wish to keep!

Level Three

Wash windows.. and dust blinds/wash curtains
Clear and wipe out the oven and hob
Wipe table and replace cloth if necessary
When was the last time you completely cleaned your fridge and make it all nice smelling? Get rid of out of date/dead stuff, what can be made into a soup or something?

Extras

• Clean/tidy under the kitchen sink, throw away anything that looks past its usefullness
• Wipe down paintwork/sideboards/units in dining room
• Replace kitchen cloths, sponges and washing up gloves
• Clean washing machine inside and outside
• Clean the toaster – get rid of crumbs in the little tray, wipe with a damp cloth to get rid of marks, smudges and smears
• HHI
• Take everything out of kitchen cupboard, throw away out of date stuff, wash inside with white vinegar solution then replace items.

Frantic Friday ~ Living Room, Hallway and Stairs
Level One
Open those windows and let in the sun!!
Declutter floors.. in all these areas!
Sort through the coats and bags and shoes.. What can you fling?
Level Two
Clear the mantle and a hotspot and replace only what should be there!
Wipe and water any plants and dust and deweb!
Vacuum the floors!
Level Three
Empty a cupboard or drawer and fling all that is no longer needed and rehome anything that shouldnt be there!
Wash any soft furnishings
Wipe all the paintwork and all the doors!

Extras

• Wash the windows if they need it
• Binbag dance.. fling that rubbish!
• Polish any mirrors and pictures and glassware
• Replace any dead lightbulbs in the house.. and test those smoke alarms!!
• Clean out smelly pets
• Have you got your bunting etc all ready for Saturday's Coronation?
• Any of those going to a street party have you decided what you are going to take?
• For those that aren't interested in the Coronation go through the TV mag and find something else to watch 😁

pigpen

Ty for Fred.. I'm.. alive.. made it through another week.. rejoice in that!

Narc0lepsy

Thanks for thread, thanks for MIA concern Fayolle.
I'm alive and well thanks, had a bad couple of weeks with hassle from a student which my manager had to advise me on (manager agreed with everything I said/wrote). Hopefully now sorted.

Trying to get my head back into gear as I was a nervous wreck for a while, plus had too much work because while normal work goes on, it is 'conference season' so I still have loads of webinars to go through before they expire.     And visitors imminent.  Garden growing like crazy. House full of dust and webs, but washing up and washing clothes is up to date. 

However, today I have walked to church; the flowers I did this week were admired by another.   Then did loads in the garden, did some drumming practice and also some of a report. Checked imminent cc bill. 

Tomorrow I may lake swim, although I did go yesterday and I suppose I would be grudgingly better off catching up on reports/webinars, not to mention flying.       

Have a good bank hol everyone. 

Valli

i’m in

and i’m in bed, between clean sheets…bliss

Have improved healthwise but have no appetite (this is A Good Thing).  Two bucketfuls of weeds pulled up and flung.  Patio swept.  HHI.  

ionafan

Morning all.

We had a good journey yesterday - chanced upon an amazing lunch at cheaper than local-to-us prices, and then (again by chance because we spotted the yellow NGS sign) visited an amazing garden offering delicious cakes for tea at next-to-nothing.  Waved to Fayolle xx as we crossed the M4, and reached our destination in one piece and still talking to each other (has to be good!). 

Slept well, and we are (or rather DH is) getting up early - this is late for me   - so that we can catch the first train on the local heritage railway...

As to flying, I hoovered the house yesterday before we left, and last night I washed up two mugs.  No more hoovering planned this week!

Have a restful day, everyone xxx

Fayolle

Good morning all,
Thank you for the thread, Natty. I’m here, it’s Monday and I don’t have to go to work, and the heavens have just opened. Bank holiday, then. 

Have a lovely holiday, Iona xx
Narc0, I hope the situation has improved. Nice to have you back with us x

It sounds that I’m not alone in finding that life keeps pulling the rug out from under me, leaving Even Keel a distant dream. So I am going to make a stab at positive thinking, and try to post 3 positive things here each day. It will make me post every evening, and might even help - or just clog up the thread and bore you all to tears! I might last a week, or even all of May. Anyone want to join me - or just roll your eyes and call me Pollyanna 🤣.
Sort of plan for the day - s&s bathroom, wash towels, maybe even plant the last of the dratted potatoes.
Have a restful day all, if at all possible x

roundtuit

Good morning flyladies xx

White rabbits 🐇🐇 And, just like that, it's May. I seem to have blinked and missed February,  March AND April. Surely it was New Year only last week? No? It would seem that time flies whether you are having fun or not. 👀

I'm up, dressed, made my bed and opened the windows upstairs (on list woot woot), listened to a 5 minute meditation 🧘‍♀️  and I'm now reflecting and supping a brew. Join me? I can easily put kettle on ☕🫖

So, what's the plan today then? Anyone doing anything citing? 

Love to all
Rxx

Fayolle

I forgot the pesky white rabbits! 🐇🐇🐇.
Just putting my claim in for a refill cuppa, please? Well, the kettle is on, so it would be rude to leave Round on her own 😊

roundtuit

Just wondering. If I came to your house Fayolle would you say 'Come in. The kettle is on' ? Because I know that I would say 'Come in. Kettle's on' Is it a North / Sarf thing? Or am I just common? (Rhetorical question 🤣)

Brew 2 and breakfast next. 
Rxx

Why is there a weird gap in that sentence?

roundtuit

Ommmmmmmm

My boiler broke down. Again. It's not the pressure this time - I know how to fix that. It's a fault in the return thermistor. Apparently this item prevents the boiler from over heating. I Googled. 🙂
Fortunately I live in social housing so it won't cost me an arm and a leg to fix it. I've requested an emergency call out which will be some time in the next 24 hours. That's OK. I wasn't going anywhere anyway. I'll put on my cardy and an extra pair of socks. 

Ommmmmmm

Rxx

ETA  Serendipity. I went to Mr C00p yesterday and bought everything for this week's packed lunches. Sorted 😊

roundtuit

The plumber came at 10.30 and said the problem was the pressure dropping. 🤔 So why the different error code then? I didn't ask. I'm assuming that he wouldn't leave me with a malfunctioning boiler! I have heat and hot water again. For now. Plumber did say that the boiler will keep breaking down now because of its age - 12 years. I'd already worked that one out myself 🤣

P&S called for coffee and a chat. 

Hmmm. What shall I do this afternoon? I fed the birds and put out the recycling this morning. 

I'll have a hot cross bun while I have a think.

Rxx