Weekly Flylady Thread 5 June 2023

Valli

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 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

Marvellous Monday - Kitchen and Dining Room

Level 1
Clear sides and wipe down - wipe small appliances and caddies etc.  Don't forget the splashbacks!
Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
Empty bin and clean it out too - put it outside to dry in the sunshine.
Empty out caddies/storage jars or tins and wash them out.
Wipe sill, sockets, door handles and switches and anywhere fingers linger 
Clear and clean sink and accessories - don't forget those out-of-sight places - under plugs and under draining racks - and shine those taps - or clean them!
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!  get a new hand towel and a new tea towel too

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; update shopping list as appropriate
Wash and wipe fridge 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.

Level 3

Pick a cupboard or a drawer; empty it, clean it out and put back its contents tidily
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Clean chairs (and highchairs) - don't forget under the seats where sticky fingers linger.
Clean windows in both rooms.


EXTRAS

HHI
S&S bathroom
Weather forecast is looking good got most of us sp sprt out coats and jackets for washing if you have  no laundry

Wednesday hump day  - Kids Room(s)/Spare Room/Guest room

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

extras
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen
use the hot weather to wash grimy things and get them dried outside - the sun is a great sanitiser/bleacher 
wash vacuum filters, sweeping brushes, dusters, toilet brushes and holders, bins... choose at least one!
if your WM is sitting idle are there any curtains or throws you could launder?


Thursday - almost the weekend Living room, hall, stairs and porch

Level One
With warm (hot if you can bear it)soapy water on a clean cloth - rinsed frequently - wipe EVERY door handle, light switch in the house - including entrance doors.  Don't forget the letterbox
Declutter ALL the floors!!
Clear the mantle of junk
Fling any rubbish
Straighten cushions, curtains and throws
Tidy coffee/side tables
Empty bin
Empty ashtrays
Attend to plants and flowers

Level Two

Vacuum/sweep all the floors.. stairs too!
Vacuum/sweep under furniture you can safely move!
Vacuum sofas
Clean mirrors

Level Three

Clean the window and door frames 
Dust and polish furniture and ornaments
Clean doormats

Extras

Dust all the electricals.. carefully.. don't want any frazzled flybodies
Binbag dance around the house
HHI
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom

The Boudoir Fridays task for those up to it.  

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 bottles to remove sticky blobs

extras
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen

ionafan

Thank you Valli x

I have had a productive weekend and crossed a number of big and little jobs off my list - though more keep appearing out of thin air. 

Unfortunately DH has been feeling ill today - probably another chest infection - so if I don't end up calling for the ambulance during the night, we will be phoning the GP surgery as soon as the lines open at 8am, and my plans for tomorrow (which include a trip to the tip) will probably go awry.  I did 2 loads of washing this evening so will hang them out first thing.

Off to bed now in case my beauty sleep is disturbed!  I hope everyone has a good week xxx

Natty68

Thank you Valli 👍

Will not be flying today, well that's nothing new..lol No seriously I've got a stinking cold and sore throat that appeared from nowhere. How can I get a cold if I haven't been anywhere? Weird!!!

Feeling quite sorry for myself to tell you the truth. So I'm going to get showered, quickly sort out tonight's dinner to cook in the slow cooker, and then curl up on the sofa watching trashy TV 😀

roundtuit

Good morning all xx 

Thank you to Natty and Valli for the lists. ❤

Yesterday I hoovered the hall. Aka the square at the bottom of the stairs behind the front door. That's more spiders and cobwebs gone. Every little helps. 

WM is swishing towels and tea towels. I'm up, dressed, made my bed, sploshed bleach down the loo,  eaten breakfast and had a brew. 

I'll feed the birds and put out the recycling next.

Love to all
Rxx

pigpen

hi.. ty for Fred!!!

Had a mad morning.. shopping to put away.. back in a bit... stay sparkly.

pigpen

laundry out

2 half loads waiting for more

DW in action.

I have acquired a grandboy.. he is watching superkitties and snacking. I have a request for orange mittens.

They had some very pretty begonias in Tesc0 so I bought a couple.. and some geraniums my mother wanted. Restocked GF pasta. Twinkle LOVES the GF, dairy free, egg free Twinks.. Twinkles Twinks!

ionafan

As expected, I was awake at 3am and had to call the ambulance at 5am.  DH has been admitted to horse piddle, poked, prodded, fitted with a canula, given ABs by injection, x-rayed, and told by a lovely Dr that the x-rays show very clearly that he has a bad chest infection.  They are keeping him in for at least 24 hours to give him more ABs intravenously.  

I hung out yesterday evening's WMx2 at 5.45am before following the ambulance to the horse piddle, and now, having stripped DH's bed and tidied his room, I have got 4 more loads to do.  It will dry easily in this weather   I had to cancel the tip run today but have re-booked for tomorrow.  While I was up at the horse piddle I went to cardio rehab (having had the presence of mind to put my gym bag in the car at the same time as DH's overnight bag) and L the dog walker took Rosie out as planned.  Since coming home I have had some lunch, caught up with a bit of sleep, and chatted to DS1, and now Rosie and I are enjoying the peace and quiet and doing odd admin and garden jobs between WM loads.

I'll do a money shuffle next and then clean the bathroom, ensuite and downstairs loo thoroughly.  Tomorrow I shall clean all through the rest of the house (or maybe K will, if she is free to come and help me).  It won't take long.

GWS Natty x

Glad Twinkle Twinks

Jazee

Good evening everyone.

 I hope your DH makes a speedy recovery Iona, and get well soon to anyone feeling under the weather.

Our grand toddlers have now left the building.  It took over an hour to get everything straight again and I've just sat down.  I have a lot to do tomorrow flying and gardening wise and also have a dental appointment.

Valli

i have done more washing, been to outswim cancer, not having swum for years i’ve done 10 lengths, in batches of two, with rests between, and some exercises.  i have discovered i am excellent at skulling on my back.
(i think that’s what it’s called)

i went to Mr m for a bit of shopping, saw raspberries reduced from £2.99 to 30p, bought 4 lots and have made jam.  Bit mire knitting done, too.
WUALTD but am now in bed.

Hope Mr Iona is doing ok, kudos on remembering the bag Iona.

Hope you’re feeling better, Natty

Narc0lepsy

hope Mr Iona  gets well soon.
Zumba this morning. 
Fairly relaxed about flying this week as house was fairly well flown for the weekend visitor.
Bird feeders filled.
Greenhouse checked.
Another report nearly done, 1 to go and at present I don't have any more assessments booked until next Wed although that may change.
One load through WM.
Well done on your swimming Valli.  I had a swimming lesson this afternoon as curiously I've never really learned to do front crawl (or freestyle as it is now called - in my day 'freestyle' meant you could choose what you did).    It was exhausting!  I think the little person in the lesson before me was about 3 and in the next lane no older than 6........oh well.  The instructor classes breast stroke as a 'resting stroke' so I'm hoping learning crawl will bring on my inner slinkiness.   Less good for looking out for kingfishers on the lake when crawling though....
Dropped in to M£talan on the way home and got a new swimsuit as my under-wetsuit one has a large tear in it, plus 2 pairs of shorts.
Did some drum practice.
Cooked dinner............that's about it for today.

Jazee

Morning all.  Hope you're all ok today.

Up early determined to get things done today.  Admin first.

I will try to report back later.

Have a great day everyone.