Weekly Flylad Thread 12th June 2023

Natty68

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’

WUDUPA ~ Washed up, dried up, put away

WUALTD ~ Washed up and left to dry

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- thats 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!

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!

Any more questions I bet are answered in the wonderful welcome guide which was produced by our much loved Toots

Here goes this week:

Monday - Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One
Clean the sink, drainer and taps
Wipe the work surface you can see
Level Two
Hoover and mop the floor
Sort out and wipe out the fridge
Level Three
Clean the WM filters and drawer
Wash the window
Wipe over the hob and oven door
Extras

• Clean some shoes
• HHI
• Deal with a hotspot

Tuesday - Living room, Hall and downstairs Loo
Level One
Drink plenty of fluids...it's going to be a hot one today.
Hoover/wipe the sofas
S&S the sink and toilet
Level Two
Dust the electricals, front, back, sides and underneath
Hoover the floor
Wipe the windowledge
Level Three
HH tidying, decluttering, sorting
Wipe some paintwork, skirting boards, behind the toilet/sink
Extras

• Order pet supplies or make vet appointments
• Clean out pets/pet bedding
• Check you know when sports day/end of term is
• No pets or kids? Read a book or do some craft...

Wednesday - Master Bedroom and Landing
Level One
Drink plenty of fluids...it's going to be another hot one today.
Change the bed, hoover the mattress, turn it if you can but don't cause yourself any mischief.
Level Two
Hoover the stairs, landing and bedroom
Wipe the window ledges
Level Three
Dust any dusty bits
Deal with hotspots/floorobes
Wipe the bedstead
Extras

• Arrange for boiler service or chimney sweep
• Recycle any paper/magazines lying around
• Do something you want to do rather than feel you should

Thursday - Bathrooms
Level One

Clean toilets and sinks
Level Two
Change the towels
Hoover and wipe the floor
Wipe the splashbacks
Level Three
Clean out the plug holes
Shine the mirrors
Clean the bath and shower
Extras

• HHPaperwork
• Declultter a drawer
• Me Me Me time

Friday - Children's Bedrooms or spare rooms/rooms of Doom
Level One

Drink plenty of fluids...it's going to be another hot one today.
Strip, wash and replace bedding
Level Two
Hoover floor
HH tidying or decluttering
Level Three
Wipe the skirting boards
Wash an item of soft furnishings
Clear then dust a flat surface (or 2)
Extras

• Find a new recipe to use
• Sort out your receipts/purse
• Check dates on passports/MoTs/insurance etc

Valli

thanks for the new week.  

priority for this week is to sort a blind for the kitchen.  i also need to eat smaller meals so that my stomach can cope with input/output without melodrama.

Second sleeve knitted, band started.  

WUALTD and loaded DW. 

Its twot

ionafan

Thanks Natty x  I will be Flying this week whenever possible.  Tomorrow's list looks doable, especially as I cleaned a pair of shoes last weekend

I've worked hard over the past 3 days.  Today I boxed up everything that is going to the CS or scrapstore, then tidied the tool cupboard, sorted nails/screws/etc, and decluttered other bits that I no longer need and added them to the bin/CS box/scrapstore piles.  With vegan friends and family in mind, I've also made some Bare Cupboard fruit cakes - they are dairy and egg free and could also be gluten free (but there is quite a lot of sugar involved ).  Happy to share the foolproof recipe!

After a hot day we had another thunderstorm and downpour this evening - but it's still hot!  Rosie hid under DH's chair when the thunder started.

DH is obviously feeling better, as he is pretty much back to his old self.  Thanks for asking, Valli x 

Please drink plenty of water and take things steady this week as the heatwave continues xxx

pigpen

ty for fred.. back shortly xx

Bills back up to date.. I need to set up a new standing order for HMRC and I have cello, dance class and a school trip to pay for. Things are reducing. I paid a thing off today and have £50 left on 2 things.

The kitchen mat has been run through the WM, I think my sister muttley widdled on it when he was here the other day.. and it was honking. I will have OH put it outside to dry off, spray it with more disinfectant and bring it back in tonight.

DW to go on

WM through a clean cycle after washing the mat and I have 2 loads to wash.

S&S the kitchen

Dot at her transition morning tomorrow

I want to get the stairs vacuumed and the back room..

Boss OH to shop for eggs, milk and bananas.. I am hoping we have enough for the week otherwise. I am trying to use up stuff in the fridge and freezer both are full of stuff which has been there forever.  Does anyone have a decent fish pie recipe? I have 2 bags of frozen fish to use up and a mountain of dried potato mash.

One sleeve left to do on Beany's new cardy and I need to dig out the summer stuff for the girls.

thriftyscotslass

Morning all. Thank you for thread
Feeling groggy here this morning - but I'm up so I'm taking that for the win
Have even got some stuff done:
Bed made
TUPA
Recycling sorted
Meter readings taken
Mr T top-up list done
Meds taken and organised for the week
Dressed and 2 coffees sunk
Need to get some fresh air

Hope everyone is well, (((Hugs))) to all, Thriftyxxx

pigpen

urgh... pollen sucks..

pigpen

oooohhh OFSTED in school tomorrow.. cue hysterical teachers.. and Dot is going to be exceptional having spent 2 hours at a transition meeting at secondary school in the morning.

stairs vacuumed

2x WM

1x DW

Kitchen swept

I need a tiny battery or rechargable fan for Dot in class.. she is not a happy learner in the hots.

kazmeister

Thanks Natty for the thread, I am going to try harder this week as last week I have graded as a U. I did naff all and I have no real reason why.

Work has gone back to a steady level and much less stress, am walking to work again and trying to eat a little healthier although that went to pot this weekend. 

Todays list looks achievable so will crack on and may pop back later. 

If anyone can help with info on NHS continuing care as we are looking to see about the possibility of putting mum into a care home as it’s getting too much for dad. She is unable to do anything for herself other than feed herself. Carers come in 4 times a day for her personal care but if she has any personal needs in between he is doing it using a 2 person hoist on his own, (she’s a larger lady) so it’s a massive strain on him with doing everything else, and mentally he’s getting to the point he can’t cope. At 86 this year he needs some relief and it cost him in excess of £3.5k last year for 2 weeks respite (minimum stay) so he could get 5 days away to himself so he cannot fund it himself. 

Monday - Kitchen 
Level One
Clean the sink, drainer and taps DONE
Wipe the work surface you can see DONE
Level Two
Hoover and mop the floor SWEPT AND MOPPED
Sort out and wipe out the fridge DONE AT THE WEEKEND AND NEED TO USE UPS PLANNED IN AS MUCH AS POSS
Level Three
Clean the WM filters and drawer DONE
Wash the window 
Wipe over the hob and oven door DONE
Extras

• Clean some shoes
• HHI
• Deal with a hotspot

Fayolle

Thank you for the thread.  After my performance for the past couple of weeks, I am definitely in the U and Could Do Better class. In my defence, it is definitely twot. I am a brisk autumn day kinda gal, not a wilting summer flower. Coincidentally however, I seem to have achieved level 1 from today’s list, plus HHI. Load number 3 is in the wm, but is taking an age. 

Tomorrow is a no work day, DD is at home before she scoots off again on Wednesday, so who knows how the day will pan out. 

Kazmeister, I hope that someone can help you with some advice. Have a hug x

pigpen

Kaz.. that sounds like a huge strain on your dad. There comes a point where doing the best thing isn't what anyone wanted but needs change and circumstances change and everyone has to adapt. We are in a very similar place with MIL.

Pack ups and dinner done..

I have 1 more sleeve to sew up and 3 buttons to add.. Then some more mittens to knit.

Valli

and me too.  My lovely mum, who had a very senior job in nursing, is probably going to be diagnosed with some form of dementia sooner rather than later.  The sad thing is she’s aware she’s struggling and desperately wants to hide it from us.   But with each passing day her sentences make less and less sense.   

and i feel utterly carp but it’s side effects no covid.  i’ve done fluff all really.