Weekly Flylady Thread 04th September 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.

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.

Thanks to Valli for last week’s thread.

Every room comes back around next week so please don’t stress about catching up

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- 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!

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

Manic Monday – Living Room, Landing and Stairs
Level One
Open windows and let the air in..
Quick window clean, get rid of finger marks
Level Two
Dust everything
Clean mirrors
Vacuum
Wash cushion covers
Wash sofa covers if removable
Level Three
Wash throws and pet bedding
Wipe the phone
Vacuum under sofa cushions
Mop/sweep hard floors if applicable

Extras

• Wipe light switches, sockets (make sure they are not switched on
• Sort through your handbag and fling all those ancient bus tickets and receipts.. don't forget your purse too!!!
• One load of washing
• Paperwork clearance, spend 15 minutes minimum sorting through those piles of paper.
• Vacuum under furniture you can manage to move without hurting yourself
• Have a shoe and jacket cull!!
• Go through lurking piles of paper and throw!
• Wash front door and doorstep

Tantalising Tuesday - Master Bedroom
Level One...
Open window and let air in..blow those cobwebs away.
Check fire alarms are working
Wash bedding – put on extra spin to help with the drying.
Level Two..
Dust surfaces & make sure no cobwebs..
Vacuum and flip mattress – get someone to help you!!
Replace with fresh bed linen
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Level Three...
Vacuum floors in bedroom
Sort one area of clothes or linen storage making sure only what should be in there is, anything that's had it's day or doesn't belong there is removed
Clear out one 'hotspot' drawer/box

Extras..

• Have a beauty product cull
• Put away those summer clothes from someones cupboard and get out the winter woollies.. don’t store anything that is past its best! Make a list of things you need to buy!!
• Clean windows in these rooms
• Check house for places where draughts are getting in.. doors, windows etc and see if there are ways to stop it!

Wednesday Whiles ~ Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One...
Wipe dining table.. (clean table cloth if necessary)
Clean all the worktops
Wipe down any tiles
Level Two..
Clean the kickboards
Wipe down blinds, if you have any.
Pick one or two cupboards to declutter
Clean extractor fan
Level Three...
Clean out the cutlery drawer
Clean the microwave
Get rid of any manky veg in fridge
Make a meal plan using up out of date veg

Extras..

• One load of washing
• 30 minutes ironing*]Empty bin and make it smell nice
• Wipe window sills and clean windows in these rooms
• Clear and wipe the tops of the wall units!!
• Clean oven if you didn't do it last week

Tempting Thursday – Bathroom and Study/PC Area
Level One..
Wash the shower curtain and put a clean one up
Clean the floor, pay attention to floor around the toilet.
Level Two..
Wipe down the light pull
Wipe the wall tiles
Clean the windows and mirrors, make them all sparkly.
Clean the grout
Tackle the limescale
Level Three..
Clear any clutter from desk
Dust PC and desk and wipe off those cup rings!!
Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc
Clean out cabinets – check medicines expiry date
Scrub the shower screen – lemon and borax works well for this!!!
Clean shower head – soak in a bag of white vinegar!!
Pay attention to the toilet flush, wipe clean.

Extras

• Wash the bathmat
• Clean the bath, toilet, shower and sink
• Wipe down the pipework at the back of the sink and toilet.
• Is it time to change toothbrushes or toothbrush head.
• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
• Give the pc desk a right good clean! Pull out the case, defluff and degrot it all!!

Valli

thanks Natty

I need a kick up the jacksie to sort out admin stuff…

Fingers crossed for Miss ASB

ionafan

Thanks Natty.  I'm not sure how much flying I shall get done before Wednesday.  Tomorrow I have my 9yo goddaughter and her sister for the day, as their mum has to go into work.

Supporting vibes for asb and DD xx

My hands, wrists and shoulders are all very painful tonight, and something nasty has bitten me on my leg, grrrr!

Hope everyone has a good week, especially Natty and Dave xxx

Narc0lepsy

Thanks for thread.  Good vibes for those in need, especially ASB and DD.
- Spent much of the morning with Mr N pruning raspberry canes and a million miles of bindweed which twines up the canes and also the wires/posts supporting them.
- Watered hanging baskets etc and squashes to encourage them to produce their final autumn squash.
- Read solar meters, it's been a good quarter for sun.
- Downloaded books onto Kindle for holiday.
- Went through the notes I'd made on places to go with Mr N. He's gradually able to do a bit more (caught him using the vacuum cleaner this morning and a hedge trimmer this afternoon) so although we still won't be going away on the motorbike, there will be a lot of walking (Devon).
- replaced laces in my newest trainers with elastic ones so I can make a quick 'transition' at the aquathlon.
- started gathering items together for holiday - tea and coffee bags, picnic cutlery etc.
- Mr N wanted to pick sloes this afternoon so I went for a run down the track where he was picking.
- did a load of kitchen stuff.

Have a good week everyone.

Natty68

Just popping on before bed to send good vibes to asb and her DD

I've taken myself off to bed after twisting both knees and an ankle while clearing out and packing. Not sure what I'm worried about as the removal men are doing our packing but, well you know you still want them to see a clean area...even though there's lots of gubbins lol

Packed all my recipe books and the books in my unit, cleared under the bed and hoovered it ugh it was bad!!!

Cleared my bedside unit, all the towels and bedding in the bedroom, changed addresses in a couple of places online, placed a Mr T's order for next Saturday for the new address, as well as sorted out a regular fruit and veg box delivery.

Washed my hair, cooked dinner, hung washing out to dry overnight and cleaned car tray. And put fresh bedding on the bed.

Tomorrow my car is going in for a service at 8am, the surveyor is coming round at 9.30am, I need to take down the curtain poles from bedroom and living room as well as pack up the jars and bottles in the kitchen. Also I need to clear under the sink and two more cupboards in the kitchen.

Ooh I also need to dig up my rosemary bush and plant it in a pot ready to take with us and also dig up a couple of rhubarb crowns.

I think that's it then...the removal men are coming to pack Monday afternoon and Tuesday.

Any magic dust, sprinkles etc sent my way will beost appreciated.

Painkillers taken for knee so am going to sleep now...lol

Xxx

pigpen

TY for Fred.. much appreciated..

We have made a financial decision.. I am terrible at these.  DS2 is going to claim carers element for Squeak and he is going to essentially be paid to pick up Dot from school and take Pixie to dance and Squeak to cello.. I will pay for the childrens bus fares but the stuff I cannot manage to be in 2 or 3 places for he will help. it will take the pressure of jobseeking off him but I expect him to still do it and will require proof because I would rather he was working than helping me out.. I have plenty of them to help out and I want more for him but he is getting so disheartened and stressed over not being given a chance by anyone at all. So far Asda were the worst.. they offered him a job, said they would be in touch for start dates and uniform and never got back to him again. When he rang to ask they aplogised and said they would send everything within a few days and never did.. then there was an article about how they were so marvellous for employing a man with some disability or other.. but they ghosted mine.. Anyway.. that is why I hate them and don't shop there.

I have a list for tomorrow.. it is boring.

Natty.. I hope all goes lovely and smoothly for your move.. relax and let the box men do their job! (((hugs)))

ASB.. and Miss ASB.. I hope all goes well tomorrow (later today) .. hugs and good news vibes for you both.. xx

I may need to do some front room flingage..

Manic Monday – Living Room, Landing and Stairs
Level One
Quick window clean, get rid of finger marks.. and cat-snot
Level Two
Dust everything
Vacuum
Wash sofa covers if removable
Level Three
Vacuum under sofa cushions
Extras

• Wipe light switches, sockets
• One load of washing
• Paperwork clearance, spend 15 minutes minimum sorting through those piles of paper.
• Vacuum under furniture you can manage to move without hurting yourself
• Have a shoe and jacket cull!!
• Go through lurking piles of paper and throw!
• Wash front door and doorstep

Tantalising Tuesday - Master Bedroom
Level One...
Level Two..
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Level Three...
Vacuum floors in bedroom
Extras..

Wednesday Whiles ~ Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One...
Level Two..
Level Three...
Extras..

Tempting Thursday – Bathroom and Study/PC Area
Level One..
Clean the floor, pay attention to floor around the toilet.
Level Two..
Wipe down the light pull
Wipe the wall tiles
Clean the windows and mirrors, make them all sparkly.
Clean the grout
Tackle the limescale
Level Three..
Extras

• Clean the bath, toilet, shower and sink
• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms

Ekkwuss

Thanks for the post! 

I’ve followed flylady loosely for ages but this is my first time posting. My life has very much changed in the last year, I’ve gone from both my husband and I working full time to him having an accident and my needing to quit work to care for him, yet despite being home almost 24/7 now the house is messier than ever so I’m posting here as I think I’ll be more inclined to crack on with it. 

Asparklierblonde

Good morning all

Thank you for the vibes, really REALLY appreciate them xx

We will be setting off at 10am. I will make packed lunches to take as I have no idea how long we will be. It’s forecast to be a hot day as well so plenty of drinks needed. 

I have already responded to a rubbishy work email (a member of the public accusing me of being rude, I’m absolutely anything but in fact I’m too nice most of the time!) which has set me on a downer. Anyway, I’m going to shake that off and go outside in the sun to feed the animals. 

First I’ll wake DD, she needs to be out of the house at 7.30am for school from tomorrow to catch the first of two buses (rural joys!) so needs to wake up early today.

Flying? I’ll make my bed 🤣🤣 I’ll pop back on later love to you all xx

Jazee

Morning all.  Hugs, posivibes, welcomes to all who need them esp Natty, ASB, Ekkwuss and Ionafan.

Thanks for the list.  I don't expect to get much flying done today as DGD2 is here and I'm just about to get dressed and get her up.

Have a great day everyone.

roundtuit

Good morning all xx 

Hugs, posivibes,  healing vibes, and lots of love heading out into the ether. ❤

Welcome Ekkwuss xx

Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness out there this morning....not that I've been outside yet. I'm up, made my bed, and had a brew.

To Do Today List 
Shower and wash hair 
Get dressed
Feed the birds
Put out the recycling 
Wash jeans
Write shopping list
Mr Al shop

P&S will be calling for coffee midmorning. Back to work tomorrow- I'll be OK when I get there but 🤢 at the thought.

Out for tea with Sh after work tomorrow. First time I'll have seen her since her husband literally dropped dead on 4th August. He was 62! Carpe Diem ladies!

Hairdresser's appointment after work on Friday. Last time for cut and blow dry; next appointment will be for a wet trim. Been considering this for a while as prices go up and up...time to bite the bullet. 

Brew 2 and breakfast next. 

Hugs
Rxx

kazmeister

Morning Ladies,

Well last week was a wipe out, DH was away, the black dog came to stay and everything just got on top of me. I am trying to be more positive this week. I have read last weeks' thread this morning so hugs all round and congratulations to Piggers for not getting arrested. 

Thanks Natty for the list which I will endeavour to start.

Today I was up early as waiting for the orange airline to release its summer flights for 2024 so that I can get in and book early (ie cheapest!) and was convinced it would be today, although I have been up before 6 every morning for the last week to keep checking. It will be typical if it's tomorrow as I have an early start for work so hopefully if I prep tonight then I will have time to book before I need to leave.

Good job I was up early as at 6 today I realised DD wasn't up for work and usually leaves just prior to 6 so she was grateful for the shout and for the help in getting her out of the door, only issue was I forgot to sweeten her coffee which would have been much needed on her 90 minute drive to the office.

I have already downed 3 cuppas, eaten breakfast and showered. The DW has been loaded and turned on and I have collected up and sorted the laundry. In the meantime DH has already put the WM on with about 3 things in it that he brought back last week  . I have also washed up the rest of the bits that cant go in DW and S/S'd the kitchen.

I am just going to sort finances from the weekend shopping and then I have to go back to the optician. I have tried the varifocals but they are not working for me. The near and far are brilliant but the intermediate/screen distance is not great. I can only focus on a very small area in the centre of the screen (despite paying for the wide option on the lenses) and I have to lift my chin to focus properly despite adjusting my screens lower. As a DSE assessor I don't want to move them any lower down as I know there is the potential then for RSI issues. I think I will opt for a bifocal and a separate pair for DSE use so that I can focus properly on all 3 screens that I use at work.

I then need to go and see mum. I'm surprised I managed to keep calm last week as it is getting so frustrating. Dad and I have not managed to speak to a doctor in over a week and the rubbish we are getting from the nurses contradicts what we have been told previously by Doctors. She is more alert and feeling a bit brighter in herself, probably since they took her off morphine, which we weren't even aware they had put her on, and would have requested something different as she was off the planet last time she had it. Dad has been asking them to cut her fingernails as she has regained some movement and is scratching her skin until it bleeds, and they haven't been able to do that despite him speaking directly to the Matron who confirmed it would be done  . I know and appreciate they are busy but as yet, they haven't found the source of her sepsis/infection and to introduce a further problem is not going to be helpful. Oh and one of the other patients on the ward had a go at me as I refused to feed mum, when the staff have her down for assistance. Whilst that might sound harsh we will argue and if you do it for my mum she will let you but I left her forcing her movement so she could eat her sandwich herself.

I have to complete a meal plan for the month which I started but didn't finish yesterday although have what I need for this week.

I do need to do something from the lists as DH commented that someone had written in the dust on the fireplace that it needed cleaning, but he didn't think to give it a wipe. 

Anyway the sun is shining so it is going to be a good day and I will report back later.

Oh and I need to book 2 hair appointments, a B12 (overdue by 12months) a wellbeing check up, and chomp on to the post office as I paid to send a letter first class signed for to HMRC on 23rd , it was showing as unsigned up to yesterday and today it is 'there is a problem'!