PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING
Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.Weekly Flylady Thread 5th February 2024



Welcome to the weekly Flylady Thread.
We often see new flyers (gents welcome!) around this time of year so please don't worry if you feel you cannot keep up. Similarly if your house has been neglected it won't be turned around in a day - but if you stay you will get into some good habits which do help! Happy flying.
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/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
Here Goes This week...
Monday Madness- Bathroom and Study/Pc Area
Level One
Clean floors in these rooms
Level Two
Clean baths, toilets, don't forget under the rim! and sinks
Clear any clutter from desk
Dust PC and desk and wipe off those cup rings!!
Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc
Level Three
Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc
Wipe down tiles in bathroom.. defragment your pc while doing this.
Empty and clean out all the upstairs bins! (the proper bins not the rooms that look like bins!)
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required
Clear a mega hotspot!.. shred it.. and fling it.. or just burn it!
Extra mission: Pick whichever you want to attempt:
- Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
- Wipe down the doors and frames in these rooms.
- clean the radiators in these rooms
- Fling all those empty bottles and tubes
- Replace sponges/flannels/toothbrushes that are in need
Terrible Tuesday - Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces
Level Two
Sweep and mop floors
Sort fridge bringing what needs using soon to the front, clean out any spills or grots in there!
Wipe dining table.. (clean table cloth if necessary)
Level Three
Dust any extra furniture in dining area, checking for cobwebs on way round
Wipe and replace all those small appliances.. kettle, toaster etc
Clean fridge and see what needs using first (why do I have 4 jars of cranberry sauce in mine?)
Clean cupboard door fronts and fronts of appliances .. don't forget those kick boards..
Check those washing machine filters and drawers for ickiness!! Tumble dryer and dishwasher filters need to be done too!!
Extra Mission
Choose one or more of:
- Wipe window sills and clean windows in these rooms
- Wipe down any tiles and shine those taps.. a toothbrush is great for cleaning away the gunk!
- Clean oven if it really needs it.. or just do the hob.. mines gross.. you need to shame me into cleaning it!
- HHI .. bit of a catch up!!
- Write an inventory of your cupboards contents and what needs using first
- Empty the cutlery drawer.. clean it out, wash the cutlery tray, chuck those baby spoons you don't use any more.. how many medicine spoons do you actually need? get rid of everything you don't use and make the drawer look nice again!
Weird Wednesday - Living Room, Hall and Stairs
Level 1
Vacuum floors and sofas, inc. under furnitutre if you can move it without rupturing your usher!
Level 2
Dusting, even if around everything
Remove clutter making sure stairs especially are safe
Clean TV, other electricals and cabinets
Water any thirsty plants, wipe their poor neglected leaves!!
Level 3
Wipe light switches, sockets (make sure they are not switched on!!) and banister
Clean any other glass like mirrors, pictures etc
Tidy shoes, coats and bags .. Are there any that need rehoming?
Sort the magazine heap, books and papers that have found there way in here and need to go back out!
Extra Mission:
Pick one or more of the following tasks –
- Paperwork clearance.. spend 15 minutes minimum sorting through those piles of paper.
- Clear and declutter that there mantelpiece!!
- Clean a window or two.
- Binbag dance.. Get a binbag, crank up the volume.. strut that stuff, sing loudly and out of tune and off key, fill the binbag and bin it!!!
- HHI.. another mound gone!
Thrilling Thursday - Master Bedroom & Landing
Level 1
Check fire alarms are working
Remove and wash bed linen and duvet covers.
Level 2
Dust surfaces & make sure no cobwebs..
Vacuum & turn mattress before replacing with fresh linen..
Air the duvet
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Wipe doors down!
Level 3
Vacuum floors in bedroom and on landing
Have a sort and tidy in the linen cupboard/airing cupboard while searching for your clean sheets.. is it pretty in here again?
Clear a hotspot.. or spend 15 minutes clearing one.
Extra tasks list, as usual choose one or more
- 42 fling boogie time, go on grab a bag and clear that clutter
- Half hour finding and pairing up all those stray odd socks.. Fling the holey ones and send the ones that don't fit to nursery or school.. they always need spares and the big ones can be used to make puppets.. or just recycle them!!
- Clean windows in these rooms
- Wipe the bed frame it is amazing how fluffy they get!
Fearsome Friday- those frightening kids rooms and spare rooms
Level One
Vacuum the floor, even if it's just where you can see
Spend at least half an hour doing something for yourself!!!!! paint your nails, make an appointment to have your hair done, a lovely soak in the bath.. whatever you feel like!!
Level Two
Clear away anything that isn't in it's place, clothes, toys, books etc
Dusting.. all those shelves and flat fluffy surfaces!! Don’t forget the light shade and curtain pole!!!
Level Three
Strip beds, turn and vacuum mattresses!! and replace with fresh linen .. check if duvets & pillows need freshening up too!!
Sort through a cupboard/chest of drawers and get the clothes out which are no longer wearable, too small or out of season!
Wipe any sticky marks off walls and doors
Extra Task List
- Wash a set of curtains, nets, duvet or throw
- Wipe the radiators, skirtings and window & door frames!
- Friday fling!! grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish or charity shop or to donate to a friend!
- Get rid of one binbag/box of toys that are no longer needed or are broken and do some battery replacing!
- Put all the pc game discs, ps2 discs, cd's etc back in their correct cases!
FRIDAY EXTRA - Don't forget your ME time this weekend, even if it's just a nice relaxing bath or going to the pub with Pigpen!! go on you deserve it
Declutter Challenge 2025
DH declutter challenge award 🏅⭐️
Comments
-
I've popped the whole week up for next week instead of doing it daily..as someone of you may I have taken a break from social media (it feels weird not going on FB, etc..) But it really has done me the power of good.. Even though in the process of the break I've had a very scary episode of a ruptured pile which has laid me up for a wee bit.. Can't believe I haven't been on FB during my time on the sofa..lol. I've caught up on reading books again..the library here in Aberystwth is brilliant for reading books!!!!!
My laptop is also on it's last legs, but DH has very kindly bought me a new one which should be delivered in a couple of days.. I think he got fed up of me cursing at the darn thing when it decided to do it's own thing, delete files etc.. Even I can't fix this one, it's beyond hope..lol And it'll probably take me a few days to get the new one up and running, and I also have to do DH's too as he has treated himself to a new laptop too.
So I'm giving you another one week in one go again for you to pick and mix which ones you want to do when, or if you want to follow the daily days.
Oh can I have some of those flylady vibes please? I am hoping that my new car will be finally released to me. Suzuki are holding it hostage for some repairs needed that they failed to pick up before they put it up for sale but they did actually find the problem before releasing it to me. So please all flylady vibes and fluff needed this way pleaseMortgage Free as of 20.9.17Declutter challenge 2023, 2024 🏅 🏅⭐️⭐️
Declutter Challenge 2025
DH declutter challenge award 🏅⭐️11 -
thanks for the new thread Natty
not sure i’ll fly much this week if i’m doing DIY and cooking every night but we’ll see. You’d think, working 12 hours a week I would.
Im a victim of Parkinson’s lawDon't put it DOWN; put it AWAY"I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily DickinsonJanice 1964-2016
Thank you Honey Bear10 -
TY for Fred and I hope the laptop and car are perfect xxI'm.. busy as ever.. grand beasts tomorrow..LB moment 10/06 Debt Free date 6/6/14Hope to be debt free until the day I dieMortgage-free Wannabee (05/08/30)6/6/14 £72,454.65 (5.65% int.)08/12/2023 £33602.00 (4.81% int.)10
-
Thank you Natty. I am expecting a mainly quiet week, and will pick and mix as i fly.
i have made good progress over the weekend and the ancestors have all been reunited tidily with their family groups. Rosie had her walks, and i have downloaded an app to my phone that will record, measure and time our routes, so that i can start some walking challenges (short distances to start with!)
Glad you got to see Ranulph Fiennes, YL - sounds excellent, and i'm more than a teeny bit envious...
Hoping everyone has a good week xxx10 -
Thanks for the lists and hope goes well with new purchases Natty.
Well woke up feeling worse but another Covid test was negative so it's only a cold and will therefore be gone soon.
I have done nearly 3 of the master springclean/Toots list today:
- cleared out the bathroom cabinet, threw away various old medications and sorted what is left.
- I'm over half way through copying all addresses from an ancient address book into a new one (I'm up to 'O'). Rather sad how many people are no longer around.
- finished off sorting trolley storage, freeing up some space to put stuff in the study.
- have done more knitting
- have done more of the report
- did a bit of drum practice
- communicating with the lady who wants my old assessment resources so have researched couriers. I'm hoping she can pay for the label, probably on Yodel, and email it to me so I can stick it on the parcel. Expert e-bayers like Pigpen any advice?
Tomorrow, regardless of list, will be the lounge and a check of the spare bathroom as I have a friend coming round for coffee - so I'll probably make a cake. Not sure about zumba x 2; I had to sleep for about 45 mins this afternoon as I felt so 'chewed string' -like.
Excitement this morning as a text came through from Mr N; there is no Wi-fi at all where he is for the next 8 days but apparently occasionally he can get signal at 40p per text.
2nd excitement is a tax refund came through.
Have a good week everyone.Remember...a layer of dust protects the wood beneath it.10 -
Narc0lepsy said:
- communicating with the lady who wants my old assessment resources so have researched couriers. I'm hoping she can pay for the label, probably on Yodel, and email it to me so I can stick it on the parcel. Expert e-bayers like Pigpen any advice?
I would arrange collection etc and ask for a paypal payment or bank transfer to cover it.. I don't trust almost anyone else but myself to do things properly when I will be the one in bother if things go wrong.
She will need the weight and measurements to sort collection/delivery but can easily arrange it and a lot of couriers will now bring a postage label so she could arrange collection. Or if she emails you a QR code you can take it to a drop off point and print off a label there for free.
LB moment 10/06 Debt Free date 6/6/14Hope to be debt free until the day I dieMortgage-free Wannabee (05/08/30)6/6/14 £72,454.65 (5.65% int.)08/12/2023 £33602.00 (4.81% int.)9 -
Morning all. Just having a cuppa in peace before DGD2 wakes up.
Posivibes flying Nattys way and to Valli's DD for her new job.
I have watered indoor plants and topped up vases.
Obviously playing will be my priority today. We're going to identify food types and post a letter on our dog walk.
Have a great day everyone.Spend less now, work less later.10 -
Morning all from a very stormy Scotland.
Thank you for the new thread
My list for today
Get dressed
Feed the animals
Do invigilator shift at local school
Do paid stuff
Sort, check, and update banking
Dust the laptops, keyboards, and mouse.
Finish the job application form, check it over, and submit.
Do more work on decorating the bedroom Work in Progress
Get fuel in the car for the rest of this week
Get bags/lunches/clothes ready for tomorrow
Think that is everything that I need to tackle today, hope everyone has a good Monday.10 -
Morning all xx
I'm up, made my bed, got weighed, taken my meds, completed Wordle, failed at Connections (2/4), and supped my first brew.
There's one pound less of me this week, so minus nine pounds in total so far. And I can now wear the jeans which were put to one side when they started to interfere with my ability to breathe. Which means the saggy raggy holey jeans that I've been wearing around the house can go in the rag bag. Eventually. One day. Well, they are extremely comfortable so perhaps not yet....
Brew 2 and breakfast first then I'll be back with a Round.
Wishing you all a good week.
Where's asb?
RxxIT ONLY TAKES SMALL DAILY ACTIONSFOR MAGIC TO HAPPENRosemary Ikpeme8 -
Morning everyone and thanks @Natty68 for the new thread. I've been away from Flying for the past few weeks as first I was sick then I couldn't get my energy back for a while. Last week I was away in Edinburgh and I'm still exhausted today. The house is in complete disarray even though Mr. Jings has been home but he's busy as well. 😔
Ah well, back on the horse of doing a little bit every day. Here's what I'm looking at for today's to do list:- Call in a Rx at the GP ✅
- Towels wash
- Load the dishwasher and run a load
- Clean stovetop
- Clean out the fridge
- Freeze leftover oatmeal before it goes bad
- Make a list of food in the fridge
- Unpack suitcase from trip
7
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.4K Spending & Discounts
- 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.6K Life & Family
- 254K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards