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Weekly Flylady Thread 20 May 2024

Valli
Posts: 25,280 Forumite


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
Open some windows (not just in the kitchen!) for some fresh air
Check fruit bowl - add to washing up if necessary! Remove anything 'going over' smoothy anyone?
Wash up, dry up and put away (or remove all pots to DW)
Clear sides and wipe down - wipe small appliances and caddies etc. Don't forget the splashbacks or tiles!
Empty toaster crumb tray and wipe down
Empty bin and clean it out too - put it outside to dry in the sunshine, if you can.
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!
Glug some bleach down the plugholes.
Clean/polish table - wipe mats/change cloth - don't forget the legs and places where sticky fingers can reach.
Clean chairs/stools/high chairs - and don't forget legs and rails!
Throw away your manky dish cloth or sponge and replace with a new one! Put out a new hand towel and a new tea towel too
Clean cruet, salt and pepper, wipe any sauce bottles that are used on the table
Level 2
Wipe down all cupboard and drawer fronts inside and out, 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 shelves etc and check running temperature If you have a drain hole make sure it's not blocked
Dust dining area/room
Descale kettle if needed
Clean WM , TD and DW filters; remove WM detergent drawer and wash it out.
Wipe inside of washer drawer and DW door paying particular attention to manky crevices - wipe out the slot where the drawer sits!
Level 3
Choose a drawer, shelf or cupboard for special attention. Empty, clean out, replace what is needed or useful and fling what is unused and/or out of date
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
Half term is coming - make some plans - play dates and me time!
make sure you know when Sports days etc are scheduled for
Terrific Tuesday
Bathrooms, cloak rooms and en suites
Level 1
Open window
Remove towels and fling in WM
Scrub Loo inside and out, slug some bleach or descaler down afterwards. Pay special attention to under the rim.
Dust anywhere that needs dusting - wipe any 'on display' bottles down
Level 2
Clean out baths and/or showers
Clean shower heads and hoses
Clean handbasins including taps - don't forget the out of sight bits!
Level 3
sweep and mop or vacuum floor as appropriate
clean windows
polish mirrors
dust and polish where necessary
Chuck any lurking potions that are not being used/are old
Clean light pull
Extras
Wash showercurtains (if any) and put outside to blow dry
Rinse loobrushes and put outside to bleach in the sun
HHI
S&S kitchen
sit in a well-lit corner and attack your mending pile
Wednesday Woes - Living room, hall, stairs and porch
Level One
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
Thursday Thrills - 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
Friday Finale Master bedroom
Level 1
(spiders, that is, not cobwebs!)
Open windows
Strip bed and leave to air
Clear floordrobe/ihairdrobe - hang anything worn once for re-wearing
Empty Bin
Level 2
Dust/vacuum headboard and/or bedframe
Flip mattress if you are able to and if necessary
Remake bed
Level 3
Dust and wipe - all flat surfaces and sticky pots (lotions and potions)
Polish mirrors - while you're at it you may as well clean the windows
Vacuum/sweep/mop floor
Extras
S&S kitchen and bathroom
Don't put it DOWN; put it AWAY
"I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily Dickinson
Janice 1964-2016
Thank you Honey Bear


Thank you Honey Bear
7
Comments
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Thanks for the list Valli. I'm in because the house and garden are both a tip. However as DGD2 is here until tomorrow night I might not achieve a lot then.Spend less now, work less later.7
-
Thanks for the list. Kitchen is more or less done as we had a friend round for dinner so I prepped everything after lunch (salmon side with leek/parmesan/almond crumb, roast peppers and celery, carrots and a bit of chard I picked this morning; followed by apricot crumble - made with oats and coconut instead of flour). Friend arrived 5pm, we went for a walk to the dragonfly lake and I threw everything in the range when we got back; it had cooked by the time we'd had tea/coffee in the conservatory then walked round the garden. Mr N efficiently cleared away, loaded DW which has now finished, washed up the remainder. So kitchen sorted.
I've started continuing a report but I'm very tired as was inexplicably summoned to the WAC last night. I think I'll go down and watch some news then call it a day.Remember...a layer of dust protects the wood beneath it.5 -
I'm in. Thank you for the lists.
Here's to a good week for all 🍻
RxxIT ONLY TAKES SMALL DAILY ACTIONSFOR MAGIC TO HAPPENRosemary Ikpeme6 -
and the whooooole fun starts again...
TY for Fred.. I have no idea what I am doing this week but I know I am busy doing it..
Love to all...
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.)7 -
Morning all xx
I'm up, made my bed, taken my meds, got weighed, completed Wordle and Connections, and supped my first brew.
Lost another half pound. I have 11 days to lose 6.5 lbs to stay on target. But that's all it is: a target. If I aim for the stars and reach the moon that's still progress. I'm getting better at not beating myself up for not achieving perfection. And that way I keep moving forward (or downward in this case 😉). 🐌....can't find a tortoise 🐢 oh there he is 😊
Last day of freedom. Back to Toxic Towers tomorrow. Doing my Mr Al shop yesterday means I can stay at home today. My favourite place. 😍.
Round 1
Get dressed
Brew 2 and breakfast
Feed the birds
Put out the recycling
WUDUPA- but I'll do that after P and S have been for coffee.
RxxIT ONLY TAKES SMALL DAILY ACTIONSFOR MAGIC TO HAPPENRosemary Ikpeme8 -
Good morning 😁
Thank you for the lists Valli & thanks Natty for last week (even if I end up doing my own thing, they still act as a prompt)
I have made a to do list for today - 53 items!! It won't all get done 😂 It never does. Some things stay on there as a reminder to do them at some point. They eventually get to the top.
WAC last night 🙄 just because my brain decided it was awake - listing what I need to do, and trying to plan ahead for some events in the summer. I may change my week off...🤔 DH won't be able to change his though.
I am up, dressed & breakfasted. There is not enough washing to do a load, so that is one less job 🙂 Food shop was done yesterday, so another job not needed. Wordle done. DH has washed up. I have FUPA yesterday's washing. Weighed in this morning - 1/2 off - a step in the right direction.
Round You inspire me 😊 You are absolutely right - better is good. I, too, struggle with perfection so then don't bother. I am learning. Also, you made me laugh to myself as when I am running (if you can call it that 😂) I often keep saying to myself "channel your inner tortoise " 🐢😂
Iona my thoughts are with the little lad's family.
Okay - DH is out volunteering, so I think I will paint the skirting in the alcove. It is the last bit of painting needed for the LR that I couldn't get to. He has moved the unit out to put up the wall lights, so I can get at it now. Oh no, I still need to do the bay window 😫 Another day, I think, for that!
Have a good day all!7 -
I've got men here 😯. Well, young men. Well, boys really. They look like school boys to me...but they said they'd been sent to clear the gutters and I did put in a repair request for the gutter directly over the back door to be fixed....so we'll see. Of all the places for it to drip! Directly over the back door. It's dodge the drips after it's rained. They look terribly young to be climbing ladders - I wonder if their mothers know what they're doing? Not that I was overprotective of DS or anything 🤔
He says the gutters have been cleared and the leak sealed. Yayyyy. That's another 🐸 dealt with.
GI oh gosh. Thank you. Me! An inspiration! Whoda thunk it? Definitely a 💡 year this one. Challenging, with numerous loved ones being ill, very ill at times, (did I mention that DF's pa has now been diagnosed with prostate cancer? It's never ending. I don't call 2024 'Jumanji' for no reason! Only we don't get three lives in this 'game'!) But, in the grimness, lessons are there to be learned. And one lesson that has finally sunk in for me is imperfect progress is better than 'Sod it. I can't do it.' Whether that be losing weight, knitting, gardening, flying, decluttering, whatever. iona - I've finally learned how to eat that elephant 🐘 and making a mistake is now an opportunity to learn and not a reason to quit. It's only taken me 63 years to learn this.
I have an inner 🐢 too. And I never knew. 🙂
Round 1 completed apart from the pots. P and S are running late. Not a problem. I'm here all day.
RxxIT ONLY TAKES SMALL DAILY ACTIONSFOR MAGIC TO HAPPENRosemary Ikpeme8 -
Well, I thought I had posted late yesterday evening, and I could swear I saw something about her DGD2 from Jazee too, but no sign of either this morning!
I had to be out of the house by 8.15 this morning to go to W's celebrations assembly (ie certificates handed out for good work/attitude/effort) and managed to be on my way before 8.20 - which I'm counting as a win, especially as I then stood in line outside the school for 5 minutes before being checked in. Before I went out I had checked my finances; brought the bedding plants out of the mini-greenhouse to harden off; emptied a small rubbish bin from the utility into the larger one in the kitchen and washed out the small bin; and eaten breakfast prepared by DH yesterday evening, so the banana had gone black. Since returning home I have made another cuppa for us both and some toast and marmalade for me; cut back the flowering currant by the drive (no longer in flower) as it has had a growth spurt and I couldn't get past it without being poked by rogue branches; and carried the thingy-onna-stick upstairs to remove evidence of Rosie's moult from the bedroom floors.
But cuppa first second (after the toast).
My to-do list never seems to get any shorter, and I'm already tired and aching.
Have a good week, everyone xxx8 -
Skirting has been prepped & painted - unit has been put back. It is empty at the moment, so I may move some bits around so I can find a home for my sewing basket.
I also disposed of a large pumpkin that was rotting in the garden (was in storage in the shed, but was on the turn so I moved it out). I am only growing small ones this year as the big ones are too big to use up 🙄. I put it in the green bin. Food bin has also been emptied.
After lunch I popped to the allotment. I have planted out the pumpkins (well, the ones that hadn't been munched by snails 😡) and some more tomatoes. I have sowed some more sunflowers (only one has survived the slugs - so far!) & watered. 2 trugs full of weeds put on top of the smelly pumpkin in the green bin 👍
While I was down there I could hear a commotion nearby - kids shouting & fighting. It didn't sound good. Then sirens. When I left there was a police corden 😥 Apparently a boy is in resus, and a knife has been found further along the brook path. Some poor parents have had the dreaded knock on the door. I really hope he is okay. They were all from the local school.
I think I am done for the day. I need to finish knitting the cardi for DGD & decide on the next project.
Dinner first as I am getting peckish!7 -
Thank you for the lists. I meant to post last night and actually be first in, but then I forgot - an increasingly common occurrence these days. I did remember to get up and go to work though. Some things remain unforgettable, no matter how hard I try.
Towels loaded in the wm before I left for work. I presume that DH hung them out in the sun today and that they are now in the airing cupboard. Dinner cooked from fridge contents. Kitchen put to bed. Gh watered. I intended doing some yoga now that my battered ribs (not the edible variety, in case you wondered!) are nearly better, but I’ve eaten, I’m slobbed on the sofa, I have re-started knitting my abandoned shawl that I started last year, I can think of zillions of excuses why not. Maybe tomorrow…
GI, that’s so scary and sad so many ways.7
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