29th July off we fly

Valli

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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 

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 for some fresh air.
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!
Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
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 don't forget to scrub round the base (i use an old toothbrush)
Clean/polish table - wipe mats/change cloth - don't forget table legs and undersides.  Wipe/polish chairs
Check fruit and wash bowl
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
Good slug of bleach down plugholes and in overflows

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 (see extras); 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.
Wipe inside of washer drawer and DW door then run empty on a hot cycle to clean out the pipes!

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.
Go round the whole house wiping door handles, light switches and banisters - we WILL be sparkly
EXTRAS

HHI
peg out some washing
S&S bathroom
Paperwork/admin up to date - it's a new month this week- do you need any cards?
Check your freezer - does anything need using up? - if so weave it in to your...
Meal plan for the week. - and plan to cook a double sized meal and freeze one for a CBA day - or (if you live alone or there are just two of you) freeze some leftovers.  Things like chilli or bolognese can be frozen as individual portions but you can add them together to make a bigger meal if you need to.  A fish pie, cottage pie or lasagne are useful standbys.
Start sewing on nametapes/stamping names on uniform.  You'll thank me in September when they all ababdon their cardis/tops in the playground
Test smoke/CO2 detectors.  
Check Toots list - 


Twot Tuesday

S&S kitchen
S&S bathrooms

use the heat to…(pick and choose but don’t feel obliged)

wash washable doormats, winter coats, throws, sleeping bags etc and get them line dried

clean hairbrushes and combs…dry in the sun..,or shade defending on the material they’re made from

rinse out bins and dry in the sun

swish your loo brush and holder as the sun will bleach the germs 

Clean vacuum filter and dry in the sun…I hang mine on the line in a net washing bag

soak the lego in warm water with soda (or stick in wm) and spread it out on a towel in the sun to dry after rinsing

wash make up brushes…and dry outdoors

Wipy Wednesday - bathrooms, cloak rooms, en suites, wet rooms - if you feel like flying!

level 1

open windows
empty bins
remove towels etc to the WM
scrub out the loo and wipe the outside
Rinse the brush/holder and dry outside in the sun

level 2

scrub hand basins inch taps and under tge plug
de gunge plugholes
clean window

level 3

scrub shower/bath
wash curtain or wipe screen
dust all round
 mOp floor

Extras
HHI
binbag dance
enlist the help of any idling schoolchildren - making beds etc. 

Thundery Thursday

S&S kitchen
S&s bathroom

run vacuum round…well walk
deal with somewhere grim- even if just mentally


Flustered Friday

it is still, IMO, too hot for proper flying so

S&S kitchen and bathroom

water plants indoors and out

empty laundry bin (by washing and drying)

carch up with admin jobs

change beds…and give them a good airing especially damp pillows..  wash and dry them if you can

roundtuit

Yayyyyyy. The world is right side up again. I was most discombobulated with no thread to lean on.

Morning all xx 

Thank you muchly to Natty and to Valli for keeping the thread running. Xx

I'm up, made my bed, completed Wordle and Connections, eaten breakfast, supped a brew,  dressed, fed the birds, put out the recycling,  FU the washing that was on the airer, put the airer away, been to Mr Al, and put all my groceries away. All by 9 o'clock. 

I'm now having a cold drink and sat with a fan on to cool my fevered brow. 

Oh. And I got weighed.  Lost 1.5 lbs last week. Yayyy. Plan is to move more alongside calorie counting. Baby steps. 5 minutes indoor walking / kitchen disco to begin with. 

Love to all. Stay hydrated 
Rxx

Natty68

Morning, I'm here although not sure what I'm doing..lol

Just having a cup of tea and a biscuit before I decide next plan of action.

Done so far..

• One was load out on line
• White wash load going round the machine
• Bed made
• Dinner out to defrost for tonight
• Lunch out to defrost too.
• Rung vets for appt for Brucie, have to ring at 8.39am tomorrow if I want the day. Otherwise can't book him in till next week. Not good when he's itching like mad around his tail base and is going slightly bald there from nibbling. Poor thing, no fleas which is one relief. I did have a previous dog, my Jet, that had a hot spot at the base of his tail and this looks like the same thing.   Any ideas what we can give him to stop itching till appt, if not going tomorrow, ? He's having a wee drop of salmon oil, brewers yeast powder and grain free Butchers.  The itching and nibbling isn't all day just now and again when he thinks about it... He can go to sleep thankfully.

That's it till cuppa drunk....

ionafan

Thank you Valli x

Done so far:

- Open some windows for some fresh air.
- 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!
- Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
- Empty bin and clean it out too - put it outside to dry in the sunshine
- Clear and clean sink and accessories - don't forget those out-of-sight places - under plugs and under draining racks - and shine those taps don't forget to scrub round the base (i use an old toothbrush)
- Clean table 
- Check fruit - ate a nice rip nectarine so that it wouldn't go bad!
- Throw away your manky dish cloth or sponge and replace with a new one  
- Clean hob
- peg out some washing - 1 load done and pegged, 1 load swishing, 1 load waiting
- S&S bathroom
- phoned the bank and MrAl (who seems to have charged me twice yesterday)
- paid L the dogwalker
- Paperwork/admin up to date (including diary)

Back to sorting photos of houses where my mother's family lived at various times - I've got a mug of coffee to keep me going until lunchtime

kazwookie

General stuff done

3 x wm out on whirly

Hoovered whole house

Remade bed

Clean towles out

Wiped wall over where there were marks

Washed all hard floors

Both bins cleaned / washed/ dried

Recycling out

Shopping done

Tents got down from loft, grandkids / parents / doggies are arriving at the weekend (help) OH will assemble these tongiht, no doubt with my help

Extra patio furniture got out of shed, will wash that tonight, when it cools down.

Patios swept over

Done some weeding.

Right staying cool until later, then walking, tents, washing patio stuff.

132 miles so far for the month.

pigpen

lurking.. TY for Fred..

cleaned the loo.. I took a picture of the floor and was ashamed so 10 minutes later it is sparkling in there!

Squeak out at summer school
bought tickets for saturdays performance... x5 so we can take the girls. They are doing The Little Mermaid

Today I am putting up pictures, collecting prescriptions, changing more beds, posting a parcel, feeding humans and felines 2000 times.. knitting some more of the comforter and listing it on Vinted. I have so many things to get done.

Cloth_of_Gold

Glad your back piggers.

@Honey_Bear I'm pleased it isn't just me. It's ridiculous because surely one of the main reasons someone would buy egg whites would be to make meringues. There aren't many other uses for them that I'm aware of.

This morning I popped to the shops to buy a paper and to get a cheese straw as we missed out at the weekend. I shall probably regret it later has they are best warmed up and I shan't want to have the oven on - it's only for 5 mins at a low temp though. I also bought two p-a-c's  - one from our usual bakery and one from a different one as I wanted to compare the two. Wehad half each mid morning with a coffee and we agreed that the one from our favourite bakery was better. It was a dirty job but someone had to do it. :

Just as I got back Tom Daley and his partner were about to do their second dive in the synchronised diving. We watched that and saw Tom and his partner win a silver. After that I made the coffee and we did our p-a-u taste test and then I emptied the kitchen bin and took the rubbish, and a bag of recycling down to the bins. I then watched theBritish team win a gold meal medal in the eventing and then made lunch and now I need to wash up and hopefully watch some more of the Olympics . It's getting very hot here now so no real flying is likely to be done - just food prep and washing up.

pigpen

Cloth_of_Gold said:

Glad your back piggers.

you need new fresh eggs for meringues.. the carton ones are old. Some people just use the white for weight loss or extra protein.. others have allergies to egg yolk or just don't like the taste.

watered the wilty plants

loaded dw, fed everything with legs. Vacuumed the kitchen mat.. I need to put the hallway mat in the WM next.. but cuppa and a werthers first.

Jazee

Afternoon all.  Hope you're doing well and thanks for the list.

 I'm in from tomorrow having been busy with grandchildren all weekend and today.  We've just taken DGD2 home so I'm just going to read my book this evening.

See you tomorrow.

Honey_Bear

As Piggers says, some people (like Hollywood actory types) like egg white omelettes which are good for dieting if you can stomach the idea CoG.  Never tried one and I'm not tempted.  Being Plymouth we watched Tom Daley too, and I'm so pleased for him.  There is a possibility he'll do a six Olympics which would be amazing.  I'm a big gymnastics fan so I'm currently watching the Men's Team event and looking forward to the women's at some point.  Belovéd is watching as much as he can while also working and telling me when the stuff I want to see is on.

Got up early to walk the dog before the heat really hit, and tomorrow is forecast to be even hotter which suits me at the moment.

I've spring-cleaned half the dining room and washed half the carpet in there, washed about half the carpet in the sitting room and a bit of a landing and stairs to finish the tank off.  More tomorrow.  I only like doing it in the hottest of weather to dry them as quickly as possible, given that we can't have the windows very wide because the cats would climb out in a nanosecond.  They've both been hell bent on it since the day they arrived even though they're allowed out the back.

I'll do a load of washing after a shower and that's about as much as I can manage today.

weenancyinAmerica

@Natty68- I used Burt's Bees for dogs, an itch-soothing spray, on my dog. I don't know if the pet shops sell something similar there. The other thing that might work is oatmeal water left to soak for awhile and enough water added to make a spray. It is what you use on itches from chicken pox or similar. The oatmeal is safe for dogs. Good luck. It is very frustrating for pets when they can't tell you what is making them itch.