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.
We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Weekly Flylady Thread 19th August 2024

Natty68
Natty68 Posts: 3,434 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
edited 22 August 2024 at 11:00PM in Old style MoneySaving

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!

Right now the thread is looking very quiet...but 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 (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!!!8217;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!

Magnificant Monday ~ Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One…

Sweep and mop the floor
Level Two..
Clear and wipe the worksurfaces
Clean the sink and slush the drain out
Level Three..
Clean the windows
Wipe the door handles
Clean the extractor fan/filter change?
Wipe the oven kn@bs, underneath too if you can
Extra Mission

  • Defrost the freezer and make a list of things to use up this week
  • Find 10 things to throw/give away

Tuesday bluesday- Living Room, Hall and Stairs
Level One…

Vacuum through the living room, hall and stairs
Level Two..
Dusting, even if around everything
Remove clutter making sure stairs especially are safe
Clean windows and all glass.. including the tv screen
Clear the mantel and only put back the items which are supposed to be there.. and that doesn't include letters, keys or other treasure!
Level Three..
Open a drawer.. sort the junk within!
15 minutes sort of the junk on the landing!
Vacuum under furniture you can manage to move without hurting yourself
Extra Mission

  • Name all the school garments!!
  • Wipe down any paintwork that needs it.
  • Binbag dance.. Get a binbag.. fill it and bin it!!!
  • Wash any cushions, throws or curtains that need it
  • Deflea children 😉
  • Deflea pets

Wednesday warts- Bathroom and Study/Pc Area
Level One…
Clean floors in these rooms
Level Two..
Clean baths, toilets, don't forget the outside! and sinks.. shine the taps with a toothbrush
Clear any clutter from desk
Clean the monitor/laptop..
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!
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required
Pull out the pc desk (if you have one!)and clean BEHIND AND UNDER it!!!!!!
Extra mission

  • Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
  • Fling all those empty bottles and tubes
  • Replace any sponges, flannels, toiletries that need it
  • Clean the outside of all cupboards in the bathroom
  • HHI

Thursday Throwout!!- Master Bedroom & Landing
Level One…
Check fire alarms are working.. mine needs a new battery... the damn thing keeps bleeping at me...
Remove and wash bed linen and duvet covers.
Fling open the window and let in the rain sunnyness
Level Two..
Dust surfaces & make sure no cobwebs..
Vacuum & turn mattress before replacing with fresh linen..
Air the duvet
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Level Three..
Vacuum floors in bedroom and on landing
Sort through a cupboard and fling everything that is dead
Clear a hotspot.. or spend 15 minutes clearing one.
Extra tasks list

  • 32 fling boogie time, go on grab a bag and clear that clutter
  • Clean all paintwork on the landing
  • Clean windows in these rooms
  • Clear out your spare linen.. all those holey sheets, manky duvet covers and stained pillow cases.. FLING!!

Friday Frenzy- those frightening kids rooms and spare rooms
Level One…
Clear away anything that isn't in it's place, clothes, toys, books etc
Make an appointment for some ME-time.. hairdressers? manicure? night out with friends? .. whatever just do it!
Level Two..
Vacuum the floor
Dusting.. all those shelves and flat fluffy surfaces!! Don’t forget the light shade and curtain pole!!!
Strip beds, turn and vacuum mattresses!! and replace with fresh linen .. check if duvets need freshening up too!!
Level Three..
Clean 2 windows
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 Tasks

  • Find 5 things to ebay/freecycle
  • Wipe the radiators, skirtings and window & door frames!
  • HHI
  • Binbag dance!!! Grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish, charity shop or to donate to a friend!

Mortgage Free as of 20.9.17
Declutter challenge 2023, 2024 🏅 🏅⭐️⭐️
Declutter Challenge 2025
DH declutter challenge award 🏅⭐️
«1345678

Comments

Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.3K 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

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.