Weekly Flylady Thread 11th November 2024

Natty68

Thank you, Valli, for last week's 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.

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.

It is your responsibility to read the forum rules, please follow them on this thread as Flylady has been here a LONG time and is a fabulous support and resource for lots of us.

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 asier.
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 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 - Kitchen and Dining Room/Area
Level One
Empty out the fridge, replace what is inside after wiping it out, making sure what is needed first is at the front
Level Two
Wipe down surfaces
Clean floors in these rooms
Wipe kitchen cupboard fronts and kickboards
Wipe down fronts of major appliances (cooker, fridge, freezer etc)
Level Three
Dust any extra furniture in dining area, checking for cobwebs on way round
Wipe & replace small appliances.. kettle, toaster etc (wipe under too, especially the toaster!)
Clean the oven if you missed it last week or it needs it
MAD half hour ~ Have you got Christmas Cards to buy?

Extras...

• Wipe window sills and clean windows in these rooms
• Clean the dish drainer, make sure you clean under it too
• Clen any 'medium' size appliances, bread makers, slow cookers etc
• Clean out and organize one drawer, more if you like
• Check the freezer, see what needs using up

Tuesday - Lovely Living Rooms and Safe Stairs
Level One
Vacuum floors in these areas, even if around clutter
Clear anything from the stairs!
Level Two
Move things so you can vacuum under them
Vacuum and wipe (if needed) sofas
Dust any areas below eye level
Level Three
Dust anything above eye level (if safe to do so)
Clear anything that shouldn't be where it is, should the magazines really be on the floor?
MAD half hour

Extra tasks if you want to do more

• Clean windows in these areas, check curtains/nets/blinds while you are there, do they need a clean?
• Check you have your Christmas card list done, if it's not done at least spend 10 minutes on it
• Spend 15 minutes sorting paperwork, dealing with anything urgent NOW
• 27 Fling Boogie, you know the routine, grab a bag and clear that clutter!
• Clean out the vacuum cleaner, empty the bag/bucket, clean filters if they are washable MAKE SURE YOU DON'T PUT THEM BACK UNTIL THEY ARE DRY!

Wednesday - Master Bedrooms and Landings
Level One
Remove floordrobe, make sure all clothes are put away neatly
Level Two
Strip bed linen and wash, replace with clean linen
Vacuum floors in these areas
Level Three
Vacuum mattress
Clean tops of drawers

Extra mission tasks, as always if you fancy an extra challenge try one or more of these

 

• Clean windows in these areas
• Check through drawers, anything that should have been thrown out ages ago?
• Cobweb removal upstairs, go on grab a duster and swipe them down
• Clean a set of curtains, nets or blinds
• Clean light fittings and light switches in any room, more than one if you like

 

LAST CALL FOR THE CHRISTMAS CARD SWAP..IT'S STILL NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN IN, SO PLEASE PM ME BEFORE TOMORROW EVENING, 14.11.24, IF YOU WANT TO JOIN.

Thrilling Thursday - Study/PC area and Bathrooms

Level One
Clean floors in these rooms
Level Two
Clean baths, toilets 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
Wipe down tiles in bathroom
Delete 10 links in your favourites which you no longer use or don't work
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required

Extra tasks list, as usual choose one or more

• Clear a hotspot, if it's bad at least spend 10 minutes on it
• Deep clean mission - Clean where your Christmas tree and any other decorations are going
• Check house for places where draughts are getting in such as doors, windows etc and see if there are ways to stop it
• HHI
• Contact anyone you don't have address for for Christmas cards

Flipping Friday!! - those frightening kids rooms and spare rooms
Level One
Vacuum the floor, even if it's just where you can see
Level Two
Clear away anything that isn't in it's place, clothes, toys, books etc
Dusting.. all those shelves and flat 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 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

• HHI
• Wipe the radiators, skirtings and window & door frames in one room, any room
• Sort the childrens toys, even if it's for 15 minutes.. what can you get rid of? What is broken or outgrown? Time to make room for Christmas
• Grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish or charity shop or to donate to a friend

leftatthetrafficlights

Thanks for the thread @Natty68 😁 

I'm in this week - I'm sorting inventories and the kitchen tomorrow so it's a good list for me! 

ionafan

The Flylady Secret Santa is still open for registrations until midnight tonight!  I shall be sorting the list and PM-ing the individual participants tomorrow morning.

Thank you Natty for the new thread.  I’m in this week, as far as possible.  Everywhere is pretty tidy, so dusting won’t take long, but I must get the Dy%0n out tomorrow as Rosie has left bits of fluff all over the LR floor.  

Hope everyone has a good week xxx

Valli

Phew…

Spotted dock but with an i was ok, cooking in SC worked a treat but I can see why you’d drizzle it with a sweet syrupy sauce.  Mum had seconds though so all good.  DW filled, run, filled again but there are still pots to go in, even though one veg pan was double used (cooked cauliflower for cauliflower cheese first, then spuds for mashing.). Enough mash left over for tomorrow’s bangers and mash.  I’ve also ironed and knitted.

Dont know if i’ll fly tomorrow as i am at a funeral.  

roundtuit

Morning all xx 

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

I resisted going to bed until 7pm as I didn't want my body clock to turn nocturnal. Slept through til 7.10 am. Told you I was tired 😴 

I'm up, made my bed, got weighed*, turned over my calendars, taken my meds, eaten breakfast and supped my first brew. 

* I gained half a pound. I can live with that. Now to get some more chubbage binned ready for Chrimbo.

Laundry is the priority today. Even though I'm still on Cloud 9 in Weddingland I require clean underwear to re-enter the real world tomorrow. 

P & S are calling for coffee this morning. And I'm going over to H's for coffee this afternoon. I need some bits for pack up lunches. Then I'll be ready(ish) to roll. 

I will feed the birds and put out the recycling. Anything other than tasks already mentioned may be left for another day. After all tis my last day of Annual Leave today.

Have a good day.
Rxx

Jazee

Morning all.  Thanks for the list.

The house is tidy enough for visitors today.  As it's my grand daughters, their mothers and grandmothers it will soon be a mess anyway.  Glad that I got 11 hours sleep last night.

Wordle in four, just one line on connections.

Have a great day everyone.

sexymouse

Morning all,

Just caught up on last week's thread - thanks for this week's Natty. So pleased to see that the wedding went well Round. Sorry to hear that DD is in hospital Fayolle - I hope she's feeling better very soon.

No work today, but quite relieved as I didn't sleep well last night, and I woke with a tummy ache, which is still here after doing the school runs too. Did all of the usual uniform washing at the weekend along with food shopping and meal planning. Also finished watching a series on Disney + that I'd been binge watching, so feeling a little sad that that is all over now (the DSs will be pleased to regain control of the TV though).

DH had brought the dehumidifier in from his man cave as we seem to be getting a lot of condensation in the kitchen, and have mouldy window areas (probably not helped by clutter), and after cleaning one the other day, I have another to do today as part of my kitchen flying. I'm hoping DH can help me to declutter a bit more too as I'm sure quite a bit of the stuff on the windowsill actually belongs in his man cave (the garage).

2 lines on connections today and failed wordle.

Need to get cracking on the kitchen flying.

Hope everyone has a good day. x

roundtuit

Me again.

I'm dressed, sploshed bleach down the loo, fed the birds, put out the recycling, paid the window cleaner, had a chat with the window cleaner, sorted laundry into loads, set first load swishing, completed Wordle in four,  only got one line on Connections,  and needed a hint to get started on Strands then completed it with no further hints.

Rxx

leftatthetrafficlights

@Valli - I hope all goes as well as can be expected today x

Unfortunately, my flying intentions have been scuppered - woke this morning feeling awful so am giving myself a day off 😕 hopefully by tomorrow I'll be sorted and then I shall fly in earnest!! 

Honey_Bear

Morning / afternoon All.  I'm still battling Wordle with one more guess to go, all four lines on Connections because I decided the word classes probably had something to do with things that seems completely random.  Strands I finished but those that can do it without hints are amazing.  Dofs cap*  I unashamedly go after every four letter word I can spot as soon as the grid appears, otherwise I don't think I'd ever get anything.

Spice rack filleted yesterday and all the out of date ones binned.  Some incoming squawking from Belovéd but the wretched turmeric lid kept popping open so I've had to selotape it shut to prevent further wastage.  He's decided he can use a spoon and as he's the one that makes the paella honour is satisfied on both sides.

Bed stripped and the darks are twirling in the WM. we'll remake it later.  I've vacuumed the top layer and tidied around elsewhere, but I've still got to shower and walk the dog. Running a tad late today - nothing unusual there.

MinnieMousesMummy

Thank you for the new list.

I've had a busy start to the week as at uni all day today but will do some flying (small tasks) tonight. 

My list for the rest of today
Attend uni lectures
Take DD to dentist appointment
Speak to DH regarding logistics and options -  In Progress
Finish uni prep for tomorrow
Catch up with uni emails
Do work on uni assignment (aim to add another 200 words, small steps as doing a script for a presentation)
Make a Xmas food list - In Progress
Declutter email inbox of 50 emails
Wipe kitchen cupboard fronts. 
Cobweb dusting in the kitchen. 
Wipe window sills in the kitchen
HHI

Think that is everything that I need to get done today. Hope everyone has a lovely Monday.