Weekly Flylady Thread 3rd February 2025

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

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
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!
Extras..

• 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!!
Extras...

• 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..
• 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!

Wednesday - Beast Pits and Spare Ooms!
Level One...
Strip bedding.. and wash
vacuum off the dustmites and turn the mattress!
Level Two...
Clear the floors of gibble!! and vacuum them
Wash windows
Wash curtains/beanbags/bears .. whatever needs doing
Level Three...
Tidy up all the books and games on the shelves
Find 5 things EACH to go live elsewhere.. they have to be your own!!
Take ALL the dirty laundry downstairs and put it is the laundry mountain!
Extras

• Binbag dance!
• Sort through the school uniform pile.. what is outgrown? What is unwearable?
• Wipe the paintwork.. doors, desks, skirting,
• IF you can.. move the bed and vacuum underneath!

Thursday - Master Mess-room.. & landing
Level One...
Strip bedding and wash it
Turn and vacuum mattress and redress!
Level Two...
Wash the window
Floor clearance!! Find the carpet.. or at least some!
Find the floor on the landing!
Level Three...
Vacuum floors
Wipe the bed frame of dust and deweb the room
Fill a binbag of rubbish
Extras

• S&S kitchen
• HHI
• Tidy a chest of drawers.. tuck in all those bits hanging out
• Straighten up the airing cupboard

Friday -fun and frolics..
Level One...
Clear the bathroom and cruddy study floor!!
Empty bins and wash them out
Level Two...
Wash shower cuartins, bath mats rugs etc that are smelly
Recycle all the empties!
Defrag the PC/virus scan/spyware scan while you scrub down the tiles!
Level Three...
Polish mirrors and other glass
Wipe out any cupboards and check what needs restocking
Clean the loos (inc outside), bath, basins (inc pedestal), shower trays etc
Extras

• HHI
• Wipe the radiators
• Wipe the paintwork, esp. round the loo!
• Clean out any smelly pets!
• Those with children, when they get in wash any coats that are in need.. it's been a week for mud!

Narc0lepsy

Thanks for thread.
Still plodding on with turning my ex-office into more of a study room. Lots to recycle.
Still emptying boxes of stuff we brought back from Mum's.
Provisionally booked a cheap Trave1odge to visit Mum in 2 weeks time in case house completes by then.

ionafan

Thank you Natty.  I'm in, after my own fashion.  The bathroom would be an easy place to start, if only I hadn't draped all the clean laundry round to finish drying everything.

And I definitely need to clear my desk: I've been adding to the pile of family history papers again this weekend - however I'm delighted to have taken another ancestral line back to before 1800.  Meanwhile, every time I glance at the trays of photos of my children, I feel a twinge of guilty conscience...  They'll be done eventually.

Hope everyone has a good week xxx

eltee2

Not sleepy yet, so posting early for Monday, which is my kitchen day, plus the usual daily doings.  
Open windows
Air & remake bed
WM x2
TD if needed 
DW
FUPA laundry
S&S bathroom

Kitchen 
Clear/wipe worktops
Clear & clean sink, taps & draining board
Descale & wipe over kettle
Empty toaster crumb tray & wipe over
Clean hob, splashback & extractor hood
Wipe over kickboards/door/drawer fronts
Fridge shuffle & clean
Empty bin, clean & leave outside to dry
Declutter & deep clean undersink cupboard
Sweep, mop & thoroughly clean floor - crevices!
Jollops down the plughole

WLT fit in 45mins walk 🚶‍♀️I find it eases my back & hip pain 

🙂

Jazee

Morning. Thanks for the list.

Wordle in four.  DD and DGD2 will be visiting today but in theory I should still find time to fly.  Will report back later with any progress.

Have a great day everyone.

roundtuit

Morning everyone 👋

Thank you for the lists. I'm in. In my usual haphazard way.

You're safe this week Fayolle! I've gained two pounds. It was expected. I reverted back to type: snacking in the evenings. All the uncertainty at work has unsettled me. Time to bring out my knitting again methinks.

I'm up,made my bed, completed Strands with no hints,  completed Wordle in five, completed Connections with no lives lost,  and supped a brew.

Plan To Do Today 

Shower 
Wash Hair 
Moisturise legs 
Get dressed 
Feed the birds 
Put out the recycling 
Laundry shuffle 
Put away airer 
WUDUPA 

9.45am brunch with L 
Coffee with P & S* 
Drop bag of books at cs Fer-ling

Dust pouffe / footstool thingy 
* Drop pouffe off at P & S's - to sell at P's auction. Fer-ling

That'll be a bit more floor in LR 😊

Have a good day.

Rxx

MinnieMousesMummy

Morning everyone,

Thank you for the new thread.

My list for today
Empty the bins and put them out for collection
Attend uni lectures
Do paid stuff
Send out invoices for last month
Claim expenses for the work trip I did on Friday
Take the dog for a long walk
Attend a meeting at DD's school
Pop into shops for some bits and bobs whilst in town
Laundry x 3 loads
Check banking, payments and update spreadsheet
HHpaperwork
Sweep the bathroom floor
S&S bathroom
Dust the laptop
HHI
Take DD to/from scouts
Do uni prep for tomorrow

I didn't realise I had so much on my to-do list for today so I guess I best get started. I hope everyone has a lovely Monday. 

roundtuit

roundtuit said:

Plan To Do Today 

Shower ✅ 
Wash Hair ✅
Moisturise legs ✅
Get dressed ✅
Feed the birds ✅
Put out the recycling ✅
Laundry shuffle ✅
Put away airer ✅
WUDUPA 

9.45am brunch with L 
Coffee with P & S* 
Drop bag of books at cs Fer-ling

Dust pouffe / footstool thingy ✅
* Drop pouffe off at P & S's - to sell at P's auction. Fer-ling

That'll be a bit more floor in LR ✅

The pouffe is now dusted and in the boot of my car. That is indeed 'a bit more floor in LR' quite a bit more floor actually. 30 ins x 18 ins more floor at a guess. Plus there's the up space freed as well. 

Right. Must dash. Brunch awaits.

Rxx

kazwookie

Thank you for the lists.

Wm x 1 done, TD in action

Cats fed, plus next door's.

Large bin back on drive way

Small shop done and away

3k walk done.

Fayolle

Morning all,
Thank you for the lists. I will be working off piste this week as it is another topsy turvy week ahead. So downstairs it is today. The towels have washed and I am resorting to using the new td as it is grim and wet outside and I need them dried and out of the way. Yesterday’s washing dried in the sun with a bit of shifting the airer around the garden. 

I came out in sympathy with Round this week - 2lb on. I did know it, I could feel it, but it is so frustrating that 2 celebration meals out can do that in a week. Hmmm, maybe 2 hotel breakfasts didn't help my case. I know that I only have to look at bread for the pounds to pile on. Obviously it is my most favourite food in the world (I would live off toast given the chance), not only to eat but I also like making it. Time to get a grip. Again. My hip / thigh / knee is also playing up, that I can do without.
Just having a quick coffee, kettle has boiled if anyone fancies joining me.

ionafan

I'm joining you for a coffee, Fayolle.

So far:
- FUPA most of the clean washing
- breakfasted, showered and dressed
- S&S'd the bathroom (I'll try to get back and do it more thoroughly later)
- updated my end-of month account balances datasheet for January, finalised my budget for February, checked off all regular payments made on the 1st/2nd/3rd of the month, and renewed two family history society subscriptions
- helped pushed DH to make a phonecall to his bank in response to a message from their Fraud Prevention team - yes, he had ordered something on a T€mu ad which was too good to be true!  The transaction has been cancelled and he is now without a debit card until his new one arrives.  And he wonders why we don't have any joint accounts!!!
- made my bed, PUPA in bedroom
- sorted out my diary for this week (I need to phone 2 friends about separate coffee dates)
- renewed my Internet security for 2 years - but with a code at half price, very MSE
- sent Rosie off for her walk with L
- finished my coffee, so I'll get moving again.

See you later xxx