Weekly Flylady Thread 24 February 2025

Valli

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

Mixing it up a bit this week

Marvellous Monday - the boudoir (master bedroom)

level 1

open windows
strip bed, leave to air
Empty bin - and why not make it a whole house binbag dance
Wipe or wash bin
clear floors robe/chairdrobe/exercise bike or wherever else is pretending it’s only there to hold clothes - put them to be laundered or put them away (see VALLI mantra)

level 2

remake bed
vacuum/sweep and/or mop floor

level 3

dust everything
wipe sticky lotion and potion vessels
clean windows and mirrors

Extras

choose as few or as many as you like
s&s kitchen
s&s bathroom
wash hair brushes and combs 
empty a drawer - clean it, put back contents 
month end looms - are financial spreadsheets up to date?

Terrific Tuesday - The Lounge, Hallway, stairs and landing

Level 1
Deal with cut flowers and pot plants - top up water/wipe leaves/remove drooping or dead blooms
Open windows
Empty bins/ashtrays - wipe out or wash
If you have a woodburner/real fire attend to that first - and lay fire for lighting
Clear gibble
Plump and straighten cushions
Wipe sofas with leather wipes or vacuum - look for all those dust-catching crevices.  Lift seat cushions if you can and vacuum underneath
Wipe/dust coffee tables and leave tidy
Wipe coasters

Level 2
Clean windows and mirrors 
Vacuum floors - and use an edging tool to get into all the nooks and crannies - and stairs!
Clean doormats
Dust/wipe electricals - use a just-damp cloth.  Don't forget the remote controllers!  Include lightswitches

Level 3
Dust all round - don't forget sills, skirting boards, tops of curtain rails and/or battens and top and frame of door.
Wipe door handles, banisters, light switches and sockets - and the bits of the door where people hold to close it.
Check for cobwebs and eliminate!
Clean lightshades and lampshades; check all lighting is functioning as it should 
Wipe lightbulbs (if cold)
Dust pictures/paintings on walls - and dust behind them too!
Stand in the doorway and look back into the room - is it clean?
Open front door and vacuum then wipe doorframe
Check smoke and/or CO detectors are fully functioning

Extras - as required
Don't forget the dailies - beds need making, pots need washing
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
HHI
Any progress on your TOOTS list?  

Wednesday HUMP day
Bathrooms/cloakrooms/ensuites

Level 1
Open window
Remove towels and fling in WM
Scrub Loo inside and out, slug some bleach or descaler down afterwards

Level 3
Clean out baths and/or showers
Clean shower heads and hoses
Clean handbasins

Level 3
sweep and mop or vacuum floor as appropriate
clean windows
polish mirrors
dust and polish where necessary
Give the tiles/grout a good scrub - especially in the shower/round the bath
Put out clean towels and washcloths etc

Extras
HHI
S&S kitchen

Thursday - 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 Flourish - 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 - or clean them!
Clean/polish table - wipe mats/change cloth
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
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 (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

Level 3

Pick a cupboard or a drawer; empty it, clean it out and put back its contents tidily
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor - and wipe any fascia boards!
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 germ-free!

EXTRAS

HHI
S&S bathroom
Paperwork/admin up to date 
Read meters and report readings

ionafan

Thank you Valli, I shall be in for the coming week.  Lots to do - both Flying and other things - so I shall be meting out my energy to cope.  I have got a bit of a head start by doing WM/TDx3 today, and there are plenty of 2-portion meals in the freezer to last beyond the end of the month, which will save me a lot of time and effort, though tomorrow I shall need to top up on F&V and milk.

K's girls have an INSET day tomorrow, whereas the school where K works doesn't, so W is coming to us.  She'll be bringing her Maths homework for a bit of help, but maybe we can also make time to go out for a couple of hours - after a wet start to the day, it's due to brighten up in the afternoon.  All three of them were ill for the whole of half-term week, so the girls did very little apart from read, draw and watch films, and W needs to be on the ball when she goes back to school because she's in Y6.

I hope everyone has a good week xxx

Narc0lepsy

Thanks for the list Valli although you deserve a rest. 
I got home this evening after a generally successful but somewhat mixed weekend.   Good parts:
- 2 good visits to Mum, she was the most with it I've seen for many months and we had a good chat. Fortunately one of the visits was also accompanied by the solicitor who came in so he could say that she a) existed and b) could show some mental capacity - She passed both with flying colours and signed all the forms (so what was the point of the POA which was meant to save her the worry of dealing with financial stuff!!). It seems there are no more hoops to jump through for the buyer's solicitor. At the moment.
- Trave1odge was ok considering how cheap it was. 5mins to sea front.
- Had nice overnight visit with school friend.
- Ditto a bike friend who drove up from Somerset to have lunch with Mr N and I.
- had a good overnight stop at DB and SIL.
Less good parts:
- care home has some incidents of D&V, not on Mum's 2nd floor area but limited visiting (fortunately that was after my first visit and I deemed the solicitor's visit as 'essential').
- Felt duty-bound to mention the outside risk of the D&V to one of the friends I was meant to visit although I'd touched nothing and used plenty of sanitiser at every doorway; but friend is ill so preferred me not to visit.
- Other friend had also cancelled on Thursday eve as she is unwell.     So those were the 2 friends I was meant to be spending Saturday with, while Mr N was with bike friend.
- weather precluded swimming; I walked back to the hotel along the beach after leaving Mum and got drenched (with rain); big waves looked lovely from a distance.

Anyway not a lot of flying but plenty of social and admin.   Have unpacked, grilled some sausages for dinner, done some drumming practice and checked how to redirect post (to add to my 'pre-moving list').     It's very wet and windy out but I hope to do a load of washing tomorrow as well as ring insurance company, continue sorting out study, reading student work and working through my flagged emails. 

Jazee

Morning all.  Thanks for the list Valli.

I am in but unsure how long my energy will last.  I am so done with feeling unwell.  May have to cancel the couple of things booked in for this week.

Anyway, I'm going to wake up with some puzzles.  Will report back with flying.

Have a great day everyone.

roundtuit

Hello everybody xx 👋 to the people lurking out there in the ether xx

I'm up, made my bed, got weighed*, taken my meds, turned over the calendars, completed Strands with no hints,  completed Wordle in three,  completed Connections with three lives lost, and I've supped a brew. 

* Gained 4.5 lbs. I'm assuming that Fayolle threw it back in my direction and it has nothing to do with me gorging on nuts and biscuits all week. Damage done. Line drawn. Back on it from today. 

Last week I binned the lids of two drinks bottles. One of the bottles I use for watering my plants, the other I don't use at all. So while the kettle was boiling for my brew this morning I binned the grotty drinks bottle, and threw out some very ood coffee / tea sachets which were on the same shelf. 

To Do Today List 

Brew 2 & breakfast 
Get dressed 
Feed the birds 
Put out the recycling 
Put fresh towels in bathroom 
Wash towels & tea towels 
P & S are calling for coffee 
WUDUPA 
Pay rent 
Mr Al shop 
QH Admin 

Monday = downstairs 
Remove trophies from kitchen windowsill 
Dust trophies 
Put trophies in box for DS 
Wash down window frame & sill 
Clean window 

6pm RO's House of Games 
Shower & wash hair 
8pm Only Connect 


That feels doable.

Hope everyone has a peaceful week.

Rxx

MinnieMousesMummy

Morning, Thank you for the new list. Please count me in for this week.

My list for today 
Do paid stuff 
Attend uni lecture online
Drive back home after my night away for work
Take the dog for a long walk
Laundry x 1 load
S&S kitchen
Put laundry away that was done yesterday
Answer emails that are waiting for reply
Do some exam revision (first exam next Monday so this will feature highly in my list this week)

I think that is everything that I need to get done today, hope everyone has a lovely Monday. 

Jazee

Me again.  Have just cleaned a minging hairbrush as per the list and sorted out one drawer.

Fayolle

Morning all,
Thank you for the list Valli. I hope this week is easier for you x
Well, I can declare my innocence against the charge by Round that I am flinging unwanted weight in her direction 😇 - my very much unwanted weight is still firmly glued to my thighs. And my stomach. And my backside. It was a STS for me this week, but the scales teetered towards the next big number, so I know I’m on limited time and need a plan of action.
We are off to the big city hospital again with DD later, so any spare vibes appreciated. Until then, I suppose I need to do something useful. Towels are in the wm, so bedding etc per the list will happen tomorrow. I did manage to work out my dressmaking mistake that had been frustrating me yesterday, so that project is back up and running again, plus it was satisfying to work out my (stupid) error eventually. Hmmm maybe sort out one of the bedroom drawers that’s been on my list for ages. That seems like a plan for starters. 

Have a good day all x

kazwookie

Thank you for the lists.

Whole house hoovered

BIns got back in from the road

Wm x 3 done, TD pressed into action

Shower gel filled up

Cats fed

Fire done ash out logs in

Floors mopped

Bed changed

No weight change here.

Loads of other small stuff done, ie hallway skirtboards cleaned.

Its raining.

roundtuit

roundtuit said:

To Do Today List 

Brew 2 & breakfast ✅
Get dressed ✅
Feed the birds ✅
Put out the recycling ✅
Put fresh towels in bathroom ✅
Wash towels & tea towels ✅
P & S are calling for coffee 
WUDUPA 
Pay rent 
Mr Al shop 
QH Admin 

Monday = downstairs 
Remove trophies from kitchen windowsill ✅
Dust trophies ✅
Put trophies in box for DS ✅
Wash down window frame & sill ✅
Clean window ✅

6pm RO's House of Games 
Shower & wash hair 
8pm Only Connect

💡 I quite like flying.

Not so keen on sitting down to the Admin 🤣 - although I spose I could make a start while I'm waiting for P & S to arrive.

Rxx

Valli

having had the week from hell last week I am going to be positive this week.  But I'm failing to find a link to enable me to dob Dad in to the DVLA share my concerns about Dad with the DVLA.  My understanding is that the attending police officer will also report him but I want him off the road permanently now.  He's had a lucky escape.

My admin list is no shorter than it was at the beginning of the week, if I had small children the authorities would be expressing concerns about the state of the house - what with the decorator's stuff everywhere and various relocated items.  But, in other news, dad has agreed I can take the hostess cabinet from their house as I have the perfect space for it and will use it.  It was last used Christmas 2023 at my house!  We'll also be sorting through stuff, though not to the level of Narco, as there's stuff mum doesn't/can't use.  I've brought her sewing tin home and gone through that (mainly because I needed orange thread for a repair for DiL) and dealth with the knitting bag (broken frame).  Clearing clutter will help keep the house cleaner; and I'm playing to my strengths there.

Today I have emptied DW, restacked DW with remaining pots, cleared the rack, taken out recycling and WUALTD.  Then I've some to work.

Wordle in 2, failed on connections (got 2 groups).  Not attempted Strands yet.