Weekly Flylady Thread 10 March 2025

Valli

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

Here goes this Week.


Manic Monday Kitchen/dining room

Level 1

Clear sides and wipe down - wipe small appliances
Replace what lives there, wiping as you go
Empty bin and clean it out too
Wipe sill, sockets, door handles and switches
Clear and clean sink and accessories - don't forget those out-of-sight places - under plugs and under draining racks
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!

Level 2

Wipe down all cupboard and drawer fronts, 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
Wash out shelves and baskets.
Dust dining area/room
Descale kettle if needed
Clean WM & DW filters; remove WM detergent drawer and wash it out.  De-fluff TD filter

Level 3

Pick a cupboard or a drawer; empty it, clean it out and put back its contents tidily
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Clean windows in both rooms.
If you have a pot holding spoons etc empty it out and wash it out!


EXTRAS

HHI
S&S bathroom
Check smoke and CO detectors are fully functioning

Things you can wash and dry on the sunshine - pick one

loo brushes
vacuum cleaner filters
make up brushes
bins

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
Empty bins/ashtrays
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

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

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 - vacuum fabric shades; wash glass shades 
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?
Extras
S&s kitchen
s&s bathroom
HHId

Thursday The Boudoir

level 1

open windows
strip bed
clear floordrobe and chairdrobe
empty bin

level 2
Dust/vacuum bedframe & headboard
make bed with fresh bedding
clean bedside tables
vacuum floor

level 3
clean Windows
dust all round
Polish mirrors

extras
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen

Jazee

Thanks for the list Valli.  Morning everyone.

 I'm putting my scruffs on today and will report back later with indoor and outdoor flying.  I've prepared some batches of food so far for Poppet and today's washing is ready to go on the line.  Bit misty out there but should clear.

Wordle in three.

Have a great day everyone.

Fayolle

Morning all,
Thank you for the list, I intend to actually attempt some of them this week. Last week I was very distracted by the allotment. Understatement.
Up early, mainly due to a tickling cough keeping me awake, towels in the wm, just having my overnight oats, then I will s&s the bathroom. DH has taken the car to big town for a service so the clean bathroom will stand a chance of staying pristine-ish for more than 5 seconds. I also need to make a phone call which has turned into a massive frog 🐸 - my pension company, so not the most helpful of conversations anticipated, if they even deign to respond.
Slinky weigh in - 2lb down. At last. Wooty woot woot!
Have a good day all

Honey_Bear

Back in this week, gently.  I think I must have been trying to over-do it so I'm going to spend a lot of time at my desk working on clearing the backlog, and just do a bit of gentle flying daily.  I have a massive list of admin stuff that needs tackling and if I don't put my glasses on I can't see the dust so the house looks relatively okay.

roundtuit

Morning all xx 

I'm up, made my bed, got weighed (lost a pound), put fresh towels in bathroom,  set towels and tea towels swishing, taken my meds, turned over the calendars,  completed Strands with no hints,  completed Wordle in four,  completed Connections with no lives lost,  and I'm supping a brew. 

Foggy here, but I'm hoping it will soon burn off and turn into a lovely drying towels outside day.

The athletics were on all day yesterday so I abandoned my plans and watched telly. I don't have a clever telly so it's watch it now or forget it. Then I watched the GBPT Final. Why does that man cry so much? Most off-putting. And how does a pot with a broken handle win over a perfect pot? Go with your heart? Humph. My heart thinks perfect wins over broken when it comes to pottery. But whaduino 🤷‍♀️

Anyway. On to To Do Today List 

Brew 2 and breakfast 
Get dressed 
Feed the birds 
Put out the recycling 
Peg out washing 
QH Admin 

P & S are calling for coffee 

WUDUPA 

Monday = downstairs  (LR):
Wash window frames
Wash windows 
Wash windowsill 

Hoping the postman won't bring me a letter to derail me this week!

Love to all.
Rxx

MinnieMousesMummy

Morning, It's a rather stormy day here with some drizzle.

I was missing most of last week due to not really flying as focusing on uni exams and assignments, but I feel the need to get the house tidied, although it will be small steps this week. Please count me in for this week.

My list for today
Attend uni exam
Attend uni lecture
Do paid stuff
Take the dog for a long walk
Proofread and submit uni assignment
Empty the kitchen bin and wash out
Clean the hob
Clean the microwave
HHI

I think that is everything that I need to get done today. Hope everyone has a productive Monday. 

roundtuit

roundtuit said:

To Do Today List 

Brew 2 and breakfast ✅
Get dressed ✅
Feed the birds ✅
Put out the recycling ✅
Peg out washing ❌
QH Admin 

P & S are calling for coffee 

WUDUPA 

Monday = downstairs  (LR):
Wash window frames
Wash windows 
Wash windowsill 

I haven't pegged out as it's still and misty here. No sign of the sun burning through so the washing is on radiators (not turned on) and the airer.

I've filled up the bird bath. 

Feeling nauseous but QH Admin will take my mind off that.

Rxx

Jazee

Banking checked, WULTD, made bed, S&sd bathroom and downstairs loo, hoovered through.  No lines on connections, strands with no hints, completed letter boxed in five.

 I'm waiting for a parcel so I'll do some flying.  Once it arrives I'll walk Poppet.

Valli

Morning all

washing pegged out, DW mostly emptied.  Been running oven racking through it as it wasn't full.  Bed made.

eltee2

Morning all

Bit busy with appts. again this week so I'll be doing PUPA/FUPA/DW/WM/TD/S&S and tackling what I can in-between - so far I've managed

✔️Open windows
✔️Air & remake bed
✔️Exercises pt 1
✔️DW
WM x2

We're about to go for a walk, then appt. 

Plan for later
Wipe kitchen worktops, toaster & kettle
Wipe kitchen cupboard fronts & hob
Clear & clean sink (jollops)
Empty bin, clean it out & LTD
Sweep kitchen floor
S&S bathroom
Exercises pt 2

Jazee

I have cleaned all windowsills and stuff on them. Dusted flat surfaces in bedroom, cleaned microwave, DUPA and shined kitchen sink.  Also checked smoke alarms, cleaned pot with utensils in and mopped all hard floors in house.  Parcel still not here so having an early lunch.