Weekly Flylady Thread 21st April 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

Easter Monday

Bank Holiday so feel free to spend the day doing something nice or not doing much at all but if you do want to fly…

S&S bathrooms 
S&S kitchen
Review Toots list
Spend time on admin
Straighten lounge
If it’s school/work tomorrow lay out clothes/make packed lunches/get bags ready
Meal plan

Living room, hall, stairs and landing

Level 1
Open lots of windows and let that fresh air in while beds are airing
Clean fire/log burner
Deal with cut flowers and pot plants - top up water/wipe leaves/remove drooping or dead blooms
Wash out vases
Empty bins/ashtrays
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
Sort newspapers/magazines

Level 2
Clean windows and mirrors 
Clean doormats
waggle a long thin duster or brush behind/between radiator panel and remove all that fluff and dust.  

once the dust has settled vacuum it all up.


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 open/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
Toots list job - book gas fire/boiler service or chimney sweep or make a note in diary or phone to do so
HHI 

Wipey Wednesday  Bathrooms, cloak rooms and en suites

Level 1
Open window
Remove towels and fling in WM
Scrub Loo inside and out, slug some bleach or descaler down afterwards.  Pay special attention to under the rim.
Dust anywhere that needs dusting - wipe any 'on display' bottles down.  Don’t forget window sill

Level 2
Clean out baths and/or showers
Clean shower heads and hoses
Clean handbasins including taps

Level 3
sweep and mop or vacuum floor as appropriate
clean windows
polish mirrors
dust and polish where necessary
Chuck any lurking potions that are not being used/are old
Clean light pull

Extras
Wash showercurtains (if any) and put outside to blow dry and/or give the loo brush a rise and put it - and it’s container (washed) out in the sunshine
HHI
S&S kitchen

Thursday’s onerous list - Kitchen and Dining Room 

Level 1
Open some windows for some fresh air - especially bedrooms while beds are airing
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 pluholes 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.


EXTRAS

HHI
S&S bathroom
Paperwork/admin up to date?
Spend half a hour with a cuppa and a forgotten recipe book and find something different to cook/add to meal plan

Friday Listy
  - The Boudoir

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
Use a damp cloth to wipe lotions and potions ~ think about discarding any that have been sitting around for a long time.  Once they’ve been opened they deteriorate.  

extras
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen

ionafan

Thank you Valli - my kind of list!

Thanks to everyone who has wished me/us Happy Easter, either individually or as one of this group - and I hope you have all enjoyed a treat of some sort, or will do so tomorrow.  I've been very remiss in not sending as many cards or letters as usual because I've just not felt up to much for the past few days.

Rosie and I had a quiet afternoon, the roast was almost ready by the time DH came in, and we have enough leftovers to feed KWM and the two of us on Tuesday with only a few veg needing to be cooked from scratch.  I've spent most of the evening watching TV whilst at the same time sorting through another 3 sets of slides - and I've realised that we have already got prints of many of the best pictures, which will save me a lot of work.  I'd like to get the remaining 3 sets of slides out of the way by this time tomorrow, but we are hoping to go out somewhere for the afternoon if the rain clears off to the east by lunchtime, as predicted, so it may be necessary to carry that  job over to Wednesday.

Bed calls xxx

Narc0lepsy

Thanks for all the flower comments. 
A very pleasant day - walked to church and back; rushed around preparing food and flying round as our friend was visiting; Mr N had done a good flutter while I was at church.
Friend arrived and we went for a walk in the bluebell woods, came home and sat in the conservatory with a cuppa while dinner was finishing off. Enjoyed stuffed mushroom starter; roast turkey etc followed by hot cross muffins, coffee and mini eggs..........so glad Lent is over and I can eat chocolate!  I actually only started eating it today as I'd had 2 days of lapsing while we were on hols........and forgot when it ended!

So, the house is pretty clean and shiny which should last us a day or two.
Did a bit of drumming practice.
Arranged swimming buddies for tomorrow and hope the sun comes out.

Natty68

Thank you for the list Valli 

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter day and got lots of goodies 😃 I had a gorgeous bunch of daffodils from my veg box delivery couple which are on the kitchen windowsill for everyone to see 🌷We had a quiet day, I spent quite a bit of it doing wash loads, taking advantage of EDF's 8hr free electricity, to dry outside today in the lovely weather. I also booted and cajoled the cooker into life so we could cook the duck for dinner 😃

Narco those flowers are gorgeous - you always do such a lovely job of them for the church 😉

Just put the clean sheets on the bed, with the help of the pup, so I'll say 'ta ra' as they say here in my part of Wales,  and goodnight xxxxxxxxx

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning.  I am feeling a bit fragile after yesterday's migraine and 14 hours in bed but I need to be up and pottering soon. 

Today's mission is the built in cupboard in our bedroom.  I have been tackling it a shelf at a time and have now reached the top shelf where there is a box piled high with school books drawings and cards the boys have made.  There is another box with ornaments and bits and bobs some of which were my grans.  It all needs sorting and organising which should free up some space (although I am not sure what I am going to use this space for).

I really should get out for some fresh air today too. 

DH is at work and doesn't want to go so is grumpy.  I don't want him to go either!

Have a good bank holiday all, I will check back later which will encourage me to make progress with the cupboard. 

roundtuit

Morning all xx 

I'd be grumpy if I had to go to work today too. Hope you're soon feeling 100% YL 😘

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

I didn't sleep well last night. No idea why not. And I'm feeling a little yawny 🥱

I've gained 1.5 lbs this week. It was expected. Easter eggs,  hot cross buns, and ooo I'll treat myself to bread for Easter: fried egg sarnies, bread and jam, toast and jam. I need to get back to healthy eating and no nibbling in the evenings. 

Brew 2 is required. Then I'll think of a list.

Love to all.
Rxx

MinnieMousesMummy

Morning all, I'm back after being missing for the last few weeks as I've been so busy with uni (assessment and resit exams) and paid work that I've not had time to do much (if any) flying.

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter Sunday. We decided to have a lovely family day out and made the most of the weather. 

My list for today
Attend uni lecture
Spend an hour on uni assignment (I'm determined to finish this year, even though I need to make some major changes moving forward)
Take the dog for a walk (no long walks as I'm struggling with a swollen knee filled with fluid, been like that for almost 4 weeks, but after a visit to A&E, I was told that they could do nothing and to rest it. It is an old injury which seems to have gotten worse over the years.
Do paid stuff
Write a personal statement for UCAS application (I'm looking to change my career path, as unfortunately, what I was aiming to do will be very difficult with a knee injury, people in the profession already suffer from bad knees as part of the negatives of the job)
Do admin tasks (phone calls/emails/update banking)
Dust the living room
Look for furniture crayons to repair scratches on the living room unit. 
Hoover the living room

I think that's everything I need to get done today. I hope everyone has a lovely day, whatever you are up to. 

Jazee

Morning all.  Hope you continue to improve YSL.

Wordle in four, connections with two lives lost, strands with no hints and letterboxed in five.

Not quite sure yet what I'll be doing today but dailies and dog walk will get done.

Have a great day everyone.

Fayolle

Morning all,
Thank you for the list. As Iona said, my kind of list! I’ll take the meal plan option to complete, if that’s ok.
I forgot to post yesterday, so I hope that everyone had a lovely day, whatever they were doing. I hope you are feeling better today, YL, that must have been miserable. Gorgeous flowers, Narc0, and those windows behind are stunning. Well done, Round. So are we all coming to you for Christmas dinner flylady outing this year?😉
I completely forgot that it is Monday weigh in day today. Probably just as well, as cake and bread type consumption has been high and that is never good. I will weigh in tomorrow morning and share the bad news.
Today is full of possibilities, but probably very little action. Rain was forecast (blow that westerly wind harder, Iona, as we are desperate here, no rain for weeks) but that has changed again. Allotment is off the cards in the distant hope that rain might materialise. Yesterday I pulled out my winter jumpers, most of which haven't been worn this year, as it hasn’t been cold enough. It seems as bit early to swap the winter / summer wardrobe over, but I might get into the loft do it. I need to get painting the woodwork in the utility room. We are still waiting for the electrician to come back, then it will be done.
Towels are in the wm. Dw has been emptied. It’s a start. Have a lovely day x

kazwookie

Thank you for the lists. x

Whole house is cleaned from top to bottom

3 x WM done out of whirly, but it is overcast, so not too sure if it will dry or how much it might dry.

Yesterday, cut overhanging branches from NND tree down, she was there to watch so we don't have any problem about 'you've cut my tree down or similar' first thing this morning, branches loaded up and tip run done. (checked tree for nesting birds)

Cleaned car out.

Eaten left over tuna salad for breakfast.

DW is on

Bin is out, not too sure when they are next coming, Weds I think, but it can just sit there and wait.

Off out walking now.

ionafan

Valli said:

Easter Monday

Bank Holiday so feel free to spend the day doing something nice or not doing much at all but if you do want to fly…
 
Meal plan

If it's gone, it's done or not applicable -  however, I know what we're going to be eating for the next couple of days, which is about as far ahead as I usually plan   I'm concentrating on putting things away so that K can spring-clean for me tomorrow - she is planning on moving furniture out so that she can clean the skirting boards properly [shudder]  For starters, I am aware that a book has dropped down the back of my bedside cabinet...   

The day has started with more rain here - probably only enough to lay the dust, but the garden is appreciating it.  I should love to get out and clear the border along the shared drive, but I  doubt that it will get done today.  For once, "Rain before 7, fair before 11" is proving false and the rain is forecast to carry on until evening here.   We are hoping to go out somewhere for lunch and a walk, but we shall have to set off towards the Welsh borders if we're going to have a chance of seeing a lighter grey/blue sky.  I can't say I'm feeling a lot of enthusiasm for a walk, but I'm another one who needs to undo the effects of hot cross buns and chocolate eggs!

Welcome back MMM.  I'm sorry you're having to re-think your career path, and wish you success in finding something that will prove interesting and exciting as well as fitting in with your family's demands on your time x

Have a good day, everyone xxx