Weekly Flylady Thread 5th May 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

Bank Holiday Monday (Again!)

S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom

Have a lovely day

spend half an hour preparing for the morning - clothes out ready, shoes polished, kids uniforms/school clothes and book bags by the door ready to grab.
pack the lunches, top up school dinner money accounts - then you can have a restful evening (I hope) crafting, knitting, reading, sorting ancestors, planning flower arrangements, planning garden planting schemes, watching TV...chill!

If you ARE desperate to fly then share the jobs round - bin bag dance, putting clean clothes away, clearing floordrobes, watering plants, drying pots and putting them away - share the load to lighten it!

For the rest of this week i’m putting up a whole weeks worth of lists for a Pick’n’mix…choose your grimmest room first if you have time, or just dot-to-dot (see above).  This way you can weave flying in as-and-when, but please do post your achievements.

KITCHEN AND 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!
Empty utensil holders and wash out

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 , TD and DW filters; remove WM detergent drawer and wash it out.
Clean tea caddy, sugar bowl etc

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

MASTER BEDROOM

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 - remember vertical surfaces hold dust 

BATHROOM, CLOAKROOM, EN SUITE

Level 1
open window
scrub loo inside and out
top up loo roll, soap dispenser
put out fresh towels 

level 2 
clean shower and/or bath
clean showerhead
clean plug holes and plugs removing and rat tails (ugh)
bleach drains and overflows

level 3
clean handbasin
scrub and polish taps
dust sills and shelves
clean switches and pull handles
Polish windows and mrrors
clean floor

LOUNGE, HALLWAY, STAIRS & LANDING

level 1

deal with flowers and pot plants - do they need a wipe?
empty bins/ashtrays
clear gibble
plump cushions
wipe sofas with leather wipes or vacuum - look for all those dust-catching crevices

level 2
clean windows and frames
vacuum floors - and use an edging tool to get into all the nooks and crannies

level 3
dust all round - don't forget sills and skirtings
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; wipe dusty bulbs
stand in the doorway and look back into the room - is it clean?


KIDS ROOM, GUEST ROOM, STUDY

level 1
open window
strip bed
remove rubbish

level 2
remake bed
clean window and sill

Level 3
dust everywhere
clean floor as appropriate 

DAILY EXTRAS

S & S kitchen or bathroom if not cleaning that room
HHI 
Find some time to do something for you - self care is important
and finally - don’t forget to check your boobs...and make sure you know your normal
Keep up with the admin
Meal plan
Check your 'Prep' pile/stash https://prepare.campaign.gov.uk/ and if you haven't got one make a start

Jazee

Thanks for the list Valli.

Get me being awake at this time.  We've just got back from a concert - Anastasia.  Very good.  It must be twenty years since we last saw her live.

Tomorrow, we're intending to have a relaxing day so will probably be just dailies and dog walking but I do intend to fly as the week progresses.

eltee2

Thanks Valli - am awake at stupid o'clock due to painful hip, leg etc.  blooming arthritis, mutter mumble 🤬 - DW is on and have made a cuppa while I think about today's flying, which will include several mutter, mumble, curse sessions

Taking a deep breath....... Morning all 

🤬🦵😔

ionafan

Thank you Valli x  I'm in this week.  Apart from a visit to the physio on Thursday and a meeting here on Friday, my diary is clear, so no excuses not to fly a little each day.  Maybe I'll get round to making a permanent home upstairs for the old hoover at last, à la Narc0.

I too was up at silly o'clock, eltee - not quite as silly as you, but close! - probably because I had stupidly forgotten to take my nighttime meds.  While Rosie was out in the garden at around 6.30, I folded up DH's T-shirts and socks which had been airing in the utility.  I'm already on my second cuppa and have enough milk left in my thermos for another.  After a cold night, the sun has come out to play, but there are a few dark clouds around.  Hopefully I can now get on and transcribe a few more old postcards before breakfast.  I must remember to water the house plants before coming back to my desk and getting immersed in the past again.

Hope everyone has a relaxing day and a good week - see you later xxx

roundtuit

Good morning my lovelies xx 

I'm up, made my bed, taken my meds, turned over the calendars, got weighed, completed Strands with two hints, completed Wordle in three, completed Connections with no lives lost, got dressed, fed the birds,  put out the recycling,  eaten breakfast and supped two brews. 

I've put on 1.5 lbs this week. Not a surprise. I'm struggling to motivate myself with no wedding to aim for. Must do better.

The sun is shining but that wind is nippy. P & S will be calling for a coffee à la Monday morning. Other than that I have nothing in the diary. That doesn't mean there aren't a billionty and one things that need doing. I need to channel my inner Fayolle and write list(s). Create goals and aim for them. ⚽️ Pootling aimlessly isn't working so well for me any more.

Have a lovely Bank Holiday Monday however you choose to spend it.

Rxx

eltee2

roundtuit said:

 That doesn't mean there aren't a billionty and one things that need doing. I need to channel my inner Fayolle and write list(s). Create goals and aim for them. ⚽️ 

I seem to have a billionty things on my lists too round, most of them in the froggy admin/computery/financy section 🤯  I also need to have a word with myself & get back on the SW wagon - been stuck with yo-yo-ing the same 1-2 lbs for over a year.  

Today is reset day 👍

Perhaps this cuppa will help.....

kazwookie

Thank you for the lists.

Whole house cleaned, hoovering done, bins done etc etc all done.

Walking done

Went with OH to watch the Red Arrows fly past on the way to London, but they were way out to sea, we nearly missed them, no photos, as camera wouldn't focus !

Fayolle

Thank you for the lists. I was quite taken with today’s but being perverse of nature, I seem to have spent all day flying!  Only because of the need to reclaim the utility room, I might add, nothing from my zillions of finely honed lists. The upshot is that the fridge/freezer is not only back in position, but has been cleaned as well plus an audit done for meal planning. There has been some flingage but apparently not enough as I still have a box of Stuff to home. On the flingage front, I have kindly donated my yoyo 1.5lb back to Round this week 🤣. Quick cuppa, then I will run the dw and maybe plant up a couple more chilli plants.

Jazee

Dailies and dog walk done.  Changed bedding.  Put dry washing from yesterday away. Checked banking.  Watered plants in greenhouse and sorted some for DH to take to school tomorrow. Watched telly.

Wordle in four, connections with one life lost, strands with no hints.  Letterboxed in three which I'm pleased with as the target was four.

eltee2

I kept thinking it's Sunday so not flying as much as I should have 😬

✔️Opened windows
✔️S&S kitchen & bathroom
✔️FUPA pile #1
✔️OH Vacuumed LR/DR (I didn't even ask🤗)
✔️Spent a while SW friendly meal planning

Bedrooms 1& 2
✔️Cleared rubbish, gibble & floordrobes
✔️Aired & remade beds
✔️Vacuumed

Narc0lepsy

thanks for the lists.
A day that has ended up with a lot of aching limbs.
- lake swim with buddy. Water was nice but the wind was biting so it took me a long time to warm up (despite a bacon sandwich).
- visited friend locally to admire her kitchen extension.     
- walked round town to admire the Yarn Bombers lovely knitted VE Day display. Very creative.
- went to zumba.
- ordered some cinema tickets which cost exactly £1 thanks to Mr T vouchers.
- checked greenhouse, watered where needed.
- did some flying in the kitchen.
- did some drum practice.

For those picking chard/spinach, I made what Mr N and I thought was a fab dinner last night; pesto made with chard, almonds, chilli flakes, cream cheese and a bit of sunflower oil.   We had it with tagliatelle and roast cauliflower steaks (which were sprinkled with Jamaican spice).  Will definitely do it again, probably next week when BIL is visiting as he is veggie. 

No progress today on repurposing study; friend I'd hoped to pass on lots of resources to has listed what she'd like, and it isn't my whole list. Shame.