Weekly Flylady Thread 15th September 2025

Natty68

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.

Thank you Valli 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 (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 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, reparing 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- thats 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

Ok here goes this week!

Monday Mayhem - Living Room, Hall and Stairs
Level 1
Vacuum through the living room, hall and stairs
Level 2
Dusting, even if around everything
Remove clutter making sure stairs especially are safe
Clean windows and all glass.. including the tv screen
Clear the mantel and only put back the items which are supposed to be there.. and that doesn't include letters, keys or other treasure!
Level Three
Wipe and water plants
Put all your hotspots in one pile and work your way through it..
Vacuum under furniture you can manage to move without hurting yourself

Extra Mission:

• Have a bit of a tidy in the cupboard under the stairs.
• Wipe down any paintwork that needs it.
• Binbag dance.. Get a binbag.. fill it and bin it!!!
• Wash any cushions, throws or curtains that need it.. Do you need your winter curtains up yet?

Tuesday Trauma - Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces
Level Two
Sweep and mop floors
Clean the fridge.. get rid of all those furry things growing in corners!
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, microwave etc
Clean cupboard door fronts and fronts of appliances .. don't forget those kick boards..
Clean out your mankiest kitchen cupboard..

Extra Mission:

• Run the WM through 'clean cycle'.. hottish wash with a splosh of vinegar, soda crystals bleach.. whatever you fancy just clear those pipes of gunge!
• Wipe down any tiles and shine those taps.. a toothbrush is great for cleaning away the gunk!
• 31 fling boogie..
• Wipe over the oven and hob
• Empty the bin.. wash it out.. and make it smell SWEET

ionafan

Thank you Natty.  I will aim for Level 1 and some extra bits every day this week.

It has poured since about midday.  Fortunately I took Rosie out for her walk beforehand, having cried off church.  I had to go to this afternoon's service as I had offered to help with afternoon tea in the church hall afterwards - it was arranged as a special service for the local Rotary Club, as one of our church members is President this year, but was also well attended by members of our morning congregation.  All very well done and a big tea to follow, courtesy of Madam President.  So much food was left over (she had asked the caterers to provide enough for 50 and only 35 were there) that almost everyone took a doggy bag home with sandwiches, sausage rolls and cream scones as well as a piece of the presidential cake, and I cleared up the leftovers for me and DH, so I didn't have to cook this evening.  Rosie enjoyed a corner of tuna sandwich too   I also brought home all the thick silver foil serving plates, have WULTD and will keep them for church events.  We used to have a lot but the supply has dwindled over the past few years, so these will come in handy.

DH and I have been watching the best bits of the Proms tonight - glorious music and brilliant musicians!  

Onwards and upwards with the Flying and other jobs this week.

xxx

YORKSHIRELASS

Morning everyone

Feeling a little better today but still sound awful and still coughing and sneezing.  I have a 6.30pm meeting tonight and would usually do a longer day but I am going to wait another hour before I go in.  That also means the dog will be ok until DH gets home.

I have washed dog bedding and dusted and hoovered LR.  DW has just beeped at me so I will empty that.  It's absolutely pouring down outside. 

Quiet around here today, hope everyone has a good Monday x

eltee2

Morning all 👋

Today's plan
Levels 1, 2 & 3
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
HHI
FUPA
HH on September 🐸 COD 
✔️open windows (on the latch 🌬)
✔️air & remake bed
✔️exercises

I had a painkiller cortisone injection just over a week ago (for my kn@ckered hip), seems to have worked well - I'm no longer being kept awake or waking up in pain and when I stand up I don't have to wait for my legs to start moving. Hurrah!   

Not sure how long these things last, but I've a follow-up phone call in a couple of weeks.

Am hoping this means I can put more effort into everything 😁

Have a good one

El

Valli

and in she strolls, whistling.  

Damsons are now all jelly in jars...I had to reboil the first lot.  Kitchen looks grim.  I've also been clearing out the DR ready for the decorator and have been ruthless with the books - they've been on the TBR pile so long and there's no way I am going to read stunningly heavy hardbacks because they're such weighty tomes (apologies to Mr Bennet and Mr Fry, the authors) and my dainty wrists won't cope.

I also tested the central heating yesterday - the two radiators that came off the wall were bled but still refuse to warm up so I'll dump that on the decorator to sort when he finally gets here - he's put it back a week.  The new furniture won't be ready anyway.

I've just taken SD to a local pet shop and discovered they sell the cat dishes I like WAY cheaper the PaH so his new kitten, if he gets it, now has dishes and an actual cat litter tray (he bought a foil roasting tray!) and he's been instructed to get it set up so it's ready for the cat which he thinks he'll call Hissy (really?).  I hope it's an affectionate cat; he's lonely.  

kazwookie

Thank you for the thread.

Walking done, blowing a hoolie here.

Wm x 1 done on whirly all dry in 2 hours, so in and folded and away.

Ironing will be done between 2 and 3pm when I have any hour of free elec, over anything I normally use, so DW is also going on.

I think there are mushrooms growing on the lawn, OH says what ever they are he is not eating them.!!

Hooverong, mirror polishing, dusting done.

Garden furniture folded down and put in shed for the winter, all wind chimes in as well.

To do when the wind dies down

Clean the water fountain and put away.

Cut a path in field, clean mower and put away.

eltee2

eltee2 said:

Morning all 👋

Today's plan
Levels 1, 2 & 3 - all except hoovering & windows
✔️S&S kitchen
✔️S&S bathroom
✔️HHI
❌️FUPA
❌️HH on September 🐸 COD 
✔️open windows (on the latch 🌬)
✔️air & remake bed
✔️exercises

Got most if it done before a stonking headache kicked in 😩 - it's easing off now, so will finish windows & hoovering before tea.   FUPA & 🐸 for another day

L

ionafan

Reporting in to Flylady HQ!

I have
- checked finances
- vacuumed LR, Hall, DR and kitchen
- dusted LR
- cleaned LR windows and TV screen
- cleared the mantel and put the French window keys back on it (very daring of me - sorry Natty x) because I've only just got DR trained into putting them back behind the orchid pot - we've only been here 12 years
- put all DH's hotspots into one pile so that he can sort it himself
- had a bit of a tidy in the cupboard under the stairs but haven't thrown anything out - DH is strangely attached to his old, never-worn shoes
- served up the last of yesterday's sandwich fillings with salad for a light lunch, apart from the sausage rolls which Rosie is enjoying
- had a brief conversation about birthday lists and apples with DS1, who rang me on his way to a meeting, just because he could
- finished the Celtic bird cross stitch
- asked J the gardener to stop being a gardener for one afternoon and do his bi-annual gutter cleaning tomorrow, since the forecast is for no rain all day.

I'm happy with that all

Honey_Bear

Today's 'I must do that' was the crate cover which doubles as my bedside table.  It's been gathering dust for a while, so I dusted the whole area and shook it out.  

Jazee

Evening all. Also reporting in to flylady central.

Today I have done a work shift, tidied my office which also meant doing some sorting in the cupboard under the stairs, so something off today's list, walked Poppet twice and spent time with DD and her two.  This evening I finished decorating DDs cake for tomorrow. Kept it simple.