Weekly Flylady Thread 19th January 2026

Natty68

We often see new flyers (gents welcome!) around this time of year so please don't worry if you feel you cannot keep up.  Similarly if your house has been neglected it won't be turned around in a day - but if you stay you will get into some good habits which do help!  Happy flying.

Thank you, Valli, for last week's 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.

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.

It is your responsibility to read the forum rules, please follow them on this thread as Flylady has been here a LONG time and is a fabulous support and resource for lots of us.

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 asier.
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 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 we go!

Manic Monday - Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One
Clean floors
Level Two
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces
Clean cupboard door fronts and the kick boards
Sort fridge bringing what needs using soon to the front
Wipe dining table (clean table the cloth if necessary)
Check your car is topped up with anti-freeze, radiator water, oil,petrol. Check your tyre pressure too, if your car is being used during cold weather.
Level Three
Sort the utensils.. half melted spatulas are not necessary!
HHI.. then wash the ironing board cover!
Dust any extra furniture in dining room, checking for cobwebs on way round
Wash the washer drawer out if it's gunky
Clean oven - because I know it wasn't on the list last week
Check you have essentials in the car, if you are driving, i.e. chocolate, flask, torch, warm blanket and charged up mobile phone. We don't want you to get stuck in the snow.

Extra Mission
Choose one or more of:

• Wipe out the fridge, make sure the drain is clear
• Wipe over little appliances, wipe under them before putting them back
• Clean dishwasher, cooker hood (if washable) and tumble drier filters
• Wipe window sills, clean any marks off windows if required
• Wipe the front of large appliances

Tuesday Living Room, Hall and Stairs
Level 1
Vacuum floors and sofas
Level 2
Dusting, even if around everything
Remove clutter making sure stairs especially are safe
Clean TV, other electricals and cabinets
Level 3
Wipe light switches and banister
Clean any other glass like mirrors etc
Tidy shoes, coats and bags
Vacuum under furniture (only if you won't hurt yourself doing it, don't want any injuries)
Get a winter emergency box for your car.. it's still not too late SEE HERE for ideas!

Extra Mission:
Pick one or more of the following tasks 

• Clear one hotspot or spend at least 15 minutes clearing it a bit
• HHI
• Give the inside of the front door a wipe (if it's not snowing you could do the outside too)
• Wipe the leaves of your plants
• Sort through any magazines or paperwork lying around
• Clean windows and sills in these areas

Wonderful Wednesdays - Master Bedroom & Landing
Level 1
Check fire alarms are working
Remove and wash bed linen.
Level 2
Dust surfaces & make sure no cobwebs..
Vacuum mattress before replacing with fresh linen, air the bed if possible
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Level 3
Vacuum floors in bedroom and on landing
Sort one area of clothes or linen storage making sure only what should be in there is, anything that's had it's day or doesn't belong there is removed

Extra tasks list, as usual choose one or more

• Ebay/Amazon/Car boot search, anything that can be sold which is no longer used?
• 27 fling boogie time, time for that midweek fling, go on grab a bag and clear that clutter
• Clean windows in these rooms
• Check the airing cupboard, anything that is way past it's use by (maybe recycle for rags if possible, you could donate old sheets or towels to a local animal rescue for bedding)
• Clean the bed frame where you can, vacuum if cloth covered, wipe with a cloth if wood/metal etc

Thursday Bathroom and Study/Pc Area
Level One
Clean floors in these rooms (even if it is around the clutter)
Level Two
Clean baths, toilets and sinks
Clear any clutter from desk
Dust PC and desk, wipe with damp cloth if grimey
Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc
Level Three
Clear clutter from floor
Wipe down tiles in bathroom
Delete 10 links in your favourites which you no longer use or are dead!
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required

Extra mission:
Pick whichever you want to attempt:

• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
• Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc
• Clean/wash the brushes/dust box/filters on the vacuum cleaner (ensure these are dry before using again)
• Clean the radiators in these rooms (and behind them if you can)
• Defragment PC, or at least do a disc clean up
• Towels & Flannels- wash any grimey ones, make ones which are ''beyond repair'' into something else (flannels, cloths etc) or get rid!

Freaky Friday - Frightening Kids Rooms and Spare Rooms
Level One
15 minutes clearing clutter!
Spend at least 15 minutes doing something for yourself, whatever that might be
Level Two
Vacuum floors (even if it's around the rest of the junk)
Strip beds and replace with fresh linen
Level Three
15 more minutes clearing clutter!
Dusting - all those flat surfaces which have become fuzzy!
Clean window, sill and frame

Extra tasks, if you have extra time and want to do more, you could try one of these

• Clean skirting boards in one room
• Wipe down a childrens bed frame/cot
• 15 minutes ironing
• Paperwork sorting, spend 10 minutes on it, little and often! Anything need dealing with urgently?
• 27 fling boogie, time for the Friday Fling! Grab a bag and clear that clutter.

Honey_Bear

Thanks for the lists Valli and Natty. 

Valli - do you want me to take the fabric off the binned umbrellas and post it to you?

twinklie

Feeling pretty smug I did a big clean in the kitchen today, including windows, doors, cupboard fronts etc. 

Yay me!

Narc0lepsy

Honey_Bear said:

Well done Narco on biting the bullet.  It's tough getting rid of the past but it does free up space for the future.

I love that as a quote HB, tempted to add it to my signature line!
- The flash cards are now at the village school. Some rather lovely magnetic/foam phonic letter groups are under consideration in my desk drawer; I may still use them although it isn't likely, but I love them! Strange think to love, but there you go. I'll reconsider them in a few months to see if I can hand them on. 
- The kettle is on its way to a boater, as are the latest pair of gloves. The pressure cooker will follow when I have time to deliver it.
- Another box of Mum's photo albums has now been found shelf room in my study.  More items in that room have been sorted and considered, with one already on £bay. I'm beginning to think that a new shelf unit (despite it almost certainly being the same as the one Mr N recently cut in half when he re-did his study) will actually be a psychological boost; the unit I've had for ages started off as a custom-built one in the lounge so has compartments the size of files, books, CDs, a drawer and a cupboard.  I think I would get better use of space with plain shelving as it is more versatile without being restrictive e.g. my current PC doesn't have a CD slot so what use is a unit with CD sized compartments?    New shelving reinforces the "new room".    I wasn't ready for that decision a few months ago when Mr N cut his in half. 
- After looking at the calendar and discussing with DB, I've decided that the best time to next visit Mum is next weekend owing to forthcoming events (tango show and Hamza lecture) as well as imminent nasty road works. So I've booked the Trave1odge and emailed Mum's care manager to see if she needs anything I need to buy. 
- went to church
- came home and used up a box of reduced mushrooms to make soup which we had for lunch and there is enough left for tomorrow.
- started another pair of gloves.

Honey_Bear

Narco if you want to add it to your signature that would be fine with me because if you do I would see it more often than if I added it to mine!

Long list of things I Need To Do hanging over from four or so days of inaction here; the one thing that isn't on the list is breaking down the dog crate and putting it back in the loft but I'd dearly love to do that get that done.

Will do some of that kitchen list too.

MinnieMousesMummy

Morning all,  

My list for today
Put the bins out for collection
Do paid stuff
Attend uni lecture
Spend an hour on volunteer admin
S&S kitchen
Take DD to the stables so she can check on and feed her pony
To a meeting at DDs school regarding a trip that she's interested in going on
Bring the bins back in once emptied

I think that is everything that I need to tackle today. I hope everyone has a lovely Monday/week

Valli

Honey_Bear said:

Thanks for the lists Valli and Natty. 

Valli - do you want me to take the fabric off the binned umbrellas and post it to you?

That would be appreciated, thank you *mwah*

DW, TD and WM run

stuck on wordle, baffled by connections but completed strands super fast/

Fayolle

Morning all,
Thank you for the lists. I will do my best not to lose momentum, assuming I find some in the first place.
Last week’s kitchen blitz is setting me in good stead for today, so I’ll concentrate on the dining room bits instead.
Second load is just going through the wm, then both lots of towels will be treated to the td. Dw is running, having been needy and wanting salt, then the wheel fell off the very full rack, then the tablet broke. Before setting everything to run, I trotted up to the allotment where I knew 2 bags of weeds were waiting to be brought back for the green bin collection tomorrow. I had underestimated the weight by the time I was half way home, and remembered then that I had intended to take the wheelbarrow. Duh. My coat and trousers are now covered in mud and drying off. DH has been despatched to Big Town for errands and to get a couple of c&c orders, which hopefully will bring the hallway closer to being finished. DD is away for a couple of days, so I am having my coffee in blissful peace.
HB, I hope you enjoyed your confit. It is our most favourite meal and we always bring back a couple of tins with us. They come out for high days and holidays. Pommes à la sardalaise is always good with the duck, cooked in the fat from the tin. Nom nom. 

eltee2

Morning all

Today's plan
✔️Open windows
✔️Air & remake bed
✔️Exercises
WM x2 - 1st load on line, 2nd swishing
TD
DW
Go for a walk
Levels 1, 2 & 3 plus extras from kitchen list
S&S bathroom

Tadpole job...
Declutter 1 small box from CoD

Small jobs I must do this week (SJIMDTW)
Renew mum's GHIC 
Chase up dental appointment
Check if hip injection can be brought forward

El

roundtuit

Morning xx 

I've opened the Cupboard of Doom! Even though the kitchen worktop is still in need of attention I had the urge to remove a box from CoD. So I opened the door. Mmm. Removing a box is likely to cause an avalanche so I played it safe and took an item from the top of the pile:

1. 'Match' beanie hat - to be washed and cs
2. black beanie hat - to be washed and worn
3. 'England' tracksuit top (aged 13 years) with ripped pocket - to be washed and put in rag bag for cs

4. Pair of Thermopower insulated gloves (size small) - can these be washed? No washing instructions. Flylady advice requested please.

I completed Strands with no hints,  completed Wordle in six, and failed completely at Connections...not even one line found 🤦‍♀️

I've pootled this morning: made my bed, got weighed, fed the birds, put out the recycling, took my bp, changed Joey's seed and water, cleaned out Joey,  and WM x 1now draped on the airer. 

P & S usually call for coffee on a Monday morning. S messaged me yesterday to say that P had turned his ankle and it was swollen and painful. She then messaged me this morning to say they would still see me today. And I replied 'As long as he is safe to drive!!!'  No sign of them so I don't know whether they're coming or not! I need to visit Mr Al this afternoon but nothing else planned.

Back to the paid stuff tomorrow. 

Rxx

Honey_Bear

Fayolle said:

HB, I hope you enjoyed your confit. It is our most favourite meal and we always bring back a couple of tins with us. They come out for high days and holidays. Pommes à la sardalaise is always good with the duck, cooked in the fat from the tin. Nom nom. 

Recipe please!  I did roast potatoes (in some of the duck fat - fabulous), roast parsnips and carrots in the duck fat but next time I wouldn't waste the fat on them, and spinach.  It was a truly wonderful meal and the reason I bought only one tin was because I'd heard good things about duck confit but never tried it.  Then having got it home I thought it should be saved for high days and holidays but didn't trust it to be good enough for other people so it's sat there for 10 months.  It was beyond fab, really easy to do and I'll be buying a load more of the tins when we next go back.  M'm'm.

Round, well done for taking things out of the cupboard and making the decisions that needed to be made about them.  AI says

Based on the manufacturer instructions for Thermo Gloves, these insulated gloves must be handled with care to avoid damaging the heating elements

. The general instructions are to hand wash only, avoid tumble drying, and do not use bleach or dry clean. 

Before you do so I'd suggest googling them (my search was "Thermopower insulated gloves washng instructions" but without the quote marks.

I'm tackling the dog crate.  Which means I'm having to spring clean that corner of the room and it is very, very grim.  I've emptied the bagless thing three times already, it's now on charge as it only had one bar left, one duster is hors de combat so I've now armed myself with a pile of them and am about to equip myself with a bucket of water and some $t@rdr0p$ so I can wash all the stuff that looks like dust but has been there for so long it's take root.  While I've got the step ladder I will also tackle the lampshade in the bedroom which hasn't had any attention for years and the dust layer is fairly thick.  It's another job I loathe because the dust goes everywhere as soon as it's touched.  We've even pulled the bed out and I've cleaned and vacuumed behind the bedhead.  Score so far:  two paracetemol, a bunch of tissues, two sharpies and an M&S receipt form 28.1.25.  

Wren's been walked and I've pegged out a load of washing.  First day this year I've walked her in my hoodie as opposed to my winter jacket.  Lovely.