Weekly Flylady Thread 27th April 2026

Natty68

Welcome to the weekly Flylady Thread.

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.

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 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 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 upThese 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- 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

Here goes this Week.

Manic Monday ~ Kitchen and dining room
Level One...
Clear and wipe work surfaces
Open the windows and let in the spring!
Level Two...
Sweep and Mop the floor
Clean the icky filters and drawers from DW's, WM's etc
Wipe the cupboard fronts, all the appliances and all those manky corners!!
Level Three...
Wipe the table, replace cloth if needed
Empty and clean out the fridge.. including the drain hole bit at the back..
Clean oven/hob
Pick a cupboard and empty and clean it out and replace only what you wish to keep!
Extras

• 32 fling boogie!
• HHI .. I really need to do this!!!!!!
• Clean the grill pan.. if you line it with tin foil it is much easier to do next time!!
• Clean windows and sills

Mad Tuesday ~ Living room, Hallway, Stairs
Level One..
Get rid of any cobwebs that have moved in...
Remove clutter from floors, chairs and fireplace
Open the windows and let in some fresh air
Level Two..Vacuum floors and sofas
Wipe and water neglected plants
Dust those flat fluffy surfaces
Level Three...
Vacuum under the furniture you can move
Clean windows, pictures, mirrors etc.
Change any lightbulbs that need doing!
Vacuum hall and stairs.. all the way up to the top!!!!!
Extras

• Wipe woodwork in the hall and stairs & wipe front door.. inside and out!
• HHI...
• Wash any nets/curtains that need cleaning.. put up fresh ones!
• Clean out your handbag.. how many receipts??
• 15 minutes filing

Wacky Wednesday ~ Study or other reception room & bathrooms
Level One...
Clear the clutter from all these rooms!!Ring someone you love just to tell them so.. we never do this enough!
Level Two...
Vacuum the floors
Clean bath, toilets, shower and sinks
Wipe down the tiles and defragment the pc while doing this.
Level Three...
Wash any curtains/blinds/mats etc that need doing
Declutter and dust the pc desk
Wipe away cup rings and sticky things
Wipe the keyboard, mouse, cables and sockets and suchlike.
Clean the windows.
Extras

• HHI..
• Clear a hotspot
• Degunge around the bottoms of the taps!
• Wipe cupboards and polish mirrors!

Thrilling Thursday ~ Master bedroom & landing
Level One..
Check fire alarms are working
Clean lightshade and remove dead insects
Fling open the window and let in the spring!
Level Two...
Dust surfaces & make sure no cobwebs in room corners…
Vacuum & turn mattress before replacing with fresh linen..
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Level Three...
Remove and wash bed linen and duvet covers.
Vacuum floors in bedroom and on landing
Sort 10 things from your wardrobe (or someone elses) that you can get rid of..
Clear a hotspot.. or spend 15 minutes clearing one.
Extra tasks list

• 33 fling boogie time, go on grab a bag and clear that clutter
• Clean windows in these rooms
• Clear a box of clutter from the landing
• Make any necessary phone calls and update calender with appointments for next week.

Freaky Friday ~ Childrens/Spare rooms

Level One..

Clear the floor

Vacuum the floor

Deweb and fluff the room

Level Two...

Strip the beds and wash those sheets.. and any duvets that need doing

Drag the stuff from under the beds and place it in it's proper homes!

Level Three...

Spend at least half an hour doing something just for yourself.. a nice bath, a manicure.. just your time! Make that appointment to have your hair done!!

Clean the windows

Extras

• 
  Wash any curtains/throws/cushions etc that need it
  
• Wipe sticky marks from walls and doors
  
• Clean any tv's, pc's playstations in the room
  
• 15 minutes filing!
  

ionafan

Thank you Natty for the new thread x

I shall fly as much as I can this week. For a start, both my fridges need a good clean while they're almost empty, then (hopefully) I can re-fill them with the last of this month's food budget.

The navy blue lace outfit sounds lovely YL x

It's good to have you back with us, Honey_Bear x

Hope everyone has a good week, especially round (you're unusually quiet - has the roof blown off Toxic Towers???)

xxx

Narc0lepsy

Thanks for the thread and lists, not that I've been following much. The next few weeks before we go on hols have quite a few activities in the diary ranging from dentist, visitors, lunches, a zumbathon and loads of other things. Yesterday we had lunch, a canalside walk and a ballet show with a friend in London.

Very happy to receive 4 bags of the gf flour I can eat via friends returning from visit to Australia, which seems to be the only place I can get it. Celebrated with a ginger sponge on top of home-grown rhubarb.

Still wildly undecided about a possible new car, but fairly determined to at least get to know our top 3 EVs better (I'm really anxious about test driving so may nominate Mr N!) and perhaps shortlist hybrids. I also need to do yet another list of the process I have to go through in order to help the decision i.e. double check insurance implications (I've done a quick comparethemeercat on one car), check utilities re. charging etc.

I've just checked down my 'plan of attack' lists (thanks to a flylady Secret Santa a few years ago - I'm down to the last few on the notepad and they have been great) and the only things left this week are the rather vague 'clear desk' which I started but it's building up again, and 'watch webinar' which I've half done. Need another new list then…….

I did pot on some marigolds and squashes today, and started to dig the bed for the broad beans which are ready to plant out.

Good luck to all this week, however much or little you are able to do, it will be fine.

Jazee

Morning all. Thanks for the list.

Today is not the usual grandchildren day so I'll see how much flying I can achieve before going into town with DH later. I have already watered the plants in the greenhouse. Rain is forecast later so I'll leave washing until tomorrow.

Have a great day everyone.

crafty_ginger_ninja

Hi everyone,

Hope it's ok to join in for the first time, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the stuff and jobs to do in the house so I'm hoping to do a bit every day and make life feel a bit more organised! I've got my list for today and I'll check in later on with progress (hopefully!),

Have a great day everyone

Jazee

Welcome crafty ginger.

So far today I have done my exercises, checked banking and admin stuff, wordle in four, and from the list I've cleaned windows and sills, emptied and cleaned fridge, sorted a cupboard (I can now see cleaning stuff I rarely use),cleaned hob and cooker front. I couldn't face doing the oven. I have also damp dusted the fireplace and shined the kitchen sink.

I suppose I'd better have a shower now and walk Poppet.

MinnieMousesMummy

Afternoon all, it's been a busy day so far, but given the personal emotional turmoil I'm going through right now, it's probably best to keep myself busy.

My list for today

• Feed all the animals
• Put the bin out for emptying
• Do paid stuff (covering in kennels)
• Attend uni exam
• Phone the dentist
• Send DD a message
• Load the DW and switch it on
• Bring the bin in after it's emptied
• Attend yoga session
• Feed all the animals and sort the dog area outside
• Update journal and get an early night

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

Blackcats

I've just returned from my uncle's funeral which I supported my aunt to organise. My aunt doesn't really do online stuff or emails so I was able to help with the order of service and writing the tribute and organising the music. It all went very well and we did uncle proud. I'm surprised how drained I feel now though.

I'm having a cup of tea in the sun in the garden and then I shall enjoy a bit of kitchen witchery as a way of doing something different to funeral planning.

crafty_ginger_ninja

Sorry to hear about your uncle Blackcats, I'm sure your aunt appreciated all your help.

I've had a productive day and managed to fit a few jobs from the list in around getting some work done. So far I have…..

• cleared & wiped the surfaces
• Cleaned the windows and window sills
• hoovered and mopped the floor
• wiped down all the cupboards
• given the hob, splashback and cooker hood a good clean and shine
• Washed and dried a load of towels
• Washed a light load and put away yesterday's dark load

I cleaned out the fridge at the weekend so I didn't need to tackle that already! I didn't manage to do everything off the list but it feels like a pretty good start to the week!

ionafan

It took me an hour this morning to clean out the kitchen fridge and make it all sparkly, because i'm having to do so many things one-handed, especially when it involves reaching up.

I managed to walk round MrT's this afternoon, after coffee at the park with some of the Old Wives, but that also took me up to my pain threshold and I have paid for it this evening. I need to do some serious admin tomorrow.

Hope everyone gets a good night's sleep xxx

Narc0lepsy

Glad the arrangements and funeral went well Blackcats.

WM on, washing hung out in sun, brought in, put away.

DW had a hissy fit so did quite a bit again by hand.

Wiped over kitchen surfaces and put a few things away.

Finished digging in last year's growbags into bed and planted out broad beans. Pulled up a million weeds.

Did a bit more online car research.

Had AT lesson.

Went to zumba.

Did a bit more knitting, vicar's daughter was delighted with the multicoloured bootees/maryjanes so I've started a matching hoodie.