Weekly Flylady Thread 31st August 2026

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, 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
Ok here goes this week!

Monday Mop ~ Kitchen and Dining Room
Level One...
Check little ones and bigger ones have got everything they need for start of new school term.
Take photo of little ones/bigger ones in their new uniforms looking all proud and shiny 
NO crying when dropping off at school 
Clear and wipe kitchen surfaces
Level Two..
Sweep and mop floors
Clean the fridge and work anything that needs using soon into your meal plan
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, toaster etc
Wipe all the windows in these areas!!
Clean cupboard door fronts and fronts of appliances .. don't forget those kick boards..
Wipe out a dirty cupboard... get rid of everything you no longer need and make it all pretty and tidy!
Extra Mission : help yourself

• S&S over the hob and oven
• Wipe down any tiles and shine those taps.. a toothbrush is great for cleaning away the gunk!
• 34 fling boogie..
• Empty the bin.. wash it out.. and make it smell heavenly
• Sort through storage containers in kitchen, fling any tubless lids or lidless tubs if they can't be used for anything, anything broken or past it's use by!

Twinkling Tuesday ~ Bouncing Bedroom
Level One..
Clear the floor of anything that doesn't belong there..
Hoover the floor
Empty any bins
Level Two..
Strip the bed and remake with fresh clean bedding
Dust surfaces
Polish mirrors and any other shiny surfaces...
Level Three...
Turn and vacuum mattress - do NOT do it if you are unable to or pregnant..get a nice partner/hubby/child to do it for you.
Sort through the wardrobe - is there anything that you don't need or can be rehomed.
Clean the light switches
Extra challenge:

• Clear one drawer in the dressing table/chest of drawers
• Clean the window - make it sparkle in the sunshine
• Clear and clean the windowsill
• HHI
• Any last minute shopping for those with kiddies going back to school on Thursday. Make a list of what you need so that you don't forget anything at the last minute.

Whimsical Wednesday ~ Barnacled Bathroom
Level One..
Empty bins
Clear all empty bottles/toothpaste tubes etc.. Do we really need to keep that empty box of q-tips.
Change flannels/sponges
Level Two..
Clean sink and bath
Shine the taps, don't forget to get underneath the taps with a toothbrush.
Clear floor of any stuff that shouldn't be there - towels if they are dirty should be in the laundry bin.
Level Three...
Hoover/mop floor
Clear out the medicine cabinet - if you have any out of date medicine make sure it's bagged up properly and either bin it securely or take to the nearest chemist for disposal.
Replace those manky towels for lovely fresh towels.
Clean windowsill
Last minute checks to see if you have everything for your little ones going back/starting school
Extra challenge:

• Clean windows
• Wash curtains
• HHI

Tantalizing Thursday ~ Luxurious Living Room, hall and stairs
Level One....
Pick things up off the floor, make sure those stairs are safe.
Take "first day of school" photo - if your little darlings are back at school today!
Vacuum through the living room, hall and stairs
Level Two…
Dust standing objects including electrical items - no electrocutions please!
Turn over and plump sofa and chair cushions.
Water plants
Level Three….
27 fling boogie
Sort out one cupboard/drawer, even that cupboard under the stairs if you want...
Wash windows and nets
Sort the junk on the landing
Extras...

• Sort out any mending that needs doing and have a go at it..
• Replace any dead light bulbs
• Wash smelly pet beds
• Wash any cushions, throws or curtains that need it..
• Deflea pets

leftatthetrafficlights

I'd like to join if I may? I've recently come back to the boards after about 8 months and I need to get a grip on my house!! 😳

A few months ago, I agreed to foster 4 indoor cats (3 of which are long-haired!) on a very temporary basis to help out their owner who's relationship had broken down and housing situation changed. Unfortunately, the housing situation is still not resolved and it looks like they are going to be around for another couple of months. They have destroyed carpets, woodwork, walls, blinds, lamps etc and the amount of fur they leave around is beyond belief!! 😳 I was used to a clean and tidy house and the chaos is becoming overwhelming for me - in some ways, I've given up on the housework as it looks a shambles within minutes of me cleaning 😔 however, now that I know they're going to be resident for longer, I need to get back in control and get to a place where I don't feel depressed every time I look around! 🤦‍♀️ (I'd also like to add that despite the destruction and chaos, I'm really very attached to them now! 🥰)

Today I have a busy day ahead so I'm not sure that I'll follow the list for Monday - I need to do a general clean, do my food inventory and make tofu and soya milk - but I will start to follow it from tomorrow 😁

Valli

welcome to the thread LATTL

yesterday was hectic - boiled up two lots of damson jelly but I suspect one lot won't have set. Dinner went well then we went to the pub quiz. Did set the DW to run but there's more to do. Washed tablecloth and jelly bag

Jazee

Morning all. Welcome to our newbie. Thanks for the list Natty, however once Poppet is walked I will be doing more proofreading. Picnic blanket from yesterday is on line. I've changed bedding this morning so WM is currently whirring. House could really do with some tlc but hey ho.

Have a great day everyone.

ionafan

Morning all, and hello to LATTL👋

Typical Bank Holiday rain here. Rosie does not want to go out for a walk so I'm not insisting 😉

Yesterday I picked up an ice cream tub's worth of yellow plums that the heavy rain had brought down off the church plum tree. With all the bruised and battered bits cut off and stones removed, plus one bag of sugar, they made 3x 1lb jars of delicious jam, plus a little taster jar. A clear profit there 😀 A disaster was swiftly averted when the bag of sugar slipped out of my hand and its contents went all over the hob - but fortunately very little on the floor. I managed to get most of it up and into the SC where it belonged (TG for Flylady and clean worktops!), but it had encroached on one ring on the hob that was still warm from cooking tea, so I had to leave a damp cloth on it overnight and have scraped off the remaining bits of caramel this morning.

I have enough fruit and sugar in stock to make some peach and apple jam, but I will need to get more sugar and more jars before turning my hand to further batches of lemon or orange marmalade.

Having washed DH's white bedding yesterday, but not his patterned duvet cover, I can make up a load big enough for WMx1 this morning. Otherwise I am still trying to declutter T's ancestors.

Stay warm, dry and comfortable xxx

Fayolle

Morning all, racing in to beat midday 🤞

Thank you for the lists and welcome to LATTL. That jam sounds yum, Iona 😋. Jazee, the proof reading all sounds exciting.
I looked at the list first thing. Why was my first thought, oohh look how little I can get away with by doing level one and not having school age children or first time off to uni young adults to worry about? I bucked my ideas up and I have to say that the utility and kitchen now look a lot better. I drew the line at the hob. Maybe later 🙄. All surfaces and appliances wiped / dusted / washed as appropriate. The now mended coffee machine is back to creating its mess (actually it is the user) so that has been cleaned out, sinks have been shined. The DR (remaining RoD) is being prepped for the builders, so not much point in wasting effort in there 😉). Towels washed and it’s an easy dinner of leftovers this evening. For good measure I also cleaned the utility room window. I think I need to lie down in a darkened room for the rest of the day to get over this (for me) flying frenzy. Having had 3 restless nights in a row, I can’t guarantee not to fall asleep if I sit in a comfy chair.

Have a good day all x

Blackcats

fayolle - my thought process was similar to you and I patted myself on the back for no school uniform to sort, no back to school labelling, shoe buying etc. however we have some grandkids who are starting school and another starting college so I phoned/messaged them which was a nice way to catch up. Chatting with a 4 year old is always a joy of garbled stories and excited nonsense (and that's just me 🤣) texting a 16 year old is slightly less chatty but they know I'm wishing them well.

I've sorted our herb and spice jars and made a smokey chili type spice blend which smells nice. Cleaned some bigger storage jars which have been in the cupboard and now I've used them for lentils, brown rice, long grain rice and walnuts so another cupboard is much better organised.

DH is busy in the kitchen at the moment which means some cleaning and tidying of the work surfaces will be needed when he finishes.

Happy Bank Holiday everyone. LATTL - you are very kind to provide accommodation to the cats. Unfortunately cats have an unconventional way of showing their gratitude 😸

Jazee

Me again. Walked Poppet, spent an hour proofreading (unfortunately the subject type isn't really my cup of tea), DH made shepherds pie for lunch and I've hoovered through. The washed bedding is now soaking wet on the line.

leftatthetrafficlights

Thank you very much for the warm welcome! 😁

I managed to vacuum the kitchen, utility and hallway; emptied, inventoried, cleaned and organised the two freezers; emptied, washed, scrubbed and sanitised the litter tray; stripped, washed, dried and remade the bed; did 2 loads of laundry; made tofu and soya milk and emptied the dishwasher.

I'm wiped out now - I'll do the rest of the basics tomorrow and a better clean of whatever room is up next on the list 😁

Fayolle

Morning all

Happy new year (if you do, you know 😉), white rabbits x3 and Happy Birthday to our Round 🎂🥳! Hoping that I have prompted her into posting now 😈…

LATTL - I ‘m having a sit down to get over what you achieved on a busy day. I am one of the more - how shall I put it - sloth like flyladies 🦥. I scrape by on the bare minimum with rare flashes of activity. This morning I have stripped the bedding which is now swishing. The thing I do miss about the summer that we had is the unfailing belief that the washing would dry in an hour outside. Today I’m not so sure. I am glad that it is bedroom day as that makes me look like I am on list 🤣. I have a vague thought of going to the allotment later and finally digging the potatoes which have been baked into the ground all summer. I am not holding out hope for any kind of a harvest.
Have a good day all, especially if it’s your birthday 😉 x

ionafan

🎼Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear @roundtuit, Happy Birthday to you!🍰💐

I fetched my knitting after breakfast and sat down again to unravel about 10 rows and knit up 2 of them again, so that I know I have completed the last row of the 16-row repeating pattern - I had stupidly worked the cables in the wrong row. Obviously knitting and trying to natter at the same time doesn't work for me! My bag is now ready for this afternoon, along with 2 jars of the plum jam and a shopping list. Having taken all my preserves to church on Sunday, I need to bring back a jar of chutney and one of plum jam for L.

I have tidied the LR, whizzed through the kitchen, and hoovered all through downstairs except for DH's room, which he is still occupying. I have asked to hoover it when he gets back from SW, by which time I shall hopefully be out with Rosie. I've also checked September's outgoing payments and moved money into savings, as well as changing the payment method on my mobile account. Yesterday I finally worked out how to save photos off my email to my mobile, so I sent the family pictures to DSis-i-L. Today I must print them out as enlargements and post the copies to her so that she can see the details and hopefully help identify the various family members.

Off to walk Rosie shortly - we have lovely sunshine again today, though it was cold first thing.

See you later xxx