Weekly Flylady Thread 7 September 2026

roundtuit

WULTD. Plastics for recycling are soaking.

I've put out fresh tea towels, emptied the bins and put in fresh bin bags.

Gardener has cut back the conifer hedge and swept up the clippings. I was expecting an all morning job, but nope. Done. Paid. Be back in two weeks to mow the grass and finish cutting down the buddleias. Gone.

The day is now my own. Athletics are on TV at 5pm. So I'll do a bit and sit a bit while the spirit moves me 😉

Rxx

ionafan

Morning all.

Round, plugging the garden in obviously recharged his batteries! Congratulations on still having floor - I can remember when you despaired of ever seeing floor again, but you decluttered/rehomed one thing at a time and managed to clear that, and keep it that way, so I have every confidence that your work surfaces will soon be clear and easy to keep that way xx

Last night I told DH that I had turned the strawberry jam off for the night, as I simply didn't have the energy to stay up until 3am to get a set and bottle it up. Rosie must have overheard the second half of the conversation, as she "very kindly" woke me up at 3.00, wanting to go outside. That little excursion resulted in me staying awake for almost an hour; I decluttered another episode of Heir Hunters whilst trying to decide whether or not to go down again and make a cuppa, or stick with my bottle of water. The water won and the next thing I knew was DH calling me down to breakfast just before 10.00.

It's a good thing that in at least one thing I had got ahead of myself yesterday evening and finished the cake for this afternoon's fundraiser while the strawberries were simmering.

xxx

Honey_Bear

Round, the whole 'flat surface' clutter thing is a feature of most of this house. Right now we have boxes on the dining room table - the first thing that anyone sees when they walk into the house that are all To Go somewhere in particular and while we had the car that was realistic. Today - not so much. No idea when we're getting it back because while we've given the work the go ahead they haven't phoned back with the price. Hey ho.

I emptied a deep tray that had stuff in it that had been sitting on the side in my office for months, and made decisions about the items, most of which went into CS box on the aforementioned dining room table. That tray has turned out to be surprisingly useful - if I didn't have time to put something away I shoved in the tray this week and putting it all away took three minutes. I like this system - it means that all the gibble was in one place and I knew exactly where it all belonged. The flat surface of the coffee table was decluttered this week, so there's a small pile of stuff on the floor that I haven't decided about yet, and it's driving me mad. Today I will be looking for the right place for those things and if I don't realise where they belong they're going into the attic because I could have a use for them up there, but I'm reluctant to put anything more up there because most of it is deferred decisions.

Today I'm going to tackle the freezer. It's in an absolute shambles and I haven't emptied out the top two shelves for several months, so I've forgotten what's there. Fortunately I know what we're having for supper tonight )TikTok pasta with homegrown tomatoes) so we won't be having a 'This has been i the freezer for months so we've got to eat it tonight' meal. Anything that we're realistically never going to eat is now going in the bin. It's a sin but a lot goes in to the freezer because we don't want to waste it and never comes out again. It's just more clutter.

Jazee

Hello all. What a shame about the car HB. Glad you're improving Round.

Today, I was up at five as Poppet was sick, had a cuppa and went back to bed for an hour at six. She seems to be improving now. She's had a walk and I have done dailies, tidied the big shed in the garden, sorted the playroom and cleaned the inside of the car. DH has done the weekly food shop, put it all away and done some paid stuff. Together we have sorted out some gibble which will be leaving the house tomorrow.

I was hoping for a 'me' afternoon but I've been roped in to helping at a jumble sale.

Narc0lepsy

So much for my 'Friday efficient flylady day' - spend too long with tea and kindle in bed. However, I managed to vacuum the bedroom, do a bit of kitchen tidying and some gardening. Mr N joined me after his gym class and we both attacked the front garden; me with 2 over-large trees/shrubs and the messy bed in between them as well as prising (with some difficulty) some persistent weeds growing between cracks in a paved area. Mr N dug over a bed previously occupied by a smallish (but bigger than its label implied) tree which had not survived the drought. We hope to do something attractive and very low maintenance along that area which is next to the front drive……but we don't know what.

Today:

• early lake swim, lovely
• early swim meant early to Mr L and I managed to get a £2 odds & ends box; a real bargain today: 6 courgettes, 4 sweet potatoes, 8 leeks and a punnet of apricots.
• one load through DW, put away.
• Another garden project is landscaping/organising around the new shed. After inspection and a discussion, we've pretty much agreed what we need to do. Mr N started putting a couple of slabs down to support the water butt. I pulled out unwanted plants from the adjacent bed as eventually it will be a home for the clematis which climbed up the old shed and has survived being dug up and put in a pot - so well that I gave it a good prune. Pruned spiraea which is the only plant I'll retain in that bed. Sorted out the general gibble which lurks on the paving between the greenhouse and the shed - put 4 ancient hanging baskets in the bonfire area, sorted out some pots, put a lot of stuff for recycling/tip. Fed and watered tomatoes, started to trim off manky leaves. Snipped off most of the remaining mini aubergines as they are starting to go brown. Tried one later and sadly they have gone bitter, so very reluctantly composted the lot. Next year I will pick them earlier so we get through them, perhaps making and freezing them in ratatouille as they grew so well.
• went into town to get some cement stuff so Mr N could finish the water butt stand/bed while I'm at church tomorrow. Persuaded him to get the trellis for the clematis while we were there - my brain is always multi-tasking while he focuses on what he is doing at the time.
• Started doing a vegetable galette for dinner using sweet potatoes, courgettes, a couple of decent aubergines, a few French beans I'd picked and leek. Froze 4 leeks and put 3 in veg rack as they were still fine. Froze the best of the apricots, with a couple from a fresher punnet I'd bought; cut the less good ones up for our perpetual fruit salad. Freezer is full and chaotic. For the 3rd day running we didn't fulfil our vow "must sort and itemise freezer contents".
• Did some drumming practice.

It's quite a labour-intensive time in the garden; although we enjoy it, it's getting a bit of a struggle now hence the need to re-design some areas. What seemed like a lovely big garden (fairly sparse at the time) when we were in our 30s is quite a challenge. Being a compulsive plant-buyer hasn't helped - despite having done a short garden design course and being interested in making it…..interesting…..makes for chaos I've decided.

Valli

I have been to feed the cat in steel city and sat down to keep her company so watched TV which felt like quite a decadent thing to do in the morning. She's only young so needs the fuss. I'm not one for having it on in the day as it is in the LR which I don't tend to use in the day, certainly not in the morning unless I am unwell and resting. I have taken up 3 pairs of trousers for DiL and needed a thimble for the last pair - the fabris was so tough - and I used a new needle! Then I made the damson jelly. This means I now have no jobs hanging over me so, maybe, cleaning will be done!

Horizontal surfaces are a nightmare - but my skill is having something in my hands then suddenly realising I am no longer holding it and I haven't an effing clue where I put it down… hence my mantra.

roundtuit

Morning all xx

I got up at 7 to take my thyroid meds then went back to bed. Completed the nyt puzzles and scrolled through Facebook Reels. The ultimate in time wasting activity? 🤦‍♀️

I'm now up, made my bed, taken my old meds, turned over the calendars, and made a brew.

Thank you for your Flylady encouragement re: horizontal surfaces attracting 'stuff'. I wonder if I'll find my car keys as I 'unstuff' surfaces. (I'm still using the spare set!)

I took down my birthday cards yesterday. That was a start.

Stuff. Stuff. Stuff everywhere. Too much stuff. You're right iona. One item at a time is the way forward. I'm looking at the coffee table and side table in LR as I type. 😱. Hmmmmm. Anyone fancy a brew? I'm going to put kettle on.

Love to all.

Rxx

Fayolle

Afternoon all,

Back from visiting DD in her new city. Far enough to mean that we have to stay the night, but we did have a lovely afternoon and evening out with her. Flying went by the board after Wednesday, so I will be on catch up next week. Obviously I could have started today, but what with a new list coming out and everything, I could easily find an excuse. I have run the wm, and the washing is draped indoors. That’s a first for quite a while.
I have read through but not retained, so hugs, sticks and spoons here as needed x

leftatthetrafficlights

Had grandbabies staying and a birthday celebration to attend this weekend so not a lot achieved other than chaos control! 🙄😂

I've vacuumed, tidied and done a general clear up but I'm knackered now so I'm having the rest of the day decompressing! 🤪

Next week is full on flylady stuff - the foster cats are relocating at the end of the month so I want to get the house reasonable so that the total deep clean once they've gone won't take quite as long! 🤞😂

Blackcats

I did a few bits today in order to be ahead for next week (as opposed to being behind for this week 😇)

I used my free electricity hour to run WM and DW on a hot wash to clean them. HHI - I ironed some of my long sleeved blouses to prep for cooler days.

Cleaned and organised a kitchen cupboard - I do not need to buy any teabags or coffee beans for quite a while!

I also checked our diary for next week which helps with meal planning, shopping etc as well as making sure we are in the right place at the right time 😀