Weekly Flylady Thread 21st September 2026

Valli

Welcome to the weekly Flylady 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.

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 Natty 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 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- 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 former Flylady 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 stopping, 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!
Frog (or other amphibian) ~ google 'eat that frog'
Spoons ~ google 'but you don't look sick' and/or 'The Spoon Theory'.

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 - please bear in mind it was written some time ago but Toots, sadly is no longer with us - she is fondly remembered, as are Money Saving Diva, Cycling Yorkie and Mummy's Little Boy.





Monday - Kitchen and dining room

Level 1

Open some windows for some fresh air.
Wash up, dry up and put away (or remove all pots to DW) 
Put away as much clutter from the worktop as you can - ideally only frequently-used appliances should be out. Wipe them first!
Clear sides and wipe down - wipe small appliances and caddies etc.  Don't forget the splashbacks or tiles! Got a 'wooden spoon' pot by the hob Or a 'tool' rack? Give it a good clean and wash the tools too!
Empty bin and clean it out too - put it outside to dry in the sunshine, if you can.
Clear and clean sink and accessories - don't forget those out-of-sight places - under plugs and under draining racks - and shine those taps - or clean them!
Clean/polish table - wipe mats/change cloth
Check fruit and wash bowl
Throw away your manky dish cloth or sponge and replace with a new one!  Put out a new hand towel and a new tea towel too
Good slug of bleach down plugholes and in overflows
Clean cruet, salt and pepper, wipe any sauce bottles that are used on the table

Level 2

Wipe down all cupboard and drawer fronts inside and out, not forgetting handles and tops and bottom as well as fronts!
Clean hob
Clean microwave - remove turntable and wash it.
Sort fridge and wipe seals; weave stuff that needs using up into your meal plan (see level 3 and extra tasks) ; update shopping list as appropriate
Wash and wipe fridge shelves and baskets.
Dust dining area/room
Descale kettle if needed
Clean WM , TD and DW filters; remove WM detergent drawer and wash it out.
Wipe inside of washer drawer and DW door

Level 3

Check freezer - you need an up-to-date inventory. If you need space then use your inventory to inform your meal plan unless you've done this recently!
Sweep/mop/vacuum floor
Clean chairs (and highchairs) - don't forget under the seats where sticky fingers linger.
Clean windows in both rooms.

EXTRAS

HHI
S&S bathroom
Evenings are drawing in - check outside lighting is functional while the weather is on our side - and, while you're at it check drain covers are not blocked with moss, leaves or debris
Meal plan for the week.

Tuesday - bathroom blitz

Level 1
Open window
Remove towels and fling in WM 
Scrub Loo inside and out, slug some bleach or descaler down afterwards.  Pay special attention to under the rim.
Remove rat tails from plugholes

Level 2
Clean out baths and/or showers
Clean shower heads and hoses
Clean handbasins including taps - don't forget the out of sight bits!

Level 3
sweep and mop or vacuum floor as appropriate
clean windows
polish mirrors
dust and polish where necessary
Chuck any lurking potions that are not being used/are old - empty, rinse and recycle, please
Clean light pull

Extras
HHI


Plan some me time..time with a book, coffee with a friend, a pamper session

Wednesdays list - living room, hallway, stairs and landing
level 1

clear away rubbish - empty bins etc
deal with flowers and plants
bash doormats against a wall
remove any clutter

level 2

clean windows, mirrors, door glass
 sweep, mop and/or vacuum floors
plump cushions
wipe sockets and switches and remote controls with a damp (not wet) cloth
straighten coffee table

level 3
Dust everything and everywhere - including light fittings and skirtings
look up - if that’s a cobweb eradicate it

extras
HHI
S&S kitchen

S&S bathrooms

Thursday - kids/spare bedroom or study

Level 1

open windows - all over the house if you can!
strip bed or clear desk
clear floordrobe and chairdrobe
empty bin

Level 2

wipe cables and tidy
make bed with fresh bedding
clean bedside tables - check lights and lamps work or clean/polish desk/monitor
vacuum/sweep/mop floor

Level 3
clean windows and sills and frames
dust all round
Use a damp cloth to wipe lotions and potions 

Extras

15 minutes garden tidying - sweep paths/patio
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen
Bin bag dance...fling that gibble

Friday Finale  - The Boudoir

level 1

open windows - lets appreciate that fresh air while we can
strip bed
clear floordrobe and chairdrobe
empty bin

level 2
make bed with fresh bedding
clean bedside tables
vacuum/sweep/mop floor

level 3
clean windows
dust all round
Use a damp cloth to wipe lotions and potions - and fling anything OOD/past it's best

extras
S&S bathroom
S&S kitchen
Bin bag dance...fling that gibble

ionafan

Thank you Valli. I am still working through my to-do list from last week, but will do my best to fly as well.

I've just gone through my desk diary and phone diary and discovered two events in the coming week that hadn't made it into both, so I've added them where appropriate. One was a very important meeting that I had convened for EcoChurch tomorrow afternoon 😮 and I've just found out from FB that a community event which I thought was on the 26th was apparently held yesterday. Oh well, too late now to worry about having missed it.

The past few days have been very busy, one way and another. I managed to get to church this afternoon to make bread with the children and teach them a Harvest song, and both were very successful, thank goodness. Now I am ultra-tired. I ought to have come up to bed at least an hour ago but my racing brain needs to calm down first. I haven't slept well all week, and lots of night time cramps haven't helped. Nor has the change of weather, as the rheumatics have come back with a vengeance.

Very sorry to hear that your DD is going through a difficult patch again, Fayolle xx

Round, well done on taming BeeTee! 🤩 Have you got clothes, hairdresser, optician and pharmacy on your list of outgoings? - they are the ones I had forgotten when I formalised my budget 18 months ago.

It's already nearly tomorrow, so I will say "Happy Anniversary" to Honey_Bear and Beloved ❤️❤️ before I turn in.

Hope everyone has a good week xxx

roundtuit

Good morning all xx

Thank you to Valli and to Natty for keeping the thread running.

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

I had a dreadful night as my olde friende, anxiety, came for a sleepover. Why is nothing ever straightforward? I have to let the landlord (HA) know that the engineer will want to drill a hole into the house to fit full fibre. (Making those sort of phone calls makes me anxious.) When HA fitted the external insulation to the house they said that nothing can be attached to it! So I'm anticipating them saying No to the external box. If they do I'll have to ring BT, cancel the contract and negotiate for a new contract that doesn't include full fibre. So I'll be back at Square 1. I keep telling myself that the worse thing that can happen is they say No. But .....

Thank you iona. I hadn't thought of clothes or optician. Or gardener. Or fuel!! So my budget won't work. Cue more anxiety. Back to the drawing board. One step forward, three steps back.

It's a simple fact that when you're single with no significant other the buck stops with you. Mostly I'm OK with that. But just sometimes I'd like someone else to share the load .... and pay the rent. Rent a Gent?

I'm going to have a shower etc and get dressed. Then set WM swishing. If the water pressure is OK.

A good scream might help too.

Feel free to throw fluffy mules at my head. And sticks.

Rxx

At last, something is going right. The bin men are emptying the bin that's been stood out since Thursday - when their lorry broke down before they reached our end of the village. Hurrah. 🙃

roundtuit

Well, there's serendipity. While I was in the shower the gardener arrived and he has been busy refilling the recently emptied bin.

I'm showered, washed my hair, shaved, moisturised and dressed in all clean clothes. I brought down the laundry hamper and WM is now swishing.

I don't want to be on the phone to HA when the gardener knocks for his money, so that will have to wait. I'm going to:

• Sort Sassy's seed and water ✔
• Feed the birds ✔
• Put out the recycling ✔
• Put away the pots that were LTD ✔

Baby steps 👶

Rxx

MinnieMousesMummy

Morning all, Please count me in for this week although it is going to be a very busy week.

So far today, I have got the kids off to school, fed the animals, walked the dog and done some paid stuff

My list for today

• Do paid stuff (kennel cover, invoice, advertising, update accounts)
• Make required phone calls
• Phone to cancel insurance policy renewal as I managed to get a better deal
• Write up planner for last month
• Empty the DW and put dishes away
• Tidy up dirty dishes and reload DW
• Do required uni work
• Do daily tasks
• Deal with Mr T delivery
• Feed the animals and walk the dog
• Take DD to the stables so she can feed her ponies
• Attend counselling meeting with DH - changed to Tuesday night so we could have a family meal for DH's birthday.

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

Fayolle

Morning all,

Thank you for the lists. I was feeling fairly virtuous on the state of the kitchen yesterday morning. Then yesterday afternoon DH and I went blackberrying. I am now turning blackberries, sloes, haws and elderberries into hedgerow ketchup. I can predict another kitchen clean coming on by the time that I have finished. Hmmmm, wooden spoon pot? Not entirely sure the last time that I cleaned that.
Lots of sticks and hugs coming your way, Round. Don’t forget that some expenses go down when you exchange work for retirement too. As for Rent A Gent…well I suppose there are advantages, but many disadvantages 🤦‍♀️. Or maybe that’s just me 🤣. Check the terms of the contract very carefully 🤣

roundtuit

The gardener has been paid. I phoned HA and they emailed me the form that I have to complete. It's a pdf so I need to get it printed off. Then it asks for detailed sketches of the work to be done - because its a generic form. They want to drill a hole in the wall - do I just draw an exterior wall with a dot on it? 🤦‍♀️ Ditto interior wall.

Washing has been pegged out. It was glorious sunshine at the time, its clouded over since but its still dry. Can't tell if it's breezy as the gardener has cut the long wafty bits off the cotoneaster.

P & S called for coffee. P is concerned at how 'unsettled' I am. I'm telling myself that nothing has to be sorted this minute. I am safe. I am solvent. I am enough. And breathe...

Fayolle - did you mean the phone contract or the Rent a Gent contract? 🤭

iona - lovely to speak to you this morning 🥰

Rxx

Blackcats

@roundtuit - it's a useful exercise to look at retirement finances and it's much better to know than to speculate.

For what it's worth, my experience was that I took my pension, lump sum and then I worked 2 days a week for 6 months. I really enjoyed phasing out of working in a step down way. However, what happened to me was that my tax was messed up over 2 financial years because of my timing. If I had known that I would have started my pension at the beginning of the tax year and ended part time work before the end of that tax year. The overpayment of tax did eventually get sorted out but it spanned 2 tax years and was a pita.

Honey_Bear

Many thanks for the anniversary wishes Ionafan. Fortunately I had it in my diary because I'd forgotten about it completely and because I didn't do Belovéd a card for our 3 September anniversary which we've celebrated for 33 years (the day we met etc and that etc is doing quite a bit of heavy lifting) I had pre-written a card for today. It took me quite some time to find it though, which has happened before. Oops. The Parkinson's drumming article was interesting and it makes complete sense. I take part in Parkinson's research because my mother had it and if there's anything, anything at all I can do to speed along any kind of help to reduce the impact of the illness I will do it.

Round I love the idea of Rent a Gent but the only problem that would come with it/him would be the mansplaining. : shudder : If you can bear a foreign language film with subtitles (some people can't, which I totally understand) I think you'd enjoy I'm Your Man. Wiki here. Don't read the last paragraph of the synopsis unless you want to know the film's end, which I completely loved and didn't see coming and is worth waiting for.

On the subject of retirement after I stopped looking after my parents, I knew having made life and death decisions in both cases and taken a huge amount of responsibility for their day to day lives I wouldn't adapt well to being told when I could have my lunch, so I decided to eke out my savings and income for as long as I could to see if I could get to state pension age without going back to work. I did have an income from letting rooms, and it was tough at times but it was so, so worth it. For me it was a quality of life thing and I still have a pretty tight budget but as a way of life it's taught me the value of every penny and every minute of every day. It's made me a lot less acquisitive too because I simply can't afford to spend money on anything that I don't actually need. It turns out I don't need that much. Working part time before I gave up work to look after my parents meant I was a lot less involved in office politics but eventually even that had quite an unpleasant impact on me. I didn't miss working at all.

(((hugs))) and posivibes Fayolle.

Sorry I haven't been contributing again, but I have actually been Flying. I've turned out several kitchen cupboards and drawers, degreased the hob kettle (yick and yikes), spring cleaned the superking bedroom and started washing the paintwork from the bottom of the house upwards. We have several people coming to stay over the next three weeks and I'd like the house to look as though someone actually cares about it. Three loads of laundry yesterday, all pegged out and being blown in the wind. I need to deal with the double bedroom next, and then the stairs, entrance area and landings which nibbling away at the kitchen all the while.

I'm also catching up on paperwork because I'm seriously behind on it. I have no idea where the time goes.

roundtuit

Thank you Fayolle, Blackcats, and HB. 😘😘😘

All input gratefully received as it gives me food for thought.

Re: HA. I forwarded the email to P & S and asked them to print the form. I'll drive over later to pick up the form and tomorrow's job is to complete the form as best I can.

Re: retirement. My manager's manager is going to ring me for a welfare check on Friday. I'll ask her if the possibility of flexible retirement stands. I was already considering taking my pension and lump sum but working two days a week until September/October - working with the Macmillan Nurses (where the office politics are less grim than in my other role). If it's not an option that's the decision made for me. 1st February I'll be gone.

I've brought in the line dried washing and FU. I've done a Mr Al shop and put it all away.

Baby steps - progress not perfection.

Rxx

Pollybear

Afternoon all. Happy Anniversary HB.

Washload done and dried outside, all put away. Went to nearby place where we walk by the river and then end up having coffee in Waitrose. Took DD2's dog out for a walk and fed him. Went back to DD2's later to help with some gardening/cutting back/sweeping up. Put in two plants that were waiting for a while. Filled up her green bin and then mine. Should get emptied on Friday. A robin came in to inspect the corner we were working on and seemed fairly satisfied. I cut my grass yesterday and deadheaded some stuff. This morning I bought two cyclamens and put them in a corner which looked a bit bare. By the time they've gone over hopefully things will start regrowing. We moved the bird feeder pole yesterday to somewhere I hope will be easier to keep clean. Once the starlings find it they make a terrible mess. I just put out the first lot of food so they should get used to the new position by the time they actually need the food.

I was very glad to retire Round and I didn't miss work at all but if you would feel happier doing it gradually then you should do what works for you.

Hope everyone's OK x