Weekly Flylady Thread 20th May 2019

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
WUDUPA ~ Washed up, dried up, put away
WUALTD ~ Washed up and left to dry
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!

Some of our abbreviations: DH- dear husband, OH- other half, KH/CF- affectionate term for ex husband or partner DS/DD- dear son/daughter, DGC- dear grandchild, WM- washing machine, DW- dishwasher, LR/DR- living/dining room, RoD- room of doom, 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...
Manic Monday ~ Kitchen, Utility and Dining Mess
Level One
Sweep and mop floors
Catch up with any washing up
Declutter and wipe worksurfaces
Level Two
Wipe ALL large appliances and units and kickboards
Wipe and replace all small appliances
Wipe over sides and lid of kitchen bin, if necessary clean inside too
Level Three
Wash windows.. and dust blinds/wash curtains
Clear and wipe out the oven and hob
Wipe table and replace cloth if necessary
When was the last time you completely cleaned your fridge and make it all nice smelling? Get rid of out of date/dead stuff, what can be made into a soup or something?

Extras

• Clean/Tidy under the kitchen sink, throw away anything that looks past its usefullness
• Wipe down paintwork/sideboards/units in dining room
• Clean filters and detergent dispensers
• Clean out pongy pets
• Clean the toaster – get rid of crumbs in the little tray, wipe with a damp cloth to get rid of Mark’s, smudges and smears
• Clean out food cupboards, remove all items and throw out any use by dates that are out of date.
• HHI

Mad Tuesday - Living room, Hallway, Stairs
Level One
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.
Sort out the shoes and boots and fling the dead ones and the out grown ones
Vacuum hall, landing and stairs.. all the way up to the top!!!!!

Extras

• Wipe woodwork in the hall and stairs & wipe front door.. inside and out!
• Wash any nets/curtains that need cleaning.. put up fresh ones!
• Wash those winter coats and put them away/fling the manky old ones.. including the one you have worn for about 10 years!! It is dead.. get rid!
• 15 minutes filing

Study or other reception room & bathrooms - Wednesday
Level One
Clear the clutter from all these rooms!!
Ring someone you love just to tell them so.. we never do this enough!
Wash any curtains/blinds/mats etc that need doing
Level Two
Vacuum the floors
Clean bath, toilets, shower and sinks
Wipe down the tiles and defragment the pc while doing this.
Level Three
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!

Master bedroom & landing -Thursday
Level 1
Check fire alarms are working
Remove and wash bed linen and duvet covers.
Fling open the window and let in the spring!
Level 2
Dust surfaces & make sure no cobwebs..
Vacuum & turn mattress before replacing with fresh linen..
Clean lightshade. And remove dead insects
15 minutes floordrobe clearance
Level 3
Vacuum floors in bedroom and on landing
Sort 10 things from your wardrobe (or someone elses) that you can get rid of.. you WILL have nothing left lol!!
Clear a hotspot.. or spend 15 minutes clearing one.

Extras

• 37 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

Childrens/Spare rooms - Friday
Level One
Clear the floor
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!!
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
Vacuum the floor
deweb and fluff the room
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!