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!

Right now the thread is looking very quiet...but 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

It is your responsibility to read the forum rules, please follow them 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 something Flylady-related!

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


IF ANYONE WANTS ANYTHING ADDED TO THE LISTS, WHEN EACH DAY IS DUE TO BE ADDED, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW

Right here goes:

Magnificent Monday ~Crabby kitchen!
Level One
Clear and wipe worksurfaces
Empty and wash out the bin.. make it smell sweet!
Level Two
Wipe all appliances.. large and small
Wipe over units and kickboards
Sweep and mop the floor
Level Three
Sort and wipe a cupboard.. throw away all those germ harbouring chipped plates and mugs!
Thoroughly clean the oven and hob
Wipe the table.. does it need a clean cloth?

Extras

• Wash any filters that need it.. don't forget the extractor hood!
• Wash the windows if they need it
• Clean/descale a small appliance.. shake the crumbs from the toaster.. defuzz the kettle...
• Scrub out the fridge.. incorporate those 'slightly wilting' things into your meal plan!

Tingling Tuesday ~ Living Room/s, Hall, Stairs
Level one
Declutter the floors and flat surfaces
Empty and wash out wastepaper baskets etc
Level Two
Wipe sofas
Vacuum floors... or mop them.. whatever..
Wipe over any paintwork/doors etc
Level three
Vacuum under furniture you are able to move without injuring yourself
Wash any soft furnishings
Do a BIIIIIIG declutter... toys gone, shoes gone, paperwork gone...

Extras

• Wipe and water neglected plants
• Dust and deweb
• Wash any windows that are in need
• Binbag dance!

Wrinkly Wednesday ~ Bathroom and Study/Pc Area
Level One
Clean floors in these rooms
Level Two
Clean baths, toilets, don't forget the outside! and sinks
Clear any clutter from desk
Dust PC and desk and wipe off those cup rings!!
Wipe keyboard, house phone, sockets, switches and mouse etc
Level Three
Wash your bathroom mats, nets, clean blind/curtains etc
Wipe down tiles in bathroom.. defragment your pc while doing this.
Empty and clean out all the upstairs bins! (the proper bins not the rooms that look like bins!)
Clean shower screen/curtain if you have one/if required
Clear a mega hotspot!.. shred it.. and fling it.. or just burn it!

Extras

• Wipe the skirtings, door and window frames in these rooms
• clean the radiators in these rooms
• Fling all those empty bottles and tubes
• Gather up the dirty laundry upstairs!!
• HHI... a bit more gone!

Tantalising Thursday ~ Master bedroom, hall, stairs and landing!
Level One
Strip, wash and replace the bedding.. leave the mattress and duvet to air!
Declutter the floor.. and vacuum it!
Level Two
Put away all the shoes and clothes and bags and belts and ties lying around!
Wash the curtains/nets and clean the window before rehanging them!
Dust away the webs and fluff
Level Three
Sort through a box of stuff... I have about a million to do!
If it hasn't been done in a while vacuum and turn the mattress
Tidy up a cupboard of clothing

Extras

• HHI
• Binbag dance
• If any children are due shoe checks/opticians/dentists today is the day to sort these out!

Final Friday ~ Frightening Kids rooms and Spare rooms
Level One.
Clear away anything that isn't in it's place, clothes, toys, books etc
Make an appointment for some ME-time.. hairdressers? manicure? night out with friends? .. whatever just do it!
Level Two
Vacuum the floor
Dusting.. all those shelves and flat fluffy surfaces!! Don’t forget the light shade and curtain pole!!!
Strip beds, turn and vacuum mattresses!! and replace with fresh linen .. check if duvets need freshening up too!!
Level Three
Clean 2 windows
Sort through a cupboard/chest of drawers and get the clothes out which are no longer wearable, too small or out of season!
Wipe any sticky marks off walls and doors

Extras...

• Find 5 things to ebay/freecycle
• Wipe the radiators, skirtings and window & door frames!
• HHI
• Binbag dance!!! grab a binbag and fill it with stuff to leave the house.. rubbish or charity shop or to donate to a friend!