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.[/COLOR]

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 (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!!!8217;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...
(Bank Holiday Monday = day off)

Twinkly Tuesday - Kitchen and dining room

Level One

Declutter and mop/vacuum the floors
Clear and wipe the worksurfaces
Wipe the cupboard door and drawer handles open drawers and doors and wipe the tops, too

Level Two

Wipe the big appliances and units.. don't forget kickboards!
Wipe small appliances and replace.. do one thoroughly.. descale or decrumb or degunge!
Clear a sticky dishevelled cupboard - empty, wipe it out and put back only what lives there tidily

Level Three

Wipe the table and replace the cloth if necessary.
Binbag dance!
Clean the oven and hob.

Extras

Clean blinds/curtains and light fittings
Wash the windows
HHI
Take a post Bank Holiday freezer/fridge inventory and see if you can start using it up/ need to replace/throw
Work on challenges - MAD half hour
Make sure you have cards - or know what you need to buy for birthdays etc this month


Wednesday Wipe Day - Bathroom/cloakroom/shower room/en suite

Level 1

Open the window
Flush the loo and bung some cleaner down there
Empty Bin
remove any detritis
Scrub the loo and wipe the outside with a clean cloth, not forgetting handles/levers/buttons

Level 2
Wipe out the bath and/or shower paying special attention to gungy areas round taps etc
Wipe shower heads
Wipe shower tubing
Polish taps
Clean screens/wash/replace shower curtains

Level 3
Dust all dust traps inc licht fittings and blind/curtain rails
Polish mirrors
scrub sink and clean rounf taps
Wipe all handles and light pulls
Clean floor
Put clean towels etc out

Extras

Clean window
S&S kitchen
MAD half hour
HHI


Thursday Thriils - lovely sunny day (here anyway - use it on you)
The BOUDOIR

Level 1

Open the window
strip the bed
clear the floordrobe/chairdrobe
Take out the trash

Level 2
Make the bed
Clean the window
Vacuum/sweep/mop the floor

Level 3
Dust everywhere
Polish mirrors
wipe your lotions and potions with a damp cloth

Extras
Peg out some washing
HHI
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
do a MAD half hour - H2H or Toots list tasks

Fabulous Friday - pick a neglected room - kids room/guest room

Level 1

Open the window
Strip the bed
clear out gibble and garbage - FERLINNG!

Level 2
Use a just-damp cloth and wipe sockets, switches and handles
Clean windows and mirrors
Re-make bed
Vacuum/sweep/mop floors

Level 3
Dust everywhere
Waggle a cobwebs brush into corners and light fittings
Check all lighting etc is fully functional especially if it's a guest room

Extras

Clear that ironing mountain

If the kids are back at school Monday (ugh) THIS is your MAD half hour list
1 - Start hunting for the elusive P.E. kit, bookbags, homework etc
2 - Check lunchboxes/bags are clean and dry; make sure you have any pack-up stuff you'll need. (If you are in the south do you have bread and sandwich fillings etc?)
3 - Check school clothes are washed and ironed and not scrunched up in a bag somewhere - if the kids are old enough this could/should be their task.
4 - Check school website/newsletters for key date information and add to calendar - always lots on in Summer Term - when is Sports Day?
5 - Have you got change/cheques for dinner (lunch) money?

S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
MAD half hour