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 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'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'
WUDUPA ~ washed up, dried up, put away
WUALTD ~ washed up and left to dry
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...

Monday - Spoil yourself - the boudoir!
]Your bedroom should be a clutter-free room in which to relax and recover. Hopefully waking up in a clean, tidy bedroom will give you the oomph to attack the rest of the house.

Level 1

Open the window
Strip the bed and wash the sheets
Clear the floor/chairdrobe
Take out any rubbish
Wipe sockets, switches and door handles with a just-damp cloth

Level 2

Dust/wipe/vacuum the bedframe inc headboard
Remake the bed
Open the window and wipe the frame
Clean the sill and window

Level 3

Dust everywhere
Sweep/wipe/mop floor
Clear out a drawer - even if it's just a little one in a bedside table

Extras

S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
Mad half hour - work on a challenge OR batch bake/double up on a meal and freeze some - I am aware that some flyladies are really busy caring for others right now - see if you can free up some food prepping time by making a freezeable meal.
HHI


Tuesday Twinkles - Kitchen and Dining Room

Level 1

Clean table - don't forget the legs!
Wipe mats and/or change cloth
Wipe sockets and switches
Clear worktops and wipe down
Wipe kettle/clean toaster
Clean/wipe whatever lives on worktop
Put everything else away

Level 2

Clean drawer and cupboard fronts
Clear moulding/rotting furries from fridge and wipe out
Ungunge drain holes
If you've time remove shelves etc and wash out properly

Level 3

Wipe hob and oven
Sweep/vacuum/mop floor
Clean windows and wipe sills

Extras

peg out some washing
open some windows
HHI
S&S bathroom
If you've got littlies half term looms - make some plans


Wonderful Wednesday - hump day - and bathrooms

Level 1

Throw the windows wide open
If you have a shower curtain that can be machine washed get it in the machine and on the line to dry in the sunshine
If not - then wash towels/bathmats/facecloths
Flush the loo and fling some cleaner down
Scrub inside and out - don't forget the handles/buttons
Empty bathroom bins

Level 2

If you've an extractor fan get the vacuum on it - shift that dust
Scrub the bath/shower and polish the screen too
Polish taps and brightwork - don't forget hoses!


Level 3
Scrub the sink
Wipe and cupboard tops, doors, drawers and handles - don't forget the pull switch
Sweep/vacuum/mop floor
If you use anti mould/mildew spray spritz the grout with that (I just found one in Savers...I that shop) and leave to do its work!

Extras

HHI
S&S kitchen. My MAD half hour - challenge work OR pull some weeds or cut some grass or water some thirsty plants (as long as they're not being baked by the sun)

Have a lovely Wednesday x

Thursday Thrills - Love your Lounge

Level 1

Fling any carp
Wipe or vacuum upholstery - turn/rotate moveable seat pads
Plump cushions
With a just-damp cloth wipe light switches, handles and sockets

Level 2

Dust and polish all furniture
De-web

Level 3

Dust skirtings
Vacuum, sweep or mop floor

Extras

Check all smoke alarms are fully-functional
Make sure you know where your keys are to get out if you need to - and make sure any overnight guests know too - especially, if like mine, all your doors are key-locked.
S&S kitchen
S&S bathroom
HHI
MAD half hour - post what you do!



Friday fling

Kids room

Level 1

Clear floor
Open windows
Strip bed and air it


Level 2

Remake bed
Clean windows
Wipe sticky marks


Level 3

Dust furniture
Sweep mop or vacuum floor

Extras
S&s kitchen
S£s bathroom
HHI

Mad half hour in the garden